After looking at this thread, I am surprised at a number of things.. first, Disney usually tries to accomodate people who have difficulties... so their behaviour here is very Un-Disney like..
How do you figure? I think they went above and beyond what was required of them.
Listen, we all feel VERY badly about the whole situation.
DCL has company policy, period. And for anyone who works in the financial or logistic aspect of a business, like myself, they would know how important it is to enforce company policy fairly and equally. We get told to our face, and probably even more behind our backs, how we are just in it for the money, when all we are doing is our job by enforcing policy.
DCL's policy is that you must cancel or reschedule 90 days out. Now, I understand this family could not help the situation. But, they even broke their own policy by allowing the daughter to reschedule her portion of the cruise, which is something they definitely did not HAVE to do, but did out of good will.
Thus why travel insurance is SO important. They say that they could not afford the additional travel insurance on top of an already pricy vacation. And, I feel really sorry for them, I really do. BUT, that is the choice that they made. Ever hear the saying "The cheap comes out expensive."? Yes, $1000 for travel insurance is a LOT of money, BUT in the end, it may have saved them 10 grand.
One cannot choose to forego travel insurance, and then expect a company to bend their policy and honor their vacation as if they were covered by insurance. Which comes back to enforcing fairly and equally. What about Joe over here whose BIL had a heart attack two days before the cruise, but forgot to get insurance? What about Susie who could not afford the extra insurance, but whose boss dies a week before sailing, so she does not have the option of taking off on a vacation, because she has to stay and tie up all loose ends? It is not fair, nor equal to refuse to change Joe and Susie's cruise plans due to policy, but then turn around and help out another family who is in crisis.
