Scolded by disney

[ez]

Well, being a newby, I guess I made a major boo-boo, and while I guess scolded might not be the most accurate description, it felt kinda close.
The story is, we booked our first cruise thru expedia, and when we got our confirmation, they misspelled our last names (wrong first letter) I called and corrected it with them a few days ago. They also screwed up our credit card charges, so on a whim I e-mailed disney cruise line to see if our(corrected) reservation showed up. It didn't. So then I called disney cruise line, to see if our misspelled name was showing up. Wow, the guy kept giving me the "I entered into a legally binding contract with expedia speech so he couldn't tell me anything about my ressie,I shouldn't be calling them, and how next time I maybe ought to book thru disney. Wow, see how little I know, I was not expecting that! He did manage to tell me without official telling me, that our name was still wrong, which I appreciated....but it was like playing this word game, he wouldn't come right out and tell me. So then I had to call expedia for like the 10th time. Its like, they say they will do something, and only follow it thru halfway.The list is too long to go into here, but we have had to double check/correct almost everything. Hopefully it is straightened out now!Who knew?

 

[DisneyCruiseluvr]

Wow ez,

Sorry you had to go through all of that! I hope you have "smooth sailing" with your plans from here on out.

Enjoy your cruise!!

 

[armyfamily]

Hey ez!

Sorry to hear about your problems. Please don't blame Disney. I work for an airline and it's so very frustrating for us to deal with expedia and travelocity etc... I always tell people check those sites and when you find the best deal book through the actual company.

Expedia and travelocity have a policy that they "own" your reservation. We are not allowed to touch it in any way. If we do it can mess up the whole reservation. Even though we can see it we can't touch!

I wish you the best of luck, just keep on them.

Lisa

 

[RellingTwin]

I hope it is all worked out now. I would maybe transfer your reservation?? Not sure if you can but maybe worth calling, or e-mailing DU.

Maybe your thread should be called SCR**ED by Expedia????!!!

 

[midnitemist]

We booked through AAA, I called Disney to add something to the ressie and they refused to talk to me. I called AAA they added it, but what is funny two days later I called Disney back, they finally talked to me and confirmed everything. I guess it just depends on who you get.

Enjoy the cruise.

 

[vgaskin]

We booked thru Travelocity and basically the same thing. Totally won't book thru them again. The Disney people were really nice but they couldn't tell me anything. I will never book thru Travelocity again.

Tiffany

 

[SlyHubby]

I shouldn't be calling them, and how next time I maybe ought to book thru disney

good thing it was you talking to him and not me, because I would have had my arm reaching through the phone line holding him by the neck about a foot off the ground.

maybe before reading you the riot act, he should have considered that you are travelling on DCL - that in the end, Disney is getting paid for having you as their guest. maybe he needed to be reminded just exactly how it works that when a passenger goes on their cruise ship that's what pays his salary and you could have just as easily booked a cruise with any cruise line through expedia. maybe he should have considered the fact that had he been courteous/helpful/friendly maybe he would have given you a reason to book through DCL the next time, and he just screwed whatever little chance of that there was.

considering the total mess that the travel industry is in, crap like that has no place - especially coming from Disney.

two thumbs down for DCL on that one!

as far as Expedia goes in general, we've had excellent results with them. one time, two years ago, they literally saved us $2000 on a reservation on short notice for airline and hotel. we've used them many times since and have never had any problems.

 

[ashking]

I find so many people who think they are getting a better deal through Travelocity and Expedia but when it comes time for customer service....forget it! I am a home-based travel agent and love to provide extra help to all my clients. I make very little doing it but am able to take cruises at a great price. My advice is to try to find a travel agent you can build a relationship with. Someone who knows what you like and don't like. They can watch for great deals and specials that the big web companies can't . I always send menus and daily itineraries to my clients to get them excited about their trip. I hope you get your problem worked out. You will have a great time on your Disney cruise!!!!

 

[house_of_princesses]

I sent you a PM.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

The next cuise we take in November will be the third one I have booked MYSELF. We were one of the cancelled Magic cruisers last November. I, as always booked thru DCL myself with a 2 night stay at WDW prior to our sailing. They called me Wednesday the night before we were to fly out to notify me of our cancellation. The couple we went with booked thru a TA and DCL couldn't notify them. They had to cantact the TA.....one problem.....it was the night before Thanksgiving and the TA was unreachable!!!!!! They had to hear it from us and call the TA at home to rebook like we did!!!! All their TA did was give DCL our new reservation number and book the same thing. The couple that went with us is going to book future trips directly with DCL.

 

[disneygal58]

I empathize with your Expedia ordeal. I ordered paper airline tickets through their company 2 years ago. A few weeks later, I still had not recieved them and phoned. They claimed that they were delivered. To make a long story short, we had to pay and additional $100 per ticket to convert our paper tickets to etickets and were promised that we would be reimbursed. After sending all of the required documentation - twice - we never heard from them again. Today we only use DU and All Seasons.

Good luck,
Dawn Hope

 

[inkkognito]

I think this is a good example of why it is so important to choose your travel agent with care. I booked many of our Disney cruises myself, but then switched to DU because the rebates were so tempting and because it is associated with DIS. Now we do all our Disney trips through them...I like the fact that they are fellow Disney fanatics who really know the ropes, and they are very prompt at answering questions, resolving issues, etc. I would be leery of Expedia or Travelocity because they are big "faceless" companies. However, I do book our night-before hotel rooms via Priceline because the price is too darned good to pass up. The only problems we've had were being stuck at a bad hotel (name brand...the non-suite LaQuinta at MCO...a slum! I avoid it now by bidding a higher star level) and once having to take a smoking room at the Marriott. But since we've only staying overnight and paying $25 to $28, it's worth it. For a whole cruise, it wouldn't be!
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[CarolAnnC]

I have booked my various Disney Cruises with DVC Member Services, Dreams Unlimited and DCL directly too.

If you book through DCL they will speak directly with you regarding your ressies. It is industry practice, however, that if you use a travel agent, you must go through the agent who in turn will contact DCL if necessary. This is even the case when booking using DVC Member Points. You can only speak to DVC Member Services in that case.

I agree with Inkognito that it is important to use care and consideration in choosing your travel agent. I have had good luck with all of the above and would use any of them again in the future.

 

[Bronco Joe]

Originally posted by inkkognito
However, I do book our night-before hotel rooms via Priceline because the price is too darned good to pass up. The only problems we've had were being stuck at a bad hotel (name brand...the non-suite LaQuinta at MCO...a slum! I avoid it now by bidding a higher star level)...

How many stars do you specify? We are staying at the Radisson the night before our cruise to be able to park - I figure what we are saving on parking makes th eroom a pretty good deal. How far away have you been from the port, and then do you park at the port? Or do you usually fly in a nd just stay overnight beforehand at a hotel and shuttle over?

 

[ivanova]

Originally posted by armyfamily
I work for an airline and it's so very frustrating for us to deal with expedia and travelocity etc... I always tell people check those sites and when you find the best deal book through the actual company.

Expedia and travelocity have a policy that they "own" your reservation. We are not allowed to touch it in any way. If we do it can mess up the whole reservation. Even though we can see it we can't touch!(

Lisa,

A friend just booked her flight through Expedia ... same flights as us, but significantly cheaper than going through the airlines itself ... does this mean that the airline won't talk to us about seat assignments, because she booked through Expedia????

 

[armyfamily]

No, the airline should be able to do a seat assignment IF the fare they booked at is one they normally do seat assignments for. For example we only do seat assignments for certain fares (usually the higher fares).

Hope this helps! Lisa

 

[ivanova]

Thanks for the info Lisa.

Expedia did book the seats for her on the first leg, just not the other 3 legs of the trip. I'll have to call United to see what I can find out.

Thanks!!

 

[poopie]

to book thru Disney but Expedia was much cheaper, while you can't call Disney directly about your ressie until it's paid in full I called Expedia today to have my CC number added to my ressie as there was no place to do it online and the Expedia guy put me on hold while he called DCL and did it.

I also book Expedia airfare several times a year for my dad using e-tickets. For him Expedia is ALWAYS cheaper.

I book American because I like them and I use the miles, they are usually only a few $ more than what Expedia offers.

I have booked numerous hotel rooms thru Expedia with no problems.

Ok now off my high Expedia horse.

I like them, the ability to book online, paperless tickets and the convience of the whole thing works for me.

 

[dis4u2love]

I think you are taking your furstrations out on the wrong Company. It's like buying something from Walmart, you wouldn't take it back to Kmart would you?

Whenever you book through another company they own that reservation. So when you call Disney that Cast member can not disclose any information about that reservation to you. You have to go back through the company that booked it for you.

I'm sure the cast members know who makes payday happens for them. Please understand that they have a job to do and policies in place that they have to abide by.

And it's so easy to book for yourself by calling Disney in the fist place.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by dis4u2love
I think you are taking your furstrations out on the wrong Company. It's like buying something from Walmart, you wouldn't take it back to Kmart would you?

No, but if I buy a Motorola product and have a problem I will call Motorola. And they will take the call and try to help. If you are purchasing a product, the destination company should be willing to discuss with you and try to help. They obviously are not going to have the details on payment and the like. I don't know about cancelling with Expedia, bu if you can, I'd look for another option like AAA or DU and cancel Expedia. I don't trust them for this type of investment.