Cancelled by ABD: It DOES happen :(

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Hi Calfan, I did actually take a look at your trip report. I haven't read all of it but I got some great ideas on things to do on our pre-arrival day in Prague thanks to your trip report. We picked Central Europe cause it's one we both agree on to the same degree. We had narrowed down our selections to three. Central Europe, Scotland and France. My mom really wanted Scotland and I really wanted France and we both wanted to do Central Europe so that's the one we've opted to go with. My mom really wants to see the Alps and the Spanish Riding School (we were both riders and she still owns a horse that is now retired) and I want to see Prague and Vienna, especially Schonnbrunn Palace.

We both agreed on Backstage Magic so that's how we ended up on that one. I wanted Washington DC (which isn't offered anymore) and she wanted Arizona but we both wanted to go to Disneyland so we opted for BSM. We both got to do what we each wanted to most. She wanted to ride Indiana Jones in Disneyland and I wanted to ride California Screamin' in California Adventure.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

That's interesting, because it's not the policy as it's written on the website. The website still says:
I may send an email to ABD just so that I can hold onto that response to have it in writing!

Sayhello

That's what I thought. I couldn't find it either.

 

[CherryOnTop]

TXTransplant - that was VERY well written. I couldn't agree more. I've traveled Europe myself many times - but as a single mom I want to relax and enjoy the trip with my daughter and not have to be in charge. I'm willing to pay top $$ for that. So now we are at 70 days out from our ABD France trip - a trip we have planned for over a year - and we still don't know if we are going. As everyone has stated - it is not just about getting a refund on the over $15k we have already spent - it is about the full year of my daughter doing book reports in school about the places we are going and our countdown in French on the refrigerator and preparation in learning about French history - and the idea that if they cancel on us we will have to scramble to fill the space for our BIG summer trip. I had NO IDEA there were trips that were guaranteed. My TA never mentioned. This is my THIRD ABD and I never heard anyone talk about late cancellations before. It is absolutely crazy that I am having to log on every day and make calls every day with all this added stress for something I planned WAY in advance like a good little Mouseketeer.

I pray that someone at ABD is reading this. I was their biggest cheerleader.

P.S. We LOVED Central Europe last year - Vienna, Prague, and Salzburg - Incredible! When our adventure guide pulled out the key to the Sound of Music Gazebo that NOBODY has access to - I almost cried. WORTH IT. (unless of course they cancel it 60 days prior)

 

[sayhello]

TXTransplant - that was VERY well written. I couldn't agree more. I've traveled Europe myself many times - but as a single mom I want to relax and enjoy the trip with my daughter and not have to be in charge. I'm willing to pay top $$ for that. So now we are at 70 days out from our ABD France trip - a trip we have planned for over a year - and we still don't know if we are going. As everyone has stated - it is not just about getting a refund on the over $15k we have already spent - it is about the full year of my daughter doing book reports in school about the places we are going and our countdown in French on the refrigerator and preparation in learning about French history - and the idea that if they cancel on us we will have to scramble to fill the space for our BIG summer trip. I had NO IDEA there were trips that were guaranteed. My TA never mentioned. This is my THIRD ABD and I never heard anyone talk about late cancellations before. It is absolutely crazy that I am having to log on every day and make calls every day with all this added stress for something I planned WAY in advance like a good little Mouseketeer.

I pray that someone at ABD is reading this. I was their biggest cheerleader.

P.S. We LOVED Central Europe last year - Vienna, Prague, and Salzburg - Incredible! When our adventure guide pulled out the key to the Sound of Music Gazebo that NOBODY has access to - I almost cried. WORTH IT. (unless of course they cancel it 60 days prior)

As far as I can tell, the cancellation policy was changed for 2015 (although no-one is sure exactly when it happened). Prior to that, the policy was no cancellations within 75 days of trip departure. The 75 day policy just quietly disappeared from the website. SO not happy about that. Looks like they're re-instating it to 60 days, but I'd like to see the website updated to reflect that.

But I agree. 60 days is still way too short a period of time to do a trip re-do at that point!

I hope at least they honor the emails, and confirm your trip at 60 days.

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

TXTransplant - that was VERY well written. I couldn't agree more. I've traveled Europe myself many times - but as a single mom I want to relax and enjoy the trip with my daughter and not have to be in charge. I'm willing to pay top $$ for that. So now we are at 70 days out from our ABD France trip - a trip we have planned for over a year - and we still don't know if we are going. As everyone has stated - it is not just about getting a refund on the over $15k we have already spent - it is about the full year of my daughter doing book reports in school about the places we are going and our countdown in French on the refrigerator and preparation in learning about French history - and the idea that if they cancel on us we will have to scramble to fill the space for our BIG summer trip. I had NO IDEA there were trips that were guaranteed. My TA never mentioned. This is my THIRD ABD and I never heard anyone talk about late cancellations before. It is absolutely crazy that I am having to log on every day and make calls every day with all this added stress for something I planned WAY in advance like a good little Mouseketeer.

I pray that someone at ABD is reading this. I was their biggest cheerleader.

P.S. We LOVED Central Europe last year - Vienna, Prague, and Salzburg - Incredible! When our adventure guide pulled out the key to the Sound of Music Gazebo that NOBODY has access to - I almost cried. WORTH IT. (unless of course they cancel it 60 days prior)

Have you called or emailed your TA to see how many are booked on your trip? We have 20 on ours. I think it was 14 or so at the 75-day mark, which made me very nervous. I felt better when a few days later my TA followed up and said there are 20. That's really been the only thing that's put my mind at ease about this.

And I'm with you on the single mom thing. I used to think I loved planning vacations...until our last trip that involved several days at Universal, a side-trip to Magic Kingdom (and that awful FP+ system!), and another side-trip to Kennedy to see the Atlantis exhibit. Multiple park tickets, FP+ reservations, two car rentals, and a drive from Kennedy to Orlando in a torrential downpour in a car that wasn't much bigger than a golf cart and I was exhausted! I realize it's a wonderful problem to have, but I'm ready to let someone else handle some of those responsibilities!

My son and I have been looking forward to this trip for almost a year. I have felt a little bit like ABD doesn't appreciate just what an emotional and financial investment these trips are for us. I'm fortunate to be able to afford a trip like this, but it's still a huge financial commitment, as I'm sure it is for everyone who posts here. Aside from down payments on houses and cars, I think the this trip is the single biggest purchase I've ever made. When you make that final payment, you really want to feel like ABD is doing everything they can to ensure the trip goes off without a hitch, and I just have not gotten that feeling...yet.

 

[emilymad]

This thread has been so eye opening. I do hope ABD comes out with some policy regarding cancelation. 60 days isn't great but it is better than nothing. We are waiting for 2016 dates to see if we want to take our first ABD but this all has me nervous. It is so much money to spend for the amount of stress involved. Our Disney wedding was cheaper than one of these trips!

If ABD can't guarantee the trips I feel like something is wrong with their business model. Either they have too many trips or are charging too much so the trips aren't filling up. It seems that many of your trips are only half full for this summer.

I hope everyone's trips are wonderful!

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

This thread has been so eye opening. I do hope ABD comes out with some policy regarding cancelation. 60 days isn't great but it is better than nothing. We are waiting for 2016 dates to see if we want to take our first ABD but this all has me nervous. It is so much money to spend for the amount of stress involved. Our Disney wedding was cheaper than one of these trips!

If ABD can't guarantee the trips I feel like something is wrong with their business model. Either they have too many trips or are charging too much so the trips aren't filling up. It seems that many of your trips are only half full for this summer.

I hope everyone's trips are wonderful!

I don't think it's really a case of charging too much for the trips because if you compare them to other tours of a similar level/nature, then the cost is right in line. I think the problem is, ABD is not widely known. ABD has been around for 10 years and I have only just found a travel agent in Toronto that even knows what ABD is, nevermind able to book it. ABD is NOT advertised AT ALL up here in Canada. I only know about it because I was on all the boards and websites and such when ABD was first announced 10 years ago. I think Disney is dropping the ball when it comes to people outside of the US in regards to ABD. Unless you are on the boards and other Disney pages, you don't know ABD even exists if you are outside the US.

 

[aggiemomx3]

This thread has been so eye opening. I do hope ABD comes out with some policy regarding cancelation. 60 days isn't great but it is better than nothing. We are waiting for 2016 dates to see if we want to take our first ABD but this all has me nervous. It is so much money to spend for the amount of stress involved. Our Disney wedding was cheaper than one of these trips!

If ABD can't guarantee the trips I feel like something is wrong with their business model. Either they have too many trips or are charging too much so the trips aren't filling up. It seems that many of your trips are only half full for this summer.

I hope everyone's trips are wonderful!

Yes it is stressful waiting to see if your trip makes. No doubt about it, but I have been on 3 wonderful trips by ABD. Scotland will (hopefully) be my 4th and I have to say that ABD did a fantastic job with the other 3 trips and I enjoyed them immensely. Hopefully, they will change their policy and all of us will feel more comfortable traveling with ABD now and in the future.

 

[Rapunzellover]

All this information is good, but let's keep things in perspective here. It doesn't seem like the cancellations are that frequent. I'm not sure it's dire enough to worry.

I know it's frustrating, but I'm sure there's no more problems with cancellation than any other company. I hate seeing people freak out like this. Should it be better on ABD's part? Sure. Do we deserve better? Sure. But ultimately this seems too rare to cause such panic

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

All this information is good, but let's keep things in perspective here. It doesn't seem like the cancellations are that frequent. I'm not sure it's dire enough to worry.

I know it's frustrating, but I'm sure there's no more problems with cancellation than any other company. I hate seeing people freak out like this. Should it be better on ABD's part? Sure. Do we deserve better? Sure. But ultimately this seems too rare to cause such panic

Couldn't agree more. It's really no different than any other trip you book. I always figure no news is good news. If I don't hear from Disney/my TA then there is nothing to worry about. They will let me know if there is something that needs my attention.

 

[CherryOnTop]

All this information is good, but let's keep things in perspective here. It doesn't seem like the cancellations are that frequent. I'm not sure it's dire enough to worry.

I know it's frustrating, but I'm sure there's no more problems with cancellation than any other company. I hate seeing people freak out like this. Should it be better on ABD's part? Sure. Do we deserve better? Sure. But ultimately this seems too rare to cause such panic

It may be "rare" but right now it is ME. It is "dire" enough for me to worry. My TA and ABD have been clear that the trip is not guaranteed, that there are only 14 people, and we are about 70 days out, and there is a chance it will be cancelled. This is a trip we booked May of 2014 - we paid in full December 2014 - over $22k including flights - and we have no flexibility to change our dates with work schedules. You may not see it as something to freak out about, but it is causing anxiety and the reason we book with Disney and pay so much is so that we can RELAX. At the very least people need to be educated when they book these trips that there ARE some trips that are guaranteed up front. I had no idea. This is my third trip with them. As I have mentioned prior, I am a DVC owner with three contracts and my daughter and I are platinum cruisers (12 trips on DCL). We aren't newbies on the travel front. This is not naivety. I though ABD could do no wrong but now I'm dealing with this and I've started chatting and I'm finding out that it does happen more than you would expect. I call them EVERY day now. Some of the vacationistas are friendly and encouraging and other are dismissive. But they all say the same thing - "this trip might not make it."

And just so you know there ARE other companies that offer guaranteed trips. You say that you are SURE that there's no more problems with cancellation than any other company but I'm not sure what you are basing that statement on. I want ABD to make it - I'd love for them to be hugely successful. I'm loyal to the Disney brand. But there is nothing about this "vacation roulette" waiting game that is magical.

 

[Bobo912]

There are definitely other companies that are more transparent. Trafalgar and Insight show clearly on their websites which travel dates are definite departures. Tauck, Rick Steves, and A&K show which trips are sold out and which are nearing capacity, so if you want to select a date that is most likely to go, you can choose one that is nearly full already. That level of information appears to be pretty common and ABD seems to be the exception.

 

[Rapunzellover]

It may be "rare" but right now it is ME. It is "dire" enough for me to worry. My TA and ABD have been clear that the trip is not
guaranteed, that there are only 14 people, and we are about 70 days out, and there is a chance it will be cancelled. This is a trip we booked
May of 2014 - we paid in full December 2014 - over $22k including flights - and we have no
flexibility to change our dates with work schedules. You may not see it as something to freak out about, but it is causing anxiety and the
reason we book with Disney and pay so much is so that we can RELAX. At the very least people need to be educated when they
book these trips that there ARE some trips that are guaranteed up front. I had no idea. This is my third trip with them. As I have
mentioned prior, I am a DVC owner with three contracts and my daughter and I are platinum cruisers (12 trips on DCL). We
aren't newbies on the travel front. This is not naivety. I though ABD could do no wrong but now I'm dealing with this and I've started
chatting and I'm finding out that it does happen more than you would expect. I call them EVERY day now. Some of the vacationistas
are friendly and encouraging and other are dismissive. But they all say the same thing - "this trip might not make it."

And just so you know there ARE other companies that offer guaranteed trips. You say that you
are SURE that there's no more problems with cancellation than any other company but I'm not sure what you are basing that
statement on. I want ABD to make it - I'd love for them to be hugely successful. I'm loyal to the Disney brand. But there is nothing
about this "vacation roulette" waiting game that is magical.

I'm not dismissing your situation, or anyone else's. I'm sorry if it came off like that. Certainly you have a right to be upset. I completely agree ABD needs to work on this.

But all travel plans involve a certain amount of uncertainty, which you well know, not being new to the travel game. Booking a year out (which I do too) means a lot can go wrong. You ask how do I know there's no more problems with ABD than other companies? It's simple: even guaranteed trips get canceled every once in a while. I personally know several people it's happened to. There's always a fine print clause and that is typically broad and can be used for almost anything.

ABD certainly needs more transparency. No doubt. It's criminal that a devoted customer like you I getting treated this way. Nobody supports such behavior.

But people on this thread are acting like this is some wave of cancellation like 2008, and it just doesn't seem that way. That's all I was trying to say.

And cancellation uncertainty is better than having a bad trip cause they couldn't provide the usual standards but went ahead anyway to avoid cancellation.

It's also better than Tauck telling me not to sign up cause I'm too young. Ugh.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

But people on this thread are acting like this is some wave of cancellation like 2008, and it just doesn't seem that way. That's all I was trying to say.

And cancellation uncertainty is better than having a bad trip cause they couldn't provide the usual standards but went ahead anyway to avoid cancellation.

It's also better than Tauck telling me not to sign up cause I'm too young. Ugh.

I was actually just commenting to my friend that I thought this thread was one of the best I've read on Disboards in that it was a really good discussion about an issue with ABD by people who obviously love the product. I didn't think the tone was alarmist at all--not that our trips *would* be cancelled but that they *could* with very little notice or explanation. That alone would prevent many of us from booking future non-guaranteed trips. This is a weakness in the ABD product that isn't with some of the other comparable companies. Thompson Family trips, for example, will take the trip even if it's just your own family. They'll give you the option of moving if you want, but they will go with just you. National Geographic has a set minimum and as soon as it is met they will notify you. ABD is trying to do neither. This is a deficiency in their product that we hope they will address. I'd rather be told at the outset not to book than be in CherryonTop's position of wondering 70 days out. Totally feel for you CherryonTop--I have my fingers crossed for you, but it must be so frustrating.

 

[CherryOnTop]

I was actually just commenting to my friend that I thought this thread was one of the best I've read on Disboards in that it was a really good discussion about an issue with ABD by people who obviously love the product. I didn't think the tone was alarmist at all--not that our trips *would* be cancelled but that they *could* with very little notice or explanation. That alone would prevent many of us from booking future non-guaranteed trips. This is a weakness in the ABD product that isn't with some of the other comparable companies. Thompson Family trips, for example, will take the trip even if it's just your own family. They'll give you the option of moving if you want, but they will go with just you. National Geographic has a set minimum and as soon as it is met they will notify you. ABD is trying to do neither. This is a deficiency in their product that we hope they will address. I'd rather be told at the outset not to book than be in CherryonTop's position of wondering 70 days out. Totally feel for you CherryonTop--I have my fingers crossed for you, but it must be so frustrating.

Thank you CaliforniaGirl09. I think with your positive vibes it is ALL gonna work out. Stay tuned.

 

[DisFan10]

In fairness to AbD, I've had Tauck cancel a trip on me within 2 months of departure. It was their Washington D.C./Philadelphia/Williamsburg trip during August! I thought a summer departure would be popular, but I was wrong...

 

[TXTransplant]

In fairness to AbD, I've had Tauck cancel a trip on me within 2 months of departure. It was their Washington D.C./Philadelphia/Williamsburg trip during August! I thought a summer departure would be popular, but I was wrong...

Can you please share how the situation was resolved? Were you able to book another trip? Did Tauck fully refund ALL of your expenses? How did their customer service handle your situation? Did you try to proactively rebook before the cancellation (or did they offer)?

I don't think it's so much that we are paranoid about cancellations so much as we want to know how a cancellation might be handled of we experience one. I know it was a big disappointment for me that ABD now has this cancel at anytime for any reason policy, yet they wanted to penalize me (by passing on a significant price increase) when I tried to proactively reschedule my trip. I realize they don't want people to rebook in order to maintain a certain number/somewhat equal distribution of guests in every trip, but they could do better when working with people on this issue. Frankly, they should not be canceling trips with less than two months to go because of too few guests, which is what we are most worried about. As I've said before, there has to be a go/no-go date for every trip, and we don't quite understand why ABD isn't sharing that.

 

[DisFan10]

Can you please share how the situation was resolved? Were you able to book another trip? Did Tauck fully refund ALL of your expenses? How did their customer service handle your situation? Did you try to proactively rebook before the cancellation (or did they offer)?

I don't think it's so much that we are paranoid about cancellations so much as we want to know how a cancellation might be handled of we experience one. I know it was a big disappointment for me that ABD now has this cancel at anytime for any reason policy, yet they wanted to penalize me (by passing on a significant price increase) when I tried to proactively reschedule my trip. I realize they don't want people to rebook in order to maintain a certain number/somewhat equal distribution of guests in every trip, but they could do better when working with people on this issue. Frankly, they should not be canceling trips with less than two months to go because of too few guests, which is what we are most worried about. As I've said before, there has to be a go/no-go date for every trip, and we don't quite understand why ABD isn't sharing that.

Tauck called to break the news and offered to rebook us on another departure, but the dates didn't work so we opted to book a different trip with them. Since the new trip was to a different destination, Tauck reimbursed us for the airline change fee and also waived the additional cost (I think it was about $250 extra per person). I've dealt with both AbD and Tauck and I must say that Tauck's customer service reps are much more helpful and are able to resolve situations without having to consult with a supervisor and making us wait for a call-back.

 

[Rapunzellover]

See now, I found Tauck's customer service very rude. See my earlier post about their behavior. Very offensive.

 

[sayhello]

Tauck called to break the news and offered to rebook us on another departure, but the dates didn't work so we opted to book a different trip with them. Since the new trip was to a different destination, Tauck reimbursed us for the airline change fee and also waived the additional cost (I think it was about $250 extra per person). I've dealt with both AbD and Tauck and I must say that Tauck's customer service reps are much more helpful and are able to resolve situations without having to consult with a supervisor and making us wait for a call-back.

What you describe is exactly how ABD worked for me when my trip was cancelled in 2009. They were tremendously helpful, and did everything for me that Tauck did for you, without a supervisor or a call-back. I guess the change in upper management did change things at ABD...

Sayhello