Best time to book?

[supercrossfox21]

We just got off the fantasy on sunday (1st disney cruise) and booked a "dummy date" on board to secure a 10% discount and obc. We dont want to sail again till 2015, probably around this time. I know dates arent out but when is the best time to book when they do come out to get the cheapest price? We always do inside so we arent competing for a view room.

Just looked at fantasy prices for this time next yr (being almost 15 months out) and they are abt $400 more than we paid for this last cruise and we booked 5 months out.

Based on that Im thinking booking early when 2015 dates comes out may not be worth it- price wise. Any thoughts or experience?

Also if I did book early and prices go down do they do price adjustments- I heard somewhere that they do, you just have to call dcl to get the adjustment.

 

[lanejudy]

Well, prices will only increase from opening date. How quickly they increase for a specific date will vary. An OBB cannot be modified to a special offer such as *GT. You are correct that IF fares go down after you book, you can call for an adjustment. It happens, but not frequently.

As to "competing for a view" -- there are considerably fewer interior staterooms on the newer ships than oceanview or verandah, and with the magic portholes the interiors can sometimes be more popular therefore pricing increases faster. Again, it all varies by specific cruise.

I guess I'm confused by your statement that you don't believe it will "be worth it- price wise" to book at opening day rates? Why do you think those rates aren't going to be lowest? Other than *GT rates, history shows that opening day rates are typically lowest. If you already have an OBB that you transfer, there likely will be minimal out-of-pocket cost to change the date on opening day or shortly thereafter, and you'll be all set.

 

[supercrossfox21]

The reason I ask about it being worth the money to book early is because the people staying across the room from us on the ship in the same category and everything booked much earlier than we did and paid more than we did having booked by 5 month out. So given that information it didn't seem like it was worth it to book early. Seeing we paid abt $500 less than they did and the only difference was they booked about a year in advance and us abt 5 months in advance. Same amt of people and age. Maybe it was just a flook we got a cheaper price.

But given your info I will try to book opening day

 

[Lisa Lisa]

We just got off the fantasy on sunday (1st disney cruise) and booked a "dummy date" on board to secure a 10% discount and obc. We dont want to sail again till 2015, probably around this time. I know dates arent out but when is the best time to book when they do come out to get the cheapest price? We always do inside so we arent competing for a view room.

Just looked at fantasy prices for this time next yr (being almost 15 months out) and they are abt $400 more than we paid for this last cruise and we booked 5 months out.

Based on that Im thinking booking early when 2015 dates comes out may not be worth it- price wise. Any thoughts or experience?

Also if I did book early and prices go down do they do price adjustments- I heard somewhere that they do, you just have to call dcl to get the adjustment.

I think booking on opening day is the way to go if you plan to sail during peak times (spring break, summer, holidays). If you're planning to sail during a non-peak time, things are a little less cut and dried. DCL seems to be offering more "deals" these days for cruises during their slow times. There have been many opportunities to get a great deal this September and October. The catch is that the deals are typically (but not always) offered less than 75 days before sail date. So you have to wait and hope, vs. potentially paying more but knowing that you are in the room category/location you want. Also, as the PP pointed out, you can not combine *GT rate with an OBB (at least as far as I know). You could always wait for a discounted fare and hold onto your OBB for another cruise.

 

[lbgraves]

Did you book a *GT rate? That's the only way someone who booked opening day could have possibly paid more than you. Did they have an OBB with the 10% discount? If you didn't book a *GT rate, then the people across the hall should have been watching the pricing. If the regular posted price decreases before your cruise, you just have to call DCL and they will refund you the difference. They won't do it automatically, however, if you don't contact them. If it is a discounted rate they would have had to cancel their reservation and rebook. You say you got the price 5 months out, so that was long before the PIF date when cancellation penalties would have applied.

 

[islandtimect]

October is National Cruise Month, so you'll be seeing special offers coming up. Even if DCL doesn't offer anything too special, many Disney travel agencies give extra discounts on top of already good onboard credits during the week of Oct 20th this year. And Disney travel agents monitor rates, so if rates on some room categories dropped, they would automatically try to get you the savings.