Help me figure out room assignments? Update in red

[dxcspilk]

We booked our dd in our friends cabin with linked ressies. There are a total of three cabins. Looking at the room assignments, they are no where near each other. In fact their two room assignments are on the same deck, but down separate halls.

What do the arrows in the rooms mean? I am assuming this means connecting cabins. We all have one of these rooms, but the room next to ours are not assigned to us.

Is there anyway to request we be moved next to each other? Connecting cabins for them would be preferable. We booked through DU, do we have to go through them?

Update: Emailed DU, first response was basically "Sorry, you are out of luck." Emailed again and told them as our TA it is up to them to at least try to get a better assignment. Received a phone call (yes you read that right) from a different TA at DU (not the one we booked with) who said she called DCL and "basically argued with them to get a new assignment" which was connecting rooms! Very pleased right now!

Thanks.

 

[mindy327]

We booked our dd in our friends cabin with linked ressies. There are a total of three cabins. Looking at the room assignments, they are no where near each other. In fact their two room assignments are on the same deck, but down separate halls.

What do the arrows in the rooms mean? I am assuming this means connecting cabins. We all have one of these rooms, but the room next to ours are not assigned to us.

Is there anyway to request we be moved next to each other? Connecting cabins for them would be preferable. We booked through DU, do we have to go through them?

Thanks.

You would have to go through your TA to change anything to your reservation. They are the ones to contact DCL and request the move. IF the rooms are available next to you, it isnt difficult at all to move. It really depends upon how close your cruise date is, and the capacity of the ship.

 

[erionm]

Yes, you have to contact your TA for any changes to your reservation. Call them and see what they can do to try and get the rooms closer.

 

[dxcspilk]

Thanks for your help. I sent out an email to DU. We will see when I get a response

 

[kcashner]

If you booked thru an travel agent, all communication with DCL must go thru that TA. If you booked gty (which I assume you did because if you selected cabins you would have chosen to be near each other!), you have given DCL the right to place you anywhere on the ship. While they MAY choose to move you, they do not have to do anything.

This is interesting because we've had a couple of posts with this concern. In March 2009, DCL had a cruise with many gty 12 cabins. They got a LOT of complaints when they split up families, etc ( although they were under no obligation to keep them together, it looked like they were split just to be mean! People were meeting on the DIS and arranging to swap cabins to be near family, etc.) By May 2009 they had gotten a little smarter and were keeping families who had booked together either next to each other (whether connecting or not), or at least very close. The farthest separation I was aware of on that cruise was 2 cabins apart. It now appears that whoever is doing room assignments has gone back to placing any ressie number in any cabin that holds the right number of guests. Oh well....didn't they learn the first time?

I wish you better luck than I had when dealing with a cabin change and DU.

 

[mkmommy]

I read on the resort board that resort rooms are now being assigned by computer
And I wonder if DCL is moving toward that. I always book GTY and for our March Dream cruise we got a cabin assigned at about 85 days out, and I have read a few posts from people that that also got assigned rooms quite far out on different cruises.

Just thinking, if room assignments are computer generated whenever there are changes in inventory and a room number appears the system assigns it to the next reservation, instead of the system of a live person assigning all cabins at the 30-45 day mark. Like I said just thinking but something appears to have changed.

 

[dxcspilk]

If you booked thru an travel agent, all communication with DCL must go thru that TA. If you booked gty (which I assume you did because if you selected cabins you would have chosen to be near each other!), you have given DCL the right to place you anywhere on the ship. While they MAY choose to move you, they do not have to do anything.

This is interesting because we've had a couple of posts with this concern. In March 2009, DCL had a cruise with many gty 12 cabins. They got a LOT of complaints when they split up families, etc ( although they were under no obligation to keep them together, it looked like they were split just to be mean! People were meeting on the DIS and arranging to swap cabins to be near family, etc.) By May 2009 they had gotten a little smarter and were keeping families who had booked together either next to each other (whether connecting or not), or at least very close. The farthest separation I was aware of on that cruise was 2 cabins apart. It now appears that whoever is doing room assignments has gone back to placing any ressie number in any cabin that holds the right number of guests. Oh well....didn't they learn the first time?

I wish you better luck than I had when dealing with a cabin change and DU.

This is what I read and was going off of when we booked GTY. Pretty much DCL would book you together, so I wasn't concerned. Looking at our room assignments and the fact they they are connecting rooms, yet we are not booked in the connecting cabin, does make one think it is either a computer assignment (yet even computers are usually smarter than this), or intentional on someone's part. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

I am not opposed to knocking on the cabin next door and asking if they would mind switching. Would DCL be against this?

 

[kcashner]

I am not opposed to knocking on the cabin next door and asking if they would mind switching. Would DCL be against this?

Suggestions--first, go to your cruise meet section and see if you meet anywhere there who has a cabin you want (like the one next to one of your family members). If they are willing to trade, it can all be handled in advance thru your TA.

Secondly, instead of knocking on a door....by which time people might be unpacked, etc. why not write a nice note in advance, and be at the cabin at 1:30. Leave the note explaining your situation and asking if they'd be willing to swap. Offer to let them view your cabin before deciding, and perhaps offer a bottle of wine, day in the rainforest, or other "perk" to sweeten the deal. Then hang out in your cabin and wait to hear from them. If you both agree and go to Guest Services together, they will allow the trade.

 

[dxcspilk]

Here is the email reply I received from DU:

"Your reservations were indeed all linked together with requests for dining at the same table and rooms near each other.

Unfortunately the popularity of this sailing is simply not allowing your requests for rooms near each other to be met. When you are booked in a guarantee stateroom you are not guaranteed anything other than that particular type of stateroom. And while Disney will try their best to keep you together, this is not always something that can be realized.

There is still a chance that the staterooms could change again prior to your sail date, so I would keep an eye on the Disney website.

Thank you for choosing Dreams Unlimited Travel!"


I understand what guarantee means, but does it hurt to ask DCL if we could be moved closer together? Or is that not allowed? At this point if we ever book future cruises we will be booking directly so I can ask these questions myself.

I guess I will have a pre-written letter in hand ready to stick to neighboring cabin doors come rope drop

 

[erionm]

Here is the email reply I received from DU:

"Your reservations were indeed all linked together with requests for dining at the same table and rooms near each other.

Unfortunately the popularity of this sailing is simply not allowing your requests for rooms near each other to be met. When you are booked in a guarantee stateroom you are not guaranteed anything other than that particular type of stateroom. And while Disney will try their best to keep you together, this is not always something that can be realized.

There is still a chance that the staterooms could change again prior to your sail date, so I would keep an eye on the Disney website.

Thank you for choosing Dreams Unlimited Travel!"


I understand what guarantee means, but does it hurt to ask DCL if we could be moved closer together? Or is that not allowed? At this point if we ever book future cruises we will be booking directly so I can ask these questions myself.

I guess I will have a pre-written letter in hand ready to stick to neighboring cabin doors come rope drop

Your reservation is controlled by DU and the DCL call center has no access to make changes to it.