Postpone cruise to 2017?

[thebernies]

Due to finances we are debating whether to move our September 2016 cruise to 2017

How easy is it to change your dates? Will there be admin charges?

And anyone know if when summer 2017 dates will be released?

Thanks

 

[cruisehopeful]

It's normally easy to change your cruise. People are predicting the 2017 dates to come out in March. If you are in your cancellation with no penalty phase, there won't be any charges to change the cruise and you'll have the benefit of getting opening day pricing for the 2017 cruise.

 

[Danni75]

Do you need a special insurance to benefit from that?
Sorry for the basic question but I never thought of that possibility !

 

[lanejudy]

No insurance required if you aren't past the PIF date. All funds paid to this point will transfer to the new cruise date. You can call to do this or change it online. No fees from DCL; if you used a TA you'll need to be aware of that TA's policies/fees for changes.

If you are past the PIF date, that's when penalties kick-in starting with the 20% deposit and increasing as the date is closer to the sail date.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I just wanted to add, ANY date in summer will be significantly more expensive than September.
In Sept most parents are reluctant to pull kids out of school and it's peak hurricane season. Lower demand = lower prices.
Our kids get a 4 day weekend off for Jewish holidays so we love cruising then. We do always buy insurance and keep in mind no port is ever guaranteed. We've never had any problems with weather but stay open minded.

 

[Danni75]

Thanks for these advices!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I just wanted to say I counted from our vacation log 13 cruises in the Caribbean/Atlantic during hurricane season and the only hurricane issue we had was when one hit home in NJ. (Sandy)

 

[MunFam]

I am not advocating for this...but...DCL cruise prices are rising at a crazy stupid rate, so if you are short just a wee bit, a may be worth sticking with your locked in price and biting the debt. If you wait another year, you could be looking at thousands more for the EXACT same cruise.

For example...the same WBPC we were on last May, we paid $4200 for. It was almost $1000 more than the previous year...and its already $5700 for the same category this year.

 

[DanielleKR]

I am not advocating for this...but...DCL cruise prices are rising at a crazy stupid rate, so if you are short just a wee bit, a may be worth sticking with your locked in price and biting the debt. If you wait another year, you could be looking at thousands more for the EXACT same cruise.

For example...the same WBPC we were on last May, we paid $4200 for. It was almost $1000 more than the previous year...and its already $5700 for the same category this year.

Agreed! We booked our January 23rd cruise in February and it's gone up $1500 since then! We wouldn't be booking at the current price, that's for sure.

 

[bcwife76]

We just moved our August 2016 Alaska cruise to a January 2017 Bahamas cruise - it was easy peasy and took about 3 minutes by phone.