10% of What?

[logan1_2000]

All these years lurking and posting, I have even re-booked myself on board but I can't honeslty say I know what the "10% discount" that is part of the re-booking on board perk is measured against. 10% of what? 10% off the full fare? Well that can't be it because you can re-book onboard and if far enough in advance, you can get the early booking discount of much more than 10%. Nor do I think it is 10% off the price that you could have gotten quoted directly online from DCL that day had you been booking via the internet, or even the phone, from your home. Or is it?

Just curious if anyone knows. Percentages are always tricky because they are meaningless unless the number against which they are multiplied is known.

Or am I just frustrated because I know DW will never let me book another one next week while on board. No, I really do what to know...

10% of WHAT?

 

[ivanova]

okay, going from memory here (so could be wrong) but when we rebooked in Nov 2004 for Aug 2006 I think the 10% off was off the current rate at that time that could be booked on the DCL website (so after any "early booking" discount was applied).

I'll have to check my info at home tonight.

 

[jel0511]

You get 10% off whatever the current cruise fare is at that time, if you called DCL that day yourself. Now, I say cruise fare, because you do not get 10% off port charges, taxes and any transfers/insurance you add. So, if you can book on-board for 2 years in advance, you can get a significant savings. We were able to use our on-board booking to book a West Coast sailing. After the 10% off and a rebate from our TA we're saving almost $1,000 off the current rates at that time.

 

[DVCajun]

It's not that great a deal then, right? I mean, DCL's prices always come in above all the TA's.

 

[jel0511]

It's not that great a deal then, right? I mean, DCL's prices always come in above all the TA's.

The quotes I've received on board have ALWAYS beaten any TA I've looked at upon return. Sometimes not by the entire 10%, but it is almost always cheaper. Remember you also get a $200 onboard credit also, so it really is a good deal.

 

[SandraLee]

Actually, it is 10% off the cruise fare -- not including taxes and port fees. This is not really a 'true' 10% discount. But, it is better than you can get with any agent that I've found. And, you get the $200 on board credit.

They do allow you to transfer the reservation to an agent after booking. So, if your agent gives rebates (Dreams does), you will get that in addition to the 10% and $200 OBC. That is usually the best way to go.

 

[ljm]

I believe that SandraLee is right. We are currently holding reservations booked directly w/DCL for 12/18/2005, and will "rebook" while on board next week to get the savings. Once we get home, I will call several TA's and let them know the price and stateroom credits I will be holding w/DCL, and see how much better they can do. This was the advice I got from talking to several competetive TA's. If you choose to transfer your res to a TA, they will still earn commission on the booking, so it is a win-win for the passenger.

 

[dzneprincess]

The quotes I've received on board have ALWAYS beaten any TA I've looked at upon return. Sometimes not by the entire 10%, but it is almost always cheaper. Remember you also get a $200 onboard credit also, so it really is a good deal.

Just in case you didnt know, once you book onboard and get your price agreed upon. YOu can then transfer your ressie once you get home to a TA for even more savings.

 

[smchan]

I'll give you a real world example, and you can draw your own conclusions. During my 12/11/04 cruise, I booked onboard for the 11/11/06 Magic Western. 2 adults, 2 kids (ages 8 & 6 at sail time), cat. 9 room, no insurance, no airfare, no transfers. My total $2844.44 (which reflects the 10% discount) and I get the $200 onboard credit. The breakdown is $2680 fare + $164.44 taxes.

The same cruise, as offered on allseastravel.com, is currently $3260 using the same parameters as above. At Travelocity, I'm looking at $3196 fare + $164.44 taxes, so it would seem the 10% discount applies to only the fare which is the bulk of the cost anyways.

As others have said, you can then transfer the reservation to a TA and give a deeper discount. My experience is consistent with this advice as I transferred an onboard reservation and got another ~4-5% off. (This was on my previous cruise. My current one will remain with Disney until final payment is due at which time I'll shop around for an additional discount to transfer.)

Sam

 

[piglet33]

It's not that great a deal then, right? I mean, DCL's prices always come in above all the TA's.

Yes, it's a good deal, because with that you get the $200 ship credit. I did this, and then transferred to Costco and saved an additional $165, which was more than DU was offering.

 

[Dancind]

We did very well by booking our 2006 cruise onboard during our recent 10 day sailing. Same thing, 10% off, shipboard credit, when I got home I called Costco for additional savings. At the same time, DCL raised the price of our cruise, so we are now almost $2000 under the current price. And we only have our deposit invested, which we can get back if we cancel. It's sort of a No Lose situation.

Actually, the only problem with rebooking on board is the limited hours they have for the booking agents! Get there early in the cruise, and slightly before the posted hours!

 

[Thunderrd]

What is the time frame from when you booked til when you cruise?

The reason I ask is we booked a 7 day Jan 2006 w/Costco when the dates opened up (which I think was Sept?). We are going on a 4 day in 19 days and I plan to look into rebooking on board etc. When checking the rates on the DCL site today their rates are about $750 more. Taking into consideration the 10% discount on fare and $200 stateroom credit, it appears the price I was quoted back in Sept is still the better deal by about $200. Now if I rebook on board and then look into transferring the res. to another TA then I may be able to get a better deal.

The prices on allseas are listed much lower than what the quotes I'm seeing when checking DCL. Soo, what is the best thing to do? Did I miss out by not booking originally thru DCL back in Sept? If I book w/DCL now can I re-book that same res. on board and get the credits? And then can I still transfer the res.?

If I re-book on board and then transfer to say allseas using the rates listed today, is it likely that they will offer a better rate? And do we still get to keep the stateroom credit?

Sorry for all the questions, w/the cruise coming up, I have lots to do and am trying to think of everything.

 

[dzneprincess]

. And we only have our deposit invested, which we can get back if we cancel. !

Yeay right like thats gonna happen !!!!! Tis better not!

 

[Dancind]

Yeay right like thats gonna happen !!!!! Tis better not!

Amanda, I wouldn't dare!

Thunderrd, sounds like you've got the best deal as is. The early booking discount is always the best one. But if you can get the onboard discount AND the early booking discount, it's all good. Once the price goes up (and it always does!), you need to keep your original reservation.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

Actually, the only problem with rebooking on board is the limited hours they have for the booking agents! Get there early in the cruise, and slightly before the posted hours!

I agree...we happened to be dining with the on-board sales agent, and decided on the last day to book a cruise to get the credit, though we knew we were going to probably change cruise dates. Unfortunately, though we received a confirmation at our last dinner, our credit card never got charged for the deposit. When we went to change the dates, we learned of this, and the reservation was dropped and our credit was lost. After calling DCL twice, we finally found a helpful person who booked us on a different cruise and agreed to reinstate our on-board credit as they could see we've sailed DCL the last two years. Then we transferred it to our friend who is a cruise agent, and he saved us 10% off the early booking rate. We used to transfer to or book through AAA for the discounts, but now are going through him for larger savings.

 

[CPM]

It's not that great a deal then, right? I mean, DCL's prices always come in above all the TA's.

I thought it was a good deal. You also get a $200.00 ship credit. I transferred mine over to my TA. If a better rate comes out she will book at the better rate.

 

[logan1_2000]

No, DCL's prices don't always come in above the TA's. There are many circumstances where for selected sailings some of the TA's may offer net pricing, that is net of credits or rebates, that may beat DCL. And there may be other conditions as well. But when I booked what is now my 4/2/05 Magic, way back in '03, I got DCL's price, shopped around to all the usual suspects, and among those who did reply, no one beat it and a few could not match it. No rebates or credits then applied, unless I had been on board, and I wasn't. A year later a credit program was put in place by DU that covered my sailing and I moved the ressie to DU and got the credit while retaining my early booking fare.


I do thank the many responding posters who addressed the intial 10% question.

 

[IndyDisneyFan]

Here is a question for you. Is the $200 shipboard credit for all cruise lengths, and is it per stateroom? I am planning on rebooking next month to a four night in October, with two staterooms. Does anyone know how this works? Thanks for your help!

Laura