Any reason to book at earliest window?

[Keyser]

We're currently scheduled for a 6-day cruise on the Wonder in December, over Christmas. Our Pay-In-Full date is not until October, but the activity booking window opens up in about a week. And, of course, we'd need to be paid-in-full to book any of those activities.

We've cruised before (we're now gold!) and I've usually tried to get on as soon as the window opens. The things I'd normally try to get by getting on as soon as possible were (A) Palo dinner and brunch, (B) A port arrival time we wanted, (C) Maybe excursions/activities. But, this time, I'm wondering if there's any point in doing so. Right now, the cruise seems likely to change: the cruise still lists that it's going to Grand Cayman (which probably has less than 1% chance of happening), and based on how other things have been handled, I wouldn't trust the schedule to not change dramatically between now and then (will it still be 6 days? What will happen instead of Grand Cayman, and when? Will we even go to Cozumel? What will port arrival times even be, or will it matter?). Not to mention that we might even cancel the whole cruise depending on what the status of everything is.

At the same time, there are a few things we'd like. We would want Palo reservations, but I would think they'd be relatively easy to get later on if ship capacity is low? There's an excursion we'd like in Cozumel (but that assumes we even go to Cozumel and it's still offered!). Port arrival time is probably not so important to us this time.

So, am I missing something? Do you all think it's worth it to pay in full early, just to book things that are pretty uncertain? And, if we did pay-in-full this week, is there anything else they'll ask us for before we are allowed to book things?

 

[Cheburashka]

We're currently scheduled for a 6-day cruise on the Wonder in December, over Christmas. Our Pay-In-Full date is not until October, but the activity booking window opens up in about a week. And, of course, we'd need to be paid-in-full to book any of those activities.

We've cruised before (we're now gold!) and I've usually tried to get on as soon as the window opens. The things I'd normally try to get by getting on as soon as possible were (A) Palo dinner and brunch, (B) A port arrival time we wanted, (C) Maybe excursions/activities. But, this time, I'm wondering if there's any point in doing so. Right now, the cruise seems likely to change: the cruise still lists that it's going to Grand Cayman (which probably has less than 1% chance of happening), and based on how other things have been handled, I wouldn't trust the schedule to not change dramatically between now and then (will it still be 6 days? What will happen instead of Grand Cayman, and when? Will we even go to Cozumel? What will port arrival times even be, or will it matter?). Not to mention that we might even cancel the whole cruise depending on what the status of everything is.

At the same time, there are a few things we'd like. We would want Palo reservations, but I would think they'd be relatively easy to get later on if ship capacity is low? There's an excursion we'd like in Cozumel (but that assumes we even go to Cozumel and it's still offered!). Port arrival time is probably not so important to us this time.

So, am I missing something? Do you all think it's worth it to pay in full early, just to book things that are pretty uncertain? And, if we did pay-in-full this week, is there anything else they'll ask us for before we are allowed to book things?

Worth it depends on your priorities and your finances. Is it difficult for you to pay up early? How eager are you to get onboard? That determines if it's worth it to be ready to choose a Port Arrival Time asap. Palo dinner is typically easy to get even after boarding; brunch is the one that's harder to get. If I cared about Palo brunch, I would try for it upon the opening of my booking window. Yes, there will be fewer passengers, but due to distancing Palo will also have reduced capacity.

If I had a certain DCL excursion in mind I'd book it, too, even though it will probably not happen in December 2021.

 

[orum]

We're currently scheduled for a 6-day cruise on the Wonder in December, over Christmas. Our Pay-In-Full date is not until October, but the activity booking window opens up in about a week. And, of course, we'd need to be paid-in-full to book any of those activities.

We've cruised before (we're now gold!) and I've usually tried to get on as soon as the window opens. The things I'd normally try to get by getting on as soon as possible were (A) Palo dinner and brunch, (B) A port arrival time we wanted, (C) Maybe excursions/activities. But, this time, I'm wondering if there's any point in doing so. Right now, the cruise seems likely to change: the cruise still lists that it's going to Grand Cayman (which probably has less than 1% chance of happening), and based on how other things have been handled, I wouldn't trust the schedule to not change dramatically between now and then (will it still be 6 days? What will happen instead of Grand Cayman, and when? Will we even go to Cozumel? What will port arrival times even be, or will it matter?). Not to mention that we might even cancel the whole cruise depending on what the status of everything is.

At the same time, there are a few things we'd like. We would want Palo reservations, but I would think they'd be relatively easy to get later on if ship capacity is low? There's an excursion we'd like in Cozumel (but that assumes we even go to Cozumel and it's still offered!). Port arrival time is probably not so important to us this time.

So, am I missing something? Do you all think it's worth it to pay in full early, just to book things that are pretty uncertain? And, if we did pay-in-full this week, is there anything else they'll ask us for before we are allowed to book things?

You don’t get a port arrival time until check in, which is 30 days before sail date currently.

 

[auntlynne]

If you are going on the cruise no matter what and are not paying credit card interest on your cruise bill, I’d pay it early and try for the excursions you want.

You may not get Palo brunch, but you might. They may have reduced seating, do better to at least try?

At this point, it seems pretty likely the cruise will sail.

And unlike other cruise lines, you do not have to pay for specialty dining and port adventures until you do them.

As to why Grand Cayman is still on the itinerary? That should have been deleted a long time ago. Even if they hadn’t negotiated a replacement.

Hope it works out for you

 

[dvcdisney]

We also have an upcoming Christmas cruise in Dec. Our PIF is also October, but as Platinum our window opened a couple of weeks ago.

I did pay in full two weeks ago to book onboard and port adventures. I was able to get the Palo dinner at the time we wanted and booked some port adventures even though I'm not sure the ports will be as scheduled. I just wanted to make sure we had the Palo dinner.

As other posters mentioned, the PAT isn't offered until online checkin which is 30 days prior at this point. The only thing you need before booking is paying in full, so it doesn't ask you for anything else at this point.

As an aside, I noticed after going back a few days later that some Cabanas were still open for CC, but quite a few were booked. So I know people have PIF at their earliest time.

I still think there's a chance we will be able to go since I'm hoping things will be better in Dec.

 

[Keyser]

Thanks everyone for the replies - it does help just to think things through. I hadn't remembered about the PAT coming later...