Booking short notice

[crystalk]

Is there anyone out there who regularly books short notice? Or have any experience with it?

My dear friend wants to join us on our cruise on Jan 30 on the fantasy and she says she's flexible to book last minute. Are prices as low as they'll be at this point or should she wait a little longer?

The ship looks pretty full but what do I know, I'm still a newbie. She travelling solo, afaik at this point, so the lower the price the better since she pays the same as 2.

Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is there anyone out there who regularly books short notice? Or have any experience with it?

My dear friend wants to join us on our cruise on Jan 30 on the fantasy and she says she's flexible to book last minute. Are prices as low as they'll be at this point or should she wait a little longer?

The ship looks pretty full but what do I know, I'm still a newbie. She travelling solo, afaik at this point, so the lower the price the better since she pays the same as 2.

Thanks

Typically the lowest prices for any given cruise are on opening day (the day that cruise was first offered to the public for booking). Once the space onboard starts filling, prices rise. Sometimes quickly, sometimes very slowly.

On those cruises that DCL deems as not selling well, they may offer last minute restricted fares. This usually comes out after the Paid In Full date. While lower than the prevailing rate on that cruise, those prices are usually higher than the opening day prices.

If the cruise you are interested in is offering *GT rates, those are usually the best you're going to do.

 

[Ofinn]

I always book last minute. All of my restricted fares have been significantly lower than opening day. That said it really depends on the cruise some GT rates are great some are just OK. I don't book unless it's in the great column. As far as your friend goes I would wait. You have passed the paid in full date so prices are most likely not going to go up. If there are still lots of rooms left than they will most likely offer a GT rate. If they are going to release them I would expect to see them 60 to 30 days before the cruise. I believe there is one GT rate out for January so far, and that is the Jan 4 cruise out of Galveston. It's really hard to tell how many rooms are left with the new website. If I can get to the old site I'm really surprised how many rooms are left on a couple of cruises I've been tracking. On the new site it only shows a few rooms. It's weird. I hate the new website.

 

[vinotinto]

At this point she should wait until the restricted fares are released - likely in mid-Dec or early Jan.

I booked last minute in March for my April cruise and literally 48 hours after my non refundable deposit the fares dropped $2,000 with a restricted rate.

 

[OkieCuties]

At this point she should wait until the restricted fares are released - likely in mid-Dec or early Jan.

I booked last minute in March for my dec cruise and literally 48 hours after my non refundable deposit the fares dropped $2,000 with a restricted rate.

How do you know when the restricted rates are out?

 

[godde8ss]

I always book last minute. All of my restricted fares have been significantly lower than opening day. That said it really depends on the cruise some GT rates are great some are just OK. I don't book unless it's in the great column. As far as your friend goes I would wait. You have passed the paid in full date so prices are most likely not going to go up. If there are still lots of rooms left than they will most likely offer a GT rate. If they are going to release them I would expect to see them 60 to 30 days before the cruise. I believe there is one GT rate out for January so far, and that is the Jan 4 cruise out of Galveston. It's really hard to tell how many rooms are left with the new website. If I can get to the old site I'm really surprised how many rooms are left on a couple of cruises I've been tracking. On the new site it only shows a few rooms. It's weird. I hate the new website.

Do you find the Restricted rate is better than if you booked a future cruise on board?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How do you know when the restricted rates are out?

You check the website periodically. When they are available, that's where they show up. Unless you use a TA, then the TA can monitor it for you.

 

[Ofinn]

Do you find the Restricted rate is better than if you booked a future cruise on board?

Yes on the cruises I have booked. We cruise a lot like 3 or 4 times a year so booking way ahead of time, and paying off cruises way ahead of time doesn't work for me. To cruise that often I have to be flexible. I'm not the normal cruiser on these boards. Most people are super planners, and they cruise once a year. I did book the transatlantic with an OBB, but I have my eye on a few other cruises like Alaska and Norway. Like I said I'm not your normal disboard cruiser. If I cruised once a year and was set on a certain date I would book opening day with an OBB.

 

[crystalk]

Thanks for your help!

 

[vinotinto]

How do you know when the restricted rates are out?

Hi! Sorry, should have said that I booked my last cruise (an early April cruise) in February and literally 2 days after payment (it was within the 45 day window), the GT rates came out. You need to check for the cruise you are interested in by searching as a new reservation, and you will see the Restricted fares come up, when available. It's a good idea to look at a cruise that currently has a restricted rate, so you will know. Keep an eye in this thread which lists GT and other specials (for Military and Florida residents):
http://www.disboards.com/threads/gt-mto-flr-discount-list-update-10-5.3244232/page-105#post-54687721

 

[texas disney mom]

I have tried to wait past paid in full dates but they only ever offered discounted rates for Florida residents or military.

 

[Ofinn]

I have tried to wait past paid in full dates but they only ever offered discounted rates for Florida residents or military.

If your committed to a certain week then it's difficult. They offer a lot of GT rates it just may not be the week or the ship your looking for. We are also eligible for interline rates, but those are even harder to come by. We will probably try a RCI cruise or two in 2017. I get tired of checking for discounts, but it's the only way I can keep cruising on DCL. I also can't limit myself to one cruise a year. I like to travel too much.

 

[over50visits]

At this point she should wait until the restricted fares are released - likely in mid-Dec or early Jan.

I booked last minute in March for my April cruise and literally 48 hours after my non refundable deposit the fares dropped $2,000 with a restricted rate.

Ouch ouch! Was the cancellation penalty more than $2000? If all you lost was the deposit seems like your bottom line would have been less by just paying that penalty and getting the lower fare.

 

[vinotinto]

Ouch ouch! Was the cancellation penalty more than $2000? If all you lost was the deposit seems like your bottom line would have been less by just paying that penalty and getting the lower fare.

Yes, cancellation at that point would have been more than $2,000. Something you could do is hold a cabin. You can hold it for free for 3 days. If the GT rates are not out, you can let the reservation go, and then make a new one. You can continue doing that until you are within 30 days. I didn't do that and simply booked it.

There's always the possibility that no GT rates will come out. What is cruisefish showing for percentage categories available? Given that Jan 30 is not a busy time (no typical vacations or holidays) and the cruise is a 7-night cruise, that should all help your friends.

 

[crystalk]

There's always the possibility that no GT rates will come out. What is cruisefish showing for percentage categories available? Given that Jan 30 is not a busy time (no typical vacations or holidays) and the cruise is a 7-night cruise, that should all help your friends.

Thanks, I'll check that out. I'm not very savvy with knowing where to look, so it's great to have disboards peeps in the know

 

[crystalk]

I wasn't able to figure out how to tell on cruise fish what percentage of staterooms are available. However I did look at the Disney cruise site and it seems that there are some staterooms available in pretty much every category. I didn't have the patience to count how many it offered me though. And it looks like there are GT rates

New question: why are the GT rates not the cheapest option?

It shows inside staterooms for $3585 but IGT for $3618

 

[vinotinto]

I wasn't able to figure out how to tell on cruise fish what percentage of staterooms are available. However I did look at the Disney cruise site and it seems that there are some staterooms available in pretty much every category. I didn't have the patience to count how many it offered me though. And it looks like there are GT rates

New question: why are the GT rates not the cheapest option?

It shows inside staterooms for $3585 but IGT for $3618

The rates that you are seeing are GTY rates (guarantee) rates. GTY rates are a normal booking without the restrictions of the *GT rates, and the only thing is that DCL chooses the cabin for you, and guarantees that it will be at least at the specific level you booked (for example at least an 8C). *GT rates are restricted.

Cruise fish shows how many categories are left, but it won't show how many cabins are left. You can purchase credits for a few dollars and set up an alert for when rates drop or when the *GT rates come up.
http://www.cruisefish.net/finder.md?id_cruise_type=16425842
http://www.cruisefish.net/finder.md?id_cruise=50969

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I wasn't able to figure out how to tell on cruise fish what percentage of staterooms are available. However I did look at the Disney cruise site and it seems that there are some staterooms available in pretty much every category. I didn't have the patience to count how many it offered me though. And it looks like there are GT rates

New question: why are the GT rates not the cheapest option?

It shows inside staterooms for $3585 but IGT for $3618

There are two different types of guaranteed rooms. When bookings open, once a certain percentage of rooms with a specific category has been booked that category goes "GTY". You can book the category of room you want, but are not able to select a specific room. The prices for GTY bookings is the same as if you pick a room. DCL assigns you a room within the specific category you booked.

Then there are "*GT" bookings. These are the last-minute restricted fares offered on those cruises that DCL deems not selling well. With these you book a type of room (Interior = IGT; Oceanview = OGT; Verandah = VGT). You are guaranteed that DCL will place you in a room of type you booked. The *GT bookings have a lower cost than the prevailing rate at the time they are offered.

As to why the pricing may be off (booking a specific room costing less than the last minute restricted rate) who knows? DCL is kinda wonky that way sometimes.

On cruisefish, when you go to their website, click on "Finder" on the top right side. Then, using the pull down menus on the left side of the page select the cruise you are interested in. The next page will show the dates that cruise is available and the percentage of categories still available. Be aware that there can be more rooms actually available with a lower percentage than a higher one.

 

[Ofinn]

I wasn't able to figure out how to tell on cruise fish what percentage of staterooms are available. However I did look at the Disney cruise site and it seems that there are some staterooms available in pretty much every category. I didn't have the patience to count how many it offered me though. And it looks like there are GT rates

New question: why are the GT rates not the cheapest option?

It shows inside staterooms for $3585 but IGT for $3618

A gt rate will be in the first column. It will read Inside guarantee restricted rate or oceanview guarantee restricted rate. Look at the Jan 10 cruise out of San Juan. There are IGT and OGT rates available for that cruise. That will give you an idea what to look for. GT rates are always the cheapest option listed, and will always be the first price listed under that category.

 

[houseofduck]

Speaking of cruisefish, has anyone noticed that their information for Disney hasn't been updated since around mid-October?