Cruise Date Flexibility Questions

[anneeb]

We were booked on the Fantasy for 2/12/22 with a future cruise credit from a canceled Alaska June 2021 cruise. The goal of the cruise was to spend time with my brother's family and we had a group of 10 total in 3 cabins. They decided since they don't cruise often, there was risk of being denied boarding at the port, risk of quarantine and moved cabins on the ship, higher probability of canceled or modified ports, and this wasn't a discounted cruise (they booked early before cruising restarted and had expected things would be a little better by now) we should postpone. I was willing to roll the dice and go if they were still in favor (they've had a countdown going with their kids for over a year) but didn't feel great about the stress of boarding and potentially having devastated kids if we were denied, or being stuck for several days quarantining in the cabin. It's all for the best as I don't think we are ideal candidates for cruising right now. I could see going if I was local to Florida, got a good deal, and could drive home if denied boarding at the port. The one thing I will be sad to miss out on are the lower number of passengers on board.

For all those reasons we all moved our cruise to January 2023. It took several hours on the phone because ours was booked with a FCC which could not be forwarded past September. I don't think I really understand what they did or how the penalties now work. We were between 30-45 days out (I think the change was done on 1/8?). I was told our penalty would stay at 75% on the new cruise. In hindsight I suppose it would have been better to cancel outright under 14 days as I have COVID exposure every single day at work. But I felt uncomfortable counting on that to not change and at this point it's too late to change my mind. Are we then locked into the new date? Or are the funds just promised to DCL but we can still change dates again if we want? For a concierge cabin, what is the latest you can normally change dates? What happens if my husband isn't able to cruise but the rest of us are (he's a little uncertain about work)? Can we swap another passenger in for him, for example my mother, or are those payments specific to him and 75% would be forfeited and we'd have to pay again for my mother to cruise? We did purchase the DCL insurance. Could my husband use the insurance for his portion of the cruise but the rest of us keep the stateroom, or is it all or nothing and the whole cabin must cancel to use the "cancel for any reason" insurance?

What can I expect for the timeline on accounting and refunds? I was told they can't just forward all the current funds to the new cruise because of the FCC. They said they had to cancel the FCC and issue a refund for the Alaska cruise. But then could use some of those refunded funds towards the deposit for the new cruise and I would get an email with details. Some of the cruise was paid with gift cards (which I don't have). I was told I would get an email detailing the accounting, a refund to my credit card, and an email with a gift card for a refund of the gift card portion. It's been 10 days, I realize they are probably very busy, and so far I have not gotten any refund or emails. About how long should I wait before checking back on the status? Also, the amount they applied as a deposit for the new cruise doesn't make sense to me. It's more than 20%, more than 20% plus the insurance, less than 75% of the moved cruise. We did have to pay a little more on top of our FCC when we moved from the Alaska 2021 to the Fantasy 2022. Because of the FCC we upgraded to concierge on the Fantasy from a veranda cabin on the Alaska sailing. The current credit toward the Jan 2023 sailing showing on DCL's site is roughly 20% of the new fare plus the additional funds we put toward the 2022 cruise beyond the FCC so maybe that's how they calculated it? I was surprised they didn't keep 75% as that is the penalty amount. Any help in understanding would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[lanejudy]

Wow, that sounds...complicated!

I'll try to simplify what I think I understand...

Initial cruise for June 2021

• DCL canceled and you took the FCC option

Rebooked cruise for Feb. 2022

• booked concierge using FCC
• paid some additional out-of-pocket
• you decided to push this cruise out to Jan 2023
• but there should be no penalty for pushing out to Jan2023 due to the Cruise Date Flexibility policy currently in effect
• the FCC cannot transfer that far out

Jan. 2023 cruise is booked using credit from Feb. 2022 minus the FCC from June 2021

• this cruise will continue to carry a penalty of 75% if you cancel; those are the terms of the Cruise Date Flexibility policy
• since your Feb.2022 cruise was concierge, those restrictions remain with the future cruise even if not concierge; so I believe this means you cannot cancel or change your husband without incurring penalty

As to how much refund -- you'll need to look back at your records from booking the Jun.2021 cruise to see the original amount you paid, and subtract the taxes/fees that were presumably refunded last year. Then add any additional cost you paid for the Feb.2022 cruise. That is the total amount you paid and should retain (either on the new cruise or as refund). If some was used as deposit on the Jan.2023 cruise, subtract that to find out your net refund. How much comes back on your credit card vs gift card will be anyone's guess. Based on some reports I've read, none of it will be a lump sum so watch your statements carefully and keep a running tally to be sure you get it all.

And yes, it may have been easier to wait until you were within 14 days and cancel. Then do a new booking for 2023.

 

[anneeb]

Thanks so much. Do you know if we could still change the date of our rescheduled cruise without penalty as long as we aren't in the penalty period for moving that cruise? In case my husband needs different dates, we'd rather change the cruise than have him not go and take the penalty.

 

[lanejudy]

I would think you could continue to punt it down the road as long as you do so before the penalty period.

 

[Cruzin’Sisters]

I would think you could continue to punt it down the road as long as you do so before the penalty period.

LaneJudy, you are quite knowledgeable. Maybe you have some insight. Note: there is no FCC credit involved. We are moving a 5 night cruise from Feb 2022 to a 3 night cruise on the Wish next March 2023. (fingers crossed). There is a $400 difference (cheaper). This may have to be an on board credit since it was not within cancellation window. My question is whether I can spread the credit to other cruises that I have booked in Aug or next Feb? TIA….

 

[lanejudy]

My question is whether I can spread the credit to other cruises that I have booked in Aug or next Feb?

Sorry, I do not know. Typically, shifting a cruise forward has been a 1:1 transaction, but DCL did allow the FCC from cancelled cruises to be split. So maybe. Just be aware that folks are finding by splitting their FCC to 2 cruises, they are somewhat locked-in and unable to cancel for a refund. Depending g on cruise length and the size of your party, a $400 onboard credit may be very easy to spend -- gratuities, excursions, spa services, adult/specialty beverages, bingo, souvenirs, etc. It adds up quickly.

 

[n2mm]

LaneJudy, you are quite knowledgeable. Maybe you have some insight. Note: there is no FCC credit involved. We are moving a 5 night cruise from Feb 2022 to a 3 night cruise on the Wish next March 2023. (fingers crossed). There is a $400 difference (cheaper). This may have to be an on board credit since it was not within cancellation window. My question is whether I can spread the credit to other cruises that I have booked in Aug or next Feb? TIA….

I asked my DU TA this question and was told no. While you can with the FCC, you can’t with a regular $$ transfer. This is one of my problems in moving my February 2022 cruise. One, I can’t keep my placeholder if I go beyond 9/2022 and two, I paid over $12k for our 2 cabins, with the kids and grandkids. We wanted to just do a 4 night now to see how the family handles the changes, but we have to use our entire funds on one cruise, our obc would be thousands of dollars. We have a cruise in September and they won’t let us apply the money there. Dcl told us we would have to book a new cruise and anything over would become obc. This cruise is causing us anxiety now. No one in our family is excited anymore. In the meanwhile, I’ll end up with 180 dvc points from the before and after rooms booked that have to be used by March 31st and my hands are tied until I sort out the cruise.