Final Payment/Booking Window questions

[MommyMK]

We are cruising this fall and since we are silver CC members our booking window opens is about 2 weeks before our final payment is due. I'm just wondering what we can book at that time - we're doing a 4 day on the Dream and don't plan on getting off the ship in Nassau, nor do I care about a cabana on CC so how important is it that I jump on this right away? I do want to book the Pirate's League for my girls (which night is Pirate night on a 4 day?) and I want to book a PAT time that works for us, is this when I would choose that? We last cruised 7 years ago so none of this stuff was in existence then.

Also possibly throwing a monkey wrench in our plans, my husband is in the running for a new job but we won't have an answer until after we have to make final payment. IF he gets the job and he can't get the time off, what's are recourse? Can we move the booking to another date without a penalty? We have not yet booked trip insurance, plan is to do that when we make final payment. Any help appreciated!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I think you need to decide on your plans before the paid in full date to avoid any penalties.

If you plan to continue then book travel insurance ASAP.

 

[MommyMK]

And one more question! What time does all this stuff open on my booking window day? Midnight, 6 am, 7 am?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

And one more question! What time does all this stuff open on my booking window day? Midnight, 6 am, 7 am?

Midnight eastern USA time.

What you can book at your booking window is:-
Port adventures inc cabana.
Bookable meet and greets,
Spa.
Adult dinning such as Palo and Remy.
Nursery.

 

[MommyMK]

We will be going ahead and paying for the cruise, there's no way we'll know about the job ahead of time and this cruise has been over a year in the making and years in planning and there are other parties involved. Chances are things will be fine and I don't really see the vacation as being an issue if he gets the new job, but you just never know. That's why I was asking what would happen. We'd not cancel, we are going on a Disney cruise, but if we had to move the date would it be possible after final payment is my question.

 

[MommyMK]

Ok did some googling and it looks like if we had to change our date after PIF as long as it was between 74-45 days (which it will be) we'd lose our deposit. That would suck and be pricey, but it's not the end of the world. Looking into trip insurance now that covers cancelling for work reasons. We're cruising with my in laws and I'm not sure what to tell them. They wouldn't want to cruise without us, but I don't think canceling for work reasons would apply to them since they are not the ones working. Can I put us all on one trip ins policy? Then would they be covered? Hmmm

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

We will be going ahead and paying for the cruise, there's no way we'll know about the job ahead of time and this cruise has been over a year in the making and years in planning and there are other parties involved. Chances are things will be fine and I don't really see the vacation as being an issue if he gets the new job, but you just never know. That's why I was asking what would happen. We'd not cancel, we are going on a Disney cruise, but if we had to move the date would it be possible after final payment is my question.

There would be a penalty as quoted, but it can be moved on.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Ok did some googling and it looks like if we had to change our date after PIF as long as it was between 74-45 days (which it will be) we'd lose our deposit. That would suck and be pricey, but it's not the end of the world. Looking into trip insurance now that covers cancelling for work reasons. We're cruising with my in laws and I'm not sure what to tell them. They wouldn't want to cruise without us, but I don't think canceling for work reasons would apply to them since they are not the ones working. Can I put us all on one trip ins policy? Then would they be covered? Hmmm

I wonder if they would pay out if the issue was known at the time of booking, or a possibility. It's like pre existing health conditions.

 

[lanejudy]

...since we are silver CC members our booking window opens is about 2 weeks before our final payment is due. I'm just wondering what we can book at that time...

I believe you can do online check-in before PIF, but cannot book any onboard activities or port excursions until you are PIF. You are welcome to PIF early, in time for your CC check-in date. It should not be subject to penalty until after the final PIF date for the cruise.

Also possibly throwing a monkey wrench in our plans, my husband is in the running for a new job but we won't have an answer until after we have to make final payment. IF he gets the job and he can't get the time off, what's are recourse? Can we move the booking to another date without a penalty? We have not yet booked trip insurance, plan is to do that when we make final payment. Any help appreciated!

As mentioned above, if you PIF early there will be no penalty if you end up having to cancel or change dates prior to the official final PIF date. So that gives you a 2-week cushion, not sure if it's enough. As PP mentioned, once past the PIF date there will be penalties depending on how close you are to the cruise date when you make the change. Is it at all possible your DH could mention the vacation when accepting the new job? It's a tough spot to be in, but if he indicates it's been planned for several months and into the penalty phase, they may allow him unpaid time off.

You can purchase some trip insurance up until PIF or sometimes later. Make sure you ask about your specific concern to see if it is covered. Some cancel-for-any-reason policies will only cover a percentage of the non-refundable monies paid. DCL's insurance can be purchased when you PIF; while your reason may not be covered, DCL will give a 75% credit towards a future cruise. But shop around. Good luck!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[WDWChloe]

We are also silver CC members, and I thought DCL recently changed their PIF policy? PIF date is 90 days before sail-date, that is also when Silver CC members can reserve port arrival time, port adventures, onboard activities, palo/Remy, etc. First-timers must be PIF at 90 days, but cannot reserve extras or choose PAT until 75 days out. Not sure if that helps with your timeline but everything needs to be paid and extras can be reserved at 90 days for you.

 

[clten]

You do not have to be paid in full to do your Online Check-in (where you select your port arrival time) when your window opens. This is supposed to open at midnight eastern just like booking activities but recent reports are that this is NOT opening right at midnight and can be several hours later.

You would have to be paid in full to book other plans when your window opens. These do open at midnight.

You are correct, the amount of penalty if you cancel depends on how far away from the cruise date you are. Disney does not make any allowances if you are "moving" the date to a new cruise. They can set up the new booking and transfer any money less the penalties to the new booking but they would always charge the penalty.

As far as insurance, you would have to check what the policy covers. If the policy covers canceling for work reasons (usually that is for losing a job, not changing jobs but each policy is different) check to see if traveling companions are covered and what the definition of a traveling companion is to see if others outside your immediate booking would be covered as well.

 

[FigmentSpark]

How badly does your husband want this job? Is it a nice and interesting option for him or does he need this change and really doesn't want to screw up the chance? Since it's before your PIF, can you move your cruise now to a later date? As others have mentioned, if you start a new job (is it new or just a change within his company), they might not want you taking vacation 2 months into the job.

On the other hand, is there enough time between finding out if he's got the job and the expected amount of time he would have to give as notice anyway? If the company wants him and offers him a position 4-6 weeks before your cruise, they will be expecting him to want to give 2-4 weeks notice anyway, so he may be able to negotiate a start date that's just after you return from the cruise.

Your only other option would be to go without DH. You'll have your in-laws there, so it's not like you'll be alone. But DH might not be happy about it.

 

[RedSox68]

Wonder if after PIF and the OP couldn't go, if she called DCL and explained the situation and offered to just move the booking, if they would still charge a penalty, since she is not outright cancelling?

 

[clten]

Wonder if after PIF and the OP couldn't go, if she called DCL and explained the situation and offered to just move the booking, if they would still charge a penalty, since she is not outright cancelling?

Yes they will still charge the penalty. Years and years ago, they were good and if you moved the booking, they did it without the penalty. However, that caused all sorts of other problems. So now they are by the book on cancellation penalties.

 

[RedSox68]

Yes they will still charge the penalty. Years and years ago, they were good and if you moved the booking, they did it without the penalty. However, that caused all sorts of other problems. So now they are by the book on cancellation penalties.

Bummer for loyal cruisers.

 

[MommyMK]

I believe you can do online check-in before PIF, but cannot book any onboard activities or port excursions until you are PIF. You are welcome to PIF early, in time for your CC check-in date. It should not be subject to penalty until after the final PIF date for the cruise.




As mentioned above, if you PIF early there will be no penalty if you end up having to cancel or change dates prior to the official final PIF date. So that gives you a 2-week cushion, not sure if it's enough. As PP mentioned, once past the PIF date there will be penalties depending on how close you are to the cruise date when you make the change. Is it at all possible your DH could mention the vacation when accepting the new job? It's a tough spot to be in, but if he indicates it's been planned for several months and into the penalty phase, they may allow him unpaid time off.

You can purchase some trip insurance up until PIF or sometimes later. Make sure you ask about your specific concern to see if it is covered. Some cancel-for-any-reason policies will only cover a percentage of the non-refundable monies paid. DCL's insurance can be purchased when you PIF; while your reason may not be covered, DCL will give a 75% credit towards a future cruise. But shop around. Good luck!

Thanks. The cushion isn't enough unfortunately, our check-in date is next week, our PIF date is in the middle of July and his final interview is only 5 days before the PIF date so chances are he won't have an answer at that point. To complicate matters further we'll be on another cruise and thus mostly unreachable around our PIF date. We don't really want to change the date at this time. We have worked 3 people's vacation schedules around this week off, it works well for my kids' school, timeshare rooms are booked on either side of the cruise which would be near impossible to change at this time, we booked opening day last year so prices have risen, etc. We'd have to move the cruise out pretty far and we'd all be pretty disappointed if he doesn't get the new job and we can't go on our cruise as planned. I talked to DH today and he doesn't seem to think it will be a problem to get the time off if he gets the job so I'm just going to move forward with that, book the trip ins, inform my in laws of the situation and hope for the best!

Enjoy your cruise!

How badly does your husband want this job? Is it a nice and interesting option for him or does he need this change and really doesn't want to screw up the chance? Since it's before your PIF, can you move your cruise now to a later date? As others have mentioned, if you start a new job (is it new or just a change within his company), they might not want you taking vacation 2 months into the job.

On the other hand, is there enough time between finding out if he's got the job and the expected amount of time he would have to give as notice anyway? If the company wants him and offers him a position 4-6 weeks before your cruise, they will be expecting him to want to give 2-4 weeks notice anyway, so he may be able to negotiate a start date that's just after you return from the cruise.

Your only other option would be to go without DH. You'll have your in-laws there, so it's not like you'll be alone. But DH might not be happy about it.

Yes he really wants the job and he'd start mid August and the cruise is in October so that plan wouldn't work. He would actually be ok with us going without him I think, but I don't want that. It's probably the last time we'll take a Disney cruise and I want him to be a part of it.

 

[MommyMK]

I wonder if they would pay out if the issue was known at the time of booking, or a possibility. It's like pre existing health conditions.

But we booked over a year ago and this job opportunity just came up in the last couple of months, so we didn't know at the time of booking. Time for me to read the fine print on a lot of insurance policies!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Yes he really wants the job and he'd start mid August and the cruise is in October so that plan wouldn't work. He would actually be ok with us going without him I think, but I don't want that. It's probably the last time we'll take a Disney cruise and I want him to be a part of it.

The only other thing he could do is try to negotiate his vacation time in the offer. He might have to give up something else, though, if he does.

 

[grassyknoll]

I do quite a bit of hiring for my workplace and if someone were to mention a pre-planned vacation, we would just work around it. We would never just expect them to forgo a vacation they already had planned, assuming we were interested in hiring them. Maybe his possible new workplace will be just as understanding.

 

[lanejudy]

But we booked over a year ago and this job opportunity just came up in the last couple of months, so we didn't know at the time of booking. Time for me to read the fine print on a lot of insurance policies!

If you had purchased insurance a year ago, that would be a different story. But you've waited to purchase insurance after a potential problem has developed. It's the same reason they won't actually sell trip insurance once a storm is named. Buying insurance once you know you might need it isn't a good "risk" to the insurance company. Buying insurance "just in case anything comes up" is what they like. But shop around, there could well be coverage available that doesn't do a look-back on employment issues. Good luck!