Guaranteed Restricted Fare

[StarSeven7]

My cruise in January just opened up an Oceanview Guaranteed Restricted Fare. I am currently booked in a 9B GTY room and the OGT fare is $1000 less than what I paid. But I believe in order to get that fare, I would have to cancel and pay the penalties, right? I'm 108 days away so it looks like the penalty would be the deposit, which was $950. Of course that wouldn't really be worth it for such a small savings. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything though that would help us save some money! Thanks!

 

[Dug720]

You are correct. *GT rates must be on new bookings. You would have to cancel what you have and book a completely new reservation. Meaning you'd have to do math and see if it's worth it. I prefer to book at a rate I'm satisfied with and leave it rather than do math.

 

[Rob1872]

DCL's intent on the restricted fares is to pull in last minute cruisers, not to cut a discount on existing reservations. (Hence, why you don't expect to see the last minute restricted fares before PIF.) If there is a way to game the system and get a significant discount in this way, I haven't heard anyone say it on the last few years that I've been following the board.

 

[Marc D]

They make sure *GT rates come out after most guests are bound to lose more money cancelling than they would save rebooking. They pushed back the PIF dates and upped the cancellation fees a few months ago to make sure of it.

 

[StarSeven7]

Thanks everyone. I completely get why they offer the *GT rates and I'm definitely not trying to game the system at all, just wanted to make sure I had all my facts correct! I'm happy with the fare I've booked, however, I'm Dutch, and if you know anything about Dutch people, you'll know that they're not only frugal, but they're proud of it! I couldn't resist double checking to see if there was any way that I could save some money!

 

[Quellman]

Thanks everyone. I completely get why they offer the *GT rates and I'm definitely not trying to game the system at all, just wanted to make sure I had all my facts correct! I'm happy with the fare I've booked, however, I'm Dutch, and if you know anything about Dutch people, you'll know that they're not only frugal, but they're proud of it! I couldn't resist double checking to see if there was any way that I could save some money!

1000% on board with you. Disney Cruises aren't particularly known for cheaper fares closer to sailing. But there are those people who do get lucky. Checking periodically is always a good idea when you have the time and hope of seeing a reduced rate.

 

[StarSeven7]

1000% on board with you. Disney Cruises aren't particularly known for cheaper fares closer to sailing. But there are those people who do get lucky. Checking periodically is always a good idea when you have the time and hope of seeing a reduced rate.

I do check....pretty much every day! lol! Do the regular fares sometimes get reduced? I did get a refund on my port fees but I haven’t really seen any changes to the fares since I booked in March.

 

[Quellman]

I do check....pretty much every day! lol! Do the regular fares sometimes get reduced? I did get a refund on my port fees but I haven’t really seen any changes to the fares since I booked in March.

I think touring plans . com has a function that tracks cruise prices over time. Regular fares typically do not decrease in price. The three public groups that will see discounts are Military, Florida Resident, and Canadian Resident. There have been some Euro Resident rates in the past but are infrequent. The other way Disney can offload rooms at reduced rates are to travel agents or to cast members within the company.

 

[StarSeven7]

I think touring plans . com has a function that tracks cruise prices over time. Regular fares typically do not decrease in price. The three public groups that will see discounts are Military, Florida Resident, and Canadian Resident. There have been some Euro Resident rates in the past but are infrequent. The other way Disney can offload rooms at reduced rates are to travel agents or to cast members within the company.

We’re Canadian residents....if a discounted Canadian resident fare comes out after we’ve paid in full, is THAT one that we’re able to switch to?

 

[FigmentSpark]

I don't think it's about being PIF. It's about your PIF date and the cancellation date having passed. You'd have to cancel and rebook. So that's the sticking point.

 

[dclpluto]

Now we know why they are not doing them cruises in 2021.

 

[smmco]

Not always. There's already GT rates for Alaska next Summer and there's been a GT rate on the New Orleans and Fantasy cruise in February that have had GT rates for a couple of months now. Most of the time they come out after the PIF date, but I would always keep an eye on the GT rate thread because occasionally they come out before PIF. There's also a poster whose tracking room availability. It's very helpful in predicting a discount.

 

[Marc D]

Not always. There's already GT rates for Alaska next Summer and there's been a GT rate on the New Orleans and Fantasy cruise in February that have had GT rates for a couple of months now. Most of the time they come out after the PIF date, but I would always keep an eye on the GT rate thread because occasionally they come out before PIF. There's also a poster whose tracking room availability. It's very helpful in predicting a discount.

On what cruises do you see *GT rates for Alaska? I only can fin GTY rates.

I did find a *GT rate on the Feb 29 Fantasy, which is a SWDAS cruise. That cruise is 142 days away, so anyone on it could save a lot by cancelling before day 120 and booking *GT. For a family of 3, the saving on a guaranteed verandah compared to the lowest regular fare is more 1100 $, and 1000 $ on IGT and OGT. I didn’t check opening days prices on that cruise, but I would do the math if I was on it.

 

[smmco]

On what cruises do you see *GT rates for Alaska? I only can fin GTY rates.

I did find a *GT rate on the Feb 29 Fantasy, which is a SWDAS cruise. That cruise is 142 days away, so anyone on it could save a lot by cancelling before day 120 and booking *GT. For a family of 3, the saving on a guaranteed verandah compared to the lowest regular fare is more 1100 $, and 1000 $ on IGT and OGT. I didn’t check opening days prices on that cruise, but I would do the math if I was on it.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/current-gt-mto-flr-discounts.3244232/page-188It's on this thread. It's not that hard to find. There's also a Fantasy cruise on March 7 with a GT rate if anyone is interested.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We are doing a GTY/VGT, in other words, 7A - the lowest level Verandah for a Magic Bermuda cruise that starts tomorrow. This was the first time we've done a GTY and the rate was ~$3,3xx (but no onboard credit or use of our existing PlaceHolder) compared to a current "list" rate of $4.0xk for two adults.

IF we had booked this cruise as soon as it was put on sale, touringplans.com says it would have cost $3.9k, so I guess we saved some money.

Usually, the way we "game the system" is to use our Platinum status to book as soon as a cruise is announced. Some of the European itineraries we have booked go up in price by ~$2+k, due to popularity, within the first couple of months.

 

[Dug720]

We are doing a GTY/VGT, in other words, 7A - the lowest level Verandah for a Magic Bermuda cruise that starts tomorrow. This was the first time we've done a GTY and the rate was ~$3,3xx (but no onboard credit or use of our existing PlaceHolder) compared to a current "list" rate of $4.0xk for two adults.

IF we had booked this cruise as soon as it was put on sale, touringplans.com says it would have cost $3.9k, so I guess we saved some money.

Usually, the way we "game the system" is to use our Platinum status to book as soon as a cruise is announced. Some of the European itineraries we have booked go up in price by ~$2+k, due to popularity, within the first couple of months.

GTY and VGT are two different animals.

Since you said 7A, you have a GTY. Those are refundable up to cancellation date and do not have to be paid in full at booking. That means you'll get a 7A or higher.

A VGT is a rate that is released later, must be paid in full at booking, and cannot be changed or cancelled without penalty. With a VGT, you could get any category of Veranda from the Navigator's to the highest level (other than concierge).

 

[otten]

GTY and VGT are two different animals.

Since you said 7A, you have a GTY. Those are refundable up to cancellation date and do not have to be paid in full at booking. That means you'll get a 7A or higher.

A VGT is a rate that is released later, must be paid in full at booking, and cannot be changed or cancelled without penalty. With a VGT, you could get any category of Veranda from the Navigator's to the highest level (other than concierge).

This. GTY is also rarely cheaper when comparing like for like. If the GTY rate is cheaper than another rate within the same umbrella category (Inside, Oceanview etc) it's usually because the not-GTY room is actually a higher category. So you might have an 11b gty that is cheaper than selecting a specific 11a room but that 11b gty costs the same as what previous people paid for a specific 11b room.

GTY is used when a certain percentage of rooms in that specific category have sold and it's either book that category as GTY or book a different category.