HELP!!Have to reschedule!

[bizybea]

Well, bad news. My DH told me last night that he thinks that we will have to cancel our 8/24/2002 7 night cruise! He has too much work to get away for that long. Thank goodness we have not made our final payment yet! Now I have lots of quesions. We have to cancel the trip in August but we still want to go on a cruise this year. We are not yet sure when we will be able to go. I booked the cruise thru AAA and payed my deposit. Can I still get my deposit back? Or do I have to apply it to another cruise on the spot? I don't want to lose the deposit. Also, I had a shipboard credit for August when I used the REF code, will I lose that, too? I booked last year for this year's cruise and I received an early booking discount. I'm sure I won't be able to get this again as I want to cruise this year, but what kind of discount do you get with Fall Fantasy? What months does Fall Fantasy apply to? What is the weather like from September to January in the Eastern Caribbean? I would like to go when it is warm, at least 70-80 degrees. I know that I have a lot of questions and any answers would be GREATLY appreciated! I am so upset that I have to reschedule at all! This really messes up all my plans. Please help in any way. Thanks to all!

One more question, how soon after booking can I take the cruise? For example, can I book 30 days prior or is it 60 days? Thanks again!

 

[Michelle]

Hi bizybea! If you cancel now you will get your full deposit back, so don't worry about that.

If you know what new dates you want to schedule now then your deposit can transferred over to your new reservation.

The credit just depends on when you cruise, REF is not available for all cruises and if you cancel outright and re-book you may not be able to get it again. Even if you just transfer your deposit it may not be available on your new cruise booking date.

There is no Fall Fantasy any more, DCL just repriced the early booking savings for select fall cruise dates and that's the price you pay. The cheapest month is still always September, and October through early December (excluding holidays) are the next least expensive.

The weather in the Caribbean in the fall is generally very good. It's cooler in December but still plenty warm enough to enjoy the water. You are still in hurricane season until the end of November.

You can book ANY time up to seven days prior to take your cruise. If you book under 60 days in advance payment will be due in full when you book.

Hope you can cruise soon!

 

[albiats]

I have used AAA South to book cruises in the past and I had to cancel one that was for an Alaskan cruise a couple years ago with Holland America, and it was before the final payment date.

It took more than 10 weeks to get the refund but it could have been lengthened because I made the deposit with a check, which I'll never do again. I know a credit card is the best and safest method now, but didn't know it then.

AAA South has a cancellation penalty of $35 per person, but they waived it for me since I was booking a new cruise on DCL. I hope the waive it for you too.

 

[bizybea]

Thanks to WebmasterMichelle and albiats for your knowledgable answers! I feel better knowing this information!

 

[AnnaB]

We had a similary situation and I was forced to postpone our June Cruise until November 2002. I also booked with AAA and was able to transfer my deposit to the new sailing date. As it turns out we were able to get one category higher and still save over 1800.00 Good Luck!

 

[bizybea]

AnnaB~When was your first cruise? You said you had to postpone it until Nov 2002 and I was just curious to know when your original cruise was for. I hope that I will be able to save money, instead of paying more to go at the last minute. Why does the price of cabins go up the closer you get to a cruising date? That is the impression that I got from another thread.

 

[AnnaB]

We were originally scheduled to cruise on the June 29th sailing with a cat 6. Now were are sailing Nov 2 in a cat 5.

 

[Michelle]

Bizybea, the price goes up closer to a sailing date as the early booking savings goes away. Each sailing has twelve early booking "tiers", and as each tier is filled the pricing goes up. Sometimes when you get up to the sail date there are NO early booking savings at all and you are paying the brochure rate.

Hopefully you will be able to reschedule to a less expensive time!