Is there any way around the deposit?

[Hygiene99]

Seems to me if u Do not have the Deposit , Balance may Become an issue .. Be careful ..

Full payment is due 60 days prior to the date u select for your trip...

and the deposit after 60, days 59 is non refundable...



Peter

 

[copper0426]

LibertyBelle is correct. My mom decided to join my husband, son and myself on our cruise which catagory was able to hold 4 people. We tried to add her to our already reserved room and told we couldn't do it because our lifeboat station was full. We had to get two lower catagory rooms so she could go.

So I would definately be careful with trying to add people.


Good luck.

Diane

 

[pediatric-rnp]

Our AAA here in Rhode Island also required a $200/pp deposit from us last year for our DCL cruise this year. When I questioned the amount, our TA told me this was standard procedure for DCL and no way around it.

 

[PatriciaH]

At our travel agency, we sometimes have lower cruise/package deposits as specials. Right now Princess is $100 depost and $25 shipboard credit for all new bookings.

 

[KyCruisinSusan]

Not sure if I should make this known, as it doesn't seem to be the normal practice, but when we booked our upcoming cruise, thru DCL, our deposit was $750.00.

DCL let us send 2 payments of $375.00. The booking just didnt show up as confirmed until they had the entire deposit amount.

And for our cruise that we have booked for Dec 05' we booked 2 staterooms (for 6 people), and have only paid $500 for 2 adults. Our AAA TA has informed us that we can add the children on as we come up with the deposit and our original price quote for 6 people won't change any.

Hope this gives you some ideas on how to make the initial deposit hurt less.

 

[jrabbit]

And for our cruise that we have booked for Dec 05' we booked 2 staterooms (for 6 people), and have only paid $500 for 2 adults. Our AAA TA has informed us that we can add the children on as we come up with the deposit and our original price quote for 6 people won't change any

Remember, DCL only allows so many kids in each age group so adding the kids later is a dicey proposition. And now we hear about muster station "seating" availability. So there are 2 factors in adding people to a reservation even if the stateroom can accomodate them.

 

[devotedchristian]

Well, I've done my homework to the best of my ability and this is what I've come up with.

I am going to do a Disney Group Cruise. With 8 cabins or more the initial deposit would be $50 per person in a double occupancy and $200 per person for the 3rd and 4th guests. Also, if I get the final payments for all 8 cabins, I (as the 16th person) go free.

So wish me luck!

 

[Laura24]

Originally posted by devotedchristian
Well, I've done my homework to the best of my ability and this is what I've come up with.

I am going to do a Disney Group Cruise. With 8 cabins or more the initial deposit would be $50 per person in a double occupancy and $200 per person for the 3rd and 4th guests. Also, if I get the final payments for all 8 cabins, I (as the 16th person) go free.

So wish me luck!

I wish you luck, but did I miss something? Your original post was about your family of 5...how quickly the numbers grew. I'm puzzled....are you looking for extra volunteers for this cruise?

 

[cjsmith]

Originally posted by KyCruisinSusan
.
And for our cruise that we have booked for Dec 05' we booked 2 staterooms (for 6 people), and have only paid $500 for 2 adults. Our AAA TA has informed us that we can add the children on as we come up with the deposit and our original price quote for 6 people won't change any.

Be careful going this route. Your AAA TA may be giving you incorrect info. Our friends who were going to to come on one of our cruises did this and it backfired. Even though there was enough beds to 4 in their booked cabin, by the time they tried to put on their 2 kids, they were only allowed to add one! They had orginally booked the cabin for the 2 of them knowing from their TA that the cabin slept 4. They left their deposits and then tried adding the kids later to save money. Not only had the price gone up for the kids, but they could only add 1 of their kids. You read on this and other cruise boards all the time about mix ups, if you have your heart set on this, I wouldn't risk it.

 

[devotedchristian]

I contacted my local TA and told her that I was trying to work around the initial $200 deposit per person, but at the same time, I REALLY wanted to do a Disney Cruise. When I started this venture, the original plan was for my family of 5:

Me, DH, DS, DD and my BIL (plan is 2 cabins, Cat.6+Cat.11 across the hall)

Well, I contacted Disney directly and asked about the $50 per person deposit, they did explain to me that those deposit rates were for Group Cruises and that I would have to go through my local TA for booking. I also asked about the 16th person free. Disney Confirmed. When you book 8cabins or more based on double occupancy, the 16th person goes free.

She in turn got on the phone w/ Disney and came back with this:
She told me in order to get my $50 per person deposit, I would have to book 8 cabins or more and this would be based on double occupancy(okay, so far so good, that's what Disney said). She would provide me with the marketing tools: flyers with all of the cabin rate information, deposit, itinerary plans, Disney brochures, DVD's and VHS tapes to give to people. (of course, I would ask close family and friends first if they would be interested)

The travel agency can make flight and pre/post cruise accomodations for every one, I did not want to take this responsibility, just booking the cruise only.

With our family of 5 we had decided on 2 cabins anyway, we have close family and friends that have kids the same age as ours so getting at least 2 more *pretty much I'm sure they are going* type cabins and I am down to needing at least 4 more cabins + a few more in the event of cancellations. In other words, I'm not LIMITING myself to 8 cabins, because people cancel all the time.

For my family, working a group cruise, is an affordable way that me and other family and friends are able to book their cruise with a small deposit.

Some people can afford an initial $800 deposit, but this works better for us. Plus, I don't mind the leg work, people do group cruises all the time, I wouldn't mind being a group leader (and a Disney one at that!) , the incentives are proving to be great, we also got group rates and group amenties.

I'm not sure what I can and can't say but if you have more "specific questions" please feel free to PM.

 

[HappyMommy2]

Devotedchristian, thanks for sharing those details with us--that's an interesting proposition! It sounds like a good deal if you are the type of person who can accomplish it, as it sounds like you are (I'm not!) . Let us know how it all works out!

Janet