my BIZZARE onboard-booking experience....(quite long...sorry)

[Princess49]

We just got back from our 1st ever cruise, a 3 night May 13. As I mentioned in a thread last week, I was anticipating wanting to re-book & there was a really great rate for Dec 2, right when we wanted to go so I called DCL & held onto it. In the mean time we went on our cruise & had an AMAZING time!! Well we went to rebook on board because of a $100 onboard credti towards 3 & 4 night crusies &was a BIT surprised with what happened... The CMs name was Stephanie & she also runs the internet cafe & as far as being a good sales person... well, lets just say she wasn't. Don't get me wrong- she was REALLY nice just not what I expected- we asked about weather & she was SO negative-- she said that recently the weather had been awful & there was nothing to do & my BF siad "so when it rains it pretty much sucks?" & she said "Yeah pretty much" ????? Was I hearing her correctly?& I had to say ask if there was anything to do on the ship if it rained before she said that they brought out extra activities etc... Then, when we mentioned DEC she said the water was too cold & I mentioned Nov & she discouraged that because it was still hurricaine season. I felt like she would have been promoting the less popular times of year to get more people to sail- & I felt like I enjoyed DCL more than she did & I was trying to sell HER on the idea- not the other way around. Well, there's more... when I asked for the rate for Dec 2 it was $120 more than I had been holding for on DCL. When I mentioned my prior booking she said that the rates went up as of midnight & there was nothing she could do & we should take the lower rate not the credit. (btw- DCL posted on the special rate page that the priced listed were valid through May 16 & this was on May 15) Well, at first we decided it made more sense to keep our original booking because of the $$ but then we weren't sure about the date so we decided to book anyway to get the credit & move it around when we figured out a better time. When I went back to speak with Stephanie I asked what would happen if I went home & found a better rate for the Dec 2 cruise(my first choice) she said that the only way to get the same cruise would be to cancel the res- LOOSE my onboard credit & rebook with the new agency- even if the agency was DCL. Now, to me, I could have moved the res upa month & then back to the dec 2 but that didn't occur to me until after the fact. So instead of taking the chance of not getting the dec 2 with the credit I booked for a weekend in Jan knowing I would change the date when I got home.
Ok, so then when I got home- I mean JUST WALKED IN THE DOOR!! I log on to disneycruise.com & lo & behold the rate IS $379 still! Well, I call the CC# & talk to a cm & besides being SO rude, she quoted me the same price as Stephanie- even though I was looking at the price on DCL website & when she said that it wasn't the price she saw I politely said "well, this is the price that DCL is advertising & I am entitled to it" & she said "No, you are not" - then right in the middle of a sentence she put me on hold- I didn't even notice until I heard the music- then she put a VERY nice supervisor on I told her the whole story & the supervisor went to dcl website & I walked her through how I got to the page with the prices. Well, she said that the former CM had quoted me WITH the port & gov charges so I thought maybe that was it & I told her that, then she gave me the $379 price with the fees & it was STILL $20 less than the former quote. Neeedless to say I got the $379 but what a hassle- & how BIZZARE all the different rates with Stephanie told me she used the same prices as DCL & that the prices had gone up the midnight before. Maybe Stephanie was giving me the total with the port & gov fees, but still a different price!! I told the supervisor about how rude the CM was & she said she too got the feeling from her that she was being curt with me & would speak to her along with apologizing to me for her rudeness. I don't know if this will help anyone but I wanted to share anyhow- I would DEFINATELY know what the price of your cruise is before you go. We would have lost over $100 if we didn't know. Sorry so long- just wanted to share my experience. Thanks for listening.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks for sharing--it is great that you did your research...

So you did NOT get the $100 on-board credit when all was said and done, right?

 

[Princess49]

I did- I got the $100 onboard credit & I changed my sail date to the original one I wanted for the original price- all worked out perfectly!!

 

[lillygator]

Let me tell you my experience with Stephanie....
I went on board knowing we would rebook....I gave her my sail dates and she said oh tehy must be sold out....nothing is coming up. I said that is amazing because I checked Sunday before we left and there were plenty categories available. So then she realizes she is looking at Dec 05....anyway she pulls up 04 and gives me the price. I didn't bring my purse with me so I said I would come to her next session. I came back and had to wait, no problem. Then the pulls it up again and it had gone up by $100 dollars....oh the rates must have gone up at midnight she said....well whatever, she was in a hurry to leave and I just wanted to get it booked. She took my info and wrote everything down on a little card. I couldn't get GTY status she said because there were rooms available. I was quite disappointed about that. I didn't even look at the reservation card till I got home....


well come to find out - the reason for the price difference was because she put me on the 12/4 Western not the 12/11 Eastern! I should have looked and verified before I left. I called Disney and got everything straightened out but what a fiasco!

I think that they should revamp that rebooking thing. Instead of rushing through it, when she has a line tell the people who want a quote/thinking about booking, not ready to whip out their ccard just yet to fill out the quote form and she can get that ready for them later...then they can come back to actually rebook.
This wasy she won't be rushing through each person....

I also wanted to book the REAS and she couldn't do that...she said they didn't teach her to upsell??!!

 

[gottaluvdis]

DCL booking is quite the game, isn't it? We didn't re-book on board our 4/29 cruise for several reasons. First, I didn't have any rates with me to make comparisons, second, I didn't want to waste valuable cruise time (we were on a 3-day) waiting in line to book, third, I'm convinced I can get better rates than DCL even with the on-board credit and discount they offer, (I booked our first cruise 4 months out on Travelocity, got a $50 on board credit, got way better rates than DCL web site, and got to pick our exact verandah room), and fourth, hubby wasn't sure when or what length of cruise he wanted to do, so more discussion was needed. I hate feeling pressured into doing anything, instead preferring to hunt around on my own, taking my time until I'm satisfied with the price. Several agencies reserve blocks of rooms that become "available" at all kinds of weird times, even last minute. It's a game nearly on par with trying to book a good airfare. Sorry to hear your experience on-board (and off) was less than ideal though.

 

[Greysword]

First, let me say to both Princess and Lillygator, welcome back!

Princess, I hope things went well for you, and all of the planning payed off. You seemed a bit tattered right before you left

I guess now that you have your rooms reserved for the price quoted on the DCL site and the onboard credit, you will be transfering the resservation to DU, AllSeas or another agency to get an even greater discount?

I am planning on reserving another cruise on our January '05 stint. It would be interesting if I got Stephanie, since just like Debbie for dining, I can say something liek, "Oh, you're Stephanie. I heard about you."

 

[Princess49]

LOL-- I wonder what Stephanie would say to that? Oh, someone told you I was a bit blonde (btw she's a brunette- the word DUH! comes to mind!!) Oh & Greysword- tattered isnt the word-- I think on the verge of a panic attack is more like it! LOL- I totally lost it!!! But everything went fine! I looked at DU for another credit but they don't have anything right now unless you spend a certain amount of $$- I guess I'll keep looking & I'll try allseas? I too think that onboard booking should be different- perhaps more than just one desk with one person & a dippy look on her face. I feel they should really be trying to sell you- asking how your cruise is- telling you they are happy you want to come back- that's the Disney way is it not? Oh well, maybe next time!

 

[piglet33]

If you're a member of Costco, you could transfer to them and save about 10%. I did that for the 14 day CA to FL and brought my cost down from $5227.67 to $4805.67. That's a savings of $422! That made me happy.

Reneé

 

[lillygator]

I am trying to transfer to DU right now. They quoted me at $434 cheaper than what I booked on DCL. I am hoping to transfer at the lower price and keep my onboard credit. I called DCL and she said I could transfer to a TA and keep my onboard credit....

I am wondering what is so great about booking onboard now? AAA and DU both quoted me cheaper prices today - $3-400 cheaper.

 

[Greysword]

Onboard credit AND the cheaper prices!!

 

[Princess49]

I haven't seen a lower price than I was given by DCL from anyone. The price is the same if not higher. Who knows, maybe a special will come along.