Q For Those Who've Booked Future Cruise Onboard...

[staceymerrill]

Have you compared the final cost by DCL, which includes the 10% discount, with the most popular discount TAs often on this board, DU, AllSeas, Micdan et al?...If so, how does the pricing compare?

Also, for Florida Residents, if you booked onboard and received 10% discount, were you able to have the FL Res discount applied or difference refunded (after final payment) in addition when announced?

I want to avoid a possibly awkward situation with my TA if the pricing given by DCL is less expensive and I call him after cruise to transfer res, and his pricing ends up higher....I am loyal to my TA, but when it comes to $ all bets are off....

TY

 

[KEH]

A couple of times we have got a quote from Dreams before sailing and then on board asked for a quote from DCL. Both times this has been cheaper (from DCL) so we have rebooked, transferred the ressie to Dreams, and cancelled the original ressie. This way we have had the best of all woprlds as we have had the 10% discount, the onboard credit and the Dreams rebate on the new ressie. The only downside is being out of pocket on the deposits for the short period when we held two bookings.

 

[clten]

I have found the onboard prices to be pretty good. The good news is that you can get those prices (plus any perks for booking on board like shipboard credit) and stay loyal to your travel agent.

If your TA booked your original Disney cruise, then the res agent on board should have all that info. Just ask when you are booking if your travel agent will get the reservation. If you didn't book the original cruise through the agent, you can always have it added right there -- just have the agency name and their local telephone number (good idea to have with you even if you are trying to give credit to the agent who booked you originally) and the Disney res agent will put it in. What happens then is that Disney will fax the reservation directly to your travel agent. They can make sure everything is in order for you and hopefully give you a thank you when they call to see how the cruise went.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

OK, let's use some real dates and prices, so I get a better idea of this.

Right now, DU is offering the 3 night cruise 12/21/06 for my family of 5 at $3818.15. I checked the DCL site, and the same cruise was quoted at $4393.15. So, even if I did take advantage of the 10% onboard discount, DU is still cheaper.

I would not want to book DU right now, correct? They say they only have 8 staterooms available at that rate. If I wait until September, when I take the cruise, the rate could be higher, or not available. So, would I book DU, and not even bother with the onboard incentive?

 

[mamalle]

okay since Im a fla resident this is what we did- we booked onboard and received the 10% off and $200 onboard credit. when we got home we transferred the reservation to allseas. with the 10% off they couldnt beat DCL but did give me another $200 off for transferring it. I did ask about fla rates since I havent seen any for after May and she told me that this has been a great year for DCL so us fla residents may or may not see the fla rates like we did years prior. either way if and when they do come out I will stay with allseas and they will book me at the fla rate. you just have to book early out since the closer it gets the higher the rate goes.

for our first cruise we booked and than the fla rates came out for our cruise- we lucked out and upgraded 2 cats and saved $800. they will credit you or refund your money.

 

[staceymerrill]

I am looking to book while onboard my 9/1 cruise a May 06 7 day to receive the $200 per stateroom credit (I am booking adjoining staterooms, so $400 credit).....my confusion is this.....If I book onboard, receive a 10% discount, which beats my TAs price, then FL res discount comes out, does DCL further discount the cruise from the original price I paid??....Thus, I would get the FL res on top of the 10%.....OR, does DCL use FL res discount pricing off a list price that does not factor in the 10%.....????I really expect to get an FL res discount, since I've always gotten one, and we tend to cruise less popular times (the May 06 cruise is after Spring break, but before school lets out)....

It is my opinion that FL Res has not been available of late since the Magic is on a very popular west coast swing, thus the Wonder may be in more demand for east coast, European cruisers....I am hoping that FL res discount will be reinstated in time for both my 9/1/05 3-day and May 06 cruise.....

 

[mamalle]

right now Im booked and if and when the fla rates come out they most likely will be lower than what Im paying now. I think there is a way to see what past cruises have been for fla rates in the past. you may want to check with allseas travel to find out. we originally rebooked for a may 20, 2006 cruise and this year there was nothing for fla rates after the 1st week in may 2005, except the west coast one for fla residents. we ended up changing our dates for Oct 2006 since we are going skiing instead in Feb. Im hoping for fla rates than but who knows.

 

[staceymerrill]

Because of our tendancy to book cruises no more than 90 days out, this will be the first time I am booking onboard for a future cruise....and since I am booking adjoining staterooms, $400 stateroom credit is definitely a very worthwhile incentive to book further in advance....


mamalle, I have received FL resident discount by my TA on all of our past cruises, and the pricing has been great....My confusion is if I book onboard,then call my TA and his pricing is higher b/c of the 10% discount, and I decide to keep res with DCL...THEN FL res eventually comes out....does DCL further discount the already reduced cruise fare, or do they discount FL res from a list price...if the latter is true, of course I expect FL res to be less than the 10% discounted price, BUT, if FL res from a list price is = to what my TA would have given me, I'd rather give him my business....

 

[mamalle]

Im not sure about that one. I think it depends really how far out you book as the rates go up closer to cruising time. I think though there is some type of discount for the fla residents that is cheaper after all is said and done. whatever it may be.

I transferred our reservations with allseas after I got home from our cruise. they gave me the additional $200 off for transferring. ( DCl was lower than what their rate was) I than had to change our dates and was worried about the price difference and honoring the 10%. what she did with this new date was take 10% off dcl current price and if its cheaper than their price- that is what I get. It did come out cheaper and than they took the $200 off of that. Now if allseas price is cheaper she would go with that price and there would be no additional discount. so they work with you and honor the lowest price is my belief.
it seems confusing to me but it all seemed to work out

 

[kcashner]

Not sure if this will help or add to the confusion....When DCL says 10% off, they take 10% off of their posted price. There is usually an additional $48 tax that is not included in that price. For instance, if the price of a Sept. cruise is listed as $799, I actually end up paying about $847 per person. When rebooking onboard, I get $80 off, so pay $719 plus the $48 tax. Also, get the $200 onboard credit.

When I get home, I transfer the ressie to my TA who gives me a further discount.

When I get my cruise docs, they will have things broken out further as to what is port charges and taxes, but the total comes out to the right number. SO...there is no downside to my TA from my rebooking while on board, and I get a much better deal.