Question for those who have put deposit down on future cruise while on a cruise

[WINTER]

my email says this: Not valid on VGT, OGT, or IGT stateroom categories with restrictions or 2-night sailings. Can someone explain this to me - what rooms are these?

 

[dcassetta]

Disney offers discounted rates beginning a couple of months before a cruise. Those rates, GT rates, must be paid in full when booked and give you no options for your cabin beyond inside, oceanview, or verandah. DCL does this to sell staterooms on cruises they don’t feel are selling as well. Because of the discount offered on these rates, you cannot apply any other discount including a placeholder.

 

[CapnCrunch]

Seems to me, at least in the recent short term and near future, placeholders/future cruise deposits aren’t worth it unless you’re sailing concierge, sailing the Wish, or want a specific stateroom. The *GT rates are too good to pass up.

 

[Cheburashka]

Seems to me, at least in the recent short term and near future, placeholders/future cruise deposits aren’t worth it unless you’re sailing concierge, sailing the Wish, or want a specific stateroom. The *GT rates are too good to pass up.

Except that they aren't offered for every cruise. If you need a specific cruise to fit your schedule, and/or you must plan well in advance for work reasons or to get cheaper flights, you can't count on GT.

 

[BruinEd03]

To add to what everyone else has said, the GT rates are not to be confused with the GTY rates. GTY means you're guaranteed at least a specific category, e.g. 5B. VGT just means any verrandah.

Also, there will be certain blackout dates, such as over Christmas or other very popular sailings.

 

[Cheburashka]

Also, there will be certain blackout dates, such as over Christmas or other very popular sailings.

GT discounts are not blacked out over holidays. They can happen anytime. There was a GT cruise over Thanksgiving this year, a few years ago we sailed GT between Christmas and New Year's, and our very first cruise was a GT New Year's cruise. Our first night on DCL was a New Year's Eve.

Sometimes DCL's most expensive holiday cruises go GT because they were so overpriced to begin with, they didn't attract enough passengers.

 

[holula]

Seems to me, at least in the recent short term and near future, placeholders/future cruise deposits aren’t worth it unless you’re sailing concierge, sailing the Wish, or want a specific stateroom. The *GT rates are too good to pass up.

Definitely agree with this. My last four cruises have all been *GT rates. Three were booked more than 120 days out and they were already offering the *GT rates at that point (I have 2/3 of the cruises already booked with OBB, and the *GT were better than the 10%.) The Fantasy was booked close to the time of sailing so I’m not sure how far out they were offering *GT.

 

[auntlynne]

GT rates allow no changes nor cancellations without loss of required entire cruise cost paid at the time of booking.

 

[Cheburashka]

GT rates allow no changes nor cancellations without loss of required entire cruise cost paid at the time of booking.

Not exactly no changes. You can upgrade from an inside GT or oceanview GT to a higher category GT if it's available. I've done this myself.

 

[MomOTwins]

We’re a family of 5 so GT is never an option for us anyway. Wish it was—agree it is a better deal than the onboard placeholder. Thankfully they made the recent Disney+ deal available on rooms that sleep 5, sibour next cruise is booked with that, but could not combine it with a placeholder so we just forfeited our placeholder and got a refund of the deposit. Refund process was very easy.

 

[CapnCrunch]

Not exactly no changes. You can upgrade from an inside GT or oceanview GT to a higher category GT if it's available. I've done this myself.

This. I added an additional guest onto a GT reservation about a month after my original booking. Just had to pay the additional fare.