Questions on Booking Cash Reservation (7night fall 03')

[scottie]

We are back from our first 4 night cruise with DCL and want more!! We are now looking at booking a possible 7 night eastern cruise for next fall. We booked on points first cruise and will be booking on cash this time so I have a few questions…

-Is there any competition between travel agents or websites on pricing? Any suggestions/tips/hints?

-If price goes down at a later point are all booking services willing/able to get us the new lower price after we booked and placed our deposit? Would anyone charge us a fee to adjust our reservation to a new rate?

-Would we typically only be required to place the $1000 deposit (5 of us traveling) to get the reservation set if we book with a 3rd party agent vs DCL direct? We want to be able to put the minimum down and make payments towards the total.

-Can we get a Florida resident rate if only one adult guest in the room is from Florida?

 

[Michelle]

Hi Scottie! I'll try to help.

Yes, there is competition among travel agencies with discounts for your cruise price. Dreams Unlimited, the sponsor of this board, offers rebates.

I can't speak for all agencies, but DU most definitely gets you the best pricing available and continues to check for discounts. And no, they do not charge you for any changes. The only charges would be for any charges DCL levied.

The deposit requirement for the 7-night cruise has been upped to $250 per person, so it would be $1250 for the five of you. NO reputable agency would charge you more than that; that is DCL's deposit requirement.

With Florida resident rates the LEAD name on the reservation must be the Florida resident and all documents will be sent to that address. Proof of Florida residency is required. No Florida resident rates for next fall are out yet, but it's very possible they will be offered at some point. Be sure to book your reservation in the name of the Florida resident to take advantage of any discounts if they are offered. Also keep in mind that sometimes the Florida resident disconts are only available on certain cabin categories.

Hope that helps!

 

[scottie]

Thanks for the quick reply Michelle!

When did the deposit requirement go up? I got a quote off the DCL site last night and it stated a 1000 deposit.

And let me just make sure I understand this for Fl resident rates...
If my MIL (FL resident) is listed as the lead name and shows her ID at port then we will be ok even with our IDs being for Ohio?
Also, can we book at regular early booking price now and adjust to FL resident rate if offered at later point for cat 4 rooms if MIL name listed as lead to start with?
Do they tend to offer cat 4 with FL resident discounts in the fall?

Can anyone assist with a list of suggested sites to check for rates? I will defiantly look into DU too!

 

[Michelle]

Let's see, they upped the deposit requirement on the 7-night cruises only (not the 3- and 4-night cruises) back in the spring sometime, I'm not exactly sure of the date.

Yes, as long as the lead name on the reservation is a Florida resident you will get a Florida resident rate, and yes, it is definitely a good idea to book NOW and have it adjusted should Florida resident rates be released later for your cruise. Lately it seems like they have only offered discounts on the LOWER cabin categories but it is certainly possible that they would offer a discount on the Cat. 4s next year.

Good luck!

 

[cruisnfamily]

We are also planning a 7 day next September.(wouldn't it be funny if we ended up on the same cruise once again).

I talked to a Castaway Club agent at DCL regarding the FL Res rates. She stated that they ALWAYS have these rates in the Fall. But I still wouldn't take that as a guarantee. She said the discount is normally offered on Cat 5, 9, and 11 only but that that could change.

Scottie, maybe your deposit requirement is only $1,000 (4 x $250) because your 5th person is under 3 years old.

We were going to book a Cat 6 because we don't need to pay extra to be up one deck in the same room as a Cat 5. Now we are thinking we should go ahead and book the Cat 5 assuming we will get a discount next year and actually get it cheaper than the Cat 6. We don't care which Cat (5 or 6) we end up with but want the one that's gonna be cheaper. We're afraid if we book the Cat 6 and pick our room that when the discounts (or if) come out and we switch to Cat 5 we will not be able to get a midship room which we loved last time. We are also planning to travel with friends again and would like to be located near them. Hey Michelle, have you got any advice on what to book for me???

 

[cruisnfamily]

If there is competition among the travel agents, I haven't been able to find it. I have checked about 5 online sites, including DCL by phone and online and have gotten a quote from dreams. All prices seem to be EXACTLY the same. The exception to this is that we would qualify for a $100 rebate with dreams and they will monitor price changes for us so it's an easy decision.

Last time we used AAA to get the mugs but will not do that again for 2 reasons. 1)We had terrible service from an unpleasant agent. 2)We didn't ever use the mugs for soda (well maybe once) We mostly used them for water or coffee. Next time we may purchase just 1 mug for DD or not get one at all and just pay for the occasional soda. We were surprised but the times we drank soda were so few and far between it really wasn't worth it.

Anyway, that's my scoop on the subject. Good luck Scottie!

 

[scottie]

Sonya-

That would be fun if we ended up on the same cruise again! I think we may end up sailing in October next year vs September. We would like Meghan to get settled into school a little longer next year before we take her out for a week. We haven’t made a final decision yet to sail next year but is sure looking good so far!!