Rebooking and getting same room #?

[purceller]

From what I am reading: (Room $ and dates are made up)

1. You have booked a cruise for 2013 and you are in room 1086 for that cruise.
2. You go to the future cruise desk and talk to the rep, asking to check the price of the same cruise and that category of room.
3. Rep will advise you what the cruise fare is as of that time. If is less that what you paid, yay. If not, then keep what you have.

4. Now here is the fun part about rebooking an existing cruise that you have reshopped, and the fare is less. With whom did you book the cruise originally? If it was DCL, the rep can cancel that reservation and rebook it at the reduced rate and you will keep the same room. If you booked through a TA, you will need to place a new deposit on a different room in order to hold the lower rate and OBC. And NAME the TA for that booking. Once home, contact your TA and advise them what you have done, ask them to cancel your old reservation but to change the room number on the new reservation so that you keep the same room. As you have already paid a deposit on the first booking, you can have that amount transferred to the new booking, thus lowering the amount needed to be paid in full later. If you have a TA and you fail to name the TA when you rebook, it will cause a lot more issues, so make sure you do that. If you went through DCL, no worries.
5. Even tho you are going to be 12 months out, rates can and do go up. In May I deposited, through my TA the southbound repo from Vancouver to LA for 2012. 16 months in advance. The rates have already gone up, so even tho I will be on board in July next year, reshopping will not save me anything. So buyer beware.
6. No matter what, if you think you are ever going to cruise DCL again, rebook on board, Pick the cheapest room and the furthest out date, because the reduced deposit and OBC are not available once you get off the ship and you can push the date out until the right one is available.

Really excellent advice & very well explained, thank you.

Eric

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

You can find a good explanation of the reshopping process in the DCL FAQ sticky under "Reshopping a Cruise"

MJ

Thanks, this was very helpful.

So it looks like it's not possible to take advantage of the early booking fares when they are first released and the the discount & OBC for booking on board. I guess we'll do as the post suggests and see which is a better deal.

 

[TDC Nala]

I just did this on the Wonder to reshop a Fantasy cruise I'm taking next year.

The guy at the future cruise desk did this:

He kept my old reservation. I had to cancel it when I got home. He switched the stateroom on that reservation to a different stateroom.

Then he booked an entirely new reservation on the same cruise, using my original stateroom.

The "negatives" to that is that I had to take care of cancelling the original cruise reservation myself and wait for the return of the deposit. Plus, pay the new deposit on the new cruise reservation. Didn't bother me. Essentially, until I called DCL and cancelled the old reservation, I had two reservations on that cruise.

The original reservation was booked through DCL, no travel agent or anything like that.

I also don't know if it's typical for them to leave the old reservation alone and tell you to cancel it when you get home, but that wasn't really a big deal either.

So it looks like it's not possible to take advantage of the early booking fares when they are first released and the the discount & OBC for booking on board. I guess we'll do as the post suggests and see which is a better deal.

Totally depends on how much the price of the cruise you want to reshop goes up between the time you book it and the time your reshop it. I still got about $300 off my Fantasy cruise, plus the extra onboard credit I got for booking onboard as a gold cruiser. Always go to the future cruise desk and ask the rep to check the prices for you.

 

[valbob89]

Two questions.

The OBC you get when you book onboard, based on our Castaway Club level, do I get that if I book on-line or on the phone with DCL?

Onboard booking of a dummy date. Can I add cabin mates to the booking at a later date at the same rate as the one I booked onboard?

Thanks

 

[TDC Nala]

Two questions.

The OBC you get when you book onboard, based on our Castaway Club level, do I get that if I book on-line or on the phone with DCL?

Onboard booking of a dummy date. Can I add cabin mates to the booking at a later date at the same rate as the one I booked onboard?

Thanks

1. No. You only get it by booking onboard.

2. Yes - if there is space on the cruise (not just space in the room) - but not at the same price. They will pay extra if the price has gone up since you booked. I'm paying more than my friend who booked Hawaii as I was added later. At the time it came out I was on the verge of being furloughed and didn't want to commit to the deposit. But you keep the credit for the stateroom and that stuff.

 

[Silverfox97]

There is no way to know which will give you the best deal. SO....you book the cruises as soon as they come out. Then, you "reshop" the reservation while on board. If it is a better deal to book on board, you rebook then. If DCL holds your reservation, they can keep you in the same cabin and cancel the original ressie right then. If you use a TA (and I do recommend this), the onboard rebooking agent can't touch your original ressie--just book a new reservation while on board. Then when you get home, call the TA and ask her to "reconcile" the reservations so that you end up with the lower rate for onboard rebooking but still get the original cabin you chose.

I get all of this - no prob. I do have a question.......

OK, I am sailing on the Magic Saturday. I plan on reshopping my Feb cruise (the only reso I have that was not booked on board). As of right now, it is more expensive then when I booked it in July, however, with 10%off and $100 OBC that DCL will give me, it works out to be cheaper. My TA holds the reso. I get that I should book a new reservation & have my TA reconcile them when we return.

Here's my question: We chose a specific room. The cat that our room is in is selling in GTY status already. Does this complicate the process at all? Will she be able to move our stateroom over to the new reso booked onboard before cancelling the old reso??

Also, I want to book 2 dummy dates, which including the cruise above, that would be booking 3 cruises (there are 3 of us sailing). Will they let me book that many??

TIA!!!

 

[Silverfox97]

I get all of this - no prob. I do have a question.......

OK, I am sailing on the Magic Saturday. I plan on reshopping my Feb cruise (the only reso I have that was not booked on board). As of right now, it is more expensive then when I booked it in July, however, with 10%off and $100 OBC that DCL will give me, it works out to be cheaper. My TA holds the reso. I get that I should book a new reservation & have my TA reconcile them when we return.

Here's my question: We chose a specific room. The cat that our room is in is selling in GTY status already. Does this complicate the process at all? Will she be able to move our stateroom over to the new reso booked onboard before cancelling the old reso??

Also, I want to book 2 dummy dates, which including the cruise above, that would be booking 3 cruises (there are 3 of us sailing). Will they let me book that many??

TIA!!!

Well, my TA answered part of the question: she cannot move my room if the cat is unavailable or in GTY status. Blasted!!!

 

[KingRichard]

When you are on board be sure to book 2-3 3 day dummy dates for the cheapest time of the year. Be sure they are as far out as possible.

They will require a very small deposit and then you can re-shop/rebook them at home.

I only did one and have used it up and wish I had more!

 

[Silverfox97]

When you are on board be sure to book 2-3 3 day dummy dates for the cheapest time of the year. Be sure they are as far out as possible.

They will require a very small deposit and then you can re-shop/rebook them at home.

I only did one and have used it up and wish I had more!

Oh yeah, we always do this - last time we booked 2, but needed 3..........

That's why I need to reshop my Feb cruise

 

[Fivepin]

So, here is my question....I have a 2013 date on hold right now through DCL. My deposit is due tomorrow. If I pay the deposit through DCL, and then go reshop next month on the Dream, can I name my TA then and not have it considered a transfer?

Since I have the hold thru DCL and I call her tomorrow to take it off of hold and place the deposit with her is that considered a transfer? Or should I just have her book me a new reservation using the cabins I have hold and then reshop onboard giving her name as well while onboard.

Sorry if this sounds confusing.

Basically, I have a cruise on hold via DCL how should I handle that so that I can reshop next month and get the full benefits of the OBC from DCL and the TA.

Thanks for any guidance

 

[Lexa]

Now i have a question, since there is so much discussion about getting same room number.

We were on our cruise in May and we reshopped onboard for another cruise and got GTY.

Few weeks ago I transfered my cruise to my TA...can my TA get me stateroom number now?

 

[mickeyfan1]

Now i have a question, since there is so much discussion about getting same room number.

We were on our cruise in May and we reshopped onboard for another cruise and got GTY.

Few weeks ago I transfered my cruise to my TA...can my TA get me stateroom number now?

Nope. GTY says GTY till DCL assigns the room.

 

[lanejudy]

Hi, I'm new to this as we will be taking our first Disney cruise in February. I've read mention of booking "dummy dates" onboard to get the special discount and credit offered only for booking while onboard. Do I understand correctly that I could then change that reservation later? Is there penalty or fee involved to change dates? I am expecting we'll love the cruise and want to do another, but I don't know that budget will allow sooner than a few years out. If I can take advantage of an onboard offer it would certainly help.

Judy

 

[jdb in AZ]

Hi, I'm new to this as we will be taking our first Disney cruise in February. I've read mention of booking "dummy dates" onboard to get the special discount and credit offered only for booking while onboard. Do I understand correctly that I could then change that reservation later? Is there penalty or fee involved to change dates? I am expecting we'll love the cruise and want to do another, but I don't know that budget will allow sooner than a few years out. If I can take advantage of an onboard offer it would certainly help.

Judy

You can keep pushing the date into the future without losing the discount and credit, as long as you move it before the paid-in-full date.

 

[jdb in AZ]

That's weird. I just answered a question and my post appears in a separate post before the post asking the question. Even tho my answer is time stamped 45 mins later. Whazzup with that?

 

[lbgraves]

That's weird. I just answered a question and my post appears in a separate post before the post asking the question. Even tho my answer is time stamped 45 mins later. Whazzup with that?

It seems that the boards are quite messed up at the moment. None of the threads make sense in the order posts are appearing.

 

[zealandsmom]

There is no way to know which will give you the best deal. SO....you book the cruises as soon as they come out. Then, you "reshop" the reservation while on board. If it is a better deal to book on board, you rebook then. If DCL holds your reservation, they can keep you in the same cabin and cancel the original ressie right then. If you use a TA (and I do recommend this), the onboard rebooking agent can't touch your original ressie--just book a new reservation while on board. Then when you get home, call the TA and ask her to "reconcile" the reservations so that you end up with the lower rate for onboard rebooking but still get the original cabin you chose.

why do you recommend a TA?? Explain for me please :0

 

[Silverfox97]

Well, my TA answered part of the question: she cannot move my room if the cat is unavailable or in GTY status. Blasted!!!

Just an update - the above is false -

While on board the Magic, I stopped at the rebooking desk to reshop my cruise and to book 2 dummy dates. The rebooking agent booked my Feb 9th cruise, and told me that when I got home, my TA could move my stateroom over to the new reservation booked on board, & cancel the original reservation, even though the Cat we booked was in GTY. When we got back, our TA called DCL and was able to do this



(However, since then, FL res rates came out, so even though we paid in full, we were able to upgrade from an 8A to a Cat 5A and get a $450 refund )

 

[gardengirl628]

Is the deposit amount when rebooking on the ship the same as it would be if you booked at home? TIA.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Is the deposit amount when rebooking on the ship the same as it would be if you booked at home? TIA.

At the present time, booking onboard allows you to pay only 10% deposit, if you call DCL direct or use a TA, you will pay 20%. You will still pay the entire amount, but it will be included in your final payment. This can be a HUGE savings for people traveling with several others in the same cabin.