Somethings I didn’t know

[Canadian Girl]

i booked the Western TA online for next September a couple of days after I got home from this years. I had a placeholder but wanted to make sure I really wanted that cruise so I did a three day hold to lock in the price. There were almost no cabins left, only ocean views in GTY and maybe a higher verandah category when I really wanted a 7A. Those had sold out sometime in the weeks before. I checked prices on Cruisefish and when I firmed up, asked if my price would be locked in when I rebooked and told yes. Well yesterday, cabins in every category suddenly became available. Very weird. When I called to upgrade not only was I stuck with the date I paid the deposit, ( they had cancelled the earlier one) they told me even sold out cabins continued to escalate in price. Prices in my category went up a number of times since I booked, but the price they gave was almost as high as the one released yesterday. They could have said any number as there was no way to verify. Needless to say, I am keeping the cabin I have but not really feeling the Disney Magic right now. Even my ocean view is hundreds more than my verandah I had this year. Today to be told to pay about 1200 CAD more for an open porthole when there had only been about $400 USD difference when I booked was very frustrating. The booking agent kept telling me what a great deal I was getting. I responded that it was nearly twice the price of the cabin I had this year in a category three steps up.

 

[cyclenut]

I believe that it has been the practice for some time that when you change your reservation, you are subject to current pricing. Would be interested to hear other experiences.

 

[cvjw]

Yep. That happened to us too. We changed our reservation while on the fantasy in September. We had to take 10% off the current September prices and lost the cheaper May prices when we originally booked the cruise.

 

[Dug720]

Yes. If you change your cruise, you are subject to those current prices.

If you change staterooms on the exact cruise THOSE are the rates that are locked in at booking date rate.

 

[Dug720]

Yes. If you change your cruise, you are subject to those current prices.

If you change staterooms on the exact cruise THOSE are the rates that are locked in at booking date rate.

And just adding to this... If you change your cruise to a new itinerary and then change it back to the original one, you are going to pay the current prices on the original one and NOT what you originally paid. Almost learned that one the hard way.

 

[ForMyBoys]

So I’m a little confused. Did OP change the cruise she was on? I always thought if you booked a room on a sailing and wanted to upgrade on that sailing you got the same prices that were available when you booked. Is my understanding wrong?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

i booked the Western TA online for next September a couple of days after I got home from this years. I had a placeholder but wanted to make sure I really wanted that cruise so I did a three day hold to lock in the price. There were almost no cabins left, only ocean views in GTY and maybe a higher verandah category when I really wanted a 7A. Those had sold out sometime in the weeks before. I checked prices on Cruisefish and when I firmed up, asked if my price would be locked in when I rebooked and told yes. Well yesterday, cabins in every category suddenly became available. Very weird. When I called to upgrade not only was I stuck with the date I paid the deposit, ( they had cancelled the earlier one) they told me even sold out cabins continued to escalate in price. Prices in my category went up a number of times since I booked, but the price they gave was almost as high as the one released yesterday. They could have said any number as there was no way to verify. Needless to say, I am keeping the cabin I have but not really feeling the Disney Magic right now. Even my ocean view is hundreds more than my verandah I had this year. Today to be told to pay about 1200 CAD more for an open porthole when there had only been about $400 USD difference when I booked was very frustrating. The booking agent kept telling me what a great deal I was getting. I responded that it was nearly twice the price of the cabin I had this year in a category three steps up.

If you had a deposit on a room, then you are locked into the prices that were in effect at the time you made the deposit, if you want to change categories ON THE SAME CRUISE.

If you only had a hold on a room, yes the price will increase.

I'm not sure I understand what happened. You put a hold on a room for the WBTA while on your last cruise, but didn't put a deposit on it until later? Deposits on holds must be paid within 3 days, or the hold is cancelled.

Did you put a deposit on the held reservation within the 3 days? Then you are locked into the prices the rooms are on the day you actually put the deposit down.

Did you cancel that reservation when attempting to change categories? If so, that was the problem. You "cancelled" a prevailing reservation. You should have just said you wanted to "change my category" then you would have gotten the rate in effect when the deposit was made.

You can check the prices on cruisefish. It will show you what the prices were and when they went up.

 

[apathetic]

I think the OP is saying they booked on a very full cruise, but got a category that wasn't their first choice. Some months later, rooms opened in other categories she did want. However, they have to pay current prices to switch categories, vice paying what the rooms cost at the time of booking.

I never did this, but I would assume you would pay the current rate. It really is a business decision. Disney can sell the room at current rates because the cruise is popular. So why give you a discounted rate when you already are booked? It is heartless but that's a business decision.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I think the OP is saying they booked on a very full cruise, but got a category that wasn't their first choice. Some months later, rooms opened in other categories she did want. However, they have to pay current prices to switch categories, vice paying what the rooms cost at the time of booking.

I never did this, but I would assume you would pay the current rate. It really is a business decision. Disney can sell the room at current rates because the cruise is popular. So why give you a discounted rate when you already are booked? It is heartless but that's a business decision.

This isn't true on DCL. In the past, if someone wanted to change categories ON THE SAME CRUISE they are already booked, it only cost what the prices were the day the original reservation was made. You are locked into those prices once you've made your deposit.

There have been times where a CM made an error and charged the prevailing price when someone changed categories, but a talk with a supervisor would fix that.

 

[Dug720]

So I’m a little confused. Did OP change the cruise she was on? I always thought if you booked a room on a sailing and wanted to upgrade on that sailing you got the same prices that were available when you booked. Is my understanding wrong?

It almost sounds like the OP didn't actually book the cruise but booked a placeholder which she then wanted to convert to a cruise. If that is the case, as I understand it (I always book with real dates and don't mess with placeholders), you pay the going price the day you convert the placeholder, not the day you bought the placeholder.

But I agree...it is very confusing the way the original post is written.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It almost sounds like the OP didn't actually book the cruise but booked a placeholder which she then wanted to convert to a cruise. If that is the case, as I understand it (I always book with real dates and don't mess with placeholders), you pay the going price the day you convert the placeholder, not the day you bought the placeholder.

But I agree...it is very confusing the way the original post is written.

Ah...yes. Placeholder. I was reading "hold" and the 3 day hold DCL does.

Yes, in that case, the prevailing price is charged.

 

[Dug720]

Ah...yes. Placeholder. I was reading "hold" and the 3 day hold DCL does.

Yes, in that case, the prevailing price is charged.

She used both words in the post - that's why we're all confused. But based on the rest of it, it does sound like she booked a placeholder and then converted it.

 

[Canadian Girl]

Sorry. I transferred the placeholder to my reservation. Same cruise. Disney apparently raises prices in all categories even if they are not available. The price I was quoted which they say was the price the day I booked is almost the same as what it is now. They can actually say anything as there is no way to confirm. My category has gone up hundreds and multiple times since I booked.The price quoted was only slightly less than the current price. It is artificial as there were no room available either from when I booked until today. I know this is confusing. We are entitled the the prices when we booked. The last price on the 7A is much less than what I was quoted to change and was told that was the price on the day booked There were no rooms and this is not reflected anywhere including Cruisefish. Quite strange that other categories went up multiple times and this one jumped up to not much less than the new prices today. I love DCL but do not believe the price I was given would have been what the cabins would have been the day I booked if they had been available. The price I was given is a much larger price difference than it was originally and what it is now. It is not logical. There is no way the price would have been that amount the day I booked. I guess they know they can get the money from someone else but very unfair to do with existing customers who were only following what is supposed to be Disney policy. This might well be our last DCL cruise for a while.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry. I transferred the placeholder to my reservation. Same cruise. Disney apparently raises prices in all categories even if they are not available. The price I was quoted which they say was the price the day I booked is almost the same as what it is now. They can actually say anything as there is no way to confirm. My category has gone up hundreds and multiple times since I booked.The price quoted was only slightly less than the current price. It is artificial as there were no room avail either from when I booked until today. I know this is confusing. We are entitled the the prices when we booked. The last prices on the 7A is much less than what I was quoted to change and was told that was the price on the day booked There were no rooms and this is not reflected anywhere including Cruisefish. Quite strange that other categories went up multiple times and this one jumped up to not much less than the new prices today. I love DCL but do not believe the price I was given would have been what the cabins would have been the day I booked if they had been available. The price I was given is a much larger price difference than it was originally and what it is now. It is not logical. There is no way the price would have been that amount the day I booked. I guess they know they can get the money from someone else but very unfair to do with existing customers who were only following whT is supposed to be Disney policy.

As noted, your "lock in" to prices doesn't occur until you actually put a deposit on a specific cruise, not book a placeholder. A "placeholder" only confirms that you have a future reservation, not on a specific cruise. So, the prices will have gone up by the time you moved your placeholder to a specific cruise.

You can see the prices any given category has had since opening day on cruisefish.

Go to cruisefish, click on "finder" tab.
On the left click on "Disney Cruise Lines" and select ship
Click on the type of cruise (11 night transatlantic)
Click on the date
Hover over the price at the right for the category you're interested in. A window will open showing opening day price and any subsequent price increases by date.

It sounds like you booked a placeholder. Then you put a hold on a room on a specific cruise (thinking that would lock you in). But the hold expired without a deposit. Just putting a hold on a room doesn't move the placeholder to it. Putting deposit on the hold (or moving the placeholder to the hold) will lock in the price on that day, not the day you booked the placeholder.

 

[Canadian Girl]

? My hold did not expire. My placeholder was booked before and as I said, I booked a cruise after I came home and put the placeholder on the same cruise two days later before it expired. It was changed it to the day I paid the deposit as the placeholder has a number. That is fine as there was no price increase in the two days anyway. Even so, the price showing on Cruisefish did not change and was hundreds less than I was quoted yesterday. They said they put prices up even if nothing is available. The price difference between my category when prices were released and today is about the same amount. For the day I booked, they claimed the price difference was hundreds more than my category, making it more than the next category up. Not particularly believable.That was my point. Very disappointed with my experiences yesterday. I can do math. What they insisted was the correct amount did not make logical sense. I finally gave up.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

? My hold did not expire. My placeholder was booked a week before and as I said, I booked a cruise after I came home and put the placeholder on the same cruise two days later before it expired. The end of September. They changed it to the day I paid the deposit. October 1. Even so, the price showing on Cruisefish did not change and was hundreds less than I was quoted yesterday. They said they put prices up even if nothing is available but price they quoted me was a much larger gap compared to the one I booked than when they were first released and today. That was my point. They can say anything. The price difference I was quoted for the day I booked is higher than the next category, also sold,out when I booked. So it is obvious, the price is not correct but I cannot do anything because there is nothing I can do. I have cruised three times in the last year and am gold. This is the first time I have been very turned off to the point I would like to cancel on principle. I won’t but it will be my last Disney cruise for a while.

It appears that you had a placeholder. Then you put a hold on a cruise (when you booked it after returning home). Then, 2 days later (before the hold expired), you moved your placeholder to that held cruise reservation. That's the date that you get locked into prices (when money is actually applied to a cruise). NOT the date you booked the placeholder.

If you don't mind, could you let us know what those dates were (original date for placeholder & date you moved the placeholder to specific cruise). I'd be interested in seeing what the difference was between those two dates (pricewise).

It's entirely possible for a lower category to be higher priced than a higher category, if the lower category is booking up fast, and the higher one isn't.

How quickly the spaces (within specific categories) fills determines when and how much prices rise.

The only date that effects your prices is the day you moved the placeholder. That's the price you should pay. Not what the price was when you booked the placeholder only. And, if you want to upgrade, you'll be charged the price the new category was the day you moved the placeholder to the specific cruise. If you don't get that, I'd suggest you talk to a supervisor. Sometimes the CMs on the phone don't know it all.

 

[mhconley]

Login to your reservation and explore changing staterooms on the website. The CM you were speaking with might be mistaken. You can always cancel changes if prices really are too high to switch categories.

Martin

 

[Canadian Girl]

I did talk to a supervisor. The last price on Cruisefish was 2526 at the time I booked. I was told it was close to 3000 a person the day I booked even though no rooms were available and nowhere to check. The 6a sold out around the time I booked at less than the price they gave me for the 7A. Both were gone the day I booked. Not adding up. I am seriously considering changing to another shorter cruise and then jumping ship. Yes pun intended.

 

[Pens Fan]

Have you looked at the pricing on the Touring Plans fare tracker? https://touringplans.com/disney-cruise-line/tools/fare-tracker I don't know if it will give you any additional pricing information than what you are seeing on Cruisefish, but it might help.

 

[Canadian Girl]

Thanks, but no extra info there. The amount I was given does not show up anywhere except with DCL I guess. I am looking at other cruises now and might cancel this one. Just very, very disappointed. What I was told at booking and the prices available to me when a cabin became available, has changed in their books. While the math makes no sense, it is what it is if I want to upgrade my category. Now for some serious rethinking. I actually would have been ok with what I had but was very excited to see the 7A become available finally and I had been checking pretty much every day. I just wanted to give a heads up for those who hoped to upgrade on cruises where categories are sold out. The prices on Cruisefish might not be what you are quoted and the % they would have gone up is much higher than other categories I could see. I am putting this to rest as there is simply no way to verify anything on my end. DCL is a business and they can charge what they want I guess. It is up to us to decide whether or not to purchase their product.