Will the onboard booking specialist cancel a current reservation and rebook?

[Keurigirl]

We are sailing in April on the Fantasy, and want to sail again in August to Alaska. I am trying to decide whether to book Alaska now, or wait to book it when we're on the cruise in April.

If I book it now, but the price gets better and I want to use my 10% off fee, will the onboard booking person cancel and rebook me? Or is that a big no-no?

I am particular about the room(s) I would like, and the room I want is currently available now. However, the 10% discount will get me $500 off the total... so I'm just wondering what the best option would be.

Thanks !

 

[twindaddy]

We are sailing in April on the Fantasy, and want to sail again in August to Alaska. I am trying to decide whether to book Alaska now, or wait to book it when we're on the cruise in April.

If I book it now, but the price gets better and I want to use my 10% off fee, will the onboard booking person cancel and rebook me? Or is that a big no-no?

I am particular about the room(s) I would like, and the room I want is currently available now. However, the 10% discount will get me $500 off the total... so I'm just wondering what the best option would be.

Thanks !

Book now to hold the rooms you want. You can "reshop" on board to see if it is a better deal. And yes, if you book directly with DCL, the on board person can cancel that reservation and rebook. If you book with a travel agent, you have to make a separate booking onboard, and then when you get back on land your travel agent will cancel the old booking and moves everything over.

Bottom line is book now, lock in the cabin you want and price. Sometimes by the time you sail again the price has gone up more than what you would save, so you keep your original reservation.

I hope that makes some sense, feel free to ask any other questions you might have!

 

[kcashner]

Your best option is to book it now, and then when you are on the ship to "reshop" the reservation to determine whether rebooking at that time will be a better deal.

If you book directly with DCL, the onboard agent will be able to cancel the old reservation and re-book at that time. If you use a TA, only the TA can cancel the original. In this case, you need to book another cabin of the same category and pay another deposit (10%). Name the same TA. Then when you get home, call the TA and have them "reconcile" the reservations--keeping the cabin you want but at the rebooking price + OBC. The original reservation number will be canceled, the onboard booking number will continue, but they can grab the cabin you selected originally.

If the price goes up, you have the joy of knowing that you got the best deal you could. Of course, this doesn't help if a *GT rate comes out right before your cruise.

 

[briarrose1]

Your best option is to book it now, and then when you are on the ship to "reshop" the reservation to determine whether rebooking at that time will be a better deal.

If you book directly with DCL, the onboard agent will be able to cancel the old reservation and re-book at that time. If you use a TA, only the TA can cancel the original. In this case, you need to book another cabin of the same category and pay another deposit (10%). Name the same TA. Then when you get home, call the TA and have them "reconcile" the reservations--keeping the cabin you want but at the rebooking price + OBC. The original reservation number will be canceled, the onboard booking number will continue, but they can grab the cabin you selected originally.

If the price goes up, you have the joy of knowing that you got the best deal you could. Of course, this doesn't help if a *GT rate comes out right before your cruise.

Wow...you guys are a wealth of knowledge! I have a decent amount of Disney knowledge, but not Disney cruise info! It's like I'm learning Disney all over again, and you helped answer a question I had also! Thanks!

 

[tajz90]

Of course policy could have changed, but when I did this, the onboard specialist didn't cancel ours. She just transferred it. We kept same reservation number and room we had initially chosen, but received the discount which wasn't quite 10% because of price increase and the OBC.

 

[IWannaBeAMousketeer]

Whether or not they will cancel it for you (or even transfer it) might depend on the CM or the policy at that time. When I cruised last March on the Magic I re-shopped a cruise and they would not do anything with my old reservation (booked through DCL). They booked a new cruise with the discounts and told me to cancel the old one when I got home. She said it was a new policy?? I haven't heard anyone else talk about it, so maybe she just didn't like the look of me!

Either way the outcome was the same...just a little more work for me and Disney had more of my money tied up for a week.

 

[kcashner]

Whether or not they will cancel it for you (or even transfer it) might depend on the CM or the policy at that time.

This FOR SURE. It seems to change from one CM to the next and from one cruise to the next.

The 10% is off the cruise fare portion of the ticket only--there is no discount on the portion allocated to "taxes and government fees." So your actual discount will vary based on the category you are booking. It can be as low as 7% of total cost or as high as over 9% because the taxes and fees are the same whether you are cruising in a cat 11C or in a royal suite (yes, I know that concierge doesn't get the discount).

 

[wiigirl]

Of course policy could have changed, but when I did this, the onboard specialist didn't cancel ours. She just transferred it. We kept same reservation number and room we had initially chosen, but received the discount which wasn't quite 10% because of price increase and the OBC.

We have done that too...always keep shopping

 

[Niebz]

On our most recent cruise this last May we had a room and category booked for a cruise in December that we wanted to keep. The onboard booking agent said there were no guarantees of keeping that room but she would try to cancel it, release it and then rebook it with the onboard booking discount (which would save us a few hundred dollars). In the short time it was released someone else technically could have snagged it but it was a such a short time that it was unlikely. We were able to rebook that room and category at the discount.

 

[Keurigirl]

Thanks guys! We are going to go ahead and book it now.