Oct 22 Disney Dream cruise now available for MUCH less than I paid...

[Voguevamp]

Hi all! First Disney cruise coming up on Oct. 22 on the Disney Dream- 4 nights! Super excited. Longtime diehard Walt Disney World fan, but this will be the first Disney cruise for me. I always plan our Disney trips to the T, but knowing you can get onboard credits through a travel agency, I booked this cruise through a Disney travel agent. I was new to the world of Disney cruising, and having done some research, I asked my travel agent about the restricted fares for cheaper- she didn't seem to have much knowledge about them, but did ask DCL about it- and they apparently told her that since it was a HotHS cruise right before Halloween that it was unlikely there would be any cheaper rates. So I purchased a 10A cabin (deluxe inside stateroom) for $1,113 per person.

Well, I guess I should stay off DCL's special offers/rates page, but I saw last week that our cruise now has Verandah Staterooms with Restrictions (Category VGT) for $900 per person! To say I'm bummed is an understatement. I paid more than $200 more per person for a way worse room! I asked my travel agent if there was anything she could do, and she said she doubted it, and to be fair, she did call, but apparently we would have to rebook and would incur a $1500+ changing fee, so obviously we didn't do that. I tried calling DCL too, but the agent wasn't super helpful or friendly (unlike the other time I called DCL- the woman I talked to was WONDERFUL!), and just told me that since I booked through a travel agent, all changes would have to be made through her.

Anyway, sorry for my rambling, but I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do... Obviously I'm not expecting to get a $200+ per person refund and get an upgraded to a Verandah stateroom, but I'd be happy to just get the Verandah! Any ideas? Should I inquire at check in at the terminal about a stateroom upgrade? Thanks for any tips!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi all! First Disney cruise coming up on Oct. 22 on the Disney Dream- 4 nights! Super excited. Longtime diehard Walt Disney World fan, but this will be the first Disney cruise for me. I always plan our Disney trips to the T, but knowing you can get onboard credits through a travel agency, I booked this cruise through a Disney travel agent. I was new to the world of Disney cruising, and having done some research, I asked my travel agent about the restricted fares for cheaper- she didn't seem to have much knowledge about them, but did ask DCL about it- and they apparently told her that since it was a HotHS cruise right before Halloween that it was unlikely there would be any cheaper rates. So I purchased a 10A cabin (deluxe inside stateroom) for $1,113 per person.

Well, I guess I should stay off DCL's special offers/rates page, but I saw last week that our cruise now has Verandah Staterooms with Restrictions (Category VGT) for $900 per person! To say I'm bummed is an understatement. I paid more than $200 more per person for a way worse room! I asked my travel agent if there was anything she could do, and she said she doubted it, and to be fair, she did call, but apparently we would have to rebook and would incur a $1500+ changing fee, so obviously we didn't do that. I tried calling DCL too, but the agent wasn't super helpful or friendly (unlike the other time I called DCL- the woman I talked to was WONDERFUL!), and just told me that since I booked through a travel agent, all changes would have to be made through her.

Anyway, sorry for my rambling, but I was just wondering if there was anything else I could do... Obviously I'm not expecting to get a $200+ per person refund and get an upgraded to a Verandah stateroom, but I'd be happy to just get the Verandah! Any ideas? Should I inquire at check in at the terminal about a stateroom upgrade? Thanks for any tips!

Generally, any special themed cruises will sell pretty well.

You took the chance, and it (apparently) didn't pay off for you. Were you happy with the price you paid, when you paid it. The general rule of thumb is, once you've paid for your cruise, stop looking at prices.

Since the last minute restricted fares are for "new bookings only" there's no way to convert your current reservation to one of those. If the savings is enough, you could cancel the booking you have and rebook with the new fare (that's taking the penalties into consideration). We've done that in the past.

The CM at DCL wasn't being unhelpful, since your current booking is through a TA, only they can make changes to it. There are no cruise lines that will talk to you regarding such a move, if you've booked through a TA.

Certainly you can check at the terminal for an upgrade. There may still be availability (although I'm doubting that, with still a couple of weeks to go and the *GT rates open).

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Nope. The whole point of restricted last minute fares is they come out after PIF. They won't let you swap.

If you can upgrade at Port, it won't be the GTY rate.

 

[Shanti]

I booked this cruise through a Disney travel agent. I was new to the world of Disney cruising, and having done some research, I asked my travel agent about the restricted fares for cheaper- she didn't seem to have much knowledge about them...I saw last week that our cruise now has Verandah Staterooms with Restrictions (Category VGT) for $900 per person! To say I'm bummed is an understatement. I paid more than $200 more per person for a way worse room! I asked my travel agent if there was anything she could do, and she said she doubted it...Any ideas? Should I inquire at check in at the terminal about a stateroom upgrade? Thanks for any tips!

It doesn't sound like your travel agent is very knowledgeable or helpful from what you described in your post. You might want to book independently next time.

You can never know for sure in advance if any specific cruise will be discounted, but October is high hurricane season, so cruises that month are commonly discounted. The Halloween theming has nothing to do with that. Your agent probably just wanted you to book a cruise quickly when she said it was unlikely to be discounted later.

Terminal upgrades are unlikely to offer much in the way of savings unless you upgrade all the way to concierge. I tried a port upgrade from inside to verandah once but the price would have been the same as upgrading in advance. It's worth a try, though.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Nope. The whole point of restricted last minute fares is they come out after PIF. They won't let you swap.

If you can upgrade at Port, it won't be the GTY rate.

I'm thinking you mean the VGT rate. GTY is an entirely different animal.

But, upgrading at the port is, many times, cheaper than upgrading the day before the cruise. They have a formula they use.

 

[mousefan73]

Nope. The whole point of restricted last minute fares is they come out after PIF. They won't let you swap.

If you can upgrade at Port, it won't be the GTY rate.

Not always our Sept. 3rd cruise went VGT before PIF dates.. I saw it by accident and contacted my agent.. she was VERY surprised.... so we canceld and paid in full the GTY.. we went from OV to VGT and saved 800..

But my agent and many others said that this is VERY unusual and DCL is having problems filling their ships this Fall. Many say that many had Irma on their minds ( my cruise was when Irma was last year).. Our FB cruise group was very low numbers until about 4 weeks before sail date.. then TONs of FL residents jumped on last minute... spoke with a CM too that was sailings... DCL was tryiing to fill the ship with CM rates too.. He paid under 1000 for him and his wife for a family verandah.

 

[Shanti]

But, upgrading at the port is, many times, cheaper than upgrading the day before the cruise. They have a formula they use.

It can be much cheaper when upgrading to concierge, but from one regular category type to another, the port upgrade savings are sometimes nil.

 

[cruiser21]

Your not going to be able to change a cruise 2 weeks away without paying a huge penalty. At this point your cruise is basically non refundable. Sept through Feb you will find most cruises will be discounted closer to sale date. This is is to fill the unsold rooms. Right now you will find GT rates, military, Canadian, travel agents cast member, interline and whatever else Disney can come up with to fill the rooms.
I just returned from a heavily discounted cruise and just about everyone I met onboard was a travel agent.
You roll the dice. Sometimes booking ahead is good and sometimes it’s not. The next time you book a cruise I would suggest keeping an eye on the price and the number of rooms available at the PIF date. If it hasn’t had a substantial price increase and lots of rooms are left chances are you’ll see a 20% drop in price.
There have been a lot of discounts this year ...more then I’ve seen in previous years. What that means for the future I’m not sure.

 

[Shanti]

The whole point of restricted last minute fares is they come out after PIF.

Sometimes GT rates come out after PIF, sometimes before. As a PP indicated, there have been a lot more discounts lately, and they've also been coming out earlier than they used to. I follow the discounts threads and have seen GT rates released several months in advance for some cruises, well before PIF.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I'm thinking you mean the VGT rate. GTY is an entirely different animal.

But, upgrading at the port is, many times, cheaper than upgrading the day before the cruise. They have a formula they use.

Sorry, meant GTY. My phone is possessed.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry, meant GTY. My phone is possessed.

You did say "GTY" I think you meant "VGT".

GTY is different than the last minute restricted (*GT) fares.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You did say "GTY" I think you meant "VGT".

GTY is different than the last minute restricted (*GT) fares.

Aaaaaauigh.

Po. Sessed.

 

[lspst8]

To cheer you up, the Magic Porthole rooms on the Dream and Fantasy are really cool. My kids actually prefer them to a veranda stateroom! At first I thought I could never cruise without a balcony, but now after a few cruises, any room will do for me.

*GT rates are unpredictable and to take advantage of them you usually have to book shortly before the cruise. Very rarely do the come out more than 2-3 months in advance, and it is somewhat hard to predict which cruises will get the discounted rates.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Aaaaaauigh.

Po. Sessed.

 

[dtrain]

Win some, lose some...don’t worry about it, your cruise will be amazing! If DCL wins you over, check out the OBB benefits for future cruises.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

To be clear, a port upgrade, if available will cost you additional $$$. They may have an upgrade to a verandah, but you won't be refunded the money you paid. You will pay the difference between the 2 prices, which is sometimes less than upgrading before the cruise.
Just mentioning this because it seems like you're looking to save money.

 

[cruiser21]

Aaaaaauigh.

Po. Sessed.

It confuses a lot of people. When you book a GT rate or room with restrictions. your reservation confirmation will say stateroom gty. Disney doesn’t help with the confusion.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It confuses a lot of people. When you book a GT rate or room with restrictions. your reservation confirmation will say stateroom gty. Disney doesn’t help with the confusion.

Yep.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I was texting about GTY the other day so phone decided that where cruise is concerned, that is the acronym. Never mind if I meant VGT.

There are some words my phone also hates, but that's a different story and somewhat obscene.

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Perhaps you paid less for your airfare, if you're flying, than you would pay now. Sometimes it helps to look at things a little differently. It is only a 4-night cruise, so you won't be on a longer cruise with an inside stateroom rather than a verandah. Maybe next time.