Special discounts or packages ever offered?

[The4mousekeeters]

Looking to book sometime this year - probably a 4 night Bahamian. It would be our 2nd DCL trip, we took our first 5 yrs ago. Do they ever offer special discounts or packages that I should wait and look for?

 

[ScoutN]

Last minute rates can pop up on occasion but those are literally last minute. It is also not as common on the Bahamian routes out of Port Canaveral.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Looking to book sometime this year - probably a 4 night Bahamian. It would be our 2nd DCL trip, we took our first 5 yrs ago. Do they ever offer special discounts or packages that I should wait and look for?

Florida Residents and Military usually are offered discounts.
General public promotions would be offered if the ships weren't filling, for example, I believe at one time sailings out of Galveston weren't selling like they wanted so they offered promotions.
DCL is very popular and the ships usually sail full.
Waiting for discounts isn't a good strategy because as the ship fills, they raise the pricing. It is best to book when pricing is released for your dates.

 

[The4mousekeeters]

Last minute rates can pop up on occasion but those are literally last minute. It is also not as common on the Bahamian routes out of Port Canaveral.

Okie doke. Thanks!

 

[The4mousekeeters]

Florida Residents and Military usually are offered discounts.
General public promotions would be offered if the ships weren't filling, for example, I believe at one time sailings out of Galveston weren't selling like they wanted so they offered promotions.
DCL is very popular and the ships usually sail full.
Waiting for discounts isn't a good strategy because as the ship fills, they raise the pricing. It is best to book when pricing is released for your dates.

Great, Thanks for the info!

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

They do at times offer half price deposits.

Pam

 

[p.a.m.]

They do at times offer half price deposits.

Pam

When they say "half price deposit" does that just mean that you put down half of the normal deposit amount upfront but you still owe that other half later? In other words, the total price paid stays the same, correct? You just pay less up front? Or do they actually discount the total price by half of what the deposit normally is?

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

It means you pay half of the normal deposit. The price of the cruise is not discounted

Pam

 

[ChuckElias]

They do at times offer half price deposits.

Pam

I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but this is THE lamest "promotion" that cruise lines offer. Unless you are requiring an exorbitant deposit (like 75% of the cruise total), this doesn't really help anybody. If you can't afford the deposit, how are you going to afford to make the final payment? As a travel agent, I get that you want to make it easier to book; but as a consumer, I hate it. You're not actually making the vacation any more affordable; you're just making it LOOK more affordable by asking for a little less right now.

This is not a bash on DCL, by the way, because many of the cruise lines do this.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but this is THE lamest "promotion" that cruise lines offer. Unless you are requiring an exorbitant deposit (like 75% of the cruise total), this doesn't really help anybody. If you can't afford the deposit, how are you going to afford to make the final payment? As a travel agent, I get that you want to make it easier to book; but as a consumer, I hate it. You're not actually making the vacation any more affordable; you're just making it LOOK more affordable by asking for a little less right now.

This is not a bash on DCL, by the way, because many of the cruise lines do this.

I agree with that. It may help out in some situations where someone wasn't planning that far in advance and it's easier to put down a small deposit to book, but it's no better value.

I'm just starting to pay attention to the cruise threads because after this year's annual pass expires, we've decided to skip a year and then take our first cruise - of course, preferably a Disney one.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but this is THE lamest "promotion" that cruise lines offer. Unless you are requiring an exorbitant deposit (like 75% of the cruise total), this doesn't really help anybody. If you can't afford the deposit, how are you going to afford to make the final payment? As a travel agent, I get that you want to make it easier to book; but as a consumer, I hate it. You're not actually making the vacation any more affordable; you're just making it LOOK more affordable by asking for a little less right now.

This is not a bash on DCL, by the way, because many of the cruise lines do this.

Marketing 101.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

I totally agree @ChuckElias . And @DisneyJoe , you hit the nail on the head!

Pam

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but this is THE lamest "promotion" that cruise lines offer. Unless you are requiring an exorbitant deposit (like 75% of the cruise total), this doesn't really help anybody. If you can't afford the deposit, how are you going to afford to make the final payment? As a travel agent, I get that you want to make it easier to book; but as a consumer, I hate it. You're not actually making the vacation any more affordable; you're just making it LOOK more affordable by asking for a little less right now.

This is not a bash on DCL, by the way, because many of the cruise lines do this.

I get so annoyed when I see this "promotion".