Could there be availability issues booking a last minute cruise (for a family of 5)?

[HHMcG]

Weird wording but the title summarize the question:

Looking to do our first cruise ever in Jan 2019. (3-day Dream, Jan 18). We are a family of 5. But DH is being indecisive about booking. I'm not too picky about the room besides wanting a Veranda. (I really don't know enough about cruising to be picky.) Could we run into availability problems if we wait until Nov/Dec to book?



Background:
We just returned home from a big (non-Disney) trip. DH had been resistant to planning our next trip (Disney) until we had that one done. So now I am ready to go with Disney planning and he is dragging his feet. (He is swamped making up work from the 3 weeks we missed on vacation and things are crazy at home celebrating his 50th bday this week and DS's birthday next week on top of the usual school/sports craziness.) Last thing he said was he didn't even know if he wanted to do a cruise. I suggested I just plan a trip to The World for the kids and I. He wasn't crazy about that. The other day at lunch he talked to a co-worker who reassured some of his cruise fears. So know DH is just undecided. I figure I'll wait a few weeks and bring it up again. Do I have to worry about waiting too long?

 

[DietCokeMommy]

There’s only so many rooms that can acommodate 5 people. You should look now to see if there are rooms big enough that are left. You could also get two rooms, but that has its own complications and can be more expensive.

 

[xQuizx]

There’s only so many rooms that can acommodate 5 people. You should look now to see if there are rooms big enough that are left. You could also get two rooms, but that has its own complications and can be more expensive.

I agree with DietCoke, finding a veranda for 5 could be an issue. As for activities you should be able to book them.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We're a family of 5 and November is pushing it for availability of decent rooms. There may be something, but if you want a veranda (Category 4) you might want to jump on it sooner rather than later. That's our experience, 9 cruises in with 2 on the books

 

[lilsonicfan]

According to my read of the terms and conditions, if you book today you still have approximately a month before you will face cancellation penalties. Might be worth it to secure the room you want now and still give DH a few weeks to decide.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

A quick search on DCL's website shows only Oceanview availability for a party of 5 on that cruise. It is possible something might open up between now and then but no guarantees.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We've sailed 8B (oceanview) before; but @DynamicDisneyDuo is right that sooner is better than later. Fortunately, Dream does a 3 nighter every week

 

[lanejudy]

If you are locked into that specific date - then yes, you may well find availability problems booking for a family of 5 if you wait much longer. As DynamicDisneyDuo mentions, there currently is only Oceanview availability for a party of 5 in one cabin for that cruise. And that is a GTY room, so leads me to believe minimal availability already.

If you are willing to split up across 2 staterooms, there does appear to be quite a bit of availability left for Inside, Oceanview or Verandah staterooms. With kids the ages of yours, I don't know if you are comfortable with that idea or not. 2 verandahs will be considerably more expensive than 1 oceanview if you jump on that one now.

And lilsonic has a point that you do still have time before final payment, so any deposit made now is refundable for a while longer if you decide not to go. I'd recommend booking something now with a deposit, and then take time to decide before the PIF date rolls around.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Sytrace]

If you booked today your final payment would be due October 20th, which does give you a little leeway to get agreement from your husband. And there are some category 4's available...4A,B and C to be exact so you could grab one and go from there. I would definitely get travel insurance and see about the Cancel for any reason portion of it as well. Once your paid in full, you would have to wait until your booking window opens for activities and online check in. This depends on how many times you have sailed before.

Good luck!

 

[ajo]

If you booked today your final payment would be due October 20th, which does give you a little leeway to get agreement from your husband. And there are some category 4's available...4A,B and C to be exact so you could grab one and go from there. I would definitely get travel insurance and see about the Cancel for any reason portion of it as well. Once your paid in full, you would have to wait until your booking window opens for activities and online check in. This depends on how many times you have sailed before.

Good luck!

Just to add that the new DCL payment policy has gone into effect. I had family that booked the January 12, 2019 sailing on the Fantasy today and they had to PIF today because it is less than 120 days until the cruise.

For people who booked the January 18, 2018 sailing before the payment policy change, they have until October 20 to PIF. So, you can wait until October 21 and see if some 5 person verandas open up.

 

[MomOTwins]

I'm not sure what everyone is talking about; there is plenty of availability for 5 on that cruise, at really good prices. Maybe the availability changes depending on the age of the passengers (I searched 2 adults and 3 kids). It is not a holiday weekend and is not peak season. I think it's totally fine to wait. The older ships (Magic/Wonder) have far fewer staterooms for 5 than the newer ones (Dream/Fantasy).

The bigger issue with waiting is that prices might go up.

 

[ajo]

I'm not sure what everyone is talking about; there is plenty of availability for 5 on that cruise, at really good prices. Maybe the availability changes depending on the age of the passengers (I searched 2 adults and 3 kids). It is not a holiday weekend and is not peak season. I think it's totally fine to wait. The older ships (Magic/Wonder) have far fewer staterooms for 5 than the newer ones (Dream/Fantasy).

The bigger issue with waiting is that prices might go up.

The January 18, 2019 cruise is over the Martin Luther King holiday, so it is a popular holiday weekend.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm not sure what everyone is talking about; there is plenty of availability for 5 on that cruise

Friday morning the only availability for a party if 5 was ocean view. Maybe DCL was working on ... GTYs or fares or something. By Friday afternoon, it was showing several verandah rooms for a party of 5. Just goes to show availability can change.

 

[Sytrace]

Just to add that the new DCL payment policy has gone into effect. I had family that booked the January 12, 2019 sailing on the Fantasy today and they had to PIF today because it is less than 120 days until the cruise.

For people who booked the January 18, 2018 sailing before the payment policy change, they have until October 20 to PIF. So, you can wait until October 21 and see if some 5 person verandas open up.

That was with the new policy in place of 120 PIF. I went onto the website to look and what I posted was what DCL had noted for PIF dates for that cruise.

 

[Dug720]

That was with the new policy in place of 120 PIF. I went onto the website to look and what I posted was what DCL had noted for PIF dates for that cruise.

But cruises already booked maintained their original PIF dates, not the 120 days PIF date. The PIF for anyone looking at that cruise would now show 120 days because anyone booking after the change would be subject to the 120 days. The new releases coming out this week are the first ones where everyone has the 120 day PIF date. Until those start, cruises will have a mix of 120 days and the original PIF dates.

Edit to add... There is a possibility that even cruises moved into the new ones may retain their original PIF - I moved a cruise after the change was announced, but my PIF date has remained 90 days. I did not think that was happening, but I verified with my TA the date - and she called DCL to verify. It's a moot point as I'll have it paid off long before that, but.

 

[Sytrace]

But cruises already booked maintained their original PIF dates, not the 120 days PIF date. The PIF for anyone looking at that cruise would now show 120 days because anyone booking after the change would be subject to the 120 days. The new releases coming out this week are the first ones where everyone has the 120 day PIF date. Until those start, cruises will have a mix of 120 days and the original PIF dates.

Edit to add... There is a possibility that even cruises moved into the new ones may retain their original PIF - I moved a cruise after the change was announced, but my PIF date has remained 90 days. I did not think that was happening, but I verified with my TA the date - and she called DCL to verify. It's a moot point as I'll have it paid off long before that, but.

To clarify...I looked at pricing on September 21st (the day OP asked her question) I found several cabins that would fit 5 and got the pricing information including PIF date as October 20th at that time. It would have been a new booking made AFTER September 11th when the new policy took affect.