Frustrated with these cancellation rebooking- Any advice or tips welcomed

[fsukel02]

My husband and I, as well as his sister and her husband, were booked on BL for April 6th next year. I'm a teacher, so that is my set spring break. The only comparable cruise is the Eastern Antilles. I find it frustrating that for those of us who are restrained by the dates are limited by the category booking. We were all booked in an inside cabin. If there aren't enough, we have to pay the difference for a window. The difference would be nearly $1,000. Alternatively with these rebooking rules, if we have the flexibility of dates, we could rebook a cruise that is $9000 and not pay a cent more if there is insider cabin availability. It just doesn't make sense to me that there aren't some adjustments for limited travel dates. That is the point of me booking the BL well in advance- that is what fit within my vacation time. Is anyone dealing with something similar? Again, I'm not complaining with the offerings given for rebooking, it just seems like it works for those with more flexible schedules.

[DAP2]

We are also time/date limited due to working at a university. We were three couples with three cabins booked over my spring break. Here is the approach we're taking:

 

1) While it's disappointing that we won't be traveling together, we realize finding dates and an itinerary that will now work for everyone in the group is unlikely. No one is out any money. Those who can go together or want to maximize their value and go alone can do so. Others can take the refund option. We'll return to the drawing board on a group vacation at another time. I know you couldn't go, but how cool would it be if your sister could take one of the 14- or 15-day options? Or the more expensive Christmas or New Year's option!

 

2) I've looked at all the cruise dates that will be released on Monday. The only option that works for me in 2024 is the April 25th Dubai to Athens, which is already posted. We booked that over the phone yesterday. (We took a downgrade in the cabin as ours wasn't available.) I have a booking number and a cabin number already assigned. All we are awaiting is the call to sort out the possible "refund" and sailor loot. (Yes, I kid you not, they are saying they may refund us some of our original fare due to dropping from the central sea terrace to the obstructed view sea terrace. I'm not holding my breath on that.) It turns out one other couple in our party can also make that cruise, and it was their #1 choice as well, so they booked yesterday, too, and were assigned the cabin next to ours. (And again, they were given info on a pending refund.)

 

3) Let's say Monday rolls around, and they don't honor our booking. (It seems unlikely since I already have the email and a cabin #.) I'm going to wait to use our credit until more of the 2025 cruises come out. We were told those will be released at the beginning of December, and we need to be rebooked by December 28th. I'd rather maximize my value and chances of getting a longer cruise with only $300 in loot than be pressured into booking a cruise that doesn't fit my wants. 

 

So my advice is to wait patiently. Don't let the appeal of $600 in sailor loot drive your decision to book by October 11th. More cruises will/should be released before the December deadline. Maybe you can all find a sailing that will work once those cruises are released, maximize your rebooking, and still get another $300 loot. 

 

Good luck!

[fsukel02]

I appreciate your advice and the details you included, thank you! What path did you take to book on the phone? It seems like when I call it is just a let's see and wait.

[DAP2]

I told them I was ready to rebook and gave them the exact itinerary. They came back and said there were no central sea terraces. I replied that I was willing to book a downgrade. She said she could process it, but it would have to go to the displacement team to determine the amount of refund for taking the downgrade and to apply the sailor loot. They said if I had found a booking that already had the exact class available, they would have had it all done, including the sailor loot. They could only do it for itineraries already on the website. She had me stay on the line to make sure my new booking came via email, and I was happy to see it already had the cabin number too.

[fsukel02]

I wish that had been suggested when I called. Even now, the one that was available for my sailing is now marked unavailable, so that's fun! I would hope that if we had to pay for an upgrade, it would honor the difference within the new cruise itinerary, not from what we originally were paying when we signed up 15 months before the sailing.