We’ve created this page as a general overview of what to expect when you go through the process, plus to answer a few potential questions ahead of time. However, if you’re feeling brave,
CLICK HERE TO BEGIN THE BOOKING PROCESS!
UPDATE (07/15/2011): If you proceed to the booking page, you will notice very few categories currently available; the majority of our initial stateroom allotment has been sold out. We will be adding additional staterooms to our inventory TODAY July 15 at 12 noon EST.
1. INITIAL BOOKING PAGE: Determine how many people will be in your cabin, as well as how many of them will be purchasing the JoCo Cruise Crazy Entertainment Pass (to attend all concerts and shipboard events), which costs $375 per person ($325 per person for the first 250 passengers to book) in addition to your berth price. In most cases, we assume this will be everyone; but it is possible, if desired, for some members of your cabin/group to be on the cruise but not attend the JoCoCruise Crazy events (e.g., a parent/relative who will babysit children for you during the concerts). NOTE: At least one passenger in your booking must be purchasing an Entertainment Pass to continue the process. (And if none of you were getting the Entertainment Pass, then really, why are you here?)
2. Determine what size/price stateroom you want to book for the cruise. You can see our complete breakdown of stateroom pricing here, and Holland America has an online, interactive deck plan of the ms Westerdam so you can see the layout of the different cabins on the ship, as well as pictures and video tours of the different staterooms (requires Flash).
As of the first JCCC sale date, our prices match Holland America’s current listed prices, though there are some additional costs above the price quoted on the site—see the FAQ for a list of what’s NOT included in your quoted cruise price. (NOTE: the price you are quoted when completing the booking process WILL include govt. taxes and fees of $53.84 per person, subject to change)
In addition, there are a limited number of staterooms (as indicated in the Stateroom Pricing Table) available at a discounted price, in an effort to help as many people to attend JCCC as possible. Supplies of these discounted staterooms are very limited, however; so if you really can afford a slightly more costly stateroom, we request that you please leave the lowest-cost stateroom slots to those for whom it’ll make a difference between going and not going. Once all the discount staterooms in a category have been purchased, additional staterooms in that category, if available, will be offered at the regular HAL list price (see the Stateroom Pricing Table for details).
The booking system will automatically generate a list of stateroom categories available to your party. (e.g., if you have indicated a party of three, it will only list the cabins that can accomodate three or more passengers). Some stateroom options may be “greyed out,” indicating they are currently sold out. The way our agreement with HAL works this year, they make a certain allotment of staterooms guaranteed to our group; once the allotment of a particular category has been filled, we may be able to request more of that category, subject to availability. If you desire a particular stateroom category that is currently unavailable or not listed, please contact us and we will check with HAL on availability.
3. GUEST DATA PAGE(S): Please have the following information for all passengers in your party when you begin the booking process:
- legal name (as it appears on your passport/travel documentation)
- gender
- birth date
- country of citizenship
In addition, you will need the following information for at least one passenger (your party’s “main contact” person):
- street/mailing address/city/state
- contact phone number
- e-mail address
- emergency contact name and phone number
NOTE: All passengers will need a valid passport (or equivalent proof of citizenship/travel documentation) to go on this cruise—while you do not need it for our initial booking process, you will need it for HAL’s Online Check-in process and for the cruise itself; so the sooner you have this documentation together, the better. Please refer to HAL’s “Essential Documentation” FAQ for further information.
5. If you are seeking a roommate(s) to share the cost of your stateroom, please visit our “Room and Ride Share” discussion forum dedicated to finding roommates. Unlike last year, we will not have an official system in place to handle the automatic pairing/grouping of individual travelers—that is, there is no option in the booking process to claim “I am an individual traveler, please put me in a room with someone else.” Our fanbase has proven to be extremely friendly, resourceful and helpful, and many folks found roommates (and subsequently, new friends!) via the discussion forum with no difficulty. If you are still having trouble after consulting the forum, please contact us, and we will see what we can do to accomodate you; it’s our fervent hope that everyone who wishes to find a roommate can find one, but we make no guarantees.
6. BOOKING SUMMARY/PAYMENT: Once you have filled in the relevant information for all passengers as described above, you will be taken to the “Booking Summary/Payment” screen. Here, you can review your price breakdown, as well as the names and e-mail addresses (where applicable) of the passengers in your party. At this point, we will require a minimum deposit of $450 per person in your booking party—you can pay any amount between this minimum and the total cost of your booking at this time. (An additional payment of $350 per person will be due by August 4, 2011; and the full balance will be due by November 19, 2011)
NOTE: If payment will be billed to multiple people (i.e., you wish to split your payment among two or more different credit cards), or you wish to make any other alternate payment arrangements (e.g., pay by check, etc.), then when you get to the Payment section, select “I’d like to make other payment arrangements, please contact me” and we’ll get in touch with you to make it happen.
We’re currently only accepting online payments via PayPal; if you don’t have a PayPal account, it’s free and easy to set one up during the payment process, and you will be able to pay from your credit card or bank account. If you’d rather not pay with PayPal, or if you need to make other special payment arrangements (as described in the previous paragraph), select ”I’d like to make other payment arrangements, please contact me” on the “Booking Summary/Payment” screen and we will get in touch as soon as possible to complete your booking. (Eligibility for the “Koko’s Kittens” Early Booking Bonuses and/or any pricing specials is based on the date your order is placed, not when it is actually processed)
In addition, there is a area provided on this screen for you to submit any additional information you want us to know regarding your booking: medical or accessibility needs, dietary restrictions, bed configuration preferences, requests for your stateroom to be near/next to specific other passengers, etc.
7. Once you’ve completed the “Booking Summary/Payment” screen and the PayPal payment process, we will process your order here at JCCC Central, assign you your actual stateroom, and send you a confirmation e-mail with additional information you’ll need and want to know in advance of the trip. Orders will be processed in the order they are received; eligibility for the Early Booking Bonuses is based on the date your order is placed, not when it is actually processed.
It’s all downhill from there! But if you have questions (and you probably will), please check the Pricing, FAQ, and The Entertainment tabs before resorting to the Contact tab.
Good luck, everybody! See you on the ship!
