That feeling when you skipped booking a cruise on board

[tvguy]

You don't (and can't) pick a future cruise date anymore when booking the placeholder. You are basically just buying the 10% discount onboard in the app and applying it later when you are ready to book. So you could still use it last minute.

Booking the cruise isn't the issue. Getting vacation time on short notice was.

 

[brentm77]

Booking the cruise isn't the issue. Getting vacation time on short notice was.

I had it backwards - you need long notice. But you have two years to use it, so why is that an issue?

 

[auntlynne]

Is the $250 used as part of your deposit??

And deposit is reduced to 10% of cruise fare for sailings of 7+ nights.

 

[auntlynne]

I have skipped the Placeholder at least twice in my life, having said I didn’t expect to cruise again. (And have done 21 DCL cruises now.). At least fares weren’t so high back in 2007.

 

[tvguy]

I had it backwards - you need long notice. But you have two years to use it, so why is that an issue?

It isn't. I don't think I said anything about scheduling the cruise being an issue, just the vacation time.

 

[brentm77]

It isn't. I don't think I said anything about scheduling the cruise being an issue, just the vacation time.

I assumed incorrectly. Since you were responding to the placeholder thread, I assumed it had something to do with booking a placeholder and scheduling. I see now what you meant.

 

[Disturbia]

Our first cruise we didn’t know about the placeholder but didn’t return to cruising for over a decade.

Make sure you set a reminder to book the placeholder on disembarkation morning. This year our cruise won’t be covered (black out date) but we were able to apply the discount to our cruise next year on the Treasure which ends 2 days before our placeholder expires (your entire cruise has to be covered before the 2 years end).

The blackout dates aren’t available when you pay for the placeholder but you can get your money back if you don’t use it (we were told we had to call to get a refund, but it’s great if it’s automatic).

It’s about $250 (goes towards the cruise payment and is refundable) which saved us about $1,000 with a family verandah. Disney currently has a promotion requiring only 10% of the cruise fare to book so that wasn’t a savings for us.

 

[peder]

Just always book Concierge, then you don't need to worry about losing out on discounts if you don't book your next cruise onboard.

 

[BlovesC]

Just always book Concierge, then you don't need to worry about losing out on discounts if you don't book your next cruise onboard.

 

[sadiecatie]

(your entire cruise has to be covered before the 2 years end).

I thought you had to board within the two years, not complete the cruise. Can anyone clarify this rule?

 

[sadiecatie]

I went ahead and looked it up myself From DCL’s website:

• 10% savings applies only to sailings that commence within 24 months after the Placeholder Reservation is booked on board.

Now, it does still benefit you to book later in your cruise because that window extends longer, but you only have to board within 24 months (I wanted to check because this is relevant to me - we may be using our OBB from last June on a Europe sailing next June).

 

[ladyofthetramp]

And deposit is reduced to 10% of cruise fare for sailings of 7+ nights.

Such a deal, refundable and I have just not done these a few times. And now it is so easy. A click of the button on the app. And you don't need to pick a cruise, which held us back early on.

 

[Gabe]

I’m kind of a procrastinator, so I usually leave it till the end of the cruise. I’ve actually done on board bookings, literally as I am walking out the gangway, while still on the Wi-Fi.

Funny story, I thought I could mention here, right after the pandemic, we were both on the DisCruise in August 2022.

We had just done a seven day cruise a week before that one, and unbeknownst to us, my wife got Covid on that first cruise. When we came back the following week board the dream, she tested positive at the port. We knew we were not going to be allowed to board, so while the paperwork was being taken care of for us to receive our refund, I connected to the Wi-Fi from the port. I went ahead and booked two placeholders. I didn’t think it was going to work, and even my travel agent mentioned that I had to actually have boarded the cruise to get that. But a couple of days after that cruise was supposed to end, I got the email from Disney Cruise that they had processed our onboard bookings, and they have been confirmed. It seemed like they didn’t even know that we had never boarded the ship. It seems like it’s a whole different department that handles that.

Anyways, it was funny to be receiving all the notifications that we usually receive through the app while you are on board regarding our dining rotations, shows that we’re about to begin, etc while we were at home. I guess all that gets uploaded to your app once you connect.

-Gabe

 

[bakerworld]

The Passholder is kinda a 2-edged sword for us. First of all, every cruise we're on DH says it's our last one so it took me like 3 cruises to do the passholder. Then I felt like the sword of Damocles was hanging over my head if I didn't book something. Then I found out if you changed the cruise too many times they could take away the discount. I hope this hasn't happened to us but I'm not to invested in seeing if I made too many changes.

Our upcoming two cruises I booked on a whim. Frankly 10% of a few thousand dollars isn't a real savings for me to deal with the stress. Plus DH is always saying the last cruise thingy... and then I book another one. LOL

 

[kucanhead]

I book the placeholder as soon as we arrive at the port and can connect to the WiFi. I don't see any point in waiting so I can get a couple extra days of eligibility two years from now. Plus, I have the peace of mind knowing if it went through well before the cruise ends. I've read too many stories of people not having the placeholder request go through and having to deal with Disney to prove they tried booking while on the ship.

 

[brentm77]

I’m kind of a procrastinator, so I usually leave it till the end of the cruise. I’ve actually done on board bookings, literally as I am walking out the gangway, while still on the Wi-Fi.

Funny story, I thought I could mention here, right after the pandemic, we were both on the DisCruise in August 2022.

We had just done a seven day cruise a week before that one, and unbeknownst to us, my wife got Covid on that first cruise. When we came back the following week board the dream, she tested positive at the port. We knew we were not going to be allowed to board, so while the paperwork was being taken care of for us to receive our refund, I connected to the Wi-Fi from the port. I went ahead and booked two placeholders. I didn’t think it was going to work, and even my travel agent mentioned that I had to actually have boarded the cruise to get that. But a couple of days after that cruise was supposed to end, I got the email from Disney Cruise that they had processed our onboard bookings, and they have been confirmed. It seemed like they didn’t even know that we had never boarded the ship. It seems like it’s a whole different department that handles that.

Anyways, it was funny to be receiving all the notifications that we usually receive through the app while you are on board regarding our dining rotations, shows that we’re about to begin, etc while we were at home. I guess all that gets uploaded to your app once you connect.

-Gabe

One of the few times Disney's antiquated IT systems combined with bad programing worked in a customers favor!

 

[Disturbia]

I don’t think you want to book the placeholder the first day; you want to book it closer to your last day so you have extra days (even last 2 days would be ok to give additional options).

If we would have booked our placeholder the day our cruise started - April 1st 2023, we would have only been able to book cruises that end April 1st 2025. Because we booked on the last day (April 7) our next cruise which ends April 5 is covered.

I do suppose if you are on a December holiday cruise there would be no point in waiting until the end of the cruise since almost all Dec Fantasy/Wish/Treasure holiday cruises are/mostly likely will be blocked out.

 

[CarolynFH]

If we would have booked our placeholder the day our cruise started - April 1st 2023, we would have only been able to book cruises that end April 1st 2025. Because we booked on the last day (April 7) our next cruise which ends April 5 is covered.

We just bought a placeholder on the Magic on January 25, and the confirmation says our cruise must commence on or before January 24, 2026, not end. So maybe they modified the requirements after you bought yours. That helps a bit, especially if we decide we want to book a longer cruise.

 

[Disturbia]

We just bought a placeholder on the Magic on January 25, and the confirmation says our cruise must commence on or before January 24, 2026, not end. So maybe they modified the requirements after you bought yours. That helps a bit, especially if we decide we want to book a longer cruise.

I spoke to a CM mid cruise to purchase the placeholder and get more info and she told me to wait a few days if I wanted the first week of April covered. She said my cruise must end at the 2 year mark otherwise it will get cancelled. The CM I spoke to to book our cruise made sure the blackout dates didn’t apply and checked the date.

Hopefully they changed the rules. It made little sense as you’ve already paid before you cruise so should get the discount if it starts by the end of the 2 year discount period.

 

[CarolynFH]

I spoke to a CM mid cruise to purchase the placeholder and get more info and she told me to wait a few days if I wanted the first week of April covered. She said my cruise must end at the 2 year mark otherwise it will get cancelled. The CM I spoke to to book our cruise made sure the blackout dates didn’t apply and checked the date.

Hopefully they changed the rules. It made little sense as you’ve already paid before you cruise so should get the discount if it starts by the end of the 2 year discount period.

Our confirmation is very clear with the statement that “travel must commence by or before,” so it appears they did indeed change the rules. It will be much easier to choose a cruise when we just need to look at embarkation dates!

I’m glad you were able to fit your desired cruise into the older parameters!