Onboard placeholder booking questions

[Ravenne]

Thanks! That's good info to know. We were thinking this weekend about whether we could make Spring Break next year work, but then realized it's a blackout date...so no go for us, but good to know we'd still get the OBC.

Is there a list of typically blacked out dates somewhere? I'm guessing the obvious ones are the holiday ones, but anyone know generally which other dates get blacked out?

 

[alimbrogno]

What kind of OBC are we talking about? And the discount?

 

[guacgirl]

I just came upon this thread and find it very helpful. I was wondering, what are the rules of the onboard placeholder booking? If I make a deposit for a placeholder cruise and I change my mind and don't travel within 24 months, do I lose the $250 deposit? Or do I have the option to cancel and get the deposit back? Also, what are the rules of getting the 10% discount? Is it only available for the people who are on the current cruise? Meaning, I would have to go on the cruise; I can't book a placeholder for my friends to take on their own, for instance. But somebody mentioned that you are allowed up to two staterooms for the 10% discount. So I could book two staterooms, one for myself and one for my friends, at the 10th discount?

Thanks! Just trying to think of these things in advance before having to make the decisions onboard. And start to figure out if I can convince my husband that we should make the placeholder reservation.

 

[betsy918]

How would that work with a cash only account?

They had me buy a gift card in the ships gift shop, then they used that to pay the placeholder fee. If you go this route, don't lose your gift card!

 

[dmunsil]

I was wondering, what are the rules of the onboard placeholder booking? If I make a deposit for a placeholder cruise and I change my mind and don't travel within 24 months, do I lose the $250 deposit?

You can cancel any time and they'll refund the whole deposit. If you actually apply the placeholder to a cruise, then the standard cancellation rules apply; you get 100% of your deposit back up until the penalty period begins, at 75-120 days before the cruise, depending on the specific cruise and room type you book.

If 24 months pass, the discount becomes void, and probably the other benefits as well. I'm not sure whether Disney just cancels the placeholder and refunds the money or hangs on to it. If they don't cancel it automatically, you can still cancel and get the money back, or you can apply the deposit you paid to a new cruise; you just won't get the discount.

Also, what are the rules of getting the 10% discount? Is it only available for the people who are on the current cruise? Meaning, I would have to go on the cruise; I can't book a placeholder for my friends to take on their own, for instance. But somebody mentioned that you are allowed up to two staterooms for the 10% discount. So I could book two staterooms, one for myself and one for my friends, at the 10th discount?

Yes, you can book two rooms per household, and they can be for anyone. You, friends, relatives, whatever. You do not have to be listed in either room, though there have been reports of booking agents who don't know that rule and require the person booking to put themselves in at least one room. It's not a huge problem if that happens; you just remove yourself when you get home (or you can do it from your cabin over the internet 10 minutes later). You just have to make sure one adult who was listed on the original booking stays in the room.

As has been mentioned, you don't get the 10% discount for cruises on blackout dates, but you do get the onboard credit.

 

[guacgirl]

Thanks! Will they know the blackout dates already for the next 24 months or I have to wait and see?

 

[baileyfamily]

If we used Costco as our TA on our last cruise but bought directly from DCL this time, can we still list Costco as a TA when we do a placeholder this time to get the Costco incentives?

BTW, I want to kick myself because we'd actually booked a specific cruise date when we were on board last time, cancelled it because we couldn't make that date, and now we're sailing again within 24 months of our last cruise. I wish we'd thought to just postpone instead of cancel what we had.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

If we used Costco as our TA on our last cruise but bought directly from DCL this time, can we still list Costco as a TA when we do a placeholder this time to get the Costco incentives?

BTW, I want to kick myself because we'd actually booked a specific cruise date when we were on board last time, cancelled it because we couldn't make that date, and now we're sailing again within 24 months of our last cruise. I wish we'd thought to just postpone instead of cancel what we had.

I think the TA (so Costco in your situation) would show based on your current booking but I'm not 100% sure. Since you booked direct this time Costco might not show however don't worry. I would advise the CM you want Costco as your agent and if you can't add onboard you can transfer the booking to Costco once you return. Just remember you have to transfer the booking within 30 days.

Heather

 

[guacgirl]

Yes, you can book two rooms per household, and they can be for anyone. You, friends, relatives, whatever. You do not have to be listed in either room, though there have been reports of booking agents who don't know that rule and require the person booking to put themselves in at least one room. It's not a huge problem if that happens; you just remove yourself when you get home (or you can do it from your cabin over the internet 10 minutes later). You just have to make sure one adult who was listed on the original booking stays in the room.

Thanks for all the answers! So then it sounds like we have to know the specific name of at least one person per cabin who will be traveling in the future? And we can't change both names, else it cancels the booking, correct?

 

[dmunsil]

Thanks! Will they know the blackout dates already for the next 24 months or I have to wait and see?

They will know the blackout dates for the cruise dates that have already been listed, but those don't go out 24 months, so there's no way to know for sure if the date you want in the future will be named a blackout date unless a cruise is already scheduled for that date. That said, the blackout dates have typically been during big holiday periods - Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break are the biggies. Then there will be some odd ones scattered around that are tough to figure out. Certainly when they release a sailing date, they know at that time if it's a blackout date; you can call Disney and ask, or search "disney cruise blackout dates" and the first several hits are all web pages that have the info.

Thanks for all the answers! So then it sounds like we have to know the specific name of at least one person per cabin who will be traveling in the future? And we can't change both names, else it cancels the booking, correct?

Yes, you need to put at least one adult in each cabin who is going to stay there, and use their full legal name (as listed on their passport or birth certificate). It makes things easier if you have their birth date at booking time. You can add it later, but it involves a call, whereas most other changes can be done (by you or your TA) online. And yes, if you change every adult name, that's considered a cancellation.

 

[MOMMYMOUSEOF2]

Yes, you can book two rooms per household, and they can be for anyone. You, friends, relatives, whatever. You do not have to be listed in either room, though there have been reports of booking agents who don't know that rule and require the person booking to put themselves in at least one room. It's not a huge problem if that happens; you just remove yourself when you get home (or you can do it from your cabin over the internet 10 minutes later). You just have to make sure one adult who was listed on the original booking stays in the room.

So what happens if I book two rooms...one with my husband and one with me as the main adult? Can I also be in my husband's room knowing that in a week or so, I will change one of the dates and will want to add my daughter to my reservation so we can take another cruise with just the two of us? That way my daughter and I get to do 2 cruises in 2 years and the other cruise can be with my whole family in one room that holds 5.... Does that make sense?

Also, last time, I booked one room that would hold 5 people connecting to one room that would hold 4 people (we are a family of 5 but my MIL was going with us). We thought at one time that my MIL wasn't able to go, but my TA said we couldn't cancel the other room and put us all in the room that held 5 ppl. This didn't make sense to me. Please explain. Thanks!

 

[OKW Lover]

listing a current TA on an onboard booking or placeholder does not count as booking directly with the TA for the purpose of obc or perks from the TA, correct?

Not correct as far as our TA is concerned. We use Dreams Unlimited (who bring us the DIS Boards) and this counts fully as booking directly with the TA.

ETA, see additional info about reduced TA OBC in posts below.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So what happens if I book two rooms...one with my husband and one with me as the main adult? Can I also be in my husband's room knowing that in a week or so, I will change one of the dates and will want to add my daughter to my reservation so we can take another cruise with just the two of us? That way my daughter and I get to do 2 cruises in 2 years and the other cruise can be with my whole family in one room that holds 5.... Does that make sense?

Also, last time, I booked one room that would hold 5 people connecting to one room that would hold 4 people (we are a family of 5 but my MIL was going with us). We thought at one time that my MIL wasn't able to go, but my TA said we couldn't cancel the other room and put us all in the room that held 5 ppl. This didn't make sense to me. Please explain. Thanks!

You can't book 5 people in one room that only has beds for 4. Likewise you can't put 6 people in a room that holds 5.

The onboard booking process - each household (on any given cruise) can book up to 2 rooms on the same future cruise and receive the onboard booking perks for each room. You don't have to put only those that are on that cruise in those rooms, you can book your husband and you in one room and your daughter and whoever in the second room (even though they may not be on the current cruise).

If you book 2 rooms on a future cruise with the OBB benefits, and then move one of the reservations (rooms) to a different future cruise, that room will lose the OBB benefits.

It's also possible that you cannot book, say 4 people, into a 4 person room, if the lifeboat for that particular room is full.

 

[TestingH2O]

Not correct as far as our TA is concerned. We use Dreams Unlimited (who bring us the DIS Boards) and this counts fully as booking directly with the TA.

I thought that changed this year and OBC was now reduced for OBB reservations.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I thought that changed this year and OBC was now reduced for OBB reservations.

Only if you make the reservation yourself, and then transfer it to a TA after you get home. If you specify a TA while making the reservation, it's not considered a transfer.

 

[TestingH2O]

I'm sorry Shmoo, but if you look at the website, you'll see that the OBC is reduced by half for on board bookings after 11/15/2015 even if the TA was named at booking. I just double checked. This hadn't impacted me yet, but I noted it at the time.

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/cruise/specials.htm

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm sorry Schmoo, but if you look at the website, you'll see that the OBC is reduced by half for on board bookings after 11/15/2015 even if the TA was named at booking. I just double checked. This hadn't impacted me yet, but I noted it at the time.

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/cruise/specials.htm

OK, I thought that it had been reported that if the TA was indicated at the time of the onboard booking the reduced OBC didn't apply. Thanks.

 

[nancyjo1998]

I just want to be sure I am understanding this correctly. We are going on a cruise in March and want to book a placeholder while on board. Our current plan is to do a 4 night Bahama and then a 7 night Caribbean. (Sort of back to back only with a day in between and on different ships). I will not be able to book those both with the place holder correct? Would I be able to book one and the other adult book the other as placeholders?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I just want to be sure I am understanding this correctly. We are going on a cruise in March and want to book a placeholder while on board. Our current plan is to do a 4 night Bahama and then a 7 night Caribbean. (Sort of back to back only with a day in between and on different ships). I will not be able to book those both with the place holder correct? Would I be able to book one and the other adult book the other as placeholders?

If both adults have the same home address (one household) each household may book up to 2 rooms on the same (one) future cruise and receive the OBB benefits. You can book another cruise at the same time (or more rooms), but there are not OBB benefits for it.

If the two adults live at different addresses, each adult may book 2 rooms on one future cruise. So, two of you could book 2 rooms on the 4 night cruise and the other could book 2 rooms on the 7 night cruise.

If both of you live at the same address, you can book 2 rooms (with OBB benefits) for either the 4 night or the 7 night cruise. And you can book the other one (with no OBB benefits).

 

[nancyjo1998]

If both adults have the same home address (one household) each household may book up to 2 room on the same (one) future cruise and receive the OBB benefits. You can book another cruise and the same time (or more rooms), but there are not OBB benefits for it.

If the two adults live at different addresses, each adult may book 2 rooms on one future cruise. So, two of you could book 2 rooms on the 4 night cruise and the other could book 2 rooms on the 7 night cruise.

If both of you live at the same address, you can book 2 rooms (with OBB benefits) for either the 4 night or the 7 night cruise. And you can book the other one (with no OBB benefits).

Got it! Thanks