Book now and then Placehold later

[Tigger2ntinkerbell]

Can I book a DC today and pay the deposit and then when I cruise this May I can put a place hold on the same cruise

 

[Shanti]

Can I book a DC today and pay the deposit and then when I cruise this May I can put a place hold on the same cruise

Yes, but it will technically be a cancellation and rebooking, meaning that if any price increase occurred between now and May, you'd have to get your OBB discount off the increased price.

Fyi, when you book the cruise in May, it will require the full deposit (20% of cruise cost for 6 nights & under cruises, 10% of cruise cost for 7 nights & over cruises), not a the $250 placeholder fee, as you'll be choosing an actual cruise.

 

[Expatriat]

DCL used to allow you to re-shop an already booked cruise and cancel the one you already paid full deposit for, then apply that amount to your "new" (re-shopped same cruise) booking, thus giving you the OBB and discount on it without requiring an additional new deposit. Do they still do that? I have read conflicting reports. I'm wondering if it depends on "luck of the draw" with the particular onboard CM you end up dealing with. Does anyone know their current policy or have recent experience with this?

 

[Dug720]

I have never been able to move the deposit - it's been a cancel/rebook thing. Then as soon as the refund hits I just turn around and put it on the new cruise. Really not a big deal IMHO.

 

[jrabbit]

we booked a cruise on Opening day a while back for 2018. On our January cruise we booked the same cruise - saved some money on the cruise and will receive the OBC. But we had to pay for the down payment / deposit (that's a big "so what ... You can pay me now or pay me later" situation).

The onboard booking agent was not able to cancel or modify our current ressie, so we had two ressies for the same cruise. They told us to call DCL and do a "swap" - that allowed us to keep the same stateroom and early/main dinner seating. At that time we were also able to apply the deposit from the original booking to the new booking (in effect we've doubled our deposit - just have less to pay in September).

Overall it was a pretty easy process.
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I've been cruising DCL since "the beginning" and I'm Old so sometimes the memory doesn't work as well as it should. We always book a placeholder cruise on our current cruise. I seem to remember that we could actually book two different cruises, but that does not seem possible anymore (and get the discounts and room credits). Am I remembering corrrrectly (and just how many "R's" does "correctly" need) about the in the past being able to book 2 cruises onboard

 

[Expatriat]

I have never been able to move the deposit - it's been a cancel/rebook thing. Then as soon as the refund hits I just turn around and put it on the new cruise. Really not a big deal IMHO.

Thanks. It wasn't moving, but them being able to cancel my res while aboard, then rebook it using the funds I already paid DCL instead of waiting for a refund. They used to be able to do that. It wouldn't be a big deal except that I was hoping not to have to fork over a $250 placeholder deposit in a few weeks when I have THREE expensive Disney cruises this year and the one I was hoping to transfer to an onboard booking for the same cruise is an 800+ deposit I just made (for one adult solo) to grab a particular cabin. Since I am not abundantly wealthy, this time it's a bit of an issue for me. Normally, it wouldn't be.

As to the refund: If I cancel the booking and have to wait even a couple of days for a refund, I would probably lose the cabin as it's a very desirable one. As recently as last year, DCL on land by phone was able to instantly cancel a previously booked cruise and apply that full deposit to a new cruise, instead of refunding the money. I would hope they are still able to do that at least, since I know they'd rather keep the money than go through the process of refunding it! It does seem that what they are willing or able to do depends on the particular CM though, be it land or sea.

If they can't do that even on land, if I do a placeholder for the OBB, I'll probably use it for an as yet unknown future cruise.

 

[Dug720]

They have always been able to book me into the same cabin even while waiting for the refund. I reshopped in Feb 2014 for 2015 and they had to cancel and refund, but since I planned ahead and never expected them to transfer the money it wasn't a big deal. Reshopped the cruise, he put me in a dummy room for a moment, then once it was booked and the other cancelled, he moved me into my already selected room. No big deal.

But like I said, I never expected them to move the money to a new reservation.

 

[Expatriat]

They have always been able to book me into the same cabin even while waiting for the refund. I reshopped in Feb 2014 for 2015 and they had to cancel and refund, but since I planned ahead and never expected them to transfer the money it wasn't a big deal. Reshopped the cruise, he put me in a dummy room for a moment, then once it was booked and the other cancelled, he moved me into my already selected room. No big deal.

But like I said, I never expected them to move the money to a new reservation.

Me "planning ahead" means booking too many 7-night Disney cruises per year both onboard and on land. Oops! I guess I'm feeling really special now since I previously never had to wait for a refund. lol. What will be will be! They do get my money one way or another!