Cruise secrets that DCL doesn't tell you

[cheribelle]

Do you have to request bed rails in advance, or how do you obtain them?

Taking advice from the boards, I called DCL yesterday and they added them to my reservation for my 4 year old. Was so easy!!

 

[LimoFam5]

Do you have to request bed rails in advance, or how do you obtain them?

Call DCL and request the diaper genie, bed rails or pack n play and whatever you request will be in your room when you board. I suggest calling ahead of time and making any request never wait until you are onboard

 

[MickeyWatcher]

Same deposit for one or two people.
Also u can book a reservation for family members or friends who r not on cruise with u. All u need is their names, birth dates and address. This way if they were going to possibly join u on the next vacation they will enjoy the same on board booking benefits.

We are a family of 5, and would all stay in one room. Can I book a room for two and then add the kids later, and upgrade the room? Or do I need to add the kids when I do the on-board booking?

 

[LimoFam5]

We are a family of 5, and would all stay in one room. Can I book a room for two and then add the kids later, and upgrade the room? Or do I need to add the kids when I do the on-board booking?

You can book any cruise for any category while on the ship. I always book the farthest out three day bahama cruise. This will require the smallest deposit. Then later when I have the chance to look over my schedule and I have the cruise in mind that I want to book I call back and change my reservation. At that time I book the category I want for the number of people I want, keep in mind that your deposit will now require you to pay more money since you have changed cruises and added kids.
For the dummy reservation (DCL does not call it a dummy reservation so do not go up and ask to book a dummy res) I book usually book for me and my husband on the farthest out 3 day cruise.

 

[LilGMom]

Great tip! Is it cheaper to book for just one person? Or does it have to be 2 people?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

We are a family of 5, and would all stay in one room. Can I book a room for two and then add the kids later, and upgrade the room? Or do I need to add the kids when I do the on-board booking?

MickeyWatcher, while the deposit will be less if you book a "dummy" reservation for only 2 people you could run the risk of not being able to get a room for 5 in the category you want if the deck reaches capacity. That happened to us. We booked a dummy room, for 2, for a particular stateroom that said it could sleep 4. Then when I went to add my kids I couldn't. I called DCL & they said that the deck had reached capacity so I would have to change my entire reservation to see what was available. The mistake cost us a couple hundred because by that time the cheaper rooms, available for 4, where gone.

 

[DizDragonfly]

The idea of a "dummy date" is that you book a cruise you have no intention of being on. You book any cheap cruise and pay a low deposit to lock in your benefits of a reduced deposit, 10% off and an onboard credit. Later, when you find a cruise you actually want to take, you or your travel agent, modify the reservation and book on the cruise you intend to take.

If you _know_ you want to be on a certain cruise, that's not a "dummy date", it's a true future cruise reservation. Book the stateroom category and number of people you intend to cruise with. Otherwise you run the risk of not being able to add people later.

 

[MickeyWatcher]

Thanks for the info folks.

 

[qits]

The idea of a "dummy date" is that you book a cruise you have no intention of being on. You book any cheap cruise and pay a low deposit to lock in your benefits of a reduced deposit, 10% off and an onboard credit. Later, when you find a cruise you actually want to take, you or your travel agent, modify the reservation and book on the cruise you intend to take.

If you _know_ you want to be on a certain cruise, that's not a "dummy date", it's a true future cruise reservation. Book the stateroom category and number of people you intend to cruise with. Otherwise you run the risk of not being able to add people later.

Can you cancel a "dummy date" booking?

 

[ksloane]

Can you cancel a "dummy date" booking?

Absolutely.

 

[DizDragonfly]

Can you cancel a "dummy date" booking?

You betcha. The standard cancelation policy applies. Remember that once you cancel, you can't call them up and say you want the onboard booking benefits back again. You can always modify it, unless you decide you won't be cruising Disney again in the reasonably near future.

 

[LimoFam5]

You can definitely cancel the booking but u will lose the on board booking benefits. There is no rule as to how far out u can keep pushing the reservation. Instead if cancel I would just book the latest cruises date possible and go from there. U can either move it up once u decide or move it to a later date if u need more time. Either way u maintain the benefits of booking on board

 

[ShellB8585]

Bump to read later. Thanks all

 

[rescuetink]

You can definitely cancel the booking but u will lose the on board booking benefits. There is no rule as to how far out u can keep pushing the reservation. Instead if cancel I would just book the latest cruises date possible and go from there. U can either move it up once u decide or move it to a later date if u need more time. Either way u maintain the benefits of booking on board

We booked a cruise when we were onboard in 2011 and scheduled a 3 day cruise in Nov 2012 knowing that we wouldn't go on that cruise!!

I then rescheduled for a 5 day cruise in Oct 2013, however we had to cancel that cruise and are now rescheduled for two back3back cruises in Oct 2013. We still got our discount (for only one of the cruises) and as far as I know the stateroom credit is still valid!!

Not sure when we'll cruise again after that as we plan to go to WDW again after that, but I'll DEFINITELY book again while onboard../ just in case!!!

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Ive spent the last week reading this entire thread - wow! I feel much better prepared now... Thanks to all who have contributed over the years!

 

[mncooldad]

Learned SO many awesome things on this thread! Please note Disney confiscated my power strip that I packed in my bag. And we could never get the suction hooks to stay on the wall, but the clothesline with clothespins worked well!

They confiscated mine also. But I packed two and they did not find the second one. Not sure why they are doing this. Must be using to much electricity on the ship.

 

[FrustratedDonald]

Did the power strips have surge protectors?

 

[michellekcm]

They confiscated mine also. But I packed two and they did not find the second one. Not sure why they are doing this. Must be using to much electricity on the ship.

Hmmm. I always bring a power strip with me when I travel to the US so I only need one adapter from Australian plugs to American ones. Might need to look in to this if they're going to confiscate it.

 

[disney minnie]

Be sure to choose the dining time that fits your family. I read through every post before our first cruise and almost ALL of them said to have early dining so that became my main focus. Our children were 10 and almost 4.

Well after the first dinner we realized it was a mistake for our family. For us it cut our day short. We seemed to start getting ready for dinner around 4:30. We would have ratcheted still been at the pool, or in port some days. We actually missed some dinners because we just didnt want to end our day.

Our second cruise we had second seating and it was perfect for our family. We were able to stay at the pool longer, take naps without feeling rushed when we woke up, etc. Our children go to be between 7:30-8 when we are at home, but have never had a problem staying up late while on vacation or for a special event. We LOVED the fact that the kids club came and picked them up from dinner and they were happy to be excused.

Late is what worked for our family, but once again, read all the reviews and choose what fits YOUR family.

 

[MINNIEANN MOUSE]

Thank you for so much information. I'm in the research process of booking a cruise for Feb. 2014 and there is SO much I don't know. This is really a great help!

 

[Fsugirl24]

this is great info - thank you!