Dream and placeholder

[MrsBergs]

Hi.. We are going on our first Disney cruise finally. We had 2 booked that had been previously cancelled. We are doing the Dream for 4 nights. Is there any must do’s. We are a party of 4 adults and 3 children ages 11-14. Any recommended excursions?
I was reading about placeholders. Do you have to pick a cruise while onboard. Is the discount still 10 percent?
Thank you!

 

[Dug720]

I was reading about placeholders. Do you have to pick a cruise while onboard.

Per my TA, you can only book the placeholder - which is what other cruise lines call a Future Cruise Certificate. You can't book specific dates - which, considering the "placeholders" have to be called in to be converted IMHO is annoying as all get out and makes them much less useful. I get why they went to that - cruises far out were being booked to the point of prices increasing, then going empty when new releases were announced and having to be discounted via I/O/VGT rates and CM discounts. But it is annoying that they have to be called in - especially if the cruise you want is already released and you know what you want.

 

[Kwami]

Having to be called in isn't such a big deal when you have a travel agent, though!

Anyway, yes, the discount is still 10%. You also get a reduced minimum initial payment, for what that's worth. No onboard credits, though.

 

[Dug720]

Having to be called in isn't such a big deal when you have a travel agent, though!

Anyway, yes, the discount is still 10%. You also get a reduced minimum initial payment, for what that's worth. No onboard credits, though.

But they still have to wait in those phone lines too. It just puts you at a disadvantage over people who aren't using one and can book (or their TA can book) on the computer in terms of room selection and for more in-demand cruises even pricing. My TA said that she has seen it where a client would have been better off just having her colleague book without it because by the time anyone in their pod (they work as pods on release day to help each other out) got through on the phones, the prices had risen to the point that the 10% discount was essentially cancelled out.

 

[Kwami]

I guess I could see that. I don't usually bother with the super in-demand cruises since the good prices are already gone by the time I can book anyway. Platinum folks eat up all the good stuff!

 

[cvjw]

Placeholders only right now and you book thru the navigator app.

 

[starry_solo]

Placeholders only right now and you book thru the navigator app.

When we were on the cruise at the beginning of the month, we kept getting an error message

 

[cvjw]

When we were on the cruise at the beginning of the month, we kept getting an error message

We booked 4 thru the app and had no issues. Guest services was able to help others who did have issues with the app.

 

[Kwami]

When we were on the cruise at the beginning of the month, we kept getting an error message

I couldn't do it through the app, either. I just went to Guest Services and they had me fill out a form, which was eventually delivered to someone shoreside more than a week later, and then my travel agent let me know that he got a notification about it. But then he still had to call DCL and actually make the placeholders for real.

The old way was better, by far.

 

[Rob1872]

The old future cruise desk is now a Disney Vacation Club desk; the DCL app is used to purchase the placeholder. Everything else is the same (except for no Onboard Credit, but that went away a few years ago).

 

[Cheburashka]

I hope they change back to full service bookings eventually. I really enjoyed going to the future cruise desk, looking at the brochure of options and the stateroom maps and choosing our future cruise. Much nicer experience than just booking a generic placeholder via an app.