If you book a future cruise while onboard, you get 10% off the cruise fare, before taxes/fees, and an onboard spending credit of $100 for 3-5 day cruises, $200 for 7 nts or longer. Also your deposit amount is 1/2 of what it would be if booked from home/online etc.
If your TA offers OBCs also, you can name your TA at the time of booking your future cruise and those OBCs are in addition to what DCL offers.
Example: Our last few 7nt cruises on the Magic were booked onboard so I got $200 from DCL and $200 from my TA. We've gotten very spoiled to keep having an extra $400 to spend. Our next few are on the Dream so smaller OBCs.
You could transfer to a TA later but with many TAs, that results in a smaller OBC since TAs get a smaller commission from DCL for transfers. In above example, my TA only gives $100 OBC if I book, then transfer later to her. This is why I tell them at time of onboard booking that she'll be my TA.
If you don't know an exact date that you want to cruise, or the date you want is not open to book, say Dec 2012 on the Fantasy, you tell them to book you a dummy date. It's a real cruise sailing but they don't have you choose a stateroom (that a real cruiser might want) also they will assign you to late dining. They will choose a date far in the future and when a date comes that you want to cruise, just call DCL (or your TA if you use one) and move to your desired date, choose a cabin, etc.
Now that deposit amounts are a % of the total and not fixed per person, it's good do some research before getting on the ship to find a cheap date to book, keeping your deposit amount low.
Just be sure to keep track of when the dummy date's final payment is due. If you don't change dates before then, you'll lose your deposit. You can change as often as you like, assuming your TA doesn't charge a fee, which I've heard some do now.
I have learned to never get off the ship without booking a dummy date. Sometimes a real cruise plus a dummy date. Once you get off the ship, you can't go back and plead for onboard perks. I am careful to book early in my cruise so I don't leave w/o a confirmation # and the lines are shorter too.
Thanks. We're booked for June 2nd, 2012 and will be booking my dummy ressie before we leave the boat
. We booked 6B - 2A, 2C - $5199.48 (transportation/no insurance)
