Has anyone booked a short cruise in order to get the on board booking discount on a future cruise?

[mtil]

We are thinking about booking a 3 day Dream cruise so that we can get the 10% on board booking discount for our planned June 7th 9 day Fantasy cruise. The 3 Day cruise in January will cost about $1450 for 2 for an inside cabin. The June 7th cruise for our family of 5 will cost about $15500. The 10% discount would allow us to get a weekend away for free.

Has anyone done this before?

Thank you

 

[Mango7100]

We did a last minute 4 day with three people as our first DCL Cruise—booked it 3 weeks before it left and it was super cheap (relatively speaking). We then went right to to the onboard booking as well.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

There's been discussions in the past about folks doing this. I think it generally makes sense. In your case, though, I wonder if it will end up costing you more in the end. If you wait until January to take the 3 night and then re-shop your June cruise, the discount will be based on the then-current June price, which could be significantly higher (though it may not be). Good luck!

 

[fhtpdw20]

I have done this as well. It worked out nicely as I went to the Halloween Party, stayed a couple of days, did the cruise, and came back to Christmas.

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

We did this. My sister and I did a three day on the dream to book placeholders for Alaska. It was definitely worth it since we were able to get the discount on four rooms and Alaska is so expensive.

 

[MomOTwins]

It's not a bad idea, but I agree you should try to find a cruise closer in time because rates will go up quite a bit between now and January, and there is always a possibility the 5-person rooms will sell out. Also, not sure where you live but don't forget to factor in airfare and a pre-cruise night hotel stay to the cost of the 3-day cruise to see if it is still worthwhile to you--especially on Southwest, which seems to have doubled its fares to Orlando lately because of the 737 Max issue.... ugh.

 

[BrandyMcD]

We did. We took a 4-night Merrytime and are using the placeholder for a 7-day Alaska. The discount almost paid for the cruise. In our case, we could drive to the port for the shorter cruise which makes a big difference in the break-even point.

 

[mtil]

Thank you for the information. We are Central Florida residents so we only need to pay the tolls over to the port and parking. For work reasons, I don't know that we can go before January.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Is there a special discount on that cruise? I priced it out for 5 and the price came to $17,000 or so (similar pricing for one room vs. two)

 

[mtil]

We're in an Ocean View. There was still one left over the weekend when we were looking at doing this but it's gone now.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Oh, I see! Thx for the clarification. My guess is that the price may go up enough between now and January that it won't really be much of a discount to book in January.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, I just did this yesterday! Booked a 3 day on the Dream for March/ 20. An added bonus is it will be our 10th cruise on DCL.

 

[Deb T.]

We did a 4-night Bahamian cruise in 2006 and while onboard re-booked our 2007 Mediterranean cruise. Saved enough to pay for the 4-night plus still saved even more on our Med cruise.

 

[quickcat]

If it will be cost effective I would definitely do it! For us, it never is. By the time we add airfare, pre cruise hotel, transportation, it never is worth it.

 

[mtil]

Thank you for the information. After I posted this, we came up with a new idea that worked for us. My oldest daughter (17), who is on our reservation for next year, is on the Magic with her grandmother and she went to the booking desk and bought a placeholder. I was able to use this placeholder to revise the June reservation for the whole family and saved $1500. My wife and I don't get to take a "free" cruise but we did save enough to afford one.