OBB Booking Policy

[kwyama]

Just trying to get confirmation on the OBB policy -- it is two year from the time of booking to the START of the new cruise. So, if I have a ressie from 5/2/14, I can book a cruise starting on 5/1/16 -- correct? I called DCL twice to ask about the policy. First they said (emphatically) that the new cruise had to END by 5/1/16, the other person said they "thought" it had to start by the two year date.

Is the rule written down anywhere?

I don't really want to spend hours on hold if I cannot move my reservation to the cruise I want.

Thanks for the help!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just trying to get confirmation on the OBB policy -- it is two year from the time of booking to the START of the new cruise. So, if I have a ressie from 5/2/14, I can book a cruise starting on 5/1/16 -- correct? I called DCL twice to ask about the policy. First they said (emphatically) that the new cruise had to END by 5/1/16, the other person said they "thought" it had to start by the two year date.

Is the rule written down anywhere?

I don't really want to spend hours on hold if I cannot move my reservation to the cruise I want.

Thanks for the help!

It's tricky - originally the future cruise had to be completed by the deadline. When they changed back to the 24 month policy, the new paperwork onboard says "Guests making a booking on board must sail within 24 months after the date the original booking was made on board." Most interpret that as you must start your cruise with the 24 months, but it's not real clear.

I don't know who makes the determination, but maybe talking to a supervisor in the reservations department at DCL might make it clearer. Or not.

 

[kwyama]

[null]

 

[kwyama]

I called again and asked to speak to a supervisor. They confirmed that the new booking must START before the two year end date. So, in my example the cruise must start before 5/2/16. Looks like I will be spending some time on the phone tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the help.

 

[over50visits]

I have seen a letter from DCL to travel agents. Their wording is the customer must "complete" travel within the time period (18 or 24 months).

That seems pretty official. Then...I have seen the onboard brochure stating you must "sail within 18 months."

There you have two official Disney printed policy statements! Pick one...

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I have seen a letter from DCL to travel agents. Their wording is the customer must "complete" travel within the time period (18 or 24 months).

That seems pretty official. Then...I have seen the onboard brochure stating you must "sail within 18 months."

There you have two official Disney printed policy statements! Pick one...

Well, when the time frame was 18 months, yes, cruises had to be completed before the 18 months was up. But when DCL reinstituted the 24 month timeframe, the wording changed to the above which was unclear as to whether "must sail within 24 months" meant the cruise booked must depart or end by the deadline. Since the change, most people have been reporting that they were being told by the reservation people that it meant "must start within 24 months" now.

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to report back that I actually tested out what exactly the rule meant as I recently transferred an onboard booking to a cruise just at the end of the 24 months window. My new cruise will start within 24 months of making the OBB, but will end a few days after 24 months of making the OBB. I was allowed to transfer the OBB. My travel agent told me that the CM even made a comment that this new booking was "just in time".

Of course, as we know, things might depend on which CM you get. Just wanted to add my own experience as I had been wondering about this question.

And I think, especially if someone is getting one of the placeholder OBB, it makes sense to wait until the last day of the cruise to get it to extend the 24 months window as far out as possible.

 

[KristiMc]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to report back that I actually tested out what exactly the rule meant as I recently transferred an onboard booking to a cruise just at the end of the 24 months window. My new cruise will start within 24 months of making the OBB, but will end a few days after 24 months of making the OBB. I was allowed to transfer the OBB. My travel agent told me that the CM even made a comment that this new booking was "just in time".

Of course, as we know, things might depend on which CM you get. Just wanted to add my own experience as I had been wondering about this question.

And I think, especially if someone is getting one of the placeholder OBB, it makes sense to wait until the last day of the cruise to get it to extend the 24 months window as far out as possible.

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[missyp]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to report back that I actually tested out what exactly the rule meant as I recently transferred an onboard booking to a cruise just at the end of the 24 months window. My new cruise will start within 24 months of making the OBB, but will end a few days after 24 months of making the OBB. I was allowed to transfer the OBB. My travel agent told me that the CM even made a comment that this new booking was "just in time".

Of course, as we know, things might depend on which CM you get. Just wanted to add my own experience as I had been wondering about this question.

And I think, especially if someone is getting one of the placeholder OBB, it makes sense to wait until the last day of the cruise to get it to extend the 24 months window as far out as possible.

Usually I book my next cruise on the second day of my cruise because I know exactly what cruise I want to take and there are no lines. This time, I have no clue and I am just going to book a place holder in case I figure something out. To your point it makes sense to book on the last day of the cruise, but boy are those lines long!

 

[Flossbolna]

Usually I book my next cruise on the second day of my cruise because I know exactly what cruise I want to take and there are no lines. This time, I have no clue and I am just going to book a place holder in case I figure something out. To your point it makes sense to book on the last day of the cruise, but boy are those lines long!

You could always get a quote with the card that they have. They will fill it out and deliver it to your stateroom. You then have to sign that this is what you want to book. Then on the last day, put into the box on the onboard booking desk in the morning. I am sure they still process all those that are put in on the last day.

 

[KristiMc]

Usually I book my next cruise on the second day of my cruise because I know exactly what cruise I want to take and there are no lines. This time, I have no clue and I am just going to book a place holder in case I figure something out. To your point it makes sense to book on the last day of the cruise, but boy are those lines long!

No need to wait in line, just fill out the card and place in the box at the future cruise sales desk.

 

[missyp]

You could always get a quote with the card that they have. They will fill it out and deliver it to your stateroom. You then have to sign that this is what you want to book. Then on the last day, put into the box on the onboard booking desk in the morning. I am sure they still process all those that are put in on the last day.

 

[llqool]

But is there any way to "prove" that you put in the card to book a cruise? We had a scary moment after one of our cruises where we didn't hear anything from DCL and then finally our TA was able to locate our reservation. I mean, i guess I could take a photo of the card I put in the box, but does that really prove I stuck it in there?

 

[lbgraves]

I always put the card in the box the first afternoon. I have received a response back by the time we get back to our stateroom after dinner & the show that evening. You just have to call the number listed confirming to charge the deposit to the same account listed for your current cruise. I get a receipt confirming this was done the next day with the reservation number listed. I wouldn't wait until the last day just to get a couple extra days for the OBB to be effective. Doing it early in the cruise allows you to follow up with the OBB agent if you don't hear back within 24 hours.

 

[Flossbolna]

But is there any way to "prove" that you put in the card to book a cruise? We had a scary moment after one of our cruises where we didn't hear anything from DCL and then finally our TA was able to locate our reservation. I mean, i guess I could take a photo of the card I put in the box, but does that really prove I stuck it in there?

You can log into the DCL website and see if the trip has been booked before the onboard booking desks closes on the last day. The last few times we did not get a confirmation to our stateroom. Using the DCL website is possible by logging into the wifi on board (it is free to go the the DCL website, you don't need a package for the internet) or on the classic ship from the computers in the internet cafe. If you can't see it, then you will have to join that long line...

 

[moremouse]

I'm going to try to book onboard for the first time this fall. Hopefully I won't screw it up.

Lots of information in this thread.

 

[abitagirl916]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to report back that I actually tested out what exactly the rule meant as I recently transferred an onboard booking to a cruise just at the end of the 24 months window. My new cruise will start within 24 months of making the OBB, but will end a few days after 24 months of making the OBB. I was allowed to transfer the OBB. My travel agent told me that the CM even made a comment that this new booking was "just in time".

Of course, as we know, things might depend on which CM you get. Just wanted to add my own experience as I had been wondering about this question.

And I think, especially if someone is getting one of the placeholder OBB, it makes sense to wait until the last day of the cruise to get it to extend the 24 months window as far out as possible.

Did you confirm that you are keeping your OBB discount and OB Credit?

 

[lisamarie12]

Mine says "This reservation must commence on or before the Travel By date listed above or the reservation will automatically cancel and deposit will be refunded." The travel by date was 2 years after the date I booked.

 

[ahain]

On our last cruise, I decided to use the card to book 2 rooms under the new placeholder policy. On the card, I wrote "placeholder" in the destination area, and then wrote the name, phone # & company of the TA I wanted them listed under on the postcard. I received no confirmation in our stateroom, and I did not receive any confirming e-mails after our return. I checked our Castaway accounts online and finally they showed up there. I sent an e-mail to out TA and provided her with the reservation #s for the 2 placeholders. I thought everything was "all set."

When the most recent round of itineraries opened up, I asked the TA to use one of the placeholder reservations for the EBPC cruise. When she called Disney, they told her that the placeholders were to assigned to her. She communicated this to me and I called DCL - on hold for nearly 1-1/2 hours and finally got through and explained the situation. They put me through to a supervisor and I explained it to her. She said that there was no TA indicated on the reservation and that it was now more than 30 days past the ressie date so I could not transfer to a TA and there was nothing they could do. I asserted that I was certain there WAS something that she could do because I clearly indicated the preferred TA on the card. She said that she would contact the ship and would call me back. 2 days later she did call me back. However, she said that OBBs can only be made and assigned to the same TA that made the booking of the cruise you were on. I asserted that wasn't the case either, since on a previous cruise, when I sat down with the OBB agent, he was able to assign the future cruise to the TA I indicated, so there was no reason that the postcard placeholder cruise couldn't be assigned to a different TA as well...people use different TAs all the time and certainly would not be locked into using the same one forever in order to use OBB. I also assured her that I never received any confirming e-mails from DCL for either of the placeholders, and if I had, I would have seen the incorrect TA information and would have called to have the information corrected. She said she would check to see if either of the e-mails had been opened and would call me back. Next day, she called me back...she apologized and acknowledged that neither e-mail had been opened and assigned both ressies to the TA I specified. Happy ending, but it took ALOT of time and effort to get straightened out.

It could have been worse, I guess...if the placeholders had been assigned to my old TA instead of remaining with DCL, then I would have been in a pickle because as I understand it, the TA that held the ressies would actually need to release the ressies (which they may or may not be inclined to do) in order for a new TA to be assigned. So, now I'm a bit spooked about using the cards. I may try it one more time, but if I don't receive the confirming e-mail, I will call DCL to verify the TA information right after we return.

 

[Flossbolna]

Did you confirm that you are keeping your OBB discount and OB Credit?

I can tell that I got the discount as the price of the cruise is the current rate minus 10%. I also only had to pay the 10% deposit. I am counting on getting the OB Credit as well, but did not specifically confirm since the booking is obviously still being treated as an OBB.