OBB - travel by date

[HangOnVoltaire]

I'm sorry if this has been explained before. With a placeholder reservation, does the cruise you choose have to begin within the 24 months, or start and finish in that time period? I have a placeholder that states "travel by 10/9/17." I am interested in the 8 day Magic cruise that begins on 10/6/17. Would that voyage qualify, or since it actually ends later than 10/9, am I out of luck??

 

[Maggie'sMom]

It just has to begin within the 24 month period.

 

[HangOnVoltaire]

Thank you!!

 

[MPS516]

Our onboard booking card said travel must be completed within 24 months

 

[Starwind]

I asked in December when we did our OBB placeholder. I was told that you had to START the cruise by the travel by date, but the cruise itself could end after that date.

SW

 

[hanscarlet]

yup what others said, it's ok to have the end date be after your last sailing date so long as your start date is within your OBB window

 

[Flossbolna]

I can confirm this as well, that it depends on whether the new cruise commences before the 24 months from your original booking. We are booked on a cruise that ends after the 24 months and they applied the discount to it.

Therefore I would always advise to book a placeholder as late in your cruise as possible to give you a few extra days, especially if you like to cruise during one specific week every time, dates are shifting around and if you book very early in your cruise, that Saturday might be the day after you booked your placeholder 24 months ago.

 

[Winston Wolf]

Therefore I would always advise to book a placeholder as late in your cruise as possible to give you a few extra days, especially if you like to cruise during one specific week every time, dates are shifting around and if you book very early in your cruise, that Saturday might be the day after you booked your placeholder 24 months ago.

Exactly. But realize that the lines often get longer as the cruise goes on. A good time to go is during main dining seating while the show is going on. We did this on day 6 and walked right up to the desk. No wait.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Here is the wording from my OBB booking I did on 12/22/15 from the email confirmation I received from DCL:

Good news! Your clients have successfully reserved their spot on a Disney Cruise! Below is their reservation number and important details about their booking. Please remember that they have not actually reserved a specific sailing yet, and they must travel by 22-Dec-2017 in order to keep their exclusive benefits. Please call 1-800-511-1333 once your clients are ready to select their cruise.

and...

Travel must take place within 24 months of reservation to maintain booking benefits. Blackout dates apply to the Onboard Rebooking Offer, please inquire when booking a confirmed date or contact Disney Cruise Line or your travel agent for more details. Onboard credits, per stateroom, will vary based on sailing. $100 for sailing of 6-nights or less and $200 for sailings 7-nights and greater. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. Not valid on VGT, OGT, or IGT stateroom categories with restrictions or 2-night sailings.

Heather

 

[pepe3penelope]

I can confirm this is as well. I had booked our OBB on 10/15/15. On opening day I called and asked to apply my placeholder for a sailing date of 10/15/17 and it worked!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our onboard booking card said travel must be completed within 24 months

Must be old stock. Time was the future cruise did have to be completed prior to the 24 month date. Now, it just has to start before the 24 month date.

 

[MPS516]

The worst part is I never find out how tight the timing is, we always end up cruising within the year nowhere close to the 24 month deadline.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

The email for my OBB while on the Fantasy states that, "This reservation must commence on or before the Travel By date listed...". So as long as your cruise starts on or before the two year mark of your booking, you'll be fine. In fact, I booked my OBB on a Monday and the CM there asked me if I wanted to wait until Friday to stretch out the date another 4 days but I said I wouldn't need it.

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

Must be old stock. Time was the future cruise did have to be completed prior to the 24 month date. Now, it just has to start before the 24 month date.

And don't forget that disastrous time when they switched it to 18 months! I'm still peeved at that one because I didn't do an an OBB on Alaska in June 2014. And I could have used that one on this latest Fantasy cruise, which was slightly less than 23 months later.

 

[Sleepyluke]

This must have changed, ours said completed by....

So we are booked the week before ours would run out. Guess they may be relaxing it a little?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This must have changed, ours said completed by....

So we are booked the week before ours would run out. Guess they may be relaxing it a little?

It used to be that the cruise had to be completed by the last day of the 24 month window. Now it has to start before the last day of the 24 month period. It seems that they are still using some of the same paperwork that has the "old" policy on it.

 

[HangOnVoltaire]

I just booked the October cruise I mentioned in the original post, so I can confirm that travel needs to only start within the 24 month time frame. Thanks for all of your replies!