Placeholder

[Garyjames220]

hey.

Have a few questions about the place holder. We are on a cruise 2 weeks on Saturday

I wanted to book a cruise for next September 2016. Do I book that onboard on do I ask for a place holder ? And am I best waiting the two weeks to book it ?

Also am I able to change it to the following year if need be and still get benefits ?

Is there any cruise in Europe that it does not include eg not include onboard credit etc ?

And finally can I charge the new cruise to my onboard account or how does it get paid ?

Thanks

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I can't answer all of those questions, but I can tell you some of the European cruises, such as the British Isles cruise, were excluded this year.

ETA: Here are the blacked out cruises:

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/itineraries/onboard-booking-blockout-sailings

I believe you still get OBC for these dates but no 10% discount.

 

[KristiMc]

If you have a specific cruise you want you book the actual cruise. If your dates haven't been released yet you book the placeholder.

If you think your Sept 2016 cruise might rise in price in the next 2 weeks - book it now and then check on the ship. If it hasn't increased more than the 10% and OBC then cancel and rebook.

You could move your onboard booking (and still get the benefits) to another cruise as long as it is within 2 years of the day you booked it onboard.

There are some European cruises that are blacked out from the 10%

You cannot charge the onboard booking to your account. They do a separate credit card charge for the onboard bookings.

 

[gismo1554]

Also note the 24 month rule. The reason I mention this is I'm looking at a placeholder for a 2017 cruise and so in order to make sure I have the 24 months and try to cover the dates that cruise might be (looking at WBTA so assuming it will be sometime in September) I am going to wait as late as possible on my cruise (WBTA 2015) to book that way I maximise the chance of the cruise being within the dates I have available. If I booked as soon as I got onboard 19th Sept 2015 I would have until 18th Sept 2017 to start my cruise to get the benefits. Does this make sense?

 

[Pens Fan]

Also note the 24 month rule. The reason I mention this is I'm looking at a placeholder for a 2017 cruise and so in order to make sure I have the 24 months and try to cover the dates that cruise might be (looking at WBTA so assuming it will be sometime in September) I am going to wait as late as possible on my cruise (WBTA 2015) to book that way I maximise the chance of the cruise being within the dates I have available. If I booked as soon as I got onboard 19th Sept 2015 I would have until 18th Sept 2017 to start my cruise to get the benefits. Does this make sense?

Just a tip - When we were on the Magic in July, one day early in the cruise there was no one at the sales desk and we stopped to ask some questions. We mentioned that we would be back on the last day to book our placeholder (waiting for the reasons you mentioned). The CM told us there was no need to come back. She had us fill out a form and then she noted on it that it was to be booked on the last day of our cruise. A few hours after we disembarked the ship in Dover, I got an email from DCL showing the booking. We disembarked on the 10th and the reservation was made on the 9th. It saved us a long wait in line on the last day, which is usually very busy.

 

[gismo1554]

Just a tip - When we were on the Magic in July, one day early in the cruise there was no one at the sales desk and we stopped to ask some questions. We mentioned that we would be back on the last day to book our placeholder (waiting for the reasons you mentioned). The CM told us there was no need to come back. She had us fill out a form and then she noted on it that it was to be booked on the last day of our cruise. A few hours after we disembarked the ship in Dover, I got an email from DCL showing the booking. We disembarked on the 10th and the reservation was made on the 9th. It saved us a long wait in line on the last day, which is usually very busy.

Good to know! Did she just write it on the form do you know? I used the form last year but had a cruise to book on to so date wasn't as much of an issue as this year?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Information direct from the ship. ( two weeks ago)

 

[Pens Fan]

Good to know! Did she just write it on the form do you know? I used the form last year but had a cruise to book on to so date wasn't as much of an issue as this year?

We filled out the form as you normally would and then the CM just made a note of when to book it on the top of the form. She was the one that suggested we handle it that way. I'm guessing they are trying to avoid the crush of people coming to the sales desk on the last day.

 

[Fsudisney]

So I'm going to piggyback on this thread- I have cruised DCL several times but we have always done FLR deals so never booked out far enough ahead to take advantage of OBB.
We are on the Dream on 11/13 and my mom and I agreed we should take a look at OBB since discount seem very few lately.
So if we book a placeholder for a cruise that hasn't been released yet, we just pay a general deposit and then when opening day prices come out do we get 10% off whatever the opening day price is depending on the cruise we choose?
I am new to understanding this OBB thing!

 

[lanejudy]

... So if we book a placeholder for a cruise that hasn't been released yet, we just pay a general deposit and then when opening day prices come out do we get 10% off whatever the opening day price is depending on the cruise we choose?
I am new to understanding this OBB thing!

Yes, that's correct. You'll pay a $200 deposit for a "placeholder" which can then be changed to a real date. On opening day, assuming the date you wish to cruise isn't blacked out, you'll get 10% off the opening day fares -- and pay any difference in the required deposit (vs. the $200 you already paid). Cruises of 7+ nights only require a 10% deposit while shorter cruises will need a 20% deposit; the longer cruises get $200 OBC and shorter cruises $100.

Enjoy your cruises!

 

[gismo1554]

We filled out the form as you normally would and then the CM just made a note of when to book it on the top of the form. She was the one that suggested we handle it that way. I'm guessing they are trying to avoid the crush of people coming to the sales desk on the last day.

Fantastic! I'm going to try this then

 

[RDP]

Can I book online if I have a place holder reservation?