Please remove

[olafLover]

.

 

[Mommb]

Your plan should be possible. A good travel agent would be able to book a cruise for you on opening day, without your having to sit on the phone all day. If you know by the time booking opens that you will have 3 people, the travel agent will be able to add the 3rd person.

The part I am not sure of is whether the cruise can be transferred if it is just a placeholder. You may need to pick a specific future date when you transfer the reservation, then have the agent change to the date you really want when it becomes available.

You can make a reservation for a baby who has not been born, but I don’t think you can make a booking for a baby you are not yet expecting. Infant fares are fairly low, though, so you could add the baby later after you know if he or she will be old enough to cruise.

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[Pens Fan]

You can transfer a placeholder to a TA. We did this last fall. It isn't necessary to change it to an actual cruise reservation prior to the transfer.

 

[lanejudy]

You can transfer a placeholder to a TA. I've read a few reports of the TA changing it to a "dummy" cruise to put into their system, but that's not a big deal if they do that. Probably unnecessary, though. Make sure the transfer is completed before the 30-day mark.

I would book the 3rd passenger TBD as "Baby [last name]" with a "birth date" the due date or something that makes the child old enough to cruise (is it 12 months for a European cruise and 6 months for a US closed loop cruise?). You can update the information later once the child is born. I would not book an older nephew because you want to be sure there is nursery space not kids club space. If you booked an older child, then tried to change to a baby but the nursery is full, they won't allow the change. This is whether you plan to actually use the nursery onboard or not, there are only so many passenger spots for that age group allowed.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[fredandkell]

I wouldn't book a phantom third person. No offense, but getting pregnant isn't as easy as you might think. (Or, boom! You could get pregnant the first time.) Either way, I'd book for 2, and if you should need to book for 3, do that when and if the actual baby is on the way.

 

[CM Dad]

You can transfer a placeholder to a TA. I've read a few reports of the TA changing it to a "dummy" cruise to put into their system, but that's not a big deal if they do that. Probably unnecessary, though. Make sure the transfer is completed before the 30-day mark.

We have had our TA convert a placeholder into a cheap 3 night cruise. That allowed her to switch the cruise to the one we actually wanted on opening day using the DCL web site. If it had been left as a placeholder, she would have had to book the real cruise via phone on a busy day for DCL.

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[fredandkell]

That's actually the reason we're still booking the cruise, because realistically the chances are pretty slim we'll make it, the only way being if it goes really good or really bad. So yes, no offence taken, I'd just hate it if it does go really fast but we can't go because there is no lifeboat space left or something.

I'm pretty sure the lifeboat space is based on the number of beds in the room. I don't know of any rooms on Disney ships that only sleep 2 people - I believe all of them sleep at least 3, and some sleep 4-5 (and concierge suites can handle 6 I believe). So they have to have enough lifeboat seats to be able to get everyone off the ship assuming every room is 100% occupied.

For example, my family of 4 always books two rooms that connect. So those two rooms could hold 6-8 people in theory but we only use 4 spaces. So in theory there are 2-4 extra lifeboat seats that we did not use because of the vacant beds in our cabin.

 

[Shanti]

That's actually the reason we're still booking the cruise, because realistically the chances are pretty slim we'll make it, the only way being if it goes really good or really bad. So yes, no offence taken, I'd just hate it if it does go really fast but we can't go because there is no lifeboat space left or something.

I agree with you about booking for a baby now. Getting pregnant is one of those things that will just happen when and if it happens- your body doesn't care how long you have or haven't been "trying". So you may well get pregnant right away. If you do & the baby can cruise, you'll want to be able to book him or her, & keep the price as low as it was on opening day.

Cancelling a passenger later is easier than adding a passenger later.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm pretty sure the lifeboat space is based on the number of beds in the room. I don't know of any rooms on Disney ships that only sleep 2 people - I believe all of them sleep at least 3, and some sleep 4-5 (and concierge suites can handle 6 I believe). So they have to have enough lifeboat seats to be able to get everyone off the ship assuming every room is 100% occupied.

For example, my family of 4 always books two rooms that connect. So those two rooms could hold 6-8 people in theory but we only use 4 spaces. So in theory there are 2-4 extra lifeboat seats that we did not use because of the vacant beds in our cabin.

Actually, DCL staterooms are designed to allow for flexibility in party size, and as such they do NOT have lifeboat space enough to fill every bed onboard. Guests cannot just add another passenger to the room simply because there is an unused bed. To add another passenger, it will depend on 1) # of beds in the stateroom, 2) available space in that lifeboat, and if a minor 3) the number of other children of that age group already booked. If the any of those cannot accommodate, the guest cannot be added. This is true for infants as well.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[ludari]

Although I like to be involved in my cruise as much as possible I highly recommend that everyone use a TA. They are really helpful when planning your Disney Cruises especially future cruises that have not been released yet.