Disney Cruise Line is the cream of the crop when it comes to cruising. And of course, it’s not cheap! But I bet most people don’t know about the easiest way to save money on your next cruise. Since everyone (Disney Representative, Travel Agent, Average Guy Looking Online…) booking a Disney cruise sees the same price when requesting a quote, you’ve got to be a little more diligent to find a deal.
The term “next cruise” is key here, though. What I’m talking about today is the benefit Disney Cruise Line extends to guests that are currently on a Disney Cruise and choose to book their next one while on board. When you make an onboard booking, you'll save 10% off the current published cruise fare plus receive onboard credit. You can cancel and get a refund of the deposit if you get home and change your mind, but you can’t get the discount once you’ve disembarked the ship. If there is the slightest chance you want to take another Disney cruise, book it! You don’t have to give an actual sail date if you’re unsure of your future plans. You book a placeholder and you can wait and assign the booking to a particular sailing after you get home.
If you do happen to know your exact dates that you want to sail, it’s best to book that specific sailing. Generally speaking, prices are cheapest when the sailing is released to book and they get more expensive as the cruise date gets closer. So the earlier you can book the exact dates, the less the price will be to start (before the discount).
You will be required to put down a deposit, but that is fully refundable if you change your mind. This is a much smaller deposit than if you booked later - typically the deposit is 20% of the total cruise cost. If you book an actual sail date, it’s 10% of the cost. If you book a Placeholder it’s $250. You’ll have 2 full years to book a cruise (if you did a Placeholder) or you can get your deposit back within that time frame.
But wait… There’s more! You will also get an Onboard Credit. You will get a $200 credit if you book 7 nights or more, and a $100 credit for 3 to 6 nights. This is per stateroom.
So how do you book this future cruise? You have a couple of options - you can visit the Future Cruise desk where a Disney Cast Member will help you. Or if you’re a seasoned cruiser, you can just complete the Placeholder Form which is readily available on board and authorize the deposit to come from your onboard account. You then just place the form in the Future Travel Desk Mail Box at the desk. If you plan to visit the desk, go early in your cruise! The lines get longer as the cruise is ending and people realize they can’t wait to book their next one.
One thing to remember - if you’ve used me as your Travel Agent (of course!!), be sure and mark on the form that you want to use me again. And just let me know about it so that I can get started helping you plan your next Magical cruise!!!