Disney Just Changed Onboard Bookings!

[GMRO]

We're the family who needs a place-holder since I won't spend the money a cruise costs every 18 months. Give me 25 months (when kids go, we go late August and when it's just me and the wife, we go in September) and I'll move it once...when they open the dates for August/September 2 years out. All they've done from my point of view is to miss some cruises from us since we'll no longer get the discount and won't go every 2 years. September 2015 will be our 3rd cruise in 6 years and I was good on that schedule. WDW will be losing some business from us too since we did nights in the parks after our cruises.

I reckon I don't blame DCL since they're in it to make money. People taking advantage of the system (any system) end up hurting those who don't.

What are the reasons DCL doesn't open the dates for 24 months at a time? Then they could give you 24 months to use it with 1 move...

Chad

I get a bit of what you say Chad. Our first cruise we booked thru MJ. We got some sort of discount I’m sure vs. the DCL website. Past that we have booked while on-board for our next cruise(s). Then turned over the reservation to MJ once we got back on land for them to maintain for us.

That said, if no onboard discount was offered for rebook we’d still be booking thru MJ as we did for our first cruise. YES - we like it that much. That discount to me is nice but not a deal breaker. Yea they did change the deposit – still not a deal breaker since it’s off the total package we'd be paying anyway.

Basically if you want to go you will. If it means that much to you – you will go and do what it takes to save and go. Unfortunately the “hoggish” folks who took advantage of this somewhat lose policy have ruined it for folks like yourself. If you need an “app” to keep track of all your dummy reservations – land or sea – you have a problem.

Sending a ship out in the ocean with more than a single digit percent of empty rooms, that is a ship not fully booked, is wasteful and a money loser. Look at the airline industry. Many flights/routes have been cancelled due to many planes not filled – years ago. They finally got smart and stopped flying with planes only 1/3 full. Hopefully DCL has realized what they lose thru empty rooms and low last minute discounts cost to try and fill a ship based on dummy dates moving out. Is this some of the truth? Wouldn't doubt it...it's about heads in beds in the travel industry. DCL has changed their policies to help them remain efficient and keep doing what most of us love and keeps us going back for more. It has to be a scheduling nightmare for them and any travel agent. This could remove a bit of the administrative waste that constant maintenance/babysitting accounts requires.

To me it’s like buying a car and finding out the next month the dealer is offering higher discount that you did not get. If you waited you could have had the lower price too. But you bought when you did and you are not eligible for the new deal.

It is what it is…

GOOD LUCK booking future cruises!

 

[flynnibus]

We're the family who needs a place-holder since I won't spend the money a cruise costs every 18 months. Give me 25 months (when kids go, we go late August and when it's just me and the wife, we go in September) and I'll move it once...when they open the dates for August/September 2 years out. All they've done from my point of view is to miss some cruises from us since we'll no longer get the discount and won't go every 2 years. September 2015 will be our 3rd cruise in 6 years and I was good on that schedule. WDW will be losing some business from us too since we did nights in the parks after our cruises.

that was my complaint as well.. 18m was just too short of a window for our normal cruising pattern. Now I can understand if they say 'well you just don't get a discount then..' but it hurts. 25 would be my vote to allow for 2years + date shifts.

Or maybe just limit the # of changes you're allowed to just 1 move or something. Or maybe limit how many you can have on the books... dunno.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I wouldn't necessarily call the practice of booking placeholders or "dummies" an abuse of the system. If it was an abuse of the system why would the onboard reps tell people about it and happily encourage it?

As the cruises have gotten more popular people are learning the system and, of course, how to use it to their advantage. That's natural. Think of couponing or anything else with a discount. Same thing. I honestly had no idea how many future bookings I even had until I went to make a list the day before yesterday. We've made it a point to never waste the opportunity to make at least a placeholder when onboard so we aren't squandering an opportunity. In theory, for every cruise we take then we'd have the next placeholder for the next booking thus always rotating out the bookings that way. That's not exactly the way it's happened because we've booked utilizing specials that can't be combined with the placeholders so the placeholders just sit. And, I forget they're even threre.

I have no problem with the placeholders I have now having an end date. I'll prob'ly never use all of them and will cancel some.

I think if Disney wants to allow for placeholders maybe a situation where there's a type that doesn't have a date or actual booking on a ship attached would help avoid the false capacity numbers on future sailings. Alow for date-less placeholders that are assignable one time only. Works for me.

 

[Mrs.Skellington]

I recently booked a place holder in the hopes of going to the Med in the summer of 2015. Well some of you know that can't exactly happen because our new baby will not even be 1 yet by that time. Instead we are going to go to the Bahamas in February 2015. Baby's first Disney trip!!!
That being said, sometimes life gets in the way. 18 months is not enough time. I believe at least 24 months is fair and also with the "no date" selected option. With children, it's very hard to decide what date you want that far out and if you can even go in 18 months. Totally unfair. We normally go to Disney every two years and was going to start the cruise tradition with this. Doesn't seem at all possible now.
Thanks again, Disney!

 

[EOD K9]

@Mrs.Skellington I'm in a similar situation. I had the Magic booked for March but just found out that my family size is doubling from two to four. Luckily, we have some time to push ours back a bit.

 

[GMRO]

Guess it depends on how often "placeholders"/"dummies" were modified and root cause - as to if it is abuse or not? Maybe...

I don't dismiss just like the old FP use where folks would gather up passes all day and run from ride to ride later in the day and pay no attention to their RETURN HOUR posted on the paper pass. “But they told me as long as I was not EARLY/BEFORE my posted time I could come back anytime.” YUP it WAS that way. Now Disney enforces the time slot on the fastpass.

If it was not turning into an epidemic of folks stock piling placeholder cruises and moving them on a regular basis wonder why the policy is changing? Like RFID soda fountains? Anyone ever see a person filling up a plastic JUG of soda or 2 liter bottle? I've never but still don't dismiss it likely happened. Think its consumers from "other" parts of the world causing this? Doubt it...likely American consumers who have become aware of loops in the system from experience. Hey its Disney, what do they care?

This past May we booked...so I guess it was a "placeholder" for May2014. Just like the year before that...and the year before that...and the year before that etc. And we took the cruise per the dates we booked them for in all cases. ABUSE? Not... The "forward booking" as I'd call it worked. YES we always knew we could modify the date IF needed.

If you have a new addition to your family or expect a new kidney or need some other medical help or whatever...moving out your cruise to another future date - should not be a problem. Things happen and DCL knows that.

However, makes me wonder how many rooms we tried to book while on our cruise for the next year that were ALREADY BOOKED VIA A PLACEHOLDER/DUMMIE that actually got used or simply moved again out further. hmmmmmmm

 

[flynnibus]

Guess it depends on how often "placeholders"/"dummies" were modified and root cause - as to if it is abuse or not? Maybe...

I don't dismiss just like the old FP use where folks would gather up passes all day and run from ride to ride later in the day and pay no attention to their RETURN HOUR posted on the paper pass. “But they told me as long as I was not EARLY/BEFORE my posted time I could come back anytime.” YUP it WAS that way. Now Disney enforces the time slot on the fastpass.

The FP comparison is not the same on several fronts.

1) The FP policy WAS to return on time.. Disney just didn't enforce it due to guest recovery. Allowing you to change your booking wasn't allowed as a grace/guest recovery - it was the written policy.

2) Late FPs were a service factor - not a revenue/money factor - filling up their boats is critical business factor and extremely difficult to do on short notice.

If it was not turning into an epidemic of folks stock piling placeholder cruises and moving them on a regular basis wonder why the policy is changing? Like RFID soda fountains? Anyone ever see a person filling up a plastic JUG of soda or 2 liter bottle? I've never but still don't dismiss it likely happened. Think its consumers from "other" parts of the world causing this? Doubt it...likely American consumers who have become aware of loops in the system from experience. Hey its Disney, what do they care?

It could be as simple as them trying to 'optimize' so they don't have to discount late.. will they fill more rooms? Who knows.. maybe they don't even have to if they are able to fill the boat with more advance notice and hence less discounting. It could be simply for their own sanity of planning. It could simply be Disney trying to cut back on discounts...

The old model wasn't 'abuse' - but there was an element of gaming the system if you would do the perpetual move out to keep the discounts. When someone takes advantage of flexibility to use it in ways it wasn't intended... that's when you start approaching abuse. Simply changing your plans, or deferring you intended trip isn't abuse or gaming.. it's simply using it as intended. But when you goto the extreme... yeah, it's a negative against Disney and may come back to haunt everyone.

In the grand scheme of things.. all this means is a changing of their DISCOUNTS. You can certainly do what you did before.. just not with the same discounts.

 

[GMRO]

The FP comparison is not the same on several fronts.

1) The FP policy WAS to return on time.. Disney just didn't enforce it due to guest recovery. Allowing you to change your booking wasn't allowed as a grace/guest recovery - it was the written policy.

2) Late FPs were a service factor - not a revenue/money factor - filling up their boats is critical business factor and extremely difficult to do on short notice.

It could be as simple as them trying to 'optimize' so they don't have to discount late.. will they fill more rooms? Who knows.. maybe they don't even have to if they are able to fill the boat with more advance notice and hence less discounting. It could be simply for their own sanity of planning. It could simply be Disney trying to cut back on discounts...

The old model wasn't 'abuse' - but there was an element of gaming the system if you would do the perpetual move out to keep the discounts. When someone takes advantage of flexibility to use it in ways it wasn't intended... that's when you start approaching abuse. Simply changing your plans, or deferring you intended trip isn't abuse or gaming.. it's simply using it as intended. But when you goto the extreme... yeah, it's a negative against Disney and may come back to haunt everyone.

In the grand scheme of things.. all this means is a changing of their DISCOUNTS. You can certainly do what you did before.. just not with the same discounts.

My thoughts were that "IT WAS" on both fronts -- FP's and advanced bookings. Both are now spilled milk at this point since both must now be used differently by patrons vs. how they were being used before. AND it impacts ALL OF US.

Folks who used the systems less gaming or abuse - well those are the folks who get the shaft. Guess maybe abuse could be a harsh word. I'll use it... Abuse leads to many rule changes and amendments to any system. I agree that sometimes changes to any policy can be for improvements and optimizing - yet sometimes it is also due to abuse of a system in place as well that needs curbed.

Sorry to those who will have less convenience in booking with discounts on DCL from this point.

 

[flynnibus]

Just got a mailer today from DCL... announcing the 18m booking window.

But they also said for EXISTING bookings, they are going to give an additional 6 months. So for any bookings you had in already... the deadline is 24months. 18months on new bookings