10 Questions About Rebooking Onboard a Disney Cruise

Saving money on a Disney cruise is always a good thing, right? Did you know you can save money on a future Disney cruise by booking your next Disney cruise while onboard? Well, you can! All you have to do is go to Future Cruise Sales Desk onboard, or talk to the concierge team if you are sailing concierge, and either fill out a form to drop off, or sit down to talk and make plans with the cast member at the desk. The deposit amount will be charged to your method of payment on file for your cruise. Does that answer all of your questions? Of course not. So let’s try more information below.

Update – Disney has recently changed their policy for onboard bookings.  The onboard credit is no longer included as a benefit for rebookings for anything besides concierge categories.  Disney Cruise Line Blog has the updated policy.

1. What are the Benefits to Rebooking Onboard? – There are three benefits to booking onboard. First, when you rebook onboard, you will receive 10% off of the current cruise fare. You’ll still pay the regular taxes and port fees on top of that. Second, you will only have to put down a 10% deposit, instead of the normal 20%, on cruises of 7 nights or longer. Third, you will receive an onboard credit on that future cruise of either $100 on sailings of 6 nights or less, or $200 on sailings of 7 nights or longer. If you are booking a concierge stateroom, you will only get the third benefit, the onboard credit.

2. If I Don’t Know What I Want to Book, Can I Rebook Onboard? – Absolutely! If you don’t have a date in mind, or if Disney hasn’t released your preferred sail date yet, you can book what’s called a Placeholder. A Placeholder is a flat $250 and basically reserves your discount. Once you decide what sail date you want to use it for, you’ll move the Placeholder to the correct date and pay the additional deposit, if any, that is due.

3. Do the Rebooking Onboard Benefits Expire? – They do. You must use your onboard booking within two years. Your new sailing must begin within 24 months of the exact day it is booked. No exceptions. If you do not use it, 24 months after your Placeholder is booked, your $250 will automatically be refunded to the original form of payment. If you have a specific date booked and you change it to a date outside of that 24 month window, it will not automatically cancel, but you will not receive any of the benefits.

4. What if I Change My Mind On Sail Dates or Even Sailing Again? – No harm no foul. You can move it as many times as you like, as long as you stick within that 24-month window. If you decide a cruise is not in your plans in the next two years after all, the onboard booking (with the exception of concierge) is fully refundable.

5. Can I Combine with Other Discounts? – You cannot. If you book a military rate, Florida resident, or a IGT, OGT, or VGT rate, you cannot use an onboard booking for it. There’s no loss though! If you find a good discounted rate, you can cancel the onboard booking and move the money over, or save the onboard booking for another date.

6. Do the Rebooking Onboard Benefits Work on All Itineraries? – They do not. There are some block-out dates where the 10% off and reduced deposit will not apply. You will still get the onboard credit and reduced deposit if applicable. Scott Sanders keeps a good list of which sailings are blocked out on his site. Rebooking onboard benefits also do not apply to two-night sailings.

7. Can I Book for Friends? – Kind of! Each household sailing can book two staterooms on a future sailing. Not each adult, but each household, meaning Dad and Mom in the same room can still only book two staterooms. Both staterooms must be on the same sailing, but you can put anyone you like in the second stateroom. They do not have to be onboard at the time of booking. One name from the time of booking must always stay in each of the staterooms, so if you are a family of two adults, I’d recommend booking one adult in each stateroom. Then if your friends change their mind, you can take someone else! Once you are onboard you can move everyone to the stateroom that everyone will actually be sleeping in.

8. Can I Still Use My Travel Agent With An Onboard Booking? – You can! If you are currently booked with a travel agent, you can request that the new booking remain with that travel agent. If you would like to change agents or didn’t use one the first time, you can transfer the onboard booking to a travel agent within 30 days of booking. Your travel agent will have a form for you to fill out. Disney is very, very strict on that 30 days, so don’t delay! FYI, when a guest rebooks onboard, Disney reduces the amount of commission that is paid to travel agencies who have reached a certain level of sales for Disney Cruise Line. You read that correctly, the agencies that sell the most cruises for Disney are the ones that are penalized when a guest rebooks onboard. Don’t even get me started… Why does this matter to you? If you use a travel agent who offers agency onboard credits, because of the reduced commission, they will usually reduce their onboard credit for onboard bookings. Also of note, if you want to book a concierge stateroom and are hoping to get an agency onboard credit, you may want to forgo the onboard booking. Often the extra agency onboard credit will make up for the loss of the onboard credit from Disney, the only benefit concierge gets when rebooking onboard.

9. I Forgot to Rebook Onboard, Can I do it When I Get Home? – No, you can’t! Disney is also very strict about this benefit being an onboard-benefit only. I also recommend doing it early in the cruise as the rebooking desk gets very, very busy towards the end. (But remember, you can just grab one of the rebooking cards from the rebooking desk, fill it out, and then drop it in the box at the rebooking desk—no need to talk to anyone unless you want to!)

10. If New Itineraries Come Out, Should I Wait and Rebook Onboard? – My answer is no to this one. When you know what you want, go ahead and book it. New itineraries in particular, can jump in price quickly. When you rebook onboard you are getting the 10% discount off the current fare. If the price has gone up more than 10% (plus the onboard credit), you have lost your savings. It’s also possible the category or stateroom you are interested in could be gone if you wait, costing you more in the long run if you have to book up a category. On the other hand, if you’ve booked already, and the price hasn’t gone up that amount, you can “reshop” (or rebook the exact same thing) onboard, and cancel the old booking when you get home. Disney or your travel agent will make sure the original deposit is credited towards the new cruise or refunded, and will even make sure you keep your original stateroom if you so desire.

Do you have any other questions about an onboard booking? Is there anything I’ve left out that you think would be helpful for others to know? Share below!

Tammy Whiting is the owner of Storybook Destinations. Did you know Storybook Destinations offers a complimentary subscription to TouringPlans with qualified Disney and Universal bookings? Click here for a no-obligation quote on your next vacation.