Once you are onboard and enjoying a Disney cruise, you might want to find a way to get right back on board. Disney has an onboard bookings desk right there on the ship. If you book onboard, they will offer you a few perks. The first is an onboard credit to be used next time you sail ($100 for cruises less than 7 days, $200 for cruises 7 days or longer). (UPDATED – As on 10/1/2019, any placeholders booked on board will no longer receive this on board credit) The second incentive is a reduced deposit for cruises 7 days or longer (requiring only a 10% deposit instead of the usual 20%). The last discount is a 10% reduction in price for *MOST* cruises. Disney has started to black out that 10% discount on a lot of the popular cruises (for example, Spring Break, Christmas Break, and special itineraries). Also, the discounts do not apply to concierge bookings.
If you don’t know which cruise you want to take, you can book a placeholder cruise. A placeholder cruise is a “hold” to use your onboard booking discounts for a future cruise. For a $250 deposit, you get a placeholder reservation that can be turned into a real cruise reservation once you figure out which one you want to book. Once you are ready to book, you will receive all the advantages of an onboard booking. You have two years from the day you requested the placeholder to sail and take advantage of the discounts. If you cancel the placeholder cruise, you will get your money returned to you. All of the rules for the placeholder were posted on a recent cruise we took in April 2019:
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!