Question re PCC 4.0 Onboard Booking Strategy

[NitroStitch]

I know y'all have your hands more than full with DISapalooza HP and the ABD trips and PCC 3.0 planning, so I know a PCC 4.0 announcement is probably a while off (not to mention Disney has released very limited December 2012 cruise booking info).

We're on the Dream next week, and we need to know the strategy for taking advantage of the booking deals on board. I know it's probably best to book as far into the future as possible, but does it matter what ship we book for our "dummy date"? Does the length of that cruise booking matter, or is it simply to get a deal on the deposit or rate or whatever that can then be converted into a PCC 4.0 ressie once those dates are known and reservations are open? We're new to this Disney cruising thing, so we're asking the experts.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wdwscout]

We rebooked for 3.0 and 4.0 while on board for 2.0.

The CM who booked us suggested we pick any date (he chose a Dec 2011 cruise), and then he choose a cheaper category and a 3 night sailing. This way our depsoit was small, we were booked with Dreams and the ressie could convert to the PCC4.0 when it was announced.

That helped, since we had already paid the full deposit for 3.0 in the category and specific cabin we wanted.

I thought that was very nice of him to suggest we do it that way!

 

[NitroStitch]

We rebooked for 3.0 and 4.0 while on board for 2.0.

The CM who booked us suggested we pick any date (he chose a Dec 2011 cruise), and then he choose a cheaper category and a 3 night sailing. This way our depsoit was small, we were booked with Dreams and the ressie could convert to the PCC4.0 when it was announced.

That helped, since we had already paid the full deposit for 3.0 in the category and specific cabin we wanted.

I thought that was very nice of him to suggest we do it that way!

Thanks! I was hoping it wouldn't matter with so many things up in the air and paying the deposit so far in advance while paying for another vacation (and others in between). Great for the CM to help you out so much!

 

[mdvlprof]

We rebooked for 3.0 and 4.0 while on board for 2.0.

The CM who booked us suggested we pick any date (he chose a Dec 2011 cruise), and then he choose a cheaper category and a 3 night sailing. This way our depsoit was small, we were booked with Dreams and the ressie could convert to the PCC4.0 when it was announced.

That's what we did for 4.0. Did a fake booking for Dec 2011 [I guess so price would be similar].

 

[NitroStitch]

That's what we did for 4.0. Did a fake booking for Dec 2011 [I guess so price would be similar].

Thanks! That makes sense, especially for time frames and prices...

 

[DSNYDREAMER]

The most important thing is to list Dreams as your agency. Don't allow them to book it under dcl and tell you that you can transfer it to Dreams later.

We are not able to transfer reservations to a podcast cruise if it wasn't made under Dreams originally.

 

[NitroStitch]

The most important thing is to list Dreams as your agency. Don't allow them to book it under dcl and tell you that you can transfer it to Dreams later.

We are not able to transfer reservations to a podcast cruise if it wasn't made under Dreams originally.

Whew - we just got back from our cruise on the Dream, and I did specify Dreams as the travel agent for our rebooking. Glad they asked me about that.

 

[MadfortheMouse]

We are going on our first cruise this June and I am already thinking about our next cruise. How far out can you book while on board? I would love to take advantage of the offered discounts!
Thank you

 

[OKW Lover]

You can book for any date that they have announced the cruise schedule for. Right now that's at least through December 2012. If your next cruise is beyond what has been released, just pick a dummy cruise and then change it as the schedule gets extended.