Disney Cruise Line Placeholder What is a Placeholder & Why You Should Get One How to Use a Placeholder

Disney Cruise Line Placeholder

What is a Placeholder & Why You Should Get One

How to Use a Placeholder

Let’s start with what is a Placeholder. Simply put, a Placeholder is a $250 deposit on a Future Cruise of unknow date while you are still on the ship. You MUST be ON the ship when you book these! You can either pick a date for a Future Cruise, making the full deposit for it, or book a Placeholder, making the $250 deposit for a cruise you will pick the date for later. The only thing about a Placeholder is you MUST sail within 24 months of the date you booked the Placeholder. Each cabin can book 2 of these Future Cruises/Placeholders. If you know that new itineraries will be released soon you can hold that Placeholder and save 10% on the lowest price you will be able to get! As stated it is a DEPOSIT and that $250 will be applied to the initial deposit when booking your next cruise. You will need to pay any difference needed in the deposit.

 

Why should you book a Future Cruise/Placeholder while on the ship? Would you like to save 10% on your next cruise? That is why you should do it!! If your cruise costs $2,500 you will save 10%. That is a savings of $250!

 

Simple recap. If you know of a Future Cruise, you would like to take you can book it while on the ship and save 10%. If you don’t have a cruised picked or want to wait until new itineraries you can get a Placeholder and sail within 2 years. The $250 Placeholder deposit will be used toward the initial deposit and you will get 10% off.

 

If you booked the cruise you are on with a Travel Professional it should be automatically be placed under their care. It is always wise to make sure it is by checking with Guest Services or calling DCL once you get home. If you don’t have a Travel Professional, you can transfer it to an Agent within 30 days of the date you booked it. My recommendation is to do it as soon as you can after getting home. After 30 days you cannot transfer the reservation to an agent. After 30 days your Agent cannot help you. Either way make sure you give your Travel Professional the reservation number so they can help you when you are ready. The Agent/Professional should also call DCL to make sure it is under their care. It will not show up on the Disney Travel Agent website or any other way as being booked with them.

 

How to use your Future Cruise or Placeholder booking:

Booking it yourself:

• A Future Cruise is taken care of the same way you handle any booking made with DCL online or by calling. If you made it yourself with no Travel Professional you can make payments online or by calling DCL.
• If it is a Placeholder you need to call DCL to tell them what Ship/Date/Itinerary you wish to sail and make the booking, making any additional deposit necessary. Then they will use the $250 towards the deposit and you can handle the rest as you usually do.

If you book with a Travel Agent/Professional:

• Call your agent when you get home and tell them you have made a Future Cruise booking and give them the Reservation Number. They should check to make sure the Reservation is listed under their care. You will make your payments through them.
• If you book a Placeholder give your Travel Agent/Professional your Reservation Number as soon as possible after getting home. Ask them to make sure they have the reservation listed under them.
• When you have picked a sail date you will need to have the Travel Professional call DCL and make the booking for you. They will tell you of any additional deposit needed and you will continue making payments through the Travel Agent. Your $250 deposit will become part of the initial deposit required by DCL.
• REMEMBER!!! IF YOU NEED TO TRANSFER THE BOOKING TO YOUR TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL YOU MUST DO IT WITHIN 30 DAYS OF MAKING THE BOOKING!!! The sooner you do it after returning home the better! It takes time for the form to be filled out, emails to get to the proper people at DCL and paperwork done. This is especially true if you are thinking of using a place like CostCo for Travel Planning. They often delay and the 30 days can go past and the transfer does not get done. I’ve seen it happen. Follow up to make sure the Booking Transfer went through.

 

Now for a PRO TIP!! Want to save 15% on your next cruise instead of 10%? That takes it from $100 per thousand to $150! If you have a Target Red Card, you can use it to purchase Disney Gift Cards at a 5% discount!! Use those Discounted Disney Gift Cards to pay for your cruise!! Remember that $2,500 cruise that you saved 10%/$250 on by using a Placeholder?? With Discounted Disney Gift Cards that would be $15% or $375!! That is an extra $125 to pay for DCL Merchandise, Port Adventures, Adult Dining, Digital Photo Package, Adult Drinks or Spa Time!

Un-Magical Things Happen

 Un-Magical Things Happen

 

Sometimes we plan a trip to be special. We dream, spend time and money to get it all right. Yet things do not always go as planned.

 

Sometimes a Travel Agent makes a mistake in planning the trip. They forget to inform the destination of a need you have, make a mistake in the type of room or some other item that is important to you. Remember Travel Agents are human and make mistakes. It is what they do AFTER you let them know that counts! A good Travel Agent will take responsibility and try to fix the issue.

 

Things happen on vacation. Airlines lose luggage. A  bad experience at with transportation or the staff makes you uncomfortable, the service is not good. The Hotel is not up to your standards. Things are not as shown in pictures. Not a clean as you like or the service is not friendly. You talk to Guest Services and things are not resolved to your satisfaction or they seem to blame shift or have to go to someone else to solve the issue. Long run the problem is not resolved.

 

When one thing goes wrong early in the trip it is easy to see every little problem as bigger. It becomes overwhelming and takes the joy out of your vacation. Is it wrong for you to feel this way?? NO!! Should you give up on that vacation spot for good? That depends on what other people have had happen. Does it seem to be a pattern of poor service? Look closely at your heart and the location. It could be a onetime issue.

 

Another thing to consider is the power of a letter. The destination may not know there is a problem if you do not write a letter and tell them about the problem how can they fix it? There is power in letting the destination know there is a problem. Maybe they can solve it for the next guest. Maybe the destination will give you some compensation. If you used a Travel Agent, tell your Travel Agent about the problems! Your Travel Agent may be able to help resolve the issue. At the minimum the Agent may solve the problem for the next guest and possible future trip for you. If the problems are big enough and the destination is not working with you to resolve it tell your Agent! Send them an email, text, or phone call while you are still there if possible! Maybe they can make a difference. Good Travel Agents will try and do the best they can to resolve issues. Just remember Agents are not magic Workers and cannot resolve all issues, just let us try.

What you should NOT be ashamed of when booking with a Travel Agent

There are two things you should never feel ashamed about when planning a vacation with a Travel Agent. These things are too important to feel ashamed about them.

 

1.      Do not be afraid to ask questions. It is the job of the agent to answer questions. Truly it is the job of a good agent to know and give you the answers to the questions you do not know you needed to ask. No question is stupid unless it is the one you do not ask. No question is too basic. It is YOUR vacation, and you should have all the information you need to make an informed decision.

2.      Needing to cancel or reschedule your vacation after booking. Life happens, schedules change, people get sick, cars break, jobs change, and kids need braces. Yes, the agent spent time getting necessary information and giving you the information needed to book. They take the time to book and even make special requests. BUT!!! That does not mean you need to feel ashamed or guilty for canceling. It is an agents job, and we know a percentage of bookings will get canceled after deposit.

 

If you do not feel comfortable enough with your agent to ask questions and cancel/reschedule your booked trip, consider changing agents/agencies. They are not a good match for you. Remember it is YOUR vacation paid for with your hard-earned money. It should be your way, at your time, with no stress or pressure. Yes, agents only get paid when a client actually travels. Canceling does reduce their income. But that is no reason to feel guilty.  You should never be just a commission to your agent. An agent should understand life happens. Your vacation enjoyment should be the agent’s priority. A great agent thinks your vacation is as important as their own. Honestly, we agents have as much fun booking your trips and thinking about the fun you will have as we do our own trips!

 

Take the time to get to know your agent. Ask questions. Share vacation goals and dreams. Be ready for the agent to ask questions so they can get to know you and find out what you want/need in your trip.