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!

Disney Cruise Line Money Saving Tips

Disney Cruise Line Money Saving Tips

Any Disney Vacation is expensive. Let's be honest ANY vacation is expensive! But the memories you make on vacation are PRICELESS!! Still, you must make sure your vacation fits into your budget!

This next tip will work for ANY Disney Destination or anyplace you can pay using a Disney Gift Card. Target, Sam’s Club, some Ebates stores online, and some CostCo Stores sell discounted Disney Gift Cards! With Target you must use your Target Red Card (Debit or Credit) to receive a 5% discount! Ebates also does a 5%. Sam’s Club is usually 6%. Take them along to pay for drinks, merchandise, port excursions, tips, anything you can pay for with a Disney Gift Card! Just add them to your onboard folio!

Go to DisneyGiftCard.com and combine the cards into larger $1,000 cards and use them to pay for your reservations. It is important to combine your Disney Gift Cards into larger cards. If you purchase 20 $50 cards to pay for your shipboard account, you are putting $1,000 on your account. By the way you only spent $950 for that $1,000! Let’s say you only spent $975. Disney will put the $25 back onto your cards! They may not put the $25 back on ONE card. They may split it up between several cards with a few cents on one, a few dollars on another. It makes it easier to get any refund if you reduce the number of cards used.

Disney Gift Cards are also a great way to give kids (or yourself) a spending limit! They must keep track of what they spend so they know how much is left on the card! Once gone it is gone unless a parent wishes to add to the card. LOL

Now you are on the ship! Take a Disney Gift Card with $250 on it with you!! Book a Place holder! By the way that $250 card cost $237.50 to buy if you got it Discounted at 5%! On the Navigator App or by going to the Booking Desk book another cruise or booking Placeholder!! If you book a cruise while on the ship you get 10% off the next cruise! Don’t know when or where you will sail next? Book a Placeholder! A Placeholder gives you up to 2 years to sail on DCL again! It gives you a 10% discount on that future cruise! The $250 is part of your deposit! You just need to sail again within 24 months! If you don’t use the Placeholder the funds are returned to the card. If you book a future cruise or a Placeholder and pay them off with Discounted Disney Gift Cards, you can save 15%!! In my opinion every penny saved is worth the effort!

Do you love popcorn, candy, and soda while watching a movie or a show?? DCL charges for popcorn, candy, and soda from Preludes! Don’t want to pay full price?? Bring a popcorn bucket, ANY popcorn bucket from ANY Disney Park! You can get a refill at a greatly reduced price, $1.50 the last time I did it! Bring a Travel Mug/Cup for soda!! Go to the soda fountain on the pool deck and fill your cup before heading to the theater! I will tell you that because of Covid restrictions popcorn has not been available on the ships. I am NOT sure if they will be bringing back the reduced-price refills of popcorn buckets. I will update this post when I go next.

You can bring your favorite candy to take it the shows if it is in the original sealed packaging when you board it is allowed. The selection of candies is limited on the ships. I’m picky, and I have my favorites that I take along.

Soda, coffee, tea, juice, and water is FREE in the Restaurants. They charge for Soda in the lounges and when ordered through room service and at Preludes. Easy way to avoid the charge is to go to the soda fountain on the pool deck and fill your travel cup! Nobody stops you from taking it with you when you walk into a lounge. Of course, you are able to take it to your room or just sit on the deck and enjoy your drink.

Disney Cruise Line allows each adult to carry on 2 bottles of wine or 6 bottles of beer when they start the cruise. You can drink these in your cabin. If you take the wine to dinner to share you will be charged a corking fee. Last time I checked the corking fee was $25 per bottle. To avoid the charge open it in the stateroom and pour some into your travel cup!

Carolyn@EliteMemoriesTravel.com

Scott@EliteMemoriesTravel.com

Disney Cruise Line Money Saving Tips

 Disney Cruise Line Money Saving Tips

Any Disney Vacation is expensive. Let’s be honest ANY vacation is expensive! But the memories you make on a vacation are PRICELESS!! Still, you must make sure your vacation fits into your budget!

 

The first and MOST important Disney Cruise money saving tip I can share is book your cruise EARLY!! As soon as you see the cruise itinerary for the time you wish to sail come out, BOOK. You can make a deposit and hold the cabin at the early pricing. You don’t have to pay the cruise off until 90-105 days before cruising. If you cancel before the Pay in Full date, you will get a full refund, other than Trip Protection. To not lose your Trip Protection wait until you are going to Pay In Full to add it. Wait until the last moment to add Trip Protection.

 

Why book as soon as you can?? Prices for DCL go up QUICKLY!! I’ve seen cabins go up $300 in just a few minutes. DCL is popular and they historically, always run out of cabins. As the cabins sell out the prices go up. Also, you may no longer be able to get a lower priced cabin you originally wanted because they are sold out.

 

This next tip will work for ANY Disney Destination or anyplace you can pay using a Disney Gift Card. Target, Sam’s Club, some Ebates stores online, and some CostCo Stores sell discounted Disney Gift Cards! With Target you must use your Target Red Card (Debit or Credit) to receive a 5% discount! Ebates also does a 5%. Sam’s Club is usually 6%. Take them along to pay for drinks, merchandise, port excursions, tips, anything you can pay for with a Disney Gift Card! Just add them to your onboard folio!

 

Go to DisneyGiftCard.com and combine the cards into larger $1,000 cards and use them to pay for your reservations. It is important to combine your Disney Gift Cards into larger cards. If you purchase 20 $50 cards to pay for your shipboard account, you are putting $1,000 on your account. By the way you only spent $950 for that $1,000! Let’s say you only spent $975. Disney will put the $25 back onto your cards! They may not put the $25 back on ONE card. They may split it up between several cards with a few cents on one, a few dollars on another. It makes it easier to get any refund if you reduce the number of cards used.

 

Disney Gift Cards are also a great way to give kids (or yourself) a spending limit! They must keep track of what they spend so they know how much is left on the card! Once gone it is gone unless a parent wishes to add to the card. LOL

 

Now you are on the ship! Take a Disney Gift Card with $250 on it with you!! Book a Place holder! By the way that $250 card cost $237.50 to buy if you got it Discounted at 5%! On the Navigator App or by going to the Booking Desk book another cruise or booking Placeholder!! If you book a cruise while on the ship you get 10% off the next cruise! Don’t know when or where you will sail next? Book a Placeholder! A Placeholder gives you up to 2 years to sail on DCL again! It gives you a 10% discount on that future cruise! The $250 is part of your deposit! You just need to sail again within 24 months! If you don’t use the Placeholder the funds are returned to the card. If you book a future cruise or a Placeholder and pay them off with Discounted Disney Gift Cards, you can save 15%!! In my opinion every penny saved is worth the effort!

 

Do you love popcorn, candy, and soda while watching a movie or a show?? DCL charges for popcorn, candy, and soda from Preludes! Don’t want to pay full price?? Bring a popcorn bucket, ANY popcorn bucket from ANY Disney Park! You can get a refill at a greatly reduced price, $1.50 the last time I did it! Bring a Travel Mug/Cup for soda!! Go to the soda fountain on the pool deck and fill your cup before heading to the theater! I will tell you that because of Covid restrictions popcorn has not been available on the ships. I am NOT sure if they will be bringing back the reduced-price refills of popcorn buckets. I will update this post when I go next.

 

You can bring your favorite candy to take it the shows if it is in the original sealed packaging when you board it is allowed. The selection of candies is limited on the ships. I’m picky, and I have my favorites that I take along.

 

Soda, coffee, tea, juice, and water is FREE in the Restaurants. They charge for Soda in the lounges and when ordered through room service. Easy way to avoid the charge is to go to the soda fountain on the pool deck and fill your travel cup! Nobody stops you from taking it with you when you walk into a lounge. Of course, you are able to take it to your room or just sit on the deck and enjoy your drink.

 

Disney Cruise Line allows each adult to carry on 2 bottles of wine or 6 bottles of beer when they start the cruise. You can drink these in your cabin. If you take the wine to dinner to share you will be charged a corking fee. Last time I checked the corking fee was $25 per bottle. To avoid the charge open it in the stateroom and pour some into your travel cup!

 

Do you want to get the Photo Package?? I LOVE the Photos taken on the ships by the Shutter’s team! You can preorder the package and save quite a bit! The price differs depending on the length of the cruise. 3-4-Night Cruises you pay $194.99 for the unlimited digital package. We got 300 photos while on a 4-Night Cruise! That same package purchased onboard would be $230. Are you traveling with a group? Do you have several cabins? If one cabin preorders the package you can go to Shutters on the ship and purchase the same package for the other cabins at a discounted price! The additional cabins will pay ½ the full price of the package! For the 3-4-Night cruise that was $115 instead of $230.

Do you want to book a Disney Cruise Line vacation? Let me know!

 

Carolyn@EliteMemoriesTravel.com

https://www.facebook.com/CarolynsPixieDustedMemoriesAtEliteMemoriesTravel