That feeling when you skipped booking a cruise on board

[MomOTwins]

I first realized I had a disney cruise addiction when I decided to book a last-minute 3 night cruise just to get a placeholder for a future more expensive cruise I wanted to book

 

[Carohs]

I first realized I had a disney cruise addiction when I decided to book a last-minute 3 night cruise just to get a placeholder for a future more expensive cruise I wanted to book

I've definitely have considered that multiple times. But I've yet to be able to justify the math.
I really wish DCL had like a grace period after debarkation to buy a placeholder. Even a few days to let things kinda settle and be able to think it through. Yeah you don't lose your money but it's also an extra $250 on top of gratuities, excursions, etc that you have to financially plan for in advance.

 

[BlovesC]

I first realized I had a disney cruise addiction when I decided to book a last-minute 3 night cruise just to get a placeholder for a future more expensive cruise I wanted to book

I FEEL THIS! We booked a 7 night cruise on the Treasure next year immediately after getting home from the Wish (which inspired this thread), but now we also have a 3 night Wish cruise booked to celebrate Halloween with friends this October. So part of me is thinking...should I cancel our Treasure reservation and snag the placeholder on the October cruise first?!

 

[Mommb]

I FEEL THIS! We booked a 7 night cruise on the Treasure next year immediately after getting home from the Wish (which inspired this thread), but now we also have a 3 night Wish cruise booked to celebrate Halloween with friends this October. So part of me is thinking...should I cancel our Treasure reservation and snag the placeholder on the October cruise first?!

There is no reason to cancel the Treasure reservation before your Wish cruise, as long as it won't be past the final payment date before you're on the Wish. If you find that you would save money using your placeholder, then you can cancel and rebook.

It is possible that the cost of Treasure cruises will go up between now and October by more than the 10% you'd save with a placeholder, and also possible that the room category you want will sell out, so booking now makes sense.

If you will need to make the final Treasure payment before your Wish cruise, or if the cost of the Treasure has gone up significantly, you can use the placeholder for another cruise.

 

[BlovesC]

There is no reason to cancel the Treasure reservation before your Wish cruise, as long as it won't be past the final payment date before you're on the Wish. If you find that you would save money using your placeholder, then you can cancel and rebook.

It is possible that the cost of Treasure cruises will go up between now and October by more than the 10% you'd save with a placeholder, and also possible that the room category you want will sell out, so booking now makes sense.

If you will need to make the final Treasure payment before your Wish cruise, or if the cost of the Treasure has gone up significantly, you can use the placeholder for another cruise.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[anjuan]

There is no reason to cancel the Treasure reservation before your Wish cruise, as long as it won't be past the final payment date before you're on the Wish. If you find that you would save money using your placeholder, then you can cancel and rebook.

It is possible that the cost of Treasure cruises will go up between now and October by more than the 10% you'd save with a placeholder, and also possible that the room category you want will sell out, so booking now makes sense.

If you will need to make the final Treasure payment before your Wish cruise, or if the cost of the Treasure has gone up significantly, you can use the placeholder for another cruise.

I agree with this. I booked Treasure for May 2025 when it came out. I didn't have a placeholder at the time. We ended up going on a 3 night Wish cruise in December and I was thinking that I could use a placeholder from that cruise and rebook the Treasure. However, when I checked out the Treasure cruise rate it had increased more than 10 percent. But now I have a placeholder and I'm anxious to book it on another cruise!

 

[Louise97]

I first realized I had a disney cruise addiction when I decided to book a last-minute 3 night cruise just to get a placeholder for a future more expensive cruise I wanted to book

I like that logic! I've said for years that I'd like to do an Alaska sailing in 2026 for a special birthday. One of the reasons I used to justify our next cruise is that it will let us get a placeholder for Alaska!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I first realized I had a disney cruise addiction when I decided to book a last-minute 3 night cruise just to get a placeholder for a future more expensive cruise I wanted to book

Done that too! The first year the Magic sailed out of NYC they were offering 2 night cruises to nowhere. Dh and ds then 15 said why bother for only 2 nts? Ds then 12 was all in so I took a Friday off and we hopped a train at Hamilton Station (near Trenton, NJ) and taxi'd to the port. Easy peasy and we each had a small carry on bag so it was nice to travel light.
Sure beats hanging out at home doing laundry & cleaning.

We used the OBB from that sailing to book a Med cruise the next summer.

 

[Dailymeel]

May I please ask how much it is to put down a placeholder? I’d like to consider the amount into my budget for the upcoming cruise, thank you.

 

[brentm77]

May I please ask how much it is to put down a placeholder? I’d like to consider the amount into my budget for the upcoming cruise, thank you.

$250

You can see blackout dates and other terms here.

 

[DisneyConvert]

Frankly 10% of a few thousand dollars isn't a real savings for me to deal with the stress. Plus DH is always saying the last cruise thingy... and then I book another one. LOL

This is the old marketing logic, "It's less expensive to retain a customer than to acquire a new customer." And face it folks, as we type and read on this and other un/official Disney social media, we are "retained customers."

We did an NCL cruise this past Fall (NYC<=>Bermuda) and it was ok/good in many ways, but there was no hurry to go back. Nevertheless, via many postcards and emails, NCL has shown an eagerness to "retain us." Instead, our passion and attention has been on boarding the Wonder in Honolulu on March 1st!

Pretty sure that love or indifference to "brand" is what keeps marketing consultants in business.

 

[Bruce66]

Be aware that when you book a placeholder and assign it to TA you are stuck with that TA. In my case the day after I purchased a place holder I asked the TA "The Vacationeer" to release it back to me and they out right refused to do so. That $500 is now tied up for 2 years until it is refunded back to me. I would recommend to all to never use a TA that won't release the reservation back to you (if they did no work yet) and 2, DCL holds your hand so well do the booking yourself.

 

[happycamper47]

Be aware that when you book a placeholder and assign it to TA you are stuck with that TA. In my case the day after I purchased a place holder I asked the TA "The Vacationeer" to release it back to me and they out right refused to do so. That $500 is now tied up for 2 years until it is refunded back to me. I would recommend to all to never use a TA that won't release the reservation back to you (if they did no work yet) and 2, DCL holds your hand so well do the booking yourself.

Just because you picked the wrong TA has nothing to do with people buying a place hold.

 

[Bruce66]

Just because you picked the wrong TA has nothing to do with people buying a place hold.

Agreed, I would encourage people to purchase the placeholder, its a good deal, I just want people to be aware of the ramifications of assigning it to a TA or yourself. Personally I did not know that assigning a placeholder to a TA limits waives my rights to the placeholder. I no longer one it even though its in my name and I paid for it. That is all.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Agreed, I would encourage people to purchase the placeholder, its a good deal, I just want people to be aware of the ramifications of assigning it to a TA or yourself. Personally I did not know that assigning a placeholder to a TA limits waives my rights to the placeholder. I no longer one it even though its in my name and I paid for it. That is all.

I’m not sure that “owning” a placeholder is worth giving up the OBC from the TA plus the 10% discount. All it means is you shoot out a email to the TA to book the actual cruise date you want, make any special requests, and the TA makes your payments to DCL on your behalf.
Booking activities and online check in is all the same, whether you have a TA or not.

Is this TA that bad that you would rather pay full price than let him/her get a commission?
It sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face.