Placeholder Cruise and Costco

Ashmagash

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...
Joined
Apr 2, 2008
I need some help and if the information is already on the thread I couldn't find it, I did look!

Last year was our first Disney cruise- we loved it and booked a cruise for this year that we just completed while on board. Once I got home from the first cruise I had it transferred the reservation to Costco so I was able to get the onboard booking deals + costco cash card.

Two weeks ago while onboard we booked a placeholder cruise. Currently it is not associated with Costco. We aren't planning to cruise again until 2020 and those itineraries are not released yet. My question is do I transfer this placeholder cruise to Costco now (can I even do it now?) or do I wait and book the actual cruise through Disney and then once the actual cruise is booked transfer to Disney? I tried to call Disney but had an estimated wait of 30 minutes and thought maybe someone on here would know.

Thanks!
 
Costco might tell you that you have to convert it to a real sailing because they don't have a way to keep a placeholder on their system. However, what you really need is for DCL to have Costco marked as your TA, so when you are ready to use the placeholder, Costco can just call them up to have it moved to a real sailing. Get Costco to send you the paperwork and check that they've sent it in, so your placeholder is assigned to them. For mine, I just called DCL and asked them if my placeholder was assigned to Costco. They confirmed that it was and when I went to use it, I just called Costco, gave them my res number and they were able to convert it to a sailing. Easy, but does need a little work from you.
 


I would def start by calling DCL, not Costco, to inquire about the transfer process. When I booked with NCL, their site had a link to their travel agent transfer form. I called Costco simply to get the correct details (their contact # and an agent name) and filled in the form myself, then sent to NCL. My booking was confirmed to be transferred within about a day. I believe DCL has a similar form, but not sure if they use that form for placeholders too.
 
Random question somewhat related - we used a travel agent to book our first cruise and when we put a placeholder down on the cruise we said we didn’t want to use our current TA. We just got off the ship and I plan to assign the placeholder to Costco within the 30 day period. My question is - will the old TA know I transferred it to Costco? I feel a little bad not using my old TA, but the Costco incentives are too good to pass up.
 
Random question somewhat related - we used a travel agent to book our first cruise and when we put a placeholder down on the cruise we said we didn’t want to use our current TA. We just got off the ship and I plan to assign the placeholder to Costco within the 30 day period. My question is - will the old TA know I transferred it to Costco? I feel a little bad not using my old TA, but the Costco incentives are too good to pass up.

If DCL did it right, the TA you used for that sailing wouldn't even know the booking existed so there is no way they would know that it was being transferred to Costco. Now if the res agent messed it up and did assign it to your current TA, you would need their permission to release it so it would make things awkward. Here's hoping DCL did it right.
 


If DCL did it right, the TA you used for that sailing wouldn't even know the booking existed so there is no way they would know that it was being transferred to Costco. Now if the res agent messed it up and did assign it to your current TA, you would need their permission to release it so it would make things awkward. Here's hoping DCL did it right.
Thank you so much for the information! Fingers crossed it was done correctly!
 
First time using a placeholder - If Costco is already the travel agent on the placeholder, do I need to do anything with Costco before I book the actual cruise?
 
First time using a placeholder - If Costco is already the travel agent on the placeholder, do I need to do anything with Costco before I book the actual cruise?

Yes - you will have to book the cruise through Costco. If you are saving the placeholder for a cruise date that hasn't been released yet, then you will have to call Costco on opening day and they will then call DCL. I think the process might be a bit smoother now than when I last did this. I do not think you can book it on your own since Costco holds that placeholder, which is actually a reservation.
 
Yes - you will have to book the cruise through Costco. If you are saving the placeholder for a cruise date that hasn't been released yet, then you will have to call Costco on opening day and they will then call DCL. I think the process might be a bit smoother now than when I last did this. I do not think you can book it on your own since Costco holds that placeholder, which is actually a reservation.

Correct! We just did this. Need to call Costco to book the cruise rather than book it on their website. They call Disney and get the discount price on the room you’re interested in.

Pro tip: Call during DCL hours. Otherwise, you will spend all that time on hold just to be told that DCL is closed and they can’t book for you. Lesson learned here.
 
I am planning on attempting this....I already put a deposit down for my next cruise while I was on the first

So you bought a placeholder? Did you assign Costco as your TA? It has to be done within 30 days, otherwise you can't later transfer your cruise reservation to Costco.
 
He bought a placeholder. When he said "I didn't, not yet", he was answering my question "Did you assign Costco as your TA"; "It has to be transferred within 30 days".

Correct I got the placeholder on the ship and they already charged me the $250 but I have not transferred it to Costco.
 

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