Quick Question about Placeholders . . .

[Girl of the South]

I actually have Googled the answer to this but haven't found a definitive answer. Sort of ambiguous.

So, let's say I buy a placeholder on my cruise in December. It will cost me $250 and I assume I can buy it from a real person or fill out a slip of paper and not only an app.

Then I will have 24 months to book a Disney Cruise. If I do NOT book a cruise, I will be refunded my $250.

From what I read, the $250 will become the deposit and I don't need to pay MORE for the deposit, right?

The cruise is (for instance) $5,000. I will get 10% off, or $500.

Will the $250 "placeholder/deposit" be applied to the remaining balance of $4500? So I will then owe $4250?

This is the obvious answer however none of the Google results ever stated it as such.

THANKS!!!

 

[holula]

You do need to pay more for the deposit than the $250. The $250 can be used towards the deposit, which is as follows:

10% for cruises for 7 nights or longer
20% for cruises less than 7 nights

And yes, if your cruise is $5000 with no placeholder, you will end up paying $4500 and the $250 goes towards that cost.

 

[happycamper47]

You do need to pay more for the deposit than the $250. The $250 can be used towards the deposit, which is as follows:

10% for cruises for 7 nights or longer
20% for cruises less than 7 nights

And yes, if your cruise is $5000 with no placeholder, you will end up paying $4500 and the $250 goes towards that cost.

Plus an additional $200, 7 or longer to $650 less than 7, since the deposit is only on the basic cruise fare without taxes and fees.

 

[onesam319]

Your $250 will be part of the down payment. When I used my last placeholder the total cost was $3033. I ended up paying an additional $383. I'm concluding that the insurance (if you add it) is not included in the 10% down payment.

 

[Kwami]

I'm concluding that the insurance (if you add it) is not included in the 10% down payment.

Neither are taxes and fees. So, if the cruise is listed as $5,000, then the actual discount will be less than $500 because Disney lists cruises with taxes and fees bundled in.

 

[Cheburashka]

Let's pretend there is a cruise with a total cost of $5,000, and that $150 of that (just made that number up) is for taxes and fees. So the base cruise cost would be $4,850, and 10% of that is taken off due to the placeholder discount.

So the discounted base cost of the cruise would be $4,365 after taking off that 10% ($485). Then you need to add the original taxes and fees (which do not change) back on. So now the total cruise cost is $4,515. That's a nice savings from the original total cost of $5,000.

The $250 for the placeholder does go towards your downpayment, yes. So if this cruise required a 10% downpayment, the total downpayment required would be $451.50, of which the placeholder covered $250, leaving you with $201.50 left to pay to meet the deposit requirement.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Let's pretend there is a cruise with a total cost of $5,000, and that $150 of that (just made that number up) is for taxes and fees. So the base cruise cost would be $4,850, and 10% of that is taken off due to the placeholder discount.

So the discounted base cost of the cruise would be $4,365 after taking off that 10% ($485). Then you need to add the original taxes and fees (which do not change) back on. So now the total cruise cost is $4,515. That's a nice savings from the original total cost of $5,000.

The $250 for the placeholder does go towards your downpayment, yes. So if this cruise required a 10% downpayment, the total downpayment required would be $451.50, of which the placeholder covered $250, leaving you with $201.50 left to pay to meet the deposit requirement.

Not quite right in the calculation of the downpayment. Downpayment calculation excludes the taxes and fees, so if the discounted base cost is $4,365, the 10% deposit would be $436.50, of which the placeholder covers $250, leaving $186.50 left to pay to meet he deposit requirement.

 

[Girl of the South]

THANK YOU! I actually read one blog (Treasured Family Travels) that seemed to imply that "It only costs $250 perroom to reserve (a 7 night cruise). This is less than the standard 20% that it normally costs." Which is a bit misleading if downright incorrect. There's SO much good information online BUT you have to do your due diligence. Appreciate all the replies.