Reserving a placeholder on a cruise is the same as making a reservation?

[3littlecuties]

On our last cruise, I put down a $250 deposit as a placeholder to get a discount off of a future cruise. I did not name a travel agent. I thought that I could move it at the time that I made an actual reservation. When I tried to move it yesterday, I was told that it could no longer be moved as it had to be moved within 30 days of putting down the deposit. Basically the deposit was considered making a reservation. Is that true??? I'm so bummed! I was going to move it to Costco so I would get a bigger discount. I had no idea that the placeholder was considered the original reservation.

 

[ahain]

Yes, placeholders need to be moved to a TA within 30 days. They don't need to have an actual itinerary assigned when you transfer...it just has to be transferred to the TA's account.

 

[Geomom]

It's definitely confusing, but that's the way it works. The initial confirmation # you get is the reservation #, and it keeps that number when you turn it into an actual cruise booking. Sorry that you didn't know about it when you first booked the placeholder, at least you're aware of it now and won't make that mistake again.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

We were in the same boat. No one informed us at the time that we had to move it to the travel agent within the 30 days. We won't make that mistake again if we book a future placeholder.

Psy

 

[lilsonicfan]

This is definitely something many people don't realize! I doubt DCL really cares to inform anyone of the need to transfer within 30 days as they make more if they just keep the booking themselves (this is true of either a placeholder or a regular booking!)

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Yes, unfortunately that is how it works. The date that you book the placeholder also counts as the date you make the deposit for purposes of trip insurance for many insurers. There are a handful of insurers that will count the deposit date as the date you book the actual cruise so if you need pre-existing conditions to be covered by your trip insurance, make sure you clarify which date the insurer uses before purchasing the policy.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Yes, unfortunately that is how it works. The date that you book the placeholder also counts as the date you make the deposit for purposes of trip insurance for many insurers. There are a handful of insurers that will count the deposit date as the date you book the actual cruise so if you need pre-existing conditions to be covered by your trip insurance, make sure you clarify which date the insurer uses before purchasing the policy.

I have heard rumblings of this before, but it does seem strange to me, as there is nothing showing on my past reservation that the deposit was paid on the date I booked the placeholder - rather, the reservation itself (that I would use as proof of booking for the insurer) just has the date of the reservation itself. I don't honestly see why the insurer would need to know you booked it as a placeholder, or how they could even find that out really, but, no doubt some insurers are stickier than others.

 

[Corwin]

Yes, unfortunately that is how it works. The date that you book the placeholder also counts as the date you make the deposit for purposes of trip insurance for many insurers. There are a handful of insurers that will count the deposit date as the date you book the actual cruise so if you need pre-existing conditions to be covered by your trip insurance, make sure you clarify which date the insurer uses before purchasing the policy.

I have heard rumblings of this before, but it does seem strange to me, as there is nothing showing on my past reservation that the deposit was paid on the date I booked the placeholder - rather, the reservation itself (that I would use as proof of booking for the insurer) just has the date of the reservation itself. I don't honestly see why the insurer would need to know you booked it as a placeholder, or how they could even find that out really, but, no doubt some insurers are stickier than others.

Right, I've worried about this before as well, but figured that it makes absolutely no sense to use the date of placeholder as the original date of deposit for insurance purposes. For one thing, they want the destination and the date of the trip when I purchase my trip insurance policy, both of which are either fictitious or non-existent when you make the placeholder "reservation."

I use the date that I make the actual reservation and pay the required deposit (usually 10% of the fare if you have an OBB discount placeholder) as the date that I made the deposit for purposes of trip insurance. It seems to me that that is the correct "date of initial deposit" for the trip you are actually taking. Everyone involved in the transaction (i.e. me and DCL) knows that when you book a placeholder, you have no intention of actually taking the placeholder cruise.

 

[sethschroeder]

Question can you name the travel agent when putting down the deposit or do you give it to the TA after you already put the deposit down? I used Dreams this time and will use them on our next cruise as well likely if we do another one.

 

[Dug720]

Question can you name the travel agent when putting down the deposit or do you give it to the TA after you already put the deposit down? I used Dreams this time and will use them on our next cruise as well likely if we do another one.

It is automatically assigned to the TA who booked the cruise unless you ask for them to be removed.

If you ask for them to be removed because you plan to use another one, you'll need to make the booking on your own removing the TA who made the reservation for the cruise you're on and then when you're home transfer it to the new TA within 30 days. You cannot name a new TA when making an onboard booking unless things have changed drastically.

 

[cvjw]

Question can you name the travel agent when putting down the deposit or do you give it to the TA after you already put the deposit down? I used Dreams this time and will use them on our next cruise as well likely if we do another one.

Yep, all of our cruises are booked thru Costco for the extra rewards. When we make placeholder reservations on board, they are automatically assigned to Costco. I don’t have to do anything when I get home

And using Costco for your Disney cruises can really save some money. All the extra rewards really add up!

 

[Dug720]

Yep, all of our cruises are booked thru Costco for the extra rewards. When we make placeholder reservations on board, they are automatically assigned to Costco. I don’t have to do anything when I get home

And using Costco for your Disney cruises can really save some money. All the extra rewards really add up!

Only if you use Costco. Not everyone does. And not all Costcos will allow you to just cash in the card.

 

[rere101399]

Been there, done that, argued with DCL because I asked onboard and was told differently. Got so mad I canceled the placeholder cruise and booked directly with Costco losing the placeholder benefit. Really just hurt me in the end. There was no getting around it with DCL, they wouldn’t let me book/transfer the placeholder to Costco after 30 days. Now I know.

 

[sethschroeder]

Only if you use Costco. Not everyone does. And not all Costcos will allow you to just cash in the card.

Does Costco let you pay with Disney Gift Cards? That was a huge benefit I found from Dreams not sure who else does it as well.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Does Costco let you pay with Disney Gift Cards? That was a huge benefit I found from Dreams not sure who else does it as well.

Yes - because all payments are processed by Disney, not by Costco. To pay by gift card you would have to call Costco though (credit card payments can be done online on the Costco website, but again, are processed by DCL).

 

[Dug720]

Does Costco let you pay with Disney Gift Cards? That was a huge benefit I found from Dreams not sure who else does it as well.

I don't do Costco (single, live in NYC...no need for a year's worth of toilet paper not to mention not schlepping that on the subway), so I cannot speak to them and their practices. But anyone should let you pay with Disney Gift Cards as the payment goes to Disney.

The exception would be if an agency collects the money and pays from their account they likely would not allow you to pay with a Disney Gift Card.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Costco is definitely not geared so much toward the urban single professional living in a condo (although there is a Costco in downtown Vancouver that is always crowded) - I couldn't imagine my life without Costco, but i live in the suburbs and have 3 boys who for some reason will not stop growing even though I have asked nicely for them to stop that already.

 

[cvjw]

Only if you use Costco. Not everyone does. And not all Costcos will allow you to just cash in the card.

OP was asking about Costco, so I am pretty sure she uses Costco. Costco may not be for you, but millions of people love Costco, me included.

At my Costco, I can buy one item for $10 and use my $900 rebate check, and they give me $890 back in cash.

Even if they wouldn’t, you just use your Costco rewards for your normal monthly purchases and pocket the cash you would have paid them anyway. There are lots of creative ways to get actual cash back from your Costco rewards.