Ahoy, Stephanie! Welcome to planDisney, where we aim to answer all of your Disney Cruise Line questions to set you on course for smooth sailing.
Placeholder Reservations are a great way to get a head start on your next sailing while you are still onboard, but they can be confusing when it comes to the actual booking process. The easiest way to think of it is that you technically already have a reservation number with Disney Cruise Line and you just need to get it assigned to your desired itinerary. As a result, you need to start the process by logging in and accessing your existing reservation rather than starting with the cruise search tool itself.
You can find your Placeholder Reservation by going to the main
Disney Cruise Line website, logging into your MyDisney account, and clicking on the tab at the top labeled “Already Booked.” That will open up a drop-down menu where you can click on “My Reservations.” Once you open up that page, it should say “Future Cruise Placeholder” at the top and there will be a blue link to click on the far right labeled “Search All Cruises.” (If you have other cruises already scheduled, then it may not come up at first, but you can click on the drop-down box with the reservation number on the right side of the screen to access it.) Once you click on that link, you can provide your travel party information and click on the blue button labeled “Confirm Travel Party.” Then you will see a “Find a Cruise” page, but it will say “Special Rates for Placeholder” at the top before the itineraries. All of the options will also have a label that says “Placeholder Offer” with a green tag next to it and a price listed with a green tag next to it too. The rest of the process is basically the same as any regular online booking, where you can pick your desired
destination, itinerary, and sailing dates, then select your preferred
stateroom options and make the necessary downpayment.
Just beware that you will see a message come up during the process explaining that you are converting your Placeholder Reservation to a confirmed reservation for a particular sailing and it cannot be converted back to an open Placeholder Reservation again.
Finally, please note that you can only use this process for each of your Placeholder Reservations that were made for a single stateroom. Unfortunately, if you booked a Placeholder Reservation, but reserved two staterooms for the same sailing, then you must call Disney Cruise Line directly at (800) 951-3532 to make your booking. Cast members are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM EST, and Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM EST. Make sure that you have your Placeholder Reservation number available when you call and it is also helpful to have both the name of the ship and dates for your desired sailing.
I hope that helps you get your next cruise booked and added to your calendar. If you have any other questions about planning your next trip to where magic meets the sea, then we are always here and ready to help at planDisney. Happy sailing!
Catherine