Ahoy, Lynnette! Welcome back to planDisney and thanks for bringing us your Disney Cruise Line question. Once you set sail with Disney Cruise Line, you are definitely going to want to come back again and again, which is why the
Placeholder Reservation found exclusively onboard in the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App is such an amazing offer.
As you know, the Placeholder Reservation is a
special onboard offer, which allows you to unlock future savings of at least 10% on your next cruise by putting down a deposit while you are already onboard. There is a limit of one future cruise booking per household for a maximum of two staterooms and the current requirement is a $250.00 deposit per stateroom. The future cruise must sail within 24 months after the Placeholder Reservation is booked, plus sail dates are subject to availability and blockout dates do apply.
There is a requirement that at least one member of the original sailing party must sail in one of the staterooms booked with the Placeholder Reservation. That means that you could purchase a Placeholder Reservation for two staterooms and allow your family members to use one of them, so long as you are staying in the other one. But keep in mind that once you convert your Placeholder Reservation to a confirmed reservation for a specific sailing, then it cannot be changed back and standard cancellation fees would apply. Unfortunately, if your family changes their mind, there is no way for you to use the second stateroom for your own benefit on another sailing or anything like that. If you get a Placeholder Reservation with two staterooms, then you would either have your family use the second stateroom on the same future cruise with you or you would lose it.
Since Placeholder Reservations themselves are fully refundable, there is really no risk involved in going ahead and booking it for two staterooms while you figure out your future sailing plans with family. If you later decide that you don’t want your Placeholder Reservation anymore or fail to select an eligible cruise within the eligible timeframe, then you will automatically receive a refund back to your original form of payment without any losses. However, if you go ahead and use your Placeholder Reservation to book two staterooms on a specific sailing for you and your family, then it is no longer considered a Placeholder Reservation anymore and the cancellation fee schedule would apply like any other cruise booking. The exact cancellation fee schedule can be found
here and depends on the length of sailing and stateroom category. The amount of risk would depend on how close to the sailing date your family would know for sure if they could come with you or not.
In my opinion, I do not think there is any risk associated with you going ahead and getting two staterooms with your Placeholder Reservation, but I would make sure that your family knows the cancellation fee risks before switching over to a specific booking. I hope this helps you determine what would be best for you and your family. Happy sailing!
Catherine