Dreams Unlimited vs. Small World Vacation

[everythingdisneyfan1]

Hi there- we are looking to get the best rate possible on our cruise, and have considered quotes through Dreams Unlimited, Small World Vacations and Costco. What experience do you have with any of these agencies? All quotes are relatively the exact same with the same offerings, so I'm wondering how to choose on (literally two of them have the exact same quote & OBC offerings). Is OBC negotiable? Will TAs add on upgrades or extra OBC for booking with them over another one to secure business? I typically do my own bookings, but was considering a travel agent this time around.

Thanks for any info you can offer!

[kcashner]

DCL does not allow one agency to undercut another--the price is the same. It is the service aspect that differs.

With the amount of OBC being offered these days, the agencies don't have much wiggle room. It's not very reasonable to expect someone to throw an extra OBC your way to secure the business as they are already stretching it pretty thin.

Costco gives a very generous gift card AFTER the cruise. Many other agencies give an OBC. The OBC will be less than the dollar value of the gift card, but remember that Costo makes money off the items purchased with the card. When an agency gives an OBC, that is money that they are paying back to DCL in order to credit your account.

[Floridagram]

I just tried a TA for our next cruise. I did not select DU because all contact with them is by email. I like the fact that the other company has a phone and you can talk to them. We have not required any extra attention from them, but I just like the peace of mind to having someone to call if I have a problem. I do not like waiting on an email.

[wallawallakids]

I just booked a second cruise though Small World. My TA is Anne Cook and I LOVE her. She is great. Really prompt about responding, she got me the exact room I wanted and she calls back promptly. I wish I had used her to book our cruise in April. (I mistakingly just booked that myself though Disney). I tried DU but I was less impressed. I have never used Costco to book a cruise but a few years ago when we lived on the West Coast I used them for a trip to DL. They were fine and professional as well. Good luck.

[jennyjinx3]

We are using dreams unlimited and have been very happy with them so far. Our agent gets back to us very quickly, even on weekends and off times with any questions we have, and has been very good about our date switching!

[rhax07]

I am using Small World, they have been amazing and prompt. I have never tried DU though. My TA through Small World has sail numerous times and gave me more info than I thought possible, any question I asked she knew the answer to from her own experiences.

[ohanaMAMA]

I have experience with Lisa Reese at www.pixieandpiratedestinatons.com

she is absolutely amazing. She assisted us with every small detail and was constantly available to us. LOVE her.

[taylor3297]

I have never used DU or Small World, but both have great reputations. I use MouseFan travel. Great service via phone and/or email.

As someone else said, price of the cruise is going to be the same it just depends on if the TA offers an OBC or not.

[Billinaz]

The Costco cash card we get after the cruise is more than double any OBC. Since DCL removed the discount from booking a suite onboard there is no reason to book one onboard.

[violetmonarch]

I booked through Small World Vacations and had a great experience!

[buggysmom1218]

I used Anne Cook for my cruise in April 2012 and loved her!! She answered all my questions even if I asked the same one more than once (I was really concerned about whether or not we needed passports)!! I would recommend her to anyone. I will actually be using her to book my next cruise for next spring.

[Postal68]

Originally Posted by Floridagram

I just tried a TA for our next cruise. I did not select DU because all contact with them is by email. I like the fact that the other company has a phone and you can talk to them. We have not required any extra attention from them, but I just like the peace of mind to having someone to call if I have a problem. I do not like waiting on an email.

I can understand your feelings as I was worried about that as well.

We used Small World for our first cruise and the process was smooth and stress free. For our second upcoming cruise in August we knew some things we wanted since we had some experience. I decided to try Dreams Unlimited for comparison sake. In the info e-mail for the quote I listed everything that we would like to try to get (re: stateroom level, location, ect...) and we received outstanding quick service with everything that we requested. It made it that much easier to book immediately.

I haven't had any problems with this cruise, but on our first one that we used Small World, we had 3 families in 3 different staterooms and our only request to be linked and seated together was promptly taken care of and granted.

[eemaxx]

We have used Dreams Unlimited many, many times and our agent, Merrie Thomas, is the best! She answers emails at night and on weekends and finds things out for you if she doesn't know off hand (silly things- like "is the hair dryer on the wall in the bathroom or in a drawer?") Also, we've gotten OBC both times we've booked cruises with them and even a complimentary bottle of champagne on our first cruise. Also fabulous for WDW trips. If a lower room-only rate is released, they will credit your reservation.

[NHKristy76]

I used DU to book my upcoming multi family trip. Perhaps it is just my TA but I have HATED the experience. I will NEVER use them again because she is that bad.

In fact, if I could change now I would... I can't decide if I want to cry or scream!

[Bonniec]

Originally Posted by NHKristy76

I used DU to book my upcoming multi family trip. Perhaps it is just my TA but I have HATED the experience. I will NEVER use them again because she is that bad.

In fact, if I could change now I would... I can't decide if I want to cry or scream!

You should contact them. They own these boards and I can't remember who the head honcho is but whenever someone has a bad experience he seems to go out of his way to make it right. Do a few searches from Dreams Unlimited and send him a message in case he doesn't read this. Or I'm sure someone here can let you know who to contact. They take their customer service very seriously.



OP, I will give you my two cents since I looked into both. Neither company can give you cheaper rates (or any other TA). Both give very similar on board credits. Both have great reputations. So they are both pretty equal in comparison. If you know someone at Small World or a friend who went throught them, then go with them. If not, I would go with DU. This is their message board, it's free to use, and the boards are extremely helpful (at least to me they are). I have nothing against Small World at all, in fact, I use their web site at times too. But I use the Dis more so I figured I might as well give them the business. My experience with Beth has been wonderful