Dreams Unlimited vs. Small World Vacation

[Kirbo]

Originally Posted by dach2k3

I am not sure what to expect from a great travel agent. I research a lot and I knew exactly what I wanted. Once I contacted the agent who had replied to me she was very speedy and has been very attentive. We used her again to book my current cruise which has 6 cabins.

I am curious what sort of service you all expect from a great agent? I assume responsiveness, courtesy, and added value above and beyond the additional credit.

We use (I think the one we use isn't allowed, so I'm typing the whole name in) www.*************.com and love them. Their service is phenomenal. We used DU once before and they were fine, but I'd heard great things about our current TA and wanted to try them out. Their OBC is less than DU's. But they have a lot of folks working in the office and any of them is able to help me when I call.

We are doing the EBTA and got Disney Air. I became aware that we'd be flown in the day of our cruise. If we have any trouble with the flight, well, let's just say it would kinda of suck. I think we would miss the first 11 days of the sailing were we to miss our boat. I called my agency and told them my fears. The agent I spoke with called Disney and spoke with the air department. She got them to change it so that we fly in the night before and are put up in a hotel! Now that's great service!

A great agent will watch your cruise price and notify you asap if there are any changes, such as KSF or FLR or any of the *GT rates before your PIF. When we used DU they contacted us when our cruise turned into a KSF and saved us a bundle. I loved that I didn't need to watch for those things. And our current TA keeps sight of those things as well.

We got an email from our agent the day after the latest dates were released letting everyone know that they noticed that the prices for the August sailings on the Fantasy were wrong. They contacted DCL when they saw the prices and DCL agreed! There had been a pricing error! Anyway, those prices came down and we wouldn't have know if our agency hadn't sent out that email. We ended up booking one of those cruises.

My long post is just to say that there are a lot of great agencies out there and there are certain things they should do/offer. But if all you want is the OBC, then you should do that cruise compete thing.

Whatever you do, enjoy your cruise!

[faith&ali'smom]

We booked with DreamsUnlimited. They offered a better OBC than some of the others. Michele is our TA. We are cruising March 30th on the Wonder.

[su_A_ve]

I'm the type that needs to be in complete control, however, I want to get a decent benefit.

Up to now, I booked directly and then switched to AAA during a promotion. Both cruises were small priced, so OBC with DU or SM would have been $50-$100. But both times with AAA I got $100 gift card and the $100 credit towards shutters.

TA still wasn't good (I had a good TA in the past using her for WDW vacations but again, I would switch them when an offer would come out), so on my last sailing I booked my self but didn't name anyone - was a dummy booking.

Now, and with the new rule in place, I need to pick a TA from the get go if I'm going to want to get something extra. So far I emailed DU and will give them a try I guess..

[luv2sleep]

My TA is Tanya from Small World Vacations. She's a Disney magic miracle worker!

[su_A_ve]

Originally Posted by su_A_ve

Now, and with the new rule in place, I need to pick a TA from the get go if I'm going to want to get something extra. So far I emailed DU and will give them a try I guess..

Hmm... So I went ahead and booked on board and had them use DU. But response time is typically 48 hours.

Today we wanted to switch itineraries and I called the 800 number listed on their site which says:

"(please note: this number is not for reservations. Existing customers can use this number to make inquiries about, or changes to their current reservations with Dreams.)"

They told me that they could only take payments - so much for the 'make changes to current reservations...'

I expect an answer within an hour or so, or at least an email stating "got your message, give me a few hours or a day". Or if the TA is out, then auto response stating so.

[tweis]

Originally Posted by su_A_ve

Hmm... So I went ahead and booked on board and had them use DU. But response time is typically 48 hours.

Today we wanted to switch itineraries and I called the 800 number listed on their site which says:

"(please note: this number is not for reservations. Existing customers can use this number to make inquiries about, or changes to their current reservations with Dreams.)"

They told me that they could only take payments - so much for the 'make changes to current reservations...'

I expect an answer within an hour or so, or at least an email stating "got your message, give me a few hours or a day". Or if the TA is out, then auto response stating so.

I'm sorry you are not having a good experience with DU. Waiting 48 hours for a response is unacceptable. So far, my agent, has been very quick with answering my emails. I have discussed with her our plans of reshopping our Fantasy cruise onboard and what needs to be done in order for it to be a seamless transition. According to her, it should be no problem. If I was you, I would contact John with DU and discuss the issues you are having. Good luck.

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I used Small World. My agent was useless. The only way to get her to do anything was copy the owner on every email.


I will not use any of these Disney agencies again. Too many agents with them view this as a hobby to fund their vacation. So they respond to you after their regular job and all the kids activities are all done.

And if an 800 number can only take payments and not deal with my problems I would be gone

[MPS516]

For those who are suggesting costco with the benefit card, the qualifier says only good for reservations initially booked through costco travel, do you qualify by transferring OBB ?

[mommy2twingles]

Another negative experience with DU. I am paying for my cruise with gift cards from Target. All weekend I have been trying to make a payment and getting an errror message. Since I have 10 cards (the max they will take per day) to apply I really don't want to do it over the phone. I emailed my agent asking if there was an email address to send the information to for payment, explaining that I had a bunch of gift cards. My response was to call the phone number and leave a message for someone to call me back. Not very customer friendly, especially when many people do work and can't sit waiting for a call back. Needless to say after my experience with her I will not be booking with DU again regardless of any perks they may offer.

[sabrecmc]

I've used both agencies and liked both of them (though did not work well with my first Small World agent, though the one who handled my Disneyland Paris trip was great). However, my original DU agent left to go to another agency, so I followed her. She's the best! I'm usually obessive about control of my vacation, but she is so good and has such great suggestions...LOVE her. I can even contact her via Facebook, which is nice. Plus, she emails just to check in and make sure I don't have questions or need help with anything. Really great service.

[PegIra]

We have used DU several times and always been happy. Marla is our agent and she always responds to me very quickly, even at nights and on weekends. We just booked our 7th and 8th cruise with her. Our first 2 cruises were through AAA and the TA was no where as good as Marla. The AAA Agent and other AAA agents onboard our second cruise gave very poor customer service on that cruise and that is when we decided to go elsewhere to someone who actually helped us.

I haven't used any other agencies, but on our last cruise in January on the Fantasy we got a wonderful gift basket from DU.

[nixieh]

Another vote for DU. Merrie is our agent, she has been our agent for a few years even though we are from the UK and don't travel to WDW every year. I love the on board credit with DU and hoping to get one of the gift baskets on our 7 day Fantasy Cruise in August but it s the quick and helpful service from Merrie that I love. Also I have been using the Disboards for years and am a big fan of the Disunplugged podcast and what they do for GKTW so I feel like using DU is giving back in my own way.

[chrisdar1]

We just booked our 2nd cruise (7-night Eastern Carribean) this morning through DU (Tammy is our agent). I priced out other TA's and DU had the highest OBC and offers the stateroom gift.

Like others on this thread, I am usually a DIY vacation planner (I am also a former Cast Member which made DCL a bargain for our first cruise back in 2010), but the OBC and in-room gift made DU a nice option.

So far Tammy has been great, she was emailing me today (Saturday) so no complaints!

[thdarragh]

We used Small World and they have been great. Amber has been a huge help answering all of our questions and getting us info. She is very prompt about getting back to us and, most importantly, been VERY patient! I can't say enough good things about her.

[Meghatron]

Originally Posted by thdarragh

We used Small World and they have been great. Amber has been a huge help answering all of our questions and getting us info. She is very prompt about getting back to us and, most importantly, been VERY patient! I can't say enough good things about her.

We have experienced the same level of service from Tracy at Small World.