Curious why use a TA?

[chrisrunty]

We are about to take our seventh Disney cruise in I can't count how many Disneyland or Disney World trips we have taken over the years... We have never used to travel agent. I like the control of making changes and having specific requests done by just calling Disney at that moment instead waiting for someone else to do it, since you have to tell someone your requests why not just directly Disney? I am truly curious why people choose to use travel agents. :-) What am I missing?

[dr&momto2boys]

You can usually get more OBC using a TA. (Basically they give you some of the money they get in commission.) And it doesn't cost any more than booking direct.

[gatorfreud]

I have heard of people who arrived WDW and somehow their reservation was messed up (even though they had checked) and their TA went about straightening out their dining plan and such and they just went off and enjoyed the parks.

They also will keep an eye on deals that come out and rebook you if you can take advantage.

Kim

[gatorfreud]

For cruises, I also let mine handle finding me the best trip insurance.

Kim

[4butlers]

Obc!

[MikeAndNick]

Here are a few just off the top of my head.

1. It does not cost anything to me and I get OBC.
2. My TA has gotten me better prices that I could find on the Disney site.
3. We had a problem with not using some credit on our room after the cruise. Talking to Disney they told me it was my fault and I just lost the money. I talked to my travel agent and they made some calls to non phone people at Disney Cruise and got the money added to my next cruise.
4. When we are looking for something special they will watch for it and call me when it come up.
5. My travel agent has 10 to 40 rooms per cruise booked. When they call it pulls much more power than if I call and have one room.
6. When I have a cruise holder (booked from my last cruise) they will watch the date and call me to remind me to move it forward.
7. If I have questions on anything I can call them because they have someone on staff that had been there and done that.
8. They give good advice and help when there are problems. When we had to make an insurance claim that helped me submit the claim and make sure it was correct.

Note: I always do my price research before I call my TA to make sure they are getting me the best price.

[Silver Queen]

Can a TA book a VGT for you? We booked ourselves a VGT for our Fantasy Eastern last month and received some OBC for booking online directly with DCL and paying for it with our Disney Chase Visa. We also purchased our own travel insurance with USAA. Everything went very smoothly for us. I understand that a good TA could come in very handy if there were some kind of problem. Not sure what we'll do next time.

[shburks]

Originally Posted by Silver Queen

Can a TA book a VGT for you? We booked ourselves a VGT for our Fantasy Eastern last month and received some OBC for booking online directly with DCL and paying for it with our Disney Chase Visa. We also purchased our own travel insurance with USAA. Everything went very smoothly for us. I understand that a good TA could come in very handy if there were some kind of problem. Not sure what we'll do next time.

Yes. TA booked our IGT and got Disney Visa obc and one from TA.

[MNKelly]

Originally Posted by Silver Queen

Can a TA book a VGT for you? We booked ourselves a VGT for our Fantasy Eastern last month and received some OBC for booking online directly with DCL and paying for it with our Disney Chase Visa. We also purchased our own travel insurance with USAA. Everything went very smoothly for us. I understand that a good TA could come in very handy if there were some kind of problem. Not sure what we'll do next time.

It's my understanding you can add a TA up to 30 days post making your reservation. If you add a TA to your existing reservation, you not only get the OBC DCL gave you, but whatever benefits the TA gives you as well. Definately worth it if you know what you want!

[Silver Queen]

Thanks, posters! I'll keep this in mind. If we go with a TA it will probably be AAA so no OBC, but we may try it.

[chrisrunty]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Since we do a DCL once a year we already book a future one on board so we get the 10% and OBC every cruise. So really it's about OBC mainly? You get that in addition to what DCL offers for OBC?

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Ok, here's a question - I have booked & paid in full for an April cruise. Can I transfer to a TA & get an OBC now, or too late?

[calmom]

I was recently informed by DCL that you can only transfer a reservation within 30 days of the original booking. I'm not sure if it matters about paying in full, but if you booked over 30 day ago, I was told you could not transfer it to a travel agent/costco/etc.

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Originally Posted by calmom

I was recently informed by DCL that you can only transfer a reservation within 30 days of the original booking. I'm not sure if it matters about paying in full, but if you booked over 30 day ago, I was told you could not transfer it to a travel agent/costco/etc.

Nope.., just booked it about 2 weeks ago!

[neg58]

Originally Posted by PrincessAbby'sMom

Ok, here's a question - I have booked & paid in full for an April cruise. Can I transfer to a TA & get an OBC now, or too late?

You have to transfer before PIF. Some rates have to be PIF when booking (FL, Military, some (most) *GT), some because of the terms of that rate, but most because they are only offered within the PIF dates.

A TA can get you those special rates, however. I've booked 3 cruises with FL rates and for all I've had to pay immediately so I needed to do it through a TA in order to get the TA OBC.

Nancy