Booking with Costco

[Partyof4LA]

I’m leaning towards using Costco travel to book our cruise. For those who have used them, did they put in your special requests (ex: to sit alone at dinner) or add transportation pre-arrival? Can you pay the balance with Disney gift cards through them? Does their cancellation policy fall in line with DCLs or do they have a separate one?

We’ve gone on 3 Disney cruises before (although last was 4 years ago) and really just used our dreams unlimited TA for the credits. But I know once you give them that reservation, there’s little I can do without going through the TA. I had a very bad experience with our previous TA when she booked a non-cruise trip for us and our attempt at getting a new DU agent was unsuccessful, they just kept transferring us back to her.

 

[dvcgirl1]

Hello, we have booked DCL through Costco several times, and had zero problems whatsoever. When you book with Costco, they call DCL while you are on the phone with them to basically book it with Disney for you. Costco is the go-between. From then on, for any requests that you have, you will need to call Costco and they will call DCL for you )still while you are on the phone) and put in the request. Yes, you can use Disney gift cards to pay, but once again, youll have to give the info and card numbers to the Costco rep and they will relay them to the DCL folks. My suggestion is to use the DIsney Gift card site and combine the cards first into as few cards as possible, just so youre not having to read as many cards over the phone. (Also, you probably know this already, but just in case, keep the gift cards somewhere safe because if you have to cancel or modify your cruise, the refund will go back on the original gc). Costco has always been great with us, and easy to work with.

 

[tinkerone]

I’m leaning towards using Costco travel to book our cruise. For those who have used them, did they put in your special requests (ex: to sit alone at dinner) or add transportation pre-arrival? Can you pay the balance with Disney gift cards through them? Does their cancellation policy fall in line with DCLs or do they have a separate one?

We’ve gone on 3 Disney cruises before (although last was 4 years ago) and really just used our dreams unlimited TA for the credits. But I know once you give them that reservation, there’s little I can do without going through the TA. I had a very bad experience with our previous TA when she booked a non-cruise trip for us and our attempt at getting a new DU agent was unsuccessful, they just kept transferring us back to her.

OMG, you have just written my story! I had a bad experience with our DU agent and I attempted to get a new agent a few times. I finally gave up. To be fair, after my last failed attempt, I emailed the agent I had wanted to switch to and explained what was happening. She emailed me back and told me how I could change agents, a bit of a jump rope, however by the time she got back to me I had booked with Costco and I have never looked back.

Our last sailing with DCL in Feb. was one I booked for us and our grown children, 3 cabins in total. I received over $1600 in Costco gift cards on our return. We just booked a last minute DCL cruise for Sept, booked GTY for a great rate and we are getting $260 on our return. I guess I should thank DU for making it so hard to change agents or I never would have looked into Costco travel.

Now, to answer some of your questions. Yes, they put in our special requests. They added our transportation. We paid a lot of our cruise with Disney gift cards, no problem at all. Their cancellation policy is that of DCL. As I have never had to use it I can't say it works but that is what we understood. We had to cancel a RCL sailing we booked with them and they fought to have the $100 change fee that RCL charges reversed and they did get it for us. We have had zero issues with Costco. No matter who I talk with, they handle any issues I have. Just know that once ANY agent has your reservation you need to go through them for a lot of your request. You can control your excursions but they need to make any changes to the reservation itself.

 

[Partyof4LA]

Thanks!! Did you guys book directly on Costco’s website? Or through Disney’s then transfer it?

 

[cvjw]

Thanks!! Did you guys book directly on Costco’s website? Or through Disney’s then transfer it?

I will book directly on the Costco website if I can. You have to call in if using a placeholder.

 

[Drusilla99]

I've booked the past 5 or 6 DCL cruise's thru Costco, about 1/2 online, 1/2 I called. I generally use the Disney gift cards for payment with no problem. A lot of the requests can still be done on the DCL website under the "My Reservations" section like dining, celebrations, dietary. If it's something super specific that you have to talk to someone about, then yes, you have to call Costco, but if there's a long hold time, their system can usually call you back when it's your turn. I usually save the shop cards I earn for the holidays and last year the $1800 I received paid for almost all the alcohol for my daughter's wedding, so it comes in handy!

 

[verleniahall]

here is the deal going through costco/sams/etc... - they are the same as a TA other than they won't look for discounts, they won't help you and really dont know anything about disney - they are just there

a TA WILL look for discounts and help you get the best deal that yu can - there are agencys other than DU that you can find - find one of those and give your business to a small business who cares

 

[Cheburashka]

I’m leaning towards using Costco travel to book our cruise. For those who have used them, did they put in your special requests (ex: to sit alone at dinner) or add transportation pre-arrival?

Yes to both. For transfers, be sure to specify that you want Disney transfers. I've used them several times and once when I asked for transfers, they quoted me a high price that I knew was wrong. It was wrong because it was a non-DCL transfer company. I just told them I wanted DCL transfers & they changed it.

Can you pay the balance with Disney gift cards through them?

Yes.

Does their cancellation policy fall in line with DCLs or do they have a separate one?

They'll want to be paid in full 2 weeks before DCL's deadline. The cancellation policy is the same. If DCL refunds, you'll get your refund from Costco Travel. I've cancelled Costco-booked cruises repeatedly and have never had an issue getting my refund in an easy and timely fashion.

I had a very bad experience with our previous TA when she booked a non-cruise trip for us and our attempt at getting a new DU agent was unsuccessful, they just kept transferring us back to her.

I've had good experiences with Costco. They're basically a middleman that gets you a nice Costco cash card after the cruise (I typically use mine to pay at the pump, so I get free gasoline for awhile after my cruises). They don't know more than most cruisers know, so they're not travel planners. Calling them is like calling DCL and dealing with a front-line agent. It's nice to not have to wait for a specific travel agent to get back to you- they can serve you right away during their phone hours. You won't get personalized service, but honestly, most people don't need personalized service just to book a Disney cruise.

 

[SeanSD]

For early bookings for Fall 2024 would those be available on Costco site or would we have to use DCL for Castaway status and then transfer the booking? Just wondering if Costco site might only show bookings on the date they are available to the general public?

 

[supergirl04]

I’ve used Costco several times and love it. When DDL was having those astronomical wait times last year, they waited on hold and then called me. Just as, I imagine, a TA does.

I’ve paid with gift card through them. Cancellation policy is the same as DCL. They do ask to be paid in full slightly sooner than Disney. I’m assuming to make sure there are no delays in payments and the cruise is not inadvertently cancelled.

We’ve placed special requests, as well.

The shop card comes pretty quickly after sailing which helps me much more than onboard credit.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

We have had two nightmare experiences with Costco. Not on dcl but Princess and carnival. The problem is if something goes wrong or if you have to change something. They put you on hold for hours and the people working there are nice but don’t really know what they are doing. I agree their giftcards are good but we decided not worth the risk of something goes wrong.

 

[lanejudy]

For early bookings for Fall 2024 would those be available on Costco site or would we have to use DCL for Castaway status and then transfer the booking? Just wondering if Costco site might only show bookings on the date they are available to the general public?

I believe you'll need to call Costco if you want to book during early CC dates. The alternative is to book directly through DCL and transfer the reservation within 30 days.

 

[Juan M]

Hi All. I booked through Costco first time just today, we are gold Castaway but normally book direct with DCL. We paid in full for a Wish Cruise in November, which we are now 103 days out for. DCL site says we can book activities so long as we are paid in full on September 3rd, which puts us at about 69ish days away from sailing. That doesn’t seem right. Has anyone else ever experienced that? We did add our castaway number when booking with Costco.

Any help Is appreciated.

 

[tinkerone]

Hi All. I booked through Costco first time just today, we are gold Castaway but normally book direct with DCL. We paid in full for a Wish Cruise in November, which we are now 103 days out for. DCL site says we can book activities so long as we are paid in full on September 3rd, which puts us at about 69ish days away from sailing. That doesn’t seem right. Has anyone else ever experienced that? We did add our castaway number when booking with Costco.

Any help Is appreciated.

Are you sure you are gold? You need to have completed your 5th cruise to classify as gold. Gold can book at 105 days out. If you are gold, when you go into the DCL website and look at your booking, what does it say there? Is that where you are getting the number for the 69 days? If all this is normal, call DCL and talk with their agent. It could be that the DCL system hasn't updated the booking yet since it was only booked today.
We have always booked our cruises with Costco, love the gift card and have never had an issue. Costco only gives DCL the booking and doesn't do anything that would affect when you can and cannot book excursions. The only issue could be they didn't give DCL your Castaway number but DCL should still have that in your profile so I don't see that as the issue. Maybe DCL's website is having another one of their hick-ups they are so famous for.
Hope it works out for you, please let us know what this issue is. It might help someone else.

 

[Juan M]

Are you sure you are gold? You need to have completed your 5th cruise to classify as gold. Gold can book at 105 days out. If you are gold, when you go into the DCL website and look at your booking, what does it say there? Is that where you are getting the number for the 69 days? If all this is normal, call DCL and talk with their agent. It could be that the DCL system hasn't updated the booking yet since it was only booked today.
We have always booked our cruises with Costco, love the gift card and have never had an issue. Costco only gives DCL the booking and doesn't do anything that would affect when you can and cannot book excursions. The only issue could be they didn't give DCL your Castaway number but DCL should still have that in your profile so I don't see that as the issue. Maybe DCL's website is having another one of their hick-ups they are so famous for.
Hope it works out for you, please let us know what this issue is. It might help someone else.

Yes, we completed cruise #5 in April, and we booked a different cruise for next summer direct thru DCL and the screenshot below is what that shows. I figure I’ll give it a day or 2 and then try calling either Costco or DCL direct.

 

[Juan M]

Yes, we completed cruise #5 in April, and we booked a different cruise for next summer direct thru DCL and the screenshot below is what that shows. I figure I’ll give it a day or 2 and then try calling either Costco or DCL direct.

As a quick follow up, I was able to book activities this morning! So it seems that maybe if you are booking via Costco, and are already in your Castaway club booking window, it may take a day or so to reflect?

 

[cruisehopeful]

I'm looking at booking a cruise with my gold castaway status and even though I swore I'd never book through Costco again, I am considering transferring it to them. I had 2 booked through Costco at the beginning of Covid and it was a complete cluster to get any help with cancelling and refunds. It was a new circumstance, but it was extremely stressful and difficult. I'm assuming we won't have another 100 year pandemic. What's the process for transferring the cruise? Would I get the same Costco Cash card as if I booked directly through them? I just can't spend a long time on the phone with them on the day that I can book with my gold status and last time I had to call in and explain that I was eligible to book early. Just thinking about it is making me lean towards just direct booking and foregoing the cash card.

 

[cvjw]

I'm looking at booking a cruise with my gold castaway status and even though I swore I'd never book through Costco again, I am considering transferring it to them. I had 2 booked through Costco at the beginning of Covid and it was a complete cluster to get any help with cancelling and refunds. It was a new circumstance, but it was extremely stressful and difficult. I'm assuming we won't have another 100 year pandemic. What's the process for transferring the cruise? Would I get the same Costco Cash card as if I booked directly through them? I just can't spend a long time on the phone with them on the day that I can book with my gold status and last time I had to call in and explain that I was eligible to book early. Just thinking about it is making me lean towards just direct booking and foregoing the cash card.

Costco has a form you fill out to transfer a cruise to them. Easy process. I was also caught up in the Costco travel covid cancellation fiasco. It isn’t like that anymore - we have cruised 6 times since the restart - all booked thru Costco travel. Zero issues.

 

[pearljammer]

I'm looking at booking a cruise with my gold castaway status and even though I swore I'd never book through Costco again, I am considering transferring it to them. I had 2 booked through Costco at the beginning of Covid and it was a complete cluster to get any help with cancelling and refunds. It was a new circumstance, but it was extremely stressful and difficult. I'm assuming we won't have another 100 year pandemic. What's the process for transferring the cruise? Would I get the same Costco Cash card as if I booked directly through them? I just can't spend a long time on the phone with them on the day that I can book with my gold status and last time I had to call in and explain that I was eligible to book early. Just thinking about it is making me lean towards just direct booking and foregoing the cash card.

I book directly through Disney and then transfer to Costco (email addy is Cruise.Questions@costcotravel.com) and they can send you the form. I do believe the costco card is the same amount even if transferred. They may occasionally run a special for added bonus but you have to book it in their time frame which may not be the best time to book (in other words, wouldn’t hold off booking opening day in hopes of higher cash back). I believe you have 30 days after you book to transfer but as long as you don’t pay it off. And we got our reward cert a week after we returned. Hope that helps. They will respond in about 24 hours via email.