Travel Agent or Book Direct???

[ssanders79]

We like to rebook on board and name our out Dreams agent as TA at the same time. DW just emails her when we get home to make sure it's been done correctly. The more OBC the better as it helps reduce the out of pocket for tipping, sometimes it ends up covering more than just tips. When resident rates come out we receive the refund on our credit card.

We have had an excellent service from our dreams' agent. We would not use DU if we were unhappy.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We like to rebook on board and name our out Dreams agent as TA at the same time. DW just emails her when we get home to make sure it's been done correctly. The more OBC the better as it helps reduce the out of pocket for tipping, sometimes it ends up covering more than just tips. When resident rates come out we receive the refund on our credit card.

We have had excellent service from our dreams' agent. We would not use DU if we were unhappy.

I will second this! My DU agent (Merrie) is AMAZING! I originally booked with them for the OBC and have no regrets at all. I highly recommend them to anyone. Since our first cruise we have booked 2 others, both through Merrie at DU. Once you have paid in full, you can go to the DCL website and book dining, excursion, etc. For our med. cruise the OBC credit is around $500.00 and I think we also receive $200.00 from DCL (from booking onboard). To me, that is a significant credit! And the service from Merrie is outstanding!

 

[Kencad MOM]

Is there a difference in cancellation policies when booking w/ a TAvs Disney directly??

 

[lmhall2000]

Is there a difference in cancellation policies when booking w/ a TAvs Disney directly??

Our first cruise I used DU, our second upcoming cruise I have done it myself...I'm really a DIY person anyway and like to cut out the middle man...I was still having to give all my information (flight/passport etc.) to the travel agent...then waiting a few days to see that everything was put in okay...I'd rather just do it myself and know right away.

The OBC was what motivated me to use a travel agent ($500)..I think for anything less than that it would not be worth it to me.

If you use a travel agent, at least with my experience they want your final payoff earlier than Disney does (by about 2-3 weeks)..I noticed no differences in cancellation policies.

Another reason I like booking myself is that if a special comes up, I may not hear from them for 1-5 days and have missed the special..that happened on our first cruise...I went ahead and did a dummy hold on the special, but it took over 24 hours for agent to respond, and when she did there were NONE available! We had to be 'typing' at the same time (because this agency uses no telephones) so that I would release my dummy hold so she could then see it and rebook it herself. It was a hassle, but it saved me over $1300.

I like going on to Disney and seeing immediate changes..if I want to upgrade my room, I can, I don't have to wait and see if it's available. The big drawback to doing it yourself is that it can be a pain entering in all that information...I have entered our flight info in 5x, finally had Disney enter it in for me, and it still gives me an error code...Disney assures me it's 'in' there but the system acts like I have not filled it in yet...the system has glitches, but anytime I've needed to call Disney, the wait has been less than 5 minutes and unbelievably they've all been sooooo accomodating and outstanding, I wish I could give them all high reviews! I've spoken to 5 different reps by phone and emailed 4 different ones...all have been literally so happy to help...and as perplexed as I was about why it's not working..

Tara

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am continually amazed that folks would use a TA that does not have a phone service and a 24/7 Emergency service.


As a frequent traveler when you are standing at check in and discover you have an issue you need to be able to contact your TA IMMEDIATELY not a few days later. Remember the TA owns the reservation up until you begin the trip. So if there is a late crisis you need to be able to contact them ASAP!


If you use DVC points for part of your cruise I wouldn't use a TA. I looked into when we did a family reunion tour, most TAs would "assist" but you could tell that since they weren't getting commission on the DVC rooms you were a low priority (I didn't think they should get commission on the other rooms if they weren't willing to help me make sure things were linked etc so I did it myself. )

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Our first cruise I used DU, our second upcoming cruise I have done it myself...I'm really a DIY person anyway and like to cut out the middle man...I was still having to give all my information (flight/passport etc.) to the travel agent...then waiting a few days to see that everything was put in okay...I'd rather just do it myself and know right away.

The OBC was what motivated me to use a travel agent ($500)..I think for anything less than that it would not be worth it to me.

If you use a travel agent, at least with my experience they want your final payoff earlier than Disney does (by about 2-3 weeks)..I noticed no differences in cancellation policies.

Another reason I like booking myself is that if a special comes up, I may not hear from them for 1-5 days and have missed the special..that happened on our first cruise...I went ahead and did a dummy hold on the special, but it took over 24 hours for agent to respond, and when she did there were NONE available! We had to be 'typing' at the same time (because this agency uses no telephones) so that I would release my dummy hold so she could then see it and rebook it herself. It was a hassle, but it saved me over $1300.

I like going on to Disney and seeing immediate changes..if I want to upgrade my room, I can, I don't have to wait and see if it's available. The big drawback to doing it yourself is that it can be a pain entering in all that information...I have entered our flight info in 5x, finally had Disney enter it in for me, and it still gives me an error code...Disney assures me it's 'in' there but the system acts like I have not filled it in yet...the system has glitches, but anytime I've needed to call Disney, the wait has been less than 5 minutes and unbelievably they've all been sooooo accomodating and outstanding, I wish I could give them all high reviews! I've spoken to 5 different reps by phone and emailed 4 different ones...all have been literally so happy to help...and as perplexed as I was about why it's not working..

Tara

Not all TAs are this way. I can make final payment on the due date if I wish. I usually do it earlier if I want to book excursions, Palo, etc. online since cc members can but only if paid in full.
If you are a cc member, esp gold or platinum, you are missing out on one of their better perks if you wait until 75 days prior to make final payment.

As for entering passport, flight info etc., just b/c I use a TA doesn't mean I don't have access to online check in.
I've always still done this myself with no error problems and prefer to. When my TA books it, it's with "passport info on file" or something like that. So once I pull up my ressie, it has all of our passport and cc member info already in there. I just enter flight info.

The only thing I can't do online is make major changes. If I wanted to change cabins or upgrade and I see what I want online, I capture it by booking it as a new reservation by putting it on hold with no deposit, then transfer that res to my TA by faxing a form to DCL and she changes it all. Not a big deal at all.
I've only done that once and most changes are a matter of adding transportation, waitlisting for early dining, etc. Nothing urgent.
I've never used DU and my TA is available by phone but not 24/7 of course. I can leave her a message if she doesn't answer and she gets back to me within a reasonable time.
She even sent my kids personalized Mickey fleece blankets from the Disney store for Christmas and a stuffed Captain Mickey last year.
Sometimes we chat on the phone so long about cruising, it's like talking to a friend. I've used her for about 7 cruises now and still love her.

 

[QCTodd]

Well here's my story I booked with a TA and received no discounts or OBC and now after finding this site I see that I have all kinds of places that offer some kind of special or OBC. What are my options now?

 

[DisneyDee27]

I may transfer my Med cruise to DU for the OBC. I booked my first two DCL cruises on my own. My third is booked through a TA and I'm contemplating moving the fourth one as well.
I love gaining knowledge from these boards
Dee

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Well here's my story I booked with a TA and received no discounts or OBC and now after finding this site I see that I have all kinds of places that offer some kind of special or OBC. What are my options now?

Hmmm... unless your TA has been truly unethical in how he/she is handling your res, it's not good etiquette to request to DCL to take control of a res back from a TA.

With our 1st DCL cruise we booked through AAA and I learned more here than through the TA. No help whatsoever. We knew we wouldn't bother with them for the next time.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

Based on this string and knowing (a) I'm a DCL veteran and (b) I'm not making changes to our ressie, it looks like I will only benefit by transferring my ressie to a TA. The TA offers a decent amount of photo credits, and I'm already getting $150 in OBC due to my status and my 10% booking on board discount. I never realized I could get my re-book benefits AND the TA's.

Has anyone had any issues with doing online check-in, Palo, and excursion reservations themselves once a ressie is with the TA? I can still access my ressie online, correct?

Am I correct in understanding the only thing I can't do if I use a TA is make payments through the website?

Thanks!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Based on this string and knowing (a) I'm a DCL veteran and (b) I'm not making changes to our ressie, it looks like I will only benefit by transferring my ressie to a TA. The TA offers a decent amount of photo credits, and I'm already getting $150 in OBC due to my status and my 10% booking on board discount. I never realized I could get my re-book benefits AND the TA's.

Has anyone had any issues with doing online check-in, Palo, and excursion reservations themselves once a ressie is with the TA? I can still access my ressie online, correct?

Am I correct in understanding the only thing I can't do if I use a TA is make payments through the website?

Thanks!

Booking activities online is no different if you have a TA except maybe that I make my final payment a couple days ahead of time just to be on the safe side.
If you're booked with a TA, you can't make payments or cruise reservation changes directly with DCL or online. You can however make changes to Palo, excursions, etc.