AAA soda mugs?

[Jeanne434]

Anyone got info on the triple A mugs I keep reading about? I went to their site but found it hard to navigate around. I bet someone here knows!

 

[dclwdwlover]

We used them last time & will be getting them this time, also. Although my TA said it might work a little differently this time, last time I got mugs directly from AAA & then used it on the ship at all of the outside beverage areas to get free soda. (You don't need it inside the restaurants). My TA this time said that she thought I might be getting the mug 'on' the ship, but just call the AAA Travel 800 # in your area & they'll know.

 

[cjsmith]

When I was in with my AAA travel agent a few weeks ago making my final payment on our 6/7/03 cruise, she showed me someone else's DCL documents and what the ticket looked like that you hand in on board either the Wonder or the Magic to obtain your AAA soda mug. The last 2 DCL cruises that we took, I booked myself right through DCL, so we simply paid for the soda program. I asked the AAA agent if they were going to change over to the sticker program that they are currently offering on the cruises and she said that she didn't know about any changes yet, but she doubted it. Think about it, the AAA logo on the mugs is great advertising for you to want to use them for your next cruise, it worked for me!
Carolyn

 

[Auntie Bon]

Do you have to book your vacation through AAA to get the mugs or just be a member of the auto club?

 

[cjsmith]

You have to either book through AAA or allow them to take over your reservation from DCL if you booked through them. (That's what I did.)
Carolyn

 

[TINKFAN3]

Our AAA agent said they no longer give the mugs during the cruise because of sanitation. You get a sticker on your key. The mugs are given to you on your last day. They bring them to your room! At least that is what she told us. I like the sticker method myself. I don't want to lug a mug around.

 

[cjsmith]

Boy, I hope that's true about the stickers. I really do hate toting around the mugs on the cruise. The sticker
method is so much better. Maybe someone traveling recently that had the AAA package could help us out with the answer.
Carolyn

 

[TimonTracy]

I just returned from the 4/12 Magic Cruise. They do still give the AAA Mugs. Only the guests who pay for the package get the sticker. (They pay additional money for a mug if they want one) I surmise that the reason AAA members get a mug is probably an advertising issue, because the Mugs do stand out and they say courtesy of you AAA agent.

 

[EMT-319]

We were on the 4-night Wonder 3/16.

Since we booked thru AAA, we got the AAA mugs.

You'll get them on-board after presenting your AAA diamond card which is included in the cruise documents of your primary family member. Ask a CM when you board as to where you pick up the AAA mugs. It is only at one special location.

AAA members only get the mug, no stickers. I asked, and they would not give us stickers.

The AAA mug is yellow and looks different than the DCL mug. The CMs know not to ask to see your KTTW card when you get the AAA mug refilled.

Persons who purchase a DCL mug are required to show their KTTW card with the sticker to prove "ownership" and to prevent "sharing". Disney is afraid that only one family member will buy into the DCL soda program and share with other family members. Since AAA gives mugs to every member of the sailing party family, this is not a concern with the AAA mugs.

Don't forget to take your mugs to Castaway Cay for free soda there.

We had a couple of extra lanyards that we attached to our mugs. It made it easier to carry them around - at least when they were empty!

 

[Makaroni5]

Did I understand correctly, in no way can you go to AAA as a member and pay at a discount for a mug unless you booked through them directly or transferred to them? Sounds right but since I didn't book through them I was hoping just maybe I could purchase the mugs at their office with a little discount. No such luck huh?

 

[EMT-319]

Correct - You have to "book" your cruise thru AAA to get the mugs.

 

[Makaroni5]

Thanks for the info., it's a bummer but makes sense. Why would they offer us the mugs when we didn't bother to book with them. I was just hoping.

 

[tkd lisa]

Makaroni, depending on who you booked with, and how far out you are, you can still switch your booking over. If you have made your final payment, you definitely can't switch over.

We booked our May cruise last year with AAA, and our Jan cruise this year direct with Disney. Last May, AAA was offering mugs, $100 stateroom credit, and 10% discount on ship stores and Castaway Cay merch. This Jan, they weren't offering stateroom credit.

At least our AAA didn't have anyone knowledgeable about DCL, so they weren't any help. However, they forced us to come in to the office (for us, that's over 2 hours one way from our house) to pick up the cruise documents "so they can go over them with us to answer any questions we had". Kind of a minor thing, but when we were booked with AAA, we couldn't pull up our reservation on the DCL site. Booked directly w/ DCL (and as far as I understand, with Dreams), we could go to the DCL site and see our reservation directly, and email any shore excursions, etc that we wanted. I also got to see our free upgrade (from a cat 9 to a cat 5) right when it happened (woo hoo!).

For our Jan trip, we were only going on a 4 day (May was 7), so the mugs were cheaper. We also noticed that we really only used two of the mugs, because the kids spent most of their time in the clubs (where they can't go out for sodas). We ended up just booking directly w/ DCL and buying 2 mugs when we got on board.

I wouldn't book w/ AAA again unless they offered more of a credit than any other reputable agency. I'd probably start with Dreams Unlimited.

 

[EMT-319]

I only booked with AAA to get the "free" mugs.

Lucky for me, their local office is only 5 minutes away. I had to come in to pick up my documents also. Thanks to these boards, I knew MUCH more about DCL than our AAA TA.

Besides the mugs, we received a $ 50 discount.

I would not book with AAA again.

I usually book my vacations via the Internet. I was able to get a better deal on my airline flights using the airline's website.

 

[dizneykids]

EMT-319....when did you go that you got a $50 credit? Was it this year?

 

[dclwdwlover]

I always do all of the planning & booking myself & then wait until I see a really good AAA travel deal & transfer my reserv. to them. We are cruising this Oct. 2003 & I actually booked it in Feb. 2002. In January of this year I recv. a AAA postcard with disc. if you book by 1/31, so I transferred my resv. to them & I not only will be getting the mugs, but a $100. PER cabin on-ship discount which includes Cast. Cay & the shops on board. There were other perks, too, but those were the 2 I was primarily interested in & it costs nothing to transf. it.

 

[EMT-319]

Dizneykids - we sailed 3/16/03. We booked the cruise just over 60 days prior on 1/13/03.

I think that everybody who booked around that time was getting $ 50 off per stateroom.

 

[Makaroni5]

We are going May 3rd and we just got our $50. credit for this cruise.