Any disadvantages to using a travel agent to book a cruise?

[brentm77]

No disadvantages, I’ve booked direct, through a local travel agent through a big box store and I can say it’s honestly all the same. At then end of the day if you need to make a change you have to call someone, doesn’t make a difference if that person needs to work with someone while you are on hold or not. Also disney controls the prices so every quote you receive will have the same base price at the same time.
That being said there is a big advantage of using a TA and that comes in the form of $$$$ while Disney controls the prices each travel agent is allowed to provide either obc or cash back etc. from their commission. From my experience as a self diy planner who doesn’t need a travel agent to guide me through he process I book with Costco bc they are working on volume and give the most % back in the form of a Costco cash card which can be redeemed at the store for purchases or just for cash back. Nothing wrong with saving 8-9% off the cruise just for booking through someone else

And if you pay for it with your Costco Visa, you get another 2%. I also like that I am essentially in control of my booking. I pick the cruise, the room, and enter the information, so I don't have to rely on a third party. Sure, changes take a call to Costco, but they do a great job. You have the advantage of calling a call center versus an individual who may not be responsive. I have been very happy with doing it this way.

 

[OffToDWD]

Thank you all - very helpful reading the different views and experiences. Thanks!

 

[toy]

There is no disadvantage. I absolutely love our TA and I use to do all of my own bookings for years. She is fast and very responsive. She goes above and beyond to make sure we get our requests (within reason).

 

[Gentry2004]

My travel agent wasn’t great - after the booking she was very hard to reach and she almost missed our PIF date despite my emailing/calling her. I switched to Costco because I can do everything myself and the travel credit was much higher.

 

[Surgie2]

I switched to Costco because I can do everything myself and the travel credit was much higher.

To clarify, what do you mean that you switched to Costco so you can do everything yourself? I will be looking to b book future cruises I purchase on opening date for the cruise I want. If Costco is involved, how would I do everything myself? Or did you mean you reserve your onboard activities and excursions? Sorry for interrogation but I just need to figure out exactly what to do LOL!

 

[Gentry2004]

To clarify, what do you mean that you switched to Costco so you can do everything yourself? I will be looking to b book future cruises I purchase on opening date for the cruise I want. If Costco is involved, how would I do everything myself? Or did you mean you reserve your onboard activities and excursions? Sorry for interrogation but I just need to figure out exactly what to do LOL!

I booked online through Costco and made my final payment myself. Didn’t need to speak to anyone, whereas previously I had to pay my deposit and balance through my TA. Also she couldn’t find the room I wanted even though online was showing available. There was no value-add to me, and the Costco credit is about double the TA credit. I’m sure some people have better TA’s. Mine was meh.

 

[n2mm]

my only disadvantage is weekends. Sometimes I might be waiting for a specific room and it pops up on the weekend. Though I still sent an email, and she did once take the time to switch for me. But not always. Not enough of a problem to not use a TA. I hate calling dcl because of a few unpleasant calls, so my TA does all that esp on release day, which requires a phone to use a placeholder. I like being in control and never felt like I gave it up, since I still book my own excursion, hotel, car rental and airfare.

 

[OffToDWD]

I booked online through Costco and made my final payment myself. Didn’t need to speak to anyone, whereas previously I had to pay my deposit and balance through my TA. Also she couldn’t find the room I wanted even though online was showing available. There was no value-add to me, and the Costco credit is about double the TA credit. I’m sure some people have better TA’s. Mine was meh.

Can we can book online through Costco if we are booking "early" - for example with the Silver members which is a day before the general public? Thanks!

 

[Surgie2]

I booked online through Costco and made my final payment myself. Didn’t need to speak to anyone, whereas previously I had to pay my deposit and balance through my TA. Also she couldn’t find the room I wanted even though online was showing available. There was no value-add to me, and the Costco credit is about double the TA credit. I’m sure some people have better TA’s. Mine was meh.

Ok that makes sense. From what I understand, I will not be able to book online through Costco or DCL if I am using a future cruise booking.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Ok that makes sense. From what I understand, I will not be able to book online through Costco or DCL if I am using a future cruise booking.

If you have a placeholder booked, you (or your TA) must call DCL to apply it to a specific cruise.

 

[Gentry2004]

Ok that makes sense. From what I understand, I will not be able to book online through Costco or DCL if I am using a future cruise booking.

If you have a placeholder I think you need to list Costco as your travel agent and/or transfer it to Costo within so many days of buying the placeholder. If you haven't done that then no I don't think you can use them for the placeholder cruise. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

I don't know the answer to the booking early on "Silver" opening day as I have not attempted that.

 

[Gentry2004]

If you have a placeholder booked, you (or your TA) must call DCL to apply it to a specific cruise.

We had to file a form to "transfer" our placeholder booking from no travel agent to Costco Travel. I believe we had to do this within so many days of booking the placeholder? IIRC it was within 2-3 weeks of disembarking.

We didn't end up using that placeholder and got it refunded before the 24 months was up, and then I booked our current cruise directly with Costco.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If you have a placeholder I think you need to list Costco as your travel agent and/or transfer it to Costo within so many days of buying the placeholder. If you haven't done that then no I don't think you can use them for the placeholder cruise. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

I don't know the answer to the booking early on "Silver" opening day as I have not attempted that.

Correct, even placeholders must be transferred within 30 days of original booking.

 

[Mechelle Walker]

I have booked trips directly with DCL TA, an independant TA, Costco, and myself. Pluses and minuses to each I suppose?

Going forward I think we will continue to book directly with Costco for our DCL cruises. They provided great service...but most importantly, we found that they offered us greater savings overall. We also took advantage of a not widely known perk through Costco travel on our most recent cruise. They offer cruise excursions as well. We found them to be cheaper than DCL excursions. They were highly organized and offered lots of choices whilst in port. Each experience was thoroughly enjoyable and the tour guides were very knowledgable. They also have a unique feature where they guarantee that you will arrive on time for "all aboard" or they will pay to transport you to your next port. That's the piece of mind we needed!

Granted, I haven't seen OBC's in a while from Costco but I'm told that Costco will always offer it when DCL extends it to them. It's never expected but always a bonus when they pop up. As it is now, Costco's standard offer is a Costco cash card when your trip has commenced. ****It's important to note that the cash card total is based off of the type of stateroom you book.

• We took advantage of the 3% cash back offered through booking directly with Costco travel.
• We also received an additional 2% back with booking using the Costco Credit Card. The Costco cash cards monetary value is based off the room price that we booked.
• We also got 10% off our cruise by booking a "place holder" for furture travel while onboard our last cruise. All told, it was nearly $2k in savings.

 

[Mechelle Walker]

If you have a placeholder I think you need to list Costco as your travel agent and/or transfer it to Costo within so many days of buying the placeholder. If you haven't done that then no I don't think you can use them for the placeholder cruise. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

I don't know the answer to the booking early on "Silver" opening day as I have not attempted that.

We learned this the hard way! We now know that we have 30 days from the time you book your place holder onboard to transfer your placeholder to Costco. To DCL's credit they did ask who our travel agency was when we were onboard. We stated "Costco" but didn't list a specific agent because you get whoever is on the phone when you happen to call. It was a HUGE hassle to get DCL to reverse it but they finally did.

Word to the wise transfer within 30 days of booking your placeholder!

 

[Mechelle Walker]

Can we can book online through Costco if we are booking "early" - for example with the Silver members which is a day before the general public? Thanks!

YES! You can book your "placeholder" whilst onboard the cruise and take advantage of their offer. But...you only have 30 days from the time you book to transfer the placeholder deposit to a TA or for example: Costco should you wish to do that.

 

[hrhdhd]

A Costco Executive Member gets 2% cash back. The Costco Visa gets you another 3% back. Plus you get a red Shop Card (new version of the blue Cash Card) worth a percentage of the cruise fare.

 

[xlxo]

For a first timer... a travel agent is helpful to ensure everything is right (eg dining times, transfers, bed setup, cabin options).

Experienced cruises will likely go directly to the cruise line... especially when you are at the Travel agency trying to reach a busy cruise ship rep to find what cabins are available. It's easier for me call the cruise line directly when I get home at night for find what cabins are available.

 

[CruisingDad]

We booked our first several cruises directly with Disney and we have booked the last two through a TA. I have been disappointed in the level of service and plan to go back to booking direct. It has taken multiple days to get her to make payments, and we have to follow up with emails to get her to email us receipts from Disney for proof of payment. The anxiety of making sure payments were made on time wasn’t worth the $125 OBC we’re getting. We asked her to request a specific server that we had on the Fantasy before. We had his first name and date of last sailing, but she said that she needed the full name and that Disney would not give her that information. My wife called Disney direct and had his full name in a few minutes. We asked our TA for early info on Port Adventures and any recommendations she had. She said that she didn’t give recommendations and that we should wait until the booking window opened and then use Google to learn more about the excursions.
Maybe my expectations are unrealistic, but I had hoped for more personalized service and the chance to benefit from working with someone who had experience with Disney Cruises

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We booked our first several cruises directly with Disney and we have booked the last two through a TA. I have been disappointed in the level of service and plan to go back to booking direct. It has taken multiple days to get her to make payments, and we have to follow up with emails to get her to email us receipts from Disney for proof of payment. The anxiety of making sure payments were made on time wasn’t worth the $125 OBC we’re getting. We asked her to request a specific server that we had on the Fantasy before. We had his first name and date of last sailing, but she said that she needed the full name and that Disney would not give her that information. My wife called Disney direct and had his full name in a few minutes. We asked our TA for early info on Port Adventures and any recommendations she had. She said that she didn’t give recommendations and that we should wait until the booking window opened and then use Google to learn more about the excursions.
Maybe my expectations are unrealistic, but I had hoped for more personalized service and the chance to benefit from working with someone who had experience with Disney Cruises

Yeah, that's not a good TA. The one we use isn't great, but she's adequate. We only use her when the TA has a really good offer on perks. Most cruises we just book directly.