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

[Doingitagain]

Sorry for responding to an old thread, but it has lots of pertinent information. We transferred place holder cruises to Costco last year and transferred them to this year, now need to transfer them again to next year on opening day for platinum member. Unfortunately, Costco travel doesn’t open until two hours after Disney opens its phones. And they won’t take my info now, I have to get on Costco’s queue first, tell them what I want, and then they will call. They told me not to worry, that the hold times are so long that inventory doesn’t move fast. But people can also book online. I have to have them do it, because the reservations have on board booking credits on them that I would lose by booking new reservations myself and canceling the old ones. Any suggestions?

 

[n2mm]

Sorry for responding to an old thread, but it has lots of pertinent information. We transferred place holder cruises to Costco last year and transferred them to this year, now need to transfer them again to next year on opening day for platinum member. Unfortunately, Costco travel doesn’t open until two hours after Disney opens its phones. And they won’t take my info now, I have to get on Costco’s queue first, tell them what I want, and then they will call. They told me not to worry, that the hold times are so long that inventory doesn’t move fast. But people can also book online. I have to have them do it, because the reservations have on board booking credits on them that I would lose by booking new reservations myself and canceling the old ones. Any suggestions?

just wanted to say, I agree, now that people can book online, it does impact availability, but depends if you’re trying to book a popular cruise. My daughter, gold, got shut out of her favorite room during the last release. Good luck. We use a DU TA, but so far it’s been ok. I think a lot of people may wait for the release of the Wish cruises.

 

[JayLeeJay]

Are there any disadvantages to booking with an agent for early booking windows? We are planning to schedule our 4th cruise next week but this is the first time we are booking when a cruise is released as we usually do last minute bookings. Will we have difficulty getting something booked before it goes from silver to general release if we use Dreams Unlimited?

 

[Dug720]

and we wanted joining rooms.

MOST TAs will either assume you mean connecting or ask for clarification, but just so you (and others) know, in travel speak "adjoining" and "connecting" mean very different things.

Connecting means an interior door between rooms.

Adjoining can be across the hall, diagonal, back to back, or next to each other but WITHOUT a door in between.

It's important to ask for what you want - be it directly booking them such as on a cruise or making a request in a hotel.

 

[Dug720]

Are there any disadvantages to booking with an agent for early booking windows? We are planning to schedule our 4th cruise next week but this is the first time we are booking when a cruise is released as we usually do last minute bookings. Will we have difficulty getting something booked before it goes from silver to general release if we use Dreams Unlimited?

TBH, since you have not already established a relationship with an agent, it might be stickier this time as most of them will likely have already been in contact with their current clients. It's worth putting a request for a quote in, but this time you might be better off booking yourself and transferring to an agent within 30 days - yes your OBC will be less, but that will get you established.

 

[Cheburashka]

I am considering using a travel agent to book a cruise just for the onboard credit (in general, I book everything myself). Hoping to book a cruise for summer 2021 once the booking window opens for Silver members. If I book using a travel agent, are there any disadvantages? Can I still book onboard activities or excursions myself? Thanks in advance!

The main disadvantage is that you can't make changes or cancellations yourself. You have to do it through the travel agent, on the travel agent's schedule.

 

[Dug720]

The main disadvantage is that you can't make changes or cancellations yourself. You have to do it through the travel agent, on the travel agent's schedule.

For most agents, that would only be nights or weekends. Unless they work totally independently, when they are on vacation they should have a colleague in their agency cover for them for any changes or cancellations.

Edit to add info: I am NOTORIOUS about changing my reservations all around, and I was hesitant to use a TA for that reason, but she has been amazing and it has never been a problem to make changes. At. All.

 

[Snowwhyt]

The main disadvantage is that you can't make changes or cancellations yourself. You have to do it through the travel agent, on the travel agent's schedule.

Ugh, this is driving me crazy too. I am fond on doing stuff when I think of it. Soooo much more stressful for me to use an agent. Thought I would be helpful to clue me in on what to do for a RC cruise. Especially for ships I don’t know. Never once did I get a heads up for RC sale. Nothing for help make my trip without regrets. The last thing you wanna hear when you get on the ship is “most people sign up for that before they even get on the ship “

 

[Cheburashka]

For most agents, that would only be nights or weekends. Unless they work totally independently, when they are on vacation they should have a colleague in their agency cover for them for any changes or cancellations.

Edit to add info: I am NOTORIOUS about changing my reservations all around, and I was hesitant to use a TA for that reason, but she has been amazing and it has never been a problem to make changes. At. All.

Yes, I'm not putting agents down, just stating that fact. I'm a notorious changer, too, and that made using an agent hard for me. I tend to want to make a change exactly when I want to make it. If you aren't fussy about that, then I don't think there is any downside to having a good travel agent.

 

[Breezer4]

We book through a TA and I noticed she was able to secure a room for us that didn’t show up on the website when I looked on my own. I would recommend going with one that specializes in Disney. Our TA retired and I don’t think her replacement knows DCL well enough to help make recommendations.

 

[JOY K]

I never saw a disadvantage until this weekend. There were some discounts posted, but it is a holiday weekend. My agent is great and she does a great job. Please don't take this as me complaining about her bc it couldn't be further from the case. She posts a quarterly news letter to her clients and I knew ahead of tine she was going to be away spending the holiday with family as she should be. I don't blame her at all for taking Christmas day off. I have no idea what Dreams pays, but not enough to expect 24/7/365 service. The problem is, I could have booked direct and been able to move my reservation for 2 scheduled next fall to a reservation for 4 for February for only about $500 more than my original booking. Now those prices have shot up to over $1500 more and will likely not even be available by the time my agent is available again. If this was a new booking I may have been able to book myself and transfer my booking to my agent, but since I need to move a booking I have nearly paid off, I would need my agent to take care of it. This is the first time I have ever seen a down side to booking with an agent. I still don't regret using a Dreams agent and will always continue to use one bc even though I am missing out on a great oportunity thre are still so many benifits.

 

[tvguy]

I don't blame her at all for taking Christmas day off. I have no idea what Dreams pays, but not enough to expect 24/7/365 service.

Well, every Travel Agency I have ever used DID have an emergency contact phone number that had someone available 24/7/365 because your clients could have an issue that requires an immediate response. I guess if you are using a stand alone Travel Agent they may not provide that service, but I would expect Dreams to do so.

 

[JOY K]

Im sure if I looked there is an emergency contact and Im pretty sure my agent would even help me if I was on vacation and had an actual emergency. I just don't think missing a good deal, disapointing as it may be, constitutes an actual emergency. I just meant I can't and wouldn't expect my specific agent to step away from her own family on Christmas Eve or Christmas day to keep looking for a cruise for me as availability has fluctuated all weekend. Hopefully there will be something that fits my needs this morning.

 

[plutolovr]

Im sure if I looked there is an emergency contact and Im pretty sure my agent would even help me if I was on vacation and had an actual emergency. I just don't think missing a good deal, disapointing as it may be, constitutes an actual emergency. I just meant I can't and wouldn't expect my specific agent to step away from her own family on Christmas Eve or Christmas day to keep looking for a cruise for me as availability has fluctuated all weekend. Hopefully there will be something that fits my needs this morning.

FYI...Disney Cruise Line was closed yesterday. Most-likely you would not have been able to move your cruise to the one you were talking about because it sounds like that may be a Restricted rate cruise which is only valid for new bookings. You would have to cancel the current cruise and DCL would have to transfer the money over to the new reservation. This can only be done by phone.

 

[JOY K]

Im sure if I looked there is an emergency contact and Im pretty sure my agent would even help me if I was on vacation and had an actual emergency. I just don't think missing a good deal, disapointing as it may be, constitutes an actual emergency. I just meant I can't and wouldn't expect my specific agent to step away from her own family on Christmas Eve or Christmas day to keep looking for a cruise for me as availability has fluctuated all weekend. Hopefully there will be something that fits my needs this morning.

Update- My amazing agent was actually able to snatch up one of those discounted dates I was hoping for, the day after Christmas. It definatly was a nail biter for the reasons previously mentioned, but my agent really came through for me and I am grateful to have her.