Booked cruise with Costco but want to communicate directly with DCL

[Lyn-CA]

I booked a cruise with Costco and I am PIF.

MDE has me correctly listed as a Silver Castaway Club member, however, it incorrectly states that I have 75 days for online check in/booking instead of 90 days.

Do I have to contact Costco Travel to correct this information or can I call DCL directly?

TIA

 

[wilma-bride]

If you are a silver Castaway member you will be able to complete check-in online at 90 days (as long as you are paid in full) regardless of what it says on MDE (do you mean MDE - my cruises are not linked to MDE at all).

But, to answer your question, if you book through a travel agent, you need to make any changes or queries through them.

 

[Lyn-CA]

If you are a silver Castaway member you will be able to complete check-in online at 90 days (as long as you are paid in full) regardless of what it says on MDE (do you mean MDE - my cruises are not linked to MDE at all).

But, to answer your question, if you book through a travel agent, you need to make any changes or queries through them.

It's under my Disney cruise under the main umbrella that is MDE. When I view either My Cruise Activities or Online Check-in, the date listed is 5/29/16 which comes out to 75 days instead of 5/14/16 which is 90 days (I checked using a bunch of online date calculators.

I shall call Costco Travel first thing.

 

[wilma-bride]

It's under my Disney cruise under the main umbrella that is MDE. When I view either My Cruise Activities or Online Check-in, the date listed is 5/29/16 which comes out to 75 days instead of 5/14/16 which is 90 days (I checked using a bunch of online date calculators.

I shall call Costco Travel first thing.

I'm probably not much help then because I have to sign in to disneycruiseline.com to view my cruise. MDE only has my WDW stays listed, not cruises. And on the cruise page, I don't have any date listed for online check-in.

Are you sure that what you're seeing is not actually your PIF date. If you pay in full before that date, you can do online check-in at 90 days as a Sliver CC member.

 

[Hundredacre]

How do you get your cruise reservations on mde? Ours are separate. I always thought it was weird that they did not mesh. I have noticed that recently some of the graphics used in our account in mde have made it over to dcl reservations, which means there has to be some connection .

 

[clten]

It could be that your Castaway Club # was not put on your reservation. Call Costco and make sure they put your number(s) in so you get proper credit and can do your online bookings/check-in at the proper time.

 

[Trera]

I know it cost more but this is why I just book with DCL.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I know it cost more but this is why I just book with DCL.

It doesn't cost more to book directly with DCL, you just don't get whatever perk a TA offers, i.e. Costco Gift Cards. Regardless, I have booked directly with DCL for my last few cruises.

 

[Trera]

It doesn't cost more to book directly with DCL, you just don't get whatever perk a TA offers, i.e. Costco Gift Cards. Regardless, I have booked directly with DCL for my last few cruises.

yes, what you said!!

 

[bumbershoot]

There are many things you could call directly for. This might not be one of them though. Just call costco. No biggie.

(The Disney websites are all clumped together now. Heck, it looks like I have mde for Disneyland sometimes. I can see old messages about mbs shopping when in my DL account. Doesn't mean I have mde for DL. It's just the account that's all.)

 

[wilma-bride]

(The Disney websites are all clumped together now. Heck, it looks like I have mde for Disneyland sometimes. I can see old messages about mbs shopping when in my DL account. Doesn't mean I have mde for DL. It's just the account that's all.)

I am intrigued by this comment. So, you can see your Disney cruises listed under www.mydisneyexperience.com? And on the MDe app?

The only thing that is common across the piece for me is my log-in details. I still have to go to www.disneycruiseline.com to view my cruise details and I cannot see an online check-in date on there anyway.

 

[Lyn-CA]

It could be that your Castaway Club # was not put on your reservation. Call Costco and make sure they put your number(s) in so you get proper credit and can do your online bookings/check-in at the proper time.

This is exactly what was missing. I called DCL directly and the rep took care of it on the spot. And just in the nick of time too. I get to do online check in starting at 9 pm PST. Woo-hoo

 

[thebigredBOAT]

It doesn't cost more to book directly with DCL, you just don't get whatever perk a TA offers, i.e. Costco Gift Cards. Regardless, I have booked directly with DCL for my last few cruises.

I hate to nitpick (since I'm new to the DIS world), but I'm confused on how you can say it does not cost more to book directly vs. going through Costco (like I did). For example, Costco is rebating me $1,000 for booking through them vs. DCL, thus making DCL cost $1,000 more.

 

[wilma-bride]

I hate to nitpick (since I'm new to the DIS world), but I'm confused on how you can say it does not cost more to book directly vs. going through Costco (like I did). For example, Costco is rebating me $1,000 for booking through them vs. DCL, thus making DCL cost $1,000 more.

The price of the cruise is exactly the same. What Costco do is offer you an incentive to book with them, but you get it in the form of a Costco card so they are getting the money back anyway.

So, the price is the same.

 

[thebigredBOAT]

The price of the cruise is exactly the same. What Costco do is offer you an incentive to book with them, but you get it in the form of a Costco card so they are getting the money back anyway.

So, the price is the same.

I guess for, semantics reasons, it's just a definition of the price of the cruise vs. what you end up paying for the cruise. To me, the price of something is what I pay, not what the shiny label says it costs... You can't honestly tell yourself that if you pay, for example, $1,000 more for the exact same thing, then the two prices were the same, can you?

 

[wilma-bride]

I guess for, semantics reasons, it's just a definition of the price of the cruise vs. what you end up paying for the cruise. To me, the price of something is what I pay, not what the shiny label says it costs... You can't honestly tell yourself that if you pay, for example, $1,000 more for the exact same thing, then the two prices were the same, can you?

Well, that is exactly the point - the price you pay is exactly the same. If you book through DCL or if you book through Costco, you are still paying the same out of pocket. But with Costco you are getting some back as a voucher. Your expenditure is the same for both though

 

[NHDisneyFan]

Well, that is exactly the point - the price you pay is exactly the same. If you book through DCL or if you book through Costco, you are still paying the same out of pocket. But with Costco you are getting some back as a voucher. Your expenditure is the same for both though

And two weeks after the cruise when you purchase a king size mattress at Costco with the $1,000 voucher your expenditure on the cruise now includes a cruise and $1,000 worth of goods.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just throwing this out there... when I look on the Costco site, it's $200 more for the same cruise as on the DCL site. Yes, I'll get $500 back, but the cruise price is $200 more, making my savings only $300. I know, it's still $300, but that's not as appealing as $500. It does pay to compare and do what's right for you. Another point is that the total cruise price comes out of your pocket, but your rebate comes back in Costco dollars, which can only be spent there. Great for most people, but not all. It's not the same as getting that amount knocked off the price of the cruise. Now if you could use the 'cash back' to pay for your cruise, that's a different story.

 

[thebigredBOAT]

Just throwing this out there... when I look on the Costco site, it's $200 more for the same cruise as on the DCL site. Yes, I'll get $500 back, but the cruise price is $200 more, making my savings only $300. I know, it's still $300, but that's not as appealing as $500. It does pay to compare and do what's right for you. Another point is that the total cruise price comes out of your pocket, but your rebate comes back in Costco dollars, which can only be spent there. Great for most people, but not all. It's not the same as getting that amount knocked off the price of the cruise. Now if you could use the 'cash back' to pay for your cruise, that's a different story.

I agree with your point. Since we spend an ungodly amount every month at Costco, I value the cash card at almost 100% cash value. Others' mileage may vary, of course!

Also, the cruise I purchased priced out to the penny on all TA sites and DCL.com, so there was no implied penalty to go anywhere else vs. DCL directly.

I didn't mean for this to morph into a debate, but it's turned out to be an interesting examination into consumers' varying views on the same topic (post-purchase rebate vs. pre-purchase sale).

 

[erionm]

Just throwing this out there... when I look on the Costco site, it's $200 more for the same cruise as on the DCL site.

Did you check to see if the Costco price included insurance and/or transportation to/from the port?