Booking through Costco?

[varkgirl]

Are there any downsides to booking through Costco? Can I enter my reservation number into my account on the Disney website and control everything (excursions, Palo, etc) just as if I booked it through Disney?

 

[dcassetta]

You'll be able to do all of the online registration things just as if you had booked it directly with Disney. Port arrival times, scheduling port Excursions, dining, etc. The only possible downside is if you wanted to change something that involved a different cabin, because you'll have to call Costco and make that change through them. For instance, you wanted to book cabin number 1 but it was unavailable when you first made your reservation, so you chose cabin 2. At sometime later you see the cabin 1 is now available, you can't change that directly yourself you would need to contact Costco first. Also, if you decide at some point after your reservation that you want to add transfers, or prepay your gratuities, you also have to go to Costco for that. However I think that small possible downside is completely countered by the excellent cash card Costco will send you after you return from your cruise.

 

[havaneselover]

Pretty much. You have to pay Costco directly unless you use a DVA. I personally have seen no downside but plenty of upside.

 

[dani24]

We booked through Costco. Everything except for payment/booking related stuff could be controlled by me. I was even able to call DCL directly to request being added to the wait list for early dining. And DCL granted my request a week or two later, so I know it worked.

 

[Main Street Matilda]

Used Costco for our last cruise with no hiccups at all. The only downside I found was that the Costco travel agents I spoke with did not know many specifics about DCL and I figure out almost everything on my own. But ... if you're on these boards, you'll find most of the information you'll need anyway.

I would note that my local travel agent (who had a DCL specialist) was able to get me about the same price as Costco BUT that didn't include the Costco gift card. The amount of the Costco gift card was significant enough that I had to go with Costco - but if I was concerned about having someone to call that could answer all my questions, I would have strongly considered using the travel agent instead.

 

[dtrain]

OBB + Costco transfer = win

Even if you can't do the OBB, using Costco is great for the Cash Card and there is no downside that I've found.

 

[havaneselover]

Used Costco for our last cruise with no hiccups at all. The only downside I found was that the Costco travel agents I spoke with did not know many specifics about DCL and I figure out almost everything on my own. But ... if you're on these boards, you'll find most of the information you'll need anyway.

I would note that my local travel agent (who had a DCL specialist) was able to get me about the same price as Costco BUT that didn't include the Costco gift card. The amount of the Costco gift card was significant enough that I had to go with Costco - but if I was concerned about having someone to call that could answer all my questions, I would have strongly considered using the travel agent instead.

Should be the exact same price regardless of how you book.

 

[jlemieu1]

4 cruises down no issues yet

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I mean, imagine how much hummus you can buy with that Costco cash card!!!!!!!

 

[varkgirl]

Thanks all. We went ahead and booked through Costco. Added the reservation to our DisneyCruise.com account... but I see a tiny glitch. We are gold castaway members and we booked a July 28 cruise. 105 days before that is today so we should be able to book activities starting today, but it says May 14... I emailed Disney to make sure our Castaway membership is associated with our reservation as it should be. Hopefully they can sort it out.

 

[varkgirl]

OBB + Costco transfer = win

Even if you can't do the OBB, using Costco is great for the Cash Card and there is no downside that I've found.

We don't do OBB because we are FL residents and a lot of times we can get a better deal that way.

 

[owensamo]

Thanks all. We went ahead and booked through Costco. Added the reservation to our DisneyCruise.com account... but I see a tiny glitch. We are gold castaway members and we booked a July 28 cruise. 105 days before that is today so we should be able to book activities starting today, but it says May 14... I emailed Disney to make sure our Castaway membership is associated with our reservation as it should be. Hopefully they can sort it out.

We had this issue with a recent booking - we were booking 2 rooms, and one had the correct CC level (I made sure to enter my number during the booking), while the other did not (CC number not entered during the online booking). My DH had to call and make sure everything was updated. It didn't take very long to get it fixed - but we aren't sailing until November, so we had plenty of time.

Costco should be able to get DCL on the phone to straighten it out if they can't do it themselves. Also, you may be able to call DCL directly and make sure the CC number is applied to the reservation - they may be able to do that much without having to involve the TA.

 

[varkgirl]

We had this issue with a recent booking - we were booking 2 rooms, and one had the correct CC level (I made sure to enter my number during the booking), while the other did not (CC number not entered during the online booking). My DH had to call and make sure everything was updated. It didn't take very long to get it fixed - but we aren't sailing until November, so we had plenty of time.

Costco should be able to get DCL on the phone to straighten it out if they can't do it themselves. Also, you may be able to call DCL directly and make sure the CC number is applied to the reservation - they may be able to do that much without having to involve the TA.

Thanks. I emailed DCL. We booked through Costco online so no TA involved. We did enter our Castaway numbers during booking... we'll see what DCL says...

 

[owensamo]

Thanks. I emailed DCL. We booked through Costco online so no TA involved. We did enter our Castaway numbers during booking... we'll see what DCL says...

We booked online as well - doing so means Costco is the TA. If you have problems, call their toll-free number - we've never had anything but good experiences with any of the reps we've worked with on the phone. I just asked , and in this case, though, my husband had to call the Castaway Club number to get his status sorted on our upcoming cruise - Costco could get the number added, but it wasn't working properly at DCL. The Castaway Club rep apparently fixed it pretty quick, so if it's important to get your bookings done soon, I'd recommend calling rather than depending on email (in my experience, Disney in general seems slow to respond when it comes to email).

 

[varkgirl]

We booked online as well - doing so means Costco is the TA. If you have problems, call their toll-free number - we've never had anything but good experiences with any of the reps we've worked with on the phone. I just asked , and in this case, though, my husband had to call the Castaway Club number to get his status sorted on our upcoming cruise - Costco could get the number added, but it wasn't working properly at DCL. The Castaway Club rep apparently fixed it pretty quick, so if it's important to get your bookings done soon, I'd recommend calling rather than depending on email (in my experience, Disney in general seems slow to respond when it comes to email).

Thanks. No big rush - it is just a 3 night cruise. Will definitely make some phone calls if they can't fix it.

 

[mom4fun]

There is one negative. If you down grade more than once they will charge you a $25 fee.