costco booking and other questions

LOLA2

TINK<br><font color=9966ff> I never heard of not t
Joined
Dec 5, 2005
Thinking about booking through Costco. Will they be asking me if I want first or second seating for Dining ? Will I also be able to tell them I want a private table? Will they mark me down as a castaway member so it is counted for one of my cruises? Can I still log onto Disney cruise line site to see my cruise, make spa reservations and fill out paperwork? Do I make all payments to Costco when paying off cruise? What about putting a credit on the room?

I have not sailed with Disney for 7 years - does paperwork come in the mail that we take to port or is everything online beforehand? What about luggage tags? Can I Pre pay my tips?

How do I pick out port arrival time? Costco or do I do online?

Does Disney have an App now where we can see daily activities and message each other on the ship?
 
Thinking about booking through Costco. Will they be asking me if I want first or second seating for dinner?regardless if they ask or not, I would tell them what you want before they connect to dcl. Will I also be able to tell them I want a private table? You can request it but there’s no guarantees. Will they mark me down as a castaway member so it is counted for one of my cruises? Tell them you have a castaway number before they connect to dcl. Can I still log onto Disney cruise line site to see my cruise, make spa reservations and fill out paperwork? Yes! You can do everything else but pay through the dcl website or upgrade. However if you need to make any other changes by phone you have to do It through Costco. Do I make all payments to Costco when paying off cruise? Yes What about putting a credit on the room? Again, anytime you have to call them it has to be through Costco. I’ve never seen a way to add a credit to the room via the website. I could be wrong though.

I have not sailed with Disney for 7 years - does paperwork come in the mail that we take to port or is everything online beforehand? Your welcome packet/cruise contract will come in the mail. When you register on the website you print the port arrival form and take it with you. It’s very easy. What about luggage tags? These come in the mail with the welcome packet. Can I Pre pay my tips? Yes

How do I pick out port arrival time? Online when you register. Costco or do I do online?

Does Disney have an App now where we can see daily activities and message each other on the ship? Yes. The alerts about the activities you click for reminders works well. The messenger inside the app does not work as well imo. It has to be open all the time and even then I didn’t get them half the time. :/. I still prefer the wave phone for communication.
 
Thinking about booking through Costco. Will they be asking me if I want first or second seating for Dining ?

Will I also be able to tell them I want a private table? Will they mark me down as a castaway member so it is counted for one of my cruises? Can I still log onto Disney cruise line site to see my cruise, make spa reservations and fill out paperwork? Do I make all payments to Costco when paying off cruise? What about putting a credit on the room?

I have not sailed with Disney for 7 years - does paperwork come in the mail that we take to port or is everything online beforehand? What about luggage tags? Can I Pre pay my tips?

How do I pick out port arrival time? Costco or do I do online?

Does Disney have an App now where we can see daily activities and message each other on the ship?
They will ask what seating you want, and try to get it for you. You can make any request to them that you would make to DCL directly, and they’ll pass it along for you. You can also call DCL to make requests that do not effect booking info (celebrations, dietary needs, medical issues).

I can log into DCL website to see all details of the cruise,except payment info (it will say whether or not the cruise is paid in full, but that’s it).

You can book all activities yourself, as well as check in and pick a PAT. That is the same whether you book through DCL or Costco.

There is a DCL up for messaging and activities. You can download it now,but will only have a count down until you are on board.

Paperwork comes in the mail.
 
Thinking about booking through Costco. Will they be asking me if I want first or second seating for Dining ? Will I also be able to tell them I want a private table? Will they mark me down as a castaway member so it is counted for one of my cruises? Can I still log onto Disney cruise line site to see my cruise, make spa reservations and fill out paperwork? Do I make all payments to Costco when paying off cruise? What about putting a credit on the room?

I have not sailed with Disney for 7 years - does paperwork come in the mail that we take to port or is everything online beforehand? What about luggage tags? Can I Pre pay my tips?

How do I pick out port arrival time? Costco or do I do online?

Does Disney have an App now where we can see daily activities and message each other on the ship?

The only things you really to do with Costco are the initial booking, payments, and any changes to the booking that affect the pre-cruise price (cabin changes, cruise changes, transportation changes, pre-paying tips or OBC).

If you book online at costcotravel.com, the system will let you choose from available dining times. If you call Costco Travel, they will ask about dining times and set this up for you. If early dining isn't available, you will have to speak to an agent to get on the waitlist (either Costco or Disney, I've done it both ways in the past).

Same with Castaway Club numbers, have the numbers handy before you book; the costcotravel.com website has a place to enter those or, if you call, the Agent on the phone will enter them for you.

Payments are made to Costco, either by calling or on costcotravel.com; if you want to pay using a Disney gift card, you will have to call Costco Travel so that they can contact Disney.

Once you complete the booking, you will get an email from Costco Travel, usually within seconds. That email will have a section titled, "YOUR TRIP INFORMATION", just under that heading, there's a table with the "Costco Travel Confirmation Number" and the "Cruise Line Confirmation Number". To see your info on the Disney website do the following:
  • Copy the Cruise Line confirmation number from the email
  • head over to disneycruise.disney.go.com
    • Click "My Disney Cruise" > "My Reservations"
    • Log into your account (if you're not already logged in previously)
    • You probably won't see any reservations listed.
    • Click the Add A Reservation button
    • Enter the "Cruise Line Confirmation Number" from the CostcoTravel email and your birthday
    • The reservation will appear and tell you what date you are allowed to check in for your cruise.
I usually get another email from Disney a little while later. We also usually receive a welcome letter from Disney a few weeks after booking.

Once your check-in date arrives, head back over to the Disney website, complete check-in. One of the last steps of the check-in process is selecting a Port Arrival Time.

The Cruise paperwork and luggage tags will arrive in the mail about a month before your cruise.

In addition to being able to book excursions on the Disney website (once your check in period begins), the email I mentioned above will have a link to a 3rd party excursion vendor and a Costco discount code for excursions. I've used them a couple of times for simple/short excursions and it worked out just fine.

FYI, the Disney Cruise website (all Disney websites, actually) is a steaming pile of mouse poop ... really, it's not very magical at all. In fact, it's down for me right now.
 


I've booked my last couple through the Costco website. It's no different from going though Disney except payment and changes to the reservation have to go through Costco. The only issue I've had is that my Castaway number didn't make it into my last reservation and my check in date was showing on the Disney site as the newbie date, but that was easily resolved through a phone call to DCL. Totally worth it for the $500+ giftcard afterward. I still made all my dining requests, stateroom credits/gifts, etc directly through phone calls to DCL.
 
Since you last cruised there is a change for Port Arrival time, you will not be given a choice of PAT if you use Disney transportation to the port of are Platinum or Concierge.
 
Thank you for all the replies!!! How do I find out my castaway club numbers? Do I need to call disney for those? Also on 3 night cruises are there any Palo brunches - I hear they only offer those on sea days. That would be a real bummer.
 


You should be able to log into the DCL site (usually the same as for WDW) and click on "Castaway Club" under "My Disney Cruise" and see it there. I don't think you need to give it to the big box agency as it should be tied to your birthdate (ditto for anyone who has cruised before). When I took my parents, I was handling the reservations for them and they had found their old KTTW cards and given me their numbers, but it didn't matter anyway as their info popped up as soon as I entered their birthdates.

Sometimes they offer the brunch on Nassau Day on the 3-night cruises, but I don't think that's 100%.
 
Thinking about booking through Costco. Will they be asking me if I want first or second seating for Dining ? Will I also be able to tell them I want a private table? Will they mark me down as a castaway member so it is counted for one of my cruises? Can I still log onto Disney cruise line site to see my cruise, make spa reservations and fill out paperwork? Do I make all payments to Costco when paying off cruise? What about putting a credit on the room?

I have not sailed with Disney for 7 years - does paperwork come in the mail that we take to port or is everything online beforehand? What about luggage tags? Can I Pre pay my tips?

How do I pick out port arrival time? Costco or do I do online?

Does Disney have an App now where we can see daily activities and message each other on the ship?

1. Tell Costco if you want main or second. If it is available when booked that is what you will get. If main dining is not available, you will be waitlisted for it. Or you can call that in yourself.
2. Tell them you want a private table and a request will be added at the time of booking. Or you can do that yourself by calling DCL directly after the booking is made.
3. It is helpful if you give the Costco rep your CC information ahead of time so that they can give it to the DCL agent who takes the call.
4. Yes...after your appropriate booking window opens for CC level you can in fact book all those activities for yourself on the My Reservations part of the website.
5. Yes, Costco must apply all payments to your cruise as well as when you want to add transfers, pre/post night stays and prepaid gratuities to your reservation. Or if you want to modify or change your reservation in any way that results in monetary differences.
 
Since you last cruised there is a change for Port Arrival time, you will not be given a choice of PAT if you use Disney transportation to the port of are Platinum or Concierge.
Not necessarily. On all DCL cruises, we've had to select PAT since DCL implemented it. Even on our B2B Fantasy cruises for both first and second cruise. Even after we were Platinum. Even when we stayed at Hyatt MCO (booked through DCL) the night prior.

If prompted to do so, a Port Arrival Time should be selected. If not prompted, no problem.
 
Not necessarily. On all DCL cruises, we've had to select PAT since DCL implemented it. Even on our B2B Fantasy cruises for both first and second cruise. Even after we were Platinum. Even when we stayed at Hyatt MCO (booked through DCL) the night prior.

If prompted to do so, a Port Arrival Time should be selected. If not prompted, no problem.

That is odd...we have not had to select a PAT once we hit platinum and definitely not with concierge. And once you add transfers it generally takes the ability to select PAT away as the transportation time is assigned via where you are coming from using the transfers.
 
That is odd...we have not had to select a PAT once we hit platinum and definitely not with concierge. And once you add transfers it generally takes the ability to select PAT away as the transportation time is assigned via where you are coming from using the transfers.
I know that's what most people report. But we've always had to select a PAT. Maybe we live in an alternate universe. :laughing:
 
Not necessarily. On all DCL cruises, we've had to select PAT since DCL implemented it. Even on our B2B Fantasy cruises for both first and second cruise. Even after we were Platinum. Even when we stayed at Hyatt MCO (booked through DCL) the night prior.

If prompted to do so, a Port Arrival Time should be selected. If not prompted, no problem.

PATs are not required for platinum cruisers.

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I’m silver. What about booking a DCL cruise on opening day? Can it be done online on Costco website or do I have to wait until it’s available to all before booking?
 
I’m silver. What about booking a DCL cruise on opening day? Can it be done online on Costco website or do I have to wait until it’s available to all before booking?

I believe pre-books need to be done directly through Disney. You might be able to do it through Disney’s site and transfer it to Costco...but I am pretty sure if you want Costco to handle it from the get-go on Silver opening day you will have to be on the phone with them. (Big advantage of using a small business TA rather than a big box store is the small business TA will get your info and then contact you with quotes and not make you wait on hold while they are on hold. Mine even texts or calls me while she (or another agent in her group) is on with DCL to see what I want to do.)
 
PATs are not required for platinum cruisers.

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I know that. But, when doing our last cruise check in, I was prompted to select a PAT. And that was our second cruise as Platinum.

The DCL website is wonky at times, and I still say, even if you're in the several categories of people who normally would not select a PAT, and you're prompted to do so, you should.
 
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I have a question. I currently am booked through Costco travel and my cruise is in 45 days, but I have not received any mail at all from DCL or Costco Travel. Is this because none has been sent, or is Costco not sending it out to me?
 
I have a question. I currently am booked through Costco travel and my cruise is in 45 days, but I have not received any mail at all from DCL or Costco Travel. Is this because none has been sent, or is Costco not sending it out to me?
If you're referring to the luggage tags (that's all that's mailed now, no booklet), they typically arrive around 30 days out.
 

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