Costco opening day bookings

[Gdes1]

I just thought I'd put this here and if anyone does book using Costco this coming week, share your experience or tips. I am not planning to book this week, but I have booked via Costco before so I am familiar with the phone process and how they call DCL. I know opening day/week can be crazy with them, too. So feel free to post details like hold times, did prices go up while you waited, etc.

 

[CodeGoddess]

I just thought I'd put this here and if anyone does book using Costco this coming week, share your experience or tips. I am not planning to book this week, but I have booked via Costco before so I am familiar with the phone process and how they call DCL. I know opening day/week can be crazy with them, too. So feel free to post details like hold times, did prices go up while you waited, etc.

First time with a Disney cruise. Does Costco get a pretty good deal? We're looking for summer of 2026.

 

[Gdes1]

First time with a Disney cruise. Does Costco get a pretty good deal? We're looking for summer of 2026.

Costco prices are the same you see on DCL's site. But, you get a Costco gift card for a certain amount once you get back from the cruise. So, for a sailing that cost me around $5k, I got a $375 one. Plus, if you are an executive member, you get the 2% back on all purchases, including travel. The gift card is similar to how if you use a travel agent, most of them offer you some kind of on-board credit. Instead of that, Costco does the gift card thing.

That all said, the gift card might not save you much if, while you are waiting for Costco to call DCL and book your cruise, the price jumps up significantly whie others are booking it. Or, you don't get your preferred room, or whatever. There are benefits to a more traditional travel agent, and benefits to just using DCL's website yourself.

 

[LaDonna]

I heard you can book yourself and transfer over to Costco…not sure….nvr booked a Disney cruise or used Costco but had planned on it for a September 2026 cruise

Curious though you would need to make sure I guess u had the executive card the year you traveled since you don’t actually get the 2% back until after you’ve traveled

 

[cruisehopeful]

I book on the DCL website and then transfer the booking to Costco. You can book through DCL as soon as your booking date opens and then you have 30 days to transfer to Costco if you didn't pay in full. You'll still get the same shopping card and executive rebate as you would get if you booked through Costco.

 

[Gdes1]

I heard you can book yourself and transfer over to Costco…not sure….nvr booked a Disney cruise or used Costco but had planned on it for a September 2026 cruise

Curious though you would need to make sure I guess u had the executive card the year you traveled since you don’t actually get the 2% back until after you’ve traveled

Hmm...yeah, I *think* you can book the on-board placeholder when on a cruise, for the 10% off, and transfer that to Costco. But not sure about doing your whole booking yourself and transferring it. Hopefully others have more info.

 

[LaDonna]

This will be my first time booking a Disney cruise what time does booking start on Monday the 17th?

 

[lanejudy]

That all said, the gift card might not save you much if, while you are waiting for Costco to call DCL and book your cruise, the price jumps up significantly whie others are booking it.

Unless you are interested in a special cruise itinerary, it's very unlikely that a "standard" cruise (like the general Bahamas, Caribbean, Alaska cruises) will increase in price that quickly. Usually that only happens with more unique offerings.

 

[mtil]

I book on the DCL website and then transfer the booking to Costco. You can book through DCL as soon as your booking date opens and then you have 30 days to transfer to Costco if you didn't pay in full. You'll still get the same shopping card and executive rebate as you would get if you booked through Costco.

This is what we do. Helps to avoid the long wait times and we've never had an issue with the transfer.

 

[lanejudy]

Hmm...yeah, I *think* you can book the on-board placeholder when on a cruise, for the 10% off, and transfer that to Costco. But not sure about doing your whole booking yourself and transferring it. Hopefully others have more info.

Yes, you can take advantage of a "placeholder" booking onboard. Just know that it has to be transferred to Costco within 30 days of that date you made the $250 deposit onboard. You can't hold on to it more than 30 days to book yourself later.

If not using a placeholder, you can book for yourself and then transfer a reservation to Costco (or any TA) within 30 days.

 

[fflmaster]

I missed my 30 day window on transferring to Costco, so if I book a separate booking, then cancel my first one, will I be able to transfer to Costco? This is for a 2026 cruise

I don’t see any price change if I booked a new booking now.

 

[Mommb]

I missed my 30 day window on transferring to Costco, so if I book a separate booking, then cancel my first one, will I be able to transfer to Costco? This is for a 2026 cruise

I don’t see any price change if I booked a new booking now.

You can certainly make a new booking with Costco at the current rate (which may be the same rate you booked). Unless you booked a concierge room or a restricted fare, you should get a full refund for the cancelled reservation.

If your initial booking was using a placeholder booked onboard, you will lose the 10% off if you cancel.

 

[Gdes1]

So, basically, putting this altogether, if someone wants to benefit/save using both the 10% placeholder AND the costco shopcard thing, you need to:
1) Get the placeholder while on board and name Costco as the TA.
2) Transfer that to Costco within 30 days or make sure they have it in their system.
3) Book with them and NOT on your own.

Is that right?

 

[lanejudy]

So, basically, putting this altogether, if someone wants to benefit/save using both the 10% placeholder AND the costco shopcard thing, you need to:
1) Get the placeholder while on board and name Costco as the TA.
2) Transfer that to Costco within 30 days or make sure they have it in their system.
3) Book with them and NOT on your own.

Is that right?

1) Correct, buy the placeholder while onboard.
1a) IF your current cruise was booked through Costco you can have them named as TA for the placeholder. Then no need for #2.
2) IF your current cruise was not booked through Costco, you cannot "name" them on the placeholder, thus the placeholder must be transferred to Costco within 30 days of making the placeholder deposit (not 30 days from cruise end).
3) Correct, to use both a placeholder and Costco, you would need to book through Costco. The placeholder has a reservation number that carries through to keep the discount intact. The discount cannot be "applied" to any other reservation.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

Is there a reason folks seem to like booking Disney cruises through Costco rather than a travel agent? For other cruise lines, a travel agent has always gotten me onboard credit and better customer service than booking through Costco.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Is there a reason folks seem to like booking Disney cruises through Costco rather than a travel agent? For other cruise lines, a travel agent has always gotten me onboard credit and better customer service than booking through Costco.

Costco Travel is a travel agent, to be clear. They are a huge travel agency and yes you won't get the personalized service you'd expect from a smaller travel agent. But the bonus is the shop card you get back worth somewhere around 7-8% of your cruise fare. Essentially Costco takes their commission from DCL, rumoured to be around 16%, and splits it with the customer. No other travel agent does that. Costco's commission is probably higher than a lot of smaller agencies given the volume it does with DCL. On one of our cruises, we got shop cards for Costco worth around $1,800 CAD, that's a lot of groceries for my family.

Also, if you are an executive member you get another 2% back.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Curious though you would need to make sure I guess u had the executive card the year you traveled since you don’t actually get the 2% back until after you’ve traveled

Yes - you need to have the membership when you book the travel, when you take the travel, and when they pay out - so if you want the executive benefits then you need to have it that whole time.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

Is there a reason folks seem to like booking Disney cruises through Costco rather than a travel agent? For other cruise lines, a travel agent has always gotten me onboard credit and better customer service than booking through Costco.

I've never booked with a TA but use Costco all the time. I still like to have control of the process and feel like I get more out of a Costco GC than OBC.

 

[LaDonna]

Yes - you need to have the membership when you book the travel, when you take the travel, and when they pay out - so if you want the executive benefits then you need to have it that whole time.

Well shoot that would not be worth it for me …. I had the executive once and we barely made a few bucks on it. I just don’t spend enough at Costco so if I went that route it actually lose money seeing as I probably only get around $80 with 2% back on my 4000.

 

[Gdes1]

Costco Travel is a travel agent, to be clear. They are a huge travel agency and yes you won't get the personalized service you'd expect from a smaller travel agent. But the bonus is the shop card you get back worth somewhere around 7-8% of your cruise fare. Essentially Costco takes their commission from DCL, rumoured to be around 16%, and splits it with the customer. No other travel agent does that. Costco's commission is probably higher than a lot of smaller agencies given the volume it does with DCL. On one of our cruises, we got shop cards for Costco worth around $1,800 CAD, that's a lot of groceries for my family.

Also, if you are an executive member you get another 2% back.

Yes exactly. For the last one, my shop card was 8% of the fare (the not taxes/charges part), plus the 2% back. So that's 10%. Combine with a placeholder and it's 20%. And, true, it's not the same level of service as a more traditional TA, but we're kind of "low maintenance"....we don't book many extra things, we do late seating with zero extra requests, it's not our first cruise, etc.