Costco travel

[LAX]

I have finally taken the plunge and booked our summer 2018 cruise. I know I only have 30 days to transfer to Costco to get a cash card. Do I just call Costco to give them my confirmation number from DCL and ask for it to be transferred?

LAX

 

[olookasquirrel]

Super Newbie from Canada to the DCL and the Disboard. We are booking the Nov 11/17 Western Caribbean 7 night for our first experience.

I NEED BOOKING ADVICE

Initially I was going to book direct through the Disney Cruise site... then I met a TA from the Expedia Cruise Ship Centre -- then I learned of Costco.
**All the prices I've seen are the same**

Costco: I love the idea of the cash back for travel -- but I want to be able to use the Disney Cruise Line website to book extras for the family.

Am I right in my research??
As I've read, the majority of Costco users are booking through the DCL website (??paying the deposit??) and then transferring to Costco and scoring their cash card?? Then you get to manage your booking on the DCL website.

^^is that right^^

Any help/advice or direction is GREATLY appreciated!!!

A couple notes - first off, it's not "cash back", it's a Costco Cash Card. You can use it at Costco but I'm not sure about using it for travel (I've seen posted here, and it says on their website terms and conditions, that they won't let you book Costco Travel using Costco Cash Cards, but we always spend ours on gas before the next deposits are due!)

I book straight through Costco, saves a step. I do all my research on the DCL website first and I just go from there ("I'd like to book room 8520 on this sailing of the Fantasy, please do so for me...I assure you it's available, please talk with Disney").

You can still manage your booking on the DCL website - it has every option except "Make Payment", and if you book direct and transfer that option will go away anyway. I wish I still had my dashboard from my last cruise, I'd show you the difference as some in our group went through DCL and some through Costco. But all you need for the DCL website is your reservation #, which you'll get in your Costco confirmation. As long as you have that, excursions/cabanas/character meet and greets, etc are all available to you once the booking window opens.

The only thing you need help from Costco on is making payments (unless you go through DVA, in which case you need help from Disney) and switching rooms or names, if you need to do that. We had to call Costco, for example, on our first cruise when "Baby" Squirrel got a name and a confirmed birthday Yes, I book very far ahead of time!!

 

[wombat_5606]

it's not "cash back", it's a Costco Cash Card

My club will let me cash out the gift card. So it may be cash back, depending on your club.

 

[Happy100]

It is very easy to book using Costco Travel. The Costco cash card is approximately 9% of your cruise cost. I find this to be the most generous offer available. As a previous poster mentioned you can book all your excursions/onboard entertainment once paid in full and your booking window opens directly on DCL website. The only real downside to using Costco Travel is that some of their TA's have less knowledge of DCL. So if you know exactly what you are doing and want then they are a great option. If not and you need a little more help/hand holding then a different TA may be better for you.

 

[Amarillis]

A couple notes - first off, it's not "cash back", it's a Costco Cash Card. You can use it at Costco

My bad... I spend so much at the warehouse, I feel like a gift card is as good as cash.

I book straight through Costco, saves a step. I do all my research on the DCL website first and I just go from there ("I'd like to book room 8520 on this sailing of the Fantasy, please do so for me...I assure you it's available, please talk with Disney").

Do you book via the Costco website or do you recommend calling them on the telephone??

You can still manage your booking on the DCL website - it has every option except "Make Payment", and if you book direct and transfer that option will go away anyway. I wish I still had my dashboard from my last cruise, I'd show you the difference as some in our group went through DCL and some through Costco. But all you need for the DCL website is your reservation #, which you'll get in your Costco confirmation. As long as you have that, excursions/cabanas/character meet and greets, etc are all available to you once the booking window opens.

^^THIS IS SO HELPFUL^^^^

The only thing you need help from Costco on is making payments (unless you go through DVA, in which case you need help from Disney) and switching rooms or names, if you need to do that. We had to call Costco, for example, on our first cruise when "Baby" Squirrel got a name and a confirmed birthday Yes, I book very far ahead of time!!

???DVA???

 

[Amarillis]

We booked our upcoming DCL directly through Costco. We made the deposit and final payment through Costco. Otherwise, everything else has been available to us on the DCL website. I was even able to call DCL directly to make a special request about dining, and it was granted by DCL a week or two later.

Thank you so much... I so appreciate your assistance! This board is wonderful in helping plan our first DCL adventure!

 

[Amarillis]

What extras are you wanting to book? Port Adventures are booked directly on the DCL website. The TA just handles your initial booking and payments. Everything else is done directly on DCL's site.

Donathius -- thanks for your response the info I was looking for was managing the reservation via the DCL website, I was concerned that by booking with Costco, I'd forego the use of the DCL website.

olookasquirrel clarified that for me.

But all you need for the DCL website is your reservation #, which you'll get in your Costco confirmation. As long as you have that, excursions/cabanas/character meet and greets, etc are all available to you once the booking window opens.

 

[havaneselover]

I've used Costco travel twice for DCL. First time I got a 7% cash card. They were helpful and I really needed nothing from them. Paid dcl directly using my DVA. Booked Alaska 2018 through them this week. Cash card was 8% and it was an OBB. My only complaint is when I called to change my mom's cabin (had a secret porthole but she preferred a 9a) the guy I spoke with yesterday told me there were none available near my cabin. I told him I could see a bunch on DCL's website. He gave me attitude and said he could call dcl but would be on hold for 90 minutes or so. I politely asked him to do so. He got through after about 45 minutes and made the change I requested as the cabins were available but I did feel like he thought it was an imposition. I'll still use Costco in the future as the cash card is very generous.

 

[TXspartan]

In my humble opinion Costco Travel is the best way to book. first to correct some of the information out there,

1) All costs for DCL are identical, if you book from Disney or Costco the actual price will be the same, there is a quirk in how the two sites display taxes and port fees, but when you get to the end of the bookings the price will be identical, just like it is for all travel agents.
2) Costco definitely takes Disney Gift Cards, before they started to let you combine disney GCs online I spent over half an hour reading off numbers for $50 Gift Cards to pay for my entire cruise, Costco will take the information and relay it to Disney. Now that you can combine into a single card you can just read off one number and done. Also you can still use a Disney Vacation Account, now normally Disney won't talk $'s with you if you use a TA, however DVA requires it to be processed by DCL, so simply call DCL directly before PIF and pay the balance with the Disney Vacation Account, and then call back to costco to confirm that you are paid in full (works for all TAs, not just Costco).
3) The Costco Cash card is basically cash - obviously if you shop at costco enough it will offset your purchases for a while, but if you don't really shop all that much you can either 1) buy something really cheap and get the rest cash back or 2) go to customer service and ask them to cash it out. Haven't had any issues with getting cash back for the card (but in all honestly you probably didn't sign up for a costco membership just for a cruise so you shop there anyways)

At the end of the day the Costco Cash Card is a higher % savings from anything anyone else can provide. you can still book excursions and things directly from DCL after your booking window opens (depends on castaway status)

Hope this helps to clarify some of the conflicting reports in this thread. I've booked numerous disney cruises through costco and have tried other TAs and DCL direct, honestly they are all the same.

 

[Amarillis]

I've used Costco travel twice for DCL. First time I got a 7% cash card. They were helpful and I really needed nothing from them. Paid dcl directly using my DVA. Booked Alaska 2018 through them this week. Cash card was 8% and it was an OBB.

??OBB???

Sorry, total Noob here.

 

[olookasquirrel]

???DVA???

Disney Vacation Account - gives you a $20 reward for every $1000 you spend on your Disney vacation (as long as the account has been open for 120 days before final payment). You can fund it with credit card payments, withdrawals from your bank account, or gift cards, and you can make one-time payments as often as you want (ie put in your gift cards when you get them) or you can set up automatic payments to put aside a little at a time for your trip.

??OBB???

On-Board Booking - on your cruise you'll have the option to put a deposit down for your next cruise in exchange for a discount and onboard credit for that next cruise (travel within 2 years). Def do it if you even half like your cruise, it's a deposit so you can get it back if you change your mind, but you can't go back on the ship if you didn't do it at the time!!

 

[Amarillis]

Also you can still use a Disney Vacation Account, now normally Disney won't talk $'s with you if you use a TA, however DVA requires it to be processed by DCL, so simply call DCL directly before PIF and pay the balance with the Disney Vacation Account, and then call back to costco to confirm that you are paid in full (works for all TAs, not just Costco).

I have no gift cards -- I'm going to pay 100% with a credit card.


I'm confused with the above quote... do I pay the whole amount with Costco? or Disney Vacations?
Also... ??PIF??

 

[havaneselover]

??OBB???

Sorry, total Noob here.

On board booking. I thought dcl cut the commission on these but the rebate % increased for me from the last time I booked before the change.

 

[TXspartan]

I have no gift cards -- I'm going to pay 100% with a credit card.


I'm confused with the above quote... do I pay the whole amount with Costco? or Disney Vacations?
Also... ??PIF??

if you are paying 100% with Credit card it gets even easier, you just call Costco and pay, before the PIF(Paid IN Full) ~90 days prior to cruise.

Disney Vacation account is a separate program that Disney has that for every $1000 you deposit and use from that account (can be a same day transaction if you want pay 100% into the account) you will get a free $20 Disney Gift Card (which can be used for anything on DCL or Disney world, etc). Just free money for something you're already doing. Disney Vacation account is purely optional if you want to earn the extra gift card

 

[Amarillis]

if you are paying 100% with Credit card it gets even easier, you just call Costco and pay, before the PIF(Paid IN Full) ~90 days prior to cruise.

Disney Vacation account is a separate program that Disney has that for every $1000 you deposit and use from that account (can be a same day transaction if you want pay 100% into the account) you will get a free $20 Disney Gift Card (which can be used for anything on DCL or Disney world, etc). Just free money for something you're already doing. Disney Vacation account is purely optional if you want to earn the extra gift card

Also you can still use a Disney Vacation Account, now normally Disney won't talk $'s with you if you use a TA, however DVA requires it to be processed by DCL, so simply call DCL directly before PIF and pay the balance with the Disney Vacation Account, and then call back to costco to confirm that you are paid in full (works for all TAs, not just Costco).

So... there is the availability to DOUBLE DIP???

Step One: Book with Costco and make a deposit to secure your trip
Step Two: Call Disney Cruise Line (DCL) and and pay them the balance on a Disney Vacation Account (DVA)
Step Three: Call Costco and confirm that I'm PIF (paid in full)

Thus getting BOTH the Costco $$ and the DVA $20 credit for every $1000 spent.

If so... I definately owe you a glass of vino!

 

[wombat_5606]

So... there is the availability to DOUBLE DIP???

Step One: Book with Costco and make a deposit to secure your trip
Step Two: Call Disney Cruise Line (DCL) and and pay them the balance on a Disney Vacation Account (DVA)
Step Three: Call Costco and confirm that I'm PIF (paid in full)

Thus getting BOTH the Costco $$ and the DVA $20 credit for every $1000 spent.

If so... I definately owe you a glass of vino!

You must have had an active DVA account for at least 120 days, from my understanding.

 

[Amarillis]

You must have had an active DVA account for at least 120 days, from my understanding.

How would one have an active DVA account if they've never booked a Disney Vacation?

 

[wombat_5606]

How would one have an active DVA account if they've never booked a Disney Vacation?

DVA is a savings account for your trip. Read about all of the particulars here: https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/

 

[GrrArrgh]

So... there is the availability to DOUBLE DIP???

Step One: Book with Costco and make a deposit to secure your trip
Step Two: Call Disney Cruise Line (DCL) and and pay them the balance on a Disney Vacation Account (DVA)
Step Three: Call Costco and confirm that I'm PIF (paid in full)

Thus getting BOTH the Costco $$ and the DVA $20 credit for every $1000 spent.

If so... I definately owe you a glass of vino!

Step 1.5...Purchase Disney Gift Cards with a Target Red Card for 5% off
Step 2...Pay DVA account with Disney gift cards

 

[Amarillis]

Step 1.5...Purchase Disney Gift Cards with a Target Red Card for 5% off
Step 2...Pay DVA account with Disney gift cards

Awesome advice! As a Canadian, Target is not an option -- They didn't quite make it here.

I wonder if there is a Canadian option to buy Disney Gift Cards at a discount?