Cruisers booking through COSTCO please note...

[DBBN]

...Costco neither sends shore excursion information to you nor do they book excursions for you.

As you can see in my signature we'll be on the November 13, 7 day Eastern cruise. Early this week I found it odd that we hadn't yet received the shore excursion brochure that DCL sends prior to the sailing date. I called Costco and was informed that only DCL can service our excursion needs. I obtained the excursion information from the DCL web site, called DCL and booked EXACTLY the excursions we desired at each of the ports. We consider ourselves lucky that none of the excursions were sold out by the time we booked them. We were even able to select our preferred excursion times.

If you booked through Costco I suggest you research the available excursions at the DCL web site and book them directly with DCL as early as you can. Excursions can be booked up to 90 days in advance. Booking in advance can eliminate dissapointment as some excursions can book early.

This post should not be taken as condemnation of Costco for not providing this service. We have three cruises booked through Costco and found them to be the least expensive. My ONLY dissatisfaction with Costco is in dealing with excursions. Now that I'm aware I can properly deal with it.

I thought sharing this information might eliminate some dissapointment...especially for first time cruisers. Please travel safe.

 

[scottygirl]

I booked through Allseas and never received any excusion info either except for a small flyer that touted new Castaway Cay excursions.

 

[wingawh]

Must be something new...for our May 04 cruise Costco sent us the excursion brochure for our 3Day cruise.

 

[mark & sandra]

scottygirl- With AllSeasons you should have received an e-mail with links to a site called "Shoretrips", this is company that they recommend. You can also book excursions either thru DCL or directly if available...Mark

 

[PoohJen]

DBBN - I got my confirmation for my Aug '06 booking from Costco yesterday, and noticed the statement that they don't book excursions. But I could see how easy that would be to overlook, so I hope your post saves folks alot of headaches!

ANYWAY...I am also going on the 11/13!!!! (I booked my excursions thru DCL for this cruise anyway, even though my TA would've done it for me). We have a great group going from the DIS boards - check us out at this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=6726830#post6726830 - come by and say HI!

Hope to meet you at our DISmeet on embarkation day!

 

[Lori-n-NY]

Someone mentioned that booking thru Costco is cheaper...by how much? Any downside to booking with them? cancelation policies etc?

Do you have a web address for them?

Thanks,
Lori

 

[Luckymommyx2]

They've been over $400 cheaper than DU and DCL on both cruises I've booked through them. Here's there number...
877 849-2730 I forget their hours but they are located in WA. I'm still unclear as to whether or not you have to be a member to call. I've been a member for years so it hasn't been an issue for me. Give it a try and good luck!

 

[cruislovin]

I am booked through AAA and I have not received any information on shore excursions either. Actually, the only info I have gotten since I booked over 5 months ago was a letter from DCL stating that the departure time from Nassau was now earlier. The only other info I get is when I call and ask a question. I will not be booking another cruise through them. I have received better customer service in the past with the on-line agencies I have used.

Can you book at Costco on-line or do you have to call them? What cruise lines do they book?

 

[starwood]

We booked through Costco for our August cruise last year. We received a booklet in the mail from Disney and the form to fill out to book the excursions. Costco does not book the excursions. I had to contact Disney to do this but I did receive a brochure and the form to call or fax what we wanted to do.

 

[DBBN]

Originally posted by PoohJen
DBBN - I got my confirmation for my Aug '06 booking from Costco yesterday, and noticed the statement that they don't book excursions. But I could see how easy that would be to overlook, so I hope your post saves folks alot of headaches!

Thanks for posting. I'm pleased to hear that information was in your confirmation package. I'm good at looking at and reading everything that comes across my desk but, I simply don't remember reading about excursions. That doesn't mean it wasn't there!!! It is possible that the information wasn't sent or that this might be a new policy as another poster mentioned.

By the way...I hope everyone on your cruise gets upgraded and enjoys great weather.

 

[TiggerKing]

Originally posted by DBBN
...Costco neither sends shore excursion information to you nor do they book excursions for you.

We are booked through CostCo for the 11/28 Wonder. CostCo did provide us with a brochure and price list of all information on the excursions for our cruise, but we were directed to contact DCL directly to book the excursion.

As for CostCo's price, they beat everyone, including DU, AllSeas and AAA by nearly $200. The service has been impeccable. But, you must also understand, I have traveled enough that when I call a TA to make reservations, I already know everything I need to know to book the trip. I just want their price. This is not to say that CostCo is not a full-service TA, I can't speak to that fact. I just know that I had a lot of the information before I called(THANKS DIS!), and it has been a very easy and pleasurable process. They even went above and beyond on a couple of facets of the process.

 

[erikthewise]

I always thought that CostCo was a members-only retailer you had to join, like Sam's Club. Am I wrong? Can you book with them without being a member?

 

[antmaril]

You must be a member to book with Costco.

 

[scottygirl]

Mark,

Thanks for the info, but I knew to pre- book excursions for our upcoming cruise thanks to the DIS!

 

[piglet33]

You do have to be a member of Costco to book your cruise through them. It seems the discount is about 10% give or take. We saved $422 on our Repo cruise and $260 on our Oct. 2006 cruise. I even got to keep our 10% rebooking discount and $200 ship credit so that makes the savings even greater so I'm happy.

Reneé