DCL Airfare Question

[tdsryan]

When you buy your airfare through DCL, how far out do they buy the tickets for you? I read somewhere that you should call DCL 30 days from departure so you can get your reservation number. Then, you can call the airline to reserve your seats.

Can somebody confirm if this is correct?

 

[cristit14]

We are doing our air through disney also and our TA said that Disney told her we wouldn't get our info until the 30 day mark.
I am really getting antsy. I want to know all of my flight info ahead of time.

 

[confal1]

You may want to think about doing your own airfare especially if you have a JetBlue or Southwest flying out of your area. When Disney does it you don't get any choice on what you get as far as times and connections. If you have children it could be tough. Also it may be less expensive to do it on your own.

 

[mmouse37]

Ryan my friend....if you can, get your own airfare....DCL cannot guarantee a direct flight or that the two of you will even be seated together on on the same plane!!! Yes, with just two travelling you are likely to be on the same flight but nothing is guaranteed.

If I can remember correctly, you told me you are going this summer???? Anyway check flights yourself and try to fly down the day before out of EWR or LGA....this way you have total control over when you get to MCO.

You can still take DCL transfers or you can do a one way rental from MCO to the ship. We have done this several times....any questions...call me!!!

MJ

 

[cjsmom97]

From what I have seen in getting quotes from DCL for air, it is about $400 per person. We have never paid more than $165 round trip for any of our flights. We are cruising in November and coming back the day after Thanksgiving (one of the MOST expensive travel days of the year) and still managed to get a good rate of $186.50. If you don't mind doing a little more yourself, you can really save yourself some money. Use the money you save to book another cruise onboard.

 

[bernee]

I am going on my first cruise in November and decided to let DCL do my flight arrangements because:

* Cost wasn't that much more than doing it myself. (It was about $100.)
* Hotel will be arranged.
* Connections to/from port are arranged.
* Want to know how they do it first hand so I can do it on my own down the road.
* Convenience
* Trust Disney

Granted, I am flying from the West Coast, so maybe that is why the additional cost is so close to what I would do. Maybe if you were closer to MCO the ratio is not as good.

Have a great cruise!
Renee

 

[wltdsnyfan]

I would Book separately. Through DCL they are correct you are guaranteed nothing. You will not have a direct flight (most likely). With DCL it would have cost me approximately 1,200… I went through American and got air far (direct flight early morning) for approximately 650.00. There are so many airlines out there. I would check for yourself before you book through DCL. They will give you what you want for 100.00 I think per person. You also do not have control on what airline you are taking. If you have small children and you have a connecting flight that is not for a couple of hours you could be sitting in an airport with them. I know this happened to some on this board. This is just my opinion. Good luck in what you decide.

 

[TootyJane]

Well, this will be our third Disney cruise and third time using DCL air. We got our docs three weeks ago. TA forwarded them on to my Mom and did not call airline to get seat assignments. Argghh. When my Mom got docs and realized what had happened she immediately called airline to get seat assignments. There are six of us flying -- my family plus Mom. We are scattered all over the plane. Don't know how my youngest will feel about this and I'm hoping that some nice person will switch seats so I can sit next to him. Mom did call TA and read him the riot act. He then called DCL to see what he could do but obviously things were all in place. DCL claims they do not make seat assignments. What???? We certainly had seat assignments given by them on our first two cruises, the last cruise being two years ago. I know Disney (and any other cruise line) will buy airline tickets in a block so why can't they assign seats, especially if they see that a family is traveling together??? Well, as I told my Mom, this is the last time we purchase air through any cruise line. She always does because of the convenience but I think this is the straw that broke the camel's back. So, with all this said, "Buy your own air"!! HTH

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

This is how we do it. When we do a land/sea package we book our own air. It is easier to arrange the schedule. We live in Oregon so we always fly in a day early. On the land/sea it works out great. Just book an extra night at the resort and no worries.

Now for cruise only we always let DCL book our air. Last year it was $500 pp with transfers and extra night at the Hyatt. (There were four of us flying and we all sat together) But when I quoted out what it would have cost to book on my own it was cheaper but the flights didn't work for us. Next year for the repo cruise we are letting DCL book our air again. $375 plus tax pp with transfers and night at the Hyatt. Much better than what I can get on my own with multi-destination.

My advice...look into both. Then choose what is best for you.

 

[tdsryan]

Thanks for all the great advice!

MJ, I priced other airlines, and you won't believe it, but they were the same price as DCL. I figure that it's easier to have DCL do it this time around. I just know to call 30 days out to get the seats picked out. If I had kids, I might think twice. But if worst comes to worst, Kelly won't mind getting two hours away from me.

 

[inkkognito]

You should be okay if you call in advance for your seat assignments. We used to book our air through DCL, and when I called American, they said, "Don't worry, you're seated with your party." Apparently, by "party" they meant everyone flying to DCL from Chicago on that plane! I explained that I wanted to be by my spouse, and they made the switch.
But once we got Delta connecting flights (ugh! Couldn't believe it wasn't direct from Chicago, since we were on American all the other times we booked through DCL). I called for seat assignments, but Delta "lost" them and I won't even post my experience here because it makes my blood pressure go up every time I think about it. I think that was just a one-time bad experience, as things were fine all the times DCL put us on American.
Now I just book the flights myself and get to argue with ATA over the glitches in their web check-in system
Barb