Deal w/ AAA?

[DonnaDuck]

Thanks so much for all of the great posts!!

I think that I will call my local AAA agent & speak with her & get a quote. I have nothing to loose & maybe we can save a little money!

I am learning so much off the boards from you all.

Happy Cruisin'!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DDluvstitch]

DonnaDuck,
It really is hit or miss, but its worth the effort if you can save
more money!! We had awesome success with our Mid Atlantic AAA rep. Very knowledgeable and saved ~$700 per adult (cat 6, 7 night Western cruise). Friends we traveled with were offered no such discount by their AAA office up in New England! Needless to say, my Mid Atlantic AAA rep booked their cruise for them and saved them ~$2500 (on a family of 4, cat 6).

We've always received a AAA gift and had food and sparkling cider waiting for us in our rooms. Yes, the mugs are a nice perk too. And just so you know, when you pick up your mug also ask them for a sticker for your KTTW card. You can get both! That way you don't have to lug your mugs around everywhere on the ship - just flash your card.

Good luck!!!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

We have never had to show up in person to get our docs, they have always fed exed them to us??? Not sure why some people have had a problem with this. We have never had a gift in the stateroom though...not that we would have expected one! We are just so happy once we get on board that nothing else really matters!!

 

[Kimnicki]

luv2tvl, I went to my AAA yesterday to check out some info on an upcoming trip and stopped by a TA to ask about what we'd receive if we transfered our ressies over to AAA. She told me we'd each get the free soda mug, 10% off rentals as CC and 10% off of merchandise over $70.00 on CC. Does this sound right to you? She was kind of wishy washy so I had some trouble following what she was telling me, lol!

Kim

 

[luv2tvl]

Kim- I pm'd you!

 

[clh2]

AAA in Wisconsin had a "Disney" week back in January. The TA's knew nothing. At that time I was looking to book a cat 7 for DD, DH and me. I definitely wanted a 4-day cruise, however couldn't do a land/sea package because my week was a Sunday to Sunday, to minimize the missed school days.

While AAA had many specials for booking Disney packages during their promotional weeks, their TA wouldn't let me book a cat 7, because AAA had not purchased any in that category for that week. So we either would have need to go to a 6 or down to a 7. And, when I was trying to economically figure out the land part of the week - the TA kept trying to tell me what type of room I needed. She was vehementaly opposed to us staying at the Swan or Dolphin (which to me was the perfect balance between cost and convenience - since the Contemporary was booked solid and the Poly was $350 per night). The TA also tried to sell me on the mug as being a $35 value - keeping in mind we were looking at a 4-day cruise. Either she thought I was just dumb - or she didn't know anything.

Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences - I finally booked the cruise with Disney directly. From the time I got pretty well fed up with AAA to when I actually booked (about 2 months) I did tons of internet research, and finally decided on a cat 10 because of the secret porthole cabin I was able to get. The Disney CM's who helped me on all the ???'s I have had.

I doubt I would ever consider booking a AAA vacation ever. Albeit I love the other services they have to offer.

 

[beaniema323]

We also used AAA-Midatlantic and had a great experience! We booked during a Disney Week Promotion and got $75 on-board credit. Also got the soda mugs and stickers, a snack basket from our TA, cider and treats in our room, 2 AAA bags, AAA luggage tags, and a sand bucket full of goodies. Our TA was very knowledgable. I had to have some medical papers filled out and turned in to Disney and she took care of all of that too. Our price (7 day Western) was much lower than booking through Disney.

We plan on cruising again in 2005 and we will probably use AAA again. My one regret is that we didn't rebook on board! There were no dates available for 2005 yet. Does anyone know if we could have rebooked for next year, transferred the ressies to AAA and to a cruise in 2005?

 

[professorandmom]

First, I have to saw WOW to those who had stellar service from AAA - I will print this post and send it to my office....oh, yes, I had to pick up my docs, no gifts anywhere and when I rebooked onboard and transfered it back to them...she didn't seem to care...BUT I did save a bundle (they met the Costco price I got which was cheap). And I used the AAA Visa to get the price down another $200.

Yes, you can book for 2005 onboard using a "inventory cruise" (read fake) and then transfer the "cruise" to AAA. I did just that and will put in for 2005 when the dates open.
Barbara

 

[DBC3804]

DD Kristin and I just got back from our Magic Eastern cruise today. I booked with AAA. We got the lowest rate that I could find for the Cat 6 room. Our documents were sent via fedex.

When we got to our room, we had the Castaway Club beach towel gift as a return customer, and there was a bottle of sparkling cider and a tray of goodies from AAA. We also got the mugs. The shipboard credit that we were to recieve was also posted to our account.

When I got back today I had received a thank-you note from our agent.

I couldn't have asked for better service.

- Danny