How do you make sure you get CRO?

[Peanut]

Hi, I called and made ressies today with a discount code, and I am pretty sure the agent wasn't with the CRO. I called back later to change my ressies (I saw that AKL was $139 with this code) and I got it changed. I am pretty sure I got CRO the second time because my cancelation policy was the one I was used to. You know cancel outside of 5 days before you arrive and there will be no fees. OK. With my first ressie, the agent said that I would have to pay in full 45 days before arrival and there were fees after that to change my ressie and a stiff fee to cancel! OUCH!!! Is this normal for CRO??Gosh I hope not. I was alos offer transportation to WDW or a car rental. He even asked if I had plane tickets yet! That was weird!!! Well that ressie is canceled now and I have the policy that I'm used to. OK So here's the question...... Is there a phone number I can call to MAKE SURE I get the CRO? Because when I called for my first ressie I asked him if I could book with CRO and he said he was part of it.

 

[tdsryan]

The best thing to do is to state right off the bat that you want to make a room-only reservation through the CRO. I just made reservations a few days ago, and when I said this, the agent transferred me to someone else.

What is happening is that the majority of the new agents at the Disney Reservations Center have only been trained to book reservations through the Walt Disney Travel Company's system. Under this system, even room-only reservations are treated as packages, hence the different pre-payment/cancellation policies. The way to make sure your reservation is booked through the CRO system is to inquire about these policies. If you are told that your balance is due 45 days out, instead of at check-in, you were booked through WDTC.

Ryan

 

[cathyce2]

I always ask up front.... "are you an agent of Walt Disney Travel or Central Reservations"? One time out of six I was transfered to another person, the other five the agent put me on hold for a few seconds and came back on the line and took care of my changes with the CR policies I wanted.

So it appears many of the CM's answering the phone can "wear both hats" but go with WDT by default.

HTH

Cathy

 

[mickeysaver]

When I booked our stay at the Pop Century Resort on Tuesday, I flat out asked up front, are you CRO or WDTC? The lady asked me several questions and then transferred me to CRO. I paid the one night up front and the balance is due upon arrival. When in doubt, call back and confirm. Mickey

 

[bunnyfoo]

I called for the first time a couple of weeks ago and got a WDTC agent. She tried really hard to get me to buy the rooms through her, pointing out that I would get a discount because of my DC card ... She didn't even want to let me go when I told her that I wanted to book through CRO because I didn't like the 45 day cancelation policy and the fact that you had to pay in full. I think she finally realized that I wasn't book through her so she put me through to the CRO.

 

[SueEllen]

She tried really hard to get me to buy the rooms through her, pointing out that I would get a discount because of my DC card ... She didn't even want to let me go when I told her that I wanted to book through CRO because I didn't like the 45 day cancelation policy and the fact that you had to pay in full.

I don't understand why you didn't take advantage of the Disney Club discount. The deposit amount is only $100, the vacation is paid in full 21 days in advance (not 45) and the cancellation policy is 5 days like CRO. I would think that, coupled with the fact that the room would be less expensive, would have been incentive enough to book with your Disney Club discount (especially since that program is ending)

Oh well, to each his own. When in doubt about a reservation and if you have CRO or WDTC, just ask if they can book CRO. Some agents are cross trained, some are not. You will need to specify that you want a room only reservation with CRO.

Sue Ellen

 

[bunnyfoo]

Hi Sue Ellen The reason I didn't want to book through them is because I didn't want to pay for the entire reservation before I left. I guess I should have asked if the DC discounts are better than the AP discounts. Oh well... lessons learned for next time

 

[SueEllen]

DC discounts are generally not better than AP discounts, but at least you have a discounted room. There is always the possibility that a discounted AP room won't be available, then you are stuck with full price. I have found that DC discounts are often just as good as code discounts, if not better at times.

I can certainly understand not wanting to come up with the $$ before travelling, but since with DC it's only 21 days, it is very close to when you would have to pay it at check-in anyway.

I'm sure you can still check to see if you can get the DC room if it's something you would want.

Sue Ellen