How much does Costco save you when booking through them?

[golfdad]

My family and are booking a last minute cruise for the second week in March and was wondering, instead of booking through Disney, I have heard or read you can get a discount if you book through Costco. Is this true? If so, how much can you typically save doing this?

Also, we are going on a 3 night Bahama cruise. We are also thinking of doing a couple days at WDW before the trip. Can Costco accommodate a land/sea trip?

 

[jlemieu1]

I beleive they are giving 10% Costco GC on the base price of the fare. Doesn't include taxes and others. You also need to be a member.

You can just try with the link below.

http://www.costcotravel.com/Cruises

 

[JohnDS]

My family and are booking a last minute cruise for the second week in March and was wondering, instead of booking through Disney, I have heard or read you can get a discount if you book through Costco. Is this true? If so, how much can you typically save doing this?

Also, we are going on a 3 night Bahama cruise. We are also thinking of doing a couple days at WDW before the trip. Can Costco accommodate a land/sea trip?

Disney does not allow discounts, prices will be the same from all TAs. However they do give incentives and the Costco incentive is a cash card valued at somewhere around 9% of the cost before taxes. When you look up the cruise on the website it will tell you exactly what you'll get back.

 

[golfdad]

Thank you for the quick replies. I see that on their website now.

Can they book a land/sea package?

 

[Ravenne]

Can they book a land/sea package?

The last time I checked, which was about a year ago, no they cannot. Costco doesn't deal with WDW vacations for some reason.

One thing to be aware of, Costco aren't DCL specialists so they're not necessarily knowledgeable with all the ins and outs of cruising with DCL. They know the basics and that's about it, so if you have any specific questions, obviously this board is a great treasure trove of info, but Costco likely won't be much help and DCL won't talk to you because you went through a TA. Costco also charges a $25 change fee every time you want to make a change. So for example, you book an inside stateroom and later realize you want a verandah. You'll need to call Costco to make that change and they will charge you $25.

 

[Bear3412]

Costco only charges that change fee if they end up with less $ somehow after the initial booking, despite what the website says.

 

[Ravenne]

Costco only charges that change fee if they end up with less $ somehow after the initial booking, despite what the website says.

I wish their reps would've told me that when I asked. I tend to make additions after the initial booking at times, (adding transfers, upgrading cabin, etc) and it seemed like it was a quick and easy way to negate that Cash card if I made changes.

 

[OregonDisneyDreamer]

I've booked our Fantasy 7 night Eastern for next January with Costco. We are getting about 9% back as a Costco card. (I also bought our travel insurance through them and it was very reasonably priced). You can pick your cabin and dining preference when you book.

As soon as I put down the deposit I was emailed the Disney confirmation number and I could link the reservation with my Disney account. From that point I can look at all my details through the Disney site and once I'm x amount of days out I can book our excursions, etc.

 

[Bear3412]

I wish their reps would've told me that when I asked...

Like you said, they aren't too knowledgeable about DCL, apparently that's not the only thing.
They are just reading the screen prompts like toooo many companies lately.

The latest/recent surprise for many of their customers is when you call for whatever reason about an existing ressie they say full payment is due immediately or past due.
Turns out it's just a glitch and hopefully corrected by now.

As stated, know your stuff if booking with Costco.
If you want to know something, .... ask here. IMO

 

[ocspartan]

The last time I checked, which was about a year ago, no they cannot. Costco doesn't deal with WDW vacations for some reason. One thing to be aware of, Costco aren't DCL specialists so they're not necessarily knowledgeable with all the ins and outs of cruising with DCL. They know the basics and that's about it, so if you have any specific questions, obviously this board is a great treasure trove of info, but Costco likely won't be much help and DCL won't talk to you because you went through a TA. Costco also charges a $25 change fee every time you want to make a change. So for example, you book an inside stateroom and later realize you want a verandah. You'll need to call Costco to make that change and they will charge you $25.

As far as knowledgeable I think it varies by who you get just like any other agency, I found the reps I've worked with to know enough to answer my questions and make my requests... On the other hand my first cruise on dcl I booked through a Disney expert and found that they didn't provide me anything I couldn't have read myself and this is before finding this board...

Dcl will still answer your questions they just can't take payments or make changes to your reservation. As far as changes you only get hit with the $25 if the price of your cruise goes down. If the price goes up there is no charge, in fact if your price went up enough your cash card offer would go up too....

I've never understood what makes someone a Disney specialist and what they can truly provide IMHO since the price of the cruise is the price of the cruise

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Another fan of using Costco because they serve my needs (and I'm not needy at this point) and the nice Costco cash card and their insurance coverage.

As mentioned, the $25 fee is only when the change results in a reduction in the fare. Here it is copied/printed from their documents:

"If a rate reduction is allowed on your booking, a $25 Costco Travel change fee will apply, along with any penalties imposed by the cruise lines."

I just transferred another DCL OBB to them earlier and the week and was advised over the phone (which I already knew) and confirmed it in writing. So if DCL drops the price (not likely to happen) or you choose to downgrade your cabin, etc. then the $25 will be charged.

Hope this helps,
Heather

 

[Bear3412]

.... So if DCL drops the price ....

That's funny. lol.

Never heard this line from Costco. Perhaps because it has never occurred. lol.
I truly question if they would apply the fee if your actions didn't trigger the reduction.

What about the port fee refunds? Oh, I see now. "Fare" reduction.
And those fees go directly back to one of the original forms of payment, bypassing Costco entirely.

 

[seven2go]

I have always been able to call DCL and get questions answered, request dining rotations, dining table requests, and so forth no problem even when I used costco with an OBB situation!
The only thing the DCL rep cannot do is payment type stuff.
I did find the last time I spoke with a Costco rep to make my final payment they did not know how early I could book excursions an such as a gold member paying in full. But then again I agree that even some DCL reps do not have all their facts together.
So why not get the cash card back and just keep researching til you find the answers u need. It s s huge perk!

 

[terryellen1]

Hope this is not hijacking the thread

 

[Bear3412]

... Do we need to name costco as the TA and transfer the booking within 30 days of the dummy booking ....

Yes

 

[ocspartan]

That's funny. lol.

Never heard this line from Costco. Perhaps because it has never occurred. lol.
I truly question if they would apply the fee if your actions didn't trigger the reduction.

What about the port fee refunds? Oh, I see now. "Fare" reduction.
And those fees go directly back to one of the original forms of payment, bypassing Costco entirely.

Just had this happen so I can say there was no charge for the port fee refund, went to pay off the remaining balance and was informed the price had come down.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

Hope this is not hijacking the thread �� we are going on a cruise the first week in march and plan to book a place holder cruise unless the August 2015 dates are released... Do we need to name costco as the TA and transfer the booking within 30 days of the dummy booking or not until we have changed it to the "real" cruise... And is this switching too much of a hassle or not possible with Costco ?

If you designate Costco Travel as the TA when you make the OBB, you will not need to transfer the reservation after the cruise. It's when you don't designate a TA at the time you make the booking that you need to transfer it. If you do opt to transfer, you must do so within 30 days of making the original reservation. Personally, I find it easiest to just designate Costco Travel when I make the OBB. Then I just call them when I get home and they pull the reservation over to their system and assign a Costco booking number. Both the DCL reservation number and Costco booking number remain attached to the reservation.

 

[terryellen1]

So if I designate costco as the TA while I am I board do I need to contact them after the cruise within any time frame? Also Costco is just coming to our area this fall... Do I have to be a member before I designate them or just before final payment?

 

[Bear3412]

So if I designate costco as the TA while I am I board do I need to contact them after the cruise within any time frame? Also Costco is just coming to our area this fall... Do I have to be a member before I designate them or just before final payment?

I'm not sure technically, but I know I would call Costco before the 30 day limit to assure they have the ressie.

I'm confident you will need a membership in the system so DCL/Costco can get the assignment. Otherwise the ressie may get lost in cyberworld. lol.

You can apply online.

HTH

 

[pillow]

So if I designate costco as the TA while I am I board do I need to contact them after the cruise within any time frame? Also Costco is just coming to our area this fall... Do I have to be a member before I designate them or just before final payment?

You need to be a Costco member beforehand. If you name them as TA while onboard, you will need to call Costco when you return home so they can "link" the res you made onboard with your Costco membership. Love Costco!

Jodie