Last Minute Booking

[EllenJ]

We are going to be booking th 9/17 Magic cruise in the next few days. I started calling different agencies as well as Disney and at this juncture they are all the same price.
Being that we are less than 2 months from sailing does anyone think that if I wait the price will go down. Also, if all the agencies are the same price, what should be my deciding factor in picking an agent? I have access to all the usual agents, AAA, Costco,etc. I am a Disney Visa holder, a repeat cruiser and a DVC Member.
Any help would be appreciated.
Ellen

 

[webray]

If everyone is the same price including DCL, then just book through DCL directly, don't mess with a TA. The only reason for going through a TA is to get a better price.

DCL doesn't lower prices, if anything they will go up the closer the cruise gets.

 

[clten]

I disagree that there is no reason to use a travel agent. You are planning to sail in the middle of peak hurricane season in a year that has already been very active. If all prices are the same, book with a travel agent (one that has actual people you can talk to) who can keep you informed and help you should your cruise be affected by weather.

 

[tvguy]

I disagree that there is no reason to use a travel agent. You are planning to sail in the middle of peak hurricane season in a year that has already been very active. If all prices are the same, book with a travel agent (one that has actual people you can talk to) who can keep you informed and help you should your cruise be affected by weather.

I don't think Disney will contact a Travel agent with that kind of information, but contact the passenger directly since most passengers will already be enroute. .
Last year most of the decisions were made the night before departure (no other way to do it frankly), and that of course would be Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights......when Travel Agents are closed.
Everything WAS promptly posted on the Disney website, and could also be accessed by phone.
I would still book through a travel agent, but not for the reason mentioned above.

 

[jmcdonnell04]

I agree with Webray and disagree Clten. Last year, our 3rd Disney Cruise was shortened by Hurricane Frances for 7-day to a 4-day cruise. Since this was during Labor Day weekend, our TA was no where to be found and I had to make several airline changes and got more information from these boards and DCL direct than my TA. This is just my example -- I am sure there are many great TA's that offer excellent service but I am 0 for 2 with TA's on DCL cruises if you are keeping score at home.

Back in Sept 2002, I did the same thing and booked a September cruise about 2 weeks before departure. It was our second DCL cruise and was the best vacation ever.

This time I booked directly with DCL.
I am booked on the same Sept 17th 2005 cruise so please join us on the Cruise Meets board once you get your reservation complete.

 

[clten]

I don't think Disney will contact a Travel agent with that kind of information, but contact the passenger directly since most passengers will already be enroute. .

You are right, Disney does keep their website up-to-date pretty well. But what you might not know is that Disney keeps in contact with the travel agents very well also. I had up to the minute e-mails from them last year during the hurricanes, so everytime they had a change, I knew about it. And because I only had a handful of clients to contact, rather than a shipful, I could call my clients to discuss options.

If your travel agent isn't working with you at a time like this, then I don't think you should continue working with them. I know that I don't have "after hours" when severe weather like this happens. I know who is traveling, when, where and with which carrier. Feel free to ask questions of your agent about how they handle this before you book with them.