Problems booking through Costco

[sukhakuli]

I'm trying to book a cruise on the Wonder through Costco. It's not our first cruise, but my first time using Costco Travel. We are members. The amount the website quoted me is thousands less than going through DCL, but when I try to book it I get an error. I contacted them through the chat. It was basically no help. So I called them, and she was able to pull up a cabin, similar on the same deck, but quoting me the same price as the DCL website and not the one Costco quoted on their website. She wouldn't honor the website price. It feels like a bait and switch? I tried to book on another web browser. Same problem. All the rooms I tried to book through Costco are available on the DCL site, and also, initially quoted the lower Costco price. Until I get the error and it won't let me proceed.

I'm not sure what to do now, but it feels like a bait and switch, which I didn't expect from Costco. Is this a common experience?

 

[cruisehopeful]

The price should be exactly the same for the same cabin. I book through Costco. I believe they show the price for one passenger, even though you have to book 2 people, so double what it shows. The DCL website shows the price for 2 people.

 

[sukhakuli]

We're booking for 4. Adding the cost of the other passengers then makes the cruise like 3 times what is on the DCL site, which also doesn't make sense. I have a screenshot of the quote before the error message, but Costco travel doesn't have an email that I can send it to.

 

[sukhakuli]

OK, so I double checked in case it was just for one, it is quoting 2,622 per person based on double occupancy for a verandah room. Once I add the entire party it quotes me 9,150 (and change) for the specific room. When I called they quoted me 13,100 and change for the same room, same occupancy. Why?

 

[cruisehopeful]

We're booking for 4. Adding the cost of the other passengers then makes the cruise like 3 times what is on the DCL site, which also doesn't make sense. I have a screenshot of the quote before the error message, but Costco travel doesn't have an email that I can send it to.

It sounds like something is either glitching with Costco or with their connection to DCL. You can book over the phone with Costco and it will be the same price as DCL. The,"savings" is a Costco cash card that gets mailed to you after the cruise. They will tell you how much it will be for.
If you have Executive membership, you'll get the 2% back.

 

[cruisehopeful]

OK, so I double checked in case it was just for one, it is quoting 2,622 per person based on double occupancy for a verandah room. Once I add the entire party it quotes me 9,150 (and change) for the specific room. When I called they quoted me 13,100 and change for the same room, same occupancy. Why?

Then just book it through DCL and transfer the booking to Costco. You need to transfer within 30 days and the cruise cannot be PIF. You'll get the same Costco cash card after the cruise.

 

[sukhakuli]

It sounds like something is either glitching with Costco or with their connection to DCL. You can book over the phone with Costco and it will be the same price as DCL. The,"savings" is a Costco cash card that gets mailed to you after the cruise. They will tell you how much it will be for.
If you have Executive membership, you'll get the 2% back.

I feel like if it is quoting me a price, I should get that price. I don't especially care much about the gift card or the 2% back (we are executive), especially given the hassle.

Is this a glitch, or is it bait and switch? I'm trying to call them again, and will report back what they say. But this is odd behavior for Costco, IMO.

 

[lanejudy]

The amount the website quoted me is thousands less than going through DCL

There must be some kind of glitch or error. The price should be the same no matter how you book. DCL does not allow anyone to discount their cruises. The DCL price is the actual price.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I feel like if it is quoting me a price, I should get that price. I don't especially care much about the gift card or the 2% back (we are executive), especially given the hassle.

Is this a glitch, or is it bait and switch? I'm trying to call them again, and will report back what they say. But this is odd behavior for Costco, IMO.

I don't think it's bait and switch because I book through Costco both directly and through transfers. The price has always been the same. There was one time where I thought it was different, but it turned out that I was looking at 2 different room categories, even though they were very close together on the ship

Take screenshots of everything that you are seeing. It sounds like they need to do some work on the booking engine.

 

[scroogie]

I feel like if it is quoting me a price, I should get that price. I don't especially care much about the gift card or the 2% back (we are executive), especially given the hassle.

Is this a glitch, or is it bait and switch? I'm trying to call them again, and will report back what they say. But this is odd behavior for Costco, IMO.

The fact that you've said it's also coming up with an error while trying to book it is absolutely indicative of it being a glitch. Not everything is with nefarious intent.

 

[dcassetta]

It’s a glitch. I have booked cruises through Costco for years. Occasionally things like this occur. As to the idea that they should honor what’s on the website, I’m not sure that most companies would do that if the quoted the price is an error. There was a story that I saw about people who got incredible fares on an airline, that was clearly a glitch. The airline contacted the people that had been able to book the tickets, and refunded all of them. I guess some people said that the airline should honor what was there because it was a contract, but I think because it was clearly a glitch, the airline did not have to do that.

 

[sukhakuli]

I spent hours on the phone with Costco, who were really helpful the second time I called. She went above and beyond. When she logged in and looked she said that she could see that something was off. For one thing, the stateroom category that it put me in didn't exist. As she tried to book it for me, she got the error, too. But she also saw how much it was quoting me. So she called Disney and they said it was an extremely limited promotion category, and I got one of the rooms. So I got the significantly discounted price. And the Costco gift card and 2% back. I had to pay in full today, which I was expecting.

I don't know what the actual story is. I tend to be a huge skeptic. I think they saw that there was some sort of issue with the website quote and Disney honored it, cause Disney is amazing like that.

I really didn't think I was going to get the discounted price, but somehow it worked out! And we're going to Hawaii on the Wonder in September! I better get planning! We thought we weren't going to be able to go because my husband wasn't going to be able to take that much time off, but the stars aligned at work, the kids have 2 weeks off for fall break, and off we go!