Questions about booking on Opening Day with Costco

[Billinaz]

Costco can be vigilant...to a point. They won't take down notes of the itinerary you want, and wait on hold for you without you doing anything on opening day. You will have to call Costco first thing on opening day and wait on hold with them. What the Costco agent did with me was, I called first thing opening day, she got all of the info she needed about the itinerary I wanted, asked me if I just wanted a quote or was ready to book regardless. (I was ready to book.) Then she asked me for a list of 5 staterooms I'd want, starting with my 1st choice. She was very well versed with DCL's policies and went through it all with me, told me to expect a long wait...up to 2 hours the day before. She got my phone # in case we got disconnected, and she called DCL. She said she'd come back on the line with me periodically to check on me, but otherwise, put her on speaker, go about my business, get coffee, do what I had to do.

I booked a placeholder, listing Costco as my TA. When I got back on land, I called Costco Travel to confirm they got the info. They cannot assign a placeholder a Costco Travel reservation number, BUT they can tie it to your member number so they can pull up the info when you're ready to book a real cruise.



Nope. When you make payments towards your cruise, regardless of form of payment, Costco will patch you through to DCL in a 3 way conference call. If paying by credit card, you can do it on Costco's website, but with gcs, you'll have to call. When I booked, (moved placeholder to a real cruise) I gave the Costco agent my gc number right off the bat so she didn't have to go back and forth, and risk having the room I wanted snatched up. Subsequent payments, it was done via 3 way conferencing with DCL. I had one Costco agent who was awesome...he muted his line so he could still hear me, and jotted down my gc #s as I rattled them off to DCL, and it was a good thing he did, because the DCL CM screwed up and shorted me a gc. The Costco agent was on it, and sorted out the problem because he was taking notes the whole time.

You can also call DCL directly on opening day and get it set up, then just transfer to Costco. Thats the way I typically do it.

Never been on the line with DCL while they made any payments though. They put me on hold and came back after they got it done with DCL.

The strange thing is that you can call Costco to make a payment, but they will only take Visa/MC even though they are not processing the payment (DCL is). They will not let you use an Amex or Discover>

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

You can also call DCL directly on opening day and get it set up, then just transfer to Costco. Thats the way I typically do it.

Never been on the line with DCL while they made any payments though. They put me on hold and came back after they got it done with DCL.

The strange thing is that you can call Costco to make a payment, but they will only take Visa/MC even though they are not processing the payment (DCL is). They will not let you use an Amex or Discover>

Just to add, Costco will also take Disney gift cards to pay for a DCL cruise (well, they call DCL who processes the gift card)

 

[Ravenne]

You can also call DCL directly on opening day and get it set up, then just transfer to Costco. Thats the way I typically do it.

You can't do that with a placeholder though, can you? You can't book a placeholder, let it sit for a year or 2, use it yourself then transfer. You have to transfer (or list) Costco as TA right from the get go, or do it within 30 days.

 

[Billinaz]

You can't do that with a placeholder though, can you? You can't book a placeholder, let it sit for a year or 2, use it yourself then transfer. You have to transfer (or list) Costco as TA right from the get go, or do it within 30 days.

Yes, that is right. The original placeholder (that would be booked onboard), you can name Costco as the TA right there. Essentially it is set up as a regular booking, then after Costco has it, you have to call them and change it to the date you really want later on.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

The strange thing is that you can call Costco to make a payment, but they will only take Visa/MC even though they are not processing the payment (DCL is). They will not let you use an Amex or Discover>

Costco takes Visa, MC or Discover on their regular website They divorced Amex.

 

[MillauFr]

Calling and talking to a live person seems so 20th century. Why hasn't Disney upgrading their systems so everything can be done online????

 

[Billinaz]

Costco takes Visa, MC or Discover on their regular website They divorced Amex.

Not on the costcotravel website, only Visa/MC

 

[Billinaz]

Calling and talking to a live person seems so 20th century. Why hasn't Disney upgrading their systems so everything can be done online????

They have a hard enough time keeping their website up and running. Maybe the H1B workers cant figure it out.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Not on the costcotravel website, only Visa/MC

That’s why I said REGULAR website.

 

[FigmentSpark]

They don't put it on the website, because they don't want everyone to have access to the pricing. They want to draw the hype and have you call. If you're on hold long enough, you'll put a hold on the rooms and then likely book something for your efforts, even if you don't book everything you put only hold. Also, that drives up prices. In essence, by allowing people to phone on their first day, they are giving a discount (potentially) to those loyal customers.

 

[MillauFr]

They have a hard enough time keeping their website up and running. Maybe the H1B workers cant figure it out.

Why aren't they outsourcing the whole computer system to Amazon Web Services?

 

[MillauFr]

The other question I don't understand is why are they paying still paying commissions to travel agencies? I mean a company like Costco is getting a commission when in reality they are providing no service that has any value. The people on the phone at Costco Travel are nice and professional but they know little or nothing about Disney. They even give out wrong information. The average poster on these boards knows far more about Disney Cruise than Costco Travel.

 

[Billinaz]

The other question I don't understand is why are they paying still paying commissions to travel agencies? I mean a company like Costco is getting a commission when in reality they are providing no service that has any value. The people on the phone at Costco Travel are nice and professional but they know little or nothing about Disney. They even give out wrong information. The average poster on these boards knows far more about Disney Cruise than Costco Travel.

You get the same thing from many other TAs as well. Their knowledge of DCL is that they read in a book or saw on youtube.

TAs give out wrong information as well.

At giving back 8.5% to their members, Costco is doing a great service. Other TAs dont give that much and some give nothing and pocket it all.

 

[Dug720]

You get the same thing from many other TAs as well. Their knowledge of DCL is that they read in a book or saw on youtube.

TAs give out wrong information as well.

At giving back 8.5% to their members, Costco is doing a great service. Other TAs dont give that much and some give nothing and pocket it all.

Depends on the TA. Mine has had Disney-provied training and is a certified Disney vacation planner. If you're planning Disney, that is what to look for.

 

[Billinaz]

Depends on the TA. Mine has had Disney-provied training and is a certified Disney vacation planner. If you're planning Disney, that is what to look for.

Yes, it does. Being a compulsive planner myself, I dont need a TA to get the best deal..... the only reason I transfer to Costco is for the cash card.... never found any TA offer to beat that.

 

[Dug720]

Yes, it does. Being a compulsive planner myself, I dont need a TA to get the best deal..... the only reason I transfer to Costco is for the cash card.... never found any TA offer to beat that.

ANd that works for you. For those of us who do not use Costco and who live in areas where they do not give cash for the card, it is useless.

 

[MillauFr]

Depends on the TA. Mine has had Disney-provied training and is a certified Disney vacation planner. If you're planning Disney, that is what to look for.

You are an expert on Disney Cruises though. Are there any travel agents that know more about Disney Cruise than you do?

 

[MillauFr]

At giving back 8.5% to their members, Costco is doing a great service. Other TAs dont give that much and some give nothing and pocket it all.

Sure but Costco is keep some % of the commission that Disney is paying to them. You are getting no added value out of using Costco. I would rather that Disney just lowered the price by 10% and eliminated all commissions. We could just all book direct with Disney.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Sure but Costco is keep some % of the commission that Disney is paying to them. You are getting no added value out of using Costco. I would rather that Disney just lowered the price by 10% and eliminated all commissions. We could just all book direct with Disney.

Ah, but they wouldn't, now would they.

Also, TAs would become a user pay system, rather than a system where the merchant, who benefits from the sales pays. There's no incentive for people to use a TA if they have to pay for the service, except for the rich and those who are first timers.

 

[MillauFr]

Ah, but they wouldn't, now would they.

Also, TAs would become a user pay system, rather than a system where the merchant, who benefits from the sales pays. There's no incentive for people to use a TA if they have to pay for the service, except for the rich and those who are first timers.

I guess I see many TAs serve a valuable service for travelers. If the TA is providing you with value then you should absolutely expect to pay extra for that. With the current system, TAs services have been completely marginalized and no one expects to pay for them. A great travel agent is worth their weight in gold.