Travel agent and OBC

[Redsred3]

I am looking at booking for a last minute sail date in January and trying to find the best deal. An online travel agency (not exclusive to Disney or even cruises, if you know what I mean) is offering $200 in OBC, where as a Disney travel company, dreams unlimited is offering $100. I’m wonder how risky it is to book with the online company to get the $200. Can I still transfer to the other company after (I think you still get some OBC from Dreams, just less)? And how will that effect my OBC from company 1?
also, I know I am going to want to make special requests like dinner rotations etc. Will I be able to do that myself if I book through the online company, or will they have to do it for me? I don’t trust them to do that part, but I know sometimes there’s red tape when there is the middle man involved.
Trying to weigh my options and see if it’s worth it for the extra $100 OBC or if it will hinder me making requests through Disney.

 

[starry_solo]

I am looking at booking for a last minute sail date in January and trying to find the best deal. An online travel agency (not exclusive to Disney or even cruises, if you know what I mean) is offering $200 in OBC, where as a Disney travel company, dreams unlimited is offering $100. I’m wonder how risky it is to book with the online company to get the $200. Can I still transfer to the other company after (I think you still get some OBC from Dreams, just less)? And how will that effect my OBC from company 1?
also, I know I am going to want to make special requests like dinner rotations etc. Will I be able to do that myself if I book through the online company, or will they have to do it for me? I don’t trust them to do that part, but I know sometimes there’s red tape when there is the middle man involved.
Trying to weigh my options and see if it’s worth it for the extra $100 OBC or if it will hinder me making requests through Disney.

If you transfer the reservation from one company to the other, you won't get the first company's OBC.

 

[Redsred3]

If you transfer the reservation from one company to the other, you won't get the first company's OBC.

That’s what I thought. But I had a travel agent one time tell me it would transfer. Didn’t sound right to me.
If I book with either TA, can I still call Disney to make special requests or do I have to rely on the travel agent to put the requests in?

 

[starry_solo]

That’s what I thought. But I had a travel agent one time tell me it would transfer. Didn’t sound right to me.
If I book with either TA, can I still call Disney to make special requests or do I have to rely on the travel agent to put the requests in?

The TA won't put the OBC on until it's too late for you to cancel without penalty....

TA is supposed to do it all, but once you have it set up on your Disney account online, you might be able to make requests.

 

[randumb0]

You would not be the one to call to make changes. Your TA will have to make all of your changes for you. Do your research on the company. If they are a true TA then you should not have issues with OBC

 

[DisBNewB]

I used an online travel site to book my last minute cruise this fall. I did have to go through them to pre-pay gratuities, but otherwise was able to make special requests (put in allergies, note birthday/anniversary, etc) directly with DCL without an issue. And when I did have to go through them to pre-pay the gratuities, they actually had a separate cruise team altogether and the guy I spoke with was very helpful and got it all taken care of pretty quickly.

Not sure if it's the same online company, but if so, happy to answer any questions.

 

[tinkerone]

Requests such as dinner rotation can be made by you, you do not need to go through your agent. I had several things I wanted clarified and changed for our dinning on our recent sailing. All I did was go to DCL's website, https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/help/email/ , and did a live chat. I didn't waste time phoning. You also do your own bookings for excursions and onboard activities, you don't need your TA to do any of that.
We booked with a big box TA who gave us a GC. It was painless and I was able to make all my own requests. You don't give up all control. Still had to arrange transfers and tipping with the TA.

 

[Redsred3]

Thank you all for the info. Sounds like I’m ok to book with the online travel agency to get the OBC and still have some control to make my own requests directly with DCL. Sounds like a win to me!

 

[DisBNewB]

BTW, if you use that cash back site, the site I booked my cruise through has 3% cash back right now. Just as a heads-up. (it does take a while to process; I'm still waiting to see if mine went through properly (I fear it timed out), but it's worth giving a try - free $ is free $!)

 

[Intr3pid]

If this is last-minute, you will have to pay in full, and a transfer to another TA won't be possible one way or the other.

 

[SL6827]

I think I would go with a certified Disney agent or Costco when booking a cruise. $100 is a lot of money, but not enough for me to go with a online travel agency. This makes me wonder just who it is that is giving you double the OBC.

 

[DisBNewB]

I think I would go with a certified Disney agent or Costco when booking a cruise. $100 is a lot of money, but not enough for me to go with a online travel agency. This makes me wonder just who it is that is giving you double the OBC.

I don't know who they're using for sure, but when I booked I did it through Expedia. Over the summer, they had a promotion to receive OBC based on the (base) price of your cruise. I poked around and submitted through one of those sites to get you bids, and nobody else was offering as much OBC as we got through them.

I used rakuten as well, which was offering... I forget, some percentage cash back, I think it would've gotten us about $100. I fear it timed out during the transaction, but don't know for sure b/c their customer service won't pursue it until it's after the window that they have to reimburse, which is 2 or 3 months after travel is complete. (If I screwed that up, such is life - the $125 OBC was still a better deal than I was getting other places.)

(we did book a placeholder while on board, without expedia as our TA, so now have ~10 days left to figure out who we want to transfer the placeholder to. we have recommendations, I'm just anxious and indecisive.)

 

[Adventurelawyer]

That’s what I thought. But I had a travel agent one time tell me it would transfer. Didn’t sound right to me.
If I book with either TA, can I still call Disney to make special requests or do I have to rely on the travel agent to put the requests in?

You can still call Disney for most things. I had a TA this time and I had to call and fix my reservation, wrong DOBs etc, and I could make requests for dining changes and to add my husband’s CC#. Anything having to do with a balance has to go through your TA.
That being said, if this is your first DCL cruise, go with an agent, Disney stamp of approval or outside the system that you trust and can communicate with the way you want to. Subsequent cruises, I see no reason why you can’t just book it yourself. My OBC hasn’t been worth the hassle and clean up I’ve had to do on my ressie and I would rather just have 1000% of the control. Of course if you want to book opening day, thats another story altogether.

 

[Redsred3]

it was indeed Expedia. I wasn’t sure if it was allowed to say certain sites. I even called them to make sure the OBC was correct and they confirmed. But I do know it’s typically simpler to book direct with Disney. But $200 in OBC basically covers my gratuities, which would be great. I also have Rakuten, so I’d get a good kickback there too.

 

[Redsred3]

You can still call Disney for most things. I had a TA this time and I had to call and fix my reservation, wrong DOBs etc, and I could make requests for dining changes and to add my husband’s CC#. Anything having to do with a balance has to go through your TA.
That being said, if this is your first DCL cruise, go with an agent, Disney stamp of approval or outside the system that you trust and can communicate with the way you want to. Subsequent cruises, I see no reason why you can’t just book it yourself. My OBC hasn’t been worth the hassle and clean up I’ve had to do on my ressie and I would rather just have 1000% of the control. Of course if you want to book opening day, thats another story altogether.

It’s short notice, so it’s pay in full when I book. So really there’s not much for the travel agent to do if I want to arrange my own dining requests etc. I, too, like 1000 %control haha. Probably why I need a vacation! Haha

 

[Adventurelawyer]

I don't know who they're using for sure, but when I booked I did it through Expedia. Over the summer, they had a promotion to receive OBC based on the (base) price of your cruise. I poked around and submitted through one of those sites to get you bids, and nobody else was offering as much OBC as we got through them.

I used rakuten as well, which was offering... I forget, some percentage cash back, I think it would've gotten us about $100. I fear it timed out during the transaction, but don't know for sure b/c their customer service won't pursue it until it's after the window that they have to reimburse, which is 2 or 3 months after travel is complete. (If I screwed that up, such is life - the $125 OBC was still a better deal than I was getting other places.)

(we did book a placeholder while on board, without expedia as our TA, so now have ~10 days left to figure out who we want to transfer the placeholder to. we have recommendations, I'm just anxious and indecisive.)

I’ve used Expedia for last minute for the OBC and a VGT rate. Honestly, its really easy and like you said, you can stack their points with Swagbucks or Rakuten to max the discount. You have to PIF at the time of the booking and you cannot do Disney gift cards to pay. Also, you need to not need any transfers or anything else. Expedia can add them, but it takes a phone call from them and you have to sit on hold and do not know the Disney language or ins and outs, so its not really one I’d suggest for a first timer unless they Already know they won’t need anything additional.

 

[DisBNewB]

I say go with it! And then enjoy your vacation and RELAX. ;-)

(do keep an eye out for the form, though - I knew there was a form to fill out to be eligible for the credit, but when I opened it, you had to have it filled out & submitted at least (3? 2?) weeks before your trip left, so make sure to fill that out ASAP.)

 

[Redsred3]

I have an update and an FYI. So I knew the OBC was based on the cruise fare, not including taxes and fees. However, I did some research and found out it is based only on guest 1 and 2 in the room. The tier I thought we were in, that we would get the $200 OBC was based on the cabin price for all 4 people in our room (minus the taxes as fees). So in reality, if based on only guest 1 and 2, it puts us in the tier for only $100 OBC. Which is the same as the Disney agents offer. So the only differenCe it would be to me between Expedia and a Disney travel agent is the cash back I would get from Rakuten. So I think I’d feel better going through a Disney agent instead.

 

[SL6827]

S

I have an update and an FYI. So I knew the OBC was based on the cruise fare, not including taxes and fees. However, I did some research and found out it is based only on guest 1 and 2 in the room. The tier I thought we were in, that we would get the $200 OBC was based on the cabin price for all 4 people in our room (minus the taxes as fees). So in reality, if based on only guest 1 and 2, it puts us in the tier for only $100 OBC. Which is the same as the Disney agents offer. So the only differenCe it would be to me between Expedia and a Disney travel agent is the cash back I would get from Rakuten. So I think I’d feel better going through a Disney agent instead.

Smart choice.