travel agent?

[jaz0308]

As someone new to cruise travel, I am considering using a travel agent to help me book a July 2015 Disney cruise! Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using the travel agent? I always book my own Disney vacations as I like to have control over ADRs and such but I am very familiar with that process and feel very comfortable with it. For the cruise I feel as if I will need advice on room location and will also have probably a lot of questions as the months go by!


Thank you for any advice for this Disney cruise Newbie!

 

[bas71873]

We just booked our first cruise for April 2015 and I'm doing it on my own. I just can't give up the control. I figure between these boards, some research on cruisecritic.com and I've preordered the new passporter guide to DCL, I'll be good to go. To me it seems a TA is nothing more than a middle man. At least that's been my experience. Part of the fun for me is the planning and doing it all.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

As someone new to cruise travel, I am considering using a travel agent to help me book a July 2015 Disney cruise! Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using the travel agent? I always book my own Disney vacations as I like to have control over ADRs and such but I am very familiar with that process and feel very comfortable with it. For the cruise I feel as if I will need advice on room location and will also have probably a lot of questions as the months go by!


Thank you for any advice for this Disney cruise Newbie!

There are no disadvantages st all, the only thing is your payments Ho via a TA.

You can still book shore trips, Palo, and Spa

But you get service to support you and some offer on board credits so you save money.


You have full control with extra help if anything goes wrong.

 

[Illini_Fan]

We use a TA simply for the OBC. Since pricing is the same regardless of booking straight with DCL or via TA, we figure that why not use a TA and get the OBC.

 

[MouseMomx2]

We always have and always will book on our own. I prefer to have the control over my reservation. Should I need to cancel or change anything I can do it myself.

The only reasons I can think of to use a TA would be for any On Board Credit they offer (not worth it to us to give up control of the reservation) or if you would prefer to have someone else take care of things for you. I really enjoy the planning and managing of our vacations so I always take care of things myself.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

On board credits can be $300 or up to $1000 you do not loose any control at all , and in fact have more control as your TA has clout with DCL if something goes wrong they represent you and they can do the calls or changes for you saving you time.

 

[Stephandy03]

I also like having control. We booked the Dream and wanted an inside cabin, but they were sold out. I happened to be checking rates one day and found one that opened up, and was able to change on the spot. With a TA, you wouldn't be able to do that. However, if you aren't the kind who likes to plan and check, you could let the TA do that. I'm just too OCD to let someone else do it.

 

[Illini_Fan]

We've done five cruises through a TA and I've never once had a concern about "control". We do all of our planning ourself, the only "control" item I could think of is main or late dinning request

Everything else we do on our own, but take the TA OBC

I get that control is subjective, bit for us it has never been an issue.

 

[MouseMomx2]

On board credits can be $300 or up to $1000 you do not loose any control at all , and in fact have more control as your TA has clout with DCL if something goes wrong they represent you and they can do the calls or changes for you saving you time.

This is not true. Any communictaion must go through your travel agent. You are not able to call DCL directly to make any changes to your reservation. For me, it is not worth it, even for an OBC.

We have friends who had to cancel a trip less than 90 days out. It was a nightmare going through their travel agent (a very reputable DCL agent). Travel insurance was involved and having a TA really slowed the process down. It would have been so much easier if they could have called DCL directly, but they couldn't.

 

[mystifyny]

We had to cancel our cruise 7days before because my father passed away. We had travel insurance and a TA. Our TA was wonderful. She actually Re-booked us for another cruise later in the year, we were able to keep our 10% discount and our OBC.

She even helped us make the claims with the travel insurance. We did not purchase insurance through the TA so she did this just to help out.

I would say not all TA's are the same but in our case ours really came through.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I get trashed for saying this but a professional agent is great. A person doing this as a hobby etc is a bad idea


You want an agent who has a phone. If they only do email I won't book. It is a sign to me that "I deal with you after carpool, room mom and my fun ". (Yes I have a friend who does Disney bookings. She gets to you in between her day job and kids activity). You want an agent insured by one of the major travel agency associations and one with 24/7 coverage. ( how often do you have an emergency at. 2 on a Tuesday? )

 

[cuteduck223]

I actually am one of those part timers, because the day job I have is flexible enough to let me do it. I let clients have as much control as they want over the trip, but do whatever they want as well. I do agree that if its really just a "hobby" or someone tryin to get some perks its not worth it. I cant believe that there are TA's who only deal in email. I use email a lot, but it comes to my phone, and will only take payments by phone or in person. so, the best advice i give is do a but of research to find a good fit if you go with a TA-it can have lots of benefits-but there are a lot that have recently come along thinking its a get rich thing.

 

[jaz0308]

Wow! So many different opinions and interesting points! Thank you all for sharing your experiences with me. you have really given me some things to think about!

 

[STUR]

As someone new to cruise travel, I am considering using a travel agent to help me book a July 2015 Disney cruise! Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using the travel agent? I always book my own Disney vacations as I like to have control over ADRs and such but I am very familiar with that process and feel very comfortable with it. For the cruise I feel as if I will need advice on room location and will also have probably a lot of questions as the months go by!


Thank you for any advice for this Disney cruise Newbie!

We use a professional TA all the time for everything once you find one that you like She or He will always look after you And get you the most value for your $$$ They will always be on top of things Example Last Summer we took a river cruise in Europe an b/4 are cruise the rivers where flooded They where in touch with us all the time (every thing went well) and we even had plan B if we where not able to go You should have seen all the Complaints from all those that booked on the internet or 800 # (our TA was on top of everything)

I do all my homework b/4 I book and then discuses it with my TA

STUR DAYTON,OHIO

 

[Ghkelk]

Within the past week we booked through DCL and paid our original deposit. However, we then started reading this board and realized that Costco has travel agents. We are wondering if there is any hold back to trasnferring it to Costco, and if we did, would we still qualify for the $300 OBC?

Likewise, would there be any advantage to transferring it to a TA vs Costco? Ive read that a TA will stay on top of booking and help you out more, whereas you are kind of on your own with Costco and must call them? Also, does Costco have the same resources as far as bookings?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mstee777]

I booked onboard last year and used a travel agent for the first time. I've been very pleased! I was concerned like some about giving up control. But they have been more than helpful and I'm sure I will use them again. Quite frankly I don't even know how much of an OBC they are giving me and I could care less. I like that when I call, they answer the phone. When I send an email, they answer my questions. They are always professional and just great. Hopefully we will do another onboard booking in July and I already know ill book with them again.

 

[AliceIn]

Within the past week we booked through DCL and paid our original deposit. However, we then started reading this board and realized that Costco has travel agents. We are wondering if there is any hold back to trasnferring it to Costco, and if we did, would we still qualify for the $300 OBC?

Likewise, would there be any advantage to transferring it to a TA vs Costco? Ive read that a TA will stay on top of booking and help you out more, whereas you are kind of on your own with Costco and must call them? Also, does Costco have the same resources as far as bookings?

Thanks in advance!

i have had a great experience with Costco. I transferred to them within 30 days of my booking. You can do online payments with them. I wanted to be upgraded to concierge if a room opened up, and Costco made that easy as well. we will be getting a large amount back from them when we return. They upped the amount after I upgraded, too. All in all, a great experience.

 

[PnkRockPrincess]

Within the past week we booked through DCL and paid our original deposit. However, we then started reading this board and realized that Costco has travel agents. We are wondering if there is any hold back to trasnferring it to Costco, and if we did, would we still qualify for the $300 OBC?

Likewise, would there be any advantage to transferring it to a TA vs Costco? Ive read that a TA will stay on top of booking and help you out more, whereas you are kind of on your own with Costco and must call them? Also, does Costco have the same resources as far as bookings?

Thanks in advance!

You can transfer a booking to a travel agent within 30 days of the original booking. (If it were a booking you made on board and then subsequently moved, the 30 days began the day you booked it on board)

A number of travel agents reduce the amount of the incentive when a booking is transferred to them instead of booked through them initially, but it is my understanding that Costco doesn't do this and that their incentive is the same when you book through them directly and when you transfer a booking to them. I have heard it's about 8-9% of the cruise fare only (not including taxes, transfers, insurance) that you receive back in the form of a Costco cash card about a week after you complete your trip. I have heard that you can take it into Costco and exchange it for actual cash or use it there like a gift card.

 

[ActingVP]

This is only my 3rd cruise - for the previous 2 cases, I booked direct with DCL - one online and the other while on board.

I'm using a TA this time around and she's only using email to communicate with me. I don't mind - but I'd like her to be a bit more responsive - but I'm a a little OCD at times and like to have immediate replies to my questions. Although, I'm patient when I need to be - so this is not a deal breaker.

I ended up with a TA this time because I was able to get OBC with the EXACT cost of what it would be with Disney direct! OBC's are not available unless you book while physically on board a Disney Cruise or going through an authorized travel agency (at a later time).

We heard of Costco Travel, but we're not members and we don't want to only get a Costco "dollar/gift card". That didn't make sense for our family. We live in NYC and it's not a convenient thing to shop there - but maybe they offer OBCs now? I didn't see that as an option when I was looking to book.

We looked at a couple of TAs and I'm happy where we went, AND I can get access to my reservation via Disney, but my TA will be responsible for any modifications (or cancellation). I can still book any excursions and do the online check-in without involving the TA.

So far, so good. We get ready for our first sail on the Magic and we're so looking forward to it!

 

[twindaddy]

I use a TA and am happy, she has been able to finagle things out of DCL that I couldnt not. When I saw a room I wanted, I just put a dummy booking on hold and email her the info. She arranged to have it cancelled and transferred to her. Would I use her without OBC? Probably not, as I am experienced enough about Disney that I do not need a ton of help.


My main suggestion would be DO NOT use a family friend who does some bookings on the side. If something goes wrong, are you going to go after a person you have known for years? My mom did that for years, a woman from church did all her cruise bookings...until she royally fouled one up, I told her to complain and try to get some compensation for her TA insurance, but she didnt want to do that to her friend, so she sucked it up.