Using a TA?

[heehee611]

I've always planned our Disney trips myself because I'm a little Type A and love to plan. Is it worth using a TA for a cruise though? Will they be able to save me money or get perks that we can't get otherwise? We're looking at going either spring break 2018 or during the summer... will likely depend on prices and itineraries available.

 

[cheermom2four]

Usually they give you on board credit which is nice. Mine didnt my first two cruises so I switched to one that did and absolutely love her. I'm a huge planner but its nice to have the "free" OBC from her.

 

[mmfox316]

I use a TA for the onboard credit too.

 

[rantnnravin]

I started using Costco - they offer a Cash Card of about 8% of the cruise fare, which you receive after you return. This beats any onboard credit I've ever received from a TA. We used ours for groceries for 3 weeks after we got back. You can choose and book your room and then transfer the booking to them within 30 days. Anything monetary will, of course, need to go through them, but they are readily available by phone.

 

[CamColt]

As noted above, many travel agents will give you an on board credit. You may want to check out Dreams Unlimited, who sponsors these boards. Besides the on board credit, their agents are Disney experts and can help you with anything that may come up along the way.

 

[Geomom]

I do all trip plans myself as well, but not for a cruise. We went through a TA (from Dreams Unlimited) for the OBC (on board credit). I had already done all the research myself, knew the exact room I wanted and how much it would cost--then booked through the TA. All the payments need to go through the TA (note that the charge will go straight through Disney), but you book the port adventures, character meets, Palo, etc, yourself.

It was definitely worth it for us as we got $300 in OBC--it's 'free' money. (It's generally around 4.5-5% back to you in $ to spend on your cruise--for tips, shopping, port adventures, drinks, etc.) Oh, and if you live in US or Canada, Dreams Unlimited will send you a gift basket before your cruise filled with stuff you might want to use on a cruise.

 

[xiphoid76]

I am a control freak, so hate going through anybody when I want to make a change, so we always do it ourselves. For us it is more fun that way. We usually book on board and get our on-board credit that way.

 

[Dug720]

I am a control freak, so hate going through anybody when I want to make a change, so we always do it ourselves. For us it is more fun that way. We usually book on board and get our on-board credit that way.

This is me. My skin crawls that someone other than me would "own" the reservation. It is not worth it to me to give up that control and let anyone else have power over the reservation.

 

[gismo1554]

Mine is actually for the ease of booking. I don't have to phone up on opening day I just drop my TA a line and she sorts it. Yes slightly less control but as long as my TA is good then that's not a problem (and she's amazing!). I did use other TAs including Dreams but never found one I liked which I think is the key. Once you find one you like stick with them!

 

[ludari]

I too enjoy the planning of my own vacations/cruises but I find using a TA extremely helpful. I have been using a TA for all my cruises and yes I am happy to get the shipboard credit they provide, however I like them for other reasons as well. I like to give them my parameters with my preferences (travel dates, destinations, number of passengers, budget, etc) and let them do all the searching and report back to me with their findings and let me choose the best one for me. I also like when my TA sends me a form with the new itineraries and again I let them report back to me with prices and let me choose. This saves me the hassle of trying to call DCL directly at the same time other gold and platinum castaway members are. Finally I will have to agree that sometimes they do find better pricing... For example last month I was on the DCL site looking up the cost for a Panama Canal Cruise. I got the prices and called my TA in order to move my placeholder to that cruise. When my TA called me back he had a lower price for the same stateroom category which was a nice surprise and a savings of a few hundred dollars.