What is betterto do? Book with a TA or Through Disney themselves?

[ssatterly]

Whaich is better and why?

 

[markm0926]

I booked through a TA that reserves "blocks" of rooms for the cruises (mouse ears vacations). No one could come even close to matching the price we received.
I researched every other option before booking.
In my opinion it's best to go with the best price available.

 

[webray]

I book with whoever gives me the best price.

 

[rae519]

In the past I would make my booking with DCL on ship for the onboard credits and discount, then have Cruise Travel Outlet take it over (I'd get a 7% rebate on the cost of the cruise).

This last cruise (9/4) was a rescheduled one and handled by another travel agency.

From now on I will stick with making my own reservations and get the rebate from Cruise Travel Outlet.

Rae

 

[PoohJen]

You will almost always get a better price via TA (assuming you're not booking next cruise while on board, then follow Rae's advice).

Some others to try are Dreams Unlimited (which sponsors these boards), www.vacationstogo.com and www.allseastravel.com I always watched these last two sites for a long time to check prices until I was finally ready to book one for myself!

 

[amy2girls]

we booked dierectly with dcl, mainly b/c I am a control freak and want to pick my room and make other special requests.

 

[Scotsman]

If you book on board is that the best price you can find or can a TA still beat that. The cheapest I have seen is $799 each for 7 night.

 

[adisneymama]

We always book our vacations thru AAA. I have not been able to beat the prices they have given and there are "perks" for booking with them. Freebies that they give to their members. Also, we reserved our cruise initially thru DCL because we wanted a specific room number. Then our TA called them and converted it. DCL loves to work with AAA and it was their recomendation that we reserve it and then have AAA to convert it. My TA and I have a good relationship and she will tell me if she can't get me a better rate. Can't say enough about AAA.

 

[kcashner]

You get the same perks whether thru DCL or a TA. That is, you can pick your stateroom--if you don't specify, DCL will suggest one. You can accept or reject that. You can ask for a specific area of the ship or for a specific room.

I like booking thru DCL, then transferring the ressie to a discount TA. That way, I have the best of both worlds.

Another reason to use a TA is that on one occasion, I was "double billed" for transfers. That is, they were a part of my package, but then DCL billed me again. It was nice to have the TA to dispute the matter with DCL. In fact, when DCL wasn't as fast in refunding as she thought they should be, the agency sent me a refund and then continued to fight with DCL so that they could be reimbursed. It's nice to have someone on "your" side in such cases.

The downside to a TA is that you can't check your ressie on the DCL website. However, the discount I get is worth that minor inconvenience.