which travel agency?

[diselderm]

I am considering booking a land/sea cruise for 2/05 and have received basically the exact same quote from 3 agencies except 2 offer a discount. Dreams Unlimited and Small World Vacations both offer the same discount. Is there any reason one would be better than the other. How will I decide?

 

[pppiglet]

according to the LA times today 9/12 soon there might not be much discounting being done by TA's. The cruise lines want the discounting stopped. Sunday, September 12, 2004
Travel



TRAVEL INSIDER
2 cruise lines try to simplify rates by halting rebate ads
By James Gilden
One company strives for consistency in pricing by banning the deals altogether. But will customers benefit?

Sorry, I already threw out the paper for the rest of the story. They listed 2 cruise lines, but DCL wasn't one of them.

 

[travellady]

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity halted TA discounting earlier this month. I heard Carnival and Princess are planning to do the same thing early next year. I've heard this doesn't apply to group rates - when an agency purchases a block of cabins and sells them to the general public at a discounted rate. I know a number of TA's that handle Disney cruises do offer group rates.

It will be interesting to see how this all falls out. I've been comparing rates and Royal Caribbean does seem to be more expensive at the moment than other cruise lines - mainly due to the not allowing of discounts. I booked the Disney Magic 7 day Western for 12/17/2005, 3 of us, Cat 9 (Oceanview deck 2, 214 sq. ft.) for 2757.00 through a TA that offered a discount. Had I booked directly through Disney Cruise Line, I would have payed 600.00 more. Comparing this to Royal Caribbean who no longer allows discounts, I can book a Voyager of the Seas, 7 day Western Carib. deparing the same day as the Magic, 12/17/05 for 3598.00 - just slightly more than Disney Magic if I book directly through DCL. And, I'm comparing apples to apples stateroom wise - both Oceanview, stateroom size almost exactly the same. Had Royal still allowed TAs to discount, I suspect it wouldn't have been much more than the Magic with a discount. I say this from past experience as I took a Voyager cruise before the new policy went into effect and saved us about 500.00 by not booking directly through Royal Carib.

It was a no brainer for us - why should we pay 500.00 - 600.00 more for a cruise during the same timeframe, with equitable ports, and both great ships for kids ? Unless all other cruise lines follow suit, I question how long they can get away with this practice as there is competition out there.

 

[diselderm]

I appreciate your comments, but can anyone offer any comments about which agency would be better? Is either more reliable or offer more services?

 

[bkiss]

Check with the travel agency, Dreams Unlimited, who sponsors this board.

 

[JC Butterfly]

I have my June 2005 cruise booked with Dreams Unlimited. They got me a quote within 24 hours of exactly what I wanted. I am the type that has a lot of questions and everytime I email my DU agent, I get a response within 48 hours, usually a shorter amount of time. they have an online client services section where I can make payments and check on my account status. So far, I really like them.

I had heard good reports about Small World Vacations from this board. I wrote to them asking for a Disneyland vacation quote. It took a week to get a response from them, when they emailed me it was addressed to the wrong name and didn't include a couple of specific requests that I had made, plus it was only $100 less than booking directly through Disney.

Both quotes included a 1-800 number to contact the agent with more questions.

Based on this, I'd have to say that Dreams Unlimited gets my vote, plus they are a sponsor of this web site!

 

[tchoney]

We use All Seasons Travel or www.allseastravel.com
We have always gotten great service and a sizeable discount... Definetly worth a free quote!!!

 

[ohMom]

I'm very pleased with Platinum Vacation Planners -- no experiece with the ones you mentioned in booking DCL. I have booked DU for land/sea and the TA did a great job with my WDW ps's but offered nothing in the way of the cruise portion of our trip.

 

[travellady]

I have one Disney cruise, Dec 16, 2004 3-day booked with Dreams Unlimited and another, Dec 17 2005 7-day Western booked with All Seasons - both are great agencies with good agents. The choice for each was based on cost. These two are mentioned most often on these boards though there are other good agencies, I believe these are two that I can trust without a doubt.

 

[Scotsman]

Is it cheaper to book your next cruise while on the ship or wait and use a travel agent?

Quick, we are leaving Sat. !!!!!

 

[dizneyusa]

Most of the time if you book while you are onboard
you will be offered a ship board credit for your next
sailing or a discounted price and a SBC.

*****Make sure to get the ship board credit and
the discount if that is what is offered to you (or
whatever you finalized ONBOARD in WRITING!)
Everything they tell you in writing from them, not
just a little card with a booking number and a
thank you for booking onboard.

Have the girl write it all down and then sign
what she or he has offered and that your deposit
was given onboard.

There has been way to many times that the person
onboard did not put in a code (sometimes just an
error or typo) and the guests once they have returned
have had a hard time getting the offer.

DCL should have a "form" that they fill out with the
exact offer and each of them get a copy with it signed
off on (Example: white copy theirs and yellow copy
for the guest, so there is no misunderstandings).

It is just better to get the information from them
and confirmed. Then you can also transfer it to
an agent when you return if you would like. Or
just stay with DCL.

Take Care
Dana
beanie-babies@att.net

 

[Scotsman]

Dizneyusa, Thanks but is it cheaper or not?

 

[over50visits]

There is one agency I won't use (no name) because they refused to talk with me until I completely filled out an online form. I had several simple questions that would have taken about 4 emails or about a 4 minute phone conversation, but they said that no one would talk to me until I filled out the form and requested a quote. I wrote a second email telling them I didn't know what I wanted without a few answers that would take several message exchanges...then I called another TA who was knowledgeable, friendly, and answered my questions in a couple of minutes. Guess who got my business?

I'd say deal with someone who treats you from the start like a person, not an email address.

 

[fortierv]

Dreams Unlimited gets my vote for first shot at least. Being a good consumer you have to shop for the best price. As of this morning their customer service is at the top of my list.

Our docs for our Oct 2nd cruise came late yesterday and 4 of the 6 we're wrong. One had the wrong name and our three children had been replaced by complete strangers.

Tammy at DU had it fixed this morning in the span of an hour and about three e-mails. Wow, that's customer service.

They also beat everyone's price when we booked by a long shot. I had another agent comment that she didn't understand how DU could give us the price they were offering. Turned out they had booked a block of rooms for our particular cruise.

 

[diselderm]

Both agencies have been very responsive to my emails and questions, though small world vacations responses have been a little more detailed and personalized. The stateroom assignment I got from SWV seems a little better than the one DU has us in--I may choose SWV for that reason alone, since they both seem good at this point. Is that a silly reason to choose one?

 

[dzneprincess]

May I also recommend Dana at www.micdan.com She has been able to beat my lowest price always!

 

[SueEllen]

Originally posted by diselderm
Both agencies have been very responsive to my emails and questions, though small world vacations responses have been a little more detailed and personalized. The stateroom assignment I got from SWV seems a little better than the one DU has us in--I may choose SWV for that reason alone, since they both seem good at this point. Is that a silly reason to choose one?

If you want a particular stateroom just let you Dreams agent know, they can change the assignment (depending on availability.) Specific staterooms are generally not held by agencies, but are available to anyone.

Sue Ellen