Who to book with?

[Beezle2]

Hi everyone

I am getting very close to booking our first Disney cruise and I'm wondering if anyone would care to share their thoughts on the best company to book with. I've got a quote from Disney, and want to check Dreams Unlimited, but is there anybody else I should try?

Thanks!
alisa

 

[RobinMarie]

I've used Dreams Unlimited several times for my bookings in WDW and initially had a cruise ressie with them for our cruise last month. On someone's suggestion I tried All Seasons Travel and was pleasantly surprised that they had the same category for our dates and main dining (I was waitlisted through Dreams) for 500 dollars less.

Their site is www.allseastravel.com

HTH

 

[dizneyusa]

Pricing, Everyone wants to get the best
deal possible.

If Dreams Unlimited did the work for you
and you are comparing it to what DCL
quoted you and it is less than you got
a good deal.

Dreams Unlimited did the work. Sometimes
there are other specials, yes, and you can
look around, but if there is not a significant
difference in pricing or mainly SERVICE than
it is what you feel best to do.

SERVICE is important, besides just pricing.

Do not forget, sometimes you get what
you paid for

Shop wisely

 

[Beezle2]

Their site is www.allseastravel.com >>>

Thank you I knew I would get good help here!

Love the DIS!


alisa

 

[RobinMarie]

I think bringing up good customer service is an excellent point! I have been thrilled with All Seasons Travel's customer service. I've spoken with John, Keith and Chuck and all three men have been polite, quick to respond to my emails or phone calls, and loved the gifts they provided before we sailed AND on board.

I have also enjoyed the service from Dreams when I have used them. Once my Dreams TA was able to obtain a Princess Breakfast (CRT) PS for us. We were psyched!

Competition can really work in the consumer's favor in these instanced. Good luck with your planning!

 

[thiscloud]

if you have a costco membership, costco might get an even better rate than regular travel agents. they don't have in-store service, you have to call 877-849-2730 (open m-f 7am-5:30pm).

 

[Beezle2]

Originally posted by dizneyusa
Pricing, Everyone wants to get the best
deal possible.

If Dreams Unlimited did the work for you
and you are comparing it to what DCL
quoted you and it is less than you got
a good deal.

Dreams Unlimited did the work. Sometimes
there are other specials, yes, and you can
look around, but if there is not a significant
difference in pricing or mainly SERVICE than
it is what you feel best to do.

SERVICE is important, besides just pricing.

Do not forget, sometimes you get what
you paid for

Shop wisely

>>.



Are you saying you think Dreams gives the best service?
I would find a $500 savings to be pretty awesome, but if the prices were within a certain amount of each other I would want to go with the best services.

alisa

 

[Beezle2]

Originally posted by thiscloud
if you have a costco membership, costco might get an even better rate than regular travel agents. they don't have in-store service, you have to call 877-849-2730 (open m-f 7am-5:30pm).

>>>>

Nope, no Costco here. We have Sams club. Can someone who does have Costco membership buy one for someone else? I think my SIL may be a member. Or maybe buying a membership just to book the cruise might be an idea. If I could buy it online.

 

[thiscloud]

to play devil's advocate, of course service is good, but you have to weigh the difference in price with the service. if the price is a dealbreaker, then obviously go with which one you can afford.

people complain that costco has long holds, and one or two have had bad experiences with them, but i think there will always be a few people who have had bad experiences with any company, even the best.

remember, you only really have to deal with the travel agent for making the reservation (and for payment). i believe disney itself sends out the packages, and although you won't be able to see your reservation on disney's site if you book through a TA, disney can still look it up and you can always choose to deal with them as much as possible by calling them at 800-511-1333.

 

[thiscloud]

sam's club may also be selling disney cruises at a discount.

according to their site (http://www.costco.com), they have these locations in your state:

Auburn Hills
Bloomfield Township
Commerce Township
Livonia I
Livonia II
Madison Heights
Roseville
Shelby Township

and according to this page, it looks like you can buy online. basic membership is $45. if it even saves you a hundred bucks, it'd be worth it.

you might want to call costco's travel agency first to find out what the rates are and see if you can get a quote that's good for a day or a week or whatever and then get the membership if the price difference is worth it. or maybe the travel agent can also sign you up for membership.

 

[Beezle2]

Originally posted by RobinMarie
[Their site is www.allseastravel.com

HTH [/B]

>>>.

Wow! They are $500 cheaper on the cat 6 we want! Awesome!! Thank you

 

[Beezle2]

Originally posted by thiscloud
sam's club may also be selling disney cruises at a discount.

according to their site (http://www.costco.com), they have these locations in your state:

Auburn Hills
Bloomfield Township
Commerce Township
Livonia I
Livonia II
Madison Heights
Roseville
Shelby Township

and according to this page, it looks like you can buy online. basic membership is $45. if it even saves you a hundred bucks, it'd be worth it.>>>

thanks thiscloud all seasons is looking like a winner though. they are $500 cheaper on a cat 6. I was really hoping to get a veranda for our first cruise and this looks like a GREAT price!

alisa

 

[cats mom]

Originally posted by thiscloud
remember, you only really have to deal with the travel agent for making the reservation (and for payment). i believe disney itself sends out the packages, and although you won't be able to see your reservation on disney's site if you book through a TA, disney can still look it up and you can always choose to deal with them as much as possible by calling them at 800-511-1333.

Actually, I'm not really sure about this - if you book with a TA they are the ones who will need to make any changes, requests, etc. with DCL. From what I've heard they (DCL) are reluctant to check anything for you and will refer you back to your TA.

I think in addition to price you have to decide what type of relationship you want with your TA.

With DU you are assigned a specific agent - contact is pretty much all via e-mail.

All seasons you also are assigned a specific agent and you can contact them via e-mail or an 800 number.

Costco or Sams club I believe you call the number and deal with someone different every time.

It might not be a big deal, especially if you know just what you want - but if you need to make changes, etc. just be sure you go with what is most comfortable for you.

 

[thiscloud]

no problem. it's always good to shop around. i like allseas (at least their website) because they post their prices.

costco might even be a little cheaper, i don't really know, though a $500 savings might be worth avoiding the hassle of having to become a costco member and all that.

 

[JenLynn]

We went with allseastravel originally due to the price difference. Now i would book again with them due to the wonderful service we received.

 

[skiyalater]

We booked our 4 pm cruise with them. We needed three rooms. They had the best price I found and I did search quite a bit. We were able to book the perfect rooms through them. They also were very good at staying in touch with us and they did send goodies with our confirmation pack. They also had a very nice gift waiting for us in our staterooms. I would highly recommend this travel agent. They were very very good!

 

[yourtravelpro]

Originally posted by Beezle2
>>>>

Nope, no Costco here. We have Sams club. Can someone who does have Costco membership buy one for someone else? I think my SIL may be a member. Or maybe buying a membership just to book the cruise might be an idea. If I could buy it online.

Yes, but they would also have to use their credit card to pay for it.

 

[ksumom]

I got a rate through Sam's Club Travel of over $300 less than everyone else. I got my AAA agent to match the price and also got the extras for booking through AAA. We have 3 rooms with 12 people going ages 1-55. Call Sam's Club Travel and get a quote from them. The girl I talked to from Sam's Club was really nice and I didn't have the wait I hear about Costco.

Good Luck!