Working with a Travel Agent for DCL?

[AmicusDye]

Can anyone tell me what the normal scope of services one can expect when working with travel agent on DCL booking?

I ask because I've been disappointed in my recent experience, but I've never worked with a travel agent before so I don't know what someone can usually expect. Also, as a Disney Dad, I've learned that Disney experiences are some of the most rewarding, but also challenging in terms of organization, timing, etc.

To give some context, I started planning a Disney Alaska cruise more than a year ago. The cruise is July 2023. I've never been on a Disney cruise. I wanted to go not only my wife and kids, but I also wanted to bring my sister's family, as well as my elderly mom and stepdad. Given the size of the group, having someone knowledgable who could coordinate the state rooms and guide us through the process seemed like right idea. I reached out to an agent, was informed he worked with DCL a lot, and was told we would all get an onboard ship credit from them at no extra cost. Excellent!

However, despite our being so far ahead of the game in terms of timing and giving the travel agent all requested information, the agent didn't do much or communicate much. We recieved the room confirmations a little later than I hoped, so the staterooms are not together and they are not in the locations we requested - and those staterooms had been open for several days according to Disney's availability maps. No biggie, at least we were booked and excited for the next steps. However, after that we never heard from him again and our inquiries went unanswered. We never heard from him about flights to Vancouver, hotels, where to go the day of the cruise, onboard activities, dinner planning...nothing. Thankfully my wife is a Disney mom, so she learned quickly and became our agent for all of that.

My mom happened to be over at the house yesterday and was saying how disappointing this has all been because when she plans a cruise (non-Disney) the agent is on top of everything and working with her to make sure every little detail is handled.

Is this just a function of it being Disney related? Is this common and I need to reorient my expectations? Or are my instincts that this guy fell way below expectations correct?

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[tinkerone]

I'd be curious to know what agency you booked with. I always book with Costco, they have a great gift card offer at the end of the cruise, however we are platinum and have sailed enough that I know exactly what to do.
Dreams Unlimited Travel is a good agency to go with when you are a newbie. They will hold your hand through the experience if you wish however they are strictly email so that might put you off.
It's all about what a person needs. It does not sound like the agent you have is very hands on with information. That's unfortunate

 

[tvguy]

Well, with Disney we used our normal travel agent who specializes in cruises on all lines.
As for the scope of services, she helped us pick a stateroom, provided us with reviews of the available excursions, and booked the ones we wanted, received and reviewed all our cruise documents and tickets and delivered them to us.
She knew which hotels around MCO had the best rates and offered breakfast and shuttles to the Disney bus stop at the airport.
When Disney contacted her 10 days before our cruise with a free stateroom upgrade, she redid all the documents and luggage tags to reflect that.
Basically all we did was write the check and enjoy the cruise. Some here don't like not having control, I for one love that EVERYTHING was done for me, and I didn't have to spend hours on hold booking excursions, etc.

 

[AmicusDye]

Well, with Disney we used our normal travel agent who specializes in cruises on all lines.
As for the scope of services, she helped us pick a stateroom, provided us with reviews of the available excursions, and booked the ones we wanted, received and reviewed all our cruise documents and tickets and delivered them to us.
She knew which hotels around MCO had the best rates and offered breakfast and shuttles to the Disney bus stop at the airport.
When Disney contacted her 10 days before our cruise with a free stateroom upgrade, she redid all the documents and luggage tags to reflect that.
Basically all we did was write the check and enjoy the cruise. Some here don't like not having control, I for one love that EVERYTHING was done for me, and I didn't have to spend hours on hold booking excursions, etc.

That's awesome. That is precisely what I was hoping for. At least I know I'm not crazy. Thanks!
May I ask what travel agency you worked with?

 

[AmicusDye]

I'd be curious to know what agency you booked with. I always book with Costco, they have a great gift card offer at the end of the cruise, however we are platinum and have sailed enough that I know exactly what to do.
Dreams Unlimited Travel is a good agency to go with when you are a newbie. They will hold your hand through the experience if you wish however they are strictly email so that might put you off.
It's all about what a person needs. It does not sound like the agent you have is very hands on with information. That's unfortunate

It's crazy that you mentioned Dreams Unlimited...because that's the travel agency we used. I went with it because I heard it discussed when listening to a podcast discussing DVC.

 

[Flossbolna]

Our travel agent is much more on top than yours. We are getting regular emails on different topics about cruising with DCL including info about the ports, alerts when the booking and check in date are comping up including instructions on how to do it. She booked a post cruise hotel for us, but with flights and hotels we are more diy people. But she was very willing to help more than what we needed. She is very responsive and when a OGT rate came out for our cruise she was very quick to rebook us.

So, I do think you can expect more. I hope you will still have a fantastic trip with your family!

 

[AquaDame]

Even within a company the different agents can be very different. When the staterooms came back and weren't what you had asked for, did you mention this to the TA? When your inquiries went unanswered following that was the right time to request being transferred to another agent. I would not have let that one slide..! john@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com is the owner and would have been able to assist you if you understandably did not want to reach out to the agent directly, or you could try their generic reservations@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com as well, which hits several agents, not just yours. Nothing you mentioned is out of the scope of what TA should be helping you with - mine has always checked with me about flights and transfers, even when I've let them know I'm doing that on my own they ask, sometimes a few times just to be safe! I'm sorry you are having such a bad experience.

 

[dreamer17555]

I have a dreams agent that I absolutely love, Joy Ferson. She pretty much and hand held me through my first cruise especially because I was traveling with my special needs son.

That being said, from what I’ve gathered on this board and others, I don’t think all Dreams agents are created equal and I think the level of service you get with a Dream agent depends on how much communication you initiate with them.

If I have any questions or concerns, Joy is right on it but at this point since I’ve cruised so much and so often she pretty much lets me handle things. That being said, I am really picky about things like if I want the discounted rates (VGT) or if I want certain staterooms I absolutely put that in the bottom of the box with the quote request and I list the staterooms that I wanted normally one through three in preference order.

If she comes back and she can’t get me exactly what I wants we might email back-and-forth until we find the staterooms that I feel the most comfortable with but she would definitely be there to help out with anything that I needed. I could absolutely book at this point on my own but the reason I continue to book with dreams is because I appreciate Joy so much.

 

[dreamer17555]

Adding on -

Some people want their agents to be really hands-on and some do not. It might be helpful in the future, when working with any agent from any agency to let them know from the get-go, what you need help with or level of service you’re expecting. Tell them if you’re confused or you need guidance or if you have questions. Let them know if you need help booking pre-or post cruise stays or transportation. Most agents are happy to help but they just need to know what level of service you would like.

 

[vakamalua]

The best thing our travel agent does for us is give us a nice big rebate (not OBC). Also very responsive & follows up on everything--although being Platinum on DCL means we don't need much from her...

 

[auntlynne]

@tvguy describes what I would expect from any travel agent - for pretty much any destination or cruise line.

With the volume of sailings this company has booked, the agency should be getting about 16% of your cruise fare in commission. That’s a good chunk of money (I want you to realize they will be paid, whether or not you are satisfied - and how much they get; it’s not chicken feed).

Follow through in the ways people recommended above. @dreamer17555 is with the same agency - different agent. Let the owner know you are not satisfied - sooner rather than later.

This is too significant an event, both emotionally and fiscally, to be left with a sour taste. The things you mentioned as lacking are nothing beyond normal expectations. I could have done a better job, myself, (with some good advice from our DIS friends). (I am not a travel agent - but this is not rocket science.)

Hoping you get your situation turned around. An Alaskan cruise can be very special.

 

[tvguy]

That's awesome. That is precisely what I was hoping for. At least I know I'm not crazy. Thanks!
May I ask what travel agency you worked with?

It was a local one and they retired so no longer in business.

 

[AmicusDye]

Adding on -

Some people want their agents to be really hands-on and some do not. It might be helpful in the future, when working with any agent from any agency to let them know from the get-go, what you need help with or level of service you’re expecting. Tell them if you’re confused or you need guidance or if you have questions. Let them know if you need help booking pre-or post cruise stays or transportation. Most agents are happy to help but they just need to know what level of service you would like.

Good points. I thought I had, but it always helps to reiterate.

 

[dreamer17555]

And I am in no way blaming you. I’m just going to go ahead and mention this so that if other people read this thread in the future they know that this is an option- If you are miserable with an agent, and you are before the paid in full date, you can cancel and rebook with a different agent. There is a chance rates might have increased slightly, but it might be worth it to have better service.

And even now I would go ahead and reach out to John and see if he can do anything to help elevate your experience with dreams at this point since you are past the PIF. I get the impression he really does not want any of his customers to leave unhappy.

 

[Geomom]

You do need to communicate with your agent as to what you want help with, as some people want a very hands on agent and some don't. Each agent is different and you may need a different agent who will meet your needs. As someone said above, contact the owner John, and maybe he can get you a more hands on agent. I can definitely understand wanting a more hands on one when you're trying to coordinate multiple families, etc.

I've had the same Dreams Unlimited agent for 3+ cruises (4 after August). I give her a list of staterooms I'd be happy with and she books one the day my booking level opens up or within 24 hrs. I did ask about Disney airfare for our upcoming Europe cruise and she said she doesn't do that and recommended booking directly with an airline due to all the craziness everyone went through during the Covid shut downs. I AM a planner, so I never asked her for recommendations on any excursions and book those myself (and she never offered.) I tell her when I want transportation (so far we've done DCL to get TO the airport on departure day, but figure out the arrival day ourselves. We book our own hotels as well as the Disney ones can be pretty pricey.

I basically just use an agency for the on board credit and so someone else calls Disney on opening day so I don't have to!

 

[tinkerone]

It's crazy that you mentioned Dreams Unlimited...because that's the travel agency we used. I went with it because I heard it discussed when listening to a podcast discussing DVC.

To be honest, we used Dreams for several of our cruises early on with no issues however there was one that reared it's ugly head and I decided that the agent wasn't right for us. This was after about the 4th booking. I won't go into details but I didn't need what I considered a scolding. We had another booking with this agent, 3 cabins, it was a family cruise. I decided that after that I would just change agents and continue with the agency. BUT, it's not that easy to change agents with DU. I sent our next request off to a different person and she sent it back to the agent we didn't want. I finally just switched agencies and have never looked back. I don't need to deal with someone who isn't a good fit.
Now, having said what I did, most people love DU. I don't dislike them, as you can see I did suggest they may be a good fit. I will probably never use them again since I seem to have to deal with someone I don't like and I would never again suggest them to friends or family. Doesn't mean I would bad mouth them, what doesn't work for me may work for others.
It's good to know though that others have had issues as well. Makes me realize I'm not totally off the mark. Good luck with whoever you do get in the future.

 

[soniam]

If someone hasn't already said it, Dreams Unlimited is the owner/sponsor of these boards/this site. If you contact John Magi at Dreams, he can help rectify the situation. Having said that, this isn't the first time that I have heard of less than attentive TAs from Dreams from close friends. I use a different TA, who is a friend of mine. I don't get any OBC, and I pretty much do it to help her business. She doesn't really hold my hand, but that's because she knows that I have done this before. I actually enjoy planning and booking vacations, including international and non-Disney. I usually just email her with the exactly what I want, she books it, and gets payment.