Would you give up $250 Onboard credit to control reservation?

[lizzyb]

Its actually better, to me, to not have to handle my reservation. If I want to make a payment I send a quick message & it's done. Changes, questions, problems. I have a single person to contact. I don't have to sit on hold. I don't have to roll the call center dice. My TA also monitors pricing & things to maximize discounts for me when possible. Everything is quick, easy, and timely. I pop over an email and hear back within a couple hours max.

Find a good TA. Enjoy the services they offer. The onboard credit is just icing on the cake!

I agree. I love our agent at Dreams Unlimited. She is so helpful!

 

[alldiz]

thanks everyone. I am seriously considering it....Sounds crazy cause....here I am. But I hate internet and I like the actual contact with a person on the phone when doing business. Probably the only person who dosen't pay bills online.
Kerri

 

[awilliams4]

We take the $250 ourselves. It is a little unnerving when the dates first come out and we are hitting up our TA with a specific room number request but Dream's Unlimited has pulled through each time so we don't lose that much control.

 

[automaticsoap]

I would take the $250! My family booked a cruise through Small World Vacations, and they were great!

 

[Deb in IA]

Another BIG thumbs up for DU! Our agent is Tammy Cermak, and she is wonderful! She actually knows about any news from Disney Cruise Line earlier than I do!
It is the best of both worlds - they do all the work for you, but you can still book your excursions and on board stuff, and you get $250!

 

[Prose]

Since the only thing we've ever changed in 4 cruises after booking is our room category - once - I would take the money. Cruises aren't like a WDW vacation where you adjust ADRs, so there aren't as many variables.

 

[Ariel484]

I have the same TA as @sweetpee_1993 - she is amazing (not part of DU, different agency). Seriously...she is a Disney cruising expert.

When I booked with her, I still did online check-in and picked my port arrival time...I was also able to book my own excursions, but didn't just because we didn't want to book anything during that cruise. My TA would make payments when I asked her to, changed the reservation when I needed her to (whether it was changing a date or a room #/type), booked our Rainforest Spa passes for us, took care of ordering stuff that I wanted in the room (champagne and bottled water) and booked our Palo and Remy meals - right at midnight on the day our window opened, and she got the exact times we asked for. Super easy to get ahold of over email and always responds within a couple of hours.

I never used a TA until I booked my cruise with her last year...I plan all of our other trips myself and am an OCD planner, but it was nice to have someone more knowledgeable than I am take care of some things. And I got an OBC out of the deal.

So if you have a TA like the one I have...yes, I think it's crazy to pass up the OBC.

 

[lbgraves]

Tangent: If I successfully transfer my cruise to Costco, how much control do I actually lose?

Things I want to be able to do:

Get early PAT
Get as many Palo bookings as possible
Try to snag Rainforest Day pass
Request to dine alone if possible

...that's about it. Oh and I want to buy my own cruise insurance.

You can only book one brunch [if offered] and one dinner at Palo before the cruise. Your TA wouldn't be able to access your reservation for PAT, etc until midnight when your booking window opens...just like you. You can get your own insurance.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Its actually better, to me, to not have to handle my reservation. If I want to make a payment I send a quick message & it's done. Changes, questions, problems. I have a single person to contact. I don't have to sit on hold. I don't have to roll the call center dice. My TA also monitors pricing & things to maximize discounts for me when possible. Everything is quick, easy, and timely. I pop over an email and hear back within a couple hours max.

Find a good TA. Enjoy the services they offer. The onboard credit is just icing on the cake!

I couldn't agree more. The fact that she pays me to do this is just extra nice.
She is in TX and I'm in NJ so we usually email but she is only a phone call away.

 

[JimGA]

Take the FREE $$$$. Using a TA is great, they handle everything up to the time of the paid in full date, then you book your excursions.

I would not worry about a TA not being able to jump on a price reduction or other deal since they do not happen that often anyway, and most TA's are available during regular business hours.

 

[alldiz]

You can only book one brunch [if offered] and one dinner at Palo before the cruise. Your TA wouldn't be able to access your reservation for PAT, etc until midnight when your booking window opens...just like you. You can get your own insurance.

What is PAT is that Palo? Also Rainforest day pass. Is that access to spa? And do you have access to that if you book a treatment?
Thanks
Kerri

 

[PrincessShmoo]

What is PAT is that Palo? Also Rainforest day pass. Is that access to spa? And do you have access to that if you book a treatment?
Thanks
Kerri

PAT = Port Arrival Time.

 

[daisyx3]

you order your own rainforest day pass from the dcl gifts site, you don't need the t.a. for it. I used to fax in the request however since I retired and no longer have easy access to a fax I phone it in. check it out here....http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/gifts-and-amenities/. its under Spa & Merchandise Pre-purchase Options. very easy to do.

What is the timeline on this? If I'm a silver cruiser can I do this at 90 days? Not cruising until 3/2016 but good to know. Also, are all these OBC offers still good if I'm booking for 2016?
Daisyx3

 

[alldiz]

PAT = Port Arrival Time.

Gotcha....I usually get there early 10:30-11.

 

[alldiz]

Ok...just sent a quote for small world says they send a phone number with quote.
Now if I can just be patient and wait for an answer
Hopefully my cabin choice is available.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like to be able to talk to people and change things if the price goes down

So choose a TA with a phone number. DU doesn't have that up front. I like costcotravel.com. They aren't 24/7 but they are easy to get ahold of. I book online then call them if I feel like it. And I like booking online. I don't like the quote nonsense. I want to BOOK the thing.

it drove me crazy having to call every time I wanted to change anything.

What did you change that required calling every time.

When we've booked with a TA for both Royal and Disney, we have to call to...change cabins. Pay in full required a phone call with our first TA, but with costco it's all through their website.

Tangent: If I successfully transfer my cruise to Costco, how much control do I actually lose?

Things I want to be able to do:

Get early PAT
Get as many Palo bookings as possible
Try to snag Rainforest Day pass
Request to dine alone if possible

...that's about it. Oh and I want to buy my own cruise insurance.

All of those things can be done directly. Even the dining request. If you call and say "I booked through a TA and need to..." they'll stop you and say "go through your TA". If you say "this is what I want to do" and then they get into your account, in 100% of my own experiences they don't need to talk to a TA for requests.

As others have said, the day pass is a link online. You can also call and purchase it. EASY. Palo is done on your own, PAT is done on your own.

Buying cruise insurance is easy. Though Costco's insurance is good, you should get a quote from them (they'll send you to their insurance people, it's not done BY them) to compare to the other companies you're thinking of using.

thanks everyone. I am seriously considering it....Sounds crazy cause....here I am. But I hate internet and I like the actual contact with a person on the phone when doing business. Probably the only person who dosen't pay bills online.
Kerri

So, again, choose a company you can call. Costco is one of them.

Also, are all these OBC offers still good if I'm booking for 2016?
Daisyx3

You'd have to look at the specifics of their offerings. I considered using DU once and among the reasons I didn't (utter lack of contacting me back was the ultimate reason) was that they didn't have OBC for the timeframe of my cruise. Costco did. End of story.

 

[alldiz]

OMG!!!! I should have just called direct and booked yesterday. Probably wouldn't have happened fast enough thru email anyway(TA). I just called to see if my 7a cabin was available. It wasn't they said they are 3 left AND price went up $300 from yesterday
So I picked another cabin slightly more obstruction but still ok.
As I'm on phone with him I checked again online to see if price matched and there was no 7a's available!!!
Yikes this is for April 2016. I bet Disney realized this sailing falls on spring break for NY and raised price! Passover and Easter don't coincide and we have Passover week off April and long wknd for Easter.
Anyhoo shoulda booked ystrdy!!! But happy I finally did it and I'm sure price will go up again!
Kerri

 

[cableguy123]

I used small world vacations they are fantastic i have booked a few different things with them. Plus the OBC dose not hurt either it is roughly about 5% off the cruise price not a bad deal if you ask me.

 

[wdwwishes]

I've booked a couple through AAA and once it's paid in full, it's yours. Maybe it's the same for the companies you're looking at. I don't need control until I need to start my on board account etc. anyway.

 

[mybatmobile87]

I used a travel agent the first time but haven't since. By the time the agent got back to me, the category I selected went up more in cost than the OBC I got back. I also have a habit of changing the category/cabin number whenever I see one I like better and don't want to risk that being gone by the time the agent gets back to me. It's possible I just didn't have a great agent but I feel better booking and handling things myself now.