Best way to book cruise?

[Gizmo74]

First time cruiser.......how do you book your cruise? Yourself or travel agent? Please tell me pro/cons of each and anything else in need to know. Thinking about booking a room in the middle of boat. Going to start off with a 4 day cruise.

 

[Geomom]

We used a travel agent that gives you OBC (on board credit) which is free money to use on your cruise. The rates are the same no matter how you book your cruise. We used Dreams Unlimited who is a sponsor of these boards--they use email only to stay in touch with you. I basically go onto the Disney cruise line website to discover prices and available rooms, then I email the TA to tell them which cruise I want to book, which room # I want and what other rooms I'd be willing to have if that one is booked up. If you use a TA, all payments must go through them. Any changes to the room--changing your room, changing who is in the room, etc, needs to go through the TA. The TA can also answer any questions you have. YOU do the online checkin, book your port adventures, dinner in Palo, book character greeting tix, etc.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And there is truly no reason to pass up onboard credit.

 

[Gizmo74]

And there is truly no reason to pass up onboard credit.

I agree. I found Costco gives more credit. Not on board credit but store credit, which I would use. If I booked with Costco, can I still take advantage of using Disney transportation to/from boat? We would stay at Disney before and after cruise.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I agree. I found Costco gives more credit. Not on board credit but store credit, which I would use. If I booked with Costco, can I still take advantage of using Disney transportation to/from boat? We would stay at Disney before and after cruise.

Yes. Keep in mind that cruise transport is fee-based, unlike Magical Express.

 

[CamColt]

Another vote for Dreams Unlimited here! They are experts on the product who will help you along the way, offer exceptional service, and of course, free money in the form of an on board credit You can't go wrong!

 

[tink1970]

The pros:

--some sort of financial benefit to you-whether it's a Costco gift card, OBC, or other perk
--a voice of experience to help you decide between a myriad of choices (this varies, honestly)
--possibly an advocate if something goes wrong (I say possibly because TAs don't work 24/7, and some don't advocate when they could because
humans are fallible

the Cons:

--a lot of information you can get on your own, even if you're a first time cruiser (example A these boards)
--TAs don't work 24/7 so might not be available when you need them (not always a bad thing, just a reminder that most TAs aren't up at 3 am
if something occurs to you or if there's a problem)
--loss of control over your booking (this is the biggest one and often you don't notice but if something goes awry then it's obvious)

I've booked on my own AND via a TA for 15 cruises and at this point if the OBC (or in others' cases Costco card) is worth it financially then I use a TA. If it's a quick, inexpensive trip then I usually do my own.

 

[lorimay]

I just book on DCL.com myself.
Then I have access to the reservation whenever I want.

 

[diznymom]

We use Beth F. from Dreams Unlimited. Even though everything is through email, she responds back quickly. She also lets me know when she will be out of the office (Disney vacations, etc). When she is out, she always has a back up person.

 

[Hongyi Zhang]

Hmm.... we just booked the EB Panama Canal cruise for 2018 last week directly from DCLs website. But according to Dreams Unlimited website, it looks like they will give $400 OBC since our booking is $8500. Or am I understanding it wrong.

 

[diznymom]

Hmm.... we just booked the EB Panama Canal cruise for 2018 last week directly from DCLs website. But according to Dreams Unlimited website, it looks like they will give $400 OBC since our booking is $8500. Or am I understanding it wrong.

That is correct; but, only if it is a new booking through Dreams Unlimited. If it is a cruise booked through DCL and transferred to DU, then the OBC is only $200.

 

[Hongyi Zhang]

That is correct; but, only if it is a new booking through Dreams Unlimited. If it is a cruise booked through DCL and transferred to DU, then the OBC is only $200.

Wow awesome info, we just rebook it with Dreams Unlimited and got the $400 OBC. They even let me pick my own room after the initial room they gave me (room 2616 on the Wonder) had pretty bad reviews due to noise issues. So I picked room 2008 which is right next door to the room I picked when I booked on DCL website directly. Just to make sure one thing though, the Final Payment due date and cancellation policy is the same as booking directly with DCL right?

 

[Geomom]

Wow awesome info, we just rebook it with Dreams Unlimited and got the $400 OBC. They even let me pick my own room after the initial room they gave me (room 2616 on the Wonder) had pretty bad reviews due to noise issues. So I picked room 2008 which is right next door to the room I picked when I booked on DCL website directly. Just to make sure one thing though, the Final Payment due date and cancellation policy is the same as booking directly with DCL right?

Correct. Dreams Unlimited 'might' tell you the final payment is due a few days before it actually 'is' due, to make sure they receive the payment in time to get it to Disney.

 

[diznymom]

We always have our cruise paid in full before the deadline. I don't want to leave anything up to chance. I like peace of mind.

 

[Billinaz]

First time cruiser.......how do you book your cruise? Yourself or travel agent? Please tell me pro/cons of each and anything else in need to know. Thinking about booking a room in the middle of boat. Going to start off with a 4 day cruise.

You can either do it yourself or use a travel agent. The price will be the same. In my opinion, the best way is either to book through Costco or transfer a reservation to Costco (you have 30 days to get that done). Some TAs will give you a flat on board credit of a couple hundred dollars, but Costco gives the majority of their commission back to you as 8.5% of the cruise cost as a Costco cash card. My next cruise I get more than $1000 back.

 

[Billinaz]

I agree. I found Costco gives more credit. Not on board credit but store credit, which I would use. If I booked with Costco, can I still take advantage of using Disney transportation to/from boat? We would stay at Disney before and after cruise.

Yes, you can.