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Post by goofydad13 on Aug 31, 2024 11:59:37 GMT -5
DW who said never again after our first cruise MANY years ago just mentioned she might be ok with a short DCL cruise in mid Jan 😳. I have found a four night and a five night that might work, but then started thinking about booking myself vs a TA. For those of you that have used one (or may be married to one) what are your thoughts on it? Disadvantages of booking this late? Also, thoughts on the Fantasy (pics make it look a bit dated).
Thanks!
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Post by bakerworld on Aug 31, 2024 19:07:27 GMT -5
Personally, it's nice handing off the details to a TA. Our TA answers all our questions, explaining stuff I can't seem to completely understand on my own. We had to cancel a cruise in March of '22 about two weeks from departure and magically was able to rebook for the following year without us at a loss.
We've sailed on all the ships except Treasure. The crew of the Fantasy is so nice. We're returning in November and hoping to see familiar faces. I will say the Fantasy is probably the least smooth sailing of all the ships - the Wish being the most smooth. Nothing terrible, obviously as we're returning - just noticeable. We've always booked aft cabins for the large verandas but this time we're mid-ship to be closer to the adult areas.
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Post by Hi from RI on Aug 31, 2024 20:43:34 GMT -5
Do you mean an outside TA? We have been on 2, and I always call and do it through DCL. They are very helpful and answer all questions.
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Post by bakerworld on Sept 1, 2024 6:23:28 GMT -5
Do you mean an outside TA? We have been on 2, and I always call and do it through DCL. They are very helpful and answer all questions. We use Linda with Sunny Days Travel and do not call DCL direct. I'm a bit cloudy on Sunny Days association with Disney.  |
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Post by amdev on Sept 1, 2024 6:56:32 GMT -5
I also like using a TA for our cruises just in the off chance anything happens. We've used Kerry with Dreams Unlimited Travel and she's been great. The Fantasy is our favorite ship, it has never seemed dated to us. We just sailed on the Magic and love that ship too and it also did not seem outdated. They do an excellent job of keeping everything looking new. The cast members on both ships were outstanding. The only disadvantage of booking this close to January is you may have more limited room choices and the price will probably be higher. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!
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Post by brp on Sept 1, 2024 8:34:04 GMT -5
I can't speak to DCL since that's something we're unlikely to ever want to do, so I don't know them. But, for other cruises (we're looking at European river cruises), it seems that the advantage of using a travel agent is that they can often get deals better than we can find. We've not done one yet, but we chatted with someone whose videos we saw on Youtube and asked her why we should work with her versus doing it ourselves, and she made a good case for that.
Not sure if the same is true for DCL, though.
Cheers.
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Post by nickys on Sept 1, 2024 10:35:21 GMT -5
A TA may also offer an on-board credit or other benefits. Sometimes a TA might organise a private class, such as mixology, which they can then offer their clients.
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Post by njgoofy on Sept 1, 2024 12:56:59 GMT -5
We are by no means cruise experts; next August will be Disney Cruise #3 for our crew. First cruise 12 of us, second cruise 13, next August 14 of us in 4 cabins. We have used Lauren from Mouse Tales Travel for each cruise and we are very happy with the expertise she provides! In general, I like to have first-hand control of our travel plans; flights, hotels etc. But for the cruise itself, we go to Lauren.
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Post by Brian5581 on Sept 1, 2024 15:48:11 GMT -5
I’ve used Robin for all of my Disney cruises. Definitely doesn’t hurt!
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Post by baymaxfan on Sept 1, 2024 17:55:45 GMT -5
Costco Travel and get cash back
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Post by annamaria on Sept 2, 2024 4:09:57 GMT -5
Mostly DCL on my own - just used to booking this way from my first cruise. I have used Robin twice I believe. She is awesome and did give extra on-board credit.
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Post by lovindisney on Sept 10, 2024 9:05:11 GMT -5
We use a TA. Nice to get the OBC.
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Post by cornbread on Sept 11, 2024 12:49:37 GMT -5
We're doing our first Disney Cruise later this year. We looked at booking directly or through at TA, and the prices seemed to be the exactly the same. So we went with a TA to get a the shipboard credits. Not sure if that's always the case, or just happened to be true this time. But wed' be interested to know for future cruises (assuming this one goes well and we get hooked).
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Post by tomandrobin on Sept 11, 2024 16:06:42 GMT -5
We're doing our first Disney Cruise later this year. We looked at booking directly or through at TA, and the prices seemed to be the exactly the same. So we went with a TA to get a the shipboard credits. Not sure if that's always the case, or just happened to be true this time. But wed' be interested to know for future cruises (assuming this one goes well and we get hooked). The answer is it depends....If you book with a TA that specializes in Disney, as this cruise, they almost always will give you an onboard credit.
My wife owns Sunny Days Travel (Robin) and I know that she and her agents give OBC when booking a cruise. In fact, all of the Travel Agencies mentioned in all the posts above also will give you an OBC when using them. I always recommend new cruisers to use a Disney Travel agency when booking their first Disney cruise. There is so much that their expertise of the ships, destinations, cabin selection..... tips and hints for the cruise planning, that is worth the effort.
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Post by amdev on Sept 12, 2024 6:09:16 GMT -5
We're doing our first Disney Cruise later this year. We looked at booking directly or through at TA, and the prices seemed to be the exactly the same. So we went with a TA to get a the shipboard credits. Not sure if that's always the case, or just happened to be true this time. But wed' be interested to know for future cruises (assuming this one goes well and we get hooked). oh you'll be hooked! Make sure to book a placeholder cruise before you get off the ship which will give you 10% off a future cruise. We made the mistake of not booking the place holder after our first cruise. |
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