bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 15:57:28 GMT
I'm still planning hoping and scrimping to be able to go on a Disney cruise next summer. I have had a travel agent recommended to me, but I want to have a set amount of cash in hand before I do so. I have no desire to waste her time, and the sense of the other shoe has to drop at some point is a hard one to shake.
Anyways, one of the things I'm noticing as I "plan" (really dream and read other people's trip reports) is that by booking with various travel agents one of the perks is on board credit. I can't find advertised anywhere the company we had recommended to us offers this. Would it be crass to ask? These guys are certified disney planners, but so are other people, and it seems silly to not look at other options if I can find one that does offer it.
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Post by malibou on Apr 20, 2017 16:06:47 GMT
I would certainly ask.
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tincin
Drama Llama
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Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Apr 20, 2017 16:06:58 GMT
I don't think it is crass at all. It seldom hurts to ask. Compare prices and see if you are paying for it by the agent raising her price to cover the ship credits.
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Post by beaglemom on Apr 20, 2017 16:12:14 GMT
I have a Disney travel agent that we are using. The nice thing is they don't charge you anything that if discounts come up they can usually get you the updated rates. if you are interested I'd be happy to send you her email address.
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 16:34:55 GMT
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Post by originalvanillabean on Apr 20, 2017 16:40:38 GMT
Absolutely not. The worst they can say is no.
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Post by deekaye on Apr 20, 2017 16:52:27 GMT
I don't think it's crass to ask at all. We use the same travel agent when we book cruises and often times I'll ask her about perks/bennies that I see or read about. It's your money and your travel agent wants you to be happy (and, hopefully, be a repeat customer!).
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scrapngranny
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Post by scrapngranny on Apr 20, 2017 16:56:19 GMT
It is their job to find you the best deal on the cruise you want. On board spending money is part of that.
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Post by mikklynn on Apr 20, 2017 17:44:12 GMT
It's not crass at all. And, you can certainly meet before you have saved all your money. They can help you plan.
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tracylynn
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Post by tracylynn on Apr 20, 2017 17:54:55 GMT
A couple of things to keep in mind when booking cruises through a TA.
First, the cruise line will not talk to you about your reservation. Period. Any changes, upgrades, price drops, etc have to be done through your TA. We don't use a TA for that reason - we like to control our reservation 100%.
Also, some TAs charge you change fees for any change made to a reservation. Make sure you know what fees will be charged before booking with the TA.
Some TAs do offer additional on board credit and other perks, but if they charge fees for every little thing beyond that, I have to wonder if it's really worth it. To us it's not.
Also, I highly recommend you prepay your gratuities if possible (not sure if you can on Disney or not). But if you can, it's one less expense at the end of the cruise. They had up to quite a bit, especially for 2 people.
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Post by littlemama on Apr 20, 2017 18:02:20 GMT
You can call and ask. You don't have to tell them who you are
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 18:05:04 GMT
It's not crass at all. And, you can certainly meet before you have saved all your money. They can help you plan. I know, and it's a real risk with a Disney cruise vs the parks as the price of the cruise goes up the closer you get to it, while the park package price, while it can go up, isn't nearly as volatile. DH and I agreed on how much we want in the bank before we bring someone else into this. We've spent too many years having the bottom fall out on us and having to scramble to make it all work. I'm not comfortable purchasing this big of a want without at least a good chunk of the money in hand. Also, I highly recommend you prepay your gratuities if possible (not sure if you can on Disney or not). But if you can, it's one less expense at the end of the cruise. They had up to quite a bit, especially for 2 people. This is automatic on a Disney cruise, and yes for 4 people even for 3 nights it's not a small number. And that's just the baseline tip, my understanding is I need to be prepared to pad it a bit if we feel like they provided truly excellent service. It's a line item on my vacation budget spreadsheet. |
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Apr 20, 2017 18:31:55 GMT
Not at all crass. As a matter of fact, Disney cruise booking is so easy that the only way you would get me to give up control to a travel agent would be for on-board credits.
My only concern with waiting is that prices do go up over time, so if you are waiting to book a specific date, you might be better off booking earlier. If you are just waiting to book and haven't picked a date, that won't be as much of a concern.
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Post by elaine on Apr 20, 2017 18:56:32 GMT
It's not crass at all. And, you can certainly meet before you have saved all your money. They can help you plan. I know, and it's a real risk with a Disney cruise vs the parks as the price of the cruise goes up the closer you get to it, while the park package price, while it can go up, isn't nearly as volatile. DH and I agreed on how much we want in the bank before we bring someone else into this. We've spent too many years having the bottom fall out on us and having to scramble to make it all work. I'm not comfortable purchasing this big of a want without at least a good chunk of the money in hand. Also, I highly recommend you prepay your gratuities if possible (not sure if you can on Disney or not). But if you can, it's one less expense at the end of the cruise. They had up to quite a bit, especially for 2 people. This is automatic on a Disney cruise, and yes for 4 people even for 3 nights it's not a small number. And that's just the baseline tip, my understanding is I need to be prepared to pad it a bit if we feel like they provided truly excellent service. It's a line item on my vacation budget spreadsheet. Pre-paying the tip is not automatic on Disney cruises. We are leaving on our second one on Monday and we didn't prepay the tip on the first one 5 years ago, nor have I pre-paid the tip for Monday's cruise. And somewhere I have the information so that I can prepay it if I choose to, with the breakdowns of the amounts. Last time they made envelopes available on the last full day - I assume the same will happen again. I haven't used a travel agent and book straight through Disney-the cast members are so friendly and helpful and now the person you book with gives you her/his name and extension so that you can contact that same person with questions and add-ons, etc. |
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 18:58:07 GMT
My only concern with waiting is that prices do go up over time, so if you are waiting to book a specific date, you might be better off booking earlier. I know, this is what has me nervous. But I've checked various sources, as well as the disney site, and I don't think it's going to go up too much. ETA, go up by too much before our self imposed drop date by which we have the money and are ready to book. of course, the closer to the actual sail date the higher the price goes. If it does, it does. see how I said that so nonchalantly? Yeah now only if I could make myself believe it and not be antsy about it. Our drop date is Mid September to have our set amount in the bank. if we have it earlier, then I'll certainly book earlier. The cruise itself is part of a much larger *dream* vacation. and the only reason I'm using a TA is to get the onboard credit. We started thinking about using one when this was a park based vacation, which is a whole nother animal and in that case I'm all over using a TA. |
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 18:59:55 GMT
Pre-paying the tip is not automatic on Disney cruises. I apologize, I mixed up pre-pay with automatically charged. To me it's money out the door so it's automatically a line item for us and an upfront cost (even though the cash has not left our hands/credit card) |
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 19:00:23 GMT
elaine, where are you headed and which ship?
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tracylynn
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Post by tracylynn on Apr 20, 2017 19:20:57 GMT
Also, I highly recommend you prepay your gratuities if possible (not sure if you can on Disney or not). But if you can, it's one less expense at the end of the cruise. They had up to quite a bit, especially for 2 people. This is automatic on a Disney cruise, and yes for 4 people even for 3 nights it's not a small number. And that's just the baseline tip, my understanding is I need to be prepared to pad it a bit if we feel like they provided truly excellent service. It's a line item on my vacation budget spreadsheet. I'm not sure how Disney works, but I will say this. If you pre-pay your tips, and don't tip a penny more onboard, you are completely OK. The cruise lines we cruise with (RCCL and Celebrity) the prepaids are NOT a baseline. They are the recommended tips. Lots of people do that and it's completely OK. That said, we do tip more ... usually. We will tip our room steward usually $10-20 more per person in cash (depending on length of cruise) and same for our dining waiters (not the maitre'd - the people who only check in at the end of the cruise - only our waiter and asst waiter who actually get to know us). We're not big drinkers, but when we do drink we usually just pick one bar to get drinks at so we can get to know that bartender. We'll tip a buck or so per drink each time (in cash) and that is usually enough to for him/her to stay loyal to us throughout the cruise and if that happens we'll tip another $10-20 cash at the end too. Any of the extra really is dependent on excellent service. And I have to say, we've never been disappointed (been on 6 cruises). But I think some of that comes with our attitudes towards the staff and how we treat them. We don't ask for a lot of extras, we don't demand a ton of their time, we're friendly and do take the time to get to know them personally. I've seen cruise staff treated absolutely horribly on board and it always makes me so mad. These people leave their families for months on end and work their butts off with little time off to send money back home. They really deserve a lot of respect. (ok rant over - tipping, or lack thereof, on cruises is a huge pet peeve of mine - there are still a lot of people who just don't tip period). But after all that blathering, I just wanted to make it clear if you're tipping the recommended you shouldn't feel at all bad about not tipping "extra". |
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Post by papersilly on Apr 20, 2017 19:27:26 GMT
i would ask. nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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Grom Pea
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Post by Grom Pea on Apr 20, 2017 19:34:11 GMT
Not crass imho. I'd recommend calling Costco too, I've used them and had great results and also they gave me Costco cash vs onboard credit which was more practical for me, as I rarely buy extras on the cruise but for sure need groceries when I return. Also if you're 100% certain you'll cruise you can book a placeholder, so for example you book this cruise and then if you cannot afford it, you move it out. You might have you do that with Disney itself, but if it's your first cruise you can book with Disney directly and then later move to a travel agent. They all have the same prices but the tas often give you onboard credit. For our first cruise we booked directly and then I found out about the travel agent thing so I was able to transfer, you just need to fax or send them a document. Once we did that we got the benefits of ta and it was so close to the sail date we never needed to call them.
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Post by elaine on Apr 20, 2017 19:35:54 GMT
elaine , where are you headed and which ship? Ours was somewhat last minute, so we are just doing the 4 night Bahamas out of Port Canavaral on the Dream. It is the same itinerary we did 5 years ago. I really want to do a 7 day down in the East Caribbean. But will need to plan that a full year in advance, which is hard to do with my dh who hates committing to vacation plans. We are flying down on Sunday and spending the night at the Radisson at the Port, so we can board the ship as early as possible. It is a good chance to hit the AquaDuck before it gets too crowded. The Radisson has shuttle service from Orlando airport to the hotel and then we booked the Disney Cruise Bus back to the airport. Unlike the Magical Express, the Disney Cruise bus isn't free either to and from the airport or to and from the parks. |
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Apr 20, 2017 20:38:33 GMT
Sounds very similar to what I want to do. We're looking at a 3 day, out of port canaveral to the Bahamas, but staying at the airport hotel. come in the day before, rent a car for a couple of hours and see downtown disney (ok, so I can see DTD). On the way back we'll spend 2 days at Universal where our main focus is WWOHP.
How affordable is the Radisson? If I have to start cutting, and I'm sure I will then the first thing to go will be the airport hotel/time at downtown disney, we'll hit it on the back end as we'll rent a car at port to go to Uni.
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Post by elaine on Apr 20, 2017 21:08:38 GMT
Sounds very similar to what I want to do. We're looking at a 3 day, out of port canaveral to the Bahamas, but staying at the airport hotel. come in the day before, rent a car for a couple of hours and see downtown disney (ok, so I can see DTD). On the way back we'll spend 2 days at Universal where our main focus is WWOHP. How affordable is the Radisson? If I have to start cutting, and I'm sure I will then the first thing to go will be the airport hotel/time at downtown disney, we'll hit it on the back end as we'll rent a car at port to go to Uni. It is less expensive than the airport hotel, but still mid-range. It is only 1.5 miles to the Port facilities, and they have a shuttle to it. There is also an outdoor pool - a big plus for ds2. I wanted a leisurely morning before getting on the ship - my boys do better that way - and I didn't want to worry about a 90 minute drive from the airport. You also sign up for your check-in time for boarding the ship and I booked 11 am, so by the time we go through processing, etc., we can eat lunch on the ship and make use of every minute onboard that we can. Eta: be prepared for a long wait in getting your rental car. The two times we flew to MCO and rented cars at the airport, it took 1-2 hours just to get the car. I think you'll spend more time than planned renting a car to get to Disney Springs and back. I'd save that for after the cruise and give yourself closer to 4 hours to walk and explore it all. Maybe do a dinner and shopping trip there after a day at Universal. |
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Post by cade387 on Apr 20, 2017 21:51:22 GMT
Sounds very similar to what I want to do. We're looking at a 3 day, out of port canaveral to the Bahamas, but staying at the airport hotel. come in the day before, rent a car for a couple of hours and see downtown disney (ok, so I can see DTD). On the way back we'll spend 2 days at Universal where our main focus is WWOHP. How affordable is the Radisson? If I have to start cutting, and I'm sure I will then the first thing to go will be the airport hotel/time at downtown disney, we'll hit it on the back end as we'll rent a car at port to go to Uni. It is less expensive than the airport hotel, but still mid-range. It is only 1.5 miles to the Port facilities, and they have a shuttle to it. There is also an outdoor pool - a big plus for ds2. I wanted a leisurely morning before getting on the ship - my boys do better that way - and I didn't want to worry about a 90 minute drive from the airport. You also sign up for your check-in time for boarding the ship and I booked 11 am, so by the time we go through processing, etc., we can eat lunch on the ship and make use of every minute onboard that we can. Eta: be prepared for a long wait in getting your rental car. The two times we flew to MCO and rented cars at the airport, it took 1-2 hours just to get the car. I think you'll spend more time than planned renting a car to get to Disney Springs and back. I'd save that for after the cruise and give yourself closer to 4 hours to walk and explore it all. Maybe do a dinner and shopping trip there after a day at Universal.
Why the long wait for the car? I'm going there for work in a month and will need a car pretty quick to get to our conference.
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Post by elaine on Apr 20, 2017 23:02:08 GMT
It is less expensive than the airport hotel, but still mid-range. It is only 1.5 miles to the Port facilities, and they have a shuttle to it. There is also an outdoor pool - a big plus for ds2. I wanted a leisurely morning before getting on the ship - my boys do better that way - and I didn't want to worry about a 90 minute drive from the airport. You also sign up for your check-in time for boarding the ship and I booked 11 am, so by the time we go through processing, etc., we can eat lunch on the ship and make use of every minute onboard that we can. Eta: be prepared for a long wait in getting your rental car. The two times we flew to MCO and rented cars at the airport, it took 1-2 hours just to get the car. I think you'll spend more time than planned renting a car to get to Disney Springs and back. I'd save that for after the cruise and give yourself closer to 4 hours to walk and explore it all. Maybe do a dinner and shopping trip there after a day at Universal.
Why the long wait for the car? I'm going there for work in a month and will need a car pretty quick to get to our conference.
Because it is a large tourist destination and the car counters are packed with families headed to WDW and Universal Studios, not to mention that it is also a huge conference/convention destination, also full of people renting cars. Some WDW guidebooks actually rate the different car rental companies on how long it takes to get your car at MCO. |
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Post by elaine on Apr 20, 2017 23:53:10 GMT
It is less expensive than the airport hotel, but still mid-range. It is only 1.5 miles to the Port facilities, and they have a shuttle to it. There is also an outdoor pool - a big plus for ds2. I wanted a leisurely morning before getting on the ship - my boys do better that way - and I didn't want to worry about a 90 minute drive from the airport. You also sign up for your check-in time for boarding the ship and I booked 11 am, so by the time we go through processing, etc., we can eat lunch on the ship and make use of every minute onboard that we can. Eta: be prepared for a long wait in getting your rental car. The two times we flew to MCO and rented cars at the airport, it took 1-2 hours just to get the car. I think you'll spend more time than planned renting a car to get to Disney Springs and back. I'd save that for after the cruise and give yourself closer to 4 hours to walk and explore it all. Maybe do a dinner and shopping trip there after a day at Universal.
Why the long wait for the car? I'm going there for work in a month and will need a car pretty quick to get to our conference.
This is from the Orlando Airport Website: " Orlando is the largest rental car market in the world, with most of the major car rental companies located on-airport, without the need for a shuttle bus to pick up your rental car. The rental car companies are located on the A-Side and B-Side of the Terminal on the Ground Transportation Level (Level 1). Orlando International Airport offers airline check-in services on level “R1” of the parking garages where rental cars are returned. The “A” Garage location is located on the west end and the “B” Garage location is on the east end (i.e. the ends nearest the entrance ramps)." The problem is that the companies all just have counter space crammed next to each other (kind of like airline check-in) - they aren't spacious off-site facilities. There isn't room for more than a few agents per company. |
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Post by merry on Apr 21, 2017 3:41:44 GMT
Make sure you read the Disboards. If you are a Costco member, there is no cheaper way to get a Disney cruise (averages about 7% off price.) Make sure you read on the Disboards about rebooking onboard and using Costco if you used them the first time. You will find a wealth of info on those pages.
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Post by lodgelady on Apr 21, 2017 4:18:20 GMT
Chiming in with another way to save money on your Disney cruise (I've been on 2 Wonder, 2 Magic and 1 Dream).... purchase Disney gift cards at Target using a Target Red card (if you have one) and you'll save 5%. I don't currently have a trip planned but hope to have one in the next year so I buy a gift card whenever I go to TRget and stash it away.
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Post by pajamamama on Apr 21, 2017 4:44:17 GMT
If you are renting a car in Orlando, for heavens sake, use National, just make all the reservations online and walk into the garage and drive off in your car-- no waiting. I have done this twice now, all you do is sign the paper (at the window as you sit in the car) on the way out of the garage!
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AllieC
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Post by AllieC on Apr 21, 2017 5:02:28 GMT
Just curious, why do you need to use a travel agent to do this? Is there some advantage to booking this way? I know travel agents will say that they make sure everything is done correctly but personal experience with family and friends has shown this isn't always the case. I haven't used one for many years, always just book direct myself or with a reputable online agency and have never had any issues.
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