** OPENING DAY PRICING MID 2019: Magic, Wonder, Dream, Fantasy **

[JennStar]

Yes - as long as you do it within 30 days. After that DCL will not allow transfers.

Sorry- I’m new to early-booking and Costco perks- is there a thread you might be able to post me towards- or do you know if this is only for Alaska cruises? We booked a Fjords cruise and wonder if the there’s a perk here we aren’t aware of yet . . . ;-)

 

[AquaDame]

Sorry- I’m new to early-booking and Costco perks- is there a thread you might be able to post me towards- or do you know if this is only for Alaska cruises? We booked a Fjords cruise and wonder if the there’s a perk here we aren’t aware of yet . . . ;-)

Oh no apologies needed! Costco works the same as the other TAs as far as the 30 day limit - that is from DCL's side not the TAs. If you go to Costco's Travel site you can choose cruises and see what they currently have to get an idea of how much $ they will give back as a Costco card. They won't have these latest releases until at least Thursday but it's a start! It's definitely not just for Alaska but I am not 100% certain they will have every cruise or if they can sell out of a block of rooms.


Edit: added up to here!

 

[closetmickey]

So sad that rates are already climbing. Thanks for the info. & warning...

Have you done separate rooms for your kids before? How did it work out? I can imagine pluses & minuses both ways. Ideally I prefer us being together, but the price is so high that it'd be nice to bring it down a bit.

We are also a family of 5 and have booked an inside for our 3 girls across from a veranda since the kids were 11, 13, 14. It really is a great option- and the veranda will always have at least one addl bed if there is ever a night that one of yours wants/needs to sleep with you. So much time is spent out of the cabin that you aren’t really missing anything by being apart in the cabin....except for maybe some arguing (in our case!) And it’s great to have the extra bathroom!

 

[Dugette]

Are we totally certain that we'd get the full Costco Cash amount by booking through DCL and transferring (within 30 days) to Costco instead of booking directly through Costco? I know that's what everyone has been saying, but the verbiage on Costco's website worries me:

To receive your Costco Cash Card, you must book directly through Costco Travel. Bookings made through Disney Cruise Line or the Disney onboard cruise consultant are not eligible for this Costco Travel benefit. Costco Cash Card offer is valid for dates specified and is only valid for bookings made through Costco Travel.

Still debating over which number to call tomorrow morning...

 

[tribble]

And... just got a reply. Apparently all the secret verandah rooms are gone for ALL the Alaska sailings.

That may change depending on what the wife says. With the cad/usd exchange rate we may be cancelling and freeing up one, or we may go this summer instead (better itinerary in 2018 vs 2019 and lots of rooms just freed up). That’s just over 2 hours of my life i wont get back

 

[DisneyMusicMan]

Sorry- I’m new to early-booking and Costco perks- is there a thread you might be able to post me towards- or do you know if this is only for Alaska cruises? We booked a Fjords cruise and wonder if the there’s a perk here we aren’t aware of yet . . . ;-)

We do all of our bookings through Costco. For all four of our DCL cruises to date, I used Costco for the initial booking (7-night Fantasy, 4-night Dream, 7-night Wonder, and 2-night Wonder - mix of Caribbean and Mexico). In most cases, they didn’t have the same room inventory on their website, so I called Costco, and they in turn called Disney, and secured the desired room for me. They’re not like a traditional travel agent, in that I have to do most of the work. But, I’m an alpha planner, so that works out for me.

The Costco Cash Card is around the 8-ish% mark. I haven’t done a firm analysis, but it’s around there. And it shows up about a week after you return. On my upcoming Western Caribbean, the rate is ~$8,600, and my cash card is $690 (8%).

I made my latest booking (upcoming Western Caribbean) on board last year, and I transferred it to Costco. It took about 2 phone calls and 2 emails. So, I’ll get the on-board credit as well as the cash card upon return. And, if you use your Disney card, you’ll get their rewards as well (1 or 2%, depending on card type). And, finally, if you are an executive member at Costco, you should get the 2% back as well.

Aquadame is right, jump on their website and see what kinds of Cash Card amounts they’re giving for a similar room type and cost. Or, just call up Costco Travel. They should be able to tell you over the phone (assuming you’re a Costco member).

DMM

 

[DisneyMusicMan]

Are we totally certain that we'd get the full Costco Cash amount by booking through DCL and transferring (within 30 days) to Costco instead of booking directly through Costco? I know that's what everyone has been saying, but the verbiage on Costco's website worries me:

To receive your Costco Cash Card, you must book directly through Costco Travel. Bookings made through Disney Cruise Line or the Disney onboard cruise consultant are not eligible for this Costco Travel benefit. Costco Cash Card offer is valid for dates specified and is only valid for bookings made through Costco Travel.

Still debating over which number to call tomorrow morning...

Yup, I’m getting it. I made my booking onboard last year. When I finished the transfer process, and got the Costco confirmation email, it clearly states the cash card amount that I will get.

DMM

 

[AquaDame]

Are we totally certain that we'd get the full Costco Cash amount by booking through DCL and transferring (within 30 days) to Costco instead of booking directly through Costco? I know that's what everyone has been saying, but the verbiage on Costco's website worries me:

To receive your Costco Cash Card, you must book directly through Costco Travel. Bookings made through Disney Cruise Line or the Disney onboard cruise consultant are not eligible for this Costco Travel benefit. Costco Cash Card offer is valid for dates specified and is only valid for bookings made through Costco Travel.

Still debating over which number to call tomorrow morning...

I am not certain at all - I have also never booked through Costco (we just don't go enough to want that much tied up on a cash card with them) and am just going by what people who use them say. I'm sorry I don't know more!

 

[su_A_ve]

Are we totally certain that we'd get the full Costco Cash amount by booking through DCL and transferring (within 30 days) to Costco instead of booking directly through Costco? I know that's what everyone has been saying, but the verbiage on Costco's website worries me:

To receive your Costco Cash Card, you must book directly through Costco Travel. Bookings made through Disney Cruise Line or the Disney onboard cruise consultant are not eligible for this Costco Travel benefit. Costco Cash Card offer is valid for dates specified and is only valid for bookings made through Costco Travel.

Still debating over which number to call tomorrow morning...

I'd call DCL. You can transfer your reservation to Costco (or any other TA) within 30 days of booking. DCL will also let you put a 3 day courtesy hold so you don't have to put any money down right away. I believe Costco requires the deposit right away.

Once you transfer the reservation, the TA will have control over the financial aspects of it and making changes, but you'll be able to book on board activities and make your online check in.

Most TAs will give you what's called on board credit. This varies among TAs, and most will give you less OBC when you transfer the reservation from DCL instead of booking it directly with them.

Costco does not give you on board credit, but they give you a Costco Cash Card after you complete your trip. And the good thing is that the amount of the card does not change if you book directly with them or book with DCL and transfer it later. Also, if you are an Executive Member, you'll get 2% back in rewards.

 

[Claireywalsh]

That's what I thought too... to me best deal is Aug 19th, but not a big difference at all. I had a feeling that adding Icy Strait to Aug 26th would raise the price for the very last week in August.

That’s what I was afraid of as the 26th is best for us - not long now and we can find out!! Had the most disturbed nights sleep with different category numbers floating round in my head it really should be called opening week sickness!

 

[Claireywalsh]

BOOKING DAY IS HERE!! Hoping sleep returns tonight wish me luck

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[lelalittlelegs]

Booking day for me here in London. Only 4 hours and 22 minutes to gooooooooo!!!!!

 

[JulieODC]

I am still waiting to hear back from my DU TA too. If you log into the DCL website and click my cruises you should be able to see the cruises. I can see our cruise requests are booked. I am just waiting to hear the price, I glad to hear I am not the only one waiting, hopefully we will hear soon.

Have any Gold CC members using DU, and maybe more specifically Tracy Heinrichs, received their requested quotes yet? I submitted a request for quotes over the weekend, noted my gold status, and have been anxiously watching all day for an email from Tracy with the quotes. Nothing yet and I'm really anxious to hear what the price is. I received 2 auto-generated emails saying thanks for submitting the request and we'll be back in touch.

Have you heard anything yet? I’m using Tracy as well, and my booking day is today - if a hold gets placed, can you see it through your DCL account? Or just an actual booking? With prices High and climbing, I’d hate to miss booking today....

 

[wen-tom]

as soon as a hold is placed on a room you will see it on your account

 

[gilsan]

Have you heard anything yet? I’m using Tracy as well, and my booking day is today - if a hold gets placed, can you see it through your DCL account? Or just an actual booking? With prices High and climbing, I’d hate to miss booking today....

I got my pricing info at 8:30 last night our time. I could see the booking/hold around noon, it was the first time I checked DCL's website, so it may have been there longer, but I could not see the prices until I got the DU email. I use another DU TA, not Tracy.

 

[olafLover]

.

 

[babydiver]

Sept 1st 2019 7-Night Northern Europe Cruise from Dover [Dover, Copenhagen, Oslo, Kristiansand, Bergen, Dover]
P 11B 2A $3,688. 80 no ins/no tran/OBB

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Have you heard anything yet? I’m using Tracy as well, and my booking day is today - if a hold gets placed, can you see it through your DCL account? Or just an actual booking? With prices High and climbing, I’d hate to miss booking today....

I emailed Tracey last night around 9:00 since I hadn't heard anything yet. I got a response, but unfortunately it wasn't the response I was expecting. When I filled out the quote form on the DU page, it asks how many past sailings. The choices for responses are 0, 1-5, 6-10, and 11+. I have 5 cruises completed so I'm a gold member. When I saw this question and the response choices offered, it made me uneasy because I was afraid answering "1-5" would get me shuffled into the silver CC members, and I should have trusted my gut. That's exactly what happened. I noted in the requests boxes that I was gold, but because I have 5 completed sailings and answered the DU question honestly, I was lumped in with the silver members and Tracey didn't get a quote for me yesterday. I should have picked the "6-10" response because even though it wouldn't have been accurate, it would have gotten me a quote when I was supposed to. Tracey's email implied I made a mistake filling out the form and that's why I didn't get a quote yesterday. I responded last night and pointed out the issue is with how their drop down responses are set up. I am less than thrilled with this. With how high the prices are and how quickly some of these seem to be rising, this issue could cost me some money.

I wasn't seeing anything show up on my Disney Cruise account which is why I was getting nervous and asked if anyone had heard anything. But I've had issues with the DCL website not showing all my cruise reservations before so it wasn't completely unusual for nothing to show up.

Anyway.... we'll see what the quote is today. There's a chance I may not go through with the booking.

 

[Dug720]

I really shouldn't know that, now I going to keep refreshing my account...

At least it will keep me occupied while I’m stuck here at school when we should not be in due to coming weather.