Changing cruise, opening day 2021, Costco

[Diznerd]

Hello cruisers, we booked the May 25th Alaska cruise with a placeholder through Costco travel. Our plans have changed and we would like to change this to a spring break cruise for April 2021. Have any of you changed a cruise through Costco travel? Have you done this on opening day? When will the April 2021 cruises be released? I’m assuming that I will need to call Costco travel. Is that right? Thank you all!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello cruisers, we booked the May 25th Alaska cruise with a placeholder through Costco travel. Our plans have changed and we would like to change this to a spring break cruise for April 2021. Have any of you changed a cruise through Costco travel? Have you done this on opening day? When will the April 2021 cruises be released? I’m assuming that I will need to call Costco travel. Is that right? Thank you all!

Yes, Costco is your Travel Agent. They are the ones to make any changes to your reservation.
Typically, the following is when new releases show up (but NOT guaranteed)
DCL releases itineraries/date in three blocks per year on this rough schedule:

• January through mid-May released in October
• Rest of May through mid-September released in February/March
• Rest of September through December released in May/June

 

[Ravenne]

Yep, easy peasy. Just give Costco a call. Their phone lines open exactly the same time as DCL's phone lines do so it works out well. They're well versed in opening day procedures, so they know what's up. They'll take down your phone # to call you back in case you get disconnected, and will stay on hold with DCL, checking in with you periodically. They'll tell me to go about my business doing my morning routine, and will pop back on the line to check in with me.

 

[Surgie2]

Yep, easy peasy. Just give Costco a call. Their phone lines open exactly the same time as DCL's phone lines do so it works out well. They're well versed in opening day procedures, so they know what's up. They'll take down your phone # to call you back in case you get disconnected, and will stay on hold with DCL, checking in with you periodically. They'll tell me to go about my business doing my morning routine, and will pop back on the line to check in with me.

Do you get the same agent to work with at Costco each time you call or is it random? I am considering not using our current TA - who did fine with our RCL cruise - but she does not specialize in DCL. Thinking about buying a placeholder cruise on a cruise next year and transferring it within 30 days but I need to know that the agent will reliably book on opening day and get the cabins I want. So hard to give up that control!

 

[Ravenne]

Do you get the same agent to work with at Costco each time you call or is it random? I am considering not using our current TA - who did fine with our RCL cruise - but she does not specialize in DCL. Thinking about buying a placeholder cruise on a cruise next year and transferring it within 30 days but I need to know that the agent will reliably book on opening day and get the cabins I want. So hard to give up that control!

Costco is a call center, so you'll get a different agent pretty much every time, but they all have been well versed, friendly, patient, and helpful. They don't specialize in DCL but do know quite a bit. If they're not sure, they'll call DCL with you on the line, to ask. I wouldn't say they're a full service TA, but if you already know what you're doing, or need little help, they're a great option for the cash card, and rewards back. It's not like you can just throw the info at Costco, they'll take care of it and email you back. You're pretty much still doing the work yourself, but you just need Costco to contact DCL for you to get some stuff like payment, and initial booking done. Everything else like onboard activities, excursions, check in, I've done it myself as if I booked direct through DCL.

 

[Dug720]

Just make sure that your selected new date will start less than 24 months from when you booked the placeholder. Otherwise it will not be valid.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Do you get the same agent to work with at Costco each time you call or is it random? I am considering not using our current TA - who did fine with our RCL cruise - but she does not specialize in DCL. Thinking about buying a placeholder cruise on a cruise next year and transferring it within 30 days but I need to know that the agent will reliably book on opening day and get the cabins I want. So hard to give up that control!

Aside from Ravenne's good advice, one thing to remember is that converting your placeholder over to a cruise on opening day with Costco can be quite frustrating. They will sometimes have such high call volume that they simply take your number and call you back later when they have DCL on the line. That could take all day. If you didn't have a TA, you'd be the one trying to get DCL on the line to convert the placeholder, so arguably it could be a similar result, but from anecdotal observations over the last couple of releases, people have expressed some frustration over how long it takes with Costco. Getting the cabin you want will kind of depend on when they get DCL on the line.

For me, still well worth it, but for others, maybe not.

 

[Surgie2]

Thanks for all the advice. Yes, we will have our first cruise November 2020 and plan the placeholder cruise in June or July of 2022. Maybe our current TA will be just fine. I transferred our November 2020 cruise to her after I booked and had chosen our cabins. But she did contact DCL to switch our seating to Main and to request a table for just the 6 of us so I know she has some familiarity.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Costco Travel does very well. I have used them repeatedly for Disney cruises & made all sorts of changes with no issue.

 

[MillauFr]

Sooner or later Disney will upgrade their systems so you never even have to call in to a live person. They will realize it is 2019 and you will be able to do the entire change on the website.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Sooner or later Disney will upgrade their systems so you never even have to call in to a live person. They will realize it is 2019 and you will be able to do the entire change on the website.

I wish!

 

[Usharoni]

Costco Travel does very well. I have used them repeatedly for Disney cruises & made all sorts of changes with no issue.

Do you have to call on opening day to book? Or can I just go to Costco Travel's website and book directly? TIA

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do you have to call on opening day to book? Or can I just go to Costco Travel's website and book directly? TIA

I would think you'd need to call, for an opening day reservation. Costco will have to call to make the reservation. If you're talking about moving a placeholder to an actual reservation.

Well, maybe, even for a regular reservation. If you're one of the returning cruisers with an earlier than regular opening day.

If your just doing a regular reservation on the main opening day, you probably can just do it online.

 

[Happy99]

Aside from Ravenne's good advice, one thing to remember is that converting your placeholder over to a cruise on opening day with Costco can be quite frustrating. They will sometimes have such high call volume that they simply take your number and call you back later when they have DCL on the line. That could take all day. If you didn't have a TA, you'd be the one trying to get DCL on the line to convert the placeholder, so arguably it could be a similar result, but from anecdotal observations over the last couple of releases, people have expressed some frustration over how long it takes with Costco. Getting the cabin you want will kind of depend on when they get DCL on the line.

For me, still well worth it, but for others, maybe not.

This - I like my TA who is not with Costco, yes I get less $ but I get to tell her what I want in advance and she deals with it when DCL allows the booking. I used Costco once but had to wait on hold to get through to them and took me two hours. Never again. On a different topic many people got shut out of Egypt ABD with Costco because it took so long to get through to them, while others that used a regular TA were able to get Egypt before it sold out. To each their own though.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Do you have to call on opening day to book? Or can I just go to Costco Travel's website and book directly? TIA

You have to call. They are easy & quick to reach except on opening day. They have longer hours than DCL, & unlike with an individual agent, you can always get someone on the phone when they're open- no waiting for someone to get back to you.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Do you have to call on opening day to book? Or can I just go to Costco Travel's website and book directly? TIA

If you don't have a placeholder to use (not clear from your post) you may well find it faster to book online with DCL directly, then complete the transfer paperwork to get it over to Costco. You won't likely find it online on Costco's website though on opening day - maybe, but definitely not for platinum/gold/silver opening days.

 

[Usharoni]

If you don't have a placeholder to use (not clear from your post) you may well find it faster to book online with DCL directly, then complete the transfer paperwork to get it over to Costco. You won't likely find it online on Costco's website though on opening day - maybe, but definitely not for platinum/gold/silver opening days.

Thanks! I don’t have a placeholder. This will be our first time cruising with Disney. I bought the Costco Membership for the discount and the cash back. However, now I am confused. Will the price be the same through DCL or Costco? And then I just need to transfer it to Costco to get the cash back?

 

[ajo]

Thanks! I don’t have a placeholder. This will be our first time cruising with Disney. I bought the Costco Membership for the discount and the cash back. However, now I am confused. Will the price be the same through DCL or Costco? And then I just need to transfer it to Costco to get the cash back?

Yes. The price is the same. Just make the reservation with Disney and then transfer it to Costco within 30 days. You will get the Costco cash card about a week or two after you complete your cruise.

 

[DVC Doc]

On a different topic many people got shut out of Egypt ABD with Costco because it took so long to get through to them, while others that used a regular TA were able to get Egypt before it sold out. To each their own though.

That can't be true at all. Costco travel agents do NOT handle ABD bookings. When you call Costco to book ABD, you get transferred directly to Disney.

 

[Happy99]

That can't be true at all. Costco travel agents do NOT handle ABD bookings. When you call Costco to book ABD, you get transferred directly to Disney.

However that works, I know many people who got shut out because their hold times to even get through to Costco were long then had to wait for the transfer to ABD and hold times where were long too. I have a coworker who was on hold for three hours. She has taken 8 ABD's with Costco and she was not happy that she got shut out of Egypt. She got on a wait list and was able to book one of the new dates ABD offered but was not happy that she couldn't get her first choice.