First timer assistance: Costco

[britney0823]

Hi! This will be my first Disney Cruise in 16 years, now with my own kids! I booked and put down the deposit for 11/9 Fantasy on silver day.

I am a Costco member and am wondering about the process of transferring my reservation through them. Does this benefit me in any way aside from the gift card? Does anyone have experience with their travel insurance policy? And also, if you’ve already booked through Disney and transfer your reservation, is it possible for price to change or does it stay the same? I have looked at Disney cruises through Costco in the past and they were more expensive than on Disney’s site.

Any tips would be appreciated!

 

[cvjw]

Disney cruises are the same price if you book they Disney or thru Costco.

You need to call Costco and get the process moving of transferring the cruise to them. You have to fill out a form and submit it to transfer. And there is a time limit to this process. 30 days, I think.

I book all my Disney cruises thru them. You get the Costco card back of around 8.5%. You also get 3% back if you use the Costco citi card and another 2% back if you are an executive member of Costco. The rebates really add up quick.

The price will remain the same when you transfer. You are locked in to the cruise price on the day you booked.

 

[FigmentSpark]

After you've transferred, all payments and special requests (cabin change just adding an allergy notice) will go through them. But you are still in control on check in day. You will check yourself in on the DCL website and you will choose your excursions. Costco will send you the gift cards after you complete the cruise.

 

[ajo]

After you've transferred, all payments and special requests (cabin change just adding an allergy notice) will go through them. But you are still in control on check in day. You will check yourself in on the DCL website and you will choose your excursions. Costco will send you the gift cards after you complete the cruise.

We have family members with special dietary needs and even though we book through Costco, we always notify DCL Special Services directly. We’ve never had to deal with Costco on that issue.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Regarding the Costco travel insurance, I have purchased it for 2 out of 3 cruises. It is a pretty comprehensive policy and they usually have a good price. I would compare the price to other policies before buying because sometimes it is a better deal and sometimes it isn’t. Costco uses Travelguard and I did have to put in a claim when I got sick a few days before a cruise and had to cancel. They were very easy to deal with and I was reimbursed for the full amount of the cruise.

 

[FigmentSpark]

If you're a AAA member, check out their insurance, as well. We like it because of the discount for the member.

 

[squirk]

Question - how do you use Costco on opening day for new itinerary booking? Will they call in and book for you like a TA will? Or is that all on you, and you’ll have to transfer to Costco once you’ve booked?

 

[ajo]

You can book a new reservation with Disney and then transfer to Costco within 30 days.

If you have placeholder with Costco, you have to call Costco on opening day and they then call DCL while you wait on hold (or as of late they have been taking your info and then sending you an email with your booking once it was completed).

 

[lilsonicfan]

Question - how do you use Costco on opening day for new itinerary booking? Will they call in and book for you like a TA will? Or is that all on you, and you’ll have to transfer to Costco once you’ve booked?

Ironically it's actually easier if you don't have a placeholder through Costco because you can book a cruise yourself online (no phone wait times) and then fill in the form to transfer it to Costco. But once they have your placeholder, then you have to book it through Costco. Silver booking day is the worst, gold and platinum slightly better. Costco's new thing is to take all of the calls, then to call Disney and book everything at once, then call you back for your credit card info, which all sounds great (previously you had to wait on hold while Costco phoned DCL - took forever) but there's still a long wait to even get through to Costco. I'm not sure how much better or worse this is than calling Disney on silver booking day with a placeholder though.

 

[squirk]

You can book a new reservation with Disney and then transfer to Costco within 30 days.

If you have placeholder with Costco, you have to call Costco on opening day and they then call DCL while you wait on hold (or as of late they have been taking your info and then sending you an email with your booking once it was completed).

Ironically it's actually easier if you don't have a placeholder through Costco because you can book a cruise yourself online (no phone wait times) and then fill in the form to transfer it to Costco. But once they have your placeholder, then you have to book it through Costco. Silver booking day is the worst, gold and platinum slightly better. Costco's new thing is to take all of the calls, then to call Disney and book everything at once, then call you back for your credit card info, which all sounds great (previously you had to wait on hold while Costco phoned DCL - took forever) but there's still a long wait to even get through to Costco. I'm not sure how much better or worse this is than calling Disney on silver booking day with a placeholder though.

Eeesh. And I traditionally do use placeholders.

So are you supposed to call Costco the instant DCL phone
lines open for booking?

 

[ember1205]

I'm silver and called in to Costco the moment the lines opened for that day. 2:35 minute wait to talk to someone (it told me 2 minutes when I first connected...lol) then about 20 minutes on the phone providing all of my requests for the specific cruise. Hung up.

Got a call back from them about 3 hours later from an agent that was actively working with DCL in the background. Another 45 minutes on the phone to get my specifics nailed down and booked.

GIANT PITA for booking with a placeholder. I'm pushing to get to Gold as fast as I can to not have to deal with that giant headache again for opening day bookings.

If you booked direct with a placeholder, you should be "done" in terms of the pricing but you only have 30 days from the day you ACQUIRED THE PLACEHOLDER to transfer it to a TA. If you're outside of that window, you can't move it to Costco or any other travel agent.

Benefits of booking through Costco:

- You get a Costco Cash Card a few weeks after returning from your cruise that is valued at approximately 8% of the cruise fare for your cruise (not counting taxes and fees).
- If you're an Executive Member, the booking counts toward your 2% cash back at the end of the year.
- If you pay with a Costco Visa card, you get 3% cash back on the credit card.

When I created my placeholders, I listed Costco as the TA because I'm comfortable booking everything based on my own needs, understanding, and knowledge of ships, itineraries, activities, etc.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Eeesh. And I traditionally do use placeholders.

So are you supposed to call Costco the instant DCL phone
lines open for booking?

DCL and Costco both open at the same time for bookings (5am Pacific time if memory serves) so I do typically call right away but it's a bit of a luck of the draw thing with respect to whether your call is picked up right away or whether you're one of those lucky ones (usually me) that gets to be on hold with Costco first then talking with DCL & Costco later.

The benefits to me outweigh the negatives (I mean if I didn't use Costco, I'd be on the phone trying to use my placeholder anyway) but I think there are many who would rather use a traditional TA.

 

[ember1205]

DCL and Costco both open at the same time for bookings (5am Pacific time if memory serves) so I do typically call right away but it's a bit of a luck of the draw thing with respect to whether your call is picked up right away or whether you're one of those lucky ones (usually me) that gets to be on hold with Costco first then talking with DCL & Costco later.

The benefits to me outweigh the negatives (I mean if I didn't use Costco, I'd be on the phone trying to use my placeholder anyway) but I think there are many who would rather use a traditional TA.

Yes, 5AM Pacific (8AM Eastern) for both.

 

[BrandyMcD]

Eeesh. And I traditionally do use placeholders.

So are you supposed to call Costco the instant DCL phone
lines open for booking?

If you look back several months you will find the posts of people trying to use Costco with placeholders on opening day for the summer 2020 cruises. It was awful, but I'd still do it again just for the benefits. But literally, I was calling before opening time and booked after closing that night.

 

[britney0823]

Disney cruises are the same price if you book they Disney or thru Costco.

You need to call Costco and get the process moving of transferring the cruise to them. You have to fill out a form and submit it to transfer. And there is a time limit to this process. 30 days, I think.

I book all my Disney cruises thru them. You get the Costco card back of around 8.5%. You also get 3% back if you use the Costco citi card and another 2% back if you are an executive member of Costco. The rebates really add up quick.

The price will remain the same when you transfer. You are locked in to the cruise price on the day you booked.

Got mine transferred! Thanks for your help!

 

[DL_Forever]

When you book with Costco, can the Costco card be used on future travel/DCL bookings through them?

 

[CTCruiser221]

You cannot use Costco cash cards to book a Disney Cruise, but you can call in and use a Disney gift card to pay for your Disney Cruise through Costco.

 

[FigmentSpark]

To be clear, your Costco cash card is for use in Costco stores. When you pay for your DCL cruise, Costco contacts DCL with your card number. Your payment is facilitated by Costco, but is to DCL. That's why you can use Disney gift cards. Now, if your local Costco store sells Disney gift cards, I guess you could use the Costco cash card to buy those.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Many Costco customer service departments will cash in the full value of your Costco Cash Card. I have mine do this every time. If you're interested, just walk up with your cash card and ask- they most likely will regardless of whether the law in your state requires them to. It's a customer service thing for them.

And no, the price of the cruise is no higher with Costco than via Disney. They get their prices from Disney. I always price check & the price quotes are exactly the same as online. And your rebate is in addition to any other discount (such as OBB) you might have via DCL, so that adds up to real savings.

Imo Costco is easier to work with than an individual TA, because you don't have to wait for a specific person to get back to you. Your issue will be addressed whenever you call in. And, if you decide to cancel, you don't have to feel guilty about taking away someone's commission. Everyone has an individual opinion on this, and I know some really like the personal touch you can only get with an individual agent, but this is my perspective.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just to add, at my Costco, they said I would have to buy something to get cashback, like a bunch of bananas, they said. So... Bananas, $1.68. Cashback, $695. Now that means I have to walk out of the cash and store with that much money on me, so I didn't do it (and I shop there all the time anyway).