Why Use A Travel Agent To Book A Disney Cruise
Why Use A Travel Agent To Book A Disney Cruise
Your vacation should be everything you want it to be – relaxing, adventurous, a chance to unplug. But the one thing it shouldn’t be is stressful. So many questions. Endless information. The possibilities are endless. So, where do you begin?
My number one tip for first time Disney Cruisers (outside of joining our Community for free) is to work with a Disney Travel Agent.
Now you might be thinking that you have planned many vacations for your family, your friends, and maybe even your job in the past so why bother having an agent this time around when you’re more than capable? Then we’re two peas in a pod! I thought the same thing for years. Sure, you could book directly through Disney all on your own or through a third-party, but what I’ve learned in all my years of cruising with Disney (started in 1999) is that you’re leaving a lot of value on the table.
If you’re wondering why this is my number one tip for Disney Cruisers, you’re in the right place!
Why Use A Disney Travel Agent? The perks!
While all the information in this blog is amazing (I’m obviously biased), let’s get to the big reasons that more and more people every year choose to book their Disney Cruise through a Travel Agent instead of through a third-party or directly.
First, it’s free! Disney pays your Travel Agent. So for $0 additional, you can have an expert on-hand for any and all questions, to help you through the planning process, and offer customized recommendations. Talk about value!
Second, not all agents, but some will offer incentives like onboard credit. If you’re looking for ways to save on a Disney Cruise, onboard credit is one way to do that. One of the best ways to save money on your Disney Cruise is to book another one while you’re onboard and then transfer the reservation within 30 days to your Travel Agent.
Pro tip: you cannot have paid in full to transfer to a TA (Travel Agent). This way, you’ll get 10% off your placeholder plus the potential onboard credit.
Insider tip: while onboard credit is wonderful, this typically comes from the agent’s own pocket giving you a portion of their hard-earned commission. It’s a great surprise when it’s offered, but don’t always expect it.
Reminder: your agent costs you $0 so you’re already getting expert services that save you time for free. Anything additional should be considered a bonus, not mandatory.
Next, some agents can offer special perks like group booking discounts, complimentary meals or packages, credits, access to unpublished rates or specialty excursions, and some can even negotiate lower deposits or flexible terms on pricing.
One thing we learned is that Disney’s insurance, while good, is not always the best option for your party. Depending on a variety of factors, your agent can help determine which travel insurance will be suit your family’s needs vs the standard option. What if you need to cancel for any reason? What if any emergency happens? Your agency or individual agent does all the heavy lifting in researching to ensure you feel nothing but ease throughout the planning process.
Finally, you cannot put a price tag on having a Disney Cruise Line expert that you can call, text, email, or even Facebook message any day for any reason.
Over the years, we have become great friends with our agent. Our Recommended Travel Agents have even told us that they miss their guests (you!) after they sail and can’t wait to plan their next vacation because of the bonds created during the planning process. We become like family. You have a dedicated resource that knows you, your budget, your family, and your priorities and can help you plan the best Disney Cruise vacation ever.
Why Use A Disney Travel Agent? This is your first Disney Cruise.
If you’re planning your very first Disney Cruise (which by the way, I am so excited for you!) then having a Travel Agent would definitely be something I recommend.
Why should you get a Travel Agent for your first Disney Cruise? As with anything new in life, I’m sure you’re filled with excitement and probably feeling the pressure to plan the best vacation possible for your party. You decided to cruise with Disney, but with so many ships, ports of call, lengths of itineraries, themes, etc.
I can only imagine you’re thinking, “Where do I even begin?”. This is where a Travel Agent comes in to save the day, similar to The Incredibles. Yes, you might have gone to Walt Disney World or Disneyland countless times or perhaps even cruised with other cruise lines, but having a Disney Cruise specific resource in your pocket to help be a partner in your planning is priceless. They’ll be able to offer recommendations based specifically on your goals, party, and budget.
Working with a Certified Disney Vacation Planner takes a ton of pressure off of you in having a knowledgeable, experienced person to guide you in planning a vacation filled with memories. This is your vacation too, so working with a Travel Agent to remove some of the pressure to know and plan everything will allow you to enjoy the process.
Personally, I am a super planner. I love to have everything planned out, but it’s hard to do so when it’s your first time onboard. Sure, you can read up online and ask around, but there’s tremendous value in having an expert in all things Disney Cruise Line ready to help guide you and answer all your questions. And speaking of questions…
Why Use a Disney Travel Agent? You ask a lot of questions.
Which Disney ship is the best? What’s the best time of year to sail? What excursion should I do on Castaway Cay? Which ship has Frozen characters? What hotel do I stay at before? Can I rent a car? Where do we park it? When can I check in? Is 3 years old too young to bring onboard? Will my teenager have enough to do? Is there anything for adults only?
The questions you can ask when planning a Disney Cruise are endless and can make the process overwhelming to say the least. That is exactly where a Disney Travel Agent can be a lifesaver.
Some agencies who specialize in general travel (or even some big box stores that we will talk about later) are not going to be experts in Disney Cruise Line.
There is a tremendous amount of value that comes from working with someone who has sailed on the ships, knows cast members, and has a resume lined with making family’s dreams come true onboard.
If you ask a lot of questions because you want every detail of your vacation to be as perfect as possible, then choosing to work with an Authorized Disney Travel Agent will give you constant access to someone who knows everything about your vacation options and what you want from your vacation. This allows them to answer all your questions in a way that is personalized to you instead of getting generic responses.
Why Use a Disney Travel Agent if I enjoy planning my own vacations?
That’s wonderful! The best Disney Cruise Line Travel Agents love working with those who want a turnkey, hands-off planning experience just as much as someone who comes to the conversation completely prepared.
You might know exactly what you want, but a DCL Travel Agent still has tremendous value they can offer. Top Disney Travel Agents can act as partners in your planning process. They can provide you with instructions, timelines, deadlines, itineraries, and recommendations based on their personal and professional experiences.
As much as you want to do everything, you might not want to wake up at midnight when your booking window opens or wait on hold for hours to make one update to your reservation. Your Disney Travel Agent can take care of any details you want to delegate while helping make sure no detail is overlooked.
As a super planner myself, I totally understand the anxiety that can come with “giving up control”. It took us years to consider working with an agent and then even more to convert, but we won’t go back. A great Disney Cruise Line Travel Agent is worth their weight in gold! Yes, they can save you time and money in instances; however, my favorite part about using a Disney Travel Agent is that, as the person planning the vacation, I don’t have to do absolutely everything. They take some of the stress away, and that is priceless.
Why Use a Disney Travel Agent? They do the work for you.
Let’s be honest – the internet is both wonderful and exhausting. Once you start down the rabbit hole of research, you might as well be in Wonderland. Information can be outdated and flat out incorrect which is where a Travel Agent can save the day.
Especially with international travel, insurance, testing requirements, and protocol changes, there’s so much to keep track of before your Disney Cruise Line vacation. You might be extremely organized, but keeping track of all the moving elements could be a full-time job all on its own.
A DCL Travel Agent is a great person to have in your corner to double check everything before you leave your house. Because let me tell you – we have seen people in our Community at the Port who forgot something and cannot board. Talk about heart-breaking!
As we mentioned above, you can absolutely take the lead when planning your family’s perfect Disney Cruise. If that’s what you prefer then think of a Disney Cruise Travel Agent like your sidekick. A Travel Agent can be Woody to you Buzz Lightyear, Piglet to your Winnie the Pooh, Roy to your Walt!
If you’re someone who truly wants everything to be planned for you, then a Disney Cruise Line Travel Agent is going to be the best gift you can give yourself. They will do all the research on itineraries, the ship’s features, and recommend anything from hotels to flights to onboard additions like Adult Dining and Character Meet and Greets. They will read the fine print for you, keep you organized, and make the planning process seamless.
A Disney Cruise Travel Agent will take care of just about everything for you almost like your very own Fairy Godmother.
Why Use a Disney Travel Agent? You want a personalized vacation experience on your Disney Cruise
My favorite part of a Disney Cruise, and cruising in general, is that your vacation is exactly what you make it. My perfect Disney Cruise and yours might be completely different experiences even though we’re on the same ship visiting the same places at the same time.
While I enjoy completely disconnecting and relaxing onboard, you might want to take advantage of the activities and excursions. I love the Adult Only Restaurants, but you might love the magic found in the Main Dining Rooms more.
What you’re reading online might be perfect for someone else, but this is where booking through a Disney Travel Agent vs online provides immense value.
Disney Cruise Travel Agents can make personalized recommendations for you and your family. Adventure? Relaxation? Little ones? Someone with a disability? Adult only? Just here for a good time? They’ll provide thoughtful and customized recommendations to maximize your time cruising with Disney.
Sure, you could call Disney Cruise Line on your own and ask questions or perhaps even use Costco, BJ’s, Expedia, or the like; but you will get a different staff member each time who only knows as much as your reservation number tells them. They don’t know you, your family, your party, your priorities, etc.
Just a side note – we get asked all the time about booking through Costco, BJ’s, etc. While those are amazing stores that we happen to have memberships to, their specialty is bulk products. We have even used Costco to book our Disney Cruises in the past.
With the financial incentives, I totally understand wanting to book a Disney Cruise through Costco. The issue is that everything has to go through Costco or BJ’s, etc. So if you have a question, need to make a change, or if something goes wrong, you call their Travel Center who then still has to call Disney.
Plus, they aren’t experts on Disney Cruises. I like having the most recent information which our Travel Agent always provides because our Agent has inside connections, industry knowledge, and has been on all the Disney Cruise ships.
Booking through Costco and other bulk retailers or travel sites has value, absolutely; but personally for us, the one-on-one, dedicated attention and recommendations plus the time saved was enough to make us switch.
Last thing here is that Disney Travel Agents get to know you and your family. They’re all about relationships! They’ll remember that last time that your son had the time of his life parasailing or that your daughter still talks about her trip to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique over a year later.
You expect Disney quality service when you’re onboard creating connections, so why wouldn’t you want that magic throughout your planning process as well?
Let’s be frank here – it’s in your Travel Agent’s best interest to help you plan the best vacation ever. They’re invested in your vacation’s success and want you to come back for countless future vacations. Your DCL Travel Agent will know what you can’t miss and what you can save for your next time onboard. Working with a Disney Cruise Travel Agent allows you to plan the vacation of our dreams specifically for your family. No cookie-cutter vacations here!
Why Use a Disney Travel Agent? They’re the experts. It’s literally their job!
Authorized Disney Vacation Planners have been recognized by Disney as reliable resources for anyone planning a Disney Cruise or any Disney Vacation. They know which Disney properties offer what, which characters are onboard which ships, how the technology works, best food for everyone in the family, where the water parks are, what to pack, where to leave your rental car, the list goes on.
Plus, they have the inside scoop being part a of Disney to know about what is happening, when promotions can be applied to your vacation, when to book the lowest rates, get sneak peeks, and get you the answers to your questions from the source – the Mouse!
Don’t leave questions that could make your make or break your vacation – like passport requirements, travel documents, theme nights, and whether or not to get dessert (Insider tip: the answer to that last one is always yes).
They have sailed on the ships, they have gone through the process countless times, and they are here to be your best friend you never knew you needed answering the questions you didn’t know you had until you decided to go on a Disney Cruise.
As you can see, working with a Disney Cruise Line Travel Agent has a great deal of value which is why so many cruisers take advantage of using one each day. If you’re ready to book your next Disney Cruise Line vacation and are interested in using a Travel Agent, we have some of the top Recommended Disney Cruise Travel Agents on our site with some information on them, where they’re from, and what makes them the best possible agent for you.
If you would like one of our Recommended Travel Agents to reach out to you, fill out this form.
Regardless of how you book your Disney Cruise Line vacation, we know that you will have the most magical time! If you’re still wondering if a Disney Cruise is for you, join our online Community for free on Facebook!
