A long, long time ago, using a travel agent to book any vacation was a necessity. They had the connections, they had all the information, and they could get you all the discounts. They even had fun brochures to look through in their office! Nowadays, thanks to the internet, booking a vacation can pretty much be done in the comfort of your own home. But what if I told you there are a few incentives to using a travel agent when you want to book a Disney cruise?
There’s no additional cost!
Very few things in life are free. However, using a travel agency to book your Disney cruise is one of those things! There is no added cost to use a travel agent to book your cruise, so you’re getting the expertise and knowledge for free! Disney pays a commission to travel agents for booking Disney cruises, so they’re earning a living while providing you with helpful tips and information to make your cruise vacation magical (again, at no additional cost!).
They may give you free money!
Well not cash in hand, but when you book a Disney cruise, some travel agencies will give you free on-board credit! You can use this on-board credit to pay for anything on your cruise, from drinks at the bar, to specialty dining, shore excursions, etc. The last three cruises I’ve been on, I’ve booked with a travel agency and each time I was given a $50 on-board credit! On a future cruise, albeit a longer cruise, they offered a $150 credit! Amounts will vary depending on the length of the cruise booked, but hey, it’s free money!
They may give you free stuff!
This perk is going to be very travel agency specific. I’ve used two different travel agencies. One agency, as a thank you gift for booking with them, sent me a free gift bag with a bunch of handy cruise items. Here’s the link to that article if you’re interested. Another travel agency offered no such perk. After using this agency several times, and receiving the same gift bag several times, I think in the future I’ll decline the free gift bag offer. It’s a lovely gesture, and I appreciate the thought, but I still have leftovers from previous cruises. If it’s your first cruise, however, definitely take free stuff from the travel agency if it’s offered. It’s free!
You might get more free stuff?
On my last Disney cruise, I booked through Dreams Unlimited Travel. Dreams Unlimited has a physical office located in Port Canaveral Florida, just a mile or two away from the cruise port. On embarkation day, I arrived an hour early with the intention of visiting the agency office to poke my head in and say hi.
After visiting with the office staff, seeing how the operation runs, and even seeing where those free gift bags are assembled, they let me pick yet another free gift from their prize wall! These were gifts not included in the gift basket, so they felt even more exclusive since they’re in-person only. Again, your experience may vary and is totally dependent on the agency and how they operate.
They handle the hiccups!
Story time with Liz! Let’s go back a few years ago to the covid pandemic. I had a cruise booked months prior when suddenly the world was thrust into chaos and nearly everything had to close. Disney World closed, stores closed, travel was strongly discouraged. As a result, Disney Cruise Line began canceling cruises left and right. As the pandemic continued, more and more cruises were forced to cancel. There was panic. There was chaos. Customer service lines were posting hours-long wait times to speak to an agent.
Do you know who was sitting on the telephone for 8 hours waiting to speak to a Disney Cruise Line agent to rebook a cruise that was canceled? It wasn’t me! It was my travel agent!
Yes, friends, if things go south and you need to reschedule your Disney cruise, if you booked through a travel agent, they will be the one calling Disney Cruise Line to do that work for you. That’s a huge benefit to using a travel agency. If you booked a cruise yourself, then you will be the one who has to call (this cannot be handled online).
If you book with a travel agent, they will be the one who has to call. And you don’t need a pandemic to reschedule your cruise. If anything happens and you need to reschedule your cruise, simply notify your travel agent (and it would be handy if you had a future cruise date in mind) and let them take care of that for you.
You can still do all your planning!
I’m sure you’re thinking that by using a travel agent, they’re going to handle all the vacation planning and it’s out of your control? Not at all! Their role is to book the cruise on your behalf and process payments. Booking activities, specialty dining, shore excursions, etc, is still your responsibility and under your control. While your travel agent will certainly let you know when your activity booking window opens, it’s going to be on you to be up at the crack of dawn (or 6am if I remember correctly) to book all the activities that you would like to do.
The pros outweigh the cons.
Let’s see: free on-board credit, possibly a free gift, they handle the dirty work, at no additional cost. So what’s the downside? There’s very few that I can think of. One downside is that to make any changes, you have to contact your travel agent, which adds one extra step. In this day and age of instant results, having to write an email, wait for a response, and then possibly wait for a resolution, which can take 24-48 hours, feels like an eternity when you want something done ASAP.
Even the initial process of booking a cruise through a travel agent can feel like an eternity when your heart is set on a particular cabin and you want that cabin booked right now, out of fear that by the time your agent responds to you that cabin may suddenly be booked by then. I get it, it’s nerve wracking. I’ve been there, I’ve felt that.
Trust me on this: the pros of using a travel agent outweigh the cons of not using one. And when you’re sailing away on your Disney cruise, raise a glass to your travel agent and thank them for the on-board credit that paid for your drink. Cheers!
Disney Rover 