DU agent, what would you do?

[Mousequake]

I don't understand why people book with a TA when you can book direct with people who do this for 8 hours a day 5 days a week and nothing else.

Because the person who does this for 8 hours a day 5 days a week doesn't have a personal relationship with you or know anything about you. Your TA, if they're any good, will know you, know your preferences, and be looking out for your best interests.

 

[mousefan73]

If you book on your i

This thread scares me, and nothing against DU, but just how hit and miss the experience can be based on the individual, which is the case anywhere. I used a TA with a different agency for our first two cruises and she was fantastic. Very responsive and helpful, but doesn't offer any sort of OBC. I decided to go with Costco this last go around and won't do that again. I don't have the time to sit on hold for hours and hope they get me booked at some point. So, I have been considering using DU as a TA on our next cruise, mainly for the OBC. But this will be for a summer 2021 European cruise and I saw how fast those filled up this release and need to be sure I have TA that is on top of it. Maybe I should stick with my original TA and just forego the OBC.

this happened with a cruise I booked. We use DU are Happy. I asked my agent to book a cruise that would most likely sell out OV. That morning Insaw avail and grabbed it. After asking my agent to do it. I emailed her after I booked. Learned she was able to book too as it was avail. But couldn't ( no double bookings). So I transferred my booking to DU. You only get half of the OB ( i guess they get less comission on transfers). But was worth it for us. I like my DU agent. She also dealt with DCL on some issues for me thay saved me time and effort. ( transferring payments from one booking to another etc. )

 

[KashasMom]

That said, I also liked it any time I saw DU on a reservation because the agents were easy to work with as a cast member and it was nice to be confident that I could refer the guest back to DU knowing that the owners were good people who would help them out. I was always 100% confident when I had to tell a guest to contact DU that their issue would get handled professionally, and that's saying something. It's the only agency I felt that way about when I was a cast member. They have a stellar reputation at DCL.

This is the BIG issue I have with DU. It's SO easy for them! They're not out there marketing - it's all INBOUND - being a "Disney" affiliated/recommended TA. There is NO excuse for crappy service. In my case, it's been almost 5 days since I told the TA to book and still no booking. Fortunately the price hasn't gone up. But what if it had?

 

[MickeyD]

This thread scares me, and nothing against DU, but just how hit and miss the experience can be based on the individual, which is the case anywhere. I used a TA with a different agency for our first two cruises and she was fantastic. Very responsive and helpful, but doesn't offer any sort of OBC. I decided to go with Costco this last go around and won't do that again. I don't have the time to sit on hold for hours and hope they get me booked at some point. So, I have been considering using DU as a TA on our next cruise, mainly for the OBC. But this will be for a summer 2021 European cruise and I saw how fast those filled up this release and need to be sure I have TA that is on top of it. Maybe I should stick with my original TA and just forego the OBC

I have no qualms about endorsing DU, but I would manage expectations of what you will receive via service. Like I said, I have no need for hand holding and only have used them for the OBC, so if you're mainly doing it for the OBC, go for it, if you have problems within the first few days, go back to your original TA, but drop John at Dreams a note and let him know. I am sure he will want to keep on top of the issues if the agents aren't being responsive.