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These groups are not affiliated with the cruise line and are often created by a fellow passenger, but it gives you a great place to get ideas and input about your specific cruise. Today, someone in the Facebook group for this cruise posted that they saw a price decrease today. I repriced the cruise on Costco Travel’s website, and saw the price was now $220 lower. I called up Costco Travel and was connected to an agent in about 5 minutes. He verified that I could be eligible for the price drop and then he called Royal Caribbean to get it changed. He was on hold about 35 minutes to make that change, but kept checking in to let me know he was waiting on the cruise line.
Digital Costco Shop Cards
Right up front, the website listed this itinerary as a “Kirkland Signature Cruise,” which meant it had special prices and benefits. I couldn’t see what those benefits were until I created an account with my Costco membership number. Most of the process was pretty standard for a cruise booking website. You start by picking your sailing, then entering the number of guests and the type of room you want. The only part that got confusing was when I had to choose the actual cabin. Costco cruises are priced competitively, especially when you factor in the shop card or shipboard credit available with every purchase.
How Much I Saved Booking a Cruise Through Costco Travel
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When is Costco Travel not worth it?
You can click on Kirkland Signature or Buyer's Choice deals to see featured offers, but they don't necessarily account for all of Costco's best deals. I was not surprised to see that you could book Disney cruises through Costco, but they are not eligible for either Kirkland Signature or Buyer's Choice deals. The main benefit of booking a cruise through Costco is that every booking comes with a Digital Costco Shop Card and/or onboard credit.
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That's because low fares and value-added extras are hallmarks of Costco cruise bookings. Combine that with generally friendly service from the warehouse club's travel agents, and you might have another way to get maximum value out of your membership. In the end, booking through Costco Travel was not much different than if I booked through Royal Caribbean. The letter below was left in our cabin around 6 PM on the first day.
The Costco cruise deal was slightly better, especially if it really did come with shipboard credit. That's free money for you to spend, either in a Costco warehouse or on the ship – especially as Costco cruises typically have competitive fares. It's not like you're paying more than you would by booking directly and getting the difference in Costco money. Also, if you're an Executive Member, you earn 2% back on qualifying Costco purchases (up to $1,000), including many travel purchases. With cruises, you'd earn the 2% back on the cruise fare but not on the taxes, fees, auto-gratuities, other surcharges and trip protection.
Night Ovation of the Seas Alaskan Cruise Summary
It’s hard to be sure, though, because of all the stipulations, so I gave them a call to see. The Digital Costco Shop Cards can be used for Costco warehouse purchases (a game changer with grocery prices so high due to inflation), but you can also use them toward future Costco Travel bookings. You could use a Digital Costco Shop Card to buy a new flat-screen TV for movie nights and game days, a new outdoor patio setup ahead of summer or even Costco Pharmacy prescriptions. While Costco had a deal available for the same resort, we happened to be booking when the resort chain was having a Mother's Day sale for anyone booking directly. When planning our annual beach trip back in 2022, my best friend found a few options for Mexican all-inclusive resorts on Costco Travel and shared the links with me.
You can book hotels, cruises, rental cars and vacation packages through Costco Travel. Vacation packages range from hotel-only offers to all-encompassing packages that include airfare, hotel stays and rental cars. All Costco members have access to the Costco Travel booking platform, where you can find and book a wide range of travel — from vacation packages to hotels, cruises and rental cars. You can even book theme park vacation packages to Disney and Universal or specialty vacations such as an African safari.
Deal hunters know that Costco Travel is an under-the-radar hit for finding travel deals. For folks who prefer to vacation at sea, Costco cruise deals can be among the most lucrative offers you can find. Is Costco Travel going to save you hundreds on every cruise you look at?
No, I highly doubt that, but based on my experience, it’s an option worth considering, especially if you’re a Costco member already. For my cruise, it saved me money and gave me a few additional perks. Do your homework and price it out a few ways to see what your best deal.
Ultimately, savings will vary based on the specific itinerary, departure date and room you choose. Some deals were only available on close-in sailings or specific sail dates. In general, though, pricing was competitive with the cruise lines, and often the value-adds gave Costco the edge.
After booking our fantastic stay at TRS Coral just north of Cancun through Costco, I looked at booking through Costco again in 2023 when planning our annual beach vacation. If you're on the hunt for a long weekend getaway, you may not be able to take advantage of some Costco Travel deals. Once you log in to Costco Travel, you can search for specific dates or destinations or browse through available deals and featured destinations. I personally love perusing the limited-time deals when I know I want to plan a getaway but don't have a specific destination in mind.
I’ve purchased preprinted checks through them at a much better price than I saw elsewhere. Long story short, Costco offers outstanding deals if you look for them. If you know where to look and are willing to price-check the deals you find, you can save a lot of money with Costco Travel deals.
In COVID times, your wait time will be all over the place, and I totally understand that. I selected a balcony room, and a map came up with a highlighted room. Looking at the picture, it looked like there were no other rooms available and this was the only one I could choose. There were quite a few other rooms available that I wouldn’t have known about initially. The button does the trick, but I just wish the button was more straightforward, or like other websites, it just shows all possible rooms.
I promptly told her we'd probably be better off booking directly and brushed off the idea of booking through Costco — neither of us even had a membership at the time. Its cruise change and cancellation policies are simply what the cruise lines put in place themselves. Costco Travel boasts "exclusive Costco member rates," but are you really getting a deal? I priced out three sailings on different cruise lines to see how much you could potentially save by booking a Costco cruise. Typically, Costco Travel offers competitive rates on cruises, so you can either find a discounted deal or at least pay a similar rate offered by other travel sellers. In the past, when planning a cruise, I’ve either booked directly through the cruise line or through a travel agent.
There is an option to book flights through some vacation packages, but if you're only looking for airfare, you'll want to head to Google Flights to check out your options and book. You can, however, use a future cruise credit from a cruise line to pay for all or part of your Costco cruise. Your shop card amount will be determined by the cost of the cruise fare, not how you pay for it. So, if you use FCC to pay for your entire sailing, you will still get the shop card based on the invoice price. Costco only accepts Visa and MasterCard for cruise booking payments. You will not be able to use your American Express and earn Membership Rewards points for your vacation purchase.
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