If you’ve already booked your Disney Cruise and are trying to find out whether you can transfer it to a travel agent, you can, and this is definitely one of the best things that you could do for yourself. Transfer of your Disney Cruise Line booking to a travel agent is absolutely free, preserves your booking exactly as it is and opens possibilities for getting benefits which are available nowhere else. However, you should be aware of the fact that you have only 30 days after your booking to do so.
We’re going to go over all necessary information about how to transfer your Disney cruise to a travel agent for free! Doesn’t matter if you’ve just made your booking or have a place-holder from your last cruise, we’re going to cover everything!
Why Most People Don’t Know This Trick Exists
One thing that shocks people is that there is no difference in price, whether it is direct booking from Disney or booking through an agent. The commission for agents is paid by the cruise line and not by you as the customer. You are losing out on real savings and benefits when you don’t switch!
I have met many new families that booked their cruise from Disney website in a hurry (as those staterooms sell fast!) but found out two days later that their neighbors who booked through an agent were able to get $250 worth of onboard credit and assistance in planning their trip. Isn’t that irritating? The positive part is that as long as it is within 30 days from your booking and you did not pay in full yet, you are able to do the same thing.
What “Transferring Your Disney Cruise” Actually Means
Now let’s start by setting things straight because of the word “transfer.”
Transferring your Disney Cruise booking means that it’s NOT:
- Cancellation of your booking
- Loss of stateroom
- Rebooking at a different price
- Starting everything afresh
Instead, transferring means:
- Moving your booking from being directly managed by Disney to being managed by a travel agent
- Keeping your sail date, ship, cruise itinerary, stateroom class, and booking number intact
- Using your travel agent as the primary point of contact for all future changes, queries, and payments
- Gaining access to benefits that were not available before
In other words, it’s like forwarding your mail to a different address but with the same contents inside it.
The Two Rules That Decide Everything
First things first, here are the two essential guidelines when you are thinking of transferring your Disney Cruise Reservation:
Guideline #1: 30-Day Window Rule
You have to transfer the reservation within 30 days of the booking date. This is Disney’s firm policy with absolutely no exceptions whatsoever. You book your Disney Cruise on June 1; you should transfer within 30 days from June 1. Your window will close, and no more transfers will be possible.
It concerns:
- Direct Disney Cruise Line bookings (on the website or over the phone)
- Place holder reservations created on board of a Disney Cruise ship
Guideline #2: Not Fully Paid
You can not pay the whole amount for the Disney Cruise before submitting the request for the reservation transfer. As soon as your payment is made in full, the record becomes unchangeable and there is nothing more you can do. No more transfers for you after the final payment.
I’ve met those folks who were eager to start their vacation and immediately made the final payment after booking. In case you are thinking of working with travel agents, better wait until you are sure that the transfer is completed!
How to Transfer Your Disney Cruise to a Travel Agent
I’ll break down the process step by step to make things simple!
Step 1: Choose Your Travel Agent First
Don’t start the paperwork before you know which travel agent you’ll be dealing with. Disney Cruise Line travel agents aren’t created equal. Pick one who:
- Is a good Disney travel agent that does lots of these bookings
- Has finished Disney College of Knowledge
- Is a DCL veteran, meaning they’ve sailed on Disney Cruise Line personally
- Isn’t charging you a booking fee
- Provides some kind of onboard credit for transferred reservations (even reduced, it still is useful)
It’s best to ask them directly, “Do you provide onboard credit on transferred reservations?” Lots of agencies give half of their standard OBCs for the transferred reservations. In case of $5,000 cruise cost, you get $125 in return! Nothing like some extra merch money!
Step 2: Contact Your Travel Agent and Check Eligibility
Contact your travel agent, be ready to provide the following information to them:
- Reservation number
- Lead guest’s name
- Sailing date
- Name of the ship and itinerary
- Original reservation booking date
Your travel agent will check whether you are inside of the 30-days period and if your reservation is eligible. This takes no more than few minutes. No need to overthink it.
Step 3: Fill Out Disney Booking Transfer Request Form
Disney requires you to provide Booking Transfer Request Form in order to process your transfer request. You travel agent will do one of the following:
- Provide you with the form that needs to be filled in and signed OR
- Initiate the process of transfer themselves and send you the form that you need to authorize
Form provides the information such as:
- Reservation number
- Name of the lead guest
- Dates of arrival and departure
- Ship/itinerary
- Name of the travel agency and contacts
- Agency CLIA or IATA number
Important to know ahead of time! The form should be signed either in wet ink or using DocuSign. Other types of signatures (electronic or typed in font-style) are unacceptable. One adult should sign from the reservation.
If you’re traveling with different family members or friends and they have a different reservation, each one will require a separate signed form.
Step 4: Send the Form to Disney Cruise Line
Your travel agent will send Booking Transfer Request Form to Disney. As for Disney Cruise Line, it should be sent to:
- Bookingtransfer@contact.disneycruiseline.com
Keep this email handy, it might be useful in the future.
Step 5: Wait for the Confirmation (3-5 Business Days)
Disney will usually process your request within 3-5 business days. During this time, you shouldn’t pay anything or make any other changes to the reservation. Otherwise, your payment may accidentally process the transfer and become non-transferable.
After the confirmation from Disney, your reservation ownership will be updated, and the travel agent will get the access to managing your booking.
Step 6: Talk with Your Travel Agent After That
Now that the transfer is done, all further payments, changes, and correspondence will pass through your travel agent. You retain your entire guest access, you can login into your Disney Cruise Line account, use the Navigator app, arrange activities and manage check-ins yourself.
The travel agent handles the boring stuff. You handle the fun stuff!
What You Keep vs. What Changes After a Transfer
That is what scares people the most, but the good news is that everything is pretty much guaranteed!
The Unchanged Elements
- Your sail date, ship, and itinerary
- Stateroom category and actual room you booked
- Your reservation number and all booking information
- Your price – transfers will not change your cruise price
- Castaway Club membership – it is personal, not connected to your booking
- Access to the My Disney Cruise portal and Navigator app
- Booking of port adventures, meals, and activities
Changed Elements
- Your travel agent will become the account manager of your booking
- Payments will be done via your travel agent, not directly to Disney
- Agent becomes an advocate of your cruise
- Your agency might give you onboard credit
The Real Benefits Nobody Talks About Enough
The extra money is great but I personally think the most useful perks of working with a Disney Cruise travel agent are completely unrelated to finances. Here’s my list of Disney cruise benefits that really makes this worth it!
They’ve Learned From All Your Mistakes
A decent Disney travel agent has sailed before. He knows that the nursery books first. He knows the optimal dining arrangements. He knows that Palo books up quickly on day one and suggests you go right after the Spa Open House. No matter how much you might save on those lessons, priceless!
They’ll Wait on the Phone While You Enjoy Your Life
Since the coronavirus pandemic, Disney Cruise Lines started to cancel thousands of bookings. Those who were booking direct were spending nights and days waiting on those phone queues stretching up to 8+ hours. Travelers with a travel agent? Their agents made these calls. This is not a theoretical advantage – it is an actual case scenario.
They Track Pricing and Offers
Disney offers new pricing offers from time to time. A good Disney travel agent will track them and make repricing of your reservation if you qualify for a discount. For example, according to DCL specialist, this saved their client $1,800 in one particular instance. Not everyone checks the website every single day.
They Can Assist in Booking Windows (This Advantage Is Crucial)
Disney has its own booking windows for Castaway Club members depending on their status:
- Pearl (more than 25 sailings): 130 days out
- Platinum (10-24 sailings): 120 days out
- Gold (5-9 sailings): 105 days out
- Silver (1-4 sailings): 90 days out
- For first-timers: 75 days out
These booking windows determine when you can make the booking of port excursions, adult dining such as Palo or Remy, nursery reservations, etc. With help from a travel agent, you will know exactly what to book and in what order when your window is opened, especially if you are a new or Silver Castaway Club member!
All Their Services Are Completely Free for You
The Disney travel agent gets a commission directly from Disney Cruise Lines, and his fee does not come from your budget at all. You get consultation, assistance, and maybe onboard credit for absolutely nothing extra. Mathematically it makes a lot of sense! If you see an agent charging a booking fee, move on to the next one, there’s plenty of them out there that won’t charge you a penny to work with them.
Onboard Credit on Transferred Reservations: What to Realistically Expect
Some guides I’ve seen tend to post unrealistic numbers when it comes to onboard credit
In most cases, agencies provide less onboard credit when transferring reservations than in case of new reservations. And it is explained by the fact that agencies receive less commission on transferred reservations as a result of the commission process which is partially done in case of direct booking.
For instance, some agencies might offer half of their usual OBC in the case of transferred reservations. So, for a cruise price of $5,000, this will be approximately $125 which is definitely not bad but it’s far from new booking through an agent!
Some agents for example, provide up to $1,000 onboard credit for new reservations and less in case of transferred ones according to the cruise price. You’ll almost always get something, it’s important to ask your agent specifically about it. Definitely ask before you transfer your booking!
Placeholder Reservations
For all those who have been aboard Disney before and made a placeholder reservation aboard their last sailing, this one is for you!
Placeholders are $250 deposits for your future, unspecified sailing during your current voyage, giving you 10% discount on your next cruise (20% on certain sailings)! They need to be used up within 24 months. If you sail a lot and aren’t taking advantage of placeholder reservations you need to start!
This is how placeholders work in conjunction with transfers from travel agents:
- Whenever you make a placeholder, Disney Cruise Line Navigator app will ask you to, “Link to your current Travel Professional” upon booking. Do it if you have a travel agent at hand.
- If you don’t link the placeholder to your travel agent at the moment of booking, you get 30 days after converting it into an actual sailing to make the transfer.
- As soon as you make a conversion from placeholder to actual sailing and top up your deposit balance accordingly, the 30-day window restarts once again.
It’s worth knowing that some travel agents have mentioned that placeholders always qualify as, “transfers” regardless of being linked to the agent at the booking moment. It might imply that the OBC from your agency will be the transfer value, not the full booking price.
The Biggest Mistakes People Make (And How to Avoid Them)
A lot of us have done it (yes, even me), we made a mistake or did something that later on made us realize we could have gotten that done faster or cheaper. Here’s how to avoid falling into all of those transfer traps.
Trap #1: Waiting Too Late
Remember, that 30-day window starts the minute you make the booking, not the minute you learn about transferring. It’s easy to spend days talking to someone who explains the benefits of traveling with a travel agent, recommending an agent, and then contacting them. Try to contact the agent during the first week if possible.
Trap #2: Paying Everything Upfront
Many people think that paying everything up front and getting that booking done is very satisfying. It makes perfect sense, but it’s a problem if you do it before completing the transfer process. Disney will lock your booking, preventing any transfer to occur. Hold off on that final payment until your transfer is complete.
Trap #3: Working With the Wrong Agent
Travel agents who are just travel agents and not specialists for Disney cruise line may not understand the booking windows, Castaway club tier, placeholders, and experience on board the ship as well. Make sure to work with someone that’s a Disney Cruise Line specialist and has a good history of DCL bookings.
Trap #4: Sending Incomplete Information
A name mismatch, missing reservation number, or even font-style signature is going to reject your transfer request. Make sure to double-check all information and use a real wet-ink or DocuSign signature.
Trap #5: Trying to Change the Booking
Any change or additional payment during the process of transferring can cause complications, which can affect the transfer process in a negative way. So be sure not to alter anything in any way while your transfer is being processed.
Trap #6: Thinking You Can Change Travel Agents
There’s no way to transfer Disney Cruise booking between travel agencies. It means that when you book a Disney Cruise, it’s locked in your travel agency.
What If You Missed the 30-Day Window?
It happens guys! Sometimes life just gets in the way. Here are your honest-to-goodness choices if you are out of that 30-day window:
Choice A: Cancel and Rebook (Risk: Price Increase)
If the same stateroom category remains available and prices have not increased greatly, then canceling and rebooking can be done through a travel agent. However, this approach carries its risks since you may end up losing your price, paying a cancellation fee based on how long you are from sailing, and your stateroom altogether.
Choice B: Stick Direct and Go Solo
If you feel comfortable enough researching and keeping track of your booking window, payment deadline and any repricing by the company, booking direct will not hurt you one bit. Disney’s tools for booking are quite good and you remain in control of your booking.
Choice C: Work with a Travel Agent Next Time Around
Missing the transfer can suck, and it’s an important mistake to learn from. From now on, book your next Disney Cruise through a travel agent or, at the very least, assign your travel agent once you book your next placeholder onboard.
If you’re already 5 days outside the 30-day window, there’s little to no point in doing this. But if the prices are the same and stateroom is available, this may prove to be something that some families are willing to try. Just give your travel agent a call and discuss it.
How to Choose the Right Travel Agent for Your Disney Cruise
Not all travel agents work for everyone, so you’ll want to know as much information before transferring as possible. Here are some things to consider:
Questions to Ask Before Committing
- Have you been on a Disney cruise line before, what ships and years?
- Do you offer Onboard Credit for transferred bookings, and if so how much?
- Do you charge anything for your services? (the answer should be no.)
- What planning support does your service offer after the booking?
Green Lights
- Personal Disney cruise experience (multiple trips)
- Effective communication skills – responds to emails immediately
- Initiates sending the dates and deadlines for booking windows
- Offers information about OBCs for both initial bookings and transfer
- Good reviews from real DCL families
The reviews are going to be your guide here, make sure they’re legit and positive.
Red Lights
- Does not know DCL booking window hierarchy by heart
- Takes time to figure out the status in Castaway Club
- Persuades you to rebook even though it is not necessary
- Cannot explain the services provided after the booking
- Does not mention which ship he/she has been on personally
The best Disney Cruise travel agents are those people who are Disney cruisers themselves. They are the people who help in DCL Facebook group at midnight and know that the Palo brunch is different from the dinner and worth trying both.
Does Transferring Affect Your Castaway Club Status?
This question is raised a lot of times, and the answer is always no!
The Castaway Club level that you’ve worked so hard at is connected to your personal profile of the guest, which means the information about your name, birthday, and account at the Disney website. It doesn’t depend on how your reservations are managed and through whom. Changing the booking method to transferring it to a travel agent won’t have any effect on your Castaway Club level and number of sails.
The requirements for the Castaway Club were changed by Disney, and the members need to book or sail at least one time per five years to preserve their status (though some Cast Members say Disney will give 10 years of inactivity officially).
Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s go over the questions I get asked the most.
Can I transfer my Disney Cruise reservation if I booked it through Disney’s website?
Yes, this is the most popular transfer case. Both direct Disney.com and phone bookings are transferable if you fall within 30 days of your sailing date and are not paid in full.
Will my Disney Cruise cost change if I transfer it to an agent?
No. A transfer will not re-price your cruise. You keep your same fare, stateroom and terms.
Can I still plan my own dining and activities after transferring to an agent?
Yes! All Disney Cruise Line booking capabilities remain with you in My Reservations in your reservation portal and via the Disney Cruise Line mobile app.
How long does it take to transfer a Disney Cruise?
About 3 to 5 business days after your completed form submission. No payments or changes should be made during this timeframe.
What if I booked a placeholder on my last Disney cruise? Can that transfer too?
Yes, placeholders can be transferred. Once the placeholder has been converted into an actual sailing date, you just pay the deposit difference, then the 30-day transfer period begins. Also, remember to add your travel agent directly in your DCL app during the initial reservation of your placeholder onboard.
If I’m not happy with my travel agent, can I transfer to another?
No. You can only do one transfer. Once the booking is transferred to a travel agent, it cannot be transferred again. That’s why choosing the right one in the first place is so important.
Will I lose my Castaway Club status if I transfer my booking?
No way! Castaway Club status is yours as a guest and doesn’t depend on how your booking is managed.
What will happen if my Disney Cruise transfer gets denied?
According to Disney, the decision regarding your transfer is made solely by Disney, and at their discretion. However, such decisions are very rare if you meet all the eligibility criteria. If the request is denied, the reservation remains a direct booking. The main reason for denial is falling outside the 30-day period or being paid in full.
Is it possible to transfer concierge stateroom bookings?
Concierge stateroom bookings can be transferred, although those rooms have more stringent cancellation policies (including non-refundable deposits), so it’s even more important to make sure your reservation qualifies.
Can Disney Vacation Club point reservations be transferred to a travel agent?
No. Disney Vacation Club reservations can be handled only through DVC Member Services and therefore are not transferable to travel agencies.
Do I have to purchase travel insurance when using a travel agent for my Disney Cruise?
You’ll want to consider purchasing travel insurance anyway regardless of your booking method, but a reputable travel agent will help you understand how to do it and what cancellation policies apply to your cruise package type.
What is the email for transferring Disney Cruise Line reservation?
The email for Disney Cruise Line reservation transfers is: Bookingtransfer@contact.disneycruiseline.com You will not be making any changes yourself; your travel agent will submit this form on your behalf.
Can I transfer my Disney Cruise reservation after paying in full?
No, according to the official Disney Cruise Line policy, fully-paid reservations are not transferable. There is no known exception to that unfortunately.
The Bottom Line
Moving your Disney Cruise to a travel agent is one of the best moves you can make in regards to planning your cruise vacation. It doesn’t change any of the things you’ve booked. It adds a partner to your planning process who is knowledgeable about the process more than anyone else. And, finally, you will have some extra spending money when you step aboard because of your move.
The only obstacle to all of this lies before you in a signed form and a 30-day deadline.
If you have booked your Disney Cruise within the last 30 days and have not paid for it in full yet, then the deadline is looming, but it is not too late. Contact a professional Disney Cruise agent today and find out whether you qualify and sign your forms. You will thank yourself later!
