Hello, John,
Welcome to planDisney. My fellow planDisney Panelists and I are ready to give you information and advice from the perspective of Guests. That's because we are regular Guests, just like you. Having "been there, done that" many times ourselves, we are uniquely prepared to give you the support you are looking for.
The Disney Cruise Line always strives to give Guests the best Guest service experience possible. I have found that the hybrid approach the Disney Cruise Line uses for meeting Guest needs when a cruise is booked through a travel agent works very nicely. Yes, it is the case that some aspects of an agent-assisted booking must be handled through the agent. Generally, that includes anything to do with making payments or modifications that would require adjustments to payments up through embarkation day. For example, when we have a cruise booked through an agent, we must go through that agent to add on features such as Disney Cruise Line-provided ground transportation. Another item that would need to go through an agent is if we were to choose to pre-pay gratuities.
Even when we book a Disney cruise through a travel agent, there are still many things that we can directly manage without the direct assistance of our agent. Using the My Reservations page on the Disney Cruise Line website, we can submit our requests for rotational dining times, submit special requests, such as for accommodations for mobility or disability needs or dietary restrictions, and even annotate our reservation for special requests such as special celebrations. There are also many options for onboard gifts and amenities that we can purchase without going through our agent. I've also always found that the Disney Cruise Line is more than happy to respond directly to my questions when I contact them. If there is a certain aspect of my cruise reservation that can only be managed through our agent, they kindly remind me of that, but are still more than happy to respond to other inquiries I may have.
I have been pleased to find out how quick and convenient it is to book a cruise vacation directly with the Disney Cruise Line using their Find a Cruise page online. In the few rare cases that require phone support, Cast Members are always very helpful too. That said, if you would like to have the support of a travel agent to help coordinate multiple legs of your travel arrangements before and/or after the cruise portion of your vacation, you would still retain a significant amount of control over customizing your Disney Cruise Line travel experience.
With or without a travel agent, "you've got a friend in me" and my fellow planDisney Panelists. We'd love to hear from you again as you continue to plan your vacations onboard the Disney Cruise Line and to the various Disney theme parks and destinations. It would be a privilege to provide you with recommendations and planning advice going forward.
Have a magical vacation, John!
~Tony