StayingHomeIsBetter

I'm looking into scheduling a vacation trip via DL Vacations, but I am an uninformed skeptic.

Can anyone share an overall opinion of their experience with DL Vacations?

Are there really appreciable savings versus booking hotels, air fare, etc a la carte?

Are we guaranteed to be flying on DL aircraft?

Do we lose any DL Medallion benefits/services/etc.? Club access via our Reserve cards?

Do we lose access to UG mechanisms; e.g., use of global upgrade coupons.

I know that DL Vacations is a 3rd-party outfit. How is their customer focus/treatment compared to DL, especially for higher medallion levels?

Any opinions of the Dominican Republic in general, or specific resorts?

Thanks.

SUPERTRAVEL

I've used them twice for packages; once to Sint Maarten and once to Reykjavik.
Was satisfied both times.
I did not price items separately.
Both had good bonus Skymiles promotions going on for using them and those bonuses posted within a month of the trip ending.
You pick your flights during the package booking process so yes, the flights are on Delta if that's what is offered and chosen.

exwannabe

I used it once to the Caribbean. About what I expected and was happy.

They are a 3rd party TA, so if you need to change it is not as easy as a direct DL booking. But other than that are fine. DL beniits apply.

My rec. Price the deal you are looking at against a DL ticket plus best hotel deal, If DL travel looks good, take it.

tardyturtle

I stayed at Sancuary Cap Cana in Putna Cana on a Delta Vacation. It was a quiet and small resort, which I liked. Only issue with the all inclusives is the beer selection (and food quality) wasn’t the greatest, but it was fine. It was several years ago, but I believe the hotel rates were more competitive through the Delta Vacations package. You select your flights, so you’ll be on Delta. I was satisfied with it and had no issues.

Orange County Commuter

I have done several vacations to the Dominican Republic using Delta vacations. I have been able to upgrade using my regional upgrade certificates or just by my status. I’ve had to call them a couple times because we made changes and they were very good to deal with. Overall, I’ve never had a negative experience.

steveholt

I generally had good experiences with DL Vacations. One of my itineraries were impacted by the pandemic, but the one that wasn't ran well. DL extended my Vacations credit from the pandemic-impacted trip for several years and I finally used it in 2023.

There's not any guarantee that you'll save, but like anything, the best thing you can do is test it yourself. Plug in an itinerary you like on DL Vacations, see how much it costs, then price it out separately. I expect you'll save a little bit.

DL Vacations does sell tickets that involve routings on other partners, like KL and AF, but I would expect that you would be flying DL to the Dominican unless they have some partner I'm not thinking about. I would look and see what your flights are booked on when you make the initial reservation. If it's all DL and then DL moves you to a partner airline or even a connection carrier, you would be able to call DL and ask to be rebooked on all-DL flights or get a full refund.

You get the same services and benefits as you would booking the flight directly with DL, including lounge access with your Reserve card. You used to have the possibility of earning more miles on DL since flights would occasionally book as a Exception fare, but I believe that's no longer the case on 1/1/24, so you would earn as normal.

You should still be able to use GUCs, although they may or may not be available to apply online, as is sadly the case with DL-booked flights as well. This should be a 006 ticket.

I have found DL Vacations to generally answer quickly and be helpful, but any operation can be spoiled by a subpar agent. I don't believe you'll get any better or worse treatment as a medallion than you would as a non-medallion.

SUPERTRAVEL

I also noticed this on the Delta Vacations website:
Starting January 1, 2024, you can earn $1 Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) per $1 of the Total Package Price* for Delta Vacations packages when booked directly
with us online, via our Customer Engagement Center or through an authorized travel advisor.
So if you're in the hunt for MQD's, booking it as a vacation package earns MQD's for the entire package while booking elements separately only earns MQD's for the airfare itself.
The main passenger in the booking earns the MQD's for the package cost while other passengers in the booking only earn MQD's for their airfare.The "total package price" paid is reduced for the airfares of those other passengers.

pharmflyer

1) I've used it once back in 2021 and found it really easy and simple. Would consider booking with them again if prices were decent.
2) With all packages, it depends. I think where DL Vacations comes out ahead of something like AA vacations is that they include transfers in their price (albeit they are shared, and make stops along the way), but you can pay extra to make it private and/or nonstop.
3) Their flight booking interface is now roughly the same as DL. com so you can easily see who you'll be flying. For the trips I've taken, I've only ever seen DL and AM in the results
4) You will have all your medallion/lounge benefits like normal
5) You can still upgrade (FCM, RUC,GUC), just remember you have to call DL Vacations to apply RUC/GUC, not DL themselves
6) At least back in 2021 they did not have callback options, and I don't believe there was any priority for being a medallion at the time. I found the fastest way to get in contact with them was to tweet at them and have them call you instead. Their agents were competent, never had any issues, and actually had one go above and beyond and call me back proactively when she found a better flight option for me a few days later.
7) I love the DR - I personally have stayed at the Hilton La Romana (Adult side) 2 times and both my wife and I highly enjoy it there!

Hope this helps