Points for cruise

[jennz]

Hello!

We're thinking about joining the DVC before we take a Disney cruise next year, does anyone know how many points it takes for a cruise for a level 5 cabin for 2 adults, 1 teenager, and 1 child?

Also, any opinions on if this is a good idea?

THANKS!

Jennifer

[Michelemouse]

I don't have the points charts in front of me so hopefully someone else will be able to provide that information. I just wanted to say that the only difference between a Category 5 and a Category 6 is their location on the ship. Category 5s are on Deck 7 while Category 6s are on decks 5 & 6. However Category 5s are more expensive. Personally I'd go with the Cat. 6 and save the money/points unless you only want to be on Deck 7.

We've stayed on both Deck 5 and Deck 7 and found there to be no difference. In fact, we actually liked Deck 5 better. For our upcoming November cruise we'll be in a Category 6 on Deck 6 and we can't wait!

Have fun planning!

Michele

[Mickey4Me]

It's going to depend on when and how long you cruise. What time of year do you plan on going? Are you looking at a 3,4 or 7 day cruise? If it's a 7 day, are you looking at the Eastern or Western cruise? Are far as it being a good idea, that depends. If you're joining just to use the points for a cruise, then you're probably better off paying cash for the cruise. If however you are planning on vacationing at WDW (or HH or VB) at least every other year then DVC may make sense for you.

[MikeJ]

You don't say what cruise you're planning on. For the three-day cruise in 2003, the points would be:

119 x 2 + 40 + 34 = 312


For the 4-day cruise:

132 x 2 + 53 + 47 = 364


For the western 7-day:

211 x 2 + 97 + 71 = 590


And for the eastern 7-day:

204 x 2 + 83 + 57 = 548


This are for value season cruises. If you go in regular or peak the points are substantially higher. We just booked a cruise for this September for the 4 of us and booked a Cat 6 cabin (basically the same as a Cat 5 but fewer points). We used points for DW and myself and paid cash for the kids. This seemed a good compromise for us.

People will tell you that you would be better off renting your points separately and paying cash for the entire cruise. That's not why we bought at DVC - we bought to prepay our WDW vacations. Renting the points doesn't appeal to us. Exchanging to the cruise line may not be the best use of our points, but it does save us from a large cash outlay (which is even larger when you take the exchange rates between the Canadian and US dollars into account).

- Mike

[jennz]

Thanks for the tip on the categories - I think we'll go with the category 6. We were thinking about joining the DVC anyway and this would just be our incentive. We wanted to do the 7 day Western cruise.

[MikeJ]

For the 7-day western cruise in 2003, the points for a Cat 6 cabin are as follows:

Value season: 198 pts/pp, 71 pts. for children 3-12, 97 pts for 13+

Regular season: 247 pts/pp, 110 pts for children 3-12, 136 pts for 13+

Peak season: 289 pts/pp, 136 fpr children 3-12, 162 pts for 13+

Holiday season: 317 pts/pp, 136 for children 3-12, 162 for 13+


- Mike

[jennz]

Thanks so much! That's VERY helpful! I didn't realize you could combine points and cash.

Thanks again!