Ever booked cruise on DVC points for others?

[Debbru]

DH & I are DVC owners. We booked one of the new Southern Caribbean cruises for ourselves - paid cash - booked directly with DCL - no DVC involved.

We are thinking of booking a cabin for SIL & a friend on the same cruise using our DVC points. We would be gifting them the cruise - not renting them the points. We would pay the $95 fee when we booked it for them.

How would this work? I know we would have to book thru DVC & they would then be the "travel agent", but would SIL & friend "own" the reservation as far as pulling it up online, booking excursions, online check in, etc.

Thanks for any help.

[NWmom]

When you book the cruise with DVC they can pull up the reservation, do online checking, book excursions etc.

The same things your travel agents have to do for you, DVC has to do directly, so that part you might have to call on as you are the member.

1-If they cancel, just be aware that your DVC points switch to a different category and can't be used for the villas.

I can't think of the correct treminology right now. I'll try explaining it this way. Normal points are in the Green point category. You can convert them and use them in other ways. These can be use for BLT< AKL< OKW etc DVC Club locations or to switch to the RED category

Once you use them for the cruise they are RED points and can only be used for things in the RED point group- Disney collection. The regular hotel rooms. They can not be switched back to the Green category. They can only be spent on RED things.

You have to be 100% you won't cancel or you have a plan to use the RED points other ways.

2-All changes have to the reservation have a fee.
This does not mean changing dinner seating, requesting servers, adding allergies or things like that. Changing the reservation to a different category, different date, would have the fee.

When we were sure of our plans- it was a great way to go. If unsure of plans- don't do it.

3- Not sure if cancellation dates are different so check on that just so you know.

4-If cabins were available, you could upgrade rooms at the port on DVC for cash.

I hope that answered your question.

[Debbru]

Thanks for your advice. We do know of the point restrictions if cancelled and would be willing to take the risk.


Still confused about some things. Would they be able to go on disneycruise website & pull up the reservation to book excursions etc? I want them to be able to feel that it is their cruise and not feel like they have to go thru us for everything.

Thanks again.

[NWmom]

When we booked our cruise, we had to know our birthdates and our reservation number to see the cruise on the DCL website.

So as long as they have that info, I don't see why not.

I quick call to DVC or SCL swhould answer that question though.

[lovetotraveltx]

Originally Posted by Debbru

Thanks for your advice. We do know of the point restrictions if cancelled and would be willing to take the risk.


Still confused about some things. Would they be able to go on disneycruise website & pull up the reservation to book excursions etc? I want them to be able to feel that it is their cruise and not feel like they have to go thru us for everything.

Thanks again.

We got a separate cabin for our daughters using our points. They have a separate reservation number and it's under my daughters name and bday. They can separately pull up their reservation number online and book excursions, Palo etc. They only thing you need to still handle and pay for are any changes to the actual cabin location, etc.

[lovetotraveltx]

I paid with dvc points. Once the pif date passes for my cruise can I call dvc and request a paid upgrade or do I have to wait till the port?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by NWmom

When you book the cruise with DVC they can pull up the reservation, do online checking, book excursions etc.

The same things your travel agents have to do for you, DVC has to do directly, so that part you might have to call on as you are the member.

1-If they cancel, just be aware that your DVC points switch to a different category and can't be used for the villas.

I can't think of the correct treminology right now. I'll try explaining it this way. Normal points are in the Green point category. You can convert them and use them in other ways. These can be use for BLT< AKL< OKW etc DVC Club locations or to switch to the RED category

Once you use them for the cruise they are RED points and can only be used for things in the RED point group- Disney collection. The regular hotel rooms. They can not be switched back to the Green category. They can only be spent on RED things.

You have to be 100% you won't cancel or you have a plan to use the RED points other ways.

2-All changes have to the reservation have a fee.
This does not mean changing dinner seating, requesting servers, adding allergies or things like that. Changing the reservation to a different category, different date, would have the fee.

When we were sure of our plans- it was a great way to go. If unsure of plans- don't do it.

3- Not sure if cancellation dates are different so check on that just so you know.

4-If cabins were available, you could upgrade rooms at the port on DVC for cash.

I hope that answered your question.

[NWmom]

e sked that in 5/2011 and had to wait for the port to upgrade unless we wanted to spend more points and pay the change fee.

[jilljill]

Originally Posted by Debbru

Thanks for your advice. We do know of the point restrictions if cancelled and would be willing to take the risk.


Still confused about some things. Would they be able to go on disneycruise website & pull up the reservation to book excursions etc? I want them to be able to feel that it is their cruise and not feel like they have to go thru us for everything.

Thanks again.

It doesn't matter how the cruise is booked, every passenger can go onto DCL's website to do their online check in, reserve port adventures, book adult only dining and spa appts.

[Heyriddle]

You can definitely go online and make reservations. We booked our cruise through DVC. it's not the best use of our points, but oh well. Once you book, the DVC agent will give you a reservation number. You can even link your cabins for dining together.

[Heyriddle]

One more thing. If you don't have enough points, you have to pay the cash balance in full when you book. It's not like booking through another source where you can make a deposit and make payments. They basically convert your points to a cash price and apply it to the cruise. I hope that makes sense.

[dragonfly08]

Originally Posted by Debbru

Thanks for your advice. We do know of the point restrictions if cancelled and would be willing to take the risk.


Still confused about some things. Would they be able to go on disneycruise website & pull up the reservation to book excursions etc? I want them to be able to feel that it is their cruise and not feel like they have to go thru us for everything.

Thanks again.

Our last cruise was booked using my sister's DVC points.

I had full access to the reservation online...I could book Palo, excursions, etc.

But if I wanted to make any changes/adjustments to the reservation itself, like request a different cabin, get on the wait list for early dining (we had late), etc. my sister had to be on the line. Disney would not deal directly with me.

[k3chantal]

Originally Posted by Debbru

DH & I are DVC owners. We booked one of the new Southern Caribbean cruises for ourselves - paid cash - booked directly with DCL - no DVC involved.

We are thinking of booking a cabin for SIL & a friend on the same cruise using our DVC points. We would be gifting them the cruise - not renting them the points. We would pay the $95 fee when we booked it for them.

How would this work? I know we would have to book thru DVC & they would then be the "travel agent", but would SIL & friend "own" the reservation as far as pulling it up online, booking excursions, online check in, etc.

Thanks for any help.

When you book a cruise with DVC, they will give you a reservation number or numbers if you have more than one cabin. They will also ask for each persons' name and birthdate. Your SIL should be able to take that information (reservation number, her name and birthdate) and log into the DCL website to do her online check in and book excursions.

By they way, very generous of you!

[Debbru]

Thanks everyone. We booked the cabin today for SIL & friend. I was able to pull up the reservation online by "backing into" it - I had to go on the dvc member site, find the upcoming cruise booked on points & click on the link & that opened the reservation on disneycruise site. I think they will have to register a screen name and password on the DCL site in order to open it themselves. As far as I know neither one is registered on any disney site & neither has cruised before.

Thanks again for all the advice.