Confused by cruise points

[tink713]

Ok DH and I would like to take a 3 night cruise followed by 5 days at the parks. I'm looking at the point chart and its about 162 points i regular season for a category 6. At the bottom it says it based on double occupancy, but also says the points are per person. So does that mean the 3 night cruise would be 162 points or a whopping 324 points!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

It would be 324 points. Double occupancy just means the anticipated point requirement is based on 2, if there is only one, a single supplement would be needed.

 

[Inkmahm]

Ok DH and I would like to take a 3 night cruise followed by 5 days at the parks. I'm looking at the point chart and its about 162 points i regular season for a category 6. At the bottom it says it based on double occupancy, but also says the points are per person. So does that mean the 3 night cruise would be 162 points or a whopping 324 points!

Exactly! You're much better off paying cash for the cruise rather than using points. You could probably rent those points or transfer them to another member at $10 each. Take the $3,240 cash, pay for your cruise and have lots left over for excursions, etc.

 

[babiektcher]

Isn't it just the craziest thing ever? A cruise is no where near worth 324 points. We are going on a cruise in 2010 and I am just paying cash but using my points to pay for the stay after.

 

[fers31]

This is a great scenario. You can rent these points for more than $3000 and book the same room cash for less than $1000. Yet, there are people who constantly use their points on cruises. Doesn't make any sense.

 

[Jacky]

Well, you have to be able to rent the points, get the $$$ and all that. Its more work than just oh rent out points. And I see where someone had charges left on their DVC accounts (although it was a BIL and it all worked out in the end)

Just trying to show the other point of view. Thats why some just use their points.

Jacky

 

[Jacky]

Actually I just compared the 3 night cruise in Feb 2010-- (Feb 11 2010)

Cat 9: oceanview room--95 pts per person or $1643 for 2 people in cash. Do the points include the port fees and such? I think the price is pretty close.

Looking at the 12 day Helsinki cruise:

July 2010 Cat 9: 628 points per person $9600 for 2. Now that one has a difference, but if it includes all the port fees, the difference may not be so much.

Jacky

 

[kerickson]

Yes, there are risks with renting. You are ultimately responsible for any charges related to the unit you book (whether you use it personally or rent it). Due to that and the hassle, I'll most likely never rent, but I will look at transfering points to another member next time I want to book a cruise. The points for cruises rose quite a bit in 2010. Will be interesting to see what they look like in 2011.

 

[tink713]

Wow that is crazy. I wonder why the point value is so high? DH and I were talking about buying into BLT anways so we might as well do this and then get the free 3 night cruise with it.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I think the cruise points are too high, too; however, I want to go on a 7-night Western Carribean cruise one of these days. A PP mentioned doing a transfer. Sounds like a good idea, but you can't transfer banked or borrowed points, can you? That definitely limits the amount of money I would be able to get!

 

[kerickson]

I think the cruise points are too high, too; however, I want to go on a 7-night Western Carribean cruise one of these days. A PP mentioned doing a transfer. Sounds like a good idea, but you can't transfer banked or borrowed points, can you? That definitely limits the amount of money I would be able to get!

But I think you could still transfer 2 years worth of points, they would just stay in their use years. If a member needs that many points for one ressie they can bank once they receive them a book a reservation for the latter year. Or you just save the $ from the 1st transaction until the 2nd transfer and then book your cruise. Cash is cash, doesn't matter what UY it came from.

You can also book cruises with a mix of points and cash - but you have to use all points or all cash for a particular person. So you could book yours on cash then add a second person via points and visa versa. The downside is that you probably don't get the same cash incentives and you have to pay in full at booking.

 

[tink_lover]

We booked a cruise with points recently. Between developer points, banked points, etc, we just didn't want things to go to waste. I booked one room (cat 11) with 3 people with points and paid cash for the cat. 7 room across the hall. I realize it is not the best use of points, but I'm ok with that. We have been trying to get this cruise scheduled and are happy it is finally done.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

But I think you could still transfer 2 years worth of points, they would just stay in their use years. If a member needs that many points for one ressie they can bank once they receive them a book a reservation for the latter year. Or you just save the $ from the 1st transaction until the 2nd transfer and then book your cruise. Cash is cash, doesn't matter what UY it came from.

You can also book cruises with a mix of points and cash - but you have to use all points or all cash for a particular person. So you could book yours on cash then add a second person via points and visa versa. The downside is that you probably don't get the same cash incentives and you have to pay in full at booking.

After posting I got to thinking about that. I could just do one transfer instead of banking, then do another transfer the next year. It's just double the hassle though. But the way you put it, it sounds like you can do it all at once--just two years worth of points?

 

[Jacky]

I see cat 6 for 4 in a room about 3 grand or so. Not so far away from the 362 points. I don't know how many in your room and how old kids.

Jacky

 

[Inkmahm]

We're doing the 7 day Eastern cruise leaving Dec 5. I just looked up the points for this cruise, it would be 233 each or 466 points for my DH and me. And we're going in value season so that is the cheapest- in March, the same cruise is 341 points each.

466 points would be $4,660 if I transfered them to someone at $10 each. (Last time I got $11 each but that was for VWL points in time for a fellow member to use them to book at 11 months for December.)

We actually paid $2,957 AND got $400 of shipboard credit for a net cost of $2,557. That price is 10% discounted because we rebooked when we were on a cruise in 2007.

In any case, I would not spend the equivalent of $4,660 for something that I paid $2,557 for. No way.