12/09/06 Cruise Continued ~ Pirating Bananas DIS Geekorama Part 2

[kristen821]

Sorry about that. I have alot on my mind and feel compelled to share.

Oh that's ok. I will eventually catch up

 

[jordanyosh]

Just sitting here getting ready for football. I am a Bucs fan, but do like Mark Brunell and Joe Gibbs. 2nd game..definitely for Jacksonville. I am done with New England winning.

 

[Jhalkias]

Sheesh, I had a lot to catch up on too! Between HS basketball games, puppy training, and school board meetings, I was worn out and could not get online for a few days! The puppy is sleeping now SHHHHHHHHHHH - she has had enough of my fingers in her mouth for now.

Birthdays is a nice idea . . . DD Sophia will be 6 on Feb 17, DW's birthday is on Dec 11, and will be celebrated on the cruise. DS (who is not coming with us again because he has college finals and is probably done sailing with his parents until we are the grandparents someday) shares a birthday with me on June 15th - I will be 46 this year, and find that hard to fathom.

Funny thing, I had a son born on my BD, and so did my dad (my brother) their BD is June 24 -and my dad is a twin. When my uncle was alive we used to have one BD party for all five of us. Dad will be 84 this year.

Mark, we own at VB, BCV, and SSR - all DVC. We are addicted to DVC.

No 90% off at our target - Sophia and I were there today. The best I saw was 50% off.

Leaving to meet DW soon for dinner (she is working today) and back home to catch some of the football playoffs even without my Browns.

John

 

[LiserAnn]

Funny thing, I had a son born on my BD, and so did my dad (my brother) their BD is June 24 -and my dad is a twin. When my uncle was alive we used to have one BD party for all five of us. Dad will be 84 this year.

John-This is interesting, like father, like son!!! My DH is a twin (boy/girl) and my 7 yo son's bday is June 25!

Lisa W.

 

[jordanyosh]

Continuing on the birthday theme, my birthday is on Feb 24th. My parent's anniversary is May 24th...do the math.

 

[MrsMork]

Continuing on the birthday theme, my birthday is on Feb 24th. My parent's anniversary is May 24th...do the math.

 

[Jhalkias]

Jordan -

Another interesting fact - DW and I were married on May 24 too.

John

 

[lbgraves]

Another tie in with May 24th...that is my sister's birthday.

 

[lbgraves]

OK, all the bdays that I have had pmd, emailed or that I have seen in the posts are on the website...go to the last page. If you don't see yours please pm me.

The carpet looks great! This was the first time either of us have installed wall to wall carpet so are very happy with the time savings...though we are both very sore from all the lifting & knee kicking. Tomorrow we are painint the room so the computer is quickly hooked up on the tv stand in the corner while the tv is on the floor with the couch. Everything is in the other side of the house waiting.

 

[GoofyFD]

Hi Mark,
If you have questions, feel free to go ahead and PM me and we can discuss at length (unless others in the thread have questions).

Watch out, you'll get addicted... we find ourselves having to map out our whole year now to make sure we maximize our points. We are vacation fiends...

Wendy,
I first have to find a way to pay for them!!! I would really like to chat about them I'll PM you. For others in our group do you use them or do you feel like they are a waste of time, money? I don't want to make a bad decision.

 

[GoofyFD]

Mark, we own at VB, BCV, and SSR - all DVC. We are addicted to DVC.
John

John,
You own at all three? Is that like $20,000 for each property? Do you use your points for your cruises? If so how much points do you have to use for each cruise? Can you go to say, Hawaii with you points?
Mark

 

[disneygatorfan]

Update:

Rebooked Disneyland for December 1-8th...

So if I am not completely broke come December 10th, you just might see me on again..

Until then, I have my 2/18 Eastern to give me a fix...

 

[Jhalkias]

Yes Mark, I own at all three, but it is not 20K each! I think we paid less than $70 per point when we bought VB (perhaps around $65 after discounts).

I can't remember exactly how much I paid for each, but I know there was some kind of promo with each one that reduced the cost. I could dig it up in my records . . .The cost also depends on the amount of points. We have 220 at Vero, 220 at BCV, and this year added 110 at SSR. Total of 550 points. When we figured out how much we were paying to stay at WDW in a deluxe resort, we decided that DVC was a better deal for us.

Yes, we have used the points to cruise, but many DVC members would say that it is too costly to use the points to cruise. It is typically over 200 points per person to cruise in anything above a cat 8. Most people value a point if they rent them at between $8-$10. We have found it more cost effective to pay cash for the cruise in the recent past, but may cruise with points again (but it keeps going up!)

We have not done anything outside of Disney at this point, but we could. Resorts at Hawaii are an option, as are resorts and hotels all over the world. Someday . . . We have owned since 2001. We just LOVE the DVC resorts and staying at WDW - especially Old Key West.

The DVC board here has some excellent info too - but feel free to ask any more questions.

John

 

[WendyO]

Yes, we have used the points to cruise, but many DVC members would say that it is too costly to use the points to cruise. It is typically over 200 points per person to cruise in anything above a cat 8. Most people value a point if they rent them at between $8-$10. We have found it more cost effective to pay cash for the cruise in the recent past, but may cruise with points again (but it keeps going up!)

We have not done anything outside of Disney at this point, but we could. Resorts at Hawaii are an option, as are resorts and hotels all over the world. Someday . . . We have owned since 2001. We just LOVE the DVC resorts and staying at WDW - especially Old Key West.

Although it is more costly to use points for the cruise vs. the DVC properties, we used them this last time for our cruise to cover my husband and my son, and were still able to cover a 2-bedroom villa and a studio for the week prior at WDW. I think it depends on whether or not you want to use your money for... for use we typically only go to WDW once every 12-24 months so we use about 2 years worth of points each time, so we decide how to best spend our points that trip. For us, it was cheaper to use points to cover 1/2 our party on the cruise rather than paying cash for this trip.

It was quite nice not having to pay that much for the trip... esp. since we spent a ton on the ship... ha ha ha.

We also thought about using points for things other than Disney but quickly realized that we never wanted to trade out, hence our need to purchase non-DVC timeshares... ha ha. But it is nice to own Starwood, since we can use those points at the Swan and Dolphin if we needed to.

w

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Wendy,
I first have to find a way to pay for them!!! I would really like to chat about them I'll PM you. For others in our group do you use them or do you feel like they are a waste of time, money? I don't want to make a bad decision.

Mark, there is a thread going on DVC - lots of people discussing why they love DVC - I haven't seen anyone who is sorry or felt mislead. It made us feel good about our decision. No buyers remorse, only excited to close and make our ressies!

My DH and I were talking about the points tonight. Some people think it is really expensive to use them for other than DVC resorts. But, we were thinking, if that is what you wanted to do that year, why not use the points??? When it is paid for - it will all be free to stay!

 

[bubbasmom99]

We have 150 pts at VWL and 100 at BCV (I need to get on a wait list to add to BCV). We have used points for Disneyland stays, but mainly villas. I have rented out before to pay for cash stays at DL and for the cruise. I just can't bear to spend all those points (I usually use the $10/point to equate it) when people are willing to rent them and give me cash instead, and when cash is a better option (like for a DL vacation package).

 

[jordanyosh]

Just got home from a day trip to the mountains. Went to hear a friend speak at a retreat.

Both my teams lost in football and the Ducks lost, but what's new.

I know I am alone as it is almost 1 am.....or am I? We'll find out soon enough.

 

[jordanyosh]

No one, anyone? Bueller?

 

[jordanyosh]

Lisa, the site looks great. Thanks for updating it with the Birthdays. Lots of birthdays in February.

 

[jordanyosh]

Well time to hit the hay....See ya in the morning for more football....