As of Friday afternoon, April 20, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time,
DVC Member Services still didn't have the 2002
Disney Cruise Chart. I know this because we're interested in booking a cruise in 2002, and I talked to Member Services about it on Friday.
They'll book cruises -- but you have to agree to pay however many points the new chart shows once it's released! This essentially means you're giving Disney a blank check, and they can fill in the amount later.
With a slowing economy and little inflation, I hope the 2002 chart will be similar to the 2001 chart. But who knows? It could be 10% or 20% or 30% higher than the 2001 chart .
What if you book a cruise for 2002 and, when the 2002 chart is released, you decide that the point requirments are too high so you cancel? Well, you're out the $75 fee, and the points can no longer be used for DVC accomodations or II exchanges -- only as reservation points for Disney Collection hotels, Concierge Collection hotels, and, I would assume, for Adventurer Collection.
Who knows why it's taking so long to release the 2002 chart? (I would like to think that it's because DVC management is trying to negotiate a highly favorable arrangement with
Disney Cruise Line, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part.)
Disney Cruise Line is losing business from DVC members. I'm sure there are plenty of DVC members who would be very uneasy about commiting an unknown number of points for a Disney Cruise.
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Werner Weiss, Curator of
Yesterland, featuring discontinued
Disneyland attractions
