2008 Cruise Points?

[dvcnewgirl]

I know that a lot of people do not agree that you should use points for cruising. I really want to take my kids and it is my only option. So when do you predict that 2008 cruise points will come out? Do you think they will be similar to the 2007 points? Any info would be great. We hope to go in the fall of 2008.

 

[Anal Annie]

I don't think you're wrong to use pts. for a cruise. I mean have you PRICED them with Disney lately? They rank right up there with the Queen Mary in price! Yes, they require a lot of pts. but are so-o worth it!

We just bought at SSR in Dec. but certainly plan to use our DVC points to cruise. We LOVED our Disney cruise in the summer of '05 (did the West Coast cruise on the Magic via cash) and are planning to scrimp & bank every single point we can this yr. into our next yrs. pts. so we can go again in '08. We're hooked on the cruises but can't afford to pay cash for a Disney cruise as often as we'd like to go. I mean that's a major chunk of cash. We're hoping to have enough pts. to cover us + 3 n. at SSR pre-cruise - but rather than borrow pts. for DS from the next yrs. pts. just pay cash for him...which is next to nothing compared to the total cash out of pocket w/o pts.

Right now the cruise sched. doesn't go beyond April '08. I called the cruiseline recently & they said they expect to maybe get the next sched. by early Feb. Until that sched. is out we don't know what they're planning to do with the Magic for the NEXT summer. I saw an internet rumor it could go to Alaska! But who knows if it would be for 7 n or 10 n cruises. That would affect the pts. req. a LOT. That's why we're just figuring on the 4 n. - at least for now... I'm hoping the DVC cruise pts. will come out soon after their cruise schedule. But I say go for it - you won't regret a single minute!

 

[simzac]

Called today to inquire about Jan 2008 cruises and MS told me that point charts for 08 cruises still aren't available. We plan to do the 3 night cruise the first week of next year. Just have to keep watching I guess.

 

[aprince&princess]

Can you not book a 2008 cruise until the chart is out? Any idea how long until the chart is available?

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We took the Wonder out for a ride two years ago. WOW, what a great experience. However, experienced as we are now... the next cruise we take will be cash and we will rent out our points to cover the cost at a significant savings in points. Why is using points the only option for taking your kids?

 

[Anal Annie]

Can you not book a 2008 cruise until the chart is out? Any idea how long until the chart is available?

As I understand it, you can book ahead into '08 BUT the thing is that the cruise schedule / intinerary has to be out to cover the date(s) you want to book. Right now, the cruises aren't posted beyond April of '08. So if you want to go in Jan-Apr of '08 you can book it now - but they may have to adjust the # of pts. required down the road when that new pt. chart comes out. If u want to go after April of '08 then you need to wait for the cruise schedule to be announced in order to book anything that far ahead. I think the Wonder will continue to do the 3 & 4 n. cruises to accomodate the Land & Sea packages. The Magic may stay in the Caribbean or is sometimes repositioned to a diff. destination for 3 months - like this summer it's going to the Med. for the 10 & 11 n. cruises from Barcelona.

 

[Anal Annie]

We took the Wonder out for a ride two years ago. WOW, what a great experience. However, experienced as we are now... the next cruise we take will be cash and we will rent out our points to cover the cost at a significant savings in points. Why is using points the only option for taking your kids?

How much you do get for renting out the pts.? Does that vary depending on which DVC you own and is there an avg. rate per pt.?! For ex., how much can one get for renting out 400 pts. at SSR? We haven't looked at that aspect at all. Who do you go thru to rent them out? Is that via a third party process only?!

 

[DisDaydreamer]

How much you do get for renting out the pts.? Does that vary depending on which DVC you own and is there an avg. rate per pt.?! For ex., how much can one get for renting out 400 pts. at SSR? We haven't looked at that aspect at all. Who do you go thru to rent them out? Is that via a third party process only?!

After reading your post I have to concede that the variables are there. We had a stateroom w/veranda and we own at BWV. So I don't know how that would compare with and inside room and owning VB points. I think each situation deserves a comparison though. There are a number of different avenues for renting out points... that is really a personal choice. I personally would (likely) do it throught the trade boards looking for someone with a nice posting history.

 

[Anal Annie]

After reading your post I have to concede that the variables are there. We had a stateroom w/veranda and we own at BWV. So I don't know how that would compare with and inside room and owning VB points. I think each situation deserves a comparison though. There are a number of different avenues for renting out points... that is really a personal choice. I personally would (likely) do it throught the trade boards looking for someone with a nice posting history.

I use Anal Annie as my screen name for a reason...'cuz I'm a real spreadsheet kind of person. Just for planning purposes - going by this yrs. cruise prices & using the '07 pt. chart I've come up with several likely scenarios. We're planning to bank enough pts. from this yr. into next yr. to have roughly 400 pts. avail. w/o borrowing ahead. That will hopefully be enough to cover 3 n. at SSR pre-cruise in a studio plus 2 adults on the 4 n. cruise in a Cat. 8 O.V.- or at least close to it (we had a Cat. 6 last time so are debating about doing a Cat.7 'cuz we liked the balcony - esp. for a 7 n cruise - but thought could do a Cat. 8 for 4 n). Anyway, we can pay cash for our son (roughly in the neighborhood of $1200). We'll buy an AP this yr. so won't have to worry about that aspect. The Land & Sea Combo. this summer (3 n land/4 n sea) in a Cat. 8 in July currently ranges from $5009 - 5461 depending on the exact date selected). So the way I figure it, if we went at that most expensive time period we'd be saving $4,261 by using our pts. Once the '08 pt. chart comes out we might have to borrow ahead a few pts. - but I don't expect it would be a LOT of pts. But $4261 is a nice chunk of change for us and seems worth using the pts.......If we can do this vac. for roughly $1200 out of pocket......I think it's worth considering......

 

[dvcnewgirl]

We took the Wonder out for a ride two years ago. WOW, what a great experience. However, experienced as we are now... the next cruise we take will be cash and we will rent out our points to cover the cost at a significant savings in points. Why is using points the only option for taking your kids?

I have not rented and I like to plan in advance. So I do not know how I would rent out the points and have the money for the deposit in advance? I guess I do not understand the logistics of it all. Thanks for any help with this!

 

[simzac]

We are planning on the 3 night cruise that sails Jan 3, 2008. There are 4 of us, myself, DW and 2 DSs. The boys will want there own room, so we are looking to book 2 Cat 11 staterooms. Cash price will be right at $3000. Based on 2007 point chart, it would take 268 points to cover this, so renting out our points isn't worth the hassle as there would be no monetary savings for us. Everyones situation is different, so you have to do what is best for you.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I just want the chart and cruises to come out. I am not good at waiting...

 

[rlmas]

"I use Anal Annie as my screen name for a reason...'cuz I'm a real spreadsheet kind of person. Just for planning purposes - going by this yrs. cruise prices & using the '07 pt. chart I've come up with several likely scenarios. We're planning to bank enough pts. from this yr. into next yr. to have roughly 400 pts. avail. w/o borrowing ahead. That will hopefully be enough to cover 3 n. at SSR pre-cruise in a studio plus 2 adults on the 4 n. cruise in a Cat. 8 O.V.- or at least close to it (we had a Cat. 6 last time so are debating about doing a Cat.7 'cuz we liked the balcony - esp. for a 7 n cruise - but thought could do a Cat. 8 for 4 n). Anyway, we can pay cash for our son (roughly in the neighborhood of $1200). We'll buy an AP this yr. so won't have to worry about that aspect. The Land & Sea Combo. this summer (3 n land/4 n sea) in a Cat. 8 in July currently ranges from $5009 - 5461 depending on the exact date selected). So the way I figure it, if we went at that most expensive time period we'd be saving $4,261 by using our pts. Once the '08 pt. chart comes out we might have to borrow ahead a few pts. - but I don't expect it would be a LOT of pts. But $4261 is a nice chunk of change for us and seems worth using the pts.......If we can do this vac. for roughly $1200 out of pocket......I think it's worth considering......"

Anytime you can get $10 per point by using them risk and hassle free you should do so. I am not sure I follow your math, but from experience and from reading other's comments, $10 is not normal with the cruise trade. Does the combo include food and/or passes. If so, you would have to subtract that from what you are getting. Maybe I am confused, but we are looking at doing a cruise in summer 2008, so I am very curious about how this works as I too would like to use my points.

 

[Anal Annie]

Rlmas -

What I was trying to say is that I've priced the Land & Sea combo packages and calculated how many pts. (based on the '07 chart) we'd need to do 3 n pre-cruise at SSR + the no. of pts. we'd need to cover 2 adults on a 4 n. cruise - and then just plan to pay cash for our son's portion of the cruise (approx. $1,200). For the combo we'd need 447 pts for a Cat 7, 403 for a Cat 8 and 373 for a Cat 9. Our plan is to have 402 pts. w/o borrowing ahead into the NEXT yr. - which is an opt. we're considering, depending on which Cat. we decide to do. The Land & Sea pkgs incl. your park tickets and 3 n. hotel rm (either at a mod. or deluxe resort based on the Cat you select). We're planning to go to WDW in Aug. this yr. and will buy the annual pass for the park tickets & then go on THIS trip earlier next yr so that we won't have to buy park tickets again in '08. So with this scenario, if the cash price of the package = say $5400 and we only have to pay $1200 for our son 'cuz we're doing the rest on pts., then we're keeping that $4200 diff. in our pocket.

The other opt. I want to explore is the idea of paying cash for the 3 n. pre-cruise - doing this would free up 71 of our pts. to use toward the cruise & might actually be a slightly cheaper opt. than paying the $1200 for our sons portion of the cruise. (Forgetting the land portion, 2 adults + our son on the 4 n cruise would req. 480 pts for a Cat 7, 436 for a Cat 8 & 406 pts for a Cat 9). With this plan, we'd only have to borrow 4 pts. from the next yr. to cover all of us on the cruise in a Cat 9 - so we'd just be switching where we put the cash amt that we have to pay. Either opt. to me sounds like a better plan than shelling out roughly $5400 for the 3 of us to do a land & sea combo. We paid cash for the 7 n West Coast cruise 2 yrs ago + 3 n at Disneyland - so we were well over $8K PLUS our spending $ we racked up on the ship & excursions - and we're not about to spend that kind cash on a vac. again (although it was AWESOME - that's just nuts when we now own at SSR)! Using pts. to cruise was one of the reasons we bought into the DVC - 'cuz the cruises are so expensive. But anyway, I plan to call MS again to discuss our options once the cruise sched. is out for the summer of '08.

Math is not my forte but did you follow me this time or does this only work in my mind?

 

[rlmas]

I follow your thought process.

If you have notalready done so, you may wish to check the cash price for the cruise from both MS and DCL directly. If you are booking early, the DCL price will be much better.

Good Luck!

 

[kimberh]

Just a thought here. You can rent or transfer your points (if they have not been banked) and pay cash for your cruise. I booked our Disney Cruise for 3 rooms on a 3 day cruise through Sams Club. I did not pay anywhere close to what you are saying. We took 9 people, one was 2, but I had to pay port charges on her. It was in Dec. The cruise before the price went to prime.

 

[Anjelica]

Keep in mind that when comparing renting out your DVC points vs using them for a cruise that you are comparing apples to apples.

I think sometimes folks overlook the fact that when you use your DVC points at a DVC resort you are only using them for accomodations and the Disney transportation. When you use your points for the DCL then you are getting accomodations, entertainment, most of your meals, child care for 3 and up, etc. included.

So keep in mind the "true" costs of using your points for DCL - you may find out that you are getting a deal.

 

[Anal Annie]

Just a thought here. You can rent or transfer your points (if they have not been banked) and pay cash for your cruise. I booked our Disney Cruise for 3 rooms on a 3 day cruise through Sams Club. I did not pay anywhere close to what you are saying. We took 9 people, one was 2, but I had to pay port charges on her. It was in Dec. The cruise before the price went to prime.

I understand your point 'cuz you had so many ppl. going. But, I don't think we're looking at the same trip - it looks like with what you're saying, you did the 3 n. cruise in "value" season and just the cruise, not a 7 n combo pkg. (and you didn't say what cat. you stayed in - that affects the $ a LOT too). The prices that I quoted earlier were for 7 n "pkgs" with 3 n at the parks & the 4 n cruise plus I priced it in "peak" season. My same scenario in "value" season would be approx. $2K less cash in a Cat. 8 (or 357 pts. for the 3 of us for the whole "pkg"). Likewise, if we just did a 3 n. cruise rather than 4 n, with no land it would be $3,556 less in "value season". But that's not what we want to do or when we want to go so we're not looking at the same trip in this case.

Ideally, we would rather do a 7 n. cruise - but since the cruise sched. isn't out for summer '08 yet we can't check those prices. If they take the Magic to some exotic & special destination like they're doing this summer & do 10 n cruises that knocks that opt. out for us 'cuz that's just way too many pts.

I have priced the cruises / pkgs. thru DCL, Costco, Cruisesonly.com & Expedia ETC. on many occasions. For the min. cat. we want / when we want to go we would still rather keep the cash in our pocket & use our pts.... I think everybody's situation really does require a lot of comparisons & thought before deciding - we just don't see putting out a lot of cash for our vacations now that we've already pd. for our DVC membership - the whole point of buying for us was to try to limit our future cash spending for our vacations. But for some situations, like yours for 9 ppl, it wouldn't be practical.

 

[Anal Annie]

Keep in mind that when comparing renting out your DVC points vs using them for a cruise that you are comparing apples to apples.

I think sometimes folks overlook the fact that when you use your DVC points at a DVC resort you are only using them for accomodations and the Disney transportation. When you use your points for the DCL then you are getting accomodations, entertainment, most of your meals, child care for 3 and up, etc. included.

So keep in mind the "true" costs of using your points for DCL - you may find out that you are getting a deal.

EXACTLY - you have to look at the cruises like you look at "all inclusive" resorts. And the evening meals are NICE meals, not Applebees or TGIFridays type stuff. The freedom the kids club provides is AWESOME. It gives the adults the time to have their vacation & it lets the kids have theirs. The cruises are the BOMB!

 

[Starr W.]

EXACTLY - you have to look at the cruises like you look at "all inclusive" resorts. And the evening meals are NICE meals, not Applebees or TGIFridays type stuff. The freedom the kids club provides is AWESOME. It gives the adults the time to have their vacation & it lets the kids have theirs. The cruises are the BOMB!

Do you play bingo on cruises Annie? DH laughs when I plan my day around it.

Did my first cruise 27 years ago this summer(was on the real Love Boat to Alaska). Absolutely love them and yes you get your food included so that some how has to be given a point value, when pondering the points/cash situation.

Were thinking of maybe trying a 3day(boys haven't done one yet and the eldest due to his meds has a tendency to bet motion sickness) for Thanksgiving 2008 and a couple days at SSR. If things go okay then will look to doing Alaska, maybe use points for HA(I think the only major line I haven't cruised on) or back to Princess(my fave).