Are the Disney Cruises a good use of points?

[edk35]

Just curious if you use points for the cruises. Our guide said we should use some points and then pay cash for our kids.

 

[DVCconvert]

Are the Disney Cruises a good use of points?

No. --no way. Use the search function and you'll find out more details.

 

[Dean]

The cruise almost always returns a value of about $6-6.75 per point compared to early booking discounts, less if you have access to special rates like FL residents. The problem with paying part cash and part points is that the part you pay cash is higher per item than the same item within a total cash transaction.

For sake of a simple example say that your cruise you wanted would cost you 600 points for the first 2 adults and $600 per person for two extra children. That same cruise might be $4000 for the first two adults plus $500 per child. You'd have to pay any DVC cash amount in full up front while $250 deposit per person would hold a 7 day cruise until late in the game. Plus with the cash you could cancel up to a couple of months prior and get all your money back. If you cancelled the DVC cruise, all your points would be reservation points that must be used by the end of that use year and could not be used at DVC resorts.

But the bottom line is that you should look at your exact situation and see what works best. You may catch it for a cruise or category that isn't discounted that much and what's best for you might be the reverse of the usual. One mistake many make is they wait too late then are comparing points to cash after having missed the early booking discounts.

 

[Mrs. Jumbo]

We used points for 3 cruises, but won't be doing that again. After discovering the disboards, I realized it's cheaper and more flexible to book with cash. I was so dumb!!