Booking 2010 European Cruises with Points

[CarolAnnC]

Well I have the "official" unofficial word, lol. We will definitely be able to book the 2010 European Cruises on October 14 with Member Services!

There is uncertainty, however, if the points charts will be ready by then. Word has it that folks can book with the $95 fee which will be refundable until the points charts are published. Details are still somewhat sketchy, but it looks like we will also have ability at least to make those initial reservations along with others who are booking that day.

Have to hurry up and do some more research on the Ports of Call!

 

[wintergreen]

Thanks for the info!

 

[snackyx]

I am a longtime DVC member but have never book a Disney crusie with points. I understand everyone is waiting for the point charts to be released. But general booking starts 10/14--is it really necessary to book that early to reserve space? Just asking, but--do these cruises really book up that fast? If I wanted to book a European Disney cruise in, say, February 2009 for summer 2010 is the actual expectation that certain catagories may actaully be sold out by then? I really don't know how quickly these cruises book up, but what is the expectation? Does Disney only allow a limited number of staterooms to be booked with points vs. cash? Has Disney said when the point charts will be available? Fill me in, cruise experts!

 

[CarolAnnC]

I am a longtime DVC member but have never book a Disney crusie with points. I understand everyone is waiting for the point charts to be released. But general booking starts 10/14--is it really necessary to book that early to reserve space? Just asking, but--do these cruises really book up that fast? If I wanted to book a European Disney cruise in, say, February 2009 for summer 2010 is the actual expectation that certain catagories may actaully be sold out by then? I really don't know how quickly these cruises book up, but what is the expectation? Does Disney only allow a limited number of staterooms to be booked with points vs. cash? Has Disney said when the point charts will be available? Fill me in, cruise experts!

There is an excellent chance that booking in the scenario above would find DVC space sold out of these cruises.

I booked the 7/18/07 Med Cruise on points in November of 2006. We wanted one cat 6 and one cat 11, and were only able to obtain guarantee reservations. The availability to DVC Members to book on points is limited on any cruise. In this particular case, there will only be 4 Baltic cruises in 2010, so many members are rushing to book ASAP. Including me, lol.

 

[wintergreen]

were only able to obtain guarantee reservations.

Hi, can you explain what this means? I'm kind of new to this. Thanks.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Once a certain amount of staterooms in a category have been sold, that category goes in guarantee status. This means that rather than being able to choose a specific stateroom, Disney promises you to assign you a stateroom in this category or higher. The actual staterooms are usually assigned about 35 days prior to sailing, but I have heard that some people only found out at the port. We were in this position for our September 1st special cruise on the Magic where we had a category 11 guaranteed. We did end up with a category 11, but it was one of the sideways staterooms that we loved so much that we rebooked it for our cruise next year.

dolphingirl47

 

[wintergreen]

Thanks so much for your response!

 

[jns]

can i book with cash on the 14th and then change to points or points / cash after the points are out

 

[denise]

I was told we could book with cash and change to points as long as the entire reservation was not paid for and it was before the 120 day mark....
so just make the deposit.....

 

[CarolAnnC]

can i book with cash on the 14th and then change to points or points / cash after the points are out

There has been no announcement of this. The current policy is you would cancel your cash reservation, and try to book a new reservation with MS, which probably won't accomplish much for you.

This takes a cash ressie and uses the lower tier pricing on it. When you cancel, the cash ressie never becomes available to a new person booking, they are always booking a higher priced tier after you.

Plus, the deposits are $600 to $800 for the European cruises, so it would tie up a lot of cash if you weren't even going to book on cash in the first place. So, the answer is no. There is no need to do this with the policy that announced above on this thread.

 

[CarolAnnC]

can i book with cash on the 14th and then change to points or points / cash after the points are out

There has been no announcement of this. The current policy is you would cancel your cash reservation, and try to book a new reservation with MS, which probably won't accomplish much for you.

This takes a cash ressie and uses the lower tier pricing on it. When you cancel, the cash ressie never becomes available to a new person booking, they are always booking a higher priced tier after you.

Plus, the deposits are $600 to $800 per person for the European cruises, so it would tie up a lot of cash if you weren't even going to book on cash in the first place. So, the answer is no. There is no need to do this with the policy that announced above on this thread.

 

[denise]

I have been advised by several to "rent" my points and pay cash...it sounds like a plan but...
if I can't "rent" them and later change to points is there a possiblity that there will be no more DVC point rooms available?
We have always used points and saved our money for the air....
Just don't want to mess up and really want to book on the 14th....

 

[CarolAnnC]

I have been advised by several to "rent" my points and pay cash...it sounds like a plan but...
if I can't "rent" them and later change to points is there a possiblity that there will be no more DVC point rooms available?
We have always used points and saved our money for the air....
Just don't want to mess up and really want to book on the 14th....

I have been informed that those DVC Members wanting to book the European cruises will need to book with MS, though there very well may not be point charts yet available. DVC plans on fully refunding back the $95 booking fee if ultimately the member decides they cannot afford the cruise on points, once the charts are published.

The number of rooms allotted to DVC members to travel on points is definitely limited. The inventories are different, and because there are cash rooms available does not mean there will be DVC rooms available on points.

I would just advise to decide how you want to pay before booking. It will be advantageous to not have to worry about penalties, stateroom choice versus guarantee categories, etc. Plus those deposits are quite pricey for these cruises.

I am concerned myself about the number of points that will be required, and I am really hoping we get to see those point charts very soon!

 

[jns]

Thanks everyone for your help
think I will book with cash and bank my points for that year

 

[denise]

I have been informed that those DVC Members wanting to book the European cruises will need to book with MS, though there very well may not be point charts yet available. DVC plans on fully refunding back the $95 booking fee if ultimately the member decides they cannot afford the cruise on points, once the charts are published.

The number of rooms allotted to DVC members to travel on points is definitely limited. The inventories are different, and because there are cash rooms available does not mean there will be DVC rooms available on points.

I would just advise to decide how you want to pay before booking. It will be advantageous to not have to worry about penalties, stateroom choice versus guarantee categories, etc. Plus those deposits are quite pricey for these cruises.

I am concerned myself about the number of points that will be required, and I am really hoping we get to see those point charts very soon!

thanks Carol,

But what is MS?

I posted some of my 08 pts I carried over to see how it goes (for rent) We might just book with points and not bother......
denise

 

[CarolAnnC]

MS=Member Services (DVC).

Good luck with renting! Still waiting on the point charts for the cruises....

 

[acourtwdw]

If you pay with points, can you still have Disney coordinate your airfare? We are thinking about the TA crossing cruise, but I don't want to hassle with getting the airfare. It's not easy to get from Detroit to Spain.

 

[dylan'smom]

If you pay with points, can you still have Disney coordinate your airfare? We are thinking about the TA crossing cruise, but I don't want to hassle with getting the airfare. It's not easy to get from Detroit to Spain.

Yes, you can add air for cash. We did that one year, but you do have to pay it in full up front. The benefit of reserving air with a cash res was always having a bird-in-the-hand while you can see if something better comes along.

bev

 

[goingsouth]

If anyone is interested in the 12 day baltic--


I'm not sure how many would be interested in this information. I just hung up from member services (DVC) and found out some point totals required for this cruise- these are based on 2 adults and 2 kids-
--for cat 6 771 per adult
cat 8 652 kids--- 225 over 13 //212 under 13
cat 9 628
cat 10 574

Oh- I wanted to add cash prices--1485 for under 12 1575 for over 12 and 4395 cat 8 adult.

I didn't ask for anything over cat 6--I was in shock over 771 and thought my heart couldnt take it.

They are opening early on the 14th at 8am.


Good Luck!

Joanne
__________________

 

[SoCalDCLfan]

just got off with MS. points for 11 Night Mediterranean:

Cat 9 546 per first 2 in stateroom, add'l child 6-12=231
Cat 4 764 per first 2 in stateroom, add'l child 13+=273, add'l child 6-12=259