booking a cruise question

[justcruisin]

I believe I can book it at the 11 month window. Does that mean I can call on Sept 1 2003 for an August 16 2004 cruise?

 

[CarolMN]

I believe the window for booking cruises is 11 months prior to cruise departure date. That would make the date to call September 16, 2003.

Haven't heard that the point charts for the 2004 cruises are out yet. Hopefully, they will be out soon.

 

[rae519]

I just booked my cruise (actually my first anything DVC) through Disney Vacation Club. I had a cash reservation that I traded for my points - got my same room (hurrah!) and dinining time (early!). It was easy and relatively quick to do.

I am going to call this week to set up one for next year but with the points not out yet, I am unsure what I'll be told.

I'll report back when I get an answer.

Rae

 

[Dean]

They have reported allowing bookings without the points charts out but apparently you are committed even if the points go up and you change your mind. Maybe you could book a cancellable cash reservations then see what things look like when the points charts come out. Good luck.

 

[Bill K]

Rae,
I don't want to get personal, but my wife has been insistant on going on the Disney Cruise. I would also love to go but my thought is this. I love visiting DW once a year. If we use our points for the cruise (250pt/Aug use year) I would exhaust around 3 years of points (bank,and Borrow) I have 3 children also included in this formula. I thought it would be wiser to pay cash for the cruise. How do you feel about using your point allotment. What is your situation.
Your help is appreciated!

 

[justcruisin]

Rae,
how did you trade cash for points? I didn't think this was permitted.
Thanks

 

[rae519]

Hi!

I had previously made the reservation while on the ship (discount and onboard credit). But the reason DH and I bought DVC in the first place was for cruising. We don't have the time, energy or inclination to either camp or book a room and deal with meals, wash, etc.

Our initial purchase was HH at 400 points. We later took 150 at Wilderness Lodge. So we have a lot of points and looked at the October 03 cruise and thought, "heck! Use the points up!"

It took 198 each for me and my Mom, and 71 points for my DS (8).
467 total. Plus $75.00 fee. I did lose the $200 on board credit though.

All I did was call DVC tell the representative what I had and what I wanted to do. I held the line while he spoke to DCL and kept my original room and dining time.

The reason we got so many points is that we are middle aged now and at the peak of our earning power. With our DVC's paid off, our only cost now is the fees/taxes that we have taken out of our checking account monthly. It's a win-win situation for us when we retire and the income goes down - we will still have our vacations.

Bill K - things might be different for you with 3 children in the mix. I highly recommend the cruise as long as you and DW both agree on the cost (points) and value. Since I have already paid for my points, it's like money in the bank for me - and I'd rather use that than cash.

Dean - thanks for the info. I have to get something before March 1, 2004 for us or lose my VWL points! Seems like the more points you have, the easier it is to lose them! Since we have two use years, we have to be careful!!!

If I missed a question or you have any others, please don't hesitate to ask - I can only tell you what I know and pass the buck if I don't!

Rae

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by justcruisin
Rae,
how did you trade cash for points? I didn't think this was permitted.
Thanks

Renting of points is definitely permitted, says so in about four or five places in the POS. Anything else is wishful thinking.

Rae, I don't really understand about losing points, lol. Actually this can be one of the reason's to use points for lost of things that aren't truly a good value. Depending on the time of the cruise, and how many discounts are available, the cruise is less of a hit on points ($ per point) in relationship to DC exchanges and CC.

 

[DISNEYWORLDBORN2SHOP]

BILL K-

We were in the same boat as you with the cruise. We only have 240 points so booking a cruise meant a couple of years of no Disney. What we ended up doing was booking myself and DH with points and paying cash for the kids. That only used up a year and a half of points and left us with just enough for one week in a studio next summer.

The way I see it - who cares if we are always borrowing from the next year when you never know what the future will bring. At least we are enjoying our points.

 

[rae519]

Dean - by losing points, I meant that a person could "forget" to bank their points.

I had an original reservation made through DCL while on ship, that gave me the $200 on board credit. Since I have enough points, I called DVC and told them that I wanted to use my points rather than cash for my trip and that's what happened. My $750.00 deposit was returned and I am using only points for the cruise.

English is my second language and sometimes I get my words all scrambled up! Sorry!

Rae

 

[Bill K]

Thanks all for the info. This is the best forum I belong to...

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by rae519
Dean - by losing points, I meant that a person could "forget" to bank their points.

I had an original reservation made through DCL while on ship, that gave me the $200 on board credit. Since I have enough points, I called DVC and told them that I wanted to use my points rather than cash for my trip and that's what happened. My $750.00 deposit was returned and I am using only points for the cruise.

English is my second language and sometimes I get my words all scrambled up! Sorry!

Rae

Not a problem. Still the point that some people may have points they need to use or lose is a valid one. To me that's different than true value but for an individual person may be very important.

 

[mickeyc]

We booked the Disney Wonder from Jan. 5th thru the 9th using our points. However, I learned one day after booking that the cruise had a steep cash discount. In retrospect if I had known in advance I may have paid cash instead of using the points. The cruise was enjoyble and we all had a great time.

I felt there should be better coordination between Disney and the tour groups offering steep discounts. This website is a great place to learn of those discounts. Enjoy!