cruise and points question

[Ambifins]

Hi,
I thought I had seen a thread about this earlier, but couldn't find it again. I'm trying to arrange a DCL trip (my 1st cruise ever!) in March, and I wanted to use points for me, and pay cash for my fiance. Has anyone done this before?
I guess my questions are these: should I book through DVC, and will I end up paying the most possible for my fiance? It's not that I'm a cheapskate or anything. Really. Not a cheapskate. Nope. OK, yes I am.
I've read some threads about people not using points at all for a cruise, but that won't really work for me.
Thanks!

 

[Mary Anne]

You can pay points and use cash but it needs to be done through member services. I've heard you really don't get any type of deal cash wise via member services and you pretty much pay top dollar. Many people rent the points for via the rent & trade board here and then use the cash to book both people getting discounts. That would be your best bet if you want to save some dollars.

 

[wdwstar]

plus you have to pay $75 for the booking fee thru MS and pay for the whole trip when booking. if you pay cash thru dcl thru the website you can make payments all the up to 75 days from the depature.

 

[CarolMN]

You'll pay the cash price that has been negotiated by DVC with DCL. It may be more or less than the cash price currently being charged by DCL or a TA.

Since cruise bookings generally cost less the farther in advance you book, the price MS will charge will probably only compare favorably if you book close to the departure date. (I'm not recommending this, LOL - just saying that the MS price looks better if you are comparing it to a TA price when it's close to the departure date. If you compare longer in advance (usually the cheapest way to book a cruise ), it won't look so good).

Also, if you care about getting a particular cabin, keep in mind that you can only book 11 months in advance when you use points - cash reservations will have been open for quite a while before that, so the cabin(s) you wanted may already be booked. Also, be sure you understand the cancellation and change policies before you book with points. Most changes require payment of another $75 fee and cancellation puts some signigficant restrictions on how you can use the points from the cancelled cruise reservation.

My advice is to just call MS and ask them what the price for your fiance will be. Then you will have the information you need to make your decision.

Best wishes -