Cruise - points vs cash

[jasonp5]

I was looking at cruises for next June and trying to figure out how many points it would cost...Based on where my wife wants to stay and our kids, its 511 points or $3,3xx if I just pay cash. That doesn't even come close to making sense.

Am I doing something wrong? It seems as though I would be much better off renting my '08 and '09 points for $10/point, and then just paying cash for the cruise. That way I'd still have my 2010 points and I'd only owe $1xx or something out of pocket, DVC is going to charge me $95 anyway if I book the cruise on points...so even thats a wash.

Is that right!? Seems like booking a cruise on points doesn't really make sense as long as their is a market for renting points.

 

[GusMan]

Is that right!? Seems like booking a cruise on points doesn't really make sense as long as their is a market for renting points.

Personally, I have come to the same conclusion that its generally better to pay cash for a cruise.

 

[photobob]

My wife and daughter went on a cruise in April. They went on a three day and it cost me about $1600 out of pocket. If we had used points the value to rent those points was about $2300, so it doesn't seem that points are a very good value for using for a cruise. You may want to consider renting the points and using that cash to pay for the trip. That make$ better financial sense.

 

[fers31]

I've been running the numbers too and it seems you always make out MUCH better by renting the points and paying cash for the cruise.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Many people will say it is just crazy to use points for a cruise, but many people don't have the disposable cash to pay for a cruise when they are already paying for points and dues. It is more of a cash flow issue than a cash smart issue.

 

[dcamdad]

Or you could combine the two, next May we are going on the cruise for cash then returning to OKW for 5 nights on points.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Many people will say it is just crazy to use points for a cruise, but many people don't have the disposable cash to pay for a cruise when they are already paying for points and dues. It is more of a cash flow issue than a cash smart issue.

This is true.....my cash right now is flowing right to the bank for my DVC loan, to the gas pumps, and to my electric bills! It's defintely a cash flow situation!! That said, if you go on the cruise in the off sessons, using points is very reasonable.

 

[JodyTG]

We used points for our cruise because we didn't want the hassle of renting them. We started out trying to rent them but it was becoming such a total pain that we just gave up.

I know that some people that don't own at DVC understand a bit about how it works, but there's a lot more that don't understand AT ALL. It became a hassle to keep checking on dates that I knew wouldn't be available for person after person after person...long distance phone call after long distance phone call.

I had laid all the details out in advance to each person I tried to work with...1/2 down and the remainder due a week after they received the confirmation. (We had the cruise to pay for after all.) No one wanted to do that. So...we gave up.

I honestly don't see us ever renting out our points unless it's to someone we know. We think that the best use of our points is how we want to use them.

 

[DisneyBB]

We have just booked Dec 09 cruise with points. We live in the UK and it seemed a hassle to rent as we would only want to rent to UK people. This is because of the cost of transfering money. We paid for one adult, $1200 and the rest on points. We have the points and thought we might as well.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We are having two cruises coming up. We booked a cruise with points back in November as we got double points when we became members and decided that we would use them to fulfill or dream of a Disney Cruise. Unfortunately the cruise we really wanted was sold out when we booked, but has recently become available again. So we decided to book this with cash. I know that we could never have afforded to book both cruises with cash so for us this has really worked out.

dolphingirl47

 

[hakepb]

We used points for our cruise because we didn't want the hassle of renting them. We started out trying to rent them but it was becoming such a total pain that we just gave up.

I know that some people that don't own at DVC understand a bit about how it works, but there's a lot more that don't understand AT ALL. It became a hassle to keep checking on dates that I knew wouldn't be available for person after person after person...long distance phone call after long distance phone call.

I had laid all the details out in advance to each person I tried to work with...1/2 down and the remainder due a week after they received the confirmation. (We had the cruise to pay for after all.) No one wanted to do that. So...we gave up.

I honestly don't see us ever renting out our points unless it's to someone we know. We think that the best use of our points is how we want to use them.

That was what I've been thinking. You are already your own (fairly well informed) travel agent when you book your DVC points usage. If you rent out your points, then you also become the rentor's travel agent. At this point in my life I cannot guarantee I would always have enough free time to become someone else's travel agent, too.

 

[lmb]

We've booked two cruises with cash but always book very far out to get the best prices. We booked a cat 12 7-night western in Sept 09 for $2350 (transfers, no insurance) for our family of 4 (kids will be 2 and 4 at the time). It wouldn't make sense to use or rent points for that one.

 

[Wedgeh]

We have just booked Dec 09 cruise with points. We live in the UK and it seemed a hassle to rent as we would only want to rent to UK people. This is because of the cost of transfering money. We paid for one adult, $1200 and the rest on points. We have the points and thought we might as well.

I'm currently in the process of renting points to go cruising in 2010 from the UK. Using paypal it's really not that expensive, but I agree with posters saying it is quite a hassle. Fortunately my renter has been understanding with availability, but I am considering myself on the lucky side.

 

[Inkmahm]

Many people will say it is just crazy to use points for a cruise, but many people don't have the disposable cash to pay for a cruise when they are already paying for points and dues. It is more of a cash flow issue than a cash smart issue.

Rent the points first, get the cash, then pay for the cruise.

I agree with the OP, it makes no sense to use points for a cruise if you can get a cheaper price by paying cash. And that seems to be the case ALL of the time.

 

[Inkmahm]

We used points for our cruise because we didn't want the hassle of renting them. We started out trying to rent them but it was becoming such a total pain that we just gave up.

I know that some people that don't own at DVC understand a bit about how it works, but there's a lot more that don't understand AT ALL. It became a hassle to keep checking on dates that I knew wouldn't be available for person after person after person...long distance phone call after long distance phone call.

I had laid all the details out in advance to each person I tried to work with...1/2 down and the remainder due a week after they received the confirmation. (We had the cruise to pay for after all.) No one wanted to do that. So...we gave up.

I honestly don't see us ever renting out our points unless it's to someone we know. We think that the best use of our points is how we want to use them.

This is why I don't plan to rent points to a non-owner. However, transfering points to a fellow owner is easy. I have done that and will do that again in the future if and when I find myself with extra points. It also works well in a year where I need extra points for a big family reunion. I have transferred in points with little hassle at all.

 

[ROIE01581]

we do a family vacation of 11 every two years. We got the points to enjoy the grandkids and have fun at disney. So we decide cruise or WDW and use the points for two or three years as needed. Renting or selling is not in the plan..If we did not use them for the planned vacations we would not go. Its a personnel choice.