Cruise sold out?

[jerinknox]

My mom and dad tried to book a 4 day cruise for June 13 for their anniversary and were told that DVC has no more rooms on the ship even though if you call the Cruise Line there are plenty of rooms.

So mom said ok, what cruises are available? None until October. Yes, I said none until October. No 3 day, No 4 day and no 7 day.

Here I am going back and forth on buying more points and my mom tells me this.

What is the point of buying points if you can't use them
??????????

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

See if you can rent some of the points and pay cash for the June cruise.

DVC works best IMHO when you plan far in advance. This is an example.

HBC

 

[Dan Murfman]

Wow all the cruises and all the DVC resorts are sold out until October. I'm glad I made my reservation early.

 

[jel0511]

Also, DCL only allows DVC to book only so many staterooms on points. Once DVC's allotment is gone, it's gone, they can't get more rooms, even if DCL has more available to sell.

 

[jerinknox]

Not all DVC resorts just the cruise.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Wow jerinknox, you've been on lots of Disney cruises. Did you always use points? When I read of your experience, I realize how lucky we were to just book the 3 night cruise on Nov. 11th, earlier this week. Do your parents have alternate plans for their anniversary? I hope so.

Bobbi

 

[ClarabelleCow]

people book cruises months in advance, I think with points, 11 months but I can be wrong, people are booking cruises out 15 months!

1 month notice is not vey much using points, I tried 4 months in advance for a 4 day and couldn't get anything.

I just paid cash for a 3 night in August, I didn't even bother checking on points

good luck

If its just your parents, they would probably love to go in October, less crowds/kids on the cruises.

 

[mousefansmom]

I agree with the notion of selling your points and booking for cash. DCL may be sold out, but some of their rooms were sold to travel agents to re-sell. Those travel agents may still have inventory. I just helped my friend book an August cruise on the Wonder. She didn't know that she could book outside of DCL direct.
Keep trying, and good luck!

Mousefansmom

 

[Dean]

As I noted in the last couple of days on another thread, DCL blocks DVC cruise reservations as the cruise gets more full. Much like airlines and hotels block reservations for FF miles and points programs.

 

[theboysmom]

We just booked the October 16th cruise on tuesday and they could only give us a selection of three category 9 rooms none of them were midship. I never would have guessed how far in advance these things book! I will know now for the future. I feel lucky that the family has a week together to enjoy the cruise and am very grateful that it fits in with our vacation plans. We are really excited. This is our first cruise ever!

 

[JimC]

DCL is quite popular, so much so that it can charge premium prices. I suspect that the repositioning and west coast cruises in 2005 will likley be sold out before the end of the summer.

 

[PamOKW]

1 month to plan any cruise is pretty tight planning. Even October is only 5 months away.

I think people may have gotten used to availability over the last few years. The tourism industry is picking up again. Many Americans are still a bit reluctant to travel overseas but they are looking to take domestic (or semi-domestic) cruises and vacations. The deep discounts and easy availability at WDW may be reversing and heading back to more normal pre-9/11 levels.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

We booked our cruise we were on in Feb, 18 months out. The earlier you book DCL the better discount you get.