Cruising On Points

[maciec]

We need to use some of our points and we were thinking about using them towards a cruise. How does it work when you book a cruise if you use points and pay cash?

This is our first cruise so we are completely in the dark on this on.

 

[rogerram]

I used points for the cruise. What I did was see what I had available for points, used that for some people and payed cash for the rest of us. It worked out well. Next time,though, I will rent out my points and buy the cruise with that. I can get a much better deal. More than likely go from a 3 or 4 day cruise on points to paying for a 7 day cruise with the money I get from renting my points.

Goodluck,

Roger

 

[maciec]

I never thought of selling the points and using the cash. That sounds like a great idea. Thank you!

 

[Plutofan]

If you are looking for a cruise in 2007 with cash you should call soon to get the best rates. We booked a 4 night Disney cruise for July 8, 2007. You get the best prices the earlier you book. The 2007 crusies started going on sale in December. When I priced ours out Disney was giving us a rate of $7.5 per point so it is definitly better if you can rent out your points. You can usuaully rent out your points for $10. The best rate that I found for the cruise was with Small World Vactions. They provide great service. From what I found most travel agents have the same price but what seperates Small World is that you get a bigger cash rebate back after you complete the cruise than other travel agents.

 

[maciec]

Thanks for the great advice. I am going to check into Small World. I found their information through mousesavers.

In all of my reading, I don't think that I have found anyone that recommends using points to go on the cruise. I guess it's just like staying at one of the Disney hotels ~ not a good deal.

 

[PBader]

It used to be a much better deal--the points just escalte every year for them. We have gone on 2 cruises with our points , but the last 2 we paid cash and got a much better deal IMO.
Paula

 

[MOQu]

FYI- We booked our cruise through Costco Travel after making our reservation directly with Disney and then transferring it to Costco. It saved us big $$ over any other way.

 

[Plutofan]

FYI- We booked our cruise through Costco Travel after making our reservation directly with Disney and then transferring it to Costco. It saved us big $$ over any other way.

Just for the fun of it you should try pricing your cruise at Small Worlds Vaction. I priced our our cruise at Sams Club which is similiar to Costco. I was surprised that they had the exact same price as Small Worlds Vaction. The difference was Small Worlds Vactions gives you a cash rebate after you complete your trip. For us this meant an additional $200 savings over Sams. We are cruising in July 2007 and we can cancel out until April 2007 and get our complete deposit back. It maybe worth your time.

 

[caveat lector]

While it's not a great value, using your points is definitely an easy process. Renting my points would have added another layer of complexity to my vacation planning. So, I opted to just use the points. For me, simplicity outweighed savings on my last cruise. Maybe next time it will be different.