Cruising on points??

[kmccl]

Ok, so I get it that it is not the best value to use points for cruises. I have tried to figure things out on my own to see what it would cost my family in points and/or cash to go on a cruise. I have no idea what the answer is. The charts don't really make that much sense to me. So here are my questions - If I wanted to take my family of 6 (me, wife, 4 kids ages 4-13 as we will not cruise until our smallest is at least 4) on a cruise, what would I have to do? Would I have to use points for all of us? Can I use points for myself and my wife and pay for the kids? I think our guide suggested this and said the kids would not cost much money since my wife and I each would have "paid" for the room in points. Would we all be in the same room? or would we have to get two seperate rooms?

I apologize for my ignorance and my many questions. If someone has some experience in this, I would love to be educated. My wife is dying to go on a cruise and I am not educated enough to explain to her why this is not a good value for points.

 

[cseca]

The chart you see on DVC site shows how much each person will cost to go on that particular cruise.

For example:

3 nights bahamas cruise on Sept 1st 2011

Category 10
You: 54pts
Wife: 54pts
each kids 4-13: 34-39points EACH depending on ages


Now, since there are 6 of you you will need 2 staterooms.
There are no stateroom that will fit 6 passengers.

Also, since that means you will have to get 2 staterooms (3 and 3) the points requirement might be higher for the adults (the chart is based on double occupancy).
You might have to call MS for actual points.

You can combine points and cash. Just need to tell them which passenger you want to pay by points and which by cash.

Why most of members don't think it's worth the points?

For example:
Say a fam of 4 (2A+2C age 4 & 6) staying in the stateroom example above:
It will cost them:
54+54+34+37= 179points + $95 fee
If you rent out the points, you could get approx $1790.
If you can get the cruise for that much $ or less, then it's a wash.

 

[kmccl]

Thanks for the above reply! Good to know that we would need two staterooms. There is where it is confusing to me. Then if the two adults each get a stateroom for say 54 points, would we just have to pay for food for the kids?? And if so does anyone have any idea what that would cost? I thought that I read somewhere on this site that MS would not answer these questions unless I paid the $95 fee, that is why I am asking here.

 

[CleoPahd]

The $95 fee is to transfer your points to a DCL reservation. You can most certainly call and ask questions, otherwise you would not know what options are available to you. The fee is charged at the time you make the reservation. You would not be paying for "food" for the kids, you would be paying an additional amount for additional room occupants, or you would be using points. Usually rooms are based on double occupancy, then the 3rd & 4th guests receive a discounted $rate/point rate.

Also, most say cruises are not a good value for using your points, however you have to do the research. For the cruise we are taking in April we compared renting our points vs. paying cash and the difference in price was very minimal so we felt it worth it to just book on points and not have the hassle of renting. However, we looked at other cruises/dates where there was no question it would have been much more cost effective to pay cash for our reservation.

I would call MS and let them help you. However, know that you can not book a cruise on points for over a year out from now I think. You can search some threads on here that have the exact details.

 

[quirty30]

I am pricing a cruise for next year and it would run almost 700 points for myself and my 2 kids. Keep in mind that for 1 adult and several children in a stateroom (which will be your situation as well) one of the children is "priced" as an adult due to the double occupancy requirement. I confirmed this when I talked to MS last week.

I was thinking it would be a huge hassle to rent out my points and was going to book my cruise on points until I priced the identical cruise online. If I can rent my points for $10, figure that the above cruise is essentially costing me $7000. Plus the $95 fee. If I price it directly with DCL, the exact same cabin is $5023.11 - if I book with Dreams Unlimited, I can get a $200 onboard credit. If I use my Disney Visa to pay, I can get an add'l $50 onboard credit.

I'm beginning to think that I will deal with the inconvenience of renting out my points - seems well worth it to save over $2000. That will pay our airfare, tips, insurance, transfers, etc. And probably a few shore excursions as well.

 

[Basil of Baker St]

How difficult is it to rent points? My husband and I just purchased at AKV (Yay!) and while we mainly want to vacation at DVC resorts, we really want to take the kids on a cruise or maybe a land and sea vacation some time. We have 3 small children so a cruise is probably several years in our future, but I'm getting anxious that it will not be worth it to use our points.

 

[MrShiny]

I have never had much trouble renting reservations for people with my points. Often, the deal is done the same day I post!

Here is a comparison. We are doing a Cat 10A on the Dream 7/15:

Cash:
2 adults $1732.34 total
2 kids (16 & 12) $1302.34 total
Total for all 4: $3034.68

Points:
adults: 252
kids: 191
443 points plus $95

I could rent those points for about $4,430 - difference of almost $1400!

Price the cruise on the Disney web site (some staterooms - the more expensive ones - hold 5). If you do 2 staterooms, you need 1 adult in each. The first 2 people in the stateroom pay as adults (even if one if a child). The next people pay less - and what they pay (both in points and cash) depends on their age.

Note too that the capacity of kids fills up on cruises. They only have so much space in the kids clubs (or nursery, if your kids are very young), and when that is full, no more res with kids. So you can have a cruise where 2 adults could get a stateroom, but no more children are allowed.

If thinking of a cruise - now is a great time to get your passports! A great thing to have (makes getting kids through airport security much easier even for domestic!)

Note while there can be different requirements for cruise travel, should there be a reason why you would need to fly home, you would need a passport. Well worth it, IMHO!