Dcl

[DVC SSR Owner]

Has anyone had any luck booking a 2012 cruise? Are some staterooms easier to book than others? When can a 2013 cruise be booked? Thanks!

 

[dzorn]

I am not sure when 2013 bookings start are you talking with points? You do realize you can probably rent your points out and pay cash for a cruise using less points than DVC charges. This also gives you a better cancellation policy for the cruise if changes because necessary.

Denise in MI

 

[sissy_ib]

The itineraries for the last half of 2012 haven't even been announced yet, so you'll have to wait a while for 2013. You can book a cruise on points 2 years out. If you have a cruise in mind, call MS and see if there is availably using points.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Thank you

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I would like to question if dcl is really a bad use of points: here is my example

If I booked a 5 night cruise in an inside cabin on the dream for may 29, 2011 for 2 adults and our 6 year old we would need 294 points (108 per adult and 78 for him)

294 points times our ssr dues of $4.50 is $1323.

Let's say I rent those 294 points for $10 pp.

That would be $2940.

Can I get this cruise for less than $2940 for 3 people? Does anyone have the cash cost of this cruise? Thanks! $1323 sounds cheap to me for a 5 night Disney cruise.

 

[nolanboys]

You can go to the DCL website and look to see how much it would cost. I've looked into it a little, and so far, cash has been the better deal. I don't know if that is always the case, but plug in the cruise you are interested in and see. I'd be curious to see if it comes out cheaper.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

$4017 is the price for this cruise paying cash so even renting these points would not give me enough cash to pay for it. In this case, points is the way to go! Any comments?

 

[jlapointe30]

That booking category is currently sold out on the disney cruise line site, but if you take a similar date in 2012, a 5 night cruise for the three of you is listed at 2199$ so yes you would get a cheaper price paying cash.

Now, you cannot only compare the dues for those points. You need to factor in the amount you paid to get those points. For example. If you paid 100$ per points to Disney for a 50 years deed, then you have paid Disney 2$ / points upfront for each year. so you need to add another 480$ to your dues to have a better idea. (This is not totally exact as you should probably factor in the 50 year duration of the contract plus the interest if you have financed, etc...)

Still, yes it would be more financially advantageous to rent and then pay cash, but the question is more if you would like to go that route. There are added responsibilities when renting that some (like me) are not willing to take.

In my case, I am planning a cruise in 2012 and, so far, we are planning into cutting the apple in half. So, as recommended by our guide, we will use points for the adults but pay cash for our kids.

 

[quirty30]

$4017 is the price for this cruise paying cash so even renting these points would not give me enough cash to pay for it. In this case, points is the way to go! Any comments?

That can't be right. I'm pricing a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy for June 2012. For an outside family stateroom with verandah (CAT 4D) for 1 adult and 2 kids it comes to $5023. So for a 5 night cruise and an inside cabin you should be looking at significantly less money.

For the record, MS did have the above booking available for points, appx. 700 of them. I have decided to pay cash; I can rent those 700 points and have money for airfare, tips, shore excursions. It's just too much savings to ignore. I have several friends I can rent to so it won't be that much of a hassle.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

That can't be right. I'm pricing a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy for June 2012. For an outside family stateroom with verandah (CAT 4D) for 1 adult and 2 kids it comes to $5023. So for a 5 night cruise and an inside cabin you should be looking at significantly less money.

For the record, MS did have the above booking available for points, appx. 700 of them. I have decided to pay cash; I can rent those 700 points and have money for airfare, tips, shore excursions. It's just too much savings to ignore. I have several friends I can rent to so it won't be that much of a hassle.

I got that price off the dcl website. So, if they are wrong...it is on the website. I think the dream is more expensive.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

OK.

I checked dcl site again. The price of $4017 is for the category 5D deluxe ocean view with veranda.

So the points for that would be (184 points per adult and 97 points for out kid) for a total of 465 points. Wow. lot of points for that category!

So 465 x $4.50 MF for SSR= $2092.50

We paid $55 pp for 200 points/44 years use = $1.25pp per use year

465 x $1.25 pp use year cost = $466.25 + $2092.50 MF = $2558.75

So, if I rented them out at $10 pp, I would get $4650. If I didn't want to risk renting, the cost difference is $4017-$2558.75 = $1458.25

Did I miss anything? Cruise takes a lot of points for that category, but I would still save money using points vs paying cash if I didn't do a rental. Thanks

 

[quirty30]

OK.

I checked dcl site again. The price of $4017 is for the category 5D deluxe ocean view with veranda.

So the points for that would be (184 points per adult and 97 points for out kid) for a total of 465 points. Wow. lot of points for that category!

So 465 x $4.50 MF for SSR= $2092.50

We paid $55 pp for 200 points/44 years use = $1.25pp per use year

465 x $1.25 pp use year cost = $466.25 + $2092.50 MF = $2558.75

So, if I rented them out at $10 pp, I would get $4650. If I didn't want to risk renting, the cost difference is $4017-$2558.75 = $1458.25

Did I miss anything? Cruise takes a lot of points for that category, but I would still save money using points vs paying cash if I didn't do a rental. Thanks

I think what most people consider is the value on the rental market of the points needed to book COMPARED to the cash cost. In your case you are looking at a difference of $633. Keep in mind that if you book for cash and use a travel agent, there are additional onboard credits you can get as well. If I use Dreams Unlimited to book my 2012 cruise, I get $200 in onboard credit, and another $50 for paying with my Disney Visa.

Only you can decide if you want to deal with renting out your points and if the inconvenience is worth the money you will save.

 

[vicki_c]

I think what most people consider is the value on the rental market of the points needed to book COMPARED to the cash cost.

Yes, this. This is how most people make that comparison not the way you did factoring in your purchase price, maintenance fees, etc. But it's all in how you look at it.

But I would want to compare - real-world - what I could get for that same # of points in cash, not what they cost me.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Yes, this. This is how most people make that comparison not the way you did factoring in your purchase price, maintenance fees, etc. But it's all in how you look at it.

But I would want to compare - real-world - what I could get for that same # of points in cash, not what they cost me.

All good points. Just trying to point out that using points for DCL is not the worst thing that one could spend points on especially if all the money that you have for vacations is from points only!

 

[tjkraz]

Cruises tend to return about $7-8 per point value. Going off of your own numbers, a $4017 cruise costs 465 points. That's $8.64 per point. Assuming your cash price includes all taxes and fees, that's one of the better comparisons I've ever looked at.

Some people just don't have the time, energy or resources to rent points. One phone call to DVC and it's done. Despite our constant claims of it not being a good value, the recent moratorium on cruise bookings is some indication that cruising on points is very popular.

FWIW, we have a 3-night cruise on the Dream booked for February 2012. The other family we are going with used DVC points for part of their reservation and had no trouble booking. That was about 6 weeks ago. February is a slow time, though.

 

[dzorn]

Don't forget the booking fee of $95 dollars but more importantly the cancellation policy is extremely different. Paying cash give you much more flexability for somthing that is still over a year or two away.

The cash prices for a cruise are often lower when first released.

Denise in MI

 

[Dean]

I would like to question if dcl is really a bad use of points: here is my example

If I booked a 5 night cruise in an inside cabin on the dream for may 29, 2011 for 2 adults and our 6 year old we would need 294 points (108 per adult and 78 for him)

294 points times our ssr dues of $4.50 is $1323.

Let's say I rent those 294 points for $10 pp.

That would be $2940.

Can I get this cruise for less than $2940 for 3 people? Does anyone have the cash cost of this cruise? Thanks! $1323 sounds cheap to me for a 5 night Disney cruise.

I'll disagree slightly with Tim, historically cruises are more in the $6-6.75 a point return if comparing to early booking discounts, $750 been about the ceiling of such comparisons. The problem with you're example is the early booking discounts have passed. One has to make their own decision and it helps to look at exactly what you want like 18-24 months out when possible but here, all we really can do is talk generalities. Sometimes there are cruises or categories that are not discounted or not as much and the comparison is altered accordingly. IMO, one who is only looking at the dues for those points is certainly undervaluing what they have, their choice of course, but not the way I'd chose to do. I generally would value my points at $10-12 a point for such ventures. However, remember there are considerable negatives using points for DCL outside of the costs. Even if the numbers worked, which they normally don't, I think the risks and aggravations of renting out the points are considerable less than those of using points for a cruise that's many months into the future.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Good discussion. I didn't realize that the cruise prices were cheaper when the dates were first released.

 

[Dean]

Good discussion. I didn't realize that the cruise prices were cheaper when the dates were first released.

In general they are for most cruises and cruise lines. Generally there are certain cabin types that are either not discounted or are discounted less, for DCL I haven't followed it lately but historically this tended to be cat 3 or higher. Sometimes you can also get additional discounts or benefits through certain companies like All seasons travel, AAA, Travelocity, Cruisecritics, etc. The only DCL cruise we've taken (normally go on RCCL), we paid cash and would have only received about $4.50 per point had we used points and that doesn't count the $95 fee and inherent risks of using points for a cruise.

 

[vicki_c]

Good discussion. I didn't realize that the cruise prices were cheaper when the dates were first released.

Yes, they continue to go up and up. Best time to book is when the cruise is first released. I think of it like the resort discounts - they only allocate so many cabins at each price and when those are reserved, the move up to the next price level.

Booking early also gives you first choice of deck and cabin location - unlike the resort or DVC rooms, you can actually pick which cabin you want if you book at that level.