Different perspective on using points for DCL

[RuthnPaul]

Many people who post on this board are not proponents of using DVC points to go on the DCL cruise because it's not a cost-effective use of points. Based on the fact that we spend MUCH more out-of-pocket at WDW (see below) than on a cruise, we feel that these savings somewhat offset the "cost" of using points for a cruise (for our family of 3).

-- No rental car needed ($350),
-- No Cirque du Soleil tickets which we go to EVERY time ($250)
-- No park passes (close to a $1000)
-- Nothing out of pocket for 99% of your meals!

We've been on cruises so we know there are costs -- shore excursions, a few drinks, etc. but we've never spent anywhere near the amount while on a cruise that we have at WDW!

Your thoughts/comments, please!

 

[tjkraz]

I don't think there's any question you can save money in those areas when compared to a vacation at an on-site DVC resort.

Most of the comparisons I've seen have compared the cash vs point "costs" for cruises. For example, if the same cruise were to cost either $3000 or 380 points, you're ahead of the game if you can rent your points for $10 each and then use that cash to pay for the cruise.

There are also more liberal cancellation policies for cash ressies rather booking with points.

 

[ceejay13]

We are such WDW fans that we usually use up all our points for a WDW stay. I think using them for DCL or DL is a great use for those that don't use up all their points on a regular basis. We are going on our first DCL cruise next year for one of the repositioning cruises and are paying cash, but you do make a great point about not having near as many extras to pay for on a cruise. The beauty of the DVC is having so many options and what is worth more to one may not be for another, regardless of the actually dollar amount to points.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by RuthnPaul
Many people who post on this board are not proponents of using DVC points to go on the DCL cruise because it's not a cost-effective use of points. Based on the fact that we spend MUCH more out-of-pocket at WDW (see below) than on a cruise, we feel that these savings somewhat offset the "cost" of using points for a cruise (for our family of 3).

-- No rental car needed ($350),
-- No Cirque du Soleil tickets which we go to EVERY time ($250)
-- No park passes (close to a $1000)
-- Nothing out of pocket for 99% of your meals!

We've been on cruises so we know there are costs -- shore excursions, a few drinks, etc. but we've never spent anywhere near the amount while on a cruise that we have at WDW!

Your thoughts/comments, please!

But none of those are directly related to using points for the cruise, they are a function of the way cruises are set up. The charges you post for your typical trip seem high. For three people, one should be able to get a rental car for a week at $150 or less. And 3 people could get AP tickets and use them more than once in a year for $1000 thus halving the price per year if used correclty. And Cirque is merely a choice you make. Plus for 7 days on a cruise, you're likely using two years or even more worth of points. It's no different than when people try to count the included meals as savings, it makes no sense whatsoever.

One can and should use the points as they wish, just don't kid yourself into thinking you're getting a better value than you are. It's simply a return of $$ per point compared to cash price. $5-6 pp may be reasonable if you're not going to use the points anyway and want to go on the cruise without paying extra cash or renting out your points. The return is still what is is, $5-6 pp in most cases.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

If you were able and willing to rent out your points for $10.00 per point, you would save points, money and still not have to pay for a rental car, meals, park tickets or cirque tickets.

But it still comes down to what you feel comforatbale with. If you want to use your points for a cruise, I'd suggest you do it, but as Dean said you need to understand what you are really getting in return for them.

HBC