Disney Cruise Line Points and Cash

[DisneyFF1124]

Hey everyone! Without getting into the fact that a cruise may not be the best use of points, I was wondering if anyone has done a combination of points and cash. How does it work? Possibly interested in points for 1 adult and cash for the other. Does the cash rate = the rack rate or is it a negotiated rate between MS and DCL? If it is a negotiated rate is it less then the rack rate? Any info or help would be great!! Thanks everyone!

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[erionm]

It's a negotiated rate. If you use point and cash, you have to use points for the first passenger and then you can use either cash or points for the remaining passengers. You can't mix cash and points for a single passenger. If you use cash for any passengers, the cash portion must be paid in full at the time the points booking is made along with the $95 transaction fee.

 

[mom_rules]

Any idea what the percentage of cash purchase would be compared to paying straight up cash for the whole cruise?

 

[jel0511]

Generally the DVC negotiated cash rate isn't the highest pricing tier DCL offers, but it is one of the higher ones. So, if you're booking pretty far in advance the cash price offered by DCL for two might be pretty close to the cash price offered by DVC. It's worth checking both. As noted above, the full cash amount is due upon booking with DVC.

 

[luckyman_apd]

What if you don't use points at all? Is there a "DVC" rate?

 

[Deb & Bill]

What if you don't use points at all? Is there a "DVC" rate?

No. If you want to go "DVC" on the Disney Cruise, you have to use points for at least the first person.

 

[Dean]

Any idea what the percentage of cash purchase would be compared to paying straight up cash for the whole cruise?

My understanding is that most options are 10% off the rack rate (highest rate).

 

[mom_rules]

My understanding is that most options are 10% off the rack rate (highest rate).

Guess that's better than nothing

 

[Dean]

Guess that's better than nothing

Maybe not unless you were going to pay rack rates otherwise. You'd get a better discount on your own for most situations. In the case of the cruise there are other risks and negatives to the process as well making it such that even at break even I think it's far too much of a risk for most people in most situations.

 

[sskem96]

We are booked for Jan 5-9, 2014 on the Dream. I paid 133 points for each adult, 72 points for DD 17, and $506 cash for DD14, plus $95 transaction fee for a total of $601 for a family of 4 in a cat 4B. It works out to only $7/pt, which I realize isn't great, but the points are paid for and $601 for a 4 day family vacation is a heck of a deal in my opinion!

My parents are paying $644 each to stay in a cat 8C on the same cruise. We booked opening day. If I had been smart about it, I would have saved the 72 points and paid cash for both the kids in my parents room! That option didn't even occur me til weeks after we were booked. Although if something happens healthwise that my parents aren't able to travel when the time comes, at least we won't be scrambling to figure out what to do about the kids.

 

[EskiLvr]

Did a 5 night Dream Cruise - 2 staterooms, paid points for 2 people, cash for 2. (Since our kids were each only the 2nd person in each room, we paid the adult rate for them.)

When we cruised on the Fantasy, I paid points for 3 of us and the discounted cash rate for 1 child.

Keep in mind that if you book *early* when cruises are first announced, you can reap some fairly significant savings by mixing your combo of points/cash...

 

[Dean]

Did a 5 night Dream Cruise - 2 staterooms, paid points for 2 people, cash for 2. (Since our kids were each only the 2nd person in each room, we paid the adult rate for them.)

When we cruised on the Fantasy, I paid points for 3 of us and the discounted cash rate for 1 child.

Keep in mind that if you book *early* when cruises are first announced, you can reap some fairly significant savings by mixing your combo of points/cash...

My info says that for the same cabin the cash price through DVC is based on the rack rate and does not fluctuate with the cash rate. It's based on the contractual rate between DVD & DCL. I don't think booking early helps other than assuring availability which has been an issue lately.

 

[emmababy]

We keep going back and forth on doing this...But 350 points for a 4 day cruise plus ponying up several hundred dollars, when I can get 2 weeks on land at WDW makes that pill hard to swallow!!

 

[Dean]

We keep going back and forth on doing this...But 350 points for a 4 day cruise plus ponying up several hundred dollars, when I can get 2 weeks on land at WDW makes that pill hard to swallow!!

That is a cruise vs land vacation issue more than a points vs cash for a cruise issue. I think one must first decide whether a cruise is a reasonable choice for them and then consider the payment method and in the case of points, is it worth the number of points to you. My goal is simply to try to get people to realize objectively what they are and are not getting including the real costs and risks involved using points.

 

[emmababy]

That is a cruise vs land vacation issue more than a points vs cash for a cruise issue. I think one must first decide whether a cruise is a reasonable choice for them and then consider the payment method and in the case of points, is it worth the number of points to you. My goal is simply to try to get people to realize objectively what they are and are not getting including the real costs and risks involved using points.

No it's not. It's trying to justify taking the cruise and using so many points for such a short trip....

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I have no problem using my points for a cruise. For me it is a good use (the posters who tell me otherwise are not the ones who paid for my points )

 

[SnowWhite2]

I have no problem using my points for a cruise. For me it is a good use (the posters who tell me otherwise are not the ones who paid for my points )

You have no idea how much someone has paid for their points. Their cost of the cruise when points are converted to the cash they paid for the points and the MF may make it worth it.

 

[sskem96]

We keep going back and forth on doing this...But 350 points for a 4 day cruise plus ponying up several hundred dollars, when I can get 2 weeks on land at WDW makes that pill hard to swallow!!

Also consider that the 4 day cruise includes your lodging, food, and entertainment. Your 2 weeks on land would be lodging only, and you would still be paying cash for theme park tickets and food.

So your 2 week land vacation really costs 350 points plus maybe $3000-$4000 cash depending on your ticket needs/eating habits/#of people in your party.

I'm only getting a 4 day cruise for my points, but I don't have to spend any additional cash if I don't want to, and neither DH or I could get 2 weeks off work anyway so all our vacations have to be a week or less.

Now realistically, we are planning on going down a couple days early, are spending additional points for 2 nights at AKV before the cruise and maybe a night after depending on what we find for airfare, so there will be additional money spent, but just comparing a 4 day cruise to 2 weeks on land isn't really an equal comparison.

That's what's so great about DVC though. We can each use our points however it works best for each of us!

Our reason for doing the cruise this time is that we wanted to take my parents and they don't want to do the parks. They aren't in the best of shape and have no interest in riding around on scooters. So we decided a short cruise would be the best fit. We took DH's parents to WDW a couple years ago, and we want the kids to have some Disney memories with my parents too.

 

[geraghty]

That's what's so great about DVC though. We can each use our points however it works best for each of us.

I agree. We all have an opinion on what's the best use of points. Have fun spending your points on what makes you happy. To me, that is the point of dvc. If we all wanted the same thing, there would not be so many options.

 

[rhax07]

I agree. We all have an opinion on what's the best use of points. Have fun spending your points on what makes you happy. To me, that is the point of dvc. If we all wanted the same thing, there would not be so many options.

I agree!