Disney Cruise with my points

[disdad09]

Am I right in thinking that using my points for a three night cruise this feb 10 is a bad idea???

 

[BevS97]

Am I right in thinking that using my points for a three night cruise this feb 10 is a bad idea???

That depends on a few things.

Are you prepared to rent them out to make the cash to pay for it?
do you have the cash to spend without renting them?
Will you be using the points for something else if you don't book the cruise?


We have booked a 3 night cruise on points for this summer, because we had a lot of points banked, we won't be back for a while as it's getting harder for us to get to Orlando at the moment, and I am not interested in the hassle of renting out points.

However, it was a lot of points for 3 nights, and it doesn't reallymake sense to spend over a years allocation of points on a 3 night vacation.

 

[CMOORE185]

Am I right in thinking that using my points for a three night cruise this feb 10 is a bad idea???

What you can do is book some of your party with points and pay for the rest of the party. That way you are defraying some of the costs for the cruise but not bankrupting your points. Just a thought.

 

[Donna M]

We have our second cruise booked this Feb. using points. It works for us. We bought the points for vacationing and a cruise is a great vacation. I don't want to bother with renting and we have enough points.

 

[Disney_Villain]

We book our 7-night DCL cruises on our points (once every 2 years), but we only consume 30% of our annual allocation of points doing so.

The remaining 70% of our points is used toward our DVC accomodations - filling up the existing 4 weeks of vacation we have in the year (not including the time on DCL every 2 years).

We would not dig into the points we need for our DVC resorts accomodations, just to book a DCL cruise.

 

[disdad09]

Thank you all of your replies and great ideas.
I will see what a no obligation cost of my cruise will be first and then decide if I want to pay cash or look at using or renting my points.

I think I am leaning toward cash for the cruise right now

 

[Inkmahm]

Thank you all of your replies and great ideas.
I will see what a no obligation cost of my cruise will be first and then decide if I want to pay cash or look at using or renting my points.

I think I am leaning toward cash for the cruise right now

My bet is that the cruise turns out to be much cheaper paying cash than using points. There is another option to renting your points, you know. You can do a transfer of points to a fellow member instead. That's what I do, as I don't care for the risk of renting my points to non-members. Also, that's a lot more work than one phone call to MS to do the transfer of points. Remember that you can only do one transfer in or one transfer out each year though.

While I did buy my points to use for vacation, the accountant in me just won't let me waste then by paying too much for our cruises. Just couldn't bring myself to pay extra just because I could.

 

[JasonDVC]

I was told by our guide that DCL purposely charges high points to discourage DVC Members from using their points to cruise.

She also said a DVC Cruise Ship is in the discussion phase with the higher ups.

 

[christa112]

You are going to get mixed reviews on this topic. Some Disers love cruising with their points while other think it is a waste of points.

My personal opinion is to use them on a cruise. We do not have the luxury of going on multiple vacations every year so for us to combine a few yrs of points will totally be worth it to us. We purchased the DVC with the intentions of vacationing every other yr.

I hope this helps in your decision. Good Luck

 

[CMOORE185]

I was told by our guide that DCL purposes charges high points to discourage DVC Menbers from using their points to cruise.

She also a DVC Cruise Ship is in the discussion phase with the higher ups.

A DVC cruise ship!! That would be interesting.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I was told by our guide that DCL purposely charges high points to discourage DVC Members from using their points to cruise.

She also said a DVC Cruise Ship is in the discussion phase with the higher ups.

We would definitely have to add on if they have a dvc cruise ship.

 

[toniosmom]

My bet is that the cruise turns out to be much cheaper paying cash than using points. There is another option to renting your points, you know. You can do a transfer of points to a fellow member instead. That's what I do, as I don't care for the risk of renting my points to non-members. Also, that's a lot more work than one phone call to MS to do the transfer of points. Remember that you can only do one transfer in or one transfer out each year though.

While I did buy my points to use for vacation, the accountant in me just won't let me waste then by paying too much for our cruises. Just couldn't bring myself to pay extra just because I could.

I am starting to think that it is better to rent/transfer my points for cash, and then pay cash for the cruise. When you have transferred your points, you are able to get cash for them, right? Basically "renting" them to a member? Not yet sure how the process works.

 

[Crystal_27]

She also said a DVC Cruise Ship is in the discussion phase with the higher ups.

LOL - DVC sure does know how to get us - hook, line, and sinker. I'm happy with the number of points we purchased and have no intention of adding on, *but* a DVC Cruise Ship would make me run as fast as I could to the nearest telephone to contact my Guide and add on immediately.

 

[Inkmahm]

I am starting to think that it is better to rent/transfer my points for cash, and then pay cash for the cruise. When you have transferred your points, you are able to get cash for them, right? Basically "renting" them to a member? Not yet sure how the process works.

Yes. I look on the rent/trade board for someone who is looking for about the number of points that I have to transfer and then contact them. (Or you can place your own ad there.) I have both had points transfered "in" to me to use for a big family gathering when I didn't have enough, and "out" when I wanted to do a cruise and would rather pay cash to get the much cheaper price.

I both paid in advance (using paypal) and collected cash in advance (in the form of a bank check, their choice) before any point transfers. To transfer points, you just need to call MS and have the other party's info.

I prefer to transfer rather than rent because once the points are transfered, I'm done with the process. The points are in the other member's account to do with as they please. If you rent, you still have to call MS to make the trip arrangements for someone. And have to worry about whether they will trash the villa (you're responsible) etc. Transfering eliminates all that hassle and potential liability. I also would rather help a fellow DVC member than rent to a non-member. Just personal preference.

 

[Muushka]

I cannot begin to imagine the cost of buying into a DVC cruise.

Even if they secured Off Kilter for the entertainment, we probably still wouldn't be tempted.

 

[SnowWhite2]

Buying in probably wouldn't be bad but the yearly maintenance fees would be a killer.

 

[tjkraz]

Am I right in thinking that using my points for a three night cruise this feb 10 is a bad idea???

I would look closely at cash bookings, particularly since Feb is typically a slow time for DCL and deals may be out there.

We cruised back in February 2009. Had two adults and two kids and paid a total of $850 ($1050 with the insurance) with the promotion DCL was running at the time.

The point cost for the same cruse would have been 312!!! That's 93 per adult and 63 per child. Our dues alone on those points would have been $1354. When you include the $95 DVC booking fee, using points would have cost us $400 MORE than the cash price of the cruise. And that's not even factoring in all the dollars paid up-front for the DVC points.