Disney Vacation Club Member

[Kathy0529]

Hi Everyone,

I will be taking my first Disney Cruise this coming May 4th on the Magic, and I have read a lot about people getting on-board credits. Does anyone know if DVC members receive any credits?

Thank You!
Kathy

 

[leslieh]

We sailed last july on 7 day magic. Used points for all but one child. Did not get any credit. We are a Castaway Club members from a previous cruise, we received a nice tote bag from them. So unless its changed, we dvc'ers received no credits.

 

[Denine]

No special credits, but if you go to the reception and info presentations, you can get some neat DVC merchandise for free.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I guess the question is as follows: If a DVC member who is also a Disney Club member booked with DVC points for a cruise on which cash passengers are getting the Disney Club onboard credit, does the DVC member also get the onboard credit?

 

[garnet73]

Hi, as am a DVC member myself going on an upcoming cruise w/a Disney Club card, I called both the DCL and DVC to inquire about the credits! Was told my DCL no because was sailing on a discount provided by agreement w/DVC. Spoke w/DVC and they informed me that they have determined the average price a DVC member is "paying" to be on the cruise is $10/night /person! I told them that i felt we were definately paying more than $70 for a cruise. The nice lady at DVC informed me that they take your total points for 42 yrs and divide by the average home purchase price and they determined $10/night!

Was dissappointed about the results of my effort! She encouraged me to bring the card along in case the shops on the cruise or the Spa give any discounts on presentation! She was not sure this was a practice on the cruise, but have a feeling she realized was very disappointed in the purchase of the DCC when can't combine the two on sailings!

Hope this helps!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by garnet73
The nice lady at DVC informed me that they take your total points for 42 yrs and divide by the average home purchase price and they determined $10/night!

That "nice lady" is insulting the intelligence of DVC members.

Dividing points by the number of years is completely bogus. It neither takes into account the annual maintenance fees nor the long-term value of capital -- and certainly does not reflect the money that Disney derives from renting the accomodations that correspond to the DVC's member's points.

I'm paying 578 points for two adults and two children in a category 6 stateroom. That represents enough points for 20 consecutive nights in a 1-bedroom suite condo (complete with living room, bedroom, full kitchen, utility room, and deluxe bathroom with a jumbo whirlpool bath) at Disney's Old Key West Resort during Magic Season (prime time periods such as March or July). Disney charges $335 to $435 per night for the room. For 20 nights, Disney derives $6,700 to $8,700 from the points I paid for the cruise by renting to cash guests. (The actual amount that Disney derives is less because Disney provides daily maid service to cash guests at OKW, and some percentage of rooms go unsold.)

If I had booked with cash back in May 2001, the same stateroom would have cost $6,055 (which includes the early booking savings) according to Disney Cruise Line's online reservation system. That's because we're going during a very popular week. If we had gone during most other regular season weeks, the cash price would have been lower, but the number of points would have been the same.

The bottom line is that DVC members pay a similar amount (generally as much or more) for DCL cruises compared to what cash customers pay -- and I'm talking about real U.S. Dollars that wind up in Disney's bank account.

 

[RellingTwin]

I got a 50.00 on board credit last Sept. via DVC. They offered a "lower rate" and a credit based on the type of cabin you booked. I had about 16 points restored to my account and got the 50. credit. So...don't give up hope. Keep reading these boards, they are often the very first sorce of information on MANY subjects, pricees, discounts and specials included!

 

[MCazer]

Last year, I had booked our Halloween cruise with points early on. Then they had the Fall Fantasy sale and lowered the point total. I called DVC and found that they had credited me points back to my account. I took those points and got a better cabin (balcony). I had to pay another $75 to change ressies, but then was given a $150 shipboard credit (Fall Fantasy) just like everyone that had booked with cash.

Well, the $150 covered both $75 fees that I had to pay, and we got a better cabin.

This year, we don't have enough points to book another cruise, so we just booked with cash, through Dreams. We got the Castaway Cruise credit for booking within the 120 days. We got the $200 rebate from Dreams and also another $100 shipboard credit from Dreams for booking before Valentine's Day. We are guaranteed a Category 6 cabin on the Aug 3rd Magic, who knows, maybe we will get an upgrade!

 

[Gillian]

Can someone please briefly explain to me about booking a cruise with points? Are you typically assigned a cabin or just given a guarentee?

I have read that there is a special rate for this september. Does anyone here know more about it? I think it was 118 for a cat 6, which is only 2 points less than the regular sept point rate. Is this a bigger discount than I think it is?

Any info would be helpful

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by Gillian
Can someone please briefly explain to me about booking a cruise with points? Are you typically assigned a cabin or just given a guarentee?

It's just like booking with cash. You call DVC Member Services to book the cruise. They'll check what staterooms are available for the dates and categories that you are considering. If you have a DVC brochure or you have the official Web site up, you can see exactly where your stateroom is located. (I suppose that if they're down to the point where they're only providing guarantees for a given category on a given date, this would apply to DVC members just as it would to cash customers.)

You can book 11 months from the beginning (not the end) of the cruise. Normal borrowing and banking rules apply.

If you have to cancel, you wind up with reservation points, not DVC points. Such reservation points cannot be used for DVC accomodations or II exchanges -- only for other cruises, Disney Collection resorts, Concierge Collection, and Adventurer Collection. As far as the timing for cancellations, the rules are similar to those for cash reservations.

I don't pay attention to off-season point specials, so I can't help you there.