DVC 2006 Cruise Points Are on the Member Site!

[FredS]

I would strongly suggest people check out the charts themselves and decide, based on the season and category, whether renting points and paying cash would work their benefit, if they are willing to deal with renting.

We booked a 3 day cruise for 55 points each, plus the $75 fee. At the time we booked, the cash price was something like $1300. Closer to cruise time it increased a few more hundred dollars. If you value your points at $10 each it "cost" us $1175 and no rental hassle (and yes, it can be a hassle with uncertainties!) Other cruises, particularly in busier seasons and more expensive categories, and if you can get the early booking discount, can be disproportionately much more expensive pointwise than the increase in cash price. I have rented, and would again rent, my points and pay cash in that case.

I just hope people use the brain they have and figure out what the facts are in their situation and don't go along with any "it is always better to rent points and pay cash for a cruise" mentality, because I know first-hand that that is not always the case.

 

[Doctor P]

Good point, Fred. By the time we got close to our cruise date, the cost of our cruise had moved up enough so that our point cost (figured at the normal rental rate) was several hundred dollars less than the cash cost would have been. Generally, if you book on cash more than 18 months out you will be able to get a cash rate that will allow you to rent your points out to pay a lesser overall rate than a points only transaction, but renting points is not cost free (in the sense of time and effort at least) and carries with it some risk (as well as the timing of rental vs. the time of booking issues in many cases). I agree that the points vs. cash issue depends on a lot of different factors and that there is no one size fits all answer.

 

[lisareniff]

Yes, agreed. There are LOTS of variables. One should check out their particular vacation first, before assuming. Also, everyone has a different value placed on their points, cash and time.

 

[maminnie]

One point, which may have already been made, is that a number of the weeks for 2006 have been moved to other seasons. For example a specific week in 2005 that was regular season may now be peak in 2006. Although the points for peak may have gone down, the points for the same week may have really gone up based on being placed in a higher season.

Without finding my notes, I think this was the case for the Feb. 18 Magic; regular to peak (please don't quote me on this-going from memory).