DVC and cruises

[hmire]

How does that work? I have a family of 5. thinking of 160 ppy.

 

[Lynne M]

You won't be able to cruise with a family of 5 on 160 points. Not all of you, anyway. Maybe 2-3 of you on points, paying cash for the rest. And that would only be for the shortest, most inexpensive cruise, at the cheapest time of year, in an inside cabin.

For instance, for the 3-night Bahamas cruise, in January or early February, for the cheapest category of cabin, you're looking at 55-58 points per person. For that cruise, points go up to 116 per person, depending on what time of year you go and what kind of cabin you book.

For a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise, you're looking at 134-398 points per person.

Other important things to remember about cruising on DVC points:

Availability can be sharply limited - DCL only makes a certain number of cabins available on points. I checked availability in Sept 2011 and was told that nothing at all was available on any ship until Oct 2012.

Point costs are NOT fixed, and can and do go up every year. At some point, you'll likely find that you no longer have enough points to cruise at all without adding on.

 

[hmire]

Thanks !!! I know the cruise line is very expensive. But I figured my points would help out more than than

 

[lions1995]

You could also consider renting your points out and using the money to book our cruise. I am sure you would still need to add to it. Remember that if you do use your points to book a cruise, they are converted into reservation points and you pay $95. If you have to cancel your cruise, the reservation points can not be used to book any DVC resort and I do not think they can be banked.

 

[hmire]

How does renting points work.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Large families and cruising is expensive. DVC points won't reduce those costs at all. If you use points for one person, the price you will pay for the rest of the family is the DVC negotiated price, not the DCL price (so you may wind up paying more by using points).

Making a reservation for someone and getting the money to spend on something else can be very time consuming. As there are more and more members, more and more members think they can turn to "renting out" their points to save money. Check out the Rent/Trade Board and read the stickies at the top of the thread.

 

[chalee94]

How does renting points work.

technically you cannot rent the points themselves. you either 1) rent a reservation (to either a member or non-member) or 2) transfer the pts (only possible with another member).

renting requires some legwork. you sometimes have to talk to a number of possible renters, some of whom don't have firm plans and are just checking availability...or looking to lowball you on price or go to another DVC member. you would need to figure out a contract for the process, and consider how you would actually respond if the renter breaks the contract (for example, at what point would you actually sue?)

if you rent a reservation to a stranger, you might still be responsible if they trash the room or leave unpaid charges. very rare situations but it has happened. (one advantage to transferring pts is that you also transfer responsibility for any reservations made with the pts to the other member...but a downside of transferring pts is that accepting compensation for the transfer is technically against DVC rules.)

you could also contact david (see the ad on the rent/trade board) to act as a broker for you. he would do most/all of the client contact and you would make the reservation.

it's a bit complicated. i hope i never have to do it. but it can be possible to get $10-12 per pt for your efforts...

 

[Dean]

Thanks !!! I know the cruise line is very expensive. But I figured my points would help out more than than

Actually it's more expensive to buy enough points to cruise plus other trips than to buy just the points you need for DVC and look at cash for cruises. The best you can hope for using points to cruise is to break even and that's very unusual. The added costs and risks are simply unreasonable for one looking to buy in to use for cruises.

 

[luckyman_apd]

How does renting points work.

I have rented points before (me being the renter, not rentee) and I would say the easiest way is if you know someone planning a trip to WDW and see if it would benefit them to rent from you rather than book through Disney. I have paid $10 a point to friends and is saved me $ and got me better accommodations than I could get myself. I would try for $12 or $11 if I were you as dues keep going up.

You have to make a reservation for them. Have them pay you, and make sure you can cancel in time if they back out on you. I know once you have made the reservation, there is a website you can send them so they can check the reservation themselves to know it's legit. (not that I didn't trust my friend, but it was nice to have confirmation). I always know people going so I don't see it as a problem, but I would be worried about dealing with a total stranger.