DVC points and cruising

[kmronnie3]

Just got back from a cruise and loved it so much we booked another one. It just hit me that I could use my points towards a cruise but was wondering if anyone has done that. Also do you feel it is more cost effective to use your points or pay cash? Any feedback or suggestions is appreciated

 

[DebbieB]

Just got back from a cruise and loved it so much we booked another one. It just hit me that I could use my points towards a cruise but was wondering if anyone has done that. Also do you feel it is more cost effective to use your points or pay cash? Any feedback or suggestions is appreciated

Did you buy resale after 03/21/2011? If so, you can't use points for cruises.
If you bought direct or resale before 03/21/2011, you can use points for cruises.

 

[com_op_2000]

I have done full or partial payments with points for 6 of 7 cruises with one more booked.
Most on the DIS will recommend you to not do so, they will say to rent the points, and use the cash to pay for the cruise.
I will not rent points cause I do not want the hassles that can come with renting. DW and I consider it a good use of our points cause it is something that we like to do.
Issues:
1. $95.00 fee
2. If you only pay part of the cruise on points, the rest of the payment is due at time of booking.
3. If you have to cancel the points can then only be used for cruises or other usage outside of DVC.

 

[WolfpackFan]

We have done one cruise entirely on points and getting ready to book another one using points for just one person. First cruise worked out great. As said a lot of people will say it's not a good use of points, that you should rent out the points and pay cash for the cruise. I just don't want to mess with renting points.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

And those folks telling you how you should use your points did not pay for your points. IMHO the only bad use of points is using them for something you didn't want to do. I have used points for cruises and would again

 

[ParrotBill]

We intend to use points to pay for one of us on a future cruise as one poster suggested here... mainly because Disney cruises are so much more expensive than other cruises and using points for part of it will give us the illusion that the cruise was not so costly!

 

[lah3hh]

Our family has cruised over 17 times and each of them paid for with points! There are many on here that will tell you every which way that is a bad use of points. As for me and my family it has been fantastic! I do not rent a single point of ours because I did not buy into DVC to become a landlord of points. I bought to travel with my family and create memories and encourage my family to keep taking vacations!

So having said all of that you should proceed with your plans whichever way you prefer. I think the important points to be aware of have already been provided to you so other than those highlighted you should be good.

 

[crisi]

We don't have a ton of points - only enough for a week every other year, so for us, cruising on points means passing up on WDW for several years in order to cruise - and won't cover much of the cruise cost. We take other vacations in the years we don't do WDW (and sometimes in the years we do as well), those vacations are cash, and that is how we've done our DCL vacations.

For us, it isn't a "point value" thing as much as its that we have various resources we use for various vacations - and points are a WDW resource with only enough bought to cover our WDW needs. To use those points to cruise would mean that they weren't available when we wanted to go to WDW.

 

[disneypoor]

Also, if you just returned, you can get a discount on booking with points if you call MS. I believe you have seven days from the time you get off of the ship to do this. It doesn't save a ton of points, but it does help. We just did it after our March cruise. Although booking with points may not be what many prefer, I figure I bought my points to use so I'm not against it.

Susan

 

[Anal Annie]

We used points to cruise ONE TIME back when we were new DVC owners. In hindsight it was the biggest waste of points. We are what I would call "points challenged" as we only own 250 points. That is essentially enough points for our family to visit WDW (or some combination of DVC resorts) for 2 weeks a year in studios (or 1 week in a 1-bedroom) but we always use studios.

The 1 time we used points to cruise we banked nearly 2/3 and combined them with a full years worth to pay for a 4-night cruise on the Wonder. So there we were. Stuck with only a 4-night vacation and we used like 400 points - which COULD HAVE BEEN the equivalent of a 3 week vacation. So we were OUT of points and the only way to visit WDW that year was to borrow ahead or pay cash. (We opted to pay cash on the DVC discount rather than to start a borrowing pattern. But we really didn't do ourselves any favors - we still had to pay cash out of pocket.) We typically vacation in the summer - a 7-night cruise on the Fantasy in July or August would eat up 1 full year of points for JUST ONE PERSON. We'd still have to pay cash for everyone else and the DVC cash price is higher pp than if we would book early and book direct (or thru Dreams Unlimited). AND it would only be for a 1-week vacation. Not 2 weeks.

If I price out the cash rate on a cruise the per person rate is less than what the cash rate is to rent a DVC unit for 2 weeks. At least with the DVC vacation we are ALL covered in that price and we can go for twice as long.

We now do onboard rebookings for the cash discount and cruise on cash and save our points for DVC accomodations. The only way I could see cruising on points to be a valid solution would be if we owned so many points that we couldn't use them all up. THAT isn't going to happen in my lifetime!!

You have to run the numbers and decide what is important to you and consider how many points you own - for us it is longer vacations every year vs 1 vacation every 2 years. No brainer for us. We take the extended yearly versions.

 

[sissy_ib]

For our first cruise we used points. I figured it would be a one time thing, we were new owners and had the extra developer points that we would not have been able to use otherwise. I would not use points again but I felt at the time it was a good use of points and we ended up loving our cruise. For our second cruise I did rent out my points and we got an amazing military discount so it was a win/win situation.

 

[bobbiwoz]

And those folks telling you how you should use your points did not pay for your points. IMHO the only bad use of points is using them for something you didn't want to do. I have used points for cruises and would again

Me too, I have used points for cruises and would do it again!

 

[darkwing818]

4 of our 10 cruises (2 four day & 2 seven day) have been with points. However it seems like the last few years the amount of points required for a 7 day cruise Oceanview cabin have gone way up, if we book a cruise we wouldn't be able to hit the parks for that year . So our last 6 cruises have been cash, we save our points for booking 2 or 3 days before & 3 or 4 days after cruises. Plus we get to do additional trips to just WDW, e.g. we just got back from a week doing the FW&F at EPCOT.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Actually right now I am looking at two options..

1... If I decide the MDE and other changes will eventually settle down into something a late booker can live with use my points over the next year or so for other things (cruises, other locations etc...) In other words I won't need the points for the parks next year (Sorry Disney but if you want me to be your tester, pay me don't do things like make it next to impossible to get into the park due to technological changes)
2. If I decide the MDE and other changes are going to mean that a late booker gets to tour gift shops then it's time to put some extra points on the market...

Time will tell.

 

[k3chantal]

Just got back from a cruise and loved it so much we booked another one. It just hit me that I could use my points towards a cruise but was wondering if anyone has done that. Also do you feel it is more cost effective to use your points or pay cash? Any feedback or suggestions is appreciated

I have done this twice if you include the trip coming up in 125 days.

I have no regrets for these reasons:

I don't want to take the 'extra' step and rent my points. Even though, many people have success stories, the reality is that bad experiences with renting your points out do happen.

I feel that there is extra 'value' with cruising thus validating the 'higher' point usage. Examples of the extra value are the inclusion of your meals and entertainment.

The reality is that you are not comparing apples to apples. Cruising is a very different experience from a DVC resort. Each DVC owner has to decide for themselves whether it is worth it. For us it is. We enjoy the different experience yet it is still Disney. In our minds, the biggest benefit is also the same benefit that we get whenever we use our points: No outputting of a lot of CASH that immediate year since we paid out right and all we have is the maintenance fees.

Each to their own. Plenty of DVC owners to chose this path.

 

[Donna M]

We use our points to go on 3 day cruises. We have enough points to be able to cruise and stay at WDW. We don't want to deal with renting either, we own the points outright and don't want to lay out more cash for the cruise. Many people would rather rent and then use that cash for the cruise. It works for them. Points works for us.

 

[kmronnie3]

For our first cruise we used points. I figured it would be a one time thing, we were new owners and had the extra developer points that we would not have been able to use otherwise. I would not use points again but I felt at the time it was a good use of points and we ended up loving our cruise. For our second cruise I did rent out my points and we got an amazing military discount so it was a win/win situation.

I was looking at the numbers and to use points it would take 3years of points (240 a year) but if I rented 2 years worth I would Be able to pay for the cruise in cash and be able to vacation in the third year. Did you rent the points yourself or did you use a broker and if by yourself was it difficult?

Thanks!

 

[cwdefouw]

We use points for cruises almost every year and agree with most of the posters on this thread. Although common DIS DVC knowledge says that it is not a good use of points, we don't want to go to WDW every year and I certainly do not want to let our points go unused, so we use them on cruises. We have done many short cruises including DVC member cruises also an Eastern Carib, a Western Carib, plus Alaska in 2011 and a Panama Canal cruise this year. I also agree with others on this thread, I do not want the hassles and risks that comes with renting points so we choose not to do so.

So... If you want to use your points on the cruises. Do it, you won't regret it.

 

[Dean]

Just got back from a cruise and loved it so much we booked another one. It just hit me that I could use my points towards a cruise but was wondering if anyone has done that. Also do you feel it is more cost effective to use your points or pay cash? Any feedback or suggestions is appreciated

The pp return is very meager, usually between $6 and $7.50 a point compared to early booking discounts. If you're happy with those returns and you have the options, that's up to you. I'd recommend you compare directly for the cruise options you're considering then decide. Remember if you have to change or cancel there is considerable risk to your points, IMO far more risk than renting them and paying cash. To pay retail prices at the current levels to then get such a return is a negative double whammy. These are the realities of using points for cruising and any other cash exchange options and to a degree, the non cash exchange options as well.

 

[sissy_ib]

I was looking at the numbers and to use points it would take 3years of points (240 a year) but if I rented 2 years worth I would Be able to pay for the cruise in cash and be able to vacation in the third year. Did you rent the points yourself or did you use a broker and if by yourself was it difficult?

Thanks!

I rented them myself here on the DIS rent/trade board and it was very easy.