DVC points?

[TeamH5]

Can u use DVC points to cruise? How does that work out? Any out of pocket (other than incidentals) u have to pay when u cruise?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Can u use DVC points to cruise? How does that work out? Any out of pocket (other than incidentals) u have to pay when u cruise?

We don't have DVC points, but we've traveled with those who have. Generally, they said the point cost is pretty high. But they do it, anyway.

 

[kcashner]

Yes, you can use points. You pay a $95 booking fee, and of you must change anything, you get to pay it again. If you have to cancel, the points go into a status where you can only use them in the Disney collection. We don't normally cruise on points because it is generally more costly than using cash and it can be difficult to get a reservation on points.

 

[NWmom]

In addition to the points needed there is a $95 exhange fee.You also have to pay your tips.

We used points for 3 of us, paid cash for the 4th person. Cash due at time of booking.

It is usually a better value to use your points for hotel rooms as a point value, but when we had points to use that would expire and there was a cruise leaving from our backyard that saved us airfare, the point value was better to do the cruise for us. (Alaska 2011). Then we got hooked.

To do a cruise out of PC or to do WDW requires the same airfare for us.
We figured out points needed for the time we could go in December, plus park passes and food to make it fair in comparing OOP costs.

We then compared that total to the points for cruise. (Points for 2, cash for the 3rd)

It was cheaper to cruise for us because of our family size/ages and the week we were going plus the fact that we would not be cooking in our unit on this trip.

To get the 1 bed unit at Christmas, the points were high/close to the cruise. To get the studio and pay for food was also close.

At another time of year, staying at WDW would be "cheaper" in points plus cash expenses.
That being said, if you just look at the cost for the room, staying at WDW is always the better value.

 

[dbenlee]

You can cruise on points and there is a $95 dollar transaction fee for booking. To book you have to call member services. There are a limited number of bookings per cruise that can be booked on points so its important to book early because bookings on points go quickly.

Some people will argue that this isn't the most economical use of points, but ultimately they are your points and how you use them is up to you.

 

[kmc33]

I booked our upcoming Easter cruise with points for 2 adults and paid cash for DS. I called member services to book it. I had to pay the $95 transaction fee and pay for DS in full at time of booking. However the cost for him through DVC was actually slightly less than the 3rd person fee through DCL. Also, for this particular cruise, I thought the number of points I needed to use to book the stateroom were reasonable compared to the cost of booking it through DCL on a cash reservation. It was something on the lines of 120 points for each adult (11B stateroom) and the cost direct was $1100 per adult. I think it depends on the particular cruise because in some cases you might be able to book it directly for a much better price than the value of the points needed.

 

[cwdefouw]

We have done 5 cruises on points and have 2 more already booked with points as well. Another thing to point out is that since 3/11 only points purchased directly from Disney can be used on cruises and other destinations outside of the DVC resorts. Resales purchased after 3/11 can only be used at the DVC resorts.

Cruises are not the best use of points if you are looking to get the most value per point, however, we love telling our friends that we are cruising for $95 out of pocket, and how you use your points is entirely a personal decision. We bought the points for vacations, doesn't really matter where or whether we get $7 of value per point on a cruise or $25 of value per point at a DVC resort. Because we do both, it all balances out in the end.