IMO cash is much better, safer and a far better deal than using points. There are many reasons but I won't repeat them here. As to the specifics, here's what I know. You can book on board for cash and usually get somewhere around $200 per cabin creidt in addition to the cheapest options available. And even if the cruise you want is not yet booking, you can book something and transfer to the cruise you want in the future in almost all cases without losing your credit though the underlying priice might change appropriate to the actual cruise price. If they price goes down you can get the different reduced or refunded even for FL resident rates. I know
DCL was a hassle in transferring to the west coast cruises but at least part of the people who had booked on board were able to keep their credit. Plus, you can transer the reservation to a TA and get any additional benefits like rebates or further discounts. You will not be able to combine the Disney Visa room credit with other credits and you will lose the credit if you qualify for and get the FL resident rates.
You cannot book a points cruise on board. If it's 11 months or less, you MUST make arrangements on board book within 3 days. If it's 11-14 months, you must do all the above and call
DVC within 3 days but you can't actually make the reservations until 11 months. The impression I got is that if it's over 14 months you are out of luck but you could always try to book a cash reservation.
