DVC Resale for Disney Cruises

[Garthilk]

I wonder, with DVC resale prices pushing the lower limits, I wonder, at what point are they cost effective strictly using them to cruise?

For example, lets say I wanted to go on a cruise every year. An inside stateroom, on say 2011, 8 night Mexican Riviera Cruise. This would set me back close to about $3,382.90.

Now if I could snag a resale for say $40 bucks a point, the same inside stateroom would run me about 250 points, or $10,000.

I wonder if there is a sweet spot in terms of effectiveness of points for cruising. Anyone crunched the numbers?

 

[Sandisw]

I don't know at what point it becomes worth it, but it is funny that you mention this.

When we were at the TOTWL member presentation last week, the guide mentioned buying some of the more economical choices as "network" points, for the sole purchase of using them outside DVC. He was, of course, talking about adding on at OKW @ $90/ppt through Disney, not resale, but the concept is the same.

But, I can see buying the cheaper points at SSR for thepurpose of using them outside DVC. The only problem is that the # of points needed for cruises, etc. can go up and it may not pay for itself in the long run--but maybe it would!

 

[nunzia]

I don't know if this would work numbers wise of not, but don't forget to add in your yearly MF on those 250 points (about $1,250 depending on your home reort) when you figure the break even point.

 

[Inkmahm]

I wonder, with DVC resale prices pushing the lower limits, I wonder, at what point are they cost effective strictly using them to cruise?

For example, lets say I wanted to go on a cruise every year. An inside stateroom, on say 2011, 8 night Mexican Riviera Cruise. This would set me back close to about $3,382.90.

Now if I could snag a resale for say $40 bucks a point, the same inside stateroom would run me about 250 points, or $10,000.

I wonder if there is a sweet spot in terms of effectiveness of points for cruising. Anyone crunched the numbers?

Your numbers don't make sense compared to previous DCL history with DVC points. If a cash price is $3,382.90, it is much more likely to cost more like 400 points than 250. You don't save money using points, it generally costs you more money than paying cash.

 

[Inkmahm]

I just checked the points charts for the December 8 day Mexican crusie in 2011 and the lowest cost is 242 per person for category 11 so that would be a minimum of 484 points for this cruise for two people. Cash cost would be $3382.90 per DCL site.

Many people make the same mistake the first time they look at the points cost for the cruise at the DVC site. The cost there is in points PER PERSON. I know, they are so high that you assume the points must be for the cabin in total for two people. That is not the case, however.

 

[lark]

I wonder, with DVC resale prices pushing the lower limits, I wonder, at what point are they cost effective strictly using them to cruise?

For example, lets say I wanted to go on a cruise every year. An inside stateroom, on say 2011, 8 night Mexican Riviera Cruise. This would set me back close to about $3,382.90.

Now if I could snag a resale for say $40 bucks a point, the same inside stateroom would run me about 250 points, or $10,000.

I wonder if there is a sweet spot in terms of effectiveness of points for cruising. Anyone crunched the numbers?

I think the dues make it a no go. Putting to the side your specific example and looking at the issue more in general, to determine the sweet spot, I'd look first at the dues for the resort I was thinking of purchasing and its history. Then, I'd try to do a comparison across multiple seasons and multiple stateroom categories about the price per point for disney cruises. Whatever the spread will help you determine the break even point.

My general sense (based not any any scientific analysis) is that if, unsing points, you can get a cruise in the $7.50 per point range, you're doing really well. (In other words, if you found a cruise for 300 points that would cost $2,250 if booked through DCL, you're in good shape.) But let's say that you can do much better than that with careful planning and flexibility to go on the value season for cruising. Let's say you can even figure a way to make it work for $9.50 a point.

So, let's assume dues at $4.50. Using this type of analysis, you're getting $5 per point worth of value by cruising. So, if you could truly find DVC for $40 per point, your break even would be 8 years, not counting the lost value of the money sunk into DVC

Perhaps something to keep in mind in the future, but for present, this is wholly unrealistic. The only resort with points approaching even $50 is vero, which has dues approaching $7/point. This makes it a complete no go. So, that puts you at OKW, where you are looking around $65/point. Now you're talking about a 12 to 15 year break even point, and that's assuming my extremely favorable for-the-sake-of-argument use of $9.50 a point, which is really wholly unrealistic. But even if we assume it's not, I would never do this for a 15 year break even point, because:

1) I've discounted the time value of money, which you can't really discount. Even at crappy interest rates, put the $20,000 or whatever you'd spend on DVC into cds or municipal bonds that mature every year, and use the proceeds for your cruising. You'll come out much better. If you'd need to finance to buy DVC, and thus are financing your cruises at 10.25 percent, forget about it. It's lunacy.

2) If you're really planning to be a frequent cruiser, you can significantly reduce your cruising costs by booking future trip on board. This makes the $9.50 number even more pie in the sky.

3) I haven't included the $95 fee and the breakage associated with canceling reservations made on points. Plus, you'd have to be perfectly efficient about using your points to keep them from expiring. Disney cruises don't take nice round numbers of points, like 160 or 250. I think you're perpetually be needing to borrow and bank, or, worse, rent points for transfer, to make your reservations work, and once you start doing that you're blowing your price per point way out of proportion.

4) A 15 year break even is just not feasible given all the uncertainty of future dues and future points chart increases for cruising.

If a person owns lots of points and want to use them cruise, that's one thing. Nobody should tell another person how to use their points. (My person opinion is that it's way more sound to rent them out and use the cash to cruise, but some people don't want to be bothered or deal with renting, and everyone puts a different dollar value on convenience.) But if the question is whether one should enter into a DVC contract with the express intention of using the points for cruising, even at low resale prices it just wouldn't make sense at this point in time IMHO, and with apologies to the timeshare store resale guys!

 

[karrit2000]

I'll be quick & to the point. There is no way that using DVC points is cost effective to book a Disney Cruise. The only possible scenario I can come up with to even justify using DVC points on a cruise is if you are going to lose the points if you don't use them. I would use mine at any resort hotel that I could before I would use them on a cruise. As others have already pointed out you are paying annual maintenance fees on those points in addition to the per point cost and the point requirements for the cruise are ridiculously high. While I truly enjoy the Disney Cruises and will continue to sail with them you can get a comparable cruise on just about any other cruise line for about 1/2 the $$ of a Disney Cruise.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Keep in mind though that the point per cruise cost does include food and entertainment onboard the ship. For a family of say, 4 that would add up to a pretty good food bill staying in a DVC unit unless you cooked in the unit.

However, you will have to pay a $95 transfer fee.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

The most cost effective way to use points for a cruise is to transfer points to another member for cash (sell them) then take the money and pay cash for your cruise. Using points for a cruise is not a good value.

 

[Inkmahm]

Keep in mind though that the point per cruise cost does include food and entertainment onboard the ship. For a family of say, 4 that would add up to a pretty good food bill staying in a DVC unit unless you cooked in the unit.

However, you will have to pay a $95 transfer fee.

But how you pay for the cruise has nothing at all to do with what the cruise includes. People who pay cash for the cruise get the same food and entertainment aboard the ship as the people who use DVC points.

 

[JimMIA]

If you want to cruise every year, I'd start looking at other options beside DCL. A typical 7 night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean from Miami runs less than $1,000 per person for a low-end cabin like discussed here. If you use cruise consolidators, it's even less.

Disney cruises are VERY high-priced, even if you pay cash.

 

[crisi]

Another issue is that the points to cruise change every year - and usually go up. It isn't easy to add a few DVC points every year, and it isn't very cost effective to do so.

 

[tkalita]

I'm actually in this predicament right now. We booked a cruise on the Dream over Easter 2011. We own 320 BLT points and this 4-night cruise cost 322 points (plus $95 fee). If we booked it in cash it would've cost us around $2,300. At the going rate of renting those 320 points at $10/point, they'd be worth $3,200. I was back and forth with this decision for quite a while when I came to the decision to just use the points because we are still financing our DVC purchase (through home equity at 6.75%) and couldn't afford the trip in cash. We're going with friends and this was the only time they could go. It worked for us on this particular occasion but I definitely wouldn't make a habit out of it. It's simply NOT cost-effective.