is the DVC member cruise better?

[ucancallmeflower]

Looking to compare member cruise to reg cruises on disney. Cannot afford verrandah on member cruise but can on the same cruise non member cruise

 

[dvcdisney]

We've only been on 1 DVC member cruise. It was different in a sense that we received special gifts in our staterooms every evening. And knowing that the majority were DVC members, we somewhat bonded a little more. I also noticed that announcements and communications were geared to members more than other cruises.

Otherwise, the service was just as good as other cruises. I'm sure there were many more times we heard "welcome home" than previous cruises, but I noticed that when we wear our DVC hats or lanyard or anything DVC on the regular cruises, a lot of CMs would say "welcome home"...

I wish they would offer a different itinerary to get members to go more often. Every time they announce member cruise, we were hoping it wasn't something we've done before. I'd love an ABD type of member cruise where the itinerary was special to members....but I think this cost much more....but I don't think it'll be a problem since member cruises sells out in hours.

 

[Narcoossee11]

It is more expensive . Fun sale meetings, they want you to purchase more points.

You do get unique gifts. MANY members turn around and sell them on ebay.

 

[dvcdisney]

Forgot to mention that you need to leave extra room in your luggage or bring an extra luggage.

We ended up leaving a couple of things because they gave each person one of everything...so we received 4 big board games one night. We had only room for 2 and left the other 2.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We did the 2019 5-night West Coast Member's Cruise (San Diego to Vancouver) and enjoyed it. The cruise service, food, and staterooms are all the exact same excellent quality as a regular cruise. As PP has stated, you get a lot of "gifts", as in bringing an empty Army duffle bag with you to pack it all up and get it home. We met in person lots of other DVC members that I have only chatted with on this blog. And that was one of the best experiences during the 5-night cruise. Also, Disney brings in several guest speakers to talk about their job and experiences. We will do it again in the near future and bring the empty duffle bag. We arrived with only two roll-on luggage and left having to check the luggage and hand-carrying 4 beach-size totes (part of the gifts) stuffed to the brim.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We did the 2019 5-night West Coast Member's Cruise (San Diego to Vancouver) and enjoyed it. The cruise service, food, and staterooms are all the exact same excellent quality as a regular cruise. As PP has stated, you get a lot of "gifts", as in bringing an empty Army duffle bag with you to pack it all up and get it home. We met in person lots of other DVC members that I have only chatted with on this blog. And that was one of the best experiences during the 5-night cruise. Also, Disney brings in several guest speakers to talk about their job and experiences. We will do it again in the near future and bring the empty duffle bag. We arrived with only two roll-on luggage and left having to check the luggage and hand-carrying 4 beach-size totes (part of the gifts) stuffed to the brim.

We did the same cruise, and also booked the ABD experience that was tied to this cruise and that made the whole experience extraordinary!

I have been on at least 6 DVC MCs and love the experiences. The extra special speakers and activities make them worth while to me.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Note also that DVC MC tend to take place in shoulder seasons or off-seasons for the route in use, to pump up revenue for sailings that otherwise cost less or don't run full.

 

[ucancallmeflower]

thank you all

 

[Memojo]

Are there any threads on the upcoming Aug. 2022 Alaska DVC MC. We are considering and I am trying to get some insights on this one.

Thx.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Are there any threads on the upcoming Aug. 2022 Alaska DVC MC. We are considering and I am trying to get some insights on this one.

Thx.

There is not a cruise meet thread as far as I can see.

I have a cousin who went on an earlier DVC MC to Alaska. I found this link that was about that cruise.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2015-dvc-alaska-member-cruise-5-25-5-31-15.3293741/

 

[KashasMom]

We did one a couple of years ago. We got SO much swag - most people had to buy an extra suitcase to carry it all home. (They actually ran out of suitcases in the shops.) There were some cool guests onboard but it's not something I'd pay extra to do again. And all of that swag...sitting in a closet.