Major Policy Change in DVC/DCL Trade Policy UPDATE ON POST #193

[Sammie]

I do know that based on threads on the other forums, DCL just this week offered some huge discounts. Maybe that prompted a surge in bookings and possibly they have the option when they get to a certain percentage of being full, they can pull back some DVC inventory.

The logistics of how all this works is never revealed to members. I just know the folks I talked to at MS today said it changed kinda quickly from having available rooms to not having them.

And as others have stated if bookings for cash are down at DVC resorts, it is possible it was an agreeable situation for both DCL and DVC.

 

[hakepb]

Does the sept 2011 date match up with cruise incentives for new buyers?
Did DVC or DCL just realize that the remaining DVC cabins equal the number of "free" cruises DVC promised?

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

I am sitting here completely dumfounded. This may be hard to believe but I have been trying for years to get my wife to take a cruise. TODAY, she finally agreed.

I was going to call member services in the morning to book a 3-night cruise for May 26th.

 

[Mineu]

Just priced RCL and Celebrity-I can upgrade from my inside cabin on DCL to an oceanview-save $500 per cabin and fly out of Seattle instead of Vancouver for half that cost-although-I might look funny wearing my "Alaska Bound on the Wonder" shirts I just made...

 

[AnnaS]

I am sorry to hear this Carol.

My brother (also dvc member) and his family and I have been planning to cruise on the Dream next year. Too many medical issues with family here so we have held off and were afraid to book with some points too soon.

I thought this would happen. I keep looking at the DCL website and most sailings on the dream that we were interested in (July and August) do not show any inside staterooms and some only cabins with verandah. I told her I am sure we can book and then others get upgraded. I was planning on booking two inside cabins and one oceanview.

I guess we are out now. They don't need DVC to fill up the Dream. We will have to wait another year (hubby and I were planning on paying cash but the rest probably in points since I have some I will be banking).

We will now have to rethink our plans for next year and I have to warn my friend who has the Alaska cruise booked. I am not sure if she switched to points yet.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Dean]

Just priced RCL and Celebrity-I can upgrade from my inside cabin on DCL to an oceanview-save $500 per cabin and fly out of Seattle instead of Vancouver for half that cost-although-I might look funny wearing my "Alaska Bound on the Wonder" shirts I just made...

And both are comparable overall to DCL. I'd put RCCL and DCL about equals with each having their points where one is better than the other. Celibrity is a fair amount above in some ways other than kids issues.

 

[wdrl]

I am sitting here completely dumfounded. This may be hard to believe but I have been trying for years to get my wife to take a cruise. TODAY, she finally agreed.

I was going to call member services in the morning to book a 3-night cruise for May 26th.

I recommend that you go ahead with your plan and call MS in the morning. You have nothing to lose except the few minutes its takes to make the call. You might find that you'll be able to book the cruise because your situation is not exactly the same as the OP's situation. Or, if you can't book the cruise, perhaps MS will explain if and when you can book a cruise in the future.

Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I wonder if DVC members on DCL cruises will be issued aprons and brooms when they come on board. You may become a whole lot more familiar with the restaurants and food that is served.

 

[Inkmahm]

I could not believe my ears when I spoke to the first CM today. I had just spoken to them mid week and last Sunday with no hint of any problems to come. So I immediately asked for a supervisor. I happened to get the same supervisor that I spoke to last Sunday. I made him repeat what he told me, and I informed him of who I was and that I intended to post this on our internet website. He did seem genuinely surprised at this turn of events today.



No matter their new policy, I think it is extremely unfair that this was implemented without any "grace period" or any kind of notice at all. This really stinks.



I have already sent off my email to the Satisfaction Team expressing our extreme displeasure with this new decision.



Yesterday you were fine. I would have been fine mid week when I last called. But as of today, this is no longer an option for DVC members. That is what I was told. This is a "new policy" and they are booking cruises differently..according to the CM's.



They have put me on a "call list". They were careful to explain that this is NOT a waitlist. If a cancellation of a DVC member occurs, someone who currently is booked, they will call me to advise of the opening. It may not be the category you want, but at least they will call.

They said they will call up to 30 days prior to the sail date that I want. I told them since I need to cancel June 21 and prefer August 2 instead, 30 days prior does me no good since I will have already passed my existing cruise date. Not to mention plane tickets, hotels pre and post cruise, etc.

When news of this hits the public full force, I expect there will be lots of flak. I am disgusted to say the least..

I don't understand why they have a call list if this is a policy change and not an issue of DVC availability being taken. Why call you if there is no way to change your reservation anyway? And if there is a way to change it, then the policy didn't really change, right? I think a call list is a good thing as that makes more sense related to it being a capacity issue and you may still have a chance to change.

 

[Mineu]

I wonder if DVC members on DCL cruises will be issued aprons and brooms when they come on board. You may become a whole lot more familiar with the restaurants and food that is served.

 

[Inkmahm]

We can cancel but our points will become Reservation Points, which means they cannot be used at the DVC resorts. Since they cannot be used at DCL with this new policy, well that does not leave us a choice that we would utilize. We typically stay either at DVC resorts, or on the DCL...

That's the part that I think is really unfair if this really is a policy change. 1,500 points is crazy to have in reservaton points! Definitely complain until you get to someone who can help on this. It isn't reasonable for you to get stuck with so many points that can't even be used at WDW through no fault of your own.

 

[tjkraz]

One consequence of this arrangement is that DCL has to be "paid" by DVC for each DVC member who takes a cruise. That is a "cost" that goes against DVC's books, which must be offset by rental receipts from the rooms turned over to CRO for reservation-point bookings.

Very true.

Years ago I wondered aloud about the role that point rentals played in diminishing the trade value of DVC points. We could spend all day debating about the number of folks who are willing to pay $700+ per night to rent a Two Bedroom villa through CRO. But whatever that number, I can guarantee you it is MUCH smaller when non-members can easily rent points and get that same accommodation for $250 per night.

Rentals can only be hurting demand for villas through CRO. When demand goes down, DVC is forced to charge more points per night for a cruise or other non-DVC destination because they know a greater percentage of those CRO rooms will not yield any revenue.

IF low demand has driven this apparent DCL moratorium, we only have ourselves to blame. And honestly I don't know what DVC could do to fix it. Even when the economy rights itself, I don't foresee any dramatic uptick in CRO bookings of villa rooms when point rentals become more and more mainstream with each passing day.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I am sorry to hear this Carol.

My brother (also dvc member) and his family and I have been planning to cruise on the Dream next year. Too many medical issues with family here so we have held off and were afraid to book with some points too soon.

I thought this would happen. I keep looking at the DCL website and most sailings on the dream that we were interested in (July and August) do not show any inside staterooms and some only cabins with verandah. I told her I am sure we can book and then others get upgraded. I was planning on booking two inside cabins and one oceanview.

I guess we are out now. They don't need DVC to fill up the Dream. We will have to wait another year (hubby and I were planning on paying cash but the rest probably in points since I have some I will be banking).

We will now have to rethink our plans for next year and I have to warn my friend who has the Alaska cruise booked. I am not sure if she switched to points yet.

Thanks for the heads up.

You are most welcome. I thought waiting till Friday to rebook was no problem at all. Little did I know. Good luck to you and your friend who wishes to rebook, too.

 

[Inkmahm]

I am sitting here completely dumfounded. This may be hard to believe but I have been trying for years to get my wife to take a cruise. TODAY, she finally agreed.

I was going to call member services in the morning to book a 3-night cruise for May 26th.

Call and make your reservation with cash. Put the points you were going to use up for rent or transfer to get the cash. No reason at all not to go on your cruise just because you can't use points. DCL may have just saved you money by forcing you to pay cash.

 

[gkrykewy]

When demand goes down, DVC is forced to charge more points per night for a cruise

The funny thing is, I understood from many reports here that Dream cruises in 2011 had actually become a much better points bargain relative to cash prices than cruises ever had been before. I'm not sure why that would be, and it was still way too points rich for my tastes.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I don't understand why they have a call list if this is a policy change and not an issue of DVC availability being taken. Why call you if there is no way to change your reservation anyway? And if there is a way to change it, then the policy didn't really change, right? I think a call list is a good thing as that makes more sense related to it being a capacity issue and you may still have a chance to change.

The way the Supervisor explained it, the call list will come into play if a DVC member cancels an existing cruise. They will then call, but there is no guarantee of what cabin or category may be offered to you. Plus, they will "call" up to 30 days prior to sail date. This does us no good since we are booked for June 21 currently, and calling us up to July 2 for a desired August 2 sail date will be too late. Not to mention plane fare, hotels, etc. There are definitely available staterooms that were offered up until today to DVC Members. For whatever reason, they are no longer available to DVC members going forward. At least until October 2011, and possibly later.

I have learned my lesson, for what it is worth, going forward..

 

[Sammie]

If DVC is having problems with members trading out, and having rooms not fillled with cash reservations maybe they need to do some self examinations.

I don't think you can put all the blame on the members.

As service and upkeep fall so do bookings. As resorts get bigger and bigger and more of them, there are more rooms to fill.

I think DVC has over supplied the need. I also think they shot themselves in the foot by losing some of their best sales people, the current membership.

If rentals are undermining the bottom line, you can be sure there will changes in the future to address that also.

I guarantee you that a year after the Dream sets sail you will not see it looking like BLT, as to wear and tear.

 

[Mineu]

The way the Supervisor explained it, the call list will come into play if a DVC member cancels an existing cruise. They will then call, but there is no guarantee of what cabin or category may be offered to you. Plus, they will "call" up to 30 days prior to sail date. This does us no good since we are booked for June 21 currently, and calling us up to July 2 for a desired August 2 sail date will be too late. Not to mention plane fare, hotels, etc. There are definitely available staterooms that were offered up until today to DVC Members. For whatever reason, they are no longer available to DVC members going forward. At least until October 2011, and possibly later.

I have learned my lesson, for what it is worth, going forward..

Have you thought about posting on the meet thread for the cruise you want to go on? There may be a DVC member on that cruise that was planning to change/cancel anyway-it's worth a shot-and may give someone else a head's up about the situation...

 

[Dean]

If DVC is having problems with members trading out, and having rooms not fillled with cash reservations maybe they need to do some self examinations.

I don't think you can put all the blame on the members.

As service and upkeep fall so do bookings. As resorts get bigger and bigger and more of them, there are more rooms to fill.

I think DVC has over supplied the need. I also think they shot themselves in the foot by losing some of their best sales people, the current membership.

If rentals are undermining the bottom line, you can be sure there will changes in the future to address that also.

I guarantee you that a year after the Dream sets sail you will not see it looking like BLT, as to wear and tear.

The obvious solution is to do away wtih cash equivalent bookings.

 

[Sammie]

The obvious solution is to do away wtih cash equivalent bookings.

Is that possible, since Disney owns a percentage of each resort.