Member cruises?

[lenshanem]

I keep reading mentioning of member cruises...
How often do they have these?
Is it a member only cruise?
Do you get a better point price than normally?
What is different about these cruises?
How do you find out about them?
Thanks!

 

[AreWeThereYet]

Shan -

We were not members at the time, but we were ON a member cruise last Spring. We met so many members while we were on the cruise and heard so many great stories that we could not justify NOT buying our membership on the spot.

I think I can answer some of your questions:

Members only - no, otherwise we would not have been on it.

How often - if you sign up for member emails at the dvcmember website you will receive notifications as to when these special cruises are offered.

Better point price - yes. I know that there were discounted points offered for members on the cruise.

Different - lots of DVC member activies, such as members-only receptions, members-only lanyards, t-shirts, buckets for the kids, a members-only bar on Castaway Cay, a members-only picture, special pins and other goodies.

Same - the rest of the cruise.

Hope this helps a bit!!

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

AreWeThereYet,

With all the member-exclusive stuff, did it make you feel left out or like some kind of 2nd class citizen? Did you just happen to book this cruise for the dates/destinations, or did you intentionally choose a member cruise? Just curious.

 

[AreWeThereYet]

We did not know it was a member cruise. I would say that there were about 35-45% members on the cruise (I could be way over estimating this number), but at no time did we feel excluded from anything. Probably because we investigated and found out what DVC was all about and we were included in the festivities from the minute we signed on and put a down payment for our points on my credit card. We were issued t-shirts, were invited to all the remaining activities, and got all the rest of the perks the other members got on the cruise. We felt very welcomed by all members on the cruise - both before and after the cruise. Like I said earlier: the members really sold us on DVC because they all had nothing but great things to say about the club.

Once back in Orlando we were able to see the property and some representative rooms over at BWV, so we were very excited and even more pleased with our purchase decision.

As for how we booked the cruise: I went through an online broker who deals exclusively with Disney cruises and got a GREAT deal on the cruise. Will definitely go through them again when we go on our next cruise, unless of course it is a member cruise with great discounts again.

 

[Regina]

The Member cruise that AreWeThereYet was on is different than the one that was exclusively for DVC Members that took place this past February. The latter was the first time that a group chartered the Wonder. It could only be booked through Member Services.

The points needed were slightly higher than usual, but we got all sorts of extras, including two trips to Castaway Cay.

It was FANTASTIC! I know that almost everyone who went is eager to go again if a second one is scheduled.