Points for Cruise

[kasowell]

I don't know if this is the place to ask or not but here goes. How many points does it take to take a Disney Cruise. Or is there some place I can see a chart for this information.

 

[RobDoc]

The Point Chart for 2005 and 2006 DCL cruises are available on the DVC Member's site.

Just go to "Resorts and Member Getaways"/ "The Disney Collection"/ "Point Charts" .

Enjoy!

 

[kasowell]

I am stil considering prchasing so I don't have access to points information. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how many points it takes for a cruise.

 

[spiceycat]

there are around 11 types of rooms, and several seasons.

give dates that you want and if you will settle for and inside room, vs the deluxe outside with balcony.

these points will change each and every year.

 

[JimC]

I am in the camp that it would be better to rent your points and look for the best cash deal on a cruise rather than use points on DCL. I think the cash terms and deals are better than what DVC negotiates.

 

[kasowell]

I don't have a specific time or date. I was wondering the basic points I guess for the lowest category for say a summer trip. I was just kind of wanting a ballpark idea of how many points it would cost. If some people knew how many points it cost them then I could judge from that.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Depending on how many points you have, you may find it better to rent and pay cash for your cruise, or just cruise on points. I cruise at least once or twice per year on points and feel the value is there since it is all inclusive with meals, lodging, etc. Only alcohol, excursions and souvenirs are coming out of my pocket, lol.

But there are many who prefer to rent their points out and pay cash for their cruise. I would not purchase DVC with the sole intent of cruising, however. Your DVC Resorts will always give you the best value point wise.

 

[kasowell]

I would never purchase just to cruise but I thought maybe in a few years we might enjor a cruise and was wondering about how many points it would take for two people to cruise.

 

[Pluto 2]

cat 11 140 value ,194 regular 227 peak- 7 night western
cat 11 82 value, 123 regular 138 peak- 4 night
cat 11 67 value, 104 regualr 122 peak- 3 nights

i did have the 7 night eastern cant find it now its just a little cheaper than the western

they are per person based on double occupancy

 

[Scotch]

It is not always true that you get better value renting your points and then paying cash for the cruise. It all depends on how far in advance you can plan, which season, and what the going rate is.

We decided to cruise on the upcoming 12/17 Magic pretty late in the game (for planners, anyway). We decided on the trip this summer and booked the last group cabin available via a well known DCL TA in August. The group rate negotiated way back about 1 1/2 years in advance when rates were first released by DCL, and as of the time we booked the cabin the then "current" retail rates (even through discounted TAs) were roughly $1500 more for our cabin.

Shortly thereafter I tried to search for another cabin for my mom. I searched for about a month, well into early October, and with no group rates left with any TA (because DCL makes TAs give up group space booking a certain amount of time in advance), we were priced out of any of the inside cabins for one person. I looked into DVC and discovered we could get the inside cabin, cat. 11, for one (paying a single supplement) with points that come to roughly $1000 less than the price for paying cash. (I currently value my points at roughly $6.25 a point, taking into account the purchase price, number of use years remaining, and our annual maintenance fees. Obviously, those who bought into DVC much earlier than we did would have a lower cost per point.) Indeed if we had rented all the points necessary to book that cabin using DVC points, even at $10 a point, the cash proceeds BEFORE taxes on the rental gain would still be a few hundred dollars short of the best current cash rate we could get for that cabin.

The lesson is always comparison shop. I know the rule of thumb on this board is "don't use your points for cruises" or "always rent your points and then pay cash", but that is not always the best course and in fact could end up causing someone to pay significantly more for the cruise.