Price Increase ?

[john storey]

Just booked 7 day cruise departing 23 April (Regular season), category 6 stateroom, cost me 290 points per person. Checking this years vacation planner (2004) the same trip would have cost 252 points per person, WHY THE STEEP INCREASE, anyone got any ideas?

 

[Lampman]

unlike 2004 most schools (at least in NY) are off that week. I am also booked for that cruise......I booked back march Cat 5. The price since then has gone up $900. ......supply and demand

 

[Rock'n Robin]

DVC points for cruises have gone up a lot every year. Last year I used points for 2 adults 2 kids in a cat. 4 (paid cash for DS) and if I did it again I'd have to use a 3 year span of points--and this was a 4 day with 3 days land!
DVC markets the cruises as an option but I think they are trying to put the kibosh on people joining just to cruise. The DVC boards often mention that it is a bad use of points and that selling the use of your points and using the cash to pay for a cruise is a better option. For me, since I needed a cat. 4, it was cheaper to go that way. If we ever cruise again after this one (where DS is sleeping with grandparents and they are paying for it, bless 'em) we'll probably do the 2 connecting category 10 thing.
Robin M.

 

[lilo62]

I feel your pain John!

I inquired about the May 7 Western cruise I am now taking and it fell into the same category like yours..... 290 points/pp and that's considered regular season as well. We like Cat. 6 staterooms. and we have no kids.

We too, would have to borrow points from like a 2 year span to make up the difference and we even toyed with the idea of paying for one person and using our DVC points for the other, but I found that DCL's cash prices were high. I have to say I was quite disappointed and I agree that the points needed for DCL is ridiculously high.

Hubby and I were determined to do this cruise, so we bagged the whole DVC idea to save our points for whatever may come our way in years to come and book our cruise through Dreams Unlimited. They beat DCL's price by $1600 having decided to pay in cash for 2 people and we are staying mid-ship in Cat. 6.

So, for us it worked out great and I would recommend any other DVC members who face this issue to explore this option.