Using DVC Points for Cruises

[Wes]

We are thinking about using our DVC points for a cruise. Until now, we have always used our points at our home resort (Boardwalk). So this is new ground for us.

- When is the best time to reserve? Do we have to wait until 7 months?

- What advice do cruise-experienced DVCers have about using points for cruises?

 

[carone0318]

You can book the Disney cruise 11 months out. We did it last year. Our family has never been on a cruise so for a little taste, we decided to start with the 3 night cruise. It cruises from Thur through Sun, which if we were in Disney would cost us the most points (Fri/Sat night stay.) We then went to BWV after the cruise and stayed Sun-Thur. Some people say that it's not worth the points, but done the way we did it, I don't think that it was a bad deal. Especially since, this was the only way we could afford to do the cruise along with Disney.

 

[westjones]

We cruised on points last year and probably won't do it again unless we have excess points. The main reason is because something came up and we thought about moving our cruise by one week, but that would have meant another service charge (I believe it is $100 for DVC to book your cruise with points). It just feels like you have more freedom when you book with a TA. If you cancel 60 days out you get 100% refund, but with DVC you lose that $100 fee.

Some cruises may be worth booking with points, for example, on December 19, 2004, we have a cruise booked that WAS considered value season. Well that ship is selling out and right now there are not Cat. 10s or below left, and the Cat. 9s and above keep going up in price. Since the points are already set, if you were to go on this cruise it would probably be less expensive to use points since DCL is now charging a much higher rate for this 4 day cruise than they originally planned.

There may be other cruises like this as well (I am watching this one because we are already booked and my sister SAID she was coming too, but never booked and I am starting to doubt that she will go with the new higher prices).

Anyway, I think a lot has to do with how many points you have and for what you want to use them. We only have 150 points, so we have decided that unless we start skipping some trips to WDW, we might as well not use our points for future cruises.

DJ

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by westjones
...(snip).....It just feels like you have more freedom when you book with a TA. If you cancel 60 days out you get 100% refund, but with DVC you lose that $100 fee........

Another thing to keep in mind if you cancel a cruise is that the points become "reservation points." That means they cannot be used to stay a a DVC resort or for an exchange through II. They may be used only for one of the options in The Disney Collection (includes DCL), the Conceirge Collection or the Adventurer's Collection.

 

[Wes]

Thanks for the insights. They are not what I expected, but that's precisely why it is useful to post questions on these boards.

 

[CheapMom]

Is there a points calculator for cruises somewhere?

 

[Dean]

And the value of points used for a DCL cruise varies from as low as less than $5 pp for FL resident rates to as high as about $7.50 pp if you compare to early booking discounts. If you compare to last minute or rack rates, the numbers will look different. It partly depends on when you compare and what category you look at. Here's a comparison done by Tim Larison, a DVC enthusiest and TA.