Using DVC points for Disney Cruise

[Inkmahm]

My wife and DD went on a 3 night cruise and for the two of them I believe it was about $1600. The number of points it would have taken times what points are renting for was over $2300. So cash is definitely the way to go for cruises.

Exactly. I use $10 per point in my comparison but, in fact, the one transfer out that I've done has been for more than that. I believe I got $11 per point.

We also like to vacation multiple times per year so even with 530 points, we rarely seem to have "extra." We end up paying cash for our annual cruise and using the points for 3 to 4 additional trips.

 

[CaptHomer]

My cruise was 410 points. At $5 for dues that is $2,050. On Expedia the cost for the cruise is $2,600.

 

[ericamanda01]

It's really a personal choice. We have used our points for a 2 bdrm at Disneyland's Grand Californian and it was great! The amount of points was around 360 for 3 nights, but I knew my family and I wanted to stay in a room with a great view. As far as the cruise goes, we are now looking at booking on all points, it will be 187 pp (374 total) for a cat 7 on a 7 night western. I love the idea of not paying a cent (except the $95 fee) for a Disney cruise. I know that we could rent the points for up to $10 each, but there is no guarantee that we will get those points rented out. We plan on using our points for everything we can. This leaves us with money to spend on the cruise. I suggest looking at all your options and go with what best serves you and your family.

 

[Inkmahm]

My cruise was 410 points. At $5 for dues that is $2,050. On Expedia the cost for the cruise is $2,600.

At transfering your points at $10 or $11, that would be $4,100 or $4,510 in my book.

Personally, I'd pay the $2,600 cash and keep the $1,500 to $2,000 extra I got from transferring my points if I didn't really need any of the 410 points for other trips.

 

[pogopossum]

we have cruised 5 times, always on points, even added on to insure that we had enough to cruise mostly on one years points. i like the ease of calling ms and booking and then it is over. plus having figured out that at the end of fifty years my cost per point for vacation will be around $5 per point that means that we have cruised three times for a week with a verandah at an average cost less than $3000 for a family of 4. and our recently completed weeklong christmas cruise cost less than $4500 for a category 9 stateroom. we think that in the long run cruising on points will not look like such a bad deal.

 

[rodserry]

I am sure this is a very elementary question but how far in advance can one book a cruise? If we want to make reservations 1 1/2 years out, can we do that?

Also, anyone know if they will bring back a ship to the West Coast and MX?

Thanks! Rod

 

[pogopossum]

according to vacation planner, you may book cruise from 24 months to 14 days prior to cruising, if the itinerary has been announced. so not all itineraries are available at 24 months.

 

[Anal Annie]

Here's my take on the points to cruise thing. It is a very point intensive way to go and if you are "points challenged" like we are (only have 250 points) it's really hard to plan effectively. We can only vacation during the peak periods when school is out so the point requirements are high.

We booked a 4 n. cruise for this past July in the late winter/early spring of 2007, AS SOON AS the point charts were out. At that time it cost us 392 points (1 and 2/3 years worth for us) for 3 people in an "inside deluxe" category 10 cabin. I HATED that we were out of points for SO-O long and only got 4 nights out of it. By the time we sailed, the cash price for it was up to approx. $4,000 so we DID keep that cash in the bank. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE DCL but after we did it I really, really thought it was a LOT of points for a Cat 10 for only 4 nights. When the point charts came out for 2009 the same 4 n cruise in a Cat. 10 in July went UP by 65 points to 457!! That's a HUGE increase!! And it's for an "inside" cabin.

OK, this is what we're planning to do with our points for this next year - we are going to be a LOT more frugal:
We have a Dec UY so we JUST got more points and are starting fresh. We had 10 points banked from last year for a total of 260 to use this year. We just booked 7 nights in a studio at BCV Aug 16-23 and are planning to follow that with 3 nights at Vero Beach in an OVIR or Studio for a total of 10 nights (159 points). Then, the tentative plan is to book a studio for 5 n (Sun-Thur, probably at SSR) over spring break 2010. That would use 85 points and leaves a total of 16 points that we will bank into the next year. That gives us 266 points to use for the NEXT summer (2010) and we're thinking of trying to get a THV for 6 nights (248 pts) and take some more family with us. We'll also still have 18 points left from that to use somehow or bank.

So...from August 2009 to August 2010 we will be able to get 3 trips out of our measley 250 points and AP's and will have a total of 21 nights on points (providing accomodations for others on the last trip). To recap: 4 nights on DCL for 1 and 2/3 years worth of points VS 21 nights. You decide where you get the most bang for your buck. I don't think it's on DCL.

I am SURE if I check the rack rates for these other trips we are getting a better deal this way. I am just going to take a wild guess here and estimate that the cash price for the studios would run $265 on average. 15 nights x 265 = $3,975 + of course that dreaded hotel tax. How much is that? 12%? That would add roughly another $475 so we're up to about $4,450. Now, who knows how much the THV's would go for. That's unknown but let's just guess. I think a 2 bedroom at SSR in the summer runs for about $550 / night. That would add another $2,750 + 12% tax = $3,080. If I am anywhere close to being in the right ballpark these 21 nights would have a combined cash value of approx. $7,530 which would be $3,530 more than the value of the 4 n cruise (at 2008 prices). Since DCL keeps raising their prices (and points) dramatically I would say the margin is probably even less than that. I know the math is not perfect but I am still blown away by 21 nights VS 4 nights.

Did we enjoy our cruise? YES! Are we glad we did it ? YES! Will we ever do it again on points? HIGHLY DOUBT IT!!

 

[mickeys girl 52]

I have read many posts on the pros and cons of using points for the DCL. I have cruised 3 times on the Wonder (cash only before I was a DVC member)
The thing that has surprised me is there has not been a really true comparison. I am not a good number cruncher and please don't think I am claiming to be.But to compare you really have to look at the whole picture..On the cruise you get great meals, so you would have to add in the deluxe dining plan. The entertainment is outstanding (it far surpasses any other cruise line I have been on) so you would have to add in, say going to Hoop to hoop revue, Luau, maybe mickeys backyard barbecue.anyway I think you get the point. Now the childcare, I have never used the childcare in Disney but I no there is a cost. On the ship you could drop your chid off all day (I would not do this) and there would be no cost.

I am just saying to compare you really have to look at everything ,like also the cost to get in the parks. I love both and I get that it takes allot of points for the cruises. But my grand kids are now teens and still look forward to going back on the Disney ships. They also love going to the Dvc"s too.

If only I had 1000 points. I can wish anyway

 

[Anal Annie]

I have read many posts on the pros and cons of using points for the DCL. I have cruised 3 times on the Wonder (cash only before I was a DVC member)
The thing that has surprised me is there has not been a really true comparison. I am not a good number cruncher and please don't think I am claiming to be.But to compare you really have to look at the whole picture..On the cruise you get great meals, so you would have to add in the deluxe dining plan. The entertainment is outstanding (it far surpasses any other cruise line I have been on) so you would have to add in, say going to Hoop to hoop revue, Luau, maybe mickeys backyard barbecue.anyway I think you get the point. Now the childcare, I have never used the childcare in Disney but I no there is a cost. On the ship you could drop your chid off all day (I would not do this) and there would be no cost.

I am just saying to compare you really have to look at everything ,like also the cost to get in the parks. I love both and I get that it takes allot of points for the cruises. But my grand kids are now teens and still look forward to going back on the Disney ships. They also love going to the Dvc"s too.

If only I had 1000 points. I can wish anyway

True, the ships include entertainment and food so they're more of an "all inclusive" type vacation. I still can no longer justify the fact that we can vacation for an additional 17 days for roughly the same amount of points that it takes to go for only 4 nights. That leaves us vacationless for almost 2 years! When we go to the parks we find the pools at the resorts and the parks themselves are our entertainment. We don't do Hoop De Revue or whatever that is or similar any shows. Actually, on the ships we usually only see 1 or 2 shows as we're always busy doing something else so that's not a biggie for us. And now, we buy AP's so the cost of the parks is spread out and utilized to the fullest extent.

Even including meals & shows I still think there is a significant cost difference to do DCL. When we do DCL we also usually spend QUITE A WAD on excursions and drinks (to the tune of about $2,000 for a week on average). We won't spend anywhere close to that during a week at the parks!!

 

[Inkmahm]

I have read many posts on the pros and cons of using points for the DCL. I have cruised 3 times on the Wonder (cash only before I was a DVC member)
The thing that has surprised me is there has not been a really true comparison. I am not a good number cruncher and please don't think I am claiming to be.But to compare you really have to look at the whole picture..On the cruise you get great meals, so you would have to add in the deluxe dining plan. The entertainment is outstanding (it far surpasses any other cruise line I have been on) so you would have to add in, say going to Hoop to hoop revue, Luau, maybe mickeys backyard barbecue.anyway I think you get the point. Now the childcare, I have never used the childcare in Disney but I no there is a cost. On the ship you could drop your chid off all day (I would not do this) and there would be no cost.

I am just saying to compare you really have to look at everything ,like also the cost to get in the parks. I love both and I get that it takes allot of points for the cruises. But my grand kids are now teens and still look forward to going back on the Disney ships. They also love going to the Dvc"s too.

If only I had 1000 points. I can wish anyway

I don't think the question is DCL vs DVC locations. The question is paying cash or using points for DCL. For that, there have been many comparisons made.

 

[Brancaneve]

What we are doing this time around is going on a 3 night cruise so we can avoid the high amount of points you need to stay on the weekend at a DVC resort. Sometimes, it is such a huge jump in points, that it makes sense to spend a little more on the cruise and actually get to be in another country! Plus, Castaway Cay is worth all those extra points!

 

[mickeys girl 52]

What we are doing this time around is going on a 3 night cruise so we can avoid the high amount of points you need to stay on the weekend at a DVC resort. Sometimes, it is such a huge jump in points, that it makes sense to spend a little more on the cruise and actually get to be in another country! Plus, Castaway Cay is worth all those extra points!

That is exactly what I was thinking of doing. Go on the 3 night cruise and stay at Disney for the 4 days prior when the points are lower.

 

[pogopossum]

We booked a 4 n. cruise for this past July in the late winter/early spring of 2007, AS SOON AS the point charts were out. At that time it cost us 392 points (1 and 2/3 years worth for us) for 3 people in an "inside deluxe" category 10 cabin. I HATED that we were out of points for SO-O long and only got 4 nights out of it. By the time we sailed, the cash price for it was up to approx. $4,000 so we DID keep that cash in the bank.

as i have posted before, and am in total agreement with inkmahm, the comparison isn't to how much you can do elsewhere, but to compare to cost of cruise. so comparing on cash basis 392 points x $5 = $1960 = $95 = $2045 vs $4000.

 

[Anal Annie]

as i have posted before, and am in total agreement with inkmahm, the comparison isn't to how much you can do elsewhere, but to compare to cost of cruise. so comparing on cash basis 392 points x $5 = $1960 = $95 = $2045 vs $4000.

I do not agree with that $5 / point amount. I would base on the avg. rental amount of $10 / point. So 392 x $10 = $3,920.

I still prefer that I can vacation for 21 days vs 4 on DCL. 4 days ain't nuthin'. I've DONE it, glad I did it, but not doin' it again. 2 years is a long time to be without points / paid vacations.

But hey, you go right on ahead! I have simply changed my opinion of cruising on points since the latest point charts came out. (I'm a woman...I can DO that!)

 

[Inkmahm]

I do not agree with that $5 / point amount. I would base on the avg. rental amount of $10 / point. So 392 x $10 = $3,920.

I still prefer that I can vacation for 21 days vs 4 on DCL. 4 days ain't nuthin'. I've DONE it, glad I did it, but not doin' it again. 2 years is a long time to be without points / paid vacations.

But hey, you go right on ahead! I have simply changed my opinion of cruising on points since the latest point charts came out. (I'm a woman...I can DO that!)

I agree, $10 is the minimum I will transfer points for. It isn't what you PAY for them, it is what you can GET for them that matters.

 

[Inkmahm]

as i have posted before, and am in total agreement with inkmahm, the comparison isn't to how much you can do elsewhere, but to compare to cost of cruise. so comparing on cash basis 392 points x $5 = $1960 = $95 = $2045 vs $4000.

And if you had booked early for cash, it would have been a lot less than the $4,000 so you WOULD have saved a lot of money paying cash vs using points.

 

[CaptHomer]

At transfering your points at $10 or $11, that would be $4,100 or $4,510 in my book.

Personally, I'd pay the $2,600 cash and keep the $1,500 to $2,000 extra I got from transferring my points if I didn't really need any of the 410 points for other trips.

I screwed up then and should have done that!