Using points for cruises

[rnorwo1]

I'd like some advice from anyone who has used points for the cruises. We'll have 2 adults and 3 kids, ages 8, 4, and 13 months old at that time. So my questions are:

1) I was thinking about going next year, and I was trying to take advantage of the kdis-sail-free specials, but it looks like that is not possible if one of the adults is using points. Is that correct?

2) We will not have enough points to cover everyone, so is it possible to use points for just one person and then pay cash for the rest? Will it be the same residual cash amount as if I were paying cash for everyone?

I know the general sentiment is that it's not that great of a deal to use points versus cash, but I figured if I had the points then why not try to use them... I just wanted to make sure I understood everything so that I could make a more educated decision.
Thanks!

 

[Dean]

I'd like some advice from anyone who has used points for the cruises. We'll have 2 adults and 3 kids, ages 8, 4, and 13 months old at that time. So my questions are:

1) I was thinking about going next year, and I was trying to take advantage of the kdis-sail-free specials, but it looks like that is not possible if one of the adults is using points. Is that correct?

2) We will not have enough points to cover everyone, so is it possible to use points for just one person and then pay cash for the rest? Will it be the same residual cash amount as if I were paying cash for everyone?

I know the general sentiment is that it's not that great of a deal to use points versus cash, but I figured if I had the points then why not try to use them... I just wanted to make sure I understood everything so that I could make a more educated decision.
Thanks!

You cannot take advantage of any discounts or specials if using points. You are committed to the points chart plus the contract price for the cash options which is almost always far more than the early booking discounts and any specials. If you get more than one cabin you can potentially have it both ways. Also you have to pay upfront for any cash portion and if you have to cancel, your points are no longer DVC points but reservation points. IMO, having points to burn can still be a good situation if using for a cruise but often it isn't even then. You're almost always better off using them for other options or renting them and paying cash for the cruise.

 

[Anal Annie]

I think your best bet would be the kids sail free promotion if you can take advantage of the dates they offer it for. Just pay cash for the 2 adults. Use your points to add on a few nights at WDW pre-cruise or something. The cruises are very point intensive. You'd get a lot more bang out of them at WDW.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If the cruise deals are important to you, then make your reservation with DCL and pay cash instead of using points and making the reservation through DVC.

You can use a combination of points and cash booking through DVC, but you will pay the DVC negotiated prices for anyone who must be booked on cash. They are not the same as the DCL advertised prices.

 

[rnorwo1]

I didn't know this about the dvc negotiated prices... where do you find out about those? Why would there be separate prices for dvc, are they supposed to be cheaper than standard, non-special prices?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I didn't know this about the dvc negotiated prices... where do you find out about those? Why would there be separate prices for dvc, are they supposed to be cheaper than standard, non-special prices?

Nope, they are usually higher than the special deals you get directly from DCL. If you call DVC and ask about a cruise, they can give you the details on the cash prices for all the other guests. If you go through DVC, at least on adult will need to use points.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I didn't know this about the dvc negotiated prices... where do you find out about those? Why would there be separate prices for dvc, are they supposed to be cheaper than standard, non-special prices?

Each year DVC contracts with DCL for a cash price for DVC Members cruising combining points with cash. The cash price has typically been not the lowest tier pricing, but also not the highest. It generally falls somewhere in the middle. This can actually be advantageous if you like to book closer to cruise sail date as opposed to 24 months ahead to get the lowest tier booking price.

Only you can decide if you want to cruise using your points. Some do and some don't. I would price it out both ways and look at your spendable cash other than what you pay for your DVC. If you have the cash flow and want to book using cash, then go for it. Good luck!

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for all the info!

 

[tink_lover]

We are also a family of 5 and we booked 2 rooms for our upcoming 4 night cruise. One room with 1A/2C was booked with DVC points. It is a cat.11 (not sure what it is with the new reclassified rooms) but it's an inside stateroom. Across the hall, in a cat. 7 we have 2A/1C (one grandparent is coming along). With that stateroom, we were able to take advantage of the kids sail free promo and save about $750. So the total OOP cost was around $2600. Hope that helps!

 

[Dean]

I didn't know this about the dvc negotiated prices... where do you find out about those? Why would there be separate prices for dvc, are they supposed to be cheaper than standard, non-special prices?

It's generally in the 10% off the book rates before other discounts.