Using points in DCL

[Baggins2007]

Greetings to all.

This is my first post here. I have been a DVC member for 10 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed my membership.

I am considering a cruise with DCL next year. However, it may appear that it is a better deal to book directly with DCL rather than using the points. With DCL, the quote includes transportation to the dock and the insurance. I am not sure what it includes through DVC.

Any ideas? Are there any other advantages, perks, etc when using the points with DCL?

Thanks in advance

 

[awatt]

We rented pur points and used the cash to book the cruise, and found it a much better deal financially that way. Of course it is easier to just book using the points. But I found it easy to rent the points and all went smoothly. I don't think there is any particular advantage or perks when booking through DVC.

 

[sweetp267]

I too will be using my points to cruise for the first time. I would also like to know if members have to pay extra for transportation. I will be using DME to WDW and from there we would need to get to Port Canaveral and then to the airport after the cruise. Please let me know how this works.

Thank you

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

When we went in 2005 it was extra for transportation to the ship. However it was cheaper to rent a car at the airport and drive ourselves to the ship. We rented a car from Budget at the airport and returned it to the Budget location that was only a few miles from the ship. From there Budget had 4 shuttle vans standing by to shuttle people to the ship for free

THe total cost was $27.00. Then when the cruise was over there were several Budget shuttle vans waiting to take those of us who needed to rent a car to leave the ship. Cost again $27.00.

Disney charges $29 a person

Plus this gives you the luxury of stopping along the way if you need to pick something up. Oh not far from the Budget lot by the ship is a Publix grocery store. We stopped there to get bottled water to take on the ship. Yes you can take food and beverages on the ship. We also bought some ginger ale to take on board in case we got sea sick - thank goodness we did not need it. You think that would be a beverage that they would have on board but they don't.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We used our points on our first cruise... It made it possible. That said we would probably not use points for our next. I think though that we would probably not ever have taken the cruise had we not had those points to use.

 

[Muushka]

Greetings to all.

This is my first post here. I have been a DVC member for 10 years now and have thoroughly enjoyed my membership.

I am considering a cruise with DCL next year. However, it may appear that it is a better deal to book directly with DCL rather than using the points. With DCL, the quote includes transportation to the dock and the insurance. I am not sure what it includes through DVC.

Any ideas? Are there any other advantages, perks, etc when using the points with DCL?

Thanks in advance

Welcome to the Dis Boards! Didn't I just see you somewhere else?? I have already given you my opinion .
Good luck with your decision!

 

[SnowWhite2]

DCL charges all cruisers to use the bus transportation from the airport to the port. If you have more than two people, it is usually cheaper to rent a car one-way.

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

We used our DVC points for our 11/08 cruise ...... but next time, we will probably just pay cash for cruises.

We ended up using almost 3 years worth of points on it. Worked out ok - as our 11/07 trip is to FW campground (booked it before we were DVC members) and 1/08 DVC trip to VWL will be using developer points, so I'll still get my Disney fix between now and our 11/08 cruise ...... but I do think next time, we will probably cruise using cash.

 

[Baggins2007]

Thanks to everyone.

Ok, here's my payback. I ran some numbers using the DCL website for a Family Stateroom with Verandah (Cat. 4). With DCL, a 7-day cruise in January (low season) costs $6081 for 3 adults. This price includes all taxes, a $207 RT transfer to Port Canaveral, and $277 worth of insurance. These last two can de taken off but are included in the original quote, and without them the cruise would cost $5597.

If I were to book the same January cruise with DVC, I would need 632 points. Assuming about $10 per point (based on average rental prices), this is $6320. Add another $75 booking fee, the total is $6395.

Booking with DCL directly costs nearly $800 less!! This would be enough for our RT airfare and possibly ground transportation.

Am I missing something here? I am beginning to wonder if DVC is actually a good deal at all!

Interesting. Anyone come up with similar numbers?

 

[Cruiser1969]

Thanks to everyone.

Am I missing something here? I am beginning to wonder if DVC is actually a good deal at all!
Interesting. Anyone come up with similar numbers?

DVC is meant for stays at DVC resorts . . . the DCL option is just that, an added option. Nobody said the extra options would be a good value.

 

[Muushka]

Thanks to everyone.

Ok, here's my payback. I ran some numbers using the DCL website for a Family Stateroom with Verandah (Cat. 4). With DCL, a 7-day cruise in January (low season) costs $6081 for 3 adults. This price includes all taxes, a $207 RT transfer to Port Canaveral, and $277 worth of insurance. These last two can de taken off but are included in the original quote, and without them the cruise would cost $5597.

If I were to book the same January cruise with DVC, I would need 632 points. Assuming about $10 per point (based on average rental prices), this is $6320. Add another $75 booking fee, the total is $6395.

Booking with DCL directly costs nearly $800 less!! This would be enough for our RT airfare and possibly ground transportation.

Am I missing something here? I am beginning to wonder if DVC is actually a good deal at all!

Interesting. Anyone come up with similar numbers?

You ought to check around for sites other than DCL for prices. DCL is not the cheapest place to book a DCL cruise.
I just did a quick search on 1 site (that is actually a little more $$ than I usually pay, just easy to look up) and for CAT 4, 3 adults, it was $5229 to $5461 and your quote from DCL is $5597 (same time period)

 

[karrit2000]

Be wary of the prices quoted on other websites. Many times they are not including the trip insurance, transportation to the ship and even sometimes the port charges. I just recently contacted a number of internet travel agents for price quotes on a disney cruise. All the quotes were exactly the same as DCL once you added all the little neccessary extras back on. The only difference is some were offering a $25 shipboard credit in addition to the $25 Disney was offering.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We used our points on our first cruise... It made it possible. That said we would probably not use points for our next. I think though that we would probably not ever have taken the cruise had we not had those points to use.

Any particular reason why not to use points in the future? How about points and cash? I don't really want to pay more cash while I'm still paying for DVC. So thats why I would probably use points.

 

[Anal Annie]

I think the trade value not only depends on the season you're looking at but also the length of the cruise and the category of stateroom that you're booking. We are booked on a 4 n. cruise on the Wonder in a SPH (cat. 10 but obstructed view) room for next July (a peak season) for less than 400 points (for 3 of us). We didn't have the cash, but we had the points. We didn't want to mess with renting out the points 'cuz we wanted to quickly snag the SPH room when the schedules were released (nor do I want to mess with reporting the income from renting the points out). For us, it kept $3,200 in our pockets (that we really didn't HAVE) - so it was worth it to us to use the points! We paid cash the first time in '05 - it ended up being almost $10K by the time we added flights, 3 n at DL and our onboard bill...that's just not something we can afford to do every 3 or 4 years - but the points we can part with! That's why we bought DVC!

We would like to go again in 2012 on one of the new ships - so I've already started saving in a special cruise fund - next time, we'll be ready! We still might end up paying for one of us with points - it just depends on the itinerary (if it's a 10 or 11 day Med again - that would be a lot more points & a lot more cash than what we'd have - but a combo is definitely a possibility!)

 

[AnnaS]

Our dvc points have also made it possible for us to cruise 4 times w/dcl (Eastern, Western, West Coast and 11 N. Med.). We are a family of five and always had two cabins (first cruise, 2 cat. 11, second cruise one cat. 11 and one cat. 6, third and fourth cruise Cat. 8 and cat. 11 across). We have also always used a different combination of points and cash. We have limited vacation time and also have not wanted the hassle of renting out our points.

Whatever works best for you. Just be careful w/the cancellation policy.

Good luck with your decision and enjoy your cruise either way .

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Any particular reason why not to use points in the future? How about points and cash? I don't really want to pay more cash while I'm still paying for DVC. So thats why I would probably use points.

After coming home and analyzing the cost of points vs. the cost of cash... we realized that the trip cost us more with points. That said... we would not have taken the cruise had we not had the points to use.

We are really glad we took the cruise... it was great, and we would not even have considered it if we could not pay with points. Points are our vacations... We pay up front (actually monthly) so using points didn't require additional funds... even though it was not the best use of points.

I would recommend anyone wanting to go on a cruise, but not being able to afford it without points.... do it with points. Certainly, on your first trip.



After that, measure the cost for yourselves... You can't do just a point vs. cash cost comparison if you don't have the cash. We didn't, and still don't have that kind of cash.

Hope I helped....


Edit: just read Anal Annie's post and I think we're speaking in the same sense.