What discount do we get when we book a future cruise while onboard?

[PrincessShmoo]

How does one start a Disney Vacation Account? Do you need to be a vacation club member?

https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Just be aware that the program hasn't been extended past 12/31/2017. So any payments made after that may not qualify for the bonus gift card in which you'd be better off with a regular savings account.

 

[fairytalelover]

This is for an October 2018 cruise that we will be booking while onboard our November 2017 cruise. So if this may not be available after this December then this won't work for us.

 

[CM Dad]

Yes, I was referring to the original question of paying off the entire cruise right there instead of a deposit. To me that would not make since because to put down 100% instead of 10% you would be giving Disney a 90% interest free loan. If you took that 90% and instead of giving it straight to DCL, you put in in a Disney Vacation Account and then paid DCL from the vacation account, you would get 2% of your money back. May not sound like much to some but we are a family of 6, so always two cabins and $7k-$11k cruises. 2% after 5 or 6 cruises starts adding up. There are many other ways to shave on percentages from the price but that's just one easy example when added to onboard booking puts you at 12% discounted off of the original price. To answer the original poster's question, in short, there's no financial advantage to the payer for paying off entire cruise right then and there. Only advantage is to the payee (DCL).

You would not be able to get the bonus for 5 or 6 cruises at 7-11k per cruise. Once you have spent $25,000 from you Disney Vacation Account, the bonuses stop :-(. The maximum your household can get is a total of $500.

Disney Vacation Account Bonus Program
Jump: Topics
What is the Bonus Program?
You'll be eligible for a $20 Disney Gift Card for every $1000 you spend on qualified vacation purchases with your Disney Vacation Account prior to December 31, 2017 (date subject to extension), up to a total maximum of $500 in Disney Gift Card(s) per household. Your Disney Vacation Account must be active for a minimum of 120 days at the time of spending in order to receive this bonus. All accounts registered to the same address are considered part of the same household.

Qualified vacation purchases include vacation packages for the Walt Disney World Resort or the Disneyland Resort, theme park tickets, room stays, cruise fare, and vacations by Adventures By Disney. Purchases of Disney Gift Cards are not qualified vacation purchases for purposes of this Bonus Program.

Request your Disney Gift Card(s) 4 to 6 weeks in advance of your vacation date to allow time for delivery to your mailing address.

 

[T & R]

The Disney Vacation Account and Disney Vacation Club are two separate and totally different things. They have nothing to do with each other. If you want to open a Disney Vacation Account, just go to the below website and have $10 bucks ready to open an account. Only requirements are to be an adult and have $10 bucks to start.

https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

This is for an October 2018 cruise that we will be booking while onboard our November 2017 cruise. So if this may not be available after this December then this won't work for us.

If you open up the account now and plan to pay the cruise in full in November you can still use the DVA. I was just warning others that maybe aren't planning on paying until next year.

What you'll do is open the account with as little or as much as you'd like - just make sure you have enough in your account to pay for your deposit by the time you preload your onboard account and enough in there before you pay it off (before 12/31/2017). After 120 days you can preload your onboard account with the amount that your deposit might be using your Disney Vacation Account. (Say $400) You'll buy a $400 Disney Gift Card on board and use that as your deposit.

Fast forward any time between your cruise and 12/31/2017 and pay off your cruise with your Disney Vacation Account that you already funded.

Hope that makes sense. This could all be irrelevant if Disney decides to extend the program!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

You're right you would get $60 if you spent $3999. But then 6 months later if you booked another cruise and spent $1 dollar or more out of your DVA, you would get the additional $20 gift card. It's $20 per $1000 spent (which equals 2% back per thousand spent).

If we're talking about 6 months later from OP's cruise, the bonus program may not exist as it hasn't been extended past the end of this year. I have sent countless emails to DVA regarding the extension and they said they are not certain in every email. It'd be nice but I think we're reaching that $25k mark soon any way so it's kind of irrelevant for my family.

 

[CM Dad]

You'd have to book on board to get the 10% off but if you combined the onboard discount and pay using your Disney Vacation Account, it would really be like getting 12% off due to the 2% you would get back.

You can get an even larger discount if you fund your DVA using discounted Disney gift cards. You can buy the cards from Target and get 5% off the face value if you use a Targer Red card (either credit or debit). Sams club and BJs warehouse club also sell them for approximately 5% off. For Sams or BJs you can also get whatever reward dollars your credit card is offering on top of that. I know that you can order from www.bjs.com without having to be a member for the same discount with free shipping. I have never bought from sams club so I don't know if you need to be a member or not. Some people but Disney gift cards from certain grocery chains that may offer 4x in fuel points and save money on gas.

 

[fairytalelover]

So I buy disney gift cards from target using my disney Visa card then use the target disney cards to put money in the disney vacation account which I use to pay for the cruise? So how much would all of this save me? 10% off the fare, 10% deposit, 2% back from disney vacation account, 5% savings from target card , money from using disney Visa card....

 

[psimon]

You get the same discounts, regardless if you pay in full at booking, or just put a deposit down, and pay it off in installments.

10% deposit on cruises of 7 nights and longer (20% normal deposit)
10% reduction on cruise fare (as long as the cruise isn't a black out date)
Onboard credit - $100 for cruises of less than 7 nights; $200 for cruises of 7 nights and longer.

So no discounts on cruises less than 7 nights?

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So no discounts on cruises less than 7 nights?

---Paul in Southern NJ

You get 10% off the cruise fare, and $100 onboard credit for cruises less than 7 nights.

 

[Geomom]

So no discounts on cruises less than 7 nights?

---Paul in Southern NJ

10% discount on ANY cruise that isn't blacked out

 

[Theresa35]

The Disney Vacation Account and Disney Vacation Club are two separate and totally different things. They have nothing to do with each other. If you want to open a Disney Vacation Account, just go to the below website and have $10 bucks ready to open an account. Only requirements are to be an adult and have $10 bucks to start.

https://disneyvacationaccount.disney.go.com/

Thanks! Gonna look into this to help save for our next cruise.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Thanks! Gonna look into this to help save for our next cruise.

Just keep in mind like I've said a couple times already: the bonus program has not been extended past 12/31/2017. If you don't plan on paying off your vacation by then, the account doesn't really do you any good.

 

[tink1970]

Also, please remember that the DVA has to be open for 120 days or no bonus. I forgot, got excited that I'd met my goal and paid...on day 89 or so. Drat! OTOH, that won't be used toward the $500 gift card max, so there's that small silver lining

 

[CM Dad]

So I buy disney gift cards from target using my disney Visa card then use the target disney cards to put money in the disney vacation account which I use to pay for the cruise? So how much would all of this save me? 10% off the fare, 10% deposit, 2% back from disney vacation account, 5% savings from target card , money from using disney Visa card....

If you are buying Disney gift cards from Target using your Disney Visa, you would only get the Disney visa reward dollars. You need to buy them with a Target Red card if you want the 5% off the face value.