DVC Points for Cruise

[graycliff]

Has any ever used their DVC Points for a cruise what are the pitfalls?

 

I looked on the price difference on travelocity and it is about 100 points difference between the points and the cruise. But I have the points.

[rsinj]

In general, using DVC points for anything other than staying at DVC resorts is not a good use of your points - generally the exchange rate you get is not good.

 

I looked on the price difference on travelocity and it is about 100 points difference between the points and the cruise.

 

You lost me there. Travelocity allows you to use DVC points? Or are you assigning some value to your points, what DVC/DCL would charge in points for a cruise and then comparing with the cruise price?

 

Howard

[BOAT N BOB]

I beg to differ with the previous responder. Its an excellent way to use your DVC points. We have been on 4 Disney cruises, and still were able to stay at the resort, if you go at certain times of the year.

[ducklite]

I beg to differ with the previous responder. Its an excellent way to use your DVC points. We have been on 4 Disney cruises, and still were able to stay at the resort, if you go at certain times of the year.

 

In most cases, DCL is not a good use of points--even during low season. We've looked into it a few times and every single time it's been financially better to rent out the points at $10 per and use the rental income to pay for the cruise.

 

It has nothing to do with having enough points or having the emotional attachment to them that some people do, and everything to do with using them in a finacially prudent way.

[rsinj]

I beg to differ with the previous responder. Its an excellent way to use your DVC points. We have been on 4 Disney cruises, and still were able to stay at the resort, if you go at certain times of the year.

 

To each his own.

 

We've checked a number of times like the previous poster, and have never found the exchange rate to be a worthwhile use of points. Additionally, you now have to pay a $95 non-refundable fee just to even use the points for a DCL cruise.

 

If you had banked points or so many points that you couldn't use them all for DVC stays and would lose them otherwise, I could see that the monetary "value" of those points might be different in your situation.

 

If you simply use DVC points for your DCL trips because "you can", then you are "paying" more for your cruise than you would had you paid with cash.

 

Howard

[graycliff]

I was referring to the 100 point difference as about $1,000 between if I used my points or rented them out.

 

So in essence if I booked through travelocity and divided the value by $10 it was about $1000 difference between using the points and paying cash.

[Muushka]

In most cases, DCL is not a good use of points--even during low season. We've looked into it a few times and every single time it's been financially better to rent out the points at $10 per and use the rental income to pay for the cruise.

 

It has nothing to do with having enough points or having the emotional attachment to them that some people do, and everything to do with using them in a finacially prudent way.

 

I'm with ducklite on this one. In addition to what is said above, you have to take into consideration the cancellation policy when using points. You book a cruise on points (which is a rip off, to me) and if for some reason you have to cancel, your points do not return to their original state, they turn into holding status, and cannot be used at DVC resorts. Useless.

 

I have read too many stories from DVCers who booked a cruise on points and name the scenerio...pregnancy, sickness, job change, what ever, and they cannot take the cruise. Some end up renting them at the distressed price. Oh, and then there is the booking fee:rolleyes:

 

But in the end they are your points, and your decision! Good luck!:)

[graycliff]

How do rent out so many points. What you all are saying rent the points take the cash book the cruise.

 

The cruise amounts to about $2018

[ducklite]

How do rent out so many points. What you all are saying rent the points take the cash book the cruise.

 

The cruise amounts to about $2018

 

We've never actually rented our points for the purpose of using the money for a cruise, but we have at times found ourselves with more points than we could use, so we've rented them to friends and used that cash for something else.

 

Most people rent their points for $10-12 per point.

[owensjro]

We have done two cruises on points and three on cash now. Some things to consider:

 

On both points based cruises we have gotten slightly over $9/point value. This includes subtracting the $95 fee from the value.

 

On both points based cruises we used points for the two adults and paid cash for the child (age 6 on the first and age 7 on the second). Both times the cash cost for the child ended up being less than what we would have paid booking through DCL on cash. The first cruise it was cheaper by $200 the second by about $150. I do not know why. Someone postulated that it may be based on when the reservations are made as DVC may be locking in at a price. The first cruise was reserved 6 months out, the second was 12 months.

 

Both points cruises were in January so one of the lower points ranges (Martin Luther King Jr holiday week which has now risen in points but is still a decent value).

 

As someone pointed you can rent for $10-$12 per point however there are risks involved with renting just as there are risks involved with using points for DCL (in regards to losing the points if you cancel, etc).

 

For me, $1-$2 per point for a 300 point cruise isn't worth the additional hassle of renting.

 

Jim

[ducklite]

We have done two cruises on points and three on cash now. Some things to consider:

 

On both points based cruises we have gotten slightly over $9/point value. This includes subtracting the $95 fee from the value.

 

On both points based cruises we used points for the two adults and paid cash for the child (age 6 on the first and age 7 on the second). Both times the cash cost for the child ended up being less than what we would have paid booking through DCL on cash. The first cruise it was cheaper by $200 the second by about $150. I do not know why. Someone postulated that it may be based on when the reservations are made as DVC may be locking in at a price. The first cruise was reserved 6 months out, the second was 12 months.

 

Both points cruises were in January so one of the lower points ranges (Martin Luther King Jr holiday week which has now risen in points but is still a decent value).

 

As someone pointed you can rent for $10-$12 per point however there are risks involved with renting just as there are risks involved with using points for DCL (in regards to losing the points if you cancel, etc).

 

For me, $1-$2 per point for a 300 point cruise isn't worth the additional hassle of renting.

 

Jim

 

Renting is hassle and risk free if you have a well written contract and if you are careful about who you rent to. We've rented to several friends and friends of friends. We require 50% up front and the other 50% at 70 days out. Our contract specifically states that we won't offer refunds unless we can rerent the points after 70 days, and if we offer any refund there is still a $25 "administration fee." We strongly encourage our renters to obtain travel insurance.

 

We have turned down offers from people who wanted to rent our points on a "payment plan" because they didn't have the 50% upfront.

We don't rent to people who obviously can't afford the vacation and are trying to scrape together the cash. That's a drama llama I'm not going near.

 

But to make a quick $300 renting points I'm not going to need--I definitely see the value in doing that and paying cash for the cruise. $300 pays for a lot of shipboard extras.

[owensjro]

Renting is hassle and risk free if you have a well written contract and if you are careful about who you rent to. We've rented to several friends and friends of friends. We require 50% up front and the other 50% at 70 days out. Our contract specifically states that we won't offer refunds unless we can rerent the points after 70 days, and if we offer any refund there is still a $25 "administration fee." We strongly encourage our renters to obtain travel insurance.

 

We have turned down offers from people who wanted to rent our points on a "payment plan" because they didn't have the 50% upfront.

We don't rent to people who obviously can't afford the vacation and are trying to scrape together the cash. That's a drama llama I'm not going near.

 

But to make a quick $300 renting points I'm not going to need--I definitely see the value in doing that and paying cash for the cruise. $300 pays for a lot of shipboard extras.

 

Ah, sorry, my math here was a bit off. $300 different between renting vs. using points for DCL minus the difference in the cost of our child between DVC and DCL pricing really makes it more like $100 difference.

 

I was, however, just providing details on our experiences to date. Obviously it all comes down to each individual's time, effort, risk tolerance, etc.

 

Jim

[Benzbuddy87]

We have used our points on 4 cruises now and the first two times we booked a family suite as our son traveled with us. We have scheduled 3 additional cruises through 2010 and will use our points for two of the three cruises. This year we had points remaining and instead of losing them since they were already banked points we stayed at our home resort for a week in May. Having been a member of DVC since 1993 we have taken full advantage of using our points for cruising and have come to realize that we prefer Disney Cruises over any other line. Our son will be 21 and he is joining us on our up coming Disney Cruise through the Panama Canal.:D

[shelbell77]

Both past cruises, and the upcoming one have all been paid for using mom's DVC points. Usually she has to bank or borrow, but thats because we like getting the deluxe stateroom with veranda. Mom's worked out the math each team, and for the stateroom we like, its better for us to use her points. Also, this is money she's spent over a period of time (her dues) versus a large cash outlay all at one time. And typically if she was going on a DVC cruise, she's not going to WDW that year anyway so it makes sense for us to use the points.

 

Each person just had to decide for themselves. In the case of our upcoming trip, to pay for the cruise would have been nearly double the monetary value of the points it would cost. No brainer for us...we used points. The math would work out differently for you depending on if you are still paying off the points purchase or only paying dues - in mom's case, she's only paying dues.