DCL Question

Can_Dannn

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 18, 2019
love these forums!

QUESTION: why is using points on a cruise so very bad? I don’t understand this concept?
 
Because the trade value is very low. The valuation per point is less than the dues paid per point.
 
It takes a lot of points and one could rent or transfer less points and get enough cash to cover the cost of the cruise.
However, if one has the points and choses to use them that way, then that’s what they are there for.. vacation!
 
Sometimes there are point discounted cruises. Upcoming in December, a cousin got very good value for a Merrytime Cruise.
 


So the reason is that we can rent out points, get the cash and use it to pay for the cruise rather than just use points?
 
And it is a better value to do so inmost cases.

DCL point trades value a point at $5-7 on the whole. This is less than dues paid.
 


So the reason is that we can rent out points, get the cash and use it to pay for the cruise rather than just use points?

I believe that David’s has something that allows you to rent through them and will help you get the cruise booked.
 
let’s say I book a DCL with my points- doesn’t that include meals and drinks? Aren’t the DCL all inclusive?
 
let’s say I book a DCL with my points- doesn’t that include meals and drinks? Aren’t the DCL all inclusive?

You get the same amenities whether you pay cash or pay with points. Paying with cash is convenient, but you pay for that convenience. Also, there are different cancellation & payment policies that you should consider when deciding how to pay.

Take a look at this thread from the DIS DVC Resource Center for some helpful information about using points for certain non-DVC options:

Using Points for the DVC "Collections" - updated 9/5/2019
 
let’s say I book a DCL with my points- doesn’t that include meals and drinks? Aren’t the DCL all inclusive?
As others have pointed out, using DVC points IS an option when booking a DCL cruise, and there's nothing wrong with doing so. However, the cost of a cruise in terms of points is extremely high. Here is some math to support this claim. Say you want to take a 4-day cruise for two people in a mid-level room on the Dream. Let's say the cruise would cost the two of you $3800. For one person, the cost of the room in points might be as high as 300 points, perhaps more. So, you'd be using 300 points for a $1900 booking (one person, remember), so a little over $6 per point in value. If you rented those same points, you could get in the neighborhood of $14-$16 per point. Using the smaller figure, those same 300 points would be worth $4200 which would, in theory, pay for your entire cruise for both people.

The upside to using your DVC points for a cruise boils down to ease of use. One call to a CM (and an extra, non-refundable $95 fee), and you're all set. Depending on how many points you have, you may still owe more, of course. That's it; you're done with the financial side. On the other hand, renting your points is a bit more time consuming. If you do it yourself, it could be a fair amount of work with a small amount of risk involved based on to whom you rent your points. Or, you could use a DVC point rental company in which you'd pay a fee for the services, so you'd make less than renting them yourself. However, much of the risk goes away, and you'll stay make more than the theoretical $6 a point used above in my explanation. Either way, you get the exact same amenities as anyone else who books the cruise--the meals, entertainment, room service, bookable excursions/classes, access to lounges, et. al.

Others above have offered great advice and links to this topic. Good luck going forward!
 
With the rental market as robust as it is, it truly makes no sense to use DVC points on a cruise. I usually don't speak in absolutes, but you can easily do much better through a reputable broker and booking the cruise for cash on your own. It is not much work at all for what would amount to thousands of dollars. But aside from the financial points...

I will add that the anecdotes I read from the DVC members who used points to book cruises altered due to the August/September hurricanes were really bad. There was little/no recourse for DVC members who had booked with points compared to the options provided to those who booked with cash. I just tried searching the forums here but couldn't find those posts... I'm positive I read them, though, and told myself to never consider booking a cruise on points. Those with point bookings were basically out of luck.

ETA: Here's the thread I am referring to... Post #21 & beyond, https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...o-alter-sailings.3767426/page-2#post-61020723
 
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When you book a cruise on points, there is also a $95 fee to pay to book outside of DVC. If you need to modify that reservation, you have to pay the fee a second time. If you need to cancel, your points have become reservation points and will expire at the end of your UY. And you can only use them to book the Disney Collection, not a DVC resort. I recently read about a member who booked a cruise in Sept and the cruise was impacted by the hurricane. So it started later. They couldn't start late (they had to start on time because of flight reservations, etc) and it would have been hard to find anywhere they could stay until the cruise departed. So they wanted to modify their reservation. But they could only change it to another cruise within the next six months or so and they couldn't go another time. So they were probably going to lose the points they used to book the cruise. It's not like booking a DVC resort and cancelling 31 days out and getting all your points back.
 
We have used points for about 6 cruises of 3 or 4 days, about 300 points for the two of us, and have no remorse. For us it works because; we have plenty of points, don't use them for 7 night cruise, it is easy as mentioned above, but most of all because I don't like the risk of renting. Many have rented without any problems, but I am not much of a risk taker. I don't feel bad at all for using my points the way that it works for me.
 

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