DVC for cruises?

[M&M]

We've been considering purchasing DVC points and were wondering what kind of a deal would you get for using points for a Disney Cruise.

Has anyone here used their points towards a cruise? How did that work? Was it a good deal?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[TravelingT]

I have never done this, but over on the www.disboards.com, some people have, and others claim it is better to rent your points and then pay for the cruise. I think that the points can rent for more than the cash price of the cruise if you book early, so trading points for cruise can be an expensive way to cruise, IMO. Also, if you book the cruise with points, and have to cancel, you have restrictions on the use of the points after that. So, generally, I have seen people advised to rent the points that they would have used to book the cruise and use the extra cash for tips and excursions and so forth.

Others have just used points to book the cruise and said that the hassle was not worth it and just used the points for the cruise.

Either way, you are vacationing the way you want. You can book a holland america cruise to alaska or Disney cruise. I don't think there are any other cruises that you can book.

Hope this helps,

Tammy

 

[littlestar]

You're better off paying cash for the cruises. It takes way too many DVC points compared to what you could rent those points out for and pay cash for the cruise.

The best value on DVC points are using them at the 7 DVC resorts - VWL, OKW, BWV, BCV, SSR, Vero, and Hilton Head and going light on the points for the weekends (especially on the larger units). We have just enough points specifically for our onsite DVC stays. I guess if I had points to burn, I might consider using them for a cruise. But we never have points to burn -

 

[Indea88]

This will be our third DCL cruise on points.. It is a better use of points to rent them and pay for the cruise. I just have yet to do it. I just pick up the phone and use all our points! Were in a one bed suite on the Magic next March = 869 points + $3500 CASH. 10.00 PER POINT (to rent) + cash = nearly 12,000 ( this was with a 15% DCL discount). We have stayed at VWL and AKL on points and then have a lot left over. We have 350 points per year. The cruise utilizes all points and then some!!
Andie
cruisecrates.com

 

[Dean]

You get a return of between $4.50 & $6.75 per point normally for cruises compared to usual discounts. In addition the program is not guaranteed and there are MANY restrictions that make it a poor deal. It would be totally unreasonable to buy DVC with the idea of using points for any of the exchange options and DCL is likely the most obvious and poor choice.

 

[khuff]

ICE Exchange Company

Is anybody familiar with ICE exchange company I believe based in Australia.
It appears that it specializes in cruises, but has other deposit/exchange options.

I was at a presentation from Premier Vacation Clubs, and it touts this is a big advantage. Is this an up and coming exchange company, or perhaps a privately run operation by Premier VC?

 

[Dean]

Re: ICE Exchange Company

Is anybody familiar with ICE exchange company I believe based in Australia.
It appears that it specializes in cruises, but has other deposit/exchange options.

I was at a presentation from Premier Vacation Clubs, and it touts this is a big advantage. Is this an up and coming exchange company, or perhaps a privately run operation by Premier VC?

Like all similar issues I'm aware of, they take your week then give you a cruise for about the price you could have gotten it for without trading your week. But at times they will have good deals that are worthwhile in spite of themselves. And I believe you can get multiple cabins for the one price so even minimal savings might be magnified enough to make it worthwhile in some cases. I'm sure others have more experience with them.