• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

HGVC Cruising Again

pianodinosaur

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
1,965
Reaction score
239
Points
273
Location
Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC SeaWorld x 2, HGVC Las Vegas Strip x 2, MVC Mountain Valley Lodge, MVC Legend’s Edge
We will be leaving out of Galveston this weekend on Mariner of the Seas. This will be our 4th cruise together paid with HGVC points. We will rejoined by family and friends for my 59th birthday party at sea. We will also be joining a Royal Caribbean Cruise Critics Mix & Mingle as well. We will spend the night prior to the cruise at The Hilton Galveston Island Resort. Hilton allows cruisers to park their vehicles at the hotel and has a complimentary shuttle to the port of embarkation.

I know cruising is not the most economical use of HGVC points, but we like the variety. I am bring our personal TUG Banner with us. I wonder how many of the Cruise Critics are also Tuggers.
 

hurnik

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
1,942
Reaction score
669
Points
473
Location
Albany, NY
I'm on cruise critic as well. But I've used my HGVC to exchange into SFX via their diamond rewards for cruising. Not sure if it's a better deal or not (I have to run the numbers).
 

weaselwatchr

newbie
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
161
Location
Detroit
We are also Cruise Critic members and like the freedom to use HGVC points for our cruises. Hope you have a wonderful cruise and Happy Birthday!
 

chriskre

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
4,608
Reaction score
259
Points
468
Location
South Florida
Resorts Owned
DVC- SSR, Poly,
Wyndham Las Cascadas
HGVC Tuscany Village
Bluegreen CMV UDI
RCI pts at VVParkway
Enchanted Isle resort.
So how exactly does this cruise option work for us?
I'm seeing for example that a 3 night on the Disney cruise for Jan 2013 is 4500 points. Is that 4500 for the whole cabin or per person.
What is the exchange fees or are there any?

That doesn't seem like a bad deal if it's 4500 for the whole cabin. :shrug:
 

kckreardon

Tug Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
73
Reaction score
6
Points
368
Location
Kansas City
Disney Cruise with HGVC points

We used our points for a Disney Cruise last year. We ended up calling the cruise partner to work the details. It was a ton of points to be honest but it allowed us to take our kids on a cruise we would never have paid the total cost for out of pocket at this point.

I would guess given our points cost that the 4,500 you see is a per person not per cabin rate.

So, not the most economical use of points in our opinion but it did work well and we loved the cruise.
 

Janann

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Messages
1,363
Reaction score
780
Points
473
Resorts Owned
HGVC on the Boulevard, Las Vegas;
Disney's Saratoga Springs
You can use a mix of points and cash if needed. We used HGVC points to pay for part of a Disney cruise, and I was careful to set aside enough HGVC points so that we could take a regular vacation the next year.
 

yumdrey

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
3,029
Reaction score
3
Points
273
Location
Maryland, U.S.A.
Have fun!
And don't forget to post pics after your cruise!! :)
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
14,481
Reaction score
3,157
Points
698
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grand Chateau
Marriott Shadow Ridge
Marriott Ocean Pointe
Marriott Destination Club Points
Hilton Grand Vacation Club Las Vegas Blvd
Grand Colorado on Peak 8
Spinnaker French Quarter Resort Branson
I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. We've used our HGVC points twice for cruises. As you said, it's not the most economical usage for timeshares but, HGVC does offer better value than most and like you, we enjoy a little variety.

FWIW we also are cruise critic members but, since we haven't been cruising for a while, I haven't been on the cruise critic site. It's likely to be another couple of years before we cruise again due to medical issues.
 

pianodinosaur

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
1,965
Reaction score
239
Points
273
Location
Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC SeaWorld x 2, HGVC Las Vegas Strip x 2, MVC Mountain Valley Lodge, MVC Legend’s Edge
Just got back from the cruise yesterday. We had a pretty good time. Mariner of the Seas is a beautiful ship. The tours were very nice as well. I will try to get some photos and movies upon snapfish in the near future.
 

pianodinosaur

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
1,965
Reaction score
239
Points
273
Location
Texas
Resorts Owned
HGVC SeaWorld x 2, HGVC Las Vegas Strip x 2, MVC Mountain Valley Lodge, MVC Legend’s Edge

Remy

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
666
Reaction score
49
Points
239
Location
Kansas
Resorts Owned
Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Boulevard, Hyatt Residence Club Wild Oak Ranch
If you're looking for the math, CruisesOnly through HGVC is giving you 10 cents per HGVC point.

If you're paying $700 in MF for 7,000 points, then you're breaking even on using 7,000 points for a cruise. If you're paying $1000 in MF for 4,800 points and use all those points toward a cruise, then you're paying twice as much for the cruise as folks paying cash. Taking into account the fees for forwarding points into another year adds even more math to the equation. In summary, I, Captain Buzzkill, proclaim cruises a generally bad redemption of HGVC points.

But onto more fun topics, me and my significant other did the Sea Trek dive certification last week on Liberty of The Seas on our way down to Belize from Port Everglades. We're now certified through PADI for diving to 12 meters and have begun the search for an underwater camera/case. If you live inland, dive certification can be significantly more expensive than it is on the cruise ship and they do the whole thing very efficiently with no hidden costs. All you bring/buy is the snorkel and mask. Everything else is provided including two dives. I highly recommend it if you're into seeing the underwater sights.
 
Top