2017 Member Cruise - Need Help

[Chewmonkey]

Am I reading this correctly?

 

We were all set to call in and book the 2017 DVC member cruise on the Fantasy tomorrow, but now I see that you can't book a DVC member cruise if you bought your contract on the secondary market?

 

We bought a resale in 2012. Are they going to turn away my $10K? I understand that the cruise will sell out - with or without me, but why turn people away?

 

Thanks for your help - I hope I misunderstood.

[msmayor]

Everything I've seen says that you can't use any resale points to BOOK the cruise, but if you're using cash, as long as you are a DVC member I think you can book.

[e2011]

My understanding is you can book the cruise but you can;t use points, only cash. But why would you want too? I just called to get a 1 BR concierge for the members cruise and it was $15,000 for 3 of us. No DVC discounts, no deals and full payment due immediately up front. I hung up on them. For $15k I can do an actual high end cruise such as Seabourn. Disney is not a high end cruise line. And be aware that most of the upper Disney travel management go on these cruises and demand the attention of the staff at the cost of the customers. I saw this first hand on the last two member cruises. Disney Cruise Lines has lost my business but there are 100 people in line behind me that are ready to hand over their cash. This is why I own Disney stock. They have done an exceptional job "selling the magic". Except for ESPN. That is a huge problem for the company.

Edited August 28, 2016 by e2011

[PopFla]

Just an FYI... I read elsewhere a little while ago that the Member cruise is already 100% booked.

 

Not for me - - WAYYYYYY too expen$ive.

[e2011]

Just an FYI... I read elsewhere a little while ago that the Member cruise is already 100% booked.

 

Not for me - - WAYYYYYY too expen$ive.

 

It is. I can;t believe it sold out in one day even with the premium price! I guess they really miscalculated that one. They could have added $1,000 "special" fee to every cabin and it would still be sold out. The missed a lot of revenue.

Edited August 29, 2016 by e2011

[gometros]

I hear you all about the member cruise pricing. I thin kpeople don't mind paying for the specials that occur on board. We did it in 2006 out of PC and got to meet Roy Disney Jr. and hear Jodi Bensen and Jennifer Hudson perform and they loaded us down with gifts. We're doing it again in a month, but only because it's sailing out of NYC, which means no airfare or hotel stays for us. I've heard that over the years the extras have been downsized. It will be interesting to compare the two 10 years apart. Would I do the Fantasy Member Cruise in 2017? No way, not at those prices and because the schedule doesn't work for us and we're doing the same itinerary a month and a half later that year for much less.

[Host Mick]

Am I reading this correctly?

 

We were all set to call in and book the 2017 DVC member cruise on the Fantasy tomorrow, but now I see that you can't book a DVC member cruise if you bought your contract on the secondary market?

 

We bought a resale in 2012. Are they going to turn away my $10K? I understand that the cruise will sell out - with or without me, but why turn people away?

 

Thanks for your help - I hope I misunderstood.

 

You answered your own question. They can turn people away because the cruise always fills up... and quickly.

The Member's Cruise is another way that DVC provides perks to the direct-purchase members thereby incentivizing people to buy direct.

[moki'smommy]

I hear you all about the member cruise pricing. I thin kpeople don't mind paying for the specials that occur on board. We did it in 2006 out of PC and got to meet Roy Disney Jr. and hear Jodi Bensen and Jennifer Hudson perform and they loaded us down with gifts. We're doing it again in a month, but only because it's sailing out of NYC, which means no airfare or hotel stays for us. I've heard that over the years the extras have been downsized. It will be interesting to compare the two 10 years apart. Would I do the Fantasy Member Cruise in 2017? No way, not at those prices and because the schedule doesn't work for us and we're doing the same itinerary a month and a half later that year for much less.

 

This has been our experience--that the perks, the entertainment, etc. are not as good as they were early on. And it is also true that the execs on board can be pains to the crew. I'm NOT talking about Roy Disney, Jr. (we also cruised on the 2005 Panama Canal cruise with him--totally a gentleman), but rather the current business execs, family of certain captains, etc. Example: we were in the same serving area as the family of a captain. They ALWAYS showed up 30+ minutes late for dinner, requiring the staff to hustle and be a little nuts and the YAC to wait till the children had finished to take them on the Dine and Play program. We watched them have 17 kids lined up, waiting for 2 girls who showed up late. Our servers started trying to get our entrees out before the captain and his family showed up, thus freeing them up to bow and scrape to the boss while not neglecting their other tables.

 

Interestingly, the slightly lesser titled Disney execs seem to make a point of intentionally taking second place to a paying guest.

 

But, as noted, this cruise always sells out quickly. They could charge any amount and fill this within a day or two. The mouse knows how to market things!

[Kellybilt]

We booked the 2017 DVC Member cruise for the first time using points, which we had plenty of. After reading these comments, I'm feeling disappointed in our choice. I hope I'm wrong but sounds like we made a big mistake. [emoji25]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[gometros]

I hear you all about the member cruise pricing. I thin kpeople don't mind paying for the specials that occur on board. We did it in 2006 out of PC and got to meet Roy Disney Jr. and hear Jodi Bensen and Jennifer Hudson perform and they loaded us down with gifts. We're doing it again in a month, but only because it's sailing out of NYC, which means no airfare or hotel stays for us. I've heard that over the years the extras have been downsized. It will be interesting to compare the two 10 years apart. Would I do the Fantasy Member Cruise in 2017? No way, not at those prices and because the schedule doesn't work for us and we're doing the same itinerary a month and a half later that year for much less.

 

Having just returned from this year's Member Cruise, I've totally reevaluated my position on this. Maybe because it was the 25th anniversary of DVC, but this was one of the best cruises ever. Between the gifts they showered upon us (Not sure if I'm allowed to post this link to DVC FB page with this video showing all the gifts. If not, I'll edit the post and delete it)

and the special guests, including Joe Rohde, Don Hahn, Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden and Pablo Hidalgo and an incredible final night performance of Disney Broadway hits performed bby Ashley Brown, Jason Stickland, Kissy Simmons, Alton Fitzgerald White and Bobby Creighton as MC, all backed by a live band. We also got to meet Auli'i Cravalho, the young lady who was cast to be the voice of Moana in the upcoming movie by the same name. It was an incredible cruise. So great, in fact, that my only real complaint was that there was so much to do, that some presentations overlapped, making it difficult to get to see everything we wanted to see.

[moki'smommy]

Good to hear that they've gotten the member's cruise back up to standard again. It was really a shame to see it slipping, especially given the price.

[Kellybilt]

Thank you for posting that for us to see....we are booked on the 2017 Member Cruise, it is our first Member Cruise and the mixed reviews have me a bit anxious. I thought it would be a cut above all else and worth the points. We shall see.