DCL Cruise and DVC Gifts- Cutting Back?

[BWV Dreamin]

We just returned from a 3 night Baja cruise out of San Diego on the Disney Wonder. Prior to our trip, we received a call from DVC congratulating us for our upcoming cruise and informed us that there would be gifts waiting for us upon arrival to our stateroom. They also encouraged us to attend the DVC meeting held on the first night of the cruise as there would be giveaways and free drinks.

This was our 4th DCL cruise and have received some nice gifts from past DCL cruises. Maybe my expectations were high but we only received a bag. No hats, lanyards, water bottles, or Welcome Home greeting.

We went to the DVC desk and were told they don’t leave hats or lanyards in the room anymore. You now have to attend the meeting to get these.

We did go to the DVC presentation on our first night of the cruise. Sat through it in its entirety, no hats or lanyards. The DVC hosts were very new and somewhat boring. I did win a beach bag ( first time to win anything) but the drinks were few and seemed non alcoholic except for the beer.

We finally got our hats after stopping back up to the DVC desk on the second night, but it seemed like I had to beg for them.

The gifts have been a nice thank you for being a DVC member aboard in the past. Are they deal breakers, of course not. Had a fantastic cruise. But compared to past cruises it seemed DVC is cutting back with the gifts, party prizes and drinks. Just an oberservation.

 

[Psychodisney]

I stopped and talked to the DVC desk on our Dream trip in March. They told me they have cut back on the marketing budget for those items, focusing on things like Moonlight Magic instead. The DCL gifts have become much smaller over the years too. I always have enjoyed the free swag...I’m a sucker for the marketing I guess.

 

[RAD]

On an Alaska Cruise last August nothing given out at the DVC meeting besides the prize drawing. Nothing in the room besides the door magnet. If we stopped by the kiosk you could get the lanyard, hat or cheap kids watch.

I do wish they could find a better time for the members meeting then 2PM on departure day.

 

[ironz]

We got caps on our Alaska cruise last year, and lanyards. We got them from the DVC rep at the desk (had to ask), not in our stateroom. We did have the door magnet on our cabin door.
On our Alaska cruise, they had a DVC presentation --don't remember if free drinks, but we got a meet and greet with Cinderella and the chance to win prizes or onboard credit. There was a separate DVC reception that had free drinks and just mingling.

On our Magic cruise this past January (short bahamas cruise) we just had the DVC presentation- -they had drinks and we got a meet and greet with Stitch, and chance to win on board credit.

 

[IrishEye]

Our 2 Bahama Cruises early this month there had drinks at both receptions, not beer. Card on th4e fish first evening was a card to stop at desk and pick up our caps. Now we have so many caps don't know why we even picked them up but we did. We have not received lanyards in years but since DCL gives them to us at check in there is no need. We also had Character meet and greet 15 minutes prior to reception.

On the DCL side, we select truffles, sparkling wine, or fruit plate. On top of this, each night they presented us chocolate strawberries, whole fruit plate with 1/2 coconut, cheese - cracker - grapes - honey plate, never had this happen before. This was our 16th cruise. We had a sling bag and 2 bag tags waiting when we reached the room and received a complimentary meal at Palo.

We have more lanyards and caps then e know what to do with, probably don't need any more sling bags, but really appreciate the Palo experience.

 

[Bonnie1222]

Our 2 Bahama Cruises early this month there had drinks at both receptions, not beer. Card on th4e fish first evening was a card to stop at desk and pick up our caps. Now we have so many caps don't know why we even picked them up but we did. We have not received lanyards in years but since DCL gives them to us at check in there is no need. We also had Character meet and greet 15 minutes prior to reception.

We were on the Fantasy a couple weeks ago. They handed out the DVC Lanyards at the terminal when you first walked in during the morning. I think they are only there until 11 or 12. I didn't need any more either, but still grabbed the lanyards, and the hats too.

On our 7 day they had the embarkation day gathering and another social one on Jamaica day, but it was right after you had to be back on the boat and DH and I forgot about it. They were supposedly serving cocktails and snacks. Guess we will find out next cruise if they are still doing it.

 

[dvcdisney]

We haven't been cruising as long as others, but we had our 9th DCL cruise this past December and found that DCL gifts have been getting less and less. But what I was surprised about was the DVC gifts. We used to get gifts in our stateroom (or at the desk if they forget to give you one), but this past cruise, the only thing we received at the DVC meeting was lanyards and I believe something else that was small (can't remember). We used to receive invitations to pick up gifts at the desk each day of our cruise. I asked if they had hats and they said they would only be able to give 2 per cabin. They used to give enough hats for everyone in your cabin. My husband went the next day and asked and he received 2 as well.

What was most disappointing was when we attended another DVC meeting and was told immediately that since we were not from US we were not permitted to join the raffle for the prizes. I was confused but they insisted that this was the policy. In 9 cruises we were never told this and had always filled out the form. We won a cup one time so it wasn't a big deal. But to be told this was really upsetting and I'm positive they are lying. I just didn't care at that point.

As for drinks, they always had something for adult and children. We usually get a water bottle. It's never cold so we just put it in fridge for later.

 

[bcwife76]

We haven't been cruising as long as others, but we had our 9th DCL cruise this past December and found that DCL gifts have been getting less and less. But what I was surprised about was the DVC gifts. We used to get gifts in our stateroom (or at the desk if they forget to give you one), but this past cruise, the only thing we received at the DVC meeting was lanyards and I believe something else that was small (can't remember). We used to receive invitations to pick up gifts at the desk each day of our cruise. I asked if they had hats and they said they would only be able to give 2 per cabin. They used to give enough hats for everyone in your cabin. My husband went the next day and asked and he received 2 as well.

What was most disappointing was when we attended another DVC meeting and was told immediately that since we were not from US we were not permitted to join the raffle for the prizes. I was confused but they insisted that this was the policy. In 9 cruises we were never told this and had always filled out the form. We won a cup one time so it wasn't a big deal. But to be told this was really upsetting and I'm positive they are lying. I just didn't care at that point.

As for drinks, they always had something for adult and children. We usually get a water bottle. It's never cold so we just put it in fridge for later.

We just got off the Wonder today (San Diego to Vancouver) and we were allowed to enter the raffle, but as non-US citizens (we're Canadian) we are not able to win the $200OBC had we won.

While we received the welcome aboard call a week or so before our cruise and the magnet on our door, we did not have anything waiting in our stateroom. However, when we went to the DVC desk they asked us right away if we got our 'swag', we said no and were given two caps, two lanyards and a bunch of tattoos.

 

[dvcdisney]

We just got off the Wonder today (San Diego to Vancouver) and we were allowed to enter the raffle, but as non-US citizens (we're Canadian) we are not able to win the $200OBC had we won.

While we received the welcome aboard call a week or so before our cruise and the magnet on our door, we did not have anything waiting in our stateroom. However, when we went to the DVC desk they asked us right away if we got our 'swag', we said no and were given two caps, two lanyards and a bunch of tattoos.

We're also Canadians and in over 16 yrs of membership, I've never felt so dismissed. I was aware that there are certain prizes that were not available to non-US citizens, but they wouldn't even give us the entry form. Now to be clear, this was not the DVC gathering at the beginning of the cruise. And all they offered at this meeting was bottled water (unlike the other ones with lanyards, pens, folders, adult and child beverages etc), but it was the same entry form.

Anyway, I wished we just left. My husband wanted to see if it was different from the other one, but not really...there was only 4 other couples so it felt like they didn't try to make it interesting. So, lesson learned...only go to the main event.

They're not the most organized bunched there...it wasn't until our 4th cruise that we finally received our gifts brought to the stateroom. We visited the desk the first time and they said that once they see that we are DVC members (no need to tell them), we would be added to the list. We told them each subsequent cruise and on the 4th cruise, we were so surprised that we received the magnet and gift.

 

[bcwife76]

We're also Canadians and in over 16 yrs of membership, I've never felt so dismissed. I was aware that there are certain prizes that were not available to non-US citizens, but they wouldn't even give us the entry form. Now to be clear, this was not the DVC gathering at the beginning of the cruise. And all they offered at this meeting was bottled water (unlike the other ones with lanyards, pens, folders, adult and child beverages etc), but it was the same entry form.

Anyway, I wished we just left. My husband wanted to see if it was different from the other one, but not really...there was only 4 other couples so it felt like they didn't try to make it interesting. So, lesson learned...only go to the main event.

They're not the most organized bunched there...it wasn't until our 4th cruise that we finally received our gifts brought to the stateroom. We visited the desk the first time and they said that once they see that we are DVC members (no need to tell them), we would be added to the list. We told them each subsequent cruise and on the 4th cruise, we were so surprised that we received the magnet and gift.

Well then that is disappointing and I would feel slighted as well

 

[bumbershoot]

I did four dcl cruises from early 2013 to earlier 2015.

They’ve never had lanyards for us in the room. We got those at the desk in the terminal at PC. We’ve never had hats waiting. We got those at the Dvc desk. Same with lanyard pin things.

Magnets were on our door twice of the four times.

So I’m not seeing a policy change. Just we have bad luck or your luck ran out.

But to be told this was really upsetting and I'm positive they are lying.

but as non-US citizens (we're Canadian) we are not able to win the $200OBC had we won.

Canadians have to do a funny little quiz to win prizes, yes? Like a simple math problem? I’ve seen that many times in the t&c for contests that Canadians can enter.

If Disney doesn’t have that in place, there’s no point in entering. I would guess that they realized they could get in big trouble or they HAD gotten into big trouble.

 

[dvcdisney]

I did four dcl cruises from early 2013 to earlier 2015.

They’ve never had lanyards for us in the room. We got those at the desk in the terminal at PC. We’ve never had hats waiting. We got those at the Dvc desk. Same with lanyard pin things.

Magnets were on our door twice of the four times.

So I’m not seeing a policy change. Just we have bad luck or your luck ran out.






Canadians have to do a funny little quiz to win prizes, yes? Like a simple math problem? I’ve seen that many times in the t&c for contests that Canadians can enter.

If Disney doesn’t have that in place, there’s no point in entering. I would guess that they realized they could get in big trouble or they HAD gotten into big trouble.

On our first cruise, we went to the DVC meeting and at the time they were checking names off on a list and that's when we found out that we were not on the list. They asked if we received the magnet, lanyard and a couple of other things (sorry can't remember) and we said no. So they said they would add us on the list and they would have someone deliver it to our stateroom. Two days later, it was there. The 2nd and 3rd cruise, our name wasn't on the list so I asked if we should be letting them know and they said no, DCL had a magical way of knowing.

When we received the items on our 4th cruise, we were quite surprised. I think that was the first time we received an invitation to go to the desk and pick up a gift. Not sure how many cruises we did where we were asked to go to the desk and pick up things...usually they're hats or prints.

I don't remember when they started with just an invitation to the gathering and left nothing else in the stateroom. At that point, we received a bag with a portfolio/pad and pens. Then on our last cruise this past December, we didn't even receive an invitation in the stateroom. But we knew when it was and went to the gathering....at this time it was just a lanyard and bottled water. At one time during the cruise, there was a generic invitation to all to go to the sales meeting...

We did do a DVC member cruise and received a lot of things in the stateroom every evening, but that was a special cruise.

So I do think they are cutting down. I'm not too upset about it...I do think a hat, lanyard and magnet would be sufficient...it's great advertising and we love getting them. I can't even remember a time we weren't asked about DVC when we had them on. It's a nice way to acknowledge the members. I'm okay not getting the prints, we have a few of them.

As for the prizes, I remembered someone mentioning that non-US citizens were not eligible to receive cash prizes. We saw a lot of people win bags and cups that were not US citizens. We won a couple of mugs/cups and there are a lot of UK citizens who won other prizes. I recalled one older couple from Hong Kong who weren't aware they won a tote bag. They had to say their names many times. It was cute, the husband was so surprised. I think they were new members and they didn't realize that they were giving out prizes.

Since they asked us where we're from when they brought the mugs over, if we weren't eligible, they would have told us. Plus it was funny when we said Canada, the DVC rep said it's mostly Texans and Canadians this cruise....which was true. We share a Spring/March break with them.

 

[Quellman]

I always liked when they did a lanyard making session. You would take the DVC one and then Frankenstein it together with your Castaway Club one so it was half and half. I think the Castaway redesign stopped that.
I'm ok without needing more hats. But the flashing bracelet is a must for my son, and if my wife can find another 1 or 2 of the beach cup holders she'd be happy.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I am amazed that there are any exclusions pertaining to non-US DVC members. A DVC member is a DVC member in my eyes. Are there any exclusions mentioned in the POS of the resorts? I don’t recall reading that. This is a situation that I feel DVC member satisfaction should be made aware of.

 

[dvcdisney]

I am amazed that there are any exclusions pertaining to non-US DVC members. A DVC member is a DVC member in my eyes. Are there any exclusions mentioned in the POS of the resorts? I don’t recall reading that. This is a situation that I feel DVC member satisfaction should be made aware of.

In the beginning of our membership, we were told that there were certain things that we wouldn't be able to do. DVC membership was only available to be purchased "in" Ontario. Since we lived in Ontario at the time we made our first membership purchase, it wasn't a big deal. But then we moved to another province, we were told that we had to be physically in the US to purchase. So when we added, we couldn't call our DVC guide, but as soon as we arrived at our resort, we made the appointment to see him and purchased. While we lived in that province we couldn't contact him to inquire about any purchasing. Not a big deal for us since we did visit WDW often.

Once we moved back to Ontario, we started receiving emails and phone calls from our guide.

The reason we were given is that DVC is not permitted or licensed to sell in any other province other than Ontario. At the time, they said that they were working on expanding, and to be honest, I don't know for sure if they ever added other provinces (perhaps BC would be the next obvious choice).

The other thing, although also not a big deal was that we were not permitted to pay our Annual dues monthly. We had to pay annually. This may have changed since we became members, but I'm fine paying annually.

But that's basically all the exclusions that we have encountered other than not being eligible for cash prizes in the DVC gathering on DCL.

So we never really felt excluded from DVC until this last time. And again, I still believe that the DVC rep was not telling the truth about the prizes. We told him that we knew that we weren't eligible for cash prizes but was surprised that we were not permitted to submit the entry for the other prizes....which I believe was a tote and a couple of mugs...not a big deal, we don't need any of those things, but didn't like the lie. When we told him that we had always been able to do it, he just repeatedly said that it's the policy.

 

[bcwife76]

In the beginning of our membership, we were told that there were certain things that we wouldn't be able to do. DVC membership was only available to be purchased "in" Ontario. Since we lived in Ontario at the time we made our first membership purchase, it wasn't a big deal. But then we moved to another province, we were told that we had to be physically in the US to purchase. So when we added, we couldn't call our DVC guide, but as soon as we arrived at our resort, we made the appointment to see him and purchased. While we lived in that province we couldn't contact him to inquire about any purchasing. Not a big deal for us since we did visit WDW often.

Once we moved back to Ontario, we started receiving emails and phone calls from our guide.

The reason we were given is that DVC is not permitted or licensed to sell in any other province other than Ontario. At the time, they said that they were working on expanding, and to be honest, I don't know for sure if they ever added other provinces (perhaps BC would be the next obvious choice).

The other thing, although also not a big deal was that we were not permitted to pay our Annual dues monthly. We had to pay annually. This may have changed since we became members, but I'm fine paying annually.

But that's basically all the exclusions that we have encountered other than not being eligible for cash prizes in the DVC gathering on DCL.

So we never really felt excluded from DVC until this last time. And again, I still believe that the DVC rep was not telling the truth about the prizes. We told him that we knew that we weren't eligible for cash prizes but was surprised that we were not permitted to submit the entry for the other prizes....which I believe was a tote and a couple of mugs...not a big deal, we don't need any of those things, but didn't like the lie. When we told him that we had always been able to do it, he just repeatedly said that it's the policy.

Yes as a resident of BC we still cannot buy DVC in our province; as well, if our guide speaks with us by phone while we are in BC, we can talk about anything EXCEPT money. But if I go across the border into Washington state and say "hey Hoku, I'm in Blaine WA" then she can talk about money with us. We own at Aulani which comes with its own set of rules that includes needing a notary to witness our document signing (which was fine when we were physically at Aulani) but going forward if we are not on a cruise or at Aulani, we would have to go to Washington state to find a notary.

 

[dvcdisney]

Yes as a resident of BC we still cannot buy DVC in our province; as well, if our guide speaks with us by phone while we are in BC, we can talk about anything EXCEPT money. But if I go across the border into Washington state and say "hey Hoku, I'm in Blaine WA" then she can talk about money with us. We own at Aulani which comes with its own set of rules that includes needing a notary to witness our document signing (which was fine when we were physically at Aulani) but going forward if we are not on a cruise or at Aulani, we would have to go to Washington state to find a notary.

I'm surprised about BC. I would assume having VGC and Aulani closer to you would be more of an incentive for DVC to find a way.

When we first purchase we did have our lawyer notarize the documents. But I'm sure we were able to use a notary in Nova Scotia to finalize our subsequent purchases. Although this was a long time ago, I would have remembered if we had to use a notary in Florida.