Rent points for a cruise?

[mtquinn]

Good morning. I have rented owner points in the past for DVC stays, but we were toying with the idea of going on DCL. Do owners rent their points to people for the purpose? TIA!

 

[Chuck S]

While it is possible to do so, it will almost certainly cost more than just paying cash. It takes a LOT of points to trade into a cruise, plus there is an additional tradew fee to do so.
In fact, many members will rent their points for use at DVC Resorts, then use the proceeds to pay for a cruise.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Cost wise cruises are cheaper to pay directly. Not really worth using points unless you are trying to do a dvc cruise where I believe you have to use points for that.

 

[mtquinn]

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Cfabar1]

You also have to know that the points you would be renting are not restricted...Restricted points cannot be used for cruises, which, given the ridiculously poor valuation they are given anyways, is actually kind of silly.

 

[drusba]

Contrary to what is assumed above, a DVC member is prohibited from using the member's ownership interests (including points) from renting a reservation for anything that is part of the Membership Extras, which includes the Disney Cruise Line. See Membership Extras Acknowledgement and Disclosure Statement, disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/media/dvc/en/hidden-pages/MEADS_6-3-2021.pdf The member's right to rent set out in the POS applies solely to the rental of "Vacation Homes," which means rooms in the DVC Resorts. See, e.g., BWV DVC Membership Agreement §5.1.

 

[Chuck S]

Contrary to what is assumed above, a DVC member is prohibited from using the member's ownership interests (including points) from renting a reservation for anything that is part of the Membership Extras, which includes the Disney Cruise Line. See Membership Extras Acknowledgement and Disclosure Statement, disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/media/dvc/en/hidden-pages/MEADS_6-3-2021.pdf The member's right to rent set out in the POS applies solely to the rental of "Vacation Homes," which means rooms in the DVC Resorts. See, e.g., BWV DVC Membership Agreement §5.1.

Interesting, that must be something added since I purchased, and I admit I really haven't looked over the documents much in 30+ years.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Got an email marketing promo this morning from board sponsor for DVC points exchanges - even for Disney cruises.

Edit to point out that somewhere in the fine print (I did read it but now can't find it), it mentions points can be resale.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Got an email marketing promo this morning from board sponsor for DVC points exchanges - even for Disney cruises.

Edit to point out that somewhere in the fine print (I did read it but now can't find it), it mentions points can be resale.

This is right, some other brokers do it as well - as an owner you can 'exchange' your points by renting them out via the broker who as your travel agent also books the cruise for you, they will then apply the payment from the renters to your cruise reservation.

But I think OP was asking about booking a cruise from the perspective of the renter, by renting points from an owner, which appears not to be allowed.

 

[MICKIMINI]

This is right, some other brokers do it as well - as an owner you can 'exchange' your points by renting them out via the broker who as your travel agent also books the cruise for you, they will then apply the payment from the renters to your cruise reservation.

But I think OP was asking about booking a cruise from the perspective of the renter, by renting points from an owner, which appears not to be allowed.

I was multi tasking...you are right. Thanks for pointing it out and politely!!

 

[drusba]

Interesting, that must be something added since I purchased, and I admit I really haven't looked over the documents much in 30+ years.

It is actually not new. It has been the rule since at least the 1990s, when I first purchased BWV. At the time, we were given a
"Member Benefits Guidebook" which covered the non-DVC things that one could reserve such as Disney non-DVC Hotels, the Adventures by Disney, the Cruise, and others, and the Receipt for Members Benefit Guidebook stated that a member could not assign, transfer, or sell any Member Benefits to anyone else, i.e., the rule was that the member, and not someone else, had to be one using any reservation made for any Member Benefits (now called Membership Extras) that required a reservation. That was modified somewhat in 2,000 to add that anything included in the Member Benefits collections could not be rented by the member but the member could reserve things in the collections for Guests other than the member. The Membership Extras rules from 2021 that I provided above, which prohibit rentals of any Membership Extras were mainly issued to clarify that Member Benefits are now called Membership Extras.

I have seen that some brokers and others appear to believe a member can do rentals of things in the Membership Extras. Thus, likely there have been such rentals but that does not mean members are actually allowed to do so but simply means there are likely many who are unfamiliar with the actual rules and DVC has probably not often taken steps to prevent violations from happening.

 

[crisi]

It is actually not new. It has been the rule since at least the 1990s, when I first purchased BWV. At the time, we were given a
"Member Benefits Guidebook" which covered the non-DVC things that one could reserve such as Disney non-DVC Hotels, the Adventures by Disney, the Cruise, and others, and the Receipt for Members Benefit Guidebook stated that a member could not assign, transfer, or sell any Member Benefits to anyone else, i.e., the rule was that the member, and not someone else, had to be one using any reservation made for any Member Benefits (now called Membership Extras) that required a reservation. That was modified somewhat in 2,000 to add that anything included in the Member Benefits collections could not be rented by the member but the member could reserve things in the collections for Guests other than the member. The Membership Extras rules from 2021 that I provided above, which prohibit rentals of any Membership Extras were mainly issued to clarify that Member Benefits are now called Membership Extras.

I have seen that some brokers and others appear to believe a member can do rentals of things in the Membership Extras. Thus, likely there have been such rentals but that does not mean members are actually allowed to do so but simply means there are likely many who are unfamiliar with the actual rules and DVC has probably not often taken steps to prevent violations from happening.

I think the printed member benefits guidebook is a real loss - and this is part of it. When you had something to flip through and read with everything - well not everything, but a lot of the rules and processes - in one place, more people were aware of what they could do, what they couldn't do, and what had changed between their last reservation or trip and this one.

Now its "all on the internet" but you have to find it. And finding things on the internet (and I say this as someone who has done a LOT of research) is time consuming, often futile, and frequently you the information you do get is bad information.

 

[drusba]

I think the printed member benefits guidebook is a real loss - and this is part of it. When you had something to flip through and read with everything - well not everything, but a lot of the rules and processes - in one place, more people were aware of what they could do, what they couldn't do, and what had changed between their last reservation or trip and this one.

Now its "all on the internet" but you have to find it. And finding things on the internet (and I say this as someone who has done a LOT of research) is time consuming, often futile, and frequently you the information you do get is bad information.

Agree, and, among other things, the wonders of the internet have managed to do away with the ungodly, long 5-minute phone call you had to do with MS many years ago to make any reservation or trade-out, and turned the time needed into a mere 45 minutes to an hour when doing it online, and when you now attempt a phone call to MS you usually wait for someone to answer for only 30-50 minutes.

 

[CarolynFH]

Agree, and, among other things, the wonders of the internet have managed to do away with the ungodly, long 5-minute phone call you had to do with MS many years ago to make any reservation or trade-out, and turned the time needed into a mere 45 minutes to an hour when doing it online, and when you now attempt a phone call to MS you usually wait for someone to answer for only 30-50 minutes.

Sorry, I had to laugh because this is so true!

 

[gmi3804]

I seem to remember that there's a DVC rental company that will buy your points from you in the form of a cruise vacation, but I believe they have to be sold to a guest for you to have the cruise paid for. You might want to go this way, since you'll have the cash from the points sale to use for the cruise fare. Using actual points to book a cruise is a very poor use of points.

 

[DisneyBB]

We use David’s rental cruise swap program. They worked out the cost of our cruise and say how many points to log with them for renting. I did a Disney cruise this way and included gratuities and transfers. They use the money from renting our points to cover the cost. Worked really well for us. Infact so well we are doing it again for a transatlantic cruise next year.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

Can anyone who has rented their points through an agency in order to book a cruise tell me which cruise lines these agencies deal with? We love cruising and would consider going this route if they work with cruise lines we like.

 

[gmi3804]

Can anyone who has rented their points through an agency in order to book a cruise tell me which cruise lines these agencies deal with? We love cruising and would consider going this route if they work with cruise lines we like.

I'd imagine if they're a licensed travel agency that they'd work with just about any line. Best to call one and ask if you have specific questions, though I'd definitely do my homework because these companies aren't necessarily cruise specialists, so you're giving up the expertise of a cruise travel agent specialist. Maybe it's better to sell your points on your own and use that cash where you want to.

 

[pzw90]

Can anyone who has rented their points through an agency in order to book a cruise tell me which cruise lines these agencies deal with? We love cruising and would consider going this route if they work with cruise lines we like.

Have you tried to look? Two quick searches show the board sponsor does DCL and RCL while David’s has 5 cruise lines they offer.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I'd imagine if they're a licensed travel agency that they'd work with just about any line. Best to call one and ask if you have specific questions, though I'd definitely do my homework because these companies aren't necessarily cruise specialists, so you're giving up the expertise of a cruise travel agent specialist. Maybe it's better to sell your points on your own and use that cash where you want to.

Ironically the "cruise specialist" TA that we are dealing with for this summer's cruise has not been very helpful after getting our money. He has basically referred us to the cruise line's website to book excursions and handle issues with misspelled names and seat selection on included air travel. Other than the onboard credit, there's nothing we gained by using him vs doing it on our own.