DVC Cruise difference

[Livelovedance]

Hello! I am looking to eventually schedule a Disney Cruise for the first time for 2 adults. We are new DVC members, and I noticed there are DVC cruises. Is there a difference between a regular Disney Cruise and a DVC Disney Cruise in terms of experiences? Do you have to use points to book a DVC Cruise?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Capang]

Hello! I am looking to eventually schedule a Disney Cruise for the first time for 2 adults. We are new DVC members, and I noticed there are DVC cruises. Is there a difference between a regular Disney Cruise and a DVC Disney Cruise in terms of experiences? Do you have to use points to book a DVC Cruise?

Thanks in advance!

The dvc member cruise is a chartered cruise. You get gifts daily and have special guests aboard with special meet and greets, seminars, etc. I'm heading out on my first one next week and can let you know more after that. Previous member cruises involved seeing movies weeks/months before release, meeting with animators, special performances with Broadway performers, etc.

 

[Livelovedance]

The dvc member cruise is a chartered cruise. You get gifts daily and have special guests aboard with special meet and greets, seminars, etc. I'm heading out on my first one next week and can let you know more after that. Previous member cruises involved seeing movies weeks/months before release, meeting with animators, special performances with Broadway performers, etc.

Wow, that sounds incredible! We are new cruisers and it sounds like we’d be spoiled by a dvc cruise, but it definitely sounds like something we’d be interested in! I’d love to hear your experiences when you get back. Have a great trip!

 

[KashasMom]

We went on the Fantasy last year. We received SO many gifts on our cruise that people were buying extra suitcases just to get them all home. Everything from blankets to special Jenga games to (several) lithographs to books! Coco was coming out a few months later and we got a lot of Coco related gifts - poster, t-shirt, etc. We saw a special preview of Olaf's Frozen Adventure 3 months before the theater release. We met the boy from Coco, the man who played Mustafa in Lion King on Broadway, TV/Disney Broadway actors, and other Disney people. The cruise was more expensive than a regular cruise but if you're into what I mentioned you'll enjoy it. Also - there weren't as many kids as there would be on a normal summer cruise.

 

[KashasMom]

You might want to check out the Navigators from our DVC cruise - https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...cruise-2017-dvc-member-cruise-august-26-2017/.

 

[rcchello]

some rules for DVC cruises:

1) You must have bought at least one of your DVC contracts directly from Disney (not resale ).
2) All points used for a DVC cruise must be from direct contracts.
3) A person must be paid for with points or cash, not a mixture.
4) The cost for a DVC will be significantly higher than the same non-DVC cruise. You can decide if the extras are worth the difference.

 

[Livelovedance]

We went on the Fantasy last year. We received SO many gifts on our cruise that people were buying extra suitcases just to get them all home. Everything from blankets to special Jenga games to (several) lithographs to books! Coco was coming out a few months later and we got a lot of Coco related gifts - poster, t-shirt, etc. We saw a special preview of Olaf's Frozen Adventure 3 months before the theater release. We met the boy from Coco, the man who played Mustafa in Lion King on Broadway, TV/Disney Broadway actors, and other Disney people. The cruise was more expensive than a regular cruise but if you're into what I mentioned you'll enjoy it. Also - there weren't as many kids as there would be on a normal summer cruise.

You might want to check out the Navigators from our DVC cruise - https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...cruise-2017-dvc-member-cruise-august-26-2017/.

That is awesome, thank you! I looked through the Navigators, it looks like there were tons of special activities. I’m definitely going to look into a dvc cruise.

 

[Livelovedance]

some rules for DVC cruises:

1) You must have bought at least one of your DVC contracts directly from Disney (not resale ).
2) All points used for a DVC cruise must be from direct contracts.
3) A person must be paid for with points or cash, not a mixture.
4) The cost for a DVC will be significantly higher than the same non-DVC cruise. You can decide if the extras are worth the difference.

Thank you for the information! We bought direct, so that wouldn’t be a problem. I was just curious if it had to be paid with points because we probably wouldn’t have enough for it. Good to know about each person having to be paid with one form of payment! We’ve never done a Disney Cruise though, so I’ll have to price out both options and compare. I definitely want to try a dvc cruise, so we’ll have to decide if we want to jump right in and do that, or if we want to try a regular one first and then do a dvc cruise in the future. It gives us something to think about!

 

[southerngirl528]

Hello! I am looking to eventually schedule a Disney Cruise for the first time for 2 adults. We are new DVC members, and I noticed there are DVC cruises. Is there a difference between a regular Disney Cruise and a DVC Disney Cruise in terms of experiences? Do you have to use points to book a DVC Cruise?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome home! Joined in the early 90's and LOVE my DVC membership!

Excellent explanations below and by PP for you! Though I have used my DVC points several times for DCL, I have yet to go on a Member cruise. I want to, but the price scares me away each time I seriously consider it. I will tell you this though, every single person I know that has gone RAVES about it. I would have dearly loved to have been on one of the member cruises years back when Roy Disney was onboard and when Ducky Williams (correct last name??) was onboard the member cruise.

The dvc member cruise is a chartered cruise. You get gifts daily and have special guests aboard with special meet and greets, seminars, etc. I'm heading out on my first one next week and can let you know more after that. Previous member cruises involved seeing movies weeks/months before release, meeting with animators, special performances with Broadway performers, etc.

Great explanation in a nutshell!

some rules for DVC cruises:

1) You must have bought at least one of your DVC contracts directly from Disney (not resale ).
2) All points used for a DVC cruise must be from direct contracts.
3) A person must be paid for with points or cash, not a mixture.
4) The cost for a DVC will be significantly higher than the same non-DVC cruise. You can decide if the extras are worth the difference.

And great points to know. These are all correct.

 

[Livelovedance]

Welcome home! Joined in the early 90's and LOVE my DVC membership!

Excellent explanations below and by PP for you! Though I have used my DVC points several times for DCL, I have yet to go on a Member cruise. I want to, but the price scares me away each time I seriously consider it. I will tell you this though, every single person I know that has gone RAVES about it. I would have dearly loved to have been on one of the member cruises years back when Roy Disney was onboard and when Ducky Williams (correct last name??) was onboard the member cruise.



Great explanation in a nutshell!



And great points to know. These are all correct.

Thank you! I didn’t realize it was such a big deal! I’m sure it was incredible to be on a cruise ship with Roy Disney! This is why I love the DIS, everyone shares excellent information.

 

[Canesfan3234]

This is on my list to do in the future. I was told alcohol is discounted on DVC cruises as well?

 

[Capang]

This is on my list to do in the future. I was told alcohol is discounted on DVC cruises as well?

I don't think so, but I could be wrong. At least, we haven't received anything about that. Everything is much more expensive on the members cruise.

 

[dvcdisney]

We've only been on one DVC cruise and we had a great time. We didn't use our points. Everyone here has given excellent info.

I will say that you do need to make sure you bring extra luggage. We ended up leaving a few things since we couldn't take everything home. And in our case, most things were left for each person on the stateroom. Those were great when it came to hats and pins. But we received 4 rather large DVC boardgame and we had to leave 2 of them.

Even though it was a bit more than the regular cruise, we would do it again if our dates coincide and it's not in the Caribbean/Bahamas.

A DVC European cruise would be wonderful. But I would LOVE a DVC member Hawaiian one way cruise to or from Oahu so we can pair off the cruise with an Aulani visit. I would definitely do this if it was between in our summer break months of July and August.

 

[Canesfan3234]

I don't think so, but I could be wrong. At least, we haven't received anything about that. Everything is much more expensive on the members cruise.

I was told that because the up-front price is so expensive, everything else is much cheaper once onboard.

 

[Capang]

I was told that because the up-front price is so expensive, everything else is much cheaper once onboard.

So far that's not the case. If anything, maybe a dvc discount but that isnt really any different than usual.

 

[southerngirl528]

But I would LOVE a DVC member Hawaiian one way cruise to or from Oahu so we can pair off the cruise with an Aulani visit.

NOW you're talking!!! I keep watching for DCL to go back to Hawaii. I was blessed to go in both 2012 and 2015. Was hoping for a 2018 cruise, but alas, looks like 2020 would be the soonest possibility.

 

[KashasMom]

Our DVC cruise last year was 30% more expensive than the same (non-DVC) cruise next year. That's a big difference. NOTHING was discounted ON the cruise.

 

[dvcdisney]

NOW you're talking!!! I keep watching for DCL to go back to Hawaii. I was blessed to go in both 2012 and 2015. Was hoping for a 2018 cruise, but alas, looks like 2020 would be the soonest possibility.

That's wonderful that you were able to go twice already. I remember the last time it was announce, I was so upset. Unfortunately, we are limited by our dates.

But if they ever have a one way Vancouver to Hawaii in July or August, I will definitely be booking...and if the next cruise is going back to Vancouver, I will be doing a b2b!!!

 

[VTNuke]

30% more is tough, but if you're into those extras, it sounds great. It may be in the cards for us in the future.

Like most DVCers, we are (who am I kidding, I'm) a planner. How far in advance do they announce/can you book the DVC cruises?

 

[msec]

Also, if you book any part of the cruise using cash (vs points) - you need to pay the cash balance in full when you make the reservation - no grace period to pay off the cash balance - just throwing that out there for those that may not know....