For the first time Disney Cruise Line has included a European itinerary with a seven day cruise sailing from Barcelona, Spain and departing on May 18th 2024. The cruise is open to members of the Disney Vacation Club and as usual with DVC, is very transparent in its costing. The points for a basic inside cabin are 293 rising up to 2,423 for a Concierge Royal Suite with Veranda. For non DVC members the rate for the basic inside cabin is $2,493 rising to $20,620 for the Royal Suite.
Problems
Let’s start with the points. An entry level DVC membership is 150 points which will currently cost $32,500 to purchase. If the basic inside cabin requires 293 points then the entry cost has risen to $63,581. As for the Royal Suite, the cost to buy that many points is a ridiculous $525,791. Quite obviously if points had been banked for the allowable one year this will effectively reduce the cost.
Another problem is that most DVC members are from the States and transatlantic travel costs are not included. A further additional cost is the inclusion of children:
Child (Ages 3 – 12) 159 points or $1,353
Child (Ages 2 and under) 95 points or $808
Bearing in mind that many who are members of DVC have families, this addition really bumps up the price.
TCA comment
On the positive, it’s great that DVC members have access to Disney Cruises and providing members accept this as a bonus then as they say, it’s all plain sailing, however the points requirements to benefit would seem to put such a cruise out of reach to many DVC members. So you fancy cruising the Mediterranean, once again a mere mortal can jump on board for as little as $2,493 so having to have shelled out $63,581 as a DVC member seems to make little sense.
As we said above, a timeshare company with its own in house cruise line is brilliant; however a simple cost analysis seems to indicate that booking a Disney cruise with points is potentially a very expensive way of sailing around the Med.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk