On September 8th, we disembarked from the 2023 Disney Vacation Club Member Cruise. I’m still thinking about the amazing time we had and trying to compare it to other cruises we have taken with Disney. Because the DVC Member Cruise contains entertainment, gifts, and surprises different from a regular cruise, it also comes with a little higher of a price tag. You might be wondering if the the DVC Member Cruise is worth the extra costs. Let’s find out!
*Disclaimer: In order to take advantage of a DVC Member Cruise, you must be eligible for Member benefits.
Price
For the yearly Member Cruises, members are able to book with all cash, points, or a combination of both. If going the combination route, each person must either be booked fully with points or fully with cash. We don’t like spending our points anywhere that doesn’t get them the best value, so we paid fully in cash for this cruise. We stayed in a basic Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Veranda for $1,711 per person.
Last September, we sailed on the Wish during it’s inaugural year and we paid $1,444 per person for the same length of cruise, itinerary, time of year, and ship. It is also important to note that overall as demand has increased, the price of cruising has gone up too. For this Member Cruise, the price really wasn’t bad at all. If you’re spending points is where the value changes. Our same room we paid $1,711 per person would have been 201 points per person if we went that route. If we place a value on those points of $15 per point, that’s over $3,000 a person. Therefore, from a cash perspective, the cruise was a good value compared for what we got to other Disney Cruise pricing.
Gifts
As with any DVC Member Cruise, there are lots of special gifts. This year, we received the bulk of those gifts at the beginning of the cruise to make it easier to plan how to pack them for travel. Some of the gifts included Member Cruise branded bags, a book, Corkcicle, hat, special edition prints, a set of Lorcana cards, beach blanket, and more. Since there were two of us in the room, we got two of everything so we didn’t have to share. The Lorcana cards were especially cool since at that time, they were very difficult to find for the general public trying to purchase them.
Entertainment
With any DVC Member Cruise, there is also special entertainment and celebrities on board that you wont’ find on a typical Disney Cruise. For this sailing, we got to be some of the first to see Disney Princess The Concert. It was really an incredible experience with notable Broadway stars like Susan Egan (who was also the voice of Meg in the Hercules movie). You can find out more about Disney Princess The Concert here. In addition to the concert, we got a variety of other shows including a show highlighting the voice actors of beloved cartoon characters like Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. We also saw a special preview of the new movie Wish and the short Once Upon a Studio. They also brought back a fan favorite show where they chose audience members to sing with some of the Broadway stars.
Other Special Events
In addition to the special shows on board, there were other unique opportunities for members and their guests. Some examples include Disney archives on display for viewing. One of the creators of the Lorcana card game was on board and there were times each day where you could meet him and learn how to play. I thought that was a really cool offering. Pauleen and I spent some time talking to him and he was really nice. He even autographed our boxes of Lorcana for us.
They also had a mural painting of the new movie Wish available. The mural is going to go in a children’s hospital. It was not only cool to take part of this experience and get to paint something for a good cause, but we realized we were painting next to Mark Henn (across from me in the photo below). Mark Henn is one of the few Disney animators left who still hand draws. He is animator behind so many amazing characters such as Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, young Simba, Tiana, and more. It was really neat to see him painting amongst the rest of us.
Overall
I wasn’t sure exactly how I would feel about the DVC Member Cruise before boarding. And now I can say with confidence it was amazing. We had such a great time and got to partake in so many really unique experiences. In addition to that, we got to enjoy being on a cruise, visiting Castaway Cay which we love so much, and meeting so many great DVC members. For us, this experience was completely worth the price.
If you attended the 2023 DVC Member Cruise or are interested in taking a member cruise, let us know your thoughts. You can check out the DVC Fan YouTube Channel to see vlogs from each day of the cruise. Stay tuned to dvcfan.com for news and articles on all things Disney Vacation Club.
Looking to learn more about taking a Disney Cruise? Visit our friends over at Be Our Guest Vacations!
momeja
December 1, 2023Amy, what was the name of the creator of Lorcana? I think we met him but not an an event, so I’m not sure.
momeja
December 1, 2023Also, my daughter and cruisemate Emilie and I totally agree with you. We still talk about how amazing that cruise was, and we can’t wait to go on another one. I’ve said I’m now spoiled and will never be able to go on a regular cruise again. We were treated to so many special events and experiences. And I loved all the people I met, too. We all had a great immediate bond as DVC members. It was worth every penny (especially since we also rented out points to pay for it ;)).
Emilie Altman
December 1, 2023My mom and I went on this member cruise to celebrate my master’s graduation. We had been on 2 Disney cruises before this one and we both agreed this one was by far the best! Between the gifts and all the Disney legends, celebrities, and special events, we felt so spoiled and had an amazing time! We also got to meet Wayne Unten who was the head of animation on Wish and the animator for Elsa. We ran into him multiple times throughout the cruise, which was so cool! I also want to add that we really enjoyed talking to and getting to know other members on the cruise! Being on a member cruise lends a kinship and extra level of Disney nerdiness that made almost all of our interactions really great! Finally, Disney intentionally undersold the ship’s capacity by about 1/3 for this cruise so that it would be less crowded and more enjoyable – it worked! In summary, I can’t wait for my next opportunity to go on a member cruise!