Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Booking Info & DVC Point Charts
As previously announced, general public bookings for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Resort will begin on October 28, 2021 with the first “voyage” starting on March 1, 2022. However, prior to then, there are some advance booking opportunities that have revealed new info about the pricing and more.
Pre-bookings have already begun for Club 33 members and Golden Oak residents, with those windows occurring over the last two days. Disney Visa Cardholders will be able to book October 12-16, 2021.
As of this morning, Disney Vacation Club members and Annual Passholders can now book during their pre-sale windows, which run through October 9, 2021. Naturally, there are a few catches, which is what we’ll largely be covering here…
The first is that you must book over the phone. We’ve heard credible rumors that this isn’t just a presale thing–online booking won’t be an option with Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser for the foreseeable future; Disney has a dedicated team for this experience and wants to make very clear to any prospective guests that this is not a traditional hotel. The best way to accomplish that is conversationally, since people don’t read (he writes in a blog post).
Walt Disney World Annual Passholders can call (407) 827-7379 to reserve their Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser adventure now through October 9, 2021 for voyages departing March 1, 2022 to May 4, 2022. Per Disney, popular departure dates will sell out quickly, so please have alternative dates in mind.
At one point, Walt Disney World indicated that PIN codes would be sent to all DVC Members and Annual Passholder to use for booking Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser reservations. Just like a discount PIN/unique offer code, it would seem as though scoring this was luck of the draw–we don’t know anyone who received this email.
It doesn’t seem like having the PIN code actually matters. If you didn’t get the email, the booking agent on the phone numbers above and below should be able to find your code and assist with booking.
Similarly, Disney Vacation Club Members can call (800) 800-9800 to reserve their Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser adventure through October 9, 2021 for voyages departing March 1, 2022 to May 4, 2022.
There’s a catch to that, though. Per DVC, “Because this is a Disney Collection Exchange opportunity, at least one person must be booked on points. Other Guests can make cash payments.”
Disney Vacation Club has now released point charts for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser and…HOLY COW. If you’ll recall, we were pleasantly surprised by the starting prices for the experience in dollars. Although it’s an exorbitant sum of money, it’s less exorbitant than the outrageous numbers we were bracing ourselves for.
Well, this is the opposite of that. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Resort starts at 295 DVC points per person, and that’s based on double occupancy. Here’s the point chart for standard rooms:
For those of you who aren’t DVC members, let’s put these numbers into perspective.
A standard view studio at the BoardWalk Villas would cost 85 points for an entire week in May, versus 349 points (per person) for a weekend voyage at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
It’s basically the same cost to either stay at the BoardWalk for a month, or for one person to do a 2-night stay at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. But that won’t work, since the experience is double occupancy!
For those couples who have daydreamed of living at Walt Disney World, you could do almost all of May and June 2022 at the BoardWalk for roughly the cost of two adults doing Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser on points.
Then again, you wouldn’t be able to get a BoardWalk view for that 2-month stay, so what’s even the point?!
Although at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, you won’t have any windows at all. On top of that, the DVC point charts only increase during peak seasons and as you get into the Galaxy Suite room categories.
Disney Vacation Club members must qualify for Membership Extras (in other words, you need a blue card) in order to be eligible for booking Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Additionally, a non-refundable $95 transaction fee applies per confirmed Disney Collection reservation. If payment is not received at the time of confirmation, Disney Vacation Club reserves the right to cancel the reservation.
Modifying the number of passengers in a Star Wars : Galactic Starcruiser experience may result in an increase in per person pricing and the travelling party will be required to pay any increases at the time of modification.
Reservation changes made less than 90 days prior to arrival are considered a cancel and rebook, subject to cancellation policies. If any changes made less than 90 days prior to arrival result in a lower cost for the reservation, a non-refundable penalty fee of $350 or 43 Reservation Points is due at the time of confirmation.
We won’t belabor the point too much here since this is something covered in exhaustive detail in our Best & Worst Uses of Disney Vacation Club Points, but using DVC points on any of the various “Collections” or anything other than DVC is a bad idea. Being able to use points elsewhere is an illusory Membership Extra–a selling point touted by salespeople that has no actual value. Always has been, presumably always will be.
If there’s no DVC availability or you want to travel somewhere else or stay in different accommodations, you’ll always come out ahead by renting out your points and paying out of pocket for whatever the other thing is. That same advice holds true for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Nevertheless, we fear that many Disney Vacation Club members will take “advantage” of this, feeling that their hand is forced by the pre-booking policy or the practical realities of DVC’s ongoing “point pool problem.”
Those are definitely fair perspectives, and ones with which we can’t really argue. We would still strongly urge you to do the math on renting out your points. You can either do it on your own via one of the forums/social media or via one of the major brokers. See just how significant the monetary spread is, and how much that’ll net. In almost every scenario, you’re going to come out way ahead by renting out those points and paying cash.
Even if you disregard our advice, there’s the possibility you won’t be able to get through on the phone to book Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser today. Wait times were a couple of hours first thing this morning…but now there is no wait!
Not in a good way. Last we checked, the phone lines picked up with an “all circuits are busy, please try again later” message–before hanging up.
In terms of other details, we do have the payment and cancellation policy for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. A 20% deposit of the total amount is due at booking, and full payment must be made 90 days out.
You can cancel your Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience more than 90 days in advance without penalty. Walt Disney World is strongly recommending travel insurance at $82.50 per person that will cover a variety of cancellation rationales. Similar to the DVC rules, if you cancel your trip between 31 and 89 days out, you lose half of the full amount you paid. If you cancel inside 30 days, you lose the full amount.
Ultimately, it’s nice that Walt Disney World is giving Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, etc., the chance at pre-sale bookings of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, even if there are some catches and a bit of hassle involved. With that said, this strikes us as mutually beneficial. Disney undoubtedly wants to fill up earlier “voyages” with more knowledgeable guests who have a better idea of what to expect, and will thus share positive word of mouth and so forth. By contrast, casual guests might be confused about it all (no windows or pool?!), even with all the warnings and educational materials in the galaxy.
Despite the high pricing and DVC point charts, we generally agree with Walt Disney World’s “warning” that popular departure dates will sell out quickly. More than anything else, it’s a matter of scarcity. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser has very few rooms, each of which is booked in 2-night increments, and there are a lot of hardcore Star Wars and/or Walt Disney World fans who are eager to do this. There’s every reason to believe the first few months would book up quickly regardless of the cost. What’ll be more interesting to see is how strong bookings remain after the first year or so, once Galactic Starcruiser has cycled through most hardcore fans. But, that’s a topic we’ve already discussed at length in our Guide to Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Resort. Pretty much everything else you might want to know is there.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Resort? Would you rather do 2-nights here, or two months at the BoardWalk Villas? Will you be booking this with DVC points, cash, or not ata all? Would you prefer a more conventional hotel stay at a Star Wars-themed or decorated hotel? Do you agree or disagree with our advice and assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I used my Disney Visa Cardmembers booking window to reserve Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser this morning. I called at 7:00 am Eastern and was on hold for over 4 hours. I completed my reservation at 11:40 am Eastern. It was a silent hold until the booking agent got on the phone.
I finally found this on the Disney website: “Disney Visa Cardmembers can call (407) 939-5271 to reserve their Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser adventure from October 12, 2021 to October 16, 2021.”
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/faq/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser/booking-start/
I’ve tried calling several times this morning but it’s so busy they won’t add me to the queue.
Copying Cindy here – Do you have any special numbers for Disney Visa card holders ?
(You mention that Disney Visa Cardholders can book starting on October 12. The Disney “planning page” doesn’t list this availability. Do you have any information about how Disney cardholders will be able to make a reservation?)
You mention that Disney Visa Cardholders can book starting on October 12. The Disney “planning page” doesn’t list this availability. Do you have any information about how Disney cardholders will be able to make a reservation?
Just as an FYI, I was able to book a child on points and for 3/29 it was 60 points. I could then pay for everyone else with cash. Much better than the 321 for an adult!
Not a pass holder or DVC but am eagerly awaiting general booking. We bounded in Batuu on our last trip and it was the best day of a great trip. We’ll be back, hilts in hand.
Is there any information on how far in advance you can book when general public booking opens please? I really don’t want to spend hours on hold then discover I can’t book for next October anyway!
I called at 7:00 and was on hold for two hours before I spoke to someone who verified I was a passholder and transferred me to the booking queue where I was on hold for another three hours. At exactly 12:09 I was disconnected! Five hours on hold and I was never able to book a room.
If anyone is still trying to book, I want to note that as of 4pm EST, a message at the start of the call told you to hang up because they can’t book you right now. DON’T HANG UP. When I got through to an agent (after 30 min, wait times I suspect much lower due to that message), they said the queue to book was open again, put me in it, and after another 75 minutes, I got to book for April 6-8. It definitely sounded like March dates were still available too.
When do you think they might open up bookings beyond September? Is that just for the early booking windows and the general booking will be open to more dates? Our travel schedule is already full for 2022 (including our first ever cruise on the Wish!!!), but I’m hoping to get to the Starcruiser in the first half of 2023, hopefully before there’s too much of a price hike.
So I was successful in booking today for end of March. Wife and I are both AP and neither of us received an email or code. I ended up calling the AP support number just after 7, on hold for about 45 minutes at which point I was ‘screened’ to confirm I had AP. Then transferred to the reservation team and waited on hold for 4 hours. The booking took about 25 minutes and included booking meal times, Captains table for one of the dinners.
I got up every half hour last night to try the phone lines at the recommendation of a cast member. The ‘proper’ phone line claimed to be a disconnected number up until 615am. Once in queue right at 7am, I waited an hour to speak to an agent who confirmed I was an AP. (I never received an email, nor was I asked for a pin…but apparently APers who did receive a pin could opt out of the queue at this point and receive a call back.) After I was confirmed, I was placed into a second queue–the actual booking queue. I waited in that queue for four hours in complete, unnerving silence.
What I heard reported was that the call volume crashed the lines repeatedly. Given my long wait and the fact that at the end of it I was still able to book a trip on the maiden voyage, I believe that. There were also statements all over the Starcruiser website that call volume was high.
I am so glad to have gotten into this experience but my trip of 3 persons was about 6000$. Still worth it, but I don’t know who even has that many dvc points available to get it on the dvc side. They were all out of suites and Captains tables when I got in though. I expect it will also be madness on the 28th…but what I learned was that calling regular hotel reservations was faster to get into the booking queue. My friend called in at 8am and was in the booking queue by 830, wheras I called in at 7am and was in the booking queue at 8am. Hope that is helpful to anyone wanting to try…
We’ve been calling DVC all day and can’t get through.
Is ANYONE getting through?
Wow. This is like First Class airline points ticket from New York to Washington DC levels of bad value.
I think this ties back to the problem you have covered thoroughly, which is the “dvc point pool” problem. Being a DVC member, I saw the requirement of needing to use DVC points to book this experience as great news, as it will help flush more points out of the “system” which are hanging out there (which IMO has also made getting DVC room reservations more difficult!). And at 350 points per person, that’s quite the flush! 🙂
Here’s hoping!
Is this expensive? Yes. Am I currently brainstorming ways to save up enough to be able to do this during the first year before it gets diluted? Absolutely! I think this sounds AWESOME and want it to stay the experience it is intended to be and not just be a very expensive themed room. Hopefully the phone agents plus the high price point will weed out the people who aren’t prepared to commit to a full role-playing experience.
Oh, I totally agree in general.
The commentary here revolves entirely around the DVC point charts for it.
As AP’s, we received a PIN code this morning. We booked a standard cabin for 2 for an early April weekend. The cost was considerably higher than their sample off season weekday rate.
I called at exactly 7am. Recording said 2+ hour wait; actual wait time was close to 6 hours. Booking is a slow process; spent over 25 minutes on the phone with the agent because of options and adjoining resort hotel reservations.
We’re not die hard Star Wars fans; but we felt this was worth a one time experience. Basically its twice the cost of 2 nights at a Deluxe Resort Hotel plus signature dining at night and table service at lunch and breakfast.
Thanks for sharing your experience–that’s a long hold and call time, but at least you got through. Hope you have a blast! 🙂
Smokers are just going to love 3 days and 2 nights aboard the Galactic Starcruiser. I have not seen the lack of a smoking option mentioned anywhere.
Going solely off of likely demographics, there’s probably minimal overlap between smokers and prospective Galactic Starcruiser guests.
Well, the 2 months at Boardwalk doesn’t include food and this does. So instead perhaps I’ll do just a single month with an AKL savannah view studio and still have money to eat at Mara/Boma/Jikp/Saana. 🙂
Fair enough! One month at AKL and nightly meals at Boma afterwards. You could also do just over a month at AKL Kilimanjaro Club. 🙂
Interesting that one person costs the same as two people. Apparently the value of food consumed and entertainment is negligible compared to the price of the room. I suppose they would expect that one solo passenger will interact with the CM more than a couple though (since the couple will presumably entertain each other some) so the level of entertainment expense to one vs a couple may be a wash.
My guess is that they want to discourage solo travelers (otherwise probably a big demo for this) given the limited number of rooms. The cost of adding 3/4 guests isn’t nearly as bad.