posted 05-20-2003 21:14            

Upgrading my membership to see if this would be a worthwhile option is a waste of $$ without first having an idea of the savings possibilities. Also, does II pass cruise "specials" pricing on to members who exchange their unit towards a cruise?

There are so many great deals on cruises nowadays; I am just exploring all of my options!

Thanks,

posted 05-21-2003 09:27               

If you check the recent string about Alaska cruises over on the travel board, I took a quick look at RCI cruise exchange prices. It looks like your week will get you $400 to $500 and up as a discount for a 2 person stateroom. Yeah, I know that II isn't RCI, but you were looking for a ball park number, and I would expect that, as competitors, the two companies would have similar pricing.

Besides the pure variability of the value of your week, II/RCI are also acting as travel agents who get about a 15% to 20% commission on a cruise booking.

The lack of info in how your week is valued, the commission thing, no listing of specific prices for a cruise booked thru II, paying extra even to be able to get the information, very good pricing readily available from cruise TA's - just seems like trying to use II to arrange a cruise in exchange for a week offers a lot of opportunities to end up feeling like you could have gotten a better deal.

posted 05-22-2003 05:17               

quote:

---

Originally posted by wizfourfam1:
I am interested in exchanging my week to cruise. When I called II for information, the rep was very helpful with explaining how the process works. However she was unable to give me an idea of what my savings would be. I understand that there are many variables involved with this kind of exchange: cruise chosen, type of cabin desired, time of year and value of my unit (Westgate Lakes 3br wk 20). Really all I was looking for was just a ball park figure/examples of typical savings!

Upgrading my membership to see if this would be a worthwhile option is a waste of $$ without first having an idea of the savings possibilities. Also, does II pass cruise "specials" pricing on to members who exchange their unit towards a cruise?

There are so many great deals on cruises nowadays; I am just exploring all of my options!

Thanks,

Debbie

---

posted 05-22-2003 05:18               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Art:
Debbie

If you check the recent string about Alaska cruises over on the travel board, I took a quick look at RCI cruise exchange prices. It looks like your week will get you $400 to $500 and up as a discount for a 2 person stateroom. Yeah, I know that II isn't RCI, but you were looking for a ball park number, and I would expect that, as competitors, the two companies would have similar pricing.

Besides the pure variability of the value of your week, II/RCI are also acting as travel agents who get about a 15% to 20% commission on a cruise booking.

The lack of info in how your week is valued, the commission thing, no listing of specific prices for a cruise booked thru II, paying extra even to be able to get the information, very good pricing readily available from cruise TA's - just seems like trying to use II to arrange a cruise in exchange for a week offers a lot of opportunities to end up feeling like you could have gotten a better deal.

Art

---

posted 05-22-2003 14:16            

Thanks for your response.

However, from what I understand, I will have to upgrade my membership, pay the $149.00 cruise exchange fee and then wait for the II representative to get back with me while they "research" the value of my unit, cruise, etc., etc. If I understood her correctly, it can take a couple of days. I would not be able to cancel the membership upgrade at that point.

I am just frustrated that II doesn't give any examples of how this works to general II members to help them make an informed decision to upgrade to the Gold Membership.

Thanks again,

posted 05-22-2003 14:43               

We do provide examples but it may not help with your particular week of ownership. Our model takes into consideration what you buy versus what you trade to determine the supplemental fee. If a company truly wants to give you the maximum value, there is no better way to handle the transaction.

quote:

---

Originally posted by wizfourfam1:
Craig,

Thanks for your response.

However, from what I understand, I will have to upgrade my membership, pay the $149.00 cruise exchange fee and then wait for the II representative to get back with me while they "research" the value of my unit, cruise, etc., etc. If I understood her correctly, it can take a couple of days. I would not be able to cancel the membership upgrade at that point.

I am just frustrated that II doesn't give any examples of how this works to general II members to help them make an informed decision to upgrade to the Gold Membership.

Thanks again,

Debbie

---

------------------
Craig Urbine
Vice President
Member Services
Interval International

posted 05-22-2003 20:53            

II has always given me excellent customer service. They have guided me along every step of the way when using your services, even "bending the rules" because I was a fairly new member and didn't understand deposit procedures. I truly appreciate that. Your membership refund policy is also commendable. I just don't like to think about the grief involved in paying charge bills and waiting for the credits to come in.

I fully expect that any "quote" that I receive for a cruise exchange will give me the maximum value for my $$. The $149.00 exchange fee should cover any expenses incurred by II and travel agency fees to research and book my request. I also realize the value of my Orlando unit is not the same as a Christmas week Maui beachfront! And of course, cruises do vary in price.

Basically, II must have established a minimum and maximum value for timewhares when exchanging them to cruise. The supplemental fee that I pay should be the total cost of the cruise minus the determined value of my timeshare. It seems like a fairly straighforward concept, please correct me if I am wrong.

I was never given a sample/model of a typical cruise exchange. It truly seems like such a trivial piece of information to be withheld from regular members considering an upgrade to Gold.

I am sorry to take up so much of your time on this matter.

Debbie

quote:

---

Originally posted by CraigU:
Your membership can be refunded at any point on a prorated basis. In addition, the exchange fee will be refunded if not confirmed.

We do provide examples but it may not help with your particular week of ownership. Our model takes into consideration what you buy versus what you trade to determine the supplemental fee. If a company truly wants to give you the maximum value, there is no better way to handle the transaction.

---

posted 05-23-2003 04:43               

I don't completely disagree with your statements. We would like to build an internet tool that would allow you get an idea of supplemental fees. This has a variety of challenges including the fact we need to know the exact cruise you want. Every type of cruise has a lot of variables. The sailing date, cabin type, and time of booking affect price. The only way to secure a price is to hold a cabin. Most of this must be completed by the cruise adviser. Additionally, we need to verify your week is current before we book the cruise. In many cases, there is a penalty, under a certain window, where there are cancllation fees. If we book the cruise, and discover your resort won't clear the week, we would have a cruise bookings iwth cancellation fees you might not be able to secure. This would leave us "holding the bag".

I realize they are other companies that publish specific prices and will give these quotes without all the facts. In my opinion, most of these are VERY misleading and have a lot of add on fees that aren't clearly disclosed. I realize it may appear our booking process is cumbersome but it is the most honest way of offering a valid price quote.

On the sample issue, I forgot that it is included in the gold membership kit. You are correct, if you are not gold you haven't received it.

At the end of the day, our system was built so only gold members can get price quotes. Whether this is good or bad it currently is the only option. With our system charge refunds are issued immediately, you will not have to wait around for a refund. I know I haven't provided a different answer than my original but I can only tell you how we have designed the program. Could it have been better? Possibly but then again it may not have given an exact quote.

I sincerely apologize you feel the system is inconvenient!

quote:

---

Originally posted by wizfourfam1:
Craig,

II has always given me excellent customer service. They have guided me along every step of the way when using your services, even "bending the rules" because I was a fairly new member and didn't understand deposit procedures. I truly appreciate that. Your membership refund policy is also commendable. I just don't like to think about the grief involved in paying charge bills and waiting for the credits to come in.

I fully expect that any "quote" that I receive for a cruise exchange will give me the maximum value for my $$. The $149.00 exchange fee should cover any expenses incurred by II and travel agency fees to research and book my request. I also realize the value of my Orlando unit is not the same as a Christmas week Maui beachfront! And of course, cruises do vary in price.

Basically, II must have established a minimum and maximum value for timewhares when exchanging them to cruise. The supplemental fee that I pay should be the total cost of the cruise minus the determined value of my timeshare. It seems like a fairly straighforward concept, please correct me if I am wrong.

I was never given a sample/model of a typical cruise exchange. It truly seems like such a trivial piece of information to be withheld from regular members considering an upgrade to Gold.

I am sorry to take up so much of your time on this matter.

Debbie

---

posted 05-23-2003 17:46               

I've since become certain that a group of 5 will never cruise economically in one cabin... and after 2 bedroom timeshares with 3 TVs, my kids wouldn't survive in a cruise cabin (nor me either).

posted 05-23-2003 21:28            

It would be simpler in the long run to have family members use my timeshare for the maintenance fee and watch for cruise specials.

Timeshare exchanging is just so darn complicated.....

Have a Great Weekend!

posted 05-23-2003 21:31            

The only economical way to cruise is leave the kids home! LOL