• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Aruba Summer 2018

wyannuzzi

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2007
Messages
75
Reaction score
18
Points
368
Location
Shavertown PA
Resorts Owned
Marriott Cypress Harbour ;

Marriott Grande Vista 3 bedroom EOY
Hi all

I have an OGS using a 2 bedroom Grand Vista looking for a 2 bedroom Surf or Ocean Club for any time between June 21st - July 31st 2018. All I currently see are a few 1 bedrooms available for that time period. I know it is still early, but do you think my chances of getting the 2 bedroom are good?
 

hangloose

Guest
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
1,275
Reaction score
495
Points
243
Location
NC
Resorts Owned
Marriott's Grande Vista (x2)
Marriott's Maui Ocean Club
Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club
Marriott's Ocean Pointe
Aruba is a great place to visit in June/July. The weather is warm and it is outside the hurricane belt (unlike many other Caribbean islands).

Assuming you reserved using a high demand Grande Vista 2BR week to exchange, I think your odds are very good. Plus, you have plenty of time until next summer to wait for an II match. Just be patient, I think it will come through without having to wait too long.
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
47,375
Reaction score
18,936
Points
1,299
Location
NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
Should be a fairly easy exchange, it may just take a little time to come through.
 

wyannuzzi

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2007
Messages
75
Reaction score
18
Points
368
Location
Shavertown PA
Resorts Owned
Marriott Cypress Harbour ;

Marriott Grande Vista 3 bedroom EOY
Thanks Hangloose and Dioxide for the replies. It is a Thanksgiving 2017 week I am exchanging. I'll give it until January to exchange, if it doesn't I may grab a 1 bedroom if available.
 

hangloose

Guest
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
1,275
Reaction score
495
Points
243
Location
NC
Resorts Owned
Marriott's Grande Vista (x2)
Marriott's Maui Ocean Club
Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club
Marriott's Ocean Pointe
Good plan. You can always grab a 1BR in Jan (or later), then purchase ePlus to trade up to a 2BR if available at a later date.

Assuming you own MGV Gold Season, you might increase your chance if you booked/exchanged a higher May week vs Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving shows an II TDI of 105, where as May shows an II TDI of 125. While I expect you'll be fine with either, a higher TDI is always better when exchanging (as is requesting earlier). This assumes you wouldn't use the Thanksgiving week as a backup in case your exchange doesn't come through.
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
47,375
Reaction score
18,936
Points
1,299
Location
NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
Good plan. You can always grab a 1BR in Jan (or later), then purchase ePlus to trade up to a 2BR if available at a later date.

Assuming you own MGV Gold Season, you might increase your chance if you booked/exchanged a higher May week vs Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving shows an II TDI of 105, where as May shows an II TDI of 125. While I expect you'll be fine with either, a higher TDI is always better when exchanging (as is requesting earlier). This assumes you wouldn't use the Thanksgiving week as a backup in case your exchange doesn't come through.
I think the OP is using a 2017 (or prior year) week for the trade since you can't book 2018 Thanksgiving yet, so switching to May is no longer possible unless they use their 2018 ownership.
 

dioxide45

TUG Review Crew: Expert
TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2006
Messages
47,375
Reaction score
18,936
Points
1,299
Location
NE Florida
Resorts Owned
Marriott Grande Vista
Marriott Harbour Lake
Sheraton Vistana Villages
Club Wyndham CWA
Thanks Hangloose and Dioxide for the replies. It is a Thanksgiving 2017 week I am exchanging. I'll give it until January to exchange, if it doesn't I may grab a 1 bedroom if available.
If your week is enrolled, you can always watch out for a retrade later. There are some sightings in the Sightings forum for Aruba where some summer weeks popped up, but it wasn't until April or May. You may see them show up a little earlier, but I am not sure there are any reported as early as January.
 

hangloose

Guest
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
1,275
Reaction score
495
Points
243
Location
NC
Resorts Owned
Marriott's Grande Vista (x2)
Marriott's Maui Ocean Club
Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club
Marriott's Ocean Pointe
I think the OP is using a 2017 (or prior year) week for the trade since you can't book 2018 Thanksgiving yet, so switching to May is no longer possible unless they use their 2018 ownership.

Yep. My bad. In this case, Thanksgiving 2017 week is good. No other Gold weeks higher outside of May.

If your week is enrolled, you can always watch out for a retrade later. There are some sightings in the Sightings forum for Aruba where some summer weeks popped up, but it wasn't until April or May. You may see them show up a little earlier, but I am not sure there are any reported as early as January.

This has been my experience as well. Up to the OP, but best bet may be to wait a bit past January for OGS of a 2BR. Retrade or ePlus (non-enrolled) are almost always the 'leftovers' after no other OGS matches are on the wait list.

Good luck.
 

wyannuzzi

TUG Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2007
Messages
75
Reaction score
18
Points
368
Location
Shavertown PA
Resorts Owned
Marriott Cypress Harbour ;

Marriott Grande Vista 3 bedroom EOY
My weeks are not enrolled, both owner units are resale and the Grand Vista one is recent so cannot be enrolled. It is a 2017 Thanksgiving week I am using for this trade. Thanks again for all the input, very much appreciated.
 

jont

TUG Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
1,724
Reaction score
473
Points
294
Location
The Garden State
Resorts Owned
Enrolled in Marriott DC/
MOW /MGC /MCV/MGO / Trust Points
It should be fairly easy to get. I am currently here now. i traded a Jan. 2016 NJ Fairway Villas week. It came thru in about 6 months. I was also able to add a few extra days using points.
 

elleny76

newbie
Joined
Sep 23, 2014
Messages
641
Reaction score
30
Points
88
Location
NYC
looking for spring break (march 2018) in Aruba. I have an OGS since march and nothing so far. I have a 2 bed_florida and looking even for a studio in Aruba and nothing yet.
 

AlmostRetired

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
1,319
Reaction score
525
Points
474
Location
Long Island, NY
Resorts Owned
Grande Ocean Platinum, 2 x Grand Chateau 3 Bedroom (annual, EOY Odd)
You should have no challenges. I got a two bedroom at the Surf 8/21/17 using a 1 bedroom lock-off at the Grand Chateau. I did this in early March and it was confirmed within a week.
 

Trudyt623

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
313
Reaction score
40
Points
238
Location
Long island, NY
Resorts Owned
DVC-Animal Kingdom, Marriott Grande Vista, Marriott Aruba Surf Club
It will definitely come through. I just traded a 2 bedroom Grande Vista and got a 2 bedroom in Aruba 7/1-7/8. It was fantastic. I would grab the 1 bedroom and purchase the Etrade.
 

Malstott45

newbie
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
You should have no challenges. I got a two bedroom at the Surf 8/21/17 using a 1 bedroom lock-off at the Grand Chateau. I did this in early March and it was confirmed within a week.
That is awesome! I am strongly considering buying a 2-bdrm LO at the Grand Chateau resale and was wondering what kind of trading power it might have if I used the LO annually and exchanged the 1-bdrm to attempt to get a 2-bdrm at a place like Surf or Ocean Club. Is this something you have done for quite some time with pretty good success? I'd love to hear about other exchanges you have done in the past with your Grand Chateau TS if you don't mind!

Thanks again for sharing!
 

bazzap

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
4,423
Reaction score
1,240
Points
399
Location
Cirencester UK
That is awesome! I am strongly considering buying a 2-bdrm LO at the Grand Chateau resale and was wondering what kind of trading power it might have if I used the LO annually and exchanged the 1-bdrm to attempt to get a 2-bdrm at a place like Surf or Ocean Club. Is this something you have done for quite some time with pretty good success? I'd love to hear about other exchanges you have done in the past with your Grand Chateau TS if you don't mind!

Thanks again for sharing!
I have owned an EOY 2 Bed Lock Off at Grand Chateau for almost 10 years.
I bought it as a trader and I have yet to stay there.
I lock it off every year and I have exchanged both the Master and Guest suites for 2 and even 3 Bed units in St Kitts, St Thomas, European MVC resorts and Phuket.
Exchanges have been coming through later in recent years and we do have to pay the Interval upgrade fees now, but they are still coming through and great value for the extra week we get.
 

Malstott45

newbie
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I have owned an EOY 2 Bed Lock Off at Grand Chateau for almost 10 years.
I bought it as a trader and I have yet to stay there.
I lock it off every year and I have exchanged both the Master and Guest suites for 2 and even 3 Bed units in St Kitts, St Thomas, European MVC resorts and Phuket.
Exchanges have been coming through later in recent years and we do have to pay the Interval upgrade fees now, but they are still coming through and great value for the extra week we get.
Thank you so much for your reply. As a newbie to timesharing and never having owned one to exchange can you give me an idea of how it works with II when you exchange the the the lockoff into 2 different units?

Not knowing how it works, I'm curious how I could take the guest suite and get a 2bdrm or larger at another location like St. Kitts! That would be amazing. Did you specifically look request that type of exchange and have to wait for II to fulfill it or is it something you can look for everyday on their website and grab yourself when available? Sorry for the newbie questions.
 

bazzap

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
4,423
Reaction score
1,240
Points
399
Location
Cirencester UK
Thank you so much for your reply. As a newbie to timesharing and never having owned one to exchange can you give me an idea of how it works with II when you exchange the the the lockoff into 2 different units?

Not knowing how it works, I'm curious how I could take the guest suite and get a 2bdrm or larger at another location like St. Kitts! That would be amazing. Did you specifically look request that type of exchange and have to wait for II to fulfill it or is it something you can look for everyday on their website and grab yourself when available? Sorry for the newbie questions.
Grand Chateau is a little different to most MVC resorts, as all weeks are Platinum season apart from New Year's Day week.
I book my chosen home week(s) online, selecting week(s) when there may be a major event on in Las Vegas or some other high demand time. Although to be honest, I don't find the timing at this resort makes a huge difference as it does at some.
The owner website offers the option to book the whole unit or the Master and Guest suites separately.
You can also do this by phone.

When it comes to requesting the exchange with Interval, I know other owners may do it differently, but
I always Request First exchange with an ongoing search by telephone to our European Interval call centre - and I do this very early when there is unlikely to be availability already showing.
I only ever request exchanges to other MVC resorts and only ever to resorts with minimum 2 Bed units.
This would apply to St Kitts where I also own.

I am sure you would find the Owner webinars very helpful to get a better understanding of how this all works
https://vacationclub.readytalk.com/?p=ev
Good luck.
 

Malstott45

newbie
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thank you so much for your wisdom. The information is so valuable! I too would only want to stay at other MVC's. From what I read in other posts it sounds like as an MVC owner she potentially get priority exchange rights for like 22 days or something, right?
 

bazzap

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
4,423
Reaction score
1,240
Points
399
Location
Cirencester UK
Thank you so much for your wisdom. The information is so valuable! I too would only want to stay at other MVC's. From what I read in other posts it sounds like as an MVC owner she potentially get priority exchange rights for like 22 days or something, right?
It certainly used to be "24 day priority over other non-Marriott II members"
I haven't seen or checked this lately, perhaps someone else can confirm please?
 

ml855

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
832
Reaction score
47
Points
388
Location
Sykesville, Maryland
I received my exchange into Aruba ocean club 2bedroom last October (2016). we're here right now and having a great time. I used my 1 bedroom Marriott manor club for the exchange. You should get your exchange.
 

enma

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
544
Reaction score
84
Points
388
I own at Aruba surf club gold season and platinum at Grande Vista. Grande Vista week ALWAYS gets summer week at Aruba Surf Club. We take extended family to Aruba with us so we need extra units and it has never been a problem the past 10 yrs. You will get your exchange, just be patient.
 

AlmostRetired

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
1,319
Reaction score
525
Points
474
Location
Long Island, NY
Resorts Owned
Grande Ocean Platinum, 2 x Grand Chateau 3 Bedroom (annual, EOY Odd)
This year I got a 2 BR at the Surf with a 1 BR from the Grand Chateau. I did the request in Feb of 2017. The first confirmation was for the 4th of July week but family schedules required a retrade to Aug 21st. Just got back this week. I think your chances are very good assuming your unit is in a good season.
 

Malstott45

newbie
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
That's fantastic.... congrats on an awesome trade! Being that Grand Chateau is considered platinum season all year are there certain weeks you try to book every year that seem to be great for trade? I took a look at the TDI, but was curious from your direct experience. Thanks again!!
 

bazzap

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
4,423
Reaction score
1,240
Points
399
Location
Cirencester UK
I check out when major trade shows, events... are on in Vegas and aim to book those dates, but to be honest I am not sure as this has made any real difference as we have always traded our weeks here OK.
 
Top