Total Noob looking for TS in Cozumel

[jac8724]

I'm new to the whole TS thing. I started reading a book on Used Timeshares by Lee Lacy on my Kindle and read posts from this blog the first half of the day. I still feel a little lost. If I can get pointed in the right direction as to what type of TS I should focus on that would be greatly appreciated

We have a family of 4, of which 2 of us are avid scuba divers and fell in love with the waters of Cozumel during our last two cruises. We're interested in the time share because we'd like to get down there to dive on a regular basis (once a year or so) for less than the cost of doing the traditional resort for a family of 4.

-When shopping for timeshares, both on Ebay and on this board, I don't really see many for Cozumel...why? Maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

-This whole points business, would that be advantageous for us? We're not super interested in all the trades/exchanges/trying to get into Disney, we just want to go diving in Cozumel. I guess it would be nice to have the option. What are the advantages to Points over Weeks, is it more economical? RCI seems to have great deals if your flexible, and we are.

-Do you have to have a TS first, then sign up/exchange it for points? I couldn't find anywhere on RCI's website how much it costs to "get in." Only how much all the various fee's were.

Any advice as to where to focus would make this feel less daunting, and would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[DaveNV]

Welcome to Tug. You're in the right place to begin your timeshare education. Have a seat and read everything you can find. Continue to ask questions -- there are lots of folks here who have years of experience in the whole area.

The single most important thing to learn first: DO NOT BUY ANY TIMESHARE UNTIL YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO. You can't learn that lesson quickly enough.

It is much easier to get into a timeshare than get out of one. You'll thank yourself time and again if you don't succumb to sales pressure or impatience, and you end up with something you may regret later on. Some areas of the world are especially hard to sell, and timeshares in Mexico are among that group.

My strongest advice for you right now would be to explore renting a timeshare from a current owner, and decide if the experience is one you'd enjoy. You can usually rent for much less than the cost of ownership, yet still enjoy the kind of vacation you might have as an owner. The Tug Marketplace has many ads for timeshares for rent, and prices are usually pretty reasonable. Shop around, and make sure the person or company renting it are legit, and that you're getting a good unit for a good price. It would pay you back to spend the $15 to join Tug so you can read the Reviews section, getting firsthand reports on vacationer experience with the various resorts.

After you've rented a few times in different areas, and educated yourself more in the process, you can make an informed decision about whether you want to buy. It may turn out that continuing to rent would be to your advantage. One reason you want to wait before purchasing anything You and your family right now are thinking this is what you'd want to own. But what if your plans or needs change? Trading isn't what it used to be, and can be difficult. The costs of ownership are ongoing, and are usually increasing every year. You aren't building any sort of equity by owning, so there is no financial advantage to owning until/unless you decide to sell. And then you may find out you may have trouble finding someone to take your ownership off your hands.

Timesharing is a great way to vacation, but you need to be an educated consumer. It's not for everyone. You won't know till you try. And renting is a great way to try different resorts or locations, with little risk to your wallet, as you learn more about what you want or don't want from the experience.

Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[presley]

I just looked on Reweek.com and saw several Timeshare rentals for that area. The cost of the rent is likely less than the cost of the annual dues.

If you are set on buying, check to see if any of the points systems have a resort there like Wyndham, Marriott, etc. If they do, you just need to buy points within that system and you can book Cozumel or anywhere else that they have a resort. No need for RCI membership that way.

 

[jac8724]

Ok, so rent first! I figured going down and staying somewhere before considering buying in would be the way to go, to make sure you like it first. But maybe renting would be better in the long run. I guess I'll rent a time or two then see how I feel about it from there. Thanks!

I checked out Redweek, and the Marketplace here, Cozumel is still few and far between! They're out there, just a small % compared to Cancun, Cabo, etc. Still seems strange to me

 

[Passepartout]

If you are dead set on Cozumel, nothing else is gonna make you happy. I don't know what's there, other than it's a popular cruise ship stop and has reportedly excellent diving. And it's on the right side of Mexico. And to me that means Right To Use resorts and All Inclusives. Looking at the TUG databases, there appears to be 9 TS resorts there. I only recognize one name, and few are rated higher than 8 on a 1-to-10 scale. Here's the list:
1)RHC/Park Royal Cozumel (6335) Mexico,Quintana Roo,Cozumel 9.38

2)Occidental Allegro Cozumel (3603)Mexico,Quintana Roo,Cozumel8.27 (11)

3)Melia Vacation Club at Melia Cozumel (2115)Mexico,Quintana Roo, Cozumel 8.13 (19)

4)Cozumel Palace (1845)Mexico,Quintana Roo,CozumelRCI Points7.98 (23)

5)Coral Princess Club (2451)Mexico,Quintana Roo, Cozumel7.80 (15)3 days

6)El Cid La Ceiba Cozumel (6701)Mexico,Quintana Roo,Cozumel 7.55 (11)

7)Reef Club Cozumel (5469)Mexico,Quintana Roo,Cozumel7.17 (12)

8)Club Villablanca (5775)Mexico,Quintana Roo,Cozumel

9)Occidental Grand Cozumel (6247)Mexico,Quintana Roo,Cozumel

You are not going to find too many of these as resales. There just aren't many of them. El Cid, (#6) is the one I recognize and part of a mini system. You might consider buying into this system and exchanging to the Cozumel location. The others, I have no knowledge of.

Good luck. Hope you find your pearl inside the oyster. And by the way, ALL timeshares are 'used'. Even buying one from a developer for 10x the cost of resale is 'used' the day after it opens, so don't get all hung up on ' new' vs 'used.' Someone slept in the bed the night before you get there, and someone else will sleep in it the night after you leave.

Jim Ricks

 

[stmartinfan]

If you do rent and visit a time share, be sure you don't get suckered into buying from the resort! Many Mexican timeshares are known for their high pressure tactics - both getting people to attend an "info session" and then putting the screws on about buying. It's often tempting to sign up to get the prize for attending, but know they will try hold you captive until you buy! All those "resales" come from people who believed the lies of Mexican timeshare sales people (and there are some whoppers told) and bought at full price.

Just wanted to add this warning. It's a great idea to rent; just wasn't sure if you'd read about peoples' experience with the sales sharks.

 

[Passepartout]

If you do rent and visit a time share, be sure you don't get suckered into buying from the resort! Many Mexican timeshares are known for their high pressure tactics - both getting people to attend an "info session" and then putting the screws on about buying. It's often tempting to sign up to get the prize for attending, but know they will try hold you captive until you buy! All those "resales" come from people who believed the lies of Mexican timeshare sales people (and there are some whoppers told) and bought at full price.

Just wanted to add this warning. It's a great idea to rent; just wasn't sure if you'd read about peoples' experience with the sales sharks.

+1 for this advice. Go to the Mexico Forum here in TUG, and be sure to read through the stickies about knowing your rights to rescind and a few of the horror stories from/about some of the people who were hornswoggled into buying though they went there with no such intention.

I also applaud your reasoning to rent a few times before buying. Often you can rent for lower cost than the Maintenance Fees owners face annually.

Best.... Jim

 

[ronparise]

El Cid is a Wyndham affiliate. El Cid La Ceiba, Beach Hotel is in Cozumel and you can use your Wyndham points there.

I just checked and except for Christmas it looks like you could get a week there any week between now and the end of the year. a week in a 1 bedroom is 126000 points (studios 90000 and hotel rooms 70000)

also there is a sale of el cid points (not wyndham points) on ebay right now

 

[DaveNV]

Ok, so rent first! I figured going down and staying somewhere before considering buying in would be the way to go, to make sure you like it first. But maybe renting would be better in the long run. I guess I'll rent a time or two then see how I feel about it from there. Thanks!

I checked out Redweek, and the Marketplace here, Cozumel is still few and far between! They're out there, just a small % compared to Cancun, Cabo, etc. Still seems strange to me

I think the main reason there are fewer timeshares on Cozumel is because hotels can make more money, by charging more per night in smaller rooms. Timeshare units tend to be more like apartments, with multiple bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens, so there is probably less money earned per unit per year. As was posted above, there are several Cozumel timeshares, any one of which is likely to be very nice. You'd be likely to have a good time at any of them, if your reasons for going to that area is the diving. Before committing to any of them, I think you need some serious vacation time at each of them.

My reason for recommending renting (at least at first) is because you can get the full bang for the buck without any commitment. When your vacation is over, you walk away with great memories and no financial burden. The next time you want to vacation, you can decde where you want to go diving next. In a place like the Yucatan, there is much more supply than demand, (at least on the Mainland), so you'd be likely to find a vacation bargain any time you wanted to go. And no commitment when you don't want to go.

I own Weeks, not Points, because I like to vacation in very specific places. I vacation where I own with my Hawaii timeshares. A roundtrip airfare to Hawaii gets me a two week vacation in places I really enjoy going. I either stay at or exchange the third timeshare, which is a "mini system" that has units in a number of resorts. It works well for me, at least for now.

Dave

 

[jac8724]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Just a few more questions...

How does one get started with RCI? Their website isnt very helpful. I see where you can buy RCI points on ebay for .11 cents per point, but you must have an account to begin with. Does it cost a ton of money up front?

My dad works with someone who has timeshare points with the Coral Princess Club on Cozumel. He said he can stay as long as he wants and it's the same yearly fee...? That confuses me. Sound fishy to anyone else? Maybe a communication error.

Thanks!

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Just a few more questions...

How does one get started with RCI? Their website isnt very helpful. I see where you can buy RCI points on ebay for .11 cents per point, but you must have an account to begin with. Does it cost a ton of money up front?

My dad works with someone who has timeshare points with the Coral Princess Club on Cozumel. He said he can stay as long as he wants and it's the same yearly fee...? That confuses me. Sound fishy to anyone else? Maybe a communication error.

Thanks!

As far as I know, you can't join RCI until you own a timeshare. Some resellers will include an RCI membership in the purchase price, and your maintenance fees will include that "free" membership. (I always figured they'd just roll it into the MF bill, rather than you having to pay a separate fee directly to RCI.)

As to the Cozumel t/s your Dad's coworker has, it sounds like a communication thing. Your timeshare ownership, whether weeks or points, is for a certain amount of shared time for a specific period. If you use up your own time, and stayed longer, you'd be using up someone else's time. What I think he probably meant was he can go at any time of year he wants, and the MF's are the same. That's what is called Floating, meaning the reservation can be made at any time of year. The alternative is Fixed, where you go the same period of time every year.

Some resorts do allow owners free day use at their resorts, or they can purchase Bonus Time, to get extra days to stay at a reduced cost. That kind of thing is usually based on availability.

Dave

 

[PamMo]

Best advice you were given was to rent for awhile. Getting into a Mexican resort is usually an easy rental or a trade, so don't feel rushed to buy now. Especially since you are avid divers. Cozumel is a beautiful dive spot, but I will bet that after a couple of trips to Cozumel, you will be wanting to expand your dive experiences to the Caymans, Honduras, the ABC's, etc.

 

[advocatemom]

We have been to Cozumel 8 times to dive in the last decade and we always get a good deal at an all-inclusive resort near the reefs (Iberostar, Allegro & Occidental Grand). We are going again next week & staying at the Iberostar

Once we get there we never want to bother with the timeshare salesguys and last year they were pretty bothersome at the Grand. The Grand has great rooms for just regular vacationers and I don't think we'd buy anything there since we can usually get a good package that includes all meals and drinks. I think you'd be charged extra for the all-inclusive if you are in the timeshare part.

It's a great island to visit and the diving is great!