flexible
TUG Member
We have enjoyed many wonderful cruises using our http://ElCidVacationsClub.com contract with El Cid’s cruise fulfillment provider which uses many company names & websites including:
http://www.iceenterprise.com/
http://www.icegallery.com/
http://ourvacationcenter.com/
http://www.myplatinumrewards.com
http://carnivalvacationclub.com
They also book all RCI Cruise reservations.
SFX appears to be one of their subsidiaries too.
Our El Cid contract for 3.8M annual points includes 4 AI (all inclusive food & beverages) at no additional cost whenever one of us is a registered guest. Reservations are handled by http://RCI.Latam.com in Mexico City. We can use our points for many Wyndham resorts with no exchange fee. We can bank them for RCI as 3.8M ECVC = 3.8M RCI annual points. Please do no consider this as an endorsement of the program. We paid US $356,901.00 for our ECVC contract which expires in 2029 when my husband is 103 & I am 73. Our annual MF is currently US $7564. I use "US $" because some El Cid employees who saw our contract assumed the numbers MUST be in pesos. "How could my husband have been so stupid or craxy to make such a risky investment?" is their attitude.
There are days when I would love to cancel the contract and walk away from the grief of making cruise reservations. But overall it has provided wonderful experiences traveling the world.
http://RCI.Latam.com recently said we are limited to 700,000 points per transaction with RCI Points Partners per year. I thought RCI allowed members to use 1/3 of their annual contract for point partner transactions. Since we need to burn up so many points we are desperately trying to figure out our options.
My husband purchased many timeshares beginning in the 1980s. He paid separate membership fees with ICE/OVC affiliates with Velas Resorts, Pueblo Bonito, Polo Towers contracts etc. Polo Towers sent us a letter on June 11, 2010 letter stating "The Board recently completed a review and learned that over the past 18 months, only 74 out of approximately 18,500 potential Polo Towers members took advantage of the relationship with ICE. The Board has decided to cancel the contract with ICE as it does not justify the annual cost of $100,000 Polo Towers is required to pay ICE."
I have NEVER found any of those ICE/OVC memberships or RCI Cruise (or II cruise program) to provide a fair value. But since we could use unlimited ECVC points to FULLY pay for some great cruises, we were happy to book them.
I have been exchanging emails with executives at both OVC & El Cid regarding their programs. ICE/OVC/ECVC is starting to modify their contract. I would be very grateful for feedback from other tuggers who have booked or tried to book cruises or land tours with any of their companies.
Has ICE/OVC honored their ADVERTISED redemption rate associated with your timeshare/cruise program? If you have booked with them, have you had to pay a substantial amount of cash for your cruise/land tour in addition to giving them your timeshare week or points? Or are you able to book cruises with NO cash outlay except perhaps port fees, taxes and gratuities.
ICE/OVC uses Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_(computer_system). It would be very helpful to learn about your experiences especially when booking Non GDS Cruise lines with their company. ICE/OVC agents need to call Non GDS cruise lines to verify prices when booking (Their agents can book companies like Princess, RCCL etc on their Sabre GDS system without verifying prices.
Non GDS cruise lines include:
Amadeus Waterways - http://www.amawaterways.com
Globus
http://www.Hurtigruten.us
Majestic American Cruise Line - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.OceaniaCruises.com
Regent Seven Seas http://www.rssc.com
Silver Sea Cruises - does someone know their official website URL?
Uniworld - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.VikingRiverCruises.com/
http://www.WindstarCruises.com/
Thank you in advance for any information or feedback. If you do not feel comfortable sharing feedback publicly please send me a email or TUG PM.
http://www.iceenterprise.com/
http://www.icegallery.com/
http://ourvacationcenter.com/
http://www.myplatinumrewards.com
http://carnivalvacationclub.com
They also book all RCI Cruise reservations.
SFX appears to be one of their subsidiaries too.
Our El Cid contract for 3.8M annual points includes 4 AI (all inclusive food & beverages) at no additional cost whenever one of us is a registered guest. Reservations are handled by http://RCI.Latam.com in Mexico City. We can use our points for many Wyndham resorts with no exchange fee. We can bank them for RCI as 3.8M ECVC = 3.8M RCI annual points. Please do no consider this as an endorsement of the program. We paid US $356,901.00 for our ECVC contract which expires in 2029 when my husband is 103 & I am 73. Our annual MF is currently US $7564. I use "US $" because some El Cid employees who saw our contract assumed the numbers MUST be in pesos. "How could my husband have been so stupid or craxy to make such a risky investment?" is their attitude.
There are days when I would love to cancel the contract and walk away from the grief of making cruise reservations. But overall it has provided wonderful experiences traveling the world.
http://RCI.Latam.com recently said we are limited to 700,000 points per transaction with RCI Points Partners per year. I thought RCI allowed members to use 1/3 of their annual contract for point partner transactions. Since we need to burn up so many points we are desperately trying to figure out our options.
My husband purchased many timeshares beginning in the 1980s. He paid separate membership fees with ICE/OVC affiliates with Velas Resorts, Pueblo Bonito, Polo Towers contracts etc. Polo Towers sent us a letter on June 11, 2010 letter stating "The Board recently completed a review and learned that over the past 18 months, only 74 out of approximately 18,500 potential Polo Towers members took advantage of the relationship with ICE. The Board has decided to cancel the contract with ICE as it does not justify the annual cost of $100,000 Polo Towers is required to pay ICE."
I have NEVER found any of those ICE/OVC memberships or RCI Cruise (or II cruise program) to provide a fair value. But since we could use unlimited ECVC points to FULLY pay for some great cruises, we were happy to book them.
I have been exchanging emails with executives at both OVC & El Cid regarding their programs. ICE/OVC/ECVC is starting to modify their contract. I would be very grateful for feedback from other tuggers who have booked or tried to book cruises or land tours with any of their companies.
Has ICE/OVC honored their ADVERTISED redemption rate associated with your timeshare/cruise program? If you have booked with them, have you had to pay a substantial amount of cash for your cruise/land tour in addition to giving them your timeshare week or points? Or are you able to book cruises with NO cash outlay except perhaps port fees, taxes and gratuities.
ICE/OVC uses Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_(computer_system). It would be very helpful to learn about your experiences especially when booking Non GDS Cruise lines with their company. ICE/OVC agents need to call Non GDS cruise lines to verify prices when booking (Their agents can book companies like Princess, RCCL etc on their Sabre GDS system without verifying prices.
Non GDS cruise lines include:
Amadeus Waterways - http://www.amawaterways.com
Globus
http://www.Hurtigruten.us
Majestic American Cruise Line - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.OceaniaCruises.com
Regent Seven Seas http://www.rssc.com
Silver Sea Cruises - does someone know their official website URL?
Uniworld - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.VikingRiverCruises.com/
http://www.WindstarCruises.com/
Thank you in advance for any information or feedback. If you do not feel comfortable sharing feedback publicly please send me a email or TUG PM.
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