HouseBoat in RCI?

ptlohmysoul · Aug 9, 2015

Does anyone know how I can find out if there is a houseboat kind of vacation in the US? I know there is a boat vacation in the British Virgin Islands, but looking for closer to home (east coast area). Secondly, if there is such a thing, does anyone know it's availability through RCI? TIA!

medsed · Aug 9, 2015

We haven't done it but there is Holly Bluff Marina in Florida. Not sure about availability.

Ty1on · Aug 9, 2015

medsed said:
We haven't done it but there is Holly Bluff Marina in Florida. Not sure about availability.

$2,600 for a 51 hour weekend

BevL · Aug 9, 2015

Not sure if there are any in central British Columbia anymore. I owned a houseboat timeshare but they went under - season is too short here and the maintenance costs were prohibitive.

I know that the Fairmont group used to have houseboats but I don't believe they ever made their way into the exchange pool.

Some of our best vacations were houseboating on the Shuswaps, both with our kids and then three adult couples.

ace2000 · Aug 9, 2015

medsed said:
We haven't done it but there is Holly Bluff Marina in Florida. Not sure about availability.

There's another one in Oklahoma called Grand Lakefront (RCI #5184). I'm pretty sure those are the only two in RCI. I'd love to hear more about these myself - I actually had one booked, but had to cancel.

There are some additional fees, so check into that beforehand.

jfbookers · Aug 10, 2015

NW Georgia

I traded for one in Northwest Georgia about 20 years ago but I have not seen it recently. I have seen the boats in OK. I have also taken two canalboat trades in England and will do it again.

MichaelColey · Aug 10, 2015

ace2000 said:
There's another one in Oklahoma called Grand Lakefront (RCI #5184). I'm pretty sure those are the only two in RCI. I'd love to hear more about these myself - I actually had one booked, but had to cancel.

There are some additional fees, so check into that beforehand.

I've seen that listed, but never realized it was a houseboat. I always thought "Why would I want to vacation in Oklahoma" so I never looked closer, but on a houseboat...that might be fun.

ronparise · Aug 10, 2015

Ive considered converting my boat to a fractional ownership, Sell 10 monthly shares at $10000 plus $10000 into a reserve fund for new engines one day. (keep 2 for myself, and mf enough to cover dock fees and maintenance.

mdurette · Aug 10, 2015

RCI offers this in Deland Florida:

Grand Lakefront Resort Club USA / Holly Bluff Marina (#4876)

Ty1on · Aug 10, 2015

ronparise said:
Ive considered converting my boat to a fractional ownership, Sell 10 monthly shares at $10000 plus $10000 into a reserve fund for new engines one day. (keep 2 for myself, and mf enough to cover dock fees and maintenance.

I'll definitely buy in when someone offers to pay the closing costs to give it away! :rofl:

harveyhaddixfan · Aug 10, 2015

mdurette said:
RCI offers this in Deland Florida:

Grand Lakefront Resort Club USA / Holly Bluff Marina (#4876)

Other Urgent Information
$900.00 Operation fee for all Boats
Deposit of $1500.00 with full refund or $600.00 with $500.00 refund for Liability insurance
All guests must pay for their own fuel used to power the house boat.

And that's why there is a lot of availability. :rofl:

harveyhaddixfan · Aug 10, 2015

ace2000 said:
There's another one in Oklahoma called Grand Lakefront (RCI #5184). I'm pretty sure those are the only two in RCI. I'd love to hear more about these myself - I actually had one booked, but had to cancel.

There are some additional fees, so check into that beforehand.

Security deposit is $1500 U.S. dollars. Cash or Credit is accepeted.
Resort Fees
Service Charge fee is $900.00 to $900 U.S. dollars. Cash or Credit is accepeted.
Mandatory; Non refundable
Service Charge fee is $100 local currency. Cash or Credit is accepeted.

Dang. This one too! Good thing is they can both be had for under 40,000 points.

MichaelColey · Aug 10, 2015

That actually doesn't seem unreasonable to us, and we're contemplating exchanging for one of the weeks that coincides with the one week we're available between now and the end of the year.

Ty1on · Aug 10, 2015

MichaelColey said:
I've seen that listed, but never realized it was a houseboat. I always thought "Why would I want to vacation in Oklahoma" so I never looked closer, but on a houseboat...that might be fun.

Uness it's on the Red River, you're still stuck in OK :hysterical:

If guests are paying their own fuel use, where is the $900 going? Even when you get soaked with AI fees in Mexico, there is at least an iota of some kind of value to the expense. Why would I pay for a houseboat, via exchange or MF, just for the right to rent it anyway?

MichaelColey · Aug 11, 2015

So after discussing it with my wife (who, it turns out, has always wanted to stay on a houseboat!), I booked it this morning.

We just let the kids know about it, and their reaction was priceless.

Me: We haven't been on vacation since May and weren't planning another one until December, but Mommy has been getting a bit antsy so we've been looking into different vacations. So this morning, Daddy booked a timeshare in Oklahoma.
Kids: (Nothing but stares, with a "have you lost your mind" look on their faces.
Mommy: On a houseboat!
Kids: (Total change of attitude, with excited cheers and lots of questions!)

I do agree that the $900 appears to be a ripoff, unless owners get charged the same amount, but the total cost is unbeatable. $900 fee + $209 exchange fee + $50 (5 TPU @ $10/TPU) = $1159 for a week. If you go directly to them, they rent the boat for over $2000/week, and from my limited experience renting other boats (often hundreds of dollars just for half a day, for a much smaller boat), that's a good deal.

We're certainly excited about it!

harveyhaddixfan · Aug 11, 2015

The $900 fee isn't what got me. It's the $1500 deposit.

ace2000 · Aug 11, 2015

MichaelColey said:
So after discussing it with my wife (who, it turns out, has always wanted to stay on a houseboat!), I booked it this morning.

Wow, outstanding! I'm thinking it's going to be pretty exciting just to hear your review afterwards.

When do you have it booked? (don't have to tell us exact dates, perhaps what month if you'd like).

MichaelColey · Aug 11, 2015

Less than two months from now.

BevL · Aug 11, 2015

It is a tremendous holiday, especially with kids. You'll have a great time.

ptlohmysoul · Aug 11, 2015

MichaelColey said:
Less than two months from now.

Wow! I'm glad I got to (accidentally) contribute to your vacation knowledge as I've gained lots of dvc info. from you. Please do link your review to this thread so I can be sure to see it.

ace2000 · Aug 11, 2015

ptlohmysoul said:
Wow! I'm glad I got to (accidentally) contribute to your vacation knowledge as I've gained lots of dvc info. from you. Please do link your review to this thread so I can be sure to see it.

LOL - Actually I think we both deserve "free" t-shirts for helping him! Seriously though, just returning to the thread with some feedback on the trip would be enough for me! Maybe next year for us...

MichaelColey · Aug 11, 2015

ace2000 said:
LOL - Actually I think we both deserve "free" t-shirts for helping him! Seriously though, just returning to the thread with some feedback on the trip would be enough for me! Maybe next year for us...

I can't do free, but I just created coupon code "HOUSEBOAT" for $5 off a TUG Keep Calm tee. It's set up to only work for the first 5 people who use the coupon.

And I'll definitely be doing a review after our stay.

CCR · Aug 11, 2015

Don't think any of these exchange in Interval or RCI but there are tons of Houseboat timeshares at Lake Powell (Southern Utah/Northern Arizona).

Would be kind of fun to set up a direct exchange with someone though. I used to go there 2 times a year growing up and loved it!!! I would never recommend someone going to Lake Powell with just a houseboat reserved as you need another ski boat just for safety reasons alone besides all the recreational opportunities.

mdurette · Aug 12, 2015

I knew about the houseboat via RCI in deland FL because my inlaws booked it last year and my husband went a few nights. If you have any questions, let me know and I can ask them.

JudyH · Aug 12, 2015

I just did a narrowboat exchange on a UK canal. I posted a review

http://www.tug2.com/ResortOverview.aspx?Canal boat Club at Blackwater Marina&ID=15136

HouseBoat in RCI?

ptlohmysoul

medsed

Ty1on

BevL

ace2000

jfbookers

MichaelColey

TUG Review Crew: Expert

ronparise

mdurette

Sighting Expert & TUG Review Crew: Expert

Ty1on

harveyhaddixfan

harveyhaddixfan

MichaelColey

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Ty1on

MichaelColey

TUG Review Crew: Expert

harveyhaddixfan

ace2000

MichaelColey

TUG Review Crew: Expert

BevL

ptlohmysoul

ace2000

MichaelColey

TUG Review Crew: Expert

CCR

mdurette

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JudyH

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