should i give up hope of getting aruba Aug 08?

[soob]

I deposited my 2 bed Orlando Platinum week in October 07 and put in a request for Curacao for Aug 08. In January II told me that i had a slim chance of getting Curacao in Aug and advised me to change my request to Aruba as there are more timeshares (including Marriotts). I took the advice of II and changed my request to Surf club in Aruba. I have now had 3 letters from II stating that my request is still pending (obviously) so i phoned II and was told that i now have next to no chance of getting Aruba for Aug 08. They also told me that since i changed my request i have gone back to the end of the queue!!! I thought that as i deposited my unit in Oct 07 this would keep me somewhere at the top of the queue and also the fact that i am trying to exchange Marriott for Marriott. Is it true that i have no hope for this year ? What should i do? We have to travel in Aug and want to avoid hurricanes. Grateful for any advice

 

[Carolinian]

You might try an ongoing request with www.daelive.com . They have had a fair amount of Aruba in inventory lately and can get weeks on request there through trading partners.

I understand that www.htse.net is also getting better for the Caribbean.

 

[lll1929]

You may expand to the Aruba Ocean Club. I just deposited my 1bdrm and lockoff last week into II.

 

[lprstn]

You may want to save your week and go on an on property tour and get the room for a reasonable rate, or rent it. I hate when they don't tell you that when you change your search options you start your search over. Also, when doing a search I always open it up to the entire island, that way I may get to where I want to be, maybe not at the actual resort. When that happens I will lengthen the trip for 1 week at the place I traded for, and a "tour" weekend at the place I wanted to go.

 

[soob]

Thanks for advice. How do i find out if the Aruba surfclub are doing 'tours' ? Also, do you get to stay in a timeshare property if you do a tour?

 

[sstamm]

I have always been told by II that if I add dates, resorts, etc to my request, I do not lose my place in line. They said if I cancel my search and put in a whole new request that I start at the back of the line, but not if I just change various parameters. I hope they have not given me incorrect information!!

I have had a request in for various Caribbean resorts for August 08 since sometime last summer. I added Aruba to it last fall. So far no match. At this point, I am not holding out much hope.

I have gotten good exchanges in the past- but it doesn't look too good for this one.

 

[johnmfaeth]

If you get the first half of august on St. Thomas or St. Kitts you should be in good shape. If you check the last hundred years of storm history at www.stormcarib.com. After 8/15, and and really 9/1 is the riskier timeframe in the Eastern Caribbean. Obviously in the Westren Caribbean and Mexico, that start is late May to June as the storm can form in those warm waters but cannot move East because of Trade Winds.

 

[BocaBum99]

I don't like betting on the come for timeshare exchanges. In my view, if you don't have a feel for what is likely to be available when you make a deposit, then you are playing Russian roulette with your timeshare week.

My recommendation is to poll experts before you make a deposit or do a request first search for the week you want. At the same time, try to arrange for a direct exchange with another owner even if you have to pay a fee to the other owner to trade up.

Otherwise, you will end up in Orlando. If you determine you have a 75% chance to go somewhere and a 25% of Orlando, that may be a good bet. As long as you realize you are making a bet and you can live with the worse case scenario, you will be happy with timeshare exchange.