# Tradewinds Cruise Club - any resale owners out there?



## erdoran

I'm confused about something that I wonder if other Tradewinds owners can help me with.  I own a resale, and I absolutely LOVE Tradewinds--other than the sales pitches, of course!  

My point of confusion comes with the RCI 1 in 4 exchange rule.  If you read the RCI description it clearly states that the 1 in 4 rule does NOT apply to owners.  Tradewinds claims this is incorrect, that it applies to owners also.  

Which is correct?  I know of at least one owner that has been able to exchange in regularly through RCI.  I also have a hard time believing that RCI would have posted incorrect information for at least nine years (as long as I've been aware of TWCC).  I'm sure RCI only posts information provided by each resort!

thanks for any info you can provide from your own personal knowledge & experience.


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## Sandy VDH

erdoran said:


> I'm confused about something that I wonder if other Tradewinds owners can help me with.  I own a resale, and I absolutely LOVE Tradewinds--other than the sales pitches, of course!
> 
> My point of confusion comes with the RCI 1 in 4 exchange rule.  If you read the RCI description it clearly states that the 1 in 4 rule does NOT apply to owners.  Tradewinds claims this is incorrect, that it applies to owners also.
> 
> Which is correct?  I know of at least one owner that has been able to exchange in regularly through RCI.  I also have a hard time believing that RCI would have posted incorrect information for at least nine years (as long as I've been aware of TWCC).  I'm sure RCI only posts information provided by each resort!
> 
> thanks for any info you can provide from your own personal knowledge & experience.



I don't know for sure about the RCI 1 in 4 as I have never used it. Sorry, but I can't provide any personal experience.  I only booked via RCI once, the first time only.  Then we became members.

What level of ownership did you purchase resale?

I am a Platinum owner, having purchased 25 weeks.  I have enough points left in TWCC at this point, to not bother with RCI exchanges.  For a few reasons at least:

1) no exchange fee via TWCC, 
2) Diving is Free for my level of ownership (as an exchanger I would have to pay for diving) 
3) AI is cheaper for members (higher via RCI) 
4) I can request whenever I want to go via TWCC, I dont have to wait to find inventory in RCI and 
5) I have access to Late Breaks (which is inventory that is available at the last minute (45 or 60 days out, cant remember which).

In the end it doesn't really matter what RCI says because it is TWCC that is going to determine weather you can trade in or not.  They are stricter than most.

Have you tried more often than 1 in 4 years booking via RCI?  If RCI is enforcing the rules at their end, and it claims they allow it, then you should be OK, provided RCI knows you own a Tradewinds units.  They would have to over ride the 1 in 4.


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## erdoran

Sandy Lovell said:


> I don't know for sure about the RCI 1 in 4 as I have never used it. Sorry, but I can't provide any personal experience.  I only booked via RCI once, the first time only.  Then we became members.
> 
> What level of ownership did you purchase resale?
> 
> I am a Platinum owner, having purchased 25 weeks.  I have enough points left in TWCC at this point, to not bother with RCI exchanges.  For a few reasons at least:
> 
> 1) no exchange fee via TWCC,
> 2) Diving is Free for my level of ownership (as an exchanger I would have to pay for diving)
> 3) AI is cheaper for members (higher via RCI)
> 4) I can request whenever I want to go via TWCC, I dont have to wait to find inventory in RCI and
> 5) I have access to Late Breaks (which is inventory that is available at the last minute (45 or 60 days out, cant remember which).
> 
> In the end it doesn't really matter what RCI says because it is TWCC that is going to determine weather you can trade in or not.  They are stricter than most.
> 
> Have you tried more often than 1 in 4 years booking via RCI?  If RCI is enforcing the rules at their end, and it claims they allow it, then you should be OK, provided RCI knows you own a Tradewinds units.  They would have to over ride the 1 in 4.



I'm a traditional member, but my privileges are equivalent to a Gold member, so I, too, get free diving and access to late breaks.  I can book through TWCC...pretty much everything you have, except I have to pay a maintenance fee on Late Breaks.  

RCI wouldn't take my word that I'm a TWCC owner, they required verification from TW, who refused to provide it, because I bought a resale.  I am not going to take the risk of trying to book more frequently through RCI, because I know of at least one other couple (non-members) who did that, arrived at the TW base, and weren't permitted to sail.  

What got me going was I was about to buy more weeks via their new incarnation, Tradewinds Experience, and I asked them to document that the 1 in 4 would be removed, because I would now have bought my membership directly from TWCC, and they refused to document that, and then stated that they have NEVER waived the rule.  That seems odd to me, because the RCI listing has stated for years that the rule doesn't apply to owners, so I'm trying to figure out whether the RCI just made the whole thing up :> or there is some other mistake or misunderstanding.  Plus I've had one owner tell me how she exchanges in regularly through RCI without the 1 in 4 being an issue.  The whole thing is just rather weird and odd, and I want to get to the bottom of it and figure out what is REALLY going on.


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## erdoran

Tradewinds Cruise Club (tradewindscruiseclub.com) appears to treat resale buyers very differently, judging from my personal experience.  I have a formal membership transfer for which the seller and I paid fees, I have a legitimate membership certificate, and from all the paperwork I am a "member" - yet -
1.  Tradewinds has a 1 exchange in 4 year rule through RCI, and every one of their properties states "does not apply to owners".  When I tried to register my ownership through RCI and get the 1 in 4 lifted, Tradewinds REFUSED to permit this because I am a resale owner.
2.  I was discussing with them the possibility of buying into their new venture, Tradewinds Experience.  Non-members joining for the first time are charged a $895 "membership fee" in addition to the cost of joining.  Once again, I was told that I have to pay this fee because it applies to "all resale members".
3.  Tradewinds memberships were, until recently, at different levels, and depending on your level you got free scuba and various other privileges.  As I was gearing up for a dive the captain of that charter informed me that because I have a resale I don't get free scuba, and privileges never transfer, just weeks.  I pointed out that I have in writing (which I do) that the privileges transferred...the next day I was told that it was lucky I had that.

Every cruise I go on I get the sales pitch, in some cases very obnoxiously in other cases not.  But...the attitude every time is that I am not an owner, in spite of my membership certificate.  So yes, Tradewinds has from the beginning treated ME differently as a resale owner, even though in my personal opinion they should not.

The sad thing is that I love the product, I greatly enjoy my membership, and I have now passed up two occasions where I would have bought additional time from them had I been treated as any regular member.

So--BUYER BEWARE when buying a Tradewinds Cruise club resale.  The owner will most likely be selling to you in good faith and not realize these issues could happen, because they are not told this when buying.  For your own benefit, insist on getting IN WRITING FROM TRADEWINDS a listing of what privileges transfer, whether or not the RCI 1 in 4 rule will be waived for you, and any other detail the owner tells you is included in their membership.

I am not blasting the Tradewinds offering, but I am complaining publicly about the way I have been treated as a resale owner.  I would love to hear from any other Tradewinds resale owner regarding their experience--were you treated the same way or not?  If differently, that gives me ammunition to get proper treatment; if the same, that's informative as well.


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## erdoran

If there are any other resale owners, please post on this thread!  I am a resale owner and I am looking to see what YOUR experience has been with issues like the RCI 1 in 4 rule, transfer of membership privileges, and some other things that I perceive as resale owners being treated differently than original purchase owners.  I'm trying to find out if my experience is just me, or if others have experienced the same thing....and this applies to Tradewinds Experience as well.


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## rickandcindy23

I hope the salesperson is not on the cruise with you the entire time.   That would be miserable.  I cannot think of anything worse, but then again, the guests could threaten to throw him off.


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## tschwa2

Is the captain the salesperson?  Even it your dives cost what $200 each and you can only use your one week per year plus one extra every 4 years plus one on Festiva's cruises every 4 years, your probably ahead of those that paid retail.  Also you can let everyone on your cruise know how much cheaper resale is and how if they do need to sell in the future how much less the membership is worth due to the non transfer of extra perks.  

You did pull some old threads out,  just know that more and more developers are treating resale owners differently to preserve their sales.  Otherwise why buy for $25,000 what you could buy from someone else for $2,500 - $1.00.  And if what they are selling is worth the difference (it rarely is) then you need to buy retail.


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## DeniseM

erdoran - I have moved all your posts on this topic to this thread.  If you have any more questions/comments, please post them here, instead of starting new threads or commenting in other threads - Thanks!


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## flexible

You might wish to visit and post on http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43855191157#!/group.php?gid=62587612802 Tradewinds Cruise Club Cruisers which I believe is a fb group started by a TWCC member not an official TWCC fb page.

I am not a TWCC member but thoroughly enjoyed our TWCC Belize 18-25 Dec 2010 cruise.

I heard TWCC mention they scan RCI exchangers passports now so that they can not use multiple RCI memberships to avoid the 1 in 4 rule in the past. My husband purchased a ton of timeshares but eventually consolidated the RCI accounts. Apparently some people would add a cheap resale account with RCI to their portfolio and then exchange into a property with a 1 in 4 rule that they had recently exchanged into from their other RCI account. Not sure if this information is relevant to the OP's question though.


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## dchilds

*TradeWinds resale*

I'd be very surprised if you could buy a TradeWinds resale for much less than the original purchaser paid.  I've only seen one in years of looking for timeshare resales, and it was $1000+ per week remaining.  We own too many timeshares and would sell some if prices were any better, but we wouldn't sell our TradeWinds membership for less than what we paid.  It's easily the most relaxing vacation we've ever taken.

Now, as to resale owners vs original owners, I can't say if things are significantly different.  The captain always pulls us aside for a small sales presentation, and we've told them that we didn't have vacation time for additional weeks, and they understand and drop the subject.  As for service, sometimes we are treated as kings, and other times it's nothing spectacular.  If something goes wrong on the trip, like having an engine go out, and significant time is spent repairing the engine instead of continuing the vacation, members are told that happens, and first timers are offered a discount on their next trip.


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## erdoran

flexible said:


> You might wish to visit and post on http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43855191157#!/group.php?gid=62587612802 Tradewinds Cruise Club Cruisers which I believe is a fb group started by a TWCC member not an official TWCC fb page.
> 
> I am not a TWCC member but thoroughly enjoyed our TWCC Belize 18-25 Dec 2010 cruise.
> 
> I heard TWCC mention they scan RCI exchangers passports now so that they can not use multiple RCI memberships to avoid the 1 in 4 rule in the past. My husband purchased a ton of timeshares but eventually consolidated the RCI accounts. Apparently some people would add a cheap resale account with RCI to their portfolio and then exchange into a property with a 1 in 4 rule that they had recently exchanged into from their other RCI account. Not sure if this information is relevant to the OP's question though.



Yes, I post actively in that group, and I have posted looking for resale owners to share experiences with as well.  I have not found any, but thanks for the suggestion.

For the person who asked who is the salesperson - it's the crew, so you can't throw them overboard :>.  For the most part the sales pressure is annoying but reasonable, but last summer the cruise I was on had one that was completely over the top and ruined the entire trip for me! (Un)fortunately, every other trip was so wonderful that I'm just learning to deal with it.


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## erdoran

tschwa2 said:


> Is the captain the salesperson?  Even it your dives cost what $200 each and you can only use your one week per year plus one extra every 4 years plus one on Festiva's cruises every 4 years, your probably ahead of those that paid retail.  Also you can let everyone on your cruise know how much cheaper resale is and how if they do need to sell in the future how much less the membership is worth due to the non transfer of extra perks.
> 
> You did pull some old threads out,  just know that more and more developers are treating resale owners differently to preserve their sales.  Otherwise why buy for $25,000 what you could buy from someone else for $2,500 - $1.00.  And if what they are selling is worth the difference (it rarely is) then you need to buy retail.



That's a very, very interesting point.  But tell me....if someone has paid fees for a membership transfer and has a certificate of membership, or has paid for a deed transfer, wouldn't they be as much an "owner" as the original retail buyer?  I completely agree that resales hurt retail sales, but timeshares are sold as PROPERTY that CAN BE RESOLD, exactly the same way as any other piece of real estate.


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## glypnirsgirl

> timeshares are sold as PROPERTY that CAN BE RESOLD, exactly the same way as any other piece of real estate.



Yes they are sold that way. I have even overheard presenters claiming that you can use your timeshare for years and sell it for what you paid for it!!!

I do not understand why ANY timeshare would de-value the resale market of their own product. It makes no sense to do so. And here is the perfect example, they would have sold more product to you if they had not devalued their product. Silly!


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## JoyceFNP

*tradewinds resale*

I bought a tradewinds resale several years ago, at an obscenely low price.  We have had amazing trips!  And we've never been treated differently. I was always told that the 4 in 1 rule applies, so I've never actually asked about owners vs RCI exchanges regarding the rule.   We did add on weeks a few years back, so maybe that made a difference?  Also, when in the BVI last week, I was told that the new member fee didn't apply to me for the new Tradewinds Experience. I don't know if we will be able to join just from a financial consideration, since it is so much more expensive.  But I can't even imagine not having my Tradewinds trip every year!


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