Anyone familiar with I.C.E.?

[riverside]

A friend asked me about I.C.E. (International Cruises and Excursions). I have never heard of it. She recently bought into Westgate and just got her membership materials from Interval. Then she got a phone call from ICE wanting her to join. They said she would never need to belong to Interval again because they were the leading vacation company. They wanted $300 per year membership or she could buy a lifetime membership for only $1,495. She decided to buy the membership and then called me afterwards.

I told her I would try to find out what it was all about. I think she could still get her money back as it hasn't been 24 hours. I was sure that someone here would have heard of this company. Should she keep or membership or run away as fast as she can? I tried the search feature but nothing comes up.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Get A Cruise By Exchanging Your Timeshare Week Plus Big Bux.

Should she keep or membership or run away as fast as she can?

This is hearsay only, not gospel, but the way I heard it these organizations -- I.C.E. & also RCI's exchange for cruise -- work by having you exchange your timeshare week plus lots of money for a cruise, instead of exchanging your timeshare week for a week in somebody else's timeshare.

Sounds good, but those in the know say it is uneconomic, that you can get better cruise prices at places like Vacations To Go Dot Com, that in essence you're giving away your timeshare week & still paying major money for your cruise at no net advantage to yourself.

I am working on getting The Chief Of Staff to agree to take a cruise with me before we get too old. But we'll most likely sign up via Vacations To Go Dot Com or some other source not involving timeshare exchange.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[riverside]

I completely agree with you. I would never get the cruise "deal" through RCI. Much cheaper somewhere else. I called her and suggested she get out of the deal and that I would let her know if I find out more about it. I told her that any deal that is offered today will still be there next week and she said they told her the offer was only good today. Does that sound like a timeshare pitch or what????

 

[rhonda]

We had ICE Gallery free for a few years when we purchased the Grand Pacific Palisades. At that time they offered two services:

• Cruise exchanges (and discounts on cruises w/out exchange)
• Rental weeks from timeshares exchanged towards cruises

They promise that their cruise pricing can't be beat - but they never offered to beat my best deals found elsewhere. Their timeshare rentals were generally overpriced compared to RCI or II rentals.

Already experienced cruisers -- and successful at snagging great last minute deals -- we did book one cruise through ICE Gallery in 2004 when we needed multiple cabins. While not the absolute lowest/best deal, their service made it really easy to coordinate a group cruise.

I saw little value at the "individual" level other than the one favorable group cruise experience. We've let our membership lapse w/out regrets.

 

[Bernie8245]

I also got a free lifetime membership to ICE(International Cruise & Excursion) Gallery Inc. when I bought my timeshare. We never have used it for a cruise but we did use it to get a week in a 1 br unit at Club La Pension in New Orleans for $149. That's the only time we've ever used it and that was several years ago.
Bernie

 

[Art4th]

Tell her to cancel it. It's not worth a plugged nickel.

 

[dougp26364]

One of the timeshares we purchased came with a lifetime membership to I.C.E. That lifetime membership was recently cancelled because it was costing the HOA a bunch of money and very few owners were using it.

We've cruised 10 times since 2002. I.C.E. was NEVER the best option. In fact, most of the time it was the worst option. I compared them a few times and finally stopped even considering them as an option they because they were such a poor option.

 

[Larry]

Never used and not worth anything

Somehow I received a free 1 year membership several years ago.

Prices on cruises were no bargain and there were better prices through the internet. Last minute deals were no better than RCI or II getaways with very limited availability. Never used it entire year and wouldn't have paid anything to continue membership which lapsed at the end of year.

 

[riverside]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. I told her to cancel it so hopefully she was able to. I'll find out soon. Come to find out she had been given a 2 year free membership at the time of her timeshare purchase. I'll never understand why she thought she should buy 15 years more of something she hadn't even tried. A slick salesman and a gullible person is a bad combination!

 

[naudette]

ICE

I'm another one that had a membership to ICE. Worthless is my opinion. They could never beat other prices found for cruising.

 

[nazclk]

ICE

They were just a bogus deal offered when you bought a timeshare. Kind of an extra bonus worth nothing.

 

[Talent312]

How I know ICE...
Immigration & Customs Enforcement ... www.ice.gov