How to exchange timeshare for a cruse?

[fgaunt72]

I am a new member of TUG BBS and have a how to question.
We own a week's time share at the "Grand Solmar Lands End Resort and Spa" in Cabo MX. We would like to reserve one week in January 2017 at Grand Solmar and bank it in Interval International (we are gold members). From there we would like an exchange to take a cruse to say Alaska.
What is the best way to accomplish this.
Fred

 

[Passepartout]

Welcome to TUG! Using a timeshare for a cruise is a poor use of MF. All you get for your maintenance fee is a discount comparable to what you can get the cruise for at a discounter like www.vacationstogo.com or www.crucon.com, plus you have to pay the exchange fee as well.

Use timeshares for timeshare vacations and cash for cruises.

There are a couple of exceptions- like if you want to book 4 cabins, but for a single cabin, cash is king.

Jim

 

[WinniWoman]

Yes, as Jim said, not worth it to use your timeshare to trade for a cruise. You can get better deals on-line.

 

[pedro47]

To the OP, there are some excellence cruise deals been offers now by all the cruise companies to Alaska.

 

[thickey]

To the OP.

Against popular opinion here...

I have traded a week for a cruise through I.I., and found it to be a better deal than I could find online. I got a better deal than I would've rented my week out, and then purchased a cruise vacation. It will depend on your situation. FYI, I searched exhaustively for a better deal, but I.I.'s was best - at least in my situation.

You have to do the exchange BEFORE you deposit your week into I.I. You cannot exchange for a cruise using an already banked/deposited week.

You can navigate through I.I. to select a cruise vacation, and it will tell you the allowance that you would receive prior to booking anything. I did this several times, with several different weeks, and made my decision that way before taking the final plunge.

Also, you can call I.I. and they can tell you exactly what your week is worth for a cruise trade. Be sure and inquire as to how much a cruise exchange will cost you. There is an exchange fee for cruises too.

 

[LannyPC]

Check out this article:

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/trade-or-exchange-timeshare-for-cruise.html

 

[presley]

You have to do the exchange BEFORE you deposit your week into I.I. You cannot exchange for a cruise using an already banked/deposited week.

This is very important! Do not bank a week that you plan on using for a cruise. They will not be able to credit you towards a cruise.

Join Interval
Find the cruise you want
It will ask you for your week when you book the cruise.

 

[fgaunt72]

To the OP.

Against popular opinion here...

I have traded a week for a cruise through I.I., and found it to be a better deal than I could find online. I got a better deal than I would've rented my week out, and then purchased a cruise vacation. It will depend on your situation. FYI, I searched exhaustively for a better deal, but I.I.'s was best - at least in my situation.

You have to do the exchange BEFORE you deposit your week into I.I. You cannot exchange for a cruise using an already banked/deposited week.

You can navigate through I.I. to select a cruise vacation, and it will tell you the allowance that you would receive prior to booking anything. I did this several times, with several different weeks, and made my decision that way before taking the final plunge.

Also, you can call I.I. and they can tell you exactly what your week is worth for a cruise trade. Be sure and inquire as to how much a cruise exchange will cost you. There is an exchange fee for cruises too.

I am replying to your comments regarding my post to exchange a week for a cruse.
Thanks for the comments. They are very helpful.
I do not understand my weeks worth vs. a cruse worth. There are "points" you can get (maybe another issue), but will they go into my I.I. bank for another exchange?
Need help.

 

[Passepartout]

I do not understand my weeks worth vs. a cruse worth. There are "points" you can get (maybe another issue), but will they go into my I.I. bank for another exchange?
Need help.

You were given pretty much step-by-step instructions on how to do a cruise exchange using II by Presley:

"This is very important! Do not bank a week that you plan on using for a cruise. They will not be able to credit you towards a cruise.

Join Interval
Find the cruise you want
It will ask you for your week when you book the cruise".

It is a 'book first' thing, not a 'deposit first' thing. Your Points can be used as currency to get that cruise discount. It WILL NOT be a direct, week-for-week exchange, and there will be an exchange fee. They (II) get certain cruises, on certain cruise lines to offer exchanges on. You don't get to choose any cruise on any cruise line. Obviously, book early for best choice. The season for Alaska cruises is from May until September, and the discounted ones are at the beginning and end of the season.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

The reason you can't use an already banked week for a cruise is because II will utilize that deposit differently and not drop it into the exchange inventory. II has to put up cash for the cruise exchange "discount" so it is much easier accounting if they in turn get cash for your deposit.

The cruise "exchange" is obviously not a true exchange. It is selling your week to II in exchange for a discount on the cruise booking. You can easily see how much you are selling your week for by looking at the total cost of booking the cruise compared to the total cost of booking it with the "exchange". Most deposits are not going to fetch a fair price but there are exceptions. These exceptions tend to be lock-offs with very low fees or weeks of low alternative value where a normal exchange is not wanted.

 

[travelplus]

I am a new member of TUG BBS and have a how to question.
We own a week's time share at the "Grand Solmar Lands End Resort and Spa" in Cabo MX. We would like to reserve one week in January 2017 at Grand Solmar and bank it in Interval International (we are gold members). From there we would like an exchange to take a cruse to say Alaska.
What is the best way to accomplish this.
Fred

As others have stated using your Timeshare to book a cruise is a poor use of your MF's. What I would do is plan to use your Timeshare as an exchange or within the same company before or after your cruise as its good to arrive before a cruise and not on the day and to stay after. So perhaps you may find a nice resort in Malaga and get to Barcelona and then another resort in Rome if the cruise starts and ends there. Or if its a roundtrip go to the Basque or Algrave region on the return.

You will find its cheaper to book a cruise on your own. I called up RCI and II cruises and by the time they factored in all of the port taxes it was cheaper to book it without using my week. Even if the cost were the same to use II or RCI cruises I would book it separately and use my timeshare at the destination where hotels can be way more expensive.

 

[thickey]

Before you make a decision one way or another, you should go through the steps and see how much money I.I. will allow you for your week in exchange for a cruise. As I stated before, for me it was a better deal than I could find elsewhere, so it was worth it. You may find that it would be worth it for you too. You won't have to go to the trouble and possible expense of finding a renter for your week, collecting your rental price from them, pay any guest certificate fees, etc.
Check it out and let us know what you decide. I am curious how it goes for you.

 

[tschwa2]

I have one week that has MF's of around $800. It's fairly easy for me to rent it out for $1100. Interval offered me around $950 for the week even for (cheapy) cruises with a total price for two of $1350 out the door at interval and other discount prices. My out of pocket was going to be $450 including everything other than the gold/platinum membership which I already had. I don't mind renting out my week but if I didn't want to bother and wanted to cruise, it would probably be worth it.

 

[krj9999]

Go to II website; Travel tab; Cruises subsection. Select potential cruise of interest, cabin category and price your selection (but obviously don't book).

Then go to Exchange tab, Cruise Exchange subsection. Repeat with same selection (selecting your 2017 unbanked week for exchange). See how much difference in booking cost between the 2. Also note you'll have to pay a "cruise exchange" fee that you need to factor in; and cancellation may be more of an issue for cruise exchange.

Then you'll have a better sense of whether it is worth exchanging your week.

II usually has fairly competitive prices for booking cruises for cash directly through them.

 

[lily28]

What is the cruise exchange fee? I check the price of a cruise I might be interested in at costco and II. II gives me $665 for 2 people while costco gives me $1444 for 2 plus $40 on board credit. Maintenance fee $600 for my week. So I think it is about a wash except I don't have to deal with renting out my week. But if the price of the cruise goes down, I won't be able to take advantage of it in II

 

[dioxide45]

What is the cruise exchange fee? I check the price of a cruise I might be interested in at costco and II. II gives me $665 for 2 people while costco gives me $1444 for 2 plus $40 on board credit. Maintenance fee $600 for my week. So I think it is about a wash except I don't have to deal with renting out my week. But if the price of the cruise goes down, I won't be able to take advantage of it in II

The cruise exchange fee is the same as a week exchange, $189 by phone and $179 online.

I am not sure how price drops work with cruise exchanges. Though, with a cruise exchange, II is really just giving you credit to spend toward a cruise that you book through their Interval Travel. I have never had a problem getting adjustments for price drops for cruises booked through them.

 

[lily28]

So with Interval cruise exchange, I can get lower price when cruise
Price drops? Is the cruise changeable or cancellable? I am looking at a cruise in 1/2017 and who know what can change in 11 months

 

[dominidude]

So with Interval cruise exchange, I can get lower price when cruise
Price drops? Is the cruise changeable or cancellable? I am looking at a cruise in 1/2017 and who know what can change in 11 months

You should call and ask those questions. 800-622-1540, I'd love to know myself.

 

[ladycody]

Throwing in my 2 cents. I agree that in most instances a cruise exchange is a poor trade...but I do have another take on it...through RCI though...not II.

I knew I had more time sitting in RCI than I'd be able to use...so inquired about a cruise exchange (which is really just a discount). I compared with discount sites as well as the cruise-line and my exchange....using time that would have gone to waste...discounted the cruise by close to $800 and that was with insurance and factoring in my exchange fee. Having said that...the less expensive the cruise, the smaller the discount...this was for the Mediterranean in a midship balcony cabin. For a lesser cruise I wouldn't have even gotten the mf out of the exchange.

The value is always better when our time is used at a resort...at least it is for me...but given that the time had already been deposited, isn't rentable, and wasn't going to get used. I'm content.