Newbie-Harborside or Lagunamar

[MichMike]

Hi,
This morning at 9am I did my first exchange at the 8 month mark for 6/26/09-7/3/09. I was looking for Harborside, at least a 1BR "premium." We would prefer to go a week later but I know how popular Harborside is in the summer so I was happy to get anything. We are a family of 5- 2 adults & 3 young children. Only 1br studio was available so I took it. I also booked Lagunamar for the same week-a 1br "premium." Our destination doesn't matter that much.

I own 2 weeks at Vistana Resort with 152,000 SO so I was able to do this.

My question is, should I try to rent out the Harborside unit, cancel the Lagunamar, and then use the rental money to rent a bigger Harborside unit through the classifieds? How much does a 1br go for? What is the best place to post an ad? Should I rent out Lagunamar instead? It seems to me that Harborside would be easier to rent out. I have been reading Redweek's ads as well as those posted here. Should I just keep calling everyday at 9am to get what I really want and then pay the $29 cancellation fee?

It is not practical for us to put a family of 5 on a plane for 2 vacations.

I have learned so much here-just not in time to save ourselves some money. Thank you all.

Michelle

 

[tomandrobin]

First, airefare to Nassau is a lot cheaper then Cancun.

Renting a deluxe unit and taking the money and renting a larger unit is possible. But you will have to pay more money then you make on the deluxe unit, to get the premium unit.

Harborside will out rent your Cancun unit, maybe 2:1.

With a family of 5, the HRA deluxe will be crowed. Actually, the room occupancy is 4 maximum.

 

[Ken555]

I forget... can we rent SVN exchanges?

 

[LisaRex]

If I had to choose between the two with young kids, I'd go with the Bahamas. Atlantis has lots of pools and activities geared towards young kids. I'd call every week and see if a 1 or 2 bdrm comes available, then cancel the original reservation if it does. And don't lock yourself into Sat/Sat reservations. Sometimes your best bet is to go Fri/Fri or Sun/Sun, if available. And airfare is generally cheaper on days other than Saturday, too.

I don't know about airfare being cheaper to Nassau. From Cincinnati, you can get really great deals to Cancun. Maybe it depends on the city.

I also don't think you can rent exchanges.

 

[MichMike]

Thank you all for replying. The Starwood rep on the phone told me that I could "give" my unit to someone, just let the resort know their name and they would need photo ID. This seems too easy...I feel like I'm missing something. The rep also confirmed the 5 person occupancy...even requesting a roll-away bed for my 2 year old. AtlantisFamilyFun.com also advertises the 1br for 5 people as long as 1 is a small child. I know it would be a tight squeeze but that's all that was available. Airfare is about a $100pp difference between Nassau & Cancun, but if I'm renting out Harborside, the price difference would be covered. We are flexible on our check-in & out days.

P.S. I am a member..I joined today...wish I had done it sooner!

 

[tomandrobin]

I forget... can we rent SVN exchanges?

yes you can

 

[mariawolf]

I believe you can have 5 in that unit if one is under 3 or 4--they will only allow an aero bed not a roll away--it will be tight unless you could get a corner unit which is a little larger and has a balcony==but there aren't many so don't know if you will be successful.
As to which location there will likely be more for the kids to do at Harborside with all the Atlantis amenities.

 

[DeniseM]

P.S. I am a member..I joined today...wish I had done it sooner!

Welcome to TUG!

When you join TUG you get an email with a special password in it to use to change your status from guest to member.

1. Click on User CP in the blue bar.
2. Click on Edit BBS Member Code - on the left.
3. Put the password in the box at the bottom of the page.
4. Click save.

 

[tomandrobin]

Thank you all for replying. The Starwood rep on the phone told me that I could "give" my unit to someone, just let the resort know their name and they would need photo ID. This seems too easy...I feel like I'm missing something. The rep also confirmed the 5 person occupancy...even requesting a roll-away bed for my 2 year old. AtlantisFamilyFun.com also advertises the 1br for 5 people as long as 1 is a small child. I know it would be a tight squeeze but that's all that was available. Airfare is about a $100pp difference between Nassau & Cancun, but if I'm renting out Harborside, the price difference would be covered. We are flexible on our check-in & out days.

P.S. I am a member..I joined today...wish I had done it sooner!

I was checking airfare yesterday for a trip to Cancun. I was getting quotes for $600-$800 round trip, using either Philadelphia and Baltimore. We booked our Harborside airefare from Newark for $300 round trip.

I did not realize the age of your youngest. I would not rent from AtlantisFamilyFun unless that was my only option. But are good to use to rent your week.

 

[pointsjunkie]

I forget... can we rent SVN exchanges?

yes we can,do it all the time.

 

[Transit]

I forget... can we rent SVN exchanges?

Unfortunatly yes.

 

[James1975NY]

Thank you all for replying. The Starwood rep on the phone told me that I could "give" my unit to someone, just let the resort know their name and they would need photo ID. This seems too easy...I feel like I'm missing something. The rep also confirmed the 5 person occupancy...even requesting a roll-away bed for my 2 year old. AtlantisFamilyFun.com also advertises the 1br for 5 people as long as 1 is a small child. I know it would be a tight squeeze but that's all that was available. Airfare is about a $100pp difference between Nassau & Cancun, but if I'm renting out Harborside, the price difference would be covered. We are flexible on our check-in & out days.

P.S. I am a member..I joined today...wish I had done it sooner!

You can rent any reservation that you are able to make using your ownership with the exception of confirmed vacations through RCI or II. Once you have a reservation made, all you do is contact your Owner Services departments and give them the information of your "Guest".

 

[MichMike]

Lucky you on your Nassau airfare! As of this morning, 6/26/09 out of Newark on Continental was verbally quoted @ $629pp round trip. TWO days ago it was in the low $300 range. Cancun was around $550. Maybe spgflights.com will be worth it for this trip.

 

[tomandrobin]

Lucky you on your Nassau airfare! As of this morning, 6/26/09 out of Newark on Continental was verbally quoted @ $629pp round trip. TWO days ago it was in the low $300 range. Cancun was around $550. Maybe spgflights.com will be worth it for this trip.

Wow..that is crazy! We bought our airfare in September for August, and our neighbor bought theirs two weeks ago for $300 r/t.

 

[mariawolf]

This morning on the early show--CBS--they talked about how airline fuel is down but fares are up==same thing with food--once they go up it seems they take forever to go down.
We bought our tickets for our January trip for $114 each way direct from National airport on USAir==obviously fees were added on but that made me happy hearing about all these other fares!

 

[Stingrae]

Lucky you on your Nassau airfare! As of this morning, 6/26/09 out of Newark on Continental was verbally quoted @ $629pp round trip. TWO days ago it was in the low $300 range. Cancun was around $550. Maybe spgflights.com will be worth it for this trip.

MichMike,
You may want to call Continental again to check on that rate you were quoted. I called and got a quote for $364.90 with all taxes include for
July 16-25, 2009. Your rate may be higher due to the fact that you will be returning the week of the 4th.

 

[MichMike]

Thank You and I did check online again today and it's down to $310pp (pre-tax.) This is right where it's been for awhile. I was given a phone quote the other day because the rep said they were in the middle of updating their prices. I thought it sounded fishy but she assured me that it was correct. I'm sooo glad she was wrong! So sorry if I panicked anyone!

 

[tomandrobin]

Thank You and I did check online again today and it's down to $310pp (pre-tax.) This is right where it's been for awhile. I was given a phone quote the other day because the rep said they were in the middle of updating their prices. I thought it sounded fishy but she assured me that it was correct. I'm sooo glad she was wrong! So sorry if I panicked anyone!

That is a much better price. If you had booked further out, you would have saved another $40 per ticket.

I would watch prices though, with the price of oil dropping so low, it may reflect back into the price by spring.