RCI just Cancelled my Grand Mayan NV trip next week!!!

[Escondito]

BTW - we tried all the things suggested above. None of them worked. RCI said we had to deal with the Grand Mayan and the GM said we had to deal with RCI since we had booked with them. We thought when we got there, they would let us at least use the GM facilities - NOT!!!!! Like I stated, they were adamant about MP and GM division lines.

 

[iiderman]

Escondito, how did you manage to get around the 1 in 4 rule to book six units through RCI???

 

[Bill4728]

I'm not sure if it was RCI's fault or the Mayan Resorts' fault but it left us with a very negative feeling about the Mayan Resorts and RCI's handling of the situation.

You sure have to wonder if this is RCI trying to pull a fast one. We all saw the thread about the gal who had her RCI vaction canceled and was told it was the resorts which cancelled. So she called the resort and they said they didn't do it RCI had cancelled.

Best of luck

 

[Escondito]

iiderman - As a family, we travel a lot and everyone has their own timeshare. One unit was rented from an owner and then 5 were booked through RCI.

 

[krisj]

Any suggestions what we might try to do in advance? We've booked a trip to Mexico this June SPECIFICALLY because the Grand Mayan looked like a nice place to stay. We wouldn't have booked the trip to stay elsewhere in the area.

Do you think if we sent RCI a registered letter in advance, telling them we've heard of numerous "bait and switch" bookings at the Grand Mayan and making it clear that if that's the plan we would like to re-book to a different location, at no charge, they'd try to help us in advance?

Kris

 

[Barbeque]

One more thought, RCI and the Mayan folks must feel that the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta is far superior to the Mayan Palace in Nuevo Vallarta as evidenced by the prices they are charging on Extra Vacations. I looked at several months and the Grand Mayan is priced significantly higher than the Mayan Palace. So if anyone tries to tell you that this is a comparable exchange that is hogwash.

 

[Harmina]

The same thing happened to me today!!

I didn't even get a call. I was checking my RCI account for an ongoing search that I have. I noticed my balance was higher than it should be and sure enough my confirmed Grand Mayan NV exchange for Feb.18 check-in had disappeared. The Sea Gardens for Feb.11 is still there. I had purchased a guest certificate for friends of ours to stay at the Sea Gardens the first week, the second week our friends were to be joined by my sister and her husband. RCI had put an ongoing search ( without notifying me) in for the 18th check-in. Grand Velas Vallarta all inclusive was sitting on hold, which I released. When I went to check again, there was a studio on hold at the Vallarta Palace with a check-in of Feb.17
I am so upset. I had called RCI on Monday after reading what had happened to Barb. RCI assured me that they weren't cancelling.
I just got off the phone with RCI and I have told them this is completely unacceptable. I told them I wanted the Grand Mayan back.
She mentioned it was a quality control issue with the resort, that RCI had no control over. A supervisor is supposed to get back to me.

 

[Escondito]

My feeling is that if the Mayan Resort is the culprit, then RCI needs to address the problem. It seems to be happening to a lot of people and RCI needs to get a handle on it. As a minimum, the amenities at the GM should be accessible to those who were canceled. That would be common courtesy. We spoke with several RCI supervisors and basically were told there was NOTHING they could do about it. In fact after we told them that it was not acceptable, they told us they were getting us into a nice resort and that was all they could do. The Mayan Palace is a nice resort but certainly not as nice as the Grand Mayan. When I called Mexico, Mayan Resort staff told me that they would never do that. Vicious circle with no accountability by either party..

 

[Harmina]

I called RCI again this morning, they are supposed to trying to find alternate accommodations. The counsellor that I spoke with this morning told me that I had called RCI on Jan 5 and cancelled because my son couldn't get airline tickets. My son isn't even going!! If I supposedly called on Jan 5th, why would my confirmed exchange be sitting there until Feb1??
I will never, ever, accept an exchange to any of the MP resorts!!
None of this makes any sense to me.
I feel sick about all this!

 

[Harmina]

An update

I called the reservation desk in Neuvo Vallarta, they have my reservation,
checking in at the Sea Garden on Feb.11 and the Grand Mayan on Feb.18
Why is RCI saying that the Mayan Palace people bulk banked the wrong code??

 

[quiltergal]

That's just crappy! I can't believe this happens to people. At one time I had considered an exchange in GM RM in 07, but after reading what appears to be happening now and what has happened in the past I don't think I'll be exchanging into any GM or MP ever. Who knows where you'll end up, or if you'll even have a place to stay at all. What I want to know is who is responsible for this, RCI or Mayan Resorts? I hope it all works out for you guys. That's really a shame, especially so close to your vacation. It's not like you can get the airfare money back!

 

[Harmina]

Don't accept exchanges for the Grand Mayan resorts!!

Just a warning. The past 2 days have been so stressful. I called the Grand Mayan in NV, our reservations are there. They were there this morning and were there tonight, even though according to RCI, it was cancelled yesterday. RCI said the GM cancelled.
I called RCI and they said even though it is in the Mayan reservation system it won't be showing at the check-in desk. I called the check-in desk this evening, when I asked about our reservation, she put me through to the reservation desk. The fellow told me the reservation is showing. I told him that RCI told me that the Mayan people had cancelled. He said no they did not. He then went on to say if RCI says it is cancelled, they ( RCI) will end up taking our confirmation out of the Mayan reservation system. It is one H... of a mess. I hope that no else ever has to go through this. Just don't accept anything to do with the Mayan Palaces. I hope RCI ends up with such a surplus that they won't be able to give them away. These weeks will be worthless!! I am just so angry!!

 

[BethH]

Reading through all these posts, it sounds more and more as if RCI is at fault here... It certainly wouldn't be a surpise if it were an RCI computer problem, anyone who has tried to search/exchange online knows how well their systems work!

 

[Escondito]

Harmina - I know EXACTLY what you are going through. I called the Grand Mayan and was told the same thing, Our reservations were showing BUT when I got there, no reservations. Do you have a back-up resort?

 

[Harmina]

Yes

Hi Escondito, RCI managed to find alternate accommodations at the Mayan Palace. This is exactly what I figured would happen. I will bet anything once our friends go to check in, they will probably be offered an upgrade to the Grand Mayan for attending a presentation. I mentioned this to the RCI guide, she said I am probably right. Where did you end up staying?

 

[Harmina]

Escondito

I went back and noticed that you posted your dilema on Jan.29
As I mentioned before, I will not ever accept another exchange to any of the Mayan Palace resorts. I would hate to be an owner at a Mayan Palace resort, I am pretty sure that with all that is happening, their trading power is not going to be very good.

 

[wilma]

RCI managed to find alternate accommodations at the Mayan Palace. This is exactly what I figured would happen.

Harmina--Did RCI refund your exchange fee or give you any compensation for not being able to give you the Grand Mayan?

 

[CaliDave]

Harmina--Did RCI refund your exchange fee or give you any compensation for not being able to give you the Grand Mayan?

Are you serious? Nothing is ever the fault or responsibility of RCI.

 

[BethH]

Are you serious? Nothing is ever the fault or responsibility of RCI.

Precisely why RCI will never get another of our weeks deposited...

That said, does anyone know for sure yet where the cancellation actually occured - RCI or MP?

 

[Harmina]

Wilma , RCI is working on refunding my exchange fee. It isn't showing in my account yet. I really don't know who to blame for this. When I spoke to the people in Mexico ( Mayan reservations ) they checked their reservation system and confirmed the exchange. They even put in my request for an upper floor unit. I then called RCI again, told them that the people in Mexico confirmed that we were registered at the GM, that guide put me on a long hold. I had a feeling that he was calling the resort. Then I called the resort later on, spoke to a different person, he also assured me that our reservation was there. I told him that RCI told me we were no longer confirmed at the GM. He then said if RCI is telling you that you are not confirmed, they are the one that is taking you out of the system. To be honest, I truly believe it is RCI's doing. It was a very stressful two day ordeal. I mentioned to the guide that I have 2 weeks confirmed for St. Maarten for next month and 2 weeks for the French Riviera in May, I asked her if there is now a possibilty that those exchanges might all of a sudden disappear.
She assured me that would not happen. All of this has left me very , very nervous. Especially with having air booked.

 

[mplswjr]

My suspicions

We just returned from 25 days in Puerto Vallarta, and heard a lot of comment from timeshare people about the effects of the Cancun/Cozumel hurricane on Puerto Vallarta reservations. I'm a bit suspicious that there is alot of money to be made by a shift in reservations from Cancun/Cozumel to Puerto Vallarta. Anyone else have a similar suspicion?

 

[Escondito]

We stayed at the Mayan Palace. It certainly was a nice place; however, we had made reservations through RCI almost a year in advance at the GRAND MAYAN which is much newer and nicer. Our biggest issue was that part of our group was at the Grand Mayan (those in a one-bedroom and the ones that had purchased through avenues other than RCI) and the rest of us (2-bedrooms) were at the Mayan Palace. The resort WOULD NOT let the guests of the Mayan Palace use any of the amenities of the Grand Mayan. Thus all the folks staying at the Grand Mayan had to come over to the Mayan Palace for us to be together. Also the issues of charges for the spa and safes seemed very unfair. The resort tried to get us to attend a timeshare briefing but we declined. I asked if we would attend would they move us. Their answer was "no, but they would give us 15% off the bill and 200 pesos per couple. We did not attend as we heard from other guests that the presentations was not 90 minutes but rather closer to 3-4 hours.

 

[Ellis2ca]

Don't get mad. Get even.

Don't get mad. Get even.

Put up a page on the internet about this, immediately. Don't give the link out yet, just put it up, and notify both R.C.I. and Grand Mayan that they can do this, but you will let the world know about it. This MIGHT help. If it doesn't, then you broadcast the link and let the world know. Be sure you state only the facts... they can't sue you for libel if you only say the truth..

I don't want to rub it in, but you chose to go to Grand Mayan after you have already experienced the Royal Caribbean. I almost feel like saying "I told you so..."

The lesson to be learned out of this, for everybody, is... don't ever BUY at any timeshare resort that is sold on the supposedly "flexible" POINTS system... and DON'T EXCHANGE into it, either... the Points system gives the developer carte blanche to oversell the resort as many times as they want to, and the loser is us.

The other lesson is: There is nothing on Planet Earth that comes close to a Royal Resort.

- Ellis

 

[Pat H]

The lesson to be learned out of this, for everybody, is... don't ever BUY at any timeshare resort that is sold on the supposedly "flexible" POINTS system... and DON'T EXCHANGE into it, either... the Points system gives the developer carte blanche to oversell the resort as many times as they want to, and the loser is us.

The other lesson is: There is nothing on Planet Earth that comes close to a Royal Resort.

- Ellis

The MP/GM are not points based. They are floating weeks.

 

[dsfritz]

grand Mayan cancellation

We were in a similar situation a couple of weeks ago. We were confirmed for 2 weeks in the mayan Riviera and 2 days before we were about to leave I discovered only by looking at my credit card charges online that RCI had refunded our Mayan Palace, Mayan Riviera, week. When I called RCI they first said we had violated our 4-1 rule. We had not. Then they said the M.P. had made a mistake on their inventory- maybe because of the hurricane.
Anyway, they were able to accomodate us in the Mayan Palace. We had no choice but to accept that arrangement. Once at the Mayan, however, we were able to arrange to stay in our same Grand Mayan Unit for both weeks. My advice to anyone in this situation is this: Once there and facing the reservation people eyebal to eyeball, you can often accomplish that which you can not do w/ Rci or via phone calls to M.P. Good luck. It worked for us.