Should I take unit now or wait?

[suzanne]

I can pull a studio unit on RCI for 2/2 with a partial kitchen at the Wyndham Vacation Royal Garden Resort @ Waikiki #C178 for exact date I need for me and DH in October, 2012. It is 23 credits. Should I grab it or wait to see if something else comes up? I have 55 credits to use.

Suzanne

 

[DaveNV]

Maybe book it and get Vacation Protection, then continue to look? If something better comes along, use the other 32 TPU to get that, then cancel this one? I know it's always tricky, but better to hedge your bets, right?

Dave

 

[GregT]

I can pull a studio unit on RCI for 2/2 with a partial kitchen at the Wyndham Vacation Royal Garden Resort @ Waikiki #C178 for exact date I need for me and DH in October, 2012. It is 23 credits. Should I grab it or wait to see if something else comes up? I have 55 credits to use.

Suzanne

If you are good with a Studio and don't mind a 10-15 minute wakl to the beach, I like that property. I visited it last month and wrote a note on it in TUG (and put some pictures on TripAdvisor).

Good luck!

Greg

 

[suzanne]

Thank you for your help. I put it on 24 hour hold so I would not lose it. I thought Oct./Nov was low season in Hawaii but there has not been alot of availability on RCI for past few months. I have until tomorrow to either take it or cancel hold. Size wise it will be fine for the 2 of us. Concern is how far is it to Waikiki Beach to walk. We are not renting a car on Oahu as we will be renting one for 2 weeks on the Big Island. DH tires easily due to health issues. Is there a shuttle bus that one could take to the beach. Also, does units have free wifi.

Thanks again for your help.

Suzanne

 

[DaveNV]

Thank you for your help. I put it on 24 hour hold so I would not lose it. I thought Oct./Nov was low season in Hawaii but there has not been alot of availability on RCI for past few months. I have until tomorrow to either take it or cancel hold. Size wise it will be fine for the 2 of us. Concern is how far is it to Waikiki Beach to walk. We are not renting a car on Oahu as we will be renting one for 2 weeks on the Big Island. DH tires easily due to health issues. Is there a shuttle bus that one could take to the beach. Also, does units have free wifi.

Thanks again for your help.

Suzanne

Suzanne, the walk from that location to the beach sand would be maybe 15-20 minutes or so. You're several long blocks away, and across some pretty busy streets. It is probably too far to comfortably walk with beach gear, if you have any kind of mobility problems. There are a lot of hotels between that one and the sand, and you'd have to make your way around or between them to get to the beach. Transportation to the beach area would be easiest by taxi, but that could get to be pretty expensive. And even if you had a car, parking in Waikiki is difficult and costly.

I don't know about wifi at the resort.

I checked RCI for October, and see the only other availability right now is at the Kuhio Banyan Club. That location is even less convenient to the beach than the one you've got on hold.

If you can work it out, the Imperial of Waikiki is very affordable, and is across the street from the beach. Are you committed to using timeshare TPU for this part of your trip? You may be able to rent something directly that will give you better availability.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[suzanne]

Thanks Dave for your help. We are committed to using our RCI credits for this leg of the trip. We would only go to the beach once or twice during the week there. We plan to see Pearl Harbor, the P. Cultural Center, Diamond Head and will be taking the Surf Bus for a day trip to the North Shore and maybe the Circle the Island Tour. DH is mobile, he just tires easily. He is still trying to get over the effects of his last chemo treatments. Cancer is in remission and we hope that by October he will have regained most of his strength. We could take taxi or bus to the beach a couple of times if need be.

Suzanne

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks Dave for your help. We are committed to using our RCI credits for this leg of the trip. We would only go to the beach once or twice during the week there. We plan to see Pearl Harbor, the P. Cultural Center, Diamond Head and will be taking the Surf Bus for a day trip to the North Shore and maybe the Circle the Island Tour. DH is mobile, he just tires easily. He is still trying to get over the effects of his last chemo treatments. Cancer is in remission and we hope that by October he will have regained most of his strength. We could take taxi or bus to the beach a couple of times if need be.

Suzanne

Given this information, then I'd say go ahead and book your unit on hold. It isn't too far to walk, if you can rest as needed along the way. It's urban streets, and the sidewalks are good. The other things you'll be doing would be more tiring than this walk, I'd say. So if you'd only do it a few times, you'll be fine.

Enjoy your trip. It'll be a good one.

Dave

 

[jacknsara]

Aloha Suzanne,
I screen scrape and save some RCI availability data - mostly on Kauai and the Big Island; I don't gather much data on Oahu, but what little I do indicates that most availability occur much more than a year out.
At this point, it is likely you are waiting for an owner to decide to deposit rather than go. As an owner on a different island, I wouldn't make that decision until I either had firm plans that did not include my timeshare unit or it was much closer to check in - perhaps 3 or 4 months.
So if you are hoping to lock in plans before you buy airfare and this unit works for you, you might sleep better at night if you take it.
FWIW, we're doing just the opposite for a trip to the BI in late April. We have our airline tickets and week in Kapoho booked, but have an ongoing search for just one of two check in dates on the Kona side. We don't expect a match any sooner than a couple of weeks before check in. If it doesn't work, we'll be renting a condo via VRBO.
Jack

 

[suzanne]

Thanks all for your advice. I took the unit. I think after reading reviews and looking at photos that it will work just fine for me and DH.

Suzanne

 

[JanB]

Waikiki Transportation

If you don't mind taking some time, TheBus (public transit) in Waikiki can get you to the beach. Show your medicare card (if you have one) and the trip only costs $.75 (may be a dollar now) for seniors. There is also the Waikiki Trolley (private hop on - hop off) that will take you all around Waikiki and Honolulu as well as Diamond Head. Cost is more than TheBus but not as many stops and they even have a 4 day pass. Check out some of the coupon books. We've found a 2 for 1 for the 4 day passes which makes it a whole lot more reasonable.

 

[tompalm]

Buses in Waikiki run the long way of Waikiki. You need to move the short direction from one side to the other and I don't think there are any buses that do that. You could take a taxi for the minimum fare to Fort DeRussy Army Museum and that would get you to the nicest beach area. It is not a long walk if you do it early in the morning when it is cool and no traffic. If you do it during the middle of the day, you will feel the heat and traffic and it it is more difficult. Here is a link for the map

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1C1...Dg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CFUQ_BI

 

[tompalm]

Another transport option around Waikiki is the bicycle with the two person cab on the back. They have a phone number that you can call and they will pick you up. I don't think it is any cheaper, but might be more fun than a taxi.

try 808-226-4490 and ask about rates.

 

[suzanne]

Thanks JanB, I will look into that. We are so happy that we have our 3 weeks back to back booked now for Oahu and the Big Island. Now just watching airfares. They are horrible from SE Florida. I checked flying to LAX or SF then Hawaii from there as previous posted suggested and prices were not any better. Thank goodness we have time to watch for them to come down.

Suzanne

 

[jacknsara]

Thanks JanB, I will look into that. We are so happy that we have our 3 weeks back to back booked now for Oahu and the Big Island. Now just watching airfares. They are horrible from SE Florida. I checked flying to LAX or SF then Hawaii from there as previous posted suggested and prices were not any better. Thank goodness we have time to watch for them to come down.

Suzanne

Aloha Suzanne,
There is no guarantee prices will come down. There are factors that may send them higher.
That aside, our daughter who lives in central California has found it sometimes cheaper to fly Alaska Airlines from Fresno CA to Seattle (where we live) and separately from Seattle to Hawaii on Alaska Airline. Given Alaska's price guarantee, there is no reason (for west coasters) to wait since they will rebate (credit toward future flight) the price difference if the fare drop.
Good luck,
Jack