TradeWinds Cruise Club/TradeWinds Experience

[CPNY]

As a person who wears a big hat at the beach and gets a sun rash after 15 minutes in the sun, even with sunscreen, this type of vacation is not something I have even considered. I so admire and am jealous of those who can be in the sun enough to take a trip like that. I love a nice boat ride with my big hat and my long sleeves and long pants. I have to protect myself even early in the morning on a whale watch.

Friends joke with me after we have been on Maui for six weeks. Where is your tan? I don't tan. I burn and get a rash of little clear blisters that itch like chicken pox. I am always in the shade or protected.

I wish I could do one of these trips you all seem to enjoy.

My friend on the trip is afraid of the ocean and hates the sun, she did just fine.

 

[Sandy VDH]

As a person who wears a big hat at the beach and gets a sun rash after 15 minutes in the sun, even with sunscreen, this type of vacation is not something I have even considered. I so admire and am jealous of those who can be in the sun enough to take a trip like that. I love a nice boat ride with my big hat and my long sleeves and long pants. I have to protect myself even early in the morning on a whale watch.

I always have covers on and wear a hat, even in the water. I don't try to tan, I try to avoid it. Why, I have had malanoma on my back cut out. So dermatologists says cover up and sunscreen on what you can't cover.

One of the reasons I love the 60s with the Biminis, so I have better shade options. But I still love tradewinds.

 

[CPNY]

I always have covers on and wear a hat, even in the water. I don't try to tan, I try to avoid it. Why, I have had malanoma on my back cut out. So dermatologists says cover up and sunscreen on what you can't cover.

One of the reasons I love the 60s with the Biminis, so I have better shade options. But I still love tradewinds.

I wore sunblock shirts most days. I got color but nothing like the burn I get in the Bahamas. I didn’t put much sunblock on either (not smart)

 

[CPNY]

I had one of the best trips with tradewinds that now I’m rethinking how I vacation. Of course the people I met made a huge difference. I made an elementary video of my tradewinds experience. Of course there is a TON that I didn’t include. As far as the sell, it was what I would consider hard comparing it to what others have told me to expect, But no big deal, I kind of enjoyed it and since I had a seller lined up before my trip I really didn’t mind the challenge.

This is the very first time I’ve put together a vacation video. The app I used was awful and I couldn’t get the video exported to a mp4 file so I had to upload a screen shot of the preview in the app. So please forgive the fact that it’s not uploaded in 4K like it was recorded in.

Here is a shorter version. Save yourself 5 minutes of awful video making lol anyone selling points?

 

[GregT]

Hello my TUGging friends,

I've been preoccupied with other adventures (all fun) the last few years and finally was able to book my first TradeWinds trip. I did the BVI in mid-November on Etta's Legacy and thought it was fantastic. I've actually done a fair amount of analysis independently on TWE vs. a bareboat charter (which I'm confident I could captain) and I think the TWE economics are justifiable (that's a carefully chosen word).

TWE is truly a premium-class experience and worth it for those who don't mind the All-Inclusive (currently $1,670 per person) -- plus the actual cost to do the trip. For a comparator, a good friend of mine paid $15K to be one of four cabins on a BVI excursion with a captain (on a 4 cabin / 60 ft catamaran) -- $60K all-in. So my TWE adventure truly is justifiable (the cost of my cabin was ~$3,800 for points purchase and unlock fees -- and then the $1,670 per person AI fee. So not cheap, but it was incredible and I look forward to the next one.

My points were expiring and I debate next steps. Do I buy more? I do I book via RCI? Do I rent? Do I buy resale? In the end, I purchased points directly and intentionally.

The primary reason for the direct purchase was to purchase enough points to allow me to do a full boat excursion (reserving May 2027 in St Vincent and Grenadines) and still preserve enough points for me to do Late Breaks, which I think is a remarkable strength of the system.

It's not clear how my lovely wife will embrace to a week on a boat (even with 8 of her favorite friends plus me), so I hedge a bit -- if she likes, I can always buy more. If she doesn't, then I am a Late Break guy for the next 10 years until my points expire. This is how I explained it to them and they were understanding, if not surprised.

So......I am a huge fan of TradeWinds and happy to support the Company. @Sandy VDH I would still support a TUG dedicated cruise, if you've still got the points......

All, please wish me luck on SVG in May 2027, I hope Jonell loves it! Until then, I may do Late Breaks from time to time and also visit Hawaii as often as possible!

Best,

Greg

 

[GregT]

In case I'm away for the keyboard for a bit, this is what I purchased:

500,000 Plus Points for $14,000
100,000 Bonus Plus Points included (function the same as Plus Points -- but they may have a shorter life, wasn't relevant for my usage)
Unlock fees are currently $1,070 for 100,000 points (edited: original version said 1,000 points -- s/b 100K)
I had 175,000 Plus Points currently with enough life left so that I could:

Use 625,000 Plus Points to book a Whole Boat for May 2027 at SVG, leaving 150,000 available to me. I had to unlock points ($4K?) to give me the needed amount.

So, I now have 150,000 Plus Points until end of 2035, which makes me eligible for Late Breaks that entire period (which requires minimum 100K+ in Plus Points, even if unlocked).

I hope/expect to do a fair number of Late Breaks. If Jonell loves it, then we buy more points in 2027....

Best,

Greg

 

[dioxide45]

In case I'm away for the keyboard for a bit, this is what I purchased:

500,000 Plus Points for $14,000
100,000 Bonus Plus Points included (function the same as Plus Points -- but they may have a shorter life, wasn't relevant for my usage)
Unlock fees are currently $1,070 for 1,000 points
I had 175,000 Plus Points currently with enough life left so that I could:

Use 625,000 Plus Points to book a Whole Boat for May 2027 at SVG, leaving 150,000 available to me. I had to unlock points ($4K?) to give me the needed amount.

So, I now have 150,000 Plus Points until end of 2035, which makes me eligible for Late Breaks that entire period (which requires minimum 100K+ in Plus Points, even if unlocked).

I hope/expect to do a fair number of Late Breaks. If Jonell loves it, then we buy more points in 2027....

Best,

Greg

Thanks for the information Greg. I have a question about the unlock fees though. You indicated $1,070 for 1,000 points? How does that work? It would seem that in order to unlock the points for the May 2027 whole boat you would need over $625,000. That can't be right. Also, what does SVG mean and how exactly does Late Breaks work?

 

[Eric B]

SVG is St Vincent and Grenadines, I would guess from the prior use in one of the posts.

 

[heathpack]

Two things:
1. What is a Late Break?
2. We used to own a cruising sailboat and have zero doubt we could pilot one in the Caribbean. But we would still far prefer to do a more all-inclusive experience ourselves. I have worked out the details on provisioning a sailboat, cooking every meal, stirring every cocktail, avoiding every hazard, navigating all the passages, and dodging dodgy weather too many times in my life. Yes I could do it but I’d rather someone else do it!

 

[heathpack]

for the May 2027 whole boat you would need over $625,000.

Spendy

 

[melissy123]

Spendy

I think @GregT said he had to spend about $4K to unlock the points.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Unlocking the points is basically paying the MFs. I have no points left, but I think it is around 1200/100K points. (corrected added the extra 00 required).

My friend has 300K she want me to use for her, they expire end of 2027.

 

[dioxide45]

Unlocking the points is basically paying the MFs. I have no points left, but I think it is around 1200/K points.

My friend has 300K she want me to use for her, they expire end of 2027.

What do you mean by 1200/K? Are you saying $1200 per 1000 points? If so, would it then cost over $300,000 to unlock those 300K points. That certainly doesn’t sound right and doesn’t align with some of the numbers Greg was providing earlier for the cost of his sailing.

 

[Sandy VDH]

What do you mean by 1200/K? Are you saying $1200 per 1000 points? If so, would it then cost over $300,000 to unlock those 300K points. That certainly doesn’t sound right and doesn’t align with some of the numbers Greg was providing earlier for the cost of his sailing.

typo per 100K not per K, sorry.

 

[dioxide45]

typo per 100K not per K, sorry.

Are the unlock fees system wide or do they vary based on the boat you buy in to? Or do you just buy points that are system wide?

 

[Sandy VDH]

Are the unlock fees system wide or do they vary based on the boat you buy in to? Or do you just buy points that are system wide?

system wide.

Boat types (cruising, luxury, luxury 60, electric, flagship and circumnavigation) require different points in different season, and different cabin types. Most are standard cabins, but a bunch of boats have a premium cabin, which is basically 2 cabins combined into an owners suite..

E.g. High season cruising regular cabin is 100K, off season (aug) in some basis only is 50K. Luxury high season is 125K. Luxury 60 is 150K, etc.


They sell ownership in 100K increments. But you may use them up at a different amount,

 

[GregT]

Thank you @Sandy VDH , for answering the questions for me! I had a small number of points already unlocked (175K) therefore I needed to unlock 450K to have the 625K needed. As Sandy has indicated, I paid $4,815 to unlock the 450K needed. My total MFs for the 625K boat were therefore $6,875K, plus the $14K purchase price -- so a 5 cabin luxury catamaran is ~20K -- before the All-Inclusive Fees of $1,670 per person.

It's not a cheap date, but it truly is a remarkable experience and we will split the cost with the other four couples that will come with us.

With respect to @heathpack 's question, Late Breaks are a very valuable perk of the system (to me) -- as an example, if a boat has an empty cabin within 45 days of sailing, someone can reserve the cabin by paying for the "unlock fees" plus the AI fees, but not need to use their purchased points.

In this example, a 125K cabin would cost $1,337 to reserve the cabin, and then the AI fee of $1,670 per person. I do not know if Jonell will want to do this routinely, and I can see situations where she does a girls trip and I look at the TWE universe and pick a cruise for $3,000 for me to go. There is no limit to the number of these that you can reserve, and I now have a 10 year window to be able to book Late Breaks. The only requirement is you need to still have 100K points in your account, and I will manage my ownership to ensure that I always have those points available to me.

This ownership won't be for everybody, but it's an appealing addition to my timeshare collection. I continue to travel to Hawaii (I love that place) but I now travel more on the boat that we purchased and I have other travel adventures too.

I hope my TUGging friends are well!

Best,

Greg

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you @Sandy VDH , for answering the questions for me! I had a small number of points already unlocked (175K) therefore I needed to unlock 450K to have the 625K needed. As Sandy has indicated, I paid $4,815 to unlock the 450K needed. My total MFs for the 625K boat were therefore $6,875K, plus the $14K purchase price -- so a 5 cabin luxury catamaran is ~20K -- before the All-Inclusive Fees of $1,670 per person.

It's not a cheap date, but it truly is a remarkable experience and we will split the cost with the other four couples that will come with us.

With respect to @heathpack 's question, Late Breaks are a very valuable perk of the system (to me) -- as an example, if a boat has an empty cabin within 45 days of sailing, someone can reserve the cabin by paying for the "unlock fees" plus the AI fees, but not need to use their purchased points.

In this example, a 125K cabin would cost $1,337 to reserve the cabin, and then the AI fee of $1,670 per person. I do not know if Jonell will want to do this routinely, and I can see situations where she does a girls trip and I look at the TWE universe and pick a cruise for $3,000 for me to go. There is no limit to the number of these that you can reserve, and I now have a 10 year window to be able to book Late Breaks. The only requirement is you need to still have 100K points in your account, and I will manage my ownership to ensure that I always have those points available to me.

This ownership won't be for everybody, but it's an appealing addition to my timeshare collection. I continue to travel to Hawaii (I love that place) but I now travel more on the boat that we purchased and I have other travel adventures too.

I hope my TUGging friends are well!

Best,

Greg

Thanks for the additional info Greg. For the late break, is the AI fee based on double occupancy or do you only need to pay it for the people traveling in the cabin. Meaning, if you go by yourself, do you need to pay the $1,670x2? Also, to qualify for the Late Breaks, do those 100,000 points need to be unlocked?

 

[heathpack]

@GregT Late breaks = great deal!

 

[GregT]

Thanks for the additional info Greg. For the late break, is the AI fee based on double occupancy or do you only need to pay it for the people traveling in the cabin. Meaning, if you go by yourself, do you need to pay the $1,670x2? Also, to qualify for the Late Breaks, do those 100,000 points need to be unlocked?

Hello Jeremy,

No, the AI fee is only based on actual occupancy and the 100,000 points do not need to be unlocked. I do think the Late Break is a great benefit for those that are able to use it. I hope you are well!

Best,

Greg

 

[Sandy VDH]

@GregT Late breaks = great deal!

During my ownership I used about 12 late breaks.