Timeshare certificates???

[DFW4]

:confused: We attended a timeshare presentation last week and were given a certificate from "Spirit Incentives" valid for a free 3 night Majesty or Monarch sailing. Only cost listed is the port fees.

 

Does anyone have any experiences with this company, and/or also know about the trading priviledges for cruises when you buy a timeshare? Once we told the sales rep that we only cruised and weren't interested in the timeshare, he went on and on about how we could trade the week for a week on any cruise and then gave us a second certificate for a 5 night on Carnival!

 

We didn't buy, but we have the two 'free' certificates!

 

Johnathon

[johnjen]

Glad to hear that you survived the timeshare banter! These timeshare companies change their names like the wind. It's hard to keep up with them. We have went to a couple of these "meetings" and they rope you in like cattle. We did one in Las Vegas last year. The only pressure was from the sales staff, but we got the certificates and the free lunch we wanted, plus free passes to the kid's video game arcade.

 

Check your vouchers with a TA and make sure that they are valid. You will have to pay port charges and taxes and that should be about it. If they are not valid, check back with "Spirit Incentives" and I am betting you won't be able to find them.

[Seagal123]

About 6 years ago, as an incentive for purchasing a time share, we received a certificate for a RCI cruise. Went on a 7 day Mexican Riveria cruise. Was booked "gty" for a balcony and ended up in an aft junior suite. Since then only try and book aft!

[Deere One]

We had a very difficult time with Spirit Incentives. We "won" a raffle of a free cruise on the Sovereign in Dec. 2004. We called the number and were told to wait for a card in the mail, giving us a number of dates from which to choose. The "port fees" came to about $388 for the two of us--far more than what we were led to believe. The card finally came in the mail (after a couple of long-distance calls--no toll free number) and the dates were disappointing. One weekend in September, two in October, the first weekend in November, and the first weekend in December. Each time we corresponded with the company, they "offered" to upgrade our cruise to any sailing date that we wished. The cost for this offer was about the same we would pay if we called RCI directly and booked the cruise. After returning the card with our choices of dates marked, we waited for any word. Nothing. The first date passed with no word from Spirit. By October, we realized that our third choice of dates was no longer going to be an option, so we tried to call. After several calls, waiting on hold for over an hour each time, we tried to explain that we really needed our second choice date, because the third was not going to work for us. They refused to help us out. Finally, we cancelled, and asked for our money back. After two more phone calls (you know, no toll free number, an hour wait on hold each time, etc.) we finally got our refund. We realized that our "free" cruise wasn't going to be free, but even at $388 we thought a 3-day cruise at that price wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, the company wants to sell you an "upgrade" at full price, and that's the only way you'll get a convenient date. I would never deal with this company again, and I'd advise you to consider carefully whether or not the hassle is worth it to you.

[dougp26364]

I have not heard of the company you mention. I am aware of two that are less than reputable and those would be Ramada (not the hotel chain) and MVI (Mini Vacations Inc). With Ramda they make it sound like RCI when in fact it's only Royal Cruise Line, a BIG difference. The fact that your certificate mentions the ships by name is encouraging. I would do a google seach for this company to see what you turn up on the internet about them. I'd also see if the phone number provided (assuming there is one) actaully reaches a live person or just a recording the leads nowhere. Being able to actually talk to someone is encouraging while getting only a recording tends to make me want to toss the cert. in the shredder. Also check with the BBB where they do business to see if they have complaints filed against them and what type of complaints they are.

 

As for timeshare companies changing names all the time, I think that poster is talking about the incentive program company that issued the cert. While there are thousands of timeshare developers they don't often change their names. We have owned six timeshares dating back to 1998 and to date none of them have changed their names.

 

Rule #1 about a timeshare sales presentation is "If the salesmans lips are moving, then he's lying." Most timeshare salesmen don't really know the product, they just sell it like they're told to sell it. There are those that do own units but, in talking to them I really believe they own a unit just to add credibility to there presentation. Most I've talked with don't have a clue how to use it or what can and can't be done with it.

 

Exchanging for a cruise with most timeshares is a no win situation for the owner. First, you have to pay for the timeshare, which can be upwards of $40,000 at developer pricing in today's market for a 2 bedroom unit. Most seem to be selling between $20,000 and $35,000. Some are even less. It just depends on where the timeshare is located, the quality of the timeshare and the developer. When you want to exchange it for a cruise, it is NOT an even trade. You'll only get a discount off the total cost of the cruise.

 

All timeshares have maintenance fee's. These fee's generally run from $400 per year to over $1,000 per year. That discount you get off the price of your cruise is usually in the neighborhood of your MF's. So, you've paid for the timeshare, you pay yearly maintenance fee's and then if you want to exchange them, you're lucky to get a discount that equals the amount of your MF's. would you be willing to give someone $20,000 of your money plus $600/yr for the priviledge of exchanging the property that $20,000 buys just to get a $600 discount off a cruise each year? I would hope not.

 

To add insult to injury, some exchannge companies will tack on an exchange fee of $149. There are some that do not do this. We own a Hilton timeshare and if we can't use that timeshare, we'll exchange it for the discount on a cruise. Hilton has not charged us a fee to exchange. On the other hand I had another timeshare that we weren't going to be able to use one year. I had to exchange it through Interval International (one of the major exchange companies) and had to pay a $189 fee to do it PLUS, had to be a member of Interval Gold which, at the time, cost me an addtional $59. Darn sure bet I've never made that mistake a second time.

 

RCI, the other major exhange company, now has a points system for exchanging timeshares. Your timeshare would be assigned points that could be used for exchanging into another timeshare, purchasing a cruise (or cruise discount), purchasing airline tickets or rental cars et......I have seen people state that there is an addtional charge to become a RCI points member and that has been in the thousands. There have been many complaints about the effects of RCI points on the timeshare users group (http://www.tug2.net ) forums. I myself am not a member of RCI points so I'm not 100% up to speed on how they work.

 

So, in short, exchanging for a cruise is not nearly as good as the timeshare salesman makes it out to be. In fact, you'll most likely lose money on the deal. Check into the company behind that certificate well before plunking down any money (port fee's) or refundable deposits.

[Treven]

In other words, "if it sounds to good to be true...".

[WECoyote]

The Monarch and the Majesty are both Royal Caribbean ships. They are both older ship (Empress is the only one older and smaller). The Monarch sails out of LA and the 3 day is to Ensenada Mexico and back. The Majesty sails out of Miami and goes to the Bahamas. The wife and I have sailed both ships. The Monarch was our first cruise when it was one the RCCL's premier ships. We take the 4 day trip on the Monarch out of LA at least once a year.

 

You have received some very accurate comments on time shares. I do own a couple and trading my one week at the Embassy on Maui world have been worth about $600 towards a cruise. That did not even come close to covering my membership fees on the time share. Not a very good deal under any circumstances.

 

As far as the voucher you received. Odds are you are going to have a difficult time redeeming it. There are tons of black out dates and I found it impossible to find a date that would work for us when I received a voucher for a cruise. And, my certificate was from a fairly reputable company. Good luck with your trip. I hope it works out.

[abridalmaven]

The "free cruise" aside, I know how to outsmart the timeshare trap. Now do not get me wrong, I Own ONE AND love IT, BUT DID NOT PAY THE ASKING PRICE, or anything near it. I listened to the speel and then told them, my husband was laid off right before we came on this trip and no longer have the resources to buy one. They I go home and BID on EBAY. A number of years ago I was quoted $20,000 for the one I wanted in Wesgate. I got a week on EBAY for $4000, quite a difference!

[sherin65]

I was selling real estate a few years ago and we had the chance to buy these certificates from some marketing company. We were to use them as thank you gifts for customers that purchased or sold a home through us or to people that bought lots in new subdivisions. I can't remember the cost but it was significant(they wanted us to pay around $100.00 for each certificate we booked). I didn't buy any, nor do I know any agents in my office that did. No one wanted to push their client into a timeshare sales pitch.

[dougp26364]

I was selling real estate a few years ago and we had the chance to buy these certificates from some marketing company. We were to use them as thank you gifts for customers that purchased or sold a home through us or to people that bought lots in new subdivisions. I can't remember the cost but it was significant(they wanted us to pay around $100.00 for each certificate we booked). I didn't buy any, nor do I know any agents in my office that did. No one wanted to push their client into a timeshare sales pitch.

 

 

The certificates themselves usually don't have anything to do with a timeshare sales pitch unless they come from a company called Ramada. Most of the time these certificates are given out BY the timeshare salesman as an incentive to attend the pitch.

 

Mentioned above is a statement about purchasing resale on E-bay, which is very true. The least expensive timeshare I've purcahsed was on E-bay for $285. It was a one bedroom unit with every other year usage in Branson, MO. Still, the MF's are $400 every other year and I can only exchange it EOY for a cruise and, the discount would only be around $300 for that particular timeshare. Even pay that small of an amount it's still a bad deal if I tried to exchange it.

[NORTHPOLE810]

We received one of those certificates three years ago for the time share thing. BUT it was on Carnival and it was buy one get one free and it had to be at the BOOk price - we were able to take a RCI cruise at about the same rate after researching the rates. Generally speaking, these are not as good as they sound.

[johnjen]

Wow, from reading all of the responses the OP received, it clearly tells me what I have heard all along: that timeshares are NOT a good investment AT ALL. I am glad we never got roped into doing it. My in-laws are into it, though, but I can't imagine paying all of those maintenance fees, etc.

 

They say that you "own" real estate with a timeshare. I totally disagree.

[dougp26364]

Wow, from reading all of the responses the OP received, it clearly tells me what I have heard all along: that timeshares are NOT a good investment AT ALL. I am glad we never got roped into doing it. My in-laws are into it, though, but I can't imagine paying all of those maintenance fees, etc.

 

They say that you "own" real estate with a timeshare. I totally disagree.

 

They are only an investment in vacation experience. Much like cruising is an investment in a vacation experience.

 

Money wise they are terrible investments. However, we prefer to aovid week long stays in hotels in favor of our timeshares. We presently own six. As far as a lifestyle investment, it's probably the best investment we've ever made.

 

Yes, you do own real estate BUT, it's nothing like owning a house. You own a 1/52 share of a condo. While not a great investment it beats paying the 400,000 to 1.5 million asking price of condo's on or around some of the locations timeshares are built. For instance, coastal properties, mountain resorts or the Las Vegas strip.

 

We have begun to travel the world thanks to timeshares and I can't think of any other way to do it except for cruising. So, timesharing is what you make of it.

 

Now, as for the "gifts" you get for attending a high pressure timeshare presentation, that's a horse of a different color. Lately they've been pretty pathetic and not worth the time you have to put in to get them. These cruise certificates are just another example of something that sounds like it has value but in reality it doesn't. I'm not trading 2 hours of my time for $70 to $100 worth of "gifts" that may or may not really be worth that much.

[abridalmaven]

Wow, from reading all of the responses the OP received, it clearly tells me what I have heard all along: that timeshares are NOT a good investment AT ALL. I am glad we never got roped into doing it. My in-laws are into it, though, but I can't imagine paying all of those maintenance fees, etc.

 

They say that you "own" real estate with a timeshare. I totally disagree.

I think you are wrong, if purchased at a good price they are a good investment. My son, wife, baby and his MIL, FIL and an uncle are using mine this week, They would have had to rent 3 rooms, and at a miminum of $40 a night ( and a cheesey hotel at that) they would have spent way more than my maintanence fee. Plus they have an in room jacquizzi, 2 br, dr, lr full kitchen, screen veranda amd with all appliances even washer and drier and dishes etc. not to mention all the amentiies to resort has beyond a cheap motel, it is a 5 star resort. They can save money by cooking at least breakfast ( there is a deli /store on premises). My son could not afford to go if I dd not have it.

 

Plus I have deed and I can pass it along to my son, so yes it is real estate.There are some like Disney vacation club that are points and are for a limited time, those are a waste and not real estate

 

I traded one yer for Hawaii in Waikiki next to the beach, do you know what THOSE rooms ( and just basic room) go for there?

[AFT_LOVER]

actually 3 weeks & we get only 4 weeks vacation. We want to take 2 week cruises so we are selling our 1 bedroom OCEANVIEW at the ow called Ka'anapali Beach Vacation Resort. We tried to trade this Red High value timeshare for a cruise & got 1 person inside on a 4 night Bahama. NO WAY! Guess we will wait for a sale on airfare since DL wants 140,000 for us to fly to Maui, not the usual 70,000. But the $45,000 unit is only $25,000 & I will pay maintenance for 2007. Next door is a Starwood place for $85,000 for freeway (RT 30) view.

 

As far as joksters like Ramada Vacation Club & their $1500 coupon that comes in an envelope that looks like an IRS check inside, for free FLA nights with a cruise on Carnival that is a day at sea gambling & you are back to FLL. We saw those losers who were paying like crazy not to take the timeshare sales pitch, so they had to pay the hoitel, cruise, car rental, and a contract cancellation fee as a woman told us about. The AG office of several states sued them but they are still out there ripping folks off.

Wow, from reading all of the responses the OP received, it clearly tells me what I have heard all along: that timeshares are NOT a good investment AT ALL. I am glad we never got roped into doing it. My in-laws are into it, though, but I can't imagine paying all of those maintenance fees, etc.

 

They say that you "own" real estate with a timeshare. I totally disagree.