Using DVC points for RCI?

[dprincessmom]

Looking for recent feedback from anyone that may have done this lately. Bonus points for international usage.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Rent out your points and pay cash for your trip.

 

[bwvBound]

What kind of feedback? We’ve done lots of RCI travel, including international (Australia, Canada, South Africa) but against our other timeshares, not using DVC.

Don’t forget that you can book ‘rental’ weeks through RCI using the DVC Membership. That is, we can all benefit from the RCI affiliation without using in our DVC Points.

 

[dprincessmom]

What kind of feedback? We’ve done lots of RCI travel, including international (Australia, Canada, South Africa) but against our other timeshares, not using DVC.

Don’t forget that you can book ‘rental’ weeks through RCI using the DVC Membership. That is, we can all benefit from the RCI affiliation without using in our DVC Points.

Thanks I'm new to DVC and didn't realize this was even a thing.

As for feedback, were the rooms and locations as presented on the website? Felt safe in your surroundings?

 

[bwvBound]

As for feedback, were the rooms and locations as presented on the website? Felt safe in your surroundings?

Ah, I never particularly relied on RCI’s website as a primary source of information regarding either a resort or its neighborhood/area. I’ve been using the Timeshare User’s Group (TUG) website for about 20 years for its reviews, commentary and candid dialog. Although, that said, TUG had no information or prior experiences with the two exchanges we booked into South Africa. Thus, I had to rely on RCI’s ratings and photos. In both cases, the info was generally accurate, we felt quite safe on the resort property and given great info by resort staff when wandering the areas. One AU location was a bit more “comfortable” (run down) than RCI’s photos implied but it was a super friendly property in a great location and we fell in love with it during our stay.

Be very mindful if trading into Mexico or Caribbean destinations of mandatory resort fees. These will range from minor nuisance fees (taxes), housekeeping charges, parking all the way up to expensive all-inclusive fees. Be sure to read the fine print on RCI’s Resort Info!!

In the case of resorts with “all inclusive” fees, do consider that it might be less expensive to simply book a flat-out rental (through an average travel site) than to do an exchange + fees.

As you explore the destinations, do come back and ask questions! Likely someone on the boards has been to the destinations you are considering.

Welcome and happy travel shopping! Dream big! Have fun!

 

[bwvBound]

Sometimes I‘ve recognized that the images shown in the RCI photos for a given resort are NOT typical. Rather, they feature special units such as the a Penthouse unit or other upgraded unit type that you are not likely to receive via exchange.

FWIW, the RCI page for DVC’s Saratoga Springs includes photos of the Treehouse Villa units. As far as I know, no one has booked a Treehouse unit via RCI. Ever.

 

[bwvBound]

Feelings of Safety is a curious thought. There are so many influences and variables!

I’ve been reflecting on moments where I felt “unsafe” in my travels and considering the factors.

• Sydney, AU, Oct 2016: We arrived Sydney by ship, a gentle 25-day Pacific crossing from San Diego. While not our first visit to AU, it was the first visit to Sydney. Debarking the ship into a busy, noisy city location was jarring. The city itself overwhelmed me. On arriving the timeshare, an urban location within the city’s business district, we shared an narrow elevator with a giant. He was an extremely tall man (6’8” perhaps?), with much skin showing, covered in tattoos and piercings, dressed in black clothing with metal studding. (He might have been the sweetest lamb on earth but his very physical presence was simply intimidating.) From that moment, my senses were heightened and trained on the stark differences between my quiet ship vs city life and I was “put off.” It took me 3 days to acclimate, to know my new surroundings and to master the city transportation options. Once I had command of my new location, I was good to go ... but the transition was rough and initially I felt very timid and afraid.
  
  
• Cabo San Lucas, Aug 2005: We were arrived for just a single “port day” while enjoying the DCL Magic’s ”Return the Magic” Panama Canal itinerary. We’d been to Cabo and nearby areas many times (for timeshare visits) but this time was different. We’d been targeted and were being followed. It was very uncomfortable. We ducked into an expensive jewelry store (with armed gunmen at the doors) for protection. The store staff quickly recognized our situation, gave a knowing nod to both us and their staff, and provided us time and space to plan our path back to the ship. Phew!
  
  
• Jerusalem, Nov 1999: Similar to above, we arrived by ship; no timeshare element in this visit. During our tour of Jerusalem, my husband became separated from our tour group. We lost him. With hopes that he’d attached himself to a different tour group, preferably from the same ship, I continued with our group and ultimately boarded the bus without him. Gladly he had found a different group and, with their help and communications, was restored to me. Sigh. That was a rather big scare.
  
  
• South Africa, Jan 2016: This was a timeshare trip, booked as independent travel (no tour groups or guides). We booked an airport hotel for our arrival day and 1st night as we figured we’d need to reset the body clocks before picking up our rental car. The airport hotel was located in a rough area of town; every property was surrounded by tall walls, razor wire, gates and guards. The hotel staff welcomed us and gave us instructions to NOT leave the property. Ok, a bit worrisome but we had no reason to leave as the hotel offered everything we needed including a delightful restaurant. We slept off the time differences, ate, slept some more and then took the shuttle back to the airport to get our rental car. Gladly the timeshare locations we had booked were completely delightful and in peaceful, scenic locations. We did not repeat the scene we experienced at the airport hotel. While we did have to navigate local customs (paying someone to watch the car when grocery shopping?) we never felt unsafe during our stay and were often mistaken as “locals.” (That alone was a big win in our books.)
  
  
• Rome, Nov 1999: Terminal port of the same cruise that had visited Jerusalem, above. A member of our immediate traveling party was pick-pocketed on a train. On realizing the loss, the men in our group created quite a ruckus which stirred the local men to apprehend the thieves (children!) in the station. With our property restored, we left it to the locals to deal with the minors. It was quite a scene. (We seriously missed our ship in that moment. Leaving a lovely ship is so very hard on the heart.)
  We came through Rome last month and felt entirely safe. No worries, no difficulties.
  
  
• Aqaba, Jordan, last week: We arrived by ship (are you sensing a theme to our travels?) with an extra half-day to explore on our own. We hadn’t planned to do independent exploring but quickly found ourselves on a shuttle from the port to the city center. I wouldn’t say we felt unsafe ... just extra cautious and slightly “out of place.” I really wanted to walk with my hand through my husband’s arm (recall his history of wandering off?) but he shook me off to avoid PDA, which would be inappropriate in that setting. Again, we never felt unsafe just curiously “out of place“ given the unexpected opportunity for independent wanderings along the beach and touristy areas. On the following day we took a tour of Petra, which was simply fantastic.
  
  
• Canada, random visits, often timeshare: Never felt unsafe ... other than attempting to ski something beyond my skill level. We do love the winter sports around the Canmore, Panorama and Banff areas: Snow shoe treks, ice cleat treks, snow mobiles, hot springs, cross country skiing ... and for my husband, downhill skiing. (I’ll sit this out from here forward. Yes, I’m afraid of speed.)
  
  
• Antarctic areas, Feb 2000: Sometimes nature get a bit threatening, right? I lost my footing on Petermann’s Island and found myself skidding down the ice towards a large crevasse. My pole did, eventually, stop me ... but was bent beyond repair in the effort. Leaving Port Lockroy we were “entertained” by a leapord seal which took great interest in our little rubber zodiac. My what big teeth! On Deception Island, I was chased by a fur seal while my husband was romanced by an elephant seal.

In general, it appears my moments of feeling “unsafe” are triggered by transitions (extreme differences of being in ’community’ on a ship to being ‘independent’ on leaving the ship) or my own lack of preparation (jumping quickly on an unexpected opportunity or simply trudging through the time required to understand my new setting, its customs and transportation options).

We’ve done some crazy travel ... prepare the best you can for your destinations, be courteous, seek help and guidance when appropriate and enjoy!

 

[bwvBound]

I thought of another moment, Ephesus, Oct 1999: We entered the site carrying Garmin GPS units. I’d been collecting waypoints along the journey and pulled my Garmin from my pack to mark the site’s entrance. We were quickly surrounded by armed guards who separated me from the group and gestured for my Garmin. After playing with it for a few moments, the first guard broke into a wide grin and started speaking rapidly with his team. They passed my Garmin around and each seemed to enjoy having it in his hands. After a few rounds, they handed it back to me and motioned for me to rejoin the group. Phew! Quite possibly they‘d not yet handled a GPS and were simply having fun. Again, p-h-e-w. Exhale. Breathe.

Sorry ... my brain got stuck on the idea of “unsafe” (or “exciting”) moments. I’ll stop.

FWIW, my exchanges and rentals through RCI, II and GPX have all been favorable.

 

[dprincessmom]

I thought of another moment, Ephesus, Oct 1999: We entered the site carrying Garmin GPS units. I’d been collecting waypoints along the journey and pulled my Garmin from my pack to mark the site’s entrance. We were quickly surrounded by armed guards who separated me from the group and gestured for my Garmin. After playing with it for a few moments, the first guard broke into a wide grin and started speaking rapidly with his team. They passed my Garmin around and each seemed to enjoy having it in his hands. After a few rounds, they handed it back to me and motioned for me to rejoin the group. Phew! Quite possibly they‘d not yet handled a GPS and were simply having fun. Again, p-h-e-w. Exhale. Breathe.

Sorry ... my brain got stuck on the idea of “unsafe” (or “exciting”) moments. I’ll stop.

FWIW, my exchanges and rentals through RCI, II and GPX have all been favorable.

Thank you for all of your information and memories. I only ask about the unsafe feeling as we were on a youth tour this summer in Europe. Our first hotel was lovely and the last hotels were lovely, but the ones in the middle had all the chaperones giving changing our directions to the kids about safety in numbers and not traveling around the hotel without an adult.

We have recently discovered the love for travel abroad and we try to remember that incidents can and do happen anywhere. I just like to make the smartest decisions and remembered that there is the RCI exchange and may begin to explore that.

As for the Caribbean, that will likely always be visited via ship, but I appreciate the heads up about the fees in general.

 

[disneyfool_1202]

We missed our banking window last year and had 250 points that we were going to lose so we put them into RCI and subsequently took a trip to Mexico with the kids, staying at an all inclusive resort and also booked a week in Italy near Rome for my husband and I. In Mexico we did have to pay the all inclusive rate, but we were in Play del Carmen, the resort was very nice (a little dated but overall worth what we spent), and in a great location. It was clean with good food and excellent service so those were my top points! We decided (since our kids are now teens) that we will use our DVC points with RCI a bit more and start to see the world rather than spend all of our time at WDW resorts.

 

[dprincessmom]

We missed our banking window last year and had 250 points that we were going to lose so we put them into RCI and subsequently took a trip to Mexico with the kids, staying at an all inclusive resort and also booked a week in Italy near Rome for my husband and I. In Mexico we did have to pay the all inclusive rate, but we were in Play del Carmen, the resort was very nice (a little dated but overall worth what we spent), and in a great location. It was clean with good food and excellent service so those were my top points! We decided (since our kids are now teens) that we will use our DVC points with RCI a bit more and start to see the world rather than spend all of our time at WDW resorts.

This is us exactly! Thank you for your feedback.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We had a great weeklong trip on Maui!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/kaanapali-beach-club-then-aulani-february-2017.3579889/

 

[Leilanie94]

We did our first RCI in July 2017. We went to New York City for a week.

 

[carlbarry]

The best use of RCI, in my opinion, is there "extra weeks" or whatever they call it via Disney (I also own Wyndham) where you can get a week somewhere for $250 or so. That being said, I only traded to RCI once, via my Wyndham timeshare, to a timeshare resort in Tiberias, Israel. It was not up to American standards, but wasn't too bad. I have a friend who routinely transfers his Wyndham points to RCI, and goes to Aruba every year, and is quite satisfied with the resort. In fact, it is the same one he went to for years before buying Wyndham.

 

[DVCKev]

August 2017 we used points with RCI to stay at Fitzpatrick Castle just south of Dublin, Ireland. It was one of the best trips of my life, and the 2 bedroom place we had at the castle was outstanding! I just could never get comfortable driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road lol.