New Members - Please Introduce Yourself!

[Pstreet1]

I'm Pstreet1--here and everywhere else too; I have to keep the same name; otherwise, I'd forget what name to use (senior moments can happen at any time). Terry and I bought our first timeshare, re-sale, about 7 years ago, and have been lots of places because of timeshares that we never would have gone otherwise. That first one has long since been sold, but I have managed to accumulate many more to take its place: 3 South African ones, one Williamsburg one (yes, mistake), one Christy Lodge (yes, mistake), and Worldmark. I've just taken the plunge into RCI points with an Australian timeshare and have happily banked the South African units. I'm hoping that with their combined strength they will be able to get trades I want.

Currently, DH and I are at our second home in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, just south of San Diego, listening to the waves and enjoying the cool breezes. We are not missing Phoenix at this point.

Pat

[bigfrank]

Pat it's nice to see you here. Thank you for coming over.

[I-DE-HO]

Hi Big Frank & everyone else,
I'm a veteran member of TUG and a former Moderator. My TUG handle is 'philemer'. I'm not sure why I chose a new handle for this BBS. I've heard variety is the spice of life though.

Started in the t/s world with two SA purchases and later on added a TX, UT and HI week. Sold one of my SA weeks last winter. I have been pleased with my trades so far (RCI, TPI & SFX). Hoping this BBS will grow & prosper.



Phil

[tonyg]

Welcome Pstreet and phil. Nice to see a couple of familiar new faces.

[IreneLF]

Hi I'm Irene (IreneLF) and found the TUG boards a yr and a half ago. Unlike many, I only own one timeshare, Smugglers Notch in VT., but have traveled a lot (mostly before the kids came along ) and try to help where I can.
I just met Big Frank at the McCartney concert and he's posted a picture of us - I must say we are both cuter than that ) and that is how I found my way to these boards.
My family consists of my long time husband and a 14 y.o. son and 12 y.o. daughter. It's because of the kids that we don't own more timeshares, (they eat all the money in various ways) but also because of them that we do -- after staying in a 2 BR unit there was no way I was ever going back to a hotel room for longer than a night or two.
I've learned a lot from all the people on TUG and just want to thank everyone for all the tips, past and future!

[jnettes]

[I tried posting this, but got an error, so hopefully this doesn't post twice!]

Hello everyone! I am new here, and am hoping to get more insight on timeshare stuff. I purchased a timeshare with Grand Pacific Palisades in 2001 with my boyfriend, and we purchased odd years. Since then, I got laid off in 2002, found a job that pays less but am still keeping up with payments. My boyfriend is paying the maintenance fees, but has recently purchased a new home and we may not be able to continue paying for this.

But I'm hoping to be able to keep the timeshare and maybe rent out our weeks that we can't use, then use that money to pay for the fees?? Other options that I'm thinking of is working with my siblings (I have 6) so they can use it on their vacations. But I don't know exactly how all this works.

We have 2 weeks banked with RCI and it's tough to plan ahead. When we do decide to take a vacation, it's usually within a few months and there are no resorts available in the area we want to go to. We tried exchanging for a cruise this summer, but was warned against doing so by cruisecritic members, and we ended up saving money by not doing the exchange.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get a lot of info from experienced t/s'ers like you and in the end, if we decide that selling is the best option for us, then hopefully we can do it without losing out on a lot.

-Jeannette

[riverside]

Hi, I'm Linda. Riverside on both tug and here because we live (guess where??) on a river! From our house in Northern Michigan we could boat to anywhere in the world by going out the waterway to the Great Lakes and then to wherever!

I have been teaching for 32 years and could retire, but still love it too much. I am also the Alternative Education Director for our school. Ed is a supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources.

Ed and I have been married 29 years and have traveled many of them, taking our two boys to 47 states, mostly with our pop up camper. But as we got older we preferred a softer bed and wanted to expand our horizens internationally.

Our first timeshare purchase was at the Royal Solaris in Cancun. Yes, from a developer. Didn't really regret it although now I realize we paid too much. But we had some great trades with it. Our second purchase was also from the developer at Windjammer Landing in St. Lucia even though we read over and over on tug to NEVER buy from the developer. However we fell in love with a certain unit and wanted a certain week. Not one bit sorry. It's paradise on earth and worth every bit of what we paid.

We've always traded to the Caribbean until our first trade to the beach in Florida last June. We also like to cruise so probably won't buy more timeshares, but then who knows! I envy all of you with your many timeshare weeks. But luckily since the last timeshare we bought was in points, we are able to trade more than a week for a week. And maybe when we retire we'll expand our portfolio.

[Nadonahoe]

Hi All,
My name is Noelle, (nadonahoe here and on TUG). I'm from New Jersey and my husband and I are in transition (or should I say ALWAYS in transition!). Our youngest son is in his senior year in high school and moving on to college in the fall. So, we are already transitioning to an empty nest and full steam ahead into the Grandparent experience (Livi 3, Jake 6 m).

We began timesharing about 3 years ago - weeks in areas we like to visit ('grands' are in Virginia) but also purchased with an eye to demand so these have also been pretty good traders: Week 26 (often 4th of July included) at Williamsburg in Kingsgate and Nob Hill Inn floating 1 Bd. I also bought and subsequently sold an Ocean City Pointe on the Bay unit, but never stayed there.

I'm a member of SFX and of II and based on exchanges have almost more bonus weeks than we can use! We've really enjoyed every resort we've stayed at (e.g. Nob Hill Inn, Fairfield Kingsgate, Mariott Grande Vista, Sunterra Golf, Weston Vacation Village ...) and anticipate excellent experiences in the future.

I'm in the process of acquiring RCI Points because I'd like to be able to take advantage of partial weeks vacations. My husband is a retired Navy officer who now runs a tight ship (well ...... the mutinies are a little disruptive) full of 8th grade science students and so his days off during the school year tend not to follow the 7 day - weekend checkin pattern. With RCI points and SFX, I may drop my II membership.

I've really enjoyed having access to 2 great timeshare groups - I'm not a prolific poster, still feel very inexperienced, but absolutely rely on you all to discuss and disclose all sides to every timeshare issue. I've learned so very much and am happy with the decisions made based on the distillation of your knowledge and suggestions.

Happy Vacations to all ........ Noelle

[CMF]

I'm not one for long notes.

Usually travel with wife, mom in law, and my three kids. Go to Orlando at least once a year. Very picky, so I like Marriotts. Want to visit a national park a year. Love good uncrowded beaches. Bought a Foxrun summer week to trade and now looking to buy a 2 or 3 bedroom platinum/gold east coast Marriott that's either on the beach or in Orlando.

That is all . . .

Charles

[Linda VH]

Hi, We have been timesharing since the mid-80's. Own 3 weeks at Bluebeard's Castle (down with Fairfield!), 3 weeks at Costa Linda, Aruba and 1 week at Vistana in Orlando. We moved to Florida from the northeast about 12 years ago and love it here. DH and I are avid golfers and he's a tournament bridge player. He is semi-retired and I'm retired. Linda