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RCI Cruise OurVacationCenter.com & ICE Enterprises feedback needed
We have enjoyed many wonderful cruises using our http://ElCidVacationsClub.com contract with El Cid’s cruise fulfillment provider which uses many company names & websites including:
http://www.iceenterprise.com/
http://www.icegallery.com/
http://ourvacationcenter.com/
http://www.myplatinumrewards.com
http://carnivalvacationclub.com
They also book all RCI Cruise reservations.
SFX appears to be one of their subsidiaries too.
Our El Cid contract for 3.8M annual points includes 4 AI (all inclusive food & beverages) at no additional cost whenever one of us is a registered guest. Reservations are handled by http://RCI.Latam.com in Mexico City. We can use our points for many Wyndham resorts with no exchange fee. We can bank them for RCI as 3.8M ECVC = 3.8M RCI annual points. Please do no consider my comments as an endorsement of the program. We paid $356,901 for our ECVC contract which expires in 2029 when my husband is 103 & I am 73. Our annual MF is currently $7564. There are days when I would love to cancel the contract and walk away from the grief of making cruise reservations. But overall it has provided wonderful experiences traveling the world.
http://RCI.Latam.com recently said we are limited to 700,000 points per transaction with RCI Points Partners per year. My understanding is that RCI initially sold RCI Point programs allowing UNLIMITED use of RCI points for RCI Point Partners but later changed the rules to ONLY allow 1/3 of the annual contracts for point partner transactions. Does anyone with a similar contract perhaps Wyndham know what the rule is or if it is really only 700K?
My husband purchased many timeshares beginning in the 1980s. He paid separate membership fees with ICE/OVC affiliates with Velas Resorts, Pueblo Bonito, Polo Towers contracts etc. Polo Towers sent us a letter stating they decided to drop their affiliation with ICE/OVC about a year ago because ICE/OVC required them to pay a huge amount (perhaps 90K?) and they determined only a very small number of Polo Towers members were trading their week for a cruise discount.
I have NEVER found any of those ICE/OVC memberships or RCI Cruise (or II cruise program) to provide a fair value. But since we could use unlimited ECVC points to FULLY pay for some great cruises, we were happy to book them.
I have been exchanging emails with executives at both OVC & El Cid regarding their programs. ICE/OVC/ECVC is starting to modify their contract. I would be very grateful for feedback from others who have booked or tried to book cruises or land tours with any of their companies.
Has ICE/OVC honored their ADVERTISED redemption rate associated with your timeshare/cruise program? If you have booked with them, have you had to pay a substantial amount of cash for your cruise/land tour in addition to giving them your timeshare week or points? Or are you able to book cruises with NO cash outlay except perhaps port fees, taxes and gratuities.
ICE/OVC uses Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_(computer_system). It would be very helpful to learn about your experiences especially when booking Non GDS Cruise lines with their company. ICE/OVC agents need to call Non GDS cruise lines to verify prices when booking (Their agents can book companies like Princess, RCCL etc on their Sabre GDS system without verifying prices.
Non GDS cruise lines include:
Amadeus Waterways - http://www.amawaterways.com
Globus
http://www.Hurtigruten.us
Majestic American Cruise Line - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.OceaniaCruises.com
Regent Seven Seas http://www.rssc.com
Silver Sea Cruises - does someone know their official website URL?
Uniworld - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.VikingRiverCruises.com/
http://www.WindstarCruises.com/
Thank you in advance for any information or feedback.
http://www.iceenterprise.com/
http://www.icegallery.com/
http://ourvacationcenter.com/
http://www.myplatinumrewards.com
http://carnivalvacationclub.com
They also book all RCI Cruise reservations.
SFX appears to be one of their subsidiaries too.
Our El Cid contract for 3.8M annual points includes 4 AI (all inclusive food & beverages) at no additional cost whenever one of us is a registered guest. Reservations are handled by http://RCI.Latam.com in Mexico City. We can use our points for many Wyndham resorts with no exchange fee. We can bank them for RCI as 3.8M ECVC = 3.8M RCI annual points. Please do no consider my comments as an endorsement of the program. We paid $356,901 for our ECVC contract which expires in 2029 when my husband is 103 & I am 73. Our annual MF is currently $7564. There are days when I would love to cancel the contract and walk away from the grief of making cruise reservations. But overall it has provided wonderful experiences traveling the world.
http://RCI.Latam.com recently said we are limited to 700,000 points per transaction with RCI Points Partners per year. My understanding is that RCI initially sold RCI Point programs allowing UNLIMITED use of RCI points for RCI Point Partners but later changed the rules to ONLY allow 1/3 of the annual contracts for point partner transactions. Does anyone with a similar contract perhaps Wyndham know what the rule is or if it is really only 700K?
My husband purchased many timeshares beginning in the 1980s. He paid separate membership fees with ICE/OVC affiliates with Velas Resorts, Pueblo Bonito, Polo Towers contracts etc. Polo Towers sent us a letter stating they decided to drop their affiliation with ICE/OVC about a year ago because ICE/OVC required them to pay a huge amount (perhaps 90K?) and they determined only a very small number of Polo Towers members were trading their week for a cruise discount.
I have NEVER found any of those ICE/OVC memberships or RCI Cruise (or II cruise program) to provide a fair value. But since we could use unlimited ECVC points to FULLY pay for some great cruises, we were happy to book them.
I have been exchanging emails with executives at both OVC & El Cid regarding their programs. ICE/OVC/ECVC is starting to modify their contract. I would be very grateful for feedback from others who have booked or tried to book cruises or land tours with any of their companies.
Has ICE/OVC honored their ADVERTISED redemption rate associated with your timeshare/cruise program? If you have booked with them, have you had to pay a substantial amount of cash for your cruise/land tour in addition to giving them your timeshare week or points? Or are you able to book cruises with NO cash outlay except perhaps port fees, taxes and gratuities.
ICE/OVC uses Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabre_(computer_system). It would be very helpful to learn about your experiences especially when booking Non GDS Cruise lines with their company. ICE/OVC agents need to call Non GDS cruise lines to verify prices when booking (Their agents can book companies like Princess, RCCL etc on their Sabre GDS system without verifying prices.
Non GDS cruise lines include:
Amadeus Waterways - http://www.amawaterways.com
Globus
http://www.Hurtigruten.us
Majestic American Cruise Line - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.OceaniaCruises.com
Regent Seven Seas http://www.rssc.com
Silver Sea Cruises - does someone know their official website URL?
Uniworld - does someone know their official website URL?
http://www.VikingRiverCruises.com/
http://www.WindstarCruises.com/
Thank you in advance for any information or feedback.