How do YOU pay, little chunks or one big lump??

[Shaded Lady]

Our last cruise and the one coming up (but WAAAAY too slowly) we did something different. I have Marriott timeshares that, with our schedule and a move to Texas, we are finding hard to actually use. We found out that we can cash in our points for cruises! All we have to pay is port fees & taxes.

 

So if I figure out how much each timeshare week costs us for a year and convert the points into dollars, it works out to be about the same cost as a past guest rate. But the huge bonus is that rather than let the timeshare points go to waste, I get to take a cruise! There may not be a ton of Marriott timeshares within a day's drive of Austin Texas, but there sure as heck are some great cruise ports!

 

So my answer was I bit the bullet and spent all my points at once... not sure this is the only way we'll cruise but it sure is a win-win for us right now!

[Davey Wavey]

So if I figure out how much each timeshare week costs us for a year and convert the points into dollars, it works out to be about the same cost as a past guest rate. But the huge bonus is that rather than let the timeshare points go to waste, I get to take a cruise!

 

RCI used to have a really good deal where you could trade points for a cruise. It was usually a 1 week = 7 day cruise. It was great for swapping a cruise out for a land vacation. Then a few years ago they changes it to points for a discount. Totally ruined it for us. The percentage discount works for the expensive cruise lines, but Carnival bookings with the RCI discount is the exact same price as booking with Carnival directly. Fortunately, the plane tickets are still a great deal...until they take those away.