I guess to start out I'm a sucker for what looks like a good deal. Kevin and I were visiting in Shreveport, LA back in the spring and went to the Bass Pro Shop there. This lady enthusiastically stopped us and asked if we had summer vacation plans?! Me being the sucker that I am told her that we had plans on going out to Utah to visit my brother. She then started in on what wonderful vacation packages they have. She showed us a beautiful resort in Orlando, Fl and told us that it would 4 days for $149. Our first question was per night? And she said, "No, total! And you get a 4 day Carnival cruise." At this point we said, "Sign us up!"
As she started laying out the details to this to-good-to-be-true vacation package, the catch was that we would have to listen to a 90 minute timeshare presentation. Afterwards we would get the cruise voucher. We could choose between any of the resorts in this huge vacation resort catalog. Kevin immediately started Googling "timeshare presentations" and what to expect. Everything he found told us pretty much the same thing. High-pressure sales, they'll always say that's the best they can do and then come back with a better deal, and that you must be good at saying NO! We practiced for months asking each other if we wanted a timeshare and immediately saying no. We felt ready and that we would have our game faces on.
We booked for wonderful vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We took mother with us and, of course, Rylee. Katelyn was not able to come with us. We set out on a 15 hour car ride to Myrtle Beach.
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| I was very grateful for DVDs, headphones, and satellite radio! |
We finally arrived and immediately went to the beach. Our presentation was scheduled for noon the following day. This was Rylee's first trip to the beach so we were all so excited to see her and her reaction to the water, waves, and sand.
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| I think I've decided this is my new favorite place! |
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| Rylee loved the water and the waves. She wasn't really a fan of the sand... |
I've definitely decided that I want to make trips to the beach more often. We had such an amazing time.
The following day brought out timeshare presentation. Kevin and I had kept rehearsing our "no's" and even had a code phrase (can we have a minute?) if one of us was seriously wanting to buy the timeshare. So the 90 minute presentation was great. The sales guy was funny and he really put on a good show. He made you really want a timeshare to be able to hand it down to your children, grandchildren, etc. He made it sound awesome! Then we got with our individual salesman and then they started getting down to business. They way they get you is they want you to think of how much you spend on your family vacation each year. Then they show this number and tell you in 10 years you would have this paid off and then you'll have a wonderful, safe place to vacation with your family year after year. Lucky (I guess) for Kevin and I we haven't ever been on a vacation other than to see family since we've been together. So our "vacation budget" was pretty low. We hadn't really spent much money on vacations the past 4 1/2 years. So, of course, the first number they showed us was ridiculous and they even said there is no way you guys would do this.
The next set of numbers was a little more reasonable, but I was determined to stay strong and say no. After our second no, they brought out the "best deal" they have, but "only for friends and family." They would sell us approximately 7-10 days at any of their resorts to use within the next year and it would lock in the prices we saw today and that way we would make up our minds about purchasing. It did sound like a a pretty good deal, but I was thinking how would we have enough time and enough money to make another big trip within the next year. We have the cruise that we would have to go on and with Kevin and I both being in school, we really don't have that much free time. So I stayed firm and said no. Kevin had to use the code and I had to bring him back to reality. I can't believe that I was the strong one! But we walked away 4 hours later with no timeshare and a cruise voucher in hand.
The rest of our trip was wonderful! We went to Medieval Times which was awesome. I think mother loved it more than any of us. She was already talking about finding someone to go to Dallas with her so she can go again!
Cheering on the blue knight!
Overall, we had a wonderful trip. We all loved the beach. Now to get back to life and back to reality.
