"Share the Secret: The Endless Vacation with Cliff Robertson"

A rare but wonderful VHS promoting a vacation spot that deserves more visitors and travelers.

Like the other VHS promo tapes we've reviewed, this is one of those you might have seen on TV in the midnight hour. As for the tape itself, you wouldn't find many copies which leads us to believe these were exclusives handed out at trade shows or obtained in the mail. Given the sketchy transactions involved when purchasing or selling timeshare, it's fun watching a simple video like this to recall a time when Life wasn't as chaotic as it is now. As citizens of Japan swore to never travel again, will videos like this convince them otherwise?

The video starts with a neat saxophone track with a male narrator. The narrator introduces a beautiful area called Sint Maarten—pronounced "Saint Martin" as named by Christopher Columbus, and an island which is under the bounds of North America despite it being located northeast from the Panama Canal. It's a very tiny island with a population of over 40,000 people as reported as recently as 2021. Okay, so what about this place? With influences from the French and Dutch, its island environment makes this a great alternative to places like Hawaii. Narration continues to cover the locations and the places to visit, shopping centers and border crossing between the French and Dutch side of the country. You then see the beautiful beaches, especially ones where clothing is optional (!). After knowing about the beaches comes the real reason we purchased this rare VHS: the Pelican Resort and Casino. Coming from an island that should be talked about more often when it comes to vacations, we barely hear anything about this casino (we say so in terms of our casino section on this website). Yes, they've provided footage of the casino inside, and looks much like the Las Vegas casinos back in the nineties. Anyway, the narrator then advertises the island as a great timeshare choice to vacation in, for a one-time purchase with an annual maintenance fee. Now, yes, I know, given all the sketchy transactions that come about when it comes to timeshares, remember, we're reviewing this VHS for its content and what's it in, not to encourage nor sell any kind of timeshare (lawsuits are still being done to those who were victims of timeshare frauds and scams, so if you're interested in considering, PLEASE shop and do business with legitimate companies and agencies very carefully now that things are back to normal). For those planning vacation this year, the narrator says Pelican Resort and Casino has over 12,000 timeshare owners and has been recognized as the top leader by the National Timeshare Council in the industry. Granted, this was back in 1989, but we're sure their reputation still holds up to this day.

The video also interviews Dr. Martin Vlietman—Pelican timeshare developer, along with regular citizens, as to why they swear by Sint Maarten. Sounds good to me, what do you think?

You also get to hear from Cliff Robertson and the need for more time when it comes to vacations. Well, if this quiet quitting continues among the workplace, along with some countries' citizens swearing they'll never travel again, I can only hope they'll check this VHS review out to change their minds. If no one wants to work, how about making use of their time by going on a vacation, namely Sint Maarten? (In Japan, it's required by law to take a one-month vacation, due to the workload and frequent burnouts its workers suffer from on a daily basis.) Pelican then reports new developments coming up within its resort, which we're sure is already completed by now. Now that we're in 2023, it's only a matter of time this island gets more and more recognition.

The video is very simple and explains everything it needed to, making this a great promotional VHS. Despite its rarity, it's something neat to have and to learn about a vacation spot you don't often hear about, at least here in California where we currently reside. Yes, countries like Italy and Spain are great vacation spots in Europe, as are many of the Asian countries like Japan and Thailand. With this review published for the world to see, don't be surprised if Sint Maarten gains more traction as an excellent place to visit and hang around. Oh sure, with a casino and some shopping centers, it may sound like a honeymoon spot or a place for retirees, but honestly, given that this VHS was released in 1989, I'm sure a lot has developed up to this day to keep up with the modern times. Due to its location, it's an epicenter for hurricanes causing countrywide destruction (this has occurred in the past). Nevertheless, this country seems to keep its head up and continue business, not letting anything stop them. Oh, and the narrator mentions a lot of rich folks stop by and visit, so you know this is a beautiful place to hang out.

You'll get sold with this VHS, but we understand not many own a physical copy, so as a courtesy from us, here's the full video in its entirety:



At the end of the video, you get this:

For information for a
free vacation call
1-800-562-3339

We're not sure if the phone number is still active, however, you can visit their main website here at www.vacationstmaarten.com. Because the pandemic has had us suffer from both bodily and mental issues, the best way to reduce all the pain, stress, and anxiety is a vacation. Honestly, you'll thank yourself and thank us for saying so.

We want to thank Resort Condominiums International, Inc. (RCI) for producing this great VHS! Whether this was for home video or for TV, the promotion was well presented and explained. I just wish more vacation spot videos like these were made. I've said earlier that things are back to normal, shouldn't vacation agencies and travel companies be promoting their locations/spots to get more people to visit? Reports about movies being delayed due to the pandemic will finally be released this 2023 year, plus travel continues to go up despite antsy travelers disrupting flights all around the country, so it's only time a beautiful place like this gets more spotlight. Looks like Hawaii and the Philippines may have some competition, if traveling to island destinations becomes a trend in summer of 2023. That's okay, as long as business is booming!

I also had a thought: Perhaps travel hosts from PBS/KCET will be able to stop by and produce a series of episodes exploring Sint Maarten. If so, let us know and we'll tune in! (We say the same for travel bloggers and podcasters.) From my personal knowledge, I know of no celebrities or athletes that have taken a trip here—maybe they have, and we didn't know about it. Seriously, this lovely country deserves more visitors because it looks fantastic! Oh, and an updated promo video of this would be nice too.

We're sold, and will love to visit someday ourselves. Thank you, RCI, and thank you to everyone at Sint Maarten and the Tourist Bureau! Along with a great vacation destination, this VHS was neatly produced. Great job, great location...great everything! Highly recommended!

Kris Caballero

Founder and operator of KCU Network, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog created back in late 2005. Despite publishing articles and reviews from time to time for the network's website, Kris enjoys studying the sciences, namely Math, playing old video/DOS games, reading non-fiction books and listening to sports radio.

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