Cruise Timeshare Offer

[ugagal07]

I know I may get flamed for this and I know there is a lot of fine print I haven't read yet as I haven't called the company, but...

 

Has anyone ever done a timeshare offer and gotten a cruise out of it? DH and I got one today and I can't find anything about the company online. If we do the 90-120 minute sales pitch we get a 7 day cruise on Carnival, RC, or Norwegian. Says the value is $2,898.00. I assume I'll pay the taxes and port fees and I assume it is probably a 1A cabin, though that is a lot for a 1A.

 

Basically has anyone had any success with this? If so how big of a hassle was it? If all I have to pay are port fees and taxes and an upgrade fee, if they allow, this is a great deal and worth 2 hours of my time.

[skyscanr]

Well you know they are not going to give you a free cruise for a couple hours out your day right ?

[mrpayroll]

Go for it...Then report back so the rest of us can learn about it....:)

[Cruzface]

It's a scam. They will give you a free cruise but it will be on terrible dates and they will keep changing the dates on you until you give up.

[skyscanr]

I guess I should add that for a balcony for the kids on the 8-7-11 sailing of the splendor is only 954.00pp so 1400.00pp is would be more then a 1a

[ugagal07]

Well you know they are not going to give you a free cruise for a couple hours out your day right ?

 

Hence the flaming...

 

I believe I said I assumed I'd pay taxes and such, didn't I? And I fully realized it would take some of my time, correct?

 

I was simply asking if anyone had any experiences with this. Obviously you haven't, so your response is useless.

[elcuchio24]

I know I may get flamed for this and I know there is a lot of fine print I haven't read yet as I haven't called the company, but...

 

Has anyone ever done a timeshare offer and gotten a cruise out of it? DH and I got one today and I can't find anything about the company online. If we do the 90-120 minute sales pitch we get a 7 day cruise on Carnival, RC, or Norwegian. Says the value is $2,898.00. I assume I'll pay the taxes and port fees and I assume it is probably a 1A cabin, though that is a lot for a 1A.

 

Basically has anyone had any success with this? If so how big of a hassle was it? If all I have to pay are port fees and taxes and an upgrade fee, if they allow, this is a great deal and worth 2 hours of my time.

 

I've never heard a success story of someone getting a good 'free' cruise out of one of these deals. If you want to try, good luck to you, but don't expect much.

[skyscanr]

I know I may get flamed for this and I know there is a lot of fine print I haven't read yet as I haven't called the company, but...

 

Has anyone ever done a timeshare offer and gotten a cruise out of it? DH and I got one today and I can't find anything about the company online. If we do the 90-120 minute sales pitch we get a 7 day cruise on Carnival, RC, or Norwegian. Says the value is $2,898.00. I assume I'll pay the taxes and port fees and I assume it is probably a 1A cabin, though that is a lot for a 1A.

 

Basically has anyone had any success with this? If so how big of a hassle was it? If all I have to pay are port fees and taxes and an upgrade fee, if they allow, this is a great deal and worth 2 hours of my time.

 

 

I was not flaming you just point out that if its to good to be ture .

 

There is no company that is going to give you a trip that cost that much with out you buying something that in the end you will be paying for .

 

 

I would maybe do a little googling of the compant that sent you the offer and see what comes up. Then if you have the free time go see what its all about and come back and tell us .

[cdamion]

Depends on the timeshare company. The bigger, more reputable companies will have legitimate deals. There are select sailings that are included in deals like this. You are right that you will have to pay for taxes/fees - and that it is likely going to be the lowest level interior cabin. The cost they quote is most likely the full cruise fare, which is rarely paid anyway.

 

The fact is that most people do not end up using the travel certificates that they are given. I have not booked a cruise through a timeshare presentation, but I have stayed on the beach in Kauai for a week at a great property using the certificate. I have also had fantastic deals on food and tours in Hawaii by using timeshare certificates.

 

What I am trying to say is that just because it is a timeshare certificate does not mean that it is not valid. Sure they will make you jump through hoops. Sure it won't be completely free (including a reservation deposit you will probably have to pay). But if you are flexible with your travel times, you will probably be able to go - and pay less than most others on the ship. It will just probably be in a slow period like right after school starts in the fall, or in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[Ken076]

I know I may get flamed for this and I know there is a lot of fine print I haven't read yet as I haven't called the company, but...

 

Has anyone ever done a timeshare offer and gotten a cruise out of it? DH and I got one today and I can't find anything about the company online. If we do the 90-120 minute sales pitch we get a 7 day cruise on Carnival, RC, or Norwegian. Says the value is $2,898.00. I assume I'll pay the taxes and port fees and I assume it is probably a 1A cabin, though that is a lot for a 1A.

 

Basically has anyone had any success with this? If so how big of a hassle was it? If all I have to pay are port fees and taxes and an upgrade fee, if they allow, this is a great deal and worth 2 hours of my time.

 

ugagal07 - See a similar thread at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1334957 - apparently the timeShare Company "subcontracts" the airfare/cruise to a Promotions Company that makes you go thru a lot of hoops to get the cruise and you'll probably have to pay Govt Fees & Taxes and a "Processing Fee". In other threads posters indicated that they ended-up paying not much different than what they would have paid for a cruiseline Promo Rate or sale.

 

We have a relative in same situation as yours - post any experiences you have?

 

thanks,

Ken

[skyscanr]

Well one of these a few years back is what got us started in crusing. But with what they want to charge us for fees and such and the trouble getting a date and the no refundable booking depsoit before we could even just get a list of dates .

 

Well we said to hell with it and just booked a suite on the fantasy and have never looked back and now really when those offer come in the mail they go right in the trash

[firefly333]

I did one similar and it wasnt a time share, but a vacation club they said (still about the same money to buy in).

 

Took me over a year, still didnt have my so called free cruise, went to BBB to get them to provide one. They were just going to give me my money back when I went to BBB after waiting a year.

 

The fees and taxes for a 7 day they offered free was $299 pp, or $179 pp for a 4 day. I was promised Galveston which is a lot more expensive port than FL, then they tried to bait and switch to a cruise out of Miami. I dont fly to Miami for a Carnival cruise. I finally got New Orleans, but not Galveston as promised.

 

PS they upgraded us from a 1A they said. .. we got the last inside cabin, bottom deck, I swear next to the engine. Our ceiling and back wall shook, the tv was green colored so you couldnt watch it and the odd bangings on the wall and ceiling woke me up all night. The cabin is usually used for storage.

[Ken076]

I did one similar and it wasnt a time share, but a vacation club they said (still about the same money to buy in).

 

Took me over a year, still didnt have my so called free cruise, went to BBB to get them to provide one. They were just going to give me my money back when I went to BBB after waiting a year.

 

The fees and taxes for a 7 day they offered free was $299 pp, or $179 pp for a 4 day. I was promised Galveston which is a lot more expensive port than FL, then they tried to bait and switch to a cruise out of Miami. I dont fly to Miami for a Carnival cruise. I finally got New Orleans, but not Galveston as promised.

 

PS they upgraded us from a 1A they said. .. we got the last inside cabin, bottom deck, I swear next to the engine. Our ceiling and back wall shook, the tv was green colored so you couldnt watch it and the odd bangings on the wall and ceiling woke me up all night. The cabin is usually used for storage.

 

fire - we have a relative in the same situation.

• For the 4-day the $179pp for Govt Fees & Taxes sounds high for just Govt Fees & Taxes - was there also a "Processing Fee" in that $179?
  
• How much do you figure you could have booked same cruise for via any of the Promo rates?
  
• Sounds like you had to pay upfront and then (attempt to) book?
  
• The Vacation Club also touted free airfare for the cruise - any idea of what charges are involved there? I'm gtuessing they use a consolidator and you get the info for the flight they chose, maybe 30 days out.
  

thanks, Ken

[golfadj]

There have been many threads on this and so far very few people have been successful in getting a "free" cruise.

 

Seems to be way more trouble than it is worth.

[americanmama]

Dh and I received a time-share sales pitch with a 'free' cruise' for listening to the 2 hour sales pitch, (which generally turns out to be closer to 3 hours). We were thinking we would get to sail out of New Orleans, but noooo, our only options were Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami...for us, not an option, as we live in Louisiana. By the time we paid port fees, and processing fees, etc, we could have found a cheaper cruise than the so called 'free' one. They did make it sound so good, but truly it was one of those cases, that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. Sadly we filed it, in our shredder.

[OhioGramsey]

Well one of these a few years back is what got us started in crusing. But with what they want to charge us for fees and such and the trouble getting a date and the no refundable booking depsoit before we could even just get a list of dates .

 

Well we said to hell with it and just booked a suite on the fantasy and have never looked back and now really when those offer come in the mail they go right in the trash

 

I had to laugh when I saw this because this is the same thing that we did last fall down to booking our first cruise also on the Fantasy! Only difference we paid the $100 deposit. We got the deposit back one week after we requested it, surprised us.

[firefly333]

fire - we have a relative in the same situation.

• For the 4-day the $179pp for Govt Fees & Taxes sounds high for just Govt Fees & Taxes - was there also a "Processing Fee" in that $179?
  
• How much do you figure you could have booked same cruise for via any of the Promo rates?
  
• Sounds like you had to pay upfront and then (attempt to) book?
  
• The Vacation Club also touted free airfare for the cruise - any idea of what charges are involved there? I'm gtuessing they use a consolidator and you get the info for the flight they chose, maybe 30 days out.
  

thanks, Ken

 

They never said GOVT fees, just said fees, so I assumed processing fees. I drove to the cruise. Price only good certain times. They cited such rules as the cruise couldnt be within 2 weeks of a holiday, and president day and all kinds of holidays early in the year, so I knew by the time I got to last fall either book it or it would expire. They had my money for a year and there is a time limit to get booked.

 

Their first emails were all full priced. How much in addition to what Id already paid. The lady tried to do a deaf ear to me saying I wanted the cruise I was promised and kept sending me other dates full priced. Lots of BS finally when she realized I wasnt going to pay full price. Id never contacted BBB before, so I was surprised it opened a dispute, but it was the trick to getting the cruise, such as the cabin was.

 

I got the idea she was used to ignoring what people said and some people probably cave and just pay what is asked to get their cruise and steam rolling people like they tried to do me usually works.

 

New Orleans, even if the price dropped to say $250 pp lets say ...there are still add on taxes and fees, so you are at closer to $300 per person vs. the $179 pp including taxes and fees. Had it been a florida port, then I would not have bothered. .. I did it because I was promised Galveston, which is a more expensive port. The TA finally told me I was never getting Galveston, it was always a premium port, for all dates.

[hpreece]

I know I may get flamed for this and I know there is a lot of fine print I haven't read yet as I haven't called the company, but...

 

Has anyone ever done a timeshare offer and gotten a cruise out of it? DH and I got one today and I can't find anything about the company online. If we do the 90-120 minute sales pitch we get a 7 day cruise on Carnival, RC, or Norwegian. Says the value is $2,898.00. I assume I'll pay the taxes and port fees and I assume it is probably a 1A cabin, though that is a lot for a 1A.

 

Basically has anyone had any success with this? If so how big of a hassle was it? If all I have to pay are port fees and taxes and an upgrade fee, if they allow, this is a great deal and worth 2 hours of my time.

I got the same offer! I was wondering the same thing. I signed up for the spill which will be in Gatlinburg, TN...we shall see.

[CT Cruiser10]

I know I may get flamed for this and I know there is a lot of fine print I haven't read yet as I haven't called the company, but...

 

Has anyone ever done a timeshare offer and gotten a cruise out of it? DH and I got one today and I can't find anything about the company online. If we do the 90-120 minute sales pitch we get a 7 day cruise on Carnival, RC, or Norwegian. Says the value is $2,898.00. I assume I'll pay the taxes and port fees and I assume it is probably a 1A cabin, though that is a lot for a 1A.

 

Basically has anyone had any success with this? If so how big of a hassle was it? If all I have to pay are port fees and taxes and an upgrade fee, if they allow, this is a great deal and worth 2 hours of my time.

 

regarding the price - I believe that the book price of cruises are like 5X as much as what people actually pay. I remember looking at a Carnival brochure from a travel agent and the prices were like $1,500 for the lowest catergory but nobody ever paid that much. Perhaps a TA could verify / correct my claim.

[Ken076]

They never said GOVT fees, just said fees, so I assumed processing fees. I drove to the cruise. Price only good certain times. They cited such rules as the cruise couldnt be within 2 weeks of a holiday, and president day and all kinds of holidays early in the year, so I knew by the time I got to last fall either book it or it would expire. They had my money for a year and there is a time limit to get booked.

 

Their first emails were all full priced. How much in addition to what Id already paid. The lady tried to do a deaf ear to me saying I wanted the cruise I was promised and kept sending me other dates full priced. Lots of BS finally when she realized I wasnt going to pay full price. Id never contacted BBB before, so I was surprised it opened a dispute, but it was the trick to getting the cruise, such as the cabin was.

 

I got the idea she was used to ignoring what people said and some people probably cave and just pay what is asked to get their cruise and steam rolling people like they tried to do me usually works.

 

New Orleans, even if the price dropped to say $250 pp lets say ...there are still add on taxes and fees, so you are at closer to $300 per person vs. the $179 pp including taxes and fees. Had it been a florida port, then I would not have bothered. .. I did it because I was promised Galveston, which is a more expensive port. The TA finally told me I was never getting Galveston, it was always a premium port, for all dates.

 

Fire - Last Question - Did you have to pay the "fees" upfront , then attempt to book later, or did you pay and book at same time, then got jerked around on dates/ports/fares?

 

thanks! ken