Free cruise on Carnival - worried about fine print

[philv]

Hi Folks, I received (for sitting through a vacation sales presentation) a free 7 day, 6 night Carribean cruise on Carnival. Supposed to be good for a year. Outside cabin, airfare included. Of course some strings attached, $299 additional fees charge per person. But a 7 day Carribean cruise for $600 is a smokin deal if bonefide.

 

Question - Anybody been through this? I'd appreciate your story, good or bad.

 

Please reply privately, colorado_vads@yahoo.com, and I'll share company involved.

[shof515]

scam!..its sounds like one of those time share offers where you gotta pay more in taxes for the trip compare to booking it directly

 

also, search these forums for the postcard scam too

[BlueJacketsFan1]

I get those a couple of times a year. I have even gotten recorded messages at work say I have gotten a free cruise. There is no such thing as a free cruise. I always put them in that big round filing cabinet. There is always a catch on anything like that.

[golfb4cruzing]

I receive those monthly and they are scam from the first moment. There are many threads on here about them and someone will jump in and tell you their horror story. A couple of folks actually went but I think it took, BBB and their Attorney General to intervene. Toss it, less headaches.

[DocF]

Actually, this is not quite a scam. It is close, though. You must buy a membership in their vacation club to qualify. You will spend more for this membership than any value it may have. As near as I can tell, it will allow you to spend rack rate for vacations through this outfit.

 

Then you get to add the service fee, the taxes, the port charges, airport fees, etc. Your free cruise will cost you about $1400 more than if you book it yourself with a reputable agency or with the cruise line.

 

For grins and giggles, I did my research when I got the last one of these.

 

Doc

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Hi Folks, I received (for sitting through a vacation sales presentation) a free 7 day, 6 night Carribean cruise on Carnival. Supposed to be good for a year. Outside cabin, airfare included. Of course some strings attached, $299 additional fees charge per person. But a 7 day Carribean cruise for $600 is a smokin deal if bonefide.

 

Question - Anybody been through this? I'd appreciate your story, good or bad.

 

Please reply privately, colorado_vads@yahoo.com, and I'll share company involved.

 

I see you already sat through the timeshare spiel.

 

What does the fine print say? Is there any specific ports you must cruise from, any specific ship you must sail on etc?

 

Do you have to pick 3 cruise dates and they'll get back to you?

 

Bill

[GlendaleCruiser]

My friend and I sat through that spiel. I said, "no way" but she bought into the "travel club" for about $2500. They went bust after a couple of months and she never got her money back. We paid about half price for a 4-day out of Los Angeles to Catalina and Ensenada.

 

Not a good deal at all.

[firefly333]

OP I went thru with it. They gave me a cabin usually used for storage next to the engine. I swear, my back wall and ceiling vibrated so bad you couldnt hear the tv. The tv was green, they said fixed it 3 times broken.

 

I didnt know cabins that bad existed. when they gave it to me they dared me pay full price to upgrade. last cabin on the bottom deck inside.

 

The postcard I got also promised out of galveston, which then turns out to be impossible. By paying your money you promise to not hold them to any terms promised in the postcard. bait and switch time to miami. finally they got me out of new Orleans, which if I knew wouldnt have paid for it.

[TheCalicoCat]

They gave me a cabin usually used for storage next to the engine. quote]

 

On the Pride, we had an inside room on the 6th floor. Diagonal from us was a balcony room that they were using for storage. (I know because I was there when the door was open one day.) Our assistant room steward let me go in to see it - as a comparison.

 

As a result, we are back in an inside room.

[golfadj]

In the words of that great economist John Maynard Keynes, There aint no free lunch.

 

In other words suggest you deposit in your circular file.

[WestTxCruiser]

RUN FOREST, RUN!!!:eek::eek: I agree, toss it in the circular file!

[tonit964]

In the words of that great economist John Maynard Keynes, There aint no free lunch.

 

In other words suggest you deposit in your circular file.

 

RUN FOREST, RUN!!!:eek::eek: I agree, toss it in the circular file!

 

 

The OP has ALREADY sat through the vacation presentation.

This is not the postcard scam that is invading everyones mailbox.

 

As another poster stated, I would read over the fine print very carefully before making any deposit. Or just cut your losses and book yourself. No worries then.

Toni

[victory2020]

I know 2 people who sat through the sales pitch & got a certificate. It's legit but they make it VERY difficult to use it. One got a weekend cruise on Mother's Day.

The other didn't like any of the dates she could use it(Jan out of LA) so she booked & paid for a different cruise which is probably why Carnival gives (or sells these at a steep discount) these certificates to the time share companies.

[firefly333]

The OP has ALREADY sat through the vacation presentation.

This is not the postcard scam that is invading everyones mailbox.

 

As another poster stated, I would read over the fine print very carefully before making any deposit. Or just cut your losses and book yourself. No worries then.

Toni

 

Actually it is the same thing .. she just took it a step further and went to the sales pitch.

 

You get the thing to send in the money after you listen to the sales pitch. We have a friend who sent in the money for the 8 day cruise and flight.

 

Mine was just for the cruise. Same thing though, they are pitching a vacation club and that is one of the rewards they give you for listening to it.

[philv]

I see you already sat through the timeshare spiel.

 

What does the fine print say? Is there any specific ports you must cruise from, any specific ship you must sail on etc?

 

Do you have to pick 3 cruise dates and they'll get back to you?

 

Bill

 

Yep we sat through the spiel but didn't buy, that's a whole 'nother story.

 

After the spiel they give you an awards coupon you send to a company that provides the reward incentive. Separate company supplies the travel voucher. I checked them on internet, their business is suppling reward incentives to marketing firms, some negative stuff but not a lot, BBB listed C+. So what I have invested right now is an hour of time and some stamps. When I get the travel voucher, I need a good deal more transparancy before spending any money.

 

Fine print is; $299 port and fee charge per person. No other limitation listed so far. Good for one year, outside cabin, includes airfare. So if I could get a 7 day cruise for $600 I'd be happy. But like I mentioned, I need a good deal more information.

 

I'll let everybody know the how it comes out.

[tonit964]

Actually it is the same thing .. she just took it a step further and went to the sales pitch.

 

You get the thing to send in the money after you listen to the sales pitch. We have a friend who sent in the money for the 8 day cruise and flight.

 

Mine was just for the cruise. Same thing though, they are pitching a vacation club and that is one of the rewards they give you for listening to it.

 

I guess what I meant to say is the OP is not asking about the card as other posters have said to just toss it. They took it another step further and actually went through the presentation and are now asking if it is legit. Does that make sense?

 

I was just responding to those that didn't get the part where the OP has attended the sales pitch.

 

I always toss those in the shredder when I get them. I understand that you actually completed one with a bit of a hassle.

[Rhitson88]

Growing up, my parents use to do the sales presentation thing and only have to pay port taxes and it was legit for sure. I understand times have changed, buut maybe googling the company or calling or emailing Carnival straight up to ask would give you a better idea. People hear FREE cruise and just automatically assume its a scam. Especially around here. But I say to at least dig around first. I doubt the company that offered the presentation wants to be offering a "scam" if they are trying to get customers in the first place. Wouldn't you agree??

[firefly333]

btw it took me over a year of hearing no to any port of galveston before they finally came out and told me ..galveston is a premium port, no chance of any date being out of galveston. Had they said that up front, I would never have sent in the money.

 

(my post card specifically said galveston).

 

I could only choose off season dates to get the price. OK Ill take january next year and feb etc.

 

Oh you cant have january or february, you cant choose within 2 weeks of a holiday and both those months have holidays.

 

So the trying to pick dates went on for the entire next year with me picking dates and them turning them down.

 

If they would tell you upfront which date ranges you can get, then it would make it much easier. They do everything they can to frustrate you imo. It was closer to a year and a half before I went on the cruise.

 

They are going to do everything they can to sell you on a full priced cruise. In fact when the TA finally contacted me a year later, she sent me a bunch of quotes I had not requested (remember I sent in money already), she sent me how much more this or that cruise would cost to book. I kept saying I want the cruise I was promised, not one for more money.

 

As far as the BBB rating, people like me who they consider the issue resolved (not really) are then closed as if no complaint was issued. By accepting the cruise out of New Orleans, the BBB complaint was closed as resolved. C+ isnt as good as you might think of a rating.

[BeachChik]

Growing up, my parents use to do the sales presentation thing and only have to pay port taxes and it was legit for sure. I understand times have changed, buut maybe googling the company or calling or emailing Carnival straight up to ask would give you a better idea. People hear FREE cruise and just automatically assume its a scam. Especially around here. But I say to at least dig around first. I doubt the company that offered the presentation wants to be offering a "scam" if they are trying to get customers in the first place. Wouldn't you agree??

 

Exactly. All timeshare/vacation club companies work this way. You will always have to pay taxes and fees. My parents went to TN to visit some family. They had days where nothing was going on so they did several timeshare presentations and got all kinds of stuff from gift cards to even cash. Its not a scam but you do need to read the fine print before you do anything.

 

In Orlando its big business because lots of companies here give free universal tickets if you sit through a presentation.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

i wanna know who would by a timeshare/ complete rippoff!

[firefly333]

i wanna know who would by a timeshare/ complete rippoff!

 

Nowdays they are selling what they call a discount vacation club. with nothing to back up what the discounts are, just a bunch of slides showing what someone else supposedly was able to book a cruise or europe vacation at.