Free cruise: Scam or the deal of the decade?
When does ‘free’ actually mean something completely different?
That’s the question consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, whose “Travel Troubleshooter” column appears in several U.S. newspapers, has been asking lately.
Elliott has expanded beyond mediating grievances of airline passengers and hotel guests to helping settle a host of customer-service disputes through his blog On Your Side.
His latest crusade: The kinds of teaser mailings and phone calls that promise a free cruise for answering a series of questions or attending a 45-minute presentation.
After sitting through the pitch and filling out the forms, he found that there are skads of fees, surcharges and two-for-one offers that he can’t quite decipher. He hasn’t taken the bait completely — yet. But, oddly enough, he still seems to want someone to tell him that he's getting on the boat for nothing.
Except he's not, of course. Nor is this the first time the company in question has attracted this kind of attention. Nor is it the only company working the phones.
And, if you do sign up and pay the "well, it's almost free' fees", then be prepared to board a converted Baltic ferry and sleep in a small inside cabin, perhaps set up with bunk beds, warns the Cruise Critic.
What's your experience? Does this kind of travel promo ever pan out for you? Or have you been burned?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: John | Sep 15, 2021 4:55:07 PM
No. I would never fall for this type of scam. Nothing is free. When I get such a call offering something free, I tell them to shove it up their azz.
Posted by: Donna | Sep 17, 2021 3:56:56 PM
Wake up people and smell the coffee! If the offer is Too Good To Be True, then it usually is!!! Nobody gives away anything of value unless you enter a legitimate contest and buy tickets on the product.
Posted by: Matthew | Sep 17, 2021 5:39:54 PM
I have had tons of those calls come through. I finally after one, decided to try it out. One of those free cruise to bahamas, 2 nights stay in orlando and 2 nights stay in Fort Lauderdale, 1 week car rental and more. Believe it or not, I did this and we used this for our honeymoon. (Hotel was at Ramada) (Ship was Bahamas Celebration)
We did the fort lauderdale hotel before, wasn't expecting the free buffet for the whole stay there. Had the car rental as soon as we landed. They did make a mistake and forget to book it. All had to do was call the 1-800 # and they took care of it. Even late at night.
We were on an actual cruise ship, but it was their own. Nice ship, and just like the full cruise lines, just a bit smaller. Nice room, all the food as well. Had an awesome day in Bahamas. (Did one of the excursions and both got burnt. lol)
Then drove up to Orlando and the free buffet was included there as well. They Also included free ticket into Universal for us.
So with the fees and port taxes, I say we ended up saving over half of what it would cost to do it ourselves. I understand that port taxes, actual taxes and hotel taxes no one will cover. It was a good trip, but I would rather have more a choice of my own.
We had bought some special pots/pan/kitchen ware, and it comes with a free cruise. Just had to pay $100 US deposit for it. But since had all these other things had to use first, requested money back as couldn't do it. Course, all these places will try to offer a special rate to 'extend' your date to use this.
So, free cruise, no, but at a good reduced rate. Not much for 'free' anymore. Even when you get those liners under the bottle cap for free pop, you are required by law to pay for deposit and taxes.