Travel and Cruise Showcase 2023 scam?

[ldubs]

Not the same outfit but I won either a free Tesla or a cruise the other day.   😃  I decided not to call the provided 1-800 number to claim my prize.   😃😃

[Gonzowifey]

Thanks Cruise til you Drop and Nurse for posting. The OP and info (finally) provided by someone who actually went through the presentation was most helpful. Thx again. 

[Stem to Stern]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:27 PM, the nurse said:

We were given a certificate for a 5 day Carnival cruise, or options for other vacation offers.

This needs to be filled out and sent to Customer Choice Rewards, in Tarpon Springs, FL, along with a self addressed stamped envelope.  

I'll keep you posted with the outcome!

I am looking forward to learning the outcome of your experiment.  Please come back and update us when you hear back from them.

[RocketMan275]

After googling Travle and Cruise Showcase, this is the same scam that I encountered 10  years ago.  For only $9999, they will act as your travel agent.  Really?  

Seriously, visit the BBB and see what others have to say .

[the nurse]

On 8/21/2023 at 5:29 PM, Stem to Stern said:

I am looking forward to learning the outcome of your experiment.  Please come back and update us when you hear back from them.

Well, I did receive my cruise certificate in the mail.  They are requesting a $99 refundable deposit (check or money order only).  This needs to be mailed to Vacation Advisor, in New Smyrna Beach, FL, who will send me (another) voucher in 3-4 weeks.  Then, I send in my request for 2 separate dates with $99 per person reservation fee.  It must be postmarked 60 days in advance of the dates I choose.  If those dates are not available, then the process starts all over again!!!

We've decided to pass on this!!!  I was really hoping this would be worth the effort involved.  I checked  with the BBB and found out that Vacation Advisor is a storefront "travel agency" with no telephone number to call.

I guess the offer was really too good to be true  🙂

 

[no-name-at-all]

On 8/29/2023 at 12:12 PM, the nurse said:

Well, I did receive my cruise certificate in the mail.  They are requesting a $99 refundable deposit (check or money order only).  This needs to be mailed to Vacation Advisor, in New Smyrna Beach, FL, who will send me (another) voucher in 3-4 weeks.  Then, I send in my request for 2 separate dates with $99 per person reservation fee.  It must be postmarked 60 days in advance of the dates I choose.  If those dates are not available, then the process starts all over again!!!

We've decided to pass on this!!!  I was really hoping this would be worth the effort involved.  I checked  with the BBB and found out that Vacation Advisor is a storefront "travel agency" with no telephone number to call.

I guess the offer was really too good to be true  🙂

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing about your experience with this 2023 Travel and Cruise Showcase.  We just received the same flyer here in CT and thought --like you-- that we would give it a try.  In the past, we went to so many Timeshare talks to get the freebies--Disney tickets, free hotel stays etc.--which were real.  We were always very good --unlike some of our friends--at saying NO at the end of each presentation. We actually take World Cruises on HAL each winter since we retired (except during COVID 😪) instead of buying a vacation home.  At one Timeshare talk we actually convinced the agent that our cruising idea was something he wanted to do when he retired! 🙂

 

In any event, we thought, like you, that we would give it a try and definitely say NO to any promotion.  I am so grateful that you kept posting about your experiences.  The nerve of them to make you go through so many hoops to get the reservation.  Sending them $99 a person twice is utterly insane.  Might as well kiss that money goodbye.  

Oh, well.  We love cruising so much that we hoped the offer would be for real.  THANK YOU for doing all the leg work for us and saving us the hassle.  So glad you didn't get suckered in like the other people you saw at the event. There should be a way to have the police stop scammy events like this to prevent people from making dumb decisions with their money. 

 

Hmmm.....I think I will call the town police department to alert them of the event and give them the pertinent information from BBB and the scam websites.  Worth a try.

[msweezie]

We got that same postcard we are going tomorrow night. I will let you know the outcome. We did something similar with a timeshare presentation maybe 4 years ago, and we were given a four-day cruise, and it did work out, all we had to pay was port charges. I will let you know how this one works out

[msweezie]

On 8/12/2023 at 11:57 AM, Cruise till you drop said:

Just got another one.  They are persistent 

 

[no-name-at-all]

25 minutes ago, msweezie said:

We got that same postcard we are going tomorrow night. I will let you know the outcome. We did something similar with a timeshare presentation maybe 4 years ago, and we were given a four-day cruise, and it did work out, all we had to pay was port charges. I will let you know how this one works out

You might want to check Post #30 by The Nurse before you go.  They did attend and reported back.  All those $99 each "refundable" deposits and $99 each "refundable" reservation fees seems like a lot of money to give for a "free" cruise to a company no one has verified is legitimate . 

We opted to cancel our reservation after reading that post. If you do go, let us know if you have the same experience or not.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

[lenquixote66]

Twenty years ago I was at an Advertising Trade Show.There was a guy there offering free cruises to anyone agreeing to try a product that he perfected ,no cost .I walked away as did many other people.The President of the company I worked for accepted the offer and it was a truly free cruise .His only cost was traveling from his residence in NJ to Fla.

 

[nowruleny1]

On 9/20/2023 at 8:38 AM, msweezie said:

We got that same postcard we are going tomorrow night. I will let you know the outcome. We did something similar with a timeshare presentation maybe 4 years ago, and we were given a four-day cruise, and it did work out, all we had to pay was port charges. I will let you know how this one works out

We are going on the 27th

[nowruleny1]

On 8/29/2023 at 11:12 AM, the nurse said:

Well, I did receive my cruise certificate in the mail.  They are requesting a $99 refundable deposit (check or money order only).  This needs to be mailed to Vacation Advisor, in New Smyrna Beach, FL, who will send me (another) voucher in 3-4 weeks.  Then, I send in my request for 2 separate dates with $99 per person reservation fee.  It must be postmarked 60 days in advance of the dates I choose.  If those dates are not available, then the process starts all over again!!!

We've decided to pass on this!!!  I was really hoping this would be worth the effort involved.  I checked  with the BBB and found out that Vacation Advisor is a storefront "travel agency" with no telephone number to call.

I guess the offer was really too good to be true  🙂

 

Thanks for the info - we are going on September 27 to see what happens. I’m retired so I have so free time 😊

[MississippiMom]

I got the postcard in the mail today for the Travel & Cruise Showcase 2023 in our area.  No address on the postcard and we definitely have more than one Courtyard by Marriott. 
 

I knew that I would NOT be getting anything free, but I would have attended if it was a legitimate  travel event with representatives from the different cruiselines.

[travelgma]

Thanks to all who have posted about this experience.  We have also received the exact same postcard.

We are avid cruisers who also own a timeshare and are familiar with high pressure tactics like this. 

However, my husband did call and agreed to go.  I am so glad that I checked here.  I knew that it was too good to be true.  Thanks for all of the information.

 

[NYC-London]

I also received a similar postcard with the telephone number of:

 

800-245-8993

 

I encourage anyone who receives such a mailing to just google the telephone number and lots of interesting information is available - including audio recordings of individuals who called the number.

 

It seems that this telephone number is used for all types of travel related scams, what doesn't work one day, may work the next!

 

Any solicitation without clearly indentifiable company information, i.e. name of business, physical location (not a PO Box) and requiring one to call to get the information all point directly to a scam.

 

And for those people who do chose to attend the presentation - your personal information just became gold and will be sold over and over again because you have demonstrated at least a willingness to participate - buyer beware!

 

[jayally1968]

I got a postcard today for the 2024 Cruise and travel showcase and they are using my previous name so it's from a mailing list. I live close to Long Beach, CA and a free cruise sounds fun and I am so frugal and such a bargain hunter I would never agree to sign up for a timeshare and have no need for a personal travel agency because I like to do my own travel bookings and pay with credit card miles.   How did it work out for those that attended the 2023 "showcase" and did anyone actually go on a trip?

 

I'm fine with wasting 90 mins but not if they make you jump through too many hoops.  If I am one of the first 50 callers I will also receive $100 dining savings card...I've had something like this before and you have to spend a certain amount at the resturaunt in order to get a discount so that is definately not worth it. 

[ldubs]

I was feeling kind of left out.  But lo and behold, I received one of the showcase letters in the mail a few days ago.  It went directly to the recycle bin.  

[Rudyard]

Got a postcard a couple of days ago and decided to Google the name of the show and the phone number and it led me to this thread. Card looks similar to the one posted earlier in the thread. First 50 callers get the $100 dining card. Being held at the Courtyard by Marriot in Houston but doesn't say which one. Only one of them is close to me. There are at least a half dozen of them in and around the city. Says I'll get my choice of 4, 5, or 7 day cruise on Carnival, Royal, or NCL (apparently it's my choice). I have enough experience with vendors in the cruise ports to easily say "No" for a mere 90 minutes, but reading about the hoops I might have to jump through to actually get the cruise makes this a no-go for me. 

[CalGal2]

Don’t understand why anyone would think they need to pay someone to arrange cruises or trips for them. Legit travel agents earn their commissions from the travel providers themselves. Those costs are included in the pricing of those trips ( as commissionable amounts). The idea of paying a travel club thousands $ up front and then monthly fees is ridiculous. But they only need to hook one person to sign up to make that presentation worthwhile. Even the free trip stuff for attending makes them money for anyone sending in those $99 deposits and additional $99 per person reservation fees for a “possible” future date trip. Notice that they make you pay ONLY by check or money order. This is because if you charge it to your credit card and don’t receive what you purchased in a timely manner, you can get the CC company to reverse the charges. Anyone could probably book these offered 3-5 day cruises for a few hundred dollars per person directly from the cruise line or even a legit travel agent, depending on the destination, time of year and type of accommodation. Don’t waste your time on these. Go directly to a legit travel agent if you don’t feel you can do it yourself. I just did a quick search on Caribbean 3-5 night cruises and found prices as low as $149pp ( which is the kind of cruises they would be offering you for “free”.). 
 

Edited January 10 by CalGal2
Misspelling.

[ParrotLoverInParadise]

I got an 'invitation' today from "Hawaii Travel & Adventure Show". Upon closer inspection the fine print says they are not affiliated with any of the cruise ships listed. The fine print also says you get a free 8 days 7 nights cruise with for 2 adults in a spacious stateroom, all meals, snacks, and on-board activities and entertainment for 2 adults. This suspicious offer also states that it is "not a timeshare or a real estate solicitation"

[Shellaigh]

On 8/10/2023 at 5:20 PM, the nurse said:

We mailed our certificate to Customer Choice Rewards, in Tarpon Springs, FL, along with a self addressed stamped envelope about 10 days ago.  No voucher yet.  🙂

To the nurse: did you ever get your cruise or airline tickets? I have the same offer for the 2024 show now. Thank you!

[the nurse]

20 minutes ago, Shellaigh said:

To the nurse: did you ever get your cruise or airline tickets? I have the same offer for the 2024 show now. Thank you!

No!  Check out my post #30.  

[ColtzNut]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:27 PM, the nurse said:

 

I'll keep you posted with the outcome!  I don't have high expectations for this working out, but I felt like it would be a good experiment.  Being retired, we have the time and we found out where the free bicycle rental place is in Punta Gorda!  This was a nice diversion from dealing with Hurricane Ian repairs at our home.  

 

a couple months later, have you gotten any response or anything?

 

Edited February 8 by ColtzNut

[Pushkin]

On 1/23/2024 at 6:07 PM, the nurse said:

No!  Check out my post #30.  

Just wondering if you were refunded the two $99 deposits?

[the nurse]

7 minutes ago, Pushkin said:

Just wondering if you were refunded the two $99 deposits?

We didn't send a deposit. We elected not to continue with this!