Free Complimentary Cruise?

[TheFanatic]

So I get home from work today and in my mailbox is a post card with the carnival logo, etc. on it.

 

I have a cruise booked on the Triumph in July to the Western Carribean.

(Quite frankly, I cannot wait as you all know what I'm talking about)

 

So on this card it has a verification number with my itinerary, etc.

 

It says I have been issued a free 3 day cruise for two including round trip airfare, and that I can choose from three different itineraries.

Call now to reserve yours as there are an extremely limited number of packages available.

It also has some bonus bit on the bottom if I call today I'll receive a $250.00 shopping spree.

 

This is only my second cruise (the one I currently have booked) as the first was last July on the Fantasy to the Eastern Carribean.

 

So I'm thinking I haven't exactly been inducted into the gold card hall of fame as one of their customers as many of you have, and am probably too new to their client list to be getting offered free cruises.

 

This card appears to have come from some travel provider called "Colonial Crossings" in Williamsburg, Va.

 

Now this whole deal sounds a little too good to be true!

I come from the school that if it sounds too good to be true, it more then most likely is.

 

So I guess what I'm asking is has anybody else ever received one of these cards?

Is it legit?

Is there some type of catch to it, and I shouldn't waste my time?

 

Am I going to have to book and pay for a seperate cruise with this travel provider in order to receive this free 3 day cruise?

 

This is not who or where I booked my cruise from for next month.

I'm located in northern maryland.

 

I'll be the first one to jump on a ship for free for a nice 3 day jaunt with just the wife and I, but I'm skeptical at best.

[Flip2cruise]

I get those cards from time to time. I always toss them...they will tack on so many fees and charges that the "free cruise" will cost you more than booking it the normal way.

Plus you are normally locked in to cruising during the peak of hurricane season.

[serene56]

i agree--nothing in life is free. You will be paying port charges and government taxes. This cruise is probably one that does not use the super saver rate but one out of the brochure. IF its a carnival cruise its probably a 1a cat.

or it might be one of those 3 day bahama cruise on the "boats" that have just 4 walls for sleeping.

 

It wont hurt to call...but do NOT give CC information.

 

if it sounds too good--- (ya know the drill)

 

My question is--- how did they get your information about your triumph cruise?

did you book with an agent that sold your name to a liquidator???

is that even possible??

[serene56]

ok-- I did a search on google- typed in "Colonial Crossings" in Williamsburg, Va.

 

its a time share--and you would have to come in to look at their time share to get the "free cruise"

 

Yes, these are sometimes legit. MUST read the fine print.

[TheFanatic]

I get those cards from time to time. I always toss them...they will tack on so many fees and charges that the "free cruise" will cost you more than booking it the normal way.

Plus you are normally locked in to cruising during the peak of hurricane season.

 

 

Yeah, I figure there's some type of catch to it, that's why I'm asking.

Other then what I spend on my sign and sail card and tips, everything else should be free.

The huuicane season bit doesn't bother me.

I like adventure!:D

 

So what's somebody from southwest ohio doing with a Cowboys avatar?

I'd like to think you would be on that Bengals bandwagon.

 

Of course you could come to the dark side with me and spread your talons as a fan of the mighty Baltimore Ravens.:D

[momofzeke]

I have gotten several of those, and so has my brother. My brother actually did take the offer. It is a timeshare promotion. Be very careful. Do some research before accepting their offer. His was a 3 day cruise, hotel accomodations at a somewhat below average hotel, a rental car that he said looked like a clown car it was so small, and they had to listen to the timeshare spiel for a couple of hours. Like I said, be careful.

[TheFanatic]

i agree--nothing in life is free. You will be paying port charges and government taxes. This cruise is probably one that does not use the super saver rate but one out of the brochure. IF its a carnival cruise its probably a 1a cat.

or it might be one of those 3 day bahama cruise on the "boats" that have just 4 walls for sleeping.

 

It wont hurt to call...but do NOT give CC information.

 

if it sounds too good--- (ya know the drill)

 

My question is--- how did they get your information about your triumph cruise?

did you book with an agent that sold your name to a liquidator???

is that even possible??

 

I don't know how they got my name and info.

I booked with a TA in a mall close to where I live.

Same TA I booked with last year.

I assumed they all have access via a computer to carnivals past guest registry or something.

[TheFanatic]

ok-- I did a search on google- typed in "Colonial Crossings" in Williamsburg, Va.

 

its a time share--and you would have to come in to look at their time share to get the "free cruise"

 

Yes, these are sometimes legit. MUST read the fine print.

 

Yup, I figured there was some type of catch.

 

I knew if I posted this on here you folks would know the scoop.

 

And sure enough, you all delivered!!

 

You people rock when it comes to the ins and outs of this cruisin' stuff.:cool:

[serene56]

I assumed they all have access via a computer to carnivals past guest registry or something.

 

I sincerly hope not.. Been booking cruises for over 10 years now and never had that happen- and hope it doesnt start.

[CruisinCandy10]

I just read an article on Cruisemates by one of the regular contributors about this type of spam. You should go to cruisemates.com and read Paul Motter article.

CruisinCandy

[crusinmama06]

Yep I see those timeshare offers at least once a week at this point. It always says a 3 day cruise...or a trip to Universal...or a trip to Disney.

 

And it's always the same thing...timeshare. If you are willing to sit through the 90 minute presenation though...lol. ;)

[wanderingjew]

i can provide a free cruise with no strings attached just go to the south ferry subway station in ny :)

[ShedQueen77]

ok-- I did a search on google- typed in "Colonial Crossings" in Williamsburg, Va.

 

its a time share--and you would have to come in to look at their time share to get the "free cruise"

 

Yes, these are sometimes legit. MUST read the fine print.

 

I was just going to post that. I got the same card in the mail about a month ago and it's at the bottom of some recycling heap somewhere! :D

[bonniemari]

Time share sales and they get your name/address that the credit cards companies that get them-they buy them.

 

I went to donotmail.com and printed off the form and mailed it in and now I don't get junk mail anymore.

[OBX_Fin]

My DW and I got that card in March and we did the time share tour in Colonial Williamsburg.

 

Here's the catch with that particular deal, and I may be slightly off on my figures:

1. Send $5 to register your gift certificate.

2. Then they charge $249 per person application / reservation / taxes / port / junk fee.

The shopping spree we got was for $500. But you had to pay shipping on items you bought. So yes, shipping and handling was more than the merchandise was worth.

It was a beautiful day for a drive in the convertible on the way to the beach, so it wasn't a total waste of a day.

[thehittgirl]

I got something similar a couple of days ago, timeshare presentation, but different company. I got on a consumer affairs website, and there were NO good comments about the company whatsoever.

 

I didn't even get to check the BBB website, but I think you should. It might be a scam and you might end up having to pay out more than they tell you. That's what happened to others with the company I checked out.

[TravlGrl]

Like others have said, it's like you'll have to pay port charges and taxes for the cruise + sit through a 90 minute presentation. My husband and I used to go to A LOT of timeshare presentations early in our marriage, just for the freebies. We would be honest up front and literally say, "We can't buy your property; we're just here for the goodies." As a result, some will let us leave right away (with our gift certificate in hand that we later redeemed for some good getaways to Vegas, Vancouver B.C., Vegas shows, dinners, cash), and some have made us sit through at least part of the presentation (up to an hour), but I can honestly say that we never stayed for 90 minutes unless we really wanted to stay due to interest.

 

I've not ever been offered a 3-day cruise, but I would consider the presentation depending on their reputation for letting you "get out" shortly after you arrive, if you truly have no interest. Otherwise, why bother? A 3-day cruise doesn't seem worth it.

[popsec]

Yup, I figured there was some type of catch.

 

I knew if I posted this on here you folks would know the scoop.

 

And sure enough, you all delivered!!

 

You people rock when it comes to the ins and outs of this cruisin' stuff.:cool:

 

We got one of those cards, had to listen to the whole timeshare talk and then had to register for the cruise. Turns out we would have had to mail in $400 without even knowing for sure which cruises we'd actually have a choice from...needless to say, we didn't do it.

 

Oh, and the free $250 in gifts.....they are free but they're cheapy items and shipping costs more than the value of the items.

[lagbunch8]

post card offer = time share

 

free= complimentary

 

complimentary = free

 

redundant = redundant

 

;)

[firefly333]

The ones here you have to go view a property is the strings attached. Its not free unless you do something else. Here I had to go view some fishing property/development for retiring in Texas, they were also going to throw in free gas to go drive there. Then they say, that is one of the prizes, Im not even guaranteed to get the free cruise, so I just didnt show up, they kept tacking things onto what started as a free cruise. I dont answer the rest of them now.

[Honeybear]

ok-- I did a search on google- typed in "Colonial Crossings" in Williamsburg, Va. its a time share--and you would have to come in to look at their time share to get the "free cruise" Yes, these are sometimes legit. MUST read the fine print.

 

We had two differant "free cruise" offers, I mean certs and all, when I called to book our cruise it was honestly MUCH cheaper to pay for it myself!

My advice .. toss it. Sorry 'bout that.

[Djptcp]

We received one yesterday from some resort in Orlando. When DH read the fine print, it's a timeshare thing. So, no thanks and we tossed it.

 

A few months ago in our local Shoney's restaurant, I filled out a card for a free cruise. I was called a week or so later and told I had won the free cruise. It was on Discovery Cruises in Fort Lauderdale, but from some travel agency in Tampa. It was not free because there were expensive fees, but the two hotels in Freeport, Bahamas where you could choose to stay looked like horrible dumps when I checked out their websites. Of course, you could upgrade. No thanks! Now we laugh because those "free" cruise signups are all over our town in a number of restaurants. Whenever I see someone signing up for one, I want to tell them not to and that it's a scam. I'm not implying that Discovery Cruises is a scam, only the travel agency that is doing the promotion, so don't flame me if you love Discovery Cruises:eek:

 

Carnival - 1995,1998, 2006, 2006, 2007, 2007

Holland America - 2004, 2006

NCL - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003

Royal Caribbean - 2002

 

 

[randykaye]

my MIL just went to view a timeshare from silverleaf resorts this weekend to get her free 4 day cruise. the 90 min presentation turned into all afternoon she said, It was a hard sell from them, she kept saying no but they really made it hard for her to leave. took all day to get that free cruise where then it's probably not really free in the end we told her!!!

[momofzeke]

my MIL just went to view a timeshare from silverleaf resorts this weekend to get her free 4 day cruise. the 90 min presentation turned into all afternoon she said, It was a hard sell from them, she kept saying no but they really made it hard for her to leave. took all day to get that free cruise where then it's probably not really free in the end we told her!!!

 

Unfortunately, I think that is true with a lot of timeshare presentations. They SAY 90 minutes, but once they have you there, they hang on for dear life. I know the ones in Las Vegas (and there are a LOT of them) are notorious for bussing you out to the boondocks and once you are out there, you have no way to get back until they are good and ready to take you back. 90 minutes turns into several hours. No timeshares for me.

[southbayer]

Yep, it was too good to be true.... Free or not, having to get stuck on there listening to a time share guy yappying is not worth even free.

ok-- I did a search on google- typed in "Colonial Crossings" in Williamsburg, Va.

 

its a time share--and you would have to come in to look at their time share to get the "free cruise"

 

Yes, these are sometimes legit. MUST read the fine print.