Free cruise from a time share prize??

[thompsongunner06]

OK,,,we received a letter from Williamsburg Plantation and the main "gift" is a 7 night cruise on "a major line such as Royal Caribbean,Carnival and Norwegian". I told my wife this is a scam,,,,,she wants the free cruise,,,has anyone done this? I know we would have to set through a 2 hr high pressure sales pitch. Carnival rep did not help when I asked if it was real or a scam.:confused:

[momofzeke]

These are usually something you want to avoid getting involved with.

 

The "free" cruise usually doesn't include taxes and port charges. It is for the lowest category cabin, and they will try to upsell you to a higher category....oceanview or balcony.....and charge as much or more than if you had just paid for it in the first place.

 

They usually have only certain dates that you can use the cruise.....limited. They are usually nonrefundable.

 

I used to get those voucher thingys all the time from Ramada Plaza. You might do a search on ripoff report to see what pops up. When I searched "Williamsburg Plantation" on RR, it brought up complaints about Ramada Plaza and various other time share companies. So, I'm not sure if this one you got is connected to Ramada Plaza, which does not get good reports at all.

 

I think you would be much better off to just search for a cruise you want to take and purchase it. Cruise fares are down right now, so you can probably get a very good price and none of the hassles of one of these high pressure and usually shady timeshare "prizes".

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

It was much easier when they just gave away tv sets and similar items.

 

The cruises come with so many restrictions I am not sure it is worth it.

 

Though I am sure there are plenty of people out there who like to play this game and dont mind jumping through hoops to get the cruises.

[Fazzdaan]

You could always ask Williamsburg Plantation to send you a copy of whatever terms and conditions would be applicable to the "gift". Then you can judge the value of it vs. your time looking at a timeshare.

[maxamuus]

Nothing in life is free. I would rather have my knee caps broken then endure a time share sales pitch to get a coupon for a cruise for MORE then the cost of what you could book yourself.

[luckycruzer]

in the trash...the only thing it has to do with a "free cruise"..is the wording..which means you pay, and pay, and pay...round file!

[stevethepirate]

We sat through one of those. The rules that apply make it prohibitive. Select one trip per 30 days. Cannot be with one week of a holiday. Only during low cost months (Hurricane or Winter.) Expires in one year. Select four dates now and the first needs to be 60 days or more out. We found it impossible to select four dates because of holidays. It was also for a 5 day cruise and we could only choose one port to sail from. Because the ship also runs 4 day trips that knocks out 1/3 of the trips. One hundred dollar desposit is refunded after the cruise. You must pay port fees and taxes. Funny, Because the Military rate works out cheaper. And that's what we did. And we got to choose our sailing date. Not worth the time.

[willyguy]

We sat through one of those. The rules that apply make it prohibitive. Select one trip per 30 days. Cannot be with one week of a holiday. Only during low cost months (Hurricane or Winter.) Expires in one year. Select four dates now and the first needs to be 60 days or more out. We found it impossible to select four dates because of holidays. It was also for a 5 day cruise and we could only choose one port to sail from. Because the ship also runs 4 day trips that knocks out 1/3 of the trips. One hundred dollar desposit is refunded after the cruise. You must pay port fees and taxes. Funny, Because the Military rate works out cheaper. And that's what we did. And we got to choose our sailing date. Not worth the time.

I agree with you went we try to do something like this, was going to cost more money then booked are self. Run Run Run from it now. Don't get caught up it this.

[calgarygary]

If your schedule is very flexible, and if you can verify the taxes that you would be charged, it is worth considering. However, there is a strategy to attending timeshare meetings that you need to employ to keep the meeting short and painless. Before going to the meeting, do a completed auction search on eBay for the exact resort that you are being sold and print out the results. At the beginning of the meeting, tell your sales person that you are a member of TUG and would only consider buying if they can match resale prices (Williamsburg often will not sell on eBay for $1). The salesperson will want to end the meeting faster than you! Just in case you think you will weaken, do not take a credit card into the meeting.

[trvlqueen]

Our first cruise, on Carnival Sensation, was a 'timeshare prize'. My mother has this crazy idea that sitting through a timeshare presentation to get "free" stuff is a good use of vacation time ... then she turns the details over to me.

 

The problem mentioned above with the restrictive dates is the biggest one to overcome. We paid taxes and port fees, but nothing else (except for drinks, photos, and shore excursions).

 

In my opinion, if you don't mind sitting thru the presentation and can be flexible with your schedule, a "free" cruise is waaaaay better than no cruise ... and I'm glad she did it b/c it was my introduction to Carnival ... now my favorite cruise line with 3 under my belt and 2 more booked! ;)

(so it was a good deal for Carnival, too!)

[Valentine's Mom]

We live in Virginia Beach which is very close to Williamsburg. We get these invatations at least every other month. Makes you wonder. I mean how many cruises can you GIVE? away and remain in business. I did something like this in my younger days not for a cruise but some other prize. Seemed that there ended up being 2 or 3 prizes going and nobody ever ended up with the largest prize. I'd say if you have an intrest in what they are selling go if no stay home. You will be better off;)