Want a Free Cruise?

Carol McPherson "won" a free vacation. She discovered it could have been the most expensive trip of her life.

By: Carol McPherson

  June 7/00 - It came in the mail. It came in a classy envelope. I rip it open to discover that I have 'been selected to take part in a prestigious nationwide marketing study and promotion.'
  It's a cruise! I'm going on a cruise! And all I have to do is fill out a survey after you spend seven wonderful days and nights in hotels and aboard a ship that's going to take me to Nassau, Bahamas. Pampering. Fine Dining. Casinos. Live entertainment. Dancing. A pool to snuggle up beside with a good book. Endless sunshine. Sign me up and pass the sunscreen because here I come.
  The voucher says if I call a toll free number within 72 hours, I will be booked for the vacation of a lifetime. If I respond within 48 hours, instead of 72, I'll also receive four days/three nights accommodation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and four days/three nights accommodation in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 

The agent explains what I received in the mail is a travel voucher for $1,800 attached to my wonderful holiday. But read a little closer. It's not a voucher for a holiday. It's a voucher for a 45% discount on a holiday.

  The vacation resorts on the voucher are reputable ones, so I call. Well, I almost made it. The agent explains what I received in the mail is a travel voucher for $1,800 attached to my wonderful holiday. But read a little closer. It's not a voucher for a holiday. It's a voucher for a 45% discount on a holiday.
  There are four packages available. Once I agree to take the holiday and give out my credit card number, the agent will tell me the cost. Oh yes, did I mention the holiday is for up to four people?
  I read the fine print.
  The travel itinerary will take me first to south Florida. I have to pay for my own flight there. No limo service, but I get seven free days of car rental.
  While staying at the very elegant resort hotel in Florida, I am entitled to two nights of first class accommodation. Golf, swim, ski, relax by the pool, and see the sights. I have to pay for everything, but the accommodation. I even pay for my own meals.
  Next stop, the cruise onboard a luxury liner to Nassau, Bahamas. Fine dining, a pool on deck, dancing, live entertainment and CASINOS. Endless casinos. Even childcare so I can stay at the casinos longer. Meals are included, but what I spend at the casinos comes out of my own pocket. Oh, I almost forgot. If the ship's photographer takes my picture, I have to pay for that too.
  Once in Nassau, I have until departure time the next day to spend some more money. I sleep onboard the ship but there is duty-free shopping, fishing, snorkeling, shopping, golf, shopping and meals on the island. Ah yes, a dream vacation.
  Then it's back to Florida for the last two days of my dream vacation. Disney World. Universal Studios. Meals and souvenirs. Money, money and more money.
  Well, there goes that discount vacation package. And the total cost to me?
  My personal dignity when I get the final bill.
 

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is

  I did a little investigating with my local travel agent and through the Internet. The travel agent says if the company doesn't want to provide a price up front, forget the package. And I - you, too - should never, never give out a credit card number for something I haven't solicited on my own. In this case, the trip could be applied to my credit card number and billed later - at a cost I hadn't approved or expected.
  Some of these cruise scams can cost upward of $6,000 on someone's credit card, and that's in American funds. And this one could have cost a lot more.
  When researching on the Internet, I ran through the list of Orlando hotels with this particular resort chain. The most expensive room listed at $269 per night. Most are much less, ranging from $99 to $150 per night. The travel agent tells me a two-day cruise to the Bahamas from Orlando costs $169. So the total cost of the trip is $1,315 for the ultra luxury room plus $169 for the boat, giving me a grand total of $1,515. And if I take the $99 room then the grand total of my luxury vacation is $669.
  Now, they're trying to sell me on the fact that this is a trip worth $3,000. And it's double occupancy so if I go with someone else it's $3,000 and if I go on my own it's $3,000. The discount is $1,800, which leaves me paying a balance of $1,200. And I have to take the offer on the spot and pay $598 US on my credit card. It is not refundable, but I could sell it to another person or give it away.
  I called the toll free number twice and received two sets of prices. The first agent told me the discount is 45% of the total cost which would make the trip worth about $3,000. The second agent told me the discount is 60% of the total cost which makes the trip worth $3,600. However you slice it, it isn't all there. I'd still pay $1,200 US.
  First they offer a discount of $1,800 for a trip that is worth anywhere from $669 to $1,515, depending on the room. That's a $1,515 trip that this company is telling me is worth anywhere from $3,000 to $3,600, depending on the voice at the other end of the telephone. In American funds, no less!
  So what's this really all about? It's under "terms and conditions" - the fine print on the back of the voucher.
  This is an offer to sell travel. In return for a discount on a luxury vacation, the traveler must sit in on a presentation to sell timeshare vacations in an independent ownership resort. Essentially, this means paying about $1,200 US for a vacation, plus meals on land, taxes, airfare and spending money, and all of this in a company's effort to sell travelers a timeshare vacation package. Don't forget the 'before 48 hours' addition of two free holiday packages to Mexico and Las Vegas. We lucky winners have to pay airfare, meals and entertainment. And pay for our own gambling!
  Let me know if you take up this offer because I know of a little inland Florida property that could interest you - in the middle of the Everglades. There are alligators of course, but the ones with four legs, not the two-legged variety that tried to sell me on this vacation package.

Carol McPherson is a freelance writer with the Barrie Examiner where she writes for the News Section and the Regional Page. She also writes a weekly community column for the Innisfil Scope.

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