Caribbean Cruise Line Scam
Caribbean Cruise Line onboard the SS (MS) Bahamas Celebration is a Hoax
Recently I was contacted by a survey firm, and the reward for the survey was a free cruise. I know, this sounds oddly like a too good to be true story, and I should have realized this as soon as it happened, but the lesson was yet to be learnt.
After completing this quick survey, I gave them my email address where they forwarded me a sample voucher of the free cruise: all things ok so far. I was told that I would be contacted within 72hrs with further details on the cruise and thanked for my time.
So, about 4 days later or so, I got a call from this firm Caribbean Cruise Lines. Again, I should have suspected something was odd when first off, when I was talking with this guy, he would sometimes, right in the middle of me explaining something he asked me the question to, go talk to somebody else, and I would have to repeat myself.
Ok, I can handle that. I asked him all the questions in the world, hummed and hawed, and was told that this offer wouldn’t be available to me in the future, and that I couldn’t think about it and phone them back, I had to put the money down, they quoted me $59.00 for the first two passengers to reserve, and for two it was $118.00 total. They put a limit saying I must have at least 2 passengers, and no more than 4. Ohhhk, this was all fair, I guess, since I was planning on doing this anyways. The money, I was told, was to pay for the port taxes and to reserve a space on the vessel, and also that I had three days to get my money back. Ok, whatever, they didn’t stipulate this when I was told it was going to be a free cruise. The odd thing, I felt, was that I had to put the money down right then and there. I looked on their webpage: http://caribbeancl.com/index-3.html (www.caribbeancl.com) and ok, they claimed Carmen Electra was their spokes person. Does that make things legitimate then? Shame on Miss. Electra.
I viewed the page, looked at the privacy policy and checked out everything, things seemed to be official. One line I clearly missed “5. Recipient is responsible for actual port charges and government taxes of $59 per person at time of booking. These charges are non-refundable. “ – now started the fun.
So, I put down the money, and they took my visa and address and email and phone number and told me that I would receive my package within three days, and also that I’d get an email with more information on how to book my seat. They told me that there was no black-out dates, except between a few weeks in April that were of no concern to me since I would be using it within a month or so (February).
Three days later, I hadn’t received even a confirmation email, no nothing, so I phoned the number they had given me and tried to see what I could get. They told me when I told them the time I wanted to go, without any hesitation, that the dates I wanted to go were not available for the price class of room I won, and paid for already (not much of a free winning is it?). My only options for the time would be to upgrade for $350.00 to either a better room, or a 4 day cruise package… Right.
I was now getting mad, and disturbed, which further elevated my previous skepticism about this company or ‘sweet deal’ as they kept trying to tell me.
I asked for my refund “please”. They told me the only way to get my money was to a) resell the package to a friend, or b) they could extend the voucher for another 24 months, so I’d have 3 years to give them $350.00.
Needless to say, I didn’t approve of either of these options, was furious at the scam that I had been dragged through, but glad that I wasn’t out the full $500.00 it would have taken me for this FREE CRUISE package. I am hoping that what I write here today will open any one’s eyes up to similar situations, or even other deals that this company tries to offer. I suspect they get enough suckers like me to employ about 6 people, for I was in contact with probably all of them.
By the way, it has been about a week now, and I still haven’t received this package they promised me would be emailed as well as mailed to me.
NEW INFORMATION.
This may or may not be related, but I’ve been getting calls from an unknown number, when I answer, they hang up and call me repeatedly. So, I did a bit of research and found that this company has a history, and its from a Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines, so I thought I’d link you all to this website that explains a bit more: 19543510087 .
God these guys are annoying. Just keep feeding the fire.
Filed under: Random | 748 Comments
Tags: bahamas, caribbean, celebration, cruise, free cruise, imperial, line, majesty, ss, survey
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This Is As It Goes 
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Thank you for your very kind words. 🙂 I will try my best to continue!
So this is really a scam? I received the ‘phone survey’ call as well, finished and was transfered. The very kind gentleman gave me all the info and the shiny object was dangled in front of me and I got excited. He then asked how I would be paying for the “taxes”, with a visa or mastercard. I instantly got uncomfortable and was able to quickly lie and say my visa is with my husband, all I have is my amex. He then said, thats ok, that number starts with a 3 right? What are the remaining numbers. Puzzled, that they would all of a suddent take amex, I started reading the numbers, by the time I was about to say the expiration I decided to start lying to them for a change. I said, you know what, this card is no good, I had to get it replaced thinking it was stolen. He said oh, would you like to put me on hold to contact your husband for the visa? I said sure! I put him on hold and immediately googled “Carribean Cruise Survey Scam” and poof before I could read “dont do it!” he had hung up on me. WEIRD. How can people work at these companies?!?! I cannot believe I do my best to do others right and people out there just dont give a rodents butt and LIE to others. I pray for everyone raising kids in this world, we have an uphill battle people. The company shouldnt be shut down, everyone in it should be put in jail, not on unemployment..
No it is NOT a scam. I went TWICE and had a blast!!!!
Hey, you all do know that this “ship” is a converted ferry, right? It’s not even a real ocean liner or cruise ship! Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines (IMCL) had a “ship” called the Regal Empress, also a converted ferry, but that little ship is junk now. I guess it’s somewhere out in India waiting to or has already been scrapped because it could not meet the new 2010 SOLAS standards.
So now, this Celebration Cruise Line/Caribbean Cruise Line has been filling the void that IMCL left and now uses this Bahama Celebration “ship,” also a converted ferry, as a means for cruising to the Bahamas for short 2-Night stays, and is specifically aimed towards first time cruisers! And It’s maddd ghetto from what I seen in the online photo galleries at http://www.cruisecritic.com/ and the terrible reviews (hundreds of them) to complement the photos. The photos people took while on the cruise and the reviews people posted after returning home from the trip! And believe me people, it’s all bad!
One woman even tells a story about how she witnessed passengers from the CCL ship getting escorted off, wearing handcuffs, by customs and immigration! Another couple tells a story of how a waiter went around, in the “upgrade” section you have to pay extra for, with a used fork to peel the shells off of the shrimp that came with his Surf and Turf dinner! He didn’t even eat the shrimp he was so disgusted! And not to mention the chaos and confusion during the check in process! Read the reviews and look at the photos for yourself!
This “CCL” cruise company is bad news! I have read maybe a hand full of decent reviews, and I can’t help but to think that someone from that company wrote those reviews in hopes of counteracting the bad ones, because even if just one person says, “Hey, I had a great time, try it out” maybe that will create some doubt and people will ignore the bad reviews as a result of that one good review!! A little elaborate, but it’s possible right? I know all this because I did my homework…
I was connected to the Caribbean Cruise Line (CCL) switchboard, yesterday, after I had ordered something from TV. I was informed that I had been “selected” to receive a FREE cruise and was connected to that CCL company.
I waited patiently on the phone as tropical music played in the background and the recording of a man’s voice came on saying, “We’ll be right with you! Here’s our toll free number to call should we get disconnected,1-800 blah blah blah. Again that number is…” I didn’t write the number down.
Shortly after, I was greeted by a young man who identified himself by his first name and ID#, and then informed me that he was a Senior Travel Agent for CCL. He said that I have been selected to receive a FREE, promotional, 2-Night Cruise to the Grand Bahama Islands! Accommodations are for 2 people, with a maximum of 4. He asked if I was married or single? He asked if I could find someone to go with me? He asked who he was speaking with and I identified myself. He asked for my phone number, with area code, in case we got disconnected. I gave it to him.
Now, I was on my way to claiming my FREE, promotional cruise! Everything included! Meals, cabin, entertainment… All I had to do is pay $118.00 for port fees (which makes sense, because that’s $59.00 per person = $118.00), provide my own transportation to the port, and tell people about the great time I had in the Bahamas! That sounded great!
See, I have never been on a cruise before and I live in Northern New England and we’re next in line for the next big snow storm! So, when I heard Bahamas and Cruise all in the same sentence, I actually entertained the idea of going! I had visions of warm, sandy beaches, fruity umbrella drinks, Coconut oil and bathing suites… But something kept telling me NO! I still had some questions that I need answers to! Here’s a sample of some questions I asked & answers I got:
Q: Once in the Bahamas, do I need to make hotel accommodations?
A: Yes and I can upgrade for an additional $250.00 to stay at the Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort.
**CCL is linked to Radisson, Alamo car rental, and Our Lucaya Resort, and uses these companies to accommodate the customers’ needs at a discount.
Q: Where do we depart from, which port?
A: Palm Beach, in South Florida.
Q: Are meals included?
A: Yes. All meals are included.
Q: Are beverages included?
A: Only coffee and tea are included. Any alcoholic beverages or soft drinks are extra $$.
Q: Is my credit card going to be charged today? (I asked several times)
A: No. The credit card will not be charged until I give a 60-Day notice prior to departing for the cruise. (He answered several times)
Q: Are there any black out dates?
A: Yes. From December 24-January 4, because of the holidays…
After I asked these questions and got these answers, I was told that I have 18 months to take advantage of this great offer! All I needed to do now was give my Credit Card number and Expiration. He asked if it was a Master Card or Visa I would be using today??? I didn’t feel comfortable giving out my Credit Card info just like that, I didn’t trust it, and I made that known. The travel agent said he understood. Then rambled on about how this CCL company has the seal of approval from Master Card and Visa, and was not going to jeopardize their relationship with them by committing fraudulent acts with my credit card numbers and how they don’t sell cruises, they give them away because they want people to have a good time and tell people about it! So I get a FREE cruise and they get free advertising! I still wasn’t buying it, or the cruise!
I asked him if I could think about it, talk it over with my boyfriend, and call back. He told me no. “This is a special, promotional, one-time offer, only good for NOW. Once I hang up and call back, I would have to be charged full retail price of the cruise and not the special promotional rate.” Well my boyfriend was sitting right next to me. This travel agent person was kind enough to patiently wait while I spoke briefly to my boyfriend. My boyfriend said firmly, “No, don’t do it!”
At this point I had been on the phone for over a half an hour and I told the young man that I was not interested in the cruise. He insisted that I was interested, because I had been on the phone for so long and asked so many questions. He assured me that this is a one time deal, only good for NOW, and I won’t have another opportunity like this again.
I asked exactly how much was I going to be charged after everything is all said and done? The young man said well, $650.00 will be charged today, and $118.00 will be “diverted” to pay for the port fees. So, red flags started going up. We went from paying just $118.00 for port fees to $650.00 for… what? I asked what the extra charges were for. He said they were to pay for the extended stay package. I don’t remember ordering an extended stay package at any point during the conversation. I didn’t want that! I was told that if I did not purchase the extended stay package then I couldn’t get the special offer for the hotel accommodations at the Our Lucaya Resort & Golf Course, and I could just stay on the “ship” in my cabin. So this goes back to question 1… I didn’t have to make hotel arrangements, it was optional and comes with a marked up price tag. Oh, and the $118.00 is due NOW to pay for port fees. He asked me again for my Credit Card numbers, expiration date, and is it Master Card or Visa.
During our conversation, I asked many times if my Credit Card was going to be charged. I was told many times no, not until I give a 60-Day notice prior to departure. Now the $118.00 is due now, in full?!
I already knew that my Credit Card is linked directly to my bank account and I knew how much was in there. I also know that I have been out of work on a Medical Leave of Absence for the past 4 weeks and have no income from my job. I also know that I am a single Mom raising two kids and Christmas is right around the corner. I explained to the young man all this and if I charge $118.00 to my account right now, it would be irresponsible of me to do as a parent. I realize that under normal circumstances $118.00 isn’t a lot, but I can’t afford to lose that right now, that is why I had been asking all through the conversation, “Is my card going to be charged today?”
I soon found out that it would have been, it was just a matter of how much would be charged… $118.00, $650.00, how much? I couldn’t get simple, straight answers from these people. He was very vague when he answered my questions and contradicted himself on several occasions.
He extended a “special courtesy” and did a “special favor” by giving me his direct number, his hours of availability, told me to call back when I had the funds available, said thanks and enjoy the rest of my day.
I didn’t actually purchase a “cruise” and I didn’t allow them to charge my card because I was too afraid… It didn’t feel right! I am glad that I didn’t do it. I got curious about this company and for some reason I began doing a lot of research and I have read hundreds of reviews and seen many photos of this boat they are disguising as a luxury ocean liner, and it’s nothing more than an old converted ferry boat.
The number I got was 1-888-456-0505 for CCL. The direct line to the Senior Travel Agent was 1-888-333-1180. I also got a website to visit to check things out. http://www.grandcaribbeancl.com/
My advice to you all is this: Do your research like I did, before you give out any Credit Card information, not after. But, things happen and people do make mistakes. When that happens, contact your Credit Card company or bank first to resolve the problem, instead of calling this company. You’ll get a full refund from this company when hell freezes over! Call the Credit Card company or bank that issued your card, they will be more likely to help you get a refund or stop the payment, if it’s early enough. Good luck to you all!
Also this was found on the Bahama Celebration registration form (at the very very bottom in little tiny fine print, so you can’t read it) to claim a FREE cruise…
*Traveler responsible for port taxes of $59 per person, gratuities, incidentals, transportation to and from award destination. The Bahamas Celebration reserves the right to charge an additional fuel supplement of up to $9.00 per person per day on all passengers, to be collected at time of embarkation without prior notice, in the event that the price of light sweet crude oil according to the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange Index) is greater than $40.00 per barrel of oil. Limit one cruise per household and family. BY ENTERING THIS PROMOTION YOU EXPRESSLY REQUEST A RETURN TELEPHONE CALL FROM CARIBBEAN CRUISE LINE (CRC) AND AGREE THAT CRC MAY CONTACT YOU BY TELEPHONE, EMAIL, ELECTRONIC VOICEMAIL, OR MAIL FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING VARIOUS TRAVEL OFFERS. YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ALL FEDERAL AND STATE NO-CALL REGISTRY PROTECTIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUTURE MARKETING BY CRC. Complete terms and conditions of offer available from CRC. Caribbean Cruise Line is not a participant in the California Travel Consumer Restitution Fund.
Thanks for the heads up, many people, no doubt, missed this.
Thank you very much for taking the time to post such a long and explanatory comment. I am very happy to hear that you haven’t been scammed by this company, and that your boyfriend was there to give very sage advice in your ear.
I am very curious what some of these other reviews are out there, I haven’t seen any photos of the actual cruise, but I’ve heard many stories. You may want to keep in mind that they will periodically call you back unless you explicitly say: “Please take me off your phone list.” I was called for weeks afterwards until I finally did this. Seems obvious after the fact. It was very hard to not let my emotions take me over.
I hope that you have a very merry Christmas, and your health returns, and one day you do indeed get to go on a luxury cruise! Good luck!
This is sad, but true. I worked for this awful company. And guess what? They didn’t even pay me! If you can imagine. I spent 8 hours a day working for them and after 2 weeks I couldn’t take it anymore and the terrible lies they fed people… for crying out loud their business cards are printed from one of those free business card websites- that should have been my first notice to stay away from these people. Not only do they steal people’s money, but they left me without a paycheck to take care of my family. They are liars and thieves and I feel sorry for anyone who would buy into such a scam. May they rot in HELL.
Wow, there you have it. From the mouths of an employee. Ashley, thank you very much for posting this. I think it’s safe to say now we have insider information and all is settled!
As for everybody that comes and reads this now, I hope you get to read this comment.
Hi,
I just got back from my cruise with on the Bahama celebration. I want to file a law suit against the company for selling things that fell through on my trip and being flat out lied to about what I purchased. Does anyone want to join me so we can file a class action law suit? I look forward to hearing from you guys soon. Reply to me directly @ derk.mat@gmail.com
Thank you,
Lets shut this business down!!!!
I will be contacting you shortly. I was wondering if somebody was going to start something.
Ashley,
Please contact me at derk.mat@gmail.com. We can file a class action law suit against this company and get them for their illegal practices!!! I look forward to hearing from you soon.
I just got a call with the survey thing and free cruise same scam still going on. They almost got me but I told them send me the info in the mail. They would only do it over the phone with the same 59 per person 2-4 people. I hung up once they asked me again for credit card info.
Smart move roadmasta. Thanks for sharing.
ohhh nooooooo they got me. I was tired and up all night and it sounded too good to be true and I went for it. This was in july 2010 and they said the exact thing to me that they did to you. To make a long story short I payed $498 and I think I’ve been ripped off after reading this thread. They did send me a dvd brochure and ticket confirmation in the mail. Is there anyway I could get my money back?
When I recieved the call, I absolutely thought it sounded too good to be true as well. Luckily for me its right after christmas so being broke actually came in handy for me. I recieved the exact same “promotional cruise speech” and word of mouth is the best advertisement. etc. blah blah blah, then they continued to go on and on about the extended stay upgrade, free car rental, meals, etc. however, I told them even though it all sounds lovely, I cannot give them any money at that exact moment and if they can pull it the following day then sure i’d be interested, but no they wanted the $118 on the spot. I told them it wouldnt go through. So after I hang up with them, I started reading all these online testimonials. So just as a precaution, I called my bank. It showed that they had not only attempted to pull the $118, but made 4-5 more additional attempts for all different amounts, $49, $150, $200, $598. So thats when my financial institution blocked them and will only authorize a payment to them if i call back and personally give that authorization. So shout out to my bank, to Visa and to being broke at the moment because for once it saved me. None of the payments were able to go through
Your article about this was awesome! I went ahead and took that stupid survey over the phone and said I was interested in hearing about the cruise. When they called me and explained everything to me about the SS Bahama Celebration, I though, “hmm let me search for that on the internet while they’re talking and see what it looks like.” The first thing that popped up was how it is a giant scam!! I told him..”Well I’m a little unsure about this… I tried to take a look at the ship and all I’m seeing are posts that what you’re trying to sell me is a scam”. I used my sweetest voice ever and he got immediately upset and explained that people give them false credit accounts to pay for their $118 charge and how we are all ignorant. He told me to go to numerous websites that were “legit” and I sweetly said, “I don’t know…I’m seeing more scam websites than actual information on the cruise line. Before he hung up on me he said, “Fine, if you want to be like that, I will pass your deal onto someone else.” My daddy always said, nothing comes for free! This SS Bahama business is a giant hoax!
It may not be a hoax, for they may actually give a cruise, who knows I haven’t seen pictures. But, it is definately not free, its just a tricky way to get you to sign up for a cruise, which is why I wrote the article in the first place. They say its free, then tack on all these charges that soon it becomes a trip that you probably would have spent a few days researching all the comparable companies to find which one had that best reviews, and going with that one…
At least any smart consumer would do this.
I just got off the phone with these guys… I had to hang up the phone, because after i told him I wasn’t comfortable giving him my credit card info over the phone, he started yelling at me saying “I can’t believe you think Im lying” and “it would be stupid of you to pass this up”! I was shocked! So I tried to google this company so I could file a complaint and the first, and only things that popped up were about how this was a scam! Good thing I followed my instincts!
Glad to hear you didn’t get scammed Cala 🙂
Hi…
I still haven’t gotten rid of my trip I payed for in 2009. I still haven’t payed the port fees -$198.00 USD. I payed $898.00 CAD for close to 3 weeks of holiday – I live in Ontario Canada.
The trip expires this April 2012, and I don’t want to pay another 29.00 USD to extend it. I already told them I will not be using this trip. I can’t sell it, and I sure as hell don’t want to give it away!!! I know it’s too late to get a refund!
Should I just ignore the telephone calls, or should I tell my credit card company about it??!! Or neither???
what did you do? i’m facing the same problem!!
Rennie Gabriel on March 20, 2012 said:
I got this call with three survey questions that asked for my opinion. For that I would get a free Caribbean cruise. Give me a break. They transfer you directly to a live person as soon as the survey is completed. I knew it was a scam from the start. How could they give a free cruise because I gave my opinion to three political questions? I was transferred to a gal that could barely read her script
Anyway, after the glowing description of the boat, the staff, the food, the entertainment, on and on and on… I waited until they asked my credit card info to pay for the “port fees.”. When I said I would prefer to send a check because I don’t want to give out my credit card number to someone who called me, she said they can’t do a check. She offered to put a “supervisor” on the phone to assure me that it would be okay to give my credit card number. I told her I don’t care who she puts on the line, I will not give my credit card number over the phone; she then hung up.
NEVER, EVER, NEVER give any personal information to anyone who calls you by phone. NO ONE, no banker, no one from the IRS, NO ONE. Anyone that asks for this information by phone is a scammer if they made the call. – Rennie Gabriel, CLU, CFP UCLA Instructor, Author of “Wealth On Any Income” – 12 steps to financial freedom
Thanks for the information, I have been called through the No9712089984, offer me the same package, but asked me my credit card, I told him that I doubt this is a spam,and I am highly on alert of this kind of thing, and will never gave away my credit card through the phone, he hanged me up,
Glad I found your blog, got me motivated again to get mine going! 🙂
I just got off the phone with them too! I kept putting them on hold claiming I had another call, etc. I expressed my doubts about giving my info over the phone and not having a chance to think it over. So Operator #27949, Mary, gets another lady on the line who proceeds to give me the same story about how she understands my concerns, etc. but still asks how I want to pay. I tell her Visa, but hold on while I go get the card #. What I was really doing was trying to Google this company. Luckily I ran into this article while they were still on hold. I started to read it to them, but instead, I just hung up! Believe it or not, they called right back. This call I totally ignored. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP!!!
smart move, what I eventually had to do was ask them to remove me from the phoning list, because they kept phoning :S
i just got a voucher in the mail of the same thing. thank god you had something online because they did the same things to me. sometimes there’s just no such thing as free.
Thank you because the same company contacted me last night with the very scam..the carmen electra spokesperson; the 59 dollars and the free cruise on ssbahama celebration. Luckily for me my pay was not on my visa which the person told me didn’t matter I can still receive my package if the transaction didn’t clear my account. Now this is when I took control of the conversation and told her I was not giving the card number knowing it would be insufficient charges on my account. Thank you again because she gave me her number to call when the pay came in Her name is Ebony Chambers and her #954-630-9449 X4135. Now if she was scamming shame on her but if she is legit then I just gave her alot of new business.
It makes me very happy that you are finding my post and being saved from the scam of Caribbean Cruise Line. What you claimed is exactly what I’ve experienced. Wish I could take them down! Saved them from two customers at least now! 🙂
glad i saw your website you kept me from making the same mistake
I knew when I got this call, that it did seem a bit fishy, however, one thing really kept me on edge.
A few weeks ago was the AutoShow 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, and I did enter many contests to win cars and what not, and one of them being a trip.
They stated in the phone conversation that I have entered a ballot at the AutoShow and was selected.
So now I’m quite confused here, I’m still leaning towards scammer, but there’s always that ‘What If’.
I asked one of my friends, and they said that they could of taken my information and sold it to scammers when I entered the ballot, but that doesn’t really make much sense to me; something so big like the Autoshow, scamming people like that?
Well, I didn’t stay on the phone with the guy for long, I told him I was busy and didn’t have my credit card on me (plus, didn’t have $600 available on it (they said $299 per person))… oh, and the trip was valued at $2500…
So the guy said he will call back at 8… which is in 2 hours from now.
I will try to grind him down to a pebble to find out whats going on.
Thank you for all that info, it really help,
sorry to double post like this, but I also gotta add, along with the Caribbeancl.com site he gave me, he also said to check out bahamascelebration.com
I also received this offer in the mail, and I gave them my debit card number thinking that I was going to lose the “deal” if I didn’t do it right away. I refused to pay the full 800 dollars without researching them. So, I agreed to pay $174 and six payments of $88 dollars. After I got off the phone with them I began doing my research and found several complaints, I immediately went to my bank and closed my account and opened a new one. They’re not getting any more money from me, I tried to call them, but never got an answer. Thank God I found this before I continued payments!
I was contacted by a survey company (presumably the same one!)and have had literally the IDENTICAL experience. The Cruise line called me about an hour ago and gave me all sorts of wonderful options. I wasn’t ready to commit yet, but they insisted that it was a “one time only” offer and that I couldn’t call back, but they held while I spoke with my fiance on my other phone. (Thank God for cell phones–otherwise, I would have probably just jumped into it!)My fiance expressed concern at the validity of the whole thing, but I assured him that I had asked every question possible, etc. It had crossed my mind that this was a scam, but I was pretty thorough with my questions and felt pretty good about it all.
I called my fiance a second time when I was debating on whether or not to take the offer for the extended package (now I think how silly I was to even consider it…) and after getting off the phone with him, (and while still on the phone with the company) I decided to do a quick Google search of hoaxes with Caribbean Cruises and surveys; I had JUST given the guy my credit card information when I stumbled across your page. I read it a bit as he was telling me about other offers, and asked him to please hold for a moment (so I could concentrate and read the rest of what you wrote). I’m not proud of this, but I got back on the phone and lied and told him there was a family emergency, and I was not able to complete the agreement at this time. I got off the phone with them and immediately called my bank to cancel my current card, just to make sure that the payment wasn’t put through (even though per the phone conversation, it wasn’t agreed upon yet).
So, I’m writing to thank you for outlining your situation with so much detail–because of your post, you saved me from wasting a whole lot of money and from being completely cheated.
With many thanks,
SM.
I am happy that my post has saved all of you from being scammed, I’m just curious how many more people get scammed.
I sent them an email, and contacted the BBB about them, and stated that I would be blogging and spreading the word to get people aware of the company if they didn’t refund my money, and no reply from either. This kind of makes me sad, cause the BBB is supposed to be there for this kind of thing, but allowed me to inform everyone about their illegitimate business.
Hi,
I just found your post regarding the scam … I was just contacted today and figured why not do the survey just to see what happens. We just returned from a vacation in sunny Florida last night (live in canada so its darn cold here right now!) and figured another trip would be great. Did the website thing, got the certificate and will be waiting for my phone call. I will not give these guys the time of day when they call, but will be sure to tell them to take me off their calling list (even though it doesn’t seem to help!) Thank you posting your experience.
Always a pleasure Pam, I hope it is a lesson as well as a warning to be wary of giving away information freely at the drop of a hat for a good thing. Should we be as skeptical of such a situation? Will we miss out on an awesome opportunity? It is tough to say. I’m not worried personally.
March 11, 2010 I have just hung up the phone in speaking with Roger Bash @ the above said cruise line. Everything mentioned above verbaten just happened to me. Thank God my girlfriend brought up this website (letter) which lead me to believe this was happening to me!! He was getting madder the more questions I asked, and the more I stalled.
Thank you, I am much relieved now!!
Ryan
very glad to have helped you out 🙂 Makes me happy that people are being saved from these people!! and not be a dumbass like myself! haha.
@ryan – September 16, 2009 … I JUST got off the phone with these nitwits… and I think i was talking to the exact same guy you were! Except his name was Roger Thatch (and I asked him to say and spell his last name… but “Bash” and “Thatch” may sound the same over the phone). Anyway, he was also getting more and more defensive the more questions I asked. And I told him that I was going to call Caribbean Cruise Lines themselves and confirm that he is who he says he is. I don’t think he liked that too much.
BIG NOTE: Winning anything means just that — you WON… and you shouldn’t have to pay anything extra, or give out your financial information over the phone / over the internet. So if anyone asks you for anything extra, you KNOW it’s a scam…
Hmmm…Carmen Electra huh? My husband and I just saw the commercial tonight with her endorsing this “free cruise”. I immediately thought too good to be true, but then thought maybe since there is a celebrity endorsing it.
We actually were considering doing it, and I stumbled upon your article while searching to see if this free cruise was legit. Thanks for the info. We don’t have money and time to blow. Sorry you had a headache with all of this, but it was not in vain. We will definitely not be pursuing this cruise.
And just an fyi, what you would have paid in the end, is what people pay for typical 4 day cruises…no money saving here. I’m better off just calling within 30 days of when I want to go. You can get cruises and air tickets super cheap b/c they want it to be full. Better some money than no money with empty seats and cabins.
Thanks a bunch, you saved me the hassel!
I completely agree with you, my folks ended up getting a cruise for us, that was on a much bigger/better boat, went to cooler places, and lasted 7 days for the price I was going to have to pay.
Im going for it! I’m going to take pictures and posting them when i come back. So yea I also got the call, but I payed $317 and I still have to order the flight, let’s see how much that’s going to cost…
So after reading most comments I have come to an understanding that the few people that actually went on this trip say it was ok or decent but a little ” ghetto”. And the people that are having the real problem are the ones who are trying to get there money back.
So I came to a decision of just taking the trip. I don’t really want to go threw the headache of getting my money back, and $317 is not really all that much. I’m booked for last week of march. staying at the hotel then the cruise. So I know what I should be expecting from the comments. So to put some ease on peoples mind I’m going to post pictures, or anything else anyone ask me to.
I’m Crossing my fingers on this one.
Hi,
Have you contacted the BBB, they are under many names, and a lot of times they don’t even respond to the claims. I recently filed my compliant and wondering when they typically respond back?
Yes, I’ve contacted the BBB, well over a month ago, at the time of the incident, and I haven’t heard a lick from them. I should follow up if I had any sense in me. Indeed, maybe I will! 🙂
Today I got a phone call saying that I won a free cruise from the Home Show, I figured it was too good to be true. So I went online and saw this blog, as soon as they stated talking about carmen electra I knew it was this scam. The phone number was 1-800-417-9257. And when they asked for my credit card number I said no thank you. Thanks for this blog, it saved me from a scam.
Hi. I just want to say that it was a nice reading. I hope you come out with more interesting posts, because I bookmarked your website. All the best.
OMG. so glad i found this. they called me this morning. Same guys. here’s my story:
They asked me if i filled out the voucher at the ‘spring motorcycle show at the international center”…..fact is…i did the winter show. anyways it DID sound too good to be true. I let it go along. He introduced himself as “Jamial Thompson.”
He asked me stupid questions like “do i like food?”….”do i like hot weather?”….”do you like beaches”…”do you like the carribean?”
After the third question….i had enough. I told him that he has my address and if there are tickets and an information package, he can mail it. He continued on his stupid tangent offering free dinners and a golf range….i cut him off again….saying get to the chase. I don’t have time to hear all the details and to send me an information package. he asked to then talk to someone else in the house? *again my bells and whistles went off* I replied no asking him me to send me the information….this is where he told me to go to the computer and look at the website (the same one you listed “www.carribeancl.com”) and he wanted to walk me through their application processing together on the phone and was out-right asking me for my credit card information. That was my last straw with them so i told him to his face ‘nice scam’.
the number was 1-800-417-9257.
-They also called my girlfriend but she told them to call back at 5:30 after she discussed the details with me. they never called back. as for me….this was the 5th time they have tried to contact me so i finally caved and answered the phone.
I received one of the vouchers through the mail last month. I opened it and it just seemed to good to be true, so I threw it in a pile and forgot about it until today. I figured that I would do a search to see if it was in fact a scam as I had thought………sure enough, I found your page. I am glad that I had just tossed it aside. I am a single parent raising my boys on my own and would hate to simply throw my money away when it could be used for better things. Just goes to show that if you want a vacation, go to a respectable travel agent or do it yourself. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!
Hey KingKaBuz, did you have close your account and open a new one?
This happen to me today …They made me fool .Now I called my credit ccard company they said they can’t freez the amount that I aggreed with them.what I need to do next Please help me I’m so worried.
Can’t you press charges.
I thought I stated in the original posting, but in the fine print of their Terms and Conditions, they state that the initial deposit was non-refundable. If you, or anybody else knows a lawyer willing to take on this case, I would love to bring these people to justice.
Please forward any more information to me for I’d love to know how to combat these people. I would be greatly in debt to your kindness.
i’m glad i found this site too! i got a called a month ago and thought..WHAT A DEAL!! and as everyone here they said this is the first and ONLY time for this yeah right! I called them back today and they said the SAME thing! well to make a long story short i told them i didnt have the money and they said ok bye,i said well how do i know this isnt a scam? she said when u call back we will explain i said NO i want to know now and she said WHEN U CALL BACK THEY WILL EXPLAIN,AND HUNG UP!! So i called back and the guy was so nice as i explain what just happen UNTIL i said i didnt have the money and hung up too!!! So i came online to see if this was a scam and poop here i’am! I’m soooo sad bcuz i was saving up from last month when they called for the 118 and lookin to go on the cruise this coming nov for my b-day! 😦 can someone give me a good and LEGIT site i can get a cruise?
i jusy recieved voucher in mail today gave my debit number but nothing in my account so they said wiil call back in 30 days so gave me enough time to check them out. glad i found this page know must close my account now. anybody knows anything negative or positive please give me a call 618 447- 0994.
If it was me, I’d be running from the as quickly as possible.
I am sorry they were rude to you.
from the official cruise site, I went through
http://www.123gocruise.com
Customer Care
1-800-221-8200 – Toll free within the U.S. and Canada
Reservation Department
1-800-237-3503 – Toll free within the U.S. and Canada
I went and had a blast.
I’m confused, can you tell me if this is the same cruise ship they are offering the cruise for? Did you just speak with the official company vs. a timeshare type company going through them? I’m confused…I don’t know what I signed up for…I just know that the people I talked to are rude but I don’t know if they are related to this company you posted about. I still believe overall, the company promoting the cruise is a scam artist though.
I won a cruise on 3/2010, I pay $118.00 for taxes, cruise company gave me 18 months to use the package, after time expired I pay $89 for 18 more months, when that time expired Caribbean cruise gave me 18 more months for free, I called reservation department today, the person who answered my call was great, he help me with the schedule (I’m going to travel on thanksgiving weekend) and he answered all my questions, he explained me how to enhanced package, how extend my vacations, dress code, dinners, and all the amenities without charge, and he help me find a good hotel in West Palm Beach (I’m from NY). Sorry things are bad for other people but for me are great.
Mary, I’m glad you had nice experiences on the phone. However, I think you need to wait until you actually leave NY and show up in Florida and see what happens on your cruise.
I got a call from the same thing, but they didn’t request that I have to pay right then and I have 18 months to use it. The number I got to call back whenever is 1.800.221.8200
Just got called again from these people. They tried their best to get their $59 each from me…but I googled them while I had them on the phone and ran across this blog. Thanks so much for the info!
Exactly same conversation.
Thanks you saved me $59 x2.
Got a call from: 1-800-610-5257.
Same B.S: I had won the prize, because of my participation in a survey.
I have 18 months to choose the dates.
Must pay $59 x 2 as port and reservation charges……………..Thank you
I just received a certificate for a cruise for two on Caribbean Cruise Line to Paradise Island Bahamas, out of Ft. Lauderale. We received the certificate from Georgia Flooring Direct when we bought a lot of flooring from this company and they were giving the cruises to customers who spent $500 or more. I have called the cruise line and asked what it was all about. I was told that it was for two adults, and all we had to pay was $59 each for port taxes. I was then told that we had 18 months to book the cruise. I did not give them any credit card information but they were very pushy for me to. I am glad that I came across this posting…thank you!
Glad to hear you were saved!
I am so glad i found this site, same thing happen to me. I got a call from 1-800-6105257 several times, i just won a free cruise from the survey i did over the phone. got a call this morning again and I said i have to do a research first, sounds too good to be true, they gave me the number to call back to their supervisor. Now i have something to tell them.
Thanks for the insights
I wish I had seen your emails first …but I am mouse impaired! I was fooled because the offer came thru a company I deal with regularly and have had no complaint with and said this was a reward I had thru them. Also, I was trying to do something great for someone great in my family…not myself! I am an older woman who had a terribble senior moment when I accepted this offer. They promised me I would get the information from them in short order by mail. Well passed that time, I called and tried to cancel because I had no more trust in their credibility! They told me I COULD NOT cancel! I called a specialist who had given ” his private number and name” he told me to call and demand to speak to the manager and get back to him if I still had any problems. The agent in the call center insisted that no one had anymore authority than he did. At my instistance they transferred me through to two other people. I was on the line a long time holding and got NO WHERE! So I called “the private name and number ” again and told him if it was not cancelled I would call the Attorney General’s Office in my State. He told me not to worry he would handle it for me and call me right back. Nothing more happened for two weeks until I recieved the package in the mail. So I thought since my cards have already been charged and paid for, for the trip, I would give it to my family member for their trip. THEY found all this “scammy” stuff online! Keep the word going out and I will do such as I can to get the word out from my end! I am afraid that my money is gone! I have cancelled my cards and told them why!
Gullable old Lady {(dicated to someone who is not mouse impaired 🙂 }
That totaly sucks. companies like this are what make the world a worse place. There should be sever punishment for this kind of stuff.
I was a victem of this exact scam this morning. I fell for it, I feel like an idiot.
so now we’re out 566$ and I called to cancel many times and finally one person agreed to refund 50%… so i agreed… but she didnt give me a cancellation # so I called back and omitted that I previously cancelled and requested the 50% refund. So I talk to this lady (much nicer than ALL of the other one..they were beyong rude and they argued with me and YELLED at me..) anyways so I asked for a full refund she agreed after rambling about a whole lot of BS.. and gave me my cancellation #
Im waiting to see if they come through and refund the money. I really hope so. I feel so helpless.
anyone fall for this and recieve a refund? or were told they were going to get one and didnt?????????
I haven’t heard if anybody has, this has been the first time I’ve heard of it. I’m happy to hear you at least got 50% of it back! But to bad you laid down so much more. Thats a total bummer.
I went through the exact same thing! I agreed to the $118 charge but backed out and started googling them when another guy came on and began pressuring me to buy the $600 vacation package. He then offered to halve it, which really set off my alarms, and so I backed out.
My credit card company, Chase, refunded me the $118 when I explained that it was a scam and they required another $600 to get what I actually paid for. The Chase rep who called me approved my request when I agreed to let him put me on hold and call the company. They gave the Chase rep the same treatment as you guys, at which point he came back on the phone and agreed to my refund.
So I suggest to everyone to just go to your credit card companies and explain the situation.
i purchased the package. i never recieved an email conformation. even tho i know its a scam i still want to try to go ont he vacation.. since i paid for it!! is this even possible..? how do i contact them? has neone gone on the cruise yet?
I had to wait a while for the confirmation, but it did eventually come. After about 2 months I did eventually get the package in the mail too. I still got phone calls from the company for some time afterwards until I finally answered and gave the operator a piece of my mind.
If you read further up in this blog, you should be able to get contact information. But if you read about how you can actually go on the cruise, usually it involved upgrading the package. Good luck.
kingkabuz – So did you ever go on the cruise? I have an envelope at the moment that contains tickets – the first is the congratulatory note, the second is the Travel Credit Voucher for Caribbean Cruise Line with a value of $1,300.00, consists of the cabin class, confirmation number, etc., and the last page is the free Cruise Voucher. I just received this in the mail in an envelope. I Googled, found several responses and thought your response was worth replying to. Please share you thoughts. Thank You.
Dawn, I did not go on the cruise, I tried everything to get my money back. Like I said in my post, I couldn’t get any of the times except a small window they would allow me, and even then, I wouldn’t be able to get the cabin’s that I had paid for, I had to upgrade my package. I never did get a package in the mail they said should be there within a week.
Thank you, kingkabuz! 🙂
Your article saved me too! I got the similar $59 per person ‘deal’, while on the phone I googled and found your article, and hung up 🙂 THANK YOU!
My be the letter is not theirs. Who know?
i got this exact scam this morning. they said i entered a contest at a rib festival (which I did but for it to win a car…not this! rmb DON’T fall for it)
I actually was tricked into giving out $665 us for the cruise. I found this website and I am glad i did. I immediately called back and they said they will do the refund in 3-5days. I will definitely update you all on what happens from this on….
I also called my credit card company to stop the visa card and to send a new one.
Damn! I am curious how it all pans out for you, although smart that you cancelled your credit card.
Wow, I got scammed too! I should have known something was fishy. I had just attended a presentation and received a free cruise on a Thursday, but on Saturday, I received the cruise thing in the mail and thought how quick they were to send the voucher! Then I looked at the date, it was from July 13, 2010 meaning that this was an entirely different free cruise. So I called them back and they gave me the run around plus the fact that they told me that I could get a refund and then changed their minds. Thank God I did not give them more than the $118 because they were trying to get me to pay more for a trip to Mexico! I told them no and they had an attitude. In fact, the guy that I was talking to was thoroughly upset that I would not upgrade to something more expensive and he gave the phone back to one of his co-workers to finish the conversation. I wish that there was something that I could do. This was a real rip off. I was so mad, that I had hung up on the lady that was telling me that I could transfer my prize to someone else!
I read your post, and skimmed through the comments. I had a call and answered some questions for a “free cruise”. I was told I would have to pay the 59 dollars for taxes. Like one of your comments, I was told it had to be a minimum of two, maximum of four passengers. What is the latest? Is this a scam?
I would say, considering theres 40+ people who have been contacted the same way, and many of them scammed in the same way, that yes, indeed it is a scam. Did you sign up?
Well I have to say I guess I fell for the scam, I ordered something from TV .Then they said to hold on and that I had been selected for a Bahama Cruise. I fell hook line and sinker. This was in Oct. of 2010.Today I have been trying to get ahold of them to book our departure time. It seems that the lines are busy, for 2 hrs. I decided to get online and see what I could find out. I happen to see your blog. Now I have to agree with my husband, He said it was a scam the whole time. I’m in to them for $697. I really feel dumb
Don’t give up Pat, apparently they do have a cruise, but just that its bottom rate, and cheap. I have been able to get a hold of them before, try some of the other numbers suggested by this blog, Hopefully your available times of departure are flexible.
Good luck!
I just had the same thing happen to me, but I didn’t give them my credit card number because of this thread. It was $59 X 2 and they wanted there money today and I could not get a call back. this sounded like a scam, who gets a free cruise for a quick phone survey? I googled the SS celebration and found out this was a scam because of this thread and politely stated I was not interested. Wow, the sales lady was very friendly but pushy and finally agreed to hang up.
Glad to hear I helped you.
Thank you for posting this! I completed the same survey and then received a message on my cell phone from a representative. I called back to find out more details when I got the same line about having to decide right now and putting down the port charges. I didn’t trust it but I thought I’d let the guy explain more while I googled Caribbean Cruise Lines. Thankfully, I found this site and new my hunch was correct and told the guy no.
This ship is a scam……..If you do book it and don’t upgrade, just go try and get your “voucher” coming from Orlando, they tell me I must go to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up the voucher. I said, mail it and I will pay postage. They said they can’t do that. What Bull. Just a ploy to get you to their headquarters to sell you their timeshare…………Not a good way to do business………STAY AWAY FROM THIS SCAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I couldn’t agree with you more Roger.
WOW !!!! IGOT SCAMMED…I NEVER had any scamhappen to me and was EXCITED to get acrise so CHEAP….Gave them my credit card#…THA..GOOGLED it and found your website!! Is there enen such a company?? Should Igo ahead and plan on the trip…or will there be NO BOAT??? HELP would be GREAT right now..any suggestions???? THANKS!! Paul
Thank u so much for your the insight. I was on the phone speaking with a lady and called my husband in on the conversation, he ask for the licensed so he could look it up on the better business bureau. thts when he found this site,and i hung up the phone. Thank u for the information.
I’m happy to hear this 🙂
I had this voucher you mentioned. I went on the cruise and had a great time.
I did not fill out a survey, I called their number from a TV ad, and verified with the cruise company themselves. And company you mentioned is a certified reseller for the cruiseline.
Dear John,
Although I doubt that you actually went on the cruise, and furthermore suspect you are a employee of the company, I hope that at least one person went on this and enjoyed themselves.
I cannot vouch for anybody else that has replied to this (which there are over 50) I just reported here what I dealt with and how un-satisfying the encounter was, and how unwilling the company was to satisfy me as a paying customer.
Furthermore, after the fact, they kept calling me asking if I would like to upgade my cruise, which I eventually ended by explaining to the person on the phone that I would like to be taken off any call lists, and please not to call me again, which I finally did meet some with some cooperation and they haven’t phone me since.
Sincerly doubtful,
KK
Dear John,
The only person on all of these comments to not leave a real email address is you.
If you read my initial post, I said that they called me, saying I entered into some draw, and won a free cruise. Free implies free, and I did not enter into any draw. Ok, fine I have to pay some port taxes and what not, sure I can handle a free cruise for $118, whatever. I mention on the phone I’m going to want to be taking this cruise at a specific date, cause I will be down there, and they say “Yes sir, there should be no problem with that, we sail year round.” So, after I pay my port taxes, I await my ‘package’ in the mail, but odly enough, I do not get one in the mail after a week and a half, so I call them back. This is when the hoop jumping begins, and after finally activating everything and getting my account setup, I finally get through to the booking department, and they say that the times I’m looking to sail at has been completely filled up in the class that I want to sail in, and I cannot go then unless I want to upgrade my package.
What my problem was with, and I stated this in my initial email, was that
a. It wasn’t a free cruise, which is the only reason why I even listened to them at the start.
b. They lied to me to get me to pay them the fee about being able to sail at that time.
c. When I wanted answers they sent me in loops I could not control.
d. When I finally told them I had had enough and wanted my money back, they beat around the bush, put me on with a ‘manager’ and tried to convince me for over half an hour that I shouldn’t do it.
e. After they had finished trying to convince me, I finally got to the answer that they could not refund me my money
f. When I initially payed over my money, they said everything was completely refundable, which they failed to mention that only within a few days I could get a refund, which coincidentally it takes more time to actually get the package that never came in the mail so I didn’t even have time to get the full information together to cancel it.
g. They kept phoning me for upwards of 4 months afterwards asking if I would like to upgrade.
Any one of these points should be enough to turn a person off.
Yes maybe everything fell into place for you, I am simply stating all the facts that happened in my experience, and you as a reader must take the initiative to realize whether or not you are willing to take this risk. As far as it goes for me, if I was getting called for something along these lines, and found someone out there tried to warn me about their experience with the cruise lines, I would learn from their mistakes.
I spent many days and hours with these people discussing the options I had available to me, and how much it would cost. I had spread sheets built up and compared it to other cruise lines, and after all was said and done, it totally wasn’t worth it.
With other more notorious cruise lines I have found that there are lots of websites forums that have customer feedback so you can read all about the cruise from their perspective, the boats are ranked in magazines, and websites, the prices in the end work out to nearly the same as an upgraded package, plus your not taking a cruise on a budget level cruise line.
Take if for what its worth. I’m happy to hear that you had a good experience with the cruise.
Haha! This “John” Must be the same “John Martin” – Processing Director that I just got off the phone with. After 51 minutes of wasting my time, BS-ing his way through, using all forms of psychology – pathos, ethos, logos – on me but still unable to convince me to buy his $648 package, he dared to accuse me and harass me! For all that are reading this, definitely a scam. Good thing I’m a smart consumer and gave them my debit ViSA gift card for which I had already used the full amount and a temporary address I am staying at (without the apt number of course). Haha, good luck trying to get some money out of me, Mr. John Martin, Processing Director. He even dared me to hang up! That pompidous ass!
For everyone who wants contact info to harass them or find out more, I spoke with their rep, Angela Radley, first, Corporate ID: KB1195. Phone number 1-888-333-1180. Then she had transferred me to rude Mr. John Martin. I had hung up after wasting almost an hour of my time being rudely harassed. I sincerely hope they get caught for scamming so many poor Americans. As if us poor Americans weren’t hurt enough by the housing bubble burst and economic downturn.
If anyone ever files a lawsuit against them, I’d be happy to contest as a witness. May God punish them for the terrible things they are doing to our poor Citizens.
HELP!!! THEY HAVE MY CREDIT CARD INFO…I already paid!!! WHAT CAN I DO??? THANKS SO MUCH FOR POSTING YOUR SITE…BEFORE I BUY MY AIRLINE TICKET TO FLORIDA!!
Paul, phone the credit card company ASAP. Cancel the payment, or the card, tell them the situation, hopefully it hasn’t gone through yet.
Yes there is a boat, but from what I’ve heard, and photos I’ve seen, its a made over ferry that offers very poor service.
Some people have successfully got the credit card companies to cancel the transaction, others have managed to get the credit card company to phone the numbers that they got for caribbean cruise line and go so frustrated they just gave them their money back like that.
GOod luck Paul!
same thing just happened to me.The girl told me I had to pay 118 immediatley… so I told them I would have to call back. My instincts told me to google it to see if it was a real cruise line or what the deal was. Glad i found this. They told me I filled out a ballot at the Beaches Jazz festival for a free cruise. Funny thing though — the guy asked me when the Jazz Festival was — hmm… like that doesnt tip you off to scam. LOL
I hope you read these anonymous John
The ONE difference I see between me and all the other people posting here. I saw a TV ad, and called the number. It seems all the people here have been approached in some way, where I initated contact. So maybe you are right. But do not make generalizations about a company, that may not even be the same one that I went through. Lets heqar from the people that replied to the TV ad.
Well, I saw that same said TV ad, too. That’s how I got “hooked” too. Haha! This “John” Must be the same “John Martin” – Processing Director that I just got off the phone with. After 51 minutes of wasting my time, BS-ing his way through, using all forms of psychology – pathos, ethos, logos – on me but still unable to convince me to buy his $648 package, he dared to accuse me and harass me! For all that are reading this, definitely a scam. Good thing I’m a smart consumer and gave them my debit ViSA gift card for which I had already used the full amount and a temporary address I am staying at (without the apt number of course). Haha, good luck trying to get some money out of me, Mr. John Martin, Processing Director. He even dared me to hang up! That pompidous ass!
For everyone who wants contact info to harass them or find out more, I spoke with their rep, Angela Radley, first, Corporate ID: KB1195. Phone number 1-888-333-1180. Then she had transferred me to rude Mr. John Martin. I had hung up after wasting almost an hour of my time being rudely harassed. I sincerely hope they get caught for scamming so many poor Americans. As if us poor Americans weren’t hurt enough by the housing bubble burst and economic downturn.
If anyone ever files a lawsuit against them, I’d be happy to contest as a witness. May God punish them for the terrible things they are doing to our poor Citizens.
I took the phone survey several months ago. It seemed too good to be true then, and I never followed up on contacting them to “reserve” my trip. These guys are persistent! I must have got half a dozen messages left on my voice mail over the last few months asking me to contact them for my free cruise. I ignored all of them. They finally got me on the phone today and made their pitch. I was told I needed to pay the $118 dollars today (because the response to this offer has been so great they couldn’t guarantee me a spot, otherwise!). I was thinking “Why have you been so desperate to contact me, then?” When I said I was suspicious, they gave me some email addresses to look at but didn’t want to get off the phone and let me call them back after I had done some research. By now my suspicions were confirmed, and I told them I wasn’t interested. I won’t be surprised if I get some more voice mails, though.
Carmine, I feel your pain. They kept contacting me for months afterwards, I’d get home and there would ALWAYS be a missed call from them. Nearly daily. Finally I was home, and asked them to stop phoning me, and to take me off of their phone lists. I would not hang up until they did, and I also explained to them my situation, and that I was not pleased or happy at all.
I haven’t heard from them since.
Hey John, your name is John Bearden and your corporate ID number is KB3359. You are definately a employee of this scam.
Is the job market that bad out there that you will resort to swindle people out of their money for a dream cruise that will never happen?
—comment edited for content—-
Phil,
I am highly skeptical as you are, but I think by mere numbers of responses and thank you’s I’ve received on this site, from people reporting the exact same swindles as me, there is no further need to discuss anything with Mr. John of noreply@ email, who claims its a legit email.
This is not a place to slander each other, this is only a place to lay down the facts. If you would like to create a blog to discuss your side of the story in great detail explaining how much fun you had on the cruise, then by all means go for it. If you would like to create a blog for how much you hate the company for swindling you out of $119 and then having to nerve to ask you for more money, then join me in the campaign to see this company taken off the map completely by eliminating all their business through advertising how misleading and un-professional they are.
Good luck to you all.
Dear Phil,
You are wrong I do not work for any travel agency, aor cruiseline. And as for guessing my lifesytle get facts before slandering a person. I run my own business in Illinois. As stated I am trying to bring a positive note to a negative conversation. There are always two sides to a story, and I am telling mine. If you think I am wrong the prove it. Most of you got email offers, or did a bogus survey. I went through a TV ad that if I remember right was on ABC or another major network. These people check these ads out before airing them. I was unsure myself,I called the actual cruise line that the cruise was on (http://www.celebration-cruise-line.com/). I was told the company offering the free cruise was an official reseller of their company. Once you pay the taxes you are given the web address to manage your reservation (123gocruise.com). They were very open with me. Did not bug me like I have read here. But they did try to upsell me on other packages (a normal sales tactic)
—comment edited for content—
John you should just stop replying now because obviously you didn’t encounter the same experience or scam that we all did. If you did, you wouldn’t have went on the cruise or had anything nice to say about the people who tried to scam all of us.
Funny – the “survey” call I received came from a number in Illinois…
Oh hello John from Political Opinions of America .org. Nice to hear from you again.
dude, a little skepicism up front will serve you well. You don’t get something for nothing. I heard about this when i called a 800 to vote on the Ed Show’s question of the day. When they said, ‘stay on for a free cruise’ I said to myself, ‘ok let me have some fun with this’. So I answered the guys questions and got to the part where he stated you need a least two people. I said, ‘Ok how about I take you ?’ “I am as queer as a $4 bill’ to which he laughed and hung up. The reason these scams stay around is because there are fools that think you get something for nothing. Barnum was sooo right.
haha, thats funny. Thank you for sharing your experience. This feels like a bloody support group!
Thanks a lot for this, I appreciate the info
Wow!! The same just happened with me last night! I got the ‘Free Cruise’ offer in the mail and called their 800 number out of mere curiosity than anything else. The guy on the other end immeditely started his sales pitch and I have had the painful experience dealing with a car salesman of the same cadre not too long ago. While it put me off, I wanted to know what the whole ‘Free Cruise’ was all about. Soon I had to curtail his questions of what my phone number was, whether I was married, etc by just asking him to tell me what this was about rather than asking me more questions. He then put on his manager who almost restated all the ‘awesomeness’ of their cruise once more and gave me a couple more Mexico/Vegas packages as bonus!! By the time I was convinced not to deal with these people anymore even if they were legit. When he started pressurizing me to pay the taxes and fess right then and there, I just said No and hung up.
It looks like many people had had horrible experience with these guys, I read somewhere else their crusie ships were remodelled ferries or so; Happy that I am never going to find that out first hand! 😀
agreed Deep.
I had the same call just now. The free cruise draw I entered was supposedly at a local music festival (but the city was wrong). This festival has two acts every week all summer. I went twice this year and NEVER entered a draw. I asked the swindler on the phone what date the draw was held and he laughed saying there was no way to know this. The first guy I spoke with – Mike (corp ID 2775) – was nice enough but when I said I was not going to give them my credit card info he put me onto the boss who was pushy and at the end of our 3 min conversation, quite rude. I recall this same tactic when my bf and I sat through a timeshare talk (actually to upgrade the one my bf already has). If the first guy does not succeed, he gets ‘The Bully’ to get a little mean with you. Luckily, I felt scam all over the call (and the timeshare incident from last year) and after hanging up on the second guy, I looked up the scam and found this site. Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully no one else will fall for it. Remember folks: NOTHING IS FREE! And, if you do enter a draw, you normally get the prize no questions asked. Be careful out there!
I totally agree Ramona. Its never free, and most things are to good to be true.
I just had the same scammers call me.
They got my contact information from a Jazz Festival in town. I had entered a ballot for a free car. So, when they called and told me I won, I actually believe them for a minute. It came pretty obvious when they tried to force me to pay the port tax on the spot ($118). As a general rule, I refuse any pressure sales tactics because they are usually a scam of some sort. I told them that they could either call me back (so I would have time to think) or forget about it entirely. There was no way I was paying that without checking if this was a scam. She then promptly told me she would call back… we’ll see if she actually does. If she does, I’ll let her known has pissed off everyone is. 🙂
Thank you for putting this blog up!! Definitely saved me more than a few hundred dollars.
Just got the same call. Makes me want to never fill out anything (sweepstakes) because I feel like my information will be sold to scammers like these. I am happy I didn’t fall into the trap. I had an eerie feeling that it was a scam but part of me really wanted to go on the cruise too. Luckily I am waiting on a job opportunity that might take me overseas for a couple of years so I told “Lance Umansky” that I couldn’t go because I might be out of the country for a few years. Thank God, he let me off and then I immediately came and found your site – lo and behold my instincts were right -scammers. I feel bad for Lance and other people that work for this company because they are only working to make a living… but at the same time it makes me angry that they are scamming people.
Thats why these people are successful, because they play that card where they suck people in because its something they really want to be true.
ok, you guys are scaring me, we are planning going 5-2011 and i have checked them out and they seemed legit, has anyone gone and had fun
Joan, Yes I took the cruise (I seen the ad on TV, rather than signing up at some event). It is a fun cruise, and I hope you enjoy your cruise. The company I went through is a good company.
thanks, i was getting a little nervous about all this, we are adding on the 2 extra days in the Bahamas at Our Lucaya where we have stayed before, it’s either a 4 or 5 star resort and loved it and the town, we had such fun so i couldn’t believe all the negative things written,thanks for this
I wish you luck Joan, and I hope you have fun, although i’m sure you understand now that it is no longer a free cruise since you’ve had to fork over more money now to get the extra two days. Something that I ran into when I wanted to book my cruise, and it turned out that the only way that I could get the days I wanted was that I upgrade the package (ie. forking over more money) Good luck and I hope to hear how it went.
Sorry for the inevitable language. TV add my a**. This “John” must be the same “John Martin” – Processing Director that I just got off the phone with. After 51 minutes of wasting my time, BS-ing his way through, using all forms of psychology – pathos, ethos, logos – on me but still unable to convince me to buy his $648 package, he dared to accuse me and harass me! For all that are reading this, definitely a scam. Good thing I’m a smart consumer and gave them my debit ViSA gift card for which I had already used the full amount and a temporary address I am staying at (without the apt number of course). Haha, good luck trying to get some money out of me, Mr. John Martin, Processing Director. He even dared me to hang up! That pompidous ass!
For everyone who wants contact info to harass them or find out more, I spoke with their rep, Angela Radley, first, Corporate ID: KB1195. Phone number 1-888-333-1180. Then she had transferred me to rude Mr. John Martin. I had hung up after wasting almost an hour of my time being rudely harassed. I sincerely hope they get caught for scamming so many poor Americans. As if us poor Americans weren’t hurt enough by the housing bubble burst and economic downturn.
If anyone ever files a lawsuit against them, I’d be happy to contest as a witness. May God punish them for the terrible things they are doing to our poor Citizens.
Hey Anna,
Thanks for your comments and input. The data you have provided will most definately trigger a few more peoples searches and help them find this warning to hopefully let them not get tricked by these people at Caribbean Cruise Lines.
I removed a few of your posts just because they were the same thing, I hope that doesn’t upset you.
Thanks again,
KK.
Joan, my husband and I just went Dec 13-17 and had a great time (we were supposed to fly from Chicago to FL Sunday the 12th, but our flight was canceled and we had to reschedule for Monday night). We bought the 2 nights at Our Lucaya, which is a lovely resort. The ship is older and small compared to others, but it was clean and the staff were very accommodating. Our package included the car rental (compact, but we were upgraded at no additional cost to an economy), 2 nights before the cruise at Vacation Village in Ft Lauderdale (actually Weston, which is a resort community there), and 2 nights on the ship (to and from Palm Beach/Bahamas). It also included an additional night at Vacation Village after the cruise, but we took a pass on that and flew back Saturday night instead of Sunday.
You do need to be aware of the various fees and gratuities that are added for the cruise and car, plus the bus ride to and from the ship/hotel ($17 per person), but all this is on the paperwork in your package, so read it carefully. At Our Lucaya, we got upgraded to an ocean view for no additional charge.
I was angry that my husband booked the trip, as I was not looking forward to listening to a timeshare sales pitch, but in the end I’m glad we went. Even the timeshare pitch was enjoyable because 1) we had all day to kill before our evening flight and there was nothing better to do b/c it rained all day anyway; 2) our salesman was the pick of the litter… very funny and entertaining, and not pushy like the others (and they are indeed VERY pushy. The supervisor was downright rude). Our rep could tell from the beginning that he was not going to close the deal, so we all made the best of it and actually had fun and took advantage of the free buffet-style sandwich/chips/salad lunch.
Like you, I started to panic when I started researching everything, but since the trip was already booked, I just had to hope we would be one of the lucky ones who didn’t get screwed. Although I am disgusted with their tactics and the way they take advantage of people, it worked out fine for us. Now I’m just waiting to see if our credit card charges equal our receipts (read: make sure those upgrades were actually at no extra charge). I’ll post back on that next month.
Thanks Cathy for the post…..I am in the same situation…booked the package this time in the context of doing a phone survey…paid $650 fo rthe package….now I am in panic mode of whether just stomp myself and forget about the money paid, or actually trying to book and make the trip and try to have some fun, if at all, on this. Certainly would not have booked if I had read any of the many many posts here and researched over the net a bit.
Want to hear more from people who ended up making the trip…can it still be fun. My thinking now is…lower my girl friend’s expectations to absolute minimum and hope she will still be my girl friend at the end fo this trip (finger crossed).
Theres a new post talking about what to expect. I hope you come back and share how yours goes with us.
UPDATE: Thankfully, our credit card has no additional charges for the unexpected upgrades we received (i.e., rental car and ocean-view room at Our Lucaya). I think those upgrades were provided simply b/c it was so close to Christmas and perhaps a “slow” period for them.
Regarding the cruise ship, I would like to add that my husband and I took the vacation to relax, so we weren’t looking to participate in a lot of activities. We were given a total of $60 in “match money” for the ship’s casino, which means we get the $60 from them only if we put in $60 of our own, and they are good only for table games, not slot machines. My husband played Blackjack, and was able to turn the $60 in vouchers into cash for us, which is the equivalent of breaking even if the entire $120 had been out of our pocket.
Be aware that your dinner reservations will have to be made when you board the ship. They have a small Italian, cafeteria-style restaurant, which is open from dinner until 3am, I think. No reservation required for that. The Crystal Dining Room requires a reservation and “smart casual” dress (shirt w/ collar, no shorts or flipflops). Rios is casual dress. They sit you down and serve your main course, but you go to the buffet for your side dishes and dessert. The food there was pretty good if you like meat. It’s Brazilian style; the wait staff go table-to-table with various meat offerings on a skewer. This is in addition to your entree. Breakfast is served there as well, and that food was average. The Cove is more formal attire, and dinner there is not free. We didn’t eat there, so I can’t comment on the quality.
Keep in mind that this is not a luxury cruise. As I said in my earlier post, the ship is small, but clean, and the staff are very nice and accommodating (I got extra pillows, no problem). The electrical outlets are European, so you may need an adapter (they were loaning them out at the service desk, but we didn’t need one). The pool is small, so if your vacation is extended and you like to swim, you might want to spend the majority of your time off the ship. I must say that we were pleasantly surprised with our cabin. We had a comfortable queen bed and 2 portholes. The cabin & bath weren’t any smaller than our Royal Caribbean cruise from LA to Mexico a few years ago. And that cabin didn’t have any windows.
We did speak briefly with 2 other couples who were on the cruise via the time share pitch. They said the presentation was long and the sales staff were very pushy, but they were having a blast on the ship and thought the experience was totally worth it. I talked with another woman who actually purchased the time share, and she was very happy with the cruise and couldn’t wait to get to the Bahamas. We didn’t see anyone who didn’t seem to be enjoying themselves.
We arrived in Ft Lauderdale very late (12:30am) Monday night b/c of our flight cancellation Sunday. The cruise set sail on Tuesday. We had called ahead about the delay, so we were able to check in to Vacation Village (VV) w/o our voucher. This was not a hotel room, but a condo that was comfortable but showing its age. Being a condo, there was no coffee provided in the room as there probably would have been if it were a hotel, although there was a coffee maker in the kitchenette. All we did was crash for the night b/c we had to get to the Welcome Center the next morning to get our vouchers for the condo (they faxed it for us so we didn’t have to drive back to VV) and the cruise and Our Lucaya vouchers. Since we arrived too late for the time share presentation, we had to leave a $40 deposit in order to receive the vouchers, with the promise that our money would be refunded when we attended the presentation upon our return Saturday. Our flight wasn’t scheduled until Sat. evening; we had to debark the boat around 9am. I don’t know what they would have done if we had an early flight.
The timeshare pitch took 3 hours, and we had to go through our rep, then his supervisor, then a woman who signed off on our paperwork to get the refund, then another woman at the desk where we actually got our $40 back. Actually, we didn’t have to even subject ourselves to any of it b/c IL and CA residents are exempt. Our rep was so cool, he even told us that, although we knew it already. But as I said, it was raining all day, and we had nothing better to do.
Here are the only complaints we had: It was cold when we arrived in FL, as well as the first night of the cruise, so the heat was on with no way to adjust it in our cabin. It was too hot, so we called and a maintenance guy was there within minutes. However, he explained that all he could do was close the ceiling vent. It helped only slightly. Our only other night on the ship was on the way back from the island to Palm Beach, and it had warmed up by then so the air was on and it was comfortable. Another complaint we had is that we were unable to get embark/debark times for the cruise. No matter who my husband talked to, they could/would not provide that information; thus the evening flight from FL back to Chicago. Also, no one could tell us what time we had to be at the Welcome Center to get our vouchers, so we just got up and on our way early. Oh, FYI, it’s about an hour’s drive from Ft Lauderdale to Palm Beach.
I’m sorry this post is so lengthy, but I want to provide at least a little relief for those of you who have already paid and are unable to obtain a refund. I was panicked myself, but my husband had received the offer in the mail and REALLY wanted to get away, so we just went with it and prayed for a good outcome. It will help if you are flexible about travel dates, but that wasn’t a problem for us.
Based on our previous cruise (Royal Caribbean), the fees, gratuities, and beverage charges seem pretty normal. Same for the excursion costs. You will be asked frequently (i.e., every time they walk by you in the lounges) if you would like a drink, but I don’t consider that “pushy.” And we weren’t expecting our flight expenses to be included, so that wasn’t a problem for us either.
I hope I have helped to put at least some of you somewhat at ease. Although the sales tactics are deplorable, the vacation itself was very pleasant and we have no regrets.
Wow, Cathy. Thank you so much for writing all this and letting us know what its like, although I must admit, anytime I hear stuff like this about the cruise, it reeks to me of an inside job. The way you covered up really bad things [like the fact that you didn’t want to spend any time on the cruise ship cause it wasn’t big (or I’m sure there were other reasons)] with two or three things unrelated to the actual cruise further amplified the skeptic in me.
Thank you very much though for taking the time to describe it in detail of what went on. I’m happy to hear you left with a smile 🙂 And I truly appreciate the time it must have taken to write all that out.
Hi guys, just came upon this site. My mother just received this in the mail today. I really want to know whether or not it’s legit. I called the website, talked to Bill, who explained to me the entire package deal. How I would only be responsible for my travel to Ft. Lauderdale and the $118 port fees. Is that the only expense that comes out of my pocket if I only take the two day cruise? assuming I don’t order fancy drinks/gamble/etc. Are there any hidden fees or is it just $118 for the entire trip and travel expense to/from Fort Lauderdale? Most people are saying this is a scam while some people have had wonderful experiences..could someone please let me know? I appreciate all your help. Thanks.
Mary, be warned that the only way that I was offered the days I wanted was to upgrade my package. Which in the end, to get a legit company with reputation for being good and many testimonies about how good the cruises are, without all the question marks, turns out to only be a hundred or so dollars more to go on a cruise.
Please note that it is only one fellow, Mr John, that has had any experience with this cruise, and its highly speculated that he actually works on the cruise line for his persistence to make a good name for this company. Very very curious indeed.
Please be warned now, and I would like to hear of your decision in the future.
thank god i found this post.. i was going to do some research on this whole thing sounded a lil odd when i spoke to the guy.. i received in the mail a cruise line voucher and a travel voucher. the 118 dollar fee was no big deal to me until he said “you have to pay for your gambeling fees and your alcohol assumption” ha forget that.. the whole time he was talking to me he kept repeating his workers number i guess i should have written that down. he told me that this wasnt no scam (like i beleived him) he told me everything was real because they sent it first class but as i looked at the envelope it wasnt first class the guy kept tellin me it was but whatever.. later he asked me to mail him my birth certificate and a valid id so they can make me a passport.. that was definately not going to happen.. something is starting to smell extremely fishy.. at the end of him tryin to get me to go he asked my credit card info i told him i dont own a credit card he asked me can i go borrow one from someone. are you freaking nuts???? hell no i cant borrow a credit card for 118 dollars. finally mr tom hung up on me 10 mins later called me back saying we got disconnected and kept asking me top borrow someones credit card.. should have known it was too good to be true nothing in life is ever free.
Thanks to Kingkabuz for giving us a place to warn others about the business dealings attached to the “free cruise”. Information I had was Travel Services at 800-221-8200.
My story is almost verbatim what others have already posted. One thing I will say though is that I questioned them thoroughly and said no to every package they offered stating that I can get better deal on my own. I told them I only wanted a free cruise and that if I paid the taxes, gratuity, and boarding fee there would be nothing else I was willing to spend to get this “free” cruise which wasn’t free already. I wanted to arrange air travel, hotel, and rental car fees on my own. Well, they seemed dead-set that this could not happen. Read on and tell me if you think they were trying to dictate what I “would do” or not. I mean, they even insisted I was flying in to Ft. Lauderdale when I was adamant that I had free place to stay elsewhere!
When I said “no” to every offer that 3 people went through and tried to up-sell me on, the last guy got frustrated and said he could go ahead and cancel the cruise and I can forget about the vacation (take-away sales technique) I said fine, that is no problem there are many other offers out there and all I wanted was for them to be clear with me and send me paperwork outlining what their deals were so I could compare them with others. I made sure they knew that I was not purchasing any package deals in advance without seeing the offer in writing and having a chance to explore alternatives. They did not want to extend the cruise to me if I did not sign up for and pay in advance one of their “package deals” and argued with me that there would be nothing better out there and I would need to make arrangements anyway so I should sign up with them. It was a very circular conversation.
My impression based on how I was treated is that this company markets the cruises to lure people in and then only books people who actually purchase a package deal with them. I say this since they volunteered to cancel my cruise reservation because I said no and did not want to hear any more pitches and requested instead that they send information to me to review and make a decision on later. I am content to be done with this company and their offerings regardless.
I am an employee of caribbean cruise line. No I’m not giving my real name or email for obvious reasons. A friend left this on my computer when I had let him borrow it. I have been reading through most of what everyone has written and I am surprised.
The ship is real. The deal is real. Yes, it is $59 per person based on two people. 3rd and 4th are $129 for 13 and up and $99 for 12 and under. Yes, we do try and sell you the extened stay package for obvious reasons, the tour. You do save 75% off retail when you get the extened stay. I hear alot of the concerns are because the rep. you deal with is giving you bad advice. Everyone is saying that they don’t get the package in the mail quick enough. Itdoes take 14-21 days to be printed and mailed. You do have access to it on line within 72 business hours. You have 1 week to cancel it from the time it becomes availabe on line. Not from the time you book it. Also, the agent is suppose to tell you that we ask for a 30-60 day notice when booking you trip. We are booked already for Sept. and most of Oct. already! That’s one of the reasons we give you 18months.
Yes, there are bad sales people as well as uninformed ones. I do work at the corperate office. I have worked at a satelite office before and I hate to say it, but they don’t have the same standards as corperate does. I take anything I do serious and do stand behind what we do(at corperate). I have even given my personal cell phone # to a customer before. No, she to this day has not called. If she ever did, I would do every thing in my power to take care of her concerns.
Please keep in mind that we do sail between 2000-3000 people every other day out of the Port of Palm Beach. We must be doing something right if we are still booking people almost 2months in advance, plus it’s slow season. Sorry for all the people who feel that they got a bad deal. Maybe one day I will be talking to one of you on the phone. I don’t lie to my customers. With the world in such a “sue happy” mode, it’s not worth it. REMEMBER, IT’S NOT JUST A CRUISE; IT’S A CELEBRATION! P.S. Don’tbother asking me any questions. I’m notgoing to get into a arguing match with anyone. Life is too short.
perhaps people use legitimate companies like yours to scam people of their money so the company gets a bad rep.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean here.. Are you referring to me, King Kabuz, as the company scamming people of money? Because I make no profit from this article you see here. Furthermore, if I am a legitimate company, as you start off saying, I wouldn’t be scamming people, and vice-versa.
Please clarify what your saying here.
The fact that he is too scared to clarify shows that he is lying through his teeth. Geez, how hard is it nowadays to lie on the internet? Easier than saying “1, 2, 3”. But to get thousands of people agreeing on the same blog about the same scam and only one “John” saying it is legit? Harder than winning the lottery, especially considering how many blogs there are out there on the internet. I wouldn’t be surprised if this “John” and this “employee who shall not reveal his identity” was the owner of the scam himself.
I hope you enjoy a horrible death enjoying millions of poor American’s money you just swindled away.
I am very skeptical too. Thanks for your opinions. 🙂
HI:
I just recieved this voucher in the mail as well. Thanks King Kabuz for this! If this person really works for the cruise line she/he is being very unprofessional and childish in her/his response to this. People don’t like to be given misleading information. Can you honetly blame people for being sketchy? Everyone has similar stories. People on Yahoo answers share the same stories as well. If this is legit maybe the voucher should be a little more specific, and the employees need some education on people skills. I will be throwing this in the trash
Happy to be of service.
Yes, thanks for posting your experience related to this scam. I was upset after the way these guys tried to prey on me and so it was comforting to see all the posts here – opposed to the way the sales people shoveling this scam made us feel, we are not a bunch of crazy, masochistic losers who “don’t want a cruise”.
It should be noted that I don’t even think a cruise line called “Caribbean Cruise Line” exists at least they certainly don’t appear to be a legit company. First, no one should ever have to pay for anything that has been “won”. This was probably my third clue following two other subtle clues related to lack of professional manner. Second, I don’t believe a cruise line would require you to pay port taxes prior to booking your reservation and I don’t believe these fees are paid directly to the cruise line. A cruise or travel agent probably has their guests complete a special government form while on board and pay directly to a separate, government entity. On another website I read these guys actually tried to take additional $350 money for airfare when the potential victim of the scam said the $600 airfare to FL would be too expensive for her. I hope others will have the same light bulb reaction as she did after such lies “I knew that was it” and hang up the phone.
Does anyone know… Is Carmen Electra really associated with them?
What can we do?
I assume she shot those videos for them. I will guess she made a deal of some sort.
So glad I came across you’re blog! I entered a lot of contests over the summer so I thought that they were calling about one of those ballots I filled out. I received a message on my voicemail that sounded too rehearsed to be from a real person but I was given a number to call which said their hours were like 10am-10pm Mon-Fri so I called on a Friday in the afternoon and got a message saying I would need to call during their office hours which is stupid since I did. An actual person should have answered the phone since I called during their business hours. That was another thing that made me suspicious.
I HAVE THE SAME PACKAGE BUT GOOD NEWS!!!! NO PROBLEMS AT ALL…ALTHOUGH, I BOOKED MINE CRUISE WELL IN ADVANCE AND HAD NO PROBLEM AT ALL GETTING THE DATES THAT I WANTED. ALSO, I HAD THE OPTION OF RECEIVING MY INFO BY MAIL OR ONLINE. I CHOSE TO DO IT ON LINE SO THAT I WOULD HAVE MORE CONTROL OF RECEIVING THE INFO. 3 DAYS AFTER PAYING THE $118, I WENT ONLINE, ENTERED MY RESERVATION # AND PASSCODE AND THERE IT WAS….JUST LIKE THEY SAID. I THEN CALLED THAT SAME DAY AND BOOKED MY CRUISE FOR MARCH NEXT YEAR (NO UPGRADES REQUIRED). MY GUESS IS THAT YOU’RE WAITING UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO BOOK YOUR CRUISES. THE ONLY ADDITIONAL CHARGES THAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE FOR IS THE $24 PER PERSON GRATUITY THAT THEY WILL COLLECT FROM YOU AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE AND THE $9 PER PERSON PER NIGHT OILD CHARGE ALSO AT TIME OF DEPARTURE.
BRING YOUR PASSPORTS! 🙂
Maybe you should give us an update AFTER u go on the cruise and recieve everything they promised you, until then you don’t know if you’re going to get what you paid for.
good point Elena. I’m hoping lots of people do tell us of the treatment they received. There have been a few on here.
They got me : ( I wish I would have had the time to read this email….but they didn’t give me the time! That should have been the first hint of a scam. Very clever scam I must say. : ( nothing in life is free hahaha.
And Lori (Sept 14th 2010) you *edited* I disagree *end edit* : ) do us all the favor or just me thx
Thanks for the post it seems like your saving everyone for the decisions we made : )
Like I said before, you would be surprised how understanding the credit card companies can be. Contest the charge and have them take up the fight.
Not that I disagree with you, but I talked to them and they said the only thing I could do was to go to the BBB and file a complaint, which I did, and I never received anything back from them. I wonder if it was because I was Canadian..
This being said, I highly encourage all and any of you to try any means possible to get your money back from this company, and as quickly as possible.
I went on the cruise, and it is not a scam.
Thank you…
Yeah right. You’re the same employee John from above. I recognize your BS.
For the last six months I’ve been witnessing online fallout from a corporate takeover of an annual (and formerly nonprofit) convention I’ve attended for years. The old staffers were kicked out or forced to resign. The attendees and former employees have taken to discussing it all on a third party forum. We’ve been dealing with a lot of apologist staffers in shoddy disguise like John here. I really wish people like him would learn to respect people’s intelligence. The obvious nature of their lie is downright insulting.
Melody said about a comment made by John B:
“Yeah right. You’re the same employee John from above. I recognize your BS.”
John B’s reply to Melody’s insult:
I am NOT an employee of the company. I run my own business for years. In fact I do security work. So do not insult me in this way. There are millions of people named John in the world. I have never said the people posting here are lyers. I am not sure what to think, since I took the cruise and had no problems. Yes they did try to upsell me some stuff, and I did not take any of it. IF you read my posts, you would see that I never entered contest, nor got the offer in the mail. I iniated the contact 100% with the company.
SO until you have 100% proof I work for the company (which I do not). Stop accusing me of such. I never said the people here are liers.
Yeah right. With your fake email address, you are ensuring that we will never have the evidence to prove you work for the company. You just want to swindle more people out of their poor bank accounts.
Thank you so much! I just received my “free” cruise for 2 in the mail and my free cruise voucher looked almost identical to the picture in your post. I asked my dad to look it over to see if it was a scam and he just advised that I google the company. When I did I found your blog and all the other people that have been scammed as well. I’m happy that you are warning others!
wow thanks for this! i received this in the mail today and actually thought it was legit, turns out its just one of those scams that come around!
thanks again for this post!
Sharing a post from ripoffreport.com posted 11/09…
I saw a commercial featuring Carmen Electra for Caribbean Cruise Lines advertising a free 2 night cruise to the Bahamas on their Bahamas Celebration ship. The commercial stated there were 500 free cruises to giveaway in my region and to go to their website immediately to claim one of these free cruises. I went to the website and filled out my basic info, this took me to another page that said I had qualified for the free cruise, it included a confirmation number and instructions to call 1-877-256-0219 ASAP to claim my cruise.
I called the number provided the person I spoke to seemed very friendly and polite. He gave me the details of the free cruise I would receive, round trip out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Nassau, Bahamas, docking near the Atlantis resort. He said all that was asked of me was a $59.00 per person port charge/docking fee, and I would have to pay my own airfare to FL. I would have 18 months to schedule my cruise. This seemed like a good, legit deal to me by the pitch he gave me over the phone. He then told me I could also add an extended stay in Florida before the trip and after the trip that included a rental car, and if I added this extended stay to the trip I would also be given two additional trips, one to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and one to Las Vegas, NV. I asked him if I had to add the extended stay and additional trips to get the free cruise and he said I did not. He told me for the free cruise I had to pay $118.00 for two people ($59.00 each) and asked for my credit card information, I told him I did not have the money to pay the $118.00 right now, was it imperative that I do so, and he told me it wasn’t a problem, and transfered me to a specialist.
The specialist asked me for my credit card information to secure my free cruise, not knowing it would be charge because I had stated I didn’t have the money currently, I stupidly gave them my credit card number. After I spoke with the specialist, he said he would transfer me to their confirmation department. The confirmation department confirmed my mailing address, phone number, and email and made me repeat all that information back to them. Then she gave me a reservation number and said all I had to do was contact the company by calling 1-800-221-8200 within 18 months, with a 60 day grace period before the date I wanted to sail to book the free cruise. We ended the call with me thinking I had just gotten an awesome deal and I would save up to pay the $118.00 later on in the year.
After I got off the phone I decided to search online for pictures of the ship and information about it, I’m an avid cruiser and I was very excited to see what my ship would look like, while searching I found many people stating the free cruise was a fraud, they would attach hidden fees to the cruise, they would charge your credit card without prior notice, etc. I decided to check my credit card and make sure nothing funny was going on, and sure enough, I currently have a pending charge from CCV-Caribbean Cruise Lines for $118.00, even though I explicitly told them I could not pay right now.
Infuriated I called the customer service number and told them I wanted to cancel the information booklet they would be mailing to me and I wanted a refund for the $118.00 they charged to my card. The first person I spoke to transfered me to the ‘appropriate’ department for my inquiry. This person I spoke to informed me there were no refunds or cancellations allowed and that I was told that on the phone, I explained to him that I did not think they were going to charge me right away and I wasn’t told there were no refunds. He was very rude to me, badgering me, talking over me, yelling at me for talking while he was talking, so I asked to speak to someone else or his supervisor. He stated that my inquiry did not warrant speaking with a supervisor and I was who he needed to speak to. I honestly have never been spoken to so rudely by a ‘customer service’ agent before in my life. I continued to ask him to transfer me to his supervisor, at least 15 times before he finally did.
When I spoke to the supervisor and explained my situation and that I would like a cancellation and refund he had no problem with this and advised me I will have my refund within 3 business days. So I guess I will have to wait and see if that actually happens. Here’s to hoping!
Don’t get scammed by this company, I got sucked into the idea of a free lunch, when we all know there is no such thing. Just because Carmen Electra is in the commercial does not mean it’s reputable, and always do your research first before you are pressured into giving your credit/debit card number.
I bet she goes on every cruise! Thank you for your words about your experience.
You knew they would charge your card when you gave it to them.
Did she ever get her money back Holly?
I was curious if any one has actually taken a cruise called “Caribbean Cruise Lines” and if so what was their experience like, what was the bottom line cost (excluding extras like alcohol, spa, gambling, goods and services off the ship, etc.)? Is Caribbean Cruise Lines a legit company? I found these posst at yahooanswers.com……
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Best Answer – Chosen by Voters
A “legit scam”?? There really IS a Caribbean Cruise Line and they really DO offer very low fares to the Bahamas. However, the ship is a rehabbed ferry, the food and service are of low quality, and it only goes to the Bahamas. I’ve read reports from past passengers that the ship is often met by DEA agents when it returns to the US.
You could do a search on that cruise line and I’m sure you’ll get some leads. Or, you could go to CruiseCritic.com, click on “Boards”, then “Member Reviews”, or on “Reviews” and read pro or member reviews.
Whether or not you would enjoy the cruise would depend on whether or not you’ve ever cruised [if not, you have nothing to compare it to], what your standards are re quality, and whether you think the Bahamas is an exciting cruise destination [if they go to Freeport or Nassau, then I’d pass, no matter what]. Can’t remember whether a time share presentation is part of the deal, and, of course, you’ll have to pay taxes, fees, port charges, as well as for any drinks [soda or alcohol], etc.
10 months ago
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Best Answer – Chosen by Voters
People People. Don’t jump the gun just yet.
It sounds like what you received is a promotion sponsored by Ramada.
In exchange for you visiting their resort, they will give you a free hotel stay and a free cruise.
Of course you will have to do a timeshare tour. This does not mean its a scam! Scams are when someone purposely takes your money without any intent on providing a service/product.
Regarding the hotel. I am not sure what resort they want you to tour. They typically have you stay at the same resort you will be touring. Which means the resort has to be half decent, from a business stand point right? They are not going to have you stay in a hole in the wall, and then ask you to spend thousands to get coming back.
Also included in the promotion is a cruise. The cruise is probably on the Bahamas Celebration. Previously the ship that was used for this promotion was Regal Empress. The ship was old and its GONE!
The Bahamas Celebration is a cruise ship run by Celebration Cruise Line.
Now, nothing is free. You do have to pay small fees like taxes and tips for the cruise and hotel stay. However, its a great deal if you go with an open mind and don’t expect the Ritz Hotel and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. I would suggest looking into it!
Continue to do your own research like you have been doing; and make your own decision.
Source(s):
Photos of the new ship along with a review can be found here: http://www.travelbydeals.com/blog/news/b…
Celebration Cruise Lines Website Here:
http://www.bahamascelebration.com/
Reviews of the promotion. Keep in mind the reviews are about Ramada, but travelers mention the cruise as well because its part of the deal:http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/28…
Information about the transition here:
http://www.travelbydeals.com/blog/news/b…
1 year ago
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My opinion……I am glad that I probably saved myself the cost of travel, taxes, tips and the HEADACHE of a hard sales presentation. Long travels and dealing with sales people for a good portion of a short vacation would pretty much ruin the whole vacation for me. I am upset enough having had to deal with the rude sales persons over the phone who I told twice that I would not give them my credit card and declined the “free” cruise. Sadly, hard economic times are bringing out the worst in some people.
well put.
Yikes! My husband and I were planning on upgrading our packages to an 11 day 10 night trip. 3 days in ft. lauderdale, 3 days Orlando, 2 days on cruise ship & 3 days at Our Lucuya in Bahamas. We will have to pay $915 dollars for the entire package. We thought that sounded like a great deal! All our meals are included everywhere except the Bahamas. It even includes a rental car for our stay in Florida, Yes, we have to attend a time share tour but we dont mind. Did anyone else get an offer like this one? I have to call them back by Monday if we are interested. We were actually kind of getting excited about the trip….but now I’m a little worried. Has anyone recieved an offer like this one?
Lady, there is 106 people that have complained on here. Albiet, there were about less than 6 (and I’m giving you 4) people that had a good time on the trip, compared to the…. 100 or so who didnt. That’s 5.6% of the people on the boat have a good time.
I suggest you go on the trip, and report back to us?
I would actually like to hear how it was.
My guess is that if you actually lived in Florida or close by, you might be able to get away with taking the trip and not paying too much.
I went on the trip, but did not take the upgrades.
yes kat i just received an offer like this,they transfered me to this lady named tiziana,and told me to call her back before 1030,i got the exact same package deals has you,its kinda fishy,its with the caribbean cruise line of grand bahama island…
yes please report back on your experience….I already paid hefty $650 so too late to say “I wish I didn’t”….just praying for the best alteranative then just throwing the money away and not go….and I am from Toronto Canada..
bummer, if you act quickly you can cancel it on your mastercard!
Thank you so much for the wonderful information. I’ve been getting these annoying phone calls because I too took the survey. The problem is I really am going to book a girlfriend cruise, but don’t know when or how many are going. I don’t know that I want to run into the problems you did….so I think I will just pass on their offer and go with a reputable firm.
I have had the same thing happen. I was told that I would be able to have a passport card and I have to get a passport. So they lied about that and the extra chargers they were making me pay. They are charging me a million different hidden fees. I actually upgraded my package when I bought it back in July, so now I have almost 500 into the cruise. I will not be able to get my money back. I just got off the phone with customer service, and the lady YELLED at me! I thought things were getting fishy a couple days ago when I tried to book my flight, but now I realized I was scamed. I do not know how people sleep at night knowing what they are doing to innocent people.
I agree with you Brandi, how do they sleep at night. Somewhere inside of them they have to know they’re pulling the fleece over us.
Thank you. I just wanted to let you know that you saved a poor college student from getting scammed and thank god I looked up the name of the Caribbean cruise line. I got a call and I told them I didn’t want the cruise so give it to someone else and they continuously kept calling me so I thought it was fishy. But anyway they told me I had to pay 59 dollars for a port fee. And I knew that was a bunch of bull. The phone number was 1-800-446-1524. And I hope someone else will be lucky like me and not fall for it. God bless you!
It warms my soul to hear that Angie. Even just saving you, another college student, from being ripped off makes me a very happy blogger.
good luck with the rest of your semester. 🙂
hi,well i received a free cruise trip to go to the bahamas with caribbean cruise line..they asked me for the 118$ and that igot 18 months to use the ticket and that i would have the tickets within 21 days.they asked me for my credit card number and said they couldnt hold the package because since i had called,the promotion was activated,so apparently the lady said she would do me a favor and told me to call her back in about an hour…so ya to resume i get a free cruise for 118$,im kinda skeptical about this,like they said they werent no hidden fees,did anybody hear bout this cruise liner?
Before I did my trip, I looked everywhere, and had other people looking everywhere for any information on the trip. It was very hard to come by, and the only one who seemed to have heard or taken this trip was Carmen Electra…
This sounds legitamite. Having experience working at the boynton beach office at the promotions department for the caribbean cruise line I know what packages sound right and what doesn’t. If you go threw a verification process and get a confirmation code then it’s ok. Don’t mention it to them wait and see if they tell you you’re going to go threw it and if they do then it’s legit.
Hahaha (at my own misfortune), my family was right. They knew it was a scam as soon as I told them about it, but I had already made a non-refundable deposit of $216.00 for the reservation of a more decently located cabin for two. The friend who told me about it had seen an advertisement featuring Carmen Electra, offering a free vacation for the first so-many callers from each state. I got the same number as one of the replies above: 1-800-221-8200. Weak sauce.
Try asking your credit card company. That’s how I got my money back. Mention all the hidden fees, like the $600 vacation package they pressure you to buy.
Also, thanks very much for putting up all of this detailed information about your situation. It was nice to finally know for sure. It’s also really cool how so many others had verified it with their responses. Rock.
This is a VERY SHADY COMPANY!! A cruise does exist so they can operate legally but they do charge extra hidden fees and they lie through their teeth!!
I got a call at the end of August. They received my information from a ballot I filled out at the Toronto Jazz fest. I don’t normally go for stuff like this because you hear of “free cruise scams” all the time. But because they told me that the best way they advertise is through word of mouth they give away 60 discounted cruises. I feel for it!
But I didn’t feel right about it. I researched on the Better Business Bureau’s Website and they listed the company as an “F” (this is not good and also they were only established in 2008). As I kept searching I found out that this scam has been opeartating for years, they just keep changing names. When I called to tell mastercard and tell them my story they asked, “was it Caribbean cruise line?”.
I was beginning to feel trapped, I just wanted my money back and nothing to do with this company. Luckily I found a post online that helped me out HUGE!!! Here’s my story: (if you want your money back and it’s within 30 days that you purchased the cruise please read!)
Thanks to a postI read online I decided to call and try and get my money back. I followed her instructions. They were very pushy and kept trying to find out why I didnt want such a lovely vacation anymore. It took 32 minutes of me saying,
“no, It’s just not for me”.
However I HAD TO RECITE FLORIDA LAW. First they told me “you missed the 10 days in which you can get your refund”. So I recited Florida law that I have 30 days (I was at day 26 at that point).
Then they said, “yes, but that law doesn’t apply to you because you live in Ontario”.
I told him that as Caribbean Cruise lines operates out of Florida they are bound by Florida law.
Finally they connected me to “Pam” who confirmed my details.
This call was made on Sept. 22 2010. I almost all of my money back Sept 25 2010. (Paid $399.31 and got a refund of 389.31). I never thought I’d see that again!! Thanks Abelle!! I would have believed the companies lies. I can’t believe they keep getting away with this!
For more instructions read Abelles post
http://flvacationrental.com/uncategorized/caribbeanclcom-is-this-a-scam-caribbean-cruise-line/
I hope more people read this and don’t get scammed!!
I just had this company call me today and almost fell for this as well! II kept telling them I had to check with my freind, look at my finances, etc before I made the decision. They wanted me to put them on hold while I did all this! Then they kept lowering the price and adding more incintives so it was really tempting. I decided to put them on hold and google the ship and company and came up with this blog. I got back on the phone, told them I was not interested and hung up the phone. Thank goodness I came across this or I would be out $665! If something sounds too good to be true 99.9% of the time it is. I will NEVER even think about purchasing anything like this again until I do the research on it!
I’m happy to hear that you didn’t get sucked in! Thanks for sharing your experience you had. Its criminal really.
I can usually smell a scam from a mile away, and I knew before I even opened the envelope that this was a scam. However, many people are not so skeptical and cycnical as I am, and they get drawn in to these traps. Thanks for posting this, it will help some people out!
It has helped many already, and I hope it helps more! I think this same company tried to phone me and get me to sign up for a ‘free’ trip to Cancun. Same treatment, pushy sales. grr. Thanks for leaving your two bits 🙂
Thanks for the website. It just confirmed my suspicions when I received the “free cruise” travel voucher in the mail yesterday. Thanks again.
Thank you. My wife has been trying to get me to sign up for this cruise since it arrived in the mail. I said “scam” and she thinks it is legit. I have bookmarked this site for her to read. I have warned her before to beware of anything that originates in Florida. Your exposure of this so-called cruise should convince her that this is a scam. This coupon book is what she received:
page 1: (front cover) Caribbean Cruise Line “Benefits of Record” with confirmation number 450093037.
page 2: $250,000.00 karaoke contest.
page 3 and 4: A “congratulations” letter that is obviosly a form with blanks that were to be filled in by the sender. When these people fill in the blanks with their information there are large gaps where a longer insert would go.
page 5: Travel Credit Voucher in the amount of $1,300.00 with a control number of No. 161002 in magnetic ink encoding style. The reverse side has Terms and Conditions.
page 6: Free Cruise Redemtion Receipt with reservation number LKT092010.
page 7: Is “Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort” advertisement. (back cover)
If these numbers match yours then you can bet this is a scam.
My father-in law got this FREE cruise and because we live in Florida thought we could
use it. When I called they said YES you have a FREE cruise BUT only ONE WAY and
would have to pay for the cruise back and that all my Father in law paid was the
PORT charges. BUT for $518.00 we could get the full cruise and THREE nites at
OUR LUCAYA. The room rate are $180 per night for a standard room. We have stayed at OUR LUCAYA B-4 and this seems like a deal too good to be true……
WE’LL see??
I hope you take the time to come back and tell us how it goes. 🙂 I would appreciate that muchly.
wow i’m so glad i have found this site on on the phone with them trying to get my refund..I had the exact same call asking to do 10 questions survey once i was finished i was offered a free cruise.. I agreed and 3 days later like they said someone will contact me which they did today.. i was offered the 2 day cruise to the bahamas plus hotel stay in Fort Laurderadale and Orlando and even reimbursement money.. I am sucker for all these scams.. Stay with my gut too good to true wow on hold to get a refund pretty bad
This site has save me a ton of cash thanks
Glad to be of assistance.
They are still at it. I just got the exact same call that is posted above from a guy named James Mathewuse. He told me about how great this cuise is and all the the wonderful ports of call that are included. The one thing that I didn’t read is has anyone actually taken this cruise or is this a complete piece of makebelieve?
Just curious.THX
There is one person that has claimed to have gone on the cruise (and vehemently claimed he’s not affiliated with the company), and one or two that have contested that the company is legit, but haven’t said whether they have taken the cruise or not. I haven’t seen any pictures, posts, or anything saying its good.
I think there was actually one person who said they went on it and it was like an old ferry? 2nd rate food service etc. But once again, no photos or anything to support this.
Hope this helps.
My fiance actually got off the phone with them. We were really excited because we have been looking for something to do for our honeymoon but didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for anything. We thought it was our silver lining to go on a cruise. Thankfully we had already said no before I read this, but this still confirms that we made the right decision. Thanks so much for keeping us informed!
HI all-
It would seem that they have changed some of the terms and conditions in order to avoid legal problems down the road, or due to the quantity of unhappy customers as seen in the above comments.
MY EXPERIENCE: I just received both a travel voucher for two nights and one day cruise to the Bahamas on the “Bahamas Celebration” AND a Credit Voucher for $1,300.00 if I decided upon utilizing the “extended stay” option (this varies and you have choices). They clearly state the $59.00 per person tax up front, and mention other smaller taxes that may occur.
All of the actual detailed information is printed on back of the $1,300.00 “Credit Voucher”, where they go into some detail about having to endure a presentation on the sale of independent vacation ownership resorts such as Vacation Village at Bonaventure and Bonaventure & Village Vacation at Parkway.
At the very bottom of the fine print, it states clearly that: “This advertising material is being used for the purpose of soliciting sales of a vacation ownership plan”.
So it’s all very simple. If you have the money to travel to Florida on your own dime (I don’t), and have the will to endure a sales pitch on condo time shares (or something like it), you end up with a free cruise whose duration is up to you, and has limited flexibility in terms of dates.
I am a regular at a sweepstakes site that has the general opinion that NO sweepstakes which offers a destination without free travel to get there is even worth the time to enter. I agree.
Your mileage may vary. Good luck to all.
Mike Selvey (NOT an employee of any of these entities)
Nacogdoches, TX
I received a call on Wednesday from Patty ID# 1976 and said nothing about money but she would send my packet right away. I was on cloud nine thinking I will give this to my parents as a Christmas gift. I received another call today wanting to verify all the amenities of my free trip and wanted my credit card information. I asked a ton of questions because I had viewed this website prior to them calling. Mrs. Robbins contacted me today and I explained that this was a scam towards the end of our conversation and she said that she could lose her license if it was and just kept assuring me that this was on the up and up. After wasting enough of my time when asked for the fourth time about my credit card information I kindly told her I didn’t have one. She said not even a debit card and said no not one of those either. She sighed and said I am so sorry that you will be missing out on such a wonderful trip. I kindly said I think I will keep my money and use for a REAL cruise. Thank you everyone for saving me a lot of heart ache, money, time and above all myself pride.
Chris Sutton
Little Elm, Texas
Chris, thanks for sharing your story with us. They are professionals at trying to convince you thats forsure! I wonder how many people they actually get…
Thank you for your insight Michael, I appreciate you taking the time to share it with us all so that we can stop this company from taking innocent peoples money.
You should all be aware that if a company pays their dues to the BBB, responds to complaints quickly and reasonably, the BBB will give the company a good rating and in essence, protect the company because that’s where their money comes from.
Thanks Mark, I’ve submitted this company to the BBB to get reviewed, I’m pretty sure they have a horrible rating with them.
Thank you so much for posting about your experiences with this company. We just returned home to find 8 messages from them stating that we had won a “free cruise”. While I had their rep on the phone, I found your post and quickly realized that it was a scam.
Wow. Thats awkward. i had to deal with them phoning me once a day for a few weeks. Finally I answered and asked them to take me off their phoning list and not to phone again.
I was almost scammed by this company today. Spent almost 45 minutes on the phone with Carlos this morning as he kept assuring me it WAS NOT A SCAM. He actually told me he was a preacher’s son….Ok, preacher of what??
I told him I would need to talk to my husband first before I put anything on my card. He of course offered to call him (3 way). I told him he is at work and “I” will call him and that I will call him back. Here comes the “we only have 40 cabins to give away and it is first come first serve, why don’t I just pay the 118 and if he does not want to go we can sell it to a friend or even extend after the 18 months when times might be better. I told him if I called him back and all the rooms were gone..then this was not meant to be. He came back with, you can also look at it like it is meant to be because I called you out of all the people who filled out for it. He had to put me on hold because he wanted to give me a number to call 800-221-8200 and that is suppose to assure me it is a real cruise line. I told him I had some one give me a 800 # for assurance and it was disconnected. He said he felt bad and wanted to give me a direct # for the cruise director Terica…954-567-9353 X4135. I ended up hanging up because things did not feel right….he called back…7 times. I did not even tell you half of it, but you get the gist of it.
The sad thing is that this sounded good and I “was” buying into it. I must have sucker by my name somewhere because I ALREADY was a victim to a scam this past March for our wedding, the DJ I hired “Sound Sensory” was a big scam, luckily we found out the week before and was able to find someone else in that short time. Thanks for posting this so people can see what is really going on.
You’re not the only one Kim. We’ve all dealt with the same people. Its not cool, people shouldn’t be like this, its sad that we now know the world does.
Hello,
So you answered a cold call and gave them money to go on a cruise? Don’t you have any sense in not to just take a cold call and give money to someone. If you wanted to go on a cruise it would seem to go to a travel agency, or go on line and ensure that you are on the travel agency or the cruise agency.
I hear about this all the time and I don’t feel that Caribbean Cruise Lines are to blame because it wasn’t them calling you. I would have called Caribbean’s number back right away and then went through the process.
How is it if someone just calls you and you take their word. Unless you initialize the conversation by taking action up front, then get a call back I can see that but taking a cold call, I’m just hoping (and praying) that you don’t do that again.
No one EVER calls with good deals like that, it just doesn’t make sense, it’s not anything real, it’s always a scam, but it’s not Caribbean’s, it would be some other creapy guys and I can’t wait to find them and I’ll put them behind bars for you.
Take care be safe!
-Aaron
Thank you! That’s exactly how I feel. I’m a representative at the caribbean cruise line and it’s not the cruise line doing this. It’s a scam artist and I can’t even tell you how hard it is to sell a trip to anyone these day because of posts like this. Most of you people are dealing directly with the cruise line. If you have recieved a voucher and called up about it and are getting a call back then it’s the real thing. But if you’re just getting a call from a 1800 number out of the blue then it’s a scam. Block the number. You’re suppose to go threw a verification process and get a confirmation number if they don’t mention that stuff in you’re conversation then it’s not legit.
Thank you for your tips, but as it was stated in my initial posting, I did go through the whole verification process, I got an email verification, and phone them back, as well as random other verifications that I went through, which in itself was part of the problem, since I was forced to put the money down, and then my confirmation was sent in the mail, which took more than the amount of days I was allowed to have pass before I asked for a refund. Tricky, and cheeky.
A company that has bad customer service, horribly tricky refund policy, and car-salesman like marketing .should. have a hard time selling.
This is not an attempt at making a shot at your character, but just the company.
I got a voucher in the mail. My husband has been deployed overseas for a year and I thought it would be nice to take a vacation together with our three year old since we haven’t been together so long. I called the number and they pressed me and pressed me and I told them I would have to talk to my husband about it first and they said that I should do it as a surprise and I told them I don’t make decisions like that without talking to him about it first. So they held on the phone with me while I contacted him, I hadn’t decided on what I wanted to do yet by the way. They had my credit card number and I was given a name and number to call back “Kevin Holmes (954-485-0708)” if I ever had any questions. well anyways…My husband said he didn’t want to do it at all, and that he gets sea sick and would like to go to the mountains instead. Somewhere in Colorado. So I told the guy that and he started saying things like, are you gonna listen to your husband, why is he keepig you from this and blah blah. Trying to make him look like he is a bad husband or something. The man has been away from his family for a year serving our country and this is what you say to me! So I told them I didn’t want any of it, And they started saying you are already approved. I said approved for what I never told you I wanted anything can you unapprove me. So i quickly loged into my bank account while i was on the phone with him and I said you already took money out of my account. and he said yes that is what I’m trying to tell you and i said well you said i was approved for the vacation you never said anything about taking money out of my account. He took out $118. I explained to him that we would have to save for a vacation and the military pay doesn’t make us rich and we need our money. He said that I would have to go through the process of a recorded reciept and verify my information and when i get something in the mail I could cancel it then. I said no. I don’t want to do that. I asked him to just return it now. He said I don’t know how long that will take. I said I don’t care just credit it back. He said fine and hung up on me….. So i called the bank and canceled the card and placed the amount off hold and the bank said if it processed and came through I could despute the amount since i never gave them permission to take the amount out. We will see what happens.
That’s how I got my money back. You’ll never get your money back from Caribbean Cruiseline directly, but the good news is that they give everyone the same run around. A day or two after I contested the charge online, someone called me from the credit card company and asked if I had spoken with them about it. I told them I had tried but gotten nowhere. The bank rep put me on hold and called them. After fifteen minutes, he came back and apologized for the wait. He explained that they had put him on hold, transferred him three times and then hung up on him, and after this treatment he decided to approve my request.
I wish I would have tried your method; getting the credit card company to phone the company themselves. Thanks for this tip, next time, which I hope is never, I’ll try it.
Damn, that sounds exactly like what happened to me, and you definitely have my sympathy. As I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, its ridicules they try and swindle your money out of your pockets like this.
Well since I wrote this let me tell you what is happening now. The money was never taken from my account thank God! I know why. I never went throughout with the voice verification process that Rachel up above was talking about. That’s how they “get you” or legitimately finalize the order. And then your royally screwed. But I refused to go through with it because I didn’t want the vacation because according to them, “do you hate vacations?” lol they were ridiculous. No it wasn’t a 1-800 number. And like Rachel said, I got a voucher in the mail and then I initiated the call to them but I can say that Rachel is either ignorant or a liar, they attempted to scam me. The way they talked to me was unacceptable, they tried to make me feel like an idiot for not taking such a “great deal”, and made my husband out to be a communist or something like he locks me in the house or something… Haha and told me that if my payment declined that it was ok they just wanted my credit Card number and wanted me to go through a voice verification process and when I finally said no they got extremely rude and the guy said well if your not going through the verification process then I’m hanging up on you! (loudly) I said ok and that was that. But I can tell everyone here that Florida Law states that you are entitled to a full refund of vacation packages within 30 days of the purchase I believe. I have read on other sites where people have called the cruise line and told them This and the cruise line argues with them for about an hour and tells people they have to go by the law of the state they live in but that is not true but they will finally refunding your money of you stick to your guns and remain just as persistent as they are. So if they have your money YOU CAN GET IT BACK! Just act quick and don’t believe a word they tell you.
Sorry about all my typos
Thanks again for your words Samantha, and the follow up. Your words help spread the news. Its ok about the spelling and grammar! were not judging!
I just helped my roommate with this exact same issue. Her elderly mother had been duped into using her debit card to pay the $695 for the “free” cruise. When she tried to call back the SAME DAY to cancel, they wouldn’t give her a refund… at first. I’m a lawyer, and within 3 minutes of me getting on the phone, they refunded her money. Not that I really did much besides give them my bar number.
Well… I was contacted about a year ago to setup the trip. They only gave me one year to take the trip. It was a free trip to Bahamas but then they added a trip to Vegas for 500 bucks. Thought that sounded reasonable. Paid them. THEN it gets better… I called them and told them I didn’t have the time for it and need to have more time. They said okay. They changed it to 18 months.
Today with no notification or anything they call me and say they are charging me another 800 dollars to my debit card and there is nothing I can do about it.
This company has been very fishy from the beginning. They refused to send me anything on this at all. Everytime I spoke with a representative I got another excuse or another answer. I marked my card lost/stolen but they said it doesn’t matter cause supposedly in the disclosure it said that I was going to have to pay this. Me and my wife was on the line that day and nothing was said like that in the disclosure.
If that payment hits my account I am going to hire an attorney and sue them. Any ideas?
Oh my lord. I got a phone call the same day as the mid term election, they asked me questions for a survey. I gave them my number and e-mail address.. they called me back 5 minutes later and told me they will contact me in 48hrs. When that day came along the tone of the ladies voice was very unkind so i wasn’t interested anymore but i let the lady finished.. then she hit me with the 118 dollar fee.. i said. could i call back, she made me make up my mind right then and there. I said I am a college student and yes this deal sounded great but 118 isn’t something I would throw away. Well she promised she will call the next day. the next day meant 3 days later lol, by then i already knew something wasn’t right. I didn’t do my research which i should have but i always go with my guy feeling. The workers weren’t pleasant and they just had this shady voice. So anyways, a guy calls me back that 3 days later, telling me that 118 dollars was a good deal for 2 people. I told him I don’t have that money, he repeated himself and i did too..so he HUNG UP ON ME. Then I knew this was not a real business. What type of business does that? so now another 3 days later I am getting missed phone calls from them, the next time they will do this I will tell them off,
i am so glad i came acrros your page. Same thing happened to me.. This lady named “Lauren Ballard” called me making all these sweet deals. I told her i have to ask my husband and get his say on this one…but she was like ” are u able to make up ur owen decisions” but still i was persistent. Then while talking to her i googled “carrabiean crusie scam” and came across your page. While she is on the other line , i am going thru your page and realized its a scam. I told her that my husband doesnt want to do it..so i cant take this offer….
shud have realized that there is no such thing as “free Lunch”
but thanks a lot to your article…..::)
Thank god I did my research before even calling them. I received a “voucher” in the mail for a free cruise for two and they included a $1300 “travel voucher”. It seems pretty legit at first, I read through the fine print and there isnt anything to really stop from making the phone call to get more information. The one thing that caught my attention is that they don’t have a website printed ANYWHERE on ANYTHING. I know that someplaces dont have a webpage yet but come on now, most big businesses are on FACEBOOK let alone have a website! I really apprectiate the post because I’m in school full time and I’m working full time, so even if I DID have the time to persue this I don’t have the money to throw away to scammers like these guys.
Thank you so much for your post!
Also, I would love to know how big of an area that they are actually sending mail to and how they are getting our phone numbers/addresses.
Missy -NJ
I’m happy to hear you got saved. It sounds like you’re in the same boat as a lot of us; not having enough free cash to splurge on a fancy cruise, but enough to believe in things that are to good to be true.
It would be nice to map such a thing. hmm.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I actually work at the Caribbean Cruise Line and that sounds pretty fishy. Our numbers dont come from a 1-800 number. Maybe you should have asked more of the right questions. They’re suppose to let you know that your conversation is voice recording and you are suppose to get a confirmation number and everything. Looks to me like some low lifes did they’re research to make them sound legitamite enough. They even gave you the website we have for our costumers. You should have looked at it over the phone with them and asked them what the privacy policies are. Anyway, I’m no longer going to be working there with them due to the fact that everyone thinks it is a scam so there is no sales there. Sorry you had bad luck with it. All of the people I’ve sold to we did a follow up check on them and they didn’t have any problems
Thats a good idea, maybe it is all just somebody sending out scams, but to be honest, I think there is to many people that are being contacted, and facing the same people that its impossible to say its another fraud company thats doing it, and not Caribbean cruise lines.
I think its funny to that so many people have asked for their money back from this place, and yet the credit card companies are still allowing them to make transactions. Don’t they have to have a certain license?
THank you for sharing your side of the story, I’m sorry your employer isn’t good with customers.
I actually called the “real” cruiseline. The company that offered the cruise was legit.
What made you think they were legit? what evidence besides answering the phone proved this to you? Thanks for your time John B.
Also just for everyones help if you don’t want to recieve the phonecalls DON’T just hang up.that will only leave you on the list. You have to specifically say i want to be on the do not call list.
Good point, this is what I eventually did, and it worked for me. I haven’t received a call since.
First of all…THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing your experience and exposing the truth about Caribbean Cruise Line. Just yesterday received in the mail, a voucher that said “to promote tourism to the beautiful Grand Bahama Island, Caribbean Cruise Line has identified you to receive a free two night cruise” (and this next part was heightlighted which seemed odd) “for two onboard the Bahamas Celebration.
TO OTHERS OUT THERE DOING YOUR RESEARCH….look for the following signs that it’s a scam. It may be different or not exactly the same. This is just what my voucher said.
1. On the very front of the voucher it said in the bottom right corners in a little box marked “Benefits of Record” it had a confirmation #, (1) free cruise for 2*, (2) $1300 travel vouchers.
2. In the information inside things like “free cruise for 2”, and “please call Toll Free 1-800-971-3233 in the next 72 hours to claim you Free Cruise. Please call with your travel companion.” that last part was weird.
The names and numbers they gave me…
Robert Mitchill (his signature was on the $1300 travel voucher
Donald (gave me his “employee number” SO6166)
Phil (also gave his “employee number” SO7385)
Customer Service # 1-800-221-8200
Another service number for Fort Lauderdale, FL (945)455-3211
Also during the phone call (yes I called) the rep Phil transferred me to a women whose name I can’t recall, he did this multiple times especially when it came to payment time and in mid-sentence as well as when I had questions. But when it started to seem fishy and I started asking questions about scams and how this seemed to good to be true was SUCH A SMOOTH TALKER. He even said what to look for with a scam, something about the envelope saying third class mail is a sign that it’s a scam and how the voucher I got wasn’t because why would all the well known companies like Alamo Drivers and Ramada Inn let scammers use their names…
Just because they put these well know companies logos on a piece of paper does not mean they aren’t scamming you.
PLEASE PEOPLE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU HAND OVER YOUR ACCOUNT INFO. I made that mistake and now I have to wait 3 weeks to access the money in my account cuz i had to cancel my card and get a new one. Luckly I’m not out the $316 they wanted me to pay.
My pleasure. I’m very glad you choose to share your experience and provide more information so that more people will find this blog and be warned of the experience 🙂
We actually took this cruise last year and we hit some bumps in the road, but overall, we loved this cruise. They are very persistent on getting you to cruise but overall it was a good experience. This is a great first time cruisers option and it does have fees, but not as many as other cruise lines charge. The port fees are reasonable for what they have to perform as far as getting you on the boat and through the whole ID check and it is for your safety. The only issue I had with them was that when I got there, I had a cabin reserved but they could not find it and then I had to sit 5 hours until everyone else was boarded to see if there would be a cabin available! In the end, I believe I got a better cabin because of it anyway. Look at it this way, at least I did not get stuck out at see for several days!!!!
yes, being stuck out in the middle of nowhere would definitely been bummer. Did you have a chance to talk with anybody else on the cruise? Did anybody else get the same deal as you, from the same people, or were most of the people there because they went through their travel agent?
Love to know more.
Hey,
I really am glad that I’ve read your post about this “FREE CRUISE” from Caribbean Cruise Line. I got home from school and found a their letter in my mailbox. At first, I was like, “How do they know me when I never did any surveys or anything online?” I thought it was a joke because my older sister got the letter too, like 3 years ago. However, when I was reading the whole package of the letter, I got excited and I wanted to call them right away. I thought that before I call them, I will try to look them up online and then I found this article. YOU SAVED ME, I guess from being scammed. I have never been scammed before and thank you because you saved me. There is only one thing left for me to do – tear the letter and throw it out. 😉 Thanks, again.
J. Domingo
Glad to help, thanks for sharing your experience.
These folks are STILL at it!! I usually do not answer my cell if I don’t recognize the number. I have had numerous prior calls from the Florida area codes, but today I happened to answer. Same spiel….I let “JOHN HOLLOWAY, ID #3649” talk……He said he was calling from Florida (caller ID indicated Omaha NE), that I had “won” a cruise aboard the Celebration….. Same story as above posts. Not only did he have my cell phone number, he also had my email and home address. Neat. I have been on several cruises, yet had never heard of Caribbean Cruiselines. I googled it as I was listening to him go on and on. I was suspicious because of the red flags……
1) “Onetime Only” Chance…..can’t think about it and call them back
2) Request for a CREDIT CARD #…….c”mon!! Why don’t they ask for a Social Security Number while they’re at it?!?!?
I can share this story with friends and family, but what are the proper channels for stopping this “company”? ANYONE can get duped, regardless of how shrewd or bright, yet I’m thinking there are plenty vulnerable seniors out there!! Who should I call?
Thanks for your awesome blog, Kingkabuz!!
Jebus. They will never stop.
The avenues I have taken to try and stop them is a. blog about it, and b. I have phoned the better business bureau to try and get them scrutinized. I believe that they have been evaluated and haven’t passed a thing and are in very bad terms with the BBB. So, waht else can you do? I don’t know.
Thanks for your information, I think thats the best thing you can do.
I just received a call from the same company (800 417 9257) and I “supposidly” WON a cruise by filling out a ballot at The Toronto Women’s Convention. I to was to “secure” my spot by paying $59.00 for port taxes for 2 people to take a cruise for 3 nites, 4 days to Bahamas. I heard the whole speal, and was told I had to make a decision today as there were only 20 spots available- when I said I wasn’t comfortable he provided me with his name (Carlos) and the phone # to his Cruise Director (Vanessa) 957-630-9449 X4135 so I can call back. At the end I flat out asked him, if I WON a cruise there shouldn’t be a problem with me getting the spot as i WON, and its not a promotion. He stumbled and didn’t have anything to say, and I said THanks, but no thanks and hung up. I wonder if the cruise lines knows there doing this….
Glad I could help you, and thank you very much for informing us. The more people I can help, the happier I become.
Thank you for the great content. I am glad I have taken the time to see this.
I am glad that i found your post – i received a similar letter today from Caribbean Cruise Line – for information the number they asked me to call is 1-800-441-6306 – i never fall into such things 🙂 – however the offer was so good that i tried to find if it was real or a scam – i am glad that u posted ur experience – has helped me not to waste my time and resources on this scam
Thanks again
Thanks for sharing with us, helping everybody out.
Thank You.
Did a quick search and found your post. Too good to be true.
Said “no thanks”, but happy to read I made the right choice.
Now theres a smart Morphius. I wish I had your initial inclinations.
I was called by the people saying I won it from a survey company so I called and got all the information. I paid, I believe $118 but for me they actually did send me everything. My husband and I went on the cruise about a year ago and everything was fine (it was our first one, but we could tell it was super ghetto). It was on the Imperial Cruiseline and it was a 3 day 2 night cruise to Nassau. We ended up having a great time. I just got a call from (800) 417-9257 where it was a recording telling me to call back to receive my free cruise…another one? Anyway, I called back and they said the office was closed and I had to call back between 9:00 a.m. and 10 p.m. (which it clearly is) so I decided to look up the number/company. After reading your blog and the other comments it looks like my situation was the exception and I don’t think I would be so lucky again. Thanks for sharing.
Happy to help you Becky! Very interesting to hear your opinion from the cruise. Thank you for sharing that with us. I’m happy to hear you made it home safe!
Thank you very much for your help. I received a very convincing letter today from the Caribbean Cruise Line and am glad I found your website which confirmed the feelings I had about, even though I would have never given my CC to any of these guys.
Thanks to all. Great contribution!
Thanks for sharing Joelle! Glad to help you.
… the same BS…
The phone numbers they give now : 1 800-301-8076; 1 800-305-8147; 1800-221-8200 (for cust. serv.)
Their names now: Gina Proctor and Jaimes Olliverre
They ask for 598 $ (us) and raised port charges to 99$ US per person and they refer to a “Companion Airfafe”(!?) to buy travel tickets (2 for 1) from Canada to US.
When i refused to give them my visa info without my husband and my son approvals they simply hung up on me :).
I used to work in telemarketing company… i know the leverage they are using to push on people… didn’t worke with me… feel sorry for thouse who got skamed…
Please, be addvised that English is not my motherlanguage so, do not curse me too much for my grammar 🙂
I paid 398$ for the cruise, now again they are asking me to pay $689 to take a trip, PLEASE DON’T TRUST this cruise, they are FAKE. They are not willing to pay my 398$. They are real cheaters. Kindly advice how to get my money back.
Thank you for your warning and your experience, although it be an unfortunate one. Cancel your credit card, phone them immediately, and get them to phone caribbean cruise line with the numbers you were given, to try and get your money back for you. That seems to be the way that works.
I have actually almost purchased this exact deal twice. The first time My husband and I were still in college and I thought it would be a great get-away on the cheap. I didn’t mind a sales gimmick or whatever because we had no money to actually buy a time share. I backed out when I found out I had to buy my own plane ticket 🙂
Now that we have a little more money (and three kids) I got another call to answer some survey questions and “earn” a trip. I knew it was the same type of deal but thought I could spring for the plane tickets and “port taxes” this time and still save some money.
My first suspicion though was the survey ( I often participate in public opinion polls for free or for small amounts of compensation) This survey was wack it could not possibly gather any useful information for anyone. It was four completely unrelated very general questions and I knew I was not “earning” any thing by answering.
Against my better judgement I agreed to get a call about the details of my cruise. I got the call this morning. I listened to the whole thing (especially the part about you can not wait because of the “fairness” clause you must decide while you have me on the phone. I asked the woman to hold and came to look up other’s experiences with the company. I am happy to have found this thread! I got back on the phone and politely told Sandra Bernhard ID# 2767 that I would not be giving my credit card number to pay the $118 because of the overwhelming negative response from “customers” on the internet. She half-heartedly pressed the issue saying “what web-site were you on, because we have a website with all the testimonials on there” I laughed, almost feeling sorry for her because she seemed to believe what she was saying. I said it was not going to happen and we said Merry Christmas! We’ll see if I get more calls. Thanks again for everyone posting!
A few things I find pretty funny about the whole deal (obviously not funny if you lost money, but strange little warning signs)
#1 they like to say it’s a NOW or NEVER deal, but it seems to me that it’s pretty difficult to avoid these “opportunities” at public events, on TV, or even on your home phone.
#2 on the phone they often blow this ship horn when you answer and say “This is your captain speaking” What a way to alert people that they are about to be scammed!
#3 The email confirmation you get in the beginning has a picture of a ticket (posted on this thread) which is not a ticket or anything at all really but says in bold caps “please keep this for your records” hmmm…. I wonder what records they could possibly mean? The ones you try to use to get your money back? (cause I don’t think it’s gonna help)
haha, exactly! what bloody records?! maybe when used in court? but even then, could it be an official document? who knows. I guess it must be. I feel that your recommendations could be used widely for identifying many different scams. Thank you for your tips!
Hey, my pleasure. I’m glad to have helped yet another person, but I cannot take the full credit myself, for this blog is kept alive by the people that post like you telling of your experiences. So thank you 🙂
Oh what a tangled web they weave.
I just got off the telephone with that same company today. Their caller ID information is: “Oklahoma Cit OK 918-442-0799”. A live female started the conversation notifying me of a 10-question survey. She was very brief and quickly transferred me to an automated survey line. After completing the 10-question survey a live male confirmed my telephone number, zip code, and best time to call me to confirm the free 2-day cruise that I had just won for completing the survey. He also directed me to a website, http://www.surveyclaim.com. This website required my telephone number and zip code to login. It then requested my email address for sending my Cruise Reservation Confirmation to. Next it had a list of 4 yes/no type questions for 4 products. After this there was a confirmation screen with all my responses, then the PRIZED ‘Caribbean Cruise Line – Bahamas Celebration’ cruise voucher screen appeared. This is the screen that I should print for my records.
Apparently I, and I’ll quote their words here: “have successfully completed the registration process and have been issued a 2 day 2 night all inclusive Grand Bahamas Island Cruise. Your information has been forwarded to Caribbean Cruise Line for processing. One of their Cruise Coordinators will be contacting you within the next 72 hours to go over all the information regarding booking your complimentary Cruise. “.
I guess I’ll just relax and prepare to have some fun when they call. Thanks to this blog I am well prepared to receive this call. I’ve received my share of scams before so I always do the research.
Thanks again,
Good luck Devon!
I fell into this trap 2 years ago and did purchase this cruise and free hotel stay in Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando prior to and after the cruise to the Bahamas to stay 3 days at a resort, a free rental car, etc. I gave my credit card info etc. and it got charged. A few months later I changed my credit card (reported it lost). So now I got a call from them recently and they talked to my wife. The person on the line was very rude and was scaring my wife about some Federal Law and I was recorded in my conversation prior that I was purchasing this trip and I owe them another $600+ for it. Since they kept calling before and I was at work and finally my wife said she has the authority to make decisions, they harassed her to accept the trip and wouldn’t let her get off the line by scaring her with the Federal Law crap. Finally my wife hanged up after she got a hold of me on another line and I told her to.
They kept calling after that and not leaving any messages. I finally talked to them yesterday and the guy on the line was pleasant. Didn’t say anything about me owing them money or the Federal law crap they were giving my wife. This time he was trying to sell me a trip. He said that since I didn’t take the trip before and my package expired, they were giving me a courtesy call to make a better offer since I’ve long been their customer and part of their family. WHAT!!?? I searched my memory about joining these people but never really could think of any time I did except for the trip I gave an initial payment for. So he gave me his speech and gave me a much better deal and believe me it did sound really good. For $600+ – 3 days 2 night stay at Ramada Inn Ft Lauderdale (they claim they own) a day cruise to a resort in the Bahamas for 3 days 2 nights, trip back to Palm Beach and another 3 day 2 night stay at Orlando, a 3 day 2 night stay in San Diego, 4 days 3 nights in Vegas and another 3 day 2 night in Hawaii and free meals throughout. I kept saying i’m not sure so he kept adding those other vacation stays. I almost whipped out my credit card but I put him on hold and googled the company – I got a lot of SCAM warnings. So I told him NO with finality and he kept trying to get me to agree until he realized I guess that i wasn’t going to fall for it this time. He did say during his shpiel that there will be no Bill Collectors calling or no harrasment if i couldn’t afford the trip at the moment.
So I’m thinking since I fell for it the first time, but changed my credit card number, they didn’t have a way to charge me the balance of the trip ($600+) and that’s why they kept calling to get me to agree to the trip and charge me or try and make me an offer to good to be true so I could give my new Credit card #. I haven’t made a call to Ramada Inns or hotels to double check their claim but glad there were sites like this online to warn me.
Great story Arnold, Thanks for sharing that with us. Just infuriates me that they keep on at it. They kept phoning me too, and I know numerous other people too.
Thanks for posting.
These folks called my mom today but she wanted me to verify that they were legit and all I can say is that I’m so happy I came across your blog!
Thanks again,
*Sametra*
Glad to hear we saved you! 🙂
I got sucked in to this I gave them my credit card number for the 118 and when they were explaining the extra crap to me they mentioned the Alamo car rental u would get and that u need to be at least 19 years of age! Huge red flag there! I work for a car rental location in Canada and I know for a fact that u need to be at least 21 but u would be paying an underage fee if u are under 25. No rental car company will rent to an 18 year old. The risk is way to high! To add to that I know that car rentals in the states won’t rent to anyone under 25. Once I was told that info I immediately said I don’t want to go through with it and I want a refund. The manager said I would get one within 7 to 10 business days!
I await to see if you do infact get your money back! goodluck. I’m totally confused about this whole thing they’re doing now making you buy another few nights stay at a hotel, and get a car etc etc. Totally weird.
I was contacted in the same way as others have mentioned here… I was told that if I answered a 10 question survey I would win 2 boarding passes on a cruise for a 2 night 3 day stay all inclusive. I played in to their game. this far… (Keep in mind, I DO NOT get scammed easily or at all)… NO ONE gives anything away for free especially over the phone… I decided I would answer their survey provided there were no personal questions asked… which there weren’t. After the 10 questions which consisted of my age group, if I have children, if I smoke, if I have a water pump… questions like those… I was transferred to a lady who told me to verify my name and contact number and then I would be contacted to claim my FREE CRUISE in 24-72 hours. 2 days later the phone rang and gave me the phone number 1-800-610-5857 to call back or else I would lose out on my free trip.
Up until this part I was going along with their game… I called the number and a lady by the name of Nicola answered and told me to go to this website http://www.grandcaribbeancl.com/ and made me watch the video clip that shows up in order for me to know what I was winning and getting into! I watched the video, read the articles on the website. I then was told that I would have nothing to pay except for 59$ for one person for port fees and 118$ for two people in order to get in and out of the country. The only other fees would be the gratuity fees as well as casino fees and alcohol. I was also told that the flight was not included, but she could provide me with a travel agent to get the best possible deal as to not waste this once in a lifetime opportunity.
I then asked if there was anyway I could discuss this with my husband first and call her back. She told me no as this is a one time chance and you only have THIS phone call in order to claim your prize. I told her that this was very fishy to me, if it is a prize and you are giving it away and you want to promote your “awesome cruise” then why not let me discuss it first? Are you so afraid to lose YOUR BIG OPPORTUNITY at my credit card number? She seemed taken aback and tried to explain that if I did not book now she could easily give it to someone else as I WAS tying up her phone line. Insulted, I immediately called her on her bluff, I told her that in order for her to get my credit card number I needed to know who I was giving it to, I demanded her company name, address and phone number and told her I would look her up while she stayed on the phone. (Seeing as she was willing to wait on the line while I talked with my husband, I figured she would not mind waiting while I looked HER and her COMPANY up). She then was quick at trying to make me divert my attention by telling me more about the cruise to not have the time to look up anything.
I told her that her whole deal was a scam and that even though they may be getting many gullible people seeing as the whole thing “SEEMS legitimate” I am not that easily fooled. She was very rude and seemed very aggravated at the fact that I have “found her out” She quickly told me to have a nice day and hung up.
My advice to anyone who might read this is NEVER, EVER , EVER give out any personal information over the phone to ANYONE at ANYTIME without looking them out and doing your research first. No matter what you do, unless you are certain without any reasonable doubt that they are credible and traceable just do NOT do it.
It is a freakin shame that these people do this and pry on the innocent and the ones who just are kind at heart and give in, in hopes that they actually win something… These people will stop at nothing to make money off of others instead of actually getting an education and a real job.
I sure hope that this message has helped someone, and if it has then I feel I have done my part in preventing this from happening to someone who like me is a hard working, deserving, sweet person who does not deserve to have our HARD EARNED money taken away for a scam.
Have a great day.
Savannah from Canada
Same old story Savannah, But thank you for sharing it with us! The more people that share, the better this blog becomes and makes more people aware of a) what a scam is,and b) what these people are trying to pull on us. I find it almost repulsive the ‘fear method’ they are putting into you with ‘no you cannot phone back’ and ‘this is a once in a lifetime opportunity you have here, many people would be so glad to have it’ bull.
Rest assured, your article has helped, there are over 100 people a day who find this article, and no doubt many of them find it very useful.
Thanks again.
Hi
I went on the caribbean cruise in December 2010 and had a great time. Everyone treated me and my family great. Just want to say thank you . and keep up the good work
Angel,
I’m happy to hear that you had a good time, did you notice that any of the things that other people have commented on in this blog were true? Like the ship being small and old, staff friendly but unable to accommodate you, etc.? Also, I would love if you could direct us to some pictures of your trip, so we could get a feel for what it looks like.
Thanks,
KK
They will keep calling back. I have won many times already. Each time I hang up they just call back again in a few days and act like they are calling me for the first time.
Brutal
Dave,
Next time that they call back, ask them kindly to remove you from their phone list. This is what happened to me, and asking them this worked like a charm, I haven’t received a call from them since. Good luck!
KK
The most important is that all the employees on the ship let you feel like you are in paradise, was our first cruise and steal you have that flavor in your mouth.
Carlos, your english is hard to understand, but I assume you’re meaning that you still remember it with a good taste? I’m happy to hear that you had a good time, do you think you could share some of the photos of the actual ship with us so that we could see what the experience is like?
I just read some of the negative posts about this cruiseline and had to leave my comment. This is NOT a scam. I took my husband and went on this cruise in May 2009. We had the best time. We had never been on a cruise so this was our first. I also had reviewed all the bad comments before I went and was concerned that I had been scammed. On the ship the food was great and we had the best service you could possibly ask for. Yes the ship was a smaller ship but it was roomy enough and had all the extras the big ships do. The timeshare presentation was not too bad either. Our saleman took us on a tour of the marina while we were at the Palm Beach Resort. I enjoyed my Vacation so much that when I was contacted the other day for another one I decided to go and take 7
family members with me. I am looking forward to it!!
I’m happy to hear that the cruise worked out for you Sheila. That is awesome that you are bringing 7 friends with you! You are certainly a great family member of friend to do such a thing!
I would love, and most of the other people on this blog, would love to see some great photos that you get of the trip, to prove us wrong. Although, I must say, the reason for being uncomfortable with the company is mainly due to the way they handle themselves as a company. When I walk into a store, and I’m treated rudely, given ultimatums, and told I cannot come back to get the same deal, I walk out without looking back.
I hope the rest of your crew enjoys it as much as you!
It is a different company than the cruiseline that makes the offer you mention. So do not say the cruiseline is bad.
How can I say the cruiseline isn’t bad when it’s them that solicits the sales of these ‘free’ tickets? I haven’t once seen any photos of the ship, the ‘friendly’ customer service, or any other boarding passes from people, but I have read close to 200 other posts by people reporting the same horrible sales tactics that I have mentioned, which I have solid concrete evidence of.
For all I know, this sudden influx of visitors to the site are all coming from caribbean cruise line trying to make it look better. Honestly, I’m not buying it, and I doubt that most people that read this article won’t either. Just the fact that… lets say for simplicity sakes, just ten people had a bad time. That’s enough to turn me away. Not to mention the fact that there are over a dozen other sites out there that have mentioned how horrible a time, and how shotty the ship is that they go on.
I HAVE SAILED ON THE BAHAHAS CELEBRATION TWICE AND EXPECT TO SAIL AGAIN THIS DECEMBER AS I HAD A BALL BOTH TIMES.THE FOOD WAS VERY GOOD,THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS VERY GOOD AND THE SERVICE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER.MY WIFE HAS HAD TWO STROKES AND SHE HAS TROUBLE WALKING AND USING HER LEFT ARM.WHEN WEWERE EATING THE WAITER AT A DIFFERANT TABLE NOTICED MY WIFE WAS HAVING TROUBLE CUTTING HERE MEAT AND HE CAME OVER AND CUT IT UP.EACH TIME WE WENT THEY WENT OUT OF THERE WAY TO SATISFY US.ALSO THE PORT CHAGES DONOT GO TO THEM,THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OF THAT AND THE SURCHARGES FOR TIPS IF THEY DID NOT CHARGE THIS I WOULD HAVE TIPED MORE.ALL TOGETHER THISIS A TERIFIC TRIP FOR SOMEONE JUST TRYING CRUISING ORSOMEONE WITH VERY LITTLE TIME IT IS A VERY GOOD VALUE.
I agree with Elliot F. In fact I am booked on a second cruise next month. It is a great experience. These other people may have been scammed, but not likely. Better for us!!…Their loss…
My old friend John, I thought you had gone away! I happy to hear you’ll be escaping again on a cruise in the Bahamas! That’s great for you!
I’d love if you would share with us some photos of the trip so we could see for ourselves what you’re dealing with. I’ve had people on here complain about how bad the service was and the state at which the ship is in.
I would love to see some great photos of the trip so everybody can know what they are getting tricked into doing!
Once again, this post is not about the actual service that the company gives, or the fact that the cruise is enjoyable, it’s the fact that the way the sales team tricks a person from a free cruise into a cruise that costs just as much as any other cruise out there. I dislike any sales tactic that goes by these means, and in my initial blog post, I have clearly stated that reason for my distress and annoyance.
Right you stated the facts. But remember there are people out there that may enjoy this wonderful offer. As I have stated my cruise offer came off the TV, and I never had such an offer mailed to me.
You want pictures, of our happy cruise, okay fair. But then I would like to see you at the port without a ship.
I’m not sure I understand your offer John, nor do I think I need to provide anything for this situation. It is you who is vehemently supporting this company who has attempted to take money from hundreds on this blog, and no doubt hundreds more elsewhere.
For all you customers out there that loved the cruise, please post photos so I can see that it’s real. I’m not asking you “prove” anything. I just want to see the cruise. I always take a lot of pictures on vacation of the scenery and my family at different places so there should be some pictures you can show. Just post a link to them on this blog. It’s real easy. Thanks so much.
agreed! Love to see them 🙂
Hi kingkabuz!
You were lucky to lost just $118 with those guys (carriageway cruise line)
In my case they stole from me $600 and give nothing in return on top of that they demanded $900 more.
Looks like company is totally changes to bad direction for last 3 years..
About 4 years ago I have a good experience with them. for $600 I got a good package for 4 peoples for 6 nights 2 – in Fort lauderdale in Florida 2 on cruise and 2 in Orlando. However 1 day we lost – because real payer for that deal was time sharing company and the tried to convince us to buy useless condos in Orlando,but it was ok..
3.5 years ago they call me again and offered exactly the same deal *as they promised)
I paid $600 again, but after one year they suddenly changed their mind – when I tried to use my deal they demanded $900 more. I refused to pay. Last 4 months they keep calling me 3 times a day demanding that $900..
Kirill
I just got the same offer in the mail and it looks too good to be true, I thought it’s a product of this bad economy where they’re trying to find a market but after reading the blogs, it looks like it’s been around for quite sometime.
My comment is that I feel really sorry for the sales people who probably don’t know that they’re been used to promote a lie and make a living out of it, if they now, then shame on them.
Thank you, you saved me.
very happy to be of service Kad, I wish it were ‘free’ myself. Nothing in life comes free except love 🙂
That is a horrible story Kirill! I never like to hear that, and I wish there was something we could do. I wonder what it would take to bring a lawsuit against these guys…
Edith said: “I doubt anyone will get a chance to read this aside from you of course…” I do not know, my posts have not been removed from here. I took the cruise, and loved it. Maybe you used profanity or something else that made it necessary to remove your post. I agree to a point these people should contact the BBB or someone. It seems that they are not since these people are not mentioning that on here.
John B,
No I didn’t use any profanity the writer of the blog couldn’t stand that I caught him contradicting himself.. He is making most of this up just because he thinks it is a scam. I poosted i went on the cruise and enjoyed it he then accused me of working for the company and being mad because I wouldn’t be able to scam people thanks to his blog.. I am in no way affiliated with the company. I just enjoyed the cruise and don’t think people who never even went on it should make others think it is a scam.
Edith,
As I explained the first time, this post is not about the cruise itself, or the quality of the cruise (although there have been many posts on here explaining the quality of the boat, and the fact that even if the service representatives could do something they cannot because it’s above the abilities of the actual converted ferry), but it’s about the fact that this company offers something, promises something, then cannot perform, and really does nothing at all to compensate for the fact that they could not offer what they promised.
Like my original post explains, it starts off by a ‘free cruise’ , which then turns into one with port fees, and then taxes, and then traffic’ing, and then to get the room that I want (even though I explicitly said I’ll be going during this time, are you 100% sure it’ll be available: “Oh yes of course, there is no black out dates sir, except this and this a time”) I need to upgrade with a package that will cost me another $600.
To be honest, with these kind of tactics, I remove my service from ANY company, be it Sport Check, Red Robin, Sears, or whatever. I do not accept this kind of service, and I will never degrade myself to submit to this kind of service.
I removed your posts because of your hostility towards my information I am providing here as well as over a hundred others information, and your ignorance to the fact that its not me submitting the 300 comments on this post, but random people from around the world who are. Granted I respond to each of them, so that will make 150 posts that have come from unsatisfied people who have thanked me because they have also been dealt the same cards as I have.
Finally, I will not degrade my blog to name calling and accusations, which is another reason why I have removed most of your posts, but I am leaving this one up because it will represent your voice in the matter. Maybe somebody will think that because you have had a good time, and John B of course, that that is all the reason they need to hand over their money to this company.
You may have enjoyed your cruise, and I’m very happy for you that you did get to experience the Caribbean, it is a very lovely place to spend time. Seeing those teal blue waters is something amazing to experience. Please do not attempt to call me, and everybody else that has taken the time to share their experiences with me and the rest of the internet, a fool, or a lying hypocrite for I will not stand for it.
KK.
Thank you, Edith. I was really becoming worried about the legitimacy of this cruise line, after reading Kingkabuz’s post, as I have already paid a pretty good amount of money for this cruise I would hate to think that this company would still be in business if it were a scam. All this that KingKabuz says happened to him, happened in 2010. Now here it is mid-summer, 2013 and this “Scam” is suckering folks out of their money? Hummmm. Kingkabuz, are you working for another cruise line and are trying to discredit CCL?
Went on Bahama Celebration for anniversay totally enjoyed it so recommended for sister weekend. Went on sisters weekend cruise in Dec. everyone had great time. Highly recommend this cruise.
Cindy, that’s great to hear that you had such a good time! Would you care to disclose some more information to us about why you enjoyed it so much? Did you find that any of the things we have mentioned in this blog were true, and that they just didn’t bother you, or did you not experience any of them at all? How was the condition of the SS Bahamas?
It would be really nice to see some pictures..
To: angel Goodman, sheila Harwood and the others who posted that it is not a scam…
How stupid do you think we are??? Right now, prove to me that you were on a cruise show me the pics… do you honestly think we do not know that you are hired to come here and post positive things about it? If you noticed just in the way you talk about the ship you all have the same post just in more or less words… no two people would write exactly alike!!! An ordinary person would give out more details about it and would not be afraid to post pictures… You are still sounding like you are promoting!! Give me a break! If you are really convinced that this is not a scam then you need to hire better people at proving so…. Me telling you this might make you find a way to try and prove it by stealing pictures online of other peoples cruises but let me tell you one thing… NO ONE gives away free trips over the phone!!! NO ONE!!!! and just in this last month I know personally of 5 people who have been reached by this scam…You can keep trying to scam, and yes you will continue to sucker people in because unfortunately there will always be susceptible people out there… but know this…. soon, yes soon someone will shut you down!!!
“…Me telling you this might make you find a way to try and prove it by stealing pictures online of other peoples cruises…”
So you are saying that even if we show picture proof YOU would not believe that we took the cruise? In addition the moderator does not have any way for us to post the pictures on this site.
You are right, John, that I haven’t allowed you to post pictures onto the site, but image links (ie.![]()
) should work, as well as links to other sites such as a flickr or photobucket postings. I know this is slightly annoying and you have no commitment to this site to show them, but it would ease a lot of peoples minds to have these photos. They speak a thousand words.
Thank you Savannah for your opinions and emotions. I agree that their posts do sound very fishy, and I am very skeptical myself. Do we bypass the innocent until proven guilty standard here, or do we ignore this old axiom of American liberty.
However, I have shown evidence here of the scam that has happened to me, and I get hundreds of people a day searching and finding this post a day, so that kind of proves to me that this is a major national scam going on here.
So, I feel they now have to prove to me they are not part of the payroll…
“…So, I feel they now have to prove to me they are not part of the payroll…”
Okay let us reverse this…prove to us that you are not working for a rival cruise line. And that the other posters are not other employees (or even you!).
Savannah says
” do you honestly think we do not know that you are hired to come here and post positive things about it?”
Do you honestly think we might question your motives for discrediting this cruise line. Perhaps you are working for a competitor’s cruise line.
CCL is a one ship cruise line. a fledgling one, at that. What better way to collect a fallowing that to offer low-cost cruises. I believe when they are able to increase their fleet and become more solvent, they will also increase the price of their cruises. This is just my personal opinion.
WOW! We paid $650 for our trip and everything was great. The only negetive thing was the food at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriot Hotel that we stayed at for two nights. The cruise was wonderful! The ship is extremely nice. I believe that it is rather small compared to others that we have been on but afterall you are only sailing 90 miles. Aboard ship the crew couldn’t not have been more accomadating. The weather was very cold so they had their work cut out for them to keep us all happy. The food was extremely good. Also included in the four night 5 day trip was 2 more nights to be spent in Orlando. We chose to take that at a later date. Check in and check out for the cruise was extremely well orgainzed. We only wished that the trip could have lasted longer. However, it was cold even in the Bahamas. We took this trip the first week in December of 2010. I would highly recommend it expecially for a first time cruise. We are well seasoned cruisers and we just wanted a little get a way trip and it was perfect!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us Oscar.
So to sum it up:
-free cruise costs $650 for only a 90 mile cruise
-accommodating crew and an ‘extremely nice’ ship that is ‘rather small’
-‘extremely good’ food
-recommended for first time cruisers
-also got two nights stay in Orlando
-mention of two nights in Ft. Lauderdale bad food.
I’m curious why everybody that says it’s a great cruise recommends it only for first time cruisers… I think my skepticism speaks for itself..
Smells of a shameless plug..
Hi I just wanted to say I have been on the Caribean Cruise in 2000 and 2009 we are coming back to America again in 2012 for the cruise again, It was one of the best part of our holidays the staff were fantastic the food was fabulous and the Behamams was unreal the people were beautiful, A very big Thankyou to the Carribean Crusies for our wonderful trips and we are really looking forward to the next one, the last 2 trips were with our daughters and the next one will be with my brother and sister inlaw and maybe 3 others friends, I know they will have a fabulous time aboard the carribean Cruise we certainly did thanks again for letting us share our holiday experience. Regards Leonie John Wendi-Lee and Rebecca
I fail to believe that this company has been in business for 11 years, I think you may have gotten this mixed up with another cruise line. But, I have not done my research and do not really feel like wasting my time more than responding to this blog. so….
I had this happen to me yesterday and unfortunately I did not read your blog before handing over my cc, now $150 later I want it back.they said no, no I canceled my debit card and reported it stolen. I’ve really got myself in a pickle and need advice. I couldn’t sleep and am just sick about the whole thing.
You should tell the credit card company the story of what happened, point them at this blog, tell them they wont give you your money back, and say i don’t want this to go through. As long as its still the weekend, banks usually don’t process stuff until Monday. Good luck!
it was the best vacation i ever had an the employees were great theywere friendly and helpfull in had the best time on that cruise and wouldnt trade it for nothing i would go again i would just love for my husband and 3 kids to go on one with me they would really enjoy it but it is hard because we dont really have the money for all of to go on one all together thank you so much for yall’s help and the fun time i had thanks kelly hollingsworth
so if you ever want to go on a cruise go on the celabration cruise i had a great time i would go again i lov it that is a dream vacation
Good to hear kelly, glad to hear somebody had a good time.
I’ve heard several people say, they had a good time. Maybe, Kingkahuz,you should actually go on one of their cruises before you make all of these negitive posts
I would like to know if the people that enjoyed their cruise paid $59 a person.
Yes I did pay $59 per person.
John, You are omitting the fact that $59 per person wasn’t all that you had to pay. Why don’t you tell us about the other fees that you had to pay when the cruise was all said and done?
John, You are omitting the fact that $59 per person wasn’t all that you had to pay. Why don’t you tell us about the other fees that you had to pay when the cruise was all said and done?
You are right. The $59 was the port taxes (had to pay up front, as with any other cruise line). They did disclose the fact that there were other fees (excursions, liquer, and gift items) they did mention that I had to tip the staff. So besides the airfare (not included) I paid about $200 over the $118 port fees. As I have taken cruises before, this was a pretty good price.
Yes, it was a good price, but at what point did you admit to yourself it was no longer a free cruise?
I wish I had read your website before I was sucker into this so called free cruise on caribbean cruise lines. They got my money, $448.00, and at time of my booking the cruise there is additional $188.00. I have read all of the replies, and became very scared that I was really scammed. Can any one tell me if they actually took the cruise, and what were any other expenses, and how much? I called my bank and they said I should cancell my debit card and get a new one. They said I have to dispute it after it is posted. at this time it is pending, they can not just take it off. I also went through all the questions, I kept telling them that I thought it was a scam. But somehow I got talked into it. I feel so very stupid. I was told there was a secured website, http://www.4funvacation.com. When you try to log in you must give your password. I was’t able to get on, because they said it would take at least 72 hours. I was given a customer service number 1-800-221-8200, called this number and was told I could’t get my money back. They said they would guarantee the deposit, if we took the trip, and did’t like it. They are at this time suppose to send me an e-mail stating that. Guess I will wait and see. Not holding my breath. I was also given website http://www.grandcaribbeancl.com, and when you look at that, it appears to look great. I was given up to 2 years to use this, and I also received 3days and 2nights in Las Vegas, and 4 days and 3 nights in Porta Viarta, also free car rental from Alamo, for 7 days unlimited milage. I can also stay at Ramanda Main in Orlando, 3 days and 2 nights. I first talked to John Hollaway, then he gave me to a so called manager named Sandy. Then to confirm I was given to Alfie Roberts. So now after reading all the replies, I am very scared and upset. Please could someone out there that actually took the cruise, to let me know how it was, what it was like, what other costs there was. I guess I am just hoping that I did’t completely get taken. Will you please respond.
Gayle,
There are some people who are making an effort to inform users on this blog that they did indeed go on the trip and it was great. Some people have mentioned that they’ve looked at other websites and found many more blogs that have reported this and have pictures to show you of how it looks. For me, my main problem was that their sales tactics were horrible, and we even have a former employee of the company who described how much the management team blinded them and brainwashed them, and even didn’t get paid for her work done there.
So, for me, like I have said, when this kind of stuff is being done to me, when I am treated like this, and put through the ‘confusion sell’ sales techniques, I’m very annoyed and don’t take it. For you, since you’ve already invested quite a large sum in it already, I suggest to stop paying them money, but try and get the best out of it!
Please come back and tell us what happens as a result of everything! Good luck Gayle.
Another lesson I want to convey to you is from the stock market; I have learned that there is a point where you feel that just around the corner, if you just wait another day or two, everything will turn around and you’ll be happy again. I feel this can be applied to your situation, stop handing them money, and refuse to pay them more money for upgrades, or better cabins, or extra car rental etc. and focus on ways that you can get the most you can out of your trip without forking over money to them.
Because the CCL policy states that only the initial $59 is non-refundable, you might still be able to get a refund on the other fees that you paid, and I would read over their terms of service so you know what your going to be saying to them to try and get this money back. If you read a few more posts on this site you’ll find a few tactics that have worked for some people. If that doesn’t work, I would phone the visa or Mc company that you paid with and tell them the story and ask them if there is anything that you can do to correct this and get your money back. Sometimes they are pretty understanding.
You can get your money back! They are liars, they lied and told you what you wanted to hear to get your money, they are going to continue lying to keep your money. They say that policy states they can’t give you a refund but by Florida state law they have to issue you a refund within the first 30 days of purchase of vacation packages and cruises. They will lie to you and tell you they can’t but you have to be as persistent as they are and don’t give up. My uncle is a lawyer, he told me you can’t give up, if you have to just keep saying the same thing repeatedly until they cave and give you your money back. Hope this helps, if I can find a link to Florida law that states that I will asap.
Hi,
I did get all of my money back. It’s definitely possible, and what they’re doing is definitely illegal. I didn’t get any help from forums like this one, people never really responded to me. But here is what I posted on ripoffreport.com:
I went through a lot of grief with this company, and I want everyone who is fighting for a refund know that THERE IS HOPE! I got a full refund, it officially showed up on my credit card today.
Florida law says they must refund you, no questions asked, withing 30 days of purchase. I did all this within that 30-day window. I’ve read about many people who have gotten refunds after that, even after going on the miserable vacation, so it is still possible, but I’m sure it’s more difficult. My advice is, don’t put it off. Better yet, STAY AWAY from Caribbean Cruise Lines (or whatever name they’re going by at the time. They change names a lot. The main name is Ramada Plaza Resorts)
.
MY ADVICE
If you feel helpless and think you can’t get a refund, please read this. Here is the thing, folks. These people are trained to prevent cancellations. After everything I went through with them, I clearly saw a pattern. When you are referred to a “specialist”, that is just a person who is TRAINED to convince you to not cancel. This is the process I noticed:
1. They “remind” you of the amaaaaazing vacation package you have purchased before you ever say anything. They congratulate you on it, then ask why you are calling and how they can help you (the “specialist” knows damn straight why you are calling. You were transferred to them because you are cancelling)
2. They try to reason with you. They act shocked that you want to cancel. Then they ask you for reasons. They try to make you feel like cancelling such a fabulous trip is ridiculous.
DO NOT REASON WITH THEM. I learned this by the third time I called. Don’t feed the fire. Everything they ask you, just say, “I just decided it was not for me, and I want to CANCEL MY PACKAGE”
3. If you’re still not budging, they will tell you something about a noncancellation policy, or they will say that the cancellation period for your state has passed. Too bad, no refund for you. DON’T FALL FOR IT!
4. If you still are persistent, they will just give you any and every reason why a refund is not possible.
STAND FIRM. It’s very possible. EVERYTHING the specialist says is to try to discourage you and make you feel like you don’t know what you’re talking about, and a refund is not possible.
I was discouraged and gave up the first few times I called them because I wasn’t informed. I figured a refund just isn’t possible. They want you to believe that. The final time I called, I figured out there was a pattern to all of it. I saw that they put you through this wringer to make you feel that way.
Here is how I suggest you talk to them:
Specialist: “Wow! You have such a great vacation. Congratulations! It’s so amazing it includes _______, __________ and ________! Now, how may I help you?”
Customer: “I want to CANCEL MY PACKAGE.”
Specialist: “Cancel?! Why would you want to do that?”
Customer: “I just decided it was not for me, and I want to CANCEL MY PACKAGE”
Specialist: “But there has to be a reason! People don’t just call and say they want to cancel a vacation!”
Customer: “No, it’s really just not for me. I want to CANCEL MY PACKAGE”
Specialist: “So, a relaxing vacation to the Bahamas is not for you? Relaxation and fun is not for you?”
CUstomer: “Correct. I want to CANCEL MY PACKAGE”
Specialist: “But it sounds like there is something you’re not telling me! Why would anyone just suddenly decide it’s not for them?”
Customer: “It’s just not. I want to CANCEL MY PACKAGE.”
You get the idea. They push you to the limit. Don’t reason with them. Be firm. Be persistent. Be polite. You will get your money back.
.
MY EXPERIENCE:
(For the record, I am a journalist and I consider myself to be a very level-headed, cautious person. After buying this, I sat back in awe of how fast I was pushed into this without doing much research. I’m wiser for it, but I will never again judge anyone who buys into these types of scams.)
I registered for the “free” cruise and purchased an extended-stay package after being promised a ‘ ‘Spectacular Extended Stay’ ‘ vacation.
The names “Ramada” and “Carmen Electra” falsely led me to believe this was a quality vacation. I later learned my accommodations include two sub-standard hotels and my “award-winning” cruise ship is an old ferry boat.
The Internet is full of dissatisfied customers, governmental warnings and litigation.
Upon booking, one of the many people I talked to said refunds were indeed possible. That was part of the reason why I agreed to buy it. I figured I had nothing to lose. After buying I got on the internet and it took me a whole 3 seconds to see what a scam the whole thing was.
I contacted the company just hours after purchasing to cancel my trip and request a refund. The person I spoke with, “Robert,” said he can’t cancel my trip because the company has a non-cancellation policy and said no one would’ve told me otherwise (pretty much called me a liar). I was never made aware of such a policy. If it exists, it violates Florida’s Sellers of Travel Act, which says it’s illegal for any seller of travel to “fail or refuse to honor a purchaser’s vacation certificate request to cancel if such request is made within 30 DAYS from the date of purchase or receipt of the vacation certificate, whichever occurs later.”
I called the company again the next day and spoke with “Frank”. I again asked to cancel. He said his company had a non-cancellation policy. When I cited Florida law, he said it doesn’t apply because his company only has to follow whatever refund law my state (Ohio) has.
I was feeling a little discouraged at that point. I contacted several lawyers, who all said the company is in Florida and is BOUND BY FLORIDA LAW. PERIOD.
Last week, I decided to give them one last chance to give me a refund before I disputed the charge with my credit card company and filed complaints with the BBB, Floirda Attorney General, etc.
I spoke with “Angela”, a “specialist” from customer service. She repeatedly asked why I want to cancel.
She told me about a 3-day policy in Ohio for refunds, saying I passed the period. I was not eligible for a refund anymore. I said I called THE VERY DAY I bought the package as well as the next day and was told cancelling was not possible. I was not told about the 3 day rule.
She said that’s because thats because I called the wrong number. I was only supposed to call one specific “customer service” number. Since I called a different number, it doesn’t matter what was said. I was SOL.
I was pleasant and polite at first, but as time went on we began arguing. Her patience was tried I guess when I repeatedly told her her company MUST abide by state law and give me a refund. She kept saying no, that’s not the case. Finally she copped a defensive attitude and said “I know the law. I don’t need you to cite the law to me. We are a large corporation, I know the law. DO NOT RECITE THE LAW TO ME.”
With that, she said, “In fact, I am transferring you to a supervisor.”
I felt completely helpless at that point, because it all seemed to be going in circles.
After a long hold, I was transferred to a supervisor. She didn’t say hi or anything, she seemed to be reading off a script. She asked me to verify my name and address, told me I would get a full refund of $698 within 7-10 business days and gave me a cancellation number.
I thought it was way too easy. I was still skeptical. But I waited. Well, it has been exactly 7 days, and I have received a FULL REFUND.
So, please don’t give up and let them make you feel like an idiot.
Thanks for all the information Samantha. Very helpful.
I was an idiot and fell for the scam yesterday.. I am struggling financially right now. I called today and tried to get a refund and they said they would not give refunds.. I kept asking and the woman said she was going to hang up. I became very frustrated I feel kind of helpless right now =0 (I am only 18 almost 19) i paid the $118. Thank you for writing this. If you could possibly help with more info to get a refund I would very much appreciate it.. please email me at danielledawn77@gmail.com
thanks!!
Danielle, You must phone immediately and cancel either that payment, or your mastercard that you gave for the payment. Hopefully it’s not to late.
This is really good to hear. I did the exact same thing tonight–she said 7-14 business days. I was/am very skeptical still, but it’s great that you got a refund. I hope I do too, because I paid almost as much as you.
Thanks for the heads up! Just receive my ‘free cruise’ in the mail and it’s on it’s way to the trash!
Thanks again!
Upon discovering this, she immediately called the company back and requested a refund. They flat-out denied her request, stating the company has a ‘no refunds’ policy. She cited the Florida state law “Sellers of Travel Act” section 559.933 which covers vacation certificate cancellation and refund provisions. This reads: “–It shall be unlawful for any seller of travel or assignee: (1) To fail or refuse to honor a purchaser’s vacation certificate request to cancel if such request is made: (a) Within 30 days from the date of purchase or receipt of the vacation certificate, whichever occurs later.” It goes on but this is the part that applies to our situation. The rep then told my fiancé that they do not have to observe this statute since she does not live in Florida (she lives in Ohio).
Once again, great information. Thanks for the tips.
I read your concerns regarding this company and I want to say “THANK YOU” because they tried to get me today and I basically got off the phone with them.
I knew something was not right when he told me this is the only opportunity I have and he wanted my husbands name. Which I told him that I would not give at this time.
Well, he basically hung up the phone on me when I said I had to call him from a different phone.
Oh well, that’s a bonus for me
Happy to hear that we helped you Dee. 🙂
I have paid 118$ when I was asked, However, I didnt get ‘free’ offer or anything like that, I was simply looking for a cheap cruise, thats what I was looking for. a cheap trip to Bahamas, n its what I came accross. I didnt get package in the mail cuz I didnt ask for it, I wanted access online, and they gave it to me, and on it it shows upgrades, and dates of sailing. They were pushy trying to get me to spend more money, and I said I just want what I paid for $118 and I hung up the phone. Since then I called asking questions, and they were always nice and havent tried to sell me anything since.
Seems like here the only people that have some experience, are the ones that paid money, and took the cruise.
Its so crazy to hear all of your stories, I guess I can understand ur frustration if something is supose to be FREE and you end up paying for it, waaaay too much money!
But we didnt pay a lot of money, and we didnt win free anything. Just a cheap cruise… That Im now terrified to go on.
We will see, and if we end up going, I promise, in aug, u will see some pics..
if ever go lol
I hope to hear back from you Ana, and if you’re looking for a cheap cruise, i think you’ve found it! I pretty sure they do actually do a cruise, but what the purpose of this blog post is, is to make people aware this this ‘free’ cruise isn’t by any stretch of the imagination a free cruise, and you’ll end up paying a lot of money for something you weren’t really interested needing or wanting in the first place.
I hope your trip goes great!
Thank you so much for posting this, I received a voucher in the mail yesterday for a “FREE” cruise and a Travel Credit Voucher for $1,300! I was hesitant as soon as I opened the envelope because I had never given my information out anywhere for any cruise line company or affiliate. Then there was the $1300 look-a-like check…$1300…really! RED FLAGS!!! But it all looks legite the font looks like a real cruise ticket and check. Thank god I found this, after reading your post and a few comments I went back to their website and looked at the terms and conditions and came across a lot of contradictions. But thanks again…you saved me!!!
o and thanks for not abandoning your blog after all this time 😀
THank you for your support Kryssi 🙂 And yes, its quite a scam, they even have Carmen Electra on their webpage to do a cameo on how great the site is…
I just got a letter same thing.
Fine print on back of ticket.
We reserve the right to charge a fuel supplement of $9.00 per person per day,
if sweet crude oil is more than $40.00 @ barrel.
It has not be that cheap in 15 years.
Caribbean Cruiselines “quote” at bottom of ticket.
This advertising material is being used for the purpose of soliciting salers
of a vacation ownership plan.
SPIDERS LARE YOU WILL NEVER GET OUT!!!!!
haha! Thanks Rich! 🙂
Greetings;
If you want a REAL cruise, on a REAL cruise line (5 star), Princess Cruises has some fabulous deals right now. Check their website PRINCESS.COM I have sailed them 24 times and they are FIRST CLASS.
Here is a reference from their latest email:
During March, 2011, 7 night cruise from San Juan $299 interior, $349 outside, $599 balcony (per person, plus $60 taxes).
Check them out. Cruising is a WONDERFUL vacation, and you can book directly with Princess. You can Google Princess and see who they are.
Happy cruising,
Eddy
Nice to have some information on here to compare with. I agree, I have done a Princess Cruise before, and it is a fairly nice experience. Nice boat, nice crew, nice food.
Good day! I simply would like to give an enormous thumbs up for the nice data you’ve gotten here on this post. I can be coming back to your blog for extra soon.
Thanks for blog!
I hung up on these guys once the pressure sales tactics began. As a rule of thumb, if i can’t call you back then i’m not interested. He tried to get me with “why do you need to speak with your wife? won’t she be happy with a fee cruise? in my family i make all the travel plans”…lol.
Thanks again…i wouldn’t trust these guys.
Pleasure Marc.
Thanks for the blog! I received these ‘free tickets’ in the mail today and it sounded so fishy I went straight on the web to read about it and see what kind of scam it was (or if by some miracle it wasn’t, then at least I could check to see how the cruise was). Obviously after reading this they just went straight in the recycling bin…
Also, is it a coincidence that nearly all the people talking about how positive the cruise was for them seem to make tons of English mistakes (the kind that make it seem as if you’re just not an English speaker where you spell stuff as a stranger would hear it, like liquer) and seem to write everything so hastily often with no dots or capitals compared to most others who actually take time to write properly even if they make mistakes once in a while (I might very well have made some myself)?
It looks so much as what employees of a company would do to quickly answer on blogs like these because it’s part of their job and not because they care. I have nothing against people making typos or the like on blogs and I realize a lot of people type fast, but the fact that there seems to be such a drastic difference between ‘people’ supporting the cruise and others is quite suspicious. After all, most people who actually go on cruises are adults and do not type as if they were teenagers.
Patccmoi, these are very good points. I have noticed this correlation as well and I think we’ve made mention about it on this blog. I also see a correlation between the quality of positive posts and the literacy level of the people that I’m talking to on the phone, alog with the education level the full pressure sales tactics used by the sales team implies.
Happy you found out what its all about before you got stuck with the bill!
I’m so thankful for this site and these reviews. I was googling CLL scam, and began reading this post as the lady called me today giving me the same sales pitch she gave all of you. Im reading along with her about all the blackout dates she stated and you guys said the same as well as the port fees. I cut her off as soon as she asked me to give her my CC information, I didnt let her give me any more info because I knew then something wasnt right. I told her I dont make impulse decisions, so have a great day. I used to be in sales, so I know the tricks, and I watch Amercian Greed:Scams on CNBC every week so I know the signs. If they call your house, tell them you arent interested because like everyone else said, its a scam. I was also a banker so if you already have signed up for this and want your money back, its easy dont call them, call your bank ( if you used debit card, FYI never use debit to hold reservations, if something goes wrong it takes the bank longer to get cash back) or your CC company ASAP, and tell them you want to dispute a charge. Tell them you did not authorize the charge, and they will get it credited back to your account. Its pointless to call the CLL, they will just give you the run around as all other merchants do when you want a refund. Let your CC company or bank hash it out with them. Thanks again, this saved me 30 minutes of wasted time! 🙂
“…If they call your house, tell them you arent interested because like everyone else said, its a scam. …”
You must not have read all the posts on this site. I suggest you do so, as I had a great cruise.
Thanks for your input John. There are over 300 posts on this article now, and your one of less than 10 that had a great time. Odds aren’t in your favor…
Yai, happy to hear so E.White.
thank you for posting this…. I did the survey on line and sure enough I got the call a few days later… but wasn’t able to talk to them at that time… Tonight i received another call… and as I am going through reading what you had posted… the person on the other line almost word for word stated the SS Bahama Celebration the $59.00 port fee per person to pay up front to hold my spot for booking later… and if I wanted to add up to two more it would be an additional $350 per person plus all tax and fees… and the best part is no Pass port is needed… (Yea right) So I asked a few common questions and then if they were associated with Mayjestic and she became very resistant to answer any of my additional questions… Then of course she asked which of my credit cards I would use to hold my reservation and I told her I had unanswered questions and before I gave any of that out I wanted them answered and then was told that someone else would have to call me to answer those… and she hung up… so I called the 800 number that came up on my caller ID and it is a not in service number… best way to handle a lot of these scams if you are in doubt is ask for a number that you can call back, call the Better Business office in your home town they are more than happy to check these out and give you the green or red light and if they handle it for you and it sends up flags to them… they have the power to shut them down… and if you don’t want to go that route, ask for a phone number to call them back at, and an address to their office… if they can’t provide that information, then its a scam, if they can provide them, use the net to look them up first, some of the 800 numbers are now routed through 3rd world countries, charging the caller $3.00+ a minute and there is nothing you can do to not pay that bill… but when in doubt I use the BBB to investigate some of these calls… some are good but many are bad.. your gutt usually is correct follow it….
Smart trick, I think I said in my original posting that I did file with the BBB of Florida, but I never heard anything in return from it. Oh well, apparently they have a record…
Thanks for your input.
stupid! stupid! stupid! I had registered for a free cruise at a website online so when the call came, I thought this was it! I went ahead and gave them my info and then read your blog…$118! Immediately, I called the 800 # they gave me and after several minutes I got a customer care representative. I told her I had an emergency and needed the money back immediately! They went on to tell me how wonderful the cruise was and that I had 18 mo.s to take it! I told them I didn’t care how wonderful it was, i needed my money back today! Latrice put me back on hold and I waited frantically wondering if I could get to the bank before it closes tonite. Finally she came back on, repeated to tell me what a great deal it was but they didn’t want to cause me hardship…I definitely gave the impression that my life depended on the 118.oo which frankly it would if my husband knew. She said they were crediting my account and it would appear on my statement in 7-10 days. She gave me a cancelation # so we’ll see. Lord willing I haven’t lost it! Again, stupid stupid stupid!
ouch. I would, If I was you, also put a cancel on it on your credit card, phone the bank and tell them what happened, and that you don’t want it to go through. Point them to this page, and get them to phone them yourself. I’m glad to hear they gave you your money back.
ps. If you’re an idiot, then so am I. I like to think I’m not, so by pure reasoning, neither are you! 🙂
I just hung up the phone after being informed I was gonna be charged 898 dollars and then went on line and found this…. I’m so glad I didn’t give my numbers.
Wow, right off the bat it was going to be $898, crazy. First time I’ve heard that. Glad to hear you didn’t go for it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing Sarah.
Thank you all for your reviews! I too got a call last week, did the survey, and >1 week later did get a very polite sales pitch. He kept me on the phone long enough talking about the blue waters, etc, to entice me further, and even talked about the weather in New England. The slight twist to what other have said was that after explaining that this was a FREE trip for two and that the only charges would be for beverages, he said that all he needed was $99 per person for port charges, and then mentioned something about $217 (at this point I didn’t know if that was per person or total, it didn’t matter anymore). He expressed that this was a 1-time offer a few times, trying to get my credit card number. I told him of my reluctance to ever give me card number over the phone, especially to a company I knew nothing about, and he politel understood this and wanted to direct me to the Port of Palm Beach web page. While I was looking at the web the entire time, though instructed him that I had no web page available such that there was no way I could provide a credit card number. It was after closing on the phone call that I found this web page, which gave me more insight into this scam. I was never planning on doing this, since nothing comes for FREE, but I was interested enough to try to catch on where the scam was (thinking that this was a time share scam where they held you captive on a ship :-).. Thanks again all!
Thanks for sharing your story with us Randy. Glad to hear you were wise enough about it 🙂
Hi,
Does anyone happen to remember the name of the charity that originally called and we did a survey for them by answering 7 questions and then were told we would be given a free cruise for participating?
I really don’t think I did any Jo. They mentioned some company, but I’ve no idea who it was anymore.
Well I got the call today, I had completed some online research. Somebody name Camilla. and she wanted the fee right then and there to hold the spots for 18 months. True it might be a good cruise, but you still have to pay air fair…etc. to West Plam Beach. So I told her I did not have a extra 118 right now, she stated “can’t you get it from some where.” I started to take the matter to a whole new level. Its a scam from Travel Corporate Office. Its a shame, that you have to exactly check out everything and everybody these days. 1-877-404-7231
Thanks for the information vlp, I’m happy to hear you didn’t get scammed.
Man, I wish I read this 10 minutes ago.
They just got me with this SCAM.
ahh, did anything get resolved? did you cancel your card payment?
how do you cancel your card payment? they just got me today and said my card has already been charged and I can’t get my money back
Phone up your credit card company… It might be to late for you now though..
I also got scammed by this “company”; and I asked all the right questions but, as they say, “IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS” Fortunately, my BFF stopped over, and said This is a scam-so I retrieved myself. How can these people sleep at night?
praise that boyfriend of yours. I don’t know how they sleep at night, but we’ve heard on here a few of the employees, who said that they were just tricked into selling, and then weren’t ever paid for their time. So clearly the employees, who are doing the dirty business, aren’t getting what they had hoped for either.
I received a phone call a few weeks ago about winning a free trip. I have always been skeptical of these calls so I just said “sorry not interested”.
Yesterday, I received a letter with the return address:
Caribbean Cruise Line
Administrative Offices
Port of Palm Beach, 301 Broadway Ste 101B
Riviera Beach, FL 33404
Subject: FREE BAHAMAS CRUISE FOR TWO ENCLOSED…..no strings attached!
Inside was a coupon described in detail by everyone above. It also had the phone number 1-800-301-8076.
Thank you for these posts. I will be recycling this document in its entirety.
haha. yai, another happy story. Thanks for sharing 🙂
It came in the mail and guess what it smelled like a scam it looked like a scam and guess what it is a scam. I phoned the number and asked them if they had a bussiness license for my area and guess what they didnt. Dont buy anything especialy if its free. Duh lmao yet another scam brought to my doorstep. I am interested in buying a time share though. lol
haha. You didn’t taste it though… 😛
actually you know the commerical for the caribbean cruise line if says go on this website to win a free cruise
well i did it and won
i had to pay 118 for just two people
and i had a year and a half to go on my cruise
is this a scam??
if you’ve read any of the posts in here, lots of people went through it this way. They do put on a cruise, but it’s not the experience they say it should be, I’ve heard many complaints about it. Love it if you let us know how it worked for you.
ill let u know how it went if i remember this website lol
but ill try to remember 🙂
Recieved a call yesterday from this company saying that I made a $400 deposit on a trip in April 2006 (which I dont remember) and they were giving me a courtesy call before they deactivate my trip. I could however have it reinstated for $697 more (A $4000 package they say). When I said I would have to speak to my husband about it, the lady got very snippy and said this was my last chance and it would not be possible to discuss it and call back. We ended up getting diconnected and she called back and left a very hateful message. I called to complain and when a supervisor called me back he said that the woman was not rude. They were just trying to salvage my deposit (from 5 years ago), and I was the one who was rude because when we were disconnected I didn’t call back. He said all their calls are recorded and he had listened to it. Said that they make more money when people don’t go on their trips. So, your complaining about getting $400 from me (free, apparently) and me not wanting to take your discounted vacation! You just said either way you make money, more if I don’t travel!!! I also told him that she had told me that I had 1.5 years to use the trip and I wasn’t sure if that would work for us. He said I must’ve misunderstood her, because once I purchase the trip I can take it at any time. I said he should review the call then and double check because she had not told me that. He then got snippy and said, “Do you vacation?” I told him yes, my husband and I vacation annually, we just wouldn’t be vacationing with them. I told him they had very bad customer service and that he and the woman were both rude. Pretty sure this was a scam! Why else is it a one time deal! Or in my case a 5 year deal that I am not aware of until it is on the verge of expiration!!!
wow, thats the first time I’ve heard that on this blog. Thanks for sharing, I’m curious if you’ve found out if you did pay that deposit 5 years ago?
The Ship “Bahamas Celebration” exists, and it does sail to the Bahamas. The way that these cruises are sold are extremely BAD. (1) There is nothing “Free” about this cruise. You will pay for everything and then some. (2) Nothing that is described to you on the phone (or even on the web site) is true. You will arrive in Ft. Lauderdale, and go pick up your boarding pass, and here all problem will begin. “Sorry, you are staying in a different hotel.” “Sorry, the ship goes to Freeport, not Nassau”, “Sorry, meals are not included”, … “Sorry, buy my computer says ….”. The free meals, as they call it, consist of of a $5 voucher for buffet breakfast in a specific restaurant (far from your hotel, of course), between the hours of 7-8:30 am. Then, there is an unmentioned Time Share presentation. You will not get your boarding pass until you pass the presentation. The presentation lasts 3 hours, but unless you have your own car you will be stuck somewhere west of Ft. Lauderdale for 7 hours. Most presentations, at least at the hours that I’ve been there, result in a scandal. Participants begin to steam, and it is not ending very well.
After all the “oopses”, and the frustrantion, and the overpayments, and an infuriating day lost in a time-share pitch, you will eventually make it to the ship.
The ship is very descent, even good. Food is great, and so is entertainment. Crew and personnel are very nice. Boarding/unboarding is very well organized. So is everything else on the ship. No lines, no waiting. A pleasure.
The Lucaya Resort on Grand Bahama I was staying in was even better. Clean, sunny and uncrowded. Prestine ocean and beaches. Tennis and golf (for extra $$).
If it were not for the way that this whole thing is run/organized, it would have been a descent vacation get-away. But for the same money, I’d recommend you book yourself some other, “proper” cruise, and avoid all the aggravation associated with the Caribbean Cruise Lines.
Nick, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. That was my main frustration and what lead me to write this post, was that they claim it as a free cruise, then utilize horrible sales tactics and pressure you into starting to pay for it. Soon, the free cruise turned into the same price as a cruise that is reputable, professional, and courteous. No sketchy situations involved.
I know for myself that one day lost would not be worth it one bit for me, but I will let the readers decide that for themselves..
Thanks all for the heads-up, I googled it while she was talking and told her that on-line, it says you are a hoax, she said there are inaccurate reports online, yada, yada, I hung up on her. THANKS ALL.
good call samdamico 🙂 glad to hear this all helped
I completed the survey on the phone about a month ago. I was told to go to a certain website to check out what my ‘free’ cruise was all about. I tried and couldn’t get there so I thought well it’s probably a scam. Then started the phone calls, from Steve and Jeremy and Jaimie and…..All messages on the answering machine. Then the final ‘last time we will offer this to you’ call. Yay. That was about a week ago. I was actually home this morning when Jessica called and started her spiel. I told her we don’t use credit cards. She checked and because I am in Saskatchewan, Canada the debit system is different so I couldn’t use it. (yes we talked about the 5 C weather here and the 80 F weather there) What about a prepaid credit card? Well, I live out of the city and couldn’t go in until tomorrow and I could get one then and put the $118.00 on it and I would call her back on Friday. I was going to discuss it with my husband this evening (he is working away from home this week) and get the card tomorrow. I decided to check it out online and came across this site. I think I’ll just talk to him about the weather tonite. Thanks for saving me some money.
Hahahaha. I wonder how the weather is where you are! Thanks Gloria 🙂
I’m sure we don’t need more comments about the same thing but I’ll share my story anyway. I spoke with Kevin Ellis and though I was excited about my free cruise, when he asked for my credit card number I felt weird about it so I lied and told him I didn’t have it on me and asked for a number I could call back when I got my card. He said it was a one time offer and if they gave out a number then people would just be calling all the time. So I asked if we could schedule a time for someone from the company to call me back later tonight. I knew I needed some time to look into this and when he offered to send me an informational e-mail I gladly gave him my e-mail address so I could google the info he sent. And here I am.
Thank you all for sharing your stories, and thank you to the original poster for doing what you can to help all these people steer clear of this company!
my pleasure Kaylyn, very happy that this has saved you, and I always love to hear that I saved another from this stink hole of Caribbean Cruise Line scamming system.
Thank ALL OF YOU FOR the information that I was looking for. All of the info that was written in the previous comments raised RED FLAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I normally research the companies before giving personal information (bank accounts). I had asked the rep so many questions that they were not able to give a straight answer. I knew this was a SCAM after they upgraded the cabin. Thanks to everyone for the VALUABLE INFO THAT WAS SHARED.
Pleasure Brown, if nothing else, it should serve as a reminder for the future. It’s always so tempting though isn’t it?
Just got a letter in the mail today….it was erie reading your posts here, same exact offer, even me telling them that I could call back and talk to a manager. Well, I will definitely NOT be calling back. I was a telemarketer for 10 years, I should have known better.
haha, everybody, as human trait, is intrigued by the to good to be true story…
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I was on the phone with them while searching the ship name on the internet and say your blog. When he was done with his pitch, I told him I wanted something sent to me in writing stating exactly what I was entitled to. He hung up on me. So thanks again!
🙂
Interesting.
indeed.
Ashley said”This is sad, but true. I worked for this awful company. And guess what? They didn’t even pay me! If you can imagine. I spent 8 hours a day working for them and after 2 weeks I couldn’t take it anymore and the terrible lies they fed people… for crying out loud their business cards are printed from one of those free business card websites- that should have been my first notice to stay away from these people. Not only do they steal people’s money, but they left me without a paycheck to take care of my family. They are liars and thieves and I feel sorry for anyone who would buy into such a scam. May they rot in HELL.”
Prove to me that you worked there. Anyone can “say” they worked for a place. The person running this article beleives all the negative people!!! He does not ask for proof from them, but when people say they liked it, or approve of it. He demands proof that they are telling the truth!! I run many sites, and know that with enough time the operator could produce the same results shown here (fake messages for example). So please prove to the readers that you are a real person, and not the operator.
at it again eh john? I posted my proof in this initial email. We have people on here explaining how their cruise went, including you, and it sounds like tricks, scams, and lies. If that’s how you like to do business, or risk your vacation on it, then continue to use them John. If the over 350 comments on this post, almost all of them complaints and thank you’s since they received the exact same scam approach and horrible sales tactics, doesn’t turn you off the company, then may your journey be filled with free booze and topless dancers, maybe if you’re lucky the marvelous crew will also be able to supply you with a unicorn to ride around on?
“at it again eh john? I posted my proof in this initial email”
My reply was to the person that claimed to work for the company. You beleive these people without proof. But yet you disbeleive the people that had fun on the cruise!! You are not getting a ton of positive posts because of how you treat these people when they do post, and the people that had fun do not search for sites like this one.
John, I had written up a whole dialog, but decided that wasn’t necessary. What’s up man?
I went in this cruise last December
I enjoyed it, it wasn’t everything I expected but we had a really nice time also it was my1st cruise so my expectations were really high.
I will say I didn’t have the same scammy issues you all seemed to have they always made me aware of the costs involved…
So I guess sorry to those with bad experiences and congrats to those whose where great 🙂
Thanks Jacqueline for your opinion. December is a nice time to take a cruise into the bahamas 🙂
Man am i glad i stumbled upon this article…
The minute he started asking for the $59, I started to get suspicious and googled them while they were on the line..I stalled them long enough to read your article….Right after i finished the article, i turned to the phone and gave them a piece of my mind..
Thanks a lot..you saved me some cash.
Just finished talking to a lady that said I won a 2 day 2 night cruise to the Bahamas. I told her I wasn’t comfortable giving my credit card over the phone. It was exciting at first just to hear somebody say I won something. Decided to do my research … thank God I found this website! A lot of the stories here are exactly what I went through today!
Hi everyone,
So, like an idiot, I just took advantage of the scam. They called me at the perfect time because I was really bored at work, so I took the survey, then today, in the midst of having an extremely bad day, they called me back to confirm that I “won a free cruise” blah blah blah…. we ended up being on the phone for over an hour, they emailed me things reassuring me that they weren’t a scam, I even asked the first guy right away flat out “is this a scam” and his response was so good that I just laughed and went on…I didn’t want to take advantage of the extended stay options because I’m a college grad. with student loans and things to pay off and I don’t have that kind of extra money. But alas, after an hour on the phone I guess I felt reassured enough and finally caved. Then of course now, as I get home, I was able to find all this info about the scam. So I called the customer service number back and immediately requested to get my money back. The guy basically told me that there was no way I could because I had already confirmed and allowed them to take my money. I was furious, but the guy was extremely polite and told me of alternate options I had. Eventually he mentioned something about not even needing to take a cruise and just getting a 2 day 2 night hotel stay with all meals included.
I need advice on what to do. He extended my options from 18 months to a full 2 years. So now I have until 2013 to decide what I’d like to do. Either way, they already charged me $118 and I lose out on that…. so should I just go ahead an take advantage of it anyways? I have some family and friends down in Florida and was most likely going to visit at some point within the next 2 years as it is, so does anyone think I should just plan it out for when I’m already going to be down there? He explained that the total extra charges for 2 people on the cruise would be a max of 18$ per person for fuel and then $24 per person for gratuity…. so that’s an extra of $84 while once on the ship not including whatever I plan to buy once I’m there. I have 2 years to come up with this extra money, and the minute they charge me more than what I stupidly confirmed (the $118) then I know that I can form a complaint or something.
I feel like an idiot, and I just need some advice. I don’t have the money to pay for lawyer fees and I don’t even know if I have an argument at this point since I had agreed to it in the midst of their fast talking and friendly nature.
Should I go for it? Or should I just let the $118 leave my account as it already did and pretend like it never happened? HELP 😦
Out of pure annoyance, being in the same boat as you are, I have chosen to not take the cruise, but save as many people as I can from getting scammed by this by making people aware of it. I have more than paid back what I’ve lost to society. There are many people, just like you, who claim to be single parents, fresh graduates, etc. and have read this article before agreeing to this, and have not because of what is on this site. So, I’m happy(er).
I was stupid enough to fall for this over three years ago. Like most, I felt foolish as soon as I hung up the phone. I supposedly declined the hotel stay as I have family in the area that I would stay with. At the 18 month mark we weren’t able to travel so i thought we just let it expire. Wrong – much to my surprise I had a very threatening phone call from one of their reps a few months after the expiry date asking why we hadn’t travelled on the cruise and stayed at the hotel. The guy was awful!! I told him that we were under the impression that the time had expired and under no circumstances had we accepted the hotel portion. I finally had to hang up on the guy. So now, over a year later, Alan Parker (not certain that this is his real name) is phoning and threatening that he will charge my credit card with the amount that we still owe. I was horrified! I told him that I owe nothing and he offered to play the taped verbal contract that he had. He again became threatening indicating that as soon as the phone call ended, he would be putting the charge through on my credit card – he would not tell me how much it would be. I hung up and proceeded to phone my credit card company and put a hold on the account. Now, more than two weeks later, I get approximately 3 phone calls per day. Most calls are dead air but occasionally there is a person – today again Alan Parker. Beware folks, not certain if this is legit but my husband worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise lines for many years..and I worked in the travel industry for years as well…nobody would treat potential clients in this type of threatening and hostile manner!
aye! Janice, when he calls, pick up the phone and tell him to please stop phoning and to kindly take you off any list that merits the absurd amount of phone calls, it worked for me.
Good luck, and it’s really to bad about the horrible sales tactic they use. If it weren’t for that, they might make their customers more happy.
GUESS WHAT………………..
i GOT SCAMMED…………
STUPID ME GOT INTO IT BEFORE I COULD EVEN GO THROUGH THE REVIEWS…
I HATE MYSELF….
bummer. But don’t hate yourself! They’re professionals!
Ugh, I should I found this 2 years ago when I received the free vouchers!! I knew free was too good to be true, and when I called in they were upfront about the cost and I was willing to pay the $600.
Today, I spent 2 hours on the phone, these agents kept transferring my call to different people! I spoke with 7 people!! I repeated the same story those 7 times, I tried to cancel this trip like 3 times! Each time I was told that the money is not refundable, I could give the vouchers to someone else! Very annoying. I kept complaining so much that I can’t afford this trip that my extension fee was waived.
Today the agents kept trying to upgrade the package, and I kept saying no. I kept asking questions, and all I received from these people was rude comments and kept transferring my call to other people. I know services like this is not acceptable. But I already paid my money! I just can’t believe it has been two years, and I find all these examples of this scam now. I feel horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My trip at this point is about 900 + my flight for both my friend and I, and we have to pay additional taxes + other fees and a deposit on a car rental once I get there. How is this trip free!!!With all this money I could have gone to Europe! Know I’m wondering if I get to Florida, there really is going to be a cruise waiting for us! HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not fair, how can people take advantage of others
I agree, but when compared to a regular cruise, it’s about the same. The only problem is they scam you at the start saying its free.
hello! i was looking up some information about this cruise to show a friend of mine and found this website. i have to say, i have been on this cruise several times and i’ve had a blast. my grandmother and i actually spent thanksgiving on the cruise which was rather enjoyable. we are frequent travelers and enjoy ourselves everytime.
as far as a “free cruise” i don’t know anything about that but havent you ever filled out those contest papers at a chinese restaurant at least once that say “free cruise”? i used to fill them out all of the time when i was a kid and “won” every single time! lol. it’s not a scam. every company does it with “buy one/get one” or “save 70% on your first visit” we all know it’s to get you in the door. it’s the oldest sales tactic in the book. the cruise itself may be free, but you do have to pay taxes and port fees., that’s obvious.
i’m a waitress at the hard rock cafe and trust me, people always expect something for nothing. “i want a stronger drink” says the customer. i reply with “there’s going to be a charge for that, just so you know” and the customer gets upset because he/she can’t get something for “free”
look.. all in all, this cruise is just a nice getaway off our big island to a smaller island. i live in ft. lauderdale and love that i can hop on this cruise line and get away for a few days. the service staff is really nice and they recognize you each time. it’s nice to see the same wait staff in the dining room each time you go. it’s like going to your favorite restaurant and getting your favorite server. as a waitress, i’m very critical of who takes care of me when i dine or go on vacations. their staff definitely does just that.
the cruise is cheap, even if it isn’t free, the drinks are super cheap, there’s always something to do, the beach is gorgeous and so is the resort pool. the food is pretty good and the entertainment is cheesy yet fantastic.
it is what it is, just a cheap, relaxing, good time.
sorry you guys think it’s a scam, but maybe you should just try it out. my grandma has gone on this cruise so many times, they give her credits and upgrades. it’s really cool actually.
good luck with your website. sorry you guys are having such a rough time, but i have a blast each time.
-venessa
Vanessa,
Thank you for sharing this with us. The part that got me frustrated and motivated me to write this was that they said it was free, said I could book my cruise on the dates I wanted to go, then when they had my credit card, it suddenly wasn’t cheap, and was about a $700 cruise or more, package pending.
We have had reports back here on this page that say that the cruise itself was nice, the resort at the end was nice and the cruise itself is, as you say: “it is what it is, just a cheap, relaxing, good time.”
I can see how living in Ft. Lauderdale would provide an ideal situation for you to just hop on it. It is a very fortunate thing to do.
May your next journey be splendid 🙂
king kabuz.
OMG I am so very glad I found this article, just today I received a voucher in the mail for this “free” cruise. My husband and I didn’t get too excited, we know nothing is ever free. But we were interested, my husband is battling cancer right now and it would be great if we could have a nice getaway; we can’t afford anything like a cruise so I was hoping it was legitimate. After reading your article, I am so very glad I did not call that number. I had noticed the $59.00 fee, but I had not finished reading it when I decided to google it. When I typed in Caribbean Cruise, the line Caribbean Cruise line scam came up in the little drop downs, that is what I clicked on as my gut told me this was a scam, and it led me to your article. So thank you for saving my husband and I heartache as well as money.
Angie
Angie, it is really to bad. I hate to feel I live with a glass half empty, but to good to be true is hard to play with.
On a different note, I send my vibes to you and your husband for strength and endurance in your battle against cancer.
king kabuz
Thanks for posting this blog. I went on the cruise and felt like they should have gave me a T-shirt towards the end that read “I survived Carribbean Cruise Lines”.
Also, I plan on supporting whoever is thinking about sueing this company. I thought it was terrible how they scam people out of their hard earned money.
I ordered the extended stay package. I saw the reviews only after I had purchased the cruise. I called customer service and they assured me I would be fine and If I wasnt they would do their best to help me. NOT TRUE!
The Lucaya Resort was GORGEOUS. We had a wonderful time on the island. THe cruise ship looked decent enough but the food wasn’t spectacular or anything. The sea was choppy the first night on the boat which made alot of people sea sick (including myself). People were literally swaying back and forth on the boat. Of course, you wouldnt feel something like that on a nice big boat like Royal Carribean Cruiseline. My biggest complaint with the package was the hotels in Fort Lauderdale/Orlando. We found roaches in the hotel in Fort Lauderdale. When we got back from the island, I didnt feel comfortably with the hotel they booked for us. People on our trip told us it was in the middle of the ghetto. I didnt want to take any chances so I tried to complain to the customer service reps. The rep said SHE COULD DO NOTHING after the person on the phone said they would do their best to help me. While I was complaining to the reps, my girlfriend was calling customer service for the cruise lines. The people said we had to fax in complaints to the cruise line. We couldnt just tell somebody. I ended up booking a room at a nice hotel on my own. I remember just feeling so bad about taking my girlfriend through this vacation. She deserves so much better than this.
Thank you for sharing with us your experience James. It’s nice to hear that there was a beautiful part of the cruise in Lucaya Resort.
It is to bad the sea was choppy, that’s never fun. You’re right, you feel it less on a bigger boat.
That is pretty disgusting about your hotel in Ft Lauderdale.
I am soooo glad I found this website. My husband had won a “free” cruise for taking a survey. It was going to cost us $59 each and $99 for the kids. They offered to let us stay at a resort in the Bahamas for 3 days and 2 night for $518. While they were nice enough to offer 2 car rentals while in Ft. Lauderdale and 2 hotel rooms, 2 ocean room cabins while on the boat and 2 ocean front rooms while at the Bahamas. Plus $100 gambling money on the ship. All of this for $666.00. My daddy always told me if something is too good to be true, it usually isn’t.
They do say that the cruise you can actually go on, and it does get you out of the house. Although, it is not free by any stretch of the imagination. That is my gripe. Look into other cruiselines that don’t pressure sell, and have legitimate reputations, that might be a more amicable situation.
Good luck!
This is a response from whomever above . I was reading ayour post im still tryna find the part where they scammed you .you claim that caribbean cruiseline is a scam but you don’t have actual facts to back up your statement! The reason for you not being able to book your dates is because you probally did not give them a 60 day notice so as an end result you had to upgrade your cabin.the part not being able to get your money back , if you read your statutory period you would of known after 3way biz dayz the package is non refundable however transferrable .and if they were a scam im pretty sure they would take more than $118 bucks from you! They would max out your bank account and you wouldnt be able to contact them either. So ya, I think you should look up the definition of a “scam “
Dear Ladylove,
You said “So ya, I think you should look up the definition of a “scam “”
I agree with you 100%!!! I took this cruise TWICE, and had a blast…
99% of the people posting state they refused the cruise, but yet condemn something they never experienced. If you look there are employees of the company stating this is not a scam, but yet the moderator dismisses them, and people like me. He wants photo proof we were on the cruise, but yet when I ask to show them standing on the dock without a ship….he does not.
He automatically accepts any negative comment as fact, and positive comment is not believed. He even stated this was HIS site and that it is for the negative comments about the company.
I would like to see him actually take a cruise, and then make comments about it. Getting a letter, and opting not to take the offer does not make this a scam. Everything is FULLY disclosed (at least for me) when you call them, and again in the letter confirming your agreement. Yes they tried to upsell. Look at it … what sales company doesn’t try, like McDonalds for example: “Would you like to super-size your order?”. All you have to say is “no thanks”.
Webmaster John
John,
I agree with you about the company being smart to try and upsell, that’s just the nature of the beast.
As I have stated already in the above posts, I have taken a cruise before. I thought I had reviewed it on these pages, but I cannot find the post to link you at the moment.
The reason why I automatically accept the negative comments (note that I leave up all comments that are respectful, good and bad, contrary to what you have said) is because I had the EXACT same experience.
The goal I had in writing this was to inform people of what happened to me, and it has turned out that it isn’t just me that has had this experience, in fact, almost 400 posts have been made on this site now about this, and I think that should show you that something fishy is going on.
I realize that I questioned a few people at the start of this blog, which was because I was interested in evidence so that I could show people that my experience was just with the sales team, and not with the actual cruise itself. Also, I am interested to see how it compares to the other cruises I’ve been on.
Thank you for taking the time to point fingers once again John,
TIll next time.
king kabuz
Dear Ladylove,
In my initial post, I posted the screenshot of what I had won. I realize now I should have posted a screencap of my bank statement with the money charged to it, to accommodate you.
As for the 60 day notice, I believe I also addressed that in my initial post.. But, I initially got the call, triple asked them if I had enough time before my trip, even got them to check to make sure the trip wasn’t sold out, told them exactly when I was going, was told there was no black out period during that time, and they said yes of course, all is good. I then went through with it, paying them their money for the FREE cruise, still with about 3 or 4 months before my trip. After waiting a few weeks, I eventually phoned them up, for I did never get the package in the mail, and got a code from them to continue with the booking, which is when the troubles started.
For the record, google defines scam:
scam
noun /skam/
scams, plural
A dishonest scheme; a fraud
– an insurance scam
victimize: deprive of by deceit; “He swindled me out of my inheritance”; “She defrauded the customers who trusted her”; “the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change”
a fraudulent business scheme
(source: wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn )
My grandmother was “scammed’ into this cruise about three years ago. She received the free cruise after purchasing something online. I had just lost my boyfriend in a plane crash and she wanted to cheer me up so she thought this was a great idea. She received her paperwork and decided to pass the information to me so I could book our trip. I called several times and asked many of the same questions that previous posters asked. Eventually, I booked a trip for two for March 2010. My credit card was charged the $118. I was told I would receive my confirmation in the mail. I never received this information (still haven’t). I called to ask when I was going to receive this information and was told that my trip was not booked and they were at capacity for when I wanted to travel. I told them that I did book and they saw on my file where I called and booked but someone didn’t actually book us on the boat. I explained that was not my fault and they needed to find us a room. They tried to get me to cruise at a different time. I could not because of my job and I had already taken the vacation time, etc… I eventually had to get a lawyer involved and send a letter on their letterhead and miraculously, the cruise line found a room for us! Dealing with the customer service people is hazardous to your health! Beware of this!
We did have to attend a time share presentation. They fed us lunch and we toured the grounds. They tried hard to sell, of course. Our hotels were not wonderful but our meals were included. Overall, the travel experience was not bad. It wasn’t wonderful either.
HOWEVER, we DID go on the cruise. The ship was small and they did push excursions, but we declined and decided to just go to the market. We did pay the $15 to be bussed to the market. We could have gotten a $5 taxi, but we didn’t know. We did have to pay $100 per person to get on the boat for drinks, pictures, etc. If we had not spent that money, it would have been refunded (or so we were told). We decided to spend it so I don’t know what kind of hassle that would have been. We were only actually in the Bahamas for about 4 hours. We opted out of the extended stay package. We never did see the “beach” because you could only access it from the Our Lucaya resort and that was an extra cost.
While on the cruise, the staff was fabulous. The food and nightly entertainment were great. There wasn’t much to do on the boat during the day besides sit by the small pool or sunbathe. There was a dance club after the nightly entertainment and a karaoke contest. There is a kids playroom with kid friendly games. Overall, the cruise was nice. It was my first cruise and after reading all the negative reviews online, I didn’t have high expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, it’s not as nice as a larger boat with many activities, but for a short trip to the Bahamas, it was fine. I wouldn’t mind going on another cruise on this ship IF I didn’t have to deal with the customer service to book the trip.
I probably won’t cruise on this ship again because of the horrible customer service prior to taking the cruise.
As for people trying to decide whether to take the cruise or not after paying the $118, there IS an actual cruise. You DON’T have to upgrade to the extended stay. You do have to pay $100 for “extras” before you board (I was told it was refundable if you didn’t spend it). We did have to pay the fuel surcharge of $9 per person per day ($18 per person for trip). You have to pay for soda and alcohol (coffee and tea are included). There are plenty of things that they try to sell you. You don’t have to purchase it.
Good luck and safe travels!
Tiffani, thanks for your review on the cruise. Either my attitude has changed, or people are misinterpreting my initial post. It was about the fact that the cruise was supposed to be free, and it ended up being about a $600 cruise or so.
I have been on other cruises before, and what you experienced with the taxi/bus ordeal, onboard ‘activities’ etc. sounds very similar to other experiences I’ve had. They aren’t taking you on the cruise, sticking you on a ship, and then not trying to make as much money from you… I think any company is going to try and wriggle every last coin from your pocket!
Thanks again for sharing, and giving your advice. 🙂
I was very pleased to be able to confirm by checking this web site that my gut feeling was correct and that my free cruise was going to be anything but free. Sales caller was very pleasant specifically Tim Gallagher ref KB 3726 but so long winded and yes stopped to make notes and sounded a busy office. Happily I did not pay anything and I don’t think I disclosed any info about myself except that I am over 18 and single.
yeh, I could swear the two or three people they gave me to when I had called them sounded the same. I thought they were the same people personally….
i just finished making an order by phone when all of a sudden i was told that i won a 2 days 2 nights free trip to the Bajamas that Caribbean Cruise was sponsoring.. word per word they told me exactly what they told the first person on this page. i told them that i do not make any decisions without consulting my husband.. when i asked for their phone number and exactly the web site to research this to make sure this was not a scam they gave me the runarounds.. they told me that if i hang up that i would loose this great free offer to the Bajamas.. I told them that best they give this offer to someone else for I did not feel comfortable giving away my credit card number with doing my own personal research.. they tried hard to convince me to not let go of this great advantage but I was just as hard in insisting that I will not give away my card number because for all I know they might be scam artists just like many out there. reading the experience above I realized I was not wrong.. I thank God I followed my gut feeling as we all should. When something does not sound right do not give in and hang up. Too many scam artists out there – we must protect our pockets from them all. Good Luck!!
Thank you for your words Doris. Warning duly noted! 🙂
Thank you sooo much for having posted your story. I just got a mail with this offer and everything was really too good to be true.
Thanks, thanks again!
go.steal.money.from.hell!
Happy to have helped save you from this Livia 🙂
Thanks for this blog, it saved me from throwing money away and seeing as I’m going to be a graduate student this fall, there’s no way I can afford to be scammed. Thanks
no prob randy! 🙂
I just got contacted via a phone offer to this scam. A woman with a nasal voice talked to me, and she kept wanting to get my credit card and mailing address. The new website is http://www.2011getaway.com. she talked to me like i didnt know how to use a computer because thats the usual kind of people who go through with this and fall for this i think. i am a software engineer and i did this for laughs with my buddies. and she asked me if i thought the girl was pretty in the video. what the hell is this? why are scams like these continue to exist?
I just got this in the mail today June 13, 2011, with all these things, I check first and NEVER give anyone my credit card number. But here is my question, How to get
at these people for the scam they are doing to unsuspecting people? Is there something other than BBB, (which it sounds like they are useless in cases like this) that can be done to stop them? Keep spreading the word.
Some people think this is a scam….but it is not. I have taken two of thesecruises,and had a blast. You have a choice to take it or not to take it. Notice that the moderator of this site does not seem to like people posting positive remarks here. He said that it is only for the complainers. Just rememberthere are always two sides toany story, and his is the negative one. He wants me,and others toprove we went on the cruise. Well I am awaitinghim toprove that he tried the cruise and was left without anything. He has yet to do that.
John, once again. Thank you for taking the time to diligently support Caribbean Cruise Line once again. I’m sure they would be very much indebted to you if they cared for customers like you say they do.
Once again, I shall illuminate that the reason for my intitial post was to make people aware that the FREE CRUISE they are offering is NOT FREE at all, that you end up paying money just like you would any cheap knock off cruise line would charge you. The only thing that is enticing people to this cruise is that they say “LOOK AT ME, WE”RE FREE” and then insert the hidden fees as a trick.
Best of luck on your next cruise.
Dear John,
Clearly, you are one of the idiots who fell for this. Plain and simple if you get something in the mail that says you were awarded a free cruise, you shouldn’t have to end up paying $998, PERIOD! If it says free, then it should be free. WHY WHY WHY would u ever give a company like this your credit card number?
Dear John, thanks for giving us your words of warning, and sharing with us your experience. There has been one person post on here who said they were going to start a lawsuit, and to email them. I emailed but didn’t receive a reply, I think the only thing we can do is to make other people aware of it, I know personally that this post gets about 100-300 people viewing it a day, which has been happening for…. about a year a 6 months now. Doing the math, this works out (assuming each person (200 a day) gets suckered at 150$ a pop) works out to be $16.2million dollars I have managed to steer away from the company and keeping it in we, the peoples, pockets. Which is definitely hurting the company in their scam big time, so that’s what I’m doing for my part. I think that posting on this to further validate my, and other peoples findings also helps.
first thing i want to say is that there are employees commenting like john B. but dont worry this happens to every post of this company being a scam. secondly i got the same letter and i called. at first the person said its 129$ for port taxes but then the price some how raised to 800$ because the check only covers 1 third or something. when the person told me it was a one time call i realized that it was a total scam. i told the person i would think about it and he said that it is one call. so i told him no and hanged up. thank god i didnt put my credit card number
Dear Bob…I am not an employee of the company in question.. Just a happy customer. I do not comment on places I work for, since my opinion may be considered biased.
Just happened to me. Got the voucher for the “free cruise” in the mail. Wasted 30 minutes of my time. Guy hung up when I told him I was in law school. (Btw, I think John B is a CCL troll).
Glad to hear that you didn’t get scammed. Seems mentioning anything about law school immediately prompts them to act much better. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks John, Keep up the good work.
Dear Bob,
Same deal, different person. Thanks for helping us share the news that this is a scam, and that it is indeed NOT A FREE CRUISE.
Dear Bob,
I am not a troll, I am as human as the next guy. Everyone has an opinion, and mine happens to be I had a good time with this cruiseline. FYI the free cruise is NOT offered by the actual cruiseline. It is offered by an authorized agent. So this should be refring to that company, not the cruiseline.
So Bob have you read all the post I have made? If not then you should before you make comments you can not prove.
Maybe the cruiseline should not authorize them to sell this scam? Just a thought.
I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo sick i did not research this first I am stuck with a $665 credit card charge nasty customer service reps that keep passing me around and around. I am so stressed I booked my airline nonrefundable flights for dates that they said was confirmed and then told me that they could not accomodate me during those dates and all they could do was give me a free meal and extend it for 12 months. He was kind enough to extend his id employer number I am so sick of this scam. Please people dont be fooled.
Sorry this happen to you but I use to work there until they fired me 6 days ago because I wasn’t closing any sells, but I just didn’t feel right sucking so much money out of a person so they could sit threw a time share presentation.
Crazy, it’s a hard life trying to get sales for a scam, I hope more people quit there to un-validate the people responsible for this. I still get over a hundred views of this post a day. Clearly they’re going strong.
Sorry to hear that Ally, I hope you will come back if you get any further with this, with any new information.
Found this website while on the phone with this company. Thank you so much!
Glad to know I (we) helped Jay. May your day continue happily. 🙂
I also found this website while on the phone with them — thanks a ton — I thought it was one of these surrender-your-freedom in order to hear a time-share sell, and that’s what it was.
I put them off, no credit card ##s and am now awaiting their return call. 😉 YUM!
same exact experience , to a T!!! thank you for saving me!!
Pleasure Jade 🙂
THEY ARE AT IT AGAIN! we just got something in the mail that is this exact scam! thanks for info everyone! it looked to good to be ture for me but my boyfriend was sold! lol
They’ve never stopped Cyndi! ahhhh! Glad to hear one of you has some wit about you 😛
I just fell for the scam. I was called about the survey for a free cruise. I purchased the $118 port tax, then found this site. I immediately called my credit card provider and disputed the purchase. The credit card representative called the scamming company, while I was on the phone, and the scamming company promptly removed the charges. I explained that there was an overwhelming amount of evidence suggesting that I would not get the offer that was described, but they still insisted otherwise. I can’t say for sure that it was a huge scam, because I didn’t go through with the purchase, but it was all so sketchy. I’m glad I canceled.
I’m in the same boat as you Mark. Well done.
My father in law got a call from Carribean Cruise Lines informing him of winning a cruise, and same thing they wanted $59 per person for port fees. I whipped up my laptop knowing right away it was a scam but I wanted to show him. The woman on the phone also gave him this website to check out their company on http://www.2011getaway.com/
He quickly said not interested and hung up. If you win something it should be free and that is it. NEVER give your credit card info out to someone who calls the house. My dad told me that MANY many moons ago. I worked in a for a couple years and saw many people who would fall for these “deals”. Sad that it is done.
Thanks for the tips Regina 🙂
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SCAM!!!!!!!!!!SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They said I won a free cruise but wanted to pay $118 in port fees. Use any search engine for “caribbean cruise line scam” and decide for yourself
Carribean Cruise Line – Beverly
2 days, 2 nights
VISA Major credit card and iden – No Passport
SS Bahamas Celebration in Palm Beach FL
sales from Palm Beach
State room and 3 gourmet meals per day
several other buffets with 4 spectacular restaraunts to choose from
European cruise ship with entertainment
pool spa fitness
night club
casino
3 age specific kid zone
Grand Bahama Island
Excursions like horsback riding on the beach, duty free shopping, swimming with the dolphins, etc…
They need notice 30-60 days before traveling
Dec24-Jan2 Blackout dates
Thanks for all the information Amy, it helps to make people aware of the scam.
My boyfriend and i have bought this cuise but have not gone on it. When i first got it in the mail I waited for him to decide if i should go on ahead and call or not. He said we should and so we did, Although the cruise voucher dosent look the same the cruise line is. I dont have the voucher infront of me but i am not sure if Imperial cruise line is even apart of it. Has anyone had anything like mine? We have already bought it, what should we do?
There are some that work Lawrissa, people that get offers in the mail seem to have a better luck than the people that get the cold calls.
804-234-9063 just called my cell, saying congrats mr. soandso you’ve won. i said wrong number. they said it transfers. as the inane questions flowed i googled ss bahama celebration and these scams popped up. i read $59 just before they mentioned the free cost. i hung up. thanks for the posting
haha, thanks for letting us know 🙂
Carribean cruise line is the biggest scam I’ve ever taken the time to listen to. They sent me some stupid free cruise ticket and by the end of the half and hour conversation, they told me the only way I could get the entire package was to give them my credit card number and pay $998 dollars today, without even speaking to the person I would be taking with me… Good thing I’m not one of the other 5,000 idiots, they “assured” me, were so lucky and booked the package. I will never in my life EVER go on a carribean cruise and I hope no one else will either!
I hope you mean the caribbean cruise line you will never go on, because there are cruises that are great in the Caribbean
Well they are still at it – I just got off the phone! Thank goodness I followed my instincts. The sad part is I have cruised mutiple times on Royal Caribben Cruise Line who are beyond fabulous and that fact that this scamming company is using a name so close to a reputable company really annoys me. Please don’t get the 2 companies confused. Stay away from Carribean CL but don’t hesitate to ever book a cruise on Royal Caribbean CL. After reading all these posts it is amazing to me this scam has not yet been shutdown.
the whole thing is sad. Who is going to shut it down? I’m not sure who to contact about this?
I have cruised with this sweet deal. I did only pay the $118 for taxes plus gratuity and offshore excursions. I agree this was a high pressure sales technique but I did not fall for it and I did not upgrade my room, nor extend my stay. We did our two nights and enjoyed ourselves. It was our first cruise. The only reason I would not go back with them is that they only travel to Freeport, Bahamas. I was not impressed. I have photos on facebook of our trip if anyone is in doubt that I actually went.
Thanks for sharing Kyle. What’s the link to your facebook pictures?
I too took the survey and just received a call. Because they requested a VISA etc., and I could hear the sound of the telemarketers in the background I was quickly skeptical on the whole deal. I do know that there are lots of extra charges on a cruise, I have cruised once before at my own cost.
But this deal was pushy and I have dealt with these sorts of things before and they speed talk so you can’t even hear them well. My instincts said no don’t do it and so I did not.
I would love a vacation but not one I am not comfortable making and having to make a decision right away is not one I am willing to do, free or not, because under these types of conditions they are generally not free.
smart move marlene. I always say I’m just looking for the original offer that you said i had, I don’t want anything else please. It usually makes them hang up on me.
My family and i was also scammed a low cost cruise ended up costing us several thousand.and at the end of it all it wad all a scam to get us to buy time share
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us Ann, it’s very unfortunate that this happened to you. I can only hope it will not deter you from seeing beautiful parts of the world in the future.
Whew, I read this just in time….I had literally just completed my reservation online and I decided to do some further investigation and found your comments. I immediately called CCL to cancel my transaction (this occurred within 15 minutes) and was kept on the phone for an additional 35 minutes while the initial Customer Care rep and then her supervisor tried to keep me from cancelling, saying it is not an “expected transaction.” The supervisor was the one who got angry during the conversation when I asked him if CCL was a legitimate business, since All legitimate businesses MUST cancel transactions within 3 days if requested.
I finally received the email confirmation that I will be refunded my money (although the credit has not appeared on my account yet – they said it would take 3-5 days…imagine that, it took seconds for them to debit my account but 3-5 days to return the money, hmmm!)
DON’T DO IT! IF THESE COMMENTS AREN’T ENOUGH OF A WARNING TO YOU YOU WILL EXPERIENCE THE SAME FRUSTRATION I DID WHEN YOU TRY TO CANCEL! Also be aware that if you use your debit card, your bank may not be able to help you cancel the transaction, only if you are using a true credit card.
Just one more thing…I specifically asked if there was any connection to a time share, if the trip required attending a time share presentation or if a time share resort was sponsoring the cruise “give-a-way” to which the reply was always “NO,” but as you can see from several of the comments above I would have probably been sucked into a presentation once I stepped foot into the resort. My experience has always been that “things sell themselves” there should be no pressure to buy, if there is- there is probably something shifty going on.
Karen, thank you for your very wise words. I wonder if you did eventually get your money refunded back?
now they have a new website. http://www.2011getaway.com and are relentless SOBs. Luckily I am old school and worked in high pressure sales in the early 90s and know how to deal with these people. this is definitely a scam and after further searching found a Carnival Cruise online for $179/pp that includes port fees, meals, and you can stay on a REAL ship, not some river boat..lol. Thanks for all the comments because I almost bought there BS.
Thanks for sharing with us Eric 🙂 Appreciate the update on the websites. Thanks 🙂
OMG, What do I do? I went through all of this about a year and a half ago. The same rude first call demanding my money and then he hung up on me, I even think his name was Roger! He yelled at my when I said I had to ask my fiance first, his reply was “can’t you make decisions on your own?!?” I then called back and demanded to speak to a manager and the manager offered me free upgrades and said he would fire the employee and he completely placated me and I gave in and gave my cc#, which they said would not be charged right away…it was charged and my account was overdrawn.
I ignored all of these things…I was an ignorant newly engaged woman who thought I just scored a “free” honeymoon…
I then called back and asked if I could get confirmation emails or letters and for more specific info on the cruise…they said I would get it three weeks before my departure. I let it go. The time got closer and I had to book a flight so I needed to now the places of departure and everything so I called and spoke to a special agent in the “bonuses” Dept and she ensured me that she could book me and my fiance’s flight for a discounted rate and she would email me all the info and she told me the trip itinerary…she was very helpful and nice and soothed my fears. She emailed me flight confirmation and even when she told me they were non-refundable changed them for me when I called back and had to change the time and emailed me the new confirmation and mailed me a hard copy. But still told me my hard copy of the itinerary would come 3 weeks before the trip.
It is now 4 1/2 weeks from my wedding and honeymoon, and I stumble across this site…I am no in a panic and don’t know what to do. I not only booked this cruise but also a flight through this agency. I am so afraid of messing up my honeymoon and marriage by this stupid mistake. Has anyone went on this cruise? They gave me a free rental car and all these upgrades, are they real?
I am so confused and upset now…
OMG Sarah, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to respond to this comment. All I can suggest for you to do is to phone them up, and wait on the line with them as they email you the confirmations. Say you need this, explain to them the situation, say you’re not hanging up.
I have heard a few people say they are in the legal industry, and if things aren’t fixed properly, there will be legal action taken. This seems to set them straight so if they refuse to co-operate, and you are not going to depend on what you’ve set up, I’d at least try and get my money back.
I know this is the last thing you want to do when planning your wedding, I wish there was more I could do to help you than just offer suggestions.
Another saved soul offering thanks. 🙂 Just got the call, exactly as described by so many here… did the survey, transferred to an high-pressure sales guy (lots of noise, clapping, “whoo hoo!” in the background), started googling as he talked and this was the first site that came up. It was enough for me to back out, but not before he got my name and phone#. Hope he doesn’t call back. He seemed immune to my questions and even when I mentioned “i’m reading right now about this being a scam”, he completely ignored it. I finally said, “I don’t mean to be rude, sorry for your time you’ve put into this, but this doesn’t sound like it’s for me” and quickly hung up. Thanks!
good to hear you were saved!!
Man I just got off the phone with these guys. I’m so stupid I have a headache right now, I let him butter me into giving him my card info, STUPID! So I went to my computer and scanned websites real quick, decided that even ONE instance of scam is good enough, and told them to axe my info from the record and fended off their surprised responces, and pressure to reconsider. I immedietely called my bank and destroyed the card. Even if they stopped the one transaction, whose to say they’d give my number to some cohort?? So I get to go through the trouble of redoing all my paypal and online crap. It’s just a debit card, and BoA was very understanding and helpful. But at least I cut them off from one score. They never mentioned Carmen Electra, and he could have been legit. But there was hooting and hollering and partying going on in the background, and I felt weird the whole time.
And whose to say that he really IS bahamas celebration?? The company may be legit, but the whole conversation was a bit off. It’s incredibly easy for me to call someone, spin a careful lie, and mind-slay them into giving me something. It’s so easy to lie. I’m so depressed. This is the second time, some clever bastards called me at 0630 on a saturday to tell me my account was compromised, I was in a haze because I had some beers and was suddenly in a conversation. I snapped out of it when I woke up and promptly called my bank to clear my trail and start over.
I didn’t get the ‘angrier as I kept pressing’ response, he was insistent and ‘hurt’ that I would turn it down. They were nothing but polite, so it played into my submissiveness. O well. Better safe than sorry. I looked at the website, but there’s no ‘contact us’ menu ANYWHERE?? He gave me his name and corporat ID number, I’d liked to have called them and verified his employeeship. Plus I got online with the ‘manager’ in a split-second. a little too convinient for me to fathom.
As for the BBB, I read in reader’s digest that they aren’t too reputable themselves, and get payed off to say good things. But RD is pretty alarmist, so I’m skeptical. And Publisher’s Clearinghouse ARE the one’s who transferred me over… kind of abruptly now that I think about it. And good GOD when I said I wasn’t interested in free jewelry or the 3 magazine subscriptions, the lady wouldn’t get off my ASS about them.
I just hope EVERYONE they call knows how to use the internet.
they must be still getting money if they’re still going. it really is quite sad. it’s been over a year now since it happened to me.
Thank you so much guys for sharing all this.Your comments just saved me some money 🙂 I just received a Cruise Redemption Voucher from this people. I can say it is very tricky at the beginning. I almost believed it, even though that believe didn’t last for more then one minute. It just didn’t look right. A free cruise for 2??? How in earth did I earned that? I had never heard about this company before, I had never received a call from them to take a survey. It was just very strange to me. So the first thing I did, I googled this company, and guess what…. A complete SCAM. I was shocked by what I red and what scares me the most is how people can do something so horrible. It is just not right.
they’ve been calling me again too! so stupid.
Just got the call from these scumbags. Same “terms/conditions” listed above. Karma will get them.
Thank you for taking the time to reply to this. They are still calling me as well. Even leaving voice messages for me.
I got this call and its said you could win a carrean cruise to the Bahamas just press one to answer the survey, and it asked me dump questions like have you ever been on birth control or do you or one of your family member have diabetes. stupid questions like that!
then after this lady came on the phone and asked me my name and phone number, which i gave them a false phone number. and they still found my mailing adress and so four days later i got this paskage in the mail and saying i won a trip for two in the mail which it came with a cheque for 1,300 and ticket for boarding the ship. it looked so real to me and i was about to call there but to me it felt like a scam.
opps i ment CARIBBEAN
so, I just recieved the same phone call. I gave her my name and number. She kept asking me if I had a credit card cus there was no cash exchange on the ship. She sounded very suspecious, so I asked her the name of the cruise line. While I was talking with her I Googled it and this post came up. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS !!!!
scumbags…..
I did not look into this post. I work in IT… should kick myself for not doing enough research before going for it. Really appreciate kk’s efforts to help everyone out here and wanted to put my two cents..
I got a call in April 2011 and signed up for this deal 7 night/ six day same Carrebian Cruise stuff. Oh.. they create a website with firstname.isonvacation.com, did not see anyone mention that in the posts at all (I do not know if this part of the same scamster family, but looks like it). Anyways, I gave my cc and 300.00 was charged and forgot about it. I wanted to go on a vacation with my wife and 2 year old, as it has been a while we have been to one and would be first time on a cruise. So, I called them up again to plan a trip and paid another 700.00 dollars. However, stupid me… I just looked on my passport and noticed that my wife’s and my visa was expired and before going out of the country, I would have to visit my home country and get it stamped otherwise I cannot re-enter back to USA.
I told them the situation that I cannot take the cruise and asked me to upgrade my stay in FLL and Orlando with the (129+129 +99) unused port fee and give me two nights at FLL. They told me that it is not possible, port fee was not transferable, and I would have to pay additional fee for the hotel stay for two additional days.
That is when I though that this something fishy, checked websites and blogs and got to know this was a fake.
Immediately I called up my Credit Card company AMEX block/cancel my payments. As I have been a valued customer they said they would do it and did stop the 700.00 payment and were able to revert the 300.00 dollars as well.
So I sincerely advise you can get the money back just reach out to your credit card company or banks, I am sure if this has happened more than once before one of the legal department will sue them and blacklist them as well.
This same thing just happened to me. They’re advertising on the radio now! Can you believe they’d allow that BS to play on their station? After he explained the trip and the port fees ($118) I told him I had to speak with my boyfriend so he said he’d call me back. Really I wanted to reseach, and look what I found. When he called back I told him I knew they were a scam, and he proceeded to explain that everyone was lieing. It was real! He had even went. Lol I said no I don’t believe they’re all lieing. He said okay have a good night.
I’m so happy I trusted my gut. I can’t believe people actually fall for this. But then again if this blog wasn’t here I would have too. These people seriously make so much money by makin a fake page.
man, I really WANTED to believe these people, but this website and the rest of the results to the website they gave me steered me clear. Thank goodness, the lady was so pushy asking for my credit card info and not really answering my questions.
I just got off the phone with these people and like everyone said they were NOT going to let me just TALK to my husband! Very persistent and pushy! I want to thank you people for writing this blog b/c it probably saved me from a HUGE mistake! I knew it was too good to be true saying its only $118 for me and my husband then all these little fees and packages pop up! The man told me it was the SS Bahamas Celebration cruise ship. That we were going to aboard the ship in Palm Beach FL. All the same details that you all talked about so i wont repeat them! I am sick and tired of all these scams in this world! As much as I hate to say this Hitler was right about ONE thing. The United states will not be destroyed by bombs. It will destroy itself from within. Meaning man kind. I hate that man but what he said seems to be true and it’s very sad!
They called me today, wanted my credit card number. I wouldn’t give it to them. I did get their telephone number!
1-800-399-0865
If you give them a call at this number, they will thank you for participating in the political survey and offer you the “free” cruise for $118 (2 people, 2 nights). You *can* call them back and keep getting the same offer.
Pass the number around!!!!! That way, everyone can get a free cruise!
1-800-399-0865
Poppy
I recently took a cruise aboard the Bahamas Celebration and I must say I did have a wonderful time. I received everything that I was promised a
I noticed that you did not say how much this “FREE” cruise cost you.
The scam is not if there is a cruise available, the scam is in claiming people have won a free cruise and then nickel and dime them to the point that it cost more than the same cruise on a real cruise-line.
So how much did your Bahamas cruise cost?
My cruise on on Carnival costed $349 for the two of us – and there were no required extra costs either.
As i was on the phone with these people. I googled them and scam came up after i rea through your post and refused to give him my credit card information through the internet he got mad. LOL. Thanks for the tip
Wow! I am very grateful to all of you who have taken the time to post your experiences. I completed an online survey and several days later received a call. During the call I was told much of the same information as many of you state above: 18 months to use vouche, I’m to pay a $59 port tax fee, responsible for my own transportation, meals are free however beverages other than tea & coffee are at my expense. I asked the rep to send me an e-mail and she advised she would, but stated I have to pay the port tax with in 24 hours. I just got the e-mail and decided to google them. All of your posts have saved me from a huge mistake. If they call me back I’ll be sure to let them have a piece of my mind.
Same thing, did the survey..gave my credit card number …then read this site..Thank you!. Called the credit card company, cancelled the transaction and getting a new card…Unbelievable.
These idiots called me a few mins ago, and I taped the call. I’d be happy to share the sound file with law enforcement.
Thanks Ken, I’ll keep that in mind.
Thank you everyone you have just saved me from a giant mistake. I thank you and my family thanks you. There should be some way to shut this company down. Maybe for false advertising.
If any one wants their number I just got off the phone with them. They would call and hang up but the number wasn`t blocked so I called them back. The number they are using today is…..1-888-842-2495
the number they called me from today was 800-613-6524
now usually i dont get duped very often….actually never, but today i was quite duped. after completing a telephone survey….they said i won two free tickets for a cruise to the bahamas…..just pay 118 for port taxes….gave em my debit information like a dummy…..but i started googling scam and this blog came up…..told the lady to hold on, and then immediately hanged up on her. i then called BOA for them to put a stop to the payment….
NEVER AGAIN…….!
Hi…this is great….thanks for the info…I’ve been contacted by these people. I suspected something when they asked me for the money of that port charges. I told her that I will just call her back and she told me I can’t do that. She insisted on getting the payment and I told her that I need to verify this offer first. She got mad. I explained to her that they should understand because nowadays scams are everywhere and the more she got mad. Hihihi..good thing I saw your post and confirmed everything I suspected. Thank you.
Pleasure Chrys, thanks for stopping by.
Thank you, I just received a call from them and I did not want to give them my personal or credit card information and the guy that was calling got a little mad but accepted that I call him back later lol. and after reading this I am not calling. :P.
Smart girl Patricia 🙂
Thank you all for confirming my suspicions I received calls from them about “winning” the cruise so I hung up on them we we got to the part when I had give them my credit card info so I called one of the numbers people posted up as the scammer’s numbers and gave them a piece of my mind
btw when I asked for their “website” she sent me this link:
http://grandcaribbeancl.com/clogs/viewemail.asp?view=1&Templ=1&ID=6338705896
gladly, Joel. Thanks for sharing.
Got a call just a bit ago from them too. When I told them, that I didn’t have the money right now they actually asked me “Why?”!! I told them it just sounded too good to be true and I wanted to research them first since I never heard of that cruise line before and I have been on several cruises before. He said, that they wouldn’t screw people around and put their “good reputation” at risk…ROFLMAO…good reputation my a$$!!! Thanks for the info posted here. This definately helps to put people like this out of business.
Thanks for sharing Kerstin.
Hey I was wondering what was going on with this company. Ok here my story. deprate for a job, i go job hunting all over the place, found this company that said “travel agents needed” i clicked and applied. so im in traning with this “carribean cruise line” agency. One day of traning then got thrown to the phones. 9 scripts of what to read and commission or hourly. Keep in mind i feel bad for the people that call because of the fact there broke or that its my job to hound them into paying the port taxes. I worked there 4 days and couldnt seem to graps on wether or not this was a legit company. DId some reasearch at last minute and here i am. this carribean cruise line..is it real or fake??? cuz what your saying is totally diffrent from what i had to read…i know in my heart its fake and this is what exatcly i had to read
“congradulations! thank you for your couperation with our political suvey, i see you have been transferred to our department for a free cruise to the bahamas right?” thats how we start off…thenw e read this whol spill on how fun it is…then at the 2nd page we read the import tax…some are quiet some ask “do we have to pay now”, the ones who are quiet are the ones who get hit at the last minute of me askinf for there credit card…this is out ragious…i thought this was a legit company and yet from the things ive heard workin there i knew something wasent right…please dont hate me because i was dumb and didnt know who i was working for…if anyone has any other info about this so called “the bahama celebration” cruise ship and “carribean cruise liner”..also tell people they have to travel in the next 18 months and decide when they would like to go. the shitty part is the fact once u do get these credit cards u have to upsell them!!! lik “no choice” have to upsell them…59.99 tax port fees…12.00 gratuities, and crazy packages that these people have to buy..like example “3/2 ft lauderdale, 3/2 orlando, 100.00 gas rehimbersment or a 100 play money, 3/2 las vegas..etc etc for only 915.00…yea know…i mean come on..but please i worked here and need to know more information please write back thanks
Sally,
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. You probably know more about the company now than most of us do. Some people claim scam, others support the company and say they have fun on it. It seems the most of the people who claim the company is legit work for the company, and are saying how hard it is to make sales, as you have.
This article was designed to share my experience with the world, and hopefully make them aware of the very bad practices going on at CCL, which , in my opinion, should be avoided at all costs.
Thanks for sharing with us
I just got off the phone with one of the sales guys in Carribean Cruise LInes..The call was really long and gave me a head-ache.. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and I had to hang up.Going by this post, I’m surprised that this scam has been going on for more than a year. I’m glad I did not disclose my credit card info.
Once again, great sales tactics eh? thanks for sharing.
I received a call last week from David Armstrong at ‘Carribean Cruise Lines’ after doing a very short political survey. Something didn’t seem right but I listened to what he said. He sent me to a website called 2011getaway.com but I told him how do I know that you and the website are the same. He said the cruise would be $118.00 for two people I just needed to give him my credit card. I asked for something in writing and he told me by the time he got that to me that the deal would be gone.
I told him he probably needed to contact someone else who would take advantage of the deal. I also said I was passing because it sounded too good to be true. He got angry with me and said that the cruise line would not risk it’s reputation with anything fraudulent. He then asked for credit card again and I said I wasn’t interested. He got more upset and I hung up.
Great sales tactics eh?
Just got a notice from Carnival that they are raising gratuities to $11.50 a day starting this week. Notice, they are just raising them now, but Caribbean Cruise Lines has been charging $12.00 a day for how long?
Add in the fact that Carnival has supplied me in writing that you can adjust how much you wish to pay any-time you are on-board, and that includes taking down to zero dollars if you want, meanwhile Caribbean Cruise Lines tries to imply that you have to pay their stated amount in gratuities.
In-all they are just looking at ways to get your money.
Always check out the cruise-sites and compare final pricing. Caribbean Cruise Lines gives you the least for your money.
Good point ECP. Thanks for the update.
yeah this is what i was working for. they let me go cuz i couldnt make them any sales lol..thank god they let me go because of the fact they were scamming people. Its not right that we couldnt call people back, we coulda been a legit company if they could get ccall backs..
Sally,
I understand your frustration and belief the Carribbean Cruise Lines is a scam but you have to understand they are a legit business. They have undercover cops on the floor working as sales reps so people don’t use credit card information given over the phone. They have been in the same building for 15 years. I worked for a scam company years ago and within a month the sales reps were arrested the boss is doing life and all the reps were released but have to pay thousands in fines. Although I do not agree with the sales tactics I know a scam when I see one. I moved out of sales there because I didn’t like asking people for their information but I still have to stick up for them because they are who they say they are. Going on websites saying they are a scam is good revenge and even listening to people say they are a scam is sometimes convincing. But understand that phone sales is tough and also a cut throat industry. These days you can’t be a scam and expect to get away with it with all the stuff going around out there. Now if we were an outsourced company overseas I would be worried. I’m sorry you were let go this is a tough economy, but scamming people isn’t our game. However when I came on to one of these scam sites and somebody used my name, as their representative calling me a scam artist I got a lawyer and that person who posted that about me is getting sued for defamation of character. So now instead of paying port taxes for a free cruise he will not be going on any vacations for years to come because of court fees, and payments to me for smearing my name.
So a fair warning to all of you, if we were not a legit company we wouldn’t be able to sue you for smearing our names. So I warn you do not put scam and our names in the same paragraph for your own legal protection. You have every right to hang up on us, you have every right to think what you do of us, but do not post our names because we do look at these sights for stuff like that because those are our real names. You don’t like it when people ruin your names we don’t like it either we all have jobs to do just because you don’t agree with it doesn’t mean it’s ok to defile someone else. Thank you for your time. Have a nice day.
Alex (Or Morrigan). It is very fascinating to know that there are undercover cops working for you, for clearly your company should be taken to courts for their fraudulent activities.
Your claim that you are suing some unnamed contributor for ‘smearing your name’ is very convincing, I sure hope this unnamed character returns to this site to ask for some help, for I know a few houndred people who would be willing to claim against this company for grievances and claims they had no interest in backing.
I understand your interest in keeping your name clean, but if you’re dabbling in a business where you are essentially scamming people of their money, you have no right to claim a clean name. It is as simple as that.
Thanks for trying to explain your situation to readers, and for this effort, I will leave your post up here.
Hi All,
I fell into their trap as well. When I found this website, I realized that I really don’t want anything in common with this company, especially their “great cruise”. For those of you who have American Express, it’s easy to resolve: Call American Express and tell them what happened. I did that and they instantly credited my $698 back to my account and they will represent me when they sort it out with CCL. They will use my complaints as the basis of their argument. I now expect that CCL will call me and try to figure out why I cancelled the payment. I will gladly explain and if they keep pushing, I will just hang up. Good luck, everybody. This was a big lesson to me.
Warning: They may record their call-back. Do not cuss them out, do not call them directly a scam.
State it firmly, you were offered a *FREE* cruise and they are the ones adding all sort of charges – Free means FREE!
ps, If they make you any other offers demand it in writtting first before you agree.
Hi ECP,
Why can’t I just argue that right after I finished the phone call, I went online and found very bad reviews of their services (including hidden fees) and decided that I did not want to do any business with the company. On top of that, their internal directive saying that the trip is non-refundable goes against Florida law, so that wouldn’t fly. But I guess I would not really chat with them about it. I would just end it with the bad reviews. Is this not strong argument enough? I feel like I don’t really have to argue with them at all. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you for your warnings, ECP.
Happy to hear you were successful in getting your money back Peter. Well done.
called tonight. what a scam. why doesnt the fcc stop them?
Somebody should, I don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet.
Hi All,
I fell into their trap and they charged 118 on my card. As soon as I saw reviews on this site, I called up my credit card company and following up with them. Hope everything goes fine and get my money back. Thanks for the wonderful post!!!
Well played Geetha, thanks for sharing with us.
Just got this in the mail today and as always when some deal comes across me that either seems odd, suspicious, or too good to be true I searched the net to make sure it was not a scam. I just thought it was going to be some kind of time share type deal since they had reputable names associated with them on their mailer, had no idea this was such a shady and soulless company. Really glad I came across your article and really appreciate you having posted it. I’m sorry you lost money because of these crooks, I hope that the BBB or somebody can shut down something like this although I have a feeling that the little disclaimer about the port charges is their legal loophole.
Thanks again!
Thanks for letting us know Jeff. Have a great day.
LMAO!!!! You guys do not know what you are talking about. You do realize everyone has to pay port taxes right? I mean people have to pay hundreds for alot less. I mean you are not only going to the Bahamas for a day which usually costs up to 700 by itself. You are also going on a ship whether a converted ferry or not people pay a lot more for less. I mean yeah it’s not ideal and maybe it’s not the best cruise you’ll ever be on but you get what you pay for. Which you pay nothing but port taxes.
I and alot of friends went on this cruise and actually had a great time. People who complain are people who didn’t actually go on vacation or broke people who expect to be treated like rich people. No one has ever been robbed by these people. It clearly says the funds are non refundable after 72 hours. So going by a few bad opinions by unsatisfied customers is really cheating yourself a good time. I mean you don’t have to take my word for it. You all have a right to your opinions but really if Carribbean cruise line were a scam they wouldn’t have been at the same office for 10 years they would all be arrested and you can even look up their address. The names they give you when they call are their real names. I mean give yourselves a break and do some real homework for a change rather than let some jackass make decisions for you……
Morrigan, You posted twice under a different name, first claiming to be just a fan of it who has had many friends go on the cruise with you, then as an employee to the ship.
If you read the initial article, my complaint was that it is supposed to be a free cruise, and the sales techniques used are absolutely horrible at best.
No doubt your claims are all accurate and can be proven true.
If the 500+ comments on this article, mostly stating the horrible sales tactics, rude sales men and women, and refusal of Carribbean Cruise Lines to cooperate with potential customers aren’t homework, my friend I do not know what is.
Thanks for your time.
Morrigan and alex are one in the same. One name is a screen name and the other is a real name. No big mystery there if i were trying to conceal my identity i would use two different emails. Yes I work in the philly office and yes I have been on the ship paying port taxes as well. No I am not a scam artist because if I were I wouldn’t have won my case against the person who called me one online. 500+ complaints from people who didn’t go on vacation with us or became jaded by people who complained without trying for themselves is not homework that is opinions. Listen I’m not here to get you to buy a cruise I’m off the clock and could care less what you do with your cards. i mean really. if you think we are a scam there is no changing your minds. but all i will say is for future reference. if you don’t register on a survey, internet, or a stand in the mall we won’t call you. trying to shut us down and playing recorded phone calls won’t work because we are who we say we are. So the only thing you really can do is fabricate lies about us on sites like these. Many will believe you and others won’t and those others will have a great time and that’s what we’re counting on. Anyways like I said I’m off the clock and will no longer be posting on here or reading on here anymore because I actually have a life to live. I hope nothing but the best for you. But like I and Nancy Reagan always said JUST SAY NO if you don’t want it don’t take it.
Thanks to the creators of this site and all contributors. Consider me one of the possible fools who is committed to going, and will give a report back.
For the record, my wife and I are “on board” for a trip beginning January 2- 8: the first three days in Ft. Lauderdale, next three on Bahama Celebration, final three in Ft. Lauderdale. This corresponds to our fifteenth anniversary – first time away together for more than a day since our six kids!
While “free” would always be great, we didn’t approach this with expectation of free. While not with THIS company, we did a similar thing for our honeymoon, and it was fantastic.
At the very outset, we knew $798 (which became $698, and they threw in all meals while off the ship, plus car) would be the cost, and understood port taxes would be $99/person, and they explained the $12/person/day tip thing, and every other cost (=to be seen). Bottom line, a pretty good, “all-inclusive” package from our standpoint for around $1000.
Now- that said, here’s what played out.
Doing some research, we were not happy at all with the Ramada hotel that came with it– not only that it wasn’t on the beach, but the majority of the nearly 200 reviewers (at one site) reported the hotel to be crud. The company (“James”) offered two other beach-hotel options for a $75/day upgrade. One of these we reviewed and really liked– thought it would be worth the additional (again- we’re willing to pay what is reasonable if we were doing this separately, and deemed it so). We consented. They tabbed our card for another $300 ($75×4 nights). Needless to say, the company’s block was filled at that hotel.
Back on phone with James and supervisor Andy a few days later, a Sheraton (not on the beach, but better reviewed than the Ramada) was offered as a no-additional-cost replacement to the Ramada. Our $300 would be refunded. In addition– somewhere in there, I had pressed for a category cabin upgrade– and I’m absolutely confident he said at least a category 6 for no additional charge (possibly a category 4).
The next day (yesterday) we received a call by Antonio asking us to confirm – but in that process, he was incredulous that it was offered for “no additional” by James / Andy the day before. It would cost $52/night. I conveyed what they James/Andy had promised– Antonio even read in the notes how the rep/sup the day before offered it for “no additional”.
So at this point, having had to “review my itinerary” to no less than three people, and the disconnect with the “no additional cost” cabin/hotel-upgrade – I’m uncomfortable with the whole thing and request to be completely refunded. Antonio transfers me to his sup. I state I wanted “out.” He said that would take cancelling my trip before he passed me to some other department (leading me to believe there could be some consequences if I eventually wanted to keep it). I said “fine.”
I get passed me on to Fred (eventually), and I stated emphatically that I wanted out. Fred conveyed that he wasn’t in sales– but interested in making me happy (etc.). I didn’t want to “process”- wanted out. In so many words, didn’t seem I’d get any traction until I heard his spiel. He was polite and respectful — endeavored to understand my dismay, and with some back-and-forth with his sup, essentially that they would cover 2 nights at the Sheraton. Not good enough. Not what James / Andy had offered. Want out.
—————————————–
I quoted Florida law: FLORIDA SELLERS OF TRAVEL ACT
Click to access StatuteTravel.pdf
559.933
“YOU MAY CANCEL THIS CONTRACT WITHOUT ANY PENALTY
OR OBLIGATION WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF
PURCHASE OR RECEIPT OF THE VACATION CERTIFICATE,
WHICHEVER OCCURS LATER.”
“YOU MAY ALSO CANCEL THIS CONTRACT IF
ACCOMMODATIONS OR FACILITIES ARE NOT AVAILABLE
PURSUANT TO A REQUEST FOR USE AS PROVIDED IN THE
CONTRACT.”
“IF YOU DECIDE TO CANCEL, YOU MUST NOTIFY THE SELLER
IN WRITING OF YOUR INTENT TO CANCEL BY RETURNING THE
CERTIFICATE AND SENDING NOTICE TO: (NAME OF SELLER)
AT (SELLER’S ADDRESS) .”
————————————————–
I get kicked up (or around, who knows) to Vantrice- who essentially contests my understanding of the law– because we had already “confirmed”– that the refund couldn’t be total. Of course, I inquired “how can we have confirmed if you can’t even tell me what hotel I’m in– that I haven’t agreed too yet?”
If there had been some definitive, non-exhaustive way to assert this legal standing that resulted in a total refund– that they “had” to accept, I would have done it… I’d be refunded right now. I just wasn’t getting that. Note– it’s been within 30 days. If anyone can offer insight here, please do… but I was VERY persistent and emphatic.
So then somehow, for whatever reason– the fog is lifted, she zooms in on my major concern of paying at the Sheraton, and the Category cabin thing- she sees that the notes say a refund of $300, and there would be no additional charge for the Sheraton. In addition, she offered two additional items for the trouble (water taxi, and voucher for a resteraunt).
SO ALMOST BOTTOM LINE, we already have round-trip flight lined up, and Grandpa and Grandma lined up to watch the kids– as suggested, if I could back out and get refunded efficiently (as I tried) I would and spend the $1000 or so and do it our own way. I could throw our time and resources to really pick this fight– but I just don’t have the time for it. You might call this the path of least resistance– but we’re now “in” with high hopes for a great time together with my wife, 4 nights at a decent hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, two nights on the ship, car covered, all meals paid, and a few other things for around $1000. I’m ok with that.
Needless to say- I do have a very large megaphone that I intend to use per the outcome. My companies have expansive reach through web and multimedia (we’ve done work for Disney, Walden, HBO, A&E). If this all turns out well, I could chalk the negative up to the price you pay for enduring a hard-sell, and some fuzzy lines of communication / authorization structure in pressing for variations. I will report back here: if I’m not refunded the $300, if there is ANY $$ contingency that has not already been expressed — I promise many, many more will know about it. In short, “we’re going in… cover us…”
I applaud the creators of this page. With the exception of some spinning wheels of those caught in the maelstrom, I think there’s some solid info here that should make buyers better aware.
Gschlueter,
I am very grateful for you taking the time to write so much information for the readers of this blog. Your situation mirrors that of which has been repeated here time and time again: bad customer experiences, pushy sales, sneaky sales, hidden fees, false promises, many many different people that you get handed to, et al.
It’s very frustrating, and I pretty much took the same road you did and wrote it off as a loss. Which I’m willing to bet there are a lot of people out there who had the same situation.
All I can suggest, and what has worked for other people, is to phone up the people whose card you used to put the money down on, and tell them the situation and have them cancel your payment. This has worked before, sometimes without any resistance at all from the card companies. I suspect they are dealing with this all the time from these guys, or have at least heard about it. It’s remarkable actually that it’s still going on.
You may have read the post just before yours, where a fellow has claimed that he works there, and there are undercover cops working for the company…
To me, it’s very weird he would a) tell people about this, and b) the cops would let themselves be known.
This either tells me America is falling apart (specifically the policing system) and/or this company isn’t playing any games when they hand you to 10 different representatives and really are that disheveled, and disorganized.
Thanks again for your time, and I’d appreciate your report back. But again, the whole purpose behind this article was to illuminate how horrible the sales is, and how they offer a FREE cruise, and it ends up costing you $1000 now. There have been pleasant experiences once on the cruise, as some have reported. I would love to hear back from you on this.
Goodluck.
I can say this, if the $300 isn’t posted by Monday there’s gonna be heck to pay…
Kingkabuz– per my comment #552 detailing our going through with this apprehensively– and your request for an update as a “work in progress” I’d be happy to keep all updated at each step here.
I don’t know if there’s a better forum than this- takes quiet a bit to load with all the comments. If you can think of a “sister” page, let me know– otherwise, I’ll report back here– perhaps begin my own blog if there’s any more drama one way or the other… beginning with my expectation that they refund my $300 by Monday (I think that’s a reasonable time).
Yes– I’m paying the bucks… reasonable I think per what one might expect for a week-long vacation, but the four hours I’ve put in on this and the various turns so far have been ridiculous. I would expect them to “make good” on their promise to upgrade my cabin as they had promised at least to a category 6.
Peace all.
Thank you Gschlueter I hope it works great for you, and I’m really interested to hear how it plays out. Good luck!
Miles Gilbert is the name that the
loser(edited) said he was named. This place is a total fraud. A few logical questions and the ability to resist impulse buying, anyone can avoid this. Do research before buying. I said that I need to do research before buying anything, and I need to research the name of the boat first. He said that I was ignorant for doing so. He said I was getting mad, he said I dont know how to estimate the cost of travel to go to West Palm Beach, he pretended to know so much about me. He said that my day will be bad now (because I was supposedly mad) and his day will be fine. What an epic fail his life must be. Spending his Saturdays cold calling people for thischeese dick(edited) operation. Pathetic. I think today I’ll go into my MUSIC STUDIO AND REMAIN TOTAL G STATUS. Write a new song, smoke some chronic, and then get laid. For the record, Me=1 vs. Miles Gilbert=0 Miles Gilbert= FAIL Miles Gilbert= whoever he really is, whatever his real name is = TOTAL FAIL. His vocabulary suggested he would score a D- in 7th grade English before dropping out to spend the next 16 years addicted to crack and/or meth. Hows the job working out for you Milesyou little dipshit(edited)? You’re getting pimped by the scam!Thanks for your voice, you have a very active imagination.
Wow after reading a lot of these reviews you are all
idiots(edited). The cruise is real I just got back yesterday after a wonderful week long trip. Stayed in the Ramada in fort lauderdale, which wasn’t my favorite hotel, but we ended up staying and getting free meals the entire time. Also the beach was only a 20 minute drive. Then after two nights staying at the Ramada we drove to the port parked our car valet and went aboard the REAL CRUISE SHIP. We sailed into the night and arrived in the Bahamas the following morning. Everything on the ship was amazing free food for every meal, the staff was amazing and very friendly, our favorite restaurant was the crystal room which was amazing for dinner. Most definitely top of the line. NO this cruise is not top of the line and if you are a cruise snob or someone that complains about everything its not for you. Because instead of enjoying your trip you will be one of those people that would rather spend there time trying to speak to everyone’s supervisor and above their heads until you are satisfied and before you know it the trip is over no wonder you people don’t enjoy your vacations. But anyways my point is this is not a scam we ended up paying I think $700 for our honeymoon that lasted from November 13 until Saturday November 19th. We extended our trip so that way we could actually see the Bahamas and stayed in a beautiful resort in the Bahamas for two nights which was on the beach.Jess,
Hopefully you’ve read my comments above– we’re giving it a shot for our 15th Anniversary, with “issues” duly noted (#522). If you could contact me privately I’d appreciate it (nothing fishy for rest of readers here- just some details I’d like to know per our situation). Greg@IDVidPro.com. Peace. Greg
Thank you for providing a textbook example of what is known as a “grooming” post.
Very popular sport these days!
The reason why I initially wrote this article was to share with people that it is not a free cruise at all (you ended up paying $700 for a free cruise), and also to illuminate the horrible sales tactics and scheming ways that I do not approve of. Clearly I’m not the only person who’s had this kind of treatment.
Here’s some more info that might be helpful.
Caribbean Cruise Lines is SORT OF legitimate, if your idea of legitimate includes time-share pitches (some people’s does — I don’t judge others).
Caribbean Cruise Line is NOT the actual cruise line, but is a MARKETER FOR TIMESHARES that gives away discounted entry-level cruises on CELEBRATION Cruise Line as a pitch to get people to attend time-share sales.
They have several websites to direct people to, depending on which offer they’re pitching:
http://www.grandcaribbeancl.com/
http://2011getaway.com/
and some others – they’re pretty much the same.
Celebration Cruise Line IS a cruise line. http://www.bahamascelebration.com/
It owns a SINGLE cruise ship, which is a CONVERTED BALTIC CRUISE FERRY. They really DO sell entry-level cruises, but perhaps 30%-50% of their occupancy is supplied by the time-share marketers.
If you pay ~$300 per person to Celebration, Celebration will take you on a short, entry-level cruise to Grand Bahama Island, which is their only destination.
If you pay $59 per person to Caribbean, your salesperson will attempt to sell you numerous upgrades, and you won’t get on the ship unless you collect your tickets from the “Welcome Center” which is one of the various Mind-Numbing 4-Hour Time-Share Sales-Centers in that part of Florida. If you survive that, you’ll get your tickets and board Celebration’s Cruise ship.
Opinions vary as to whether Celebration and Caribbean are the same company: Celebration says “NO!”, while Caribbean says “Yes, we own an $80 million dollar cruise ship”
Complaints run pretty high, because “Caribbean Cruise Line” isn’t real explicit about what it really does, and doesn’t much like to refund money, even though they operate under Florida law, which requires them to give a refund, if the refund is requested within 30 days of accepting the pitch, or receiving the packet with the details, whichever is later.
IMO, if they were a bit more explicit about what they’re actually doing, they’d make far less people panic and try to cancel, and thereby have far fewer complaints.
Bottom line: With some effort, you really can go on an entry-level cruise for $59 per person, (plus airfare, parking, etc., etc., etc., but most you’d have to pay for on a regular cruise anyway). HOWEVER, the difference between flying to Florida, and booking a discount-priced cruise on a big-name line from a port NEAR YOU might very well pay for the the higher-prices cruise on a much-better-known cruise line.
Info in the ship is here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=553
Info on the Caribbean Cruise Line offer is here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4035
Hope that helps
BTW, since they’re required to refund under Florida Law (as above), if they refuse, simply call your credit card company and inform them that the company refuses to give a refund as specified under state law. Your credit card company will lock their funds, and hash it out with them.
Great information, thanks for sharing with us Dex
They use the “survey” gag to get around (or claim to get around) the prohibition from calling you if you are listed on the Do Not Call Registry.
This is very simple, folks. When someone uses a deception, no matter how trivial, to establish a business relationship with you, where do you think it is going from there?
Answer: Downhill.
And if you go along with this, and it goes horribly wrong, you have no one but yourself to blame.
If you want to go on a cruise, any of the major cruise lines have boats that go to the Bahamas for about $180 per person, as I did in February. But of course, you will pay far more for drinks, tips, port fees, etc. which often far exceed the “price” of the cruise, anyway.
So their prices are not a real bargain, either. I would stick with a “regular” cruise line, not some unknown that calls you on the phone, unsolicited.
Thanks for your insight Robert. I agree with you and that’s why I wrote this article, to illuminate it’s not a free cruise, and there are more legit ones out there who may charge you more, but you won’t have to deal with all the loops and hoops.
thanks
pleasure.
Hi,
I just got the same phone call today. The guy said I had to pay the $59 per person ($118 total) today. I asked if there was a number to call back or to pay by any other method.. he said no. I had him on hold for a little while and i talked to my husband .. he never likes this phone calls. And I was not about to give him my credit card number. My only regret is that I did give him my name and my husbands name and they have my phone number. I got on the phone back and told him we were concern about the deal being a scam and that we could pass .. and hang up. My phone rang twice after that with no one leaving a message. I just hope they don’t continue to call and pester us. I knew it was too good to be true.. just should have listen to my self and not taken the survey.
I just got the phone call as well. He actually encouraged me to use a computer to verify them. i put the phone down and came across this website and refused to pay. It was actually odd to see how polite he was about the whole thing. Thank you for your very detailed report as it gave me the evidence i needed to make a proper decision to throw this “offer” down the toilet hehe. much appreciated!
Just got off the phone with this company. Fell for the ʻfree cruiseʻ line, until they started wanting credit card # to pay for the $59 port fee. Googled the company and found your site. Thanks for the heads up!! Probably would not have given them my number anyway, as I was immediately skeptical of the ʻfreeʻ line, but your blog confirmed my instinct! Thanks!!
First comment detailing my experience at #522… basically, the problem is high-pressure sell and suspicious communication issues (at best)… but we’re going through with it in January, didn’t expect it for free, expected to pay for our 15th year wedding anniversary get-away, and if all goes per plan– will be a decent deal (not great, decent).
On the positive – they did refund our $300 (couldn’t secure an upgraded hotel situation). They have been very polite, and it is nice to speak with a human being. The costs have been straight-forward… so far.
If there’s any way we could get out of the first-day “vacation property” preview I’m all ears. I’m absolutely worn out from dealing with them. Credibility isn’t entirely shot or we wouldn’t be going… but the build-up to a vacation-property sales pitch guaranteed we’ll be doing all we can to minimize that encounter.
Definitely diminishes a consumer’s desire to believe/hope for the best in an initial representation… message to other business owners.
Report to be continued…
Er– make that comment #523
Thanks for all the info I just got off the phone with the so called ss Bahamas celebration cruise line, and they fed me the exact same bull crap that they fed u guys; Which was this is a one time deal for just 118 for 2 people and after hearing every thing that the lady had to say, I rejected because it is christmas time and I can’t afford to just give anybody 118 for a cruise, after I said no the lady tried to insult me but saying 118?? As if she was trying to say that’s not a lot of money. Even after I explained to her that times are hard I have a job but I’m a single parent doing every thing on my own and I agree that 118 is a great price but I couldn’t afford to give it right now because that would be irresponsible of me as a parent to tell my child; “Oh u don’t get christmas this year or u only get 2 presents cuz momma had to pay for a cruise”. Nope not I said the cat I explained that to her and she said well I’ll just have to pass this deal on to another traveler and I sai okay. Point of the story is me and Canthustleahustler had pretty much the same conversation with these people and this is a whole year later, luckily I didn’t have the money to pay because I might would have fell for this scam. After I hung up the phone I immediately started to look up the cruise line to see if the whole thing was a scam because honestly it sounded to good to be true and most of the time when it sounds to good it means its a scam. I’m glad I didn’t give them anything and I’m glad I got the sense that God gave me to go look information up and not just to fall for anything.
I just received the same call..almost word for word..so I decided to google the cruise line while listening to his little script..and found this article..Thank you for the heads up. I almost fell for it…
Greetings all!
They were more than polite to me. I even have till Saturday to respond. I got referred from buying something online and knew nothing is for free. Almost decided to do this but at same time wanted to research. I have been given till Saturday to decide. Honestly, I think I will say no and save the money towards a cruise like ROYAL Carribian or another cruise line that is larger. Another thing to consider: medical availability on the ship. One wants medical help regarding if something happens during cruise, I didn’t even get that far with info, and since they cannot make accomodations regarding upgrade(you cannot take stay in Bahamas without the Ft. Lauderdale or Orlando portion. They did allow me to talk to my husband on my cell privately and get back to them while they waited on my home line, and will allow me till Saturday to decide. All the time being very polite and answering everything I asked.
I would have been able to take those portions at another time or give them to someone else.
In end I have decided to wait and spend the money when I can do so through a travel agent. I am sure they too will have special deals. I think that will be much better.
I do not know whether it is a scam or not – I would say moreso rather high pressure tactics for a product that if you take the time to shop about you might do better. The names, numbers, and websites match some of the posts. I do think it also depends on who one talks to and how you ended up with this offer. It is definitely not free if you choose upgrades. Most things one wins for free still require one to pay taxes on the items won, so in the end the saying is true, “Nothing is for free”
Not going on this one this time, and I do feel ever so bad for everyone else that just said yes to it and can’t get out of it. Now that part is the crying shame for sure!!
They just cancelled my cruise 2 days beforehand and i already have the AIRFARE and paid the PORT CHARGES and YEP…i’m S.O.L. and they won’t refund me a DIME!!!! I hate these people right now….i’m a single parent and had been planning this trip out for A LONG TIME and my 5 year old was so excited and now i have to tell her (days beforehand) that they cancelled it and i’m still out all the money. These people are pieces of shit and they really don’t give a f*CK if they get their money….that is all
Jackie,
After reading your post I was concerned (as you’ll read below, we’re “in” for early January, our 15th Wedding Anniversary). I called them and inquired. Apparently there was a fire and they needed that time to repair (unfortunately, over the time of your cruise).
I asked if there was any recompense for those who got cancelled– particularly if they already purchased their flight (thinking of you, of course). They said they offered to put folks up in an upgraded hotel during that time, plus give them a voucher for a free cruise later. Is this true? If so, while I understand you wanting a complete refund (and think best-business practices should accommodate)– in fairness it seems they were prepared to make reasonable amends.
My unveiling story is at post #523. In short, we’re “in” for January. A summary of my experience thus far:
(1) If you’re interested in a vacation, don’t expect anything for free– it will cost, but I do think it’s at a notable discount;
(2) They have been polite and straight-forward;
(3) You do have to put up with high-pressure sales;
(4) Be fairly sure you want “in” before you pay anything- because it is near impossible to get out, certainly for a full refund!
We had wanted an upgraded hotel, authorized an additional $300– the hotel was full– though it took the 10-15 days they suggested, the $300 has been refunded.
Christmas blessings all.
I know I said I would stop posting on here because I am a bias opinion because i work for the cruise line but yes there was a fire on our ship and a lot of people were angry at us we were threatened to be sued, cursed out called every name in the book. Yet because we do actually care about our customers we listened, we tried to accommodate everyone and some left happy, others not so much.
Listen 500 plus comments of saying we are a scam is an opinion. However I personally respect that opinion. We call thousands per day thousands call in per day and a very low percentage of them take the package or the cruise so I think 500 plus bashing comments is pretty good all things considered. I mean carnival and royal carribbean and other mainstream cruise lines get thousands of complaints weekly. So yes we are absolutely a legit program. Yes our sales reps can be aggressive at times and I don’t agree with it, however you must understand they also get cursed at, threatened, and abused constantly and some of them are very new and can’t handle the rejection and unfortunately when they get to you they will probably not be in the best of moods. I mean remember you are dealing with a human not an automated voice. That human on the other end is doing their job and that human experiences emotions like you do.
A scam company would not have a customer care line, a scam would sell your information and drain your account without your permission a scam would not have a website and a scam would already be in prison because these days it’s not easy to get one over on you.
As far as not being able to get a refund goes. Well in the verification process you are told your package is non refundable after your statutory period described in the terms and conditions in your package. And also sometimes your package expires after you don’t use it for years. You are initially given 18 months to use your package sometimes you are given an extension sometimes you call and buy an extension. We are an honest company. Cut throat yes but every sales department is that way. Tough economies bring out the worst in people. The only thing that bothers me about this site is when people are called and they look at this site they think they are being “saved” from a scam when really they are reading opinions of agro customers or non customers who just didn’t feel like trusting us. Oh well. We are counting on you all to be there in the long run because we realize not everyone can be pleased. But the people who want our vacation read your site and ignore it they too come on here and say good things about us. Anyways I wish all of you a Happy Holiday and I apologize that we could not earn your trust or please you. Take care everyone no hard feelings.
Morgan/ Alex– thank you. I think what you offer is a very honest / fair / commendable reply. If nothing else, this conversation could translate into better business if management recognized how people are perceiving it… and the degree to which that reputation is either enhanced or jeopradized by access to global evaluation through web (etc.). (as alluded to earlier, my companies specialize in viral media enhancement- contributed to films for Disney, Walden, Warner Brothers, A&E, HBO, etc.)
As I’ve suggested, our 15th Anniversary trip begins in January. I hope to return with a favorable report. That said, as we may be a best-case scenario of your prospective clients (recognize value, have paid an agreeable $1000)– we already feel like we’ve been put through the wringer – in short, we have absolutely 0 interest in previewing, much less purchasing, any vacation packages…. If there’s any advice you can offer on minimizing if not eliminating this obligation, we would be most appreciative. Just don’t want to begin our trip together that way. Private contact: Greg@IDVidPro.com.
Thank you.
Wow. I am so glad i found this site. They’re even scamming kids! I am 19 and my buddy is 18 and they tried to scam us both. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this heads up dude. Thanks a million.
Just got that promotional call. Googled the cruse line. Found your post. Saved me anguish. Thanks bunches for the post!
Google is a life saver i stalled them while i looked them up glad I found this site!!
i just got off the phone with same company and spoke to Jennifer gibson and got put up to the same scam while making her wait fro me to google the source and came across this article !!! thanks fro saving me money
I am aware now that this is a scam. My banker told me that this is a fraudulent company. Has anyone ever been able to get their money back? I paid $516 and it was charged to my account while I was still on the phone with them!
😦
I am not nieve enough to believe that things are free. I did purchase the vacation for what I think is a fair and honest deal for what I will be receiving. “IF” I get what they said I will get. Here is the arrangement: 3 days 2 nights in Ft Lauderdale, 2 days(somewhat) 2 night Cruise, and 3 days 2 nights in Orlando. Plus 1 week of car rental. Plus 2 additional trips to either Las Vegas or Mexico. Transportation is not included. However food is and drinks are NOT. NOW, If i get to Florida and there is no hotel or boat or car then this is theft, which is a whole different set of rules. I guess the important thing to realize is, understanding what you are signing up for.
WIth that said: I hope I don’t get screwed.
I was going to a conference in Florida anyway, and had a few days at the end of my stay to fill up with something, so I eagerly accepted the “free cruise” offer. My experience was not so bad. In fact, for me, it was a good deal. As I already had my plans set, there was no physical way I could accept any add-on or extra nights in any hotels, so I wasn’t tempted by the high-pressure sales pitches.
The cruise itself was very good value. I took the cheapest inside cabin, and didn’t mind it at all. It’s about the size of a two-person room on an Amtrak train. That’s very small, but the price is also very small, so I was pleased. Perhaps the food and service on the cruise has improved, as I found everything to be of fairly high quality.
After paying for valet parking, buying photographs, some drinks, some extra (non-free) snacks, and so forth; and then adding in the fuel surcharge and gratuity fee, plus the $118 port fees, and $30 parking fee, it ends up that my son and I had a nice time for a total of $288. On Grand Bahama we rented a car from Celebrity Car Rental, right there where the ship puts in, for $70 plus a $25 fee for “dampness” on the seats (they should just advertise the price as $95 for a six-and-a-half hour car rental and avoid the scam-like “dampness” fee), paid $6 to enter the Lucayan National Park, $12 for gas, and $9 for facility use fees and lunch at Paradise Cove, so our total on-island expenses were $122. So, our total expenses from when we got on the ship on Wednesday mid-afternoon until we left the ship on Friday morning in the morning were $410. That’s for two people, on a two-night cruise. I think it was a good value. I had a great time.
My only complaints relate to the resellers who advertised and sold us this deal. First, they insisted that we drive all the way down to Ft. Lauderdale to get our tickets. We ended up staying a night there on the beach at the Sun Tower Hotel, and had a good time there playing in the ocean and touring the Bonnet House, but it would have been an awful hassle to go down to the Ft. Lauderdale Ramada Inn there to their visitor center just to exchange one voucher for another if we hadn’t anything else to do in Ft. Lauderdale. Also, I wish they would be honest and just say “this is a two-night trip for two to the Bahama’s that will cost approximately $220 for port fees, gratuities, parking, and a fuel surcharge, but will include all meals” instead of “free cruise”. It’s not a “Free Cruise” but it can be a very cheap and fun cruise.
Also, it’s clear that the quality of your experience with the people marketing the tour varies depending upon whom you talk to. I spoke to a polite salesperson, and had no reason to be interested in any upgrade or add-on, and so came away feeling I had a very, very good value for my experience. If you talk to a rude salesperson, or agree to add-ons or upgrades, you’ll evidently get a lesser value for your money.
My theory on deals like this is that the initial offer is the one with the best value for the customer, and all money (profit) is made by customers agreeing to add-ons and upgrades. If you as a customer stick to the bare-bones minimum initial offer, you’ll probably get the best value for your money.
Cheap cruise!
Clearly you bought their claim – hook, line and sinker..
Check the real cruise-line out there and you would have found you could have gotten more for less money from most of the major cruise lines out there.
If you pay $400+ plus for something that the general industry will sell you for $200+ you were ripped off even if you like what you got for $400. Scam is not if the cruise exists – it does.
The scam consists of the claims:
(1) That it is free cruise which it is not, you know that yourself but all the promotional material claims the cruise is free.
(2) The fees are well hidden on the promotional material. But even the fees are questionable. On none of my cruises and yes that includes the Bahamas I have never seen taxes so high on any of my statements. Also on all other cruise-lines gratuities are up to the guest to decide. IE you don’t have to pay them or you can reduce the rate or you can state a fix amount. It is *NOT* a requirement.
(3) The follow-up claim that it is a cheap cruise when by industry standards the rooms are sub-standard and the rates are higher than industry average. In-fact one can save money on this very same ship if you book the cruise thru the company that does own this boat instead.
Thank you So much for the article and all the comments following… I too received the call that promised a free cruise for completing the survey. I guessed it was too good to be true but I wanted to hear the pitch anyway. While the guy was talking I was surfing and found your article thank you for the confirmation, nothing for free and NEVER give CC info over the phone…
I got the same call . Take the survey and I would b contacted by a rep and I would receive a free cruise for two when they wanted me to give them money ip front then I had a suspicion that somethigng wasn’t rite I have taken many cruises before and never did I hear of carribean cruise lines there is a royal carribean I was told to pay $118 and I would b given a recorded reciept I didn’t pay itdone research it’s a scam
Thanks for all the awesome information! This was so useful tonite when I got the call this evening. They lure you in with 3 very generic “political questions” that most people would be more than willing to answer. I clicked over to receive my “free vacation cruise”. The lady was very pleasant and even indicated that her manager was on the line. She gave me lots of “security” numbers, call back numbers and lots of assurances that I would an email confirmation of everything that she was telling me. She said her name was Rachel Smith and her corp ID # was EN9857. She gave me the website http://www.2011getaway.com, and the customer service number 800-221-8200. She even gave me her direct number – 954-485-0608. She made it sound so transparent and completely legitimate. Everything was free including 3 gourmet meals per day and all I had to do was take care of the port taxes. And I could even bring up to 3 additional people! I have to admit, I was almost sucked in actually considered the offer!! I could have let my guard down – the rep sounded so sincere and convincing! All I had to do was pay the $59 per person for taxes. I work for a financial institution – and we always warn our clients not to give out any credit card numbers, social security numbers or account numbers to any solicitors over the phone. When I told the rep that if this fabulous offer required me to give my credit card number over the phone, I was not interested. She continued to reassure me that this was all above board that she understood my concerns and hesitation. She suggested I look up the website. I told her I was going to get my credit card and that gave me the opportunity to look up website and google Carribean Cruiseline. This is how I got to this blog and read the original post that created 561 comments! Awesome info! So glad I found it. When I returned to the phone and told her that I was not going to give her my card number and that I wanted to do a little more research, she was flabergasted! She could not believe that I would give up thousands of dollars worth of free offers. She said they only had 500 ” paid for cabins” that were cancelled and they were offering it only through this promotion and not available to the general public. She repeatedly went on about how safe and secure it would be and that we could call my credit card company to confirm where the funds went, etc. I insisted that under no circumstance was I going to give her my card and suddenly another voice came over the phone. It was the manager monitoring the call!. I told him that if this was a legitimate offer, they would let me register my number on a secure legitimate website. He was even more arrogant and insipid that I would not give my credit card number. When I told him that we advise our bank clients not to give out their credit card numbers to phone solicitors, he was beside himself. He was in disbelief that we would advise our clients of this! I explained that in my line of business I have seen so much fraud as a result of people letting their guard down in situations like this and i was not going to put myself in a position where I could compromise my personal finances. He started to get belligerent when I told him that I was not going to give my number.and he started raising his voice at me. He would not even let me speak – he was literally belittling me for walking away from such a great offer. I could not believe it! I finally had to hang up! I feel sorry for those that are very trusting and very easily influenced that probably end up giving in and ultimately lose money. This was nothing short of intimidation and if I was not a strong person, I probably would have fallen for it.
Just got the call. Luckily for me , I stumbled upon this blog before agreing to pay $118. Thanks so much for saving me. They almost had me.
Thanks for this post – very helpful! I almost bought their story – almost!
These guys tried to get me to pay the 118$ but they failed horribly. First I get a call at work about a political survey and a free cruise to the Bahamas if I participate in it. So I get excited and everything and I answer the political questions about the debt crisis. And they get me to hold for the free trip the the bahamas and at this point I’m so excited and thinking how lucky I am. it took really long to get a hold of a live person but once I did, I was like jumping up and down and just trying to keep my cool and stop being too excited because I’ll look like a lame lol. So anyways, the guy explains to me everything and I’ll not really paying too much attention to him because I was helping customers at my job but I got a good sense of what he was saying and I was just really waiting for him to ask for my address so I could get my tickets in the mail. When that wasn’t saying, I was think what the hell is wrong with them. Then I got started talking about taxes and I was like… Um that’s the government money so why do you want it? Your part is to give me the free cruise tickets and when I get there I can pay the taxes. The guy was like, Well we use to do that but now we do it this way. In my head, I was like wtf, these people are insisting that I give them the government taxes which is none of their business in the first place, so why are they so thirsty for it? Its not like it’s going to their pockets, but so I thought. I started to feel suspicious of this thing I “won” and I told the guy, I can’t believe you want me to pay 118$ and I basically made it sound I was suspicious of them and that they could be working from their basement and he got really scare and said, I’ve only been working here for 2 days and I’m not sure, let me transfer you to somebody else.
At this point, I kind of knew it was a scam but I wanted to have a little fun.
So another guy answers me and he also sounds pretty young like in his teens. I want to teach them a lesson so I told him why can’t I pay the 118$ when I board, why must I pay it over the phone right now?
I didn’t believe I won the travel, I just wanted to show them how stupid their “policy” was, it wasn’t even a legit company to begin with, so these little kids are so in experienced, he told me,
Well if you want to pay over there it will me more, $350
I was like wtf? Oh yeah, the tax will be more if I pay over there and cheaper if you pay over the phone? And I knew that was a lie. So I asked to speak with the highest level worker there and I get this got who was pretty inpatient and was like we use to do that but people were having such a good time that …something something and people were saying the won tickets over the phone when they got there and blah blah blah and something else
What he said made no sense get them my credit card information so I told him, I don’t feel comfort giving my credit card information over the phone ( I didn’t want them to know I knew their little basement scamming techniques, I just wanted to heard what excuses they used)
Then he was like well many businesses take credit card payments over the phone.
I told him, I really don’t know you or your company’s legitimacy, you could be anybody. Anyone could say their a carribean cruise agency.
He got really upset and knew I was not letting them get my credit card number. I think he knew I knew it was a scam and he basically hung up on me.
I was laughing after he hung up because they felt like I blew their cover lol.
Thank you to everyone who posted on this site, I was on the phone with the travel agent when a Google search brought up this gold mine of information.
Just completed vacation package. You can read part one at #525… the hard sell tactics. But we went through with it.
We were initially scheduled at the Ramada – the location of their Welcome Center… but reviews told me (and our eye-ball experience later confirmed) was quite the dive. We asked to be placed at the Sheraton (they typically charge $70/night extra… but in one of my conversations the guy promised me it for no extra… later they tried to charge me… we would have cancelled otherwise… bumped us conversation after conversation up to the top… grrrrrrr).
Ok– so we get to Ft. Lauderdale. Arrive at Ramade Welcome Center and they give us vouchers for meals and two hotel nights at Sheraton. We would get the rest at the timeshare location– about 45 minutes from our hotel.
Day 2– person sits down with you at breakfast and finds out stuff about you. It’s personal. Our lady, Amy- rocked… (though had to play the script with the boss at the end- we felt more sorry for her than anything else). The timeshare thing took 5 hours in spite of our saying “categorically NO!”… others said they got out in 45 minutes. Be firm with your NO! (perhaps give them facts as I’m sharing below). Basic advantages are seeing the world at low cost… possibly renting out your timeshare property and making money. At the end they’ll lay out all the advantages… show you a price of $24K, discounted to $20K… (NO!)… it will become $10K… (NO!)… how about $5K for a foreclosure property (NO!). At the end they’ll make you feel like it’s the deal of the century– that it’s an open door you don’t want to close… and when you persist, they’ll make you feel like you’ve hurt their feelings. Oh well.
THEN to get your vouchers for the cruise, they’ll tell you the printer is broken and send you back to the Ramada Welcome Center… where, you guessed it, they’ll feign sympathy for your experience and try to get you to come back the next/cruise day to the Ramada in exchange for a free VIP/get-on-board-right-away pass. Didn’t do it, didn’t need it.
TRUTH be told… once we passed through the timeshare hoop on Day 2, the pain was virtually over. We loved the Sheraton– spacious suites… great beds… beautiful indoor. The food was fabulous.
The cruise was really, really first-rate– super-clean, staff all very polite, professional, hospitable… food was great. The Bahamas were great… spent the $37/each for shuttle to their resort – a fabulous day in paradise on the beach… shops and food in walking distance. We returned to Ft. Lauderdale… got free food vouchers to Aruba restaurant– on the water– was fabulous food– great entertainment at night. Final full day we did the water taxi thing– great commentary on beautiful mansions and yachts… many places up the way to stop at… Las Olas art show, various markets, shops, restaurants if you’d like… all day taxi is $20/person (we got free vouchers for that also!).
Rough break down:
HOTEL including ALL MEALS: $598.
CAR ended up being about $67 total.
CRUISE was $15/day parking ($30 total).
Shuttle: $37/each ($74)
Port fees at $99/each ($198).
They added gratuity taxes at $12/day/person ($48) and gas fee (whatever).
Taxes and gratuity on food–
All-in-all, we had a fabulous time with Ft. Lauderdale Sharaton-Cruise-Ft. Lauderdale Sheraton 7 days, six nights, including car, cruise, meals… for around $1200 (obviously, not counting air fare)… chalk it up to a great 15th year wedding anniversary for a fairly reasonable price for a little pain.
Well, first I am happy that you had a great time.
Second, I think you pointed out what you need to do to get what you expect for your money – BE FIRM AT ALL TIMES. But my problem with that is other cruise lines don’t require you to be firm or go thru a time-share pitch.
Third, I still think you paid a touch too much. For what you have posted you should had paid under a thousand dollar. But that is a small detail.
On the other-hand they pitched you a ***FREE*** cruise and you end up spend $1200 after they finished talking to you.
I would like to just point out that I paid $1100 for my up and coming cruise with Carnival – Two weeks on the Carnival Liberty, eight stops including the Bahamas.
Aside from the timeshare pitch sounds like you had a good vacation. And you got your money’s worth too. Of course people will say you paid too much but I’d like to see them book at hotels pay for meals and a cruise and a rental car and drinks and gratuities on their own for under 1200.(not including air fare to be fair because we don’t pay the air) Yes the cruise was free aside from port taxes.
Ok let me break this down what people normally pay for the cruise and hotel rooms at standard fees. this is not for you but for those who don’t think you got a deal.
3 days two nights at a dumpy hotel for 2 people: $150-200 nightly =300-400
Crack ridden Motel prices $200-300
2 night cruise 118 port fees plus 150 per person per night =259 per night= 568 for 2 adults that is an easy $1000
All three meals during 7 day vacation stay (I pay about anywhere from 25-50 for 2 people when going out to eat so I’ll say the minimum 25×3 =75×7) $525
Ok I also would include how much the rental car is but we are already at $1925
and I also went discounted rates with expedia so yes you can probably get maybe 200 less. So with airfare(you are responsible for but if paying retail prices for the vacation you’re looking at over 3500) gratuities alcoholic beverages other vacation memorabilia and so on you are easlily looking to spend close to $4000 for a week long vacation.
OK so you have to sit in a timeshare presentation for a few hours on one day of the 7 days you are there. Yes it’s a pain in the ass but is it worth it? Yes. Say no to the timeshare no matter how aggressive you get. Take the deal and go about your merry way like some have posted about. Or hell even buy some timeshare if you are interested but that’s a big IF.
So you see we are not a scam. I spend all day and night going over numbers breaking down packages and retail vacations and believe me when I say unless you know people vacation is not cheap especially in warm places in the winter time. For those of you who think we’re a scam because of this site. Try looking up Disney too LOL you should hear the scam accusations on there. I mean look up everyone you should see how they are a scam. Infact google your name I’m pretty sure there are people out there who have bad things to say about you. Do not base your opinion off of a site based on accusations not fact. Or opinions of people who hung up on the salesperson because they came on this site and saw people complain about a vacation they never even went on or purchased.
Fellow Victims:
They nailed me last night for $ 685. and from what I’ve read above that hardly would be the end of it. After that phone call (yes I got the political survey lead in as well) I read all here and elsewhere.
Fortunately (I hope) I used a Capital One credit card for this and immediately canceled my credit card. Capital One is sending me a new card and of course, I disputed the charge as fraudulent. I reckon I could ring the Florida BB Bureau for their take but I see little value in contacting those pikers at Caribbean Cruise Line. I am sure they will soon be ringing me back anyway to re-hard sell me – and yes, they never mentioned the time share hell I’d likely face.
Hopefully, CapitalOne will tell them to go pound salt and that will be he end of this. By the way, I travel extensively overseas and of all the credit cards and credit card companies I have had and companies I have used, far and away my experience has taught me Capital One is the best – and they are the only major card provider that does not charge foreign transaction fees, something to keep in mind if you travel abroad.
I am following up on my own post here of January 12.
As CapitalOne cannot tell me for a couple of days now if they have declared the charge fraudulent, I did swallow hard and called Caribbean Cruise Lines to “cancel my Package.” thinking CapitalOne would ask if I had attempted to cancel the booking.
I am fully in awe and praise of Samantha, Post 305!!!!!
Do read that post in full.
I followed her instructions.
The first person I spoke with was in great shock and increasingly silent and voice raised, finally really, really rude…as I would only respond to her many many, many questions with “Thank you, but I want to cancel my Package.” Long silences. Mexican stand off. She finally gave up on me and transferred me, after a long hold, to their “Specialist.”
The next 30 minutes were a war of near silences and words. Of course, the Specialist said he could not at all help me at all unless I specifically stated why I wished to cancel. I must have said, ” I just want to cancel my Package”, twenty times.This went on and on. Looking for a way to make me feel guilty and to reconsider, he tried the A- rating from the Florida Better Business Bureau, why Internet complaints were unreliable, the success of 5000 happy customers….all the while I did not engage with him best as I could save to say, “I just want to cancel my Package”.
This was not Customer Service, this was Customer Abuse. My “Specialist” was an insufferable twit, someone sure to be cast in a low budget film wherein he would easily play, Chief Eunuch To The Queen.
He finally, I think, relented and said I’d receive a credit in full, in 7 business days and he would presently email me. I’ve not received such an email confirmation 24 hours later now so I have my doubts.
I do not know how “Caribbean Cruise Line” can possibly sustain this business model. It is fully abusive.
Scam is still running! Just got the call today!
Hung up when I googled the cruise line and found this post!
Thx y’all!
Beware!
If it sounds too good, it is!
Just now hung up on them after reading these posts. It has S C A M wrote all over it. Who could care less about their idiotic political survey asking what you thought of the financial dealings of the Republicans, Democrats, or our President. The survey is a doorway to hook you to their phone service. Telling you to pay a fee upfront for something you have not done yet is fraud. They keep the money themselves, it is not a port or entrance fee, it is a scam fee to pay their bills with. Never give your credit card number to some outfit of this caliber, they hope you never go and they keep your money. SCAM SCAM SCAM beware and hang up on them.
I too was scammed but never again! I paid the $118 up front from a now closed debit account (thank God it’s been closed for 6 months). I was trying to make reservations 10 months later (today) and lo and behold, every date we wanted was already booked up! Also, because we wanted to add a 3rd person; I was told I would not only have to pay $129 for the addl. person but also $99 cabin upgrade fee to accommodate 3 people because my “cabin” only had 2 beds in it! Talk about nickel and diming you!!! I am just going to count this as a stupid “purchase” even though the caller said “I had won a cruise”!! Don’t fall for this scam like I and a number of others have! If someone calls you to tell you, you’ve won a cruise; HANG UP IMMEDIATELY!!
I had this same experience, with a better ending. They asked me to fork over the money right after the survey ended, and I smelled a rat. I’m so glad that I said no, and then came looking online for confirmation that my decision was right. Thanks for posting this!
My husband and I fell into this a year ago and this week we fly out to Ft. Lauderdale and will see what happens. Gschlueter #570 Thanks, You sound legit and hopefully after the time share bit we will be able to enjoy a MUCH NEEDED vacation. We feel at least now that there will actually be a boat there! Who know what the trip will bring but either way we’re getting away from 3 degree temperatures! WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN – ALWAYS BOOK THROUGH A REAL LIFE TRAVEL AGENT!! wish us luck, at least we are going deep sea fishing in Ft. Lauderdale right when we get there! that will help with anything else to come!
Please tell us the details, as Gschlueter #570 showed it is still possible that you will have a good time. Just make sure they don’t talk you into a time-share.
Tell us both the good and the bad, and have fun.
Im going for it!
I’m going to take pictures and posting them when i come back. So yea I also got the call, but I payed $317 and I still have to order the flight, let’s see how much that’s going to cost…
So after reading most comments I have come to an understanding that the few people that actually went on this trip say it was ok or decent but a little “ghetto”. And the people that are having the real problem are the ones who are trying to get there money back.
So I came to a decision of just taking the trip. I don’t really want to go threw the headache of getting my money back, and $317 is not really all that much. I’m booked for last week of march. staying at the hotel then the cruise. So I know what I should be expecting from the comments. So to put some ease on peoples mind I’m going to post pictures, or anything else anyone ask me to.
I’m Crossing my fingers on this one.
Thank you for the article. I only wish I had read and researched before I fell for this scam. Thankfully by fiance was there to warn me before I really damaged myself and money more.
This is definitely a scam and I am appealed at how people can be so dishonest with people and lie straight to them. I have a similar story to many of the others who posted about them and all the good things they tell you. When I was almost to the last process of verifying everything I stopped because my fiance said not to go any further.
As soon as I told them I wasn’t going to go through with it anymore they all of a sudden starting offering me even “more deals” and bonus trip, airfare..and bla bla bla. trying to get me to stay with the trip. When I repeatedly told them “NO” and said I wanted my money refunded immediately they got extremely rude and just put me on hold. After a minute or so the guy who I first talked to who I thought was so nice and caring came on and was like “looks like we’re done..goodbye” he was about to hang up on me when I said I wanted some kind of confirmation about my refund and he was like “there is none..you’ll just get it ” and hung up! I couldnt’ believe the sudden rudeness and deceit these people do.
Thankfully I called my bank immediately and explained the situation. Thankfully one of the payments was taken off and the others have not been processed.
It is a scam! Never give your information over the phone…research anything and everything first!
I just went thru the same thing. I decided to take a chance but changed my mind right before the final confirmation with their “legal department” and as you stated the original guy was rude with me. I actually came across this page while on hold and changed my mind. I checked my account and was surprised they already ran the charge thru which I thought wasnt going to happen until after my final confirmation. I called my bank immediately after I got off the phone with them. Unfortunately, they cant do anything right now cause the transaction is pending. The agent did say they would just refund my money. We will see. Hopefully my bank will reverse this charge.
Alex(Morrigan)
So you work for this company. Fantastic.
How do I get your company to stop calling me. I do not care about your “free” cruise. The only Ramada I’ve ever stayed in was in Qatar, and I plan to keep it that way. I am far outside your demographic.
I still get phonecalls every other day. No matter how many times I ask to be removed. Scam, no scam, at this point I don’t care, I just want the phone to stop ringing. I have stopped being polite. I have started getting more aggressive with the sales people than I have with anyone in my life. Ever. Being polite didn’t work, and I was afraid these people, likely paid minimum wage, would just screw me over with more calls if I was a raging jerk, but hey, 4 months of bi-weekly calls (occasionally bi-daily calls) will make anyone want to fly to Florida and ring the neck of every single employee he can find.
This is still running.
I was just cold-called by a machine for a “30 second survey” Okay, it was a 90 second survey, but sure.
Using your touch tone telephone please answer the following questions.
1. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best and 1 being worst, how do you feel the democrats in the house and senate are handling the debt crisis.
2. On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you feel the republicans in the house and senate are handling the debt crisis.
3. On a scale of 1 to 5, how do you feel the president is handling the debt crisis.
Please stay on the line.
My concerns were slightly darker than what they evidently are actually doing. I wasn’t sure I was talking with anyone with any type of connection to any type of service. For all I knew it was a kitchen full of literal fly-by-night operators with a phonebook.
So, the first salesman, let’s call him Earl, gets to the part about port fees. I go from wary to alarmed and he hasn’t even asked for my CC# yet.. So he got his supervisor. Let’s call him Eric.
So, free ticket. Would my political representatives risk their political careers by giving out my contact information to a shady operation.
Look at the web site, (http://2012getaway.com/), would any of these other companies let their good name be dragged through the mud by a scam?
Do I really think they’d risk their business license to wipe out a credit card? It’s just not worth it.
All this time, I’m first doing a whois search on the URL, (okay, it’s registered to a company that is at least operating under the same name and has a mailing address in Florida,) but it needn’t be associated with the people I’m talking to.
He assures me the call is being recorded, so they don’t dare do anything wrong, but I have only his word for the recordings existence, or existence past this Saturday.
They give me a phone number to call to verify they exist, (I could hear someone behind him reading off the number to him, hence the plural), (“if anyone answers the phone and doesn’t say ‘Caribbean Cruise Lines’…”) but haven’t satisfied they actually work for whatever company might hold that number….or that it isn’t the cell of someone else in that phone bank…
So I Googled the number. Wow. Lots of people are reporting it as a scam.
I passed on this “great” offer. Maybe I passed up on the deal of a lifetime, but I answered the phone with three things in mind. I wasn’t going to give out any financial information. I wasn’t going to give out any tax information. I wasn’t going to agree to anything binding.
HOWEVER. At no point were either of the people I spoke with rude. Pushy, yes. Insulting, no. Quick to engage in small talk when I seemed ready to bolt. (“So, where are you? ? Oh, where? , Is that near ?,” “No, that’s in ” “Oh, well, you see I’ve been there. My brother used to play Minor League… You have some freaky weather during…” To which I really have to agree.
I’ll just have to see if they call back. It’ll be a waste of their time and phone line if they do.
Thanks so much for this! I just got off their phone survey and now I know exactly what to do when they call me later!
Odd… I recently returned from a decent vacation (granted, there were some headaches in the road)… but I found this article to be insanely overstated…
I too paid the 118 processing fee, and actually received my email and audio receipt before hanging up the phone with the solicitor.
In the issue of the blackoutdates, I was told my blackouts would be December 24-Jan. 03, and all major Holidays, and that I would only be able to travel for the discounted price on days when those particular cabins had vacancy, if I gave a 60 day notice… God, lot of technicalities here, but I adhered to em carefully and managed to schedule for 1/20, giving my notice around Thanksgiving day. Seemed silly to have to schedule that far in advance, but after taking the trip, I was able to see the savings, and that redeemed the notice and blackouts issue a bit…
As for the commenter saying the cruise ship is a converted ferry that is utter nonsense. It was a gorgeous boat, rank it easily with the luxury of your average resort or hotel… The casino was quite tempting, but haivng withheld, I did enjoy myself in the nightclub, the dining was excellent (and actually WAS included), the staff courteous, and my kids were very well taken care of in the child supervision area, both of which had a blast. Id like to see a converted ferry anywhere near the size of the nightclub alone. Granted again this wasnt the single largest ship Id ever cruised on, but it also was by no means the smallest, and the staff was wonderful. Im not entirely convinced the liner itsself is tied to the people making these phone calls, as the quality of the sales vs. the contrast of the ship was remarkable, and none of the staff I spoke to were aware that any ‘free cruise’ soliciting was being done in the ships name.
I believe the true scamming occurs here when you begin to upgrade the initial package.
I found out a single person ticket + bunk on the ship normally would have cost me 75 dollars… So in all… the savings werent as spectacular as they made them out to be, and I rpboably would have ended up overpaying had I tried to upgrade my trip.
Dont talk bad about the cruise ship itsself though, its very clear most of the people posting here about converted ferrys have probably never been anywhere near the ocean, much less a ship of that quality.
I too have been on this cruise. These people keep bashing the cruiseline, but it is NOT the cruiseline making this offer to the public. It is an authorized agent of theirs.
The agents arent as bad as this article portrays either though, I finally had the patience to weed through posters bad grammar, and I can see alot of instances where he was clearly confused about the offer being made to him, but the BIG thing I see, like I stated in my post up there, is that he gave 30 days notices instead of the 60 I gave, and that the sales rep asked me to provide… If you follow the terms and conditions listed on Carribean’s Cruises website, there is no trouble I can see with this offer… I dont know why he feels he was scammed when he clearly didnt read the fine print I took the time to peruse, and didnt listen as clearly as some of us did while he was on the phone.
Im not sure what your saying about the offer… They do discuss the terms of it on the cruise lines website, so Id assume they are at least aware companies use this sort of promotion…
The part of this that really disgusted me though was the line about the converted ferry… Gorgeous ship, overshadows palm beach when it pulls into port lol… And those were some of the friendliest staff Ive dealt with on any vacation, at sea, or on land.
I was recently lured into this scam and I just want you all to know YOU CAN GET YOUR MONEY BACK! I called them back the next morning (I actually called back 10 minutes after my call ended and they were conveniently “closed”) and I said I wanted to cancel my package and I wanted a full refund. I talked and argued with them for 45 minutes but I did not give up. I basically just kept saying “I want to cancel and I want a full refund.” They told me so many lies. You can’t believe anything they say. Just stay on the phone until they agree to give you your full refund. I did this and they finally said I’d receive my full refund in 5-7 days. I still had my doubts but today I received my full refund and I am happy. These are some things that were said so you know what to expect and what not to believe.
1. Transfered me to people higher up 3 times.
2. Argued and tried to make me feel guilty
3. Said it was against policy to get a refund or cancel
4. Said my money was already transferred to the cruise and I could only get part of it back.
5. Said I had to keep the cruise but I could get part of my money back and finish paying later.
6. Said the state I was calling from had different laws and I was not required to get a refund.
ALL of the above were lies and I wouldn’t even listen to what they were saying. I just said, “I know you can get me a full refund and I know that the law entitles me to a full refund.” And they just kept saying BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. But FINALLY they said I could get the full refund and he asked me for the last 4 digits of my card number and they in a few days I called back and they said that my file had just gone through the accounting department and my refund would show up soon. It showed up the next day 🙂 DON’T GIVE UP!!!! I cancelled my card in this whole process just to be safe, but I don’t think it was really necessary. But I wasn’t sure at the time.
They are now using the website http://www.2012getaway.com/ I got the call from 202-599-8502 and had a similar story to those above. I was skeptical from the get go so I didn’t spend anything. Glad to know that I was right in doing so.
Caribbean Cruise Line
2419 E Commercial Blvd
Suite 100
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
954-567-9353
Got the call about 5:00 for the survey. Man I feel gullible, I listened and went along until they asked for my credit card. I wanted to research it and found your post – thankfully. They are supposed to call me back in 15 minutes – needless to say, I will NOT give them anything. I hate they have my email address and phone number now.
Just got a call from them with the same story, quick survery and then free cruise. I played along knowing very well that this was all a scam, as i talked to the representative i searched the company and like many others all i saw were scam warnings. Also i could tell from the backround that this man was clearly not working from any office. I asked him similar questions that most people have been asking already and they seem to have answers for everything but his lack of confidence was anything but reassuring. They already knew what state i was from so apparently it was a special deal in Nevada, i think not. As many people have aready stated here please be aware of these scams, and as everyone already knows if its too good to be true, it is! These people make money on the sole fact that there are people out there that would believe just about anything. Remember over the phone i can claim to be anyone i want to be and youll never really know so NEVER give out any information about you especially a credit card number to a complete stranger. Well that was my rant, i hope everyone will become more aware of these types of scams. Infact just to prove a point i called 4 random numbers on my roommates phone and told them i represented the animal cherities of america (wich is a legitimate orginization) and to make a long story short i got one person out of the four to donate 1 dollar to save a cat, so i managed to get a credit card number with almost no effort. Of course i informed them of my intentions but point being nothing in life is free.
Avoid this company ‘Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Bahamas Celebration at all cost!! They are clearly in complete violation of the laws and have no respect of the laws or anyone’s personal well being. After being on the end of continous misrepresentation of my actual booking I have tried cancelling my vacation (as once you try and confirm your dates) there is always something new that they never originally disclosed, they are now refusing to refund my money.
Even after the fact that i’ve reminded them that I paid for the vacation and come to an agreement based on a certain set of terms ‘which I’ve now learnt today don’t actually exist’ this is clearly a Fraudulant misrepresentation of the facts! After spending nearly 4 hours on the phone with them they have confirmed that there is no way I’m getting a refund even though they have breached Florida State Laws pertaining to the ‘Traveler Sellers Act’. I threatened legal action and reporting them to the Florida Attorney General and they clearly did not care! I’m now going to inquire about taking possible legal action against this company. It is not the money that I’ve lost that is provoking this, it is purely the principle of the fact that they think they can mislead and steal from consumers with no repercussion. THIS NEEDS TO STOP IMMEDIATELY…I’m almost certain that Florida’s Tourism can not be benefiting from this type of deplorable behaviour. I welcome anyone who is trying to recover monies from this company to join me in taking this matter further and ensuring that they do not continue to take peoples money.
If I had the extra money to take them to court I would. I totally agree that they are scam artists, they need to be stopped. Good luck in the matter, I hope someone sues them and they go out of business (and hopefully don’t reopen under a different name).
To have fun or not to have fun
Yesterday right before I was about to get of work, I received the 3 question political survey . I picked 5 for the first 2 questions – all the options givin as to why the economy sucks and what the solutions are weren’t right. I could only select 1 to approve or 2 to disapprove of Obama, so I selected 1 because the country hasn’t gone into a civil war. These questions were followed up by a free cruise offer. Never having gone on a cruise the idea baited me in and before I could hang up I was on the line with a very savvy salesman.
After luring my right side brain in more and more, I discover that I have to pay $118 for port fees. This is beginning to unfold into the scam that my right side brain perceived it to be. I asked the salesman repeatedly if I could call back after I thought about this, but of course if I hung up then I couldn’t get the free cruise! At this point the scam became a game and I told the guy, “OK, I’ll pay the port fees, but if I don’t want to actually take the cruise then I’ll just cancel the charge on my credit card.” … “Sure you’re not going to want to do that once you see what our cruise is all about.” So I went ahead and gave the guy my credit card info. Of course everyone at work is laughing their asses off at this point.
So then came more strings and nets – packages, trips to Las Vegas, Puerto Vuerta, basically all the stuff everybody is describing on this blog. The funniest string was that you have to pay $4-$12 per person for cruise fuel cost if the price of a barrel of oil is more than $40. Is that an empty or full barrel? Another comical one is that the room was only 84 square feet and supposedly 4 people could share this (Ok do-able but I suppose to be on a vacation, not on a naval submarine).
I figured out the thing wasn’t a flat out scam when I called carribean cruises corporate line and then got ahold of the sales agent I had been talking to on another line.
What sold me was the fact the Cruise Carribean would take the necessary precautions in the event that the ship encountered dangerous conditions while at sea. So I ended up going with a $700 package that included ocean view windows and won me 3 free nights at the Gold Nugget in Vegas! It really took the stress out of the situation when Carribean Cruise recorded me agreeing and sales guy agreeing to my cancellation policy.
So its now today, I realize that the clock has begun to tick for me to cancel this. So I did. I didn’t even have to cancel the transaction through my credit card company. I simply called carribean cruise’s customer care line – 1800 221 8200, at twenty minutes later I record an agent of their’s saying that the entire funds will be refunded in 7-10 business days.
In my opinion this isn’t a flat out scam, and some people might actually enjoy the cruise. However, as I discovered there are many strings attached, and many unknowns (the food – would I actually like it? – probably I just about anything). The biggest thing that turned me off was just how the salesman forced this upon me. If I would have been given the chance to hang up and call back a day later, then I have been marking off a cruise on my calendar. It doesn’t help when salesmen attack your emotions with lures of fun and blame you logic for not wanting to take such a good deal. Nonetheless, the cruise seems to be a good deal, so if you want to put up with the strings, incoveniences, and unknowns go for it. For me the risk of being stressed out by this outweighed the opportunites of having fun.
P.S. Thank you Carribean Cruises for entertaining me for 2 hours!!!
WOW, i took the survey a week ago and never went on the website,,, been two busy. then i kept getting calls from a 1-888 # and it would just hang up so ignored them. then this morning i answered and it was the carribean cruise, they almost had me, the women was really nice but i was skeptical. the Free cruise isn’t really free and it was only for two nights on the ship and one day on the island, Im not paying all these port fees to go on an island for one day and sit on a cruise ship for two. plus i would have to pay for my plane ticket just to get to florida… Lucky i asked her to hold and accidently hung up on her.. they found all these comment you guys wrote. So happy i didn’t get suckered in.. It really didn’t feel like a good trip anyway. Hope they stop calling me now !!
That group of scammers is still running exactly the same scam, in February of 2012. I find that surprising. This evening, I got a very convincing political survey call – convincing in vocal tone, but not convincing in that it had only three questions. For only 3 button clicks I got a free cruise?? The same “cruise” details were given to me as in the original blog post here. In fact the guy I spoke with did the same asking of his manager, hemming and hawing, pausing, contradicting himself, and pressuring me to sign up today, today, today only. It took me at least a half hour on the phone to decide for sure they were con men (putting me on a ferry and calling it a cruise ship qualifies in my book).
Here’s the funny part:
I live near Seattle, and they said they were calling from Orlando. The supposed “agent” and his “manager” told me how tired they were several times, that they were past the end of their shift. Later they said it was now half an hour past their quitting time – that their shift ended at 11, but now it was 11:30. I suppose they were trying to guilt me into committing right away. (Women are such softies who want to keep everybody happy, right? Not this woman.) I did not hand over my credit card information and instead hung up. I glanced at the clock – it read 9:15 (pm). For those of you who might not realize the hilarity in this, Pacific Time is three (3) hours earlier than Eastern Time. If it’s 9:15 pm in Seattle, the true time in Orlando can only be 12:30 am.
So glad I came across this site, definitely just missed a huge scam!
When I was first contacted by this company, I didn’t have internet service…I asked a million questions to try and get some answers from these people. Pretty much everything they told me was a lie, I didn’t know that at the time, I ordered the extended stay package, put a small sum of money down for the week, a few days later I got online and did some research, but it was too late. long story short, after two days on the phone with the customer service there (if you can call it that), the guy was so frustrated with me continually saying that I just want to cancel, that he told me I didn’t have to pay any more for the trip, the rest was free, said he “upgraded” my cabin, extended the period of time I could redeem the package, amongst other free things. I got a confirmation letter and voucher.. I don’t know if I should still take the cruise, knowing it’s obviously a scam, probably a really horrible trip, but it’s florida, I could really use some time away from work, and some sunshine.
I was an idiot and I paid for it sounded good told him that I would love to do it but I have to talk to my husband, and he was like If my wife passed this up I would be mad. so let’s get you started and he said it would be a good vacation for when my husband get home from over seas and a good time for us to relax. BUMMER it’s a scam I’m pissed off like no other and I will go the distance to get every penny back or more if they don’t want to refund me.
omg omg I won a free cruise! and I won a free BBQ and a free home secuirty system! All from random numbers calling me over the last month. All of which numbers are not in service if called back. If you’ve been getting strange calls from scammers this is one of them. You are not alone.
Got a phone call last week asking to partake in a survey in result of a free cruise to the Bahamas. They called back tonight for accommodations. The best part was the script he was reading to me. “One thing I can tell you to make sure you bring, is your appetite, and your baggy pants HAHA(with fake laugh)” That entertained me. Yes he finally hit me with the $59 departure tax. I asked him why the charge when I was promised FREE cruise. So far, he had an answer to all questions. I finally asked him if I could call back since I wasn’t comfortable giving money over the phone. He said this was a one notice per household deal, but they had called several times today. He eventually just hung up for no reason. Lesson learned: Nothing in this life are free! BTW the number that called me was 18888422495, Someone please call these guys and give them hell, they have it coming.
O geez! I fell for it. Wish I would have seen this post before I gave them credit card info. Didn’t really think I would get a call after the survey but I did. Didn’t sound bad $118. No problem gave her my card number. Then she started trying to up sell the package. And I said o that’s the catch! I told her I wasn’t interested anymore and she seemed a little miffed but said I would get a refund for the $118. I plan on calling my card company just in case. Why can’t they just be honest and say they want to offer a discount vacation?
Ok I have absolutely had it with people claiming they were scammed by this company and got nailed by us.
You made a conscious decision to read your credit card number not once but twice for authorization. Who’s fault is that? Did a representative come to your house in the middle of the night with a gun threatening to kill you if you didn’t give them your credit card number?
The answer is no.
Do you go to a store and purchase something with your credit card thinking it won’t be charged that day?
The answer is no.
When you have bought something at a store even if you haven’t opened or used what you purchased for I don’t know lets say about 6 months and try to return it does it not say on the receipt that you only have a certain amount of time before you can return it?
The answer is yes.
Just because you made a decision to purchase something and got buyers remorse doesn’t mean you were scammed.
A scam will drain your bank account the minute you give your credit card info without your permission. (that does not include you having insufficient funds at the time of purchase) They wouldn’t have a customer service line and you would never hear or receive anything from them.
Just because you don’t like a sales pitch doesn’t make it a scam. You get everything you pay for. Hidden charges you say? Well not only is it in your audio receipt that you are responsible for taxes gratuities and transportation. It’s also in your package that you either receive online or in the mail.
Seriously guys. When are you going to grow up and realize you aren’t innocent victims? Every single day I hear you guys call and complain threatening us with lawyers threaten to go to the press because you made a conscious decision to pay for something and didn’t want it later. I mean we don’t have any pending lawsuits and do you want to know why that is? Because no laws were broken. No rights have been violated. No representative or employees working for us are in jail for fraud. We are not con artists.
There are no real actual reports out there besides a bunch of people online badmouthing us stating we are actually a scam. Do you want to know why that is? Because we are not a scam.
I looked for news reports and media and saw nothing of us being a fraudulent company, I saw nothing. The only thing I see is a bunch of people who really have nothing better to do come on websites like this(and there really aren’t that many besides 2 other websites that state this of yet more people who have nothing better to do) and complain and moan and whine.
Get real.
Oh and by the way I know for a fact that some of you are ex employees who got fired and feel like badmouthing the company because you know the script. You will find another job I promise you. But seriously get a life.
It is a scam. Deceptive practices
They try to make it appear that a person one a prize, when the fact is they hand those phoney tickets to any name/address they can latch on to.
They are payment focused.
The boat also uses phoney pictures in advertising instead of the real product.
Many Times these shady companies bilked massive amounts of Money over decades before there is a drop of investigation.
buyer Beware
I just took the “survey”. I knew it sounded too good to be true but I actually waited online to talk to someone. Everything sounded good until she asked to charge 118.00 to my credit card for port taxes and I hadn’t even booked a specific date. The suggested I look up their website—so I did. I also went to ask.com and searched for Caribbean Cruise Line scam and thank goodness I got this site. When the lady came back to me after having me on hold for a while, I was able to tell her that I did a search on her company name and it wasn’t good—so I was no longer interested. She didn’t even try and convince me I was wrong…….
I can’t believe anyone would fall for these scams.
IF you Paid. Call your CC and dispute the charge ASAP.
If you cannot get your money back then learn the lesson.
Please don’t make it worse by actually going on this miserable sub-standard cruise and spending even more cash on your incidentals and travel.
Your best bet is avoid putting yourself into these risk positions. 1) Opt-out of junk mail 2) Do not call Registry and STOP giving out your personal info.
Stop falling for the contests, free prizes, surveys and the other little greedy bait dangled in front.
By taking precautions, you are being green, less trees killed for junk mail, less stress no calls during diner and your head will be clear to focus on your real life.
I filled out the survey our of curiosity. I was well aware that this was probably a scam. I only gave them my name and my junk email. So I thought it was fine. It says they will call me within 72 hours. I am excited for the call but I don’t know what I should say to them.
You probably already got the call by now, and asked what you should say. Well this is for you and anyone else that reads this post. I got the survey call and they are doing better now. They transfer you directly to a live person as soon as the survey is completed. I knew it was a scam from the start. How could they give a free cruise because I answered three political questions.
Anyway, after the glowing description of the boat, the staff, the food, the entertainment, on and on and on… I waited until they asked my credit card info. When I said I would prefer to send a check because I don’t want to give out my credit card number to someone who called me, she said they can’t do a check. She offered to put a “supervisor” on the phone to assure me that it would be okay to give my credit card number. I told her I don’t care who she puts on the line, I will not give my credit card number.over the phone; she then hung up.
NEVER, EVER, NEVER give any personal information to anyone who calls you by phone. NO ONE, no banker, no one from the IRS, NO ONE. Anyone that asks for this information by phone is a scammer if they made the call. – Rennie Gabriel, CLU, CFP UCLA Instructor, Author of “Wealth On Any Income” – 12 steps to financial freedom.
You’re right. I recieved the same free voucher and asked to put down $59 for port taxes. I asked them if I could call them after 5 mins they said its one phone call per household. I asked them million of questions for fun and hung up on them lol I knew they were a scam! Be careful guys! Don’t give out your credit card number right away!!
Very useful information…was about to call them to claim my sweet vacation….i think ill take a rain check…the handful of positive reviews i think are people that are linked to them who post in order to make the “cruise” seem more believable….anything too good to be true is worth some research….thanks for the information guys
Thank you for this post. Two years later and I got the call. As the telemarketer spoke, I googled “cruise survey scam” and found your blog. I hung up and avoided the embarrassment of being scammed (and out $$118!). They are now using 2012getaway.com.
I got a similar offer from Carribean Cruise Line and thanks to all of you for your valuable comments. It helped me make an informed decision to stay away from the too good to be true offer.
I got one of their “survey” calls this evening. It was clear that it was a scam, but what I like to do in situations like this is keep them on the line as long as possible, figuring that it will reduce the amount of time they have for talking with other potential victims. After I’d asked several questions, the person on the line said I’d need to talk with his supervisor; so I kept her on the line for several minutes, and after more questions she said that she needed to have _her_ supervisor talk with me. So I talked with him for a while, and at one point he asked what state I was calling from; I replied “don’t you guys have caller ID?” and he said “I’m sorry, we’ll need to offer this to somebody else”, and he hung up on me.
Someone called me a few hours ago from (202)644-8398. He said he was with Caribbean Cruise line. I initially took an economy survey, which I didn’t mind. I never believe anyone trying to give me something for free. So when he said there was a fee without me even seeing any free tickets, I knew it was a scam. I even asked him while I was on the phone. he told me that they were a well known cruise line. That doesn’t mean shit to me! I searched this while on the phone and kept asking for his name before I gave up and hung up. Real or not, NEVER GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER TO ANYONE. They can kiss my skeptical ass. I have student loans to pay for anyway. No time for a trip.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to these posts! I also just got the survey call and was told I would qualify for the Bahamas cruise. I was immediately skeptical, but it is election season after all so I thought, well maybe…my first question to the overly enthusiastic guy on the phone was, “So, is this a scam?” He was immediately defensive and that was my first clue. I heard him out while I googled, and found this website just as he was getting to the credit card part. I told him it was a very clever scam and that he should be ashamed of himself. Then I hung up. It’s really scary that based on this website, this scam has been going on since 2010!
Thank goodness for the internet! I was just on the phone with this “company”. When he told me the website couldn’t be googled, so I googled “caribbean cruise line scam” and this site came up! Guess he’ll have to find another sucker!
loneguy36@yahoo.com.
I think mine is more interesting cuz I received a BOARDING PASS and a Travel Credit Voucher of $1300. Everything is of high quality material and look so genuine that I was about to fall for it. I wish I know how I can scan the docs they sent me. Lol no one will believe its a scam. Could anybody tell me how I can put a scan of these doc cuz I want the public to see
loneguy36@yahoo.com
For me there was no survey it was just a mail with a boarding pass in my mailbox.
It’s March 2012 and they are still going with this scam which only means – it’s still working. I sent a warning email out to all my peeps on this one. Thank you all for sharing and forewarning. I admit, they almost got me and I’m a skeptic about everything. Thank goodness for the internet!
DO NOT DO IT!!! I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE. i was buying into it until my Spidey sense told me to get on the internet WHILE I had him on the phone with me!!
It was this site that came up first in Google search of Bahama Cruise line. When I told him no thanks, he started in with “Oh no, don’t look at that page, look at the link THAT I SEND YOU”…..????? WHAT????
I quickly hung up the phone!!
Remember, IF IT SEEMS TO GO TO BE TRUE, IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sam
blkpylut@comcast.net
What I don’t understand is the government has its finger in everyone’s pie yet can’t have a fraud dept to go after people like these who very clearly are not running a legitimate business and who’s soul job is to rip people off!
Several years later, they’re still going strong. I received a call from PO America (503-902-8103) with a brief survey (3 questions) about our current political state, then was transferred to Caribbean Cruise Lines for my “free 2-day 2night cruise to the Bahamas.” I was treated very fairly by the representative, Tommy Robinson #kb6670. I was told all the same things, $118, had to provide own transportation to the port in South Florida, 18 months to go, whatever whatever. I was skeptical because I kept hearing people in the background. At first I assumed it was the normal humm of a call center, but then it sounded like he was calling from a house or something with people screaming and laughing, and making sound effects. He was clearly reading from a script, and when I said I didn’t feel comfortable giving my credit card information over the phone, he said he’d speak with a supervisor and see if there was a way he could waive my fee today. I was put on hold (there was a professional advertisement for the company during the hold), and was transferred to a gentleman reading the same exact script (“wouldn’t jeopardize the agreement with Mastercard and Visa we worked so hard to get for a couple hundred dollars. That would be ridiculous”). He gave me this website to double-check the authenticity: 2012getaway.com. When I tried to click through it though and book a trip, it would default to a “Server Error”, which led me to believe the website wasn’t fully set up. He kept asking why I was skeptical and I explained that my boyfriend had previously been scammed by someone claiming to work for the IRS, and he replied that that person should be in jail, and that they were nothing like that. I really did believe him, and maybe it wasn’t a scam in the sense that it was a couple people calling from their home to get all of the money out of your account. But seeing the hassle and experience that several of you have encountered leads me to believe it IS still a scam, just a legal one because they actually do deliver….once you pay out the butt in extra fees. Anyway, I told him I didn’t have my credit card on me and asked if I could call them right back, he said he’d pass my promotion on to another caller, but that I could try. I received the same callback number of 1-800-221-8200. He seemed pretty ticked off and dismissive at that point, and I was the one to tell him to have a great day. He said “Yeah, bye.” Pffft.
So add these numbers and website to the list of Caribbean Cruise Line Scam:
http://www.2012 getaway.com
1-800-221-8200.
Erika,
You don’t have to lie and say you don’t have your credit card. If they are a legitimate organization they would NOT be calling you and asking for a credit card number over the phone. ONLY scammers do that. When I said I do not give my credit card number over the phone to anyone, “Dorothy” said I should speak to her supervisor. I said it doesn’t matter who you put on the line, I will not provide a credit card number over the pone. She then just hung up on me. NEVER GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER OVER THE PHONE TO ANYONE THAT CALLS YOU! This and more tips on avoiding frauds and scams are in my book– Rennie Gabriel, CLU, CFP, author Wealth On Any Income.
Just got the political survey call today, then transferred to this lady, she droned on about things, I immediately said are you looking for money. She do you think we are trying to scam you, I said just answer the question, she said she needed money for the tax. I told her why would I give you money to hold something that is supposed to be free for 18 months? Then I hung up on her. Hope they enjoy their visit to Washington State where I will be taking them to small claims court, where they aren’t allowed to have a lawyer. FYI I’m actually pretty good at pro se civil litigation. I beat the crap out of a bank in court, and prevailed pro se.
I really hope you get this company good! They are legal scam artists and need to be stopped, please proceed! I plan on complaining to the better business bureau and if I had the chance I’d take them to court too!
I just wanted to comment about how much of a scam this is. Before signing up I looked up the survey company that had called me and they seemed really legit so I decided to proceed with signing up with the company. When I signed up they requested a payment for “port fees” of 59 dollars per person. I figured well, fair enough. After paying they promised to send a package in the mail 14-21 days later. I waited and even gave it extra time just in case it got lost in the mail or something. Around a month or so later I still hadn’t recieved a “package.” The only thing I had recieved was a letter stating that I could go online and confirm stuff for the cruise. I eventually started to wonder about stuff and began researching stuff online (what I realize now is that I should have done more research in the first place). So, I called my credit card company and tried to dispute it. They said they did not know what the terms/conditions were with cancelling with the company until they researched it. My credit card dispute department called the company with me and listened as I talked with the Carribean Cruise Line Company/Celebration Cruise Ship “supervisor” and said that I would normally only be able to dispute the claim under Florida law for 30 days. He also told me that since I live in Ohio the law is different and I would only have something like one week after purchase and that I was past both of these time frames. He asked why I hadn’t called to cancel earlier if I had a problem. I told him I was waiting for this supposed “package” he then told me that the “package” was a website they had set up for me to look at/register on. He then proceeded to tell me that this was the “package,” (which I had not been informed when I purchased this cruise) and he then started to degradingly speak to me and asked if I understood what 21 days was, then proceeded to tell me that it was three weeks as if I was stupid and did not know how many weeks 21 days add up to. Since they were aware of the time frame in Ohio as being only a week to cancel, how would I even know to cancel if I’m still waiting on the package? He continued to have an attitude when I told him that I had not been informed of this nor was I informed of the fuel surcharge. I asked why I had been told (by the sales representative during the time of purchase) that this company was unrelated to timeshares since I’d had a bad experience in the past dealing with timeshare-type organizations. He claimed on my particular cruise I would not have to sit through a presentation so that is why I was not told of this either. I then asked why the company has been deceptive and why there were so many complaints with the better business bureau and he said that Walmart even has more and I explained to him that of course they would since they are a bigger company. I began to get irritated with his disregard for me and my concern and how he was talking to me and I started to speak back to him with the same tone but did not swear since typically I don’t really use those type of words too often. He then got more of an attitude and started saying he couldn’t help me and that I should feel something to the effect of disappointed with what I was saying and that I should not use profanity. I then proceeded to ask him what “profane” word I had used and he would not answer the question (since he knew that both I and my credit card dispute rep who was on the call with me were aware I had not used any foul language). I continued to ask him which “word” I used and he could not come up with one but continued to talk over me and kept ignoring what I was saying. He told me that his company was accredited by some travel guy (that I’ve never heard of in my life) and that the company was rated 4 out of 5 stars. When I told him that it was probably only rated well because they probably offered free stuff/cruise to the man rating them and implied it was not a valid point he became more disrespectful and told me he didn’t care if I took the cruise. I told him that since I paid I was basically forced into it and he denied it and told me to resell it to a friend (I told him that was unfair since no one would want this package) and now that I think about it, I wouldn’t sell a friend such a deceptive product. This was an awful experience and I hope no one else has to go through it!!! It is both high pressure sales to try and get the customer to buy more during the time of purchase as well as very deceptive, with the final straw being the disrespectful “supervisor” who was handling my situation.
I wish I had read this before I had given them 935.00. After giving them the money i was waiting for a confimation email which was never sent. Two hours after giving away my hard earned money I called the company to get my money back. After 16 calls and hours of being put on hold on hung up on I finally spoke to Christian at 9:30. Oh he was a nasty one. He told me what kind of person was I to make a purchase and then want my money back. Finally after giving him the law speech at 9:58 he told me he will give me my money back and that he would send me an email confirmation in 10-15 minutes (they close at 10:00) of course I didnt get my email so at 9 am the next morning I called and spoke to Andrew and George Newman. They told me I had to wait for christian to come in before I get my money returned or an email confirmation. What can I do to get my money returned?
Cancel the order on your credit card. Phone up your card company, explain to them the details, if they want they can try and cancel the payment to caribbean cruise line while you’re on hold, but that’s your best bet I’ve heard.
Well, haha, so they called me and I was very excited, took the survey and everything because I had just turned of voting age and was excited about voting in the upcoming election. I waited for a while and then I was put on the phone with Melissa, and I was trying to figure out what exactly this was. I’m still in high school, though, so I told her that, and I asked her to send me an email with all the information so I could talk it over with my parents. (Still didn’t realize this was a scam yet, but thought it was very interesting that I would win a free cruise..) Anyways, I think the fact that I’m still in high school and that I wanted to talk it over with my parents scared her, because she immediately said goodbye and hung up.
And hi John! Great to hear from you again! Hope life is going well for you.
Glad I googled this while my husband to be was talking to Paul William Id#n1543, call back number 954-485-0608. What was said was verbatim to your story, were getting married next mo and were not goin on a honeymoon, so my honey thought we should try it I said Noo, then I started showing him reviews as he talked and he was reading them back to the “Paul” and all Paul could say was well people are just complaining about the port taxes, so I told my honey to just hang up, yea right, a scam is a scam, but thanks for your post sorry you had a bad experience, and I’ll do my best to inform everyone else I know. The good part is as soon as you google their cruise line SCAM is the first thing that pops up, so please believe if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t good for ya! God bless!
Both of my college age kids just got bilked out of their hard earned money. One for $59 to pay his “tax” the other for $118. After I looked up this company and told the first child to call and cancel, found out a few days later that the other child had gotten the same call and roped in. They both called to cancel within a couple of hours of the initial sales call. The first child was told the money would be returned within 10 – 14 days. The second child was told the money would be returned in 3-4 days. I have very little hope this will actually happen. Is there any recourse through their bank or VISA?
you can ask bank to block payments to this company.
I just received a call from these guys with a survey and the same offer. I always hesitate to give out my credit card without doing research so i said I was not interested unless I was given time to look into this. This was the first page that popped up when I googled this scam. Thanks for posting things like this to expose scam artists.
Got the survey call. The survery itself seemed like a scam and since I didn’t have personal experience with on before, I was curious so I stayed on the line. Got a real person and told him right off the bat I thought it was a scam.
He went into his spiel, I looked them up online first on BBB. I asked him why I couldn’t find them. He gave me the websites. I own a web business so I could already tell from the look of the sites that something was off. I asked for their official name, what they file on their taxes. He insisted it is CCL but I think that is just a DBA.
I then came to this blog and ripoff.com and told him I wasn’t interested. Met w/ resistance but I’ll give the guy credit for always being polite.
I just got a call as well, put it on speaker so my wife could listen while the survey was on, she got excited and wanted to take the cruise. I was sure from get go that this is a scan.
Anyhow as soon as I got the live person with the over the top sell on the cruise and how it is too good to be true I just googled, saw this article and said I am not interested and hung up.
My question is, how did they get hold of my cell phone, do I need to register at a DND type service. I never before got any marketing call on my cell number.
Wow, I really should’ve done my research. I’ve been scammed a month ago out of $817 total. I tried calling the customer service care # and all I got was a dial tone. I am so upset. You think if I call my bank they would work with me to get my money back?
I think you can ask your bank for blocking payment. If its within month time,it can be blocked
So fake any one that offers something for free then asks you to pay fees it is a scam
I just got a confirmation voucher of a FREEE cruise trip.uuuuuuuuuuuu..through the mail..thank god and you guys I found this website. I wasn’t even going to take the chance of calling without investigating..obviously this is a scam. I wish this had photo uploading options so I can show you all what it looks like…But dont you guys ask yourself how they get our info and telephone number..because I also was receiving calls. its just I didn’t give them time or day to even find out what it was about because as soon as the word survey came out the callers mouth..it was a hang up..but now putting two and two together it all makes sense…good luck to all of you…and don’t fall for sweet deals..if its too good to be true…then it probably isn’t.
Thanks for the article. I was on the phone with the guy and, felt the conversation got shady when he needed a credit card number to give me my “free cruise.” I told him that I did not trust him, and so he said that I could go look at a web-site to prove that it was real. The web site he gave me was 2012celebration something… I told him that didn’t sound like Carribean Cruise Line’s top level domain name. Instead, I just googled to see if this was a scam and came across your article. I read over it as he started to tell me he could send me a certified letter from the company, but he’d still need my credit card today. I then let him know that I was reading about the scam online, and that it quoted him verbatim. Then he hung up. Good save.
Really eye opener.Thanks for writing this.I have received a award booklet in mailbox today saying I won free cruise for 2 and 1300$ travel voucher is enclosed with it. They said I won it in a giveaway. This was so good to be true. People should stay away from these scammers. Thanks for your reviews.
I thought it was too good to be true I did not bite however, I did answer the questions. Here is a number that was used to contact me on my cell 253-382-9987. I wish I could find out who gave it to them.
We got scammed exactly the same way. Lots of run around to start with, questions not answered fully. Not only did we end up paying a large amount for this so called free cruise due to us accepting the extended stay package but had to endure a 5 hour timeshare speal before they would give us the documents to get on board ship/ferry. Once on the island, transportation costs were not included. We ended staying at a different resort than promised, miles from anyware and anything with very little ammenities. Promised a room with a balcony overlooking the ocean to end up getting a floor level room with no view across the street from the main resort were the pool area was. When we complained we were told we had to talk to the people that we booked with since they know how may rooms etc. are available to them and the hotel was not responsible. Needless to say this was not an enjoyable trip and would tell anyone not to accept any offer these people offer. Definately scam artists providing false information. We have been on several Caribbean cruises with Royal Caribbean (4 nights, 3 ports of call) and they are cheaper and much better for first time cruisers were you are treated like King and Queens on a cruise ship versus a converted ferry.
Never again will we be duped into something like this again the company(s) should be shut down.
My wife received a call last year about a free cruise to the Grand Bahamas thru Carnival Cruise lines aboard the Bahamas Celebration Cruise Ship.. The only thing we were ask to pay were port fees and taxes which totaled $118 a fees after paying that we received our boarding information picked our sail dates and was offered a room upgrade for a additional $100 which we didn’t take. The dates in May we picked were booked so we went a bit earlier than my birthday and had a wonderful time. So some of these free cruises are for real. I too got a phone call stating if I answer 10 questions I would receive a free cruise..not too sure of this one!! HAPPY SAILING EVERYONE!!!
I like it when people get together and share opinions.
Great blog, keep it up!
I got exactly the same call same call script, etc. etc. This is a bottom feeding cruise company with bad reviews. The survey company fronting this is a scam itself with phone #’s originating from 360, etc. which are part of a bank of phone #’s belonging to Pacifictel who is known for selling phone lines to scammers. I already knew it was a scam so decided to troll and waste their time. After I finally just hung up I got a call within two minutes – another telemarketer from 210-424-443 for the Texas State Troopers association. Not a coincidence by far. To the original poster and everyone else who has helped uncover this scam – thank you.
im so THRILLED that i googled before i gave them my credit card number. lmfao
Just got the same call figured it was a scam from the start nothing in life is for free, I was curious how they would play it so I played along for 7-10 minutes, asking questions, like how can they make money like this etc.. the answers didn’t realy make sense the thing I don’t get is why is this company still around if this blog started in 2010 why hasn’t a DA gotten involved to shut these people down, there must be 100s of people that they’ve scamed???? can anyone explain that???
I gave them the credit card number but I never went through confirmation..? Should I worry still??
Thank u I kept getting calls from this one 800 finally I called them back and that is what I heard the $59/$118 for two I then hung up went online found your web page called them back told I know that this is a hoax told them do not call me again or I would give this number to the authority and they could explain their little scam to them so Thank you
Vey glad I found this site, she was going to call me back today to set up the cruise…Thanks a million guys!
Just received the scam call today. First started as a political survey and then transferred to a live representative. Just like the rest of you, he wanted $59.00 per person for this “free” cruise in which I have been give for finishing the survey. Once I told him I wasn’t going to be the victim of a scam, he said I was scared and would always stay on my couch and never go anywhere. He then hung-up the phone on me. I reported the call to the FTC.
June 10th, 2012
Mike just called me and tried to “sell” me this wonderful package that I had won.
I stalled him while I googled Best Cruise Line scam and bingo!
I happily told Mike to kiss my butt 🙂
Here is a law firm that is looking into pursuing legal action against Political Opinions of America. I just sent them an email explaining the calls I have received, their not removing my number from their call list, the contact I had with CCL, etc. I hope they sue the pants off both of them (whether they’re really the same outfit, I don’t know).
http://www.shulaw.com/About-Us/Investigations/Unsolicited-Telephone-Calls-From-Political-Opinions-of-America/
Excellent. I hope you gave the attorney firm the url to this blog! There are enough witnesses and stories herein alone to put an end to this “political survey” ruse. I suggest everyone read Scott’s link above.
And yet, here it is 07/12/2013 and the cruise line is still in business. If they were a scam, wouldn’t they have been shut down by now? If they were a scam, I would think the authorities would have put a stop to their company by now. The complaints alone would have shut them down (bad publicity). My opinion is, other cruise lines are trying to put CCL out of business because of their very low prices and if you think these big cruise lines wouldn’t be concerned about a little company like CCL, I think you would be very wrong!!
Does anyone know the corporate entity that is behind this advertising? Has anyone made the connection between the calls and emails and representations and identified the legal entity that is performing this “advertising.” If someone has some background, please explain how you came to your conclusion? emails received? Someone verified a mailing address online which matches a secretary of sates record? Etc..Most companies in the US have to register with a State’s secretary of the State. I ask this b/c a law firm is interested in the “advertising” described in this line of posts. Sometimes cruise-lines hire other companies to do this work. I’ve seen some posts from people who have worked for the company making the calls who might be informative, or people that have received literature stating the name and address, etc. I’ve seen some references to florida and possibly some references to Caribbean Cruise Lines in Canada. Any help or help from the collective group of interested parties in this line of posts would be appreciated. Essentially the law firm is interested in identifying the legal entity or entities responsible for what is going on here, and their location.
My elderly parents who live in Toronto paid them $898 and another $50 to extend the offer for another year. They just signed it over to me and the first thing I did was to look for any reference to a scam. I’m glad I found this tread but unfortunatelly my parents were fleeced $948 (original $898 + $50)
Thank god for this post. I called them and the guy kept asking for the expiration date of the card I would like to use and I said I don’t have one and If I could call him back when my boyfriend came home because he has a credit card. The guy told me I couldn’t because once I hung up the confirmation would be deactivated. So he kept persisting on me giving him an expiration date of the card I wanted to use and after 5x of telling him I don’t have one, which I actually do, he finally said then your confirmation will be deactivated and to have a nice day. I just was in shock at him. So I told my boyfriend and he told me I did the right thing and it is a scam if the guy kept being persistant on me giving him the credit card information. I swear these scams, when are they ever going to stop?!
Whben I clicked to book on Imperial Majesty cruiseline this came up:
There is a problem with this website’s security certificate.
The security certificate presented by this website was issued for a different website’s address.
Security certificate problems may indicate an attempt to fool you or intercept any data you send to the server.
Hi
I just received a call about some 30 second political survey in exchange for for a Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. It sounded to good to be true, and of course you have to pay for port taxes of $118 for two people, but you can get up to 4 people. When he told me he want my debit/ credit card I asked him if I an get a refund if I change my mind. The operator said that it was only transferable as long as it was used in the next 16 months. So I said okay well I need time to discuss this with my spouse and to call me back in 24 to 48 hours he started to get rude. How if you can’t afford the $118 its not a big deal to us we are a multi million dollar company and we will just give the opportunity to another person and its your loss. I’m like fine and hung up…
crazy… Thanks to this website, otherwise I may have fell victim to this scam too! IT IS A SCAM!! You can’t even find anything legit or positive about the free offer…
thanks guys! they just called me and I put them on hold and quickly googled it. thanks to you , i didn’t bite!
I cannot believe the stories Im reading… I jst reieved a call for a survey literally 2mins ago, promising two tickets to the Bahamas… They wanted me to answer 10 questions & promised I wouldnt be questioned for any credit cards either! I thought WOW.. Thts awesome but thn immediately thought wats the catch??? I answered the questions and was immediately sent to some lady tht sounded like she was eating cheese puffs, & garglin water with gauzes in her mouth! She asked me my name, phone number, a good time to contact me and my zip code which I gave her. I had to of been on the phone with her for abt 10 secnds… and I was thn sent to some fast tlking guy who said to chk out thr website for furthr info (i didnt get tht site & he didnt repeat it) & tht i would be contacted in 48-72 hrs to further discuss my FREE TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS!! I hungup as the automated service went on to offer me crazy crap from their sponsors! I have never left North Carolina my whole life and Im only 22…So ths trip sounded too gud to be tru! I decided to call my mom.. I explaind wat jst happened and first she askd did i give thm my credit/debit card numbers.. I told her no b/c its free right? Y would they ask?? She immediately screamed out GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!! Lol! I know right.. So now Im like ma.. wat r u tlkn abt!! She thn tells me tht when the representative calls to tell him I am no longer interested in the offer and to remove me frm all call lists and she evn went as far to say to tell thm if thy do contact me agn.. To say the coversation will be recorded and I will be pressing charges for harrassmnt not only agnst the company but whoever is the representative also!! I didnt really quite understnd why my mom wantd me to say those mean thngs fully until she told me to google the company!! This is where I ended up reading these comments abt how its all a scam…I am soo thnkful tht I found out sooner thn later, tht I have a smart mom & tht ppl like ths everywhr have some sense of responsibility to warn others/ complete strangers abt companies and thieves like this!! I cannot wait for these assholes to call…lol..I feel like my mom now.. GOD IS GOOD!! I jst honestly cant believe they r still running this scam… But what goes around comes around I guess! To all that were taken advantage by these robbers, whether it was today or two or three yrs ago; my prayers for financial wealth and protection from all dirty telemarketers are with you!! Just wantd to share my story!
I could smell a rat 3000 miles away. No one is in business to lose money. The next time they call, just tell them, “Give me 3 minutes to set up video recording and I am putting you on speaker phone.”
The Vacation from Hell….
Why?
– The cruise departs from West Palm Beach, but you have to pick up your tickets in Fort Lauderdale…..the first warning sign.
– The cruise was ok. nothing special. The food in Rio’s plainly “sucked”. However, the food in Crystal was fine. Of course they charge you a 300% markup on the wine.
– Saturday morning we arrive in the Bahamas they want you off the boat by 10:30am. they almost force you to buy an excursion trip. we did not. the surprise was we could not check into our hotel until 3pm. It rained most of the day – so that sucked.
– We stayed at the Wyndham hotel on Lucaya. Checked in at 3pm. air conditioning did not work. the couple in the next room complained of both air conditioning issues and bed bugs. Then we experienced a sewage smell due to a toilet blockage. We complained several times to the front desk & concierge. No sense of urgency. they were only interested to in selling us another trip (amazing). Asked to speak to the hotel manager. He avoided us. What a coward. finally after visiting them 6 times and threatening to sleep in the lobby, at 8:30pm they gave a new room that was air conditioned and no sewage smell. the room looked renovated. but the TV did not work, bathroom could not close due to the great carpentry.
– In summary, never again. Stay away from Caribbean Cruise Line and the Wyndham Hotel in the Bahamas. Do not be pressured by the deep discounting as well as the “take it or leave it” deal. Do your own research first!!!!!!
Thank you so much for posting all this! I almost fell for it!
is this the scam #? 800-971-3233? thanks to anyone who can confirm.
If anyone on this board knows of someone from Connecticut who has gone through the survey, but not received their two free tickets as promised, Forrest Law is looking into remedies. Please send an email to matthew@matthewforrestlaw.com.
lol
Thanks for the head’s up. I just got a call from them today and looked up the SS Bahama Celebration on Google and I saw your post. Yup, same spiel about only costing $59 for port charges. What a scam!! Thanks your post. The number they called from was 1-800-530-9744. Their opt out line is 1-800-922-6373 which they say removes you from their call list.
Remember me? Well King Kabuz will. I worked for CCL for 9 months. I was the one you called back when you were angry. I groomed the company online and on the phone. Are they a scam? Not in the sense where they will take your money but if you want to know more about the company don’t google Caribbean Cruise line, Google Ramada Plaza Resorts and Imperial Majesty Cruise.
They have changed their name more than a black widow housewife because of lawsuits after lawsuits. The ship is a converted ferry the hotels are the same hotels I would sleep in when I was living on the streets strung out on drugs the meals cold cuts and cheap food you will get sick off of. Their goal isn’t to give you a good vacation but to make you sit in a room listening to a timeshare they say part of a morning or afternoon taking a guided tour. What they really mean is you’ll see pictures of the resort and the only tour is when you’re walking into the building into a room you will miss two meals and if you try to leave the timeshare presentation they will make you feel threatened. One call i got the girl presenting the timeshare even started crying begging people not to leave saying she’ll get fired.
All I’m really saying is the vacation is not worth paying for neither is the cruise portion. You really could do better. Most of you were smart enough not to give your credit cards but those of you who have already and don’t know what to do. YOUR MONEY IS COMPLETELY REFUNDABLE IN THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF PURCHASE GET ALL OF YOUR MONEY BACK(don’t accept any offers from the specialist you will end up paying for them too) AND DO WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING GO ON EXPEDIA OR PRICE LINE FOR A GOOD VACATION. THIS IS NOT A DEAL YOU WILL SPEND THOUSANDS ON THIS VACATION AND YOU WILL LEAVE ANGRY.
Please if any of you have common sense hang up they are one outsource short of being an indian scam call center.
Hey could you please tell me how I can take advantage of the 6 month return policy, cuz when I called to get a refund they were extremely rude and made me feel worthless and I got nothing but a hangup and some cusswords. So please tell me how I go about getting this refund. Thank You so much for your honesty.
Thank You
OMG!!! I new it was a scam! I sadly fell for it! wow…I’ll be calling my bank tomorrow. This only happened a few hours ago so I’m pretty sure my bank will cancel it and then I’ll be filing a complaint to the BBB, If I had a chance to do my homework before I would have caught this but the guy forced me to pay right then and there.
any advice would help me get back my 600.00 buck!
Fast_Red_Dragon@yahoo.com
It is not a scam….I went on two trips. GREAT fun. Sorry you will miss out!
John, are you an employee of this cruise line, because you must be daft?
agreed – it’s not a scam. however, the cruise line over promises and under delivers. it’s plainly a vacation from hell. if this many people are complaining, the you have very low expectations of life.
After reading all your comments, I realize the black out dates change. I was told the only dates I would not be able to travel were January 18 – 31st because the ship would be in dry dock for repairs those dates. After reading here and looking at their website, I’m surprised that the website does not have a place to book a cruise. What kind of travel company doesn’t offer online bookings, yet will take your info over the phone?! Thank goodness I didn’t fall for this one!
Kirsten, you made a wise choice to do your research first. Too many people have already lost money to them. – Rennie
KingKa Buz you saved my keester. Your the man and I have read all of the blogs. I was only AWARE of this scam because of your posting. I was almost taken for $836 from fast talking scammers. My heart goes out to all of the fellow bloggers who lost money to these low life worms. My story is similar to ALOT of these bloggers and I wll save you the misery of hearing the same thing over again as all of our stories are very similar. I wanted to thank you for your dedication to prevent people from being taken by these well schooled and organized scammers who should be behind prison bars.
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A member of our office experienced the same thing. We are a Seattle-based lawfirm and are preparing to file a class action lawsuit against this company. Could we please call you and have a confidential conversation about your experience? If so, please send us a confidential email at CCLclassaction@igc.org and we will get right back to you. Thanks in advance. This company really needs to be held accountable.
Yes I will email you with my email address. I agree. they need to go down and out of business.
Well, I wish I read and researched this. Sadly to say I fell for it. Like everyone else I had to pay right then. They gave me black out dates of Jan. 1 through Jan. 31. Ship would be in port for any repairs that may be needed and for a complete checkup, to make sure everything is running right and safely. I hate myself for this, usually I am good about catching on to these scams. It just sounded so good and I have never been on a cruise. So I thought this would be a good way to experience it and see if I would enjoy one. Well dummy me!
Surri if you talk to your bank or whatever way you paid for it you might be able to get your money nack but you have to hurry. I have read several blogs where people got their money back. I talked to my bank and credit credit card co. and they looked into this ans saw they were a dishonest scam company. Good luck to you.Don’t feel bad. there are good people here that were taken too. A law firm is going to go after these weasels. Get involved and fight for yourself.
Just wanted to share what they emailed me while I was on the phone with them, I asked for an email of the contract that explains what will be charged etc… and this was the email :
Welcome to Caribbean Cruise Line, The Exclusive Cruise Line of the Port of Palm Beach, and an Official Cruise Line of Grand Bahama Island.
Your cruise experience is certain to be special aboard our fun-filled Bahamas Celebration, which was selected as the “Best Bahamas Getaway Cruise in 2011” by Porthole Magazine, one of the world’s leading cruise travel magazines. You qualify for our cruise by being one of the first 500 people today to take advantage of our national promotion. Congratulations!
Your significantly discounted “Cruise and Resort Stay” vacation package features the perfect balance of extraordinary destinations, outstanding service and genuine hospitality! By combining a two night Caribbean Cruise, fabulous destinations in sun-kissed Florida and the tropical Bahamas, and featuring some of the most trusted names in travel – we have created your “one call does it all” Dream Vacation for you!
YOUR VACATION PACKAGE INCLUDES:
YOUR 2 NIGHT CRUISE:
2 Night Cruise for two aboard the Bahamas Celebration to Grand Bahama Island, with all your meals, entertainment and activities included onboard.
$50.00 in Casino Match Play valid aboard ship in the Wynmore Casino.
PACKAGE PRICING:
Your total package cost is only $59 per person for the 1st and 2nd passengers, based on double occupancy.
About our Cruise Line:
Caribbean Cruise Line is proud to announce our flagship the Bahamas Celebration, and it’s selection by the Chief Editor of the prestigious Porthole Magazine as the “Best Bahamas Getaway Cruise in 2011”!
Caribbean Cruise Line is the Exclusive Cruise Line of the Port of Palm Beach; and has been called the Port’s “Crown Jewel” by the Port’s Executive Director Manny Almira.
Check out these videos of past travelers
Click this To View Bahamas Celebration Video
Our flagship, the Bahamas Celebration, conveniently departs from the Port of Palm Beach in South Florida at 5:30 P.M. (EST), and travels round trip to Grand Bahama Island – widely regarded as “The Jewel of the Bahamas.” This tropical island paradise is known for its unspoiled powder-white beaches, crystal clear blue waters and a relaxed atmosphere. It’s also home to our luxurious resort destinations.
Our luxury mid-size cruise ship boasts 500 well-appointed cabins, allowing us to travel up to 1,500 passengers comfortably. Cabin décor is modern and comfortable. With 24-hour room service available, and an emphasis on service throughout the ship, the Bahamas Celebration offers our travelers a memorable onboard cruise experience.
Everyone knows cruising and dining are synonymous, and with the Bahamas Celebration, it’s no different. Multiple dining venues offer our passengers the choice of four distinct restaurants with mouth-watering cuisine sure to satisfy whatever their appetite is in the mood for. For starters, Rio’s is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian-style steakhouse and buffet, where gaucho carvers slice and serve up delicious meats. Trattoria Di Gerry is a casual Italian restaurant serving pizza, pasta, and salads until 3 am for quick bites and passengers with a late-night appetite. The Crystal Dining Room serves classic American fare from a broad menu, and the romantic Cove Restaurant is perfect for upscale dining. Of course, there’s also a delectable Buffet area on the upper deck pool along with relaxed pub and snack areas.
There are also lots of amenities to enjoy onboard; including the extraordinary Fountain of Youth Spa to relax in, an invigorating Gym to work off some calories, a convenient full Beauty Salon, the Treasure Chest Gift Shop for that special present, the spacious Wynmore Casino with all the games of chance, our chic multi-story night club The View for dancing and entertainment, our delightful British-style Pub 437 for darts and a pint, the Ocean Breeze Lounge for viewing their favorite sporting event, an Internet Café to catch up with friends and family back home, a refreshing swimming pool on deck, and many fun kids’ areas for families with children of all ages. The options and fun are endless!
For more information visit us at http://www.BestCruiseGetaway.com
Sincerely,
Robert Mitchell
President
Caribbean Cruise Line
Port of Palm Beach
301 Broadway STE 101B
Riviera Beach, FL 33404
Customer Care: Toll Free 1-800-221-8200,
Monday – Friday 9 AM till 10 PM,
and for your convenience Saturday 10 AM till 4 PM
Passports on the ship are not needed, but are useful and make getting on and off the cruise easier. For cruise only passengers that do not have a passport, a driver’s license and raised-seal birth certificate are required.
For our customers that are staying on Grand Bahama Island with one of our stay and play packages, a passport is absolutely necessary.
Get your Passport from U.S. Department of State
If you want to get your Passport faster go here http://www.PassportVisasExpress.com .
passport
Caribbean Cruise Line is registered, licensed and bonded with the State of Florida.
S.O.T. Registration No. ST-37425.
Received the same BS “boarding pass” in the mail 2012-12-28.
Caribbean Cruise Line. Bahamas Celebration. “Private” cabin class. (I wasn’t aware cruise ships had public cabins.) Port of Palm Beach, Grand Bahama Island. 1-800-971-3233.
1-800 numbers cost this company money by the minute. Feel free to call the number and troll them back. Just play stupid, ask questions, put them on hold, give them a bogus CC number (www.ccnumber.com), ask more questions and give them the run-around. If you feel bad for the person trying to make a living with this scam company, feel free to educate them about the people they work for.
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was just on phone with these frauds speaking to Corrie as she called herself , this was sounding too good to be true and decided to offer another couple to come along but Miss Corrie was adamant that we book right away and would not be able to call back, decided to do research whilst speaking to her and …….VOILA saw your comment, thank you.
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I fell for the scam and told them that I couldnt pay the fees at the moment. they still took my credit card number. When I researched it after I called them back and asked to cancel the cruise I got pased around to 14 different people then to a guy who yelled at me and cussed me out. “You payed zero dollers maam! You are a fucking idiot. Do you want me to refund the zero dollars? Ok here is what I am going to do!” he then hung up on me. The rudest people I have ever talked to. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS! If you want to go on a cruise go through a travel agent.
Amber, I hope you called your credit card company immediately and told them to cancel that charge because you were scammed. You might also need to have that card cancelled and replaced. Ask your credit card company about that. – Rennie
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Reading this email…i just feel so stupid cos i just got charged because when i hung up the phone i was like lemme do a research on them, i found this review and am so paranoid. I had my doubt and now am so mad i fell. i called my bank and my bank is saying i have to go for the cruise and if its a scam then its disputable….
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At least you guys got called by real people. They have been calling me for over two weeks already and every time I answer a machine tells me that I won the cruise, etc, and that I have to call 1-800-“whatever” to claim my price. I stopped answering and now the same machine is leaving me voice mails! So annoying!
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I see the same complaints over and over again. This is why we created THECARIBBEANCRUISESCAM.COM site to channel all the issues into one area. If you were scammed you need to look here and see how to get it fixed. If you’re thinking about doing this package, think twice.
Wo, wo, wo, wo, stop da clock… ALL THE FACTS ARE RIGHT HERE AT http://WWW.THECARIBBEANCRUISESCAM.COM
SCAM- YES
TELEMARKETERS CRIMINALS?- YES (PROVEN)
BOAT REAL?- YES
TIMESHARE/”FREE CRUISE” GOOD DEAL- NO
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Could someone PLEASE tell me if this is the same cruise to the Bahamas?
I was just offered this cruise..but not thru a survey! I seen something on TV and ordered it than I was offered this free cruise! PLEASE someone tell me is this a SCAM??
Similar case here : http://canadascambusters.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/caribbean-cruise-line-phone-scam%E2%80%8F/
I got the voucher in the mail. My wife came running,
“We won a cruise!” I subscribe to the “If it’s too good to be true…” skepticism. Seeing this site and reading the government required fine print was all I needed to know. My nephew, an RCI member, got a call from somebody saying they were from RCI (they weren’t) that he had qualified for a free cruise and free Cancun vacation. He fell for it and ended up paying $800 a person for his “free” Cancun vacation (which he could have gotten cheaper from a legitimate tour company) and has yet to take his “free” cruise.
Wow I’m so glad that I didnt give them my credit card….I just receive a boarding pass for two ti Palm Beach……. 59 dollars a person total 118 hehehe I call and it seem to good to be true so I said I don’t have money in my band I have to go to the bank and deposit money in hehehehe!! So glad I came across this! I’m so sorry for everyone who has scam by them! I’m really in need of money because I just have my new baby so this it great! So glad that there so many nice people out there post this up so other people would be safe from all this stupid scam! I’m greatly thankful for everyone post! Thank you! 🙂
FREE Cruise my ass………….SO they want you to CALL THEM BACK at **** 1-800-619-0592 **** . Then they get nasty. THEY hang up on you, tell you that you deserve to be hung up on, blah blah blah…. racist bastards too!!!!!!!!! “YOU AGREED TO THE TAXES ON YOUR MASTERCARD IF YOU GAVE THE NUMBER”. They have all the answers already… they are just waiting to talk to you after laving their voicemail on your phone….. then they charge your credit card for their scam and laugh and laugh…… M O R O N S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They get so upset, and yet I never got scammed by them. They keep trying to call back thru their 1-way internal number 954-567-9353. THEY HARRASS PEOPLE. They are out of ORLANDO FLORIDA. YOU CAN CALL them to get on their Do Not Call List, but it is likely not to work , as they have been calling for OVER A YEAR. The loosers here this time are Dana , Thomas, Mark, Rachel, Lisa, Micheal, ….. ugh, the list goes on ……and on……. and on…… GET A LIFE. THEY SAY that someone keeps calling in and tying up all their phone lines (7 to 12 lines), so call them and tie them all up!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also suspect that those who write about the great time they had on the trip are also a part of the scam…
“Oh we had a great time”…. so you should go too… and get scammed.
I JUST GOT CALLED TODAY! THANKS FOR POSTING, i FOUND THIS ONLINE AND READ ENOUGH BEFORE THEY EVEN ASKED FOR MY CARD. THEY ASKED IF I WOULD BE ABLE TO PAY THE 118.OO TODAY, AND i SAID NO. SHE ASKED WHAT WAS HOLDING ME BACK, I TOLD HER IT WAS “EXTREME POVERTY DUE TO RUTHLESS SCAMS THAT HAD EMPTIED MY BANK ACCOUNT. (SPEECHLESS). ALTHOUGH I HAVE A DEBIT CARD, WHEN YOU RUN IT IT WILL COME BACK NSF. IM SO SORRY”. THEY PROMPTLY, SAID “OK MAYBE ANOTHER TIME.” AND HUNG UP. HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING SINCE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS!
Yes, some replies are from either folks who are brain dead, or it’s from a web crawler that is going to every blog post ever created. Why would you want a list of our other social networking pages?
I want to say THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH for this article. LITERALLY! i’m a real person and I’m just googling around for some answers and UNfortunately for me I already gave them my card info ;( I’m lucky to have
Bank of America which is one of the best banks to dispute frauds and claims. I was actually calling Southwest customer service which is (800)435-9792 by 1 last digit I called (800)4359791 which was a recording and prompting answering machine for a FREE cruise vacation. When I spoke to a rep several times I mentioned “Is this Southwest Airlines?” and several times the rep told me “no, you were redirected to our line as means of waiting too long and now you won a free cruise line” so gulliable me fell for it—hook-line and sinker…I just didn’t have the funds in my account! I don’t if I was charged $118 or not…I spoked with Russel who gave me his id number and we spoke about the cruise details for 30 mins…when he asked for my credit card info I gave it to him and then asked “will it be charged today?” he said something about diverting it until I vacay. Lord, I don’t if that was an honest answer, or some bullshit but I just couldn’t understand it.
Obviously this is a post from someone who is not really bothering to read anything, but posting to every blog on the Internet.
Is there a way to stop this stupid type of spamming?
Hi , THERE IS ABSOLUTELY A WAY TO STOP THIS TYPE OF SCAMMING (READ MY STORY ITS AWESOME).
…………….RING RING (to my Montreal cell phone) .
Me: Hello
them: congratulations for participating int he survey you won a cruise from the Port of Palm Beach blah blah blah (30 minutes later)…. we need your credit card/birthday etc. etc. for the government security fee or 9 1 1 security fee or bullshit.
ME: ok
VISA
Mr. Harry Potter
4563 3535 3333 6969 6969 6969 6969
exp:6/2069
three digit code :669
Needless to say I never got a call back from them
Thanks Guy,
Finally a helpful post.
Rennie
I tried to play with them a bit like that. I hummed and hawed and asked every question I could think of just trying to delay as much as possible (call centres usually base productivity on number of calls as opposed to duration). I could only manage 15 minutes before I was passed to another rep who checked if I was still interested and tried to get my credit info again; so I said no and they should just take me off their call list…
I have to think of better ways to screw with these guys next time. 😀
So these bloody bastards call me and they got all my info! Imma admit I’m a dummy, yet this wouldn’t make nothin better; fortunately they couldn’t charged me cuz my card was freezed but I called my bank and said to block my card since I didn’t want them charge me while they do have all my info.
My bank response was that they will be able to charge me regardless..
And that I have to cancle the package afterwards. I am not convinced! I’m gonna have to call my bank and ask for emergeny help or somethin!
Thank you Thank you Thank you! I got the call too. I refused to give them my visa number. The lady put me on hold when I asked her to email or mail me the information regarding the fee. When she put me on hold I hung up the phone and googled. I found this post and so I thank you 100 times.