Answer :
Yes, pretty much
They are usually a short cruise on a very crappy boat. They then try to sell you a time share. Since your on the boat and can't get off, they have a captive audience. Don't do it! If you want to try a short cruise, look for a 3 or 4 day cruise like to the Bahamas from Florida. Carnival has many of these And they do not cost much
Answer :
The least expensive cruises are generally on Carnival ships, and you might want to check the Carnival Cruise Line web site, which is http://www.carnival.com. You can also work with a travel agent who books a lot of cruises. Many people simply love Carnival cruises!
The "free cruise" things you get in the mail and on line are very short trips on a very old, dirty, ratty ship, and are gimmicks to sell time shares in high-pressure sales meetings. Do NOT deal with those people -- it is a ripoff!
The "free cruise" things you get in the mail and on line are very short trips on a very old, dirty, ratty ship, and are gimmicks to sell time shares in high-pressure sales meetings. Do NOT deal with those people -- it is a ripoff!
Source(s):
frequent passenger
Answer :
Yes, I would be very careful with anything advertised as being "Free". In actuality, VERY FEW things in life really are. Those so-called "Free" trips you see advertised in the mail usually have some strings attached, and those strings or catches are not always easily detected. There are some very clever scams out there.
Sometimes the mailer might mention that you may only travel on a certain date, or that your transportation (airfare) to and from the port isn't included and you must book airfare through THEM, or... that you must pay a certain processing fee, or attend a long-winded, VERY hyped sales presentation.
I've seen some really sneaky ones, where they have a 900 number you are obligated to call, in order to claim your "prize" and get the details. When you call those numbers, you are placed on DELIBERATE, eternal hold! While you're waiting to get thru, to claim your "free" prize, the meter is ticking, and they're making a BOATLOAD (pun intended!) of $$ just off of your phone call! Then... even if you don't agree to their terms, and decide to option out of the deal, they STILL made a killing just from your phone call! (My mother fell for that one!) If those are not scams, I don't know what is!
Remember the saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." So be extremely careful.
Depending on where you live, how close to a port you are, and where you wish to sail, you may be able to find very good deals on a cruise. Carnival has some very reasonably-priced cruises, such as the ones from Long Beach, CA to Catalina Island and back.
Remember that even if a cruise is advertised at an amazing, affordable price, what they don't always tell you in big, bold print where you're likely to actually SEE and read it, is that there will almost certainly be extra charges added onto the bill at the end of your cruise. Things like drinks, gratuities, specialty restraunts and cafes, excursions, souvenirs, etc are not included. Plan on spending, on average, anywhere from $200 to $500 above the advertised price of a cruise, to cover those extra charges. Best to plan high. This way, you "might" have $$ left over afterwards.
Stop by www.cruisecritics.com or cruisemates.com if you want to read all sorts of reviews and articles about cruising. Those sites contain all sorts of great information.
Good Luck!
Answer :
It may not be a scam at all but it wont be a nice cruise. Most likely its an older cruise "type" ship with small pools, A/C that dont work right. These free cruise deals attract a rough type crowd. I don't recommend these things at all.
I suggest you take a cruise during the off peak season. They have 3/4 night cruises for like $150pp during that time. I know Carnival and Norwegian offers them. Sign up with http://vacationstogo.com/index.cfm and you can look for great prices in September/October. Its free to join and worth it. They also have a toll-free number.
Hope I helped!
Answer :
most people are quick to call it a scam, don't listen to them. a lot of time the "free" cruise tickets are not really "free" like you would think, you may have to "spend" time sitting through a time share pitch. depending how much you value your time, that would be the cost of the free cruise. also some of the smaller cruise ships will offer a free cruise, with the hopes that you will spend money on drinks & gambling, similar to Vegas giving away free hotel rooms.
Answer :
Without a question, the "free" cruise e-mail is a scam, just like virtually all others you get in your in-box asking for your info.
As for what is the cheapest cruise-line, it's a toss-up between Carnival and NCL. Since you have never been on a cruise before, you can't go wrong with either. Having said that, my experience with Carnival was less than stellar, so if you asked my advice, go with NCL. Deals on both lines can be found on their own websites as well as vacationstogo.com and cruise411.com. Both sites are excellent sources for finding the cheapest cruises, but before you attempt booking a cruise, go to cruisecompete.com to find an independent Cruise Agent that will do everything they can to get you an even better deal. An added value to hiring an independent cruise agent is that they work for you, not the cruise-lines. As such, they are more in-tune with your desires, and are a big help in not only answering questions before the cruise, but also during the cruise should you run into any unforeseen problems as a virgin-cruiser. I have been doing business with only one agent for more than five years now, because of her impeccable professionalism, and never-ending desire to get me the best deal offered (even after I have placed my reservation! All of this at the loss of a percentage of her commission too! Many times,she has back-checked last-minute pricing just to make sure to get me an even better deal than I signed up for months earlier.) There are many like her out there, so don't settle for a cruise-line agent who works for the cruise lines, when you can have an independent agent that works for you; especially when that agent does not cost one red-cent more for you to hire!
Lastly, since this is your first cruise, stick with the shorter 3 or 4-night itineraries. The reasons for this are multitude, but the most-obvious one is very few people suffer severe motion-sickness on cruises. (If you can handle air-turbulents during flights, you can easily handle the high-seas!) Should this unlikely experience be yours, you do not want to be on a 5,6,7-night or longer cruise. Once you have had the experience of cruising, you will be infected with the cruise-bug for the rest of your life; trust me! Dear friends of mine convinced me and my wife to take a weekend off from our business for just one weekend-long cruise to the Bahamas more than 6 years ago. It wasn't until that cruise on Royal Caribbean that I realized just how much of life I was missing not only for myself, but my family too! Now, those friends, their children, my wife, son and I take joint-family cruises every year! Last October, I even got 40 of my High School classmates to join me for a Class-Reunion @ sea! It went so well, that by the third night of our four-night cruise, people were asking me "When are we doing this again?!!! Needless to say, plans are already in the works for a second reunion @ sea next year.
Cruising is by far not only the best vacation dollar for dollar, but the best way to visit the world and learn about new cultures at the same time! We sail so frequently on Royal Caribbean, that our family is now a DIAMOND member of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society. But that is for another discussion. lol.
Answer :
Yes, I would be very careful with anything advertised as being "Free". In actuality, VERY FEW things in life really are. Those so-called "Free" trips you see advertised in the mail usually have some strings attached, and those strings or catches are not always easily detected. There are some very clever scams out there.
Sometimes the mailer might mention that you may only travel on a certain date, or that your transportation (airfare) to and from the port isn't included and you must book airfare through THEM, or... that you must pay a certain processing fee, or attend a long-winded, VERY hyped sales presentation.
I've seen some really sneaky ones, where they have a 900 number you are obligated to call, in order to claim your "prize" and get the details. When you call those numbers, you are placed on DELIBERATE, eternal hold! While you're waiting to get thru, to claim your "free" prize, the meter is ticking, and they're making a BOATLOAD (pun intended!) of $$ just off of your phone call! Then... even if you don't agree to their terms, and decide to option out of the deal, they STILL made a killing just from your phone call! (My mother fell for that one!) If those are not scams, I don't know what is!
Remember the saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." So be extremely careful.
Depending on where you live, how close to a port you are, and where you wish to sail, you may be able to find very good deals on a cruise. Carnival has some very reasonably-priced cruises, such as the ones from Long Beach, CA to Catalina Island and back.
Remember that even if a cruise is advertised at an amazing, affordable price, what they don't always tell you in big, bold print where you're likely to actually SEE and read it, is that there will almost certainly be extra charges added onto the bill at the end of your cruise. Things like drinks, gratuities, specialty restraunts and cafes, excursions, souvenirs, etc are not included. Plan on spending, on average, anywhere from $200 to $500 above the advertised price of a cruise, to cover those extra charges. Best to plan high. This way, you "might" have $$ left over afterwards.
Stop by www.cruisecritics.com or cruisemates.com if you want to read all sorts of reviews and articles about cruising. Those sites contain all sorts of great information.
Good Luck!
Answer :
It may not be a scam at all but it wont be a nice cruise. Most likely its an older cruise "type" ship with small pools, A/C that dont work right. These free cruise deals attract a rough type crowd. I don't recommend these things at all.
I suggest you take a cruise during the off peak season. They have 3/4 night cruises for like $150pp during that time. I know Carnival and Norwegian offers them. Sign up with http://vacationstogo.com/index.cfm and you can look for great prices in September/October. Its free to join and worth it. They also have a toll-free number.
Hope I helped!
Answer :
most people are quick to call it a scam, don't listen to them. a lot of time the "free" cruise tickets are not really "free" like you would think, you may have to "spend" time sitting through a time share pitch. depending how much you value your time, that would be the cost of the free cruise. also some of the smaller cruise ships will offer a free cruise, with the hopes that you will spend money on drinks & gambling, similar to Vegas giving away free hotel rooms.
Answer :
Without a question, the "free" cruise e-mail is a scam, just like virtually all others you get in your in-box asking for your info.
As for what is the cheapest cruise-line, it's a toss-up between Carnival and NCL. Since you have never been on a cruise before, you can't go wrong with either. Having said that, my experience with Carnival was less than stellar, so if you asked my advice, go with NCL. Deals on both lines can be found on their own websites as well as vacationstogo.com and cruise411.com. Both sites are excellent sources for finding the cheapest cruises, but before you attempt booking a cruise, go to cruisecompete.com to find an independent Cruise Agent that will do everything they can to get you an even better deal. An added value to hiring an independent cruise agent is that they work for you, not the cruise-lines. As such, they are more in-tune with your desires, and are a big help in not only answering questions before the cruise, but also during the cruise should you run into any unforeseen problems as a virgin-cruiser. I have been doing business with only one agent for more than five years now, because of her impeccable professionalism, and never-ending desire to get me the best deal offered (even after I have placed my reservation! All of this at the loss of a percentage of her commission too! Many times,she has back-checked last-minute pricing just to make sure to get me an even better deal than I signed up for months earlier.) There are many like her out there, so don't settle for a cruise-line agent who works for the cruise lines, when you can have an independent agent that works for you; especially when that agent does not cost one red-cent more for you to hire!
Lastly, since this is your first cruise, stick with the shorter 3 or 4-night itineraries. The reasons for this are multitude, but the most-obvious one is very few people suffer severe motion-sickness on cruises. (If you can handle air-turbulents during flights, you can easily handle the high-seas!) Should this unlikely experience be yours, you do not want to be on a 5,6,7-night or longer cruise. Once you have had the experience of cruising, you will be infected with the cruise-bug for the rest of your life; trust me! Dear friends of mine convinced me and my wife to take a weekend off from our business for just one weekend-long cruise to the Bahamas more than 6 years ago. It wasn't until that cruise on Royal Caribbean that I realized just how much of life I was missing not only for myself, but my family too! Now, those friends, their children, my wife, son and I take joint-family cruises every year! Last October, I even got 40 of my High School classmates to join me for a Class-Reunion @ sea! It went so well, that by the third night of our four-night cruise, people were asking me "When are we doing this again?!!! Needless to say, plans are already in the works for a second reunion @ sea next year.
Cruising is by far not only the best vacation dollar for dollar, but the best way to visit the world and learn about new cultures at the same time! We sail so frequently on Royal Caribbean, that our family is now a DIAMOND member of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society. But that is for another discussion. lol.
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