Was it a scam??? Free cruise.

So I get this phone call. A recorded voice offers me a free cruise in return for taking their survey. I'm always happy to take a survey, so I take the survey. Three questions: How do I rate the performance of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the President on the debt crisis, from 1 to 5. Maybe half a minute to answer them all.

Then they connect me to someone calling himself Fred Jones who explains the deal: A free two-day cruise to Grand Bahama from Palm Beach, FL. Port tax and gratuities not included. I can book the cruise any time in the next 18 months, but I have to pay $118 port tax now.

I ask two questions: How much do most people give in gratuities, and why do they demand the port tax today, rather than at the time of booking the trip? Fred cannot answer either question, so he connects me to Justin, who also cannot answer the questions.

I point out that I have no idea if he is who he says he is. He could be a con man trying to get my credit card. He deflects the question by talking about how reputable Caribbean Cruise Lines is. He claims the state of Virginia is somehow involved, and certainly I would not imagine that the state of Virginia is supporting a scam. I repeat that I have no way of knowing if anything he is saying is true, because the survey company called me. I don't know if I'm talking to a legitimate rep for the cruise line, or a scam artist.

So we've reached an impasse and I say goodbye.

I didn't tell him that I get seasick and a cruise doesn't really interest me all that much. Hey, I had nothing better to do for a few minutes.

So my question is: Was this a scam? Or are they really just trying to fill empty cabins (as Fred claimed) to generate positive word of mouth, and (as Justine added) perhaps get me into the ship's casino?

Secondary question: Is a two-day cruise to Grand Bahama even worth the $118 port tax? (That's for two people. I could have taken up to 3 people with me, doubling the port tax, which is $59 per person.) Meals are included. Alcohol probably not. Non-alcoholic drinks, I didn't ask.

 

The main thing about them, the main reason I'd NEVER have given them any money, was that THEY phoned ME, so I had no idea who I was actually talking to. I NEVER give money to or buy anything from ANYONE who calls me. I'm actually amazed that they can phone people and get them to give them money. ANYBODY can pick up a phone, call people, say "I'm selling X, please give me your credit card number." Running the sham survey takes a LITTLE more sophistication, probably a computer to go through the questions and respond to the replies, but plenty of kids could program a computer to do that.

It also didn't make sense that a "free" cruise would be offered in return for taking a short survey. Nielson will give you a dollar (or is it $5?) for participating in their survey for a month.

What I didn't know was that the cruise is real, but it's on a converted ferry boat, not even a real cruise ship (from the link macmaster05 posted above). Or that the REAL scam is that you have to listen to a 5-hour plug for time-shares. I just thought that maybe they'd charge people's credit cards and there wouldn't even actually be a cruise.

The world's full of crooks, and even more full of gullible people who'll fall for them.

I never give money over the phone unless I've made the call (so I know who I'm talking to) to a company I have good reason to believe is reputable.

Thanks to everyone above.

 

I have not memorized the numbers of everyone who might legitimately phone me. Someone in my association arranges for a company to come in and clean the dryer vents, or scrape an unusually heavy snowfall from our porch "roofs," or calls about some other association-related matter; or a friend calls from someone else's cell phone; or any one of a myriad of other people I'd want to talk to but whose number I don't know.

I shut off the ringer when I go to bed or take a nap. Other than that, it's no big deal to answer the phone. I'm retired. I have the time. If I'm busy, I don't answer. If I'm driving I NEVER answer. If I'm home, I'm probably not doing anything important and distractions are usually welcome.

One of my biggest regrets is that my association is posted "No Solicitors" so I don't get the religious nut jobs coming to the door to argue with. I love arguing with those wackaloons.

 

I have a cousin who blocks her caller ID and never answers her phone. If I used your system I'd never be able to talk to her. We'd be playing infinite phone tag.

I see no harm in answering an unknown call. It might be someone I want to talk to, and if not I can hang up.

 

On their scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best, I gave the Dems and the President 3, and the Repubs 1.

You are mistaken in calling me a liberal. I am a socialist. I voted for Obama not because I liked his policies (which are middle-of-the-road and compromise far too much with reactionaries) but because I consider him a basically honest man, something we've not had in the White House since I've been old enough to be aware of politics. I won't say more because this is not the politics forum. But you do me an injustice when you call me a liberal. Liberals are far too moderate for me. I would discard capitalism in favor of a free-market system in which the owners of labor, that is, the workers, rather than the owners of capital, that is, the idle rich, have the say in the running of companies. NOTE: I would not discard the market or money and I would not (as in the former Soviet Union) give business decisions to the government. Companies would still compete as now. But the decisions and the profits would belong to those who do the work, rather than to those who merely provide the capital.

Obama does not represent me. But he's the first man to hold the office in my memory who is not a scoundrel.

 

The most frequent annoying call I get is "I'm calling from Credit Card Services. There's nothing wrong with your account..." that's when I hang up. Of course they spoof the caller ID number so there's no way to spot or block it. And of course as mentioned above, I don't want to send every unrecognized number to voicemail.