Blue Star Cruises Grand Celebration Deceptive telephone sales, omission of requirement to attend sales presentations Ft Lauderdale, Fla Ramada Welcome Center Florida
I was called by a pollster, who said answer 2 questions and win a free cruise to the Bahama. I had just retired and looking for vacation. They offered upgrades such as 2 days in Ft Lauderdale and 2 days in Orlando, a rental car, 2 days on thr Island, all inclusive, etc, I ended up paying almost $1700, not counting $400 to upgrade to a safe vehicle, the taxes and other extra charges. So, no I did know it was not free, however, not once did they ever mention that the first 2 days in Ft Lauderdale would be lost to timeshare and vacation club presentations.
They did not explain that these wer required to get the voucher for the cruise, the stay in the Bahamas and for the last 2 days in the hotel. We found that out after we were forced to go to get the vouchers. There was in fine print on the ititerary a statement that said "Tour of the resort"I assumed that was where we were staying , as the email I revieved with instructions was from "Ramada Plaza Resort" and did not mention a timeshare presentation.
We were supposed to have VIP boarding the day of the cruise but because of the vacation club presentation we did not arrive at the port early as promised.
The food at the Ramada was less than good.
I thought the Cruise and 2 day stay at the resort were good, but by the time we got there I was livid and was sick the whole 4 days. $1700 would have been a bargain, had it not been for the surprise of the required presentations, and the feeling that we had been mislead. All the people I talked to there at the hotel felt the same way.
They may be staying barely inside the law, but seems to be these are very deceptive sells practices and I will be telling everyone I can.