Complaint Review: Caribbean Cruise Lines - Nationwide

I am a former employee with Ramada Plaza Resorts/Imperial Majesty/Caribbean Cruiseline customer service & verification center in Ft. Lauderdale FL. My job was to answer the phone calls and try to assist customers in keeping and booking their packages. I was told to do everything by their rules because there is plenty of legal crap in there that covers Ramada's rear end. The vacation package is actually legal, but the way the script is written makes it very difficult for your average consumer to understand. It's filled with hidden disclaimers, plenty of sur-charges, and just alot of untold money involved. At first I was never told that customers could not get a refund, we were instructed to say that the vacation could be extended, for a huge and usually made up fee or transferred to another person, but the customer had to buy it first. The sales script talks about the Ramada Plaza resort in Ft. Lauderdale but neglects to mention that it is in a terrible neighborhood surrounded by heavy traffic. All they say is that it's about 15 minutes from the beach. Not with the traffic in that area! When a customer would get upset at buying the vacation, the managers would take over (T.O.)the call and sweet talk the customer into buying it or if you already have a package into keeping it, offering food included, $50 in gambling tokens (once you put $50 up first) and the option of extending the time limit to 2 years (which most the time is a lie and your stuck with 18 months). Some people fell for it and bought the package. I cannot say what the cruise is like because they just got a so called new ship named the Bahamas Celebration which is just a ship thats old but has been 'renovated'. I also can't say what the resort in Orlando is like due to it being shut down (I'll let you figure out why). What I can say is that while the package is not a scam, in reality it's not as great as the script describes. I no longer work for the company because they are running out of ammo and people aren't biting the bait hardly anymore due to the bad publicity as well as the economy. The sales reps get paid on commission, the more money the customer puts down on the deposit, the higher the cut for the sales rep. You can imagine that the reps including customer service and reservations will say just about anything they are legally allowed to say because they all want a bigger paycheck! If you receive one of these vouchers package deals, don't bother. You'll probably be disappointed because the description sounds amazing and the trip really isn't. Good luck on trying to cancel, you will be directed to a 'customer care specialist' (ext. 5354) who is nothing more then someone who is better trained to tell you no. All I can say is try mentioning the BBB and that you will dispute with your credit card company (they really hate that). And please don't ask for Dan Lambert (the so called president), I worked there pretty long and still never met him. Florida is really a great place to travel, but don't do it on a vacation package might just come out cheaper if you do it on your own. No such thing as free...this is your warning....hope this help someone out :) P.S. I am trully upset with myself for working there for as long as I did, just hope they go out of business soon because that company is doing nothing but sinking on their own ship...And what goes around always comes around. :)