How cruise scammers cheat on you: 6 of popular scam schemes

Flashy commercials can make it seem like a cruise is a lifelong dream come true. Indeed, a cruise can be a wonderful experience. But sometimes this experience turns from a dream into a disaster.

Фото: Depositphotos

A cruise is both a means of transportation and a destination for your vacation. Cruise scammers actively use this combination and can deceive you both at the booking stage and during the trip, writes USA Today. Here are the six most popular cruise scam schemes.

1. "Free cruise"

This scheme has existed for a long time and prevails in online cruise fraud stories. You receive a letter stating that you “won” a cruise or were “chosen” for a free cruise to the Bahamas (often from a company with the word Caribbean in the name, despite the fact that the Bahamas are not in the Caribbean).

What you actually get:

• “Fees and taxes”, including those levied by the cruise line in addition to state duties;
• the requirement to view the presentation in the style of aggressive pressure on the client, which can last 4 or 5 hours;
• dirty cabin on an outdated ship without air conditioning;
• a piece of land for relaxation in a dilapidated resort;
• constant pressure to “improve” conditions on a ship or resort for money.

The Internet is filled with stories of people who succumbed to such scams and suffered from their fraudulent scheme.

2. Port Fraud

Among the most common schemes are those involving local residents at ports of call. Usually this costs the victim a small loss of time and money, but sometimes things can turn out worse. A typical scam involves fake taxi drivers shouting "taxi", grabbing your luggage and asking for payment, then handing you over to a real taxi driver, who ignores the fact that the payment has already taken place and charges you for the fare. In other cases, drivers charge you 5 times more on the meter than the fare for the actual distance you drove.

Of course, in the port and city you can accidentally stumble upon (or they will find you on their own) pickpockets, currency swindlers, and credit card swindlers. Be especially wary of a merchant who tries to bill your card in US dollars—it sounds good, but you're more likely to fall victim to an exchange scam. Being vigilant and wary can protect you from most local scams, but there's always a chance you'll get unlucky.

Фото: Depositphotos

3. Bad excursions and local “art”

It's not exactly a straight-up cruise scam, but what does irritate many port visitors is a sightseeing tour that includes an hour in a gift shop chosen for the cash kickbacks rather than the merchandise.

A similar cruise scam is paintings drawn by local street "artists" that are actually lightly colored sketches pre-printed on a printer.

4. Cruise Fraud Online

A potentially dangerous scam can jeopardize your identity, documents, or both. Here's what it looks like: you receive an email, allegedly sent by a cruise line or a resort, asking you to follow the link for more information about the upcoming cruise.

On the subject: Secrets that cruise companies will not tell you

Such letters come from those who hacked the data of the cruise line or the operator to get the names of current and potential customers. And, obviously, either the message itself or the link contains malware.

This online scam is like fake emails from FedEx or UPS asking you to verify information about upcoming shipments.

5. Fake prices and discounts

If you see a 75% discount, then you are expecting a bargain, right? In fact, this is not always the case.

The base price from which these 75% is deducted is often a complete fiction. Even “brochure price” may mean nothing in this case. Therefore, forget about big discounts from fake prices.

You can decide whether a deal is actually a good deal by comparing its price to similar cruises and checking independent cruise review sites - e.g. SmarterTravel, Cruise Critic.

Фото: Depositphotos

6. Fine print of your contract

While this is not a cruise scam in the classic sense, the worst problems you can encounter arise precisely from the contract you voluntarily agree to when purchasing a cruise. These contracts are one-sided “standard terms contracts” that you would never sign if you had the opportunity to negotiate the terms yourself.

On the subject: Why Americans love cruises so much

Although the contracts from company to company are slightly different, almost all allow cruise lines to take off a lot of problems and force you to abandon what is usually your right as a consumer. Among them, the cruise line can:

• cancel the trip for any legitimate reason without prior notice;
• evict you or change your cabin without compensation or refund;
• Demand that you accept a refund of fees without the right of return;
• deviate from routes and schedules without prior notice;
• refuse to refund or indemnify as a result of cancellation or change for reasons not under the exclusive control of the cruise line;
• make proportional refunds or refunds only in the form of a future cruise loan if your cruise ends ahead of time;
• not to bear any responsibility for the actions committed by any subcontractor, including the ship's doctor and shore guides;
• search your cabin and things without notice;
• refuse responsibility for emotional distress or mental suffering under any circumstances other than those that you can prove in court as a result of bodily harm or the imminent risk of injury;
• limit your ability to resolve a dispute in a single designated federal court or even in another country;
• prevent you from filing a class action lawsuit;
• limit the cost of your personal property to 50 US dollars per traveler or 100 US dollars per cabin, unless you buy additional insurance;
• forbid you to drink local alcohol while on board;
• demand that disputes be resolved by forced arbitration.

This is not a complete list; make sure you know what you are signing up for when you buy a cruise. Consider buying cruise insurance for added protection in case something goes wrong.

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