GeoffM

I'm not surprised at all by this. So last year wifey and I decided to go on one of those timeshare presentations, knowing full well the horror stories that often ensue. We rock up at their place in Vegas under the landing path at the airport. Got told we were staying at the SLS (site of the old Sahara) - got lucky there as the other possibilities weren't great. Next day go to presentation - in and out in about 3.5 hours, of course there was a hard sell but not bothered by it, and told them we have no intention of buying anything, and their maths didn't add up anyway. So, we get another 3 nights at the SLS, all our own time now. Check-out, expecting to pay resort fee, nope - good again. Also got $50 gift card to spend. So far so good. In fact, for the sake of 3.5 hours of hard sell, I was quite satisfied with 4 nights accommodation at the SLS and $50 with nothing further to pay.

However, what attracted us in the first place was the "free cruise". Today I phoned them to enquire as to availability for 4 days Long Beach to Ensenada (Mexico) - it's known as a booze cruise and one of their cheaper offerings. Of course, no availability on the dates we want. Enquire another date and our free cruise will only cost $913! Only $913 for a free cruise! Includes port fees but not gratuities - so the mandatory total would be $913, no hidden charges beyond that. Broken down it was about $200 booking fee per person, times four people, plus a room upgrade fee.

So I go onto the Carnival website and select the same cabin and number of people. Grand total (including port fees, not including gratuities, same as above)? $1001. My "free cruise" that costs $913 saves me $88 off the full prize! Whoopeedoo!

Yeah, it's a bit cheaper but "free" it is not! Like I say, I'm not surprised, nor even miffed. Unfortunately I'm now a hardened skeptic when it comes to advertising in the US. FWIW, though I can't find it now, Carnival were also headling "CRUISE FOR $49 PER PERSON!" (terms and conditions apply. Price is per person per day. Price does not include fuel surcharge, booking fee, port fees, taxes, or gratuities. Grand total probably $800-1000 for 2 people once you add the mandatory fees if you can find a date it's valid on).

As you were.

Marc_ely

Don't worry, we've done that cruise. Catalina is nice for a couple of hours, but Ensenada is a total shithole :-0

I really detest the way that so many things are advertised at one price and then extra costs get tacked on. But it's not just in the money grabbing US - it's a disease everywhere now.

lizzyq

Heinlein was right, TANSTAAFL or in this case TANSTAAFC

Octang Frye

I don't understand how people can be taken in by timeshares, essential oils, MLMs etc. And I'm not talking stupid people (on paper). A friend has a master's in mathematics and was a software engineer for many years.
Timeshare <check>
Magic alkaline water <check>
Herbalife <check>
"Essential" oils <check>

GeoffM

We stayed in Ensenada overnight on a road trip to our neighbour's Mexican house. It's okay, but I can imagine it being a hell hole on a cruise day (thankfully wasn't when we were there).

Just seems more prevalent here though. Book a room in Vegas and you won't be told until the final steps that the price you've been seeing all through the booking process is not the price you pay - the dreaded resort fees, on top of normal taxes. Harrah's, for example, seem to pop-up in my Facebook feed with their $35 room specials. But it's not $35, it's more like $75 per night for all the mandatory costs. Our Verizon "deal" was advertised as $33.33 for each of internet, TV, and landline but the actual monthly cost was $165. Repeat ad nauseum.

I was asking friends about back in the UK and it seems more regulated there - all fees are up front rather than suddenly added at the end. We could thank Ryanair and the likes for these sorts of rules. Just asked someone in Australia as well, and they don't recognise stuff like the above paragraph happening there either.

One just kind of rolls one's eyes these days instead of being surprised or shocked.

GeoffM

It does seem to work for some people but I think you really have to go in for the highest level and use it. All the others are paying for me to stay in Vegas for 4 nights, and for people standing in shopping centres trying to sell the timeshares.

MLMs as well, if you're in at the start, and it's successful, then you can earn big. Everybody else (the 98 percenters) is desperately running around trying to sell to their few remaining friends.

tom169

I think I'd also sit through a scam sales pitch for 3 hours to get a 4 night stay. That said, they're awful products, and sometimes near on impossible to break out of.

zzrmark

Should you actually ever have to do any proper work such as welding and receive spatter burns or remove hot stuff from an oven and touch racks that you know will have blistered your hands by the next morning (if left untreated) then you'll be glad to know that you can avoid all that nasty blistering, peeling skin and scarring with the simple application of Lavender oil.
Being a simple being, rather than keep a ten buck bottle in your medicine cabinet/first aid kit, you'd rather fork out for an unnecessary trip to the ER, a nice large co-pay and plastic surgery to cover up scarring because you were too blinkered to dab on a bit of Lavender immediately after the burn. And there was me thinking that the type of idiot that falls for the big pharma hype of how that little magic pill will cure all is exactly the type of muppet that invests in time share.

So, whilst I agree with the rest of your list, please don't discount some of the traditional medical remedies just because you've been brain washed by big pharma. Don't believe me? Just try taking St John's Wort with your blood pressure meds and see what happens!!! (Disclaimer: please don't, your family might regret it).

GeoffM

Well, goshdarnitt, I'm calling my dealer right now for the correct sphincter of Lavender. Or is it tincture? Can never remember.

One thing I will say is sod the Lemsip and the likes for colds. Fresh lemon (well, as fresh as supermarkets go), root ginger, boil. Raw garlic if you can stomach it.

As for timeshares, we did later do one in Cancun (first one was tolerable, so how bad can they be? Oops). Off site, took way longer than what we were told, a little harder to shake them off, but we did get a beachside 7 course dinner with wine which they normally sell for $99. Not sure that one was actually worth it though. Live and learn.