*****free cruise won playing "deal or no deal" on ncl breakaway*****

Hello All,

I'll start off by saying that hubby and I would not have any luck, if it weren't for bad luck. ;)

So, we just got back from the NCL Breakaway in NY. My hubby ended up winning a free cruise on Deal or No Deal, although he doesn't believe it. We have been going through some of the old threads and it seems that those who have won a free cruise on these NCL cruises are not very happy and state these cruises are not free at all. Has anyone else won a free cruise on NCL during the last year or so, and provide some insight on how your "free cruise" process went.

We know there will be some charges associated with it...I mean, you have to pay taxes, but I read one thread where the person stated the taxes were over $700. Now, I just took a cruise and I know what I paid for taxes, so I don't know how they could justify almost doubling the taxes.

Again, any insight would be helpful.

Why not call the cruise line directly and see what this cruise will cost you?

I'm not getting very far with the number they gave me.

Hmm, I'm wondering if the taxes referred to were what they had to pay the IRS on the value of the prize won, and not just the port taxes on the cruise. :confused: That still seems very high, though.

Can you not do a mock booking to know how much it will ask you to pay, then terminate the process?

I won a river cruise several years ago, and the company did send me a 1099 form stating the value of the cruise to submit with our 1040. I believe what you eventually pay will depend upon your tax bracket.

OK, I think I can be of some help here...

@OP, I was on the Breakaway the week after you and I won a free cruise from the Bingo Raffle on the last day. For me it is ANY 7 Day Caribbean Cruise. It has to be 7 days and the cruise description has to be "Caribbean" - east, west, south, doesn't matter. It is also for an inside room. I would have to just pay the taxes that are added to every cruise above the room cost. On the certificate is a number to call to redeem - it is the ONLY way to book this cruise.

You get NO extras with your room. No UDP, dinners etc...

You CAN upgrade to a different cabin and pay the difference.

You CAN use it on a different cruise (3 day, 10 day, different ports of call) BUT then it becomes a $1000 credit.

I booked a 7 day Caribbean Cruise on the Escape in September. It came out to $320.00 total for taxes & fees. I then upgraded to an Aft Balcony for an additional $360/pp upcharge. So for ~$1040 I received a $2700 cruise. You won't hear me complain at all - thank you NCL!!!

If your taxes are $700 it's because that is what the fees are for everyone on your cruise based on port fees. But that seems very steep.

Altlhough I've never won anything of value like this, I have heard that people who win larger value items that have a gift tax can submit to the IRS proof of the actual market value of the item. Most times prizes won on venues like The Price is Right are valued very high by the provider because this makes it look like you won something more expensive. Usually this price is much higher than what someone would actually pay in a store.

For instance, for a cruise, the value might be stated as the list price, which almost nobody pays. If your inside stateroom is valued, say, at $700 by the cruise line but you can find it on sale at $399 somewhere, you can submit proof of this and will only pay taxes on the fair market value.

Just something for you to investigate.

I wish that I still had my notification letter, but that's what happened with me, too. The brochure price was $3,000, but the 1099 listed $2,000. The company told me what they would be submitting to the IRS before I signed the prize acceptance.