Anybody ever won a free cruise for filling out the survey?

Just got back and filled out the survey primarily to give a great crew their props. But in the back if my mind... It sure would be great to win one.

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You're not alone hoping.

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I would love to win it too. I am just worried about the value of the prize and how much it will be taxed. I like getting a big refund.

I would love to win it too. I am just worried about the value of the prize and how much it will be taxed. I like getting a big refund.

Friends won a vacation from the radio.

They were able to prove that the cost was less than the value by getting the costs of everything.

I didn't win for the survey but won the free cruise that is given away in the casino at 11:30 pm on the last night of the cruise. I will be on the Dream for the 10/22/17 cruise. I had to sign a tax form which will be mailed to me after I take the cruise.

Friends won a vacation from the radio.

They were able to prove that the cost was less than the value by getting the costs of everything.

Since cruise prices change frequently, which price would be used: the price when you book the free cruise or the price on the day you sail?

Since cruise prices change frequently, which price would be used: the price when you book the free cruise or the price on the day you sail?

Price at booking. Watch for price drops.

I have won a free cruise from Carnival (but not for the survey).

It's not as "free" as you might hope. You will have to pay tax, as it is considered "income" (Carnival will send you a 1099 form).

However, the value of the cruise will be substantially higher than what you could get with an Early Saver, or even just watching for price drops. In other words, the 1099 form will necessitate you paying taxes on a "premium" cruise price.

Yes, it's still a free cruise, and no complaints on my part. Just be aware that the "$500" cabin you could book yourself will be listed as a "$900" cabin on the Carnival 1099..

Could you attempt to protest that price ? Perhaps, but I didn't think it was worth the effort to get into a dispute with the IRS. And how would you argue that highest published price for a cabin isn't the value that you won ? IRS doesn't care what discounts you may be able to get watching for price drops.

Just my comments from my own personal experience....

1. Must be a scam as I never win

2. A friends son took 2nd place in one of the casino blackjack tournaments and they were invited to a future cruise to play in an ALL winners tourney (but they had to pay for that cruise so what exactly did he win. Of course he did not go)

We won a Princess cruise once through Imperial Sugar, but never received a 1099.

We won a Princess cruise once through Imperial Sugar, but never received a 1099.

Only prizes $600 and up are taxable. I doubt your cruise was under $600, so they probably goofed. I wonder how someone would self report the prize if they didn't receive a 1099.

Yes, the prize package was $4950 & they even sent us a check for the leftover onboard credit. I figured for sure we would get a 1099, but we never did. I would not have known who to actually report the earnings were from, Imperial Sugar or their holding company or some promo company.

Nope,,,over 55 Carnival cruises, but NEVER won anything?

"SKY"

I own a timeshare, and for sitting through yet another presentation, they gave me a week at my favorite resort and a 'free' cruise. Because I 'earned' it, I didn't have to pay income tax on it, and the week at the resort was awesome... but the 'free' cruise that they gave me meant I had to pay port fees and taxes. But what you figure out on the Carnival site the port fees and taxes should be is always lower than what they charge you! I was told that even though the cost of the cabin was ~$700, and the total cost of the mock booking was ~$800, the port fees and taxes were more like $300 pp, not the $100 I had figured... according to them, there are service fees I had to pay that are normally included in the cabin cost. So my 'free' cruise would have cost me almost $700 for 2 people!

I ended up doing it, only because I got a great deal to upgrade to a balcony, but that only was offered when I basically told them they could keep the cruise. This was all handled by the TA who deals with cruises for this hotel chain.

Another thing that always puzzles me- how do you get travel insurance for a 'free' cruise? I tried to get it through a standard travel insurance group and they would only insure what I actually paid for!

We had travel insurance on the one we won, maybe because it was a set prize value. I guess if something had happened where we missed the cruise, it would have given us the money to book another one? Basically, what the company had done is purchased several Princess gift cards. They just used those to pay for the air, cruise, excursions, insurance & onboard account. We could have used it for hotel, but the hotels linked to Princess were starting at $300 per night. We decided to choose a modest hotel & use that money on board. As it was, we still couldn't use it all up.

We have never won a cruise by answering the survey but we did get a $100 onboard credit good for 2 yrs for answering the survey.

Have not heard of anyone winning .

Yes you can fight the difference. I won a computer and monitor back in the 80's that was advertised at the time for $10k. By the time they awarded the prize it was valued at $8500 and got a 1099 for it but for some reason when it arrived I happened to get my hands on a price sheet showing it was available for $300 less and held on to it. Accountant used that value and retained a copy of the price sheet in the even IRS questioned it.

Later when I was doing tax law and there were valuation differences always had clients document their basis. Ran into that a bit during the farm crisis. Some banks would write off a debt and send a 1099 valued at what they would have collected had all payments been resumed and paid on time, we always reduced it remaining balance and never had an issue, but then again I was dealing with people who had been wiped out and now got hit with a tax bill for forgiven debt.