Odenza Marketing - any experience?

[Michelle!]

I purchased a new car last fall, along with the purchase I was the proud recipient of a free cruise. This was purchased by GM through a marketing company called Odenza Marketing. You have to pay port charges and a deposit of 100.00 up front.

 

Has anyone ever had any experience with these guys - I am sure it is one of the lesser ships that they offer, and on poor date selections, but it is still less $$$ than the regular route. They do have offices in Canada as well as San Diego - I'd be interested to hear actual experiences.

 

Cheers

[Flip2cruise]

I purchased a new car last fall, along with the purchase I was the proud recipient of a free cruise. This was purchased by GM through a marketing company called Odenza Marketing. You have to pay port charges and a deposit of 100.00 up front.

 

Has anyone ever had any experience with these guys - I am sure it is one of the lesser ships that they offer, and on poor date selections, but it is still less $$$ than the regular route. They do have offices in Canada as well as San Diego - I'd be interested to hear actual experiences.

 

Cheers

 

I never heard of them and it might be more trouble than its worth. Once you pay the port fees, $100 and then taxes and whatever else they can think of you could have paid for a similar cruise.

 

I know I get a mailing about once a month from some company trying to give me a "free" cruise.

 

Enjoy that car and have a great time with whatever you decide.

[derf5585]

Odenza group is a full-service Travel Incentive company,

from

http://www.odenza.com/

[Michelle!]

Thanks for your replies. I understand what Odenza does, I was just hoping someone had actually booked through them and used their products before. Oh well - I may forgo booking this way.

 

Thanks again.

[Michelle!]

BTW - thanks Liberty Cruiser - I have booked a similiar RCCL trip this winter - we shall see...may forgo the free trip after all!

 

Cheers!

[Ship Addict]

This is the reply I sent to someone else asking a similar question:

 

The free cruises are great IF you can follow their instructions to the letter. I have dealt with two incentive companies in the past -- Spirit Incentives and Infinity Incentive Group.

 

Spirit Incentives seemed like a reputable company to me. I had to pay the $100 deposit when I booked, but when I had to cancel the reservation, they promptly refunded my money. I wasn't asked to send them any more money until they had confirmed that I was booked on a cruise.

 

Infinity Incentives really pi**ed me off. I didn't find out until after I sent in the original "booking request" form that I had to pay for the entire trip in advance. They wouldn't extend my deadline or anything so I could have more time to gather the money. So I lost that trip.

 

The one thing I didn't like with incentive cruises, assuming everything else goes well, is the fact that you have to wait til about 30 days out before you know for sure if you are going to get on the ship or not. I think I would have been heartbroken if I got all excited about a cruise, did a bunch of new cruise clothes shopping, etc., and then found out I wasn't going to make it on the ship.

 

All that said, I would not go through all the garbage to get the "free cruise" anymore. I have tried twice and failed, so now instead of investing all that time and energy in getting a few hundred dollars off a cruise, I think I would rather just fork out the additional money and KNOW that I will be on the ship and sailing of my choice.

[kluv2cruz]

I too have one of these "odenza" free cruise coupons. Anyone have any experience with successfully cruising with Odenza?

[NRWO]

My dad once told me a valuble saying that I'm sure everyone has heard, but we all seem to be slow to accept..

 

Nothing in life is free..

[StacyandTim]

I'm a TA and I see people giving away these cruise certificates all the time for purchasing their products and services....It just might be more work than it's worth. Also, as a TA, there is NO POSSIBLE way for me to get cruise certificates unless I buy thousands of dollars worth up front directly from the cruise line.

 

Buyer beware, as NRWO said, nothing in life is "free", and if it is, and it's legit, then it is probably not worth all the BS to actually "get it".

 

If you do end up using it, let us know how it goes!

[NRWO]

The classic is the old "buy one get one free" certificates that are floating around. Of course in fine print you see this is based on the "brochure rate." And conveniently enough the brochure rate is usually double the super-saver rate. Imagine that.

[Wennfred]

I purchased a new car last fall, along with the purchase I was the proud recipient of a free cruise. This was purchased by GM through a marketing company called Odenza Marketing. You have to pay port charges and a deposit of 100.00 up front.

 

Has anyone ever had any experience with these guys - I am sure it is one of the lesser ships that they offer, and on poor date selections, but it is still less $$$ than the regular route. They do have offices in Canada as well as San Diego - I'd be interested to hear actual experiences.

 

Cheers

 

BAD NEWS !! My experience, I got the Free 3 day cruise when I went to a Time Share event. I mailed in the ticket and they mailed me back 3 dates to select from on that 3 day ship. I had pay 259.00 for port charges and taxes total. A month before the cruise I started to worry and I called and called and no one would talk to me, finally I told the reception lady to find me someone and they did. Finally I got to talk to someone, they gave me some sob story that the person that had my account quit and no one continue to persue my account etc. then they told me that I would have to resked my vacation and that I had 1 year to do it.. I couldnt beleive it.

 

I told them to refund my Port Charges and taxes fees and they did.

 

Try calling them now and see if you can get anyone, also when you leave your name and number they wont return your calls.

 

Odenza Marketing IS FULL OF ****.

[kluv2cruz]

Thanks so much for your kind replies. I will keep persuing this - not because I think I'll get a deal (I know there's no such thing...) but because its unfair marketing to lure people in saying buy a car, listen to a timeshare etc..... and get a free cruise or 2 for 1 or... Great to hear people's experiences. I'll post again if I ever hear from Odenza!

[kluv2cruz]

Thought I'd ask the Odenza question again. Any other experiences?

[flashdog_1]

I know that if these free cruises are legitimate then the cruise lines are only giving away their expected unsold inventory in the lowest category etc.

 

I'm wondering if anyone succeeded in getting the cruise, and if so, how far out was it confirmed?

 

I know, if it seems too good to be true that is probably the case.

[Wennfred]

I purchased a new car last fall, along with the purchase I was the proud recipient of a free cruise. This was purchased by GM through a marketing company called Odenza Marketing. You have to pay port charges and a deposit of 100.00 up front.

 

Has anyone ever had any experience with these guys - I am sure it is one of the lesser ships that they offer, and on poor date selections, but it is still less $$$ than the regular route. They do have offices in Canada as well as San Diego - I'd be interested to hear actual experiences.

 

Cheers

 

Im surprised these pieces of crap are still around. I was given one of their certificates after attending a Trend West Time Share seminar, thats the only reason why I went to get the free 3 day cruise.

 

This deal turned out to be a fiasco. You still have to come up with the 295.00 for port charges and taxes and then they give you 3 date choices of which you can select from. I selected a Feb time frame and then never heard back from them. I called and called them many times, they only give you the Canada phone number and everyonce in a while you get the reception desk person with no one there to answer your questions. I was 1 month to cruise date and still no Booking number no Docs, Finally I got that reception person again and threaten to sue the heck out of them and they put me on to someone else. They stated that the person that was handling my cruise either quit or was fired and my application was never processed and that now I had to select another cruise date when I already put in for the Feb vacation date at work. She stated I needed to put in for it again a year later. I asked for my 295.00 refund and it showed up in the mail a few days later.

 

Do not at any cost deal with these people. Totall scam.

 

As you can see I wrote about this already!!! Im still pissed off !!!

 

 

Fred

[flashdog_1]

most of the people complaining had been "given" a short cruise to the Bahamas from Ft Lauderdale on one of those little ships that provide this "service" for people who are bored with FLL and want to go gamble in Nassau.

 

My voucher is for one of several of the popular big lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, & Norwegian in Hawaii. I had contacted Disney, HAL, Princess and Celebrity to find out if they participated in Spirit Incentives' free cruises. They did not. Disney said they generally ran 100% full, and Celebrity said they didn't do it period, and I never heard back from HAL or Princess.

 

I asked the agent if the bottom line was going to be that they'd tell me nothing was available on my chosen line and offer me something else on some other date. She said they stuck to the 3 dates the passenger chose (30 days apart), 60 days distant from the original letter after you paid your port charges and taxes of $299 pp, and those 3 dates could not fall within a week of a holiday, and excluded high season like summer. Shoot, there are lots of holidays!! So I called them to be absolutely sure which holidays they recognized and she gave me the exact black out dates. She listed the same holidays that were in the booking instructions.

 

She said the only time they'd offer something else would be if they had been unable to book us on any one of the 3 dates. Now if that happens, we'd be into summer, and they'd charge an additional $199 I think, per person. The brochure says you can get a refund if they have not fulfilled their part, by writing to them. You bet that will be certified if that happens.

 

Pretty much it comes down to A Caribbean cruise since to book Canada/New England on 3 dates 30 days apart that are not in summer (out of New York only), would be difficult or impossible When you don't have your confirmation until 15-30 days out, there are more than likely no seats for frequent flyer miles, so Hawaii is out unless you want to pay big bucks for air. Bermuda was not on any of the itineraries, but the embarkation port of Philadelphia was listed. So there WERE some unresolved issues with the certificate.

 

I will come back here and let everyone know if I ever get a cruise or a refund!!

 

I'm posting again hoping someone who actually received a cruise from them will read this and tell us. The time share agent said he got a post card from one of his buyers while they were on their cruise, so I'm still hoping. I'd love to know what the salesman had to pay for the certificates!

[luckycruzer]

he cuold still be right..those are trash to me!

[Wennfred]

The scam is if you do buy into a Time Share you might get a cruise, if you don't good luck getting one with this company.

 

 

Fred

[kluv2cruz]

thanks flashdog for posting your experiences. definately felt like it had to be a full moon and then only if I had green hair.... anxiously away your next instalment!

[flashdog_1]

Only a couple more days to wait before I know about the first of the 3 dates I selected. When the 30 days prior date passed and I had heard nothing, I called. The clerk who answered said, "it looks like they are working on your cruise, so let me give you the number for reservations." I called reservations and the man I spoke with said he'd know something Monday or Wednesday (their computer system was down yesterday) and would call me. the only question he asked was, "are you going to keep the bunk bed inside cabin or did you want to upgrade?" Maybe I don't know my ships, but I was not aware that Royal Caribbean HAS bunk beds in even its lowest category (he is thinking Carnival). I told him we'd stick with the lowest category. This is sort of a test to see if we can get what the certificate says. If he comes back with "there are no more inside cabins but I can give you an outside for X$ more" I'll know the game we are playing and can respond appropriately. I'll post again when I hear from them.

[skylock]

Looking forward to hear how this works out.

 

Thanks for keeping us posted.

[Snoozeman]

Many moons ago a rural GM dealer had a promo promoting a free cruise with each purchase made on a certain day. I heard it on the radio and went over and bought the cheapest new pickup (for my business) they had just to get the cruise. It was a seven day O/V cabin on NCL. No problems whatsoever. I really don't remember if I paid port charges, but I may have. So it can happen, but I do not recall the name of the 3rd party handling the cruise promotion. Good luck.

[flashdog_1]

Sad. I knew there'd be some "gimic" but wasn't positive of what it would be.

 

When I originally talked to Spirit travel I asked if they were going to push Carnival because I did not want the itinerary on Carnival out of Port Canaveral. Oh no, they were not going to do that. They were going to request my exact dates, which were Mariner of the Seas dates only.

 

I never heard from them, so called 30 days out. They gave me the reservations phone number, as if it were a separate office. (well, today I called customer service # and talked to the same person I'd talked to 10 minutes before in the reservation office).

 

This agent gave me 3 alternative dates to the ones I'd requested. Two were one day earlier which would have been fine, but one was 2 weeks earlier which would not fit my daughter's work/travel schedule.

 

Not having been prepared for this, I did not have Glory's itinerary so asked. She said Western Caribbean, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan and Freeport. I looked on several travel sites and none showed Freeport, only Nassau. None showed Roatan, but one showed Costa Maya which I know was wiped out from a recent hurricane, so thought perhaps Roatan was being offered as an alternative port. Then I went to the Carnival site and it just had an extra day at sea.

 

The product being offered as an alternative was not comparable to the RCCL product of Western Caribbean: Labadee, Ocho Rios, Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

 

I asked if I needed to wait for the April RCCL date I'd chosen, or if I could get a refund immediately. She said it was up to me. I requested it. Said I'd get my check in 10-14 business days.

 

So it really appeared that they never had any intention of honoring my dates on Royal Caribbean, but were just pushing Carnival.

 

If I get my money back all I will have lost is a "free hotel" certificate I was going to use in Port Canaveral. Now it will expire before I can use it on my next flight/cruise.

 

What do they say, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"? Yeah.

[Jim-8-BO]

I purchased a car last year and to my surprise I was given the free cruise for 2. It was through odenza travel in Canada. I called them they gave me 3 dates for the Miracle which I traded my cupon +$500.00 and received a Balcony cabin for the 7 day cruise out of Tampa.

 

It worked well for me so if you have any certificates you don't want send them to me.

 

jim-8-Bo

[flashdog_1]

Today's mail included a check for $599 from Spirit Travel, so at least I didn't lose anything except grief! Thanks for bearing with me on this.