Hello again.

Before we start this episode of  "Attack of the Vacation Killers" ,a quick quiz...

 1) What is the true cost of a Bahamas Cruise (3/2) advertised on Ebay recently for $223 (Buy it now)

A) $350

B) $779

C) $949

D) $1019

Answer - D .( $1019). Here is the math- $223 (Buy it now for the package),$676  "taxes" ( $169 X 4 )  , $120 Resort taxes $15 Per person per night  ($60 X 2) = $1019

2) What does the same package cost directly from the cruise line (as of 11/5/06) ?

A) $839.92

B) $750

C) $4

D) A gajillion dollars

Answer - A (Source - Discovery Cruise Line web site 11/6/06)

3) The above questions would seem to indicate:

A) That some cruise "wholesalers" are using a loose definition of wholesale

B) Those same sellers are ripping off unsuspecting customers

C) That these sellers hope that you will never visit the cruise line directly and book this package

D) All of the above

Answer-D.

Final question-
Which of the following best describes your vacation planning:
A) I pay retail for everything. No matter what the published "rack rate" or MSRP, I pay it and don't look back.Money means nothing to me.When I am cold,I throw another $100 on the fire.

B) I plan ahead of time, do my research and don't pay more than I have to. I happily do some extra digging to avoid being ripped off.I question all nebulous or ill defined "fees" and "surcharges".I am suspicious of "Fees and taxes" that vary by the published package and the seller.

If you answered  A: There are any number of companies waiting for you to hit the "Buy it now" or "Bid Now" button of their auctions.Good luck.

If you answered B: You have not,and will not,fall for a shell game that tacks on high fees and markups on what should be a pretty straightforward transaction.Good for you.


Okay. You don't have to take a course in travel to understand that $839 is less than $1019. You probably already know that.But you also suspect that its a little bit disingenuous to list a $1019 vacation for $223. You would be right about that also.Imagine if you bought cars this way - 2007 Toyota Camry for $18,999. Engine and transmission $5999, Winshield $799, etc... Total price $76,000. How many would they sell like this ? (answer-not many because the other manufactureres would introduce truthful pricing ).It is the transparency of pricing provided by our old friend the internet that has stopped a lot of this stuff cold. But of course,some businesses would rather you not know that. They hope that you will see their slick ad with pix of sun drenched hardbodies and sparkling cruise ships and impulsively buy without doing your homework.But unless you answered A above,you are too smart for that.Short course- Make the call, Go to the website, Dig deeper !

Update- I have had a tidal flood of people asking me if this Discovery Cruise is the same "Bahamas Cruise" that is frequently seen as a "giveaway" cruise (drop in your business card,fill out the small pink "entry" form at restaurants,bars and hotels etc..) Yep. Of course,everybody that enters, "wins".You might be interested to note that the "fees and taxes" on these winning entries are almost identical to what is being charged here on Ebay for the same thing. Hmmmmm. This is not to say that its not legit,but it would suggest that Discovery sells their product for the same price to all of these "wholesalers" and they mark them up plenty .You need to know also that Discovery is really the only game in town for this service to Grand Bahama.The other companies that have tried this have gone out of business ,so Discovery really doesn't need to discount their price too much.