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BJ’s $149 Cruise: Don’t Expect the Advertised Extras

bjscruiseThere are some unprecedented bargains being offered in the cruise industry these days.

Here is an offer from BJ’s Wholesale Club for a four-night cruise for an amazing $149 — just $37 a night.

Besides that, they are promising getting up to $500 of credit to spend on the ship and even, possibly, a BJ’s gift card of up to $200.  Sounds like they are going to pay you to take this trip.

When you begin to get the details of the trip, the promises change.

*MOUSE PRINT:

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In one place, it indicates that the onboard spending is only “up to $100” and in another place the onboard spending is a $200 coupon booklet.  Neither of those is the up to $500 promised.  Worse, when you click the “see details” link, more bad news is delivered.

*MOUSE PRINT:

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Looks like we do not qualify for any shipboard credit on two counts: (1) it only applies on trips of six days or longer; and (2) the advertised $37 rate is for an inside cabin, and only outside cabins qualify.

As one clicks further, hope is restored with this:

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And hope is dashed by the fine print footnote:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Carnival onboard savings booklet offer is valid only for new individual bookings made between 3/3/09 and 4/1/09 for oceanview staterooms on all sailings of 5 nights or longer, departing after 5/1/09.

Finally, what about that BJ’s $200 gift card that was advertised?  Well, we lose on that score too because we don’t meet the minimum purchase requirement.

*MOUSE PRINT:

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On checking with a reservation specialist at BJ’s Travel, one further learns that the $149 rate is an interior room with only bunk beds (ouch), and with taxes and fees comes to $201.73.  To upgrade to two lower beds is an additional $30 per person.

When asked whether the email advertisement was deceptive because the advertised price did not include the extras stated, she said that it was not misleading because the advertised rates have certain restrictions and criteria for getting those rates.

But there is good news, we do qualify for a reduced deposit. Thanks for nothing.

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The 14 oz. Pint and Other Downsized Products — Part 1

The pace of products shrinking in size does not seem to have diminished during the winter of 2008-2009.

Here are some of the latest items that have been downsized:

*MOUSE PRINT:

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It is hard to see the difference in the two ice cream containers unless you look at them side by side. The subtle tapering of the new package would not be obvious to the casual purchaser.

*MOUSE PRINT:

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Paper towels is one of the categories of items that has been downsized repeatedly. This time, P&G is using the old trick of announcing a seeming improvement (“25% thicker quilts”) to divert your attention away from the fact that they are giving you 10 fewer sheets per roll.

We weighed the old and new towel packages. The new one weighed less, suggesting that the paper really was not 25% thicker and thus heavier. So Mouse Print* asked the company if in fact the towels were 25% thicker, or whether they just made the indentations in the paper slightly deeper.

Their non-response:

Thank you for sharing your disappointment with our product. Our goal is to produce high quality products that consistently delight our consumers and I’m sorry this wasn’t your experience. Please be assured I’m sharing your comments with the rest of our team.

 

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The Secret Date When Airfares Skyrocket

With many people cutting back on vacation plans this year due to the economy, you should know that there is an almost magical date before which you can save a bundle, and after which you could get soaked on airfares.

Here is part of an advertisement for Alitalia (and hats off to them for being possibly the only airline to advertise complete fares with all taxes and airport fees included).  Note the dramatic jump in prices:

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Summer rates are nearly $500 higher than spring airfares. What is the magical date when fares turn from rockbottom to ridiculous? The valuable answer is buried in the mouse print:

*MOUSE PRINT:

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May 25 this year for some airlines is the last day to fly before higher summer rates begin, particularly for international flights.

On other airlines, for example, fares between NYC and Madrid are nearly $400 more expensive on May 26 than they are on May 25:

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Of course, there are dates when the fare comes down again, but generally not to the level they were in the spring.

If you can’t plan your trip to end by May 25, you might be able to still save some money by starting the trip before May 26 and ending it in June.  A friend who was flying Continental from New York to Madrid, and then returning from London could have lowered the price of his June trip from $715 to $490 merely by starting it on May 25 — two weeks earlier than planned.

How much could you save by being flexible in your travel dates? Use Kayak.com’s new fare calendar to see at a glance what the lowest airfare is between point A and point B on any day in any month.

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