Goldrush Getaways Casablanca Express, CBE, Goldrush Getaways, (they are affiliates) Scam! Nothing is "free" sly deceptive "freebie" offers that are impossible to use Campbell California

Ridiculous SCAM! Buyers, prospective customers, BEWARE!

You are familiar with the TimeShare sales presentation, I am sure. At the end of your 90 minute presentation, you still receive what they offered, no questions asked. There are no hoops to jump through, no fees or "taxes" to pay on top of your "free" gift.   Not so, with Goldrush Getaways and Casablanca Express.

Goldrush Getaways entices you to come to their sales presentation by offering you a "Free Cruise for up to 4 people including airfare" just for sitting through their presentation.  What do you really get? NOTHING. And this is how you get to nothing:

After sitting through the over-the-top sales presentation, and after numerous price hacks by closer upon closer, they abruptly dismiss you from their building by handing you a certificate and telling you to follow the directions on it.

The directions are convoluted and demanding, but here it is in a nutshell:

First you have to pay $50 per person, as a deposit. This is a deposit JUST so they can process your certificate. Um, okay. They promise the deposit will go toward "taxes" on this free cruise offer. Okay, so already it isn't free. But let me continue...

After sending in the $200 (for a family of four) Two weeks later I receive a "Tax Deposit Invoice" letter, stating the date I registered, and requiring me to mail an additional $784 to them within 30 days or my certificate will be forfeited. (Aka, my $200 goes down the drain) I called to inquire about this $784 they needed and was told it is "the remainder of the taxes/fees" on the airfare and cruise. I told them I didn't need the airfare, since we lived in the area, and only was interested in the cruise. I was told that I still had to send in the $784, and that after that step was completed, I would get another letter, which I used to call and book my dates. At that time, I could decline the airfare. Supposedly, whatever money I sent ($994) was not used towards "FEES" and "TAXES" would be refunded to me.

I did not readily send in that $784, mind you. I thoroughly read the fine print and official requirements of Casablanca Express, in order to actually get this "FREE" offer.  

You have to send in the money. (In my case, $784.00, in addition to the $200 I already sent. That is $984 for a "free cruise" folks.

The staterooms are interior category 1, on the lower decks. (You can get these staterooms dirt cheap and many times of the year when they have specials. In fact, MUCH CHEAPER, than the "taxes" on this free cruise offer.

You have to provide 3 departure dates at least 60 days in advance of your first date and 30 days between subsequent dates. No travel is permitted within 5 days of all major holidays, MLK, Presidents Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (really?!), Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I repeat, NO TRAVEL WITHIN 5 DAYS, of any of those holidays. When, pray tell, would most families be able to go with those kinds of restrictions? If you miraculously found 3 departure dates among all of that blackout nonsense, you would be left with an off-season week that you probably could have purchased at a lower discount rate directly from the cruiseline.

Let's be frank, this is far from "free". If this company cant truly offer a "free" gift then it should not be presented as that. If you have this many steps for using the "free" offer (Initial deposit, secondary deposit, calling with 3 dates, etc.) then you cannot rightly offer this as a FREE cruise. It is not free at all. It would have costed $994 out of our pockets up front to pay for a cruise and airfare that were initially offered as "FREE". Unbelievable. Scam with all caps. 

They can do the spin dance all they want, trying to fall back on the "but it is free" phrase, repeatedly giving the excuse that they can't pay taxes/fees that the government imposes. Well why not? Isn't that part of what "free" means? How can anything be "free" if the recipient pays money for it? Lets get the basic definition down, Casablanca, and Goldrush Getaways, since you are the company offering these bogus "parting gifts" to those who refuse to buy into your Travel Agency package.

As it stands now, I cancelled my certificate and requested my $200 back. I spoke to "Lorraine" at Casablanca, who made sure she said rudely, "Once you cancel, you can't call back and chance your mind." OH believe me Lorraine, there will be no "calling back and changing my mind". I would have better luck flying to the moon than actually finding a single travel date that worked for the requirements.

That was July 20th, 2015. Today is August 3, 2015 and I still have not received my $200 refund. I already called back and was told "it was mailed on the 21st". Hmm. Something tells me that it wasn't, and that I will be fighting tooth and nail to get my $200 deposit back. 

Oh, did I mention that this was a FREE Cruise?