Sundance Vacations review: free cruise and sales pitch 46

Nick,
I’m Amanda the corporate communicator for Sundance Vacations. I read your post. I totally agree with your assessment of Rick. He is a personable, honest and charismatic guy. He really loves the company and our product and his enthusiasm shows in his presentation. You mention, “I want to work for him and Sundance.” You would not be the first client to come to work for us. If you are serious about a career with Sundance someday you can send a resume to pr@vacmail.com.

I will forward your comment about the music being too loud. I guess we fell victim to the same scientific studies that cause Hollister and other retailers to play upbeat music. Your point is well taken and we’ll make sure the music is upbeat but not too loud for customers in the future.

As a company it makes sense to offer a discount or a special in order to earn your business now rather than later. It wasn’t clear in your post if you understood that you can purchase a package from Sundance Vacations at any time. The only change is the special pricing. We have over 75, 000 clients and it wouldn’t be truthful to all of those people who purchased during their visit if we let you or other people have the special pricing later. I hope you can understand that logic. Sundance Vacations offers a great value even at the regular price.

If you need anything further or have questions about making arrangements for your cruise, do not hesitate to call our customer service office at [protected].

Happy Travels,

Amanda
Sundance Vacations

P.S. My only criticism of your post is your personal description of the physical features of Bill. Remember, that Bill is someone’s son, dad, husband.

Nick,
Thanks so much for your post. I was about to go to one of these sessions at the Sundance Brookfield office, but have now decided to not. My fiance lives on the east coast and when I told her that he wouldn't be able to come to the session, she said that I should just bring another person who has his first name and "she wouldn't tell anyone." They wouldn't let me just go alone. Did they make you sign anything to redeem the cruise? I'm leery of putting my name on anything.

I have a very strong will and wouldn't sign up for anything, but I would still be leery of what would happen on the actual cruise. I hope it works out for you, but know that I truly appreciate your comments here! Post again after the cruise so we know how it went!

Katie

Dear Nick,

We had the same experience. We went to the office in Chicago. It was really creepy. We caught them lying to us so many times. They kept saying "I actually started out as a client before I became an employee" or "I asked the very same question when I was a potential customer". My husband asked the sales rep how many vacations he's been on (since he's also a member of Sundance). He said he's been on 6 in one year. My husband asked him how he could possibly get that much time off work. He was perplexed.

The manager at the end was really strange. It seemed like everyone there was stuck in the 70s. It was like they were part of some scary cult. The manager at the end told us he had a special offer for us for 1, 695. He said it was a special promotion that the company was testing out and that he could only offer it to a few people. I was very non-confrontational and kept saying "maybe in a couple years..." My husband however kept questioning them and asking why we couldn't try one single vacation before paying for 25 at once! We also felt "raped" at the end and the manager begrudgingly gave us the voucher. Now we don't know what to do. Should we go on the cruise. It's weird to take a freeby from someone you don't trust. I'm afraid I'll end up ship-wrecked. This is what my husband says "What transpired there is reminiscent of a late night tv commercial . It was like a well directed interactive theater in las vegas with the purpose of scamming you and putting you into debt...and the rape thing." On the cruise the deals will probably get even more creative.

Anyway, has anyone heard of anyone actually going on the cruise?

A few minutes ago, I got off the telephone with someone from Sundance Vacations wanting me and my significant other to make an appointment to go to a 45 minute presentation to redeem my "free" 3 day cruise and "free" airline tickets. I started searching and found this thread. It goes against everything I was told on the phone: "No high pressure sales" and "if you do not want to purchase anything, you just say no and still get to go on a free vacation."

My father was always deliberate with saying "you get nothing for nothing" and I actually feel stupid for listening to the telephone pitch. I did not make an appointment but I am certain that I will get more phone calls. In this economy, they appear to really be pushing the limits with these sales tactics.

I, too, would love to hear from anyone who actually went on the "free" vacation.

Hi Nick,

I just went to one of their "presentations" last night with my bf. We were offered the same deal of purchasing 30 vacations for 12, 000 (later changed to 12 vacations for 4, 000 with buy one get one free airfare deal by the sales manager). I almost got convinced, but when my bf raised the question of a detail procedure to exit membership, the sales manager dodged the question by stating how hard they work to retain the membership, and quote-to-quote, "we will work things out, " so my bf was skeptical about the deal. In addition, the sales manager constantly pushed us to pay the lump sum of 15, 000 immediately saying that this is the "right thing to do."

My bf also noticed that when the sales rep and sales manager tried to sell us the deal, they both wrote down the numbers all over the place on a piece of paper (and for some reason, that piece of paper had to be kept in that folder we got), and it was another pressure tactics to get us confused to think about discounts only.

After saying "no" a numerous times, we finally were escorted to the exit to meet with one more person (let's call him Manager #2 as I already forget his name) who would "validate" the voucher for us. As we walking into Manager #2's room, I saw there was a pile of brochures on the table so I just took one to flip through the pages. Manager #2 started by asking how our experience with them was that night, and asked if we would reconsider the deal if he would waive this 30 dollar fee (I'm not sure whether it's for membership, tax, service charge or something else) PERMANENTLY for us. Once again, my bf declined the offer (he had become annoyed by their persistence at the time), and Manager #2 finally opened his door to let us leave. While walking towards the exit (my freedom!), I asked Manager #2 if I could keep the brochure to learn more about the deal and the whole company, but Manager #2 said, "No. This is for people for signed up with us only. It costs 30 dollars to print it."

Isn't it kind of abnormal? A company so willing to give out free cruise deals just to promote their business suddenly became so stingy about a 30 dollar brochure? Plus, isn't it natrual to give potential customers more information about your business if you wish them to come back in the future?

Anyway, I found this article written by Spencer Sterling (on 11/15/2007) about his free trip with Sundance Vacations: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/445761/how_my_free_trip_with_sundance_vacations.html?cat=16
I hope this will shed some light to those who also got the free deal but were skeptical about the whole thing.

Please do let us know how your trip turn out, Nick. My bf and I still haven't decided whether we should take the free trip, but if we do, we will also keep you posted.

- Mika

Hello,
I found these posts very informative. My mother fell prey to the scam. Hers was reduced quite substantially, but as soon as she got home and did her due diligence by researching sundance, she is having buyers remorse. She is semi retired and is, now thinking it through (after the high pressure sales tactics) realizes she is not capable of committing to this. she alerted her credit card and they made the notation. Sundance is not there on Sundays, but she left a message. Also, the credit card company advised her that if Sundance gave her any problem, they are to call them directly. I will be happy to let you know how this sorts itself out. Every contract can be voided.

If anyone has had a similiar situation, I would be curious to hear.

sj
wilkes barre Pa

We sent our confirmation in Jan. and still haven't heard anything about the "so called free cruise" they were supposed to send us our registration papers in 7-14 days, it's 3 mos. later. I certainly wouldn't trust Sundance if you can't trust the associates they deal with. What a joke!

To All of you who posted to this Thread

All I can say..is Thank You, thank you, Thank You.

About 3-4 weeks ago I recieved a call about winning a free cruise from Sundance Vacations. Apparently my husband had put our name in a drawing at a local boat show. I knew nothing about this, so i informed the salesperson that called that they would have to speak to my husband directly. Needless to say being parents of 3 athletic children who are involved in everything, Last night they called for about the 15th time and were finally able to get in touch with my husband. They wanted to set up an appointment for us to come in and see the presentation. They started out by giving my husband days and appt times, my husband would relay that to me..and I would say...No, not good, got a softball game, next offer for appt, no, that is not good either kids have karate and this went on for about 20 mins. Finally my husband gives me the phone to talk directly with this "appt setter". I point blank told her, that my life is too busy and I had no intentions of cancelling my kids activities to drive 1 hour away, to sit for 1 hour, and not to mention the fact that i would need a babysitter since children were NOT allowed at the presentation. I told her i might be able to fit it in next week at such and such time on such and such a day...Her reply was "well this special we are having stops on Saturday afternoon and we need to get you in before Sat at 2pm. I said, Well I might be able to make it on Saturday at 2:30pm. She says, "that would be great, my last appt happens to be at 2:30 and it is wide open. I will schedule you in for that time and please make sure your husband comes, with 2 forms of ID. Please hold for my manager to verify the appt, and we look forward to meeting with you.

Well after they worked so hard..and for so long in trying to get an appt set, i thought about it...why are they so desperate to get my husband and I in there. So I decided to call my best friend. Her sister had worked for a Travel Agency for several years, so i call her to ask her if she had ever heard of Sundance Vacations, she had never heard of them, so she suggested i either look them up on the internet or call the BBB (Better Business Bureau), and this is where it led me...Needless to say, I will not be keeping that appt on Saturday at 2:30, although it would be great to go on a cruise for a few days without the children, I think it would irritate them more by my cancellation...and refusal to set up another.

P.S. hmmmm I wonder if that salesperson/appt setter gets a commission for setting up the appt.

Thanks Again...

Jo

Well, everyone’s first mistake seems to be thinking this is something they have "won." We, here at Sundance Vacations make it vary clear that this promotional item is NOT something you have won. So you did not in fact win it, we offer it to everyone who fills out an entry form, equal opportunity; everyone has a chance to take it. You are simply asked to visit one of our local offices for 60 minutes, no longer, this is because we have presentations every hour, on the hour between 4pm and 8pm on weekdays and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and if we were to keep you longer, it would conflict with our next showing. This is not a free item. At this time, May of 2009, we are offering a 4 day, 3 night cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise lines to the Bahamas for two passengers leaving from Port Canaveral or Miami, Florida, your choice. This is a $1200 package that my company, Sundance Vacations, is paying for, what you are asked to pay is simply the port charges, taxes and security fees, which totals $189 in the off season and $225 in the peak season. The only thing we ask of you is the 60 minutes I mentioned earlier, if you are physically capable of sitting in a chair and listening for 60 minutes, you will leave with the 2 travel vouchers. You don't have to buy anything to receive the cruise either. You aren't even required to have anything on you to purchase anything with; you don't have to have cash, check or plastic on your person when you come in. We are also offering 2 round trip airfares, these are absolutely free, simply because we purchased overstock of them and they work with our promotional item quite well.

My second item of discussion is the fact that if you don't want to be called by us, you simply pick up the phone and say "Please, don't call me again." Ignoring the phone calls won't do anything unless you want us to call you back tomorrow or later on that day. We have a 'DO NOT CALL' list and you will be placed on it immediately. Of course we're persistent; of course our first response will be something along the lines of "Are you sure?", or "This is a wonderful offer!” something to get you to change your mind, but that is because that is what we are paid to do. Do you understand that in our job, yes, we are paid hourly, however that doesn't pay much, we make our money by booking you and you showing up. We NEED you to come into the office because if you come and sit for the 60 minutes, we get paid for it. That's a pretty small price to pay to help someone out, don't you think. You sit, view a presentation, are informed about our company, receive a cruise and I get paid for it. You know, to become a part of this company I had to sit through the presentation too, and all I got out of it was a ham sandwich, you get a cruise.

My third item for you is something you should think about. Now-a-days, everyone has or had or will be a victim of fraud, therefore we should all be wary of where we write our names, our numbers, our addresses, and any other confidential information we don't want others to have. When you see a contest or a give-away, you already know they are going to want your contact information, to contact you should you win the grand prize, right? You are also aware that on the back of the card you fill out there is tiny print that you should read, tiny print that is legible and is written there because you were meant to read it. If we wanted to hide it from you, it would not be on there. READ IT. In there it says that in putting your contact information on this card you are giving us the right to contact you for any reason, not only if you win the prize, but for advertising purposes as well. Hence the phone call you just received.

Lastly, I’m just going to put in my two cents (the rest has been factual information I think you should know). Why be rude? If you get a call from me, I’m very pleasant when you pick up, why don’t you do the same. This is my job. I did not come to work today with the attitude, “well, I wonder how
I can piss the next person off.” I came in with the same attitude we all have when we go to work… “I need to make money today.” Make my job easier, pick up the phone when it rings, listen to me talk for just a few minutes (we have this thing called ‘talk time’ and you being on the phone for an extra two or three minutes adds up as the night progresses), and tell me if you’re interested or not, consider that you spending that hour of time with us will earn you a cruise and me my dinner, my bill payments, my kids clothes and my home.

My name is Whitley Bailey and my extension at Sundance Vacations is 112.

Actually, Miss Bailey is not wrong because of the one major difference between Sundance Telemarketers, and the ones in the previously mentioned lawsuit.

"The All In One Vacation Club defendants also [b]sold timeshare and vacation packages through the company’s telemarketing unit[/b], "

(I attempted to bold the above quote, if it doesn't work just ignore the B's :P)

Here is the difference between Sundance Vacations and the companies in the aforementioned lawsuit, (taken right from the excerpt you so readily provided for us). Sundance telemarketers do not sell anything over the phone, nor do they have the means to. They can't take and run credit cards or checking accounts and they never once offer to sell you a vacation package over the phone, (they don't even know the details of how the program works, pricing, etc). Nor do they tell you that you have to bring one with you when you come into the office, (that hasn't been a requirement for almost 3 years). 2 forms of ID can be whatever you want it to be.

Companies all over the world use outbound marketing appointment setting as a way to garner future business, (setting up one on one sales presentations in people's homes is just one example of this). Miss Bailey is in fact not wrong, and from looking at their website, it would appear that upper management for this company is very well known by the attorney general. In fact, when I used to work there I was constantly being told we had to follow the script because everything in it is approved by the attorney general for use. That is also the reason they have to stick with the now or never policy in sales. Their sales practices have to be run by the attorney general as well, (also the BBB) and when I went back after leaving the company, there was a "secret shopper" from the attorney generals office in the presentation with us making sure that the sales people followed the guidelines that the owners set out for them, (really nice guy who introduced himself when we were leaving).

Now I haven't worked for this company for over a year, however, I was so impressed with the vacations I took while I worked for them that when I left, I intentionally signed up so I could go back and buy into the program, (as employees we were automatically clients with the same discounts as someone who bought into the program). I couldn't be happier with it. This company makes it easy and painless for me and my family to travel and I am grateful for it.

Also, I see some of you throwing the word rape around and I am extremely offended. Being an actual rape victim myself, (which you are obviously not since you can throw the word around like that) you have no idea what it is actually like to be raped by someone and the fact that you are so quickly diminishing the value of that word by applying it here shows a gross lack of respect for the people who have actually been violated that way. The presentation I went to was nothing like the one you are describing. Mine was fun and informative and the sales people were very helpful in finding the package that would suit our needs and our budgets.

My advice to anyone who reads this site is this, truth is based on perception. There are just as many people out there who have had good experiences as there are those who had bad, (you just don't see a lot of it on here because people don't use the internet for anything other than advertising and complaining). Sundance brings in an average of 50, 000 people per year for these presentations and they have been in business for 18 years, that's over a million people who have come into one of their offices, (myself being one of them). To judge a company that has seen soo many people by the complaints of a few is doing yourself a great disservice. Honestly, I would never judge a company, a person, a product, based on someone else's perception of it because for all I know, they didn't even know how to use the product, they are an ex employee who was angry for getting fired, or they were just a bitter angry person who hates the world and everything in it. I will always make my own judgements about things because I realize that the only person whose perception of the world is accurate for me is my own.

Sincerely,

Rachel

has anyone actually gone on a free cruise from these people?

To Rachel/Rachell:

My name is Dolores Naskiewicz. I am a media consultant, a proud parent of two wonderful children and a resident of South Jersey.

I respond to you because I am the author of the blog in question, in conjunction with your implication that the person who identifies their self as “Deserie” may be me; it is not! Furthermore, I resent the implication that I am somehow uncomfortable with using my own name, albeit I admittedly applaud “Deserie” and the crusade that she/he is conducting for whatever the reasons may be! This is America, and the right to dissent is categorically inalienable!

I choose my words carefully so I will not practice ad hominem dialogue because I consider it undignified. Nonetheless I take this opportunity to address some of your conclusions, or opinions, whatever your characterization of same.

Being a media consultant I am very familiar with political gamesmanship. Consequently, I take exception to your comment as relates to the Pennsylvania Attorney General, or any other politician for that matter. You state, and I quote: “The AG doesn't just look at something once and decide, hmmm I like November, feels like a good time to sue Bluegreen. There are months if not years of investigations before a case this large is brought before a judge, let alone goes to trial.”

You are correct in your assertion that it may take “months if not years of investigations” before litigation is instituted. But stating that, “The AG doesn't just look at something once and decide, ‘hmmm I like November, feels like a good time to sue Bluegreen’” is politically unsophisticated and naïve at best. I believe that is precisely what the AG did because it was less than three weeks before the general election and Mr. Corbett wanted to garner favorable publicity in his reelection bid, which is understandable, since his party (Republican) was the underdog. Furthermore, pursuit of violations of the DNC provisions is very popular with the electorate so it was the perfect time to institute the law suit that, granted, may have been the result of “months or years of investigations.” Therefore, it’s the timing of the indictment that belies your comment, not the validity of it! It was political gamesmanship, plain and simple.

As I stated in my blog, the 10 allegations that I referenced were taken VERBATIM from the AG’s lawsuit. Furthermore, I would not be so foolish as to flagrantly misquote the AG. You mentioned that your efforts to verify those 10 allegations have failed. Be that as it may the fact remains that those 10 allegations were excerpted from the lawsuit in question which, incidentally, should be quite easy to verify since all court filings are public records.

In one of those 10 allegations I quote the AG as saying, “Pennsylvania’s Telemarketing Act does not provide for a waiver of the Do Not Call provisions.” Your rebuttal was, “if what you (meaning “Deserie”) are stating is correct then Sundance would have been shut down by the AG a long time ago. He certainly would not be attending dinners and posing for pictures with its upper management staff. Either your interpretation of the lawsuit is wrong or the AG is sleeping with the devil. I'm going to go with, your interpretation is wrong.”

Let me make this perfectly clear. It is NOT my “interpretation, ” but rather the AG’s interpretation. Moreover, as relates to your defensive comment, “He (the AG) certainly would not be attending dinners and posing for pictures with its upper management staff.” Really? Why not since it was a political fund raiser and the AG probably posed with a dozen different people. Most particularly since Sundance Vacations was a political contributor. Have you ever witnessed two attorneys vehemently fighting like cats and dogs in a court room, but who are close personal friends outside the judicial forum? I have! As Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) said in “The Godfather”: “It’s not personal Sonny. It’s strictly business, ” or politics, depending on the circumstances. To suggest that Sundance Vacations is innocent of any wrong doing merely because the AG was “attending dinners and posing for pictures with its upper management” is, again, politically unsophisticated and naïve at best; most particularly when the AG has aspirations of becoming Governor! Those political fund raising event pictures don’t amount to a hill of beans, they’re a dime a dozen! I have a picture of myself with former President Clinton (just the two of us) and I can assure you he doesn’t know me from Adam. And if the former President saw that same picture today I’m reasonably certain he would not remember the specific occasion because those types of pictures are as common as Apples in Apple Pie!

You also write, “that you and your friend Dolores, (if you yourself are not in fact the infamous Dolores which I am starting to believe you are)…” But then you seem to belie your own stated belief by the following comment: “For all we know, you could be a member/owner of Blue green itself who is pissed that your company took a fall and others did not.” “For all WE know;” interesting choice of words and somewhat revealing.

You further write: “Also, I couldn't care less about Sundance as a company and I'm not defending them because I feel bad for them. Quite the contrary, I do this because I like to argue.” Let me get this straight! You said, “I'm not defending them because I feel bad for them. Quite the contrary, I do this because I like to argue.” So, according to your own words you ARE defending them, it’s your motive for that defense that you dispute! Read you own words because your posting was (consciously or unconsciously) as defensive as “Deseries’” was inimical!

I likewise question your assertions that “Deserie” harbors a “deep hatred” or a “vicious hated” for Sundance Vacations! Since you obviously never met the individual and do not know the writers’ motives, feelings, or experiences, how are you possibly qualified to characterize that individual with such psychoanalytical conclusions?

I am, however, very qualified to explain my own personal disdain for Sundance Vacations and I will because I have a philosophy that has served me well all my life. Being that if you hurt my dog, hide your cat. Furthermore, I am quite comfortable in my own skin so to speak.

My nephew, who has a learning disability, was exploited by some despicable mercenary sales person employed by Sundance Vacations. He’s certainly not ###ed and a very congenial personality, but his mental deficiencies are obvious to anyone who spends more than 10 minutes talking to him. Naturally the contract was null and void, but I was curious as to how he came to be at a Sundance Vacations presentation in the first instance. He informed me that at an event he and his girlfriend attended he was “talked into” submitting a sweepstakes entry form and subsequently called and “talked into” attending the Sundance sales presentation. Consequently, I started researching Sundance Vacations and was astounded at all the similar and negative postings about their marketing and sales tactics, but I wanted to ascertain the sweepstakes procedure for myself, independent of all the postings that I perused. Therefore, as I indicated in my blog, I attended the Greater Philadelphia Home Show on February 20, 2009, at the Valley Forge (PA.) Convention Center. At that time I personally observed that the sweepstakes entrants were not, for the most part, voluntarily approaching the kiosk to enter their names in the sweepstakes but rather were being aggressively solicited to enter the sweepstakes. How anyone could equate an aggressive solicitation with a conscious intent to invite relentless telemarketing escapes my comprehension. As far as your comment about personal responsibility and reading the fine print is concerned. That all sounds nice and reasonable, but in the “real world” (using your words) the average American doesn’t read the fine print enclosures included with their life sustaining prescription drugs, let alone some hastily submitted sweepstakes entry form. Moreover, whether or not they should have read same is beside the point. The fact remains that they probably did not read it! Therefore, it stands to reason that they could not knowingly and intentionally authorize the subsequent relentless telemarketing calls and that’s the position of the FTC, whether you like it or not! But I wonder, why doesn’t the Sundance representatives just tell the sweepstakes entrants that they will be receiving a telemarketing call? If they profess to be so upfront, why not just tell the consumer to expect a telemarketing call? If Sundance Vacations told the consumer to expect a telemarketing call that would be an unassailable defense against any DNC violations! But they will not do that! You know why? Because it is my unalterable belief that if the Sundance representatives told the consumers that fact they would have far less sweepstakes entry forms submitted. It is also my unalterable belief that Sundance Vacations depends on the fact that the sweepstakes entrants will not read the fine print.

It is for those very same reasons that the FTC frowns upon those sweepstakes because their primary purpose is obviously to circumvent the DNC provisions. In other words, Sundance Vacations is seeking a method to violate the law; now what does that say about Sundance Vacations, or any company for that matter? Oh, by the way, the reason for the addendum at the end of my blog was to substantiate my writings relative to the FTC’s attitude towards sweepstakes in general as a means of circumventing the DNC provisions. It was not intended to equate Sundance Vacations with any company and I thought that was obvious, but I guess not according to your post.

I have often read that the Sundance Vacations telemarketers (euphemistically described as “appointment setters”) are not attempting to “sell” anything over the phone. Not true! The word “sell” also means “to persuade or influence to a course of action or to the acceptance of something, ” such as the acceptance of the promotional gift in exchange for a “course of action” by attending a sales presentation. All too often people interpret words according to their most common usage, but when dealing with the judicial world one must interpret the words according to their LEGAL definitions, not just their most common usage. In other words, to “sell” also means selling an idea or a concept, not just a product or service. In my view, the Sundance Vacations telemarketers are “selling” whether you accept that reality or not!

You also write that the consumer could stop the relentless telemarketing calls, “at any time by simply asking to be put on the company's DNC list.” Really? I incorporate a post that I read at the following website: http://tinyurl.com/qmvfsz, and I reprint it VERBATIM:

“I signed up for this ‘sweepstakes’ not knowing what i was going to get myself into. They call everyone who's number they collect non-stop. I had recieved 7 straight calls in 7 days, all left voicemails. I then called back to ask to have my number removed from their calling list. After a half hour of forwarding me around and endless arguing over how i am missing out on the greatest opportunity, they finally agree to remove my number. WRONG... i still recieve daily calls and voicemails. They refuse to remove me from their list and continue to call. I may have to change my phone number to get out of this. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. IF YOU SEE SUNDANCE SWEEPSTAKES, DONT SIGN UP”

Here’s another post, again reprinted VERBATIM, from yet another website: http://tinyurl.com/otwxhq

“What an annoying, crooked company. Don't be fooled. Stay away from Sundance even if you win a FREE trip. Yeah right. My husband won his Free trip (cruise and airfare) at a golf show. Now that they have our phone number they won't leave us alone-they won't mail us the info and insist we go to a 1 hour meeting in Downers Grove IL to be "elligible" for the trip we "won". I told them we'd call them back if we're interested! They still call every day! I just blocked their phone number so i'll never hear from them again. They should all go to jail. I haven't read one nice thing about them -just comsumer complaints and pending lawsuits- so beware! They are crooks and scammers calling from a telemarketing company. They aren't a real travel agency.
Caller ID: [protected]
Caller: The Stupid Sundance Vacations Scammers”

That certainly doesn’t sound like the consumer could stop the telemarketing calls, “at any time by simply asking to be put on the company's DNC list.” Furthermore, the aforementioned are NOT isolated incidences, but rather representative of many, many complaints all over the Internet! But, according to the Sundance Vacations communications director, they’re all the same person! How utterly unreasonable can that be? And, of course, if they’re not all the same person the consumers are all lying because that’s the position that Sundance Vacations advocates; everybody’s lying but Sundance Vacations. Absolutely, Sundance is right; the world’s all wrong - and Elvis is alive! LOL!

I certainly have no intention to engage in verbal altercations with you because obviously our opinions greatly differ on the concept of what is – or what is not – a violation of the DNC provisions. However I suggest your opinion is from an emotional point of view, while my opinion is from an intellectual point of view. Furthermore, I intend to continue my endeavors of enlightening the consumer as relates to what I “perceive” (your word ironically) to be the total disregard for one of the most popular legislative acts in American history! It demands repeating, the DNC regulations is one of the most popular legislative acts in American history. As of February 2009, the United States has a total resident population of 306 million; and 172, 523, 062 of them are saying leave me alone and do not call me! I can assure you that the regulatory agencies remain cognizant of that fact!

In 2006 Sundance Vacations exploited the wrong person, as they did with my nephew, and that person filed a fraudulent misrepresentation lawsuit against Sundance Vacations. (Bailey v. Sundance Vacations et al., Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County, docket number L8256-06) Likewise, it’s only a matter of time before Sundance Vacations calls the wrong person one too many times and possibly trigger a massive class action lawsuit for the invasion of privacy. Do you realize what a private class action would do to ANY company who calls hundreds of thousands of consumers a year that are listed with the DNC registry? It will virtually wipe them out if for no other reason than the legal fees alone! Furthermore, of the 172, 523, 062 consumers on the DNC lists, how many juries do you think would NOT be on the list?

Surprisingly, your final comment to “Deserie” was: “In any case, I'll leave you with a link that I think best describes how I feel about you :)” How do you have any “feelings” about someone you know absolutely nothing about, merely because of their postings about a company that you allege you “couldn't care less about?” Something’s wrong with that picture!

In conclusion, I will read any response that you may you submit, since reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. And, if you don’t respond; well, no answer at all IS an answer!

Rachel:

I will not respond to undignified ad hominem writing.

Consequently, I say goodby and good health to you and yours while reciprocating with a "very famous quote”:

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Dolores

TO ALL:

This is Nick, who originally posted the first complaint on this page. I have not been able to go on any free cruise and would have lost my $100 "good-faith" deposit had I not placed a stop payment on it. No one from Spirit Incentives contacted me as promised. You will NOT be getting a free cruise no matter what anyone says.

Nick

I actually went on the "free cruise" that Sundance offered about 3 weeks ago. Before I went to the Sundance Sales Pitch last year, I prepared myself for exactly what they were going to say, offer me, and do by researching their company on websites like this one. I happen to be very good at getting vacations and trips cheaply, and so before I went I memorized how much money I spent on my last 5 vacations. I went in and listened to their presentation and when we went into the breakout room, I was prepared. I politely listened to the man explain the deal and then I countered with the vacations I have taken. I basically asked if they could match or beat the prices I paid. The guy quickly realized he was not going to be able to sell me any vacations, so we ended up chatting about cool trips we have taken, rather than continuing the sales pitch. He also made me a nice cup of tea. When his "supervisor" came out as was their routine, she tried her schpeal and I did the same thing. She actually said "Well I guess this really isn't for you, you are doing pretty well with vacations already. Why did you even come here today?" To which I very quickly and happily replied "Because you offered me a free cruise!" I actually had a lot of fun throughout most of my visit to Sundance Vacations.

And 3 weeks ago, I ACTUALLY WENT on the cruise. No, of course it isn't really free. But I can tell you that I paid about $300 for the "port charges and fees" on cruise and airline tickets for 2 people from Philly to Florida. The airline tickets alone should have been a little less than that. Yes there was a bit of hassle with letting them pick the dates, and filling out forms, and calling them to set things up. You can read all about those hassles in other peoples posts. I knew about all of this already from researching their company online. We actually did spend more money on the trip than the $300, but the nice thing is that we spent most of that money on excursions: parasailing, submarine, and things we wanted to do while the ship was docked in the Bahamas. If I had paid for this cruise at normal price, we never would have been able to do half the things that we did! It was an AWESOME trip!

Oh, one thing I should add to my previous post. In Nick's post, the one above mine, he mentioned that after the $100 deposit, he didn't get contacted. After I sent in my $100 deposit, I noted the date. When I didn't get contacted within the specified time frame ( I don't remember now what that was), I called Spirit Incentives and the lady quickly emailed me the letter that was supposed to come by mail. I think this must be what happened to Nick too, when he didn't get contacted.

Nick,

Thanks so much for your posts. My husband and I were supposed to attend a Sundance seminar tonight. Thanks to your post and several others that reveal Sundance's disgraceful tactics, we're not going. I applaud you for speaking out and helping other consumers.

G. Smith

rachel
sigh. are you the daughter of the owner or something? are they paying you to waste your time defending the company tooth and nail? i hope they are. otherwise we'd all agree that you're a very silly lady with a lot of time on your hands. maybe get out from behind your computer and go work on being a better "english teacher's aide" you'll have a much more promising career doing that. a scam is a scam rachel, lets face it.
whitley-
its not our job to pay your bills/put food on your table. if you have to annoy the you know what out of unsuspecting broke twenty-somethings that ONLY filled out the form because they were eager to enter the concert/sporting event/whatever and get the annoying high school kid shoving them in our face away from us- then you need to reconsider your career choice. you'd make a more honest living and put more clothing on your children's backs if you were a cashier at walgreen's...
just sayin'
best,
kiki

“The smaller the understanding of the situation, the more pretentious the form of expression.”- John Romano

Nick, Thank you for your post. I almost got ripped off of $11, 00 through Sundance vacations. Consumers..check your local Attorney General website as well as the FTC. Several years ago there was a sweep of vacation scams. Google "operation trip trap" as well as "operation travel unravel". It seems their at it again. I urge you to investigate this before making a financial commitment. If you have already committed with a signed contract.. I urge you to get out of it! Omission and misrepresentation in a contract makes it null and void!

Whitley Bailey sound like a d bag.

JCvi:

Your post makes a few partially valid points, although I fail to see the purpose of criticizing those who may be less educated that you. You indicate that you, “…have no connection to Sundance companies - neither customer nor employee.” That may or may not be true because I question why anyone not offended by Sundance Vacations would have the time and/or inclination to submit such a lengthy post after the fact! Moreover, it is typical of the Sundance Vacations shills to skirt the core issues while criticizing the individual writer which is, in essence, precisely what your post does!

Nonetheless, one of the partial validities of your post is in the implication that Sundance Vacations preys on the less educated because I doubt that anyone who fully understands all the restrictive terms and conditions of the program would become a member. In fact, if the individual does not become a member they would never know of all those restrictive fine print terms and conditions mandated for using the program, as you obviously do not!

Since you did not become a member you never had the opportunity to peruse all those restrictive fine print terms and conditions detailed in the Sundance Vacations contract. For example; your comment that, “…should you use all 10 vacations in 5 years…” is a virtual impossibility due to the fact that each and every vacation requires 90-180 days (3 to 6 months) advanced written notice while every request is based on multiple choice “availability” as detailed in the Sundance Vacations contract.

Your post also fails to mention that there is a $30 per day upgrade 75% of the times since 39 of the 52 weeks a year are classified as “peak” travel time. That adds another $210.00 per vacation week to the erroneous $700 costs that you mention and that is for a studio and/or one bedroom accommodation. In addition, there is another $30 per day upgrade if the member requires a second bedroom, which now totals $1, 059 per vacation week and that does not include airfare, transportation to and from the airport, meals, local taxes, on site amenities or gratuities. You can do much better on the Internet with no discouraging restrictions.

Furthermore, if you attempt to vacation during those “peak” travel times (75% of the time) that requires six months advance notice. Obviously, to “…use all 10 vacations in 5 years…” would be extremely difficult, notwithstanding that the $99.00 registration fee is for each and every week used regardless if those weeks are used in the same year, however impractical that may be. Another critical factor that your post ignores.

In the final analysis, if anyone is truly interested in all the restrictive fine print terms and conditions of actually using the Sundance Vacations membership I suggest they peruse the following blog >>> http://naskiewicz2.blogspot.com/ .

In conclusion, I hope my prose meets your standards of being grammatically correct with no spelling errors! Incidentally, is your comment that “the total will come to a total of” correct grammar? I think not!

Well everyone I got that call today and well I can say that thanks to the web I will not be sitting down on the 60 min. B.S. talk. But made one mistake I let my better half know about this and now I will hear about this for the next 4 weeks

LOL - What a joke!

One particular Sundance Vacations web site states: (Posted by admin on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 05:04 pm)
"A new Jersey resident was randomly selected from among 811, 000 national entries to win a luxury vehicle or fifty thousand dollars from Sundance Vacations. John Stewart of Randolph Township, New Jersey was selected as the winner of the Sundance Vacations sweepstakes promotion."

This is the web site making the aforementionmed statement >>> http://kol.sgdingxin8.com.cn/moon/12454 (I suspect Sundance Vacations may now delete that statement, so you may have to view the archives for verification)

On the contrary, another Sundance Vacations web site states: "Feb 4, 2009. The winner of the Sundance Vacations $50, 000 sweepstakes is Argiris Hristofis from Edison, New Jersey. Argiris was randomly chosen from among 1, 3000, 000 sweepstakes entries that were collected at Sundance Vacations sponsored events in 2008."

This is the web site making the aforementionmed contradictory statement >>> http://blog.sundancevacations.com/current-affairs/sundance-vacations-sweepstakes-winner-announced-2/

Now what does that tell you? It tells me self-contradictory deception! How many people won the single $50, 000?

Also see: http://tinyurl.com/lsdubm - (Copy and paste into the Google search engine) Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2009.

Also see: Sundance Vacations Sweepstakes Vs Do Not Call - (Copy and paste into the Google search engine)

I got the call last night. This gentleman's name was Anthony. First of all my name is Stephanie but he insisted on calling me Steph, as if we were close friends. He did say I had "won" a cruise and could still possibly win the 50k grand prize. All I have to do is come in for the 60 minute, hassle free, low stress, informational meeting. Yeah right buddy! He told me he had been an employee with Sundance for the last 5 years, but could not immediately provide the website so I could do the research. Seems to me after 5 years you'd know your company's website. Long story short, I'll not be attending the "informational meeting" and I think I'll be better off buying my own cruise. I will be careful what "contests" I enter in the future. Thanks for the post! You saved me a ton of time and hassle.

Hey,

Everything you guys have written has been completely true, from the way they call you non-stop, to the shady, small business complex, to the overly loud music that you can hear from outside. I had been contacted by this company numerous times over the last month or so trying to persuade me to come and sit down so they could explain my 3 day cruise. I was initially skeptical, which resulted in my not even showing up to the first meeting they arranged. Until finally when I had some free time I took the trip. Once there, I noticed a large group standing by the entrance, apparently everyone had one the same item. Inside I was greeted by the receptionist and she gave me the forms I needed to fill out. Still skeptical I began to ask the receptionist different questions about the offer, why I was chosen, how long their company had run this ploy, and she responded saying that all my questions would be answered once the hour long seminar was completed. I didn't want to wait around and listen to ### so I handed back my paper work and left. I haven't heard from them since. But now that I read these testimonies I am relieved that I didn't chose that route.

Brandon P.

Ummmmm, dolores, you are looking at 2 different years ROFL. John stewart won the 2007 drawing which was held feb 1st 2008. Mr Hristofis or however you spell his name, won the 2008 drawing which was held in 2009. Learn to read before you go making an idiot out of yourself. Holy crap that was classic.

Usually in these types of posts you will find good and bad things. Only good things I've read was from employees. Does anyone actually use the vacations they purchased?

At least people were offred cruises. We were offered a 800 shopping spree. DIG this it was coupons to get free stuff that is in the dollar store.. oh i forgot

camera which is in FIVE BELOW (free) shipping 35.00 dollars.. go ahead people and laugh because i was one of the people that fell for this bull sh... STAY away from this place. I am telling you. I would be 12, 000 richer if I did. I have 1 more year to pay them. I refuse to pay their maintenance fee.. I haven't stayed in one of their places yet!

I was called a few weeks ago about my free cruise. I am only 20 so I had to have a someone over 21 go and claim it for me. My parents decided to go, knowing the whole time it was going to be a scam, but that I would still get a free cruise out of it. They went and were there for two hours, with people trying to get them buy it. The initial money down was to be 1500 dollars but they lessened that to be 100 dollars. HAHA what a joke. But, because my parents are 60 they were not treated with the disrespect that the original poster was. I am asuming they were treated with more respect because they think that older people know more. Which is true they have more experience, but still they are not going to get anywhere with anyone if they have no respect. Also I heard that you have to have one person be 23 or older to go on the cruise, so my mom and I are probably going to go. If it is possible i'll go with my boyfriend, but I hope to avoid all the ploys by just saying no over and over and over again. We'll see if that's possible!

Amber

my husband and i process and we actually went on our first vacation to the cayman and jamiaca FREEE

my husband and i actually went on our first vacation to the cayman and jamiaca FREEE...thanks SUNDANCE VACATIONS

Trying to figure out if this is worth it. We went to their office. We did know what was going to happen. We did it years before and my roommate did it the week before we got our call.
We just got the paper from Spirit yesterday (over a month later). Now they want $100 before 3/5/2010 (today is 2/26/2010).

I only saw 1 review from someone that went... any others?
sweetangelfallen@msn.com
Please put "SUNDANCE" in the subject line please.. thanks

I just got back from their sales presentation in Brookfield, WI. I have been to a lot of similar high pressure sales meetings for Timeshares, I think what Sundance offers is a much better deal than a timeshare but you would need to use the vacations several times a year for it to be worthwhile. The lady we got was pretty nice and soft spoken, probably more cut out for selling something like shoes or jewelry. Some of their sales people did seem like greasy slimy hucksters, You just need to stick to your guns and say no.

After reading the fine print, the "free" cruise does seem worthwhile even with the fees and black out dates. I have yet to see how many hoops they make me jump through.

Oh, and whoever runs the Brookfield office drives a $200, 000 Bentley. You will see it parked outside on occasion. I imagine the profit margins on selling rooms that would be otherwise empty during the off season are fantastic.

There is a good thread discussing this here:
http://www.campidiot.com/ci/viewtopic.php?id=343225

Uhhhhh... so I just wanna know if anyone has actually taken the vouchers and gone on the free cruise? It sounds like everyone keeps turning it down. Getting a cruise on Royal Carribean for $300 (charges & fees) sounds pretty good to me. I'm going on a cruise in May and it costs $1100 for a standard room on Norwegian Cruise Lines. I just got a call from Sundance for filling out a form at a NJ Nets game. I'm going to go to the info session, get the vouchers, and use them! I'm not worried about being pressured to buy because I don't have $15000, $12000, $4500 or $1600 of available money to spend anyway... so they can pitch to me all they want because the money doesn't exist. But I will definitely leave with my free cruise. It sounds like some people on here are a little too thin skinned. Just say no. I mean, come on... being raped? Thats a bit much isn't it? ow far are you going to take it. If there was a woman on here who actually was physically raped, I am pretty sure that she'd tell you that she'd sit through this Sundance presentation any day over being "raped". Pressured is one thing, but when you say raped, it makes me not believe anything that you wrote because now I'm thinking that you overexaggerated everything you wrote. I'll find out what the session is like in a few days and post what it was like. Hey, maybe it will be as bad as others have wrote, but I don't think it will... AND I WILL HAVE MY 2 CRUISE TICKETS IN HAND. Lol.

All I can say is goodluck! Be glad you don't have thousands for them to get... some people do.

How do they know if you make enough money to qualify? Can they verify your income?

To Whitley Bailey, I have a voicemail on my phone from your company where the woman clearly says "you have WON a free crusie". Lying is going to help your company.

I would just like to say thank you for every post that was made. It was rather informative, entertaining, interesting, and amusing. Today I returned Sundance's phone call because my bff drove from MD to Harrisburg just to receive the paper work this past thursday. He never mentioned a presentation to me because he arrived late that day which was considered after 8pm. I wasn't "privileged" to have the option to come in on a Saturday because I was informed that the deadline to have the free airfare was this friday Then later said that for the whole trip itself had a deadline of this friday. I was informed that I couldn't have my information mailed to me even though Im epileptic and unable to drive (I too stay in MD). The option of faxing any information in with my photo idea was not offered. Tonight, I will mention this site to him so he can read this before getting into a deeper whole than what he should. To the former/current employees, i personally feel your comments are bias and have no significance. To the others that took it TOO personal, we are all adults... we should act like it. All in all, I have now made my decision not to waste a 3 hr. drive there and another 3 hrs. back for a presentation that will last 45mins.-1hr. Just so i can be tempted to take an offer that isnt wise to go through. I do thank SunDance for the opportunity... the IDEA sounded so nice.

God Bless all of you,
"Wilson"

I got a call from Sundance Vacations last night, from a woman named Lori. At first, I thought "Ok, what entry did I complete?" Then I remembered it was actually for a SUV that I entered to win at the PA Farm Show Expo. My fiance didn't believe any of it, and told me that it was just a way to get our money. I was alittle disappointed with his reaction towards the "win" but thought about it. Its too good to be true, nothing is ever free in this world anymore. There are always gimicks.
After thinking about it throughout the night, I looked them up online today. Found out that it was all a scam just to get you to buy vacations. My family and I do not take alot of vacations, we can not by any means afford it.
So, I found there website, and emailed them. Informing them that I will not take part in their special meeting and will not be pressured into buying anything. I'm interested to see if they answer me back, or how many times they try to call me after I told them that I want to be taken off their calling list or I will be contacting the approriate authorities.
To anyone that this has happened to, please do not go to the meeting. Its a JOKE! A complete joke! And to Sundance Vacations, your company it pathetic! Why would you do this to anyone? Would you like it if someone pressured you into doing something you couldn't afford? I don't think so! Stop scamming innocent people out of their hard earned money!

After reading all the post I realized I was told the same thing, I was scheduled for a meeting this evening when I called to cancel I was transfered to a male person who was very rude after I told him I didn't want to reschedule I wanting to cancel all together after reading all the post, he told me if you typed walmart in they would say bad things, he was so rude to me I can't continue to write anyone, now I'm angry.