AARP Senior Cruises Hoax or Deal?
Cruise Lines Offer Discounts to All, Not Just AARP Members
AARP Offers Good Specials via Travelocity But Travelers Can Get Same Prices Directly from Cruise Companies By Going Bargain Shopping Online
Ever yearned to go on a senior cruise -- the ones in the AARP Travel Newsletter or the AARP Webletter, both distributed via e-mail -- with fabulous-sounding deals and savings of up to $1,000?
AARP cruise discounts seem to be terrific, according to the link that sends you to AARP Passport, which is a Travelocity portal for AARP referrals.
When this reporter placed an e-mail and then a phone call to the AARP travel newsletter, the reply that came back was from Travelocity. It was not clear on whether only members got this AARP Travelocity Passport bargain, or whether ordinary folks could get those deals, too.
Special Senior Offers
The AARP newsletter in recent weeks offered:
”Up to $1000 in Cruise Credits --Limited time offer! Book a qualified cruise at AARP Passport powered by Travelocity and receive up to $1000 in onboard spending credit. Spa treatments, shore excursions, specialty dining, duty-free shopping and more.”
In this case the cruise line with the best deal was Crystal Cruises. But that $1,000 credit is limited to one per stateroom and applies only to certain stateroom types on specific sailings-- such as a nearly $8,000 suite on an 10-night transatlantic cruise from Lisbon to Miami on the Crystal Serenity in early November. What do these credits get you? Yummy stuff -- unusual massages, dinner delivered by a butler to your stateroom, a shopping spree at an onboard boutique, a session with a PGA golf pro and/or poolside mojito.
However, there just are not that many cruises that match this offer.
Another AARP offer promises: "AARP Passport's Top Cruise Deals -- Upgrades, onboard credits, spa services and fantastic savings.... Take advantage of great deals from all the top cruise lines including Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean.
When a client clicks thru, the "top deal" was a Carnival Western Caribbean 6-day cruise on Carnival Freedom starting at $329.
However, with both Crystal and Carnival, any shopper, not just an AARP member, could get the same price from the cruise line by going to its own Web site. For instance, you could get a deal on the ship Carnival Freedom cruise to the Western Caribbean.
So what advantage do AARP members get? They don't do better or worse than regular clients; they get the same thing. It appears that this discount is typically offered by cruise lines to all Travelocity clients.
Here is what Jennifer de la Cruz, Director of Public Relations, Carnival Cruise Lines had to say in an e-mail reply to a reporter's query about the offers pertaining to her company: "As I understand it, Travelocity is the official travel agency partner for AARP. We do not provide discounts that are exclusive to AARP members. We do occasionally offer seniors rates but those are available across the board to anyone who qualifies by age."
