Yes it is, I received a telephone call indicating an entry at Hungry Howies, never been there (AS IF)!!! Everyone beware!!!!

This guy tells me that on the basis of a lucky draw entry @ XYZ Mall (which I never did), I had won a cruise for 2 to Bahamas. Gave this number and a code. Such a scam!

My in-laws won this trip, so the 4 (inlaws, my husband, and I)of us paid the port charges and all that jazz which ended up being like 4 or 5 hundred dollars. They were suppose to call us and let us know when to buy plane tickets, they didnt so I called them and they said that they were thinking about changing cruise liners and if they did we wouldnt have to stay in ft lauderdale, so we waited. Then close to chistmas (our trip was sceduled to be jan4-9) I called back and our agent advised us to choose a different date. So we figure out a different date over christmas, during this time there was a recording saying they would reopen (I think) the 3rd of jan. After then all I can get is a busy tone and their website is none existing. Any advise?

"Jeffery" called and said I had won a Bahamas trip and I needed to call the number back with a confirmation code.  I guess there are still people who accept?

Just like everyone else I got really excited that I won a free cruise. However, after the limited info they gave me I grew a little skeptical so I went online and searched for the company. One girl said that the promotional code worked as follows: date they called you, number you are today, and the initials of the person who called. I decided to call them back using another phone I had and pretended to be someone else. I gave them a different code which I made up and they believed me. That is when I knew it was a scam.

I thought I would jump in here before Just a Girl's post. I read that after getting one of the calls and thought to myself, there is no way the trip could be that bad. The cruise line wouldn't be in business. I did some research and found these reviews as well as many others here: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-reviews-2820075-pro ... s_and_reviews-i

It seems that Just a girl is a little biased and only chose the bad reviews, completely ignoring the good as well as the so-so reviews. Here are a few that were left out. My favorite is the 1st one.:

#1
Great for the money
By A Yahoo! Contributer, 04/04/06
This was the first cruise that I took and I have to say it was a lot better than what I expected. I was a little nervous about the cruise because of what I paid for it. I did some research and found nothing but bad reviews, but like everything else you should not take people's word for it. If I would of taken what people said I would not have gone on the cruise. Everything from boarding to entertainment on the ship was good. I went to the bahamas, spent 4 days down there and had a great time. The only thing with the cruise is that it is not crowed going to the bahamas but it is very crowed coming back.

#2
Great trip for the money
By CB, 03/09/07
For myself and a few buddies (college students on Spring Break) the trip was fantastic. We cruised to Grand Bahama Island onboard Discovery and stayed for 3 days / 2 nights at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna all inclusive resort and couldn't have been happier.

The cruise itself was definitely not a luxury vessel, but the food was good, the entertainment was nice, and the staff was all very pleasant and helpful. We had read other reviews on the ship and people made it out to be some filthy cargo liner, but we were very pleasantly surprised; the ship was nothing more than advertised, a ferry service to and from the Bahamas with some of the amenities of a longer cruise line.

The Viva Wyndham hotel was beautiful. Situated right on the beach, they did daily activities and themed events for the Spring Break crowd, the food was delicious, the drinks were strong, and the party went on all night.

For the amount of money we spent (about $300 a person including transportation and all inclusive stay), the trip can't be beat. I highly recommend people look past the reviews of those who were expecting caviar on a beer budget and were then disappointed, and give Discovery Cruise Line a shot.

#3
Better than expected!
By A Yahoo! Contributer, 01/20/08
We took our three daughters (ages 19, 13 and 10) and we all had a wonderful time. The food was good, the staff were friendly, and they tried their best to entertain their guests. My 10 yr. old won the limbo contest and the older girls entered the dance contest. It's not an upscale cruiseship, however, everything was clean and we enjoyed lounging on the upper deck soaking in the warm sun and ocean breeze. We stayed 2 full days in Freeport and loved Deadman's Reef and the Lucaya Marketplace. There were several stretches of white powdery sandy beaches and glistening turquoise ocean where we would be about the only ones there. The only drawback of the entire trip was a long wait to get off the boat. If possible, bring a carry-on bag if you're staying a few nights and you'll save about 45 minutes of waiting for your color coded tag to be called. Overall, for a short family affordable getaway, we would go back again.

#4
Friendly staff, good food, great value
By ckodz, 02/18/08
We live in South Florida and decided to try the Discovery Cruise for an overnight getaway. The ship was nice, the staff was friendly, the food was good. I'd definitely upgrade to the Discovery Plus - a package for $49 per person that includes a champagne breakfast, upgraded dinner, private lounge, transportation transfers to and from your hotel, and not having to wait in long check-in lines.

The biggest problem was at the port for check-in. There are no signs telling you where to go first, and several lines in which to wait. We saw several people waiting in one line, only to be told to go to another one first. When we finally found a staff person to ask, we found out you have to go to Immigration first, to pay a $10 per person security surcharge (which we were told about beforehand) and get the forms to fill out for check-in. Then it's off to a bunch of tables to fill out the forms so you can then wait in line to check in. Some directional signs would be very helpful!

With the Discovery Plus, a gentleman asked us while we were filling out the check-in forms if we had Discovery Plus. He then had a nice young man (Joseph) take our bags to check them in, then take us to a separate line for Discovery Plus check-in, bypassing the masses of people waiting in long lines. Joseph then escorted us through security onto the ship and into a private lounge for Plus passengers. Very nice!

The trips over and back were great. The champagne breakfast was good; not great, but better than buffets and with exceptional service. Lunch was the buffet, and was good. The dinner on the way back was exceptional. The staff in the casino were friendly and fun. We actually had more fun on the ship than we did overnight in Freeport, so if we do it again, we'll make it a day trip.

#5
Good Value For The Money
By A Yahoo! Contributer, 08/29/06
Living in Florida, we thought this would be a nice, weekend getaway close to home. Don't expect Princess Cruise quality for 150 bucks.

I thought the food was good. Agree, not great. The weather was great and sat outside all the way over, drinking. It was a nice ride in fresh sea air.

I thought the service was great. On the way back, we enjoyed the casino and the comedy show. The casino was kind, covered the entire trip!

Would recommend getting a cabin. If you're only going for a short period, I recommend carrying on your baggage. Put it in the room, you get off quicker, as they call luggage by color. If you carry on you can leave with the first color. I also recommend the Westin or Sheraton in Lucaya. Both are nice resorts.

This is a good long weekend, not a full blown vacation.

#6
Bahams Party Cruise
By britboyandrews, 01/11/06
I sailed with my family on January 4th for the Bahamas Party Cruise and had a great time. My two daughters (8 & 11) enjoyed the kids club and got their faces painted. The deck party was fun and the band was fantastic. Food was good, but did not go into the Casino. We paid $144 each and $49 for the kids - for a full day I think it was good value. Staff (especially Jose our waiter) were all extermenly freindly. Would recommend getting a cabin - they were sold out when we sailed and it would have been handy for the kids to rest after dinner. Only wish weather had been warmer on that day.

Got a call today from 727-412-7635.  I make it a habit to never answer numbers I do not know; if it is important, they will leave me a message.  The voice mail left was from National Travelers, a woman named "Dee."  She informed me that I had filled out a contest form at the mall and had won a vacation for two to the bahamas.  She left me a claim number and told me to call back 727-450-6139.  

Except, the only things I have ever filled out at the mall were to win a car.  I don't ever remember filling in any for a vacation.  So I come on this site trying to find any information I can on the number, and sure enough! I find out all the information about the scam, about having to pay for your tickets and airfare, and the condition of the ship, and thankfully I was not suckered in to calling back.  Thank you all and I hope that I can help someone else avoid being jerked with!

-Andy

"Annie" is the one who is lying and scamming people. Her real name is Amie. "I am embarassed to say that I work there, but it is only until my husband and I can find something better." If what you say about the job was the truth and it goes against your morals, then why would you continue to work there? Why didn't you quit the first day? Out of convenience? That makes sense. If it was the way you describe, who in their right mind would work there? Yet they've been in business for over 13 years with numerous employees that have been there 10 years or longer.

There are more complaints from you about National Travelers Service, than there are from the entire planet combined. I wonder why that is, that a former employee would be so upset.

Should have left my name out of your posts!

Hello, My Name is Erica. I'm posting here because JustagirlinFlorida decided to use my name in a posting on another site. I used to work for National Travelers. I had another opportunity that I just couldn't pass up, but since my name was used in one of her posts, I thought that I would clear up a couple of things.

National Travelers Service offers a promotional package to the Bahamas. It is marketed as a promotional package, never as a free prize. That is until you have an employee like Justagirl or Annie as she is calling herself. Her real name is Amie by the way. I had to let her go for telling people that they WON the package. No wonder she didn't make any money, she was lying to people. I see that hasn't changed much.

Now let's talk about a cruise line that has been running out of Ft. Lauderdale for over 25 years that holds 1200 passengers. Now, let's pretend for a moment that it only sells 600 of the 1200 spaces each day. That is over 200,000 passengers per year at 25 years, which is over 5 million passengers. "Annie" could only find 8 complaints online. 8 complaints is all she could find in all of the internet . Wow, better stay away from them.

Now, I no longer work for National Travelers, so you might ask, why bother posting. Why not, she dragged my name into it and accused me of posting under a fake name. That's a little rude. I have no reason to hide. Should have just left me out of it.

What's really pathetic is that she obviously hasn't gotten another job, because it seems that she has nothing better to do, other than sitting around collecting unemployment and writing on sites like this about something she knows nothing about.

So, you can listen to a person that uses a fake name to speak about the "truth". Or trust someone who says that she is only at a job (that she believes is ripping people off) just until they can find something better. Or take advice on a vacation from someone who has never been on it.

We got the call, got a 10 minute recording, and talked to Jerimiah and he was hastily trying to get us to book "on the spot" not wanted us to use the extensive 4 day period that they permit you to "claim your prize".....4 days to decide!!!!!!! Come on!!!!!  I am really thankful that we stumbled upon this website, otherwise, we were seriously considering this trip.   Thank you!!

I just checked the BBB website and it says that the owner is Lois Taylor. Where did you see that?

I got the call today and I must say it sounded very enticing.I told them I have a phobia about open water can they just give me the cash.

I just got the same call the other day. I do remember filling out a form for it, but they didn\'t say that I won, they said that I was selected. What ever that means. Anyway, my buddy said that he has taken the this trip through them before and loved it. We\'re going to go during spring break. I\'ll let you know how it turns out.

Of course it's a scam - as I mentioned in a previous post, I used to work there (briefly, like everyone who works there).  The owner has stated that his company brings in $4 million annually.  And how are they making their money?  By tricking people into thinking they "won" a free cruise.  Then the poor suckers who actually pay for it find out (too late) that the "cruise" is just a beat-up ferry boat.

This company used to be called Diamond Holidays, but they got so many complaints to the Better Business Bureau that they changed the company name to National Travelers (look up both company names on the bbb.org website - the owners are Dalton and Tammy Davis).

It's really pretty pathetic.  You can read more at
http://tinyurl.com/33g6t5

A

I got a voice mail telling me to call 727-450-6139 to get my tickets for two to a free Bahamas cruise. Of course, nothing is free. I learned that years ago. Also, I never went to a Chinese restaurant and filled out a form for a cruise as indicated in the voice mail. To me, this sounds like another scam.

I used to work for National Travelers.  I highly recommend that you get your money back, and if they won't refund you, then contest the charge on your credit card.  It is a big ripoff.  Read below what other people say about this "cruise".

Here is what some other people have to say about the "wonderful Bahamas cruise" that is being sold by National Travelers or Diamond Holidays or whatever name they are going by this week:
             
               Review #1
               My boyfriend and I decided to go to the bahamas via the Discovery Cruise line that leaves out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. As another reviewer wrote, there is little to no direction from the crew and if they do speak to you, they're asking you if you want to buy a Bahama Mamma..
             
               If you'd like to take a 5 hour cruise to the bahamas aboard an old, run down ship with crew memebers who do not speak english, this is the cruise for you. Upon arrival in freeport, we are shuffled to the starlite room, which is set on frostbite, where they try to sell you bingo games and scratch off tickets while customs clears the boat.
             
               On the way back, our boat was delayed 1 1/4 hours because their satellite was down so they couldn't transfer the ship's manifest. We finally arrived in ft. lauderdale at 11:15pm. The crew members were very rude. The ship, for the most part, is filled with bahamians who come over, buy lots of necessity and ship it back on the boat. Its really more like a cargo ship then a cruise ship. Save your money and fly there!
             
               Review #2
               The pool was in disrepair, the food was horrible, and everything seemed "run down."
             
               Because of Hurricane Wilma, we left from a different port than we came back to - and had to wait over half an hour for a ride back to our parking deck upon return. This was at 11:30 p.m.
             
               Boarding/disembarking were confusing.
             
               On-board movie was $7 a person!! Ridiculous!
             
               Review #3
               First of all the food is awful even the food that you pay extra for dinner is horrible .
               When you get to the Bahamas it takes 45 minutes to get where all the attractions are . So you have 2 hours to do everything .
               When you get back you wait at the port for 2 hours and the people on the ship where very rude and they were mocking us when we asked them how long do we have to wait one of the people on ship laughed and said "Yeah you'll wait 3 hours " and laughed obnoxiously.
               When we finally got out my wife did not have a declaration document so one of the employees of Discovery scared her to tears and told her that if she didn't have the proper paper work she will be going to jail.
               The over all experience was awful from start to finish . Go on a real cruise where people respect you not when people are mocking you and laughing at you .
             
               Review #4
               Was the experience fun? No, it was brutal
               Recommend to others? Definitely NOT
               Worth the time/money? NO, definitely NOT
               2-3 paragraphs - I couldn't possibly keep this evening to 2 to 3 paragraphs. I twas torture from beginning to end!!
             
               These people are a pack of liars. They stated that we reported nothing and filed no incidents aboard their ship.
             
               We reported all of these incidents to Jose, who I see was also the waiter for another group on here. To his boss, who was the head waiter and then he retrieved his boss who was head of the dining room. The table next to us was served rotten stinking shrimp as well, so I know that these incidents were reported by numerous people. One lady was a travel agent. I hope that she reads this and stands up and does something as she said she would. Discovery Cruise lines had the nerve to send us 4 "free" cruises! I couldn't eat or enjoy the first New Years Eve Cruise, so why would I want to risk food poisoning again for myself, husband, 12 yo daughter or 63 year old mother!! This was such a huge disappointment, not to mention SO EXPENSIVE for a short New Years Eve cruise!! BEWARE OF DISCOVERY CRUISE LINES!! Use ripoffreport.com or file in small claims court. That is my next step! Please come forward if you would like to file together! There is strength in numbers!!
               www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff195750.htm
               View my full report there!
             
               Review #5
               Please be aware that this ship is only for a cheap way to get to Freeport, Bahamas or people who are trying to flee the United States just to go into hiding. Never in my life have I experienced such torturous, suicidal, and other dangerous options just get off this ship. It was my husband and I and our two children (7 months) & (6 years old) on the ship, thinking we were going to sail away to paradise. But little did we know, paradise was way far from this ship. I mean literally far because you have to get to the island in order to feel what paradise is.
               As you walk into the ship, very dark. As if they don?t want us to see the true décor of the STAINED & DISGUSTING ship. It had a real damp smell to it as you walk in. So I first stop was breakfast, very 7 Elevenish. Not that good. So after breakfast, we went walking and found the lounge chairs on the deck to be very dirty. And also to our surprise, there were people already camped out as if they were in the woods camping. So we went walking and finally came up on something that looked half way decent which was the bar/deck area. So we stayed there most of the beginning of the cruise. Then finally my husband said to me, let me go check out the casino. So in my head(yea, you think you slick, LOL)because you know we can?t bring the kids in there, and he needed to help speed things along. So he left me with the kids and we made the best of it. The entertainment to me was very scary, they were escapes, or people fired from the nice/luxury cruise lines.
             
               Entertainment- Bad
             
               Food- Breakfast (No) Lunch(It was pretty good) Dinner(okay)
             
               Crew-They had the nerve to actually wear the uniform, I?m like, are you kidding me?
             
               Elevators- Smells like urine & it is very small.
             
               Condition of the Cruise Boat- Just the matter of time as to when it is going to sink into the ocean
             
               So to make a long story short because I can go all day with this story. Don?t do it, please!!! Only if it is your last resort financially.. This ship is not for families, singles, couples, it?s only for locals to get all their stuff over at one time.
             
               Review #6
               Booked this as 60th birthday present for my husband, thinking it sounded like the perfect present as we would be in Fort Lauderdale at the time. How wrong could I be!
               I imagined the ship would be full of people like us ...on a one day cruise, with all the little luxuries you would expect from an average cruise ship. This ship is no more than a ferry! There were no more than 20 of us day trippers, the rest were people using it to get to the bahamas for a couple of days stay or others who obviously lived there. As a result, there were people dossed down with backpacks dotted about the ship!
               The entertainment was almost non-existent as nobody was interested except for a few that played bingo.The eagerly awaited "Showtime" was nothing more than 2 of the staff...one who could sing and the other perform magic tricks!
               The food was ok and we actually had paid extra and booked the 7 course gourmet meal, which was actually 5 courses (and they considered coffee a course!)It was far from gourmet asnd I hardly ate any of it, although i have to say, it was edible, just boring.
               The other thing w found very annoying was notices everywhere telling how much specifically we were expected to tip...following these instructions it would have cost us $22 (we had a cabin /cupboard too).
               Before we arrived in the Bahamas we were told there was nowhere to go within walking distance so we would have to take a taxi or book the trip that they could organize ($26).We tried to book the trip but there were only 4 takers so it was cancelled!
               So....we took the taxi option. Crammed into an ancient mini-bus with 9 others which took us to Port Lucaya (an ok place to wander round for a couple of hours).It cost us $10 each for the round trip and we had to pay up front. On the return journey to the ship (about 20 mins),the taxi broke down completely and we were stranded by the roadside in the middle of nowhere with only 10 mins to get back to the ship before it was ready to sail back! Luckily he flagged down another mini bus which took us back just in time!
               Summing up......What a nightmare! It was an experience we wont forget in a hurry but I guess you get what you pay for! I just felt sorry for my poor husband as it was my only present to him and was meant to be a special treat. IF YOU ARE THINKING OF TAKING THIS TRIP....DONT!!!!!
             
               Review #7
               The 'cruise' is actually a ferry crossing and the boat, although clean, has seen better days. Only a limited number of old loungers on the deck around a small 'pool' which needed some renovation. We were under the impression we would have 4 hours on shore and do some sight-seeing, but were told we did not have time for the 3 hour organized coach trip. We could only get a taxi to Port Lucaya (30 minutes away) which meant only 2 hours ashore. The food on board was good but by the time you paid tips ($2-3 per person for each meal), security charges, drinks onboard and ashore (expensive), taxi's, bingo costs etc. it was a VERY expensive one day ferry crossing. Although Port Lucaya had a lovely beach, a casino, couple hotels and a purpose-built 'market '(wooden cabins) - there was nothing to do or see except hang around and wait for the taxi back. A very disappointing experience - would have been better to fly and stay over to see the 'real' parts of the island.
             
               Review #8
               This "cruise line" was reallllly bad....seriously, I am not that picky and enjoy just about anything- especially on vacation but this was a bad day. We took the day cruise to Freeport from Ft. Lauderdale on Dec 12th. Pretty much the minute we boarded, we were stalked by waiters and waitresses trying to sell us drinks. I had a mimosa that was pretty much all oj while my fiance got a bloody mary that he couldn't even get through. The stalking went on about every 5-10 minutes! It was borderline harassment!
               The food buffets were gross. Airplane and hospital food trump the food on this cruise line. We paid extra for this and wish we wouldn't have. The snack bar food of simple hot dogs and hot wings looked a heck of a lot better than the slop we ate at the buffet. Usually you can find something on a buffet that is good, but even the fruit and veggies on the salad bar were tasteless. The boat stench was a good appetite surpressant.
               Once we got to Freeport, we only had an hour and a half to explore the town. It's pretty, but what can you do in an hour and a half? Shopping there was not as great as they say it is. Lots of shops advertising 50-70% off already marked up merchandise. We hung out on the beach for a while and had a drink at the Westin on the beach, then that was about as much time as we had. Then, it was back on the "ship" for 5 grueling hours of more stalking by the waitstaff and another buffet for dinner awaited us, great! Please do not waste your time or money. If you are in Ft. Lauderdale, stay there or go into Miami for some fun.
             
             
               So there you have it - some of the opinions of people that have "won" this fantastic cruise. Aren't you lucky to have won the same cruise?
             
               A

Scam Scam Scam dude...nobody gives out free cruises...why don't you ask them for a free car or a free house also.

i filled out a paper in the mall and the mall and the antional travelrs serveice call med back and said i won this trip ...  i paid the fist part already 77.50 they werenta sking for very much money so i didnt think itwas a scam .. plaese give me some advice .. should i go or not? my mom won the same trip years ago she thought ans he sad it was fun but ive seen alot of bad reviews.. all they want me to pay are hotel taxes and port taxes we can saty a t the royal palm or island plam what do u guys think?

Got a call just now at 11:51am.  Went to Google immediately.  They left a message about an entry I filled out at the Mall.  He said I won a cruise to the Bahamas and to call this number.  Gave me a claim code.  I'm sure it's a scam, I filled out something at the mall, but it was for a Car.  They probably sell these entry forms to each other.

I worked at National Travelers until about a week ago (in Clearwater, Florida).  Trust me, it's a scam.  I am embarassed to say that I work there, but it is only until my husband and I can find something better.

The location is in a cheap, rundown area of town and the people that make phone calls all day are making next to nothing.  The company advertises on craigslist for "telephone actors" to call people and make them think they won a cruise.  The general manager pushes hard for everyone there (about 50 people) to leave at least 120 "claim numbers" per day with the unfortunate suckers (usually some poor woman in Alabama who filled out a "cruise drawing" at the local laundromat or chinese restaurant).  This is not a job that I will be including on future resumes, but I hope it helps someone here avoid being taken.

Annie

GSR,

If you have the claim # that was issued to you, we can pull the ticket and fax you a copy of the form that was completed in your name. We only contact people that request to be contacted.

Thank You,
National Travelers Service

Do not trust

PLEASE DO NOT BELIEVE THIS CALLS. THEY SAID I FILLED SOME PAPER IN A STORE IN ORDER TO WIN THIS OFFER. THIS IS WRONG. I NEVER FILLED ANY PAPER AT ANY PLACE. YOU WILL GET BETTER DEALS IF YOU SEARCH IN WEB.

I got the phone call this morning at like 10:30am est and it sounded like a good call but i  called back and it was a long recording.  It is not completely free, you have to pay $77.50 per person and $99.00 per person for hotel taxes. The cruise leaves from ft lauderdale and they dont supply fairway to get there

I received the same phone call last night saying I had won a cruise.  When I tried to call it back, I get a fast busy.

This caller told me I won a cruise.  Do you know if they are legitimate?

This is a cruise promotional recording.

This number called, when I let the call go to my voice mail they hung up.