Day Two: The Bait and Switch

Some of the best places... really are free!

   All good deals come with a catch unless for some reason you actually deserve a good deal. Don't kid yourself, all good deals come with a catch. To the unsuspecting traveler wannabe, our vacation plans looked like travel of the Rich and Famous. We planned a week at a Florida Resort complete with hot tub and Tiki Bar and a 2 day cruise to the Grand Bahama Island in an Ocean View Suite. Sweet!
   Ever get that call, "Honk! Honk! This is your Captain speaking."? Usually that is a good indication to hang up the phone but as we were two days away from confirming our reservations on a 4 day cruise and wondering if we'd have any money left over in our vacation budget to spend a few days in Ft. Lauderdale, I took the bait. It was the Caribbean Cruise Line offering me some great travel deals
and he promised they would not ask for my credit card like those other dreaded telemarketers, at least not yet. All I had to do to get my free 2 night cruise to the Grand Bahama island was listen to a few messages from their sponsors and then they would get back on and confirm my free cruise gift. No obligation. I answered a few contact questions, listened to the sales pitches, and then click. They hung up. I didn't expect to hear from them again when I declined to get a free in-home demonstration of their home security system.
      Two days later I got a call from Scott, who was very friendly and explained the details of my free cruise including a few of the items I would be responsible for such as oil surcharges and travel to and from the port of call. He wanted to make sure I knew everything I would have to pay for up front. No surprises. Let me speed things along: he offered me a better deal if I wanted to extend my stay in Florida. 3 nights before the cruise in Fort Lauderdale and 3 nights after in Orlando; all included for two just $698 except taxes and surcharges. However, because we were both originally from Kansas he threw in a free rental car and 3 meals a day for two at the resort. Of course, I had to pay any surcharges and taxes and parking the rental car at the port of call.
      Not a bad deal although a few extra charges were added with each additional phone call. The last one, the phone call where  I confirmed my already paid for itinerary was the interesting part. This was the first time I knew we would be scheduling a 45 minute presentation at a timeshare in West Palm Beach. Ah Ha! I knew there was a catch.

Poor Guy has  hook in his side;
On second thought "Lucky Guy!"

       Day two was the day we were scheduled to hear our presentation and you guessed it, afterward we could pick up our Cruise Vouchers. Thank you very much! The originally scheduled 5pm 45 minute presentation was randomly moved up to 2pm via a note slid under our hotel room door, that was odd. However now it included a free lunch at the 5-Star Palm Shore Resorts. Now this is the part where, had it not been a timeshare, you'd think you were getting a glimpse of the way the Rich and Famous vacation. At least that is what they want you to think. Has everyone done the timeshare presentation? Maybe at a closer destination like Branson?
   We actually enjoyed our afternoon at Palm Shore Resorts. Our "realtor-broker," Zak, had lunch with us and then we rode a bus over to the Marina where he acted as our personal tour guide. A random group of ladies followed us around listening to his information about the Marine exhibits and asked me if he was a tour guide. He got a kick out of that-- and well, Zak then kicked it up a notch giving us the Tour Royale.

Zak like to tease the birds
turning on the fish cleaning hose!

    Then we headed back and toured the timeshare facility, the pool, the Tiki Bar (every 3 Star and up resort in Florida has a Tiki Bar at the pool), the private beach, and the wonderful Timeshare suites and yes they were very nice. Valued at 28,000 dollars, you'll own 1 week every year. The only catch, owner's pay $765 a year taxes and maintenance fees, afterall, this isn't just some rental you now own 1/52nd of a hotel suite of your very own. Since this was the best of the best of them, according to Zak, you can easily trade your week with other timeshares all over the world, Denmark, Branson, California. Although trades are not guaranteed (another baited hook). We held out and the deal just kept getting better. Eventually, we got offered a few foreclosures. The best deal which was the deal for 'single military moms,' Zak had been doing his homework, for only $8,999. I could hardly pass that up but glad I did.
     My philosophy has always been that if I can't think on it for 24 hours then you are trying to pawn it off on me. And if you have to pawn it off on me, it's not worth what I would pay you for it.  What serious realtor would expect you to make a property purchase after walking through the house once? What about getting an inspection and, at the very least, an appraisal? At one point I got up from the table and walked out of the room, I finally convinced Zak's lynchman (the deal closer- you know every salesman has to have someone that comes in for the hard sale) that I wasn't buying. End of the 5 hour presentation. I wandered around in the lobby until a very nice lady found me and printed out our vouchers and wished us a good time on our cruise.

Some of the best things,
are discovered along the way!

     I am really glad we took our time and didn't worry about being late for our 2pm presentation and lunch. I knew I could always play the "I thought it was at 5pm" card.  Had we decided to wait and go the beach after our 45 minute presentation we would not have made it to the beach at all. We had a wonderful morning and afternoon and enjoyed our free late afternoon lunch and tours with Zak but only because we had packed so much into our morning and early afternoon already.

South Beach Park

     On the way to the Palm Shore Resort we saw a brown "nearby attractions" sign  on I-95 North that indicated a Nature Center, Museum, and Beach at the next exit. So we spontaneously took that exit and drove until the road ended at South Beach Park.  This was the most beautiful beach I had been to in Florida. It wasn't crowded, was set up like a private resort, had easy access to inexpensive parking ($2 for 4 hours) and free 4 hour parallel parking on Palmetto Blvd. We spent several hours there and then decided to take the scenic route on A1A the rest of the way up the coast to the resort presentation.

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

      Just a block up from South Beach Park we saw the sign for Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Connor convinced me to go check it out. What the heck is Gumbo Limbo? So we stopped to find out.  Turns out Gumbo Limbo is a tree but their main mission here at the nature center is saving the Sea Turtles and their amazing beach habitats. When people find Sea Turtles that have been hurt or endangered in some way they are brought here and allowed to get big enough to take care of themselves and then released. They find or get reports of the nests on the beach and rope them off so that beach goers will not crush them. These Sea Turtles travel all over the world but always come back to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs. Incredible!

The Gumbo Limbo Tree

    So what about Gumbo Limbo? One of the most exciting discoveries we made was learning of the Gumbo Limbo Boardwalk Trail. A 1/4 mile trail into a well-designed Hardwood Hammock perserve. And yes, you will see and be able to identify the Gumbo Limbo Tree and many other indigenous flora and trees along the Florida coast. There is also a 40 foot tower that offers a spectacular view of the Intracoastal waterway in one direction and the Atlantic ocean in the other. If you look down, you can get an aerial view of the native Hammock. 

The Boardwalk Hammock Trail

The Aerial View of the Florida Hammock

    This impromptu adventure was one of the most exciting adventures on our trip. I think because of the thrill of discovering really cool places on our own that weren't listed in the tourist guide. We got to talk with a lot of locals, many transplants from around the country, and learn so much about the Florida ecosystem. It was, to my surprise, pleasantly supplemented with Zak's private tour of the Palm Shore Marina where we got to learn a lot about the modern day fishing culture off the Florida coast. It was a fabulous day! 

TRAVEL TIPS: WHAT ELSE WE LEARNED ON OUR VACATION

The IntraCoastal Waterway

1. Go with the flow. If you get delayed or detained, redeem the time with laughter and take opportunity to get the most out of the situation. 

2. Leave some open time in your vacation schedule to just explore. Don't always go from point A to point B, leave enough time to take a scenic route or follow a sign that sounds interesting. 

3. If you take the timeshare approach to save some money on your vacation adventure, then be prepared for the hard sale. Don't let it get you upset just enjoy the wining (aka whining) and dining they offer. Expect to have to spend a few minutes getting "firm" and put your foot down. 

The Atlantic Ocean

4. Don't spend your vacation complaining about the pitfalls of the accommodations you got for free; instead enjoy the people you are with and the fact that you got a lot more for your dollar than you would have otherwise. 

5. Don't purchase a timeshare at a pressure presentation. If after your vacation, you still think they were right and you want to vacation one week a year at the same location for the next twenty years, then check with your realtor. They can find you a timeshare at a good price that owners want to sell outright, even foreclosures for great deals. 

6. Even if you hang up on the Captain when you hear him honking on the other end of the phone line, you can find great deals on vacations and don't have to pay full price or listen to a timeshare presentation. Check with AAA ( if you're not a member, you should be) for vacation discounts. Many discounts are available online through Expedia (I have used Expedia for several vacations and never had a problem). One online travel service to avoid .. Cheap Tickets.com, more than once I have arrived and not had reservations at my hotel even though the charges had already cleared my bank. 



A Palm Tree (slice) with a Strangler Fig



7. Take some time to learn about the locality you are visiting: visit a history museum or nature center. 

8. Treat people kindly even if they have an ethically questionable vocation. After I walked away from the table with Zak's boss, Zak came to find me and asked me why I left. I told him that it was clear to me I was just making his boss angry and hey, I was on vacation. He shook my hand and thanked me and my son for be so pleasant and enjoyable to be with. He said a lot of people treat him pretty badly. Hey, we enjoyed the afternoon with Zak-- he was a great private tour guide that we didn't have to pay for. 

Butterfly Cocoons

9. Treat the wildlife and nature that you encounter with respect. Don't touch the wildlife or spook it away. Enjoy it's presence when you can but don't touch or litter or deface it.

10.  Take your shoes off and walk along a sandy beach every time you get the chance! There is something about that that relaxes your whole body and mind from the feet up!