Cruise Nation told off for misleading price claims
Cruise Nation has been reprimanded by advertising authorities for failing to back up claims about offering the lowest prices on cruise holidays.
Two of its direct marketing emails, in September and November last year, were investigated after a complaint from a customer who claimed it was actually cheaper to book flights, accommodation and cruise travel separately.
Cruise Nation argued that the term ‘lowest price guaranteed’ referred to the lowest price available at the time of the offer being promoted or at the time of booking, as flights were booked through a live system.
But it failed to provide sufficient evidence to show prices stated in the ads were cheaper than any other travel provider for comparable trips.
"We further noted that neither ad featured any information which made clear the basis of the comparison, including for example, when the comparison was made or which competitors they had compared their prices against," said the Advertising Standards Authority.
It therefore ruled the claim ‘lowest price guaranteed’ was misleading and must not appear again in its current form.
"We told Really Great Cruises Ltd t/a Cruise Nation not to use the claim ‘lowest price guaranteed’ unless they made the basis of the claim clear in their advertising and held evidence to substantiate the claim," it concluded.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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