Most probably, you’ve been invited by someone you know to inCruises. They might have also told you that it’s a great way to travel the world on a cruise ship for free.
That surely sounds interesting.
However, you might have thoughts…
Is inCruises a scam?
Before anything else, I would like to congratulate you for spending the time to research MLM companies.
You’re surely on the right track because over 95% of MLM members don’t make any money.
What’s worse is that they even lose money!
This is because they immediately dive into the so-called earning opportunity without knowing the real deal.
This accurate, clear, and honest review would reveal to you what inCruises is really all about.
I’ll also see to it that you come up with an informed decision if you should proceed or not.
inCruisesReview
The overview and rankings
Name: inCruises
Founder: Michael Hutchison
Type: Cruise Membership Club
Products (Including Pricing): Cruise Membership ($100)
Success Stories: 30/100
Price To Join MLM: $100 monthly + $95 annually
What to look for in a MLM:
Summary: inCruises is an MLM membership program where you can earn cruise points to get discounts on cruise tickets.
Make Time Online Rating: 30 out of 100
Recommended: No
What is inCruises?
Incruises caters to those who enjoy traveling by cruise ship. Because it is a member of CLIA, it focuses on the cruise sector (International Association of Cruise Lines).
The company was founded in the United States in 2016, with its headquarters in California. Incruises specializes in travel and tourism.
They provide membership to persons who want to travel on cruises less administratively and for less money, with all meals and activities. They also receive travel savings!
Another advantage is that you can make money by introducing others to Incruises. The site features cruise lines such as MSC Cruises, Holland America Lines, Carnival, and Princess Cruises.
When you join InCruises, they claim you will receive cruise incentives, perks, and savings. You will also make money through their other programs.
inCruises is a cruise membership Multi-Level-Marketing company launched in 2016 with its headquarters in Miami, Florida.
They’re considered as one of the best premier cruise membership clubs in the world because they’ve got members across the globe.
They promise their members cruise ticket discounts along with some rewards and bonuses for recruiting people to the club.
Here is a short 9-minute video to help you know what inCruises really is...
That's Michael Hutchinson up there, explaining (and promoting) his MLM.
Who is Michael Hutchison?
Michael Hutchinson is the founder and CEO of inCruises.
I did some research on his background, but not much can be found about him, except that he’s connected to other MLM companies before...
Is inCruises a pyramid scheme?
inCruises isn’t a pyramid scheme, well, technically speaking…
Members can enjoy the benefits of cheaper cruise tickets without recruiting anyone.
But the catch is, it’s very hard to make good money this way or even cover your expenses for recruiting and paying its monthly fees.
Because of this, I’m convinced that inCruises is a “pyramid scheme in disguise.” Here’s an explanation about that...
What is a pyramid scheme?
A company promising its members payment and benefits for recruiting people to join instead of selling products and services.
This is considered illegal in many countries because members can’t earn anything without recruiting people.
Take a look at this Wikipedia diagram...
inCruises, however, does offer a legit product in the form of cruise memberships.
That’s normal for most MLMs, though.
But the fact that it focuses more on recruiting instead of selling makes this a “pyramid scheme in disguise.”
Check out this 5-minute video to know what I’m talking about...
Success is rare with inCruises
The truth is that it’s very hard to find success with MLMs. In fact, research states that between 72.5% and 99.9% of MLM members don’t make money.
The same goes to inCruises, which is why I honestly don’t trust this as a good way to earn money on the sides...
Yes, that's right — almost everyone loses money from joining an MLM.
Ready to make passive income online?
Hey, I'm Mike.
I created a passive income online within a year. I had no marketing skills or online experience when I started.
How does inCruises Work?
One of my college friends called me the other day, encouraging me to join inCruises. His explanation was clear and I must say, I was enticed by it.
inCruises offers cruise rewards, bonuses, and discounts. Ride a cruise ship for a vacation for a way cheaper price and receive bonuses, rewards, and even money through the program.
inCruises is really wise at cutting down costs, though, because instead of spending on advertising and marketing, they just let everyday people (in this case vacationers) sell memberships and recruit people into the MLM.
These members/recruiters then get paid by recruiting and traveling. It sounds like a win-win! But unknown to many, the owners are really the only winners...
I’ve actually tried joining inCruises, and here’s what I found out…
The average price of a 7-night cruise for two is around $1,600, while the lowest price is $1,300.
You can pay nothing for that if you complete your first year in inCruises.
A 7-night cruise for two from Denmark to France averages at $3,200, while the lowest price is $1,1700. You can avail that for just $1,200 if you’re a member of inCruises.
InCruises, unlike other MLM firms where you can simply walk into their member website and enroll yourself, requires you to have the invitation to become a member; otherwise, you will be unable to advance.
According to the company's website, there are three methods to join Incruises:
You can save money on travel. You pay a monthly fee of US$100, converted to 200 Cruise Dollars; in other words, for every US$100 invested, you "earn" 200 Cruise Dollars that can only be used for cruise bookings.
As a Collaborator
Using this mode allows you to obtain travel discounts, commissions, and bonuses in dollars. You must invest $ 195 to join.
Other Alternatives
Their monetary values are converted to Cruise Dollars. The distinction is in the rewards provided for inviting new members because, in the latter two selections, you get access to tools that assist you in recruiting new members.
When you travel, remember that you may only spend 60% of your investment. In the second year, you may use 70%, and so forth, until the fifth year, when the company releases 100% of the accumulated value.
Membership sales are the primary source of revenue.
The first year of collaboration with InCruises costs $195; however, most MLM firms provide free membership.
Moreover, Incruises does not offer free travel. However, it does provide travel discounts if you pay in advance.
In this manner, the business can function without regular donations from members and earnings from new subscribers recruited by existing members.
Because fees and tokens must be paid for the first three months, they can be used during that time.
inCruises products
If you’re really eager to join an MLM such as inCruises, then you need to understand more about their offerings.
inCruises only sells one product — cruise membership.
Cruise Membership ($100)
Get cruise ticket discounts for every person you recruit into the MLM. Paying $100 for the membership also means you get $200 in Cruise Dollars (which I’ll be explaining later).
You have two choices on how you can use this membership:
- Dream Cruise - You can buy an Executive Dream Cruise ticket using Cruise Dollars (points you gain from recruiting).
- Global Destination Cruise - Use 50% of your Cruise Collars to pay for the cruise package.
But take note the market is getting saturated. There are many other travel MLMs that offer a very similar product such as:
And many more!
All of these claim to have something special and unique in them. But in reality, they’re basically just selling the same thing.
So...
Can you make money with inCruises?
Yes, you can.
But the money you’re going to make isn’t just enough.
Can you consider this as a residual income?
Frankly speaking, no.
The ones who are making some money from inCruises are extroverted people who aggressively use social media to flaunt the cruise membership package.
All they do is just sell the dream of “becoming your own boss.”
Here are some of the things you need to do:
Post about inCruises in social media every day
Message as many people you can in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (it sure is annoying)
Talk about “cruising for free” and “earning in the process” to everyone you meet
Zoom or Skype call your “team” daily and encourage them to sell more and work harder because it’ll help them earn more (when in fact, you earn more).
I think (for sure you do too) that these are things you just don’t want to do and just makes no sense just for you to earn some cruise ticket discounts...
How to make money with inCruises
There are only 2 ways you can make money with inCruises:
Sell memberships
Recruit people
This is common for any MLM. It’s also the reason why they are still operating because you don’t get “paid directly” for recruiting.
Instead, you get these bonuses in the form of Cruise Dollars from the recruitment you make.
It surely isn’t hard to spot the difference, right?
How much does it cost to join inCruises?
You must pay $100 to become a member.
It’s not that much, right?
Well, what if I tell you that you need to pay this every month? That’s surely a quick turnaround…
But take note that the $100 monthly membership fee means that you get 200 Cruise Dollars. Cruise Dollars is a fancy name for the points you get.
You can then use these points as a discount whenever you buy a cruise ticket. You also need to pay $95 annually to stay active, while receiving video training modules.
Here’s an 8-minute in-depth video for you:
Still confused? Here's my own simpler explanation on how you can make money...
inCruises compensation plan
What MLMs usually do is they confuse people with their over-complicated compensation plans.
inCruises is no different… But no worries, because I’ll make it as simple as possible!
There are 6 ways inCruises will pay you...
Recruitment Commissions
Earn $50 to $150 depending on the number of your recruited members.
As you can see, your commission increases depending on how many members you recruit. Sounds familiar, right?
Well — a “pyramid scheme in disguise.”
Producer Bonus
Get 100 Cruise Dollars if you’ve sold 3 travel subscriptions in a month. I tried finding the exact bonus amounts you can get if you’ve sold more, but I can’t find anything. Maybe, that’s fixed to just 3...
Residual Commissions
Receive commissions from every sale that a member of your team earns, as well as from your member’s own downlines and the downlines after.
However, you can’t receive residual commissions if you can’t sell and maintain at least 5 active memberships and recruit at least 1 person to do the same. That’s a big hustle, right there!
Rank Achievement Bonus
Receive a rank achievement bonus on your rank promotion. This goes all the way from $300 for the marketing manager position, all the way to the executive director’s $55,000.
Bonus Pool
inCruises takes 5% of their total sales volume in a month and shares it equally to all “qualifying leaders.” Who are these “qualifying leaders?” That we don’t know...
Travel Rewards
Receive a 50% discount if you recruit 7 members in 2 months. Recruit 14 members in 2 months and you’ll earn a free Dream Cruise booking.
Yes, I know… you’re confused by all of that! They use fancy terms to make it looklike there are lots of ways to make money from them.
When in fact, there’s just 2 things to do:
Sell cruise memberships
Recruit people
You can learn more about their compensation plan in this 16-minute video below...
But you might still be wondering...
Is inCruises a scam?
No. inCruises is not a scam.
They sell legit memberships and pay you exactly what they say.
The problem is, too many people join without knowing what really this MLM is about.
Continue reading to know the real score with inCruises and decide if this is really for you...
Just to be fully transparent with you, I am not a distributor myself and I do not endorse it in any way.
I have researched the website, testimonials and information on the Internet to get to the bottom of what this program genuinely does. This is because I have been burnt from programs just like this in the past and I want to prevent others from making the same mistakes. If you’d like to learn how to “Spot an Online Marketing Scam” then click the highlighted text.
Common positive reviews
Here are some of the positive reviews we had from Trust Pilot about the job opportunity...
- "Not only am I able to go on cruise vacations at fantastic prices but I also get paid to do so."
- "The compensation plan they have is very nice and just because we can travel any place at so low price is so exelente that if I have to share it for free I will eyes close. Incruises for good si the best company ever."
Common negative reviews
And here are the common negative reviews...
- "I have been asked to remove My review from this company along with BBB review to keep my membership and not be terminated and I am in the mist of emails in regards to Thier claims of defamation and inaccurate information."
- "After 12 months of inactivity, your account is closed and your Cruise Credits expire and are forfeited."
Tired of MLMs? Check out how I make money online here!
What I like about inCruises
Key Terms:
- Pyramid Scheme – recruits members via a promise for payment from referring others to the service rather than providing a product
- Affiliate Marketing- Connecting a customer to a product they are looking for and receiving a commission for doing so
- Red Flag - A warning sign
#1 Unique offerings
A few things I like about inCruises is that it’s a different kind of MLM as it doesn’t offer the usual health and wellness products you’d normally see.
I believe that this is a big advantage to them because they don’t have many competitors out there.
As you can see, most MLMs are in the beauty and health and wellness industries.
This gives inCruises an advantage because they don't have many competitors.
#2 Easy Cancellation
Tired of inCruises? No problem!
Cancel your membership anytime...
It’s free and won’t hassle you...
What I don't like about inCruises
Enter your text here...
#1 Expensive membership
If an MLM offers overpriced products, then that’s a good sign that it’s a pyramid scheme in disguise. inCruises has a $100 membership fee.
Not much, right?
But you need to pay that $100 every single month. Plus, there’s a $95 annual fee.
One time fees are acceptable, but if you need to pay it monthly?
Just forget about it...
#2 Limited offerings
inCruises need to be more attractive to customers.
Having just one product (membership) isn’t good because that isn’t enough to attract as many members as possible.
This isn’t a good sign if you’d want to be with the company in the long-run because its business process just isn’t sustainable...
#3 Cruising isn't for everyone
The fact is… not everyone wants to cruise, or at least, spend their money on a cruise vacation.
There are a thousand other ways to spend a vacation other than cruising!
This just means that you’ll have a hard time selling cruise memberships because your target market is just VERY SMALL.
#4 Total Life Changes is a pyramid scheme in disguise
Yes, you’ve read that right.
inCruises is a “pyramid scheme in disguise.”
First off, the only way to avoid losing money is by recruiting members.
Secondly, you pass the burden to your new recruits and encourage them to recruit… and recruit… and recruit.
Any MLM, or company in general, that focuses on recruiting ends up like this...
You surely don't want to be a part of that...
Ready to make passive income online?
I've created a growing passive income online with no previous marketing skills or online experience...
I've made a special video for you to explain exactly how I did this.
My opinion - inCruises
inCruises offer an appealing cruise membership because you can get discounts and even earn money by recruiting.
But is the money you earn enough? No.
In fact, you don’t technically get money because you’re just receiving Cruise Dollars which is a fancy name for points.
Unless if you get promoted, which I believe is very hard considering that the market for cruise travel is very small.
So, what do I think about it...
If you'd want to earn good money in the sides — and in the right and most profitable way, then you might want to read my success story...
How I make passive income online
MLMs are not scams or illegal. However, I'm not a fan of them because of the restrictions to the expensive products you have to promote.
Once I learnt about affiliate marketing, I realised it's a far superior business model because:
- You can promote anything you want and truly own the business
- You never need to sell to friends and family
- It's completely free to start
In 2018 I had no idea what affiliate marketing was.
But I went from a full time PE teacher to making a passive income online within one year...
If you want to discover how I did it then check out this special video I created which explains exactly how. You can also get your free 7-day bootcamp to get started.
This is such an interesting article and discusses so many frequently asked questions about the MLM industry.
I think it is no surprise that so many people fail in MLM’s, and I think this is really down to the fact that the opportunity seems so entising to people that they think as soon as they sign up their life will change overnight with very little work. But the reality is it takes so much work to even get started let alone be successful within these companies, and this is a level which I don’t think people are prepared to work at, as many see this as something they do on the side around other commitments, and in reality it needs crazy work and crazy hours invested.
There are however, people that are successful within each company. Whether this is down to their work ethic, the fact that they got in at the right time or are ‘lucky’ who knows? But it’s crazy to think that the percentage is so small, I didn’t realise just how small until reading your article.
The work it takes to support new members in to your team deserves some reward, but that said, the things you need to do promote the products or the business opportunity like you said with inCruises often involves persistently hounding your friends and family or those on social media, and I think this is very off-putting for so many people.
I think you have raised some brilliant points about inCruises, their product certainly seems very appealing: who wouldn’t like cruises, and this could be was lures people in, but what about the detail around what goes with that? You have communicated this really well for others to be able to see past the niceness of it all.
Thanks for sharing this and taking the time to look in to, it is really helpful
No probs Emma. You’re so right about it seeming like an easy road to wealth. Any legit business takes hard work and time to build so I would rather spend my time on something I truly own rather than a MLM
Hi Mike, It was such a pleasure reading your blog and very interesting to know about MLM and pyramid scheme. It is good to be educated on how the pyramid scheme business work. . . . and yes, it will be hard to make money on that kind of business. You will have to work hard to recruit a lot of people to earn some cruise dollars. I am sure a lot of people who does know anything about in cruises will know the business now. I did not know anything about in cruises until now reading your blog. Thank you for sharing such information and good luck!
Evelyn
Yep well it’s not technically a pyramid scheme. It’s just that the people that earn the most money will end up recruiting a lot of people so it has signs on a “pyramid scheme”. Glad it helped though