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Understanding different rate options


no1volman
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Some of the rate options Carnival offers on their website are very confusing. Most of the time I don't really understand the differences in them other than price. Here's an example. I did a mock booking for a cruise this June. The 2 offers I get was resident rate and spring it on. Here are the descriptions.

 

Resident rate: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

 

Spring it on: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

Offer expires May 3rd, 2015

 

Those seem to be virtually the same offers. But spring it on is $10 more and expires in May. So what's the difference in the two? And what exactly does great vacation guarantee mean?

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Some of the rate options Carnival offers on their website are very confusing. Most of the time I don't really understand the differences in them other than price. Here's an example. I did a mock booking for a cruise this June. The 2 offers I get was resident rate and spring it on. Here are the descriptions.

 

Resident rate: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

 

Spring it on: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

Offer expires May 3rd, 2015

 

Those seem to be virtually the same offers. But spring it on is $10 more and expires in May. So what's the difference in the two? And what exactly does great vacation guarantee mean?

 

Hopefully I can help with this one:

 

The difference between those two rates are:

 

Resident Rate: This rate is offered to residents of specific geographical regions, i.e., West Coast Resident rates are often available to California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington residents. At least one of the occupants must live in one of the designated states to book the rate.

 

Spring It On: This rate is a sale open to everyone, and has a limited booking window (unless extended) and must be booked by May 3rd, 2015.

 

A summary of The Carnival Great Vacation Guarantee:

 

We're so confident you'll enjoy your Carnival cruise vacation, we guarantee it.

 

Carnival is the only vacation company to offer the Great Vacation Guarantee.

We designed this very unique program especially for our valued guests.

 

There’s no frustrating “fine print” to worry about…just complete peace of mind.

 

If you’re not happy with any 3 to 14 day Carnival vacation you take to The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, Canada/New England or Alaska, just let us know within 24 hours of your departure.

 

You can then leave the ship at the next port.

 

Carnival Guest Services will arrange complimentary transportation to either fly you home, or in the event you drove, fly you back to your port of embarkation.

 

We will also provide you with a refund equal to 110% of your cruise fare.

 

While we know the Great Vacation Guarantee is the best guarantee you’ll never need to use, we will go one step further. In the very unlikely event you elect to exercise the Great Vacation Guarantee, we will provide you with a $100 per stateroom onboard credit when you rebook another Carnival Cruise within one year.

 

Here’s some information for you to know:

 

Applies to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Due to a U.S. Government requirement, guests must be in possession of a valid passport to return to the U.S. by air from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Caribbean, The Bahamas and Bermuda.

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Some of the rate options Carnival offers on their website are very confusing. Most of the time I don't really understand the differences in them other than price. Here's an example. I did a mock booking for a cruise this June. The 2 offers I get was resident rate and spring it on. Here are the descriptions.

 

Resident rate: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

 

Spring it on: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

Offer expires May 3rd, 2015

 

Those seem to be virtually the same offers. But spring it on is $10 more and expires in May. So what's the difference in the two? And what exactly does great vacation guarantee mean?

 

You need to read the "fine print" which explains the rules, benefits and restrictions of each fare category.

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I'd read the fine print. Some rates come with a "no refunds / no changes " clause buried somewhere in there and many times people don't realize it until it's too late.

Edited by Tapi
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The Spring It On rate is 30% off the Fun Select rate until May 3.

 

Typically there is just the Early Saver rate and the Fun Select rate.

 

Also, from what I gather, if you book the Early Saver and you need to cancel, there is a non-refundable deposit amount. If you book the Fun Select (or Spring It On), you can cancel without penalty.

 

Is this correct Carnival Cruisers?

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Also, from what I gather, if you book the Early Saver and you need to cancel, there is a non-refundable deposit amount.

 

 

If you book the Fun Select (or Spring It On), you can cancel without penalty.

 

Is this correct Carnival Cruisers?

 

The following applies if you cancel the cruise prior to the Final Payment Date (the date by which final payment is required, regardless of whether or not you have paid the entire amount up front):

 

Early Saver has a $50 change or cancellation fee, the remainder of the deposit is held by Carnival as a future cruise credit.

 

Guests who cancel prior to the final payment date will receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit less a $50 USD service fee per person. The future cruise credit can only be redeemed on bookings made in USD currency, will be applied to guests’ cruise fare, is non-refundable, non-transferable and any unused portion will be forfeited. Guests must sail within 24 months from the date of the cancellation. Cancellations that occur after the final payment due date are subject to standard cancellation penalties.

 

Fun Select is normally a non-restricted fare, and cancellations outside the "final payment window" are not assessed any change fee, including cancellation. The final payment date varies based on length of sailing.

 

ALWAYS read the fare rules, as some fares include disclaimers outlining cancellation and/or change fees.

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So all that being said. Wouldn't early saver always be the best option IF YOUR 100% SURE THERE'S NO REASON TO CANCEL (obviously you could always run into an emergency that could cancel a trip)? But emergency's aside, early saver should be the cheapest route for booking a cruise?

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But what about price drops? Wouldn't you be technically cancelling one cruise and re-booking another under the lesser price? Therefore, you'd have to pay the $50 penalty?

 

No, you are not canceling the cruise, you are taking advantage of the price guarantee offered as part of the Early Saver rate rules. Your cruise remains booked as an Early Saver booking, it does not change to the new rate designation.

 

For example, if I book my cruise under the Early Saver rate, then request the lower fare offered under a Past Guest rate, my fare is reduced but my booking remains an Early Saver booking. The exception is asking to have your rate reduced to that of a guarantee rate (a rate in which Carnival assigns your room), in which case you are no longer booked under the Early Saver booking, you are no longer eligible for any future Early Saver price reductions, and your booking becomes a Guarantee Rate booking.

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So all that being said. Wouldn't early saver always be the best option IF YOUR 100% SURE THERE'S NO REASON TO CANCEL (obviously you could always run into an emergency that could cancel a trip)? But emergency's aside, early saver should be the cheapest route for booking a cruise?

 

 

ES is not always the best.

Yes, you can book ES then immediately price match. But cruises on the West Coast historically rarely go down.

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ES is not always the best.

Yes, you can book ES then immediately price match. But cruises on the West Coast historically rarely go down.

 

ES is generally the best way to book, but depends on the timing of your booking.

 

Your right. On top of that, I can't emphasize enough how sick of Mexico's ports like Ensenada and Cabo we are after all these years. It includes most of our friends on the West Coast as well. Mexico's Pacific side is nothing like visiting the Caribbean at all, and it try's to mimic the high costs associated with Western United States.

 

We just have no compelling interest to cruise to Ensenada and Cabo, but most Carnival cruises go there, when we can drink like fish, eat the same food, and live the same culture throughout the Los Angeles area already.

 

We would like to see a lot more northbound cruises that end in Alaska or RT from Los Angeles.

Edited by eponym
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ES is generally the best way to book, but depends on the timing of your booking.

 

Your right. On top of that, I can't emphasize enough how sick of Mexico's ports like Ensenada and Cabo we are after all these years. It includes most of our friends on the West Coast as well. Mexico's Pacific side is nothing like visiting the Caribbean at all, and it try's to mimic the high costs associated with Western United States.

 

We just have no compelling interest to cruise to Ensenada and Cabo, but most Carnival cruises go there, when we can drink like fish, eat the same food, and live the same culture throughout the Los Angeles area already.

 

We would like to see a lot more northbound cruises that end in Alaska or RT from Los Angeles.

 

 

Carnival is starting to do different Mexican ports again. Check out the one the end of January, going to La Paz and Zihua.

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When I first booked my cruise last year for this year, we booked ES and because we couldn't afford anything else we booked an inside Port hole at I think it was about $900 p/p for inside(I know it was terrible) then in Feb the rates went down so we could book an OV even for a little less than the 900 so we changed. then in March the guaranteed Balconies (which is really what we wanted in the first place) went down to where we only paid $20 bucks (total) more so we were able to grab that! no cancellations or penalty fees, because we stayed on same cruise same ship etc. we were just again taking advantage of the savings available. TA had no problem switching things out.

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Some of the rate options Carnival offers on their website are very confusing. Most of the time I don't really understand the differences in them other than price. Here's an example. I did a mock booking for a cruise this June. The 2 offers I get was resident rate and spring it on. Here are the descriptions.

 

Resident rate: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

 

Spring it on: choose your stateroom location

Great vacation guarantee

Offer expires May 3rd, 2015

 

Those seem to be virtually the same offers. But spring it on is $10 more and expires in May. So what's the difference in the two? And what exactly does great vacation guarantee mean?

Carnival offers the terms and conditions of their current offers here:

 

http://www.carnival.com/legal/specials-terms-conditions.aspx

 

Just locate the name of the offer you are interested in and then read the fine print for that offer.

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So all that being said. Wouldn't early saver always be the best option IF YOUR 100% SURE THERE'S NO REASON TO CANCEL (obviously you could always run into an emergency that could cancel a trip)? But emergency's aside, early saver should be the cheapest route for booking a cruise?

Not necessarily. Early Saver doesn't allow you to price match to offers for guarantee cabins. Carnival does some of their cheapest fares last minute, that is within the last 6 weeks or so before sail date, as offers that only include guarantees where Carnival picks the cabin. That means the so called guarantee for best price that is advertised with Early Saver isn't really true. Those last minute fares that come out with various offer names such as Pack and Go are often cheaper than Early Saver rates.

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Typically there is just the Early Saver rate and the Fun Select rate.

 

A Past Guest rate is fairly common as well. I rarely see a resident rate for my state though.

 

I don't really understand the logic of the resident rates. If they are offering a discount to try and fill a cabin, why do they care whether they get the taker from Louisiana, New Hampshire, Nevada or Georgia? If, say, Connecticut residents are willing to pay more, on average, than Floridians; then just sell more cabins to Connecticut residents instead of cutting the Florida price to make sure to get some of them.

 

I can see last minute people are more likely to be from Florida since many cruises are local to them. But if someone from North Dakota wants to book a last minute cruise, why not offer them the same deal? It fills the cabin either way.

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When I first booked my cruise last year for this year, we booked ES and because we couldn't afford anything else we booked an inside Port hole at I think it was about $900 p/p for inside(I know it was terrible) then in Feb the rates went down so we could book an OV even for a little less than the 900 so we changed.

 

 

So what happens when you choose a rate that's cheaper than what you paid? Do they apply that amount as OBC?

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A Past Guest rate is fairly common as well. I rarely see a resident rate for my state though.

 

I don't really understand the logic of the resident rates. If they are offering a discount to try and fill a cabin, why do they care whether they get the taker from Louisiana, New Hampshire, Nevada or Georgia? If, say, Connecticut residents are willing to pay more, on average, than Floridians; then just sell more cabins to Connecticut residents instead of cutting the Florida price to make sure to get some of them.

 

I can see last minute people are more likely to be from Florida since many cruises are local to them. But if someone from North Dakota wants to book a last minute cruise, why not offer them the same deal? It fills the cabin either way.

 

When I booked our Epic cruise, we had a provincial discount of $50/pp...no idea why.

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Now that we have one CC under our belt, can we expect to see past guest offers (or do we need more cruise days?) - or with only one cruise will offers be about the same as public offers?

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I don't have time to read the answers that have been posted, but this is my "2 cents worth."

 

Have you tried getting a TA agent? I have used one for years, and I have found in the long run, I come ahead. You may live close to a port, but we have to fly in. With my TA, they can book the cruise, plus taxes, port charges, as well as insurance coverage, and transportation from the airport to the ship. With me working, this really helps save time.

 

Sometimes we even get upgrades when I do my bookings.

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So what happens when you choose a rate that's cheaper than what you paid? Do they apply that amount as OBC?

 

The decision to apply the rate reduction as On Board Credit, adjust the balance owed, or to provide a refund depends on when the rate reduction takes place:

 

 

  • If the price reduction is before the final payment date (the date by which you have to pay off your cruise according to the payment schedule, regardless of whether you chose to pay in full before that date) the cost of your cruise is reduced to the new rate, and handled in one of the following manners:
     
     
    • If the new rate leaves you with a balance owed, the balance owed is simply adjusted to the new amount.
       
    • If the new rate leaves you with a credit, you will be refunded the amount of the credit to the payment method you used to make the payment.

     

     

    [*]If the price reduction is after the final payment date, the cost of your cruise is reduced to the new rate. The balance of your payments over the new cruise rate is added to your booking as On Board Credit.

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So what happens when you choose a rate that's cheaper than what you paid? Do they apply that amount as OBC?

 

They can give OBC or refund the difference. In my case what they did was that I just ended up owing less (when we changed the first time) 2nd time because I had my cruise paid off already I gave my TA my cc and she charged the additional $20. I think like I said that if you don't have your cruise paid off yet you'll just end up owing less if it's paid OBC or you might be able to get a refund.

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