Early saver vs standard rate

I am looking at booking a cruise for Feb 2018 and I am a little hesitant to book an early saver fare that fare out with the fare rules about changing names or cancelling, but I do like the price protection.

Am I missing something here, but couldn't I book the standard fare and if the price drops just cancel my current cruise and rebook under the new price? Of course that is provided the price drop is before final payment.

I am looking at booking a cruise for Feb 2018 and I am a little hesitant to book an early saver fare that fare out with the fare rules about changing names or cancelling, but I do like the price protection.

 

Am I missing something here, but couldn't I book the standard fare and if the price drops just cancel my current cruise and rebook under the new price? Of course that is provided the price drop is before final payment.

You aren't missing anything. Book standard fare if name changes or cancellation is a concern. You can always change your mind without penalty prior to the final payment date.

Any time we've booked a cruise, if the price drops before final payment, that's the price we've paid. It only happened once but it did happen. And we would never book ES because of all of the regulations that goes with it.

Any time we've booked a cruise, if the price drops before final payment, that's the price we've paid. It only happened once but it did happen. And we would never book ES because of all of the regulations that goes with it.

When the price dropped, did you have to cancel and rebook or did Carnival just adjust the price on your existing reservation?

Thanks

When the price dropped, did you have to cancel and rebook or did Carnival just adjust the price on your existing reservation?

 

 

 

Thanks

You never cancel and rebook. They adjust the fare.

early saver has a 49.95 fee, non refundable deposit and other restrictions. best to book a standard fare.

early saver has a 49.95 fee, non refundable deposit and other restrictions. best to book a standard fare.

I think that you should learn a little more about ES fares.

OP ... You should be able to get price drops until the final payment date. I usually book the Past Guest rate and then price match to an ES fare later, as ES will then give you price protection until 2 days prior to sailing. When you price match to an ES fare, you are then locked into all of the ES fare rules and protections.

I am looking at booking a cruise for Feb 2018 and I am a little hesitant to book an early saver fare that fare out with the fare rules about changing names or cancelling, but I do like the price protection.

 

Am I missing something here, but couldn't I book the standard fare and if the price drops just cancel my current cruise and rebook under the new price? Of course that is provided the price drop is before final payment.

We always book Past Guest rates because we don't like the restrictions of Early Saver. I am fastidious about checking prices and I contact my PVP every time the price goes down. He adjusts the final payment no problem, until final payment date.

OP ... You should be able to get price drops until the final payment date. I usually book the Past Guest rate and then price match to an ES fare later, as ES will then give you price protection until 2 days prior to sailing. When you price match to an ES fare, you are then locked into all of the ES fare rules and protections.

In all of our years of cruising, I've only seen our prices go down after final payment a couple of times. Hence, the small difference in price between PG and ES has not been worth it to us.

 

 

 

In all of our years of cruising, I've only seen our prices go down after final payment a couple of times. Hence, the small difference in price between PG and ES has not been worth it to us.

It seems like lately the prices don't come down much, but I did get a price drop after final payment a couple years ago to the tune of about $450. Not too shabby! If I'm not 100% sure about the cruise, then I book Past Guest. Then I'll switch once everything is locked in. Plus with insurance, if I need to cancel I'm covered there as well.

I'm booked on a December cruise on Early Saver and I have $600 OBC due to price reductions. Last cruise I had $370 in OBC.

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and booked Past Guest today and then if there is a good Early Saver fair about 100 days out the I'll switch to it.

I'm wondering, I booked this through the website, can I transfer this to a PVP after its booked? I'm not happen with my new PVP so I asked for a new one the other day and haven't heard back yet, I didn't want to keep waiting to book.

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Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and booked Past Guest today and then if there is a good Early Saver fair about 100 days out the I'll switch to it.

 

I'm wondering, I booked this through the website, can I transfer this to a PVP after its booked? I'm not happen with my new PVP so I asked for a new one the other day and haven't heard back yet, I didn't want to keep waiting to book.

 

 

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No. In order for them to receive credit they need to take the deposit. If you wanted them to take care of you, you could always cancel and have them rebook it.

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and booked Past Guest today and then if there is a good Early Saver fair about 100 days out the I'll switch to it.

 

I'm wondering, I booked this through the website, can I transfer this to a PVP after its booked? I'm not happen with my new PVP so I asked for a new one the other day and haven't heard back yet, I didn't want to keep waiting to book.

 

 

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It doesn't hurt to ask. I know that if you book onboard, you can transfer the booking to your PVP (that's what I did last time).

You never cancel and rebook. They adjust the fare.

Not always. I had a cruise drop by $50/pp and I called to have the price adjusted and Carnival said they couldn't do it - even after being on hold while the person "checked with a supervisor." I called back about and hour later to cancel it and rebook and this time the person said they could simply refund the difference to my card, or else give me OBC.

Frustrating how two different people working for Carnival have differing answers.

Not always. I had a cruise drop by $50/pp and I called to have the price adjusted and Carnival said they couldn't do it - even after being on hold while the person "checked with a supervisor." I called back about and hour later to cancel it and rebook and this time the person said they could simply refund the difference to my card, or else give me OBC.

 

 

 

Frustrating how two different people working for Carnival have differing answers.

Yeah I have gotten numerous price drops and never had to rebook. So they were able to do it once you threatened to cancel?

Really easy rule of thumb I have learned the hard way about Early Saver (ES):

NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

They tout that ES gives you price protection up to 2 days before sailing whereas the other fares only protect you up to final payment date.

However, the gotcha is that once final payment date hits 99.99% of any big price drops will be for "guarantee" cabin rates and those are not eligible to price matched against ES. Therefore the price protection on ES is essentially the same as all other rates. (final payment date)

PLUS ... In the period of time between booking and final payment time Carnival will run some sale that will make the non-ES fares almost as cheap as the lowest ES fare and you can price match to it and essentially get the same pricing as an ES.

Again ... NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

I hate to hijack this thread, but I think I have an ES fare. How does one tell? I still haven't filled out the second passenger information. How long do I have to get that done? If I wait until the very last minute then changing passenger names shouldn't be a problem, right?

Really easy rule of thumb I have learned the hard way about Early Saver (ES):

 

NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

 

They tout that ES gives you price protection up to 2 days before sailing whereas the other fares only protect you up to final payment date.

 

However, the gotcha is that once final payment date hits 99.99% of any big price drops will be for "guarantee" cabin rates and those are not eligible to price matched against ES. Therefore the price protection on ES is essentially the same as all other rates. (final payment date)

 

PLUS ... In the period of time between booking and final payment time Carnival will run some sale that will make the non-ES fares almost as cheap as the lowest ES fare and you can price match to it and essentially get the same pricing as an ES.

 

Again ... NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

ES is great for those who are fully informed and accepting of the terms/restrictions. Not all price drops are for only guarantee cabins as I am way too picky with my cabin location and would never do a guarantee unless it was the difference between me getting on a particular sailing that I absolutely had to go on or not. I have in fact gotten significant price drops after final payment that didn't not involve switching to a guarantee.

Never say never. What works for one person might not work for another. It is up to each of us to read all the fine print and be informed to make the best decisions for ourselves. Sometimes that happens to be ES rate, but many times another rate is called for.

Really easy rule of thumb I have learned the hard way about Early Saver (ES):

 

NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

 

They tout that ES gives you price protection up to 2 days before sailing whereas the other fares only protect you up to final payment date.

 

However, the gotcha is that once final payment date hits 99.99% of any big price drops will be for "guarantee" cabin rates and those are not eligible to price matched against ES. Therefore the price protection on ES is essentially the same as all other rates. (final payment date)

 

PLUS ... In the period of time between booking and final payment time Carnival will run some sale that will make the non-ES fares almost as cheap as the lowest ES fare and you can price match to it and essentially get the same pricing as an ES.

 

Again ... NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

OK but we have done well with ES after final payment date. We also have a good handle on when we want to cruise.

Another downside of ES:

You can never get ALL your money back if you need to cancel for some reason. (before final payment date)

OK but we have done well with ES after final payment date. We also have a good handle on when we want to cruise.

And as long as nothing ever happens in your life to alter that then it will be no problem for you. :)

ES is great ...

let me stop you right there LOL

ES is not great

If it were great then it wouldn't have penalties associated with it

Again, *MY* rule of thumb:

NEVER BOOK ES ... EVER :)

and then if there is a good Early Saver fair about 100 days out the I'll switch to it.

 

So you can switch from Past Guest rate to ES but just not vice versa?

This is a question for anyone here reading this.

So you can switch from Past Guest rate to ES but just not vice versa?

 

 

 

This is a question for anyone here reading this.

Yes. Once ES always ES. If by tiny chance PG happens to be a lower rate than ES you can price match to it but you can't undo being Early Saver.

Also you can't switch to ES if it's no longer available. 100 days out it's probably gone because it's called Early Saver for a reason, it's Early. I think it's 6 months out that it goes away for a 7 day cruise and a little closer for shorter cruises. On occasion they'll have an ES last chance sale but it's not the norm. So if your plan is to book Past Guest and then switch to ES later keep checking that ES doesn't go away before you switch over.