PVP or not?

[want to cruise]

This may sound dumb, but I have to ask it...When I booked through Carnival, I just spoke with whoever answered the call. Is this a PVP? Or do you have to ask to speak with a PVP?

 

THanks (and thanks for not laughing! lol)

[Cotton]

Just call 1-800-CARNIVAL, and ask for a Personal Vacation Planner. Would love to give you the name of mine, but it's against the rules here.:o

[StacyandTim]

My Carnival PVP is AWESOME! Always has a bottle of "bon voyage" champagne waiting for me in my cabin (complimentary of course) and has book all three of my cruises and always gets me some extra little "perks". I can give you his name and direct extension if you would like to email me at stacyandtim@cox.net

 

Stacy

[want to cruise]

So, I am still confused, lol. Do you have to ask speifically for a PVP or are all of the people who answer their 800 line for quotes/reservations PVP's?

[StacyandTim]

So, I am still confused, lol. Do you have to ask speifically for a PVP or are all of the people who answer their 800 line for quotes/reservations PVP's?

 

The people who answer the phones are PVP's. Once you find one you like, stick with him/her. They will have no problem with giving you their direct number and extention. The more you deal with that one person, and establish a rapport, the easier it is to book future cruises, and the more he/she will know your likes/dislikes, etc.

[KenMo]

I agree....if you find a PVP that you like, stick with him/her. I don't know if my PVP had anything to do with it or not, but last year we were upgraded from an ocean view on the bottom deck to a Category 12 (suite). At no extra charge!!!! I couldn't believe it! But when my tags came, they had the old cabin number on them. I was so worried about not getting the suite when we arrived at the ship, that my PVP gave me her cell number just in case there was a mixup. I think that's going above and beyond!

[StacyandTim]

I totally agree with KenMo. I have my PVP's info also in case we run into a problem. I would definitely find a PVP that you like and stick with him/her. I've booked 3 so far with mine and a large group cruise coming up. My PVP knows exactly what we like or require with our accomodations and he makes sure we're happy. He even called me the day before we set sail to make sure we were all set then asked us to call him when we got back just to let him know whether or not we like the room he recommended. He talked us into "downgrading" from a Cat. 11 to a 9A because he knows we are balcony lovers. He was anxious to hear what we thought of his suggestion to downgrade. We were THRILLED when we arrived!!!

 

Stacy

[SHINER9181]

If you call the 1-800 number you do not get a PVP. They're regular reservation agents. You get a PVP when you register online. It says it when you register that you will get a PVP. Dont you notice that when you register, you get a call a day later from a PVP? Having a PVP is great because you can always deal with them. Calling in the 800 number you get a random person and they are not a PVP. Next time call the 800 number ask them if they are a PVP and they will say no. So if you want a PVP just register online.

[MyImagination]

If you call the 1-800 number you do not get a PVP. They're regular reservation agents. You get a PVP when you register online. It says it when you register that you will get a PVP. Dont you notice that when you register, you get a call a day later from a PVP? Having a PVP is great because you can always deal with them. Calling in the 800 number you get a random person and they are not a PVP. Next time call the 800 number ask them if they are a PVP and they will say no. So if you want a PVP just register online.

 

You can call 1-800-819-3902

[cubdaddy]

We had a travel agent and were not getting the discounts and upgrades we kept hearing about. We decided on our next cruise we would try a PVP and fire our travel agent. We are now booked on the Liberty for 1/15/06. Our PVP is awesome. He got us a great deal and up till now the price has dropped with military discounts and has credited us with price drops. We are so happy we made the change.

[Luvtoeat]

I booked a cruise 2 weeks ago with a PVP that had been sending me emails. The price she gave us was the same price that is on the Carnival website. No discounts or extras. I booked just to have the cabins locked in but have since transferred the bookings to an online TA at lower prices. I guess it depends on which PVP you have the good fortune to deal with.

[DebbieOinKC]

I called CCL directly and spoke with the person that answered the phone (I am/was registered with CCL when I made the call). We ended up getting $80 each off the price on the website on cat. 6D. Isn't that good?

[born_to_cruise]

Our verdict is still out on using a PVP. This is our 1st cruise on Carnival - 7/24/05 Elation. The cruise was booked by my husband after he received a call from a PVP the day after I registered online (you have to just to check prices). DH booked a OV GTEE for our family of 4 based on the PVP's suggestion - of course DH wants to get the best deal. I, however, have discovered that we have been booked for cabin E23 (front of the ship, which will feel the most motion) which has only 1 bunk. Since we have never even seen a rollaway on any of our other cruises, this scenario never crossed our minds! Feel that our PVP should have disclosed this possibility. IMHO if I had been informed of this, we would have never booked the cruise. Sorry, but I have now paid almost as much for my DS as for myself and he will now be sleeping on a cot!!! As far a this being considered an upgrade, to me the actual deck is not a consideration, just the type of the cabin. I know that I am about to get flamed, but thanks for allowing me to vent my frustration as there is nothing that I can change about it now.

[NRWO]

Here's a little clarification from someone who knows..

 

 

 

-By calling 1-800-Carnival you will NOT get a PVP, just a regular reservations agent, except possibly for rare times when the res department is extremely backed up

 

-If you want a PVP, register on ther website and one will call you usually within 24 to 48 hours. There is also a "click to call" feature you can choose on the website which can often illicit a call from a PVP within minutes (if it's within business hours, as contrary to popular belief, PVPs do not work 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week)

 

-You might also get a random call from a PVP if you called the 1-800 # but didn't book anything, or if you have sailed Carnival in the past.

 

-For the person who said their PVP did not get a better rate than what the website had, that will happen sometimes. It works like this, CCL has all kinds of special rates and promos that are not advertised to the general public, because there are specific qualifications (i.e. residents of a certain state, senior citizens, past guests, active or former military, interline rates etc) What seperates PVPs is that they work on a flat bonus scale and do NOT get a % commission per cruise. So they want to get you on board for the best rate available. A PVP will go out of their way to find you the best available rate going. Sometimes it will be exactly the same as what appears on the website, or what Orbitz has.. that's just the way it is. The PVPs are not magic, have no power to alter rates or create promos that do not exist, an do not have "special" rates the TAs don't (as opposed to what some TAs think). So again, it is not in a PVP's interest to get you to spend more, because they get the same bonus whether you spend $500 or $50,000 on your cabin.

 

-Occasionally you will find an online site or TA that will undercut what a PVP offers because they are rebating some commission. However if ther is a rate drop, or you need some personalized service or a special request.. good look getting your Orbitz rep on the phone. A PVP has no prob getting a rate protected (in most cases) if it dropped and you booked directly.

 

That's the deal.. hope it clarifies some things..

 

 

 

p.s. a little common sense needs to apply.. don't expect a PVP to get you that great residents deal or a bunch of free upgrades on a New Year's sailing or a summer sailing from NY that's almost sold out 2 months in advanced. Also if you see a rate for a $399 7 day deal in November, don't expect your PVP to transpose that deal to July. Again.. they are not magic.