What is your preferred method for booking Carnival cruises?

[frontrangecruiser]

Those personal carnival reps that email you all the time are selling the cruises at retail. There is no advantage over booking with them or directly with Carnival. I always book with my internet only cruise ta.

 

She always give me the best possible rates.

 

I agree: PVP and On-line...same prices....I have called and checked several times.....I prefer to go online directly, and that way I can see all my information, and make my own decisions at my own pace.....pay payments, change rooms, etc.....

 

I might try on-line only TA's next time....just hard to talk to a live person if something changes....and some have gone out of business....not very comforting to me.....:confused:

[cruzin2paradise]

I didn't see a choice for just calling the ship (yes, the ship) and saying "Hey, I want the presidential suite on such and such a date and there will be 4 of us. Have the bubbly ready. See ya' then." And not have to pay -- so that would be my preferred method, but since that wasn't a choice, I like to use my local TA who is WONDERFUL!

 

Happy Cruizin'!

[GoinCruisin]

I agree: PVP and On-line...same prices....I have called and checked several times.....I prefer to go online directly, and that way I can see all my information, and make my own decisions at my own pace.....pay payments, change rooms, etc.....

 

I might try on-line only TA's next time....just hard to talk to a live person if something changes....and some have gone out of business....not very comforting to me.....:confused:

 

Not necessarily... I have called to check pricing on every cruise and my PVP has NOT quoted me retail. Sounds like some of you need a new PVP :p Each time I have been quoted the same price basically (about a $10 difference) by my PVP as the price I am getting for a CC group cruise...

 

Keep in mind that with Carnivals new pricing policy, online agencies cannot advertise lower pricing, and unless you CALL them or the PVP you are paying retail...

[Gman2004]

Those personal carnival reps that email you all the time are selling the cruises at retail. There is no advantage over booking with them or directly with Carnival. I always book with my internet only cruise ta.

 

She always give me the best possible rates.

 

In all fairness to your T/A she sells many other products besides CCL. If she does not ask for a promotion by code she made not get it. A CCL rep only has to know CCL promotions, so they can find you the best rate. Not that your T/A can't get that rate, but they have to ask for it by code. Although your T/A does get daily faxes with the specials for CCL, she also gets faxes from all the other cruise lines.....too many to remember. T/A's don't get better pricing. The way they offer a better price is to slash their commission. Carnival employees don't get commission, they get a flat fee per booking regardless of the cruise price.

[Gman2004]

Just a word of advice. If you book online you will not get any promotions that might be available, ie. past guest, senior, resident, military, etc. Online prices are super saver rates. Online agents used to slash their commissions to give you better deals than buying direct. With the new pricing policy you will not see lower prices online. You get what you pay for...online agencies have crappy service.

[SoCalgirl]

I've always booked with an online TA, but I do my research on the website then phone to book it. This time I saved an extra 10% off what they were quoting online, which was already the cheapest price I could find after comparing. I've used them before and always had very good service.

[I Luv Crusin]

I think how I book depends on what I'm doing. I've booked with an online agency, with a PVP, with Carnival Vacation Club, and I may be booking a cruise with a group agency in the near future.

[kodiac]

Our PVP always gives us exceptional customer service. He will match a price, give us free stuff, and do anything else in his power to make us happy. Our private TA never did this?!? :frown:

[LegalCat]

I have booked direct with Carnival for every Carnival cruise I have taken. I have always shopped around and have every time felt that I was getting the best deal with Carnival. I've gotten free upgrades on every single cruise in addition to that :). Plus you don't have to deal with a middle man and if you have issues you can go straight to the source. I have however never booked any of the "past cruiser specials" etc because Ive always found them to be ripoffs or weird dates that no one would be able to go on etc.. but I am flexible with my dates so Ive always gotten a great deal.

[Mr. Tom]

What Me and my wife did with this cruise was kinda funny and not even on purpose.

 

We found a good deal on one website for our up comming cruise, it included a free "Shore excursion"

 

Then we contacted another TA that we used in the past. They wanted our business but they couldnt give us the free excursion at the same price, so they somehow lowered the price of the tickets FIFTY DOLLERS per ticket in trade off for the free excursion.

 

Of course we took it immediatly .. we made off like bandits! It wasnt that we were even looking for a lower price, just trying to use the same TA we used in the past cause we really liked *****.com a lot. Great folks over there !

[Mishelle]

This is our second cruise and both times I booked with a PVP. I used the same person as last time. She is great and always ready to answer a question. I never feel like i annoy her. Michelle

[glrounds]

Just a word of advice. If you book online you will not get any promotions that might be available, ie. past guest, senior, resident, military, etc. Online prices are super saver rates. Online agents used to slash their commissions to give you better deals than buying direct. With the new pricing policy you will not see lower prices online. You get what you pay for...online agencies have crappy service.

 

The "new pricing policy" with Carnival only prohibits online agencies from ADVERTISING lower rates. A simple call, just before you book the cruise on the online site produces interesting alternatives. Always get senior discounts and resident discounts when they apply. Can purchase passage at any of the "past guest" rates quoted by Carnival in Currents magazine.

 

Book last minute, know what I want, don't need my hand held, pick my docs up at the pier, never need any SERVICE from my TAs. Receive e-mail confirmation from my online agency INSTANTLY upon booking, and within minutes go on Carnival's website and receive confirmation with them while filling out Fun Pass. Armed with online agencies e-mail confirmation and Carnival's confirmation, what else do I need. Piece of cake ! ! :)

 

And they always send me a $50-100 discount coupon off my next cruise when I return. Can't beat it with a stick. :rolleyes:

[Cruising89143]

I haved done it both ways and I have found that booking through Carnival is usually more expensive. They will not match TA's prices. For example, I had booked my cruise on the Glory through my PVP at Carnival. I found a new TA and he beat Carnival's price by $140.00 per person. After transferring the booking he was also able to get me a $100.00 on board credit per person after the price was reduced and got me a bump from a category eleven to a twelve. I called my PVP before transferring the booking to see if she could match the price quoted. Could not do a thing to help. Needless to say I have used this same TA now for the last four cruises and he beats the cruise lines each time and not by a little amount either. On top of that, great service also.

[LegalCat]

Also I should mention, on our last cruise, we got over $400 back on our credit card two weeks pre cruise and at least 2 months AFTER making final payment when the price dropped, all we had to do was call and ask. I had looked on the website and the websiet showed a very small decrease, maybe 30 per person (2 people), so I never figured out how she came up with $400... this is a PVP btw... how many travel agents would do that?I always hear nightmares about travel agents, Ive never had a problem with my PVP and I *do* shop around and Ive always got the best deal on the cruise I wanted with a PVP

[IKE]

I have been booking online for about 8 yrs. and the Agency I use is a top Carnival booking Agency and I get excellent deals. Carnival is always higher and so are the local agents in my town.

[Cruising89143]

Also I should mention, on our last cruise, we got over $400 back on our credit card two weeks pre cruise and at least 2 months AFTER making final payment when the price dropped, all we had to do was call and ask. I had looked on the website and the websiet showed a very small decrease, maybe 30 per person (2 people), so I never figured out how she came up with $400... this is a PVP btw... how many travel agents would do that?I always hear nightmares about travel agents, Ive never had a problem with my PVP and I *do* shop around and Ive always got the best deal on the cruise I wanted with a PVP

 

A good TA takes care of their clients. I have read many stories right here on CC about PVP's at Carnival who have no idea of what they are doing or talking about. You have bad TA's and you have bad PVP's.

[LegalCat]

Yes thats 100% true... there are good TAs and good PVPs as often as there are bad TAs and bad PVPs... its all about who YOU feel comfortable with and who YOU feel is going to take the best care of you and get you the best deal...

[hillbilly cruiser]

We have booked the first five with our loacl TA. No problems at all. This time we are members of Carnival Vacation Club. I haven't had any problems at all. Each time I call (which is a lot) they are very nice and helpful. They still have me in the same cabin as I started with but still say there may be an upgrade. We have always had upgrades with our TA. We will see in two days.

[CruisingGirl]

I always use my TA. She has been my TA for 10 years now and she always gets me the best deals whenever I vacation.

[glrounds]

On a cruise last week to the Mexican Riviera booked 2 weeks out:

 

My Carnival PVP - $2975

 

Various other online agencies competing for my business - $2341

 

Go figure ! ! Who do you think I used ? :)

[Cactuscruise]

When you book with the vacation planners who send the emails you are booking directly with Carnival. I booked with Carnival for my first cruise, never again. While I like the cruise line, I find their customer service lackking. I use a wholesale warehouse club. They've always beaten Carnival and other TA prices and customer service is prompt.

[cleacat]

I use a local TA who is part of a large internet cruise agency. So I get a person I know (and she's great) and an online agency.

[charyoung]

I've booked all our cruise with an online agency with no problems at all. Some I called on the phone and got a lower rate. This year was more difficult to find a good deal. The online agencies knew this due to the advertising policy, so they probably got to pocket more(discount less). I used to book just a few months out, but that has also changed. The prices of cruises go up or stay the same closer to cruising now, although I have seen some great deals for Alaska. I've found that online agencies don't care if you booked with them before or not. It is just supply and demand, so it doesn't pay to be loyal. We used to be able to share information about different agencies(good and bad), so this used to be a valuable forum. Wish I knew the name of that wholesale club! Don't you miss the good ole days?