HELP--- confused still on the ES thing

[hlb76]

Hi all I know this subject has been about beat to death. I STILL dont get it sorry. Please no flames but if you have help for me please post.

 

 

My work has just approved out vacation requests for this year. I was able to get a week off in Oct when my kids have a small break as well. I think hey why not take a short cruise. I have a few picked out that would work for us but I don't know how to book.Nrmally we book a few months out for our winter cruise and I have limited choices on cabins and booking styles.

 

I keep reading about all these people who have great luck getting OBC for booking ES. I think maybe I would like to try to be one of the lucky few.

 

So if I book ES I have price protection correct?I hve to keep a eye on my rates and fill out a form to get my OBC. Now how do I know when my rate is down? Say I book a cruise at $200 ES and it goes to $190 ES I can get $10 right? If I book ES at $200 and the Past Guest goes to $190 can i claim that too? I'm confused on what is a good claim what is not?

Also how many claims can I make? If it was $200 at first then goes down to $190 then back up to $200 then back down to $190 can I claim again or does it need to be below my last claim?

 

If I book ES I can not add more to my cabin correct? We are thinking of trying to cruise alone no kids but if we can't manage a sitter we may need to take them. We are SOL if this happens right?

 

Now if we book ES for the 4 of us and find out we do have a sitter we loose $50pp to remove them? Do we loose anymore? It might be worth the $100 gamble to book them.

 

Any other things I should know? And I admit i'm a slow learner so if you can offer a senerio that will help.

 

my other question is this......

 

I see Carnival is having a great 72 hour sale. The sailings we are looking at are also being featured on this. The ES rate is of course cheaper. We are not picky about our room but the ES has us on the lower levels.

 

Now if we book Past guests we could get upgrades to a higher deck. Now this would be nice but not a must for us. It will cost us about $100 more to book PG. but again might be nice to be closer to the action.

 

If I book PG and the rate gets lowered even more I am SOL w/ the price correct? What about adding and removing names?

 

I know on our last Spirit cruise I booked a nice balcony and a few weeks later saw the extendeds went down in price so we switched to that and paid the small difference. The next day the price on the extended blacony dropped to $100 less than I had paid orginally. Of course they could not help us we where after final payment. I was sad... So now I kinda want to try the ES since I lost out on the price drop last time.

 

I know all things that sound to good to be true sure can be so there has to be a catch somewhere. Thats why I seek help from my ever knowing CC family.

[firefly333]

You can pick any deck with ES, just have to pay more.

 

If you paid $200 pp and it goes to $190, $190 is now your cost basis. So no you cant claim it againi if the price goes up and then back to $190 ...its still your current price.

 

Yes, you can upgrade or sideways and add people. I had to move to a higher category to get a quad, and just pay the difference and current 3rd pax rate.

[Ken076]

Hi all I know this subject has been about beat to death. I STILL dont get it sorry. Please no flames but if you have help for me please post.

 

 

My work has just approved out vacation requests for this year. I was able to get a week off in Oct when my kids have a small break as well. I think hey why not take a short cruise. I have a few picked out that would work for us but I don't know how to book.Nrmally we book a few months out for our winter cruise and I have limited choices on cabins and booking styles. ES is withdrawn 3 months before sailaway for shorter cruises and 5 months before sailaway for longer cruises.

 

I keep reading about all these people who have great luck getting OBC for booking ES. I think maybe I would like to try to be one of the lucky few.

 

So if I book ES I have price protection correct? YES! Once booked you're eligible for price drops in any of the Rates (PG, 55+, Resident, Military)that you are eligible for. I hve to keep a eye on my rates and fill out a form to get my OBC. Now how do I know when my rate is down? You do a cruise search on Carnival.com for your specific Cruise and Cabin Category and same number of passengers. The price adjustment is for the combined rates of all the PAX in the cabin. Say I book a cruise at $200 ES and it goes to $190 ES I can get $10 right? If I book ES at $200 and the Past Guest goes to $190 can i claim that too? I'm confused on what is a good claim what is not? You can make as many claims as you want, so all claims are good!

Also how many claims can I make? If it was $200 at first then goes down to $190 then back up to $200 then back down to $190 can I claim again or does it need to be below my last claim? Has to be below your last claim - each claim you make, that rate becomes your "ES rate".

 

If I book ES I can not add more to my cabin correct? You can if your cabin accommodates same - during peak times they often won't let you book a cabin that holds more than the ## you're booking. Not to say that they will probably allow you to move to a higher capacity cabin without Penalty. We are thinking of trying to cruise alone no kids but if we can't manage a sitter we may need to take them. We are SOL if this happens right? With ES you're usually bestter off bokking for the number that you know will be traveling.

 

Now if we book ES for the 4 of us and find out we do have a sitter we loose $50pp to remove them? Do we loose anymore? It might be worth the $100 gamble to book them. The ES cancellation penalty (up to Final Payment Deadline) is you lose $50pp cancellation and the balance of each persons deposit is held for a future cruise w/in 2 years.

 

Any other things I should know? And I admit i'm a slow learner so if you can offer a senerio that will help.

 

my other question is this......

 

I see Carnival is having a great 72 hour sale. The sailings we are looking at are also being featured on this. The ES rate is of course cheaper. We are not picky about our room but the ES has us on the lower levels.

 

Now if we book Past guests we could get upgrades to a higher deck. Now this would be nice but not a must for us. It will cost us about $100 more to book PG. but again might be nice to be closer to the action.

 

If I book PG and the rate gets lowered even more I am SOL w/ the price correct? What about adding and removing names? With PG booking you can chanfge names, but adding names depends on your cabin's capacity (not to say they won't let you move to a higher capacity cabin with no penalty). If you book PG you can get PG price drops up to final payment, and actually you can switch to ES from PG up to the time ES is withdrawn, or you can swith from PG to any other rate you're eligible for, up to final payment deadline.

 

I know on our last Spirit cruise I booked a nice balcony and a few weeks later saw the extendeds went down in price so we switched to that and paid the small difference. The next day the price on the extended blacony dropped to $100 less than I had paid orginally. Of course they could not help us we where after final payment. I was sad... So now I kinda want to try the ES since I lost out on the price drop last time.

 

I know all things that sound to good to be true sure can be so there has to be a catch somewhere. Thats why I seek help from my ever knowing CC family.

The "catch" comes when someone wants to backout and you cannot substitute a replacement cruiser (name change) or if someone wants to cancel, they lose $50pp penalty and the balance of their deposit is held toward a future cruise (no refund of deposit). You might find that a Past Guest rate (which generally includes a 2, 3 or 4 category upgrade) might be the better deal/situation.

ken

[T. Advisor King]

The original poster had a lot of good questions with plenty of "what if" scenarios. I'm not mistaken in believing that there is nowhere on the Carnival website that explains this, am I? Most businesses have pretty good Q&A / FAQ sections that would set out these types of scenarios to answer these questions. It is very surprising to me that Carnival doesn't do a better job explaining the options and conditions. And I've had mixed success speaking to their reps on the telephone. If you ask them a directed question, they'll answer it. But if you ask them to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each category, they seem to focus on whatever they think it is that will secure the sale.

[jetsfan]

I am also sorry if this has been covered. Do you check total cost of cabin with fees or just cruise rate/pp. One last question can you do this up until final payment which for me is 5/09/11. The pricing confuses me. I really do appreciate any and all responses. We don't cruise that often (too many kids in college right now, so this is a big trip). Thank you so much!

[jetsfan]

I am also sorry if this has been covered. Do you check total cost of cabin with fees or just cruise rate/pp. One last question can you do this up until final payment which for me is 5/09/11. The pricing confuses me. I really do appreciate any and all responses. We don't cruise that often (too many kids in college right now, so this is a big trip). Thank you so much!

[jetsfan]

Sorry about the double post!

[PaulMedik]

................... So now I kinda want to try the ES since I lost out on the price drop last time.

................

I know all things that sound to good to be true sure can be so there has to be a catch somewhere. .

 

 

hilb76,

 

You've received answers to your questions so I'll offer some encouragement;

 

As of 10:30 last night we now have $890 reasons to love Early Saver for our cruise next month. :) I expect that between now and April 16 that number will be around ~$400 higher based on previous experience. ;)

 

The only catch is that you are locked into that sailing and can't switch without substantial penalties. There are terms of ES that Carnival reps tend to forget from time to time, but they do tend to get it right eventually.

[BeccaBecca1713]

Here's how you watch fares after you've booked ES. Add up the total cost of CRUISE ONLY for everyone in your cabin (don't include gov't fees/taxes/pre-paid gratuities). If you log-in and manage your acct on Carnival you can go to the page that shows the total you paid before taxes/fees. That is your price you compare on fareviewer: http://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/FareViewer

[jetsfan]

Thank you so very much!

[BeccaBecca1713]

Thank you so very much!

 

And to answer your other question, you can watch fares and submit forms up to 2 days prior to sailing!

[Ken076]

I am also sorry if this has been covered. Do you check total cost of cabin with fees or just cruise rate/pp. One last question can you do this up until final payment which for me is 5/09/11. The pricing confuses me. I really do appreciate any and all responses. We don't cruise that often (too many kids in college right now, so this is a big trip). Thank you so much!

 

the ES price adjustment is based on the total of the cruisefare for all passengers in the cabin (sometimes PAX 1 & 2 cruisefare drops, but PAX 3 & 4 cruisefare increases, often offsetting the PAX 1 & 2 drop!). the Price comparison is based on Cruisefare (not including Govt Fees & Taxes). For ES you can get price adjustments up to 2 business days before sailing; for other rates up to Final Payment deadline. ken