Early Saver Warning!

[heatherbelle]

We have received a rate adjustment of $800 for our balcony cabin. I was booked at Easy Saver rate, when the sale came along, I switched to the friends and family sale rate, this was before final payment. I can switch again to any other rate prior to final payment, so long as I can reserve a cabin. I am not a past guest.

 

So if you were unlucky like me and your agent booked you at the wrong rate, you may be able to switch to another cheaper rate, if you are inside of final payment.

 

We are sailing on the 12 night Med cruise there are loads of cabins still available especially OV for 2 and 3 people. I have counted them all and I am watching those prices like a hawk.

 

Hope this helps the less experienced Carnival cruisers like myself. Who thanks to posts from others is learning fast;)

 

Edit the prices on those Baltic cruises are in free fall. I saw a balcony the other day for around $850 for 12 nights.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We have received a rate adjustment of $800 for our balcony cabin. I was booked at Easy Saver rate, when the sale came along, I switched to the friends and family sale rate, this was before final payment. I can switch again to any other rate prior to final payment, so long as I can reserve a cabin. I am not a past guest.

 

So if you were unlucky like me and your agent booked you at the wrong rate, you may be able to switch to another cheaper rate, if you are inside of final payment.

 

We are sailing on the 12 night Med cruise there are loads of cabins still available especially OV for 2 and 3 people. I have counted them all and I am watching those prices like a hawk.

 

Hope this helps the less experienced Carnival cruisers like myself. Who thanks to posts from others is learning fast;)

 

Edit the prices on those Baltic cruises are in free fall. I saw a balcony the other day for around $850 for 12 nights.

 

 

You cannot change to another rate if you're booked Early Saver--well, you can but you'd have to pay a $50 pp fee to do so. When you booke Early Saver, you're always Early Saver. You can price match against any fare you qualify for, but you're still Early Saver.

[jsfromsc]

I always book early saver too and have never gotten a price drop until now. To be fair, I don't check every day as some folks do. When I got my recent upgrade and price drop, my PVP said he'd never seen anything like it. I think the fact that there have been so many mishaps lately that have deterred people from booking any cruise, especially a Carnival cruise, worked in our favor, as well as that the cruise I'm on seems to be nowhere near sold out. The other roll calls for the same cruise but different sailings are much more active than ours. It just must have been an off week or something. I'm not complaining. I'd prefer the ship to be less crowded and since the airfare and shore excursions are super pricey, this is a blessing to have received a price drop and an upgrade. That said, I book because I want to cruise, because of the destinations, etc., and if I weren't willing to pay the price at the time of booking, I wouldn't book the cruise. Although people rave about the ships, service, etc. on Disney, I couldn't/wouldn't pay twice as much or more to cruise with them. Not that I wouldn't consider other lines, but the price of a Disney cruise added to the fact that the ship will be swarming with kids is just not for me. If I were to choose another line, it would most likely be Princess or RCCL.

[jsfromsc]

You're the first person I've seen compare the bowling alley balcony to an aft wrap--I was wondering if they came close to how great an aft wrap is. Thank you for that! I've had an aft wrap, but my upcoming cruise will be the first time in a bowling alley and I'm really looking forward to it. I tend to spend a lot of time out there! BTW, those are 8Ks on Spirit-class. :D

 

I'm unfamiliar with the bowling alley balcony. Can you tell me a ship/cabin number to check out the deck plan, please? But I loved my aft wrap on the Triumph. I had the same cabin for both cruises on the Triump because we loved it so much. It wasn't just the balcony space, but the views and being able to see the ship's wake, especially in the moonlight, that we loved.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I'm unfamiliar with the bowling alley balcony. Can you tell me a ship/cabin number to check out the deck plan, please? But I loved my aft wrap on the Triumph. I had the same cabin for both cruises on the Triump because we loved it so much. It wasn't just the balcony space, but the views and being able to see the ship's wake, especially in the moonlight, that we loved.

 

 

DD and I had an aft wrap on the Splendor and absolutely loved it. :D

 

I'm not familiar with all the deck plans, but the bowling alley balconies I'm familiar with are on the Spirit-class ships: Spirit, Legend, Pride, Miracle. Take a look at 7258 and 7260. When you're booking, you need to do your research because some of those are handicap accessible cabins, so you run the risk of being bumped. Most have a capacity of three or four. 7258 and one other have a 2-person capacity.

[lola61]

Since the recent events with Carnival I've read several posts where people are either thrilled that they booked with ES and then there's those that are upset that they "are losing out on a lot of money". I just wanted to throw it out there that these recent sales are in no way the "normal results" when booking ES rates.

 

I have been booking ES rates since they first announced the program. Many of our sailings have had NO price drops esp since we tend to book early. On the few occasions that we have received OBC from price drops it has been considerably lower than what most people are receiving now.

 

Cruises sailing during hurricane season are usually the ones we see price drops for esp when it's been an active hurricane season. We usually see minimal price drops on our spring cruises.

While the price drop OBC we have received on our cruise next month is greatly appreciated it is not what we normally see. I'd hate to see people jump on booking ES and later be upset that they are locked into a rate with cancellation fees and restrictions on getting a deposit back without understanding that this is not normal.

 

 

We sailed on the Breeze in January and ended up with a $592 OBC with ES. I just helped some friends who are sailing on the Victory 4/1 get a 4a to 4H upgrade and a $340 OBC with ES.:D:D:D

[jvitatoe26]

All of you experienced price matchers, must be good luck, bc I was just able to get another $40 OBC for our cruise! Not much as compared but I am THRILLED! Total OBC with our post cruise transfer refund is $160...thus far :)

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[rainbow231]

We are going on the Glory on Nov 3rd. Our price just dropped 30$ dollars today and got it applied toward what we owe still. Not much but its a start and 30$ we dont have to pay. :)

[2013CruiseBride]

We booked our Paradise May cruise last February, as I had to book our cruise prior to booking the wedding. We booked ES since I had read so much about it here on CC. We have a Junior Suite with a balcony, and even though I didn't check everyday, I did check often and never one price drop. And now there are no JS available, so I'm out of luck.

 

I've been even checking for family members who booked too, and their prices never dropped either. I'm thinking it is because of it being in May, we booked so darn early, and who knows what else. The prices have gone up some, but not down below what we paid. I keep reading about everyone with huge OBC amounts, and I just keep telling myself that I don't have any OBC because we got the BEST DEAL! Hey, it makes me feel better. LOL

[Trish12345]

Yes - with a Junior Suite, you are out of luck. That's the room I like to book - Deck 9, Port Side, the very front of the ship. Price rarely goes down since there are so few JS.

 

I most always book 9 months - 1 year or more out, Early Saver. The price I pay (EarlySaver) is considerably less than the price of the same category of room (JuniorSuite) when they sell out. If that makes sense. After I book I continue to watch the price.

 

Thinking of booking a Balcony next time so I can collect on the OBC.

[2013CruiseBride]

Yes - with a Junior Suite, you are out of luck. That's the room I like to book - Deck 9, Port Side, the very front of the ship. Price rarely goes down since there are so few JS.

 

I most always book 9 months - 1 year or more out, Early Saver. The price I pay (EarlySaver) is considerably less than the price of the same category of room (JuniorSuite) when they sell out. If that makes sense. After I book I continue to watch the price.

 

Thinking of booking a Balcony next time so I can collect on the OBC.

 

Actually on the Paradise, the JS is a balcony. I honestly can't complain since I think the rate was pretty good ($819 pp) and the rate did actually go up a bit before it was sold out, and we have a balcony. I never would have splurged, but my fiance wanted to since this was our wedding and honeymoon rolled into one. Now the only ones still available are the GS that are over $1,000 pp.

[UpstateCruizer]

We booked our Paradise May cruise last February, as I had to book our cruise prior to booking the wedding. We booked ES since I had read so much about it here on CC. We have a Junior Suite with a balcony, and even though I didn't check everyday, I did check often and never one price drop. And now there are no JS available, so I'm out of luck.

 

I've been even checking for family members who booked too, and their prices never dropped either. I'm thinking it is because of it being in May, we booked so darn early, and who knows what else. The prices have gone up some, but not down below what we paid. I keep reading about everyone with huge OBC amounts, and I just keep telling myself that I don't have any OBC because we got the BEST DEAL! Hey, it makes me feel better. LOL

 

This is actually the scenerio we experience most often when booking ES. There's always the surprise price drop when a ship isn't filling or the industry takes a negative hit but overall when booking early or booking categories that tend to sell out quickly you often don't see the price drops.

 

The whole premise of ES is that you booking a great rate and have the opportunity for potential price drops. It's a total hit and miss but the thrill of finding price drops that net you some OBC is wonderful.