Your guide to Carnival's fares

[castagnola68]

BTW I was able to make the change. I had only paid deposits and cruise is not unti September so maybe that's why this was possible?

 

The 1st Carnival Rep said I couldn't do anything since Super Saver - non transferable, no dep refundable.... Was completely a brick wall and not helpful even after I asked for his advice about what I can possibly do. He said I could maybe buy insurance and then file a grievance or write a letter to carnival admin -very mediocre solutions.... He said even if I spoke with his boss, it would be same result since Super Saver. None of these suggestions were guaranteed that I could remove my ex-roommate or get my deposit back.

I decided to call back a little later after stressing about this and got another rep who made the name change for a $50 fee.

 

Whew! What a relief and I still get to go on vacation.

Thank goodness for the inconsistencies in their reps LOL

 

Never again will I go Super Saver - that was a very stupid move. The fare was only $30 cheaper and locked me into everything.

If I would have went Early Saver, I would have also saved $75 on each person since the fares dropped in that 3 day special this week.

 

Live and learn.

 

Carnival Glory, here I come !!!!

[tafische]

Can someone clarify a point on the Early Saver guarantee?

 

The price of my cruise just dropped $50 AND they are offering a $50 OBC with booking.

 

I know I can get them to do the room rate adjustment, but can I also get them to throw in the additional OBC since it is now part of the booking for a total of $100 in credit?

[Sparky2]

BTW I was able to make the change. I had only paid deposits and cruise is not unti September so maybe that's why this was possible?

 

The 1st Carnival Rep said I couldn't do anything since Super Saver - non transferable, no dep refundable.... Was completely a brick wall and not helpful even after I asked for his advice about what I can possibly do. He said I could maybe buy insurance and then file a grievance or write a letter to carnival admin -very mediocre solutions.... He said even if I spoke with his boss, it would be same result since Super Saver. None of these suggestions were guaranteed that I could remove my ex-roommate or get my deposit back.

I decided to call back a little later after stressing about this and got another rep who made the name change for a $50 fee.

 

Whew! What a relief and I still get to go on vacation.

Thank goodness for the inconsistencies in their reps LOL

 

Never again will I go Super Saver - that was a very stupid move. The fare was only $30 cheaper and locked me into everything.

If I would have went Early Saver, I would have also saved $75 on each person since the fares dropped in that 3 day special this week.

 

Live and learn.

 

Carnival Glory, here I come !!!!

 

You are very lucky to find someone to make the change for you. The first Carnival employee you spoke to was correct. No changes should have been allowed.

 

I'm glad you realize that you shouldn't book Super Saver next time.

[taszmom]

Can someone clarify a point on the Early Saver guarantee?

 

The price of my cruise just dropped $50 AND they are offering a $50 OBC with booking.

 

I know I can get them to do the room rate adjustment, but can I also get them to throw in the additional OBC since it is now part of the booking for a total of $100 in credit?

 

What's the promotion with the OBC?

[taszmom]

BTW I was able to make the change. I had only paid deposits and cruise is not unti September so maybe that's why this was possible?

 

The 1st Carnival Rep said I couldn't do anything since Super Saver - non transferable, no dep refundable.... Was completely a brick wall and not helpful even after I asked for his advice about what I can possibly do. He said I could maybe buy insurance and then file a grievance or write a letter to carnival admin -very mediocre solutions.... He said even if I spoke with his boss, it would be same result since Super Saver. None of these suggestions were guaranteed that I could remove my ex-roommate or get my deposit back.

I decided to call back a little later after stressing about this and got another rep who made the name change for a $50 fee.

 

Whew! What a relief and I still get to go on vacation.

Thank goodness for the inconsistencies in their reps LOL

 

Never again will I go Super Saver - that was a very stupid move. The fare was only $30 cheaper and locked me into everything.

If I would have went Early Saver, I would have also saved $75 on each person since the fares dropped in that 3 day special this week.

 

Live and learn.

 

Carnival Glory, here I come !!!!

 

Guess it was your lucky day! I would never book these types of fares with friends. Family, yes. Not friends. If you do, you should get the travel insurance to CYA.

[tafische]

What's the promotion with the OBC?

 

Book and Early Saver and get $50 OBC ($12.50 per person x 4)

[tafische]

Book and Early Saver and get $50 OBC ($12.50 per person x 4)

 

Well I guess the verdict is in...a $50 credit showed up today so I guess the OBC bonus is not included in the price guarantee.

[winddawn]

I see a lot of questions about Early Saver fares here on the forum and I think sometimes people may be confusing Early Saver with Easy Saver. They are different. Plus this also explains the other Super Saver, Instant Saver, Fun Select and Fun Select Plus. You consider the pros & cons before you book. The only fare that offers price protection is the Early Saver.

 

Early Saver -

Available up to 3 months on short cruises, 5 months on long cruises

Price Protection up to 2 business days prior to departure

Lowest price option with cabin assignment

Cancel before final? Deposit will be given in a FCC plus a $50pp service fee. To use the FCC, you must sail within 24 months from the cancellation date.

Cancel after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Change ship or sail date before final? $50pp service fee/per change.

Change ship or sail date after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Early Saver is not eligible for any Super Saver or Instant Saver or any other fares that does not allow cabin selection at the time of booking.

 

Super Saver -

No price protection.

Select your category, CCL selects your cabin.

Non-refundable deposit

Change ship or sail date before final? Penalty is at least the deposit amount per person.

Change ship or sail date after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Change names before final? Treated as a cancellation. CCL will assess the per person deposit as the penalty fee.

 

Instant Saver -

Available closer to sailing.

No price protection.

Select your category, CCL selects your cabin. You will receive your cabin assignment when you check-in.

Full payment required at the time of booking.

Any changes to ship or sail date are subject to at least the the full per person fare cancellation penalty fee.

Change names? Treated as a cancellation. CCL will assess the full fare per person as the penalty fee.

 

Easy Saver -

Available after Early Saver closes.

No price protection.

Same deposit and payment terms as Early Saver.

All other changes, cancellations are the same as Early Saver

 

There is also Fun Select and Fun Select Plus Fares which are usually higher, but give more flexibility, free upgrades and no restrictions on changes before final payment. Can cancel without penalty before final payment. Fun Select – 2 cat upgrade, Fun Select Plus – free best available upgrade. Upgrades are within the same class (inside to inside, oceanview to oceanview, balcony to balcony, etc.)

I see some problems with your explanations. For example, early saver isn't necessarily the lowest price with cabin assignment as stated. I rarely book early saver because I find that waiting until closer to sail date often provides lower special rates without the hassle of trying to get Carnival to respond to multiple price drop requests. I also think referring to cruises as short cruises and long cruises isn't very helpful because the reader is left to make their own definitions of what short or long means when they try to apply the early saver rules. And saying that fares other than early saver don't have any price protection isn't necessarily true either. I have been able to obtain upgrades based on price drops when booked on fares other than early saver, and I would consider that a form of price protection. Newbies reading this thread should also be aware that early saver appears to be disappearing in some future sailings.

[so_excited_to_cruise]

I see a lot of questions about Early Saver fares here on the forum and I think sometimes people may be confusing Early Saver with Easy Saver. They are different. Plus this also explains the other Super Saver, Instant Saver, Fun Select and Fun Select Plus. You consider the pros & cons before you book. The only fare that offers price protection is the Early Saver.

 

Early Saver -

Available up to 3 months on short cruises, 5 months on long cruises

Price Protection up to 2 business days prior to departure

Lowest price option with cabin assignment

Cancel before final? Deposit will be given in a FCC plus a $50pp service fee. To use the FCC, you must sail within 24 months from the cancellation date.

Cancel after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Change ship or sail date before final? $50pp service fee/per change.

Change ship or sail date after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Early Saver is not eligible for any Super Saver or Instant Saver or any other fares that does not allow cabin selection at the time of booking.

 

Super Saver -

No price protection.

Select your category, CCL selects your cabin.

Non-refundable deposit

Change ship or sail date before final? Penalty is at least the deposit amount per person.

Change ship or sail date after final? Same terms as the standard cancellation policies.

Change names before final? Treated as a cancellation. CCL will assess the per person deposit as the penalty fee.

 

Instant Saver -

Available closer to sailing.

No price protection.

Select your category, CCL selects your cabin. You will receive your cabin assignment when you check-in.

Full payment required at the time of booking.

Any changes to ship or sail date are subject to at least the the full per person fare cancellation penalty fee.

Change names? Treated as a cancellation. CCL will assess the full fare per person as the penalty fee.

 

Easy Saver -

Available after Early Saver closes.

No price protection.

Same deposit and payment terms as Early Saver.

All other changes, cancellations are the same as Early Saver

 

There is also Fun Select and Fun Select Plus Fares which are usually higher, but give more flexibility, free upgrades and no restrictions on changes before final payment. Can cancel without penalty before final payment. Fun Select – 2 cat upgrade, Fun Select Plus – free best available upgrade. Upgrades are within the same class (inside to inside, oceanview to oceanview, balcony to balcony, etc.)

 

This is great info. Think I will print and file in my cruise folder. We are going on our second cruise in June. Not sure what we booked. I know it was not Early Saver. We did did many price adjustments until paid in full.

Looks like you have cruised a lot. Would you always go Early Saver?

[bridgetjonesni]

Well I guess the verdict is in...a $50 credit showed up today so I guess the OBC bonus is not included in the price guarantee.

 

I got the $50 OBC fine for two different staterooms. In fact I only submitted the forms for the OBC offer alone as there had been no price drops for my cruise. I just explained in the notes section of the form that I wanted the $50 OBC as per the Fall Sale promotion and sure enough got confirmation it had been applied. Have you checked whether the OBC shows up on your 'Manage Your Cruise' info? There are other threads about this on this board over the last week or so - some people said they had problems having it applied but most got it without a problem.

[ch27088]

No that was probably a one time promotional sale. They have all kinds of crazy fares like Better Homes & Gardens, Ebony Magazine, promotions for certain businesses, etc. They come and go. The ones I listed are their structured fares that they will use consistently until further notice. Every several years they will recategorize their fare structures.

 

So if I booked an early saver for my cruise in March 2014, I will need to check every day, or every other day to see if the price has dropped, correct? I tried using the Carnival "Fare Checker", but I could not for the life of me get past a certain point. So I just do a mock booking on the website. I figure it just as good.

Edited April 30, 2013 by ch27088

[tafische]

I got the $50 OBC fine for two different staterooms. In fact I only submitted the forms for the OBC offer alone as there had been no price drops for my cruise. I just explained in the notes section of the form that I wanted the $50 OBC as per the Fall Sale promotion and sure enough got confirmation it had been applied. Have you checked whether the OBC shows up on your 'Manage Your Cruise' info? There are other threads about this on this board over the last week or so - some people said they had problems having it applied but most got it without a problem.

 

Thanks...will try again...I got the $50 for reduced fair...but they did not give me the $50 for the fall sale.

[Jenner9]

So which one is the best price option to book to get price drops, etc? I've never sailed on Carnival so I have no idea. I was looking at the most expensive but is it necessary to book that price level?

[jenng1976]

So which one is the best price option to book to get price drops, etc? I've never sailed on Carnival so I have no idea. I was looking at the most expensive but is it necessary to book that price level?

 

Before final payment, most of Carnivals fares get price adjustments (except for Super Saver I think).

 

After final payment, only if you booked Early Saver are you eligible for price adjustments. BUT, there's rules/restrictions to this rate, so make sure you're comfortable with them before booking.

 

Usually there is a sale of some sort, so no reason to book the highest rate!

 

Good luck!

Jenn

[KrystalWaters]

No that was probably a one time promotional sale. They have all kinds of crazy fares like Better Homes & Gardens, Ebony Magazine, promotions for certain businesses, etc. They come and go. The ones I listed are their structured fares that they will use consistently until further notice. Every several years they will recategorize their fare structures.

 

Hmmmm sounds like you are an IBO;):)

[hartskys]

Thanks for the post :)

[Excited7]

so can we get a price adjustment if the instant saver is price is lower. we are in a 4D now. could we adjust to the instant saer price but still keep our room. didnt know if the whole room guarntee price would change our room.....silly question i know :o

[taszmom]

I see some problems with your explanations. For example, early saver isn't necessarily the lowest price with cabin assignment as stated. I rarely book early saver because I find that waiting until closer to sail date often provides lower special rates without the hassle of trying to get Carnival to respond to multiple price drop requests. I also think referring to cruises as short cruises and long cruises isn't very helpful because the reader is left to make their own definitions of what short or long means when they try to apply the early saver rules. And saying that fares other than early saver don't have any price protection isn't necessarily true either. I have been able to obtain upgrades based on price drops when booked on fares other than early saver, and I would consider that a form of price protection. Newbies reading this thread should also be aware that early saver appears to be disappearing in some future sailings.

 

Actually this is not "my" explanation, this is direct from CCL just condensed the wording.

[taszmom]

Hmmmm sounds like you are an IBO;):)

 

Not sure if I am or not, cuz I don't know what that is! LOL!

[roohound]

It has been awhile since I've sailed on Carnival and I am confused by the cancellation policies - or rather the lack of info about the policy.

 

I am looking at a cruise for next year and I understand if I book early saver and cancel my deposit will be returned as future cruise credit minus a per person fee.

 

Fun select rate has more of a traditional cancellation policy - I understand that.

 

Another rate offered on my cruise is the "past guest rate plus bar credit" rate - I cannot find any info about the cancellation rate on this - is it like the early saver or something else?

 

Please help as I really want to try Carnival again!

 

Thanks in advance!

[browneyedwoman]

This is very helpful. Thank you. I'm bookmarking for future use.