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"Great Vacation Guarantee"

rockbock

By rockbock,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Tithonus

Tithonus

Posted
Posted
They always flew you back... so they give you 10% of the base cruise fare... WOW!

 

Laughable, gotta love marketing!

 

Plus you get back your entire fare. Used to keep the used portion.

 

Yup! Love marketing!

 

A two day cruise out of NY for a balcony room is $700. Now it's free. No brainer. And the better room you book, the more money you get back.

 

Ah, that seasick feeling. Moving a room won't help that, right. Nor if you're a practicing <whatever you call someone that doesn't take meds>.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted
Except, of course, that the guarantee clearly excludes 2 day cruises...

 

What the poster is talking about is booking a 7 day out of NY, invoking the guarentee and getting 2 days at sea out of the deal with all of the benefits the guarentee program gives.

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted

Carnival is under no obligation to book you on the next flight or on a non-stop flight. They will make arrangements to get you home. Whatver lodging, meals, expenses you occur while waiting is purely on you. There's a very real chance you could end up stuck in a foreign port for a couple of days and end up spending just as much for 2 - 3 days as the rest of the cruise would have cost you.

 

I'm not saying this is the case in all scenarios, but people who think they are going to get off the ship, get their 10% overage refunded as cash on the spot (LOL, nnnnnnnnnnnnope!) and hop on the plane an hour later...well, it won't be that easy.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
Posted
No--he's not. He's talking about the Cruise to Nowhere on the Glory out of New York.

 

Sure, you can book a CTN on the Glory for $700 or you can book a 7 day on the Splendor, invoke the guarentee on the first sea day, disembark at the first port of call (after two sea days), receive your money back plus the 10% and obc and get flown back to NY. That is what people have been talking about doing and there is nothing that I see in any of the documentation that would prevent it from happening.

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Mulege

Mulege

Posted
Posted

I bet if one would exercise the guarantee that Carnival would bend over backwards to satisfy the passenger to avoid the costs. For instance free beverages, free Steakhouse, free shore excursion, etc. people love free stuff. Carnival isn't doing this to lose money.

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Shipbound

Shipbound

Posted
Posted
Sure, you can book a CTN on the Glory for $700 or you can book a 7 day on the Splendor, invoke the guarentee on the first sea day, disembark at the first port of call (after two sea days), receive your money back plus the 10% and obc and get flown back to NY. That is what people have been talking about doing and there is nothing that I see in any of the documentation that would prevent it from happening.

 

I'M sure the guys in the front office thought of the different ways people can scam CCL just to get a free cruise but I bet there is fine print in the guarantee that prevent this from happening remember there is no such thing as a free lunch!!!!

 

Gary

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Maxiecat3

Maxiecat3

Posted
Posted
Carnival is under no obligation to book you on the next flight or on a non-stop flight. They will make arrangements to get you home. Whatver lodging, meals, expenses you occur while waiting is purely on you. There's a very real chance you could end up stuck in a foreign port for a couple of days and end up spending just as much for 2 - 3 days as the rest of the cruise would have cost you.

 

I'm not saying this is the case in all scenarios, but people who think they are going to get off the ship, get their 10% overage refunded as cash on the spot (LOL, nnnnnnnnnnnnope!) and hop on the plane an hour later...well, it won't be that easy.

 

FAQ states hotel stay, if needed, are included. Meals and other costs are not. Also, the 10%, as per FAQ can be received as cash from the Guest Service desk.

 

Gregg

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Phlybice

Phlybice

Posted
Posted
I'M sure the guys in the front office thought of the different ways people can scam CCL just to get a free cruise but I bet there is fine print in the guarantee that prevent this from happening remember there is no such thing as a free lunch!!!!

 

Gary

All lunches till they get off the ship will be free.

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Phlybice

Phlybice

Posted
Posted
Sure, you can book a CTN on the Glory for $700 or you can book a 7 day on the Splendor, invoke the guarentee on the first sea day, disembark at the first port of call (after two sea days), receive your money back plus the 10% and obc and get flown back to NY. That is what people have been talking about doing and there is nothing that I see in any of the documentation that would prevent it from happening.

 

Odd how some see what they want to see. It made sense the first time I read it.

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
I will not be unhappy to see all of the freeloaders get of my ship at the 1st port. In fact, that seems pretty cool. For me.

 

Instead of pier runners I guess they are pier schleppers?

 

I'm not so sure I'd be thrilled to see people go. They are getting 10% more than they paid. Where does that come from? It comes from your pocket, and everyone elses pocket, in the form of increased fares to act as an insurance of sorts. People leaving the ship may make some lines shorter or some venues easier to access, but overall it's really just adding cost.

 

So the cruise that cost you, say, $400 per person might have cost $375 before this guarantee was implemented. Yours and everyone elses money gets pooled for "freeloader" to get $440. (I don't necessarily think that everyone who invokes this plan is a freeloader; it depends). If few enough people leave the ship, Carnival has succesfully upped their fares and revenue and hopefully profit (which any good business beholden to investors should do).

 

At the end of the day, if you enjoy the cruise and you stay, great. That's what your vacation SHOULD be. But maybe that pier schlepper should not have been given an EXTRA 10% back? Maybe 100% and all the other perks are sufficient?

 

It's really brilliant marketing because people don't often take advantage of these guarantees; it is still a hassle to do so. No matter how easy they try to make it, the reality is you are sitting in an airport in a foreign port instead of enjoying music, food, pool, sites, sounds, etc. That's a hassle for a lot of people that only get a week or two of vacation per year. But it draws in those that are leery of Carnival because they DO have the guarantee to fall back on should they truly hate it.

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Mulege

Mulege

Posted
Posted

Quite alot of people and press talkng about this program so it's working to make people aware of Carnival. Me personally, I have never had a bad cruise. Just some better than others. There are cheaters in all walks of life, now just add cruisers too!

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tcboyle7777

tcboyle7777

Posted
Posted

It is only "cheating" if you operate outside of the parameters of the rules. If it stated that it was available ONLY if you were sick, and you faked it, then I see it. However, they state it is "for any reason, no questions asked." Isn't having to go back to work a reason to leave? Or, "Not enough red heads for me." a reason?

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Tutankhamen

Tutankhamen

Posted
Posted

 

It comes from your pocket, and everyone elses pocket, in the form of increased fares to act as an insurance of sorts. People leaving the ship may make some lines shorter or some venues easier to access, but overall it's really just adding cost.

 

So the cruise that cost you, say, $400 per person might have cost $375 before this guarantee was implemented. Yours and everyone elses money gets pooled for "freeloader" to get $440. (I don't necessarily think that everyone who invokes this plan is a freeloader; it depends). If few enough people leave the ship, Carnival has succesfully upped their fares and revenue and hopefully profit (which any good business beholden to investors should do).

 

.

 

Business 101, charge what people are willing to pay. If people are willing to pay $400.00 for a Carnival cruise, Carnival will charge $400.00. If people are willing to pay 5k for a one night cruise, that is what Carnival will charge. They do not base their price on just their cost. It is based on what people are willing to pay for their product.

 

They could cut things to help pay for the guarantee, but in the end people will most likely be less willing to continue to pay the current fares. I would not worry that this will cause any of us to pay more for the cruise. They need to fill the ships and that is what the fares are based on. If this campaign works as it is intended, you will see the costs go up do to a higher demand, nothing to do with the added cost.

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poolman11

poolman11

Posted
Posted
Instead of pier runners I guess they are pier schleppers?

 

So the cruise that cost you, say, $400 per person might have cost $375 before this guarantee was implemented. Yours and everyone elses money gets pooled for "freeloader" to get $440. (I don't necessarily think that everyone who invokes this plan is a freeloader; it depends). If few enough people leave the ship, Carnival has succesfully upped their fares and revenue and hopefully profit (which any good business beholden to investors should do).

 

At the end of the day, if you enjoy the cruise and you stay, great. That's what your vacation SHOULD be. But maybe that pier schlepper should not have been given an EXTRA 10% back? Maybe 100% and all the other perks are sufficient?

 

It's really brilliant marketing because people don't often take advantage of these guarantees; it is still a hassle to do so. No matter how easy they try to make it, the reality is you are sitting in an airport in a foreign port instead of enjoying music, food, pool, sites, sounds, etc. That's a hassle for a lot of people that only get a week or two of vacation per year. But it draws in those that are leery of Carnival because they DO have the guarantee to fall back on should they truly hate it.

 

I figure if the promotion works then the fares are going to go up. Fence sitters will like the guarantee, lots more 1st time cruisers and makes it much easier for them to fill the cabins. Less discounts and price drops. Prices go up. so nothing really good comes of this for me. . Except maybe less annoying people on board and more people there just having fun instead of complaining.

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Tutankhamen

Tutankhamen

Posted
Posted
I figure if the promotion works then the fares are going to go up. Fence sitters will like the guarantee, lots more 1st time cruisers and makes it much easier for them to fill the cabins. Less discounts and price drops. Prices go up. so nothing really good comes of this for me. . Except maybe less annoying people on board and more people there just having fun instead of complaining.

 

I hope that it works and outperforms their expectations and costs rise. Then hopefully they will spend more money to improve other aspects of their business. Even new ships.

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