No Upgrading for Paid Passengers!?:(

[oceanlovinmama]

I'm going on the Glory in February and back in September booked a mid ship oceanview with picture window. At the time I didn't realize I would be on deck 2. I usually do balconies but for this trip I wanted to save some money as I'm cruising to the Baltic in May. This week I started looking on Carnivals site and for 200+ per person, we could get a guaranteed balcony. Ok, let's do it. My birthday will be that Tuesday we are cruising and we are bound to be on a higher deck. Call our agent and guess what?? NO! Carnival won't give us that rate because its supposedly for 1st time bookings, even though I couldn't find that anywhere. But wait, we want to GIVE you $400+ to just move...this price is even higher than it would have been when we originally booked our cruise. NOPE can't do it. My agent spent all day with Reps, supervisors, District Managers and no one will give us that rate. I called and was told NO. I've cruised 5 times with Carnival. We got 4 other people to go with us, who will spend money, on this cruise. I'm not asking for the upgrade fairy, I'm not asking for money back or OBC, I want to upgrade to a balcony and they said NO. WHY??? This doesn't make any sense to me and unfortunately if this is the way Carnival treats their guests, it may be the last Carnival cruise for me. Has anyone else ever had this problem?? What was their excuse?? Am I wrong for being angry?? They obviously have the rooms, why not take my money, let me upgrade to a balcony and sell my oceanview to someone else. WOW Carnival...just WOW.

[awhcruiser]

If that rate is for new bookings only Carnival will not do anything for you. Sorry

[Carnival_Brides]

It is really strange that you're having this problem. We've upgraded loads of times before from Interiors to Balconies and OVs to balconies, but we don't book through TA's and handle our own reservations.

 

Sorry you're having this problem--at least you're on a cruise though.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Carnival_Brides

[1kaper]

I'm confused, will they not allow you to upgrade at all? That's what the title says but the post seems to say they won't give you that first time booking rate of $200 pp which seems to be a different issue.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

OP,

 

So what is the price of a balconey upgrade if it is not a new booking.

 

Something seems amiss here????

 

Bill

[Thommy_Boy]

I'm confused, will they not allow you to upgrade at all? That's what the title says but the post seems to say they won't give you that first time booking rate of $200 pp which seems to be a different issue.

 

She could up grade, just not upgrade using the pack and go rate she wants to. The pack and go rate is only good for new bookings. That keeps people from using it for early saver.

 

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[Carnival_Brides]

Oh yea--I've never upgraded using P&G. I usually end up using East Coast Resident or More The Merrier. Unfortunately, you're out of luck OP.

[pbsteve]

I noticed you said agent... did you call carnival and ask how much for a balcony? Your agent may lose commission if you upgrade. And thus say carnival said no. If you want that price sadly you can't have the lack and go rate, but I will bet if you call and ask how much to upgrade they'll give you a price

 

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[gtonda]

She could up grade, just not upgrade using the pack and go rate she wants to. The pack and go rate is only good for new bookings. That keeps people from using it for early saver.

 

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You cannot submit an Early Saver Price Match Form on a P&G rate!?

[Thommy_Boy]

You cannot submit an Early Saver Price Match Form on a P&G rate!?

 

No you can not. Look at the details of the special.

 

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[Carnival_Brides]

Nope. To book P&G it has to be a new booking and to match ES you have to be eligible for the match and you're not since you're already booked. Forgive the poor wording, but I hope you get the idea.

 

You can rate match for almost anything else.

[richstowe]

OP, I am sorry you aren't getting the cabin you want at the price you want but in the end it's just money.

You would pay 400 more for the upgrade but not 800 so you are making yourself upset for 400 if I've got it straight.

 

Don't. Enjoy your cruise . The Glory is a great ship and I hope you have fun.

[irishnyc]

How did you not know when you booked that you would be on deck 2? Unless you booked a guarantee, you chose your room.

[MuffyKismet]

I'm sorry for all the trouble you having but might I suggest that in the future to book directly through Carnival with a Carnival PVP and do early saver rate, then you are always eligible for upgrades or price reductions/or OBC if the price goes down after final payment!

 

Don't let it ruin you excitement for the trip, the Glory is a very nice ship and you will have a GREAT time regardless, lets be honest , how much time does anyone spend in their room, even with a balcony??? And how in the world did you not know you were going to be on Deck 2??? your AGENT should have told you what deck you would be on BEFORE she booked it! I have been all over the ships in different rooms on different decks, again not in the room much so I really don't care. I do love the SPA rooms when you are on the Breeze/Dream since they have the Cloud 9 Spa amenities and use of them all for free for Spa room holders. But other then that , a room is a room! Have a blast!!!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I noticed you said agent... did you call carnival and ask how much for a balcony? Your agent may lose commission if you upgrade. And thus say carnival said no. If you want that price sadly you can't have the lack and go rate, but I will bet if you call and ask how much to upgrade they'll give you a price

 

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How does a travel agent lose money if she upgrades and pays more money?:confused:

 

Bill

[pbsteve]

How does a travel agent lose money if she upgrades and pays more money?:confused:

 

Bill

 

It all depends on contracts. Perhaps upgrading is not able to be done by the agent directly but can be done over the phone, in which case carnival would be "stealing" the sale. For a more common example, how many times have you gone into a cell phone store and had something done best buy said cannot be done. Often it can be done but because of contracts, means the store doesn't get paid by the provider since the store is not authorized to do it.

 

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[Isa65]

I noticed you said agent... did you call carnival and ask how much for a balcony? Your agent may lose commission if you upgrade. And thus say carnival said no.

 

This is an interesting theory. She pays MORE money and her agent loses commission? Uhm, no. It's really the other way around - the pricier the cabin, the higher the commission.

[sparks1093]

OP, to the best of my knowledge every other mainstream line does this- after final payment if they have to reduce prices to fill the ship they specify that the rate is for new bookings only and they don't allow previously booked guests to have that price. So, if you leave CCL over this issue you really aren't gaining anything. CCL came up with the Pack and Go rate as a way to be able to over reduced fares to fill the ship without having to price match for everyone that booked Early Saver (and to the best of my knowledge CCL is the only line that offers anything like Early Saver).

[thinfool]

I'm sorry for all the trouble you having but might I suggest that in the future to book directly through Carnival with a Carnival PVP and do early saver rate, then you are always eligible for upgrades or price reductions/or OBC if the price goes down after final payment!

 

 

The Glory is a great ship! However, you cannot price match to the Pack n Go rate from ES.

The OP's TA did as much or more than the avg PVP would do.

And, according to recent new reports, Carnival is once again courting bookings from Travel Agents. It seems that many totally refused to book Carnival (some likely still refuse) because Carnival tried to cut them out of their commissions and had a rate structure that was difficult to understand. In short, it was having a negative affect on their bottom line.

As with any business, "it's all about the money".

[CarnieAddict]

I noticed you said agent... did you call carnival and ask how much for a balcony? Your agent may lose commission if you upgrade. And thus say carnival said no. If you want that price sadly you can't have the lack and go rate, but I will bet if you call and ask how much to upgrade they'll give you a price

 

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The agent gets a percentage of the cost before taxes. Plus if the OP went through an agent Carnival wont do anything with the booking. They will tell the OP to call his or her agent. I can understand why Carnival is doing this. If they turned around and gave everyone the cheaper rate they would lose a pile of money. The sale is to try to fill the empty rooms.

Edited January 31, 2014 by CarnieAddict

[fishtaco]

Nope. To book P&G it has to be a new booking and to match ES you have to be eligible for the match and you're not since you're already booked. Forgive the poor wording, but I hope you get the idea.

 

You can rate match for almost anything else.

 

The stupid thing is pack & Go or not, a lower advertised price is not meant for people who have already booked just so they can get a price reduction :confused:

 

ES should really cover all and any price reductions even those "For new Bookings Only" because "any lower fair" is there to attract "new bookers" regardless they say "new bookings only":confused:

[winddawn]

I'm going on the Glory in February and back in September booked a mid ship oceanview with picture window. At the time I didn't realize I would be on deck 2. I usually do balconies but for this trip I wanted to save some money as I'm cruising to the Baltic in May. This week I started looking on Carnivals site and for 200+ per person, we could get a guaranteed balcony. Ok, let's do it. My birthday will be that Tuesday we are cruising and we are bound to be on a higher deck. Call our agent and guess what?? NO! Carnival won't give us that rate because its supposedly for 1st time bookings, even though I couldn't find that anywhere. But wait, we want to GIVE you $400+ to just move...this price is even higher than it would have been when we originally booked our cruise. NOPE can't do it. My agent spent all day with Reps, supervisors, District Managers and no one will give us that rate. I called and was told NO. I've cruised 5 times with Carnival. We got 4 other people to go with us, who will spend money, on this cruise. I'm not asking for the upgrade fairy, I'm not asking for money back or OBC, I want to upgrade to a balcony and they said NO. WHY??? This doesn't make any sense to me and unfortunately if this is the way Carnival treats their guests, it may be the last Carnival cruise for me. Has anyone else ever had this problem?? What was their excuse?? Am I wrong for being angry?? They obviously have the rooms, why not take my money, let me upgrade to a balcony and sell my oceanview to someone else. WOW Carnival...just WOW.

So it sounds like you could have purchased an upgrade, but just not for the price that you wanted.

 

Everyone is subject to fare rules. That is why Carnival publishes the fare rules on their website.

 

http://www.carnival.com/legal/specials-terms-conditions.aspx

 

Would it make sense if I am a Texas resident and got angry because Carnival wouldn't sell me a Florida resident rate? No it wouldn't so I have no reason to be angry at Carnival over it.

 

I understand that the myriad of fare rules can be mind boggling, but they are what they are and all cruise lines have them.

 

Sorry for your disappointment.

[sparks1093]

The stupid thing is pack & Go or not, a lower advertised price is not meant for people who have already booked just so they can get a price reduction :confused:

 

ES should really cover all and any price reductions even those "For new Bookings Only" because "any lower fair" is there to attract "new bookers" regardless they say "new bookings only":confused:

 

You buy a bunch of bananas at the grocery store. Three days later the store puts the rest of their bananas on sale so they can sell them before they spoil. You still have the bunch of bananas that you bought, are you going to go back and request a refund? Same concept is at work- if the cruise line does not fill a cabin that cabin is "spoiled", so when the sailing date starts to get close they start cutting prices to prevent loses due to spoilage.

[richstowe]

You buy a bunch of bananas at the grocery store. Three days later the store puts the rest of their bananas on sale so they can sell them before they spoil. You still have the bunch of bananas that you bought, are you going to go back and request a refund? Same concept is at work- if the cruise line does not fill a cabin that cabin is "spoiled", so when the sailing date starts to get close they start cutting prices to prevent loses due to spoilage.

Yes but what if I bought bananas 5 times before at this store and I brought 4 other people with me.

Has anyone else ever had this problem?? What was their excuse?? Am I wrong for being angry??

They obviously have the bananas, why not take my money, let me get new ones and sell my old ones to someone else.

WOW Carnival...just WOW. :rolleyes::D

Edited January 31, 2014 by richstowe

[CarnieAddict]

Can't please everyone. I can't see what Carnival did wrong. I could see if they didnt have the rules posted. It clearly says after full payment has been made there is no more discounts. And the new sale is clearly listed with its rules.