Does Carnival give upgrades if you book with a TA?

[Giantfan13]

We booked a cruise with Carnival, with a military rate. Before final payment, we switched the booking to a TA because we had some sort of coupon from this agency to be applied towards final payment.

On looking at this cruise, there are still many cabins available and we are less than 2 weeks out. We booked an inside cabin. I wrote to Carnival, as we are long time cruisers with them, and asked if MAYBE we could be upgraded to a better cabin still in our inside category. Their response was very polite but it basically said that they cannot do anything to my request because I am using a TA. The request has to come from them. I have now asked our TA to contact Carnival about this.

Is this normal procedure?> I have read so many times here how people have been upgraded, out of the blue. Is this the policy on Carnival?

 

Cheers

 

Len

[cruisescouter]

Yes, as a TA I know how both ends of the cruise booking works. If you are working with a TA you should go to that TA with all changes and things dealing with the cruise line. They are there for you! :)

 

As for upgrades out of the blue, usually that is the case when you go with guarantee cabins (you do not pick your stateroom), otherwise there usually is an up charge.

 

Good luck and have a great trip!

[IMKTDQT810]

I thought if you had a lower category cabin booked and many more larger cabins were available that Carnival would try to upsell you for less to go up a category cabin so it will open up new bookings for the lower category...no matter how you booked. Was I incorrect in understanding that?

I didn't realize that going through a TA would take away all perks like upsells & maybe free upgrades. Do they at least contact the TA regarding such requests to pass on to their clients? Just wondered.

[Elaine5715]

I thought if you had a lower category cabin booked and many more larger cabins were available that Carnival would try to upsell you for less to go up a category cabin so it will open up new bookings for the lower category...no matter how you booked. Was I incorrect in understanding that?

I didn't realize that going through a TA would take away all perks like upsells & maybe free upgrades. Do they at least contact the TA regarding such requests to pass on to their clients? Just wondered.

 

 

Marketing for open cabins is directed at new bookings. They already have you.

[Plant]

As you probably know, there are often advantage's when booking with a TA. The main disadvantage is that the TA "owns" your booking. The cruise line (not just Carnival) will only deal with the TA re any discount's or upgrade's.

 

You have to decide whether it's worth using a TA for their service's (we think so!) or booking on your own.

[SHayesShip]

This is not true. You lose nothing by going through a TA. If there is an upgrade/upsell offer it is just sent to the TA in your behalf. The TA would then notify you. However, there are some upgrades occasionally made directly by CCL regardless whether through TA or not.

 

I thought if you had a lower category cabin booked and many more larger cabins were available that Carnival would try to upsell you for less to go up a category cabin so it will open up new bookings for the lower category...no matter how you booked. Was I incorrect in understanding that?

I didn't realize that going through a TA would take away all perks like upsells & maybe free upgrades. Do they at least contact the TA regarding such requests to pass on to their clients? Just wondered.

[Giantfan13]

Interesting stuff. I learned something new.

 

Thanks

 

Cheers

 

Len

[RWolver672]

This is not true. You lose nothing by going through a TA. If there is an upgrade/upsell offer it is just sent to the TA in your behalf. The TA would then notify you. However, there are some upgrades occasionally made directly by CCL regardless whether through TA or not.

 

I agree. On our Conquest cruise, we had 6 cabins booked on the Empress Deck through our TA. While looking at our booking online, I noticed that we were booked on the Panorama Deck. I called our TA and she had no knowledge of why it said that.

 

She called Carnival and they told her that they had changed the configuration of one of our cabins that we had three booked in to a two person cabin. They called the first couple alphabetically in our group and ask if it was alright to move all of us up to the Panorama deck. They said yes so they just moved all of us without the other five couples knowing it. Had I not looked on-line, none of us would have known about it until we boarded the ship.

[Midazolam]

Had I not looked on-line, none of us would have known about it until we boarded the ship.

You might have seen it when you printed your luggage tags:)

[riclop]

We booked a cruise with Carnival, with a military rate. Before final payment, we switched the booking to a TA because we had some sort of coupon from this agency to be applied towards final payment.

On looking at this cruise, there are still many cabins available and we are less than 2 weeks out. We booked an inside cabin. I wrote to Carnival, as we are long time cruisers with them, and asked if MAYBE we could be upgraded to a better cabin still in our inside category. Their response was very polite but it basically said that they cannot do anything to my request because I am using a TA. The request has to come from them. I have now asked our TA to contact Carnival about this.

Is this normal procedure?> I have read so many times here how people have been upgraded, out of the blue. Is this the policy on Carnival?

 

Cheers

 

Len

No chance.

[RWolver672]

You might have seen it when you printed your luggage tags:)

 

It was the good ole days when Carnival printed them for you. Yes, we would have seen it when the TA gave us the tags but they changed us months before we would have gotten the tags from the TA.

[xitappers2bx]

We booked a cruise with Carnival, with a military rate. Before final payment, we switched the booking to a TA because we had some sort of coupon from this agency to be applied towards final payment.

On looking at this cruise, there are still many cabins available and we are less than 2 weeks out. We booked an inside cabin. I wrote to Carnival, as we are long time cruisers with them, and asked if MAYBE we could be upgraded to a better cabin still in our inside category. Their response was very polite but it basically said that they cannot do anything to my request because I am using a TA. The request has to come from them. I have now asked our TA to contact Carnival about this.

Is this normal procedure?> I have read so many times here how people have been upgraded, out of the blue. Is this the policy on Carnival?

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

So Carnival won't talk to you because you have a TA, because the cruise industry has an agreement more or less like a non compete. your TA should have booked you in the cabin you wanted... if you're within the same category why didn't you request that room when you booked? before i booked with my TA, she gave me a list of available rooms near the rest of my family (i booked about two months later and wanted to be close enough to them) and I was able to pick which stateroom i wanted before i paid for it. My TA offers price breaks or can usually bump us up a category but I think she takes the hit for that, typically TAs are offered the same exact prices as PVPs. I prefer my TA because she works for ME not carnival, and if something goes wrong she has that incentive to fix it quickly where as a PVP might not be so inclined (i know there are some fantastic PVPs out there, and i have had experience with awful ones as well before anyone tries to crucify me for that last statement).