Taking away a perk

[grammacassi]

CCL doubled my OBC that I got with my gift certificate because I booked before 1/31. Now they tell me I lose the extra $100 if I take advantage of a price drop under ESP. Don't get it cuz nothing changed on my end. :( Any thoughts?

[BenjiRodney]

It's the way the rates works. I have 160.00 in credit to use for shore excursions, so I don't plan to ask for a price drop for this one as I would have to give up the 160.00.

[Out to sea!]

CCL doubled my OBC that I got with my gift certificate because I booked before 1/31. Now they tell me I lose the extra $100 if I take advantage of a price drop under ESP. Don't get it cuz nothing changed on my end. :( Any thoughts?

 

You would be changing rates hence losing the additional $100.

[honeybunches]

As it was explained to me, when you are asking for a price drop, you are, in essence, initiating a new booking and lose any perks from your previous booking. I booked with a $50 deposit but if I find a lower price, I will have to rebook and will then have to pay the full deposit cost of $300.

[grammacassi]

She did not say anything about losing my $50 deposit.

[grammacassi]

You would be changing rates hence losing the additional $100.

 

The doubling of my obc had to fo with booking before the end of Jan. not with the ESR.

[larkz]

The sales and promos that Carnival offers are not cumulative. Your gift certificate value of $100 stays in place and you won't lose your deposit or any payments that you've made (unless you cancel altogether).

 

But if you make an ES request, the new offer essentially crosses out previous offers like the deal you received for booking before January 31. As mentioned, it becomes a new booking.

 

Keep that in mind as you evaluate the pros and cons of applying for a price drop (or upgrade).

 

For my last cruise, I declined a possible price drop early on because it would have lost me OBC that I received from a promotion. Later, the price drops were so dramatic that I accepted them.

[SadieN]

She did not say anything about losing my $50 deposit.

 

 

The last time Carnival offered the reduced deposit many found their reservations cancelled when they were changed.

They received no warning.

[JohnSpo]

I just booked a future cruise on Spendor last week at the Past Guest rate(not ES) and received a $100 OBC. Has anyone had experience making a change of a future cruise booked onboard and did the $100 OBC get moved to the new booking? I was told it would. :cool:

[fuddrules]

The last time Carnival offered the reduced deposit many found their reservations cancelled when they were changed.

They received no warning.

 

That's true and may still apply to some bookings but at least my current booking, I still have reduced deposit. I applied for a price drop that didn't include a reduced deposit and they've yet to ask for full deposit.

[NeedBlueWater]

I just booked a future cruise on Spendor last week at the Past Guest rate(not ES) and received a $100 OBC. Has anyone had experience making a change of a future cruise booked onboard and did the $100 OBC get moved to the new booking? I was told it would. :cool:

 

I booked a cruise on the Glory while on Liberty in October. When I got home I decided to go back on Liberty instead. I had no problem switching the reservation and keeping the $100 OBC.

[JohnSpo]

I booked a cruise on the Glory while on Liberty in October. When I got home I decided to go back on Liberty instead. I had no problem switching the reservation and keeping the $100 OBC.

 

Glad to hear you had a good experience with the OBC.

 

I booked a January 2015 Past Guest rate on Conquest out of Miami to get the OBC. I plan on changing it to a cruise departing from NYC. The on board agent said I will probably have to wait until April or May of 2015 for a NYC sailing. It is good to know I will have some flexibility with this booking and can keep the OBC.

 

Thanks for your info.:cool:

[winddawn]

CCL doubled my OBC that I got with my gift certificate because I booked before 1/31. Now they tell me I lose the extra $100 if I take advantage of a price drop under ESP. Don't get it cuz nothing changed on my end. :( Any thoughts?

Since the extra $100 OBC was part of the rate fare rules that you booked under, if you give up that rate, it makes sense that the perk tied to that rate would go away too.

 

If you follow Carnival rates much, you learn that many of Carnival's promotions are for similar value, but are just stated different ways, i.e., higher fare with OBC, higher fare with a free upgrade, lower fare without an incentive (ES), etc. I don't count reduced deposits though because they only defer cost and have little value.

 

So the moral of the story is that each promotion has its own benefits and they typically are not combinable because each promotion is of similar overall value. Trying to cherry pick the benefit of one and pairing that with another fare type just isn't allowed. And it isn't like Carnival is trying to pull one over on you because their fare rules are plainly published on their website. The set of rules gets updated as new promotions are introduced. It is your responsibility to understand the rules that you agree to when you book a promotional fare.

 

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

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise anyway.

[Saltz]

I just booked a future cruise on Spendor last week at the Past Guest rate(not ES) and received a $100 OBC. Has anyone had experience making a change of a future cruise booked onboard and did the $100 OBC get moved to the new booking? I was told it would. :cool:

 

 

I booked as a past guest to receive a $100 obc for an upcoming cruise in June. However, three weeks ago I noticed price drops in the fares so I called to take advantage. The rep informed me that I would have to switch as a past guest order to take advantage of rate drops, thus losing my $100 obc. I accepted because the rate drop was higher than my credit. Plus, if rates continue to drop I can keep saving money... Hopefully. :)

Edited February 3, 2014 by Saltz

[Out to sea!]

The doubling of my obc had to fo with booking before the end of Jan. not with the ESR.

 

I understand, but if you rebook (which is essentially what you are doing with an ES change (not ESR)) then you would be booking after 31 Jan and therefore lose that promotion but gain whatever the new promotion is.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Out to sea!

[Scotch Mist]

I booked a cruise on the Glory while on Liberty in October. When I got home I decided to go back on Liberty instead. I had no problem switching the reservation and keeping the $100 OBC.

 

I am now thinking about changing my ES reservation I made whilst on my Splendor cruise. I'm thinking about changing to the Breeze out of Miami instead of the Freedom out of Fort Lauderdale in September.

 

If I do, will I lose my OBC and ES rate? If I get to keep both, how do I go about it and is there a time limit?