Advice wanted: Early Saver, Past Guest, or Neither?

[KatieCharlotte]

I'm planning a cruise with a group of friends. Budget is important to us. Everyone is very reliable and not going to change her mind on a whim, but someone might have to cancel if a family member was seriously ill. I've only booked cruises with my immediate family, where we're basically all in it together.

 

I'm worried about booking Early Saver, in case someone needs to cancel. The money (minus $50) would be held in the cancelled person's name for two years, correct? Does the rate go up for everyone else sharing the room? And we can't add someone new because there are no name changes with Early Saver? Am I right to steer away from this with friends cruises?

 

If we do NOT book Early Saver, can we pay $50 for a name change even after final payment?

 

If we book Past Guest and the only person in the room who is a past guest has to cancel, what happens to the other people in the room? Does their rate go up or is their booking cancelled?

[caribsun]

My advice is to use the services of a travel agent with group bookings. It will take the pressure off of your shoulders and make a more relaxing experience for you. :)

[Sparky2]

I'm planning a cruise with a group of friends. Budget is important to us. Everyone is very reliable and not going to change her mind on a whim, but someone might have to cancel if a family member was seriously ill. I've only booked cruises with my immediate family, where we're basically all in it together.

 

I'm worried about booking Early Saver, in case someone needs to cancel. The money (minus $50) would be held in the cancelled person's name for two years, correct? Does the rate go up for everyone else sharing the room? And we can't add someone new because there are no name changes with Early Saver? Am I right to steer away from this with friends cruises?

 

If we do NOT book Early Saver, can we pay $50 for a name change even after final payment?

 

If we book Past Guest and the only person in the room who is a past guest has to cancel, what happens to the other people in the room? Does their rate go up or is their booking cancelled?

 

Call Carnival and request a PVP (Personal Vacation Planner) who will explain all of your options and answer your questions.

[KatieCharlotte]

My advice is to use the services of a travel agent with group bookings. It will take the pressure off of your shoulders and make a more relaxing experience for you. :)

 

Thank you for your advice, but it's only one room or two at most. I prefer dealing directly with Carnival. I would get help if it was a larger group because that would be a major headache. Honestly, the fare is going to be really low no matter how we book, but I like to have an informed opinion when we discuss our options.

[LegalCat]

Katie, I just booked a family cruise for September 2015 with 4 cabins/8 people. I went with early saver because I saved about $500 over all of the cabins by choosing that.

 

I felt the odds of someone cancelling are very very low, it would have to be a major family emergency ... no ones going to just change their mind (mostly because we are paying lol)...

If there's an emergency that big, I'm not going to be worried over the $50 non refundable portions and we are all frequent cruisers so I know I could use the credit again on a future cruise....

 

I really like that we can get price adjustments up until 48 hours before the cruise, although we got pretty low prices I'd be surprised if they go down too much...

[firemanbobswife]

I would book Early Saver and make sure everyone gets insurance to protect themselves and their room mates. Go to insure my trip dot com. That way if one person cancels, the insurance will pay the solo supplement for the remaining passenger and refund the canceling party any money that would have otherwise have been lost. Penalties can be 100% of the fare depending on the timeframe.

Edited July 4, 2014 by firemanbobswife

[stargate fan]

I would book Early Saver and make sure everyone gets insurance to protect themselves and their room mates. Go to insure my trip dot com. That way if one person cancels, the insurance will pay the solo supplement for the remaining passenger and refund the canceling party any money that would have otherwise have been lost. Penalties can be 100% of the fare depending on the timeframe.

 

Insurance might not cover the pre-existing condition of a family member. Many people buy a policy after a family member is diagnosed. Only the carrier can really answer what is/isn't covered.

 

I'm planning a cruise with a group of friends. Budget is important to us. Everyone is very reliable and not going to change her mind on a whim, but someone might have to cancel if a family member was seriously ill. I've only booked cruises with my immediate family, where we're basically all in it together.

 

I'm worried about booking Early Saver, in case someone needs to cancel. The money (minus $50) would be held in the cancelled person's name for two years, correct? Does the rate go up for everyone else sharing the room? And we can't add someone new because there are no name changes with Early Saver? Am I right to steer away from this with friends cruises?

 

If we do NOT book Early Saver, can we pay $50 for a name change even after final payment?

 

If we book Past Guest and the only person in the room who is a past guest has to cancel, what happens to the other people in the room? Does their rate go up or is their booking cancelled?

 

In your case I recommend Past Guest rate. With the uncertainty of an ill relative, the person has until final payment date to cancel with no penalty.

 

If this does happen, the rates of the first and second person in the cabin stay the same and third (and fourth) in a cabin pay a lower fare. If all the occupants were going to split the cost evenly, then the remaining travelers would indeed pay more because fewer people would be dividing the fare.

 

Does this help?

 

Side note-I always book PG rates because there are no restrictions at all. I might pay a little more, but I know that I can cancel or make any changes up until we make final payment. And we do qualify for price reductions until that final payment date. (We've hardly ever seen our fare go lower after final payment because our category is almost always sold out.)

 

[CruznisMagic]

I'm planning a cruise with a group of friends. Budget is important to us. Everyone is very reliable and not going to change her mind on a whim, but someone might have to cancel if a family member was seriously ill. I've only booked cruises with my immediate family, where we're basically all in it together.

 

I'm worried about booking Early Saver, in case someone needs to cancel. The money (minus $50) would be held in the cancelled person's name for two years, correct? Does the rate go up for everyone else sharing the room? And we can't add someone new because there are no name changes with Early Saver? Am I right to steer away from this with friends cruises?

 

If we do NOT book Early Saver, can we pay $50 for a name change even after final payment?

 

If we book Past Guest and the only person in the room who is a past guest has to cancel, what happens to the other people in the room? Does their rate go up or is their booking cancelled?

 

I will never again book Early Saver :( we had two cabins booked. Two people changed there mind and we had to have a date change . Our total penalties were about $300 to $500 per cabin. I protested and received a ltr from CCL stating because we have such a busy life early saver is not for us. Duh :mad:

[StaceySteveDMB]

We always book early saver. We had 11 people on a family cruise recently and it saved us a total of a it $2,500.00 from the original booking price. For the three rooms I paid for I got $1,900.00 in OBC from price drops after final payment.

 

 

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