Early Saver --- Glad or Sad?

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Living near a port you have the luxury of waiting for last minute deals but those of us in the middle of the country can't because of last minute air fares. Carnival seems to be on to the price reductions and lately mostly only guarantees are reduced to bargain rates.

[crusnbee]

I have booked both ES and GTY. I will never do GTY again because the last time we did, our GTY balcony was over the piano bar - very noisy. But, that was the chance we took. I much prefer to take the ES and get the room I want, and take any OBCs we can get. Had $400 on the last one. Haven't made final payment on the upcoming one, so just seeing a bunch of $$$ coming off the final payment!

 

CJ

[luv2kroooz]

Not quite. The intent of the program is to offer the best price to those who want to SELECT their cabin. The super saver and pack and go rates, have always been much lower than ES.

 

..but the super saver and pack and go rates aren't available early out. Again, the overall intent of the early saver fare is to reward those who book early the best price.

[Herbaltees]

..but the super saver and pack and go rates aren't available early out. Again, the overall intent of the early saver fare is to reward those who book early the best price.

 

It's not always cheaper.

 

We are a large group traveling this fall. I have ES, my cousins elected to give up ES for the GTY pool. Right now, their price is a $10 difference btwn when they selected the GTY pool and my last price drop. If they had waited for the NCVS, it would be less. But there is no way to predict which PNG or Super Saver rate is going to be the lowest. AND you can't change from one rate to another.

 

With ES, I am guaranteed the lowest cost for ppl who want to SELECT their room.

[Out to sea!]

..but the super saver and pack and go rates aren't available early out. Again, the overall intent of the early saver fare is to reward those who book early the best price.

 

And it does.......within the parameters of the program.

[MariaNC]

We booked early saver and received one price reduction before final payment ($128/cabin). We checked once again when we saw lower prices and were told we could change to the guarantee rate but they wouldn't let us keep our current reservation of 3 adjacent balcony cabins. Checked back today and we were given $210 per cabin price adjustment+ additional $50 OBC due to a new special. So $260/cabin OBC total. Since 2 of the cabins are my family (2 adjoining cabins)we are very happy they honored the early saver and are excited to spend our $520 OBC. This was our first booking with Carnival (RCL/NCL in the past) so we are impressed so far!

[nitro2448]

We always book ES when available, and have received a price drop credit every time. Might only be $20, but we got it.

 

 

Go Cardinals/Royals

[rlkubi]

We always book Early Saver and love it. Usually get something after final payment but not always.

[TentOnWheels]

For us? We're loving the ES rate.

 

We booked ES without really planning to: we just knew, 6 months out, that we wanted to SELECT our 3 cabins, all in a row, and our dates are firm (barring any unknown emergencies) so we really aren't concerned about the cancellation penalties.

 

Since booking our 2/8/15 cruise on the Magic (booked 9/1, ES) here's what's happened:

 

On the 2 Balconies:

9/5 price drop of $100

9/12 price drop of $100

9/16 drop of $30

9/23 drop of $20

9/26 drop of $20

 

On the Ocean Suite:

9/5 price drop of $100

9/16 drop of $200

10/11 drop of $160 and OBC of $50 added

 

I've submitted all the drops thru the online form, typically get a response in less than 24 hrs, and all have been approved. We've saved $270 on our balconies (x2, so really, $540) and $460 on the suite with the addition of $50 OBC (that we'll loose if we do another drop).

 

Some would say, we "overpaid" because we booked ES and now the price has come down. I say, I got to SELECT my cabins, and can still benefit from any cheaper, comparable rates up until 2 days before sailing. Right now, it's just less that's due on our final payment date. After that, OBC, here we come!

 

I would have been fine with the price we paid when we booked- regardless of drops- and I think THAT is a critical part of why ES is working well for us.

 

Whoa. This turned into a long post!

[luv2kroooz]

And it does.......within the parameters of the program.

 

Haha. That's pretty funny. Based on my experience, there are no parameters. They bend and change the rules constantly. They allow random upgrades and downgrades. We have an ES booking and just changed stateroom categories....which is not "within the parameters of the program". Carnival's "parameters" change faster than the seasons.

[Out to sea!]

Haha. That's pretty funny. Based on my experience, there are no parameters. They bend and change the rules constantly. They allow random upgrades and downgrades. We have an ES booking and just changed stateroom categories....which is not "within the parameters of the program". Carnival's "parameters" change faster than the seasons.

 

Sorry, you are incorrect. The rules have been the same for the past several years. The only thing that changes is the ability of the employees to follow the rules and apply them across the board. I do agree, they should fire the employees who do not have the ability to enforce the rules as written and replace them with people who know how to say no to whiners.

[WAHMto5]

We have always used early saver and have never had a problem getting all of our price adjustments through our PVP.

[luv2kroooz]

Sorry, you are incorrect. The rules have been the same for the past several years. The only thing that changes is the ability of the employees to follow the rules and apply them across the board. I do agree, they should fire the employees who do not have the ability to enforce the rules as written and replace them with people who know how to say no to whiners.

 

Apology accepted. It apparently doesn't matter what the rules say or don't say as my example above indicated. I didn't even have to "whine" (whatever that means?) to get the price match. I just called in respectfully as a booked passenger, and they addressed my price match request.

 

I still wouldn't book ES again, but I will play the game since I am stuck with that rate structure.

[Out to sea!]

Apology accepted. It apparently doesn't matter what the rules say or don't say as my example above indicated. I didn't even have to "whine" (whatever that means?) to get the price match. I just called in respectfully as a booked passenger, and they addressed my price match request.

 

I still wouldn't book ES again, but I will play the game since I am stuck with that rate structure.

 

HAHA.....you're funny. No apology given since no apology required. The problem here is everyone is complaining about the rules (including you) when the issue is the employees. But you are free to twist my words in whatever way makes you feel better. :rolleyes:

 

Edited October 14, 2014 by Out to sea!

[dickinson]

For us? We're loving the ES rate.

 

We booked ES without really planning to: we just knew, 6 months out, that we wanted to SELECT our 3 cabins, all in a row, and our dates are firm (barring any unknown emergencies) so we really aren't concerned about the cancellation penalties.

 

Since booking our 2/8/15 cruise on the Magic (booked 9/1, ES) here's what's happened:

 

On the 2 Balconies:

9/5 price drop of $100

9/12 price drop of $100

9/16 drop of $30

9/23 drop of $20

9/26 drop of $20

 

On the Ocean Suite:

9/5 price drop of $100

9/16 drop of $200

10/11 drop of $160 and OBC of $50 added

 

I've submitted all the drops thru the online form, typically get a response in less than 24 hrs, and all have been approved. We've saved $270 on our balconies (x2, so really, $540) and $460 on the suite with the addition of $50 OBC (that we'll loose if we do another drop).

 

Some would say, we "overpaid" because we booked ES and now the price has come down. I say, I got to SELECT my cabins, and can still benefit from any cheaper, comparable rates up until 2 days before sailing. Right now, it's just less that's due on our final payment date. After that, OBC, here we come!

 

I would have been fine with the price we paid when we booked- regardless of drops- and I think THAT is a critical part of why ES is working well for us.

 

Whoa. This turned into a long post!

 

You are before final payment so other types of fares also could have price adjustments… ex. past guest. The main point is AFTER final payment… are people getting price adjustments?

 

BTW… congrats on all those price drops.

[Herbaltees]

I'm after final payment and I just got another price drop, this afternoon.

I received one on Friday with the NCVS promotion, which included $50obc. I happily gave that up today for the refundable $80 I received today under More= Merrier.

 

I am up to $270 post Final payment. I feel bad for those having trouble, but I am happy with ES.

[luv2kroooz]

HAHA.....you're funny. No apology given since no apology required. The problem here is everyone is complaining about the rules (including you) when the issue is the employees. But you are free to twist my words in whatever way makes you feel better. :rolleyes:

 

 

For me, happiness comes from within, not from anything someone writes on cruisecritic. My expression of happiness above came from the ease of getting the price reduction on my upcoming cruise, not from rearranging any of your comments.

 

I don't know if the issue is employee stupidity, lack of training on Carnival's part, or some other reason. You seem to think the answer is the employees and are apparently ready to fire them. Maybe you are correct. What I know from personal experience is that the ES conditions were grossly misrepresented by a loyalty expert onboard a Carnival ship just a few weeks ago. In addition, Carnival is not following the terms of the ES fare with regard to fare adjustments on my bookings.

[TentOnWheels]

Yep, I'm aware it's price adjustments before final payment, and then On Board Credit afterwards. Since this I my first time using ES, I can't say (yet) what kind of price fluctuations will happened that might grant us OBC. But I'll be watching!

 

And thanks! Its part of my morning routine now: check email, check Facebook, check the news, check my cruise rate..... ;-)

 

Oh, and Coffee. Coffee first and foremost (can't wait for that room service!!)

[jsfromsc]

We book early saver and are satisfied with the price when we book. I'm not one to check every day for savings, but on our last cruise we got not only a huge price drop but an upgrade as well, which was fantastic. I like being able to choose my cabin and I like booking well in advance so I have more time to save up for the cruise and more time to look forward to it. If I lived in FL, I would be more likely to look for a last minute deal, but when you have to book and pay for airfare....