Early Saver --- Glad or Sad?

[QTPieRye]

I just want to say that when I booked my ES it was a $50 pp deposit on the 5 night cruise.

 

Same here.... for our 5 night we booked 5 cabins for 13 people total for $650.00 :D Normally would have been $2,600.00... S-C-O-R-E!!!!!

[CoasterJoe]

I've had 3 ES experiences.

 

1st cruise in a suite - No price drops :cool:

2nd cruise (B2B) originally booked in a obstructed french door cabin - was able to move up to extended balcony on both sailings with price drops.:D

3rd cruise (B2B) I'm sitting on just over $500.00 OBC between both bookings.:D

[QTPieRye]

One thing that has never been clear to me .....

 

If cabin is paid in full before final payment date and there is a price adjustment, will CC be refunded or do you get OBC? If the later, this may give me a reason to hold off on final payment until closer to deadline date.

Edited October 8, 2014 by QTPieRye

[venuti82413]

We booked with Early Saver on our last cruise and the price dropped. We were unable to get the lower price because of the Early Saver rate...

 

Not always the best deal!

[gatorchinsky]

We booked ES on our upcoming 11/22/14 Sunshine cruise. Prior to final payment I was able to get a $150 price reduction. As of today we have over $500 in OBC. I am very obsessive about checking fare viewer that sometimes I check it more than once a day. It paid off because I got two price reductions in one day :). Hoping for more reductions.

[Beachiekeen]

Our cruise in March is our first one with Carnival (my first one ever). Our original price has already dropped once and we saved $180. It's over spring break so we weren't expecting it to drop at all. Like the PP, if it drops again great, if not, we are happy with our fare. We booked early not knowing if it would sell out for spring break, plus we wanted a room with a window and there was only one left so we took it.

[Herbaltees]

One thing that has never been clear to me .....

 

If cabin is paid in full before final payment date and there is a price adjustment, will CC be refunded or do you get OBC? If the later, this may give me a reason to hold off on final payment until closer to deadline date.

 

I was paid off about 30 days prior to final payment date, so they refunded the difference. However, the rep asked which I would prefer. I suspect now that it's all done through the form, it will be only OBC

 

After final, I was given OBC and/or upgrade to higher cat, if applicable.

[skyeman27]

The advantage of booking with ES has been greatly diminished due to Carnivals new tactic of lowering prices only for guaranteed cabins. ES has worked for me in the past but not lately...

[Surfwench]

We had the motherlode of all Early Saver OBC last year on our Breeze cruise... $760.00 for a cove balcony. Cannot think that will happen again. I booked ES for the upcoming Alaska and those rates have done nothing but go up and up. Plus our cabin category, aft extended, sold out. Did Friends and Family last December for a family cruise and was happy with the rate going in. When rates dropped I simply called and asked what I could upgrade to for very little. Started with an interior and finished with an extended balcony for not too much more. Best advice is to be happy with your rate when you book. And if you are frozen into a rate or cabin, quit looking at fare viewer! :p

[QTPieRye]

best advice is to be happy with your rate when you book. And if you are frozen into a rate or cabin, quit looking at fare viewer! :p

 

amen!

[Freckle53]

We booked ES and didn't end up with any price drops, but we had a rare cabin (9B-4 person occ.) that was sold out. I was happy with the cabin and the price I originally paid so I don't have any regrets about booking ES.

[cruizinisthebest]

Would never expect them to justd giv you the obc.

 

Me either. I think it should go to the folks who take the time to do the work to check for prices. If a store has a sale, it's up to you to seek the price adjustment. I do think the form should work though; especially if you have to use it exclusively. In that regard, it seems Carnival has made it more difficult. Also the guarantee rates being the lowest just before the cruise date is absolutely a new way to get around giving out a ton of OBC.

[snc_cam]

the form is working better for me... The last two times I used it, the response I got back was on target (one denied, one accepted). However, I have learned not to submit until at least 8am ET. :) The ones I submitted before then seemed to get lost. :) And responses were within an hour; which is acceptable.

[winddawn]

Were you happy or glad you booked ES? In other words, after final payment did you get price reductions or not? Please post your experiences.

Sad! I booked early saver in January for my last cruise which was in September and was only able to get one price drop. All of the other price drops that Carnival posted, and there were several, were for guarantee bookings, so my early saver booking didn't qualify. I would have saved more by waiting and booking close to sail date.

[dickinson]

The advantage of booking with ES has been greatly diminished due to Carnivals new tactic of lowering prices only for guaranteed cabins. ES has worked for me in the past but not lately...

 

Is this new tactic recent? So far most people seem to like it with only a small handful who did not.

 

I'm thinking of booking the Pride out of Baltimore in Jan 2016 for a b2b which is two one way cruises from Baltimore to San Juan and then back. Prices seem good but would never turn down $$$ or OBC :D:D. I've been looking at midship balcony Upper deck or Empress deck. I have no clue if these tend to sell out faster as Carnival upgrades or upsells people so they can have a sale with a guarantee cabin on lower deck (in which case I would not get any obc). I never buy things in stores where I can't return so I hate to "buy" a cruise that I can't get a refund of deposit. That being said I have never cancelled a cruise but you never know!

[cruise_mojo]

I booked a room on a dec cruise for this year, way way back in January.

 

Online, to reserve the specific cabin I was looking for on a certain ship. The cabin was a balcony cabin of the normal like 185 or so sq ft size, but its balcony is almost 180 sq ft!!!!

 

an oddity, there are a few carnival ships with a weird layout in parts of the ship, this has the bonus for you obsessive types ( the ones that will be trying to figure it out now ) of the huge balcony, sold at basically or usually the same rate as the cabin right next to it since there is no interior difference in the room

 

so online I just clicked what was easiest, the early saver to hold the room, I didn't pay for it, just used the rate to do a courtesy hold

 

I had called my pvp and hadn't heard back from here and thru past experiences, I know that sometimes like you guys are saying, that room or rate is there when you are looking at it and may be gone 15 minutes later!

 

Last experience of this was on royal C enchantment this feb on a cruise where I lost the specific room I wanted.

 

anyway, I held the room and a few hours later I heard from my pvp and we switched the reservation to a different rate we were eligible for.....

 

and there lies the rub, I had no idea all year long that because my rate was ORIGINALLY a early saver, that it was always gonna be an early saver!!!!!

 

so although I didn't pay the early saver rate, and used a different rate altogether and had already got a reduction of the final price of about 200 beans, we had to cancel as my wife was having some surgery that requires some extensive rehab that would likely eat up her vacation time for the cruise here in a couple weeks,

 

much to my chagrin when I went to cancel online they the computer was telling me I had to forfeit the entire 500 bucks of deposit, I held off on the cancel and called but was told we'd have for forfeit a hundred only and the spiel about future cruise credit

 

anyway, it took a day or two, lots of threats and really unneeded harsh words and threats, but we finally got a 100% refund but it really shouldn't have come to that!

 

so, the long story is, my pvp should have, but maybe not intuitively known she would have had to cancel my original hold, and return my room to inventory, then we'd have a crap game to see if she could have retrieved that room for us! that's a load of bull to be sure, the ship we were on has one room like this on 4 decks, and 2 more sets of rooms similar on 4 decks each, anyway, lesson learned but Id bet these rooms sell very quickly to people way out in advance usually that have been on this ship before, I am now ever vigilant to identify similar rooms on other carnival ships

[skyeman27]

Is this new tactic recent? So far most people seem to like it with only a small handful who did not.

 

I'm thinking of booking the Pride out of Baltimore in Jan 2016 for a b2b which is two one way cruises from Baltimore to San Juan and then back. Prices seem good but would never turn down $$$ or OBC :D:D. I've been looking at midship balcony Upper deck or Empress deck. I have no clue if these tend to sell out faster as Carnival upgrades or upsells people so they can have a sale with a guarantee cabin on lower deck (in which case I would not get any obc). I never buy things in stores where I can't return so I hate to "buy" a cruise that I can't get a refund of deposit. That being said I have never cancelled a cruise but you never know!

 

Yes it is a new tactic, read the posts about the lower prices for guaranteed cabins which cannot be matched using ES...Most posts that I have read where ES worked for them have been in the past not in the past few months......

[goduckies05]

Es working great so far for the Glory nov 15 sailing... 260 obc for a solo 4j

 

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[dickinson]

Yes it is a new tactic, read the posts about the lower prices for guaranteed cabins which cannot be matched using ES...Most posts that I have read where ES worked for them have been in the past not in the past few months......

 

It is actually hard to tell with some if their ES and obc is recent or not. The very last poster seems to be doing well but of course that doesn't mean all will :( Also no way to tell if people are just giving their reductions (obc) after final payment or total since cruise was booked. Many are giving explicit info but others are vague. All in all a very informative thread. Thanks!

Edited October 8, 2014 by dickinson

[092306]

We've gotten great OBC on previous cruises booking ES. This time the rates went up dramatically since we booked, but it's ok, at least we got in on the low end. Got used to the drops though, so hopefully will get that lucky again.

[Janie001]

Add me to the list of those that are glad to have booked ES. Have used it 4 times (1st cruise wasn't aware that it existed) and have had anywhere from $150 to $550 in OBC or cash off of final payment for each cruise (on two rooms).

 

The key for me, as mentioned by many, is to book early at a price I am comfortable with and then start checking. The checking of fare viewer has become part of the fun of cruising - I can get ridiculously happy over a small decrease! My family thinks I am a bit crazy but it is part of my routine now.

[imluvncruzn]

I always book ES. The only time I haven't gotten a price drop was when I was in a suite and an aft wrap. Every other time we've had significant drops. For our last cruise in May the price stayed the same until 4 days after final payment then we got a $400 drop then a few others after that. We ended up with $520 OBC. I love Early Saver!

[happy cruzin]

I've booked ES, my past 5 cruises with this mindset..... at the time I book, I am always content with the price I am paying and am always certain I will not need to cancel (with the exception of an unforseen emergency out of my control).... I watch prices, reduced deposits, etc. and book ES, with no expectations of a price reduction. If I end up getting a discount great, and if I don't, no biggie, because I was already content with the price I booked for......

 

.... WITH THAT SAID, we've benefited from ES for 5 years straight in some fashion. Whether it's been an OBC after final payment or price reduction prior, we've always been ahead of our original booking price.

 

 

We usually book ES - knowing that price drops for us are RARE.

 

We choose aft wraps and with so few available they sell out and rarely see and price drops. The only significant price drops we've seen was on our "Breeze...again" cruise booked for August 2013 which was booked just before the Triumph fire. Then shortly after the prices on ALL Carnival sailings dropped like a rock. Definitely benefit from ES on that booking - but not so much on the others. :o

 

BUT....we think ES is still they way to go! Just in case there were to be a price drop at least you can take advantage of it or if there is the need to cancel unexpectedly - at least you only lose the $50. :cool:

Edited October 9, 2014 by happy cruzin

[goduckies05]

Mine since final payment. Also I noticed that it was only 108 bucks to upgrade to a balcony so I did it. Good deal to me. Now if the single supplements go away I will be a real happy camper!

 

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[Ehpride]

I've received almost 400 dollars in obc that I wouldn't have received otherwise. And because I booked early, I got the cabin I wanted. Win win for me!

 

 

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