Thank you, Cruise Critic ($$ saving hints)

[lolavix]

We've only sailed on one other cruise, and this will be our first Carnival Cruise this summer. Since booking our cruise last month, I have been reading along and I want to say thank you to all who have helped me so far...

 

1. We have two cabins, and I booked Early Saver for both. I just got my first price drop...granted, it's a net gain of $10, but it dropped the price by $60 (we lost $50 OBC). So, not a huge gain, but right now, I'd rather have the price drop than the OBC...within an hour of my submitting the form, the price drop was approved and our fare adjusted. (The other room has no price drop yet, but I'll keep looking for both).

 

2. I learned about the Carnival GCs you can buy through Verizon Wireless and AARP. I've purchased quite a few in the past month, and am thrilled to be able to save 10% on the price of my cruise. I know I wouldn't have known about these unless I read Cruise Critic.

 

3. Related to the GCs, I was able to use them and get the deposit I had already paid refunded back to my CC. Since I had a $1250 deposit, this was a substantial savings. I wouldn't have thought to try this but I had read that some had done this successfully on their bookings.

 

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for being so helpful and willing to share what you know. :)

 

Now, back to reading...;)

[Micahs Grandad]

Have saved a bunch of money over the years thru the help of posters here

[js]

Thank you. I can use the AARP gift cards to pay the remainder of our cruise fare? I used them last month to purchase our drink packages but didnt think to use to pay our balance. I just booked he Vista so have a balance to be paid next December. Thanks for your help!

Edited February 21, 2016 by js

[AHS123]

Have saved a bunch of money over the years thru the help of posters here

Yes, Stu (golfadj) you old hands here sure have helped others along the way :)

[cccer]

It's been a long time and I've gotten many great tips and savings.

The best one I remember was during the swine (bird?) flu in Mexico about nine years ago. I got on cruise critic and they if you booked direct in Cozumel it was 50 percent off. We did a royal swim with the dolphins with only 4 of us for a total of $350. Through the ship this was $800.

 

Also met a lot of great people on the ships. Another plus.

[Jackie81]

I read this thread about 30ish minutes ago and it inspired me to go and check out the Fare Viewer.. I have 2 cabins booked, submitted a claim and TA-DA I have an extra 40.00 OBC per room. WOOT WOOT!! Got 80.00 total between my kids' cabin and ours. AWESOME!! We don't cruise till August, I'm pretty excited to see if any additional drops will happen now. Has anyone saved a substantial amount of money on here before by submitting a claim for price drops?

[LMaxwell]

Open a Barclays Carnival card, make a purchase (of anything, any amount) and you get rewarded with 10K points good to redeem for $100 in credit for the cardholder. Cruising with a spouse? Have them get a card too. Buy groceries once and you are good to go. I use other cards mainly for other and rewards, overall these cruise cards aren't the best for earning points and rewards, but this is a great sign on bonus if you never use the card again

 

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=2042&cellNumber=17

Edited February 21, 2016 by LMaxwell

[caddykid12]

I don't know if you consider this substantial but I am going on the 14 day pride journeys cruise in 3 weeks. Booked a year ago at $2498p.p. for 3 people in an extended balcony and up until the final due date to pay off the fare in december. I had it down to $1607p.p. that's 800$ p.p. and 2400$ savings in a years time.

[MAGNUM PI]

Before our very first cruise, I was as "green" as could be, about cruising. I didn't have a clue.

 

But I have been developed into a veteran cruiser, from advice on these boards. I religiously searched every possible topic, and learned so much, from experienced cruisers. The first cruise, I stayed with ship sponsored shore excursions, having no confidence in booking private ones. Six cruises later, I would never book a ship one. With all of the advice, I always hire private guides.

 

There is nothing like, learning from others "mistakes"too.

[Keith1010]

What a great example of the wealth of information on Cruise Critic.

 

Keith

[angela12345]

Here's another money saving tip lolavix ... If you own 100 shares of Carnival stock (CCL), you will get an onboard credit of $50-250 on every single cruise you take within the Carnival Corp family (Carnival Princess Costa etc) as long as they continue the program (they've had it for MANY years already). For a 7 night cruise it's $100. Plus CCL pays dividends, currently at 30 cents per quarter, so $120 per year for 100 shares. Not to mention if the stock goes up any after you have purchased, it could be a very good return on your investment. You can likely buy these shares thru your 401k or other retirement savings plans as well as the 'normal' methods. Please note, this is not investment advice, please consult your investment advisor.

.

Edited February 21, 2016 by angela12345

[Jackie81]

I don't know if you consider this substantial but I am going on the 14 day pride journeys cruise in 3 weeks. Booked a year ago at $2498p.p. for 3 people in an extended balcony and up until the final due date to pay off the fare in december. I had it down to $1607p.p. that's 800$ p.p. and 2400$ savings in a years time.

 

 

Yup!! I would definitely say that's substantial. That's awesome. Now that I know how that little trick works, I'm going to check it all the time. Do you know when before the cruise they will no longer honor the price drops?

[kona_wahine]

Thank you. I can use the AARP gift cards to pay the remainder of our cruise fare? I used them last month to purchase our drink packages but didnt think to use to pay our balance. I just booked he Vista so have a balance to be paid next December. Thanks for your help!

 

Absolutely! I paid off most of cruise using the AARP and Verizon cards. Over $3000 for our b2b. It's great because that includes the taxes and fees and grautities. Also paid for our excursions we booked thru carnival. You should see the stack of used gift cards I have!! Lol

[cruising_diva]

Yup!! I would definitely say that's substantial. That's awesome. Now that I know how that little trick works, I'm going to check it all the time. Do you know when before the cruise they will no longer honor the price drops?

 

3 days prior to sailing.

[tandemcruzr]

Has anyone saved a substantial amount of money on here before by submitting a claim for price drops?

 

Yes -- just last week we got $60 pp drop on our April Sunshine cruise as OBC. :D