Remind how it works price matching with Past Guest rate

[poobears]

I usually book ES but for our March cruise I booked PG since DH is going and they are redoing all the shifts at work and management might get shifted around meaning he may be getting moved to another shift which could effect what days we want to sail. I wanted to keep the option of changing dates without a fee open. I know I can only price match until final payment date.

What fares can I price match with PG? Is it just the PG rate? Or can we price match any rate with it that we qualify for without it changing us to that rate? (does that make sense?) Like we qualify for military, Carnival already has our paper work on file, past guest, 55+, some times a state resident rate comes up plus the ES rates are about $20pp cheaper right now, there's a fun saver rate I think but it's higher.

Which ones are matchable? I tried searching the Carnival FAQs but they don't seem to be working for me at the moment.

[lizardhowson]

You can price match up to final payment date with Past Guest rate. You can also switch to ES rate once close to final payment if it is still offered.

[poobears]

I wasn't sure which ones I could match but just got search to work (my internet is horrible lately) so think I got it figured out. I can't price match super saver or pack and go rates and if I price match ES then it changes me to ES permanently. Don't want to switch to ES this far out so will just watch for other price drops I guess.

I may wind up switching to ES as it gets closer and we find out his schedule. Thanks for your help.

[mistycruiser]

You can price match up until final payment date for any fares you qualify for. As you mentioned military, over 55, and possibly a sale that may come up. Just be sure if it's a sale that it's still fully refundable because sometimes the sale may have certain restrictions. and might be nonrefundable.

[luv2trvlnow]

[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="3"]I guess the way to think of this is that you aren't price matching you are switching rates. You keep your same booking number but it is now the new rate. With Early Saver you are matching any rate you qualify for but remain Early Saver.

We booked Past Guest for our next cruise but couldn't resist the Early Saver they did awhile ago - pay in full and get $200 OBC. So now we are Early Saver with those restrictions.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[DebJ14]

We do it all the time, but just double check the restrictions on the new fare because you will no longer be under the PG rules if you change fare codes. You could end up with restrictions, even without switching to an ES. Best bet are senior fares and resident rates that are usually pretty unrestricted, except for the age and state thing.

I found that the best thing to do is to wait until after final payment and then upgrade when they throw a sale. We just did it for our upcoming cruise. Suites finally came down to a reasonable price for a few days on a sale, so we upgraded from a balcony to a suite. It really doesn't matter what the new fare rules are because we were already well into the penalty period.