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Carnival Cruise Booking Lesson Learnt

Jamericannn

By Jamericannn,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Jamericannn

Jamericannn

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I have two future cruise booked and one was fully paid for but the other is not. Carnival offered upgrade for the one that is still not paid for but no upgrades for the one that's fully paid for. They were both booked under the same ES conditions. One rep say they could not offer discount for the one fully paid for. Next time I will leave $1 until final payment so I can qualify for upgrade.

 

What are some of the booking lessons you have learned?

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riffatsea

riffatsea

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I never understand paying for something before the due date. We prefer to ignore ES and book any other fare if we are far out from the sailing date. You can still get price drops up to final payment. IF it looks like the cruise is not selling well and they offer ES closer to the final payment date we can then switch to that fare .

There are too many restrictions for us to do it earlier.

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shof515 "Live from...." Rare

shof515

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Maybe it's just those particular cruises and not the fact that you paid in full.

 

yes..it all depends on the cruise and how well it is selling based on carnival standards

 

I was on the Nov 5 Vista cruise, a few days before sailing Carnival called me for an upgrade and i declined. I still have not received any upgrade offers yet for my Sunshine cruise next year, and when i check online i noticed that cruise is like 75% booked (no cabins available on certain decks)

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Jamericannn

Jamericannn

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It's always been my understanding that it's the final payment date that is controlling, not that payment has been made in full. I would call back and talk to a different rep.

 

So I called back and was told by another agent that the reason why no upgrade was offered for the other room is because there are no upgrades for that category. Conflicting information.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

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So I called back and was told by another agent that the reason why no upgrade was offered for the other room is because there are no upgrades for that category. Conflicting information.

 

Not atypical of customer service in this day and age, unfortunately. Call 3 times and get 4 different answers.

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AdGuyMG

AdGuyMG

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I have two future cruise booked and one was fully paid for but the other is not. Carnival offered upgrade for the one that is still not paid for but no upgrades for the one that's fully paid for. They were both booked under the same ES conditions. One rep say they could not offer discount for the one fully paid for. Next time I will leave $1 until final payment so I can qualify for upgrade.

 

What are some of the booking lessons you have learned?

 

Are these 2 future cruises on the same ship and date?

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peajay84

peajay84

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Book with a travel agent. Sooooo much easier all the way around, not to mention the free flights I earn. I've used a PVP and done it myself. Agency is king.

 

By travel agent, do you mean a Carnival PVP? Or a local TA?

 

I booked directly on the website for our first ever cruise, which sails this Sunday, but if we enjoy ourselves and want to book another cruise in the future, what are the other benefits to a TA? Or TA vs. PVP?

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winddawn

winddawn

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So I called back and was told by another agent that the reason why no upgrade was offered for the other room is because there are no upgrades for that category. Conflicting information.

The second answer you got sounds more like the truth. I've received upsell call/email offers in the past after final payment date. I don't think payment status matters. What matters is how many and the type of cabins that need to be sold for a particular sail date/ship. If a ship is nearly booked up, there's no need to offer an upsell.

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tree.critter

tree.critter

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What booking lessons have I learned?

 

Book the cabin you want and don't worry about upgrades. Worrying about upgrades take up too much valuable time that you have no control of. Worry about what you CAN control.

 

This.

 

As to paying off early, it's just nice to get out of the way. I paid off my upcoming cruise early this time, then saw that Carnival had a special offer 3-4 months ago that if you booked a cruise and paid it off they offered $200 OBC. I contacted my PVP and asked if I'd qualify. Yes, sure did so now have the additional OBC as benefit of paying off early. FWIW it was the only time I've ever seen this type of offer.

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Jamericannn

Jamericannn

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By travel agent, do you mean a Carnival PVP? Or a local TA?

 

I booked directly on the website for our first ever cruise, which sails this Sunday, but if we enjoy ourselves and want to book another cruise in the future, what are the other benefits to a TA? Or TA vs. PVP?

 

Carnival PVP

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Jamericannn

Jamericannn

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Just because it's the same ship, doesn't mean both sailings are eligible for upgrades. Each sailing is its own and it doesn't have anything to do with you being paid in full or not.

 

I booked both under the same criteria. I was more puzzled by the reps answer as to why no upgrades. Thought it was a lesson for future bookings but turns out the rep was giving me the wrong information. Maybe she is new.

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bury me at sea

bury me at sea

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Book early in the cabin I want. Watch diligently for price drops. Happy if price drops apply. Happy if cabin rate increases and I got a really good deal.

 

Not much of a gambler so I just book what I really want as early as I can. Have received over $400. in OBC, and have watched price increase by approximately the same amount.

 

But when embarkation day arrives I have always been happy with my cabin.

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Jamericannn

Jamericannn

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I did some more thinking and they do have the 6Js, but those are almost always full so that could be why. Also when looking at the available upgrades like when they do a free 2 category upgrade, I haven't seen those as on option. Maybe because they have been sold out. It's always up to a 6C.

 

 

I just checked and 9197 is available for the cruise on 4/22

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