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Beta Website test

Foxinspace

By Foxinspace,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Foxinspace

Foxinspace

Posted
Posted

So apparently I was "Randomly Selected" to test the Beta Website when I visited Carnival for my weekly fake booking price check.

 

Not sure who I would complain to but yikes! First the buttons to click to proceed to the next screen weren't very clear and the whole process appeared to be back dropped by what is now the "about the cruise" screen. So I felt like I was always on the wrong screen and couldn't figure out where to click to move on.

 

They shrunk the screen to select your cabin type which made it a bit more difficult to use. Also after choosing balcony it wasn't clear there were any other options than "Obstructed View". I selected the next price level on the balcony (which I had to assume was the one I was booked under since there weren't any descriptions in the titles just prices).

 

I found it hard to change decks, I ended up getting suggested an obstructed view balcony even though I hadn't selected that and I had to go back and change the room type again. When I finally did get a regular balcony, it assigned me a room randomly, showing me where it was on the ship. I could click to change those selections but it didn't ever ask me if I wanted the front or back, it just gave me a cabin. When I tried to change decks there weren't any numbers just names. I have no idea what number of deck "Empress" is, so I had to guess a few times to get to the 8th floor. Finally I was able to get to a cabin comparable to the one I am booked in to check the price.

 

Also there was no where on the screen to give you an "as you go" price, you had to wait until the final screen.

 

I'm good with change I just like it to work well. Give me deck numbers, I need better descriptions and make the button to proceed to the next screen WAY more obvious. Also a running total on the screen is nice too.

 

Lastly, I may have skipped it but I didn't see anywhere to change the how many guests or how many rooms.

 

Anyways, on the off chance a Carnival peeps checks this out, those are my thoughts.

 

Anyone else get to use this yet?

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lele100

lele100

Posted
Posted
So apparently I was "Randomly Selected" to test the Beta Website when I visited Carnival for my weekly fake booking price check.

 

Not sure who I would complain to but yikes! First the buttons to click to proceed to the next screen weren't very clear and the whole process appeared to be back dropped by what is now the "about the cruise" screen. So I felt like I was always on the wrong screen and couldn't figure out where to click to move on.

 

They shrunk the screen to select your cabin type which made it a bit more difficult to use. Also after choosing balcony it wasn't clear there were any other options than "Obstructed View". I selected the next price level on the balcony (which I had to assume was the one I was booked under since there weren't any descriptions in the titles just prices).

 

I found it hard to change decks, I ended up getting suggested an obstructed view balcony even though I hadn't selected that and I had to go back and change the room type again. When I finally did get a regular balcony, it assigned me a room randomly, showing me where it was on the ship. I could click to change those selections but it didn't ever ask me if I wanted the front or back, it just gave me a cabin. When I tried to change decks there weren't any numbers just names. I have no idea what number of deck "Empress" is, so I had to guess a few times to get to the 8th floor. Finally I was able to get to a cabin comparable to the one I am booked in to check the price.

 

Also there was no where on the screen to give you an "as you go" price, you had to wait until the final screen.

 

I'm good with change I just like it to work well. Give me deck numbers, I need better descriptions and make the button to proceed to the next screen WAY more obvious. Also a running total on the screen is nice too.

 

Lastly, I may have skipped it but I didn't see anywhere to change the how many guests or how many rooms.

 

Anyways, on the off chance a Carnival peeps checks this out, those are my thoughts.

 

Anyone else get to use this yet?

 

 

They selected you to beta test their new website and didn't give you a way to leave a comment? that is strange

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Foxinspace

Foxinspace

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OK tried again.

 

1st section is same a current to select cruise

I found my cruise, than clicked "select room" on my date.

 

It popped up a smaller screen to select my room.

I choose balcony (there are descriptive titles, but unless you select them the actual description doesn't appear.

I select balcony, and here it gets confusing... I clicked Choose Room Location as this appears to be the button to move on (there is also a Carnival Chooses for Me Button, but I don't want that one.)

Now I am put onto the "about the cruise" page but there is a button for "Explore Room Options" and that looks like the only way to move on.

Now I get put onto a full screen version of the select your room type page. (The same as what I have already clicked through but now full page)

Again I choose Regular Balcony and click Choose Room Location

It pops up a smaller screen with a room chosen for me. On the side it tells me the deck (by name not number) and section. In this case on the Main floor in the middle.

I try to change my location to front and no problem, however right after that it makes me change my deck even though I didn't ask to. (Possibly because the main is sold out in the front?)

When I click on the room number it gives me the deck plan, but that is the only way to see it.

 

There is a header bar with the cost total which I didn't notice last time. It is also in that bar that you add a room or guest. You aren't asked like in the regular website, you have to explore if you need to change it.

 

OK, so it's... fiddly. Not awful, but it I didn't like having to go through the same screen twice, and I don't like that it just gives me a room on a random deck, in a random place. Lastly the not a fan of the drop down menu for room type.

 

Thanks for letting me review, fellow cruisers!

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SadieN

SadieN

Posted
Posted
Suggest you click on " take me back to the site that was programmed by IT coders who were not outsourced overseas " and all will be well.

 

 

More like......let's have a website done by people who've actually used the website.

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angela12345

angela12345

Posted
Posted

How to go back to old booking engine . . .

 

There are 2 easy little changes you will need to make to the URL in your address bar.

 

Near the beginning you will change ... carnival.com/BookingEngine/Booking/Book/?

To read ... carnival.com/BookingEngine/Stateroom/Stateroom2/?

 

At the end you will need to remove the # if there is one and then add ... &be_version=1

 

Click this example to see the pricing engine it will give you ...

https://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/Stateroom/Stateroom2/?embkCode=FLL&itinCode=WCD&durDays=6&shipCode=CQ&subRegionCode=CW&sailDate=01292017&sailingID=75147&numGuests=2&showDbl=False&isOver55=Y&isPastGuest=Y&stateCode=&isMilitary=Y&evsel=&be_version=1

 

Once I have made the above changes and see it works (no typos etc), I save the corrected URL to my favorites so I don't have to make the changes every time I do a fake booking price check. :)

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winddawn

winddawn

Posted
Posted

I haven't done any price checking in quite a while because I've been cruising on casino offers and thus have no need to check prices, so I may not be up to date on the best approach. However I'm wondering if using Carnival's fare viewer might be an acceptable option for you to check prices for your ship, sail date, and cabin category price based on your qualifying fares (residency, past guest, etc.). I'm thinking the only thing you wouldn't see in fare viewer might be casino fares you may qualify for.

 

https://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/FareViewer/

 

I hate using Carnival's website. It is junk. Their last overhaul of the booking process made booking much more difficult. My impression after trying to use it was that Carnival was attempting to steer me toward a particular cabin that maybe would not be my first choice in a category (trying to sell the least desirable cabins). And the whole design is cumbersome and slow to browse for cruises. I use other booking engines online to find the information I need, and then call my PVP to book. I refuse to book on Carnival's website.

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AussieOmni

AussieOmni

Posted
Posted

I will never get why companies like Carnival don't get customers who have beta testing experience to do this and create a formal way to submit the response. Rather than just do it randomly. I get they're trying to get the average user response but doing it like this doesn't make for good feedback.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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