Phone call from Carnival after checking website, and how should I book?

[cruisingadget]

I check the Carnival website almost daily looking for good deals. Almost every time, the next day I get a call from a specific agent at Carnival encouraging me to not book online but to call her to book. Her calls always go to voicemail, and she always leaves a voicemail. 

This has caused me to wonder if in fact there was a correlation between my website searches and her calls. Finally on a recent call, probably tired of calling me every day for weeks, she mentioned that every time I go on the website, it triggers a call from her. (I really think she is getting tired of calling me... this has been going on for weeks). 

Any way, I was curious, is there actually any advantage to booking with the Carnival agent that keeps calling, or am I just as good booking the deal I find through the website?

[AAAAmerican]

Dear cruisingadget,

 

Only Once in all our cruises has any Cruise Line parent and or sibling ever gotten us the Best Cost Basis.

 

They sure do try to UpSell us and everyone.

 

We use an Online firm which has many Travel Agencies and some ( our Fav) are ASTA members. So yes even if any diod what that Icelandic Airline did (WOW) your covered.

 

Right now I am getting bids from a few for four cruises we want this year now.

 

My suggestion for your best cost basis is do what we do and get a Travel Agent/Agencie .

 

A FYI:

For Carnival the largest amount of Bookings is done by a New Jersey Lady with an ASTA Agency.

[SNJCruisers]

First of all, all you need to do is surf incognito or private and then Carnival will not know what you're doing.  You basically have two choices, one, use the agent who can help you with any price drops.  She is trying to have you book through her because she will earn a commission on the sale.  Another choice is to do research online for cruise travel agencies that can offer you cut rate pricing cheaper than Carnival and also offer you OBC to sweeten the deal.  As a rule on CC, we can't give any travel agent recommendations or booking site references.

[cloudninecat]

The person that keeps calling is you Personal Vacation Planner (PVP) that has been assigned to you. There is no real advantage price wise to using one however they can make things easier if you have questions or need personal assistance with something related to your booking. They can also see more rooms then are available to you when you book online so if you are looking for a particular location they can help with that. We use a different browser to search when when we want to search incognito since you don't have to be logged in to trigger that call. You can also just pick up the phone and call them and tell them that you will call them when you are ready to book. I always find which cruise I want, put a 24 hour hold on it  and then pick up the phone and call my PVP to do the booking. That way if I need assistance after I've booked I have that personal contact that can help me. It's nice to have that single point of contact to handle any questions or problems that come up. 

[lab_love123]

If you are searching with your VIFP # or logged into your Carnival account, then your PVP is going to get a notice that you're looking. As others have said, search "incognito" or log out of your Carnival account, clear your browsing history and cookies, and you should be ok. Just don't use your VIFP # and don't log into your account. The downside to doing it this way, you're not necessarily going to see if there are specific VIFP offers. I've noticed they don't always show up when I search that way. 

 

When this happened to me, I answered the PVP call, told him I was in research mode and would call when I was ready to book. This stopped the calls, and I would only occasionally get an email. My PVP was very understanding and respectful. There's not necessarily any huge advantage to booking with your PVP, but it's nice to have that single POC and as others have stated, they often have visibility on rooms that may or may not appear as available online.

[Schoifmom]

A PVP is a fantastic thing to have.  My PVP has saved me all kinds of stress over the years by being my one point of contact for all things Carnival.  He helps with price drops, reschedules, upgrades, and all sorts of things.  

 

If you want to stop the calls, just call them back and let them know that you are in research mode.  They are able to see rooms that you are not able to (the website will only show 10 open rooms at a time) and advise you regarding location, etc.

 

BTW, they do not make commission, but do have quotas to meet (they are directly employed by Carnival).

[xDisconnections]

I just book online or speak with the first representative who answers the 1800 number. I tried the PVP thing but it was too frustrating trying to reserve under their their schedule. Most of my cruises are booked at unusual times of the night and it’s simply easier to work on my schedule than someone else’s.

[yankeenurse]

I was searching online to book a cruise for 16 family members. I booked the first 2 cabins . When I tried to book the others,I couldn't find cabins near the first 2.. I called and talked to a PVC. He was great. He got us 4 more cabins booked on the same deck . We are also in the same hallway. Those additional cabins didn't show up online.

[Illbcruzn4life]

24 minutes ago, yankeenurse said:

I was searching online to book a cruise for 16 family members. I booked the first 2 cabins . When I tried to book the others,I couldn't find cabins near the first 2.. I called and talked to a PVC. He was great. He got us 4 more cabins booked on the same deck . We are also in the same hallway. Those additional cabins didn't show up online.

 

they show up online, just not on Carnivals website.

 

I usually book online myself on CCL website but I use a travel agent website which shows all available cabins to see what rooms are available. TA website is also much easier to navigate.