Early saver price drop help?

[NDIrishO3]

Hi!  I booked a June 15th cruise on the Sunrise in January with early saver.  I submitted a price drop form online a couple weeks later and it was approved.  The price just dropped significantly again so I submitted another form this afternoon, and I got an automatic email back saying that I wasn’t qualified for a price drop because my booking wasn’t early saver.

 

Did I somehow get switched out of early saver with my first price drop?  I made sure that my request was the same room category, not a guarantee booking, etc.  I thought once you were early saver it stayed that way and you could submit multiple price drops - I did so for my last cruise (which was in 2013) with no issues.

 

I tried to call but just got the message that they are having phone issues and it didn’t give me the option to wait on hold, just said call back later.

 

Thanks!

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Just keep trying...

[Cruising_Addict]

You are always Early Saver UNLESS the price you matched to was a Guaranteed rate (when they pick the room for you). You can’t match to that rate since there’s no room to match to, but they will allow you to switch to that type of rate. But you forfeit the ability to request price matches because you are no longer Early Saver. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Cruising_Addict

[NDIrishO3]

Thank you!  That was my understanding as well, and when I submitted the first drop back in January I made sure it wasn’t a guarantee rate because I knew that would take me out of early saver (and even checked afterwards and my booking still has my original room number).  I just submitted the form again with a big explanation paragraph asking them to double check my rate type because I was positive I booked under early saver.  We will see if that works!

EDIT TO ADD: I got another rejection almost immediately.  I guess I’ll keep trying to call but this is frustrating!

Edited March 12, 2020 by NDIrishO3

[picomullet]

4 hours ago, NDIrishO3 said:

Hi!  I booked a June 15th cruise on the Sunrise in January with early saver.  I submitted a price drop form online a couple weeks later and it was approved.  The price just dropped significantly again so I submitted another form this afternoon, and I got an automatic email back saying that I wasn’t qualified for a price drop because my booking wasn’t early saver.

 

 

I submitted one also this am and got the same rejection.  I was trying to help my PVP out as I know how swamped she must be.  I then emailed her and she took care of it and sent me a new cabin confirmation.  So frustrating..

[bstel]

so i have an Early Saver rate, but i am past final payment.  i am getting Casino offers, which allow you to pick room, so i can price match to those?

[jaynjay]

On 3/11/2020 at 10:02 PM, Cruising_Addict said:

You are always Early Saver UNLESS the price you matched to was a Guaranteed rate (when they pick the room for you). You can’t match to that rate since there’s no room to match to, but they will allow you to switch to that type of rate. But you forfeit the ability to request price matches because you are no longer Early Saver. 

Hi cruising addict! I just want to be 100% sure... I can’t lose my early saver if I request a price drop For an offer that is not early saver? It just has to be a room where I pick myself?? I’m terrified I will accidentally lose my ability to do so. Thanks so much in advance 🙂  

[vwrestler171]

15 hours ago, jaynjay said:

Hi cruising addict! I just want to be 100% sure... I can’t lose my early saver if I request a price drop For an offer that is not early saver? It just has to be a room where I pick myself?? I’m terrified I will accidentally lose my ability to do so. Thanks so much in advance 🙂  

For the most part.  I have heard that after final, they may not allow price matching if you match to a casino rate.

[jaynjay]

On 3/11/2020 at 10:07 PM, NDIrishO3 said:

 

EDIT TO ADD: I got another rejection almost immediately.  I guess I’ll keep trying to call but this is frustrating!

out of curiosity, NDIrish, did you get it taken care of? 🙂 

[NDIrishO3]

8 hours ago, jaynjay said:

out of curiosity, NDIrish, did you get it taken care of? 🙂 

No...I found a PVP by googling so tried emailing her (I’ve booked directly on the website before so don’t have my own), but didn’t get a response.  I kind of gave up trying because I have a bad feeling it’s going to be cancelled 😭.  I’m not going to cancel it, but I’m afraid the decision may be made for me the way things are going...

 

[bstel]

so doing a mock booking i see that i have a price drop and have a couple of questions:

 

1.  it is a casino rate, and i am past final payment.  will they match to this type of rate?

2.  i see that the Tax/Fees for the mock booking are $35/person higher than my current booking.  will they raise the tax when price matching?

3.  Would they consider a cabin code of "85" the same as "8F"?  only difference is 85 is a quad vs 2 person room for 8F, which i dont need the quad.

4.  on the Online price match form, under Total Fare, do i put the fare with or without taxes included?

Edited March 18, 2020 by bstel

[LaRue1975]

It was my understanding also that as long as you booked Early Saver you could price match to rates that you qualify for as long as they are not the unassigned cabin category rates. In fact that is just what is says on the website and that you can price match multiple times. I kept  getting rejections this past week also trying to price match to a VIFP offer rate.

 

I talked to a PVP today and he told me I could switch to the VIFP rate to get the price drop but would no longer be able to price match because I wouldn’t have an Early Saver rate. I think this a fairly new policy because they have so many special low rates due to the Coronavirus situation. 

Edited March 18, 2020 by LaRue1975

[Organized Chaos]

On 3/11/2020 at 7:52 PM, NDIrishO3 said:

Hi!  I booked a June 15th cruise on the Sunrise in January with early saver.  I submitted a price drop form online a couple weeks later and it was approved.  The price just dropped significantly again so I submitted another form this afternoon, and I got an automatic email back saying that I wasn’t qualified for a price drop because my booking wasn’t early saver.

 

This has happened to me before. They gave me the exact same reason for being denied, that is supposedly wasn't an ES rate...even though "Early Saver" was in the name of the rate. So I emailed our PVP and it was adjusted about 45 min. later. Your best bet will be to contact them, so keep trying to get through. I'm not sure how their online form system works, but it's obviously not the most reliable. If you talk to a rep. and get denied by them, try a different rep. Carnival reps. are notorious for giving different answers each time you talk to one. You may also want to get a PVP. You could ask them to assign you one or try to find someone who will recommend one. Just keep in mind that we're not allowed to do that here on CC. If you get one, you can still do a majority of your bookings yourself, if you prefer. They're especially nice to have when there's a problem.

 

10 hours ago, bstel said:

so doing a mock booking i see that i have a price drop and have a couple of questions:

 

1.  it is a casino rate, and i am past final payment.  will they match to this type of rate?

2.  i see that the Tax/Fees for the mock booking are $35/person higher than my current booking.  will they raise the tax when price matching?

3.  Would they consider a cabin code of "85" the same as "8F"?  only difference is 85 is a quad vs 2 person room for 8F, which i dont need the quad.

4.  on the Online price match form, under Total Fare, do i put the fare with or without taxes included?

 

I'm not sure about matching to a casino rate, but if you don't get a definitive answer here, then it doesn't hurt to try. Price matches are calculated by the per-person base rate, so taxes shouldn't be a factor. It must be the exact same cabin category in order to qualify for a price match. If you're currently booked in an 8F, you have to match to an 8F. In regards to the form, as I said before, it's calculated by the base rate, so don't worry about the taxes. If you get denied after using the online form, call and talk to a rep. That automated method isn't always the most reliable.