PVP or not

[ober134]

With a couple cruises cancelled, and a combination of credits issued, gift card and credit card refunds and credit moved and reapplied to a future cruise... It became difficult keeping track.. I tried. We also asked PVP to upgrade our future cabin. Don't know what happened, but within 24 hours, carnival cancelled our cruise for nonpayment after the upgrade. In doing so, all our fun shop purchases also cancelled, Including Cheers purchased at steep discount using a Promo offer from Carnival. No one is taking responsibility. We never received notice that additional payment was needed, nor did PVP tell us. Before upgrade we only owed $60 not due for 6 months! It took me over an hour with Customer Service to rebook and straighten it out. PVP essentially said wasnt his problem. I know this company and industry is struggling.... And in the end we are back on track. But am I wrong to be annoyed and disappointed with a company we have patronized A LOT? And have referred others to?

[firefly333]

I used a pvp for many years pre covid. Mine seems to have been on leave, perhaps having a baby I never knew but couldnt reach her since early covid days.

 

My issue was if there was a issue a pvp works for carnival and always took carnivals side, not mine.

 

For instance I boarded once and unpacked and shut the door never guessing I'd been moved. Just never occurred to me and my cabin number never mentioned when I checked in to board. I was moved from the large 1A i booked to a 4J that carnival might have thought was a favor but I'd rather have the larger cabin.

 

My pvp said the info you click to agree to says they can move your cabin at any time. I agreed to it to print boarding papers. I think someone should have contacted me and told me. Better yet asked me. 

 

I now have a TA who will and has already gone to battle for me when the cruiseline cancelled or changed stuff during covid. 

[bury me at sea]

ober 134 I would greatly annoyed and would ask for a different pvp.

[cellfree]

My PVP is great. Rebooked all cruises without a hitch. Was looking at an October 2022 for us and our daughter and her husband - booked ours - emailed her what cabin we wanted for daughter - told us about a Pilot Program she could use for our daughter, $400 off price if paid gratuities prior to cruising, grabbed it, would never have known about this had I not had a PVP.

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, ober134 said:

With a couple cruises cancelled, and a combination of credits issued, gift card and credit card refunds and credit moved and reapplied to a future cruise... It became difficult keeping track.. I tried. We also asked PVP to upgrade our future cabin. Don't know what happened, but within 24 hours, carnival cancelled our cruise for nonpayment after the upgrade. In doing so, all our fun shop purchases also cancelled, Including Cheers purchased at steep discount using a Promo offer from Carnival. No one is taking responsibility. We never received notice that additional payment was needed, nor did PVP tell us. Before upgrade we only owed $60 not due for 6 months! It took me over an hour with Customer Service to rebook and straighten it out. PVP essentially said wasnt his problem. I know this company and industry is struggling.... And in the end we are back on track. But am I wrong to be annoyed and disappointed with a company we have patronized A LOT? And have referred others to?

were you talking toa PVP or just somebody who answers the 800 number? Loyalty means a lot to the person who is loyal but not so much to the company you are being loyal to.

[Saint Greg]

Definitely like having anTA and the additional OBC that comes with it. All of the bookings cancellations FCC’s and refunds are difficult to keep track of. Fortunately I conduct all of my travel business via email so there’s a record of everything. 

[pe4all]

We have used the same pvp for years.  She returns our calls within the hour, answers our emails the same day.  If there is a price drop or different promo she gets it for us.    I should also say that when I contact my pvp I know exactly what cabin I want, what promo I want, and the price it should be.  I make her job easy!  I guess that if you have a good pvp you have nothing bad to say, but if the pvp messes up your opinion of him/her goes down.  Ober134 - in your case I would try to get another pvp.  Yes, the pvp works for Carnival, but also should be working for you to earn loyalty in coming back to book again.

Edited April 23, 2021 by pe4all

[Pyrate13]

Like pe4all, we have been using our pvp for many years and she is great. Handles everything we may need quickly, knows our likes/dislikes very well and makes suggestions if she thinks we will be happier with something different. Does not bother us with promos or stuff like that or if we haven't booked on a while. If your pvp is not like that you probably need to find a new one.

[Jasonsterling]

12 hours ago, ober134 said:

With a couple cruises cancelled, and a combination of credits issued, gift card and credit card refunds and credit moved and reapplied to a future cruise... It became difficult keeping track.. I tried. We also asked PVP to upgrade our future cabin. Don't know what happened, but within 24 hours, carnival cancelled our cruise for nonpayment after the upgrade. In doing so, all our fun shop purchases also cancelled, Including Cheers purchased at steep discount using a Promo offer from Carnival. No one is taking responsibility. We never received notice that additional payment was needed, nor did PVP tell us. Before upgrade we only owed $60 not due for 6 months! It took me over an hour with Customer Service to rebook and straighten it out. PVP essentially said wasnt his problem. I know this company and industry is struggling.... And in the end we are back on track. But am I wrong to be annoyed and disappointed with a company we have patronized A LOT? And have referred others to?

I've never used a PVP but I don't blame your disappointment. At the very least a customer service associate should be pleasant, understanding and accept some responsibility for a situation whether they share any or not. It just helps defuse a situation. And, in a way, it is his problem because it's his job to deal with the problem even if he didn't cause it, which it sounds like in this case as though there was a cascade of different policies that may have inadvertently kicked into place with the upgrade that cause the issue. I am extremely sorry you had to deal with all this but hopefully, now that it is straightened out, you'll have a lot to look forward to and end up having a very good time on your vacation. And no, again, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your feeling annoyed and disappointed. It's a natural reaction. 

[MistyRo76]

Seems to me that overall customer service (not just with Carnival) has gone WAY, WAY, WAY down since COVID. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "we're short staffed" when I've been dealing with a customer service rep for a company. Or I'll call and wait  30, 45 minutes or longer on hold just to even speak with someone. Companies cut back to stay afloat during the economic shutdowns and the customer suffered for it. 

 

 

[IntrepidFromDC]

We were assigned a PVP (I guess) after our second or third cruise and she would call us with offers two or three days after we returned from a cruise.  I told her I enjoy shopping for best deals but challenged her to find the best Carnival offer with just two conditions: 1) must cruise from east coast and 2) minimum of 7 days... She called back with her best find but by then I had already scoured Carnival's website and found a better deal for the same cruise online, a month earlier.  I wonder if they get different commissions for different cruises or what the reason was but since I enjoy shopping Carnival's website, I stopped returning her calls and she went away.  When I'm shopping for cruises online I kind of imagine the itinerary passing as I'm shopping each offer and really enjoy that, at my leisure.  Then I just have to get approval from the boss (daughter... "Noooo daaad, I don't want to go to Belize agaaaainnn").

[Anyislandwilldo]

I love my PVP!  She always goes the extra mile for me.  She's a sweetheart!

[bluesman0711]

OP you have the right to be annoyed.

[fair-winds39]

We've used the same PVP for our last 5 or 6 Carnival cruises. It's a pleasure to speak with her when planning a cruise. She has all of our info, i.e. names, address, billing info, cabin preferences, etc. All I need to tell her is which cruise, when, Cabin # and within 10 minutes we're booked, and deposit is paid. Also, I had to cancel a cruise once, and I called her and she took care of everything Carnival had to refund immediately. Another thing I like is if I leave a message for her, I will hear back within 10-15 minutes.

[bunchesofun]

On 4/23/2021 at 9:18 AM, IntrepidFromDC said:

 I wonder if they get different commissions for different cruises or what the reason was but since I enjoy shopping Carnival's website, I stopped returning her calls and she went away. 

I asked my PVP (who I love) recently if they got commissions, because I was changing things around.  She said it's complicated, but they don't actually get commissions, but do get "points" towards free cruises, etc.  And if you cancel, my understanding is they don't lose the points.

[Don Kehote]

If I'm being self-critical for a minute (IRL it's constant, but here a rarity), I'd say that I book through our PVP for purely emotional reasons.  Honestly, I just like the guy. 

 

I do all my own research, pick and choose what I want down to the cabin, shoot him an e-mail, and ask him to book it for us.

 

Could I get a better deal through a TA?  Maybe.  But I like our guy.  He's done a great job for us ever since he was a CD, and that's carried through as a PVP.

[Jamesatgsu]

I haven't been impressed with my PVP.  He does the basic job, but I guess I just expected more from how highly so many talk on here about their PVP. If I didn't want to look at cruises myself and just blindly follow somebody, sure, the PVP is great. I prefer looking online myself first.

 

It really annoyed me when after our first cruise was COVID cancelled, I took a few months before rebooking, and when I did try, Carnival had already moved my FCC to my November 2021 cruise. No big deal for me, but my PVP kept insisting I had to have called previously to have them do it. That it couldn't happen automatically. Why he wanted to argue with me over something I was 100% positive of. I can remember thinking how weird I had received emails about by upcoming trip, which I didn't pay much mind to, but it was a payment email because they had applied the FCC without asking. I decided to book my November 2020 with NCL instead over the incident, which was good since NCL quickly refunded after cancellation (unlike Carnival), and gave future 10% off cruise fair which I'm taking advantage of (well hopefully) to cruise Greece in July.

[ober134]

6 hours ago, Jamesatgsu said:

I haven't been impressed with my PVP.  He does the basic job, but I guess I just expected more from how highly so many talk on here about their PVP. If I didn't want to look at cruises myself and just blindly follow somebody, sure, the PVP is great. I prefer looking online myself first.

 

It really annoyed me when after our first cruise was COVID cancelled, I took a few months before rebooking, and when I did try, Carnival had already moved my FCC to my November 2021 cruise. No big deal for me, but my PVP kept insisting I had to have called previously to have them do it. That it couldn't happen automatically. Why he wanted to argue with me over something I was 100% positive of. I can remember thinking how weird I had received emails about by upcoming trip, which I didn't pay much mind to, but it was a payment email because they had applied the FCC without asking. I decided to book my November 2020 with NCL instead over the incident, which was good since NCL quickly repromotionsfunded after cancellation (unlike Carnival), and gave future 10% off cruise fair which I'm taking advantage of (well hopefully) to cruise Greece in July.

As  nice as our current PVP is, I feel the same as you.... I do all the research, tell him what to book - right down to cabin #. No special deals or perks, no notice on promotion offers, etc. I see comments here on CC and other sites saying how great their PVP or TA is... How do I find one like that

[pe4all]

10 hours ago, ober134 said:

As  nice as our current PVP is, I feel the same as you.... I do all the research, tell him what to book - right down to cabin #. No special deals or perks, no notice on promotion offers, etc. I see comments here on CC and other sites saying how great their PVP or TA is... How do I find one like that

I also do all the research.  When ready to book I call her and tell her the cabin I want, dining time, bed arrangement.   I do not get special promos unless I see them (casino offers) and call her to have them added or changed.   When I book she does check and see if there is anything I missed, and puts it on for me.  Most important to me -she gets back to me within the hour after calling or emailing.  With all the cancellations she has been invaluable in helping me move/move/move/rebook the cruise.  On finding a pvp you like - it is trial and error.  We had 1 before her who was a pain in the butt - called literally every week asking if we were ready to book a cruise yet. (way pre-pandemic)

Edited April 28, 2021 by pe4all

[DPTexas]

My daughter and I use the same PVP, whom we love.  Yes, I do some research and contact him with the info.  He then calls back quite quickly with additional options, including better rates & offers.  I also rely on him for help in picking out best room locations, etc.  I'm very pleased with my PVP and will continue to use him because of the ease of contact, great info and offers.  

[ober134]

Follow up. After this mess up, I called Customer service as mentioned in my OP. I was assured refund would be issued.... It has not yet happened. I found emails for every Carnival executive available, CS, etc. No response except a standard reply form.... Called ph number as directed and provided Incident number... Was transferred 3 times, on hold for over an hour (for the second time).... Finally got someone who understood the issue, and had ability to audit the booking. He actually called me back today with assurance that refund is on the way. As a shareholder as well as a user of this product, I must question the business practices that keeps Customer Services hands tied, and departments so segmented.

 

[Fatcat604]

On 4/22/2021 at 4:48 PM, cellfree said:

My PVP is great. Rebooked all cruises without a hitch. Was looking at an October 2022 for us and our daughter and her husband - booked ours - emailed her what cabin we wanted for daughter - told us about a Pilot Program she could use for our daughter, $400 off price if paid gratuities prior to cruising, grabbed it, would never have known about this had I not had a PVP.

Sorry to bother, when did you book? I’m thinking to book for next year august. We can’t go this year, our second shot is in august, I’m usually paid gratuities when booking, I refer not to get bill when I’m back. Thank you

[cellfree]

No bother. I am under the impression the “offer” our PVP gave us (never happened before) was some sort of pilot program, never heard anyone talk about it, but great of her to tell us about it. You can always prepay gratuities however we never do as I figure why should any cruise line have my money sooner than they really need it. But in this case, with a savings of $400, why not, plus I don’t pay them until final payment date. 

41 minutes ago, Fatcat604 said:

Sorry to bother, when did you book? I’m thinking to book for next year august. We can’t go this year, our second shot is in august, I’m usually paid gratuities when booking, I refer not to get bill when I’m back. Thank you