Carnival promotion pricing question

[ineed-a-vacation]

This has probably been asked here somewhere and I apologize for asking again, but I don't know the answer.  Does anyone understand the reasoning behind different promotional prices being offered to different people?  I am booked on an upcoming cruise on the Mardi Gras.  I check the pricing regularly for price protection.  I have a friend who is looking to book for the same date that I am.  The pricing that is available to him with his VFP number gives him different promotions that I do not get.  The best rate he is offered is $200 less than my best rate and comes with $200 OBC and mine only comes with $50 in OBC.  Neither of us have sailed on Carnival in quite a few years, but I have been on twice as many Carnival cruises as he has.  Just wondering if anyone had any insight as to why our promotions would be different.

[TNcruising02]

Did your friend gamble in the casino?  I play about $100 to $200 on the slot machines when I cruise and get promotional discounts through the casino.  I received a lot of free cabins and discounted cabins for February, although not through the casino.  I've taken about 9 Carnival cruises.  

[ineed-a-vacation]

3 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Did your friend gamble in the casino?  I play about $100 to $200 on the slot machines when I cruise and get promotional discounts through the casino.  I received a lot of free cabins and discounted cabins for February, although not through the casino.  I've taken about 9 Carnival cruises.  

No.  We never gamble in the casino.  I've been on 4 Carnival cruises, and he's been on 2, both of which we were on together.  His last Carnival cruise was in 2013 and mine was in 2014.  Last night when we were discussing him booking this cruise his best offer was PLAN NOW SAIL LATER - FUNTASTIC RATES (OV8).  My best rate was FUNDERSTRUCK EARLY SAVER SALE (OJS) which is $200 more than his offer and $150 less in OBC.

[amyh13]

My husband and I get different offers.  Mine are always better than his and he is the gambler.

[Elaine5715]

Carnival promotional offers are based on marketing demographics, geographic area, zip codes and whatever magic beans they can use (and information they purchase) to indice bookings.  Casino promotions use additional data including casino play on prior cruises but one DOES NOT need to have gambled to get a casino offer.  There is no published criteria or other cruise lines would swope in.  

[firefly333]

29 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

There is no published criteria or other cruise lines would swope in.  

Sorry sounds made up. Rcl does the same offers and they are public...by your criteria carnival should swipe in. I dont buy it has another to do with other cruiselines. 

 

Seems random to me. I got the ru1 code back again. They tried ru2 but I didnt bite. ..back to ru1. 

 

I agree targeted, but doubt anything hidden because of other cruiselines. ..could even be trying out offers to see what works for all I know. 

[ineed-a-vacation]

29 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Carnival promotional offers are based on marketing demographics, geographic area, zip codes and whatever magic beans they can use (and information they purchase) to indice bookings.  Casino promotions use additional data including casino play on prior cruises but one DOES NOT need to have gambled to get a casino offer.  There is no published criteria or other cruise lines would swope in.  

Well it's definitely none of those reasons.  We live in the same zip code.  I called Carnival to inquire about it from them and was told that it was a targeted promotion that he received in order to get him to cruise again.  Even if I wanted to book another future cruise, I still wouldn't qualify for that promotion.

[pengu1n]

My husband and I get different rates too, although we've been on the same cruises. Mine are always better. I occasionally play slots, but never more than $20-40 for the week. I am usually the one who books the cruises, so that may figure in somehow.

[tallnthensome]

I got a Players Club offer from Carnival last week for a killer deal to Alaska and 200 OBC. It was a $2000 savings for my family of four. Here’s the thing, I don’t gamble and I’m not even a member of the Players Club , lol! The cruise price went up $2000 the next day but I booked immediately. I’ve was offered a free inside cabin for 2 to Hawaii for 15 days a couple weeks ago . Why? I don’t know and have only sailed Carnival 3 times. Weird …..

Edited February 21, 2022 by tallnthensome

[farjar]

44 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I got a Players Club offer from Carnival last week for a killer deal to Alaska and 200 OBC. It was a $2000 savings for my family of four. Here’s the thing, I don’t gamble and I’m not even a member of the Players Club , lol! The cruise price went up $2000 the next day but I booked immediately. I’ve was offered a free inside cabin for 2 to Hawaii for 15 days a couple weeks ago . Why? I don’t know and have only sailed Carnival 3 times. Weird …..

You and others mention receiving offers.  We recently completed our second cruise on Carnival and have our third booked later in the year.  We have never gotten any offers.  Did you sign up to receive marketing materials from them?  Is it through email?  Are they in your Carnival account?  Thanks.

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, farjar said:

You and others mention receiving offers.  We recently completed our second cruise on Carnival and have our third booked later in the year.  We have never gotten any offers.  Did you sign up to receive marketing materials from them?  Is it through email?  Are they in your Carnival account?  Thanks.

Just got to carnival.com and sign in and click to see your offers. Easy

[tallnthensome]

16 minutes ago, farjar said:

You and others mention receiving offers.  We recently completed our second cruise on Carnival and have our third booked later in the year.  We have never gotten any offers.  Did you sign up to receive marketing materials from them?  Is it through email?  Are they in your Carnival account?  Thanks.

Your VIFP offers should be under your offers like firefly said. However, the strange Players Club offer I got came through email but wasn't listed under my offers online. I never really signed up for offers per se but they have my email from my bookings and I've never unsubscribed from emails. Why we as a family of four are targeted, I don't know but we do spend a fair amount on board with Cheers, dining, excursions, arcade, attractions, and  shopping so maybe the offers come in to get certain groups back on board ..... If you're the type of people that spend very little once on board maybe they don't target with the offers.  It's just a thought  ..... Again, my Alaska cruise will only be my fourth Carnival cruise outside other lines. 

[Virga]

4 hours ago, ineed-a-vacation said:

This has probably been asked here somewhere and I apologize for asking again, but I don't know the answer.  Does anyone understand the reasoning behind different promotional prices being offered to different people?  I am booked on an upcoming cruise on the Mardi Gras.  I check the pricing regularly for price protection.  I have a friend who is looking to book for the same date that I am.  The pricing that is available to him with his VFP number gives him different promotions that I do not get.  The best rate he is offered is $200 less than my best rate and comes with $200 OBC and mine only comes with $50 in OBC.  Neither of us have sailed on Carnival in quite a few years, but I have been on twice as many Carnival cruises as he has.  Just wondering if anyone had any insight as to why our promotions would be different.

 

It sounds (to me) like you unfortunately booked your cruise before/after the time a 'hail mary' offer was targeted to you.  We were receiving them all summer, and the one that got us to bite was a one time use that I 'wasted' on a short Sunrise cruise.  Fortunately, my husband had also been given a great one time use offer, and we were able to use it 'well' on a MG sailing.  We didn't get any new (great) offers until our gambling from that Sunrise cruise cycled into the system. 

 

It doesn't actually help, but can you check your old emails for the OV8 code or other excellent offers that may have expired before you booked?  Your situations sound very much like ours (no gambling history with Carnival, no sailing since 2014, me with several more cruises than my partner) and I'd be surprised if you weren't targeted for great offers at some point - but I do know those offers all but dried up for us once we'd actually booked one each.  Thankfully our gambling was enough to get them coming again, and we're booking pretty much everything they let us book because I know these plague promotions won't last forever.  

[ineed-a-vacation]

18 minutes ago, Virga said:

 

It sounds (to me) like you unfortunately booked your cruise before/after the time a 'hail mary' offer was targeted to you.  We were receiving them all summer, and the one that got us to bite was a one time use that I 'wasted' on a short Sunrise cruise.  Fortunately, my husband had also been given a great one time use offer, and we were able to use it 'well' on a MG sailing.  We didn't get any new (great) offers until our gambling from that Sunrise cruise cycled into the system. 

 

It doesn't actually help, but can you check your old emails for the OV8 code or other excellent offers that may have expired before you booked?  Your situations sound very much like ours (no gambling history with Carnival, no sailing since 2014, me with several more cruises than my partner) and I'd be surprised if you weren't targeted for great offers at some point - but I do know those offers all but dried up for us once we'd actually booked one each.  Thankfully our gambling was enough to get them coming again, and we're booking pretty much everything they let us book because I know these plague promotions won't last forever.  

That sounds like the best explanation I have heard.  The last cruise I took with Carnival I took my older kids with me.  Instead of typing in all their email addresses, I just used one of mine I use for mailing lists.  I just searched that promo code and sure enough they sent the same promotion to all my kids.  Unfortunately none of them are going with me on this cruise so I still can't use that promo code and the email address I use for personal things didn't receive one of the emails with that promo code.  The emails were all sent out this month that had that promo code.  It's possible that I didn't personally get that one because I'm already booked on one of their cruises so it doesn't make sense to send it to me.

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, farjar said:

You and others mention receiving offers.  We recently completed our second cruise on Carnival and have our third booked later in the year.  We have never gotten any offers.  Did you sign up to receive marketing materials from them?  Is it through email?  Are they in your Carnival account?  Thanks.

You have to opt in to receiving emails but the best place to check is your Carnival .com account

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, ineed-a-vacation said:

Well it's definitely none of those reasons.  We live in the same zip code.  I called Carnival to inquire about it from them and was told that it was a targeted promotion that he received in order to get him to cruise again.  Even if I wanted to book another future cruise, I still wouldn't qualify for that promotion.

It was the magic beans

[JennKach]

I was logged in to carnival with my past guest number and saw an offer I wanted to switch to, and my cruise consultant said it didn't exist in their system. 

 

[kessdarln]

I'm trying to figure out the rates as well.  One rate is $398 before tax, the next is $1198 for the same cruise, cabin, and nothing is listed as to the extras for that cost, such as free drinks, wi-fi etc.  

[Elaine5715]

48 minutes ago, kessdarln said:

I'm trying to figure out the rates as well.  One rate is $398 before tax, the next is $1198 for the same cruise, cabin, and nothing is listed as to the extras for that cost, such as free drinks, wi-fi etc.  

Each offer has a code and a name.  The ones that say "Guarantee" or Let Carnival Choose" are the unassigned rooms that they fill and you do not get a choice.  Someone gets underneath the gallery.  

[B&P!!!]

I found an amazing rate and booked a cabin but the same rate wasn't there for my daughter. It was there for my husband but he isn't going this trip. I called Carnival and they were able to add it to her account somehow. I mentioned the rate to a friend I travel with and the cruise is double for her.  She also had like 12 different rates/promotions listed for the cruise! 

 

[KyloRen]

Yeah I do NOT get it either. Im in the same boat as you with the offers, though I even see rates for me in the morning that I wont even see in the afternoon. Its like the site doesnt give me deals at times. Im looking right now for example and the cheapest is 129 but then 10 mins ago I saw a code with 23 dollar cruises! I called and got a bunch of money back on a cruise I'm taking but now the rates disappeared from my profile (while on the phone with carnival) and I didnt even use the rate code! (but they still gave me the discounted price). It almost seems like the more you cruise the less the discounts are 

Edited February 24, 2022 by KyloRen

[Calnev1]

7 minutes ago, KyloRen said:

 It almost seems like the more you cruise the less the discounts are 

There is some truth to this I think.  I mean, if you have already booked future cruises at higher rates why should they offer you a discounted rate?   They are only undercutting themselves.

 

I do gamble in the ship's casino, but don't play too much.  In my case:

1)  I have several future Princess cruises booked at significant cost.  But I have no good Princess cruise deals or casino offers pending.

2)  I have a couple of future Carnival cruises booked at moderate cost.   I do currently have some nice Carnival casino offers, but only for cruises a month or two out that don't conflict with my current bookings.

3)  I have no future Holland America cruises booked.  Last time I sailed with them was in 2017.   And I have the best pending casino offers with them, including 14 day cruises with free oceanview cabin and DOU up to a  year out!

 

All of these cruise lines are owned by Carnival Corp and I am sure they share passenger casino data.  Can you see which line thinks I am only going to cruise with them if they give me great deals??

 

 

[EllieinNJ]

I haven't even cruised with Carnival yet but had a reservation for June, 2023.  In January I got an email for some select cruises and booked a 7 day Bahama cruise out of Baltimore in April for $280 for a balcony.    Do they guess I'm a gambler?

[SNJCruisers]

There is no rhyme or reason as to who the marketing algorithm bestows certain rate codes to.  The best I have ever received is the OV8 code which entitled me to 200 in OBC on any cruise that I had booked in 2022.  It was later modified to any cruise until the end of May or June in 2022.  I ended up using it on B2B's in February and again over Labor day on the Mardi Gras. 

 

The rates that the gamblers get are the best rates since that is where carnival makes their most profits.  Other reduced priced Cheers codes were given out such as RU1, RU2, RU3 and RU9.  RU9 was a joke, but the other three were substantially lower in price with RU1 being the cheapest.  If I ever got even a RU3 I would jump all over it, but since I have purchased Cheers on all six of my Carnival cruises since it came out almost 10 years ago, the algorithm deems me not eligible.

[ScottsSweetie]

On 2/21/2022 at 1:32 PM, Virga said:

 

It sounds (to me) like you unfortunately booked your cruise before/after the time a 'hail mary' offer was targeted to you.  We were receiving them all summer, and the one that got us to bite was a one time use that I 'wasted' on a short Sunrise cruise.  Fortunately, my husband had also been given a great one time use offer, and we were able to use it 'well' on a MG sailing.  We didn't get any new (great) offers until our gambling from that Sunrise cruise cycled into the system. 

 

It doesn't actually help, but can you check your old emails for the OV8 code or other excellent offers that may have expired before you booked?  Your situations sound very much like ours (no gambling history with Carnival, no sailing since 2014, me with several more cruises than my partner) and I'd be surprised if you weren't targeted for great offers at some point - but I do know those offers all but dried up for us once we'd actually booked one each.  Thankfully our gambling was enough to get them coming again, and we're booking pretty much everything they let us book because I know these plague promotions won't last forever.  

I would have thought this way, too - but we've sailed twice since the restart and currently have several great rate code offers (interior rooms as low as $26pp or balcony rooms to Alaska for $270pp).