PVP vs booking on board question

[DeniseTr]

Hello, 

I've never used PVP before, but you folks convinced me to do this on my next cruise.

Question is that on my upcoming cruise, was planning on putting down a deposit on my next cruise while on board because the discount is so significant, but I don't think I can use a PVP then. 

Anyone have ideas/info about this idea?

[Elaine5715]

15 minutes ago, DeniseTr said:

Hello, 

I've never used PVP before, but you folks convinced me to do this on my next cruise.

Question is that on my upcoming cruise, was planning on putting down a deposit on my next cruise while on board because the discount is so significant, but I don't think I can use a PVP then. 

Anyone have ideas/info about this idea?

There is no Future Cruise desk onboard anymore.  

[DeniseTr]

Thx. That was such a big thing on my previous cruises, but my last cruise was right b4 covid.

[phoneman69]

Yes no longer any deals while on board. To bad they removed the option

[DanJ]

Personally don't see the need for a PVP if you are an experienced cruiser and are capable of doing simple searches online. I doubt most of them have the cruise experience most of us do. They don't have any better pricing than the website. I used to use a travel agent because they used to get better pricing and offer better promos, and actually have experience. Plus I liked that a small part of my vacation spend was going to a local member of my community. Then things changed for them, no special pricing anymore, commission cuts, they started adding booking fees, rules about offering OBC. So, I just book direct on the website now. 

 

If you are new to cruises or maybe even to a cruise line, then dealing with one of their people might be better for hand holding you through the process. But never forget, they work for the cruise line, not for you, no matter how much people say their PVP looks after them.

[babygrljaz]

38 minutes ago, DanJ said:

Personally don't see the need for a PVP if you are an experienced cruiser and are capable of doing simple searches online. I doubt most of them have the cruise experience most of us do. They don't have any better pricing than the website. I used to use a travel agent because they used to get better pricing and offer better promos, and actually have experience. Plus I liked that a small part of my vacation spend was going to a local member of my community. Then things changed for them, no special pricing anymore, commission cuts, they started adding booking fees, rules about offering OBC. So, I just book direct on the website now. 

 

If you are new to cruises or maybe even to a cruise line, then dealing with one of their people might be better for hand holding you through the process. But never forget, they work for the cruise line, not for you, no matter how much people say their PVP looks after them.

My pvp is always cruising. I love the fact that he can give me personal experience for ports & ships. If I have questions about the ship or type of rooms he has quick answers. He's very helpful. No I'm not a new cruiser either. Not everyone's experience & preference is the same

[Indiansbaseball]

20th Carnival Cruise coming up. I have only had 2 different PVPs. I know exactly what I want when I call but he always has different options available if I want. This 21st cruise, he helped us get a balcony next to our friends where we can open the divider ! He has an easy job with me, but has always been there for questions, advice and help with changes and he always answers the phone. 

[firefly333]

I had a pvp but quit using her though she is extremely knowledgeable and says she teaches newbie pvps. The time I had my chosen cabin changed and no one emailed me or thought I should be notified. I didnt realize myself until after I unpacked, there was a letter on the desk addressed to someone else. Thought oh must be a mistake but later found out I'd been changed to a hc cabin that I hated. 

 

The fact she took carnivals side made me realize she worked for them, not for me. Now I book direct on carnival or use a TA. Ruined our relationship when she kept arguing they had the right to change my cabin without notice, it's in the contract. I think as a courtesy I should have been at least told. She never waivered with company contract that they had the right to move me without notice. Not a bit of compassion. We tried a couple times after that and she is still listed but I booked direct. If she had at least pretended to understand how I felt I would have accepted that. Not a inch of give. The HC cabin was one of those Js along the front but was extremely small. The twin beds didnt push together and half the cabin was a shower for wheelchairs. Much smaller than what I booked. 

 

I know most will defend carnival, but if I wanted that cabin I would have booked it. Cruise critic is known to always lack compassion and go rah rah for the cruiseline. She and I havent been the same. She never would acknowledge that I even had a right to be unhappy. We had high winds so those doors to the front never could be opened the whole cruise on sea days. Always locked. My shades had to be drawn at night so the pilot could navigate. I didnt like it. Didnt book it. Wanted 2 twins push together and the bigger cabin I booked.

 

So just saying the other side remember the pvp works for carnival. 

[RoperDK]

46 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I had a pvp but quit using her though she is extremely knowledgeable and says she teaches newbie pvps. The time I had my chosen cabin changed and no one emailed me or thought I should be notified. I didnt realize myself until after I unpacked, there was a letter on the desk addressed to someone else. Thought oh must be a mistake but later found out I'd been changed to a hc cabin that I hated. 

 

The fact she took carnivals side made me realize she worked for them, not for me. Now I book direct on carnival or use a TA. Ruined our relationship when she kept arguing they had the right to change my cabin without notice, it's in the contract. I think as a courtesy I should have been at least told. She never waivered with company contract that they had the right to move me without notice. Not a bit of compassion. We tried a couple times after that and she is still listed but I booked direct. If she had at least pretended to understand how I felt I would have accepted that. Not a inch of give. The HC cabin was one of those Js along the front but was extremely small. The twin beds didnt push together and half the cabin was a shower for wheelchairs. Much smaller than what I booked. 

 

I know most will defend carnival, but if I wanted that cabin I would have booked it. Cruise critic is known to always lack compassion and go rah rah for the cruiseline. She and I havent been the same. She never would acknowledge that I even had a right to be unhappy. We had high winds so those doors to the front never could be opened the whole cruise on sea days. Always locked. My shades had to be drawn at night so the pilot could navigate. I didnt like it. Didnt book it. Wanted 2 twins push together and the bigger cabin I booked.

 

So just saying the other side remember the pvp works for carnival. 

No one should ever change your cabin without notifying you!  There is just no excuse for that.  I know that Princess would give a "complimentary upgrade" when they wanted to and you had to mark your booking as "no upgrade".  Most experienced cruisers want to pick their cabin location and to have a HC cabin when you don't need one comes with drawbacks.  If you signed up for a GTY cabin, well that might be a different situation.  I do all of the research of price and cabin availability and then call and take whoever answers and physically book my cruise.  If I have a reason to change cabins or ask for price reduction, then I call and work with whoever answers the phone. I tried the PVP and TA route before and have been disappointed when I had to wait days for a resolution to my issues.  I know that PVPs and TAs are for the most part excellent and helpful to new cruisers, but once you have cruised for many years then I feel qualified to handle the booking myself.  I have to admit that I am a bit of a control freak, too. 😶   

[Amadawn1]

My PVP does an outstanding job.  I started working with him shortly after the shutdown began to rebook our canceled April 2020 cruise. But I can't stress enough how invaluable he was when my husband passed away a few months before the restart and we already had 9 scheduled cruises booked and paid for (with multiple cancellations/rebooks as the shutdown dragged on). He did an amazing job straightening everything out through Carnival, and I paid zero in penalties. Yes, I always know what cabin I want and which offer (casino) I am interested in booking.  He's actually gotten me the offer I wanted at an even lower price at times. I'm sure not all PVPs are this helpful, but he always responds the same day when I contact him either by phone or email. And if he will be out of town/vacation he provides another PVP to contact in his absence. It works well for me.

 

 

 

[firefly333]

2 hours ago, RoperDK said:

No one should ever change your cabin without notifying you!  There is just no excuse for that.  I know that Princess would give a "complimentary upgrade" when they wanted to and you had to mark your booking as "no upgrade".  Most experienced cruisers want to pick their cabin location and to have a HC cabin when you don't need one comes with drawbacks.  If you signed up for a GTY cabin, well that might be a different situation.  I do all of the research of price and cabin availability and then call and take whoever answers and physically book my cruise.  If I have a reason to change cabins or ask for price reduction, then I call and work with whoever answers the phone. I tried the PVP and TA route before and have been disappointed when I had to wait days for a resolution to my issues.  I know that PVPs and TAs are for the most part excellent and helpful to new cruisers, but once you have cruised for many years then I feel qualified to handle the booking myself.  I have to admit that I am a bit of a control freak, too. 😶   

I'm not a control freak but I did book my last carnival cruise direct. I always know what I want, just used a pvp before this happened. For royal I use a TA because they have a completely different pricing system than carnival who is very direct. Royal has much lower group rates and I need someone to apply my balcony discount and then my solo discount. Their booking rules are much more complicated and someone needs to get these discounts applied. Royals real rate for me might be close to half what the published rate is. Carnival the rate is the rate.

 

Carnival I dont need someone to book for me. They dont have all that other stuff that someone has to fiddle with. 

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I had a pvp but quit using her though she is extremely knowledgeable and says she teaches newbie pvps. The time I had my chosen cabin changed and no one emailed me or thought I should be notified. I didnt realize myself until after I unpacked, there was a letter on the desk addressed to someone else. Thought oh must be a mistake but later found out I'd been changed to a hc cabin that I hated. 

 

The fact she took carnivals side made me realize she worked for them, not for me. Now I book direct on carnival or use a TA. Ruined our relationship when she kept arguing they had the right to change my cabin without notice, it's in the contract. I think as a courtesy I should have been at least told. She never waivered with company contract that they had the right to move me without notice. Not a bit of compassion. We tried a couple times after that and she is still listed but I booked direct. If she had at least pretended to understand how I felt I would have accepted that. Not a inch of give. The HC cabin was one of those Js along the front but was extremely small. The twin beds didnt push together and half the cabin was a shower for wheelchairs. Much smaller than what I booked. 

 

I know most will defend carnival, but if I wanted that cabin I would have booked it. Cruise critic is known to always lack compassion and go rah rah for the cruiseline. She and I havent been the same. She never would acknowledge that I even had a right to be unhappy. We had high winds so those doors to the front never could be opened the whole cruise on sea days. Always locked. My shades had to be drawn at night so the pilot could navigate. I didnt like it. Didnt book it. Wanted 2 twins push together and the bigger cabin I booked.

 

So just saying the other side remember the pvp works for carnival. 

1. Of course, the PVP works for Carnival.  They answer to Carnival and stated Carnival policy.  

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, RoperDK said:

No one should ever change your cabin without notifying you!  There is just no excuse for that.  I know that Princess would give a "complimentary upgrade" when they wanted to and you had to mark your booking as "no upgrade".  Most experienced cruisers want to pick their cabin location and to have a HC cabin when you don't need one comes with drawbacks.  If you signed up for a GTY cabin, well that might be a different situation.  I do all of the research of price and cabin availability and then call and take whoever answers and physically book my cruise.  If I have a reason to change cabins or ask for price reduction, then I call and work with whoever answers the phone. I tried the PVP and TA route before and have been disappointed when I had to wait days for a resolution to my issues.  I know that PVPs and TAs are for the most part excellent and helpful to new cruisers, but once you have cruised for many years then I feel qualified to handle the booking myself.  I have to admit that I am a bit of a control freak, too. 😶   

"No one should" is a thought.  The cruise contract gets them the absolute ability to change your room at any time for any reason.  The only caveat is a refund should the new cabin be of lower cost.  

[jedi bobs]

My PVP is a former Cruise Director for Carnival that I personly have cruised with. Always gets back to me as fast as I can, insted of calling him with a question, I usaly hit him up on FB Messenger.

[nydney1]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I'm not a control freak but I did book my last carnival cruise direct. I always know what I want, just used a pvp before this happened. For royal I use a TA because they have a completely different pricing system than carnival who is very direct. Royal has much lower group rates and I need someone to apply my balcony discount and then my solo discount. Their booking rules are much more complicated and someone needs to get these discounts applied. Royals real rate for me might be close to half what the published rate is. Carnival the rate is the rate.

 

Carnival I dont need someone to book for me. They dont have all that other stuff that someone has to fiddle with. 

Makes no sense at all that Carnival would move you to a HC cabin. If you were in a HC cabin and moved you (assuming it was not needed) I get that, but not to a HC.  I agree with you, you should have been notified. 

[firefly333]

17 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

Makes no sense at all that Carnival would move you to a HC cabin. If you were in a HC cabin and moved you (assuming it was not needed) I get that, but not to a HC.  I agree with you, you should have been notified. 

I'd never had a hc cabin but my PVP said it's on my record I'd asked for a shower chair before. So therefore to her it makes sense. My sister is HC but been married for more than 10 years and had quit cruising with me. But there was a time we got a little plastic white shower chair .. never ever a hc cabin. My sister has epilepsy and bad balance and I helped her in the shower. 

 

So therefore my pvp said it was perfectly reasonable. I said no matter what email or call me. I unpacked in the cabin and had to explain to a cabin steward why I needed to get into a cabin that was locked and I didnt have the key. My pvp was unbending I had no right to complain. She is a company person, she backs carnival. I decided I no longer felt like gifting her my bookings. I always knew what I wanted, just used her to give her credit. 

 

I'm diamond on carnival, so I've done more than a few cruises with them. We have had a couple of issues but this was with my pvp. I just never trusted her to have my back after this. But I admit way in my past I had requested a shower chair in our regular cabin.

[nydney1]

Sorry if I came off doubting you. I agree with you 100%.

[teknoge3k]

21 hours ago, DeniseTr said:

Thx. That was such a big thing on my previous cruises, but my last cruise was right b4 covid.

 

The on-board booking went away starting in 2017. Now you get a "Welcome Home Offer" emailed to you once you return home. You can find details of this offer here:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4565/~/carnivals-future-cruise-vacation-welcome-home-program 

[DeniseTr]

1 hour ago, teknoge3k said:

 

The on-board booking went away starting in 2017. Now you get a "Welcome Home Offer" emailed to you once you return home. You can find details of this offer here:

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4565/~/carnivals-future-cruise-vacation-welcome-home-program 

Thanks. 

That helps

[RoperDK]

16 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

"No one should" is a thought.  The cruise contract gets them the absolute ability to change your room at any time for any reason.  The only caveat is a refund should the new cabin be of lower cost.  

Would you point out the section of the cruise contract that says they can change your cabin for any reason?  I'm sitting on almost 50 cruises now and just never hear of this happening "just because they can or want to" change your cabin.  I can definitely understand a last-minute cabin move for extenuating circumstances.  I would understand if the cabin was out of service for something like a criminal/death investigation or because it is unhabitable because of a maintenance issue.  If this was revealed after I boarded and it was explained to me, then so be it.  I still feel that a cabin change without a prior notification "just because we can" is unacceptable. 

[Elaine5715]

39 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Would you point out the section of the cruise contract that says they can change your cabin for any reason?  I'm sitting on almost 50 cruises now and just never hear of this happening "just because they can or want to" change your cabin.  I can definitely understand a last-minute cabin move for extenuating circumstances.  I would understand if the cabin was out of service for something like a criminal/death investigation or because it is unhabitable because of a maintenance issue.  If this was revealed after I boarded and it was explained to me, then so be it.  I still feel that a cabin change without a prior notification "just because we can" is unacceptable. 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract?icid=CC_Footer_84

(g) Specific stateroom assignments are not guaranteed. Carnival reserves the right to move Guests to a comparable stateroom for any reason, including but not limited to, instances in which a stateroom is booked with fewer than the maximum number of Guests the stateroom can accommodate; or when a partial Guest cancellation occurs and the remaining number of Guests do not match the maximum number of Guests the stateroom can accommodate.

[Pyrate13]

14 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract?icid=CC_Footer_84

(g) Specific stateroom assignments are not guaranteed. Carnival reserves the right to move Guests to a comparable stateroom for any reason, including but not limited to, instances in which a stateroom is booked with fewer than the maximum number of Guests the stateroom can accommodate; or when a partial Guest cancellation occurs and the remaining number of Guests do not match the maximum number of Guests the stateroom can accommodate.

Note the bold type

Edited August 19 by Pyrate13

[RoperDK]

34 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract?icid=CC_Footer_84

(g) Specific stateroom assignments are not guaranteed. Carnival reserves the right to move Guests to a comparable stateroom for any reason, including but not limited to, instances in which a stateroom is booked with fewer than the maximum number of Guests the stateroom can accommodate; or when a partial Guest cancellation occurs and the remaining number of Guests do not match the maximum number of Guests the stateroom can accommodate.

Well, I can certainly understand moving someone if the cabin accommodates more than the number of people sailing.  I wouldn't book a cabin for 3 or 4 if only 2 are sailing.  The only exception is a suite because most of them fit at least 3. I still wouldn't try to book a suite for 4 if 2 were sailing.  Same thing holds true if you booked a HC cabin and don't actually need one.  A handicapped person should move you out of your cabin.  A good PVP or TA shouldn't book you under those circumstances without at least warning you that you could be moved.  I still feel that you should be notified before you get onboard.  You might be able to pick a more suitable cabin beforehand than whatever they throw you in.  I doubt that Carnival moves many people "just because they can".  It doesn't seem like a good business practice to me.  Perhaps the PVP just decided to make the cabin change and didn't bother to notify the client.  If that happened to me, I would never use that PVP again.  There are too many good ones around to put up with that mess.  IMHO.   

[Elaine5715]

26 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Well, I can certainly understand moving someone if the cabin accommodates more than the number of people sailing.  I wouldn't book a cabin for 3 or 4 if only 2 are sailing.  The only exception is a suite because most of them fit at least 3. I still wouldn't try to book a suite for 4 if 2 were sailing.  Same thing holds true if you booked a HC cabin and don't actually need one.  A handicapped person should move you out of your cabin.  A good PVP or TA shouldn't book you under those circumstances without at least warning you that you could be moved.  I still feel that you should be notified before you get onboard.  You might be able to pick a more suitable cabin beforehand than whatever they throw you in.  I doubt that Carnival moves many people "just because they can".  It doesn't seem like a good business practice to me.  Perhaps the PVP just decided to make the cabin change and didn't bother to notify the client.  If that happened to me, I would never use that PVP again.  There are too many good ones around to put up with that mess.  IMHO.   

The PVP does not move you. The cruise line moves you.  The warning is in your cruise contract and it is your responsibility to read your cruise contract.  The cruise line does not notify you as to "why" for many reasons, sufficient to say they can and while it is practice to provide what the cruise line considers an "upgrade", the guest may view it differently.

I was booked into a 4J  (front of ship with a window overlooking the "secret" deck) and when the ship was changed, I was "upgraded" to a 4K (full length windows blocked by lifeboats.  

[RoperDK]

27 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

The PVP does not move you. The cruise line moves you.  The warning is in your cruise contract and it is your responsibility to read your cruise contract.  The cruise line does not notify you as to "why" for many reasons, sufficient to say they can and while it is practice to provide what the cruise line considers an "upgrade", the guest may view it differently.

I was booked into a 4J  (front of ship with a window overlooking the "secret" deck) and when the ship was changed, I was "upgraded" to a 4K (full length windows blocked by lifeboats.  

I see that there was a good reason to move you then. With an upgrade to boot!  Where you notified before you boarded?