Military Discount advice

[jester614]

Ok, so I'm having a problem with my travel agent regarding my military discount and I need some advice.

 

We've booked thru AAA for the Conquest on July 23, 2006 for an 8D cabin, but we paid for an 8A. We got the 8D thru a past guest promotion. I'm ex-Navy having served 4 years of active duty with an honorable discharge. I inquired with my TA at AAA about the discount and after 2 weeks of waiting, she informed me that the discount would save us $160. This seemed like a smaller amount than others that I've read about, so I called Carnival to hear it for myself. They told me the military rate would save us $360...a difference of $200 from what my TA told me.

 

My question is, who do I take this up with? Would it be better to ask my TA about it or Carnival?

 

Please help!!!

 

Thanks in advance.

 

:)

[airplanegirl]

I'm an airline employee, and heard about discounts from a TA, but when it came time to book, I went straight to Carnival. They treat you really well, not like you're a freeloader (even though I am), and I got a better discount than what the TA told me about. I'd just call carnival...they're cool.

 

I even have a "personal vacation planner!" haha, don't we all

[zqvol]

Ok, so I'm having a problem with my travel agent regarding my military discount and I need some advice.

 

We've booked thru AAA for the Conquest on July 23, 2006 for an 8D cabin, but we paid for an 8A. We got the 8D thru a past guest promotion. I'm ex-Navy having served 4 years of active duty with an honorable discharge. I inquired with my TA at AAA about the discount and after 2 weeks of waiting, she informed me that the discount would save us $160. This seemed like a smaller amount than others that I've read about, so I called Carnival to hear it for myself. They told me the military rate would save us $360...a difference of $200 from what my TA told me.

 

My question is, who do I take this up with? Would it be better to ask my TA about it or Carnival?

 

Please help!!!

 

Thanks in advance.

 

:)

I don't think that Carnival will deal with you since you are already booked and have an agent. If my quick calculations are correct you can still cancel and rebook with Carnival.

 

Good Luck

[Katfive]

Just wondering...was the past guest promotion a past guest discount?

I know we could use both the past guest and the military discount. The military discount gave us a much better price.

[Scorpiorose]

Once you book with a TA you have to deal with them. Carnival wont help you out on a cruise booked thru a TA - believe me I tried and I tried to get the discount after I'd already paid for the cruise, no dice. So.....if you haven't paid in full yet, don't. Don't pay until you absolutely have to. It is a point to argue from. Once you've paid you are stuck. Play hard ball and say you might cancel if you are still within the time that you can do that. If you are, you can cancel and rebook, with the best military discount. I guess it all depends on where you are in the time frame and how much you've put donw to date. Good luck! After our April cruise where we didn't get the discount we should have, lots of problems with priceline airfare I will always book directly with the airlines and cruise line in the future. Research before hand and tell them the best price you found and they will price adjust to match it. Good luck!

[Drew's Wife]

We always book our cruises directly with Carnival through the Special Promotions Dept. They have always been great at finding us the best Military rates. We have just booked our third cruise and our PVP is just outstanding with her time and service that she gives. If you are not in the penalty phase on your booking, you might want to see about rebooking your cruise directly with Carnival.

[suzski]

I don't have a specific answer for you as I'm a first time cruiser. I did a lot of research regarding cruise prices through many different websites, and it seemed to me that ***** was the cheapest. I then called the PVP at Carnival who was listed on several military websites (like military.com) as a military fare expert. He was able to match the lowest price I found, get the four of us in 2 separate rooms (vice a quad) plus get us on a higher deck. Today, I noticed on ***** that the military fare for the same cruise had gone down $70 pp....I called my PVP and got the confirmation this afternoon that we got the same deal. I will definately deal with a Carnival PVP in the future (after doing my homework of course!)

 

Best of luck to you in getting the best fare!

[JimBsGirl]

I'm glad you posted this question, as I am going through the same thing! I booked w/ my TA b/c she is a friend of my mother's, and she quoted me a discount of $30 per person (me and my DH) for an OV guarantee. My husband is in the Army. That was before I found these boards, and now I have realized that this sounds like not a very big discount compared to what some other people are getting. My plan is to call a PVP tomorrow, and get the rates that they would give me, and then call my TA and tell her what I've found out, and if I'm able and it's neccessary, I'll cancel the trip through her and book through a PVP. Please let us know how your situation turns out. :)

[caribbean dreams]

Your travel agent can call the person you spoke to (if you got a name) to get the discount quoted through Carnival, the carnival rep. will change the price right on the phone while takling to your TA.

When every there is a discount availible, my TA calls Carnival on speaker phone and talked to the rep. so i can hear the exact discount given by Carnival. Our TA gave us a past guest discount and military discount, we also received a Military discount for 2 of other cabins using the friends & family discount.

 

[breenw]

I just found out that the military discount we paid for (in full) for our upcoming cruise has gone down. It is $140 cheaper per person now. Has anyone gotten an adjustment or an onboard credit of the difference after they have made final payment. We leave in 3 weeks. Would love the additional credit!!

[breenw]

Oops... I think this double posted.

[mared1]

Carnival will not give you 2 discounts for the same cruise so if you are getting a past cruisers discount, they won't also give you a military discount. So which ever is the better one is the one I would chose.

You can cancel with your TA if you won't have a fee for doing so and rebook with Carnival.

[lvtotrvl1]

I have to agree with Mared. I've never seen a cruiseline give two discounts. Most small print will say "not combineable with other discounts". You would normally have to pick which one will serve you better. When calling the PVP be sure to ask this question, or you may be wasting your time. Good Luck

[tankersbabe]

I just found out that the military discount we paid for (in full) for our upcoming cruise has gone down. It is $140 cheaper per person now. Has anyone gotten an adjustment or an onboard credit of the difference after they have made final payment. We leave in 3 weeks. Would love the additional credit!!

 

I would call and try. If the person on the other end of the phone says no, call back and get someone else. :)

 

Some folks have been able to score onboard credit, some have not.

 

Good luck!

[Cap'n Mike Sandray]

Just wondering...was the past guest promotion a past guest discount?

I know we could use both the past guest and the military discount. The military discount gave us a much better price.

 

Same exact thing here. And... I feel like our PVP tried everything he could to get us the best rate and the military rate worked out better. Still working the "past guest" side for an upgrade or two, though.

 

Good luck with it,

[ms_mom_1965]

The TA I consulted didn't think that Air Guard service would qualify for the Military Discount - it does. I called Carnival directly, and the same cruise was $500 cheaper than quoted by the TA, including insurance, and for an oceanview room instead of an inside room.

[breenw]

I think I wasn't very clear in what I was trying to say earlier about the military discount pricing being different now. When I booked the military discount we paid one price. Now, today, I noticed that the military price had gone down over $100 of what we paid when we first booked. As our cruise is in 3 weeks, we had already made our final payment several weeks ago.

 

I called my PVP and asked for shipboard credit for the difference from the original amount we paid, to the military rate that is being charged today for our same cruise. She gave it to me as shipboard credit which is great. So.... if any of you have a cruise booked that is coming up shortly, you might want to check the military rate (I went to ***** website where it is easier to check) and if it is different, go ahead and ask for the shipboard credit for the difference if you have already made final payment for your cruise.

 

Hope this makes sense and good luck!

[Sablerose]

Based on the original question I would wonder this:

 

Perhaps the larger discount quoted by Carnival is for an 8a room and the smaller discount would be for the 8d room, or vice-versa. If you paid for an 8a but you have an 8d, I would ask for military discount pricing for both the 8a room and the 8d room, just to see what'd be the better deal.

[jester614]

Hello again,

Sorry for my delay in posting any replies. I think I've got everything figured out. I called Carnival yesterday and they quoted me a price for an 8D with military discount (taxes & port fees included) of $2,190. That's the price for the wife and I together. The price that we had already paid in full for was $2,530 for the both of us. The adjusted price with military discount thatmy TA originally told me was $2370. I then went to my TA today and told her of the situation. She called Carnival to confirm the price difference and the problem was solved! It looks like we'll be saving $340 on this cruise! That's a savings of about 13.5%. Pretty good if you ask me. That will cover our tips as well as $200 in drinks and souveniers.

 

Works for me!

 

From now on, I book straight through Carnival.

 

Bye 4 now!