Carnival Cruise Club?

[jandjfun]

[quote name='mrBit']Wait a minute, I got a credit for Sensation when the Carnival price dropped and not from another vendor. Its too bad the CVC still has reps that are not consistent with policy.[/quote]
How did that work? How did they/you decide how much credit was due to you? If I understand it, I will call back and get my credit. Knowledge is a powerful weapon.:D Thanks

[mrBit]

I simply asked if there was a price drop, they responded yes and they gave me the point credit. I did not do the calculations.

Did not matter though in the end we decided to upgrade to a CAT 11... lol

[runcassrun_07]

Which ship are you cruising?

[jandjfun]

[quote name='runcassrun_07']Which ship are you cruising?[/quote]
I hope you are are talking to me.
I am going on the sensation on March 8-11. We booked a Cat. 6C. Right now with a past guest discount we would get a free upgrade to 6D.
so you pay for 6A and get a 6D. But we don't want a 6D cuz they are under the dining room and other noisy activities. We would just like OBC for the extra money we spent. Yes money, we had to "rent points".
What would you suggest?

[mrBit]

Let me know how it turns out. I really do not know why they would not give you the points back or why you were told that you could not get them back for the price drop.

[Sterling30D]

[quote name='mrBit']Let me know how it turns out. I really do not know why they would not give you the points back or why you were told that you could not get them back for the price drop.[/quote]

We were also told by CVC that they will not credit back points if the price of the cruise drops.

Just wondering though, since we get free cruise insurance would that cover the price drop?

[kkaren]

[quote name='Sterling30D']We were also told by CVC that they will not credit back points if the price of the cruise drops.

Just wondering though, since we get free cruise insurance would that cover the price drop?[/QUOTE]
I am not understanding this. We were told it was always best to book early and if the number of points needed for the cruise went down we would get them refunded back to our account. But this was only if the points on their website changed, not the price at the Carnival website or any other.

Can anyone tell me whether this is correct?

[enjoyinglife]

[quote name='kkaren']I am not understanding this. We were told it was always best to book early and if the number of points needed for the cruise went down we would get them refunded back to our account. But this was only if the points on their website changed, not the price at the Carnival website or any other.

Can anyone tell me whether this is correct?[/QUOTE]

That is the exact thing I was told. I called on several different occasions to say that Carnivals price had gone down, and was told that it is if their (CVC's)price went down. The respresentative did call Carnival to see if the CVC points would go down, but was told no. I made several other calls to see if I could get some of my points back, but was always told no, even if Carnival had reduced their price. After awhile, I faced the fact that I may as well stop calling, because it was pointless. I do check their website, but have never once seen a reduction.

[runcassrun_07]

[quote name='Sterling30D']Anyone a member? My wife and I joined the cruise club on our last cruise a few weeks ago on the Pride. It was our fifth cruise and since we've taken a cruise every year for the past five years we figured it wouldn't be a problem for us to take atleast one cruise per year for the next five years. We basically figured we'd pay for the cruises in advance and get the extra benifits that go along with club membership like VIP status. Just wondered if anyone else has joined this club and if so what benefits should I be aware of besides the VIP status?

BTW, one of the BIG reasons we joined was because of the two hour wait to embark. Anyone who joined us on the Pride on January 7th knows what I mean. We waited in line for two hours just to get on the ship while VIP members were being escorted on. I asked how to get VIP status and was told either take 10 cruises or join the Cruise Club. The rest of the cruise was great. There was plenty to do on ship during sea days. We ended up playing bingo, playing in the casino and attending the art auction. We even ended up purchasing a few pieces of art that really caught our eye. The only thing that could have gone better was embarkation. Now debarkation was GREAT as we were able to take advantage of our Cruise Club VIP status and were one of the first off of the ship.[/quote]


Hi Sterling:

We became members of the Carnival Vacation Club (CVC) on the pride too, 2004. The first cruise as a member was wonderful but as we continued cruising many difficulties took place, especially if the CVC staff was not on board, with benefits your given as a member. But they have improved a bunch probably because I constantly contacting them and wrote letters about positive and alot of negative thoughts experienced on last cruise. The main problem is CVC is only on the Conquest, Glory, Spirit, Pride, Valor, Miracle and the Triumph Feb.3 and Fantasy Feb. If staff on ship you get signs as VIP on your door, two free drink/snack(shrimp) parties, embarkation/debarkation, nice upgrading(at least two levels), treat in room, CVC card, etc. If not on ship no VIP sign, CVC card, two parties or debarkation as nice. I was told by CVC they should be on all ships soon, this year?. We use our points on cruises when we find it cheaper than as cash. The only problem is if you need more points they are $.30 each not $.17 as when you joined. So when we need more points we will just join again after 5 years as members. Other benefits include stay at a resort and price off on flight. If you are not a platinum member yet I think its great you joined. It won't be long before you will be a platinum member and that is great. Any other questions let me know!

[runcassrun_07]

Hi Jandjfun:

I'm still learning how to use this threading and improving the more I practice. I was wondering if you saw my last reply all about Carnival Vacation Club?
So since you are on the Sensation in March I doubt CVC staff will be on the ship. But hope for the best, their are two other ships for sure which will have CVC. What does OBC mean? You have choice of either upgrade from 6A-6D or need to pick a certain room for that price. I suggest upgrade guarentee with suggestion not near dinning room. Before each cruise I write a letter asking for certain requests. For us it usually works. Yes renting points is to expensive. That is one thing which helps CVC.

[Wennfred]

[quote name='number1cruiser']Wennfred, I wonder if who is working at the VC are the ones who set up the parties or if it comes from the corp office? [/quote]

The Parties are set up by each CVC onboard director. I had one named Ali on the Pride and Gary Wilson on the Pride on another sail date. On the Valor we had Rebecca. They all compete between all of the CVC ships to offer the best VIP experience, I guess when sales are down on one ship, they switch them out to train the staff on another ship. Do you remember the name of the CVC director there when you went?

Fred

[jandjfun]

[quote name='runcassrun_07']Hi Jandjfun:

I'm still learning how to use this threading and improving the more I practice. I was wondering if you saw my last reply all about Carnival Vacation Club?
So since you are on the Sensation in March I doubt CVC staff will be on the ship. But hope for the best, their are two other ships for sure which will have CVC. What does OBC mean? You have choice of either upgrade from 6A-6D or need to pick a certain room for that price. I suggest upgrade guarentee with suggestion not near dinning room. Before each cruise I write a letter asking for certain requests. For us it usually works. Yes renting points is to expensive. That is one thing which helps CVC.[/quote]
Hi, OBC means On Board Credit.
Thanks for your reply. I would LOVE it if CVC was on the sensation. Although I really don't think they will be because it's a short cruise) I would really like to speak to someone face to face about this program. I still believe we got a good deal. We will have taken 2 cruises, and 3 weeks of resort stays and we only paid 1700.00 each. I think that's pretty cheap for 5 vacations! But I still want a few questions answered.

[Wennfred]

[quote name='june1300']
though the other question have you found that if the price of the crusie drops do you get a point credit???[/quote]

Yes, I have read on here that others got Credit back due to a price drop. I have never asked for any because Im not a Price Checker with points, If I paid with Cash yes I would check for a price drop.



[quote name='june1300']
I was a bit frustrated with the parties we were invited to as we had the 6:15 ish dinner and our main meal hadent even come when the parties start at 7:00

June[/quote]

Yep, so true of the time frame. I now book Late seating, 8:30pm because we are always either full for the 5:45 - 6:15 time block or its always Rush Rush after a port visit.

[Wennfred]

[quote name='jandjfun'] We will have taken 2 cruises, and 3 weeks of resort stays and we only paid 1700.00 each.[/quote]

We squeezed 4 Cruises out of them, All Cat. 6a with French doors, these were all upgrades from a Cat. 1a of Cat 4a. Four Cruises would of ran us close to 12,000. we only paid 5,000 for the silver membership and will still have the 3 Land Shore Cert. Mine expires in 2010.

Fred

[Wennfred]

[quote name='KcFanNindy']if i may ask what is hte cost of the lowest package?[/quote]


I think the Bronze Package is 3495.00

[jandjfun]

[quote name='Wennfred']We squeezed 4 Cruises out of them, All Cat. 6a with French doors, these were all upgrades from a Cat. 1a of Cat 4a. Four Cruises would of ran us close to 12,000. we only paid 5,000 for the silver membership and will still have the 3 Land Shore Cert. Mine expires in 2010.

Fred[/quote]
Hi. Yea, We bought the bronze package. Our problem is that we are really restricted as to when we can go on vacation and since we have to fly to cruise anywhere we don't feel the shorter cruises are worth it. So we booked a 7 day, and now the 3 day coming up. But we only booked the 3 day because we already had a 7 day booked on RCCL right after this one. So the airfare was no more if we just added a few days onto the trip.
But like I said. 1700.00 for 5 vacations is pretty good we feel. Plus we really love the VIP check in.:)

[mkshea]

We received a points credit when there was a decrease in the price for our next cruise. I just called and told them that I noticed there was a decrease and wondered if I could get my price adjusted. They said no problem, put me on hold for a while, and then came back and said that it was adjusted and told the number of points that was adjusted. It was a fairly easy process.

We purchased the Silver package and will be able to get three 7 night cruises out of it, plus the three Resort Vouchers (which we have not used). We were also given a $100 OBC for joining.

CVC was not on our last cruise so we didn't get to attend the parties. Did I understand a previous post correctly? Is CVC going to be on the Triumph? We sail on the Triumph in May.

[runcassrun_07]

[quote name='jandjfun']Hi, OBC means On Board Credit.
Thanks for your reply. I would LOVE it if CVC was on the sensation. Although I really don't think they will be because it's a short cruise) I would really like to speak to someone face to face about this program. I still believe we got a good deal. We will have taken 2 cruises, and 3 weeks of resort stays and we only paid 1700.00 each. I think that's pretty cheap for 5 vacations! But I still want a few questions answered.[/quote]

Janet I have been through many situations dealing with CVC and would be glad to help you the best I'm able to. I'll be on Victory 4-29 and hope CVC will be onboard, you never know. I call CVC a couple times each week I think and keep learning more. In our state, Ohio, you don't get e-mail on specials or anything concerning CVC which I hate. I already complained about that. On the Miracle in October CVC gave us a suite with the price of balcony and that happened a couple years ago too. Their is a few positive things about CVC.

Cassandra

[june1300]

[quote name='runcassrun_07']Janet I have been through many situations dealing with CVC and would be glad to help you the best I'm able to. I'll be on Victory 4-29 and hope CVC will be onboard, you never know. I call CVC a couple times each week I think and keep learning more. In our state, Ohio, you don't get e-mail on specials or anything concerning CVC which I hate. I already complained about that. On the Miracle in October CVC gave us a suite with the price of balcony and that happened a couple years ago too. Their is a few positive things about CVC.

Cassandra[/QUOTE]

in illinois we dont get the emails either...
I am hoping to book liberty for june 23 perhaps they will be nice....last year when we took our cruise on miracle we paid cash because we got a better deal, the cvc manager on that ship was shocked that we paid cash.
Liberty looks to be the pricy one for that week...but its the only week we can be without kids so beggars cant be choosers

[Sterling30D]

[quote name='runcassrun_07']Janet I have been through many situations dealing with CVC and would be glad to help you the best I'm able to. I'll be on Victory 4-29 and hope CVC will be onboard, you never know. I call CVC a couple times each week I think and keep learning more. In our state, Ohio, you don't get e-mail on specials or anything concerning CVC which I hate. I already complained about that. On the Miracle in October CVC gave us a suite with the price of balcony and that happened a couple years ago too. Their is a few positive things about CVC.

Cassandra[/quote]

Cassandra,

How do you normally book? We were asked by CVC if we wanted guarentee rooms or just guarentee on ship. We figured we need to book it for guarentee on ship in order to get upgraqded but we ended up getting an inside cabin. Is there a special way to book so that you increase your chances of being upgraded?

We're last minute bookers. Usually we decide about a week before a cruise to book it. Would we have a better chance at an upgrade if we booked farther out?

[Wennfred]

[quote name='Sterling30D'] Is there a special way to book so that you increase your chances of being upgraded?
[/quote]


There is no way or secret or formula when it comes to upgrades. All I know is that when I book my Cat.1a and Cat.4a, I have always been upgraded to 6a with french doors. Even 2 couples that booked 4a Guarantee that we had Cross Referenced our Booking numbers together all got the Cat. 6a staterooms side by side to each other. Im not sure if being a CVC Member has something to do with it, or it might be just luck.

Fred

[jandjfun]

[quote name='runcassrun_07']Janet I have been through many situations dealing with CVC and would be glad to help you the best I'm able to. I'll be on Victory 4-29 and hope CVC will be onboard, you never know. I call CVC a couple times each week I think and keep learning more. In our state, Ohio, you don't get e-mail on specials or anything concerning CVC which I hate. I already complained about that. On the Miracle in October CVC gave us a suite with the price of balcony and that happened a couple years ago too. Their is a few positive things about CVC.

Cassandra[/quote]

We don't get it in Wa. or AZ state either. If you look at the very small print on the contract, it mentions all the states that are excluded from the email or mailings. It is most of the states. But I think if they can't mail them to us, why not post on their websites. I don't see any real specials on there at all.
I also feel that they should honor the sale prices like carnival does. If it's already paid in full, then OBC is in order. Even during the 12 days of christmas, I couldn't get a reduction of cost because I already booked the cruise before that. When I said I would cancel and rebook, they said I can't do that. The computer would recognise me as a previously booked guest and would kick the sale price out. Carnival was giving OBC, or reductions in this situation.
If they are going to sell under the Carnival name, they should act like Carnival and have the same rules about booking, and price reductions etc.

I do not intend to renew this relationship with them once my 5 years are up, but I am wondering how they do renewals. Do you just buy another package, or is there a discount or extra perks involved.
Thanks for the offer of help. I appreciate it and you.:)

[Grits53]

We never listened to their spiel. Can you tell me what it costs to join the club?

[Grits53]

[quote name='Wennfred']I think the Bronze Package is 3495.00[/QUOTE]
Is that price per person or per couple? Is it paid up front or in payments?

[Wennfred]

The Bronze package is 3495.00 it has a limited amount of points, Silver Package is 20,000 points at 5,000.00 etc.

You used the Points to purchase cruises on their website.

Fred