Carnival Vacation Club warning.

[Dubsolute]

I'd like to thank you all for this great info. I wasn't going to read this thread at first because I usually don't get involved in these sales schemes. But the info about the rewards cards has been great. I have a Sea Miles card and was immediately turned off with the points system. Like someone else, though, I was determined to get something out of it. I usually shop around for the best deal on anything I buy but this was one of those times I didn't. Now I'll look around for a better card and get rid of this thing as soon as possible. Thanks!!

[Uncle Doug]

We are also CVC members and had mixed results. I agree that the cruise points offered are over valued and most can get a better deal using a PVP.

Here is a short summary of our package and cruises & vacations taken. This was the $4900 package.

 

The buy one get one free air fair was so restrictive we elected not to use. We only book non stop flights and prefer to select our own routes. We also had problems just getting the certificate activated.

 

We have just completed using all our cruise points for the following cruises.

 

7 day Alaska cruise on Princess cruise line with an inside cabin, were bumped up a couple of decks but still inside. There was a $200 OBC included but this was due to a past guest promotion that noted in a mailing that we faxed to the CVC agent. No VIP check in or other CVC benefits due to other cruise line.

 

8 day Eastern Caribiean on Carnival Liberty with an inside cabin bumped up to a 4E. Used the VIP check in but had a hard time getting the VIP disembarkation luggage tags. No other CVC benefits, not even the strawberries.

 

5 day Carnival Elation cruise from San Diego. This was out Platinum cruise so the VIP embarkation was a moot point by then. They did put a CVC sticker on my S&S card, not that it had any clout. This was also an inside cabin bumped up to a 4C. We did get the strawberries!

 

Used first of the $299 certificates to stay at Westgate resorts in the Smokey Mountains (Pigeon Forge) during peak season. Very nice resort.

 

Used second $299 certificate to stay on water front (Table Rock Lake) condo at another Westgate resort in Branson, MO. This was off peak season but a very nice resort.

 

We are agressively looking for a place to use the last certificate.

 

We also booked a couple of other CCL cruises while CVC members but other than VIP embarkation/disembarkation we received no other CVC benefits.

 

As a whole the CVC plan is over rated but you can make the best of what is still available. They did call and offered to buy back the last certificate for a cruise discount. I say buy back but in fact they wanted me to pay for the exchange. I said no thanks I would use the resort certificate.

 

If nothing else the CVC did get me through to the Platinum level.

[luv2cruze]

We still have not heard back from any truly satisfied CVC members. Everyone is consistant with their results, which we all can agree are lackluster. The premium price we paid for what we recieved was deceitful. If anything all of the cruisers out there will get an education with these threads. The mere fact that Sea Miles is associated with CVC should have made me think harder before signing. Live and learn as they say and as I have come to find out your never too old to stop learning.

[klfrodo]

There is a poster on here named "Wennefred"

 

They have been very happy with CVC and all the services they have received.

Now they were much more knowlegable that I was when I bought into it. They also live close to the ports and never booked anything above an inside cabin and cruise during the "Off" season. I believe they were able to get 5 or 6 cruises out of their Silver package.

They were also very happy with their 'Resort" packages.

 

So, not ALL people were unhappy,,,,just 90% of us :confused:

[luv2cruze]

I have come to notice that some are easy to please and can find a bright light even on a dark day. I truly have no problem with that. The fact that the majority of people who have signed up with CVC or are Sea Miles card holders said volumes here. They all for the most part agree that anything that involves either of the two to stay away from. With that said, buyer's beware. Wishing all of you a Happy New Year.

[luv2cruze]

My wife told me that she contacted Carnival Customer service and they assured her that they would look into it as they do not want to alienate any customers. She was informed that they would get back her by Friday the 28th or Monday the latest. I will keep you all abresst of the results.

[Wennfred]

We are agressively looking for a place to use the last certificate.

 

We haven't used ours, we are thinking Orlando Fl and Hawaii, probably in 08

 

 

Fred

[luv2cruze]

Depending on the package and the year you purchased it has quite a bit to do with it. When the CVC rep told me that it decreases in value the longer I have it I decided to move right away and book whatever I could. If not I was afraid I would end up sailing behind a ship towed in a dinghy, that is if CVC had it's way. Smooth sailing and good luck.

[kaperino]

We opted out of the ICE after and uneasy feeling when we signed up. w we were in the proper time limit and we were never charged but for two years have rad nothing good about it. We got a Sea Miles card the same time and use it faithfully to gain points as we love to cruise. I hope we have no trouble redeeming the points.

[CorvetteLady]

We joined the CVC on our 2005 Conquest cruise. We got the special disembarkation and that was great. When we got home I started checking the cruise prices and CVC was not cheaper, so I called and was told that the points I had paid 25 cents for were redeemed at 17 1/2 cents. The very sweet girl that had sold us CVC had not told us that, if she had we would not have bought. Fortunately we were within the 3 day cancellation period, so we got our money back.

 

They asked me to send back all the stuff, notebooks, folders, etc. I said sure if you pay the postage. All that stuff was heavy. Somehow they thought I should pay to ship it back to them.

 

I am glad to see we made the right choice.

[luv2cruze]

I recieved an e-mail from Carnival telling me to call them Monday. I will keep everyone up to speed on what transpires...

[cathyoo]

good luck and I can't wait to hear how it turns out.

[Uncle Doug]

We haven't used ours, we are thinking Orlando Fl and Hawaii, probably in 08

 

 

Fred

 

 

There should be plenty of availability in the Orlando area. The certificates are good for time share resorts of which there are plenty in that area. We have had good luck with the Westgate resorts of which there are at least 3 in that area. Even though these are time share resorts there has been no pressure to tour their resort. We did at one location just to pick up some extra show tickets. Just remember to say NO.

 

Area's of the county that typically have a large number of time shares will be the easiest to get into. Las Vegas seems always have availability.

 

Hawaii will be much harder to get into unless its the off season. Even with our time share resort (I guess we were suckers again) it is difficult to exchange into Hawaii.

 

Make sure when you are seaching online that you are in the certificate exchange mode. It will require you to enter the certificate number first. It will bring up the resorts that will honor the $299 certificates.

[luv2cruze]

We haven't used a resort voucher yet. I can't wait to see what the CVC does to us with that. But after the experience we have just had I will keep my expetations very low. Having that attitude maybe something good will come out of it. Thanks for the information.

[Uncle Doug]

We haven't used a resort voucher yet. I can't wait to see what the CVC does to us with that. But after the experience we have just had I will keep my expetations very low. Having that attitude maybe something good will come out of it. Thanks for the information.

 

I would not wait until the last year of your contract. My contract was a 3 year with a 2 year option for another $199. As 2008 is the last year of my original contract I want to be all used up (points and resorts) without having to put up more money.

[jennknee]

We are currently using the American Express Blue Sky card and have had wonderful success. First, they gave me 30,000 points (equal to $400.00) for signing up.

 

LHP - I have been looking into this Blue Sky card a little...was the 30,000 point bonus you mentioned simply a promotion taking place when you applied? Was it a one time deal or is that something that everyone gets... such as when they make their first purchase. I am not really seeing any other info on this particular bonus so I was just wondering. Thanks for any input!

[wblp]

We haven't used a resort voucher yet. I can't wait to see what the CVC does to us with that. But after the experience we have just had I will keep my expetations very low. Having that attitude maybe something good will come out of it. Thanks for the information.

 

I found top notch resorts to use my two resort certificates. They cost $250 and $400 per night so they are great bargains at $299/week. I stayed at one already and the other is booked. I'm very satisfied with the first stay. There was no obligation or pressure to attend any timeshare pitch. The resort that I've booked for next year is one that I've actually toured before so I know it is absolutely first class. Searching for a great resort on their website is a cumbersome process but if you take the time and keep looking there are some good ones out there. The inventory is constantly changing so start checking regularly. The resort stays are what made my CVC membership a real deal otherwise CVC is not cheap if you are only using the cruise part of your membership. The VIP embark/debark is valuable to me because I squeeze a lot into my vacation time, but not everyone sees the value in that benefit.

[LHP]

LHP - I have been looking into this Blue Sky card a little...was the 30,000 point bonus you mentioned simply a promotion taking place when you applied? Was it a one time deal or is that something that everyone gets... such as when they make their first purchase. I am not really seeing any other info on this particular bonus so I was just wondering. Thanks for any input!

 

I don't know if it was a one time thing or not. It was just an offer that we got in the mail. As luck would have it, we were looking to replace our Carnival Rewards card and liked what we read.

 

Usually, we just throw them away because we get more credit card offers every day than Cozumel has sand. (actually we shred them) I am glad we did not throw this one away, because it has worked out very well.

[LHP]

I found top notch resorts to use my two resort certificates. They cost $250 and $400 per night so they are great bargains at $299/week. I stayed at one already and the other is booked. I'm very satisfied with the first stay. There was no obligation or pressure to attend any timeshare pitch. The resort that I've booked for next year is one that I've actually toured before so I know it is absolutely first class. Searching for a great resort on their website is a cumbersome process but if you take the time and keep looking there are some good ones out there. The inventory is constantly changing so start checking regularly. The resort stays are what made my CVC membership a real deal otherwise CVC is not cheap if you are only using the cruise part of your membership. The VIP embark/debark is valuable to me because I squeeze a lot into my vacation time, but not everyone sees the value in that benefit.

 

 

This has been the latest complaint that I have read from CVC members on other boards. Some resorts do now require that you sit through a 1 1/2 hour presentation for their timeshare. I don't believe that was part of the original agreement. Anyone off the streets can get that offer without having to make the initial investment. Several folks have used the CVC VIP Check In while building cruises until they reached Platinum level ...then they get that automatically. It was worked well for them.

[luv2cruze]

(They cost $250 and $400 per night so they are great bargains at $299/week.)

 

If you could, let me know what were the two resorts that you stayed at. I would like to see them in the Hotels and Resorts book. Thank you.

[terri910]

If you could, let me know what were the two resorts that you stayed at. I would like to see them in the Hotels and Resorts book. Thank you.

I don't know where wblp stayed, but my husband and I stayed at the Reef Club Cozumel (now apparently the Wyndham Reef Club Cozumel)....and we didn't use the $299 coupon, we used the FREE week's stay coupon, so it was truly a bargain for us (not only that, while we were there we won a raffle for another free week's stay at the resort to be used within a year, but that is not something anyone could expect). Here is the website for the resort:

http://wyndhamcozumel.com/

 

I've mostly stayed out of this thread. My husband and I joined CVC, and our experience has been positive: it was not misrepresented to us by any salespeople, and it has worked exactly as we understood it to.

 

We have learned that not everyone seems to have had the same positive experience, and those that have not have, in the past, become a little...."testy"....with those that share their positive experience. Since CVC was no longer going to be associated with Carnival, and not be presented on any of their ships, etc., I figured the entire issue would die a natural death. No such luck! *L*

 

But since you asked someone else about their resort stay, I thought I would share ours with you. We can highly recommend the Reef Club Cozumel if you want to use your coupon. The coupon is only for the hotel stay, however, and not the all-inclusive, which would be extra. In our opinion, it was still a bargain....and the best vacation we have ever had outside of cruises. You know how they say cruise ships are like floating resorts? Well, we described this resort as a landlocked cruiseship! *L* But, it was landlocked in our favorite port!

[luv2cruze]

Thank you for your help as well. I understand that not everyone has had a disappointing experience with CVC, just the majority. So yes you are fortunate. And naturally there are some people that can never be satisfied no matter what they have. I know that I have not been testy nor have I interpreted anyone else being testy on this particular post.

 

I had written everything that Dave (the CVC rep) told me that day and the day after before I signed. I asked him each question not once but twice and recieved the same answers both times. Unforunately my attorney was not on board to advise me otherwise.

 

 

So, I will take this hit and I will continue to cruise and go away on vacations as long as I can afford it. My post is and was for informational purposes and not a cry in my beer story. The bottom line is this ,Carnival agreed to have this vendor on board there ships selling this Vacation Plan. My feelings are that they should have had the good business sense to see if it was indeed a perk as opposed to a disappointment. I guess now we know that Carnival realized something?

 

My answer from Carnival if it ever comes back will determine whether or not I will sail with Carnival ever again. In a time of a troubled economy one would think that bad customer relations would be avoided. Let's see.... Happy New Year everyone.......

[wblp]

 

If you could, let me know what were the two resorts that you stayed at. I would like to see them in the Hotels and Resorts book. Thank you.

 

I ski and golf so I limited my searches to resorts in those areas. I got stays in Park City and Whistler, at Westgate and Club Intrawest. If you don’t ski, both chains have resorts in other areas that often show up on the CVC website, e.g. Intrawest in Palm Desert and Sandestin. Some of the more expensive golf area resorts that I’ve often seen listed are Wigwam Resort & Spa in Arizona and Sheraton Broadway Plantation in Myrtle Beach. If you’re looking for a European resort, they typically only show up for bookings 1-2 months out.

 

In the resort certificate itself, terms and conditions #16 says you don't have to attend a timeshare presentation. No one bothered me at Westgate at all.

[luv2cruze]

We do frequent Myrtle Beach, at least once a year. I never considered using a voucher there, so I owe you a big thanks. Thank you for sharing the information. Because as you have read so far I always thought the scam was the resort vouchers, but instead they are the deal not the cruises.

[luv2cruze]

Keeping you all posted on Carnival's response that they promised. On Friday the 28th they told my wife they would contact her by the latest on the 31st of December. Should I call them and remind them that it's January 2nd. ?