Carnival Monopoly on Twister/Passion Island

[CarribeanOrBust]

I tried to book the Twister/Passion Island excursion with Carrie, and was successful for about 12 hours, until she told me not to pay and that she was not going to be able to offer the excursion anymore. Anyone know why Carnival "made" Carrie stop offering the excursion to people looking to save some money and spend more time on Passion Island? Can I get to Passion Island without booking through Carnival or Carrie (e.g., can I just get a water taxi to the island on my own?)

[mom2girls]

As far as I know you can still book through Carrie. She has a package that takes you by taxi and ferry.

[CarribeanOrBust]

She has a beach package that will take you via taxi/ferry for the same price as the Twister package. If we can't get the Twister rides, which from all accounts on these forums is the best part, then it shouldn't be so much money. We basically want to go to Passion Island to relax, maybe have one (READ: many) drink, and throw the frisbee around. Any way to make this possible without paying alot of money?

[LHP]

I tried to book the Twister/Passion Island excursion with Carrie, and was successful for about 12 hours, until she told me not to pay and that she was not going to be able to offer the excursion anymore. Anyone know why Carnival "made" Carrie stop offering the excursion to people looking to save some money and spend more time on Passion Island? Can I get to Passion Island without booking through Carnival or Carrie (e.g., can I just get a water taxi to the island on my own?)

 

As I posted on the other thread, this vendor wants the "guaranteed business" that Carnival will bring him and still wants to be able to book independently. He can't have his cake and eat it too.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving "guaranteed business" in exchange for exclusive rights.

[Chigirlcruzin]

I booked the Twister online through Carnival for my Oct 30 cruise, and it was only $71, $1 more than what Carrie charges. And, from what I've read on the Coz board, the length of time on the island is the same.

[floatingaway2525]

As I posted on the other thread, this vendor wants the "guaranteed business" that Carnival will bring him and still wants to be able to book independently. He can't have his cake and eat it too.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving "guaranteed business" in exchange for exclusive rights.

 

Yup, it's done all the time in every business...:)

[Al's_gal]

As I posted on the other thread, this vendor wants the "guaranteed business" that Carnival will bring him and still wants to be able to book independently. He can't have his cake and eat it too.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving "guaranteed business" in exchange for exclusive rights.

 

This really isn't the case! I explained it in the other thread but I'll put it here too. Tour Cozumel was offering a twister excursion to Passion Island. T.C. does not own the Twister boat so they had to go through another company to use their Twister boat. "Twister company" was contacted by CCL and told either you work with us exclusively, or not at all. Twister company chose CCL, so Tour Cozumel was cut out. T.C. still offers excursions to Passion Island but not by Twister. This only applies to CCL guests though. So if you are with another cruise ship or just vacationing in Cozumel, you can still book the Twister excursion through T.C.

 

Hope I cleared that up :)

[firefly333]

This really isn't the case! I explained it in the other thread but I'll put it here too. Tour Cozumel was offering a twister excursion to Passion Island. T.C. does not own the Twister boat so they had to go through another company to use their Twister boat. "Twister company" was contacted by CCL and told either you work with us exclusively' date=' or not at all. Twister company chose CCL, so Tour Cozumel was cut out. T.C. still offers excursions to Passion Island but not by Twister. This only applies to CCL guests though. So if you are with another cruise ship or just vacationing in Cozumel, you can still book the Twister excursion through T.C.

 

Hope I cleared that up :)[/quote']

 

LHP was correct, however, if you read her statement as the vendor being Twister. Twister had to choose between Carnival and the independent and choose to give the exclusive to Carnival.

 

Yes, the middle man was cut out, the independent who was booking you with Twister, so that Carnival will make more money instead of the independent who you wanted to book thru. You havent explained why you are supporting this independent and upset that Carnival took over the booking? ... to the point you wouldnt do the Twister excursion you want because you wouldnt book it thru Carnival. You said its not over the dollars, but then why? Carnival needs to make all the side money they can as profits are lagging because of fuel, why not support Carnival?

[CarribeanOrBust]

I wanted to do it through Carrie for at least three reasons: 1) She came highly recommended through these boards, 2) she was a little bit cheaper than CCL, and 3) at least according to the CCL website, the time we could spend at Passion Island was longer if we booked independently. Now, to still get to the Island, we have to book through CCL, which is a possibility, or pay the same amount we would have to Carrie, but lose the Twister. However, if what someone previously said is true, and if we book through CCL, including the Twister, and we can stay as long as we want, then that seems to solve the problem.

[Al's_gal]

LHP was correct, however, if you read her statement as the vendor being Twister. Twister had to choose between Carnival and the independent and choose to give the exclusive to Carnival.

 

Yes, the middle man was cut out, the independent who was booking you with Twister, so that Carnival will make more money instead of the independent who you wanted to book thru. You havent explained why you are supporting this independent and upset that Carnival took over the booking? ... to the point you wouldnt do the Twister excursion you want because you wouldnt book it thru Carnival. You said its not over the dollars, but then why? Carnival needs to make all the side money they can as profits are lagging because of fuel, why not support Carnival?

 

yes, but the Twister company isn't the one who is "complaining" here, it is Tour Cozumel. So I'm pretty sure when LHP said "vendor" she was talking about Tour Cozumel.

 

I'm supporting the independent just b/c I was that impressed with the company, and specifically the woman I dealt with, Carrie. She has a very high level of professionalism, and it was a pleasure working with her. That's it. All over the port threads you will find people who have loyalty to different vendors, and it's the same here. It angers me that CCL is causing her and the company to potentially lose business. I'm not saying they are doing something that doesn't happen anyday, but when you get to know someone personally, as I have with Carrie, you hate to see them or the business suffer. And who knows, Tour Cozumel may not be affected by this at all. But just the fact that it happened does upset me.

 

LOL, and I believe I am supporting Carnival by booking cruises through them. We just sailed on the Legend, and will hopefully be sailing on the Glory in January.

[CarribeanOrBust]

I believe I am supporting Carnival by booking cruises through them. We just sailed on the Legend' date=' and will hopefully be sailing on the Glory in January.[/quote']

 

Agreed. That's why I leaned towards the independent. But oh well, that's business I guess.

 

Al's gal: loved your review on the other thread. 46 days until we're on the Legend!

[kenf333]

However, if what someone previously said is true, and if we book through CCL, including the Twister, and we can stay as long as we want, then that seems to solve the problem.

 

This is not true, I booked independant and was on the island alot longer than the cruise ship guests.

[Al's_gal]

This is not true, I booked independant and was on the island alot longer than the cruise ship guests.

 

We also booked independently and were able to chose what time we went back to the pier. I can't imagine Carnival would give that much flexibility

[CarribeanOrBust]

So, in conclusion, if I want to spend all day at Passion Island, I have to sacrifice the Twister Ride. If I want the Twister Ride, I have to abide by CCL's time constraints.

 

Is there any way to just go to Passion Island (e.g., water taxi, etc.) and enjoy my time, or do I have to choose one of the above choices?

[GayleR]

As I posted on the other thread, this vendor wants the "guaranteed business" that Carnival will bring him and still wants to be able to book independently. He can't have his cake and eat it too.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with giving "guaranteed business" in exchange for exclusive rights.

 

You are so wrong. This vendor gets NOTHING from CARNIVAL.

 

I booked the Twister online through Carnival for my Oct 30 cruise, and it was only $71, $1 more than what Carrie charges. And, from what I've read on the Coz board, the length of time on the island is the same.

 

Not true ~ going with the independent operator you have the option of staying longer on the island.

[kenf333]

So, in conclusion, if I want to spend all day at Passion Island, I have to sacrifice the Twister Ride. If I want the Twister Ride, I have to abide by CCL's time constraints.

 

Is there any way to just go to Passion Island (e.g., water taxi, etc.) and enjoy my time, or do I have to choose one of the above choices?

 

Yes carnivals twister tour is 5hrs at best, and that is from start to end.

[VolzCruiser]

Whether you like it or not it is called doing business. Twister didn't have to sell out to Carnival but looked at it's bottom line and decided which was the better of the 2 offers. If Carrie would like to increase her offer and make it competitive to Carnival I am sure Twister would be glad to reconsider. That is called doing business it happens every day all over the world. Why should Cozumel be any different.

[kenf333]

Whether you like it or not it is called doing business. Twister didn't have to sell out to Carnival but looked at it's bottom line and decided which was the better of the 2 offers. If Carrie would like to increase her offer and make it competitive to Carnival I am sure Twister would be glad to reconsider. That is called doing business it happens every day all over the world. Why should Cozumel be any different.

 

Hey dont complain when tours reach the 80-90 dollar range.

[VolzCruiser]

Hey dont complain when tours reach the 80-90 dollar range.

 

 

I normally pay more than 80- 90 per person and don't complain so I guess you won't here it from me.

[Sandgnat]

This really isn't the case! I explained it in the other thread but I'll put it here too. Tour Cozumel was offering a twister excursion to Passion Island. T.C. does not own the Twister boat so they had to go through another company to use their Twister boat. "Twister company" was contacted by CCL and told either you work with us exclusively' date=' or not at all. Twister company chose CCL, so Tour Cozumel was cut out. T.C. still offers excursions to Passion Island but not by Twister. This only applies to CCL guests though. So if you are with another cruise ship or just vacationing in Cozumel, you can still book the Twister excursion through T.C.

 

Hope I cleared that up :)[/quote']

Why tell them which ship you are on then? Do not tell if you can book if you are not on a Carnival cruise. Do not take the towel with you though.

[madge57]

I'm glad you suport the local vendors and I'm glad you support the big businesses. But then again theres nothing you can do to stop what is happening. Its part of business and it will happen time and time again. You think these big business got where they are today with out stepping on someones toes. Sure it hurts but what can youi do? Find another excursion and make it popular and guess what the same thing will happen. But going on and on about venders getting cut out is not going to help at all. Take some action if you really are sympathic to them!!

[Magic City Cruiser]

I've had such good experiences booking independently that unless I was in real danger of being late back to the ship, I wouldn't consider a ship excursion. That's just my humble opinion and experience.

Cruise lines greatly benefit the economy of all ports they visit. (course, they also destroy habitat and create problems but that's another thread)

If "Carrie" lives on Coz or locally on the mainland, whether her company "competes" with Carnival as far as tours to be booked or not, she benefits from the very fact that Carnival is there at all. The tours that she can still broker are there largely because of the cruise lines, not in spite of them. If not for the cruise line, it's doubtful that tour brokers could make any kind of a living because the remaining tours would do their own bookings if the cruise lines weren't there. So, if you find Carrie "nice" and deserving of your business...book one of her other excursions. Carnival and other cruise lines are STILL GIVING her business by bringing people to the area where she makes her living. Carnival isn't the bad guy here.

Donna

[kenf333]

I've had such good experiences booking independently that unless I was in real danger of being late back to the ship, I wouldn't consider a ship excursion. That's just my humble opinion and experience.

Cruise lines greatly benefit the economy of all ports they visit. (course, they also destroy habitat and create problems but that's another thread)

If "Carrie" lives on Coz or locally on the mainland, whether her company "competes" with Carnival as far as tours to be booked or not, she benefits from the very fact that Carnival is there at all. The tours that she can still broker are there largely because of the cruise lines, not in spite of them. If not for the cruise line, it's doubtful that tour brokers could make any kind of a living because the remaining tours would do their own bookings if the cruise lines weren't there. So, if you find Carrie "nice" and deserving of your business...book one of her other excursions. Carnival and other cruise lines are STILL GIVING her business by bringing people to the area where she makes her living. Carnival isn't the bad guy here.

Donna

 

Donna,

Im not sure where your going, but if you had ever dealt with her you would be along with the rest of the people. How many tour operators updates you, and then checks upon your return? Yes im sure she gets something, but I'm also sure its is a small anount compared to what carnival gets. Trust me if you have a carnival excursion booked watch the price, then say its not wrong.

[Heidi n Lauren]

I just booked with Carrie yesterday for the Twister excursion. It is for my cruise in December on Glory. Does this mean it will be cancelled? I haven't heard anything from her about it. My payment has gone through and I have a confirmation. :confused:

[letsgocruz1]

I've had such good experiences booking independently that unless I was in real danger of being late back to the ship, I wouldn't consider a ship excursion. That's just my humble opinion and experience.

Cruise lines greatly benefit the economy of all ports they visit. (course, they also destroy habitat and create problems but that's another thread)

If "Carrie" lives on Coz or locally on the mainland, whether her company "competes" with Carnival as far as tours to be booked or not, she benefits from the very fact that Carnival is there at all. The tours that she can still broker are there largely because of the cruise lines, not in spite of them. If not for the cruise line, it's doubtful that tour brokers could make any kind of a living because the remaining tours would do their own bookings if the cruise lines weren't there. So, if you find Carrie "nice" and deserving of your business...book one of her other excursions. Carnival and other cruise lines are STILL GIVING her business by bringing people to the area where she makes her living. Carnival isn't the bad guy here.

Donna

 

Donna, I see the point you are trying to make, but I think what concerns me is that this tour has became monopolized. Now Carnival can charge the customer what ever they want (and don't think for a minute that it won't go up!)

 

I love Carnival and I spend a lot of money with them. But, when you book w/an independent (as you well know) you get personalized service and don't have to deal with going on a tour with 200 people crammed in next to you, or wait for seats to fill up.

 

I have used Carrie and she was amazing. We had an unexpected day in Cozumel just a few weeks ago aboard the Glory (we were supposed to be in Belize but due to flooding went back to Coz instead). Lines were a mile long at the excursion desk, but all I had to do was get online and email Carrie, and within just a few minutes, we had our whole day planned. We walked off the ship and were sitting on Passion Island within 30 minutes. I highly doubt that we would have made it that fast had we booked w/Carnival. (Trying to herd a bunch of people together takes forever!!) Not to mention, she checked on us when we got home to make sure everything was okay. We were given personalized service the whole day we were there and truly given the VIP treatment.

 

And to sum it all up, I just feel like others here...we should have a choice. Period.