worth a call to my TA?

[imatarb]

Okay, I posted yesterday regarding a question I have about our reservation. We have booked the 5/9 sailing of the Victory through a local TA. Great person, have no problems whatsoever about her dealings with Carnival at all. She's been a peach.

We are booked on a guaranteed inside stateroom, and since this is my husband's first cruise (and first vacation ever), I thought it might be nice to pay the difference and get a balcony cabin. I called Carnival over the weekend, and the price per person is $849. Is it worth me calling my TA to see what she can do? We paid $549/person for our guaranteed inside cabin.

I don't really want to spend many hundreds more, if there can be a deal to be had, I don't mind spending $200-$300 more. Think this is possible?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[Tybug]

Lisa, the only thing you can do is call your TA and see what her difference in cost is. You never know, you may run across something that you can work with.

Good luck

--Tybug--

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[stlrboo]

from my calculating (which is often amiss), they quoated you $300. more pp for a balcony guarantee. That is about the going rate!
You can always take the BL and hope for an upgrade.. There is always the chance you'd end up with the 'best balcony', which includes suites! THAT would definitely be worth it.
Or, if the ship sells slowly, you may be able to do another upgrade for a minimal price which I just did on Friday! 8E to a Suite! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Give the TA a call.. they are always ready for a challenge!
Travelocity, which is always almost the same as Carnival, shows a BL Guarantee for $779. IS guarantee is $549. That's $230. pp. See what other 'promos' you may be eligible for..

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[KellyJean]

Give your TA a call and see what she can do. This close to your sailing date, if you're booked as a guarantee, she can call and find out if you've already been upgraded or not. Don't let her/him tell you they can't before they try. They can call Carnival and check.

Kelly

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[imatarb]

I just called my TA and she said she'll call and let me know.

I looked on Travelocity and ************ and they showed a balcony gty. rate of $779, and that seems reasonable to me. I might go for that, if she comes back with that or lower. (I can dream, right?)

Keeping my fingers crossed....

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[imatarb]

TA just called. Gty. OV is additional $130/person and gty. balcony is $230/person.

I told her I'd wait a bit and see what I wanted to do, and then I'd probably go for the balcony gty.

Do these prices sound reasonable? The Carnival rep told my TA this is an extremely 'soft' sailing date w/ plenty of availability.

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[tef43]

The additional $230/pp puts you at $779, the same price you saw on Travelocity.

I'd jump on this price in a heartbeat for a balcony gty.

Tom <--- Curmudgeon of the Seas

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[imatarb]

Okay, I think I will jump on it, but with so much availability I think I'll wait for a few days, and see what happens. I'm willing to take the gamble w/ the price!

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[Crazsea]

Lisa,
I am sailing on the Triumph 4/24. I saw the price last week on the balcony rooms go from $798.00 to $744.00 to $719.00 to $708.00 to $748.00 to $790.00 all within one day. I upgraded from a OV to a balcony and caught it at $719.00 plus taxes = $756.00, and I got a Veranda extended deck aft cabin. The price on the website is presently at $790.00 plus taxes.

I wish you as much luck as I had! Keep watching those prices!!!!

[Tybug]

I wouldn't wait a couple of days. If you see a price that you would be happy with... do it now. There is no guarantee that in a couple of days the gty will still be available. Chances are it will be, but will you be crushed if it's not?

--Tybug--

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[imatarb]

I won't be crushed, since I'll still be sailing out into the beautiful Caribbean w/ my hubby! I'll probably go ahead and book it anyway.

Not that I'm trying to get something for nothing, but is it really unheard of to get an upgrade from a gty. inside all the way to a balcony? I just wondered since Carnival told my TA that the sailing date was so wide open.

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[This message was edited by imatarb on 04-05-04 at 11:26 AM.]

[imatarb]

Just found a rate of $729/person on *********** for balcony gty. can I ask my TA to match that price, or how does that work? If she can, I'll probably book that price.

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[SeaUs]

unfortunatly your TA has no incentive to match anyones price. That's because you can't cancel or transfer your booking because you've made final payment. You can ask nice though. Good luck!


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[imatarb]

Drats. Oh well, I guess I'll call and book it, if the price stays $779/person as quoted to me this morning.

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[stlrboo]

I changed my category last Friday, which was only 15 days away from 'sail date'. Apparently, 4/17 and 4/24 are also 'soft' dates.
I can't imagine a 'BL' going up that much since that covers a wide range of cabins..
but then again, one never knows http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

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[celtic selke]

"but is it really unheard of to get an upgrade from a gty. inside all the way to a balcony?"
________________________________________________

No it's not. My friend got an upgrade on Carnival from an inside gty to a balcony about two weeks before her cruise. This was in the middle of March. Don't ask me which ship, because I can't remember. But it's a gamble.
Good luck with whatever you choose todo.

celtic

[KellyJean]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Not that I'm trying to get something for nothing, but is it really unheard of to get an upgrade from a gty. inside all the way to a balcony?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Last year, I had clients book a 4A guarantee with an special promotion upgrade to 5A. During the last 30 days before their sailing date, I watched the prices drop and got them an excellent upgrade - TWICE! They basically paid for a 4A and got upgraded to an 8A.

Personally, I'd hold off a little longer.

Kelly

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[imatarb]

I think I'm going to hold off a bit longer. Any feedback on how long I should wait? Within two weeks of sailing?

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

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[stlrboo]

2 to 3 weeks should be great! If they already said it was a 'soft' sailing, the chances for an increase are really slim, but it makes an upgrade via fee or otherwise much more prevalent. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

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Triumph 4/04
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USS 'Neversail' SanDiego 10/65

[deborahjo]

Be careful. Out TA told us we were being upgraded 3 weeks before our cruise. Could not tell us to where til we got to the ship. She sent us let stating that and we were not upgraded. Said the ship was sold out so we retained our original cabins. Just do not get your hopes up.

[imatarb]

I'm pretty certain that I'm going to go ahead and go for the balcony gty., but I'm going to wait until later this week or perhaps next week to upgrade and pay the difference, with the hopes that the price may drop slightly.

We'll see!

Lisa http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Monarch of the Seas - '94
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[lilly518]

Lisa, I would wait as long as possible. We actually had to cancel a cruise with Carnival on the Pride due to a family illness. 2 week before the cruise was scheduled to depart we found out we would still be able to go. We called our TA and booked saving approximately 45% off the initial cruise price. If your not dead set on the upgrade I would wait as long as possible. We checked in with our TA about 2-3 times a week. What a bargin...Enjoy your cruise whatever you do.

[imatarb]

I did go ahead and book the upgrade balcony gty. category. It was down enough to where I was happy paying that price, and if it happens to drop any further, I'll ask for a shipboard credit.

Ahhh, this is going to be great. My first balcony cabin, and my hubby's first vacation and first cruise! Not a bad way to start out, eh?

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