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Pvp?


lola4795

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First of all, I don't really know what PVP stands for, but I'm assuming it is some sort of Carnival representative who will help with cruise bookings. Someone can start out by helping me with that definition! :)

 

Is there an advantage to using a PVP? I've been planning on just booking our cruise online. Is there a reason not to do this?

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First of all, I don't really know what PVP stands for, but I'm assuming it is some sort of Carnival representative who will help with cruise bookings. Someone can start out by helping me with that definition! :)

 

Is there an advantage to using a PVP? I've been planning on just booking our cruise online. Is there a reason not to do this?

 

PVP = Personal Vacation Planner.

We have booked 8 previous cruises all with a Travel Agent. About a month ago I booked a back-to-back through a Carnival PVP. There isn't much difference

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Some people say their PVPs are awesome, calling them about special deals and things like that. I've never had a PVP do anything for me, except book my cruise when I call. Still, I like having them book it, just because I'm afraid I'll mess it up, doing it online. I wouldn't want to use a TA (travel agent--doesn't work for Carnival), because you then have no control of your booking. Any changes or matching to lower prices has to go through the TA, which takes longer to get done or might not get done (with bad TAs).

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have used both travel agents and PVP. I prefer to deal with the cruise line directly because as the previous poster said I dont lose control and have direct access to my booking. If you use a travel agent you lose that ability and have to go through the travel agent. I am retired so if I spend a 1/2 hour on the phone, that is ok with me. If you get a travel agent that is timid you might get weaker results that you would otherwise.

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Our PVP is great. She does our entire family, parents, brother, us, family friends. She knows the type and location of the rooms we like, she will call with special deals and remembers everything about us (OK probably a screen shot with quick tips) THe service she provides is awesome. We booked one cruise thru a group and it was awful the steps you had to go thru in order to speak to someone at carnival instead of the travel agent. Never again. She actually picked our upcoming cruise in Jan. We told her what we were thinking about and had a couple picked but she found one that was even better and cheaper!!

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One BIG misconception in these boards is that the agents that answer the 1-800-Carnival number are PVP's. They are NOT.

 

The agents that answer the phone at the 800-Carnival number are just that: reservations agents. They answer inbound calls, answer questions, make reservations and move on to the next guest. They may provide their extension number, but their goal is NOT to creat a relationship with the guest.

 

PVP's (or Personal Vacation Planners) can be reached by calling a different line (1-800-819-3902). Their goal IS to create a relationship with the guest. (and as you can read here, many Cruise Critic members have had the same PVP for years). Once a PVP starts working with a guest, they are their main contact for as long as they work there (or the guest decides to go somewhere else). The PVP "owns" the guest's profile. You may not know it, but part of the PVP's job is to research their guests (in fact, when the PVP department started, their department was called Consumer Research), and the goal was to get to know their guests to the best of their ability. Creating that relationship means that the guest will keep coming back.

 

If you find a good PVP, you truly hit the Carnival lottery. A good PVP can be a great asset helping you find a great cruise, lower pricing (and fare codes) that may be hard to find, and since they work directly for Carnival, they can provide a wealth of information about anything that's related to this specific cruise line. Best of all, it eliminates the middle man (TA) so you have full control of your reservations.

 

We've been working with the same PVP for MANY years and his service is absolutely amazing. All of our information is already stored in his database (preferences, special rates we qualify for, ID's, verification, names, dates of birth, etc), so when I'm ready to book a cruise, all he needs is a credit card number. Literally, I'm done booking my cruise in 5 minutes.

 

Even after 13 Carnival cruises (and thinking that I know everything there is to know about Carnival) my PVP is still a great source of suggestions, facts, and information about our cruises. He provides professional, courteous and friendly service. He's been SO good, that he has joined us on embarkation day at the Port of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Port Canaveral to have lunch with us, followed by a personalized ship tour. I wonder what TA has done that for their passengers!

 

I always say that our vacation begins the moment we make that initial phone call to our PVP.

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If using a TA have to wait and get your TA to contact Carnival and that can take time.

 

We are using a TA for our upcoming NCL cruise (contrary to Carnival where rates and fare codes are the same no matter where you book, it does pay to shop around different TA's on NCL since rates vary wildly from one TA to another).

 

We are getting a KILLER rate on our cruise, but we are paying for it with very poor customer service, calls that go unanswered for days, errors, and the feeling of being helpless.

 

Recently, we saw a $50 price drop on the TA's website, so I automatically emailed them to get the price reduction. 3 days later, I got an email with the confirmation....but the TA released my cabin in the process! :eek: I saw my cabin back in the website, so I contacted my TA to grab the cabin ASAP. All I could do was watch because NCL wouldn't assign the cabin unless it was done through my TA.

 

2 days later the TA FINALLY replied saying that she was sorry for the error, and that unfortunately the cabin had already been snagged by someone else :mad: So she could assign a different one or leave the cabin TBA. That would be OK except for the fact that we had booked multiple cabins together for this SPECIFIC cruise, sail date, and location 6 months ago, and in a few minutes, the TA messed it all up.

 

So, I got a great price, a price drop, but I don't have the cabins that I booked, one cabin is up in the air and will probably end up away from the rest of the group, and my TA's best turnaround time so far has been 2 days...

 

You truly get what you pay for....:(

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We are using a TA for our upcoming NCL cruise (contrary to Carnival where rates and fare codes are the same no matter where you book, it does pay to shop around different TA's on NCL since rates vary wildly from one TA to another).

 

We are getting a KILLER rate on our cruise, but we are paying for it with very poor customer service, calls that go unanswered for days, errors, and the feeling of being helpless.

 

Recently, we saw a $50 price drop on the TA's website, so I automatically emailed them to get the price reduction. 3 days later, I got an email with the confirmation....but the TA released my cabin in the process! :eek: I saw my cabin back in the website, so I contacted my TA to grab the cabin ASAP. All I could do was watch because NCL wouldn't assign the cabin unless it was done through my TA.

 

2 days later the TA FINALLY replied saying that she was sorry for the error, and that unfortunately the cabin had already been snagged by someone else :mad: So she could assign a different one or leave the cabin TBA. That would be OK except for the fact that we had booked multiple cabins together for this SPECIFIC cruise, sail date, and location 6 months ago, and in a few minutes, the TA messed it all up.

 

So, I got a great price, a price drop, but I don't have the cabins that I booked, one cabin is up in the air and will probably end up away from the rest of the group, and my TA's best turnaround time so far has been 2 days...

 

You truly get what you pay for....:(

 

Wow that is awful. TA we started using after our pvp suddenly left Carnival was good but had a habit of disappearing hear and there and always close to sailing when we had a chance for a nice upgrade or obc and felt so frustrated.

 

As a result decided t ogo back to a pvp sacraficing the obc from the TA.

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first of all, i don't really know what pvp stands for, but i'm assuming it is some sort of carnival representative who will help with cruise bookings. Someone can start out by helping me with that definition! :)

 

is there an advantage to using a pvp? I've been planning on just booking our cruise online. Is there a reason not to do this?

hi--pvp--stands for----personal vacation planner---and yes--we always book thru him---50 plus cruises--and found him very reliable. They know more then an average travel agent---or by booking by yourself--on line----i.e.--special discounts--and exactly where the cabin you like is located----so try them--you will like them---the joyces----irene and john

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I always say that our vacation begins the moment we make that initial phone call to our PVP.

 

It is great that you have a good one. I agree, you have hit the lottery.

 

About five years ago we had a PVP for three cruises who was also great. Sadly, he left Carnival and we have been striking out ever since. We have gone through three, and each has been worse than the last. We're sailing November 10th on the Valor, and we're marketing the cruise to other family members who might want to join us. With a good PVP in the past, this has resulted in a group sailing as large as 30 people or more. In this case, the PVP we've listed on our flyer does not bother to return emails or telephone calls. Amazing that someone who I assume is commission based is so uninterested in getting business.

 

Too bad we can't share the good ones here.

 

Kevin C

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It is great that you have a good one. I agree, you have hit the lottery.

 

About five years ago we had a PVP for three cruises who was also great. Sadly, he left Carnival and we have been striking out ever since. We have gone through three, and each has been worse than the last. We're sailing November 10th on the Valor, and we're marketing the cruise to other family members who might want to join us. With a good PVP in the past, this has resulted in a group sailing as large as 30 people or more. In this case, the PVP we've listed on our flyer does not bother to return emails or telephone calls. Amazing that someone who I assume is commission based is so uninterested in getting business.

 

Too bad we can't share the good ones here.

 

Kevin C

 

Actually pvp's are not on commission. They get a bonus once they sell some number of cabins.

 

Incredible though that someone who is too lazy to return calls or emails can stay.

 

Suggest you ask around for a competent one.

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One BIG misconception in these boards is that the agents that answer the 1-800-Carnival number are PVP's. They are NOT.

 

The agents that answer the phone at the 800-Carnival number are just that: reservations agents. They answer inbound calls, answer questions, make reservations and move on to the next guest. They may provide their extension number, but their goal is NOT to creat a relationship with the guest.

 

PVP's (or Personal Vacation Planners) can be reached by calling a different line (1-800-819-3902). Their goal IS to create a relationship with the guest. (and as you can read here, many Cruise Critic members have had the same PVP for years). Once a PVP starts working with a guest, they are their main contact for as long as they work there (or the guest decides to go somewhere else). The PVP "owns" the guest's profile. You may not know it, but part of the PVP's job is to research their guests (in fact, when the PVP department started, their department was called Consumer Research), and the goal was to get to know their guests to the best of their ability. Creating that relationship means that the guest will keep coming back.

 

If you find a good PVP, you truly hit the Carnival lottery. A good PVP can be a great asset helping you find a great cruise, lower pricing (and fare codes) that may be hard to find, and since they work directly for Carnival, they can provide a wealth of information about anything that's related to this specific cruise line. Best of all, it eliminates the middle man (TA) so you have full control of your reservations.

 

We've been working with the same PVP for MANY years and his service is absolutely amazing. All of our information is already stored in his database (preferences, special rates we qualify for, ID's, verification, names, dates of birth, etc), so when I'm ready to book a cruise, all he needs is a credit card number. Literally, I'm done booking my cruise in 5 minutes.

 

Even after 13 Carnival cruises (and thinking that I know everything there is to know about Carnival) my PVP is still a great source of suggestions, facts, and information about our cruises. He provides professional, courteous and friendly service. He's been SO good, that he has joined us on embarkation day at the Port of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Port Canaveral to have lunch with us, followed by a personalized ship tour. I wonder what TA has done that for their passengers!

 

I always say that our vacation begins the moment we make that initial phone call to our PVP.

 

Great post~! Agree 100%~ I have an amazing PVP~ she has gone above and beyond to help us out. She always get us lower fares than I can find online~ she gets my FCC's applied in 2 minutes, she even got one applied well after final payment~ I feel that I did hit the Carnival lottery~ wish I could give her name here~

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First of all, I don't really know what PVP stands for, but I'm assuming it is some sort of Carnival representative who will help with cruise bookings. Someone can start out by helping me with that definition! :)

 

Is there an advantage to using a PVP? I've been planning on just booking our cruise online. Is there a reason not to do this?

 

there is no advantage.

 

there is a disadvantage:

pvp's work for carnival. a travel agent works for you.

 

 

when i went to book this year's cruise, the pvp's price was a bit lower than my TAs... so i called my TA, whom my family has been using for years, and she knocked off a few hundred dollars at the expense of her own commission for the sale.

 

before i booked, i had told the pvp that i had a credit for some drama that occurred in 2010 onboard... the pvp absolutely refused to honor the credit, as it expired 48 hours before we boarded. my TA on the other hand made dozens of phone calls and did all the work needed to ensure that we got our credit. instead of me having to fill out the redic number of forms (which if you have a PVP you have to do) my TA did everything, and i got a phone call from her saying everything was fine, and that when i board next month everything will be as it is supposed to be.

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My PVP is just okay. Very rarely since we cruised last summer has she called/emailed with specials (this is only our 2nd cruise so maybe we need to go more for her to do that), we get more of that from Carnival directly. But she did remember our anniversary is coming up next year & that we wanted to take a cruise, and reached out to us.

 

I had already been researching cruises on Carnival dot com & online here, so she didn't tell me anything I didn't already know as far as ships/itineraries/cabin location. All she really did was book it & take the deposit, I knew the cabin I wanted so it was very easy.

 

Admittedly this same PVP almost cost us an early saver OBC last time we used her, but hubby said since we got the credit I should let it go & give her another shot. Plus we were both excited about booking, so we did. She is good about answering calls and email, always has been, I will give her that. We'll see how it plays out this time.

 

If I could find a good TA, like some of the ones described on these boards, I'd probably give it a shot.

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I use a very popular online agency that advertises on CC. I get the same price that Carnival offers plus some very nice OBCs and sometimes PP gratuities too. They also submit all price reductions I send them on my ES. I'll stick with them.

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Over 8 years ago, we booked our first cruise with Carnival. We booked it through a PVP. 20 cruises later, with an additional 2 booked, we are still with the same PVP and would not change for nothing. I have recommended her to my brother and his wife (who have taken 8 or more cruises and booked through her), my son and daughter. Also neighbors and friends. She has had 2 children during our relationship, I know their names and ages. I talk to her about my brother, daughter and granddaughters who cruise.

 

It has taken time to develop this relationship but it is one that has many benefits. She knows our preferences, discounts, where we have cruised and what we are looking for in upcoming cruises. She knows that I spend alot of time in the casino and checks to see if I qualify for casino cash or bon voyage gifts and arranges to have them placed in our cabin.

 

By booking online, you can still call Carnival if you have questions but you will get someone different everytime you call. I prefer to talk with the same person each time I call, the person that knows everything about my DH and myself when it comes to cruising.

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Everyone here seems like they either use a PVP or a TA. Does anyone ever just book straight through the cruiseline website? That's what I'm planning to do..

 

 

That's what I do, also. It's easy and straight forward. The only time I would use another avenue is if I needed multiple cabins or any special requirements. Otherwise, do it yourself. Be in control of the process from start to finish.

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We have had the same PVP since 2007. He knows what we like and dislike and he knows what time of year we usually cruise. He isnt pushy at all and will send out emails talking about special promotions every once in awhile.

 

He also answers my questions the same day that I ask. So, if I send an email, I hear back from him within a couple of hours and if I call and leave a message, he gets back to me before end of business. Even if I dont have a cruise booked at the time.

 

When we encounter price drops he has honored them without hesitation and if the price drop shows up at a time where he isnt in the office yet, he will accept my screen shots of the drop.

 

We love our PVP. :)

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so i called my TA, whom my family has been using for years, and she knocked off a few hundred dollars at the expense of her own commission for the sale. .

 

What your TA did is am illegal practice which is forbidden by Carnival. The most that a TA is allowed to discount is $25 or 5%, whichever is LOWEST.

 

Dont brag too much about what your TA did. If Carnival gets a hold of their name, your TA could loose their ability to sell Carnival cruises forever.

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Someone passed along their PVP's name to me to help me plan my next cruise. What I am wanting to know... the Pvp's are employees of Carnival, correct? Do they charge for their services? If I book ES and use a PVP, do I still only have to pay the non-refundable deposit and then can make payments (this is what my TA allowed me to do in the past). Also, on ES do I have to keep track of the price drops and let the PVP know or do they keep track of that?

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Someone passed along their PVP's name to me to help me plan my next cruise. What I am wanting to know... the Pvp's are employees of Carnival, correct? Do they charge for their services? If I book ES and use a PVP, do I still only have to pay the non-refundable deposit and then can make payments (this is what my TA allowed me to do in the past). Also, on ES do I have to keep track of the price drops and let the PVP know or do they keep track of that?

 

There is no charge for their services. They are Carnival employees. Bookings work the same whether you use a PVP, a customer service rep, or do it yourself online. You pay the deposit up front. You can make periodic payments if you wish, or you can pay the entire remaining balance at the final payment date. Just make sure it's all paid off by the final payment date.

 

You need to keep track of possible price drops that you could qualify for, no matter what. If you are ES and have not used a TA, you must send in an online price protection form to get the rate reduction/OBC. If you use a TA, the TA must send it in. Sometimes, the lower price is here today, gone in a few hours, which is why it's good to not have to wait on the TA. Friends of mine got their claim in about an hour before their category sold out, and they were approved. A PVP will not keep track of price drops for you. Or if they do, they're doing you a special favor. But even then, you must send in that form. If you see a price drop, there's no reason to contact your PVP, as they cannot send in the form for you. If you are not booked ES and you're before final payment, you can match to price drops, and you don't have to send in a form. Just call your PVP or a customer service rep, and they'll adjust it. But again, you need to keep track of it. Rate reductions will not happen automatically.

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