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cupcake8503

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Posts posted by cupcake8503

    Boarding pass

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted · Edited by cupcake8503

    Yep, sure do. I've booked direct as well. I have same control including online access to my booking. Any one bonus might not be worth it, but in 3 cruises I will have saved close to 800 dollars by using a travel agency.

     

     

     

    No you don't. You cannot call carnival directly for certain things, your TA has to handle it.

     

     

    Also, my original post states that I understand why people may choose to use a TA. Not sure if you barely read the post or what. I don't care how much you saved. That wasn't the point of my post.

     

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    Boarding pass

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    For some people, $200 is a lot of money. Alternately, over the course of several years, it's an extra cruise. ;)

     

     

     

    I have control over my booking. Admittedly there are times when I'd prefer not to be talking to a 3rd party. However, 3 out of 4 times I have no issues, and the issues I've have had been minor. I'll take (more realistically) $400-500 of 'profit' over the course of 4 cruises for a bit of hassle once in awhile. If the OBC offer is $25 or $50, I will book direct through the line, so I guess that is my price. ;)

     

     

     

    I've had TAs get my birthdate wrong, etc... and it's been done by the cruise line also. Carnival actually told me that it didn't matter that my daughter was 'male' because she was an infant at the time. :eek: The did fix it, just an odd conversation.

     

     

     

    I pick a large TA with good ratings where I can call and get somebody at any reasonable hour, 7 days a week. I check my booking as soon as I get the email for those sorts of errors. Booking online and typing in the data yourself helps.

     

     

     

    The TA usually schedules final payment somewhat in advance of the actual date, but I'll call and put it though a week or more before that. It shows as pending on my credit card as soon as they post it, which tends to be immediately when you call explicitly to make a payment. If it doesn't appear I have plenty of time to deal with it. I actually check that the charge comes through on a direct booking also. I don't totally trust anybody with my cruise... ;)

     

     

     

    I never said anything about whether or not $200 is a lot of money. That's subjective. I'm glad you have a great TA.

     

     

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    Boarding pass

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted · Edited by cupcake8503

    Then pick a decent TA, I use a TA and I have every bit as much control as I would booked through the cruise line.

     

     

     

    No thank you. And no you don't have the same control.

     

     

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    Boarding pass

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Costs me at least $200 less when I use my TA versus booking with carnival. Good advantage for me. Question? I can call my TA and get it answered while on the phone. Don't know about you but I like my money.

     

    Sent from my Pixel using Forums mobile app

     

     

     

    For some people, including myself, $200 is not worth the anxiety of not having control over your booking. I can't imagine trying to email and call my TA and they don't answer for days. I've read crazy stories on this board over the years. You may have a great TA, but things happen and some people would rather not risk it. I do understand the benefits of booking with a TA though, so I see why people do it.

     

     

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    Verizon and AARP both available

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    When I order mine I usually get 2-3 at a time. They are mailed to me by USPS and I get them within 7 days in my mailbox. If you by a large amount or the $500's they are sent via UPS & you have to be home to sign for them.

     

     

     

    I have my delivery rerouted to the ups store near my job and pick them up there.

     

     

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    Verizon and AARP both available

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Dang it. I was a day too late. Don't think I will ever get a $500

     

     

     

    I have a reminder in my phone to check every morning while I'm getting ready for work and I also check every evening. I caught the $500 cards both times in the morning. There is no set amount of days before they come back. I bought my cards as little as 1 week apart and I have also waited weeks before they came back. That is why I just check every morning.

     

     

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    Verizon and AARP both available

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I have one but don't use it. I just signed up for that AARP Rewards site to get the gift cards. I will cancel my account once the gift cards come. I have absolutely no use for AARP outside of getting these gift cards.

     

     

     

    Oh ok. I use them to buy store gift cards for shopping too.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Verizon and AARP both available

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    You can just sign up for a new account and get the points to get the gift cards. You don't have to do anything to get them. Use a different email and sign up for a new account and get the GCs. :)

     

    Remember, you don't have to be an AARP member to get these.

     

     

     

    Do you have a fit bit? You can earn points by connecting your Fitbit to the rewards account.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Steakhouse Reservations

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thank you. It was in my spam folder. It just replied that they were unable to confirm my reservation. I was disappointed as I made about 40 days out from sailing. For future reference how far out do I need to make a reservation?

     

     

     

    I made reservations for the steakhouse late December for May 7th. Maybe you could try another date and time.

     

     

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    What did you pay for Vista? Include details

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Carnival prices just like the airlines. They use demand based pricing which factors for days till sailing date.

     

    A company this large has to use an algorithm to maximize its revenue and profits.

     

    Example, a cruise I booked on Vista on Nov 27 2016 for Nov 4 2017 sailing. The price has gone down $2 since my booking.

     

    Another example; I booked on Dec 15 2017 for July 14 2018 sailing and the price has decreased $30 and we picked up $100 OBC.

     

    What sells quickly, rises in price quickly (demand overpowering supply). What sells slowly gets discounted quickly (so that prices can rise again once excess supply is depleted), run rate to balance the rooms left to sell and maximize profits per fare paying customer.

     

    There's a cost of sailing a ship. Once the base costs are covered then profit maximization takes effect.

     

    Carnival even runs models on past guest on-board expenditures. They know very well how much they'll make on any sailing.

     

     

    Unfortunately, there are no obc or price drops once you book a flight. At least with cruises you can get the lower rate if the price drops.

    What did you pay for Vista? Include details

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    What's the point especially if you are past final payment? Assurance that you didn't get hosed? To give the braggarts a chance to claim that they outsmarted everyone else and paid the lowest?

     

    At the time you booked the price was agreeable. Once on board it's best not to get into any "How much did you pay?" discussions as it is way too late to do anything about it. With the fluid pricing on cruises there will be somebody who paid less than you.

     

    Enjoy your upcoming vacation. Don't let pricing detract from your enjoyment - you did lock in the cabin and sailing that you wanted.

     

     

     

    This actually helps me. I learned that booking sooner than I normally do for cruises will most likely save me money. I don't see the harm in that.

     

     

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