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PVP ? Carnival.com ?? Travel Agent ???


game4lover

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We've used all three....

 

Pros to a travel agent... sometimes they send you a little OBC and a bottle of wine (sometimes). and if they have a group on a cruise they may get you a few extra things, cheaper rates.....Cons are that you lose control of your booking... and you are relying on them to make any changes and price drops. Some of them charge for submitting stuff like that or give you a hard time, some are good about it.

 

a PVP or through Carnival gives you control of your booking (good if you use early saver and want a price drop) and gives you control to make changes on your own. You however will not get a bottle of wine in your cabin. (but if you're diligent and book ES, you may still get OBC from ES price drops)

 

We now book through Carnival.com or a PVP. To me, and I'm a bit of a control freak, having total control of my booking, changes, and price reduction request is priceless....

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I used a TA for my upcoming cruise Oct 22, and I will NEVER do that again.

 

She is totally useless as far as I'm concerned. Once she got the money for our group of 22, she has become "unavailable". Will not answer phone calls, text messages, emails. :(

 

I've always used a PVP in the past. And will always use them in the future.

 

Before I get "bashed". I know there are good TA's out there. I just haven't found her.

 

Rita

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We went with a PVP for a cruise for about 50 (parent's 50th wedding anniversary) and liked our PVP so much we have used her for all our Carnival cruises. She knows our whole family and is so much more knowledgable about the various Carnival cruises and policies, options, etc. than travel agents we've encountered. // Used to go the travel agent route, but never had a really good one, so don't see the advantage. // If you have a really good cruise specialist travel agent go with that. Otherwise I'd just do a PVP.

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Rita, can you transfer your booking to a Carnival "group" PVP?

 

I don't know if we can or not. but we only have 2 weeks till we sail, so we'll leave it as it is, and consider it a lesson learned. :(:eek:

Rita

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DON'T USE A TA!!! I had used one and he will never do anything for me. I requested price drops because I booked ES and he just ignores it and doesn't return any of my calls or emails. I even went to his supervisor trying to get a explanation and it def. is not worth dealing with. They may can get you a discount of $20-30 off what is listen on Carnival but in the end its worth to pay the difference and have full control over your booking:) I am writing this off as a lesson learned!! I will def. book with Carnival on my own. I can be my own TA. They don't look for price drops for you or upgrades, it is their job but once they get the money from you they are invisible and don't exist. I even had to lie to him to return my call and left a VM saying I wanted to book a cruise for about 100 people for a family cruise, He called back immed. and wanted to talk then. Guess he didn't look up the number. I used a different name and he called but was he surprised when he got a hold of me!! Its best to use Carnival.com or a PVP!!

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We use a local TA for all of our cruises. She is great!!!

 

Had a problem a few years ago and needed to cancel cruise--she took care of insurance paper work and we recieved all our money back.

 

Never had a problem with ES she always submits forms to CCL for OBC:)

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DON'T USE A TA!!! I had used one and he will never do anything for me. I requested price drops because I booked ES and he just ignores it and doesn't return any of my calls or emails. I even went to his supervisor trying to get a explanation and it def. is not worth dealing with. They may can get you a discount of $20-30 off what is listen on Carnival but in the end its worth to pay the difference and have full control over your booking:) I am writing this off as a lesson learned!! I will def. book with Carnival on my own. I can be my own TA. They don't look for price drops for you or upgrades, it is their job but once they get the money from you they are invisible and don't exist. I even had to lie to him to return my call and left a VM saying I wanted to book a cruise for about 100 people for a family cruise, He called back immed. and wanted to talk then. Guess he didn't look up the number. I used a different name and he called but was he surprised when he got a hold of me!! Its best to use Carnival.com or a PVP!![/quote]

 

where is that like button? :D

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I used to use a PVP who I liked, but she left and I did not like her replacement.

 

Then, about 6 years ago, I found a group rate on the website which I think has the best search engine so I called them and was lucky to get the agent I have been using ever since. He is a pleasure to deal with and I usually get OBC and/or wine unless its a very cheap cruise. He always tries to get the best price/cabin for me and for my next cruise, from Dubai, he actually researched visas. In addition, he congratulates me when I find a better price and will fight to get it for me even though it impacts his commission.

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I use a PVP. Last cruise she found a cabin for us that was not listed on Carnival.com. I do all the research on the web. I call to see if there is something better that she can see that I do not see on the web. I am not rushed and know that I made the best choice for me.

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LOVE our PVP. We had called to book to find out that our PVP had been promoted and was no longer a PVP. He recommended another gentleman. WOO HOO!! What a great guy!! The best way to get in touch with him is to e-mail him and ask that he call you. He once appologized that it took so long. IT WAS SEVEN MINUTES!!!! :D Usually we will keep track on exactly when we e-mail him and he usually calls within ONE minute. :D:D

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Carnival Corp. would prefer you to book online as it saves them having to pay a TA or a PVP. I always use my PVP as I believe we all need to make a living and large corporations are making enough money. Besides, my PVP works for me, does all that I need him to do and ensures I get the best value for my money on each and every cruise. He's also honest enough to tell me if any offer I get from the "upsell fairy" is a good deal or if they are taking me for a ride and to skip the offer!

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In my ten years of cruising, I have always used a TA. For the last 5 cruises I have used an on-line TA and have had wonderful service as well as nice OBC with her. Next cruise I will have OBC of$250. I don't worry about price drops because I have to cruise during holiday time or the month of July because I work on a school schedule. I always book a suite and I have never seen price drops on those. So, it is a matter of what works best for everyone. TA works for me, PVP may work for you.

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Nothing could be easier than using the website. No need to try to explain what I want. No need to leave a message and hope someone gets back to me before the price goes up. I know I won't miskey something or misunderstand what I want. After I book and notice a price drop, I send in the form immediately. No need to call and ask someone to do it for me. My opinion is that the internet has made TA's obsolete. It's just too easy to handle myself. If you aren't comfortable on a computer or are new to cruising, then a PVP would be a good way to go.

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I use my PVP for all my cruises but this latest one I booked a several weeks ago for the Fascination. Used an on line site someone recommended and would never do it again!!! I used the on line site because of an OBC that was being offered. Booked it, got confirmation and then a follow up that I would not get the OBC for the cruise because it was within 30 days of sailing but they would mail the check after I sailed. I emailed them, complained and they are supposed to mail the check before the cruise. Still haven't received it. In addition, the price dropped on my room four days after booking. Although not ES for price protection Carnival will usually offer an upgrade especially since it dropped within days of booking (the one sailing my PVP actually got the difference in an OBC for us because there was no upgrade available and he went to bat for us). When I emailed Carnival they said they couldn't do anything because I booked outside of them and to contact the booking agency. I did and the on line agency said that nothing can be done.

 

I accept the situation and I'm not complaining (unless I don't receive the check as promised) but I did learn a lesson...book direct with Carnival and use a PVP!

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Never used a TA, don't see the point in it.

 

I've never been able to get carnival.com to work in terms of actually booking a cruise, so I don't even try that any more.

 

I call Carnival directly, but I just speak to whomever picks up the phone. Any of them will be able to help you with your booking and/or make changes once it's in place, so I don't see the point of always using the same PVP.

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Thanks to everyone for your responses....

 

My experience :

- Never used a TA.

- Had a PVP for the first two cruises, worked well.

- For my third cruise one, a new PVP, messed up things, no

proper communication.

- After I found CruiseCritic, I get all the info from here and booked directly

at carnival.com

- I think, I would stick to Carnival.com

 

To summarize - people's preference is in this order

 

1. PVP (or Carnival.com)

2. TA

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