Is TA telling the truth?

After weeks & weeks of reading these boards I called Carnival and they are running a past guest special on the cruise we are booked on and the price has dropped $150/pp. I called TA and told her this and asked her to call and get us a onboard credit and she says we are not entitled to it because we are going on a group cruise. We are booked as a group because there are 5 cabins we got but we didnt get any special pricing it was the same for just the two of us or 5 cabins. I could understand it if we got a free cabin for booking 8 or more but we didnt get that many cabins everyone paid full fare. Is she right?

You need to call her back and ask her why she thinks it's a group rate? Doesn't make sense.

...are you past final payment? If not, find out the fees for cancelling and see if it is financially worth it to do that and re-book. Make sure you look at your contract carefully to see what the TA is charging for a fee, you will lose that.

We just booked five cabins for May and did not get Group anything because we had to have eight...

Maybe that will spur on your TA to take care of it with Carnival - who knows?

She said it was booked through group reservations not through regular reservations and they dont do price changes. Doesnt make sense to me Carnival is Carnival whether its a group reservation or a regular reservation.

Yes we already made final payment for 4/23/06 Miracle sailing. If I call Carnival and talk to them telling them TA is not cooperative will they talk to me?

Could she be lumping you in with another group that she booked? I'd definitely check on that...you should be able to get your credit.

You booked as a group but did not get 8 cabins as you expected? Is that right? If so, I bet your TA added people into your group to "fill it Up". Our TA did this to us so we could keep our pricing but (one of the only things she did right) was give our portion of the group the discount of the free berth.

She said she didnt lump us with anyone because originally we tried to get the eight cabins to get one free and she said if I got 6 or 7 and she got 1 she would give the discount to us still. We had an info night at her travel agency she handed out books about ports and etc and it was only our party there?

I was acknowledged for a past cruiser even though I booked with a group. Maybe the difference is I booked through Carnival. Is this your first time with this TA? :confused:

Group booking prices should be cheaper then if booking at reg price.

Is there a supervisor that you can talk to with your agency??

carnival wont talk with you since you have another agencan call your agent and ask for a three way conversation with carnival.

150 pp more then what you paid-- is 300 savings. Thawts a lot of money- where did you see the price and is it for new bookings only?

is the price you are looking at include port and government taxes??

Usually when booked with a group you are not entitled to other sales.

She said she didnt lump us with anyone because originally we tried to get the eight cabins to get one free and she said if I got 6 or 7 and she got 1 she would give the discount to us still. We had an info night at her travel agency she handed out books about ports and etc and it was only our party there?

If you were priced through the group department, you can get a lower price if one is available BUT your reservation comes out of groups and goes into individual reservatiosn. With 5 cabins booked, you will not be eligible for the 1 for 16 tour conductor free berth, BUT you may be receiving various amenities such as wine, on board credits, etc. If yout TA moves you out of groups, you lose the amenities. The savings may be more than the value of the amenities BUT, if your TA is using amenity points to add to their commission, then they may discourage you.

Even if you do get past the group thing I doubt you can get a price reduction based on Carnivals past guest sale. Those are the darndest things to get booked for . From what Carnival has told me on 2 other occasions is there is a VERY limited number of those discounts available to get booked in the first place and on 1 other occasion we were told if you already have a booking they wont honor the discount even if you cancle your current booking . The fine print on the special says new bookings only . Let us know how it goes . I would really love to hear of at least one person that was able to take advantage of past guest priceing AFTER they have made a booking.

She said it was booked through group reservations not through regular reservations and they dont do price changes. Doesnt make sense to me Carnival is Carnival whether its a group reservation or a regular reservation.

She said she didnt lump us with anyone because originally we tried to get the eight cabins to get one free and she said if I got 6 or 7 and she got 1 she would give the discount to us still. We had an info night at her travel agency she handed out books about ports and etc and it was only our party there?

She has to have a minimum of 8 cabins to make a group reservation (I've done two myself already). If she has booked your reservation as a group, who is getting the credit for the free berth? And what amenities is she offering you? On the 2 I booked our rates were lower than the regular rate, our Destiny cruise being substantially lower. Normally there is some discount. I'd start ask some more questions.

Based on those two statements it sounds like you need to find out exactly what she is doing with your booking.

She has to have a minimum of 8 cabins to make a group reservation (I've done two myself already).

You only need to hold 8 cabins to make a group reservation not sell 8 cabins. Even if only 1 cabin sells, Carnival protects that one cabin at the group rate.

She said it was booked through group reservations not through regular reservations and they dont do price changes. Doesnt make sense to me Carnival is Carnival whether its a group reservation or a regular reservation.

Hmmm. She needs to check her customer service manual...

I booked 6 cabins with an advertiser here for our groople. Carnival ran a special shortly after we booked. Our groople TA re-booked us at the lower rate...with new booking numbers, etc. and we had paid in full on booking originally. She went to a lot of trouble for something I'd not have known about.

She did a fantastic job.

Group booking prices should be cheaper then if booking at reg price.

 

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That's not necessarily so. In fact with Carnival the group rate quoted at the time the group is booked is usually the same as the individual rate current at that time.

Also, it's possible for a TA to hold a minimum eight cabin allotment in a group booking but if even only one cabin actually sails the group rate will still apply.

People need to realize that you sometimes can't always have it both ways. Yes, with a group booking you can get things like additional amenities or TC credits, and reduced deposits and such. But nothing is for free. The flip side is that you're giving up some things that are available to those who book through the individual res department such as the availablity of price decreases and other promotions that are not combinable with groups.

With a group reservation you're operating under a specific written contract -- your TA has signed it on your behalf. What you've got in the way of pricing/amenities is locked in and it's very rare that Carnival will just revise that contract in your favor just because your group didn't pan out. You promised Carnival a group of eight cabins or more and you didn't come through. Your choices are pretty much to keep your booking with the group department as is, or cancel the group and re-book everyone as individual reservations.

That's not necessarily so. In fact with Carnival the group rate quoted at the time the group is booked is usually the same as the individual rate current at that time.

Sorry to disagree, but with Carnival, the group rate is usually lower than the individual rate by $50 to $100 per person. This isn't so with other cruise lines that I will not name though.

Also, you do not have to cancel a group booking to get lower individual rate prices. You only have to remove it from the group.

After weeks & weeks of reading these boards I called Carnival and they are running a past guest special on the cruise we are booked on and the price has dropped $150/pp. I called TA and told her this and asked her to call and get us a onboard credit and she says we are not entitled to it because we are going on a group cruise. We are booked as a group because there are 5 cabins we got but we didnt get any special pricing it was the same for just the two of us or 5 cabins. I could understand it if we got a free cabin for booking 8 or more but we didnt get that many cabins everyone paid full fare. Is she right?

Oh no! That sounds exactly like what happened to us several years ago. I know you can't tell me your TA but does it start with C.O.? I will never use them again.

Diane

Depending on the cruise . We booked a group cruise on the Destiny for Oct 06. The group rate was the same as the regular rate. Contacted the group department and ask why was the group rate the same.. He explained although the rate is sometimes the same but as a group you receive amenities as a group rate and not at the regular rate.

That's not necessarily so. In fact with Carnival the group rate quoted at the time the group is booked is usually the same as the individual rate current at that time. .

I have booked all my cruises as a group and depends on amenites for the discount but the price has always been lower by at least 75.00 pp cheaper.

Sounds like the OP got no lower price nor did they get any amenities.

Sorry to disagree, but with Carnival, the group rate is usually lower than the individual rate by $50 to $100 per person. This isn't so with other cruise lines that I will not name though.

 

Also, you do not have to cancel a group booking to get lower individual rate prices. You only have to remove it from the group.

Sorry jcanino, but I have to say you're wrong. Group rates are more often than not, equal to avaialble IS, OV, or BL (guarentee) rates. The carrot is the 16th guest gets a free berth, amenety points and other freebies, meeting space, etc. You're gonna have to trust me on this, that is if you want to dwell in reality.

Also, your 2d scenario is not that simple. The 8 cabins are mandatory to have a group booking. If her cabin wa the 8th, the TA can not simply "remove it" from the reservation. There is a bunch more misinformation I could clear up here, but basically, you were booked into a group reservation, whether you like it or not, and past guest rates can not be applied to group rates.

The group cruises we have booked, the pricing has generally been around the same price you can get it for on your own, however, when you factor in the $50-$100 credit, the cocktail party and other amenities, you come out ahead... Now, I do recall one of the group cruises that was done before Carnival made their pricing changes (advertising prices, etc) and it was a tad lower... but not by that much.

Sorry jcanino, but I have to say you're wrong. Group rates are more often than not, equal to avaialble IS, OV, or BL (guarentee) rates. The carrot is the 16th guest gets a free berth, amenety points and other freebies, meeting space, etc. You're gonna have to trust me on this, that is if you want to dwell in reality.

 

Also, your 2d scenario is not that simple. The 8 cabins are mandatory to have a group booking. If her cabin wa the 8th, the TA can not simply "remove it" from the reservation. There is a bunch more misinformation I could clear up here, but basically, you were booked into a group reservation, whether you like it or not, and past guest rates can not be applied to group rates.

Sorry, but I know that I am right. I have been booking groups with Carnival for over 10 years. If you want to compare individual rates with group rates you have to compare apples to apples. For example, you have to compare 4A to 4A and 8C to 8C. Carnival does not price groups using the IS, OV and BL rates. The groups that I currently have with Carnival all had a lower price for the categories than the individual pricing.

You do not have to have 8 sold cabins to consitute a group with Carnival. So long as you hold 8 cabins minimum and try to sell them, they protect you you from cabin 1. Taking a cabin out of groups and placing it into individual reservations may diminish group amenities or the TC, but it can be removed for a lower rate with no amenities.

You're gonna have to trust ME on this!

ok.. :) if you say so..

but...... group cabins are always initally booked TBA..

an IS cabin.. is.. a 4A TBA. an OV cabins is.. a 6A TBA. So you can say your group rate is for a 4A TBA. But if it's the same as an individual IS rate, then it's not really apples to oranges now is it?

Is TA telling the truth?

No. :(

You are definately not a "group."