Why would a TA steer me away from ES booking

[Silent Penguin]

Last December, when I booked our first Carnival cruise, our travel agent disuaded me from booking the ES rate. I took her word for it that it wasn't in my best interest to book the ES rate, but now I'm wondering why it wouldn't be. Any opinions on this?

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Last December, when I booked our first Carnival cruise, our travel agent disuaded me from booking the ES rate. I took her word for it that it wasn't in my best interest to book the ES rate, but now I'm wondering why it wouldn't be. Any opinions on this?

 

Maybe she's had customers who've booked ES and then wanted to cancel or make changes and were charged the $50 pp fee. There could be other reasons, but best way to find out would be to just ask her. Many people are uncomfortable with the restrictive rules of the fare and won't book ES in case they need to make a change. OTOH, I've now booked ES for the second time and find I enjoy the OBC "game". :D

[pomm1972]

Last December, when I booked our first Carnival cruise, our travel agent disuaded me from booking the ES rate. I took her word for it that it wasn't in my best interest to book the ES rate, but now I'm wondering why it wouldn't be. Any opinions on this?

 

Less commission. But they may have felt in your best interest that it would not be as good to have a deposit which was not refundable. Also if its a Carnival PVP they cant book them over the phone. Online only.

[Cruise Cat]

Last December, when I booked our first Carnival cruise, our travel agent disuaded me from booking the ES rate. I took her word for it that it wasn't in my best interest to book the ES rate, but now I'm wondering why it wouldn't be. Any opinions on this?

 

The ES rate has many restrictions (I don't think they are worth the savings). As a first time cruiser, her experience was probably that you might change your mind on the booking or would want to change passengers, etc., and would be upset by the restrictions not letting you do that, not getting your deposit back, etc. If this happened, you would get turned off to cruising all together.

[qshari]

When you book ES you are eligible for any price drops that occur and many TA's do not want the hassle of dealing with it.

[klfrodo]

Being the cynical person that I am, I think maybe it was because the TA didn't want to do all the paperwork required to receive price drops plus lose commission every time they did get a price drop.

 

edit... Sorry, didn't mean to repeat what everyone else has said. There's some fast typers on here.

[Sargent_Schultz]

I would vote laziness on their part.

[Silent Penguin]

Now that a few of you have mentioned it, she did say the restrictions were not worth the savings, in her opinion. Thank you for the speedy replies. All of it sounds reasonable.

[Distilled1]

I would vote laziness on their part.

 

that would be it!

 

Why I will never use a TA again for anything )and I learned from family that are TAs LOL

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Now that a few of you have mentioned it, she did say the restrictions were not worth the savings, in her opinion. Thank you for the speedy replies. All of it sounds reasonable.

 

 

I would totally disagree. On my last cruise I had $260 in OBC and enjoyed every penny of it. I know people who've gotten as much as $800 OBC. Definitely worth it. :D

[klfrodo]

Now that a few of you have mentioned it, she did say the restrictions were not worth the savings, in her opinion. Thank you for the speedy replies. All of it sounds reasonable.

 

It would be nice to know if the "restrictions" were explained to you, and then YOU made the decision. Or, if it truely was pure laziness on their part.

[firefly333]

I would totally disagree. On my last cruise I had $260 in OBC and enjoyed every penny of it. I know people who've gotten as much as $800 OBC. Definitely worth it. :D

 

Of course I read posts all the time where someone is before final payment and praising ES as if ALL RATES dont get price drops until final payment.

 

I know I was booked on 8 cruises with my sister who suddenly got married out of the blue, meet a guy and boom... and ES allows NO NAME CHANGES.

 

Thats the ES restriction that bit me.

[gone_cruisin]

My vote would be for the restrictions.

 

I have booked 3 ES rates and only received a price drop on one. On my November cruise, I booked an aft-view and knew that they would sell out fast. Once my catergory is sold out, no price drops. So I just stuck with military - only $20 per person difference.

[erby2283]

I LOVE my TA and they have become close friends of mine over the years and they are not fans of ES. They would do whatever a client asks but in their opinion, it has a lot of restrictions. No refund of deposits (although I think you can transfer it), no name changes, and others. I was going to book an ES a few weeks ago and they were able to get me the same category for $5 more (past guest rate) - so it wasn't a big deal for me. However, we all take chances booking ES categories if the person we booked with can't go - so that was the deciding factor for me. Maybe other TA's area all about commission but I know mine always has my best interest at heart.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Of course I read posts all the time where someone is before final payment and praising ES as if ALL RATES dont get price drops until final payment.

 

I know I was booked on 8 cruises with my sister who suddenly got married out of the blue, meet a guy and boom... and ES allows NO NAME CHANGES.

 

Thats the ES restriction that bit me.

 

 

Ouch! That would be difficult! :eek:

 

I went through a divorce after booking my last cruise ES so had to pay the penalty to cancel him out of the room--was fortunate that they let me downgrade from a suite to an extended balcony. I was able to show that I paid the deposit so it was tranferred into my name and I'm using it on my next cruise. Even with the restrictions I came out ahead. But, then, I had only one booked, not 8!

[Sargent_Schultz]

The are some insurance plans that will cover just about anything.

[Cruise Cat]

Of course I read posts all the time where someone is before final payment and praising ES as if ALL RATES dont get price drops until final payment.

 

 

Exactly. Also, it depends on the ship. There are a lot of itineraries I have sailed where the price has gone UP closer to the cruise and not down.

 

I think the cruise lines themselves like the ES rate because they can jack up the initial price of the cruise but promote the ES rate with people getting the hope of the price reduction. If they get enough people to start booking at the ES rate, then they don't drop the price (or don't drop it as much). The cruise lines didn't make all this money by giving passengers the better end of the deal. Kind of like the high interest credit card that gives you "cash back" on every purchase, or the casino that gives you a bonus of some sort.....

[gone_cruisin]

The are some insurance plans that will cover just about anything.

 

But a $150 insurance plan, doesn't justify the savings difference from other non restrictive rates.

[Silent Penguin]

It would be nice to know if the "restrictions" were explained to you, and then YOU made the decision. Or, if it truely was pure laziness on their part.

 

 

Good question. The only restriction she mentioned specifically was the non-refundable deposit. In regards to the decision, of course it was MY decision, since she doesn't have the power to make those decisions for me.

 

I don't suspect she was being lazy as she has never been lazy in regards to the arrangements she has made for me in the past, but looking out for her own best interest (which I don't hold against her) is definitely not out of the realm of possibility.

[Silent Penguin]

that would be it!

 

Why I will never use a TA again for anything )and I learned from family that are TAs LOL

 

 

For booking cruises, I don't think we need the special skills of a TA, but we use this particular automobile association's travel agency (I don't think I can say names on here) anyway because we have its Visa card and earn $60.00 vouchers for every 5,000 points. Paying the balance monthly is our habit, so it's a good situation. So far, I've used $540.00 in vouchers toward the cruise.

[daijayx2]

Less commission. But they may have felt in your best interest that it would not be as good to have a deposit which was not refundable. Also if its a Carnival PVP they cant book them over the phone. Online only.

 

 

I'm not understanding ur message regarding the pvp not being able to book over the phone. I have booked my next 2 upcoming cruises over the phone both booked ES with my pvp.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jbanana1]

Booked our cruise we went on last summer thru a PVP over the phone and booked the ES rate.

[azlefty]

If you book any 7-day cruise on any cruise line through Priceline or Hotwire (it's not opaque like their hotel bookings) they will give you a free room, with one specific exception. In their fine print they exclude the Carnival early saver rate. This suggests that the commission is lower.

 

I was looking at booking one and the rates were considerably lower than the other rates. However the ES rate disappeared before I got a chance to pull the trigger.

[Lady_Jag]

I once had a TA who told me they "never" book ES because it's "the most restrictive program out there." She said that with ES, if Carnival so much as spells your name wrong on the booking, it will cost you $50 to correct it. :rolleyes:

[myno911]

[/php] Also if its a Carnival PVP they cant book them over the phone. Online only.

Have been taliking to a PVP about booking another cruise and he recommended the ES rate. We booked ES on our last cruise and ended up with $300 OBC so we will be using ES this time also. I know it is a gamble whether you get OBC but I'm willing to take that gamble.