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Keep your eyes open on Thursday!!! Insider info...

dvdkndy

By dvdkndy,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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bananaface

bananaface

Posted
Posted

How does the upgrade work? Do you get to pick your room? If so, how does that work considering you submit it on a form and don't get to speak with someone?

 

I am asking because there we are travelling with another couple. I booked their room, but we have different booking numbers. I would want to make sure our rooms are next to each other.

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snipper2

snipper2

Posted
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Well...I just booked a 7a for Jan '12 and now the category is sold out. I guess my chance of a price drop is a gonner.

 

You still have a chance. With everyone price matching and upgrading, a 7a may become available again. It happened to us on our upcoming Dream cruise. All the 8B's were sold but then magically more were available and we got $50pp obc :)

 

Keep checking and good luck!

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Bandman

Bandman

Posted
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Got a message from my PVP today. I have nothing booked and haven't been on the Carnival website in over a month. Just a cold call. Said he had been given info on some amazing deals upcoming.

 

Berry, Berry, Interesting;)

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Redsfan

Redsfan

Posted
Posted
This is actually pretty common in sales in general, especially if you have a good relationship with your salesperson.

 

I shop at several stores where I am there enough for the same salespeople to know me (my FI calls this my "shopping sickness :D ). They always let me know when things are going to be on sale or when something big is going to happen. They want me to be back in there!

 

Now since I have not cruised and don't have a PVP, if I had called to book a cruise, most likely they wouldn't pony up that information for me, but it sounds like the OP has a good rapport with her PVP.

 

True, I am in Sales but not the travel Industry...the PVP is making it sound like it will be an earth shattering sale which we all know never is the case...time will tell

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med9114u

med9114u

Posted
Posted

I will check for price drops for my upcoming cruises...but definitely not holding my breath. I have very rarely seen a sale that amounts to much. Most of the time they offer OBC, but the cabin prices go up by the same amount...lol. Will hope for the best but expect the worst.

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Redsfan

Redsfan

Posted
Posted
I booked a past guest rate (not ES though), and the Fare Viewer is now showing the price as $200 less than what we paid total for the 4 of us. Does this mean I am entitled to the lower price now? We don't have final payment until May.

 

does your price shown on fare viewer show price after taxes?

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bangzoom6877

bangzoom6877

Posted
Posted
does your price shown on fare viewer show price after taxes?

 

It says cruise only, so I added in the taxes that I got per person from the breakdown when we booked it, and it is $200 cheaper when I factor that in.

 

Never mind, I feel like a total idiot...I only added in taxes for 2 guests, not all 4...with adding in for all 4 of us, it comes out to exactly the same we paid. Sorry, I must have lost my mind there for a minute...now I need a glass of wine, haha!!!

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buddybean11

buddybean11

Posted
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We are booked in a 6A (lowest inside). The IS rate dropped $40 below what we paid and the 6B was equal to what we paid. I put in for OBC for the qty. price or an Upgrade to the 6B. We were given the lower price of the gty and got to keep our same cabin. I check every day for more drops but no luck. It is now gone up by $300 so not expecting anything else. Not complaining tho we saved $220 total since June.

 

Just reread my own post. I must have been asleep last night when I posted this. It should have been 1A and 1B not 6A and 6B

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mikel24m

mikel24m

Posted
Posted
I'll check the fare viewer every 15 minutes on Thursday as opposed to my normal once an hour.. thanks for the tip!

 

did you know about the fish site

 

Google cruise and fish

 

for $1 they send you unlimited emails with price changes :)

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camper49

camper49

Posted
Posted
Was talking to my PVP today about a possible upgrade for our upcoming cruise. We were chatting about the OBC that we received from a couple of price drops. She said she did not recommend me doing any upgrade tonight but waiting until Thursday because they had a meeting today about a "big sale" that will be starting Thursday. I had a conversation with her about Carnival's "sales" and that I really did not see much price difference. :rolleyes: She said this coming sale is totally different from the norm "because of a large quantity of inventory" that Carnival has. So if you are a ES like me or looking to book, it might not be a bad idea to keep a watch on Thursday just to see if it really is a good one. It may not be what she cracked it up to be but it never hurts to be on the look out. Hope we all find some great deals and OBC!!!

I have to wonder as i just cked our Jan. cruise and it just jumped $50!!!!

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AmberTeka

AmberTeka

Posted
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I learn more good stuff on this Carnival Board than I do anywhere else. Almost all of the valuable from the collapsible wire laundry baskets...to which cabins are 'good' and which are 'bad..noisy...odd shaped..bad for sea sick prone folks"..

 

IF I HAVE NEVER THANKED YOU BEFORE... I AM THANKING YOU ALL NOW.

 

All of you...You Rock!

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bookcreator

bookcreator

Posted
Posted

We cruise anywhere from 8-10 times a year, and we actually have 12 cruises booked right now for the next year. We always book ES, and have since the rate came out. Here is what we notice transpires EVERY cruise:

 

Our idea is that we book a lower cabin and REFUSE all upgrades and we cruise with $1000+ in on board credit when they sell off the last minute Pack and go rates and they have to give us the price drop as we are still in ES.

 

After final payment comes a sales push, including calls to your house about sales. ES works in that you can match any category you qualify for if the price is lower (ex: senior rate you have to meet age requirements, etc.)

 

The catch is the sale rate AND OBC sales. Normally ES discount lets you match the lower rate, and prior to final payment, you get a reduced bill, and after final payment you get OBC.

 

You can only get that rate if they are selling a cabin for less that you paid in a rate you qualify for AND your time stamped ES form has a time on it that the cabin was available for sale. (This is where the screen shots mean nothing and people get frustrated) As soon as that cabin sells, the ES deal is off. So if you form is time stamped AFTER the time the cabin sold, you are denied.

 

Here is what happens after final payment on all the cruises we have been on, and it is actually being done right now on the Breeze TA cruise. You have a bunch of people in cheap cabin categories with ES. Since that category is the cabins they wish to sell off at rock bottom prices, they need to upgrade people out of that category with ES, or get people who insist on keeping the cabins out of ES. They do that by having a sale WITH OBC attached to the sale. In order to get that price and your OBC (usually $100), you accept that rate and come out of ES. You are now in a category that no longer qualifies for ongoing discounts. So when they sell off those interiors for hundreds of dollars less, you can't collect because you voluntarily took the $100 OBC with the sale rate. Don't forget, you can NEVER downgrade your cabin category with ES, only upgrade.

 

Every cruise, we see them run a sale after final payment and prior to slashing prices to rock bottom. They will have a couple of holdouts like us, but they will have reduced the ES bookings in the cheapest category by quite a few, so when they sell that last interior, there will be much less people for them to have to give money back to under ES.

 

Yes, it is a gamble but we find it works in our favor more often that not. Several people on our TA in November just accept the sale price and $100 OBC came out of ES. Since ES rate is gone now for this cruise, they will now not be eligible for the OBC under ES when they slash to prices to sell off the few interiors they have left after they upgraded everyone willing to give up a cheap cabin and upgrade.

 

The cruise company's worst nightmare is people who book an interior for $1000 ES, and then refuse to upgrade or accept a sale that will take them out of ES. When they sell that last interior cabin for $200 days before the cruise, they could owe $800 to every person still in those interiors with ES. (if they are paying attention when the cabin is on sale) If that involves 200 people, that can be very costly, hence the "sale" to get people to either get out of interiors (upgrade to a category they know they will not be slashing prices to sell off), or take a sale with $100 OBC, with the idea that they are coming out of ES rate. That turns those 200 people, into maybe 10 holdouts that they will have to give $800 to instead of 200.

 

People often ask how we are able to benefit so greatly with OBC every cruise, that is how. Get an interior on a lower deck and refuse to move and refuse all the sales aimed at reducing the ES bookings. Watch rates especially after the "sale", because after very much lowering the amount of people with ES - that is when the real cabin price slashing happens to fill the leftover cabins.

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bookcreator

bookcreator

Posted
Posted
Once ES, always ES. You don't "come out" of ES.

 

However, if you take the OBC, you must also factor that into your price when you price match.

 

Maggie

 

 

I disagree, but it doesn't matter, I was just trying to help. We know how it works and we take advantage every cruise. We go from cruise ship to cruise ship from Sept to June, all on Carnival and all booked with ES.

 

We don't have to be "right" on CC, so maybe everyone will follow your advice instead.

 

I post just what I know, but once others argue, I just let them be right and never post to the subject again.

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