Was I Tricked By My PVP???

[bajangoddess82]

So true....as I said before you can bring most any rate (on carnival) into the group. Early saver can be OK for some....depends on their cabin, and honestly on their "circumstances"> a good travel agent can do that and more

 

I hope the PVP "watched" the early saver fares to their benefit?? I still don't feel he did the OP any "favor'...more like did himself a favor

 

I had [have] to keep an eye out for the rates to drop. Since I booked back in April, I haven't heard a peep out of my PVP. It's hit or miss getting him on the phone but I do know he did 'link' my party together for dinner. It's so close to my sail date that I'm about over it. I just wanted to see if what he did was the correct way to do things. He is trying to see about getting us the champagne and stuff but I don't drink the stuff anyways so I don't really care. Lesson learned I guess :) Will definitely go through a TA next time :)

[bajangoddess82]

***Update***

 

Just spoke with my mother [who is also going] and she spoke w/ my PVP last week. He told her that the reason that the group bookings were full was b/c Apple is taking a bunch of their employees on that cruise [to celebrate launching the iphone5]. There is a slight possibility that they may have to switch cruise dates and if that happens, supposedly my party will be accepted as a group... we shall see...

[broberts]

At the bottom of the main Carnival web page in the center you will see a column of group links. The first link allows you to get in touch with a Group Planner. Group planners can be quite helpful when 8 or more cabins are involved.

 

If one is going to use a TA, I'd suggest making sure that the TA has booked groups before. Working with groups is different than handling individual bookings, even a bunch of related individual bookings.

[trvlqueen]

You don't get amenities with the ES group fare - you give them up for the lower price. I agree that you should use a TA. We got the lower ES group fare and our TA sent each cabin a bottle of wine, so we got the best of both worlds.

 

You can still get the amenities for the ES fare - there are 2 ES fares -one that does not support amenities and one that does. And the amenity points don't always cost more at the point of booking, but if you book ES with amenity points, you may have to choose at some point after final payment if you want the lowest fare or to keep your amenities. The key is to figure out what the "value" of the amenities is and then decide if the fare difference is in your favor or CCLs and go from there. Our last cruise, the rates dropped after final payment. We were able to get the OBC for the price drop, but ours was $40 less than it would have been if we gave up the amenities - but in our case, the amenities were worth $71 (OBC, photo coupon, strawberries and champagne), so we were ok with the higher fare because the fare difference was less than the value of our amenities ... you just have to be a smart shopper when you look at these - and you can book into a group at the going ES rate without amenities even if the group is using amenity points - you don't all have to be lemmings. :)

[cruise77]

You have to book as a group, from the beginning. You cannot be grouped later. Get a good TA.

[willicruise]

You have to book as a group, from the beginning. You cannot be grouped later. Get a good TA.

We have 9 cabins booked on a cruise for December. We booked in March for ES. Our TA never told us about getting a "free" room for one person. Never told us about rate dropping. We had to contact her every time because we couldn't do it ourselves. I have basically done everything. Next time no TA for sure.

[sharecruises]

We have 9 cabins booked on a cruise for December. We booked in March for ES. Our TA never told us about getting a "free" room for one person. Never told us about rate dropping. We had to contact her every time because we couldn't do it ourselves. I have basically done everything. Next time no TA for sure.

 

The OP had similar problems with a PVP.

 

Bottom line , you need to research and know what you may be entitled to have, and then you are often better off working with a good travel agent who handles a lot of group bookings.

 

Get it in writing, understand your options.

 

When you say "next time no ta">> you will have to look for your own rate drops (you could have on this cruise)...you will have to decide if ES or group deal is better, or if the ES can be brought into the group.

[SadieN]

We have 9 cabins booked on a cruise for December. We booked in March for ES. Our TA never told us about getting a "free" room for one person. Never told us about rate dropping. We had to contact her every time because we couldn't do it ourselves. I have basically done everything. Next time no TA for sure.

 

 

You have to book as a group.

ES fares are not part of the group rate structure. It's not a free room for a person but the equilvalent of one berth (basically the comissionable part of the fare). It is paid after the cruise.

 

You only have one TA but s/he has many clients. Also any rate drop due to ES effects their commission.

 

When we book our group the fare is always more than ES but better than Past Guest or other rates.

[kicia]

Remember that there are group ES rates and they are less than the group non-ES rates. The group ES rates are higher than individual ES rates due to the amenities. Book a group first and then you can move individual bookings into it.

[willicruise]

You have to book as a group.

ES fares are not part of the group rate structure. It's not a free room for a person but the equilvalent of one berth (basically the comissionable part of the fare). It is paid after the cruise.

 

You only have one TA but s/he has many clients. Also any rate drop due to ES effects their commission.

 

When we book our group the fare is always more than ES but better than Past Guest or other rates.

Thanks. Yes, I have saved our group literally hundreds of dollars on the price drops. Didn't realize it affects their commission. I enjoy the research and planning end I guess. Didn't realized the ES group is not subject to the 1 person free as stated on Carnival. Do you know what they earn for commission if we are paying what Carnival has listed online?

Thanks again for responses. Still will plan it myself . I honestly think I could do a better job. Unless we change to a new one next time.

[broberts]

Do you know what they earn for commission if we are paying what Carnival has listed online?

Thanks again for responses. Still will plan it myself . I honestly think I could do a better job. Unless we change to a new one next time.

 

I don't know what commission rates are realized by TA but in my experience a typical 7 day Caribbean cruise will have somewhere between $250 and $280 per person that is not commissionable. This is made up of taxes, port fees, and the like. The non-commissionable amount is the same regardless of cabin type, but may vary depending on factors I don't understand. So a $710 pp cruise fare may have the commission calculated on as little as $430. As you may gather, margins are pretty tight.

 

A TA with group experience can save you both time and money. While it is true that commissions realized may be less with a price drop, it is also true that lower prices often lead to more sales. A good TA will also point out that a price drop may be used justify a cabin upgrade.