Possible Discount but lose OBC - What to do?

[Mione]

WOW! I had no idea that there were so many facets to choosing your cruise vacation. We decided last month to take the plunge and book our first ever cruise without doing much research and ended up booking the National Cruise Vacation Month Special for our March 9, 2014 cruise on the Carnival Splendor. We thought at the time that we were getting a great deal and booked 2 interior cabins and received a upgrade to the 4G category and received a $200.00 OBC for our two rooms. After booking I came across this web site and have been researching all things cruise related since. I noticed the post about the fare viewer on Carnival and noticed last week that our cruise had gone down about $250.00 per cabin and immediately called our travel agent who told me that we would lose our OBC if we took the price adjustment as we had booked a promo that was no longer available. So I passed on the discount and kept the OBC however again after reading some more posts I noticed that sometimes if you upgraded your room category you could take advantage of the savings while keeping your OBC. So I called the travel agent and that is also a no go! So my question is how do I book any future cruises so that I am able to take advantage of any price adjustments that may pop up before our final payment is due? For our upcoming cruise should I take the $250.00 discount per cabin for our 4G category and forfeit our OBC or upgrade to the OV room 6C category still saving about $100.00 per cabin but also forfeiting our OBC?

 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Mione:)

Edited November 11, 2013 by Mione

[Sunkissed Mommy]

$250 discount > $200 OBC.

That's the bottom line!

 

Most promotions are just that, if you see something better down the line you will most likely lose whatever perk you had for the "next best thing."

[Miller_KC]

Some OBC transfers if it came separate of the fare. If it's part of a price promotion it goes away if you choose any other fare class that doesn't have OBC.

 

Just consider that you paid $200 extra to have OBC. If you can get the cruise more than $200 cheaper then the new rate may be worth dropping the OBC if all other factors are the same.

[13cheermom]

Just a side note also about giving up your OBC for price reduction, if you happened to book with half off deposit, you also will lose that perk. If any change is made to the original booking with different terms and conditions, you lose those options. Example: would have to pay the other half of your deposit, which would cost me another $250 for my current booking. Just depends on what is important to you, I like not having that much money tied up in my cruise since it is almost a year out from date of sailing.

[klfrodo]

This is my opinion only, but unless you have a close personal or professional relationship with a TA, I'd never use one again. Having a TA is like belonging to a union. You have no control over your pay scale with a union and you have no control over your booking with a TA.

[Mione]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I agree that booking directly with carnival would have been much simpler, and had we known this prior to booking would have done so. Lesson learned I guess. Again I had no idea just how detailed booking could be and all of the factors involved. We did decide to forfeit our OBC in exchange for the price reduction and the upgrade to the OV room. As we have nothing to compare it to I guess we will see if it was the right choice on cruise day. I really am looking forward to our first cruise but feel like I still have so much more to learn. I am a planner so am feeling a little bit like a fish out of water having never done this type of vacation before. What are some lessons learned over the years that you could pass on.

Mione :confused:

[Miller_KC]

What are some lessons learned over the years that you could pass on.

 

Mione :confused:

 

 

• If half the fun for you is planning then pick up a guide book to the Caribbean ports and maybe and Unofficial Guide to Cruises. There is a lot of information to be found in those and a lot of fun too. You can also get DVD videos about many of the ports.
  
• Pay attention to the Carnival recommendations about what time to book your return flight. You can usually make an earlier one if everything works as scheduled but why worry about it all week? You should be off the ship and out of the port by 10:30am at the latest.
  
• Take a short extension cord or power strip. There is only one outlet in the room.
  
• Be aware that Cell phones, texting, and internet access may work but on the ship and in foreign countries you are likely to get charged very high fees. Check with your phone provider before going. Some can offer nice little temporary packages that are cheaper than the ships $.60/minute internet and $3/minute ship to shore phone.
  
• For the Caribbean pack light comfortable clothes and lots of sun screen. Getting a good tan before you go is very convenient if you burn easy. The sun is extra strong and so is the humidity.
  
• Take good comfortable walking shoes for the ports. Even if you are only going to the beach, you will still likely be doing some walking.
  
• If you are going to use all the time available to you in port, you may want to select Late or Any Time Dining. If you don't like eating after 8:00pm then select Early or Any Time Dining. Any Time does not give you the traditional cruise experience but is flexible. We did miss our Early seating after a shore excursion and was accommodated by the Any Time hostess.
  
• Don't arrive at the port before 10:30am, people are still getting off of the previous cruise and you may not be allowed into the terminal that early.
  
• Between 10:30 and 11:00 seems to be good, it gets you in before the busses start arriving from the airport. Boarding is not likely to start before 11:30, often closer to noon.
  
• Unless you have FTTF you won't be about to go to your room until 1:30 so make sure your carry on luggage is manageable.
  
• Go to the muster drill, but on ships were the muster station is outside wait 3-4 minutes after the call sounds. They start lining up against the wall where it gets a little stuffy. Later arrivals are closer to the rail. But more than 5 minutes and you make everyone wait for you and it makes the drill take longer for everyone.
  
• On the first night in the dining room people line up waiting for the doors to open and it takes a while for everyone to find their table. Wait about 5 minutes on the first night and the line should almost be gone by the time you get there. On other nights start to the dining room at exactly the opening time and the line should be gone when you get there.
  
• You can order as many of the appetizers and entrees as you want. The menu is no long broken into Starter, Soup, Salad, Entrée, but your server will know the correct order to server them in if you order all 4 courses. But if everyone else at your table is only ordering one starter, you will cause them to wait for their Entrée until all of your starters have been served. In the same way, multiple Entrees will cause Dessert to be delayed.
  
• You can also order anything you want off of the kids menu like hamburgers and hot dog. Most notably is the Banana Split for dessert.
  
• Most ships have a sushi cart set up during dinner if you can find it. No extra cost.
  
• There are soft service ice cream machines on the Lido deck that are available all day.
  
• Room service is free, just tip appropriately. Our nieces had milk and cookies delivered every night at bed time.
  
• Look through the schedule they give you for each day so you don't miss something you may want to do. You can often find copies of the Fun Times on line so you can have an idea what is available on board before you get there. Some things that only get a small mention in the Fun Times and no other advertising, like the Chocolate buffet (during lunch on one of the later sea days) or the Farewell Party (with free drinks).
  
• Go to the shore excursion talk and the shopping talk on the first day. Sure they are basically advertising but you can learn a lot about what is available in the ports.
  
• On Port days make sure you have a watch set on ships time, know the departure time, and get back to the ship 30 minutes - 1 hour before the departure time. The ships time does not always match the local time on shore.
  
• Although Carnival says they will wait for people on Carnival excursions, many excursions have an open ended return time or drop off for shopping. It is then up to you to make sure you get back to the ship on time. Booking through Carnival is good if you have not been off-shore before and don't know the ports very well.
  
• Carnival excursions are good and easy to book but if you are comfortable on your own in a foreign country there are less expensive tours at the port. I have not been burned by any, but make sure you know what you are getting before you buy in. Also be aware you may have to wait with them a long time while they collect enough people to fill their bus. Taxi drivers are not tour guides, but I've had good luck most of the time just getting a taxi and having them show us the city / island.
  
• You should not be afraid of the places cruise ships take you but make sure to be aware of your surroundings and use common sense. Don't carry or flash large amounts of cash. This goes for anyplace, not just cruises but sometimes on vacation people can get a little careless.
  
• Be careful when buying souvenirs. I've seen a street vendor selling silver bracelets for $20 that were $3 in a shop down the street. In Mexico a man tried to sell me impressive looking silver dollar size coins. His price started at $100 each and soon dropped to $25. Luckily I didn't buy, I found them later on ebay 3 for $10. There are many good deals, just shop around a little before spending very much.
  
• Some ports have time for more than one excursion. Do the active excursions in the morning when it's cooler (relatively) then you will look forward to the water excursions and they will feel more refreshing in the afternoon.
  
• Be aware that many of the port drinks will be stronger than what you are accustomed to on the mainland. Just one Large Margareta almost made both my SIL and BIL miss the ship.
  
• Debarkation takes a while so don't get too anxious about it. We generally have a nice leisurely breakfast in the dining room and move our carry-off luggage out of our cabin by 8-8:30. We find a nice spot on the Lido deck and read our Kindles or catch up on email until our zone is called. Some times there is a long gap between announcements. Don't sweat it thinking you missed something. The crew will make sure you get off the ship, no problem.
  

[RuthlessBoss]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I agree that booking directly with carnival would have been much simpler, and had we known this prior to booking would have done so. Lesson learned I guess. Again I had no idea just how detailed booking could be and all of the factors involved. We did decide to forfeit our OBC in exchange for the price reduction and the upgrade to the OV room. As we have nothing to compare it to I guess we will see if it was the right choice on cruise day. I really am looking forward to our first cruise but feel like I still have so much more to learn. I am a planner so am feeling a little bit like a fish out of water having never done this type of vacation before. What are some lessons learned over the years that you could pass on.

 

Mione :confused:

 

There are indeed many facets to booking and getting a deal you are happy with. You can drive yourself nuts and spend many hours searching and searching. In the end you may stumble on something great but the best thing is be happy with a deal you found, because offerings change and unless you realize what you might lose you could be bitten. What you think should be and what is, can be 2 different things.

[Budget Queen]

I just don't get your concern about the $200 OBC. IF you can lower your cruise price by $250 You are $50 AHEAD with savings. Why wouldn't you take advantage of this?

[cruizinisthebest]

If the current cabin price dropped $250, you take the lower price and let the $200 OBC for the cabin go. You're coming out ahead $50 by taking advantage of the price drop.

[chill6x6]

$250 discount > $200 OBC.

That's the bottom line!

 

Most promotions are just that, if you see something better down the line you will most likely lose whatever perk you had for the "next best thing."

 

That's right and ACTUALLY even $200 lower cabin price > $200 OBC.

[cruisinfanatic]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I agree that booking directly with carnival would have been much simpler, and had we known this prior to booking would have done so. Lesson learned I guess. Again I had no idea just how detailed booking could be and all of the factors involved. We did decide to forfeit our OBC in exchange for the price reduction and the upgrade to the OV room. As we have nothing to compare it to I guess we will see if it was the right choice on cruise day. I really am looking forward to our first cruise but feel like I still have so much more to learn. I am a planner so am feeling a little bit like a fish out of water having never done this type of vacation before. What are some lessons learned over the years that you could pass on.

 

Mione :confused:

 

don't know why you did that. By giving back the OBC, you basically pd to upgrade. You should have (still can) take the inside for the lesser cost

[Budget Queen]

don't know why you did that. By giving back the OBC, you basically pd to upgrade. You should have (still can) take the inside for the lesser cost

 

Maybe they wanted the upgraded cabin. :)

[nancyfancy40]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I agree that booking directly with carnival would have been much simpler, and had we known this prior to booking would have done so. Lesson learned I guess. Again I had no idea just how detailed booking could be and all of the factors involved. We did decide to forfeit our OBC in exchange for the price reduction and the upgrade to the OV room. As we have nothing to compare it to I guess we will see if it was the right choice on cruise day. I really am looking forward to our first cruise but feel like I still have so much more to learn. I am a planner so am feeling a little bit like a fish out of water having never done this type of vacation before. What are some lessons learned over the years that you could pass on.

 

Mione :confused:

 

Most of us do this on our first cruise. Then we discover CC and learn so much. I laugh at how much I thought I knew on my first cruise. In crusing time and experience is most definetly the prime teacher for most of us.

 

nancy

[cruisinfanatic]

Maybe they wanted the upgraded cabin. :)

They could have booked it in the first place then

[stevethepirate]

Each cruise rate has different rules. Not all include price protection or upgrades.

 

http://www.carnival.com/legal/specials-terms-conditions.aspx

[kazbar]

I have booked all of my families travel independently for the last 12 years.

One thing I have learned is that someone will always pay less than you, and many will pay more.

 

Sometimes you just have to stop looking (if you cant change your booking) and other times you just have to look at it as swings and roundabouts (what you lose in one place you will pick up somewhere else).

 

You cant expect to know everything so cut yourself some slack.

 

I think you will enjoy the oceanview more than the inside, especially for a first cruise, and you are better off to spend $100 more to have a great time, than $100 less and be wishing you had made the change once it is too late.

 

I am sure you will all have a wonderful time.

Learn what you can here on CC, without stressing about it, but remember that thousands of people cruise very happily every year without any inside information :)

[Mione]

don't know why you did that. By giving back the OBC, you basically pd to upgrade. You should have (still can) take the inside for the lesser cost

 

We actually were able to upgrade to the ocean view at a cost less then what we had booked the inside cabins for. We got a $400.00 savings and got the room upgrade as well. A great deal I think. J

[Mione]

Thank you everyone for the great insight and advice. As many suggested I called my TA and was able to change our booking to take advantage of the discounted price drop that we found on fare viewer paying less then we had for our inside cabin and even upgrading to the ocean view cabins. I know this is going to be a great vacation. Thanks again to all! :p

[cruisinfanatic]

We actually were able to upgrade to the ocean view at a cost less then what we had booked the inside cabins for. We got a $400.00 savings and got the room upgrade as well. A great deal I think. J

good deal