Wow! Free Cruise on Carnival

[ibcnusoon]

I know a little more by observing the pricing to upgrade to a balcony, it was $200 cheaper to go on an 8 day than to go a 6 day...do the math, you are on there longer, therefore you will spend more.

 

I think a lot has to do with the port charges. Some port fees are higher than others.

[cece9922]

Got ours regular mail on Monday. Didn't think it was real and my husband totally thought it was a scam. I went on carnival.com and found it on my account and booked the next day! We are very excited and feel so lucky to get this. I do believe it is totally random how these are sent out, I'm just hoping mom gets one too :D

[pepperfeet]

free cruise - Was told by PVP that it also appears in your profile under My Offers . I didn't get one but was concerned that I threw it away. I just booked the Liberty for March 22 then start reading all these postand had to call. No criteria how your picked, have been on 7 carnivals.

[Elaine515]

I read these letters about a free cruise..............and I am so glad my next reservation, after next month is on Princess.

 

Princess did have the free curise. But it was offered to everyone. It was one the web site. They were begging people to take them up on it.

 

Carnival picks winners and losers and won't talk about it. I called yesterday to see if there was something you signed up for...whatever..............After 100 + days of cursing after next month....plus taking my DD's family, always taking Carnival Tours, never complaining about anything but FTTF in all of these years, writing cheer leader reviews...........I was sent to the casino. While the lady on the phone was a dear, but she said only high rollers got hers and that was all she knew about. DH is a bit of a highroller and they are rating him and that is fine. If he gets it or not. If others spent more than him..they should get it.

 

But this just giving out cruises on who they like or don't like..who lives in whatever city..or how ever they do it...................makes me want to drop my dollars somewhere else. And I will. Sorry. I do feel that way and I bet others do too. There is no rhyme or reason to this..so it becomes a personal insult.

 

I am hacked off. Maybe I am mean spirited.

 

Well then I must be mean spirited too because while I am happy for everyone that did get a free cruise, I'm pissed that we didn't get it also... 25 cruises and nothing... After my next 2 booked cruises, I might be looking elsewheres too

 

 

 

The criteria for this is unbelievable random. I don't post often on this forum, but I checked 13 different people's VIFP account (family and friends) who have anywhere from 1-30 past Carnival cruises, in different states, some book suites, other interior, gamble, drink, shore excursions and no one received this offer. We just booked the Miracle out of LA today (5 cabins) and if we received this offer I would be booking immediately on another cruise. Does Carnival not realize that these promotions will be spread wide and far through social media and by making them completely random (though, does it really seem THAT random when so many people on this forum have received the offer, considering less than 1-2% of the total cruise population visits this site) they might alienate past cruisers?

 

Let's look at this logically for the VIFP number that received this offer:

 

1) What state/location does everyone live that got this offer?

2) What types of cabins does the person who received the offer book?

3) Any gambling?

4) How much is your sign and sail account when you end the cruise? (This might be telling)

 

There must be something that is triggering this promotion, as the numbers do not make sense to be "random".

 

 

1) There are 16 family members all in Florida

2) Always book either an interior or oceanview on Riveria Deck

3) Four of us gamble.. 2 of us reach the 1500 points for Drinks on Us Card most cruises

4) Except for the tips and maybe 5-6 drinks, nothing else on our sign and sail account

 

5) 2 of us are Diamond/9 are Platinum and 4 of them havent cruised in over 2 years now.

 

 

AND NOT ONE OF US HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER :( :( :( No rhyme or reason at all....

[CheckersMidwest]

After I got the letter, I logged onto Carnival.....clicked 'my offers'......then chose past guest offers. It was listed there along with several others, like the $50 deposit.

 

After I booked our cruise, I logged on again and it was gone. I suppose so it could only be used once. I used the other promos to book the kids' cabin.

[missguy]

Did any canadians receive that offer? From what I am reading, it only seems US residents.

 

Guylaine

[keishashadow]

Has anyone from the west coast received this offer. It seems like the east coast received the majority because looking at the posts many people are Floridians and NY'ers.

 

One made it's way to Pittsburgh:D a good 8 hours' drive from NYC

[cruisin blue]

I truly am happy for everyone who is receiving this wonderful opportunity, but I really, really wish I would get a letter, too! :(

[lovinthebeach]

I've cruised Carnival 5 times. My last cruise was last July to Alaska. I received the letter 2 days ago and logged into my account and it was there, many, many choices. Since my hubs didn't get to go last summer, I booked a May cruise to Alaska, extended balcony room that should have cost $2,530 cost me $536.02. That's port fees and the upgrade to a balcony! I am one happy camper!

[dragon94]

my sister got one in the mail right before Christmas and I got mine on Monday! I was very surprised I rec'd one as we were just on the Breeze in December!

 

My DH and I are booked on the Miracle for June for Alaska! got balcony upgrade (obstructed view was offered for special pricing) but are on deck 5 overlooking lifeboat! We would probably never would have gone to Alaska if not for this offer! We are saving about $2000 with this offer!:D

If you did get one book it quick! The 'free' inside cabins go quick as my sister found out when she went to book hers when she got her letter! And the inside free cabins went within two days of me getting mine for the Alaska cruises I was looking at.

 

Happy Cruising!

[sjcruiser]

So, I was reading this thread a week or so ago, and thought lucky them!!!! We're planning moms 65th birthday cruise, and have booked several cabins for August. I go on yesterday to look at some rooms, and to book her cabin, and while searching I go to the icon that mentions deals for VIFP members. So I put in her number, and there weren't any specials for the cruise in August, but as I'm looking over the dates and cruises, I see zeroes "$0.00" next to the price for other cruises. So I start making mock bookings and go all the way through to the payment screen, and everything remains at zero, with the exception of the taxes and fees. I thought either this is a fluke or CC members were right. I then call Carnival, and they say everything is on the up and up. I then call her to see when she wants to go. She tells me the closer to her birthday the better, then I look and see that the last cruise of NY for her birthday on July 4th is June 25th, so she tells me thats fine. I then go through playing with room selections to see what they difference is ($0.00 for IS, OCV $40, BL $80), so of course I choose a balcony room, and to make the deal even better, the Spa Balcony was at the $80 rate total for the cabin not including taxes and fees. Needless to say I booked it!!!! What makes it even better is that me and my sister were just talking about getting them a short cruise (3-5 day) before our August trip so that both of them would be Gold on that cruise. Talk about coincidence!!! Thanks again to the members of CC for providing great information and tips, and passing them along to the other members!!!!

[LittleMissMagic]

The criteria for this is unbelievable random. I don't post often on this forum, but I checked 13 different people's VIFP account (family and friends) who have anywhere from 1-30 past Carnival cruises, in different states, some book suites, other interior, gamble, drink, shore excursions and no one received this offer. We just booked the Miracle out of LA today (5 cabins) and if we received this offer I would be booking immediately on another cruise. Does Carnival not realize that these promotions will be spread wide and far through social media and by making them completely random (though, does it really seem THAT random when so many people on this forum have received the offer, considering less than 1-2% of the total cruise population visits this site) they might alienate past cruisers?

 

Let's look at this logically for the VIFP number that received this offer:

 

1) What state/location does everyone live that got this offer?

2) What types of cabins does the person who received the offer book?

3) Any gambling?

4) How much is your sign and sail account when you end the cruise? (This might be telling)

 

There must be something that is triggering this promotion, as the numbers do not make sense to be "random".

 

I'm the only person from my family to receive a free cabin.

 

1) I'm from South Carolina

2) Last Carnival cruise was a balcony stateroom, Carnival cruise prior an inside

3) No gambling for me

4) I think all I bought on my last Carnival cruise was the Coke package... I was 19 at the time of sailing, so I wasn't old enough to accumulate a bar tab.

 

I do think it's rather random because I was a minor when I cruised Carnival in the past, and my parents were paying. Perhaps they see that I am no longer a minor and want to win over my future business?

 

I had spent a bit of time on Carnival's website looking at spring break cruises, though I was never logged into my VIFP account. I have been looking a lot for cruises on travel booking websites and competitors' websites.

 

Now, I am a member of Cruise Critic who posts elaborate photo reviews. My most recent review of the Royal Princess got a lot of attention, and I did mention on there how I haven't cruised on Carnival recently. I also keep a travel blog which gets a fair amount of hits, mainly from Pinterest, Cruise Critic, and Google searches. However, I don't think any of that has anything to do with me receiving the promotional offer - my presence on the Internet is not that awesome. And they would have had to do some sleuthing to link me with my VIFP number.

 

I don't think that the promotional offer was *completely* random - they had to have some deciding factors or else the success of the promotion would be really unpredictable.

Edited February 13, 2014 by LittleMissMagic

[sjcruiser]

I forgot to mention, I was scouring the website to see if I had a free cruise, but no such luck. At least someone is reaping the benefits of cruising!!!!

Edited February 13, 2014 by sjcruiser

[sjcruiser]

I'm the only person from my family to receive a free cabin.

 

1) I'm from South Carolina

2) Last Carnival cruise was a balcony stateroom, Carnival cruise prior an inside

3) No gambling for me

4) I think all I bought on my last Carnival cruise was the Coke package... I was 19 at the time of sailing, so I wasn't old enough to accumulate a bar tab.

 

I do think it's rather random because I was a minor when I cruised Carnival in the past, and my parents were paying. Perhaps they see that I am no longer a minor and want to win over my future business?

 

I had spent a bit of time on Carnival's website looking at spring break cruises, though I was never logged into my VIFP account. I have been looking a lot for cruises on travel booking websites and competitors' websites.

 

Now, I am a member of Cruise Critic who posts elaborate photo reviews. My most recent review of the Royal Princess got a lot of attention, and I did mention on there how I haven't cruised on Carnival recently. I also keep a travel blog which gets a fair amount of hits, mainly from Pinterest, Cruise Critic, and Google searches. However, I don't think any of that has anything to do with me receiving the promotional offer - my presence on the Internet is not that awesome. And they would have had to do some sleuthing to link me with my VIFP number.

 

I don't think that the promotional offer was *completely* random - they had to have some deciding factors or else the success of the promotion would be really unpredictable.

 

I've been on 5 with Carnival, and the one in August makes 6. Mom has been on 2, the one in June will make her 3rd, and in August her 4th. All of her bookings, and the booking for most other families members I have made online logged into my account, or with a PVP using the same, and she was the only one eligible for the offer online. I don't know if being retired, or if a certain age, and the thinking that you can pick up/pack-n-go has anything to do with it, and give the cruise away, and make the money back, or give a certain number of rooms away on a sailing that is not during peak seasons, or have low bookings has anything to do with it, but I'd like to know.

 

I'm a light to moderate drinker, I usually do my own excursions, I do eat in the specialty restaurants, I use the Bon Voyage Dept. for Liquor, and I gamble in the casino, but not as much as at home (I just got a casino credit for our August cruise, even though I gambled less on our cruise last August). So I don't know how they choose.

Edited February 13, 2014 by sjcruiser

[cruizinisthebest]

So, I was reading this thread a week or so ago, and thought lucky them!!!! We're planning moms 65th birthday cruise, and have booked several cabins for August. I go on yesterday to look at some rooms, and to book her cabin, and while searching I go to the icon that mentions deals for VIFP members. So I put in her number, and there weren't any specials for the cruise in August, but as I'm looking over the dates and cruises, I see zeroes "$0.00" next to the price for other cruises. So I start making mock bookings and go all the way through to the payment screen, and everything remains at zero, with the exception of the taxes and fees. I thought either this is a fluke or CC members were right. I then call Carnival, and they say everything is on the up and up. I then call her to see when she wants to go. She tells me the closer to her birthday the better, then I look and see that the last cruise of NY for her birthday on July 4th is June 25th, so she tells me thats fine. I then go through playing with room selections to see what they difference is ($0.00 for IS, OCV $40, BL $80), so of course I choose a balcony room, and to make the deal even better, the Spa Balcony was at the $80 rate total for the cabin not including taxes and fees. Needless to say I booked it!!!! What makes it even better is that me and my sister were just talking about getting them a short cruise (3-5 day) before our August trip so that both of them would be Gold on that cruise. Talk about coincidence!!! Thanks again to the members of CC for providing great information and tips, and passing them along to the other members!!!!

 

good for your mom SJ! We miss you on the roll call.

[PSkinner]

My sister and I took our Mother on a cruise in November. While I was checking for price drops I noticed that my DH had an offer to get $200 off of the cabin rate that we had booked. I called Carnival and they told me he had to go or we could not use the offer. They said they randomly pick number to receive offers.

 

Tuesday while checking rate for our September cruise I noticed DH again had an offer that I didn't; the free cabin! This time he is going!!! oh, and so am I. We upgraded to a Vista Balcony on the Magic for total price of $290!. Ready to pack!

[ibcnusoon]

I thought either this is a fluke or CC members were right. I then call Carnival, and they say everything is on the up and up. I then call her to see when she wants to go. She tells me the closer to her birthday the better, then I look and see that the last cruise of NY for her birthday on July 4th is June 25th, so she tells me thats fine. I then go through playing with room selections to see what they difference is ($0.00 for IS, OCV $40, BL $80), so of course I choose a balcony room, and to make the deal even better, the Spa Balcony was at the $80 rate total for the cabin not including taxes and fees. Needless to say I booked it!!!

 

We got a free inside spa balcony right before you on the 6/17 Splendor. I cannot believe the Spa cabins were included with no upcharge or anything! Our total came to $288. The 8-day spa passes alone, if purchased on the ship are $268 per couple! Technically, I'm paying only $20 for my 8-day cabin! :D

[barrelracer89]

I wonder how much longer they will be giving away the free cruises or if they all have been giving away

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[GatorGirl57]

I posted this once in the thread and I think it got lost - I see people saying over and over again that they booked online or through their PVP. Did anyone who use travel agents get this offer?

[jerseyjjs]

Just tried calling Carnival about this and was told by the representative that this was through an agency and not Carnival itself. I didn't buy it but I'm not going to keep calling until I get a knowledgeable (or non-apathetic) rep to get conclusive details. As of right now, I'm getting the 2-category upgrade offered.

[Midwestgal]

I upgraded to an aft extended balcony , I hope it wasn't a mistake as I like mid-ship cabins.

[PSkinner]

Just tried calling Carnival about this and was told by the representative that this was through an agency and not Carnival itself. I didn't buy it but I'm not going to keep calling until I get a knowledgeable (or non-apathetic) rep to get conclusive details. As of right now, I'm getting the 2-category upgrade offered.

 

We have always booked online; never through an agency and our letter came directly from Carnival

[elliair]

I got one of those letters too and free is not really free. No way would I book an inside room nor pay extra for a balcony. No way would I ever cruise again on the Inspiration. Good offer for those who want to cruise on an old ship filled with children running amuck. Not worth the effort. JMHO.

[DebJ14]

My son got his letter from Carnival yesterday. It said he could either book via Carnival or through his travel professional. He threw the letter in the trash. He said his experience on the Triumph over Memorial Day 2012 was so bad they couldn't get him back on Carnival, even with a free cruise offer.

DH and I were enticed back to Carnival by a free cruise offer we got in mid Dec. We're booked for next month.

I don't know if I should be glad that he has principles and can't be bought or sad to realize that DH and I can be bought!

[cruizinisthebest]

I got one of those letters too and free is not really free. No way would I book an inside room nor pay extra for a balcony. No way would I ever cruise again on the Inspiration. Good offer for those who want to cruise on an old ship filled with children running amuck. Not worth the effort. JMHO.

 

Maybe you should read the whole thread. Not every offer is on an old ship and not everyone is booking insides. You can get the cabin you want. As for kids running around, you take a chance on having minors as fellow cruisers on any cruise, on any line, on any date. Not every child is running wild and not every adult has a problem with kids. The only issue I have with the free cruise is that I didn't get one, lol, but I certainly would come on here and insult other people's plans because it's not what I would do if such an offer came my way. :rolleyes:

Edited February 13, 2014 by cruizinisthebest