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Price Protection Craziness!!

cruisinnewbie629
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cruisinnewbie629

cruisinnewbie629

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I booked the Carnival Pride for 8/17/14 back in January on Early Saver (4 ppl / extended Balcony/ Verndah Deck). I have been checking the prices just about daily and did finally get to take advange of a price drop a few days ago and received an OBC for $186.00.

 

I decided to hop on today and check it again. I did mock booking and was shocked to see a more=merrier rate that dropped my price down by almost $1,000.00:eek::eek::eek:. So I called Carnival (price protection form wasn't working when you hit submit) and got a rep on the phone.

 

First, I was told that I wasn't booked as Early Saver, but when I asked her to kindly double check, she came back and said I was right and then proceeded to look up the price drop.

 

She could not find the fabulous rate that was staring at me in the face:confused:; so she had me do a 24 courtesy hold booking so she could then look at it. She looked at the booking and was super confused because she said she could not recreate the rate on her end at all. I have now been on hold for over 1/2 hour while she tries to figure this out.

 

I am wondering if this is a website glitch if they will honor the price since I was able to book it.

 

Will come back and update with the final result when I finally get off of perpetual hold..LOL :rolleyes:

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aqua blue me

aqua blue me

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Our cruise is next week. I matched all my price protections to the more the merrier and it all went fine. I think I did a total of 3. Don't back down cause the sale does fit es. On the last one I did I tried the form to its best over the phone because who knows what could happen in the 3 days it might take for them to reply. Good luck!

 

 

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cruisinnewbie629

cruisinnewbie629

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So they told me it was def a "glitch" so they can't honor the Early Saver Price Protection. The rep was on with a Supervisor now who said I could cancel my original booking (and lose my $50/pp deposit - $200) and keep the booking that I just reserved for $1000.00 less. Plus I wouldn't get an OBC, they will refund me the difference instead. So, I would be rebooking for the same cabin at $1,000 less fare and receiving a refund check for over $1,000. Sounds great, right??? :rolleyes:

 

Well, except the cancellation fee is not $50/00; it is now $1,000 on my original booking because I did the price protection 2 days ago to get the $186.00 OBC. ::smacks head:: When that happened, they switched me to the More = Merrier rate and that increased the cancellation fee to $1,000. Ugh. :(

 

So I tried arguing that they should still be honoring the price that I was able to reserve and that if someone else was online at the time I was and booked at the lower price they would have to honor it; so they should honor it for me. The supervisor said no, they were already doing me a favor letting me "rebook" at the better rate so they wouldn't drop the cancellation fee. So really there was no point as the cancellation fee would eat up any savings I would get and I would lose the Faster to the Fun.

 

I told her; while I understood it was a "glitch", I felt they should still do something. After all, I was on hold for over an hour and a half while they "looked into this".

 

They are sending Champagne and Strawberries to the cabin. :cool:

 

I guess I need to take into perspective that it wasn't a real rate and I am still getting a great rate and going to have a fabulous vacation. Just feeling deflated after all the excitement of the possibility of saving $1,000:(

 

I'm tired now...LOL

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LzyCruiser_NWA

LzyCruiser_NWA

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So they told me it was def a "glitch" so they can't honor the Early Saver Price Protection. The rep was on with a Supervisor now who said I could cancel my original booking (and lose my $50/pp deposit - $200) and keep the booking that I just reserved for $1000.00 less. Plus I wouldn't get an OBC, they will refund me the difference instead. So, I would be rebooking for the same cabin at $1,000 less fare and receiving a refund check for over $1,000. Sounds great, right??? :rolleyes:

 

Well, except the cancellation fee is not $50/00; it is now $1,000 on my original booking because I did the price protection 2 days ago to get the $186.00 OBC. ::smacks head:: When that happened, they switched me to the More = Merrier rate and that increased the cancellation fee to $1,000. Ugh. :(

 

So I tried arguing that they should still be honoring the price that I was able to reserve and that if someone else was online at the time I was and booked at the lower price they would have to honor it; so they should honor it for me. The supervisor said no, they were already doing me a favor letting me "rebook" at the better rate so they wouldn't drop the cancellation fee. So really there was no point as the cancellation fee would eat up any savings I would get and I would lose the Faster to the Fun.

 

I told her; while I understood it was a "glitch", I felt they should still do something. After all, I was on hold for over an hour and a half while they "looked into this".

 

They are sending Champagne and Strawberries to the cabin. :cool:

 

I guess I need to take into perspective that it wasn't a real rate and I am still getting a great rate and going to have a fabulous vacation. Just feeling deflated after all the excitement of the possibility of saving $1,000:(

 

I'm tired now...LOL

 

Something is wrong there.

 

I've had multiple agents tell me that once Early Saver, you're always an early saver and you cannot lose that status if you're price matching unless you price matched to a lower type deal like super saver (which doesn't let you select rooms etc)

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bannerboxer

bannerboxer

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Something is wrong there.

 

I've had multiple agents tell me that once Early Saver, you're always an early saver and you cannot lose that status if you're price matching unless you price matched to a lower type deal like super saver (which doesn't let you select rooms etc)

 

 

I agree.. Something seems odd. I too thought You were alwasy and early saver, even if you apply for an OBC from a sale rate????

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cruisinnewbie629

cruisinnewbie629

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I questioned that too. She kept telling me that once I did the price protection, it was as if I booked under the new promotion and lost my old promotion. I guess the old promo had the $50/pp cancelation fee and the More=Merrier promo did no???? She said I could still use the Early Saver perks and get a price adjustment for up to 2 days before sailing. so I said, then I should still have the Early Saver rate as my promo. She still said not.

I am looking now to find an email address to send my complaint and screenshots to for assistance. I guess I'll start with the standard "contact us" email on Carnival's site.

I'll let you know how I make out ;)

Edited by cruisinnewbie629
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luv2trvlnow

luv2trvlnow

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I questioned that too. She kept telling me that once I did the price protection, it was as if I booked under the new promotion and lost my old promotion. I guess the old promo had the $50/pp cancelation fee and the More=Merrier promo did no???? She said I could still use the Early Saver perks and get a price adjustment for up to 2 days before sailing. so I said, then I should still have the Early Saver rate as my promo. She still said not.

I am looking now to find an email address to send my complaint and screenshots to for assistance. I guess I'll start with the standard "contact us" email on Carnival's site.

I'll let you know how I make out ;)

When I check your cruise I do find the More=Merrier rate. But there are 2 of them. One that allows you to choose your room, the other doesn't. Which one are you booked with and which one were you trying to match to?

 

It could definitely have an affect on your booking. If they let you switch to the one that was a guarantee last time (which they usually don't, but if they did), you probably couldn't price match now. Or if you are trying to match now to the one that is a guarantee, they aren't allowing that since you aren't matching the exact category.

 

Sharon

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aqua blue me

aqua blue me

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I never picked the guarantee when I did the more the merrier I choose pick your own. I would try to call again later. The people I talked to each time I called never had a problem adjusting mine. The last time I did one was maybe Tuesday and I cruise this coming Thursday. Doesn't make sense to me at all. It should not change your ES.

 

 

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onewildrice

onewildrice

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I booked ES in February. End of March, I sent in for a $40 price drop with the "kid sail fee" promo they had. This past Tuesday, I sent in for the more=merrier which was a $280 savings and got the OBC the next day.

 

I have always thought it was that once you booked ES, you stayed as that.

 

Hope it all works out for you, I would be sick if there was an opportunity to get $1000 and i was unable to get it.

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uksimonusa

uksimonusa

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So they told me it was def a "glitch" so they can't honor the Early Saver Price Protection. The rep was on with a Supervisor now who said I could cancel my original booking (and lose my $50/pp deposit - $200) and keep the booking that I just reserved for $1000.00 less. Plus I wouldn't get an OBC, they will refund me the difference instead. So, I would be rebooking for the same cabin at $1,000 less fare and receiving a refund check for over $1,000. Sounds great, right??? :rolleyes:

 

Well, except the cancellation fee is not $50/00; it is now $1,000 on my original booking because I did the price protection 2 days ago to get the $186.00 OBC. ::smacks head:: When that happened, they switched me to the More = Merrier rate and that increased the cancellation fee to $1,000. Ugh. :(

 

So I tried arguing that they should still be honoring the price that I was able to reserve and that if someone else was online at the time I was and booked at the lower price they would have to honor it; so they should honor it for me. The supervisor said no, they were already doing me a favor letting me "rebook" at the better rate so they wouldn't drop the cancellation fee. So really there was no point as the cancellation fee would eat up any savings I would get and I would lose the Faster to the Fun.

 

I told her; while I understood it was a "glitch", I felt they should still do something. After all, I was on hold for over an hour and a half while they "looked into this".

 

They are sending Champagne and Strawberries to the cabin. :cool:

 

I guess I need to take into perspective that it wasn't a real rate and I am still getting a great rate and going to have a fabulous vacation. Just feeling deflated after all the excitement of the possibility of saving $1,000:(

 

I'm tired now...LOL

 

Not as bad as another member of the Carnival Family

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2048149

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irishnyc

irishnyc

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Im a little confused. I thought you have to fill out a form and wait for a reply for getting a price reduction with early saver? I thought you couldnt call to get the reduced rate.

You're not supposed to call. People do it anyway.

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S.S.Oceanlover

S.S.Oceanlover

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So they told me it was def a "glitch" so they can't honor the Early Saver Price Protection. The rep was on with a Supervisor now who said I could cancel my original booking (and lose my $50/pp deposit - $200) and keep the booking that I just reserved for $1000.00 less. Plus I wouldn't get an OBC, they will refund me the difference instead. So, I would be rebooking for the same cabin at $1,000 less fare and receiving a refund check for over $1,000. Sounds great, right??? :rolleyes:

 

Well, except the cancellation fee is not $50/00; it is now $1,000 on my original booking because I did the price protection 2 days ago to get the $186.00 OBC. ::smacks head:: When that happened, they switched me to the More = Merrier rate and that increased the cancellation fee to $1,000. Ugh. :(

 

So I tried arguing that they should still be honoring the price that I was able to reserve and that if someone else was online at the time I was and booked at the lower price they would have to honor it; so they should honor it for me. The supervisor said no, they were already doing me a favor letting me "rebook" at the better rate so they wouldn't drop the cancellation fee. So really there was no point as the cancellation fee would eat up any savings I would get and I would lose the Faster to the Fun.

 

I told her; while I understood it was a "glitch", I felt they should still do something. After all, I was on hold for over an hour and a half while they "looked into this".

 

They are sending Champagne and Strawberries to the cabin. :cool:

 

I guess I need to take into perspective that it wasn't a real rate and I am still getting a great rate and going to have a fabulous vacation. Just feeling deflated after all the excitement of the possibility of saving $1,000:(

 

I'm tired now...LOL

 

was your original booking one that final payment was due 30 days before sailing and when you did the price protection it changed you to a final payment date of 75 days?

 

Bill

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cruisinnewbie629

cruisinnewbie629

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was your original booking one that final payment was due 30 days before sailing and when you did the price protection it changed you to a final payment date of 75 days?

 

Bill

 

No, the original booking was in January and was only $50 per person deposit. Final payment was due on June 3rd and I made it then. My cancellation fee at that time was $200. But when I called to take advantage of the $186 price drop for the more=merrier rate (not the one where carnival picks your room), that apparently changed my cancellation fee to $1,000.

 

I think that the problem here is not that I can't do a price match, I still can. The problem is that Carnival said that the price I was able to find online and reserve with the 24 hour hold was a "bogus" price and was showing up due to a glitch in the system. They looked into it behind the scenes and found that the computer geeks were doing something with the rates to test for a future sale and somehow dropped the charge/rate for the 3rd and 4th passengers. That is why I could not get the $1,000 as a price match. They were going to let me book the new room with the bogus price since I was able to reserve it; but it didn't make sense as they were assessing a $1,000 cancel fee now on my original reservation.

 

The whole thing made my head spin at the time, but I really do get it. the price was a mistake and I am still getting a great deal and continuing to check for price drops.

 

thanks everyone for all of the great advice/opinions on this.:)

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Eeyoregon

Eeyoregon

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Something is wrong there.

 

I've had multiple agents tell me that once Early Saver, you're always an early saver and you cannot lose that status if you're price matching unless you price matched to a lower type deal like super saver (which doesn't let you select rooms etc)

 

BINGO! I agree. Something is wrong. Once you book Early Saver, unless you cancel all together, you are ALWAYS Early Saver and under that booking status you can then take advantage of any price drops, regardless of which "promo" they are under...it doesn't change you to that promo.

 

With the screen shots that OP has and proof that her original booking was/is Early Saver, she needs to climb the ladder!!

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