Question On Price and Promotional Fares

[GulfCoaster]

Hello!

 

Less then a month ago Carnival had a promotion for $99.00 deposits each passenger and you pay the balance off 30 days before you cruise. I booked it. Anyway, checking their site today I see there are a few different promotions available that offer lower fares and even one that offers an on board credit.

 

My question is, I do not know if what I booked would be considered an Early Saver (especially since you have a "float" before final is due) or if my booking would be entitled to any OBC due to the new promotions which are less money then my orginal booked fare.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on what I could do?

 

Thanks!

[falkcor]

i'm not sure exactly what rate you booked, but the reduced deposit fares are not typically early saver.

 

if you are before final payment, with any fare you are entitled to price match for a reduction in the balance due. if you are after final payment, only early saver qualifies for the price match for onboard credit.

 

NOTE: when you price match to a different fare, unless the new fare also offers the reduced deposits, the FULL deposit is due IMMEDIATELY. there have been several instances where this was not made clear to the cruiser, especially when price matching online via the form, and if the deposit is not paid the cruise WILL be cancelled, sometimes without further notice.

 

my specific suggestion would be to figure out exactly what kind of fare you booked first :)

[winddawn]

Hello!

 

Less then a month ago Carnival had a promotion for $99.00 deposits each passenger and you pay the balance off 30 days before you cruise. I booked it. Anyway, checking their site today I see there are a few different promotions available that offer lower fares and even one that offers an on board credit.

 

My question is, I do not know if what I booked would be considered an Early Saver (especially since you have a "float" before final is due) or if my booking would be entitled to any OBC due to the new promotions which are less money then my orginal booked fare.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on what I could do?

 

Thanks!

The only way I know of to determine whether you booked early saver is to call Carnival and ask. I agree with falkcor though that you need to be careful with your booking since you have a reduced deposit. If you price match to a fare that does not offer that same reduced deposit, the full deposit would be due if you do price match to it, and that may not always be understood before accepting a lower price.

 

When is your sail date?

[GulfCoaster]

Thank you both for your help on this. The Sail Date is the end of May.

 

I booked this promotion because of the final payment due date being 30 dates from sailing. Due to work issues, I have had to cancel a cruise or two after final and have lost money, so the 30 day window looked good for my situation. I guess you pay a bit higher in fare for the privilege of floating until "last minute" but right now there is a $120.00 difference between what I booked last month and what is available now, same deck same cabin cat. - and you even get a $50.00 OBC with the promotion currently running.

[cruizinisthebest]

Thank you both for your help on this. The Sail Date is the end of May.

 

I booked this promotion because of the final payment due date being 30 dates from sailing. Due to work issues, I have had to cancel a cruise or two after final and have lost money, so the 30 day window looked good for my situation. I guess you pay a bit higher in fare for the privilege of floating until "last minute" but right now there is a $120.00 difference between what I booked last month and what is available now, same deck same cabin cat. - and you even get a $50.00 OBC with the promotion currently running.

 

You can call or submit the form for the new pricing but unless the rate comes with that late final payment date, payment will be due in full with a cruise date in May.

[GulfCoaster]

I called Carnival as suggested and got the answer and it is just as you said....

 

If I change to another promo - I would get the price drop, however the full deposit is due right then and there (I asked first about this before anything was done) and I would also lose the 30 day final payment due date. That won't work right now with our situation.

 

So, I will just have to "suck it up" and when we get closer to 30 days out and I know for sure that we will be taking the cruise and not pulling any cancel stunts due to circumstances beyond my control, I will check pricing and go from there. Then I thought, what if I upgrade the cabin from Inside to OV - but I am afraid the same goes for that. The OV is now less money then an Inside but it would be an upgrade. Sorry if I sound like I want my cake and want to eat it too! But what the heck.....

 

Anyway, I cannot thank you both enough for your help on this.