Early Saver Discount

[E&B]

We've decided to do a Carnival cruise next August and have already picked out ship and itinerary. I'm comfortable with the fares now, but not ready to book. The non-refundable deposit is holding me back, since we have older teenagers and won't know their plans until at least January. One is a senior in high school and we don't even know where he'll be at school next year or when he needs to show up on campus. So dates are pretty certain, but not set in stone yet.

 

So, not having any experience with Carnival, are fares likely to go up? Or is the Early Saver fare expected to stay consistent until it's five months out? I think that's when I read it goes away, but not sure.

[Taylor95]

I recently booked for next May with similar situations. My daughter is in college and her schedule right now is tentative and can change etc. as well as she didn't know who she wanted to take with her on the trip. So, I booked under a different promo that allows me to make changes or cancel if needed without penalty. Once the date gets a little closer and we are sure of everything, I might switch over to early saver. My PVP said it is usually available until 4 months before your cruise. I'm new to Carnival also, but on my early saver booking I have for this October the fare has not changed since I booked it last August.

[riffatsea]

Hi,

There is no guarantee that prices will stay the same all year. Fares go up and down regularly. I agree that it sounds like you need to book under a different fare that is not as rigid as the Early Saver. You may have to pay a bit more but at least you'd be able to make changes without a penalty.

[bakersdozen12]

It really depends on how the particular cruise is selling. I can tell you for my cruise in Oct, the fare for a cove balcony (double occupancy) is now $574 more than when I booked in April. I booked the Early Saver rate, which is no longer available.

[HawksFan74]

Has anyone in you party cruised with Carnival before? If so, you should be eligible for the past guest rate, which is fully refundable until final payment. I have found the pricing to be pretty close to Early Saver. It also comes with a 2 category upgrade, so some rooms may actually be cheaper than ES, since you can get a deck 8 balcony for the price of a deck 6 balcony, for example.

[marcimm]

We booked our family and friends cruise for August 2016 back in April/May this year. Most under past guest, some Fun Select. This way, we can, and have already made, changes without penalty but have booked cabins of our choice. We plan on changing to Early Saver sometime early next year when our twentysomething kids' plans are firmed up. We have extended balconies and insides booked so hoping for drops but the past guest fares are reasonable for our cruise right now.

[jayscore]

I've booked Early Saver for the last few cruises.

That being said, I have also bought trip insurance for various reasons. This next cruise, I included the "cancel for any reason" rate. The few bucks you save with Early Saver helps to offset the price of the insurance.

Just my 2 cents worth.;)

[Taylors]

Jay who did you buy insurance through?

[dadroy]

The non refundable deposit is a bit misleading. With early saver, if someone needs to cancel, you are charged $50 as a change fee and the remaining deposit is kept by Carnival as a credit for your next cruise within the next year (could be 2 years).

 

Check with a GOOD travel agent and they can tell you exactly how this works. I think the held deposit is in the name of the person who's CC is charged, so you could use this for your next cruise. If you cruise enough this would wok for you.

 

Not a total loss, just the cancel fee of $50 per person.

[portocaller]

I booked Early Saver 10 months in advance. Early Saver. I kept and eye on the fares and they went up and down about $5 until April when they dropped substantially for approximately five days and then went right back up. I wouldn't book this fare until you are more firm on dates though. In September I realized we were only getting a two week window so I booked but if it took until January I wouldn't have been worse off. But my experience is for the past and the future can be so different.