Any Advantage to Booking Directly Through Carnival.com or PVP?

[yazee1]

I'm Just Wondering......how Can Carnival Be Out Of Guarantee Rooms But A Travel Agent Still Have Some? I Was Also Hoping To Book Through Carnival But No Guarantee Rooms Were Available. I Did Get A Guarantee Room From An Online Ta. Hope I Find No Down Falls To This. Do You Think If I Had Called Carnival That They Would Have Honored The Price I Saw Online? It Also Came With Free Travel Insurance.

 

Cruising In Nov.:)

 

I encountered a similar situation - no Guaranteed Rooms booking with Carnvial but it was available with Travelocity, so I booked it there. The price was exactly the same. I visited my favorite TA at AAA and her quote was the same, too. Where did you find the bonus of free travel insurance? Please email me if you can't post that info on the board.

[TRISHNBRAD]

We booked thru a TA for The Glory and it turned into a nightmare, she vanished for weeks and weeks supposedly related to hurricane Frances, the time for our final payment was rapidly approaching, Carnival wouldnt talk to us because of TA, until they determined they too couldnt find her. She reappeared the day our money was due with some cock and bull story. Even before she vanished we had problems with her calling back, never getting my nationality right and getting my husbands name wrong on the initial docs. This time we booked thru a PVP, not only did we get a great deal on the flights, compared to what people are paying to fly to Rome on their own, we also got a great deal.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I must be one of the lucky ones. I have been using the same travel agent for about 4 years now and she has always gotten everything right, answers emails promptly, and gives good discounts where she is allowed.:)

 

Bill

[virginiab]

Just a hint: If you want to book direct with Carnival but there are no guarantee cabins available online, call Carnival and ask a PVP for a guaranteed cabin. We just had that issue on a new booking and it was no problem to get a guarantee through the PVP.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

In searching for rates, I find several TA's willing to give me a small discount (compared to carnival.com) on the cruise I'm currently shopping for. Is there any advantage to booking directly through Carnival? I'm thinking it's best to save the money and go through a TA, but I don't want to do it wuithout knowing if I'm missing out on some big advantage of going direct. It's about $25pp cheaper through the TA's than through Carnival. If it matters, I'll be booking a BL Balcony Guarantee on Carnival Destiny.

 

Maybe it's because we consider ourselves "seasoned cruisers" - but we choose to use a TA (on-line, discount) for booking our cruises now. We already know which cabin number we want, which date, which ship, etc.

The discount TA that we used for our up-coming 8 day Mexican Riviera saved us $600 PER PERSON - and we are in one of the aft - wrap-around balcony suites ! (I specifically asked for the one I wanted) - For our 12 Day Med Cruise for Oct 06 - we saved almost $700 per person. -

I agree, not everyone can go this way - only those that do all of their own reserach, etc. (these CC Boards give SO MUCH great info !)....

[WallyB]

Folks,

I have been on (13) Carnival cruises. I have booked directly through Carnival several times and received respectable upgrades. I have also booked through Travel Agents and received decent upgrades. Last week I saw an advertisement for a 12 night Mediterranean cruise, on the Carnival Liberty, category (4A), for $1299. with one hundred dollars onboard credit, (Cruise Only) sailing on 5/19/06.

 

I telephoned Carnival and they not only could not match this price, but they offered $1649. for a category 4B, (4A not available), without any onboard credit whatsoever.

 

Apparently, the Travel Agency had some group cabins reserved for this cruise. The moral of this story is that you must do your due diligence.

Wally B

[BaileyandBella]

I have 2 questions...can someone explain to me exactly what a guaranteed cabin means?

 

I have noticed the prices online are the same as carnivals website, but often the online TA's will say taxes fees etc are included. If you call carnival and tell them this, will they do the same thing?

[gtalum]

A Guarantee booking means you book a minimum category and are guaranteed that category or better. Yoru actual cabin is not assigned until within a few weeks of sailing.

 

For instance, you can book an Inside Guarantee, Oceanview Guarantee, Balcony Guarantee, or Suite Guarantee. You can also book a guranatee in a specific cabin class like a 4A guarantee, 4B guarantee, 8B guarantee, etc. You are guaranteed to get a cabin in your minimum class or higher.

[BaileyandBella]

Thanks. I am confused though because aren't the guaranteed ones usually cheaper...and if so, why would they be cheaper if you might get a nicer cabin?

[BaileyandBella]

Another thing....if you call Carnival will they ever give you a lower price than what it is that day or is it firm?

 

How do you know what days the prices will drop?

[Lady of the Lakes]

We booked directely thru Carnival and I had a super gal who did everything possible to get us the best rates. I guess we are not supposed to give out names. I would go thru Carnival and talk to them.

They are up-to-date on rate changes and give you great service.

[gtalum]

Thanks. I am confused though because aren't the guaranteed ones usually cheaper...and if so, why would they be cheaper if you might get a nicer cabin?

 

Because you don't get an assigned cabin. That means a lot to many people. There's also a chance you could get an undesirable cabin. Like one over the disco, or under the galley for instance. The discount is also the cruise line's way of "paying" you for your flexibility. With guarantee rooms they are free to move you around as needed to accomodate different sized parties, etc.

[gub927]

No problem IBrelaxin2...we've been upgraded (so far) to the panarama deck, balcony 8E. We paid the GTY balcony price. Hope to see you on the ship. I noticed from your other posts - that this will be a cruise for you and your fiance (by then your husband) - just for the two of you. How fun! See ya onboard.

[gub927]

No problem IBrelaxin2...we've been upgraded (so far) to the panarama deck, balcony 8E. We paid the GTY balcony price. Hope to see you on the ship. I noticed from your other posts - that this will be a cruise for you and your fiance (by then your husband) - just for the two of you. How fun! See ya onboard.

[virginia600]

I use to use a TA when I went with Carnival. Not any more, now that I have PVP. I have used her for the last 2 years and I am very pleased. She is wonderful! I think I get the best deals/upgrades/rooms etc..... She goes out of her to help me with anything that I have a questions about. On the family reunion cruises, I think she deserves a medal when dealing with all my family!

Susan

[cruisinsforme]

I'm booked for the Carnival Miracle in February and booked through a travel agent. I'm from New Jersey and am traveling with my son and my mother, sisterm niece and nephew who will be traveling from New Hampshire. My Travel Agent booked our rooms so that my mother, sister and niece were in one cabin and my nephew, son and I were in another cabin. She did this because there was a senior citizen discount which my mother could take advantage of and a New Jersey resident discount that I could take advantage of. Carnival wouldn't have told me that and we ended up saving a lot of money. My travel agent came to bat for me after a previous cruise with Disney. My son and friend's daughter both came down with Norwalk virus and we chose to fly home from St. Thomas on the 3rd day of our cruise. Disney had given us a voucher so we could book another cruise at a later date, same cabin class and same itinerary. Well, when we went to re-book, it was going to cost about $700 more. My Travel Agent got Disney into a conference call with me and we spent 45 minutes on the phone trying to resolve this. It ended up not costing me a cent more and that wouldn't have happened if my travel agent wasn't fighting for me. Remember that Carnival doesn't want to lose any future business with your travel agent. You have a lot more clout when a travel agent is involved.

[NRWO]

a) What does getting the norwalk on a Disney cruise have to do with PVPs at Carnival?

 

b) A PVP would be more than happy to arrange that deal you described for you, as they do not work on commission. If anything a TA might balk at that, but apparently you have a good one, which is great, but not representative or really having anything to do with what a PVP can or is willing to do for you.

[cruzeluver]

I booked our last cruise on a third party web site (I know, "GASP!") not through Carnival or a TA. Worked out great for me.

 

The customer service people at the site were able to answer nearly all of my questions and even walked me through getting my info onto Canival's web site so I could watch the cruise countdown clock and so forth.

 

No only that, when I did have to contact Carnival they were only too happy to assist me. No having to go back to the booking sites customer service. And I saved about $75 pp over booking direct with Carnival.

 

That said, Carnival does have some of the best customer service out there. They have heard it all, so no matter how "out there" you may think some of your questions may be they will happily assist you.

[kanda]

Hi, not meaning to get off the subject, but I can't for the life of me figure out what you're kissing in the second picture of your signature. I've looked at several of your posts, and just can't figure it out. Do you mind me asking? By the way, make sure you let us know how the triumph is, we're going in May 06 and look forward to your review.