Early savers/ reduced deposit - MAD

[hlb76]

Please help.. what am I missing? We booked an ES cruise for next Jan when they had a $49 deposit sale. So today I see a price drop and do a mock booking to make sure the drop is legit plus see what my new deposit would be. so here is my mock booking

It shows the deposit on a new booking would be 148.50. So I quick paid an extra $10 to make sure my balance was high enough before I submitted the form. Well low an behold I get approved for my drop and I now owe $500 plus on my deposit. WHAT.. the deposit sale is still on but a bit more. Where does this $500 come into play??

 

Guess I have to call and ask. But ti just makes me mad. I never would of submitted if I had to pay full deposit right now.

[hftmrock]

what sale was the price drop part of?

 

'most' of the time if you booked under a reduced deposit and apply for a price drop, you will be required to pay the entire deposit immediately

 

Telling us what the sale was will help

[hlb76]

I dont know how to make the attachment any bigger so I copied and pasted which doesn't really help.

 

 

PAYMENT INFORMATION

 

Stateroom 1 of 1

Travelers: HEATHER BATDORF, travis Batdorf, Ethan seibert

Hide Trip Details

Total Stateroom Cost

$2,190.23

$730.08 Avg. Per Person

Guest Name Cruise Rate

Taxes, Fees

& Port Expenses

Gratuities Transfers Vacation Protection Learn More Total

HEATHER $834.00 $114.41 Not Selected Not Selected Add for $109.00 $948.41

travis $834.00 $114.41 Not Selected Not Selected Add for $109.00 $948.41

Ethan $179.00 $114.41 Not Selected Not Selected Add for $49.00 $293.41

110% Lowest Price Guarantee:

FREE

Total Stateroom Cost: $2,190.23

Total Price $2,190.23

Pay Total Amount

$2,190.23

Pay Deposit Amount

$148.50

Edited April 27, 2016 by hlb76

[hftmrock]

I am looking more to the actual sale. is it 'past guest' or 'early saver' or 'sign and sail'

 

I know you booked early saver but the sale that you see for less might not be early saver.

 

If it is, it may no longer be with a reduced deposit.

[klfrodo]

You changed your booking

You are no longer eligible for the reduced deposit. You must pay the full deposit.

You do get the price drop though.

 

Welcome to ES

 

Thank goodness you figured out that you owed the rest of your deposit.

Some people don't figure that out until they realize that their reservation has been cancelled.

Edited April 27, 2016 by klfrodo

[Schoifmom]

Please help.. what am I missing? We booked an ES cruise for next Jan when they had a $49 deposit sale. So today I see a price drop and do a mock booking to make sure the drop is legit plus see what my new deposit would be. so here is my mock booking

[ATTACH]383791[/ATTACH] It shows the deposit on a new booking would be 148.50. So I quick paid an extra $10 to make sure my balance was high enough before I submitted the form. Well low an behold I get approved for my drop and I now owe $500 plus on my deposit. WHAT.. the deposit sale is still on but a bit more. Where does this $500 come into play??

 

Guess I have to call and ask. But ti just makes me mad. I never would of submitted if I had to pay full deposit right now.

 

As far as I know, if you submit a price drop you are required to pay the full deposit, regardless of whatever sales are going on, unless you cancel and rebook (which would cost you $50 per person).

[ready2cruzagain]

Even though the sale now has a reduced deposit, when you price matched with ES the conditions are that you have to pay the full deposit. At least that is what I have been told.

Edited April 27, 2016 by ready2cruzagain

[StolidCruiser]

The terms and conditions of the current Reduced Deposit promotion:

 

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-deals/early-saver.aspx

 

EARLY SAVER SALE

The Early Saver fare is subject to availability and is capacity controlled. $49 per person deposit is applicable to 2 -9 day sailings, and $149 per person deposit is applicable to 10+ days, Alaska, and all Vista sailings. Changes made to the reservation may result in the assessment of cancellation penalties or service fees. Full names are required for each guest. Carnival reserves the right to withdraw and/or change offer at any time without prior notice. Price Protection applies to the cruise fare only and does not include Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses. Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses range from $56.90 to $359.73, and are assessed on a per guest basis for all guests according to the itinerary. Early Saver fare is backed by a unique price protection policy (only available to bookings made in USD currency) that allows you to adjust your cruise fare to the best available fare for a like category stateroom (no downgrades allowed) advertised by Carnival and available to the general public. Price protection will be subject to the prevailing Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses and/or fuel supplement if applicable. Carnival will honor your request for price protection if the reduction on the total amount paid for your booking results only from a lower cruise fare and not from the booked ancillary services, such as air, transfers, pre-paid gratuities, or Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses. The guest is responsible for increases to ancillary services such as air, resulting from changes to ship and/or sail date, or adjustments to cruise fare. Early Saver price protection does not apply to group rates, membership programs, charters, select promotional fares, travel agent rebates, or other travel agent promotions not offered by Carnival to the general public. When re-pricing to a new promotion, guest assumes all terms and conditions of the new promotion and may forfeit any or all features associated with the original fare, such as cabin assignment, onboard credit, an upgrade, special deposit and payment terms, etc. A $50 change fee per guest will be assessed for ship and/or sail date changes made prior to final payment due date. Remaining funds are nonrefundable/nontransferable and will be held as a future cruise credit to be applied to your cruise fare on a sailing within 24 months from the date of cancellation. Unused portions are forfeited. Offer is not applicable on Carnival Australia. Must book between April 26, 2016 and April 30, 2016 EDT. Offer is applicable on sailings between July 2016 and April 2018. Request Early Saver. Ships' Registry: The Bahamas, Panama & Malta.

 

Because the current reduced deposit promotion is only for bookings made between April 26 and April 30, you no longer qualify as you hold an existing booking. Therefore, you can qualify for a price match based on current pricing but not the reduced deposit portion of the current promotion.

 

Convoluted? Yes. But the terms are fairly straight-forward if you read them.

[crzndeb]

I have posted on several threads about reduced deposits. This is a very common practice on Carnival...have a reduced deposit, then have a price drop. It gets people to book. Unless the price drop also includes a reduced deposit, then you will have to pay it in full for the new rate change.

[hlb76]

fixed... happy camper again

[cruizinisthebest]

The OP should call. The deposit due at the time of booking or at the time of submitting a price drop is whatever the required amount is at that time.

 

This reduced deposit promo says deposits STARTING @ $49pp. Hers is higher than that but she paid it. Still less than the normal deposit. There's no reason why the system is asking for even more money as she found a price drop under a reduced deposit and she paid it.

 

I initially booked under the $50 promo Carnival offered at the very beginning of the year. Then a few weeks later, I decided to change my room type. The deposit at the time of the change 50%. Not $50. I paid the additional amount to meet the 50% deposit and changed my room. Done. I didn't have to then come up with the full deposit amount. Promos always say applicable to "new sailings only" yet ES couldn't exist if they held to that. I would call.

[cruizinisthebest]

fixed... happy camper again

 

Glad you got it fixed. Cause it didn't make sense!:)

[amyh13]

So you only had to pay the $49 deposit? Great news. I am looking at the current sale and that is good information.

[Micahs Grandad]

ES is great but have to watch those pesky details. Have been bitten more than once.

 

This is when a good pvp comes in handy.

[Cruisegirl6]

I wouldn't get upset or stressed about the reduced deposit, in fact I avoid them because I prefer booking on the lowest early bird rate I can find and generally find it goes down and that gets honored...to me the total price of the cruise is what is most important, as far as the reduced deposit, I have to pay it anyways so they not doing me a favor, its just a psychological marketing tool they use to get people to book...either way the price of the cruise is going to be paid.

[amyh13]

I wouldn't get upset or stressed about the reduced deposit, in fact I avoid them because I prefer booking on the lowest early bird rate I can find and generally find it goes down and that gets honored...to me the total price of the cruise is what is most important, as far as the reduced deposit, I have to pay it anyways so they not doing me a favor, its just a psychological marketing tool they use to get people to book...either way the price of the cruise is going to be paid.

 

You are right, in the end, the price is the same. And we could book with a past guest rate for the same price.

 

But I will say that we are looking at a 8 day cruise, $1200 deposit for a family of 4 for next June, final payment due in April. I get a bonus every year in March. $198 to get it booked with my room of choice is not only psychologically attractive but fiscally as well :D

[hlb76]

I agree.. ES could never exist if you couldn't make changes. "new sailings Only" would mean we could never get a reduced price.

 

I normally don't worry about reduced deposits as well. This time we wanted to get booked right away and didn't have the $$ for the full deposit. We have 2 other cruises I wanted to pay off first, our seasonal campground fee, we just got home from a cruise we need to finish paying the odds and end etc. It was just not in the budget today. Yet our friends are going and wanted to get specific rooms while available.

 

 

I'm glad we got it fixed.

[sfaaa]

I will take $10 price reduction over reduced deposit any day especially when you get 0% interest at the bank.

[NightOne]

The terms and conditions of the current Reduced Deposit promotion:

 

http://www.carnival.com/cruise-deals/early-saver.aspx

 

EARLY SAVER SALE

The Early Saver fare is subject to availability and is capacity controlled. $49 per person deposit is applicable to 2 -9 day sailings, and $149 per person deposit is applicable to 10+ days, Alaska, and all Vista sailings. Changes made to the reservation may result in the assessment of cancellation penalties or service fees. Full names are required for each guest. Carnival reserves the right to withdraw and/or change offer at any time without prior notice. Price Protection applies to the cruise fare only and does not include Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses. Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses range from $56.90 to $359.73, and are assessed on a per guest basis for all guests according to the itinerary. Early Saver fare is backed by a unique price protection policy (only available to bookings made in USD currency) that allows you to adjust your cruise fare to the best available fare for a like category stateroom (no downgrades allowed) advertised by Carnival and available to the general public. Price protection will be subject to the prevailing Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses and/or fuel supplement if applicable. Carnival will honor your request for price protection if the reduction on the total amount paid for your booking results only from a lower cruise fare and not from the booked ancillary services, such as air, transfers, pre-paid gratuities, or Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses. The guest is responsible for increases to ancillary services such as air, resulting from changes to ship and/or sail date, or adjustments to cruise fare. Early Saver price protection does not apply to group rates, membership programs, charters, select promotional fares, travel agent rebates, or other travel agent promotions not offered by Carnival to the general public. When re-pricing to a new promotion, guest assumes all terms and conditions of the new promotion and may forfeit any or all features associated with the original fare, such as cabin assignment, onboard credit, an upgrade, special deposit and payment terms, etc. A $50 change fee per guest will be assessed for ship and/or sail date changes made prior to final payment due date. Remaining funds are nonrefundable/nontransferable and will be held as a future cruise credit to be applied to your cruise fare on a sailing within 24 months from the date of cancellation. Unused portions are forfeited. Offer is not applicable on Carnival Australia. Must book between April 26, 2016 and April 30, 2016 EDT. Offer is applicable on sailings between July 2016 and April 2018. Request Early Saver. Ships' Registry: The Bahamas, Panama & Malta.

 

Because the current reduced deposit promotion is only for bookings made between April 26 and April 30, you no longer qualify as you hold an existing booking. Therefore, you can qualify for a price match based on current pricing but not the reduced deposit portion of the current promotion.

 

Convoluted? Yes. But the terms are fairly straight-forward if you read them.

 

A price match under ES is not a change the to the reservation thus cancellation penalties are not applicable.

 

The re-pricing terms and conditions section you point out just means that you do not get anything that was part of the original booking that is not part of the new booking. For example, if you had $50 OBC with the original booking and that is not the current deal then you will lose it. However, the OP was booked under reduced deposit and is price matching to a reduced deposit promo so that has no effect on her booking.

 

Finally, she is price matching in the window for the current promo so she is good there. Otherwise price matching would never work.

 

I suspect the problem all along was that the system doesn't handle this kind of price-match automatically and someone at Carnival had to manually adjust it. (which is what happened when she called)

 

:)

 

Personally, I never book under ES anymore because you can never get your deposit back if you have to cancel.

 

*If* I did ever book under ES again for some strange reason it would definitely be under a $49 deposit because that means the most I could lose if I had to cancel that ES is $49 pp. That is a huge advantage to the reduced deposit sales. (less money at risk)

[NightOne]

I agree.. ES could never exist if you couldn't make changes. "new sailings Only" would mean we could never get a reduced price.

 

Exactly! :)

 

I normally don't worry about reduced deposits as well. This time we wanted to get booked right away and didn't have the $$ for the full deposit. We have 2 other cruises I wanted to pay off first, our seasonal campground fee, we just got home from a cruise we need to finish paying the odds and end etc. It was just not in the budget today. Yet our friends are going and wanted to get specific rooms while available.

 

Personally I think that is the the only way to book an ES (reduced deposit). Otherwise, I am booking Fun Select and waiting for sales with non-ES rates that are close to the ES rate. (which happens)

 

 

 

I'm glad we got it fixed.

 

Yup. :)

[NightOne]

I will take $10 price reduction over reduced deposit any day especially when you get 0% interest at the bank.

 

So you would take your deposit up from $49 to $250 pp to save $10 :confused::confused::confused:

 

(if booked under reduce deposit obviously)

[amyh13]

Agreed NightOne. I booked an early saver fare last year but we were only about 2 weeks from final payment. We were definitely going. I did not anticipate any price decreases but it was the cheapest rate.

 

At this point, I am only out $198 if I decide to cancel and no "future cruise" to worry about. This is the only way I would do it. I am really not interested in having $1100 sitting in carnival's pocket waiting for me to use it. $198, I can live with. I have every intention on taking the cruise if I book it. I always have travel insurance so if I have to cancel last minute, I would be covered.

[StolidCruiser]

So you would take your deposit up from $49 to $250 pp to save $10 :confused::confused::confused:

 

(if booked under reduce deposit obviously)

 

Yes. $10 that stays in my pocket at the end of the day is better than the alternative.

 

If you are pulling money from a high-yield account to pay the deposit or putting the deposit on a high-interest credit card, it might not make sense.

 

For those who pay their bills in full every month, carry no debt and have the liquid assets to take advantage of such promotions, it makes perfect sense and isn't confusing in the least.

[sfaaa]

So you would take your deposit up from $49 to $250 pp to save $10 :confused::confused::confused:

 

(if booked under reduce deposit obviously)

 

Any day. $10 is equivalent to 5% annual interest rate on $201 (250-49). No bank will pay you such a high rate. Besides, you will have to pay off the $201 by final payment date anyway. No saving there.

[NightOne]

Any day. $10 is equivalent to 5% annual interest rate on $201 (250-49). No bank will pay you such a high rate. Besides, you will have to pay off the $201 by final payment date anyway. No saving there.

 

I have no problem with putting more deposit down as long as it is refundable but adding another $201 to an ES fare ... No way. (especially to only save $10) :D