Military Rates-Something to remember!

[QTBabyNurse]

When I booked my cruise on the Inspiration for January, we got a military rate. I made my reservation by telephone with Carnival. They gave me a fax number to fax in a copy of my husband's DD214 showing he served and was honorably discharged. I faxed it in a couple of days later. Most people would stop there, but being the anal person that I am, I called about a week later to make sure it had been received....it hadn't. So I waited another week and called again....still not received. I waited ONE MORE WEEK and still nothing. I had to send it in again, this time by snail mail and double checked in a week and it had been received this time.

But a warning....just because you fax it, doesn't mean they got it....always call to check! ;)

[Sablerose]

When we booked our cruise with the military rate, my husband was overseas and our PVP let him take a photograph of his military ID and I was able to e-mail it to him... upon receipt and approval, we got a new cruise invoice showing the adjusted, military rate. :D

[emmysmommy]

Typically I follow up on these things to ensure a discount has been applied- since we are talking a significant amount of $. When we booked I was asked to fax the DD form within 72 hours, which I did right away. I didn't check to see if they received it because they had adjusted the pricing to reflect a military discount. It is still showing the discounted rate. I hope this won't go sideways and unravel! :)

[QTBabyNurse]

Mine showed the discounted rate as well.....but they still hadn't received the DD214.

[WeatherGeek]

Mine showed the discounted rate from the time I booked, but they called me about a month afterwards to inform me that we needed to get my fiance's form faxed in. We already had the day that we booked!

Lesson learned: always call to follow up because you can't ever, under any circumstances, trust anyone at Carnival :rolleyes: (I know the fax went through because I recieved a confirmation that the transmission went though)

[rosegrower]

Glad I read this! We are due to pay our balance next week. We just faxed in the forms but did not check. Thanks for the reminder!

[margie1221]

We too are very happy to receive a military discount on upcoming cruise (Glory 4/15/06). PVP called me at home to say that the scanned in picture of my son's military ID wasn't clear enough. He convinced his supervisor to hold the military rate for us until I could get DS to send a clearer copy. Once we were able to get it to him, our PVP e-mailed me a revised confirmation with the discounted rate so that I would have it in writing. If you're considering using a PVP let me know and I'll give you his name - he's awesome!

 

Thanks to the OP for reminding us all to check and be sure that this information goes through.

 

P.S. SableRose my son is currently @ Tinker

[Sablerose]

Hey! Margie! Your son's out here with us at Tinker, huh? I wonder if maybe my husband Stang and your son somehow would know one another.

 

Small world!

 

Congrats on your upcoming cruise!

[cruise.freak]

I also had to fax my twice and they never received the first one. The military rate was applied about a week after I confirmed they received the fax!

[TXRed]

We too are very happy to receive a military discount on upcoming cruise (Glory 4/15/06). PVP called me at home to say that the scanned in picture of my son's military ID wasn't clear enough. He convinced his supervisor to hold the military rate for us until I could get DS to send a clearer copy. Once we were able to get it to him, our PVP e-mailed me a revised confirmation with the discounted rate so that I would have it in writing. If you're considering using a PVP let me know and I'll give you his name - he's awesome!

 

Thanks to the OP for reminding us all to check and be sure that this information goes through.

 

P.S. SableRose my son is currently @ Tinker

 

 

What is a PVP? What does this person do? And do I need one? TIA

[sea_u_onboard]

Keep a couple of things in mind. I have never actually faxed ours directly to Carnival - but to INTERLINE - who handles the military end of their bookings. The people at Carnival can help you - but the Interline people are the ones who enter it (at least in my experience).

 

The other thing I would like to stress is if you enlarge the copy before you fax - the people at the other end will have an easier time reading it. I ALWAYS blacken out all the SS #'s except the last 4 - not sure that they need any of it - but with all the identity theft problems - I would rather be safe then sorry - and they have never come back and told me I had to send the entire number.

[Kittybork]

My BF scanned his into an email and sent it directly to the TA. The original charge had the military discount figured in. We knew that she had it immediately.

[Sablerose]

What is a PVP? What does this person do? And do I need one? TIA

 

A PVP is a Personal Vacation Planner. They're like a Carnival travel agent - they are a reservations agent at Carnival that becomes your "go-to" guy or gal, and is the #1 point of contact for your reservation.

 

I absolutely adore my PVP, he really went above and beyond when we were getting our cruise booked and he's always got time for me to call and ask even the dumbest of questions.

 

I'm certainly glad I did that rather than trying to go through a TA, although I know lots of people get bend-over-backwards service from TA's also. I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

Since we don't travel at all, really, and since we weren't loyal to a TA for other arrangements, there was no problem for us to go straight to the horse's mouth instead of through an intermediary.

[TXRed]

A PVP is a Personal Vacation Planner. They're like a Carnival travel agent - they are a reservations agent at Carnival that becomes your "go-to" guy or gal, and is the #1 point of contact for your reservation.

 

I absolutely adore my PVP, he really went above and beyond when we were getting our cruise booked and he's always got time for me to call and ask even the dumbest of questions.

 

I'm certainly glad I did that rather than trying to go through a TA, although I know lots of people get bend-over-backwards service from TA's also. I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

Since we don't travel at all, really, and since we weren't loyal to a TA for other arrangements, there was no problem for us to go straight to the horse's mouth instead of through an intermediary.

 

Ok...well I guess that's what I've got now! she was FANTASTIC!!! Made sure we got exactly what we had hoped for! I am oing to write a letter to Carnival to compliment her and her outstanding service!!

[Nickymjw1]

Can someone tell me the qualifications, and also how much they are saving? I booked a cruise for 2 through my TA, at a pretty good rate, however I did not request military discount. DH is retired military, he is not going on this trip however. My son and I are going, we both have a dependent military ID.

[Kittybork]

From my understanding, the military person must be in the cabin. I'd check though.

[Sablerose]

Can someone tell me the qualifications, and also how much they are saving? I booked a cruise for 2 through my TA, at a pretty good rate, however I did not request military discount. DH is retired military, he is not going on this trip however. My son and I are going, we both have a dependent military ID.

 

Military dependents don't qualify for the discount. The actual active duty/retired/discharged military member (at least 2 years service, honorable discharge, DD214) must be present on the cruise to receive the discount.

 

As for how much the discount is, it's as much as 50% of the cruise fare (not including port charges and taxes) depending on what category you book, what room you book, and how far in advance you book. The discount is capacity-controlled, so the more people that take advantage of it, the quicker they disappear.

 

Good luck!

[Valor2005]

We received a military discount for our upcoming cruisebecause one member of our party had served. The discount amounted to $200 per cabin and the discount could be applied to the service member's cabin and 2 other cabins.

[Sablerose]

We received a military discount for our upcoming cruisebecause one member of our party had served. The discount amounted to $200 per cabin and the discount could be applied to the service member's cabin and 2 other cabins.

 

They ran a "friends and family sale" for cruises that were booked in a specific three-week time period earlier this year (I think it was in July). Otherwise, it's for the servicemember's cabin only, I believe.

[serene56]

I was told that I can use my husbands DD214 on our Liberty. He is a deceased disabled vet. Its not good for all sailings but i got a better rate as a group then I did with the Military discount. Not all discounts are the same.

[memabumpee]

Just to let you know, always check with your PVP my daughter who has cruised on Carnival several times as well as we have and have always taken the military discount, on her last cruise I asked if she could get the discount and PVP said yes. she is 27 years old and not listed as my dependant but she faxed her expired ID and got the discount. Never hurts to ask. Ok flame me for beating the system. but I did 26 years for Uncle.

[mitchpam]

My husband is also past military and we have asked about the discount fare, no clear answer yet... the cruise rep. is checking on it. Is this a tactic to put us off long enough to not get a good rate? Is there a deadline as to how soon you have to request it? We sail in March on the Liberty, final payment at Christmas...should I persue it harder?

[SeaSick]

I'm retired military and have used the discount 3 times. The first two cruises we got 200PP discount from our PVP. When shopping around for better prices, TA's would only give 150PP discount. So now we just use the PVP. Our current booking has been changed a couple times because I keep changing my mind. When it was the Victory in 06 we got 170PP discount, when changed to the Liberty (6 days) in Feb 06 we got 150PP discount. It would seem that the harder to fill dates get the best discount. When you ask the PVP about how the discount system works, they become very vague.

[sea_u_onboard]

I believe they are still offering the military rate to vets with at least 2 years service and an honorable discharge - so no one should flame anyone and for the poster who still hasn't heard I would check with someone else. Reduced rates are limited and not available for all sailings.

[Valor2005]

I forgot to add that National Guard was not eligible for the military discount on our cruise.