Carnival Planners

[moeferg]

Does anyone find any specific advantages of using a Carnival planner? I got the same info, prices ,ect from the website. Am I missing something?

[teknoge3k]

They can see all of the cabins available, not just the handful that's shown on the website. They can also tell you any on board promotions as well and get you OBC possibly.  That's pretty much it. Some people are scared to book online and have to "talk" to someone, so it's good for them to have a single point of contact at Carnival rather than calling the 800# because the people in the call center are clueless about most things. 

[Bostwick girl]

ive always used my PVP. She can tell me other rooms that may be available, if the room I was looking at had any disadvantages over other rooms, etc. I'm one of those who prefer talking to someone. We have a small group of 4 or 5 couples who usually travel together so she makes sure we're all linked for dining, tries to get our cabins as close together as possible. I can call her most any time if I have any questions or something comes up. I would just be leery of booking by myself after all these years, but that's just me.

 

[shaneandpamela]

Cabin availability. Help with a big group of cruisers.  Immediate help when I need it.  Knows me by name.  My PVP takes care of me when there are price changes on Early Saver.  I'll stick with her until she doesn't work there any longer.  I have booked online when I couldn't get her and there was a deal/sailing/cabin available that I wanted to grab.  She even helped me with that booking when I needed some information.  

[TNixon123]

For us, it was the need for connecting staterooms.  Those can't be booked online and often just show as 'unavailable' on the carnival website.  And as others have said, the website only shows probably 10% of the available cabins at any time.

 

EDIT - I can't believe this was only my 2nd post after being here 10 years.  LURKER ALERT!

Edited January 15, 2019 by TNixon123

[bingomamma19]

4 hours ago, moeferg said:

Does anyone find any specific advantages of using a Carnival planner? I got the same info, prices ,ect from the website. Am I missing something?

They are the same prices, but they can help with finding you the right cabin--things above and below, knowledge of noise or other issues with cabins.

 

They also can answer lots of questions about the ships, ports etc., and help with any problems you may have.

 

Its just nice to have that personal touch, and it doesn't cost you anymore.

 

 

[Joebucks]

It doesn't cost extra nor save extra. For some people, especially the newbies, the planning is overwhelming. They will help you with that.

[albycruisin]

how does one get the name and contact information for a PVP?  Looking at planning my 3rd Carnival cruise.

[Bostwick girl]

We're not allowed to give you any particular person or their direct number. Basically call the Carnival 800 number and tell them you want to talk to a PVP.

 

[RWolver672]

21 hours ago, moeferg said:

Does anyone find any specific advantages of using a Carnival planner? I got the same info, prices ,ect from the website. Am I missing something?

For us, we are two couples.  We pick the ship and dates we want to sail.  I then call our PVP and tell him which deck and the general area we want.  Then he tells us which cabins that have connecting balconies in that area.  He then comes up with the best pricing whether it be past guest or military or whatever.  I then book ours and he puts a hold on the other one.  I call the other couple and tell them.  They then call the PVP and book theirs.  He makes sure that we are linked for dining.  

13 hours ago, albycruisin said:

how does one get the name and contact information for a PVP?  Looking at planning my 3rd Carnival cruise.

I wrote to Carnival and told them I wanted a PVP that had a least ten years seniority with Carnival and had sailed on a few of their ships.  The following day I received an e-mail from him that explained his experience with the company.  He requested that I call him which I did.  I told him what we needed and he started the ball rolling.  Since then, when I call him, he already knows that the other couple will be sailing with us and he has all of our information right there to complete the process. 

[Liverpoollovely]

i have often wondered because we have always booked ourselves ... now an odd question... how do you get a PVP? 

[Mommawo]

I had no idea this existed actually.  Going on my first cruise in March.  Next time I will definitely be using one 

[Bostwick girl]

As stated above, call Carnival and tell them you want to speak to a Personal Vacation Planner (PVP).

[five.]

Another benefit to using a PVP, they can hold you a cabin while you firm up your plans and make sure you want to go. It's not a huge amount of time, maybe just 24 hours. But it's come in helpful for us in the past.

[Bostwick girl]

1 minute ago, five. said:

Another benefit to using a PVP, they can hold you a cabin while you firm up your plans and make sure you want to go. It's not a huge amount of time, maybe just 24 hours. But it's come in helpful for us in the past.

 

Yes, and that's a great benefit if you usually travel with other couples. We tell ours we're looking for 3 or 4 together or close by, she books ours and holds the others so they can call her with their information. Works well for us.

 

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, Bostwick girl said:

As stated above, call Carnival and tell them you want to speak to a Personal Vacation Planner (PVP).

If calling to request a PVP, call the PVP direct line at 1-800-819-3902. If you call the regulars 800-Carnival number, you’re calling reservations and most likely you will be connected to a CVS, or regular reservations agent.

 

[Tapi]

Why use a PVP? It makes planning easy and it doesn’t cost extra. Also I qualify for discounts not available online so I have to talk to someone live in order to obtain these discounts and verify eligibility. 

 

I hadn’t booked a Carnival cruise in 8 years, but for our upcoming cruise, I contacted the same PVP I used for my last one. She had all of my information stored, so she already had everything that she needed to make the booking. We also went back and forth between two connecting cabins for 4, then had to cancel one guest so we moved to one cabin for 3, and then added the 4th guest again and moved to another cabin after final payment. Doing all of that would’ve been a nightmare, but all it took was a quick text each time and she took care of the rest. When you need help that’s when a PVP’s help is invaluable.  

 

 

[silvercrikhix]

On 1/15/2019 at 9:16 AM, TNixon123 said:

For us, it was the need for connecting staterooms.  Those can't be booked online and often just show as 'unavailable' on the carnival website.  And as others have said, the website only shows probably 10% of the available cabins at any time.

 

EDIT - I can't believe this was only my 2nd post after being here 10 years.  LURKER ALERT!

 

FWIW:  We have booked connecting cabins many times online, including our upcoming Horizon Cruise next month. 

[Bostwick girl]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

If calling to request a PVP, call the PVP direct line at 1-800-819-3902. If you call the regulars 800-Carnival number, you’re calling reservations and most likely you will be connected to a CVS, or regular reservations agent.

 

 

I double checked and TAPI is correct, call the PVP number direct. That's the number I have for mine plus her extension! Never really noticed the numbers were different.

 

 

[TNixon123]

3 hours ago, silvercrikhix said:

 

FWIW:  We have booked connecting cabins many times online, including our upcoming Horizon Cruise next month. 

 

Good to know!  Luck of the draw I guess on whether those cabins are part of the percentage they are displaying.  I've never been able to see any when browsing.

 

I always figured they kept some of those held back for people who specifically requested connecting.  Otherwise I guess other people might book 1/2 of the connected pair.

 

I stand corrected! 

[snowy owl]

I booked last week by calling. I'm platinum but have not cruised since 2010. I called a number yesterday and was told because I'm booked I won't get a PVP.... In the past I have always had one person I booked with and talked to whenever I had question and I had their ext. number. This time I have nobody... I want to have one...😏

 

[JasperCruiser]

I wonder if a Carnival PVP has the ability to forward me some printed materials... more specifically, one of those large Carnival brochures that travel agents have in their lobby’s. 

[Tapi]

30 minutes ago, JasperCruiser said:

I wonder if a Carnival PVP has the ability to forward me some printed materials... more specifically, one of those large Carnival brochures that travel agents have in their lobby’s. 

I personally haven’t seen a Carnival printed brochure in like 10 years. 

[teknoge3k]

12 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I personally haven’t seen a Carnival printed brochure in like 10 years. 

 

I am not sure why someone would want these, they're very antiquated. Everything is online and very easy to find. I guess they could have a small handful of them for the people who still haven't discovered the Internet yet. 

[CheckersMidwest]

I like the services our PVP provides. I look online & figure what ship/sailing I want and then call him. He returns messages usually within minutes. He has suggested room locations , told us which ones to avoid because x is above it or maybe too close to laundry , etc.  He always knows the answer to the questions I've asked about the ports as well, how far is the airport to cruise terminal, etc. If there is a price drop, I contact him & he arranges the on board credit.  He told us about pros & cons of staying on the Lido deck & more.

 

On another note: I use the internet a lot , however, I also like hard copies of things. We put away our phones at sail away & have no interest in the HUB app. We will continue to use the paper Fun Times, I can see where a paper version of a Carnival travel guide would be nice. Maybe show all the ships, what they offer, sections on ports too.