Early Saver - immediate "price drop"??

[indygirl76]

Hi all! I think this will work, but it seems like it's too easy... There are two promos running right now, one "Past Guest" and one "Early Saver Past Guest." The ES one is ~20% higher on the sailings I'm considering. I *do* want an ES rate, because I'm really good at price-stalking. Is there any reason why I can't book the ESPG, and then ask them to immediately match to the significantly lower PG rate? (Both show up for the same cabin category.)

 

Can't ask my PVP, because I've asked Carnival to give me a new one*, and they haven't update my profile yet.

 

* He booked cabins for me, without my consent. I only found out because he canceled the "bookings," and I got the "So sorry you can't make it on your cruise!" emails. Please don't get me started.

[cherylandtk]

Is there any OBC with the ESPG rate?  You might lose that, but otherwise, it seems it will work.  Note that price protection is not a true price match, just NR OBC or cabin upgrade.

[Mm13]

I booked Early Saver knowing the VIPF offer was significantly less. 24 hours later I noticed the cruise was nearly sold out so I called and price matched the VIPF. The rep on the phone made it sound like VIPF was my new rate, not just an es price match. 

 

Also don’t waste your time with the price match form, call. The last form I submitted didn’t get processed and “they had no record” of me submitting. 

[xostacylee]

4 minutes ago, Mm13 said:

Also don’t waste your time with the price match form, call. The last form I submitted didn’t get processed and “they had no record” of me submitting. 

 

Wow, good to know. Thank you for this!!

[midwestman]

Yeah, call them.  Its the best way to do it.

[indygirl76]

15 hours ago, cherylandtk said:

Is there any OBC with the ESPG rate?  You might lose that, but otherwise, it seems it will work.  Note that price protection is not a true price match, just NR OBC or cabin upgrade.

Completely fine with this - I love the spa and can burn through OBC in a heartbeat. :)

 

 

15 hours ago, Mm13 said:

Also don’t waste your time with the price match form, call. The last form I submitted didn’t get processed and “they had no record” of me submitting. 

100%!! I have zero faith in the form and always call. 

 

Thanks to all for the quick replies! As soon as I can get my ish together and pick which of the several sailings I'm waffling on, I'm doing it!

Edited February 28, 2019 by indygirl76

[pohlerbear]

On 2/27/2019 at 6:56 PM, xostacylee said:

 

Wow, good to know. Thank you for this!!

I'd say that's true in the past. I always take screen shots of the lower price and the confirmation form. I've had to call in the past. However, my next cruise in June I've had two price drops, filled out the form online and had a confirmation with the lower price in an hour or two each time.

[xostacylee]

15 hours ago, pohlerbear said:

I'd say that's true in the past. I always take screen shots of the lower price and the confirmation form. I've had to call in the past. However, my next cruise in June I've had two price drops, filled out the form online and had a confirmation with the lower price in an hour or two each time.

I did a small price drop on our cruise already via the form which went through, but haven't seen any others (and now our deck is sold out for our category so I can't check on Carnival). What other site(s) do you check? 

[ARcruisin2]

So if I understand correctly, you can request the price match, but stay categorized as an Early Saver.

Good info...as I think I was told one time also, that if i switched that I would be under the new promotional one and not eligible for another price drop.

[CruzCrazy]

44 minutes ago, xostacylee said:

I did a small price drop on our cruise already via the form which went through, but haven't seen any others (and now our deck is sold out for our category so I can't check on Carnival). What other site(s) do you check? 

Sold out is sold out, but keep an eye out in case there is a cancellation or somebody with a cabin in your category upgrades, opening up a cabin in your category (or possibly a travel agent has some blocked and might release them).

 

BTW, you mentioned your deck is sold out for your category, but it's the category that matters.  Depending on the ship, sometimes cabins on a different deck are the same category as yours.  For example, I have a category 8B (balcony) on the Magic on deck 7, but there are category 8B cabins on deck 6 also.

[xostacylee]

25 minutes ago, CruzCrazy said:

BTW, you mentioned your deck is sold out for your category, but it's the category that matters.  Depending on the ship, sometimes cabins on a different deck are the same category as yours.  For example, I have a category 8B (balcony) on the Magic on deck 7, but there are category 8B cabins on deck 6 also.

 

Good to know!! Thank you! I'm going to go back to doing a little research to see if that's the case on ours. 

[indygirl76]

2 hours ago, ARcruisin2 said:

So if I understand correctly, you can request the price match, but stay categorized as an Early Saver.

Good info...as I think I was told one time also, that if i switched that I would be under the new promotional one and not eligible for another price drop.

Once you book ES, your booking remains ES - the reduction only changes the price. So yes, you are still eligible for more drops, up through (I think?) 48 hours before sailing.

[fey51]

Hi Everyone!  It's been awhile since we have the ES pricing.  There used to be a website you could use to type in your category and get information on pricing.  Does anyone know of anything like this?

 

TIA!

[Organized Chaos]

I submitted a price drop form the other day. Normally I've had good luck using the forms in the past, but not this time. I got a response denying the request and it said it was because we didn't book an Early Saver rate. Well, we didn't book the "Early Saver" rate, it was "Exclusive Early Saver VIFP Club Offer." With Early Saver right there in the name, it seems like an Early Saver rate. How many times will I say Early Saver in this comment? 😜

 

So after they denied the request, I emailed our PVP. Yeah, I should've just contacted him first, but like I said, I've always had luck with the form. I explained in the email why they denied the request and included a screenshot of the lower price. 45 minutes later, I got a new confirmation showing the lower price and our new balance. Our PVP didn't tell us he did it, but who else could it have been? I don't think he would've done it if it wasn't allowed. From now on, we'll do it through him.

[indygirl76]

2 hours ago, fey51 said:

Hi Everyone!  It's been awhile since we have the ES pricing.  There used to be a website you could use to type in your category and get information on pricing.  Does anyone know of anything like this?

 

TIA!

You're probably talking about the Carnival Fare Viewer site, or the "fishy" unofficial site. Sadly, the former is DOA, and the latter is on life support. Your best bet now is to check pricing for your cabin category as frequently as you have time for, and call to request an adjustment when/if you find one. 

 

Bear in mind, some categories cover more than one location. And you only need a single cabin available in the category at the lower price, to request the adjustment. For ex, on a Fantasy class ship, there are 4D cabins on Empress Forward and Aft, as well as Upper Midship. The "new and improved" Carnival booking engine makes this hard to keep track of, so a good deck plan with cabin categories, is a must. 🙂

[gtonda]

On 2/27/2019 at 5:35 PM, cherylandtk said:

Is there any OBC with the ESPG rate?  You might lose that, but otherwise, it seems it will work.  Note that price protection is not a true price match, just NR OBC or cabin upgrade.

 

This is only true if you have fully paid off the balance. If there is still an outstanding balance, it will reduce that by the price reduction amount.

Edited April 3, 2019 by gtonda