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Hi 

 

I have had a discussion with my sister about what the benefits of using a PVP, I know the group rules you cannot share which PVP you use so I would never ask that but as I am used to booking the cruises myself I have never used a PVP so could not answer my sisters questions, if you have a PVP can you  possibly let me know:

 

  • What are the benefits to using a PVP?
  • Is a PVP like a travel agent? 
  • How do you get a PVP? 
  • How does a PVP work / how do they get paid? 

 

All of our cruises have been booked by ourselves either through the website or onboard and with 20 Carnival Cruises to our names I was looking at making a change and perhaps going through a PVP as opposed to me doing all the organizing. 

 

thank you in advance 

 

 

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OK so lots of varying opinions out there, this is mine.   I love using my PVP!!   You say you've always just booked yourself, well using a PVP is basically the same thing with benefits.  The biggest thing you need to understand is that unlike a TA, using a PVP doesn't prevent you from managing your booking in the least.   You still have complete control.

 

Some of the advantages I find using a PVP are:   They have instant access to all cabins available on the ship.   I've found that when booking myself I don't see all cabins available, only a small section of them.   A PVP can see them all and guide you to one that may be better suited, or even advise you against one for whatever reason.   A PVP can instantly handle any of your request, shore excursions, payments, fun shop purchases, wifi, etc ...   Plus they can help with OBC or other credits you have or have due to you.

 

You get one simply by calling in to Carnival and requesting one.

 

I have no idea how they get paid??   I assume you're asking about if they are on salary or work for commissions??   I just don't know!!

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They are paid a salary. Mine worked from home but goes into miami to teach, but she seems to be out perhaps on maternity leave. I used to like her better than lately, but she is good. She about knows me well enough to put a hold on the best cabin she knows I'd want before returning my phone call.

 

They get ranked by how many bookings they make, like being top ten percent of pvps. Maybe they get a bonus, so it doesnt make a difference how expensive your booking is, just that you booked with him or her.  When I cruised more she was better to me imo. I was cruising about every month or two

 

 

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I have done my own bookings, used a PVP, and Travel agent.

 

A good PVP will be available to you 24/7. I had one that would answer a question on Saturday night. But I never got any better deals by using a PVP. I never got any upgrades or anything like that. 
 

I started using travel agents for times when carnival wasn’t offering OBC as to get OBC. I found they gave me more OBC than carnival did. Then last year they gave me OBC then when carnival offered OBC, they gave me that OBC as well. At that point I decided to book all of my cruises through the TA.

 

Edited by Saint Greg
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18 minutes ago, helene109 said:

I check my rate daily and hen it drops my PvP adjusts it and I can make payments on my own too.

 

I have a 4 and a 3 day B2B in July (I hope) and about every other day the price dropped on each. I just emailed my PVC and he adjusted the price and I received a refund. Better than calling and being on hold for who knows how long. Interesting point they pulled all The Liberty sailings off the website for July. I think for capacity control.

 

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8 minutes ago, miataman19 said:

 

I have a 4 and a 3 day B2B in July (I hope) and about every other day the price dropped on each. I just emailed my PVC and he adjusted the price and I received a refund. Better than calling and being on hold for who knows how long. Interesting point they pulled all The Liberty sailings off the website for July. I think for capacity control.

 

I agree so much easier! Thinking positive about the summer. Not sure if I would use a travel agent but I am sure that they can get you more obc 

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We have always just booked ourselves online but this time with the complication of 2 canceled cruises etc, got the name of recommended PVP..emailed him and he called us back right away ( no waiting on hold for hours) and figured it all out for us. Will use him from now on 

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1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

I have done my own bookings, used a PVP, and Travel agent.

 

A good PVP will be available to you 24/7. I had one that would answer a question on Saturday night. But I never got any better deals by using a PVP. I never got any upgrades or anything like that. 
 

I started using travel agents for times when carnival wasn’t offering OBC as to get OBC. I found they gave me more OBC than carnival did. Then last year they gave me OBC then when carnival offered OBC, they gave me that OBC as well. At that point I decided to book all of my cruises through the TA.

 

The only time we used a TA was our 1st cruise long ago in '97.  I don't recall & perhaps you can tell me, isn't there an additional fee for using a TA?  I'd be interested in looking into that option for extended or European sailings if they could get additional OBC but only if their fee wasn't too much.  I've heard TAs can be a great asset for extended travel arrangements.  

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4 minutes ago, IcanSeaclearlynow said:

The only time we used a TA was our 1st cruise long ago in '97.  I don't recall & perhaps you can tell me, isn't there an additional fee for using a TA?  I'd be interested in looking into that option for extended or European sailings if they could get additional OBC but only if their fee wasn't too much.  I've heard TAs can be a great asset for extended travel arrangements.  


No fee.

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3 minutes ago, IcanSeaclearlynow said:

isn't there an additional fee for using a TA?

Hello, I have only booked 3 cruises, all with the same TA but each time the fee was small and the OBC more than made up for it. That being said, next time I book a new cruise that is just hubby and me I will probably do it myself since I love to research....I used the TA the first time since I had never cruised before. The next 2 I thought it would be easier to link dining with other rooms with a TA. Based on reading posts, I think that is true, at least for some lines.

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4 minutes ago, IcanSeaclearlynow said:

The only time we used a TA was our 1st cruise long ago in '97.  I don't recall & perhaps you can tell me, isn't there an additional fee for using a TA?  I'd be interested in looking into that option for extended or European sailings if they could get additional OBC but only if their fee wasn't too much.  I've heard TAs can be a great asset for extended travel arrangements.  

 

No fee for booking your trip.  Ask questions though.   Some may charge a fee for making changes and/or cancellations.

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We've used a PVP in the distant past.  The two I recall were very helpful.  But both left.  Then we had a bunch of new PVPs emailing seemingly weekly that they were our new PVP.  We did a couple of cruises DIY on line.  But DW joined a cruise group for a RCCL cruise that was ran through a TA.  That TA was every efficient and we've used her since.

There are TAs that are not as good as PVPs so choose one carefully.

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2 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

 

No fee for booking your trip.  Ask questions though.   Some may charge a fee for making changes and/or cancellations.

Yes, ours was a "processing fee". It was minimal and was also through a TA where I got a lot of extra miles for my airline provider of choice in addition to the OBC. Do most TA's offer OBC? I thought that was normal, based on doing my research at multiple sites.

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On 4/17/2020 at 9:21 AM, Liverpoollovely said:

Hi 

 

I have had a discussion with my sister about what the benefits of using a PVP, I know the group rules you cannot share which PVP you use so I would never ask that but as I am used to booking the cruises myself I have never used a PVP so could not answer my sisters questions, if you have a PVP can you  possibly let me know:

 

  • What are the benefits to using a PVP?
  • Is a PVP like a travel agent? 
  • How do you get a PVP? 
  • How does a PVP work / how do they get paid? 

 

All of our cruises have been booked by ourselves either through the website or onboard and with 20 Carnival Cruises to our names I was looking at making a change and perhaps going through a PVP as opposed to me doing all the organizing. 

 

thank you in advance 

 

 

I dont understand it. 

You can simply call or go online to book the cruise and order any excursions etc. you want.

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Finally figured out what PVP is. I also cruise on Princess which is another Carnival brand, but PVP there stands for Princess Vacation Protection, basically an insurance policy. They should at least unify the abbreviations to remove the confusion. 

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