Different VIFP rates with same status

[dianef]

DH and Both platinum with same number of cruises and our offers are different.Anyone else experience that?

[chrpai]

All the time.  Often offers are valid one per family and that's how they do it.  Sometimes a call to a PVP can get that overridden and sometimes it can't.

[firefly333]

19 minutes ago, dianef said:

DH and Both platinum with same number of cruises and our offers are different.Anyone else experience that?

Yes this pick and choose and offer one but not the other makes me not want to book carnival again. Makes me think I'm not valued as much as the next pax. 

 

Since I dont get these offers I'm not booking. They should treat all equally or they will drive a lot away. Not all will come back. .. though right now I'm not doing any more bookings but it's because of family health issues. Carnival seems to always believe there is a endless supply of  newbies.

[dianef]

Never thought about one per household.That prevents people trying to book 2 cabins and getting lower rate and sharing it with other family members whose rates are higher.They we’re offering me very good rates on the Panarama for October.November and now first half December.Planning on holding out as family members going beginning January and so far rates have not come down.Still plenty of cabins available so hoping they will offer those good rates again.

[groundloop]

Carnival is all over the place with who gets the best rates.  My daughter, who has only cruised once, often gets far better rates than I do.  I imagine that since I've got multiple cruises booked they assume they don't need to go out of their way to lure me back.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Carnival seems to have some type of algorithm to determine rates offered that no one can figure out.  The two of us sometimes have the same offers and other times we don’t.  Usually the different ones are casino offers which for sure are based on level of play.  I suspect other things their algorithm uses is based on prior on board spending.  They of course want big spenders if they are going to offer big discounts.  

[Bgcruising]

3 hours ago, groundloop said:

Carnival is all over the place with who gets the best rates.  My daughter, who has only cruised once, often gets far better rates than I do.  I imagine that since I've got multiple cruises booked they assume they don't need to go out of their way to lure me back.

 

Me too, I'm going to take a break from them and go elsewhere.  I'm sick of the price games with them.

[keels81]

2 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Carnival seems to have some type of algorithm to determine rates offered that no one can figure out.  The two of us sometimes have the same offers and other times we don’t.  Usually the different ones are casino offers which for sure are based on level of play.  I suspect other things their algorithm uses is based on prior on board spending.  They of course want big spenders if they are going to offer big discounts.  

 

The casino thing is definitely true, but I think you're on to something with the on-board spend. 

 

On Mardi Gras, I had two big hits in the casino (one handpay, one just short of a handpay) and ended up putting all of our specialty dining (Chef's, Rudi's, Steakhouse, Tepanyaki, etc.) plus ALLLLLLL my cocktails on my S&S (we didn't get Cheers because one of my BFFs in my stateroom doesn't drink and they wouldn't exempt her) and then I just paid my S&S account off with the cash from my casino winnings. 

 

I've had more offers including free Cheers (not casino offers) in the past month after that Mardi Gras sailing than I've ever received since I started sailing with them.

[nlktx49]

3 hours ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Carnival seems to have some type of algorithm to determine rates offered that no one can figure out.  The two of us sometimes have the same offers and other times we don’t.  Usually the different ones are casino offers which for sure are based on level of play.  I suspect other things their algorithm uses is based on prior on board spending.  They of course want big spenders if they are going to offer big discounts.  

Don't think the casino offers are based on level of play. My husband gets great offers, recently so many he booked 6 cruises for next year! He said Carnival is almost paying us to cruise. His brother-in-law who spends a lot more in the casino than my husband doesn't get these offers. I spend about the same as my husband but none of the really good offers are sent to me, although I am included and get the same perks he does. Players Club even has a notice on their website  that they can't divulge how they make their decision as to who gets what offers. I think it may be voodoo. I want to ask them, how do you do that voodoo that you do?😋

[cruisingguy007]

8 hours ago, dianef said:

Never thought about one per household.That prevents people trying to book 2 cabins and getting lower rate and sharing it with other family members whose rates are higher.They we’re offering me very good rates on the Panarama for October.November and now first half December.Planning on holding out as family members going beginning January and so far rates have not come down.Still plenty of cabins available so hoping they will offer those good rates again.

 

This effects us because we need two cabins for our nuclear family of five. Sure they have cabins that can accommodate five passengers but it's not practical space wise (and for sanity). We are penalized for having a odd number of children and needing to add one of our kids as a third passenger in a cabin. It jacks up the rates considerably. I get why they are doing it, to encourage people to book more cabins and not crowd into them in groups but it's still frustrating nonetheless. 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

3 hours ago, nlktx49 said:

Don't think the casino offers are based on level of play. My husband gets great offers, recently so many he booked 6 cruises for next year! He said Carnival is almost paying us to cruise. His brother-in-law who spends a lot more in the casino than my husband doesn't get these offers. I spend about the same as my husband but none of the really good offers are sent to me, although I am included and get the same perks he does. Players Club even has a notice on their website  that they can't divulge how they make their decision as to who gets what offers. I think it may be voodoo. I want to ask them, how do you do that voodoo that you do?😋

It all depends on where/how you spend in the casino.  Wife earns way more points via video poker and slots than I do via table games even though we spend roughly the same overall.  Because of that, she usually gets way better offers even though her spend is same or less. 

[TerriBarker]

On 11/6/2021 at 12:44 PM, dianef said:

DH and Both platinum with same number of cruises and our offers are different.Anyone else experience that?

Absolutely.  When I was pricing our next cruise, I searched under my past guest number and then mu husband's.  I had at least 6 more prior cruises than he did, but his rate was $800 less for the same cabin on the same cruise!  I called Carnival directly to ask why.   Turns out DH had spent a lot more time in the casino than I had, so they REALLY wanted him back lol.   So we booked under his number. 

[helene109]

Yes frustrating! My husband and I get different rates and we have cruised the same amount. My daughter gets the cheers package and we don’t and she has cruises less than us! My son doesn’t get the cheers package. We just cruised in August and are booked for May.

[hockeyluver]

We just booked the Mardi Gras for February 2022,  myself, my hubby, my sister and her hubby (they are diamond and we get better offers lol ) .  We all had different offers. Also we all booked the 14 day Journey's cruise for January 2024 my hubby and I both had the same casino offer,  they did not.  Booked me and my brother in law in one cabin and my hubby and my sister in another with the casino rate.  

Edited November 10, 2021 by hockeyluver

[rtrtx2]

On 11/6/2021 at 12:07 PM, firefly333 said:

Yes this pick and choose and offer one but not the other makes me not want to book carnival again. Makes me think I'm not valued as much as the next pax. 

 

Since I dont get these offers I'm not booking. They should treat all equally or they will drive a lot away. Not all will come back. .. though right now I'm not doing any more bookings but it's because of family health issues. Carnival seems to always believe there is a endless supply of  newbies.

I am starting to feel this way as well, figure I did my rebook, then got a decent rate and booked 2 weeks later. But then booked another 2 like every other week, decent rates, but the pretty much going rate nothing too special. I figure having cruises booked so close, they feel no need to make me offers ;-(

 

[firefly333]

9 hours ago, rtrtx2 said:

I am starting to feel this way as well, figure I did my rebook, then got a decent rate and booked 2 weeks later. But then booked another 2 like every other week, decent rates, but the pretty much going rate nothing too special. I figure having cruises booked so close, they feel no need to make me offers ;-(

 

A lot of the rates seem random. A couple posts the one who spent less gets the better offers. How many have we seen like this or the person with fewer days. 

 

I cant book right now and may have to cancel my dec cruise so I figure now would be the time carnival gives me a good offer .. when I cant book. 

[evandbob]

How's this for a twist on the answer:  I put about $1,000 through the slots for a week long cruise.  On Carnival, I get discounted casino fares of maybe 25%, yet on Celebrity I only pay port charges, tax and gratuities for an infinity balcony cabin.

 

So I have 2 Carnival casino fares booked and 4 Celebrity, inc. their newest Apex ship as well as an 11 nighter. The total of the 4 Celebrity's is less than the 2 of Carnival's!!!

 

Go figure.

Edited November 10, 2021 by evandbob

[nascartim]

I am also thinking that if you already have a future cruise booked, you may get passed up on another great deal. It seems that those that get the best rates don't have a future cruise booked.

[hapytobehr]

I have 2 cruises booked and still getting offers.

 

I guess they like me😁 (or my $$$$)

[wasidremin]

Does anyone know if you call whether or not they will give the extra room the discount from the first?   We are also a family of 5 and the way they are doing these deals 3 rooms at the vip rate is better than 2 in one room and three in the next.  

[icft]

My wife and I have the same number of cruise days but I always get better offers. In our case it is clearly due to our casino activity. I spend my "entertainment" money in the casino while she spends a good bit of hers buying stuff on shore. We generally get the same type of email offers at about the same time but hers will be something like a free interior room while mine will be a free balcony room and her casino cash offers are generally half mine.

 

The casino cash has been offered on non-Premier cruises lately. I don't remember that in the past.

 

 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

On 11/10/2021 at 12:05 PM, nascartim said:

I am also thinking that if you already have a future cruise booked, you may get passed up on another great deal. It seems that those that get the best rates don't have a future cruise booked.

Not at all. We have 4 booked and keep getting great offers.  In fairness, the best offers are casino but plenty of other offers too. 

[icft]

1 hour ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Not at all. We have 4 booked and keep getting great offers.  In fairness, the best offers are casino but plenty of other offers too. 

That is our experience also. We currently have 5 future cruises booked and still get great offers. In my case the best offers are not casino offers but "Plan Now, Pay Later" offers. Those offers are for free balcony rooms and substantial casino cash. I had assumed that was a Premier cruise offer considering the casino cash. But in September we went on the first of the four of those we had booked (after all, they are paying us to cruise) and we learned it was not a Premier cruise offer. 

 

Where I think you do get less desirable offers when you have future cruises already booked is with the bounce back offers you get on the last day of your cruise. We noticed in past years those offers were better when we didn't have our next cruise already booked.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

7 minutes ago, icft said:

That is our experience also. We currently have 5 future cruises booked and still get great offers. In my case the best offers are not casino offers but "Plan Now, Pay Later" offers. Those offers are for free balcony rooms and substantial casino cash. I had assumed that was a Premier cruise offer considering the casino cash. But in September we went on the first of the four of those we had booked (after all, they are paying us to cruise) and we learned it was not a Premier cruise offer. 

 

Where I think you do get less desirable offers when you have future cruises already booked is with the bounce back offers you get on the last day of your cruise. We noticed in past years those offers were better when we didn't have our next cruise already booked.

Bounce back offers for us have always been horrible.  We get way better offers after we decline the bounce back. 

[icft]

5 minutes ago, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Bounce back offers for us have always been horrible.  We get way better offers after we decline the bounce back. 

Yep! I agree. We have only taken one bounce back offer. It was back in 2019 BC (before covid) and we didn't have another cruise booked. The offer was for a free "Ocean View" room and some other stuff I don't remember. But we had never been at the back of the boat and never been lower than deck 7 so we decided to do it for the experience.

 

Man! It was the experience of a lifetime. If we were not in a devil may care, try something wild frame of mind we could have complained a lot. But with our mood we ended up laughing our butts off. 

 

One thing I will never forget. I like to sleep late. The ships come into ports long before I wake up. Well the "Ocean View" room was apparently just above the stern side thruster. At our first port I was shocked out of bed at an ungodly hour as the entire room began to shake (things actually shook off the counter top) and there was a loud rumbling. Ah! those were the days...