Carnival Offers - maybe I am just dumb

[Woody14]

So I just received my latest offers from Carnival and looking at them I am asking why they would give me the choice between the 2 options:

option 1 -  is supposedly $1,100 off with an onboard credit of $200

option 2 - is supposedly $1,070 off with an onboard credit of $100.

 

When you take things all the way to the end it is actually true the only difference on the 2 rates is that option 2 is $30 more expensive with $100 less onboard credit everything else is the same.   Why would I or anyone willingly choose option 2 paying more and getting less? 

[mz-s]

Well a lot of times these offers aren't on the same cruise. If you have a choice between the same offer for the same cruise/cabin, then go with whichever is cheaper. But a lot of times some offers will work on some cruises and not others.

[ShakyBeef]

Same sailings? Same dates? Same ships?

[IntrepidFromDC]

The way it was explained to me is there are different departments allocated different promotions to offer prior cruisers based on data they've collected and sometimes you might get promotions mixed with the increase/decrease in cabin prices due to supply and demand, plus the structure of the offers are different.  In the past I can also remember having two offers on the exact same cabin, ship, sail date that were different by a small amount.  This usually happens when my promotions are around ten or more.  

 

All I know right now is I leave in two days for my first ever B2B and both 7-day cruises aboard Mardi Gras are less than free!  Thanks Global Casino Services and Carnival!

[Guest BasicSailor]

Maybe I am just dumb.

No, not in the least. 

[Colorado Beach Bum]

11 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

less than free! 

Casino cash I assume?  Nothing better than them paying you to cruise. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Just now, Colorado Beach Bum said:

Casino cash I assume?  Nothing better than them paying you to cruise. 

$100 cruise plus port fees and taxes, minus $250 casino cash and $200 obc for each cruise.  On Mardi Gras and B2B!

[Woody14]

2 hours ago, ShakyBeef said:

Same sailings? Same dates? Same ships?

it was on the same sailing, dates and ship but I did notice as mz-s noted that both offers are not on everything so in those cases it makes some sense.

[bmarts]

I had the same offers and was wondering what dummies would click the $100 OBC over the $200 OBC for basically the same price 😁

[Schoifmom]

I would need more information to determine if comparing these offers is apples-to-apples.  Same cruise?  Same fare restrictions (is one refundable and one not)?  Same deposit?  Does one allow you to pick your room and one not?  

[Woody14]

1 hour ago, Schoifmom said:

I would need more information to determine if comparing these offers is apples-to-apples.  Same cruise?  Same fare restrictions (is one refundable and one not)?  Same deposit?  Does one allow you to pick your room and one not?  

as noted above it was the same ship, room, same date, both same deposits, allowed to pick the same room.    Maybe it was just luck that I picked a cruise where both offers applied but on random clicking it seemed that they overlapped a whole lot.

[Schoifmom]

9 minutes ago, Woody14 said:

as noted above it was the same ship, room, same date, both same deposits, allowed to pick the same room.    Maybe it was just luck that I picked a cruise where both offers applied but on random clicking it seemed that they overlapped a whole lot.

Is one a refundable deposit?  If so, it's just the luck of the draw.  The only reason someone would pick the less desirable option is that they lack critical thinking skills.

[ray98]

Because the offers cover a variety of sailings.  For some sailings both may apply so you would obviously choose the lower priced option.  On other sailings it with be one or the other so you will not have the second choice.

Edited February 2, 2023 by ray98

[Woody14]

well I was bored last night and did a lot of clicking to see more.

On 2/2/2023 at 7:53 AM, Schoifmom said:

Is one a refundable deposit?  If so, it's just the luck of the draw.  The only reason someone would pick the less desirable option is that they lack critical thinking skills.

nope both were the same non-refundable

[Woody14]

Well I was a bit bored last night and did a lot of clicking the offer #2 with the 100obc is good on every sailing available till April 2025.   offer #2 is on select sailings - which appears to be (now I didn't try every ship and sailing but I did try an awful lot) between now and May 2024.   I found the select to be pretty much anything Alaska, Bahamas, Mexico & Caribbean, very limited for Australia, New Zealand and Europe and almost nothing for Asia.

 

It still amazed me that most cruises I had both options.

Now don't get me started that my Cheers offer would actually cost me more - I will start a new thread on that

[BlerkOne]

Offers are capacity controlled. The early bird gets the OBC. You snooze, you lose.

 

Normal people can sometimes find balcony cabins cheaper than ocean view or even inside. It all depends on supply and demand and marketing. There are professionals available for those baffled by it all.

 

 

[jiggs]

often the offers have different 'last day to book dates' so similar offers often overlap.  I have about 6 offers in my account now, very subtle differences in offer and price, but some expire before others.

[EngIceDave]

There can be slight variations in "available cabins" based on which chosen, I believe

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

They'll usually order the offers, for a given cabin, based on the increasing out of pocket cost for the cabin. Sometimes you'll see option # 2 on the list for (let's say) $100 more than the least expensive. However, that option might have a few hundred, or a thousand or more, in either OBC or Freeplay. It's not uncommon to see one with $1,000 OBC that is exactly $1,000 more in cost for the cabin. Of course, OBC for a given amount is always more "valuable" than the same amount of Freeplay - but, they use that to occasionally throw you a curve.

 

Buyer beware !

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Here's one I just looked at, for an example. The first option for this suite is the least expensive (out of pocket). Though it has Freeplay and your deposit comes back to you as OBC. The second one, is about $1,000 more, but has a significant amount of OBC.

 

Decisions, decisions !

 

 

 

Some of the fine print, for the second offer:

 

Offer is capacity controlled and subject to change at any time. Promotional deposit of $99 per person is non-refundable for sailings outside of final payment due date. Onboard Credit is non-transferable and is provided as a non-refundable credit to your Sail & Sign account of $500 per person up to $1,000 per room for 2-5 day sailings, and $1,000 per person up to $2,000 per room for 6+ day sailings. count. Onboard credit may vary with single supplement rates. Onboard credit may not be applied to cruise fare or Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses.

 

 

Tom

[JMKreno]

36 minutes ago, EngIceDave said:

see if this works

 

 

You may want to remove the links as they include your VIFP number if you click through them. 

[BobbiSox]

Yikes. So many offers, so little time. I get a  headache whenever I try to sort out these kinds of offers. I usually do take advantage of course. They are quite generous with their casino offers, and I live dangerously close to one of the home ports, so how can I say no?

[EngIceDave]

9 minutes ago, JMKreno said:

You may want to remove the links as they include your VIFP number if you click through them. 

Ooops....won't let me edit

 

 

[JMKreno]

2 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

Ooops....won't let me edit.

 

 

No problem. just wanted to let you know! It was strange, thought I had those screaming deals (We get casino offers) as I was logged in with my VIFP, but then it showed your VIFP in the "offers" window. Dangit!

[EngIceDave]

I imagine you need my password