captaincrash Posted October 14, 2006 #1 Share Posted October 14, 2006 We're thinking of booking a cruise for 4 or 5 cabins and were wondering how to economize or take advantage of any discounts out there. Are there any coupons or intelligent approaches to finding the best rate? I did call Carnival directly and they said their Entertainment coupon does not apply to european sailings. And we're considering the Carnival FREEDOM for the Med in 2007. Thanks in advance to everyone who considers this or posts a response. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaincrash Posted October 14, 2006 Author #2 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hmmm.... At this point in time only 30 viewings and NO posts? So, no one has any ideas they are willing to share OR no one knows how to save a buck on Carnival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GROUCHPUSS Posted October 14, 2006 #3 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hmmm.... At this point in time only 30 viewings and NO posts? So, no one has any ideas they are willing to share OR no one knows how to save a buck on Carnival? Have you been in the military? Or do you work for a company like UPS, FED EX, airline, train or travel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breanne$5 Posted October 14, 2006 #4 Share Posted October 14, 2006 I have found on the new ships - no deals! No need to. But you never know. Have you looked at cruise compete? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smrn Posted October 14, 2006 #5 Share Posted October 14, 2006 My TA tells me there is a discount if you book 8 cabins! Maybe you should enlarge your group! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaincrash Posted October 14, 2006 Author #6 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Well... ... I've tried Cruise Compete... and gotten some referrals to competitive TAs... and we have a bid request posted (just today)... and we are not ex-military, government or employed with any company which has a break with Carnival. AND - I asked about the only coupon I kew existed - the Entertainmet Club coupon - and they said it was not applicable to their European sailings. AND... we have considered the possibility of gathering more to travel with us - but the best we've come up with is 4 firm and one potential addition. Short of the 8 necessary to form a group. As such - the best that I found was Costco travel who came in UNDER Carnival and now I'm waiting to see if any Cruise Compete TAs come in under Costco. Oh yeah... there were no senior rates on our choosen sailing... but we did score the potential for the repeat customer benefits: slight cost break ($50 on 1st 2 PAX) and the $200 cabin credit. SO... I was hoping for a pointer from someone towards a coupon or ???? in finding another break of some kind - or an "angle" on scoring a "deal" ... or even a hot travel agent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbean dreams Posted October 14, 2006 #7 Share Posted October 14, 2006 My TA tells me there is a discount if you book 8 cabins! Maybe you should enlarge your group! But the catch is...you have to book all 8 cabins at one time and with the group rate, that just about blows any chance of getting any further discounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone Cruising Posted October 14, 2006 #8 Share Posted October 14, 2006 E-bay sometimes has $100 off coupons people are auctioning off. The ones they have now expire by Dec.31. Maybe there will be more for next year? Enter Carnival Cruise for a search... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted October 14, 2006 #9 Share Posted October 14, 2006 E-bay sometimes has $100 off coupons people are auctioning off. The ones they have now expire by Dec.31. Maybe there will be more for next year? Enter Carnival Cruise for a search... Most of those aren't good for Med cruises.... Sorry... you may just have to book if you really want to go... the Med cruises are HOT. Or you can wait and see if there is a sale that includes those sailings... but you are looking at cruising soon, and they will likely sell out soon... or the price could go up. Prices are pretty reasonable, I believe they were lower several months ago.... You may also want to look at the 2 CC group cruises... they have good prices and amenities if there is room left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpstateCruizer Posted October 14, 2006 #10 Share Posted October 14, 2006 The Entertainment books have (3) $100 off coupons in them. These are valid only on cruises prior to Dec 31st 2006. They do state that they can restrict the use on specific cruises at any time. Also space is limited and the offer is capacity controlled. If you've ever tried to book a hotel using an Entertainment offer, you'll understand that they only offer a certain amount of theor rooms for the Entertainment offer, and those rooms go very quickly. I would be hesitant to purchase any of these coupons from Ebay only to find out they can't be used. I have not seen the new 2007 books to check for newer coupons. Discover Card also offers promotional certificates as part of their cashback program. I found these are useless since they require you to book through a specific travel agent who didn't even come close to the price I received through cruise compete. Make sure you check out any "deal" out there before you spend money to save money :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captaincrash Posted October 14, 2006 Author #11 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Thanks everyone for your input... ... you've restored my faith in my presumption and "faith" in the "neighborly" CC community. I remain hopeful for a tip that will turn up a bit of savings - and everything is GREAT for ideas and tips... but there DOES seem to be a pretty tight situation here for savings angles, eh? I'll be away for the next 36 hours... we have a Jazz festival on Catalina... JAZZ TRAX... and we'll return tomorrow evening. Between now and then I'd like to offer "Thanks in Advance" to any who have a constructive thought to post here - and further "thanks" to those who read this and muse - "...oh shoot!, someone else already posted what YOU were thinking of posting...". The thought counts - even if you don't actuially post something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dclark Posted October 14, 2006 #12 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Buy 100 shares of CCL stock in your name, and in your husbands name (seperate accounts). Book two cabins with you in one and your hubby in the other (swap cards when you are on board). You now get $100 cruise credit per cabin. In the '06 Entertainment book, there is a Hotwire coupon that can be used for 5% off I think that's the amount) a cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breanne$5 Posted October 14, 2006 #13 Share Posted October 14, 2006 just had an email from i cruise that looked like a really good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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