Carnival's New Early Saver Program

[MustangChic03]

[quote name='firefly333']I think people here truly don't get it as you put it. Celebrity had a great sale a few weeks back for any balcony for $899, even on Soltice??!! Its only a month old and setting new standards for new ships they say.

There are so many bargains out there, and then I come here and carnival folks posting over and over (guess they need to convince themselves) that Carnival is always cheaper, so they are loyal to Carnival.

Should I tell them I used RCL VISA points on that $449 fare? for an extra $300 off?? I only paid $749 for two of us and we are in a PR cabin with the inside window. Not only that but I got $250 OBC to spend, part from the TA I used. (isnt that like paying only $500 for my voyager cruise?)

Celebrity Century they were giving it away and Soltice started to sail early and I heard you could buy those cabins for a song.

Why be so loyal to Carnival, they don't care about you?

I will be on the Ecstasy, in less than 2 weeks. Im out there cruising, but I am sure willing to jump cruiselines if there is a better deal.[/quote]

We don't care about what you paid and how you paid for it. The name of the thread is "Carnival's New Early Saver Program" not "What did you pay to cruise on RCL?" We all choose Carnival for our own reasons not solely based on price. Not everyone solely cruises on Carnival either.

I do have to say that I am excited to see the prices tomorrow! I have been buggin DH about it all weekend. He gave me a cruise for Christmas. Mind you he didn't have one picked out yet because of school, but I think I have officially picked which sailing we will be on in May. I was getting ready to book it until I saw this post on Friday. If this program can help me save some money that would be awesome! We are restricted to sailing dates because of school so we won't be changing the date. I can see that some people may not want to "lock in" their vacation if they can be flexible though. I guess tomorrow we will now how great of a deal this really program really is!

[UpstateCruizer]

[quote name='MustangChic03']We don't care about what you paid and how you paid for it. The name of the thread is "Carnival's New Early Saver Program" not "What did you pay to cruise on RCL?" We all choose Carnival for our own reasons not solely based on price. Not everyone solely cruises on Carnival either.

I do have to say that I am excited to see the prices tomorrow! I have been buggin DH about it all weekend. He gave me a cruise for Christmas. Mind you he didn't have one picked out yet because of school, but I think I have officially picked which sailing we will be on in May. I was getting ready to book it until I saw this post on Friday. If this program can help me save some money that would be awesome! We are restricted to sailing dates because of school so we won't be changing the date. I can see that some people may not want to "lock in" their vacation if they can be flexible though. I guess tomorrow we will now how great of a deal this really program really is![/quote]

I have some cruises in mind for 2010 and I've priced one of them out using the best possible price I can find right now. Come tomorrow I'll be excited to see where the new program price compares to the price I found this past week.

I don't cruise Carnival because I feel they are cheaper just as I don't eat at Subway because it's cheaper than my favorite local resturant. I cruise on Carnival because I like their product and it fits my needs. I may feel differently in the future and want to try another line but for now there is no need. :)

[Kurbanfan]

[quote name='MustangChic03'][B]We[/B] don't care about what you paid and how you paid for it. The name of the thread is "Carnival's New Early Saver Program" not "What did you pay to cruise on RCL?" We all choose Carnival for our own reasons not solely based on price. Not everyone solely cruises on Carnival either.

[/quote]

We:confused: You have a friend in your pocket:confused: I'm glad she posted about Celebrity Solstice...........I wasn't aware they were sailing her at low prices.........
Ok now I will have to go check it out:D

[MustangChic03]

[quote name='Kurbanfan']We:confused: You have a friend in your pocket:confused: I'm glad she posted about Celebrity Solstice...........I wasn't aware they were sailing her at low prices.........
Ok now I will have to go check it out:D[/quote]

Yup I do! :cool:

But in case somebody else her in the carnival section doesn't care what prices RCL is offering then they can be included in the "We." :D

[Kurbanfan]

[quote name='MustangChic03']Yup I do! :cool:

But in case somebody else her in the carnival section doesn't care what prices RCL is offering then they can be included in the "We." :D[/quote]


Well in case you missed it....Firefly was referring to the post below.
She just wanted to set the record straight.....since it was total B.S.:D

[quote name='zqvol']


Carnival does exactly the same thing. The discussion involves a new optional program. [B]If you RCCL boys were on Carnival you would be paying less to start with and would still have all your reductions[/B].[/quote]

[firefly333]

Hey, I wanna see the new prices tomorrow as much as the next poster. I'm all ears. OK?

Wouldnt help me on Ecstasy, I will be sailing away into the setting sun .... soon. But I'm ever curious.

[zqvol]

[quote name='firefly333']I think people here truly don't get it as you put it. Celebrity had a great sale a few weeks back for any balcony for $899, even on Soltice??!! Its only a month old and setting new standards for new ships they say.

There are so many bargains out there, and then I come here and carnival folks posting over and over (guess they need to convince themselves) that Carnival is always cheaper, so they are loyal to Carnival.

Should I tell them I used RCL VISA points on that $449 fare? for an extra $300 off?? I only paid $749 for two of us and we are in a PR cabin with the inside window. Not only that but I got $250 OBC to spend, part from the TA I used. (isnt that like paying only $500 for my voyager cruise?)

Celebrity Century they were giving it away and Soltice started to sail early and I heard you could buy those cabins for a song.

Why be so loyal to Carnival, they don't care about you?

I will be on the Ecstasy, in less than 2 weeks. Im out there cruising, but I am sure willing to jump cruiselines if there is a better deal.[/quote]

People get it. There are times though that people can't shop around. If you want to cruise in the summer and go to the Caribbean you are pretty much stuck with Carnival or RCCL. If you can go year round then there are lots of options.

I find that in the winter season NCL has the best deals. I can get good deals on Cosata but I don't want to crusie on them. I also don't ccare for most of the other mass market lines because of the stupid dress codes. You can get great prices in Europe, but you pay twice the cruise fare for the air fare.

Add it all up and as much as you want but overall Carnival's prices tend to be pretty good.

[MustangChic03]

So do you think the newest rates will be up first thing in the AM? I am setting my alarm a bit early just so I have time to check and do some research before work. I know if I don't then part of my day at work is going to be spent thinking about cruise rates. What am I kidding myself? I will be thinking about cruising regardless. :)

[LizaMM]

I agree that this will be an [I]option[/I]. I don't really see Carnival (or any cruiseline for that matter) switching over to a non-refundable deposit only. They would have a nightmare on their hands if they did that since the vast majoriy of people would not book if that was the case.

I will definetly look into this option. As a previous poster mentioned, some of my vacays are totally bound by school being off since when i take my kids we go when they have their Feb or April break.

However, when I go solo I am more flexible with dates and might want to switch it up depending on what my kids have going on that I may not want to miss or depending on my childcare availability.

[CruiseCentric]

[quote name='MustangChic03']So do you think the newest rates will be up first thing in the AM? I am setting my alarm a bit early just so I have time to check and do some research before work. I know if I don't then part of my day at work is going to be spent thinking about cruise rates. What am I kidding myself? I will be thinking about cruising regardless. :)[/quote]
Hard to say..In the past I have seen them put up pricing early in the morning, like 2-4am EST. Other times its not up until 10am.
Last year there was a sale and prices went up in the middle of the night and there were several glitches. Balcony cabins for $200 :D

[Guest nhrich]

Rates are up. I just checked the Carnival Dream cruise that we're booked on in October, and the balcony savings are $400 pp over the regular pricing.

[kimmimom]

a whole system "switch the button on" kind of thing. I will keep checking back!

[cruzn buckeye]

I don't have much time this morning to go through this whole thread.
could someone tell me the new fare code?

Thanks

[lostinohio]

[quote name='cruzn buckeye']i don't have much time this morning to go through this whole thread.
Could someone tell me the new fare code?

Thanks[/quote]

peb

[cruzn buckeye]

[quote name='lostinohio']peb[/quote]
thanks!

[cruzn buckeye]

[quote name='nhrich']Rates are up. I just checked the Carnival Dream cruise that we're booked on in October, and the balcony savings are $400 pp over the regular pricing.[/QUOTE]

I have checked a few and don't see anything. Do you have to put in the code or will show as an option when trying to book?

[bigman01]

The code is not PEB, it is [B]PBB[/B]. I've checked also, and after entering the code, get a message that the code is invalid or something to that effect. Maybe they haven't rolled out the prices for all cruises yet?

[firefly333]

lol I thought the code was ESP, but that too is invalid. None of the above worked either.

[jan15]

I just spoke to Carnival about 5 minutes ago. I currently have a 4 night Elation cruise booked leaving in May and I wanted to check about the new fare. She said I have a better fare now and that the new early saver fare is not showing up for my cruise. She said it is only for SELECTED sailings. I think that are making this new program sound alot better than it actuallly is!!!

[cruzn buckeye]

Okay, I have read epb , peb ppb, and pbb??
Hopefully it is pbb? also, do you know if it will show up as an option or do you have to put it in?

thanks!

[kimmimom]

it should just show up. The person who had a link to one that had the price over the weekend, it just showed up.

[MamaParrotHead]

I had emailed my PVP this weekend to ask him about it. He replied late last night saying that the discounts were "huge" on our sailing that he had looked up (and we're all ready booked with the military rate) and that he'd call me after their morning meeting today.

 

Now I'm excited. Will update later.

[kimmimom]

I am just curious to see (esp since we might do another cruise this fall)!

[firefly333]

I just spoke to Carnival about 5 minutes ago. I currently have a 4 night Elation cruise booked leaving in May and I wanted to check about the new fare. She said I have a better fare now and that the new early saver fare is not showing up for my cruise. She said it is only for SELECTED sailings. I think that are making this new program sound alot better than it actuallly is!!!

 

that's what I have been speculating.... not for every cruise.

[Edluvsbd]

I also think this program is "Smoke & Mirrors".. What this is really about is that CARNIVAL does not want to give customers money BACK once they have it.. Just like the fuel surcharges.. I paid my fuel surcharge in my last cruise booking.. But, when oil prices dropped, they did not give it back to me.. They gave me a shipboard credit instead.. This is NOT a refund folks.. And, unless you actually spend it on-board, you WILL NOT be reimbursed.. Now, they want to play the same game with your entire booking deposit.. I would suspect that due to the economic downturn, booking cancellations have been pretty significant.. Consequently, Carnival has to lower the price and spend more time/money to get all or most of its cabins filled.. What they want to do is tempt you with a "deal" and then make it difficult if not impossible to get your money back.. I'm sure that they will get lots of 1st time cruisers to bite on this one and consequently have a LOT of bad PR when people want or need to make cruise booking changes or cancellations. But, the experienced cruisers will probably see this so-called promotion for what it is.. A GAMBLE that the odds are all in favor of the cruise line.. Carnival already knows what their booking cancellation and change rate is. And, if economic conditions don't get better, its gonna get worse. This even reminds me of the way credit card companies issue promo teaser rates. Low interest, blah, blah blah... But, watch out what happens if you happen to be late with a payment. BANG, they stick it to ya.. Carnival is doing the same thing with this so-called early booking program.. Sounds like a sweet deal up front.. But, it will definitely BITE you if you need to make a change, find a better deal or simply want to cancel your booking.. One man's opinion..