Carnival's New Early Saver Program

[Kurbanfan]

Yes, that's right, they keep your $200 until you rebook, if you cancel before final payment. BTW, I asked about the insurance, and that doesn't get you any additional flexibility with the Early Booking terms, it is only applicable to events after final payment.

 

I'm not sure about terms of canceling existing bookings and switching them over to this program, sorry.

 

 

How long do you get to rebook before you loose the $200:confused:

[ADD Boy]

I didn't ask, but probably should have; I grabbed one of those crazy L shaped balconies aft, (100sq ft balcony compared to 35sq ft for same price, plus bigger stateroom) and was so excited to get it, I pounced!

[lilnan]

This, to me, sounds like they might not give you the price drops in the future, UNLESS you have the Early Saver Program. Does it sound that way to anyone else?

[SouthernCaribbean]

This, to me, sounds like they might not give you the price drops in the future, UNLESS you have the Early Saver Program. Does it sound that way to anyone else?

Currently before final payment you can get your rate adjusted. If they didnt allow that, people could just cancel and rebook at the lower price, so it would be pretty pointless and in the end time consuming if they stopped doing it.

 

After final payment you currently get nada..unless you do ESP.

[lostinohio]

How long do you get to rebook before you loose the $200:confused:

 

It will be valid for one year from date of cancellation.

[Gman2004]

How long do you get to rebook before you loose the $200:confused:

 

1 year from the date of cancelation.

[Ljp5365]

This is what my CVS emailed me.

 

4A regular = $669

4A Early Saver = $489

 

 

Can you find out about a 8G on the Dream 2/20/10

[Gman2004]

Can you find out about a 8G on the Dream 2/20/10

 

ES = $919.

 

 

I am going to start charging for quotes.:D My CVS agent is going to get tired of me asking for rate quotes and not booking anything.:)

[Kurbanfan]

1 year from the date of cancelation.

 

I think their whole idea is to keep people from straying.......the competition is getting tough out there......

It will work for the Carnival loyalists, not for others who are looking for the best overall deal.....

 

I have already switched from the Splendor to the Mariner......so this wouldn't work for me......

[adee74]

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..

 

I totally agree.

[Ljp5365]

ES = $919.

 

 

I am going to start charging for quotes.:D My CVS agent is getting to get tired of me asking for rate quotes and not booking anything.:)

 

 

Thanks ~ I appreciate it! :D We called our PVP earlier but he said he could only quote 2009 Early Saver bookings right now. We'll be calling back in the morning!

[Gman2004]

I totally agree.

 

yeah, you're so right! $600 off the regular rate (VA 07/02/09) and the lowest price guarantee is smoke and mirrors.:rolleyes:

[cvrap]

Regardless of how you book, if you cancel after final payment you would lose your deposit. Unless you have insurance and you cancel within their terms.

 

My TA said you would lose $50 and then could apply the other $150 to a future booking. You would get nothing back, but at least you could use the $150 for a future cruise.

 

I'm going to call Carnival and follow up with that.

[michelle2]

Was the date you were looking at within the next 5 months??

 

Yes, I asked for the Splendor on June 14. The girl on the phone made it sound like the whole ship was not eligible.

 

I called again and asked for the Pride for June 13 and they said that the Early Saver Porgram wasn't valid for this cruise either.

 

Both of these cruises are just a little over 5 months out.

[Rowan555]

I'm saving considerable money on our November Triumph cruise, and I'm planning to book a cruise on the Dream for next spring under this new pricing plan. We don't book a cruise unless we plan to go on it, so I'm not worried about the cancellation policy. And with the savings, we can go on two nice 7 day cruises within 6 months. Can't complain about that!

[ArizonaTracie]

Is the early saver discount and past passenger rates both applicable?

[cvrap]

The early saver is cheaper than the past guest in my case.

[oceaniclovers]

Us there a rate code for early saver?

[DGP1111]

Smoke and mirrors. Non refundable deposit, customer has to watch for lower rates and apply for them, OBC rather than credit amount to credit card make this a non event for me.

 

There is no way I could have said this better!!!

[NCTribeFan]

There is no way I could have said this better!!!

 

Look people! No one is forcing anyone to do this! You can still book the "normal" way.

 

But it does NOT appear to be "smoke and mirrors."

 

It's just different. Sheesh. Why are people SO opposed to ANYTHING being changed? It's not like Carnival is changing their entire booking system so that ALL cruises MUST be booked early and ALL deposits are nonrefundable.

 

If it doesn't work for you, OK. Pretend it isn't happening. But to insist that it has absolutely no value to anyone is being unrealistic and just shows a lack of comprehension of what the program is designed to do.

 

OF COURSE, Carnival would prefer to keep your money and would prefer to have it as early as possible. That does not mean that using this booking method can't have its benefits for certain cruisers.

[Vanessa L]

There is no way I could have said this better!!!

 

Don't forget that all important IF in the sentence:

 

Complete a price protection claim form. If the request meets the price protection requirements, we will process your onboard credit for the fare difference and send you an email confirmation within 2 business days of your request.

 

 

As another has pointed out, and OBC is NOT a refund back to the consumer. Carnival still gets your money in the form of an on board credit (use it or lose it). Getting $200 back and being able to use it to buy say, a lawn mower, is a refund. An OBC is nothing more than holding your money in escrow for you to spend, guess where? On the ship. So if your original price was $2000 and you get an OBC credit for $300, you are still spending $2000, you are in the black zero dollars. Sorry, I'm not seeing how this is going to help me. Maybe I am just used to booking last minute and getting great rates without fail. Who knows?:confused: I guess the person this is going to help are the people who will ordinarily pay a deposit of $500+/- and let Carnival sit on it for a year or so. This is definitely win/win for Carnival.

[Gman2004]

Don't forget that all important IF in the sentence:

 

Complete a price protection claim form. If the request meets the price protection requirements, we will process your onboard credit for the fare difference and send you an email confirmation within 2 business days of your request.

 

 

 

If they didn't have this disclaimer, then people would be asking for their cruise to be repriced with promotions they do not qualfiy for, i.e. military, interline, past guest, etc.

[cvrap]

Look people! No one is forcing anyone to do this! You can still book the "normal" way.

 

But it does NOT appear to be "smoke and mirrors."

 

It's just different. Sheesh. Why are people SO opposed to ANYTHING being changed? It's not like Carnival is changing their entire booking system so that ALL cruises MUST be booked early and ALL deposits are nonrefundable.

 

If it doesn't work for you, OK. Pretend it isn't happening. But to insist that it has absolutely no value to anyone is being unrealistic and just shows a lack of comprehension of what the program is designed to do.

 

OF COURSE, Carnival would prefer to keep your money and would prefer to have it as early as possible. That does not mean that using this booking method can't have its benefits for certain cruisers.

 

Ditto!! I'll tell you a little later today how much it's saving me.

Also, the only real downside to me is the $50 name change as I'm having a hard time getting some commitments from my son and friends. And the OBC? What's wrong with that? If it's $100, I'm definitely going to be spending $100 on my vacation!! It's kind of like saving for me. I don't think I'm going to be earning much interest on $100 if it stays in my checking account.

[old sole]

Smoke and mirrors. Non refundable deposit, customer has to watch for lower rates and apply for them, OBC rather than credit amount to credit card make this a non event for me.

 

There is no way I could have said this better!!!

 

Let me try.

 

You can book whenever you want and switch to this program if the rate is better than what you have right up until the deadline, so the Non-refundable deposit occurs just 30 days earlier than normal for 5 day or shorter cruises and 75 days earlier than normal for 6 day and longer cruises. And that is sweetened by the policy of allowing the "non-refundable" deposit to be rolled over to another cruise within 12 months. Customer has to watch for lower rates and apply for them, the same as without the program, OBC rather than credit amount to credit card, compared to now no credit or OBC after final payment.

 

If you book a cruise thinking you might cancel during the 30 day/75 day period between the Early Saver deadline and Final Payment Date; or if you typically think you get the lowest possible rate because you book interline/military or last minute; or if you don't think you will take the time to check rates after you book- then this might be a non-event for you. You know what, good for you, you don't have to use it. No harm, no foul. That doesn't mean it's automatically a bad option for someone else.

[Cruise, J.D.]

I think I'll still wait to book. Carnival kept claiming last year bookings were strong, blah blah blah. Hmmm . . . looks like things are getting worse. This is an initial step to stop the bleeding.

 

I think the deals are going to get even better without having to book in this program. I might be wrong.