chris330r

Had this exact same thing happen to me. I called and they gave me the lower fare (with no OBC) but when I rationally thought about it, I was getting an extra $80 so I called back AGAIN, and took the deal. We are just waiting until we are onboard to book excursions and putting the credit towards that

Yeah, it's an initial shock to the system until you sit down and actually think it through and realize that it's a good deal LOL.

This is correct. You stay early saver in terms of the fine print regarding cancellations and changes, etc. unless you move to a guaranteed rate.

 

Carnival didn't goof. Price matching can get confusing unless you really know what you are doing. Especially if there are factors such as a reduced deposit and obc with the rate you are matching to.

 

I also agree. At this point, why not pick up the phone and just call.

Carnival goofing was my original conclusion when I created the thread. I have since acknowledged in a following post that they did not in fact goof and don't know how to change the thread title....(or just too lazy to try and find out LOL)

You should stay ES unless you price match to a guarantee. That would be the only reason you would change from ES.

 

But, I have to wonder why all the e-mails? Why not just pick up the phone and call if you are confused?

Sorry, I don't think I clarified that I am hearing impaired and no longer able to use the phone, so e mail is the only way to go for me. It still gets the job done, and they're very quick with replies and help through e mail and on their FB site.

Personally, with that sail date, I would make sure I keep the Early Saver. It is very likely that the price will drop after final payment, since the early Dec cruises are usually the cheapest. Also, your net OBC gain is actually only $50 because you had potential to pay $20 less for your cruise, but gave that up for the increased rate with OBC you bought... :eek: It is confusing, I know.

 

So, my advice is for you to make sure you are still eligible for price drops, i.e. still considered Early Saver...and get a good PVP :)

I will definitely be taking that advice and write to CCL today. I don't know why my e mail to my PVP returned instantly as undeliverable. I think that's probably a sign he's no longer there and will request a new one.

Yes, all these rates & rules are so confusing...and I have a strong feeling it's MEANT to be that way for us! :confused:

Once Early Saver fare, always Early Saver fare. You've price matched to the new promotion but haven't changed fares.

 

When checking for price drops now, you'll have to include your OBC in your overall fare. If you match to a lower fare, you'll lose your OBC as it is associated with your current price.

Thanks. That makes sense to me.

The OBC will be used to take care of your tips (if you haven't prepaid them) and any onboard expenses. If there is any OBC left over, go to any slot machine.

 

You will need to set up an account on the machine and press the button that says "charge to your account". Enter the amount that you want. It will show up on the invoice as "entertainment". Play a few times on the machine and then cash out. Go to the cage and tell them you want to cash out. This way you will not get a 3% or 5% fee (can't remember the percentage).

Thanks so much! I copied this info into my tablet so I can refer to it while on the ship.

Is your booking still early saver if you keep the $70 obc? In not how far along is your cruise. Do you chance that price going lower?

As far as I can see, this new Onboard Credit promo fare that I accepted takes away the Early Saver.

Hopefully someone who knows for certain will chime in, but I THINK if the price drops, i'm ineligible unless I give up the OBC? Or will they just add the amount of the drop to the existing OBC now? It's SO darn confusing.

My cruise is 4 day Sensation for 12/6 with final payment due 10/7.

I've already received an e mail from customer service (boy they are QUICK!)....She was very nice and as per my final request is leaving my fare with the new OBC promo....so i'm going to keep it and enjoy my 70 bucks. :)

Your friend can use it to pay their tips. Also, if they have extra non-refundable OBC, they can turn it into cash at the casino. Someone else can explain how to do that better than I can. But I've done it when we have excess OBC.

Thanks. Turning it into cash for the casino is a great idea.....plus use some of it for drinks too. I'm happy with the OBC....After all, I was originally requesting a mere $20 price drop and wound up with $70 spendable cash on board instead...that's more than triple my original request. That's a win!

I should now change my post title....Carnival didn't goof after all. :)

I think carnival's early saver system is automated. Whenever you submit a request, it automatically gives you the lowest price (this would include a higher fare with OBC would give you a lower price after deducting the onboard credit). I had this happen to me- my cruise fare went up after submitting a price protection form- but I didn't notice the onboard credit added to my account. Like you, I e-mailed carnival and asked for an explanation. Their reply explained that the overall price was lower with the additional OBC, but they would honor the lower price (with no OBC) if I so desired. My thought is that you will get a reply from Carnival explaining the same thing, and they will give you the option of the lower fare or the higher fare with OBC. No need to send an additional e-mail. But that was just my experience... Carnival isn't notorious for being consistent! :)

If Carnival emails me back tomorrow with that explanation, i'm going to tell them to go ahead and leave it. Once you get over the initial shock of the price increase and see the OBC...you realize it's a good deal. :)

I'm confused here. How can paying an extra $90 to get $70 be coming out ahead?

If it was me, I'd put the extra $90 in my pocket. Take it onboard with me, and have $90 of extra money on my cruise.

Although I'm paying $90 more with the new fare, they're adding on $160.00 in OBC, so that makes out to a $70 profit to me in the OBC. (160 - 90 = 70).

Thanks for all the advice. I'm relieved that i'm not the only one experiencing this. I thought it was some kind of weird computer glitch, but now I understand it's some tactic they're employing.

I do like the idea of having OBC and that is $70 free dollars. So after firing off that e mail demanding to revert to my original fare...how to I eat crow and tell them to just leave things as they are?

Just send another e mail to their CCL support and ask nicely?

And can OBC be used in casino? I vaguely recall reading here that you can get it as cash for a small fee at the casino booths.

I may just leave things the way they are...but it was just unnerving and quite a shock to ask for a 20 buck price drop only to see the balance due increase by $90 bucks LOL. Only when I calmed down did I do they math and say "Hey, that's actually not a bad deal!"

Here's what just happened on the CCL Website...

I saw my booked cruise went down $20.00 so I e mailed my PVP and that instantly came back as undeliverable. Ok.

So I go to their FB site for help and someone gave me a link to their price protection form which I filled out and sent in requesting my $20 price drop. My fare is Early Saver.

Well, not 10 minutes later, I get an auto e mail from CCL showing my balance due INCREASED by $90.00!! What the heck?! It appears they took away my Early Saver fare and turned it into a regular fare!!

But here's the kicker!....They also added $160.00 in OBC to my sailing...so doing the math here, it does make me come out $70 bucks ahead. ($160-$90=$70).

Before doing the math, I fired an e mail to CCL help to fix it and give me my original fare....but now after doing the math i'm wondering if I should just pay the extra $90 since I got the $160 OBC.

Any advice is helpful! I'm not a seasoned cruiser and not sure what to do. Should I e mail them again saying "never mind"?

Yes, there are buses that go from the port to Orlando Airport. I used it last August after disembarking from Sensation.

Once you get off the ship, the buses are right outside the terminal. I got off very early, as soon as they began disembarking.

You can buy your ticket right there for $40 per person and you can be at the airport by 9am.

I live in Kissimmee, and when I got off the bus at the airport, I hopped in a cab to get home and walking in my home, I specifically recall the microwave clock in my kitchen saying 9:15am.

Just make SURE to be one of the first ones off the ship to grab the early bus and you should be fine for a noon flight, no problem!

Hope this helps! :)

I can't help you with the OV part of your question, but I had a PT on the Sensation (and on the Inspiration) and didn't have a sofa, so you wouldn't be losing that by changing room categories. Hope that makes your decision easier!

The sofa was kind of a big deal for me simply because I like lounging on them rather than the cold hard chair you get in many OV rooms. But if they're both the same, them that definitely helps knowing I won't be missing it anyway.

This will be my very first AFT cabin, so that itself for me is exiting! :)

The aft OV cabins are slightly longer than the other cabins. Maybe 1 or 2 feet.

This helps to make the decision. ANY extra cabin space is always welcome! Thanks!

Thanks for the helpful info. I'm going to officially make the change to that aft OV now!!

Hello all. I hope someone can help!

I currently have a PT booked and definitely want to change to an OV.

I've had regular OV before, but never an AFT OV. Is there really any noticeable difference other than the view?

I specifically read cabin M-269 is slightly larger than others. Any truth to that? I can't find any pics of this room online.

The closest I get through searching is a pretty good You Tube video of M-265 which looks nice.

I will also lose my sofa from the PT but for the view, I think it's worth it. Any advice or if anyone has pics to share it would be much appreciated!!!

We're boarding Sensation this morning (don't ask why I'm still awake at this hour!)...But we called Carnival earlier at 11pm and asked what, if any were their plans for the possible storm.

The reps response was as of that time, everything is scheduled as planned so if there's any diversion, I'm guessing it's going to happen as the ships sailing.

From what I see on Accu weather as of 3am, Freeport for Monday is still predicted to be sunny and pleasant...but it's Tuesday at Nassau that looks to be the big storm day.

So I'm guessing we'll get Freeport but divert somewhere else for Tuesday...I wouldn't mind if they go to Key West or something...but so far, the sailing is planned as normal.

Now I'm going to try and sleep...it's the pre cruise excitement lol...I'm too wired to sleep haha. :)

Maybe you guys can go to Key West instead of Freeport. I am one of the few people who loves going to Key West so that would be a win for me. :cool:

We're also just happy being on the cruise so this storm won't rain on our fun...but Key West would be a nice alternative stop. It's been 13 years since we last visited there back on the Victory in '01.

I just now saw your thread on the same topic, so i'll take this one down so it all stays in one place. I don't see any weather advisory on Carnival website yet, which seems odd since weather is tracking this as a tropical storm.

I posted the same question a few minutes ago and will remove that so the topic stays here.

Bermuda would be a great alternative! We'd be happy with that. :)

We leave on Sensation tomorrow and wouldn't you know it this tropical storm will be right over Bahamas Monday & Tuesday. Good thing we didn't pay for Atlantis water park excursion, because now we'll get it for free with the weather lol. We're not upset with it and will have fun no matter what!

Forecast so far says "heavy downpours with gusty winds"...yikes!...My question is, would Carnival divert away from these ports with weather like that and go where the sunshine is?

So far, there's no weather advisory on the Carnival website which I find strange since weather seems to be tracking this storm and saying it's right over Bahamas early next week.

Oh darn! What a bummer. I have about 25k points now. Was hoping to start playing like crazy and add it.

Now that I've spent 300k this morning on the OBC reward, I'm in the same boat now with only 23k points left....so it's time for me to start playing daily again.

I hope this thread continues and people add to it with their experiences so we can all learn how things go for others.

For instance, I'd like to build up my points again and maybe get the slot play, or drinks reward, but not sure if I'd be able to apply it to the one I'd be booking with this OBC reward or if that has to be yet another cruise altogether.

Hopefully in time, others will weigh in here to share.

So I'm confused...I just booked a cruise today and now I'm reading this thread. Can I still redeem my points AFTER I booked...or is this only for FUTURE bookings?? We don't sail until Oct 2015, so that's lots of time to acumulate rewards...right???

 

Help!

Sredish, it's only for new bookings only. I'm unsure if say you just booked this morning and later the same day discovered this promotion and call back to redeem it. They could apply it retroactively if it's the same day, but probably not longer than that.

You could just cancel and rebook when you have the reward in hand, but then there's the cancellation fee.

As far as accumulation goes, I began playing My Vegas in March of '13 and got myself up to 300,000 LP's (Loyalty Points) in about 4 or 5 months....so yes, you can definitely make it up to 300k before next October....It's a lot of fun playing too.

So you have to book a new cruise to use the OBC voucher or can it be applied to existing sailings but must be redeemed/applied to a cruise within 90 days? Also, what if you have TA that books the cruises?

I've copied & pasted what it says on my e mail confirmation and bolded the important stuff. Hope it helps!!

Redemption Instructions

Redeem Your Reward

Eligible for redemption beginning 8/25/14. Step 1: Visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com and shop for your cruise. Note: You cannot redeem this reward online. Step 2: Once you've selected your cruise, call 855-284-7463 and mention your myVEGAS Confirmation, full name, RCL promo code "myVEGAS300OC", desired ship and sail date to the agent. Step 3: Get ready for the cruise experience of a lifetime!

Reward Terms and Conditions

Reward is applicable to new individual bookings on sailings 7-nights or longer only and is subject to verification. Onboard Credit ("OBC") amount will be applied automatically at time of booking to all eligible reservations. OBC is in USD, has no cash value, is non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the last evening of the cruise. OBC is combinable with standard/full fare rates and restricted rates (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military, Police/Fire). OBC is not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, weekly Sales Events, Net Rates, Crown & Anchor Discounts, Shareholder Benefits or Next Cruise offers, promotions, or benefits. When reserving through a travel agency, the reward must be presented to the travel agent at time of reservation. Misrepresentation of reward will void this offer and refare booking to prevailing rate. Refer to royalcaribbean.com for complete terms and conditions. Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions at any time without prior notice.