So dissapointed trying to pay for an upgrade

[novellaherman]

We have a cruise planned that we booked 8 months in advance. We used the early saver option. Now our cruise is less than 2 1/2 months away. Final Payment has been paid. I was looking at an online booking site to see if the price had dropped.....I noticed it had but just slightly....then I noticed that a killer cabin was available. I called my previous online booking site that handled the original booking. I asked them could I upgrade to this killer room? The answer is yes for an additional 632$ Well I said yes I will take it!! Get a call back 15 minutes later telling me carnival said that it will be $950 for the room because I cant take advantage of the military rate since the original fare was not military......and I cant cancel and rebook because final payment is made..........I am really just so dissapointed. :(

[*Mach*]

Yep... you booked ES. Changing to a military discount would require a change of fare code... pretty much canceling your original booking and starting from scratch...

Sorry...

[Bo Didly]

The good thing is your on a cruise with out paying extra money :rolleyes:.

 

I could live with that .

[novellaherman]

well I am still very happy to be going on the cruise and I will keep my fingers crossed for the upgrade fairy.......next time I guess I should bite the bullet and upgrade to the room I want at booking . But it was an aft wrap balcony.......oh well.

[firefly333]

You should be able to price match with military if you are booked ES, your TA is wrong.

 

You dont actually change to military, but you sure can price match to it.. you said you were booked ES right? The TA is giving you the runaround and doesnt know the ES rules.

[novellaherman]

yes we booked early saver, however the TA claimed she was on the line with Carnival and that is what Carnival told her........now I would see why they would like to hold on to an aft wrap balcony.......but really if someone with a military discount came along today......they would pay Exactly what I am willing to pay. So why not sell it to me.......a 7 time carnival cruiser, oh well I guess I should just stop whinning.

[firefly333]

Others have matched military rates .. dont know why others here are saying you cant, because Im sure you can.

 

Im assuming you qualify for military, no reason why you shouldnt get it otherwise.

[novellaherman]

we definately qualify for military rate and have used it several times with carnival......but somehow, someway they explained it to me that since I used early saver...I can not at the present switch or qualify for a military rate. So basically it means that I would be better off gambling on a better price closer to the cruise date than booking 8 months in advance. So next time I would always go with a military rate as opposed to a early saver.

[G'ma]

yes we booked early saver, however the TA claimed she was on the line with Carnival and that is what Carnival told her........now I would see why they would like to hold on to an aft wrap balcony.......but really if someone with a military discount came along today......they would pay Exactly what I am willing to pay. So why not sell it to me.......a 7 time carnival cruiser, oh well I guess I should just stop whinning.

 

Please, re-read Host Mach's post. He knows what he's talking abuot..it's his business......

 

Don't blame Carnival...don't blame your TA. If you prefer more freedom with your bookings, book direct with the cruiseline and don't buy ES.

[novellaherman]

I dont mean to blame anyone....other than myself. And I wont use ES again. Its a learning process and I am learning.

[skylock]

I dont mean to blame anyone....other than myself. And I wont use ES again. Its a learning process and I am learning.

 

I think what you should do is upgrade to the cabin and then price match to the military rate if that is how you have to do it.

 

But I think first I would call Carnival and just ask a general question about moving up at the military rate with ES. do not tell them you are booked with a TA.

[Vanessa L]

I'm really thinking Fire is right on this one. Last year when we booked the Miracle, my PVP and I kept watching prices. Even though we booked ES, if the military rate dropped, we could have taken advantage of it with ES. My PVP whom I've been with for years, and whom is on top of all the rules at Carnival would have been the first to tell me if I could not take advantage of a military rate drop even if I booked ES. In fact, even though I was booked with ES, I was eligible for rate drops in Past Guest and military, and of course, ES. I would call Carnival and ask them how ES works and if you can use all available rate drops with ES. Don't tell them you are booked, just that you have a question. If they tell you no, you can only use ES rate drops, keep calling until you find someone who knows better. Get their name and extension. Then call your TA and have them call that person at that extension. I think your TA is wrong on this one.

[Tapi]

Please' date=' re-read Host Mach's post. He knows what he's talking abuot..it's his business.......[/quote']

I respect Host Mach's expertise, but our experience is more in line with what firefly described.

 

I qualify for the interline rate. For our last cruise, initially we booked under ES, however, as we got closer to departure, the interline rate became available. We were protected at thr lower interline rate, but our booking still had all of the restrictions of an ES booking.

 

I believe, based on what we experienced, that the OP can get the price reduction. The booking will still appear as being booked under ES, but at the lower military rate.

 

I just read the fine print of the Early Saver rate and I don't see anything that would prevent the OP from getting the price protection. It's a rate that they qualify for on the same ship and sailing, and its not a group, charter or membership program rate.

[salty dingo]

Early Saver is a very restricted fare. You cannot just do whatever seems reasonable to you... there are rules that you agree to in exchange for the low fare.

 

Military fares are definitely a different animal. I'm curious why, if you qualify for them, would you not have booked the Military fare to begin with. Was it not offered or did you find and even cheaper fare?

[bumbles]

Hmmm...our last cruise we booked an 8F balcony with the past guest rate (booked too late for early saver) and then the prices dropped for an OS with the military rate. We called and upgraded. The Carnival rep did have to 'check with a supervisor' to see if she could change the rate, but in the end, we wound up with the suite at the military rate.

[salty dingo]

Hmmm...our last cruise we booked an 8F balcony with the past guest rate (booked too late for early saver) and then the prices dropped for an OS with the military rate. We called and upgraded. The Carnival rep did have to 'check with a supervisor' to see if she could change the rate, but in the end, we wound up with the suite at the military rate.

Guess you could do that because you did NOT book the ES rate.

 

There are many strings attached to ES rates, and I would be very hesitant to book one, unless I was 100% sure I would not be changing my plans no matter what.

[MamaParrotHead]

I was of the understanding that if anything drops below ES that you qualify for, you get that cheaper rate. That's also how my PVP explained it to me. Not sure what the hold up is on this one...? Unless it's the whole "changing of the cabins" thing that's throwing the monkey in the mix.

[CrusinCyndi]

DH and I prefer the aft wraps and just book the cabin we want at the going price..they never seem to come down in price.

[vermonter16]

DH and I prefer the aft wraps and just book the cabin we want at the going price..they never seem to come down in price.

 

That is what DH and I do. We book exactly what we want when we book our cruise. Some people don't have a preference as to where they are on a ship and just book a guarantee. DH and I are sticklers and want to be able to pick our cabin. If we want a suite - we'll book a suite, if we want a regular balcony - we'll just book the regular balcony. We don't rely on upgrades or anything like that. Simply put - this is our vacation and we don't want to be disappointed.

[Lady_Jag]

I was of the understanding that if anything drops below ES that you qualify for, you get that cheaper rate. That's also how my PVP explained it to me. Not sure what the hold up is on this one...? Unless it's the whole "changing of the cabins" thing that's throwing the monkey in the mix.

This was my understanding, too, based on Carnival's web site: http://www.carnival.com/cms/faq/default.aspx?faq=earlysaver

 

• What is the price protection assurance feature?

If, after booking, you find a lower Carnival advertised fare, Carnival will honor it, issuing the difference in the form of a non-refundable onboard credit. The lower fare must be: i) for the same ship, sailing, stateroom category and number of guests; ii) available for booking at the time you submit your request for the lower rate; and iii) a rate you are eligible to receive, if special restrictions apply. Price protection will be subject to the prevailing fees and/or fuel supplement if applicable.

 

Maybe because it's an upgrade and not a "lower fare" per se, they won't honor it? I guess in that case, they would charge you the full fare of the upgrade, then fill out the ES form to give you the difference in OBC?

[bumbles]

Guess you could do that because you did NOT book the ES rate.

 

There are many strings attached to ES rates, and I would be very hesitant to book one, unless I was 100% sure I would not be changing my plans no matter what.

 

I'm not sure...but it's the same concept - you have to change the rate plan and we were beyond final payment.

 

As far as military rates with the ES rate on the same cabin, I have gotten OBCs several times (twice on the next cruise) but again, that was for the identical cabin - not an upgrade.

[Ken076]

novellaherman -

 

If you booked Early Saver and you're Military eligible, you would unquestionably qualify for a rate drop if the Military rate for the cabin Category you booked dropped below your ES rate (you get rate drops up to two business days before sailing for any rate that you qualify for).

 

Your scenario is a bit different - Their issue must be that you want to change cabins AND get the rate drop for that cabin. Seems that they would do this for you, as (as someone stated above), as nothing prevents you from buying-up to the aft wrap at the going rate then immediately ask for the price-match to the Military Rate for the aft wrap?

 

If it's important and still available, maybe ask TA to explore this approach?

 

 

BTW - With Early Saver you would NOT have been able to cancel and rebook even before Final Payment Deadline (unless you wanted to lose $50 per person penalty AND change ships/dates).

 

ken

[tenthredemption]

With all due respect to your travel agent, I suggest you make them submit the form on your behalf for exactly what you're requesting. Sometimes the phone agents aren't fully aware of what can and cannot be done. The team that handles Early Saver price protection requests certainly do. You may be surprised.

 

Just my two cents.

[Tapi]

I'm going to play armchair "Guest Services" :D

 

I think that, based on what I read, the OP would be required to first upgrade, and pay the $950 difference. THEN, they could place a price reduction form for the military rate and get the difference in price as an OBC.

 

So $950-$662 = $288 OBC

 

Can I get a job at Carnival now...? :p

[Ken076]

I'm going to play armchair "Guest Services" :D

 

I think that, based on what I read, the OP would be required to first upgrade, and pay the $950 difference. THEN, they could place a price reduction form for the military rate and get the difference in price as an OBC. EXACTLY!!!!

 

So $950-$662 = $288 OBC

 

Can I get a job at Carnival now...? :p

ABSOLUTELY!!!

 

 

ken