my PVP experience

[Bevv]

This is a no name PVP review. This was my second booking with Carnival. The first was online, seamless, I had all the info I needed, booked what I wanted and once I decided to book it took about 5 minutes.

 

I decided this time to book with a PVP because she contacted me via e-mail several times. I figured that she needed a job, and I wanted to insure that we did not get phone calls from Carnival like we did last time.

 

I contacted her at first by e-mail to confirm her work hours because I wanted to make the call to her during my "day" (I am a non-traditional hours worker).

 

When I made the call her tone was professional but she was not a good source of information. Possibly because she knew I was a past guest, but she seemed to be an order taker rather than a vacation planner.

 

What I expected to hear was information. She did not explain Early Saver to me. She did not remind me about tips or give me the option to pre-pay. She did not have a good explanation of the insurance plan, but she could tell me what it would cost. She did tell me what ports that the ship was sailing to.

 

She did take the information for my Future Cruise Certificate. When I asked about the carnival Stock Certificate, she offered me a phone number to call. When I said I planned on e-mailing it to Carnival she was not able to give me the e-mail address.

 

My mail goal, not getting any calls besides last minute problems with the ship was met with resistance. It was not until I told her never mind, I would not be booking at this time that she made the effort to see if it was even possible. She went offline for a period of time and confirmed to me that I would not be getting any calls besides the last minute problem ones.

 

She also hung up on me at one point and I had to call the second time.

 

She said I would get an e-mail within 30 minutes confirming and I am still waiting an hour later.

 

The whole experience took about 15 minutes and did not live up to my expectations of service.

 

Overall I would rate her as 3 on a 1 to 5 scale. Actually more of a 2, but I will be going on a cruise so I will tip the scale in her favor for that.

[okgirl]

This is a no name PVP review. This was my second booking with Carnival. The first was online, seamless, I had all the info I needed, booked what I wanted and once I decided to book it took about 5 minutes.

 

I decided this time to book with a PVP because she contacted me via e-mail several times. I figured that she needed a job, and I wanted to insure that we did not get phone calls from Carnival like we did last time.

 

I contacted her at first by e-mail to confirm her work hours because I wanted to make the call to her during my "day" (I am a non-traditional hours worker).

 

When I made the call her tone was professional but she was not a good source of information. Possibly because she knew I was a past guest, but she seemed to be an order taker rather than a vacation planner.

 

What I expected to hear was information. She did not explain Early Saver to me. She did not remind me about tips or give me the option to pre-pay. She did not have a good explanation of the insurance plan, but she could tell me what it would cost. She did tell me what ports that the ship was sailing to.

 

She did take the information for my Future Cruise Certificate. When I asked about the carnival Stock Certificate, she offered me a phone number to call. When I said I planned on e-mailing it to Carnival she was not able to give me the e-mail address.

 

My mail goal, not getting any calls besides last minute problems with the ship was met with resistance. It was not until I told her never mind, I would not be booking at this time that she made the effort to see if it was even possible. She went offline for a period of time and confirmed to me that I would not be getting any calls besides the last minute problem ones.

 

She also hung up on me at one point and I had to call the second time.

 

She said I would get an e-mail within 30 minutes confirming and I am still waiting an hour later.

 

The whole experience took about 15 minutes and did not live up to my expectations of service.

 

Overall I would rate her as 3 on a 1 to 5 scale. Actually more of a 2, but I will be going on a cruise so I will tip the scale in her favor for that.

 

I don't use a PVP because I don't want to wait for that one person to be in the office before anyone is willing to help me. I call the 800 number and always get a very helpful person and I'm not bothered by future unsolicited phone calls.

[golfadj]

She might be new but there are much better pvp's out there.

[scgamecock]

Many of the members here on this board are far more knowledgeable than most Carnival PVP's. They should be recruiting here...

 

I would be an awesome PVP. I'm sure they don't pay anything though...

[INTERLINER13]

I don't use a PVP because I don't want to wait for that one person to be in the office before anyone is willing to help me. I call the 800 number and always get a very helpful person and I'm not bothered by future unsolicited phone calls.

 

 

+1. Rates can change quickly, why wait for one person.

[VegasCrossfire]

The thing that really irritates me about Carnival is EVERY time I get on their website to browse, I get a phone call early the next morning from a PVP (the same PVP each time) and then a follow-up email. I have told her that I would prefer not to get called --- but I still do. It is most upsetting, especially when she wakes us up! It makes me not even want to get on their site to look around. (And I don't sign in....but my cookies must tell them who I am).

[Ready 2 Go]

My PVP gave me his cell # as well because he also works from home. He is awesome. I have never had a problem with him.

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

[elgato2]

Had an equally frustrating exp w/ our PVP..Called him on a Thursday..explaining that it was a 'fact finding mission' because we were travelling w/ another couple and possibly two and wouldn't know til the weekend..but that we would ALL book at the same time on the upcoming weekend. We qualify as past guests, retired, military and Fl residents so wanted all the latest rates for a particular date. He was nice enough and provided me with the info. I promised him that I would call back on Saturday to book..Granted I didn't ask if he was working Sat.but assumed he would have told me if he was not! I started calling at 10am DST, left a message and waited..tried again twice between noon and five..then gave up and called the 800# and just booked it. I felt very badly that he did not get the credit for it but the same thing happened two years ago when we booked. I guess it's just easier to call the general #!

Does anyone know what type of commision they make. I really did want him to get the credit for it but..because we were travelling with others and I had convinced them all to book 'my way' through CCL directly..I didn't want to put them off any longer...

[Cuizer2]

This is a no name PVP review. This was my second booking with Carnival. The first was online, seamless, I had all the info I needed, booked what I wanted and once I decided to book it took about 5 minutes.

 

I decided this time to book with a PVP because she contacted me via e-mail several times. I figured that she needed a job, and I wanted to insure that we did not get phone calls from Carnival like we did last time.

 

I contacted her at first by e-mail to confirm her work hours because I wanted to make the call to her during my "day" (I am a non-traditional hours worker).

 

When I made the call her tone was professional but she was not a good source of information. Possibly because she knew I was a past guest, but she seemed to be an order taker rather than a vacation planner.

 

What I expected to hear was information. She did not explain Early Saver to me. She did not remind me about tips or give me the option to pre-pay. She did not have a good explanation of the insurance plan, but she could tell me what it would cost. She did tell me what ports that the ship was sailing to.

 

She did take the information for my Future Cruise Certificate. When I asked about the carnival Stock Certificate, she offered me a phone number to call. When I said I planned on e-mailing it to Carnival she was not able to give me the e-mail address.

 

My mail goal, not getting any calls besides last minute problems with the ship was met with resistance. It was not until I told her never mind, I would not be booking at this time that she made the effort to see if it was even possible. She went offline for a period of time and confirmed to me that I would not be getting any calls besides the last minute problem ones.

 

She also hung up on me at one point and I had to call the second time.

 

She said I would get an e-mail within 30 minutes confirming and I am still waiting an hour later.

 

The whole experience took about 15 minutes and did not live up to my expectations of service.

 

Overall I would rate her as 3 on a 1 to 5 scale. Actually more of a 2, but I will be going on a cruise so I will tip the scale in her favor for that.

 

You got about what I would expect, which is why I use a real travel agent and I don't book directly with the cruise line. I get much better service with my real travel agent than I did when I used a PVP.

[chasinraynbowz]

As others have said, there are other PVPs. Mine is great. We have worked with him for several years.

 

I refuse to go back to a TA. We used a TA once and when I could answer questions better than her or anyone else in her office (a well known TA here in Memphis), I realized I needed to book on my own. I knew so much that they offered me a job... LOL!

[tweety33]

I have had the greatest PVP for years, she always gets back to me immediately. Very helpful with everything. She takes care of & answers any questions I need answering. She is always, sweet, kind, prompt. I hope she never changes her job or retires.

[misssea]

This is my take on PVP vs TA. I booked 3 cruises through a travel agent and 1 through a PVP. I booked a 4A guarantee each time and all 3 times I booked with a TA, I got upgraded but I got exactly a 4A room with the PVP. Plus, I never felt a good connection between me and my PVP. May just be a coincidence or maybe that particular PVP but I will stick with my TA who I know pretty well since I have booked many vacations through her!

[luv2cruz66]

I have had the greatest PVP for years, she always gets back to me immediately. Very helpful with everything. She takes care of & answers any questions I need answering. She is always, sweet, kind, prompt. I hope she never changes her job or retires.

 

Ditto!

[SMSACE6]

Ditto!

 

Ditto x 2

[Westbank is bestbank]

I will never use a TA again. When the prices drops I want to take care of that immediately but I can't......This week a free upgrade was available & it took her 2 days to take care of it. We all know just because a deal is here today it could be gone tomorrow. I'm not impatient (normally) but with Carnival's price drops & upgrades you really can't waste time.

[halterk]

I used my PVP for the first time today.

I was actually hesitant on whether to use my PVP or book through carnival's website, but I figured I would email my PVP and see what he had to say.

I sent him an email with the ship/date/room number that I wanted. He replied back with a better room (which showed unavailable on carnival.com).

I replied to the email saying I wanted that room, and then I got an email from Carnival with all my booking information, and an email from my PVP saying to go online today and make the deposit.

 

It was very fast, simple, and efficient. I WILL book through my PVP in the future. I do my own homework, and do not depend on other people to give me info (thats what CruiseCritic is for).

[Bevv]

Thanks for all the replies. As of this writing, 11 hours later no e-mail confirmation of the transaction.

 

Next time I book Carnival it will be online. A much better experience for me and much easier to work on my weird timetable.

[beerman2]

Called the 800 # when I booked our cruise in 10 days.

 

1) Very Helpful in telling me the difference between ES and PG. I would have done PG if booking by myself.

 

2) By doing that we have 336.00 OB

 

3) I would have chosen 2 cabins that the balcony divider didn't open to the other. ( Traveling with friends and wanted the divider open.) SHE made sure the cabins did. Apparently Not all do.

 

4) She was very patient explaining everything to me. Not rushed one bit and I did 2 different bookings with her.

 

Just saying that all experiences are not bad, and yes everyone HAS BAD DAYS and if you don't I'd like to meet that PERFECT PERSON.

 

Alot of it could be the TONE of VOICE being used.

[rnvattes]

This is a no name PVP review. This was my second booking with Carnival. The first was online, seamless, I had all the info I needed, booked what I wanted and once I decided to book it took about 5 minutes.

 

I decided this time to book with a PVP because she contacted me via e-mail several times. I figured that she needed a job, and I wanted to insure that we did not get phone calls from Carnival like we did last time.

 

I contacted her at first by e-mail to confirm her work hours because I wanted to make the call to her during my "day" (I am a non-traditional hours worker).

 

When I made the call her tone was professional but she was not a good source of information. Possibly because she knew I was a past guest, but she seemed to be an order taker rather than a vacation planner.

 

What I expected to hear was information. She did not explain Early Saver to me. She did not remind me about tips or give me the option to pre-pay. She did not have a good explanation of the insurance plan, but she could tell me what it would cost. She did tell me what ports that the ship was sailing to.

 

She did take the information for my Future Cruise Certificate. When I asked about the carnival Stock Certificate, she offered me a phone number to call. When I said I planned on e-mailing it to Carnival she was not able to give me the e-mail address.

 

My mail goal, not getting any calls besides last minute problems with the ship was met with resistance. It was not until I told her never mind, I would not be booking at this time that she made the effort to see if it was even possible. She went offline for a period of time and confirmed to me that I would not be getting any calls besides the last minute problem ones.

 

She also hung up on me at one point and I had to call the second time.

 

She said I would get an e-mail within 30 minutes confirming and I am still waiting an hour later.

 

The whole experience took about 15 minutes and did not live up to my expectations of service.

 

Overall I would rate her as 3 on a 1 to 5 scale. Actually more of a 2, but I will be going on a cruise so I will tip the scale in her favor for that.

 

Sounds somewhat similar to my recent PVP experience. He was very unprofessional - when he called me back at 11a.m. on a Saturday he apologized saying it had "been a long night" the night before "if you know what I mean." When I joked lucky him to be sleeping in til 11 a.m. he said - well it IS my day off.

 

He, like yours, did not seem to know much, and I felt like *I* was giving *him* information and corrected him more than once on misinformation he gave.

 

He made a $100 error in the booking which he called to tell me about 5 days later (he was right, I was glad to pay it)

 

And he made a 1-week error on final payment date, which he called to notify me of ON the correct date of final payment.

 

I emailed him to see if he could get me some OBC for the two errors and he has yet to respond (after 3 attempts).

 

 

In the future, when I book I will come here and look to find some GOOD PVPs. My last one was GREAT, but she is no longer with the company. I expect this is a high-turnover position populated by mainly young people just getting in the door.

[rnvattes]

Many of the members here on this board are far more knowledgeable than most Carnival PVP's. They should be recruiting here...

 

I would be an awesome PVP. I'm sure they don't pay anything though...

 

Ditto! I help all my friends with their cruise vacations -- both Carnival and otherwise ;) Most recently I set a friend up with airport transfers and pre-cruise hotel :) I LOVE doing the research for that kind of thing.

[rnvattes]

The thing that really irritates me about Carnival is EVERY time I get on their website to browse, I get a phone call early the next morning from a PVP (the same PVP each time) and then a follow-up email. I have told her that I would prefer not to get called --- but I still do. It is most upsetting, especially when she wakes us up! It makes me not even want to get on their site to look around. (And I don't sign in....but my cookies must tell them who I am).

 

Set up your computer to remove those cookies! How annoying that would be!

[breenw]

Tweety33: If you would could you please send me the name of your PVP to: marsha.breen@roche.com. I lost my PVP last year to a promotion at Carnival (good for him!) but I haven't been able to find anyone else that seems to be any good. I booked 3 cruises in the past year - the first cruise I got ahold of a PVP that never returned my phone calls and never sent the confirmations for that cruise. I recently spoke to another PVP when I booked a cruise for this Fall for my hubby, and my two adults sons and DIL's. One of my sons has the same first name as my husband. Once those rooms were booked, we noticed that on Carnival's website, they had my husband's past guest number linked to my son. I called Carnival multiple times and was told this was a recurring problem they were having with their computer system. To make a very long story somewhat short, it took almost 2 months and many calls to get my son a new past passenger number and my husband's number linked back to our account! Every time I called Carnival and talked to a Carnival rep, they would say they were going to take care of it and I should call back in 48-72 hours for follow-up. I would do that, and they would either not have taken care of it, or tell me they were too busy to do it. I have sent several emails and/or faxes (at their request) showing a screen shot of my husband's and my son's cruise histories so they would know who took what cruises.

 

I finally called again last week and spoke to a nice lady who was able to give me my son's new number. She told me I would have to call the IT department to make the change on my son's profile as you cannot edit that yourself. The guy I spoke to took care of it quickly but told me I would have to have my son's cruise history put back into his records manually and that was something he couldn't do. I called the same lady back who had helped me with finally getting his passenger number and she said she would input his history by the end of that day. That was 8 days ago and it hadn't been completed yet. I called her yesterday and asked her if she had run into any glitches or something as the history still hadn't been re-entered. She told me that she 'had to put someone else on hold to answer this line" and that she was part of a "incoming sales department" and didn't have time to talk to me. I asked if she thought she would be able to take care of this by the end of the week to which she replied "you can think that, yes." Wow......

 

I was flabbergasted that she was so curt and abrupt. I was extremely polite to her so I was really caught off guard by her attitude. All I am trying to do is get both my husband's and my son's past passenger numbers straightened back out and for the cruise histories to be straightened back out. My son has 11 cruises under his belt and the website only shows 1 cruise. I guess I am wanting this taken care of prior to the changes to the Loyalty Program so he will get credit for being platinum instead of looking like he is just getting ready to take his 2nd cruise.

 

I'm not a difficult person to deal with. We have 25 cruises with Carnival and I usually know exactly what I want to book when I call Carnival. I don't think it is too much to ask to get friendly customer service from Carnival when a problem has been created that isn't my fault. I am just frustrated that I can't seem to get this problem taken care of.

 

So.... if any of you have a PVP that you feel would be helpful dealing with problems and not just new bookings, I would be forever grateful. I really would like to establish a connection with a PVP for our future bookings since our long-time PVP has moved on. Thanks guys!

[cruisebabe50]

I have never used a PVP. I always just do it all myself online. I have called before though to make sure that we get seating together at dinner and such with our cruise buddies that are booked in another room.

[ibcnusoon]

For our Liberty cruise last year, I did all the researching myself, found the cabin of my dreams, and called Carnival's 800# to book. I never even thought of asking that person their name and number to use again if we wished to book another.

 

Then I got a call from the upsell fairy and she was SO SWEET, not only her pleasant personality but she offered us a $200 upgrade from interior to balcony. I really wish I would have gotten her phone number and used her again as a PVP. Speaking of which, is an upsell fairy a PVP also?

 

So, now we are on the cruise and purchase Future Cruise Certificates. When we return home, I again research everthing, pick my cabin and called Carnival. I booked this time with a guy on the other end but I misplaced his telephone number but I never heard from him again, no email etc.

 

Then, all of a sudden, I get a phone call from a PVP saying that she noticed I purchased FCCs and wanted to know if I'm ready to book, wants to help me find something, etc. I told her I already booked with one FCC but was thinking of using the other FCC (in my daughters name) for a cabin for her on our same cruise. We chatted for a while, I told her I can only speak to her at 7:30 in the morning from work, because no one is in the office at that time. She said that she's usually home at that time getting the kids off to school but she can still book it from home.

 

Yup, she called me the next day at 7:30am. We booked it, she explained everything to me, as soon as she entered the information I was able to see it under MY CRUISE MANAGER, it was a piece of cake! She sent me a follow up email about the bookings, and a follow up email with contact information to reach her if I had any questions.

 

A week later I called her back and booked my parents in another cabin on the same cruise. She was thrilled and I was so happy that she was getting some kind of credit for the booking. I asked and she said that they have quotas to reach each month.

 

So far, I'm very happy with my PVP. She even sent me in the mail a thank you card for booking with her!

[breenw]

Wow, that is really great that she followed up with you. Those are the kind of PVP's that most of us want to work with.