Carnival 72 hour sale booking advice

[mjfoot99]

The rates for the cruise I have been watching went up slightly during the sale for early saver discount, but the past cruise deal seems to be slightly cheaper. Do the rates generally go back to previous levels after the sales are over or not? Wondering if I am better off just booking past cruise during the sale and pay 50% deposit, or book via early saver (even though it is only $50 less than past cruiser), or wait. Recommendations?

[LisaT12]

You can book either way right now and then switch to early saver when you see that rate is lower. Of course you can't switch out of early saver. I notice that when they have a sale...prices fluctuate. Good Luck.,...this drives me nuts sometimes!

[chipq]

I can drive you insane. I have seen my cruise prices go UP the day before a cruise 'sale' and then drop back a couple days after the sale.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[RainbowsMist]

You can book either way right now and then switch to early saver when you see that rate is lower. Of course you can't switch out of early saver. I notice that when they have a sale...prices fluctuate. Good Luck.,...this drives me nuts sometimes!

 

Ok so just to clarify. We have our cruise booked and I checked the "sale" price today. It's $300 MORE per person. That being said, we have friends who want to book and join us. If they book today at the much higher rate they can then call Carnival after the sale and get the Early Saver price? Would that mean they would have to put more of a deposit down? And would they receive the savings in the form of OBC or coming directly off their invoice? I'm just a little confused because if this can be done and people know about it, why wouldn't Carnival just reduce the deposit off the ES price to avoid all the leg work after the fact.

 

Sorry if this is confusing. It makes sense in my head..lol

[NCTribeFan]

Huh? :confused:

 

If someone wants to book today, then they can book at whatever rate they qualify for.

 

There's no guarantee that the prices will go back down. You can switch to ES any time up until it drops off (I just did this Monday, on the last day it was available for my 5 night in October).

 

If ES is lower, and they are certain they can deal with the restrictions, then why not go ahead and book at ES to start?

 

I'm confused. If you're comparing prices, look at the total fare less the OBC to know what the total is.

[mjfoot99]

You can book either way right now and then switch to early saver when you see that rate is lower. Of course you can't switch out of early saver. I notice that when they have a sale...prices fluctuate. Good Luck.,...this drives me nuts sometimes!

Similar question to RainbowsMist: If I book as past guest rate and then in future the early saver rate drops to a level that I find low enough to make a switch to early saver, I simply call and switch at that time? If I understand correctly, then I am basically getting early saver benefits without paying for it.

[mjfoot99]

Nevermind. I was incorrectly under believe that I had to pay full price of cruise now under early saver. I now know better that it is just deposit. Thanks for the help. I'm just being stupid.

[ata1976]

One of the sales right now has 50% deposits. I think the OP wants to know if they can book with the sale for reduced deposit, then move it to ES.

 

Edited:oops. That's RainbowsMists question, not OPs.

[ctbrown24]

We just booked 2 balconies last week for the Dream November 17. Checked after hearing about the sale and our price dropped $140 per cabin. :)

[RainbowsMist]

Similar question to RainbowsMist: If I book as past guest rate and then in future the early saver rate drops to a level that I find low enough to make a switch to early saver, I simply call and switch at that time? If I understand correctly, then I am basically getting early saver benefits without paying for it.

 

What I did find out for sure (picked up the phone and call our PVP..lol) is that if our friends book the sale price (50% deposit) and switch to the ES price they will then be required to pay the additional deposits. So in their situation they're better off biting the bullet and booking ES to begin with.

[Mom2JJandJ]

I can drive you insane. I have seen my cruise prices go UP the day before a cruise 'sale' and then drop back a couple days after the sale.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

 

 

Why yes, you can! Just kidding...

 

OP: Book whatever rate is best now, and if it's other than ES, you can always switch to that at a later date. Beware though, if you're getting OBC, it cannot always be transfered to another rate code if you switch at a later date. You'll have to weigh the options though. Good luck, and enjoy your cruise, no matter what! :D