Do Carnival PVP's get commission?

[BigDfromTN]

My PVP said he gets credit per booking. Whether we book an inside cabin or suite does not matter. So basically it is in their best interest to offer the best deal to guarantee a booking, not try to upsell to higher categories or get people to spend more. My PVP is wonderful and really goes out of his way for us.

 

This would sum up my response with one change.... instead of "his" I would say "her"....

 

Being as they are paid this way. I would make me want to make YOU happy and help you get the best price you can. That way hopefully you would book with me again and again, thus making me more points/money.

[fergusonvt]

They don't get "commission" as such BUT...unless they "produce" they risk getting canned....they work more on "numbers" ...total volume of cruises booked seems to be more important than the cost

 

They will call you every time you "log into" the carnival site and look at cruises...they want you to book with them. "Losing" you to a travel agent or "losing" you when you book yourself obviously matters to them.

 

if they "produce" they get bonuses (more money, cruises)

 

I know this for a fact as I live in S Florida and have met people who were/are PVP's for several cruiselines including Carnival.

 

The jobs are always listed as telemarketing/sales.

 

 

I have one booked for Feb of 2013 but recently (last few weeks) have been logging in and looking at 2014 cruises. As of today I haven't been contacted about booking another.

[mikel24m]

Maybe it's just your PVP? I've had the same one for years and this has never happened to me.

 

Thats the funny thing we have never used a PVP and have had several call us ,almost harassing us to book .Multiple times during the day and night getting calls

 

How can I sign up for the do not call list

[sharecruises]

Carnival PVPs need to book a certain number of cruises per month. If they fall below the number a few months in a row, their job is in jeopardy. Also PVPs get money each time they sell you something, i.e. insurance, bon voyage packages, etc.

 

 

True. As I said...if they are NOT booking they are on shaky ground to keep their job.

 

As others have said...the PVP's at Carnival do not care if they book you in an inside or a suite...they just need volume

 

Carnival has another "team" out there ...the "upsell fairies" as some call them....whose job is based upon how many upsells they can do. So the idea is ...the PVP gets you booked...

then you are on the Upsell list and they try to "make you an offer"

 

Anyway you look at it, it is about sales.

[Tapi]

PVP's make a base salary + a fixed amount for each booking they make. It's not considered "commission" because it's not a percentage of the cruise cost, (like TA's get paid).

 

I don't know if it has changed, but I know that in the past PVP's needed to make a minimum of 40 bookings in a month (most average in the 60's, while some top PVP's make over 100 bookings a month).

 

In addition to getting paid per booking, they also get an additional incentive for booking a higher category, adding insurance, etc.

 

My PVP of 7 years (and a good friend of mine) says that the job is great and VERY lucrative ($$$$) if you are responsible and know how to manage your database. Most of his business comes from repeat cruisers. Many PVP's bypass promotions because they can make more money as a PVP than as a manager.

[mikel24m]

PVP's make a base salary + a fixed amount for each booking they make. It's not considered "commission" because it's not a percentage of the cruise cost, (like TA's get paid).

 

I don't know if it has changed, but I know that in the past PVP's needed to make a minimum of 40 bookings in a month (most average in the 60's, while some top PVP's make over 100 bookings a month).

 

In addition to getting paid per booking, they also get an additional incentive for booking a higher category, adding insurance, etc.

 

My PVP of 7 years (and a good friend of mine) says that the job is great and VERY lucrative ($$$$) if you are responsible and know how to manage your database. Most of his business comes from repeat cruisers. Many PVP's bypass promotions because they can make more money as a PVP than as a manager.

 

See this I can get .Know what we want before we want it and do my homework for me !!

 

If we had a PVP that knew when we usually cruised ,what cabin we usually booked,what itinerary we love ,we would book through him/her.The last time I heard from a PVP was when we were about to get hit from hurricane Sandy and she was trying to sell us a cruise to nowhere from Baltimore on the Pride.I felt insulted,some called it a great deal but I thought it was done in poor taste

[Tapi]

See this I can get .Know what we want before we want it and do my homework for me !!

 

If we had a PVP that knew when we usually cruised ,what cabin we usually booked,what itinerary we love ,we would book through him/her.

 

I agree 100%. A BIG reason why we have such a good relation with our PVP is because he has gone WAY out of his way to make it worth it too keep booking through him (and keep coming back to Carnival).

 

He knows when we like to sail, what type of cabin we like and dislike, what discounts we qualify for, he has my credentials (for an interline discount) saved in our profile. When I need to book a cruise, all I have to do is say "book it" and give him the credit card info. He does the rest. He does a great job at keeping us up to date on what's going on at Carnival without being intrusive.

 

Any time we are in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, we get together (several times, along with his family). Yes, we talk a lot about cruising, but we also talk about what's going on in our respective lives. If we are sailing on Carnival, he will join us on embarkation day to have lunch and tour the ship. He even drove with a group of other PVP's to Port Canaveral when we sailed on the Dream. Heck! He even joined us for dinner and drinks the night before we sailed on Royal Caribbean (he did give us a lot of aggravation for sailing on the "competition" though, ha!).

 

As long as he's working at Carnival, we will continue booking through him. I do know that our relation with our PVP is not the norm (for most, their interaction with their PVP may be limited to a couple of phone calls strictly to book a cruise), but we are glad that we hit the "PVP jackpot" with ours. :)

[kujobie]

It's funny. I have a PVP assigned to me. For years, she has emailed and called and left messages for me, usually after I have visited the web site researching for a cruise. I don't believe I have ever booked with her, nor have I ever returned her calls or emails, but I admire her tenacity. When I want to do a cruise, I research prices online, then call the 800# and book with whoever answers. I know what cabin I want, what itinerary I want, what discounts I qualify for. There are only 5, and they NEVER change. Senior, military, past guest, state of residency, and interline. You either qualify for them or you don't. And once you understand the discounts and different rate structures, there's no need to have to depend on one person to get your answers or hold your hand. And I don't feel the need to be friends with the guy who books my cruise, or to know how much money he makes or how he makes it. The only reason I don't just book online myself is that I'm lazy..

[Tapi]

There are only 5, and they NEVER change...

 

You'd be surprised. The great thing about having a good PVP is that he can find deals outside of the "5" discounts that you mention. Our PVP actually brought to our attention a deal that was lower than the interline rate which popped up on a 3rd party website . It had a promo code that he could book directly but that wasn't showing anywhere on the Carnival website or on other major travel websites.

 

He's told us that, at any point in time, there may be a few dozen different promo codes available. Some are good, some are bad, some are not worth it. But having someone that can take the time to go through these codes, and find out which one is the best deal for you is definitely worth the time it takes to "befriend" one of these PVP's. :)

[kujobie]

You'd be surprised. The great thing about having a good PVP is that he can find deals outside of the "5" discounts that you mention. Our PVP actually brought to our attention a deal that was lower than the interline rate which popped up on a 3rd party website . It had a promo code that he could book directly but that wasn't showing anywhere on the Carnival website or on other major travel websites.

 

He's told us that, at any point in time, there may be a few dozen different promo codes available. Some are good, some are bad, some are not worth it. But having someone that can take the time to go through these codes, and find out which one is the best deal for you is definitely worth the time it takes to "befriend" one of these PVP's. :)

 

OK.. So, your PVP found a discount on another site, that was not available to anyone who went to that website themselves, that was somehow cheaper than the PVP could get you directly through the company they work for? That doesn't even make sense. I think your PVP is pulling your chain if what you say is true.. If, in fact, they have to go to a 3rd party website to locate a discount that you qualify for, that proves that they are not very good at their job.

[Tapi]

OK.. So, your PVP found a discount on another site, that was not available to anyone who went to that website themselves, that was somehow cheaper than the PVP could get you directly through the company they work for? That doesn't even make sense.

 

Uh, go back to my previous post. I didn't say that you couldn't book it on that 3rd party website. You could. All I said was that my PVP found the deal, made me aware of it, and told me that he could book it for us (that I didn't have to book it through that other website if I didn't want to).

 

I think your PVP is pulling your chain if what you say is true..

 

No, he actually sent me the link, so I saw it. I know where the promo code was listed. I'm just not naming it here on Cruise Critic because I may be violating posting guidelines. If my PVP hadn't brought it up, I would've never known. It's not a website that I frequent.

 

You are correct when you say that you can do your own research. I agree 100%, specially these days where you can find pretty much anything online. But as mentioned before, having a good and experienced (not just any) PVP, means that I can have somoene else do the research for me. And why not? A PVP doesn't cost a dime to use vs. booking on the website or through the 800 number.

 

You can be as skeptical as you want to justify not wanting to use a PVP. For a lot of people, PVP's don't work. For us, it works and it has paid off over the years in more ways than one. As mentioned before, we've lucked out with ours.

[MamaParrotHead]

My PVP has told me it's a straight fee per cabin, not based on which category or anything else, including price drops. Last we chatted, I think it was like $40 per booking maybe?

[MamaParrotHead]

I agree 100%. A BIG reason why we have such a good relation with our PVP is because he has gone WAY out of his way to make it worth it too keep booking through him (and keep coming back to Carnival).

 

He knows when we like to sail, what type of cabin we like and dislike, what discounts we qualify for, he has my credentials (for an interline discount) saved in our profile. When I need to book a cruise, all I have to do is say "book it" and give him the credit card info. He does the rest. He does a great job at keeping us up to date on what's going on at Carnival without being intrusive.

 

Any time we are in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, we get together (several times, along with his family). Yes, we talk a lot about cruising, but we also talk about what's going on in our respective lives. If we are sailing on Carnival, he will join us on embarkation day to have lunch and tour the ship. He even drove with a group of other PVP's to Port Canaveral when we sailed on the Dream. Heck! He even joined us for dinner and drinks the night before we sailed on Royal Caribbean (he did give us a lot of aggravation for sailing on the "competition" though, ha!).

 

As long as he's working at Carnival, we will continue booking through him. I do know that our relation with our PVP is not the norm (for most, their interaction with their PVP may be limited to a couple of phone calls strictly to book a cruise), but we are glad that we hit the "PVP jackpot" with ours. :)

 

Sounds like our PVP. Are his initials JM?

[daijayx2]

I've had jobs where I worked on commission and I would rather have people know that I depended on their business than to have them assume I am salaried. If I know a person is on straight commission, I really don't waste their time unless I am definitely interested in buying from them and if they are on commission, I make it a point to go back to them when I'm ready to make a purchase.

 

Well said

 

 

Melissa

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tapi]

Sounds like our PVP. Are his initials JM?

 

Not JM ;)

[wmjrdn4ever]

Everytime I look at cruises on their site I get calls and emails ...True

 

I had a PVP for my first cruise that actually helped me. When we went to book another he was not available so he had a "friend" of his book us. Then our first PVP left Carnival and the replacement was calling us all the time. Then he left Carnival and we went through a succession of PVPs who called repeatedly even though I booked myself through carnival.com.

 

I have booked every cruise except the first two online and independently.

 

The worst was our September 2011 cruise on the Valor. We had three different PVP's calling between research, booking and finally travelling.

 

When we returned a fourth PVP called and wanted to know how our trip was. He was reading so poorly from a script that I just ended the call.

 

After I booked our February 2012 cruise online at carnival.com I saw an early saver upgrade opportunity and called the 1-800 number and reached a non-specific rep -- basically the one who answered the phone. She handled the upgrade in a very friendly and efficient manner.

 

Since then I have booked our September 2012 cruise and our upcoming January 2013 cruise on carnival.com and have not had a single call.

 

Much nicer this way!

[kmc500]

do know that our relation with our PVP is not the norm (for most' date=' their interaction with their PVP may be limited to a couple of phone calls strictly to book a cruise), but we are glad that we hit the "PVP jackpot" with ours. :)[/quote']

 

You certainly did! We would love to find someone like that; we had one that was fine for us for years, but once he left we have had a slew of marginal (or worse) PVP's. While planning our last cruise we were assigned a five year employee, who didn't return calls. Don't know how that is possible, but...

 

Some day we will stumble on one like yours.

 

Kevin C