How the heck? Early Saver/OBC Question...

[tdnosnhoj11]

I posted this in a reply to a differnt thread, but haven't gotten any feedback, so I thought I'd try here :) :

 

For those of you on Carnival who had significant OBC from price drops, how the heck does that happen?? :confused: I've signed up under Early Saver for my past two cruises. The first one was a 7 day cruise, and we ended up with around $70 OBC once all was said and done during the year and a half we booked and paid in full in advance, which I thought was wonderful! This cruise I'll be taking in October has hardly dropped, we have gotten an entire $9 OBC between the four of us in my room over the past year and a half or so that we've been booked and fully paid :eek:. This one is a 5 day cruise.

 

Are the ones that people are ending up with $400+ OBC longer cruises or something? As it stands right now, for a balcony room on our 5 day cruise it's $299/person. We paid $304/person... which is strange because I think we should have actually gotten $20, but I guess they factor in that two guests pay more than the other two guests in their heads? I dunno how that really works other than they just decided to give us $9 lol.

 

Anyway- I feel like for a 5 day cruise, that price won't really get much cheaper, $299 for a balcony is pretty darn good. But am I wrong in thinking that? Do these cruises ever go so low that we could potentially end up with a couple hundred dollars in OBC?

[awhcruiser]

Keep watching for sales. I jumped on one two weeks ago and got us $183 OBC on a 7 day out of NOLA. You are eligible for price drops up to 2 days before sailing...So just keep monitoring your cruise.

[tdnosnhoj11]

Wow, that's awesome! I'm checking daily at this point... hopefully I'll get my day!

[missypriss19]

It is hit and miss and also depends on when you are cruising. I have one booked in September that I have gotten $160 OBC but my one in August is up $460.

[dubois]

And you might have booked at a low price to begin with, while others had originally booked at a higher rate.

[christyran1228]

We've been booked for a while and our price never budged for months ... then one day I happened to check and it went from $319/pp to $279/pp X 2 persons, X 2 cabins for $160. I called my PVP right away and got the $160 credit to my balance due.

 

 

Good thing, too ... because as of this morning, it's gone back up over $100/pp.

 

You just have to be vigilant about checking, they can update the fares up to 4 times or so a day is what I believe I read.

[111mom]

I have a question about the OBC - is it better to book thru Carnival or Travel Agent - to get the OBC credits if any available? We normally book thru Travel Agent and our prices dropped quite a bit on last cruise. I contacted Carnival and they said nothing they could do since I booked thru an agent. Contacted the agent and all she could get us was a room upgrade. Just wondering if we should book directly thru Carnival for next trip...

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I have a question about the OBC - is it better to book thru Carnival or Travel Agent - to get the OBC credits if any available? We normally book thru Travel Agent and our prices dropped quite a bit on last cruise. I contacted Carnival and they said nothing they could do since I booked thru an agent. Contacted the agent and all she could get us was a room upgrade. Just wondering if we should book directly thru Carnival for next trip...

 

I would say it's less hassle to book with Carnival than to deal with a TA when you book early saver.

 

On the cruise where the TA said you could only get an upgrade were you booked early saver?

 

It doesn't sound like it but who knows.

 

Bill

 

Bill

[cuyahoga11]

I have a question about the OBC - is it better to book thru Carnival or Travel Agent - to get the OBC credits if any available? We normally book thru Travel Agent and our prices dropped quite a bit on last cruise. I contacted Carnival and they said nothing they could do since I booked thru an agent. Contacted the agent and all she could get us was a room upgrade. Just wondering if we should book directly thru Carnival for next trip...

 

TA's lose commission if they give you price drops, so some do it, some dont, and some charge to do it. I dont use a TA, I can do a better job of protecting my wallet.

[cruzinlisa]

In my experience its because the price is a little higher than it should be at booking. For instance, on the cruise we did ES (April 2012), we started out around $509 +/- each for 3 of us in an Ocean View, 7 day cruise. I thought that was a little high, but booked anyway. Prices dropped a little here and a little there. We ended up paying an extra $230 (total) to upgrade to a balcony but had gotten $289 OBC from price drops, which we got to keep. So ultimately in the end the balcony was cheaper than the original OV.

 

Last cruise (April 2013), we did not book ES. Price was a little high IMO as well. Right after final payment date was the Triump and then Dream incidents and prices went rock bottom. I probably could have gotten $400 or more OBC if I had ES.

 

My past cruises were before ES, but the prices were lower too. And they were more offpeak times (early December and mid Feb). Now having taken 2 cruises in April (not Easter week), it seems like they start the prices higher and then lower them. I doubt that my December or Feb cruises would have seen the same types of price drops.

[tdnosnhoj11]

Last cruise (April 2013), we did not book ES. Price was a little high IMO as well. Right after final payment date was the Triump and then Dream incidents and prices went rock bottom. I probably could have gotten $400 or more OBC if I had ES.

 

I'm begining to wish I had booked the Triumph for Spring this year rather than fall! When I found out about the fire I was checking pretty often to see if the Fall prices would drop, never did :( I guess I just need to keep checking, multiple times a day!

[tdnosnhoj11]

Also- has anyone else ever had the same issue with getting less money back than what they should have? I've quadruple checked and it still looks like I should have gotten $20 instead of $9 and some change.

[Leo's Rule]

Also- has anyone else ever had the same issue with getting less money back than what they should have? I've quadruple checked and it still looks like I should have gotten $20 instead of $9 and some change.

 

Are you saying you all received $9 each or just $9 totaled for the 4 of you? If it's the first scenario then you received more than $20; the OBC is split amongst all occupants of the cabin.

 

But it is possible to receive less than you anticipated if the taxes increase.

 

If memory serves me correctly, you stated the cruise rate was $304 and dropped to $299 per person; that's only a $5 savings and you would be entitled to $20 OBC ($5 each), but you're stating you all received $9 each, so your rate must now be $295 per person.

 

Good luck

[lovebelle]

I posted this in a reply to a differnt thread, but haven't gotten any feedback, so I thought I'd try here :) :

 

For those of you on Carnival who had significant OBC from price drops, how the heck does that happen?? :confused: I've signed up under Early Saver for my past two cruises. The first one was a 7 day cruise, and we ended up with around $70 OBC once all was said and done during the year and a half we booked and paid in full in advance, which I thought was wonderful! This cruise I'll be taking in October has hardly dropped, we have gotten an entire $9 OBC between the four of us in my room over the past year and a half or so that we've been booked and fully paid :eek:. This one is a 5 day cruise.

 

Are the ones that people are ending up with $400+ OBC longer cruises or something? As it stands right now, for a balcony room on our 5 day cruise it's $299/person. We paid $304/person... which is strange because I think we should have actually gotten $20, but I guess they factor in that two guests pay more than the other two guests in their heads? I dunno how that really works other than they just decided to give us $9 lol.

 

Anyway- I feel like for a 5 day cruise, that price won't really get much cheaper, $299 for a balcony is pretty darn good. But am I wrong in thinking that? Do these cruises ever go so low that we could potentially end up with a couple hundred dollars in OBC?

 

It truly is hit or miss. For my cruise I saw some drops a couple month ago and now the price has gone up over what I originally paid before price drops. With that being said, I still check because things can change the closer to sailing I get. you currently have a great rate for a balcony for 5 days. You also still have plenty of time and many people see most of their price drops after final payment. So just keep checking and you may see it drop some more :)

[larkz]

I received several modest price drops this year, all adding up to about $170 between lower fees and OBC. Only one other cruise (2009) netted me any kind of drop.

[Jana60]

I posted this in a reply to a differnt thread, but haven't gotten any feedback, so I thought I'd try here :) :

 

For those of you on Carnival who had significant OBC from price drops, how the heck does that happen?? :confused:

Are the ones that people are ending up with $400+ OBC longer cruises or something? As it stands right now, for a balcony room on our 5 day cruise it's $299/person. We paid $304/person... which is strange because I think we should have actually gotten $20, but I guess they factor in that two guests pay more than the other two guests in their heads? I dunno how that really works other than they just decided to give us $9 lol.

 

If you book a grand suite on Early saver it is entirely possible that the rate might decrease several hundred dollars but when the initial price of the cruise is only $500 or less that kind of drop is unlikely. Sometime circumstances combine to give a lot of OBC. Last December I had booked the glory 7 day for $778 + port charges/taxs but I used a "future cruise certificate" which gave me $100 in OBC right up front then Master card had a deal for another $50 if you used MC for your sale and sign account. Then a large group of drag queens and their fans joined the cruise, which caused a large number of homophobic passengers to cancel their cruise. This caused a large $350 price drop right before the cruise. So When you add port charges I spent about $960 BUT I had $500 in OBC. The cruise was very enjoyable and the "queens" did not cause any problems for me so I just got to enjoy alot of tours, drinks, etc... on the house! I will admit some of those cancelling passengers may have had a valid point as I did have one family tell me on the cruise that they were upset because the men in the drag queen group kept propositioning their 15 year old son. I probably would have been more concerned about the group if I had had children with me. Carnival reported after this cruise that they would only book that type of large group on chartered cruises in future.

[tdnosnhoj11]

Leo's Rule- Just a total of $9.61 OBC to be spread amongst the four of us lol

[jsfromsc]

If you got 5 nights at $304, that's around $60/day for unlimited food and your cabin. You couldn't get a land based vacation for that. I think it's unrealistic to expect a price drop no matter how you booked this time. We've never gotten any OBC prior to our upcoming cruise, either. We have booked early saver, but I haven't been that diligent in checking prices before. In fact, Cruise Critic has made me more aware of the need to check. We were able to get a significant amount off the price of our 12 day Baltic cruise this summer. Our only OBC is from a future cruise certificate we used to book this one.

[mustardgirl]

Also- has anyone else ever had the same issue with getting less money back than what they should have? I've quadruple checked and it still looks like I should have gotten $20 instead of $9 and some change.

So when your checking are you looking at the cruise total that includes port fees & taxes? (because if fees/taxes go up they can cut into your obc) If so and you are still coming up with $20 instead of $9 reply to the email or call. Hopefully you took a screen shot of the price (used to get declined with the old way they did the early saver form, so I always ended up sending the screen shot and getting it approved. No problems with that since the new system.)

I did have an issue of one of my price drops being a $1 short.... I figured I would get the $1 with the hopefully next price drop... and I did so I figured no biggie... but if yours doesn't look like it will go down again then email or call... hey I understand $11 could be a drink!!! :)

[tdnosnhoj11]

If you got 5 nights at $304, that's around $60/day for unlimited food and your cabin. You couldn't get a land based vacation for that. I think it's unrealistic to expect a price drop no matter how you booked this time.

 

I know that I got a great deal. However, the original post was only a question out of curiosity. I never said I expected a thing, with the exception that it appeared I'd get $20 OBC and only got $9.61.

[tdnosnhoj11]

So when your checking are you looking at the cruise total that includes port fees & taxes? (because if fees/taxes go up they can cut into your obc) If so and you are still coming up with $20 instead of $9 reply to the email or call. Hopefully you took a screen shot of the price (used to get declined with the old way they did the early saver form, so I always ended up sending the screen shot and getting it approved. No problems with that since the new system.)

I did have an issue of one of my price drops being a $1 short.... I figured I would get the $1 with the hopefully next price drop... and I did so I figured no biggie... but if yours doesn't look like it will go down again then email or call... hey I understand $11 could be a drink!!! :)

 

Nope- when I check I only go by the price per person before taxes, gratuities, and insurance. I did take a screen shot and sent in another Price Protection Form explaining that I only got $9.21, so hopefully they'll either tack on the difference or explain why they only credited $9.61. And heck yeah, although $11 may seem trivial to some, a drink is EXACTLY what it is to me! :D

[gymrat10]

I understand your frustration, but I would prefer the price drops reducing my initial $'s paid toward the cruise rather that OBC's. No? Sort of 6 of 1 half dozen of the other I guess.

[rwombough]

Can I use the resident price even if I am not a resident of the state I am sailing out of? It's not showing the past guest price right now.

[tdnosnhoj11]

I understand your frustration, but I would prefer the price drops reducing my initial $'s paid toward the cruise rather that OBC's. No? Sort of 6 of 1 half dozen of the other I guess.

 

I guess it's all a matter of view. I paid in full over a year ago and started saving money for the "extras" immediately after. I like the excitement of getting back money I didn't expect to get back, I guess? It makes me more comfortable to forget my worries while onboard and purchase whatever I want because I would have more to spend than I budgeted.

[tdnosnhoj11]

Can I use the resident price even if I am not a resident of the state I am sailing out of? It's not showing the past guest price right now.

 

I don't think so, I think it's only if you live in the state you're cruising out of.