MVP Program and Past Guest Rate

[RobertoF]

I realize that Carnival's MVP program has been discussed several times here before, but I wanted to see if I could get some more up-to-date information and also some specific advice. I have sailed Carnival, Holland America, and Costa but never Princess. I was looking to book a Princess cruise with a past guest rate. My reading of the MVP program terms is that I would qualify as for a past guest rate based on sailings on other Carnival properties. Others have reported that this worked for them. But my TA has not heard of this and does not know how to apply for it, and calls to Princess have not helped. Princess tells us that I do not qualify for a past guest rate, but qualify for the "MVP rate," which of course is nearly twice the TA's regular price. :eek: So I have pretty much given up, despite what I think are clear terms on the website and others' reports of success.

 

Can anyone shed any light here? Am I doing something wrong? Are there any "tricks" to using the MVP program to get a past guest rate? Am I just reading the terms wrong (and also reading the threads wrong) and it is impossible to get a Princess past guest rate without having sailed Princess before?

 

Any help is appreciated! :)

[likeadisguise]

I believe the MVP rate is only off launch fares, so you can probably find better promotions (like whatever the TA is currently advertising). It's not an additional amount off ANY promotion.

[RobertoF]

What I don't understand is that the website and brochure says:

 

"Only World's Leading Cruise Lines offers you our unique Vacation Interchange Privileges®. Once you’ve traveled on any of our six world-famous lines, you’re entitled to currently applicable past guest savings offered by whichever cruise line you choose."

 

So I thought that meant if Princess was offering a past guest fare I could access it. The past guest rate is publically available, while the "MVP rate" seems to be a secret. And, in this case at least, the MVP rate is twice the past guest rate.

 

Is the issue that other Carnival companies honor the program as written, whereas Princess does not? Do I just need to keep speaking with more people at Princess until I find someone who can make it work? My TA is at a loss on how to do it since I do not have a Captain's Circle number.

 

And ideas or should I give up?

[flamomo]

I believe that your past guest status on Carnival Corporation owned cruiselines only qualifies you to get past guest fares ONLY on each of those lines.

 

Each of the cruislines owned by CCL is operated as a separate entity under the corporate umbrella, and each one's loyalty program is also operated separately.

[likeadisguise]

There are a few different kinds of "past guest" rates, which may be the confusion?

 

So a cruise opens for booking, and the launch fare is $1,299 per person/double occupancy, for example.

 

If you say you're a past guest, you'll see a lower price, but not MUCH of a lower price. I think it's $50 off? So it would be $1,249/pp. This is the same discount you get from the MVP program.

 

Then a promotion starts, and that price drops to $999/pp. That's going to be the same whether you're a past guest or not, so the MVP price is still going to be $1,249, because it's tied to the launch fare.

 

The difference comes with TARGETED past guest fares -- offers that are sent to specific past cruisers and tied to their Captain's Circle numbers. If that offer isn't tied to your CC#, that fare won't show up for you at all (unless you have people traveling on the same cruise who did get it, who can use the Share the Savings program to get you that same rate).

 

So if you're comparing MVP to targeted promotions, they probably won't even be close.

 

Where are you seeing the past-guest rate that you're using for comparison?

[Pam in CA]

Unlike other lines, Princess allows TAs to discount. With some, it's not unusual to get a 10-20% discount. Always better than the past passenger rate. Ask your TA to discount or give you the past passenger rate. They're allowed to and can if they want plus give you OBC and perks. If they don't or won't, find one who does.

Edited February 2, 2014 by Pam in CA

[BananaAnna]

When I called Princess and booked our upcoming cruise I asked about past guest rate based on having cruised Carnival. The guy put me on hold for a while, came back and gave me a phone number to fax proof of a previous Carnival cruise - boarding pass, sail & sign card, etc. Once received/approved I could refare to the lower price. He said, though, that once I did that I couldn't switch to other fares. (I guessed he meant sales targeting first time cruisers, but who knows.) The difference was only $50pp so I didn't follow up at the time.

 

The way I found past guest rate for our cruise was from Princess home page, select 'Are you eligible for special fares?' or something similar. Sometimes it's lower, sometimes not.

Edited February 2, 2014 by BananaAnna

[thinfool]

IMO, the MVP thing is a marketing sleight-of-hand. There may be times that it has value, but not so much at other times.

 

The only guaranteed 'deal' that a new or past passenger can get without jumping thru hoops is the Shareholder Credit...tho it has it's own hoop...namely that you must own at least 100 shares of CCL to be able to use it (on Carnival, Princess, HAL, Aida, Seybourn, et al).

 

To the OP I suggest, if you want to sail Princess, find the best deal that you can and book. Then watch for price drops before final payment and get them.

 

Once you are onboard you can take advantage of the Future Cruise Credit that you may have seen discussed on these boards on several occasions. It will give you a low deposit on your next sailing and a modest OBC based on the length of your sailing.

 

You can also signup online (Princess,com) for their last minute fares. Something very appealing often appears in your email.

[RobertoF]

I appreciate everyone's responses. To answer likeadisguise's question, "Where are you seeing the past-guest rate that you're using for comparison?":

 

It shows up on a lot of the major TA's sites. The cruise I am looking at is the Ruby Princess out of Fort Lauderdale on 3/20/14. For example, if you go to Cruise..com, it shows the past guest rate. The same thing for Cruise411 and CruisesOnly. So it does not seem to be a TA-specific discount. I cannot see it on the Princess site, but that might be because I cannot access past-guest rates (since I do not have a Captain's Circle number).

 

To Pam in CA: do you suggest that I call one of these TAs and just say I want the past guest rate? I am ready to book the cruise at the past guest price, but I do not want to pay the higher price. Part of it is just on principle, since I feel like Carnival advertises that I can get the past guest rate, but then they do not honor it. But I really do not care what they call the rate so long as I feel like I am getting the best possible rate. Is that what you would suggest?

Edited February 3, 2014 by RobertoF

[Pam in CA]

To Pam in CA: do you suggest that I call one of these TAs and just say I want the past guest rate? I am ready to book the cruise at the past guest price, but I do not want to pay the higher price. Part of it is just on principle, since I feel like Carnival advertises that I can get the past guest rate, but then they do not honor it. But I really do not care what they call the rate so long as I feel like I am getting the best possible rate. Is that what you would suggest?

Avoid mentioning TAs on CC. :)

 

What I would do is first call Princess. As a Carnival cruiser, you will automatically have a Princess Captain's Circle #. Ask for that number.

 

All TAs have to show the same fares as the Princess website. They are not allowed to advertise discounted fares or promote them. But they are allowed to discount as much as they want. Some do, many don't. Call several TAs and ask for a quote for a specific cabin category. Say that you have a Captain's Circle #. Make sure they are including the government fees with the quote. You will likely receive different fare quotes so you'll know who is discounting or not. I've found that high volume small agencies with low overhead have the best prices.

 

The best rates are usually from TAs that book a lot of Princess cruises. The earlier you book, the better the discount. Also, the higher the category, the more you save. If you're looking to cruise in the next month or two, you won't save much of anything no matter who you book through.

 

Once I get a good discounted rate, I don't worry whether prices will drop or someone else might be getting a better price. If I'm eligible for a fare drop, I'll get it. If I'm not, I'm still paying less than the published Princess fare.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Pam in CA

[thinfool]

Can you please post a link to the past pax information?

 

I have a feeling that there is some fine print phraseology that provides an escape clause for a cruise line.

 

Thanks! :)

[RobertoF]

Thanks for your reply, Pam. I will call tomorrow and see if I can get that elusive Captain's Circle number ...

Edited February 3, 2014 by RobertoF

[RickEk]

Can you please post a link to the past pax information?

 

I have a feeling that there is some fine print phraseology that provides an escape clause for a cruise line.

 

Thanks! :)

 

The MVP rate (or VIP rate in Princess parlance) is, as others have said, only $50 off the launch fares. You can ALWAYS get a better rate booking the current promotional fare. It does represent the "past passenger" rate that previous Princess cruisers enjoy when booking with launch fares.

[caribill]

Princess tells us that I do not qualify for a past guest rate, but qualify for the "MVP rate," which of course is nearly twice the TA's regular price.

 

A TA's "regular" price should be at the same price you could get booking directly with Princess.

 

By the way, not all Princess sailings have a discounted rate even for past Princess passengers. Some do. Some do not.

[RobertoF]

By way of an update, I called Princess and in fact I do have a Captain's Circle number due to my cruises on other Carnival-owned lines. I was told that this number would not entitle me to get past guest rates, but I think I am going to try it with the TA, anyway. I will report back on how that goes.