Early Saver - Where do you look for price drops?

[cruising_diva]

So for those of you who book ES, where do you check for price drops? I always book through Carnival and check only Carnival for rate decreases because I assume that any place, the rates will be higher due to a "middle man." Is this the case? A lady who is traveling with us booked through Carnival through a cruise travel website and I am second guessing myself. Does anyone ever book ES through travel companies/rate finders? Are there rates actually cheaper than the Carnival website elsewhere? And do travel companies ever have rate decreases when Carnival doesn't? The rate of my room category has increased since I booked. I don't sail til October, but I am already anxious that I won't get any onboard credit. Help!

Edited March 16, 2014 by cruising_diva

[S.S.Oceanlover]

So for those of you who book ES, where do you check for price drops? I always book through Carnival and check only Carnival for rate decreases because I assume that any place like Travelocity or Orbitz, the rates will be higher due to a "middle man." Is this the case? A lady who is traveling with us booked through CruisesOnly.com and I am second guessing myself. Does anyone ever book ES through travel companies like the ones that I have named above? Are there rates actually cheaper than the Carnival website elsewhere? And do travel companies ever have rate decreases when Carnival doesn't? The rate of my room category has increased since I booked. I don't sail til October, but I am already anxious that I won't get any onboard credit. Help!

 

Fareviewer on Carnivals site will be the place to check. I am sure somebody will come along with the link.

 

When booking with a travel agent there is no extra cost to book with them as the cruise line pays them, not you.

 

They often times can give you more than Carnival will as an incentive to book with them.

 

 

Bill

Edited March 16, 2014 by S.S.Oceanlover

[cruising_diva]

Thanks Bill, I edited my post. I wasn't aware. Thanks for mentioning that

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Thanks Bill, I edited my post. I wasn't aware. Thanks for mentioning that

 

You're welcome.:) I have also edited my post and deleted the FYI.

 

Here is the link for the fareviewer:

http://www.carnival.com/BookingEngine/FareViewer/#

 

Bill

[cruising_diva]

Thanks again! FareViewer is an excellent tool! Much quicker than doing a mock booking to compare the rate. I'm still curious about whether or not people have founder cheaper Carnival rates at other websites tho. Although, I suppose even if they had, they couldn't tell me due to not being able to mention names of those websites. That's a sticky situation.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Thanks again! FareViewer is an excellent tool! Much quicker than doing a mock booking to compare the rate. I'm still curious about whether or not people have founder cheaper Carnival rates at other websites tho. Although, I suppose even if they had, they couldn't tell me due to not being able to mention names of those websites. That's a sticky situation.

 

No site is allowed to sell the cruise cheaper than the list price on Carnivals page.

 

Some have lower pricing on some cruises due to it being group space but don't know if they are allowed to advertise that.

 

Bill

[cruising_diva]

Okey doke. That's reassuring. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Okey doke. That's reassuring. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

 

My pleasure

 

Bill

 

 

Sent from Iphone 4S using Cruise Critic App

[ready2cruzagain]

The problem with checking fareviewer on Carnival is that Military Rate is not included. If you are eligible for military rate then you will need to do a mock booking on Carnivals website to get the actual cheapest rate.

[snc_cam]

The other thing that isn't being considered are the port taxes/fees. These can go down in which case, you can get the price adjustment. FareViewer does not factor this in, which is why I will do a mock booking. Takes just a couple of minutes and then I know if I have a true price drop.

 

Steve

[rushwater7710]

I always check fareviewer, we did get a price reduction of 300 about 3 months back. However the last time I found a reduction about 2 month back, I called again and they told me fareviewer was not updated so I could not get the 2nd reduction. I did not understand and when I hung up started thinking that what they told me was just a way of getting out of giving me my 2nd obc. Has this happen to anyone else? I am booked ES.

[ckhappy]

When you say port fees how do they go down? Do they usually and why? We are going out of Miami do you know if the ever go down. And when do you notice it closer to your cruise date? We are going in a cruise in October

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

Fare viewer hasn't been accurate for me a time or two, so I always just do a mock booking. Once I book I take mental note of my cabin category, so I don't really need to look at fare viewer.

[snc_cam]

When you say port fees how do they go down? Do they usually and why? We are going out of Miami do you know if the ever go down. And when do you notice it closer to your cruise date? We are going in a cruise in October

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

 

I would say not usually, but it did happen to us. And it was for a cruise a year out. Can't say how it would affect leaving from Miami, but it factors in where you are stopping along the way. Best way to check for price reductions is do a mock booking (up to the point where you would be selecting your cabin).

[cruizinisthebest]

When you say port fees how do they go down? Do they usually and why? We are going out of Miami do you know if the ever go down. And when do you notice it closer to your cruise date? We are going in a cruise in October

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

 

I think I've gotten a reduction in port fees/taxes with every cruise. Carnival will automatically do the adjusting in the form of an OBC to your s&s account. $10-$20 pp is what I've gotten, which is a nice little surprise. I've never called ahead about a reduction in these fees.

[maldenmusic]

I always check on the CCL website for mine.

[ShakyBeef]

I don't have to look for price drops.:cool: I get an automatic email when a cruise I have an "alert" on has a drop in the category in which I'm interested. Then I check with CCL Fareviewer to confirm that the drop applies to my cabin. I call my PVP, she gets the drop for me, and shoots me off an email with my new, lower rate. Easy as can be.:D I'm not allowed to share the name of the website that offers this service, nor hint at it's name. So I won't. But if you do a quick Google search for something like "cruise rate tracker" or "cruise fare watcher", chances are very good it will be the first site listed.

[sunshinewanted]

I booked a cruise for July back in January under ES. At the time of booking, Carnival was running their $50/person deposit that is non-refundable. We also paid for the vacation protection/insurance plan at the time.

 

I called Carnival and they told me that if we cancel our cruise, we'd lose the $50 deposit (which I was aware of) and we would also lose the payment for the vacation protection. I was not aware that the vacation protection was non-refundable.

 

Does anyone have any insight about this?