Carnival Cruise Consultant Calling me is this Legit?

[matondo]

I took my first Carnival cruise in November...I had a wonderful time! Went from being a Carnival hater to looking forward to taking another Carnival cruise some day! I do have to confess I have lurked on this page reading reviews as you all have the best reviews of all the cruise lines I follow on cruise critic. Those reviews convinced my to take a chance on Carnival and it paid off!!

 

Anyway, back to my question. Since I returned from my cruise I got a phone call from someone who said they were my Carnival cruise consultant. I was skeptical and cut short the phone call. I have since received a few more phone calls is this legit? If it is legit will I always hear from the same person? Do they have better deals than what I can find on the website? I am one who loves a deal and I would hate to think I am passing up an opportunity to score a great deal on a cruise thinking this is a scammer.

 

Thank you in advance.

[golfadj]

Think he is a pvp. They cant give you better prices but useful in getting info and help with problems.

[matondo]

I probably have my terminology wrong as I do not like telemarketers and I was not listening carefully when they called as I had no idea who they were.

[golfadj]

I probably have my terminology wrong as I do not like telemarketers and I was not listening carefully when they called as I had no idea who they were.

 

I like using a pvp as they have full access to Carnival and do not have to wait on TA to contact cruise line and than get back to me.

 

If you like the one who contacted you fine but you might ask people who cruise carnival for recommendation.

 

We had a good one, he left and was not thrilled with the one who replaced him. Asked a friend for recommendation and been using this one for past half dozen or so cruises.

[kona_wahine]

I think you get assigned a PVP after your first cruise. Ours was named Christian, and he would call us and email. I pretty much ignored him so he finally quit bugging me. I like booking on my own. When I've had a question I just call the main number and have always had great service.

[AmberTeka]

I felt that way about Travel Agents. Often, I knew more than they did. And that is not all that much. Calling Carnival worked fine. Then I got insulted over the free cruise bit..that seems to be endless.....as I sailed a lot on all Carnival lines and never got any free cruise........so no one would talk at Carnival. I finally called the number of a lady who had sent me an email months before.

 

She spent a long time telling me what she knew. Which was not much. But she was considerate and spent some time with me. The next cruise we booked on Carnival, we booked with her. She was great. She was very helpful. AND for the first time since I have sailed CArnival.....going on 10 years now...14 cruises just on Carnival.......I get all of the newsletter. I get the e-mails. I get the surveys. When I have to call her, which is seldom, she calls right back. She is very well informed.

 

 

Right now we have a cruise scheduled on Celebrity for Oct. Which I booked when I was irked about Carnival slighting loyal cruisers, but her knowledge. Her talking to me when she did not know me from Jack Squat. The way I get all of the information from Carnival Now, I will probably book two cabins on the Sunshine in March.with her. A Five day to Key West and Nassau. I will take my daughter and her family. I am just waiting to book for my daughter to give the say so....Her vacation schedule will not be set until November.......so if and when it is OK , and I am sure it will be...I will again book with CArnival. Thanks to her. She is that good. To say I was impressed is to put it lightly. AND turning your reservation over to someone who knows her stuff................not unpleasant at all. Honest. Have no reason to spin you. Get a good one and keep him or her.

Edited June 15, 2014 by AmberTeka

[ManyMore]

Yes it's legit and I find it annoying. Every time I lok onto the site for something I get a call that week. I know where you are so if I need you I will call :rolleyes:

[CrazyCanuckCruzer]

After cruising on another line, I started receiving e-mails from this guy saying he was my PVP (with another line). He would then follow up with a phone call, TELLING me it was time to book my next cruise - why had I not booked it with him yet??? Not only that, once (and only once) I tried to call him to ask a question. I left him a voice message as he was not available. He NEVER called me back. I then sent him an e-mail to which he never replied. My next e-mail to him was to tell him that he was NOT my PVP, that I had NEVER requested a PVP, and to LEAVE ME ALONE! I much prefer to call the main phone # (with any cruise line) when I want to book, and to be able to call whoever, whenever, I choose to ask questions. I hope I don't sound too harsh - but when someone bugs me like this (and don't tell me he's only doing his job, please), I prefer to make my own calls when I have questions and need answers. I have to say that Carnival is my favourite cruise line, although I do cruise with two others, depending on the price, ports and timing.

[FireEater]

Think he is a pvp. They cant give you better prices but useful in getting info and help with problems.

 

+1

 

Give him a try if you want to book one anyways or on the fence. See if he makes your life easier.

[DKane]

Answer your phone when they call. You may be missing out on a free or an almost free cruise. That's what happened to me last week. I'm so happy I answered the phone.

[matondo]

I think I am going to speak to him next time if he calls and not give him the brush off! Hopefully, he will be call again with my free or almost free cruise but it really needs to be next year sometime as I already have all of my vacation planned out for the year!

 

On second thought if it was a free or almost free cruise I wonder if I could take sick leave and take time off as mental health days and claim that my job drives me crazy.:rolleyes:

[txhomeschoolfamily]

It is legit, that's how we booked our cruise. I had done a booking hold on the Carnival web site but let it expire because I wasn't sure about the bed configuration for 4 people. A person named "Walton" called me and at first I figured it was a scam. I googled the number he called from and it showed to be Carnival. He also texted me a few days later, so I responded and then talked to him. He was not able to get any better deal than on the web site, but did have many more cabins available than the web site and was able to get us what we wanted, recommended which side of the ship, and was very knowledgable. And he was even very nice when I called a few days later and had him change everything around.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[dcgrumpy]

Yes it's legit and I find it annoying. Every time I lok onto the site for something I get a call that week. I know where you are so if I need you I will call :rolleyes:

 

I agree. In the last week I have received 3 phone calls and 2 emails.

 

ETA

Make that 4 phone calls and 3 emails. My phone just started ringing as soon as I hit "post".

Edited June 23, 2014 by dcgrumpy

[rudechuck]

I used to book online myself, but now I use a PVP.

 

She will usually give me a call after I've been checking dates, etc. on the website. I just tell her I'll let her know when I'm ready and she does not call back, although she may follow up a few days later with an email. By the time I call her back to book, I have figured out my date, ship, cabin, etc.

 

If there is a cabin I want that is not showing available on Carnival's website, I can ask her to check availability for me, or for a similar room.

 

I can also call her with any questions, prepay my gratuities, have her submit price drops for me.

 

Unlike using a TA, if for some reason she doesn't get back to me right away (she usually calls me back an hour or two after I leave her a message), I can call Carnival direct, or submit my Early Saver price drop request online.

 

Mainly, she's my safety net. If there's ever a problem, I can call her instead of the customer service call center. I know if she doesn't know the answer, she will find out and call me back and she will try her best to get me what I ask for. If she can't, I'm confident that it just wasn't possible. I don't have to call back three or four times to get the answer I want.

[ccruisequeen]

I got a PVP I work with and enjoy. I ended up getting emails from two others. I answered them by saying I had one and to take me off their lists.

 

[RWolver672]

We have been cruising with Carnival since 1999. In our profile on their site, we have it listed that we have a TA. We've never gotten a phone call from Carnival.

 

For our next two cruises, we booked through a PVP. We booked back in October for next February. Since we booked, we have never gotten a call from him. I think having that TA in our profile is the reason we don't get calls which is fine with us. We'll book when we're ready, not when we get a call.

[islandatsea]

I have had a PVP call me all the time even though my profile says not to call, only email & snail mail. I even emailed him that I would let him know when I was ready to book. He still calls............ when I see area code 305 show up on my phone I know it is him. Because of the way he does not listen to me, I will never use him.

[NCTribeFan]

I have a great PVP. He never, ever calls me telling me it's time to book. I wonder if that's because I almost always have at least one booked, often more than one. ;) I could certainly book online since I already know everything about the cruise when I call him to book, including having a browser open showing the rate and the cabin I want. But I use him anyway because IF I need something, he's always available.

 

But I don't get emails. I've talked to him about it and he doesn't understand why I don't. I can't tell you how many times I've checked the box on the website telling them I actually WANT to receive emails, but they don't send them.

 

Now, I did get a June VIFP Newsletter via email the other day. I think that's the first email I've received in years that wasn't related to a currently booked cruise.

 

Those of you who have people calling nonstop, just call Carnival and tell them you'd like to have a different PVP assigned to you and tell them why.

[dewats784]

We have a PVP that we always use to book our cruises. She is very helpful and goes out of her way to help with anything we need. That being said, she does call or e-mail anytime I have looked online to see what cruises are available or just to look around. I figured out how to avoid that, by not being logged in when I want to just look around. I usually leave the Carnival site as not being logged in until I want or am ready to book something. Then I simply log in and look at the cruise I want, and within a day my PVP is calling me to see if she can help. It works for me!!

[jenn-]

We have a PVP that we always use to book our cruises. She is very helpful and goes out of her way to help with anything we need. That being said, she does call or e-mail anytime I have looked online to see what cruises are available or just to look around. I figured out how to avoid that, by not being logged in when I want to just look around. I usually leave the Carnival site as not being logged in until I want or am ready to book something. Then I simply log in and look at the cruise I want, and within a day my PVP is calling me to see if she can help. It works for me!!

 

This is how I handle my PVP as well. If I am just daydreaming, I know better then to sign into the Carnival page. I decided to look in earnest for my next cruise by signing in on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning my guy was calling. He is good about leaving me alone if I don't log on or if I just tell him I was just daydreaming but not ready to book. If I give him a wishywashy answer though, he can be persistent. Of course I am right now waiting for a call back from him and getting impatient.