I hate to say it but....

[EZ4]

I had a few rejected, and sent in an email complaining about it. A few comments about how it is bait and switch, and unethical business practices... followed by a Deceptive business practice quote from the WI laws, and low and behold, they responded a few days later apologizing, and offering an extra 50 in non refundable credit.

 

You see there? They know what they're doing. If you call them on it, they always come through. Too bad for the folks who don't bother and miss out on what's theirs.

[AdGuyMG]

My money is on a well thought out and orchestrated process of systemic rejections, knowing that many will not pursue the issue and give up. Think about how much extra money Carnival keeps, doing this.

 

And the evidence to back up this "corporate corruption conspiracy theory" is kept in a buried file cabinet behind a picket fence along a grassy knoll next to Carnival headquarters.

[EZ4]

And the evidence to back up this "corporate corruption conspiracy theory" is kept in a buried file cabinet behind a picket fence along a grassy knoll next to Carnival headquarters.

 

Oh, you found it? Good for you. What you do with that new found information is up to you, but you might want to keep a lid on it, if you're a Carnival fan. ;)

[msmagpie83]

I ran into the same problem for our Breeze sailing... First two times it was denied and I had to call.... So the last three times, I've just gone ahead and called. Up to 301$ in OBC... We'll worth taking 10minutes to call :)

[Cheetah474]

I'm totally surprised but I actually successfully submitted a price match guarantee form last night at 11:45pm and it was approved before 6am. I'm totally surprised and fully expected to have to call and speak to someone. I'm pleasantly surprised at this and I hope other people have this better experience.

 

 

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[laxmom34]

I'm sorry you are having problems submitting the form online. I submitted my form at 9pm last night and had an approval by the time I woke up this morning.

[pauleydm]

I expressed my issues with the online form with my PVP and he said that all I had to do was call him and he would take care of it for me. That was two years ago and since then, all of my rate drops have been approved :)

[overeasy]

I had a couple price drops denied:

"Triple Play Sale" and "Resident Rate". I let it go because it was a small amount each time. But it is annoying.

 

The fine print on the resident rate says it is valid only on new bookings. I did not read the triple play sale fine print.

 

And Early Saver fine prints says the early saver price drops exclude selected promotional rates (or something to that effect).

 

I can see why Carnival caves and issues the price drops when we complain, because all this is not very clear.

[Surfwench]

Not my experience at all. I've had all my online requests for OBC or price drops fulfilled. Could be a new bug. Don't hate, but my Breeze cruise last year had $760.00 in OBC by the time we sailed! :) That's for 2 people, balcony stateroom.

[DaiLina]

For all my past cruises I've had to call in all my price drops that were rejected via the form... but as of recent I've submitted my requests via the price protection form, and shockingly they've all been approved in a couple of hours.

[Sillyjilly]

My money is on a well thought out and orchestrated process of systemic rejections, knowing that many will not pursue the issue and give up. Think about how much extra money Carnival keeps, doing this. It's seems that everyone who has taken the time to call, though, gets what they want.

 

Sad, but probably true.:cool:

[Stallion]

and probably illegal under various state deceptive trade practices acts. I mean the evidence on this thread is pretty damning.

[Gma&Gpa]

I rarely bother with the forms either. Our price for our Sept 6 cruise had held steady for months - and then in early July starting dropping. I'm not patient enough to wait for the forms to go through - so I usually just call - and have gotten 4 discounts, to a total of over $500 OBC. I've had Resident, Senior, Past guest....and I think another Senior discount. The folks at Carnival have always been extremely pleasant and in fact, I do the discounts for two other family member's rooms at the same time. It's quick and my price reduction shows up within moments of our phone call.

[flamingolover]

I also had a rejection on line about 2 weeks ago when I found a senior offer cheaper than what I had booked for through early saver. I jumped on the phone right away and had the nicest lady in customer service (Denise) who quickly adjusted my price and now I have a $321 OBC for my October cruise. I have decided from now on, the heck with the online forms; I'm picking up the phone!

[missouri_chick]

What is confusing to me are the tax differentials. The price went down twice, taxes went up so The second time I called Carnival, because I too was denied price drop. The rep told me of the difference in taxes, I told her I just had a price drop the day before and taxes were different, she put me on hold then told me she adjusted for the taxes..? ok So the next week, another price drop, and taxes were higher..lol..It's ok, I've got OBC and going on a cruise!!!:D:D:D:D

[Cinders411]

My past experience was pretty good with submitting price drop forms. I did have a problem with one being rejected. When I called the employee kept trying to convince me all the cabins in my category were gone. I knew better as I had done a mock booking and took a screen shot of it. I finally had to send the screen shot to them but then got the price drop. Sometimes it just seems like it depends on who you get.

[BigRed93]

I gave up submitting that form and now just call when I see it. I still have to walk the customer service reps through what I am seeing because sometimes they tells that the rate I am looking at is a gty or something. I have found that for some reason our state of residency is not identified so the residency rates don't automatically pop up (no address? Can't figure that out) but I usually get what I called for or I understand how I am in error.

 

 

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[jandb6266]

This just happened to me on the pride. I booked this trip for 914/14 last October, 24 2013 . I have checked five times ad day ever since. They just showed a price drop on my OS on booking/engine. I filled out the form and gave a detailed account of what I saw as a 200.00 price drop. They rejected it and told me the rate I saw was more than when I booked. So I got on the phone and when I proved I was right I received an OBC for 145.70. It turns out when they redo for the new promotion it turns out the taxes and fees are higher so I did not get the full 200.00 drop. O well 145.70 is better than nothing.

 

HAPPY SAILING!!! ;)

[rrraydon]

I agree. Chances are the form was not filled out correctly for the eligible price match promotion. Just a clerical error. We all make them.

 

When I submit the form online, I type in the bottom notes a brief description of what I am trying to do. For example: Price matching 8C Balcony rate of $899 to Florida Resident 8C at $799.

 

I always type in the description section also, just so they know that I know what I'm talking about. :p I've never been turned down.

 

To the OP... congrats on the OBC. I haven't been able to get a cheaper rate to match to on any of my booked cruises so far. :(

[DaiLina]

Wow, I just saw another price drop for our upcoming cruise and submitted the price drop form for it. The form was declined saying there was no such promotion. Well I called them right after and they approved the price drop during the call. I asked the representative why my form was declined? She said she didn't know why??

 

I guess I'll be calling in all my price drops from now on...

[frobert1]

I thought you could only get onboard credit if you found a better price within 48 hours of booking but it sounds like you guys are getting it long after you booked. I also wonder if the prices are different if I delete my cookies and don't sign in before I do a mock booking??

[vache]

I saw this post a few weeks ago right after a denial from Carnival. So I called in and guess what I got the price reduction. I have had 3 price reductions 2 via phone and 1 via the form that was actually approved. I always provide detailed notes in the form so I’m not sure if it's hit or miss. Today I submitted another one just to see but I will never hesitate to call again if it's denied. And yes at time I have to tell the rep exactly what i selected during mock bookings including state residency, etc. But it's worth it to me, I just put them on speaker while I work and keep going.

[Grey Poupon]

I actually read some of the terms and conditions when I booked my most recent cruise. I wanted to make sure I would get credits if there was a price drop.

 

IIRC, the T&Cs stated that an OBC would be given if the price drop is for the same category stateroom, same sailing, same number of people and same promotion rate. In other words, if you book Early Saver and there is a reduction in the Early Saver rate, you would get OBC. If you book Early Saver and you find a cheaper rate under a residency promotion or some other promotion, the online form automatically rejects it bc it's not the same promotion.

 

When you call your PVP, what they do is cancel your existing booking and rebook you under the new, lower promotion rate.

 

At least that's how I understand it. On previous cruises I've had all my online forms approved without having to call, but that was bc it was under the Early Saver promotion each time. This cruise we don't have any OBC bc the taxes have gone up.

[pbsteve]

When you see the rate drop, check the terms and conditions HERE That page updates whenever a new promotion begins or ends, if you read the terms, it will say "Please request rate codes P4B or P5B." or another code, that code is great at making the call quick and short, simply tell the person on the phone its rate p4b, and if its not right, have them try the other, one of those codes will show them the price you see.

[vwrestler171]

I had the same issues everytime my casino offer would drop in price after I booked ES. I had to call everytime and ended up with $745.xx in OBC