Future cruise certificates

[cupcake8503]

I'm still a little confused about all this.

 

 

Why would you book a 3 day cruise and only get $50 OBC if you have no intention of ever doing a 3 day cruise and will only do 7 day cruises and would like the $100 OBC instead?

 

 

 

From what I read on the previous replies, if you switch from the 3 day cruise to the 7 day cruise Carnival will change your OBC from $50 to $100. People book the 3 day cruise on board because the initial deposit is less than if you were to book a 7 day cruise.

[kicia]

I book the shorter cruise just to make a lesser deposit. Last time I booked two cruises so I paid $400 instead of the higher amount for the 7 night or longer cruise.

 

Who you talk with to make the change depends on who the cruise was booked with on the cruise you made the on board booking. If it was through a TA then the new booking is with the same TA and they have to call Carnival. If you booked directly with Carnival then you can call Carnival to make the change.

 

I have had a couple of instances where I (as the TA) called Carnival and was told that this can't be done and the OBC had to stay with the original booking. I suggested that maybe they should check the policy. I just called again and got another agent who knew what I was talking about.

 

Shortly after the FCC was eliminated and the on board booking started it was kind of a secret that you could book a cruise and not take it but change for a different cruise. I have done it several times for myself and my clients. Now the Loyalty Experts will tell you that this is acceptable.

 

It doesn't make any difference which rate code you use for the booking on board because everything will change when you make the real booking. Just make sure you book a fully refundable rate. Book the cheapest cabin and it doesn't matter which dining time you pick. We book inside cabins, which we have never sailed in.

 

You can't book the cruise yourself with the on board system but the Loyalty Cruise Expert has to make the booking for you or it doesn't count. It is better to do this early in the cruise because they usually get busy by the end of the cruise. It also helps if you have all of the information for the new cruise so the rep can just key the info in.

 

It works but it is a convoluted way to get the booking done but it is worth it for us to receive the OBC. I hope the Future Cruise Certificates come back.

[mitsugirly]

 

Who you talk with to make the change depends on who the cruise was booked with on the cruise you made the on board booking. If it was through a TA then the new booking is with the same TA and they have to call Carnival. If you booked directly with Carnival then you can call Carnival to make the change.

 

 

You can't book the cruise yourself with the on board system but the Loyalty Cruise Expert has to make the booking for you or it doesn't count. It is better to do this early in the cruise because they usually get busy by the end of the cruise. It also helps if you have all of the information for the new cruise so the rep can just key the info in.

 

 

 

So are you saying that they have both a person on board that is a "loyalty cruise expert" doing the booking AND/OR also a TA on board to book with? :confused:

 

I wouldn't think you would actually be booking with a TA on board the cruise, so how could it depend on who you made the original booking with? Wouldn't it always be with the cruise line that it's booked with originally if you are on the cruise booking?

 

 

I have a TA which I would be transferring the booking to. So if I book while on board with the cruise line, then when I get home, would I transfer the booking to my TA and then they would transfer the booking to the real booking?

 

Sorry, this is just so confusing to me. I normally deal with NCL and buy the future cruise certificate while on board and have 4 years to decide what I want to book. This just seems like a ridiculous way to do things to me but yet I want to take advantage of it because we plan on sailing Carnival again in the future.

 

 

One last thing while I'm thinking about it...we sail as 3 people (hubby, me and daughter), so I would have to put down $300 instead of the $200 deposit correct? Or would I be able to just book us for now and when I change the booking add another person?

 

Why does Carnival have to make it so hard? :cool:

[picomullet]

Just one more question on this.

 

Once I decide to book my "real"cruise back on land, who do I contact?

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

I always come home and transfer it to my pvp. Actually I call him and tell him I booked a cruise on a cruise. He then takes care of transferring the booking. I deal with him after that. I have done this several times. As far as a TA I have no knowledge how that works.

[picomullet]

I always come home and transfer it to my pvp. Actually I call him and tell him I booked a cruise on a cruise. He then takes care of transferring the booking. I deal with him after that. I have done this several times. As far as a TA I have no knowledge how that works.

 

If you don't move it, you just contact Carnival customer service for any information or changes.

[kicia]

So are you saying that they have both a person on board that is a "loyalty cruise expert" doing the booking AND/OR also a TA on board to book with? :confused:

 

I wouldn't think you would actually be booking with a TA on board the cruise, so how could it depend on who you made the original booking with? Wouldn't it always be with the cruise line that it's booked with originally if you are on the cruise booking?

 

 

I have a TA which I would be transferring the booking to. So if I book while on board with the cruise line, then when I get home, would I transfer the booking to my TA and then they would transfer the booking to the real booking?

 

Sorry, this is just so confusing to me. I normally deal with NCL and buy the future cruise certificate while on board and have 4 years to decide what I want to book. This just seems like a ridiculous way to do things to me but yet I want to take advantage of it because we plan on sailing Carnival again in the future.

 

 

One last thing while I'm thinking about it...we sail as 3 people (hubby, me and daughter), so I would have to put down $300 instead of the $200 deposit correct? Or would I be able to just book us for now and when I change the booking add another person?

 

Why does Carnival have to make it so hard? :cool:

 

If you are on a cruise that was booked with a TA and you want to book a future cruise, that cruise will automatically be applied to the TA that you originally booked with. There is no TA on board and you book with the Loyalty Expert. The LE will pull up your current booking and all of the information from the booking TA will appear.

 

You have to pay the regular deposit for whichever cruise you are booking. I said $200 for a 3 day cruise but that is for the two of us. If you have more people, you pay the regular deposit. If you book a cruise with a special rate that gives cabin category upgrades or OBC as part of the deal be aware that will probably not apply unless the new cruise booked when you decide also has those options available.

[cruisingbajan]

If you are on a cruise that was booked with a TA and you want to book a future cruise, that cruise will automatically be applied to the TA that you originally booked with. There is no TA on board and you book with the Loyalty Expert. The LE will pull up your current booking and all of the information from the booking TA will appear.

 

You have to pay the regular deposit for whichever cruise you are booking. I said $200 for a 3 day cruise but that is for the two of us. If you have more people, you pay the regular deposit. If you book a cruise with a special rate that gives cabin category upgrades or OBC as part of the deal be aware that will probably not apply unless the new cruise booked when you decide also has those options available.

 

My current cruise is with a TA but I wanted to book directly with Carnival for my future cruise. Is there a "work around" whereby I can make this happen?

 

Also just confirming that once we book a rate with no restrictions that we can then change to any cruise including one that may have a special rate.

 

Sorry for all the questions but I want to have all my ducks in a row for when I sail next month.:)

 

Thanks to you and picomullet for all your help so far. I really appreciate it.

[sixb0nes]

My current cruise is with a TA but I wanted to book directly with Carnival for my future cruise. Is there a "work around" whereby I can make this happen?

 

Also just confirming that once we book a rate with no restrictions that we can then change to any cruise including one that may have a special rate.

 

Sorry for all the questions but I want to have all my ducks in a row for when I sail next month.:)

 

Thanks to you and picomullet for all your help so far. I really appreciate it.

 

I would also like to know this. I cruise in 9 days and was planning to book a future cruise for March 2016. Can I book on board without having it go to my TA and can I change it to early saver afterwards?

[mzloolue]

These were discontinued over a year ago. Now, you book a particular cruise onboard to get OBC. $100 for 7day, $200 for 14, $75 for 6, $50 for 5.

 

I book several random cruises as far out as I can, under past guest- which has no cancellation penalties, and use those bookings to change later what I want to take. Using the same booking numbers allow me to keep those OBC.

 

Thank you for posting this.

 

And I too hope that they bring back the FCCs.

[Shel9365]

I would like to do this on our cruise in Oct. Would it be possible if we don't plan on cruising with carnival again until fall 2018?

 

How far out can the future cruise be? If I booked a cruise onboard for the OBC for sometime in 2016, but really want to sail in the fall of 2018, am I able to change to a later date before my fake cruise final payment date? And can I change to a second fake cruise before we book our real cruise if the dates aren't up by the time I need to cancel the first fake cruise?

 

This sounds confusing. I hope this makes sense. :confused:

[RuthlessBoss]

These were discontinued over a year ago. Now, you book a particular cruise onboard to get OBC. $100 for 7day, $200 for 14, $75 for 6, $50 for 5.

 

I book several random cruises as far out as I can, under past guest- which has no cancellation penalties, and use those bookings to change later what I want to take. Using the same booking numbers allow me to keep those OBC.

 

I never knew this:eek: I've seen people sitting and appearing to book, but thought "how can they pick a certain cruise while on a cruise"?

[Frank12]

Thank you for posting this.

 

And I too hope that they bring back the FCCs.

Another vote for the return of the FCC's!

[mzloolue]

Maybe we need an actual poll thread.

[Bases5]

I thought I read that JH was going to ask the beards about returning it under a different name.

FCC to CLP (Carnival Layaway program) More fitting to the current branding.

[sfaaa]

You book a cruise on board using any rate that doesn't have restrictions. That means that you can't book early saver. The price doesn't matter because you're not going to take that cruise anyway. Book a cruise as far out as you can for the shortest time. The deposit for a 3 day cruise is $ 100 so it will be $200 for a couple.

 

You receive the OBC on the cruise you eventually take. Make sure you are aware of when the final payment date is due on the cruise you book on board. You either have to cancel or book the new cruise before that date or you will incur the regular cancellation penalty.

 

The OBC is $200 for a 12 + night cruise.

 

When you book the "real" cruise you can use whatever rate code is the best for you at the time. When you book on board the booking will belong to whomever booked the cruise you're currently on. If you booked with a TA then they own the booking.

 

The new cruise will have the same booking number as the one you booked on board and Carnival has to make the change. Some Carnival reps will tell you that you can't do this. I just went round and round with a rep the other night who insisted that you can only get the OBC on the original cruise. I told him to check the policy and he just kept insisting that I was wrong. I just called back and got it done. I've done this quite a few times for myself and for my clients so I know this can be done.

 

Absolutely brilliant. My hat's off to Budget Queen and your ingenuity.

Edited March 7, 2015 by sfaaa