4 day out of LA. Should we do Early Saver?

[Californian]

New to Carnival. Our family is thinking of taking 4 day cruise out of Los Angeles to Ensenada and Catalina next summer on the Imagination or Inspiration. We would like three Grand Suites (one with connecting oceanview room)....need the bathtub for little ones. What are the chances that the prices on the Grand Suite cabins will go down? The nonrefundable deposit with Early Saver rate is a little worrisome in case one of the kids flake out. We have a family with teens going back to school early. Another family may have work problems (not being able to go). We will not change the cabins if we can get one with the connecting oceanview cabin. Wondering what we should do in our situation. Do Early Saver? Book a different way. If different way, what? Get insurance from Carnival or third party? Advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[JillySue]

We had a Grand Suite on one of those sailings and our price never dropped. The rest of the family had ocean views and ended up with about $150-$200 in price drops.

[mykeb14]

I have sailed those ships twice now and always watch the price. The GS never seem to go down only up as I have seen. Right now for my sailing they had 1 left last time I checked and was over 900 a person.

[lollylew]

With early saver, if someone does cancel, there is only a $50 cancellation fee with the option to rebook writhing 18 months. Of course, they won't get their money refunded to them. There are other ways to books but then you don't get the price drop guarantee.

[Hawaiifrank]

With early saver, if someone does cancel, there is only a $50 cancellation fee with the option to rebook writhing 18 months. Of course, they won't get their money refunded to them. There are other ways to books but then you don't get the price drop guarantee.

 

I thought it was 24 months to rebook to use the remaining deposit, after the $50 fee per person for cancellation? If you cruise Carnival with any regularity, the 2 yr (or maybe 18 mos) time limit shouldn't be a problem. Of course, the money is tied up for that time too. I believe a GS has a larger deposit too.

 

If the catagory is sold out, there won't be any price reductions. The fewer cabins in a catagory, the faster it sells out, usually.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Hawaiifrank

[crzndeb]

The issue with booking ES in a category with very few cabins, is if they sell out, you won't see a price reduction.

 

And unless it's changed, the hold period on a cancellation is 2 years. I cruised last year with a held deposit, and it was pretty close to the 2 year mark.

[Californian]

What is the normal deposit on Carnival for a cruise? When I was checking on line, I can only see Early Saver but didn't go far enough into my mock booking to see the deposit amount. My understanding is that Early Saver requires a $150 nonrefundable deposit. Is that correct? So, if something happens and we can't go on this trip, Carnival will charge $50 and we will have $100 to go towards a future cruise. Do I have a choice of not doing Early Saver and booking a cruise with a refundable deposit? Would I want to? Or maybe I should be asking what the Pros and Cons of the Early Saver? Sorry, I'm a little confused on this and would appreciate your help.

[Hawaiifrank]

What is the normal deposit on Carnival for a cruise? When I was checking on line, I can only see Early Saver but didn't go far enough into my mock booking to see the deposit amount. My understanding is that Early Saver requires a $150 nonrefundable deposit. Is that correct? So, if something happens and we can't go on this trip, Carnival will charge $50 and we will have $100 to go towards a future cruise. Do I have a choice of not doing Early Saver and booking a cruise with a refundable deposit? Would I want to? Or maybe I should be asking what the Pros and Cons of the Early Saver? Sorry, I'm a little confused on this and would appreciate your help.

 

There are usually several different fare types available. ES is usually the lowest price. Sometimes ES periodically has bonus offers for $50 deposit or OBC, not always though.

 

My thought is, if you are relatively sure you will go on that cruise, book ES for lowest cost. If you have doubts or medical issues pay a little more for the refundable fare and get trip insurance.

 

If the cruise is going to be a popular one, like a repositioning or some unique port or on a peek travel time, like a holiday, the price will just go up. It's very unlikely that you will get a fare reduction. If, OTOH, it's during a slack season, like the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can almost always count on a lower price for last minute bookings. With ES you can probably get a match to the lower price.

 

Edited to add: The normal deposit for a 7 day is $250. More for Suites, I believe. Less for shorter cruises.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Hawaiifrank