Booking on board?

[Snowbaby369]

This question may be addressed elsewhere, so please redirect me if need be.

What are the benifets of booking on board? We usually book last minute, maybe 6 weeks before. For our upcoming cruise in January we booked on line in August. We are happy with our price...it appears to have only gone up since

I see many posts of people booking when on board

[Slemteacher]

They offer perks, such as smaller deposits, among other things!!

 

 

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[Snowbaby369]

They offer perks, such as smaller deposits, among other things!!

 

 

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Like what "other" things? Is it worth it?

[watermelonqueen99]

I have never seen smaller deposits offered when booking onboard. The only thing we've ever gotten is $100 in onboard credit.

[pgold128]

I have never seen smaller deposits offered when booking onboard. The only thing we've ever gotten is $100 in onboard credit.

 

 

I agree , and now you have to take the credit on the cruise you are already on ?????

 

 

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[Snowbaby369]

When booking....do you have to book a date and ship?

[maynovmom]

I agree , and now you have to take the credit on the cruise you are already on ?????

 

 

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I book on the ship annually. Are you saying that they allow you to have the onboard credit immediately applied to your current booking? That seems like still a win for the customer. If you do cancel you'd lose $100 for two people on early saver but you'd already have used your onboard credit perk. So it's still a wash.

[ginnstars]

I book on the ship annually. Are you saying that they allow you to have the onboard credit immediately applied to your current booking? That seems like still a win for the customer. If you do cancel you'd lose $100 for two people on early saver but you'd already have used your onboard credit perk. So it's still a wash.

 

Someone whose done it, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the OBC they give you was for your NEXT cruise not the current one you on? Would love to know. I plan to book onboard for our next cruise.

[pgold128]

Someone whose done it, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the OBC they give you was for your NEXT cruise not the current one you on? Would love to know. I plan to book onboard for our next cruise.

 

 

Last time I did it the credited my onboard account and it was pretty much a wash with the deposit.

 

 

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[Honolulu Blue]

I've booked onboard several times, including as recently as last month. Here's what I've found:

 

* You get the prices and the deals available on the day you book, including any applicable sales

* I have not seen any special deals for booking onboard, except...

* You get OBC for the cruise you booked - not your current cruise and not your next one

* The OBC you get is per cabin and based an the number of days on that cruise - 2-5 day cruises get $50, 6 days get $75, 7-11 days get $100, and 12+ days get $200

* You do have to pick a particular ship and date

* The future cruise experts tend to assume you want the best possible rate - and that almost always means Early Saver, with its penalties and other conditions. So be sure to tell them if you want/need something different.

* Carnival.com is one of the sites that are available for free on the ship's WiFi, and that's an excellent place to start your research

* If you plan to book onboard, I recommend doing so early, as the lines get longer as the cruise goes on

[Slemteacher]

When my husband and I booked onboard we only had to pay $100 each for a deposit, totally refundable if we cancelled the cruise and we also got free drink package, tips, and OBC! This was two years ago on a cruise to Bermuda.

[angela12345]

We have booked a future cruise while we are onboard many times. You book at the same current cruise rates and deposit amounts that anyone can see online. The only way to get a reduced deposit is if they are running a reduced deposit sale at that time.

 

We usually book past guest fare, then after the cruise, we change to whatever fare we choose. Sometimes we will even change to Early Saver.

 

When you are booking your future cruise, you need to be very specific on what fare you want to book under with the person at the future cruise desk. Also, it will automatically be credited to whoever booked your current cruise, unless you specify otherwise. In other words, if you booked your current cruise with a travel agent, the future cruise will also be booked with that same travel agent. If you want it to be otherwise, you need to specify. Check behind the person at the desk that they followed your instructions !!

 

For booking a future cruise while you are onboard, you will receive an onboard credit on the future cruise (nothing on your current cruise). The amount of the credit depends on the days sailing. Sailings of 3-5 days gets $50 6 days gets $75, 7-11 days gets $100, 12+ days gets $200.

 

You are not committed to the cabin or the cruise you book while you are onboard (as long as you are not booked under the Early Saver fare). If you need to make changes, your "book onboard OBC" follows you, just make SURE they keep the same booking number when they are making your changes (mistakes could happen when they're making the changes). For example, you could book a 5-day cruise while you're onboard and qualify for the $50 OBC on your future cruise. If you later figure out you need to change to a 6-day cruise on a different date, you will now get the $75 OBC.

 

However, you cannot book "open ended", you do have to pick a specific cruise and you will pick your cabin (or the desk person can pick for you), unless you are booking under a "guarantee rate" where Carnival assigns a cabin to you.

 

You will also receive two booking vouchers for the same OBC you are receiving to share with Friends and Family, IF they book the same cruise you are going on. These vouchers are time sensitive. I don't remember how many days they have to make their booking, but 45 days is what I think I remember.

[angela12345]

Oh, one more thing ... The above is the same for all ships EXCEPT Vista. If your current cruise is on Vista, they are currently running a test program with completely different rules & perks. I don't know the ins and outs of that test program.

[ginnstars]

Thank you! :)

[Snowbaby369]

Good information. Can someone explain a bit about different fares and how and why you choose one?

[riclop]

This question may be addressed elsewhere, so please redirect me if need be.

What are the benifets of booking on board? We usually book last minute, maybe 6 weeks before. For our upcoming cruise in January we booked on line in August. We are happy with our price...it appears to have only gone up since

I see many posts of people booking when on board

 

You will get OBC.

[maynovmom]

Someone whose done it, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the OBC they give you was for your NEXT cruise not the current one you on? Would love to know. I plan to book onboard for our next cruise.

 

Correct. That's what I've been doing for many years. That's why I didn't understand the post about it being credited for the current cruise. That makes no sense to me.

[ginnstars]

.

* You get OBC for the cruise you booked - not your current cruise and not your next one

 

That's what I meant. My bad.

 

Thanks for all the info. I'll be sure to start early as I already have an idea of what cruise I want, just would like to get the other perks from booking on board, plus the flexibility if we need to change it (assuming its not an early saver fare).

[angela12345]

Good information. Can someone explain a bit about different fares and how and why you choose one?

Early saver has a lot of stipulations and rules with it that you should read about. Basically you cannot cancel without paying $50pp penalty, the rest of your deposit is applied towards a future cruise, I believe you have 2 years to use it. But, it does allow you to price match up until 2 days before your cruise under certain scenarios. And, it's usually the least expensive fare.

 

Past guest, and many of the other fares, will allow you to price drop your rate and/or cancel with no penalty up until final payment date (75 days out for 7 day cruise, other time periods have different payment dates).

 

Besides those two, there are sales that are run from time to time with differing rules. Most having the same rules as past guest. Some are more stringent though, so be sure to red the rules associated with your fare.

 

We usually book past guest fare, or a sale fare that has the same rules as past guest. Then after the cruise, we change to whatever fare we choose, you can change the cabin you choose, you can even change the cruise. Sometimes we will change to Early Saver, after we firm up our plans and know we are committed to that cruise.

[Snowbaby369]

Thanks ....much clearer now :)