Carnival Vacation Club

[Rowan555]

We joined this week, I have all the binders and paperwork sitting here and I'm about to look through it all. If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer them. We had no intention of joining, but I changed my mind about 20 minutes into our talk with the rep. We lost our timeshare in Katrina, so the resort certificates will be very handy, and we loved the perks we received this week (5 chocolate covered strawberries, the VIP party, the margarita mixer, and priority debarkation). I'll be checking out the availability of the land resorts tomorrow - hoping those turn out to be "worth something" - we priced out various cruises and booking with the points is about the same as booking with Carnival or an internet travel agent - you might save $30 or so on a booking. So it's NOT worth it if you are just hoping to save money on your cruise bookings. If you want the perks and will use the resort certificates, though, it's a great deal.

 

Susan

[Cuizer2]

We joined this week, I have all the binders and paperwork sitting here and I'm about to look through it all. If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer them. We had no intention of joining, but I changed my mind about 20 minutes into our talk with the rep. We lost our timeshare in Katrina, so the resort certificates will be very handy, and we loved the perks we received this week (5 chocolate covered strawberries, the VIP party, the margarita mixer, and priority debarkation). I'll be checking out the availability of the land resorts tomorrow - hoping those turn out to be "worth something" - we priced out various cruises and booking with the points is about the same as booking with Carnival or an internet travel agent - you might save $30 or so on a booking. So it's NOT worth it if you are just hoping to save money on your cruise bookings. If you want the perks and will use the resort certificates, though, it's a great deal. Susan

 

I am a member of CVC and I think you need to do your math again. The cost of booking through CVC is about 10-15% more. Each point is 25¢ or 4 points to the dollar. So a cruise that cost 8,800 points is about $2,200. The same cruise, when I checked, is a little under $2,000.

 

In my case I have a cat 8B on the Glory in April 2006. It is costing me 8095 points or about $2023.75. The same cruise is $1839 for repeat passenders. Since you can only by into CVC on a cruise, everyone is a repeat passenger. Thus this cruise is costing me an additional 10%.

 

It is up to the buyer if the perks are worth the additional cost.

[Rowan555]

I did some sample bookings and did NOT find that to be the case. Believe me, I will look again today. I woke up with a migraine and need to take it easy this morning, but I will do some comparison later on. If you are correct, I have no qualms about calling them this afternoon and cancelling. I don't mind paying about the same price, but I'm not paying more for cruises - and if it's going to cost MORE, then no - the perks are NOT worth it. Besides, I've got my VIP tags anyway at this point ;)

[mkshea]

Susan,

I'm interested in your findings. We are thinking about joining on our cruise next week.

 

Thanks,

Kelly

[RRLLAL]

Each point is 25¢ or 4 points to the dollar.

 

did i get sold a bill of goods? i just joined last week and was told that each point was valued at 17.5 cents.

[Cuizer2]

did i get sold a bill of goods? i just joined last week and was told that each point was valued at 17.5 cents.

How something is valued depends on the definition. I don't mean the definition of the word "value". I mean what is being used to calculate the value. For example, I bought 14,000 points for $3,500. So each point cost me 25¢. On the other hand, I had to use 8095 points to get a cruise that cost $1839 on expedia. So in this case each point was worth 22.7¢ cents. However, depending on the agreement between Carnival and CVC, CVC might only have to pay Carnival the equivalent of 17.5¢ per point.

 

For example, let us say a cruise costs 8,000 points. You paid $2,000 for these points. CVC might have to pay Carnival $1,400. The other $600 would be CVC's commision. Now, since these cruises can be credited to your TA, we will assume that CVC shared the commission 50/50 with your TA. So the TA gets $300 and CVC keeps the remaining $300. Meanwhile, lets says this same cruise can be purchased for $1800. So, this is what we have:

 

Your cost $2,000 or 25¢ per point.

You receive a cruise worth $1800 or 22.5¢ per point.

CVC pays Carnival $1,400 or 17.5¢ per point.

 

So, in this example (and this is just an examle) what is the value of a point? 25¢? 22.5¢? 17.5¢? It all depends on what is included in your evaluation of value (definition).

 

Let look at a couple of real world examples:

 

2 people on the Pride Aug 13 - 20, 2006

Expedia is listing the following prices:

4B - $2298, 6A - $2498, 8E - $2958, 12 - $4878

CVC is listing the following points (and cost at 25¢/point below):

4B - 10,052, 6A - 10,874, 8E - 12,730, 12 - 23,058

4B - $2513, 6A - $2718.50, 8E - $3182.50, 12 - $5764.50

This ranges from 9 to 18% more.

 

2 people on the Conquest March 18 - 25, 2007

Expedia is listing the following prices for a repeat customer (since you buy into CVC on a cruise, you are a repeat customer:

4C - $1538 , 6A - $1698, 8B - $2198

CVC is listing the following points (and the cost at 25¢/point below):

4C - 7582 , 6A - 8240, 8B - 10,270

4C - $1895.50, 6A - $2060 , 8B - $2567.50

This ranges from 17 to 23% more.

 

I should add, my orginal cruise cost 10,500 points and in four months after I booked it, the cost dropped several times down to its current 8095 points (a savings of over $600). I called and requested the lower price (four times). Each call took about two minuts and each time I received the then lower price (via a point credit back to me). So it is likely that the Conquest prices listed above will go down. Nonetheless, for the cruise itself, expect to pay (in points) about 10-15% more than if you bought the cruise via the free market. However, there are perks with CVC (these perks are not limited to the cruise - there are some land vacation perks also), and the purchaser will have to decide if the perks are worth the additional cost.

 

(Note, the prices and points noted above were as of 10am PST on Dec 6 - prices may change).

[LHP]

this is a very individual decision. To some people, the Skipper's Club alone is worth paying a little more than you may have if you had booked it directly.

 

For us, we already get the Interline rate...so it was not a good deal for us.

But if you don't have the Interline option, it may be a good deal for you.

 

I personally do not enjoy time share ....but my best friend has owned one for years and is pleased as punch.

 

Anything you do is worth it.....if it fits your needs...even it if does not fit someone else's.

 

Just know all the facts and make an informed decision.

[dpal2208]

So what are the perks?

[Rowan555]

The perks include priority embarkation and debarkation, a bon voyage gift (generally chocolate covered strawberries from what I've heard), a VIP party during the cruise with food and any drinks you like, concierge service on select ships, and spa discounts.

 

For what it's worth, after looking over the website last night I decided to cancel this morning. The perks ARE nice, but the resort certificates are just about worthless for our purposes, and there are no savings in booking a cruise with points. IMO if you're going to join, join at the Bronze level ($3500) just for the perks - you get the perks even if you book through another TA or if you book with CVC and pay with dollars instead of points. The membership is good for 35 months, and you can add 25 more months for $199. Had I chosen the bronze membership I would probably have kept it.

[KruznKel]

The perks include priority embarkation and debarkation, a bon voyage gift (generally chocolate covered strawberries from what I've heard), a VIP party during the cruise with food and any drinks you like, concierge service on select ships, and spa discounts.

 

For what it's worth, after looking over the website last night I decided to cancel this morning. The perks ARE nice, but the resort certificates are just about worthless for our purposes, and there are no savings in booking a cruise with points. IMO if you're going to join, join at the Bronze level ($3500) just for the perks - you get the perks even if you book through another TA or if you book with CVC and pay with dollars instead of points. The membership is good for 35 months, and you can add 25 more months for $199. Had I chosen the bronze membership I would probably have kept it.

 

So what did it cost you to join.. for the free perks and cancel right after?

[cruiser92804]

It really depends on the cruise and cabin you are pricing. We are going to Hawaii in April and if you book a 6A you save about $500 using CVC. That's the only reason we joined.

[Rowan555]

So what did it cost you to join.. for the free perks and cancel right after?

 

I paid $2497 on board, and they're crediting that back to my card now. The package we purchased was $4995, I believe.

[Bucky3]

Has anyone used any of the resorts offered? How difficult have you found it to be to book one?

[Beach4me]

For anyone living in SC, you are unable to buy into the Carnival Vacation Club. The attorney general has deemed the club illegal and has banned the sale of the club to SC residents.

 

I learned all I needed to know about the ethics of the CVC when the sales reps asked me if there was a past address outside of SC that I could list for the club - or if a friend or relative in another state would be willing to receive the mail for me - and then have the mail fowarded to me in order to get around the SC ruling. I couldn't believe that they would try to circumvent the law of my resident state. I just walked away thankful that our attorney general is looking out for us!

 

Glad you were able to get a refund, Rowan555. I've been wondering if you opted to get the refund since your first post.

[Ship Addict]

I was surprised when I didn't see the CVC table on my recent Elation cruise out of Galveston. Could it be that they are forbidden to sell it to Texas residents as well? I guess it would be fruitless of them to look around a ship out of Galveston trying to find passengers who are residents of a state other than Texas -- like finding a needle in a haystack!

[Cuizer2]

I was surprised when I didn't see the CVC table on my recent Elation cruise out of Galveston. Could it be that they are forbidden to sell it to Texas residents as well? I guess it would be fruitless of them to look around a ship out of Galveston trying to find passengers who are residents of a state other than Texas -- like finding a needle in a haystack!

 

CVC is not offered on all ships. I have not heard of any states that CVC cannot be sold to except South Carolina.

[LynnA]

We are on our third vacation package and we love it. You don't save that much but you do get on and off the ship much faster, usually about 10 minutes. I also like the upgrades on cabins. Its not guaranteed but it has happened 3 out of 4 cruises. When this happens you do save alot of money on the cruise. We have been upgraded from cat 8 to a corner room cat 9 on the Destiny. On the Elation we were upgraded to a cat 12 suite from a cat 8. Thats where you get your savings. I also like the idea of being paid up ahead of time. My business is up and down so when we get ready to cruise all I have to do is pick up the phone and book, already paid for.

[Stircrzy]

I was surprised when I didn't see the CVC table on my recent Elation cruise out of Galveston. Could it be that they are forbidden to sell it to Texas residents as well? I guess it would be fruitless of them to look around a ship out of Galveston trying to find passengers who are residents of a state other than Texas -- like finding a needle in a haystack!

 

Bob forwarded your message to me so that we

could back to you right away.

 

We appreciate your interest in the Carnival Vacation Club. We do not

have an exact date yet for launching the CVC program aboard the Elation

or Ecstasy, however it will likely be late this fall. The CVC program

has been very well received and we are excited about this great new

cruising opportunity.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Terry Thornton

Vice President - Marketing Planning

 

 

*******

 

PS...there are many people who are NOT Texans who sail from Galveston.

[Rowan555]

The CVC supervisor on the Conquest told me they had "no intentions" of putting CVC on board the Ecstasy, Elation, and other ships in that class. She said they're sticking with the "bigger, newer ships" because they feel it is easier to find qualified people to do the presentations for on the bigger (more expensive) ships.

[Ship Addict]

PS...there are many people who are NOT Texans who sail from Galveston.

 

Yes, I realize this, having sailed out of Galveston several times. However, if you do an informal pole of passengers sailing out of Galveston, I would bet you would get 95% plus that ARE residents of Texas.

[Cuizer2]

Yes, I realize this, having sailed out of Galveston several times. However, if you do an informal pole of passengers sailing out of Galveston, I would bet you would get 95% plus that ARE residents of Texas.

 

I doubt that. I sail out of California and there are more people in California than Texas and at best only 50% of the people on the ship are from California.

[Rowan555]

Yes, I realize this, having sailed out of Galveston several times. However, if you do an informal pole of passengers sailing out of Galveston, I would bet you would get 95% plus that ARE residents of Texas.

 

 

From talking to people on the Conquest last week, I met more Canadians than people from Texas! Of course, most of them booked when Conquest was still supposed to leave from New Orleans.

[VentureMan_2000]

You two are funny... neither one knows... not even a little bit.

 

I would, however, think it is fair to guess that you would have a larger proportion of travelers on the ship from the State of the home port.

 

How much...? Only Carnival knows.

[Rowan555]

There were quite a few Texans on the Conquest bragging about paying $299 pp for the cruise by getting a last minute deal. So they definitely ARE marketing to the locals. Sounds like the claims of Galveston filling the Conquest easily are not quite true. When Conquest was in NOLA, I always had my fingers crossed for a sweet last minute deal, but none ever came - seemed that the prices always went UP as it got closer to sailing.

[LynnA]

I was surprised when I didn't see the CVC table on my recent Elation cruise out of Galveston. Could it be that they are forbidden to sell it to Texas residents as well?

 

We have bought the Vacation Club 3 times and we are from Dallas Texas. When we we're on the Conquest they told us they would be on the Elation next year.