Question for Canadian cruisers

[Tuckers Mom]

I was just wondering if any of you have booked directly through Carnival and if you have found any advantages or disadvantages doing so, given the difference in countries. We usually book through a friend who is a travel agent but she is away tending a sick relative. So I was wondering if I should just go ahead and book our cruise myself through either Carnival's website or by calling them.

 

Thank you in advance for your advice.😀

[abby1257]

Hi there, from Toronto, have been cruising Carnival for over 10 years. We use our Carnival Personal Vacation Planner. He books it all for us....makes absolutely no difference as far as pricing. It's the same price if you do it online, but he does the work for you! Have fun

[kdr69]

Typically I book by calling them or online. I haven't ever heard from a PVP but there is usually no difference in pricing.

[Reenie75]

I booked threw Costco Travel, they offered same pricing, half deposit with OBC and a cash card depending on the cruise.

[RW20]

I book through a TA specifically to book in Canadian dollars because of exchange rate fluctuations as I book far in advance. I get the option with a refundable deposit and whenever I see the Canadian dollar increase I check my price and email my TA to match.

 

One year I booked through my TA and got a price match twice saving over $500 CDN on the OS for the 4 of us. My friends on the same cruise booked direct with Carnival and the US$ price never decreased. However the CDN dollar dropped roughly $0.20 US from booking to final payment. They lost about $700CDN on the exchange. Basically booking in Canadian dollars with a TA is a good way to hedge your price if you book in advance.

[Baxter1234]

You can book directly through Carnival and pay in Canadian funds. Just ask them to quote both CDN and US pricing. We have never been able to find any perks on top of what we could get through Carnival.

[GoofyCdn]

I booked our Carnival Breeze cruise directly through the website and ended up with an awesome PVP who calls me a couple times a year to see if I'm looking for another cruise and often gives me a heads up when there's a great promo coming out. Unfortunately we aren't in the market for another Carnival cruise, even though I'd love to take one so I haven't heard from him in a few months.

[Nic6318]

I was just wondering if any of you have booked directly through Carnival and if you have found any advantages or disadvantages doing so' date=' given the difference in countries. We usually book through a friend who is a travel agent but she is away tending a sick relative. So I was wondering if I should just go ahead and book our cruise myself through either Carnival's website or by calling them.

 

Thank you in advance for your advice.😀[/quote']

 

 

Hi

 

You say your TA is a friend. If you stop using your friend, she will stop receiving the commissions she earns from your bookings.

 

There are online TA's that do offer better offer better prices or OBC at times. You would need to research these. As Reenie mentioned if Costco is near to you they can offer some extra incentives. If you prefer dealing with Carnival their PVP's are helpful, but they cannot offer any discount other than what you would find on the Carnival website.

 

In regards to the exchange rate and dealing with different currencies, I personally would just stick with US$. I have been doing this for many years. I am not going on just one vacation. I go on many vacations yearly, over many decades. Get yourself a US$ savings account (that pays interest, with no service fees), add to it when you have money for vacations. It doesn't really matter what the exchange rate is, you are saving for a vacation. Get a US$ credit card. Now your mindset is, you book your vacation when you have saved enough and you want to go, in US$. You don't care what the exchange rate, because you are paying in US$, you already saved the money. Purchases made in the states or on your cruise, use your US$ credit card. Exchange rate doesn't matter for the same reasons, you aren't paying any more exchange fees.

 

You do this (of course) unless it is to your benefit to pay in CDN$. Some cruise lines will offer promotions where CDN$ are accepted at par or a discounted exchange rate. Verify before booking, because there are typically many cabin rate choices, that this will save you money. Another time when you may opt to use your CDN$ credit card is when you might get included insurance, or have a significant cash back program.

 

hope this helps

[CoW mAn]

Always booked online except just recently via PVP. Never had an issue but never done TA so can't really compare.

[sixb0nes]

We booked thru Carnival's site when we first started cruising but the last 5 cruises or so we have booked with a TA. We get discounts and sometimes OBC and always book/pay in USD. We also have opened a US bank account and put money into it throughout the year (more when exchange is favorable). When we cruise, we withdraw cash to purchase gift cards while on board our cruise to help pay for the next cruise.

[hockeyluver]

Call and book through Carnival (not online) but tell them you want to book in Canadian currency. Then it will stay at that exchange rate.

[Cruiseaholichal]

We book through our Carnival PVP , and have found that even though they are in a different country, their English is actually quite good. They say grill instead of BBQ, and zee instead of zed, and have no idea how may kilometers it is from Miami to Orlando, but overall grasp of our language is not too bad.

[Kel040]

We sail in 23 days !! (can't wait). I have always booked directly through Carnival ( 10 cruises so far) - I find the cruise online and then I call the 800 line and book it - sometimes they find a better rate than what I have found and if they find a higher rate, I am still on the page and walk them through the steps I did to find the same lower rate !! :)

 

I pay on my CIBC credit card that includes travel / trip insurance insurance too !!

[CdnSunshine]

We always book through our Carnival PVP. He's fantastic - he's friendly, organized, knowledgeable, and has processed several price reductions for us with zero hassle. It's great to book with someone I like and trust.

 

Sent from my SM-N950W using Forums mobile app

[skudy]

We are Canadian and booked through Carnival's website. I had no problems doing it. In fact, I live their website. Easy to navigate, check my account, and so on. +1 for booking directly.

[Tuckers Mom]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with me. I think I will probably call, but have the website open at the same time.

 

I also wanted to clarify my friend/travel agent's situation, as someone mentioned that if we book through Carnival, she will lose the commission on our booking. She has been away from work for several months, caring for her mother who is quite ill. Unfortunately, we have no idea when she will be back. If we knew she would be back within a few weeks we would wait because we know how tough it is to make a living these days. However, it looks as though that will not be the case which is why we are considering booking directly with Carnival. As soon as she is back, we will be working with her again.

 

Thanks again...hope you all have a great weekend.

[1midsun]

 

 

In regards to the exchange rate and dealing with different currencies, I personally would just stick with US$. I have been doing this for many years. I am not going on just one vacation. I go on many vacations yearly, over many decades. Get yourself a US$ savings account (that pays interest, with no service fees), add to it when you have money for vacations. It doesn't really matter what the exchange rate is, you are saving for a vacation. Get a US$ credit card. Now your mindset is, you book your vacation when you have saved enough and you want to go, in US$. You don't care what the exchange rate, because you are paying in US$, you already saved the money. Purchases made in the states or on your cruise, use your US$ credit card. Exchange rate doesn't matter for the same reasons, you aren't paying any more exchange fees.

 

 

We do this, transfer a bit each pay day to the US account. the exchange rate "hit" is not as big on $100 at a time as it is on a couple of thousand all at once. And if the rate is good, I transfer a bit more when I can.