Excursion Price Protection

[iwantsomesun]

Huge thanks to this forum and to Carnival for being great about their price protection policy. Bought 3 excursions through Carnival for our upcoming cruise Feb 17th. Immediately Googled the cheapest competitor for each excursion and all three were just approved for price matching (110% of the difference). That's $323.28 coming back to me in an obc! I saw their guarantee but didn't pay too much attention to it (figured it would be a waste of time) until I read here that people had some success with it. 2/3 of the excursions matched perfectly...the third wasn't all that clear on the competitor's site what the duration would be but Carnival matched anyways. Good stuff. 12 days until we cruise!

[ontheweb]

Congratulations!!!

 

I know I posted to many of the threads that said it would not work since nothing would be an exact match. We had it work for us in Barbados, Harrison Caves.

[Mallow]

We did the price protection on the waterfall excursion in Amber Cove and it worked.

[justjan2]

Worked for me for Kauai's Grand Helicopter Tour. Got $65.99 per person back to my OBC. Love it.

[mdsgu]

I'm trying it on a couple of excursions in June. We'll see.....

[salty dingo]

Why not just book the cheaper excursion directly? Then you have cash in your pocket rather than OBC which can only be used on pricey cruise expenses.

[mdsgu]

Why not just book the cheaper excursion directly? Then you have cash in your pocket rather than OBC which can only be used on pricey cruise expenses.

 

With the current drug violence having reached Cozumel, my wife feels "safer" on a Carnival-sponsored excursion. I tried explaining that Carnival isn't actually running the excursion -- it's a local vendor contracted by Carnival and marked up in price. That didn't sway her.

[firemanbobswife]

Why not just book the cheaper excursion directly? Then you have cash in your pocket rather than OBC which can only be used on pricey cruise expenses.

 

Agree. My friends on our last cruise did the ruins in Mexico and they were so rushed with all the people and the lady running the trip was a real piece of work. It wasn’t as enjoyable for them as it should have been. They got a late start because not everyone got off the ship or something and did a ton of standing around and waiting at the pier which put them behind schedule. Needless to say they were not impressed with the Carnival excursion and expressed their dissatisfaction to the Shore Ex Desk.

 

I would never take a Carnival excursion if the equivalent were offered privately. Much less people and way more enjoyable on your own. It’s a shame your wife is paranoid. Like you said being on a ship sponsored tour doesn’t guarantee your safety. While yes the ship will be notified should something happen, it doesn’t make it safer.

 

Anyway, glad you got some OBC! Have a great cruise.

[Schoifmom]

Why not just book the cheaper excursion directly? Then you have cash in your pocket rather than OBC which can only be used on pricey cruise expenses.

 

For me, it depends on the port. There are some ports where I don't feel comfortable (for one reason or another) not having Carnival's guarantee to return to the ship on time. There are other ports where I wouldn't even consider a Carnival excursion.

 

The OBC you receive for this is refundable OBC, so you do get it back if you don't use it.

[salty dingo]

With the current drug violence having reached Cozumel, my wife feels "safer" on a Carnival-sponsored excursion. I tried explaining that Carnival isn't actually running the excursion -- it's a local vendor contracted by Carnival and marked up in price. That didn't sway her.

Tell her about the recent cruise excursion where the bus crashed and people died... maybe that will help.

[salty dingo]

Needless to say they were not impressed with the Carnival excursion and expressed their dissatisfaction to the Shore Ex Desk.

Worth remembering that comparing a ship excursion with a private one is not always apples to apples, even if the description is the same.

 

Case in point: cave tubing in Belize. Both Carnival and private tours pick you up, take you to the same place, you go through the same cave, have lunch at a local shack, and come back on the bus. But not the same. Carnival's tour had probably 30 people per guide where ours had 6 per guide. Way better, personalized experience on the private tour. Carnival's tour was geared toward maximizing profits.

[moongal]

With the current drug violence having reached Cozumel, my wife feels "safer" on a Carnival-sponsored excursion. I tried explaining that Carnival isn't actually running the excursion -- it's a local vendor contracted by Carnival and marked up in price. That didn't sway her.

 

 

Where have you heard about recent drug related violence happening in Cozumel? I know about the ferry explosion but I read that it turned out to be something about a new competitor ferry operator/insurance scam thing and not drug cartel related. Are the drug cartels operating in Cozumel now? Kind of makes me leery about going if this is true. What about Progresso? Are the drug cartels active there?

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[iamsteph]

Thanks for this excursion reminder! I have two excursions booked on my upcoming cruise, and checked, and the same tours were cheaper if booked directly through the same operator. Submitted my price protection forms yesterday and heard back last night! $56 back in OBC! Not a huge amount, but I'll take it!

[mdsgu]

I submitted competitor pricing for my Grand Cayman and Cozumel excursions. Carnival honored their 110% price protection and refunded me $171 in OBC. I'm quite sure I'll hand it back to them during the cruise.

[Joebucks]

Good to know that this actually works. I thought it would be a bunch of "doesn't apply, not the same offer".

 

The biggest thing I can't get past is not liking the limited times Carnival offers

[jptocruise]

Hi, I booked an excursion and also found the cheaper price else where. Where do I file for the OBC? I looked on the Carnival site in Manage section but only found the form for the cruise fare OBC not the excursion form.

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

John

[mdsgu]

Hi, I booked an excursion and also found the cheaper price else where. Where do I file for the OBC? I looked on the Carnival site in Manage section but only found the form for the cruise fare OBC not the excursion form.

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

John

 

I couldn't find it through the Carnival site either (big shocker there). I Google'd "Carnival 110% excursion price guarantee" and was able to find the form that way.

[justjan2]

Why not just book the cheaper excursion directly? Then you have cash in your pocket rather than OBC which can only be used on pricey cruise expenses.

 

I used it for a helicopter excursion. When I booked it I didn't know about the cheaper option. Then I saw it and submitted it and received over $130 obc. I will use that to pay the gratuities bill. If Carnival didn't also the price guarantee I would have cancelled with Carnival and purchased through the other vendor.