Are the reps who answer 1800-Carnival PVP's?

[a3593]

Do you get a Personal Vacation Planner when you call 1-800-Carnival?  I am trying to re-book with my FCC from my recently cancelled cruise. Although they are really nice, and patient, they seem to be confused and not really able to easily help.  I have always heard everyone sing praises of using a PVP, so is this how you reach them??

[ninjacat123]

So, how does one request a PVP?  I had one many years ago and he just went away even though I booked a Carnival cruise (or two) every year and I never was assigned another PVP.  TIA!

[bury me at sea]

Phone the normal Carnival number and ask to be assigned a pvp.

[beachbum53]

Are the reps who answer 1800-Carnival PVP's?

 

No, they are customer service agents, not PVP's.

[klfrodo]

7 minutes ago, beachbum53 said:

Are the reps who answer 1800-Carnival PVP's?

 

No, they are customer service agents, not PVP's.

Thank you for actually answering the question.

[James4me]

One reached out to me the other day.  I need to contact her and hopefully build a good relationship and have her help me with our rescheduled cruise on the Panorama we’d like to take in May 2022.  

[Johnc3211]

I Googled "Carnival PVP" and found a couple on Facebook. I am using one of them now and am happy with service. She re-booked my cruise and transferd FCC and OBC, also 2 price reductions. E-mailed back and forth and set an appointment to talk, no waiting on hold.

[Joe817]

4 minutes ago, Johnc3211 said:

I Googled "Carnival PVP" and found a couple on Facebook. I am using one of them now and am happy with service. She re-booked my cruise and transferd FCC and OBC, also 2 price reductions. E-mailed back and forth and set an appointment to talk, no waiting on hold.

Well done John! Congrats for a smooth move! 👍

[poz222]

Previously, I’ve only done online bookings, last month when 3 cruises cancelled, a PVP called me out of the blue. (I had resisted calling as the wait times were crazy). I have to say WOW, the guy is good. Got everything transferred, no extra $down when one cancelled a second time, answers any questions right away... Score! 

[deadmoney]

A GOOD PVP is a great asset.

Mine is great, wish we were allowed to give their names.

[sunshine252]

On 5/21/2020 at 6:45 AM, deadmoney said:

A GOOD PVP is a great asset.

Mine is great, wish we were allowed to give their names.

I wish we were, too! I have some things I would like a PVP for and I've looked up a couple on FB. Contacted one with no return communication. I may try the other one now. The regular reps I've talked to are nice, but sometimes not so informed on the more complicated things... LOL

[ULCajunCruiser]

First off, thanks to beachbum53 for answering the question!!

 

I have had several PVP's over the years.   Some I loved, some are merely adequate.   But I think the most important thing about PVP's is that they're optional.    You don't have to have one, and you don't have to use one even if you have one.   You don't even have to use your's if you don't think they are meeting your needs.   Just find another and request they become your PVP!   But when you have an issue and need one, they are very nice to have!!

[mslhb]

So uneducated question. What is a PVP and how are they different then just calling and talking to the a customer service rep. Do they make commission? More training? I have only taken a couple of Carnival cruises. When this pandemic started I got an e-mail from Carnival saying I was assigned a PVP. I normally like to book everything on-line myself but he was very helpful when I needed to apply my FCC for my May cancelled cruise.

[Elaine5715]

On 5/21/2020 at 6:45 AM, deadmoney said:

A GOOD PVP is a great asset.

Mine is great, wish we were allowed to give their names.

Mine is also wonderful but I think it would be an up Hill  battle to get them to change it.  

[Elaine5715]

9 minutes ago, mslhb said:

So uneducated question. What is a PVP and how are they different then just calling and talking to the a customer service rep. Do they make commission? More training? I have only taken a couple of Carnival cruises. When this pandemic started I got an e-mail from Carnival saying I was assigned a PVP. I normally like to book everything on-line myself but he was very helpful when I needed to apply my FCC for my May cancelled cruise.

They don't make commission but they must meet quotas. The PVPs can follow you and if there is a problem once onboard like missing OBC or some perk from your booking, they can fix.  A good PVP knows your preferences 

[ULCajunCruiser]

1 minute ago, mslhb said:

So uneducated question. What is a PVP and how are they different then just calling and talking to the a customer service rep. Do they make commission? More training? I have only taken a couple of Carnival cruises. When this pandemic started I got an e-mail from Carnival saying I was assigned a PVP. I normally like to book everything on-line myself but he was very helpful when I needed to apply my FCC for my May cancelled cruise.

I'll try not to butcher this too much!!   A PVP is a Personal Vacation Planner.  They are like a Travel Agent hired by and working exclusively for Carnival.   When you just call in to Carnival, you are likely to get a CSR (Customer Service Representative).  CSR's can help you with general questions and information, while a PVP is specifically hired to assist you in all aspects of booking, including cabin info, shore excursions, drink packages, specialty restaurant reservations, and so on..

 

 I really like my current PVP (some people have had theirs for years, I seem to lose mine and get another every couple of years or so.)   But I still go through the process of mock booking.   Then when I call him, we kinda compare notes and I can either accept his recommendations or use my own.  He generally can "see" or rather has access to more info than I can get in a mock booking 

[jetsfan58]

In reality how do we find out who these "great" PVP's are? How do we get a share of their greatness? Why is this such a "taboo" subject? 

[ULCajunCruiser]

I don't know.   I don't understand why my PVP keeps changing.   I don't cruise 3 or 4 times a year, lucky if I get in 1 a year.  Does that have something to do with it???   I also know that I've never had a horrible PVP (while I have had terrible Travel Agents).   All of the PVP's I've dealt with have done the job I needed for me, to the best of my knowledge.   Some have been more personable than others, more likable.  But I'm not sure they do a better or worse job for me.   I just know that every time I've called to do something, it gets done.   Every question I ask, gets answered.   Don't know if there are some "golden" PVP's out there, I'm sure it's likely.   I just think you're really comparing A+ service to A service.   

[Host Carolyn]

Cruise Critic guidelines do not allow members to recommend or post contact information for travel agents, personal vacation planners etc. They also do not allow one to ask members to email them for contact information.

 

Hope this clarifies this for you..

 

Host Carolyn

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, jetsfan58 said:

In reality how do we find out who these "great" PVP's are? How do we get a share of their greatness? Why is this such a "taboo" subject? 

 

It's pretty much the luck of the draw if they automatically assign one to you or you ask for one. Other than that, you'd have to find someone outside the forum who has a good one and can recommend them. I've seen some people say to do a simple web search for good Carnival PVP's, but I've never seen anyone say they were successful finding one that way (not to say it isn't possible).

 

To add to other comments, it's also nice if you find one who often goes on Carnival cruises themselves. Ones who do can often be helpful when looking at different types of cabins, cabin locations, and the different ships.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[outdoors27]

12 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

To add to other comments, it's also nice if you find one who often goes on Carnival cruises themselves. Ones who do can often be helpful when looking at different types of cabins, cabin locations, and the different ships.

This sounds like my PVP.. 

[LadyMac72]

I called one day to reschedule my cruise that had been cancelled and had a great CSR.  (I didn't know there was a difference between a PVP and a CSR).  Anyway, the transfer went so smoothly that I asked for his extension and saved it and now when I call Carnival, I put in his extension and go directly to him. 

[Organized Chaos]

5 hours ago, LadyMac72 said:

I called one day to reschedule my cruise that had been cancelled and had a great CSR.  (I didn't know there was a difference between a PVP and a CSR).  Anyway, the transfer went so smoothly that I asked for his extension and saved it and now when I call Carnival, I put in his extension and go directly to him. 

 

Yeah, they do have some good CSR's, but unfortunately, they're in the minority. Carnival CSR's are notorious for giving people different answers depending on who you talk to. One time, I got three different answers from three different CSR's in one night. We dealt with one who seemed good on the surface, but made a mess of things in the end. When we booked a cruise for 2018 with another family, we got a very good CSR, or so we thought. She seemed knowledgeable, she was patient with us and took time to make sure we got everything we wanted, and so on. Several months later, that other family sprung it on us that they weren't going. Since we had to cancel two out of three cabins and our son was sharing a cabin with their kids, we knew it was going to be a chore to make all the new arrangements (booked Early Saver, so there were stipulations). Luckily, someone had recommended their PVP, so we called him. Come to find out, that CSR made a huge mess of the booking financials. Payments were associated with the wrong names, credit cards were mixed up, and more. It took the PVP 30-45 min. to straighten out the mess, and here we thought the CSR had done a good job. We've kept him as our PVP ever since and it's worked out great. Yeah, we can still make bookings on our own if we wanted to, but other than one time, we always book through him. And they're great to have when there's a problem because they're often more knowledgeable than the CSR's.

 

To add, someone mentioned that PVP's don't make commission. I've been told that, yes, they do have a quota, but that they also make a set amount for each cruise they book. It's apparently not considered a "commission," per se, because it's not a percentage of the booking, but they do get a dollar figure for each booking.