How does Carnival handle various sales and promotions for sailings?

[nanowerx]

I have only cruised with Royal Caribbean before and they tend to have a different sale/promotion every couple of weeks. Wait a few weeks or so and you will find a better deal with potential extras.

 

Is this similar to how Carnival operates as well, various sales with no rhyme or reason? Or is it a matter of booking as early as possible to ensure a better rate?

 

Looking at a May 2022 cruise out of Charleston on the Sunshine for my 10th wedding anniversary so there is no particular rush to book ASAP (other than rooms filling up faster than i'd like)

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, nanowerx said:

I have only cruised with Royal Caribbean before and they tend to have a different sale/promotion every couple of weeks. Wait a few weeks or so and you will find a better deal with potential extras.

 

Is this similar to how Carnival operates as well, various sales with no rhyme or reason? Or is it a matter of booking as early as possible to ensure a better rate?

 

Looking at a May 2022 cruise out of Charleston on the Sunshine for my 10th wedding anniversary so there is no particular rush to book ASAP (other than rooms filling up faster than i'd like)

Seems to me rcl sales are all the same, no matter what it says, my cruise price out of Galveston starts at 439 pp. 

 

Carnival for the first time ever is offering cheers on us to boost bookings. If you book early saver and the price drops, you can get the price drop almost up to the time of sailing. Also multiple offers at once. Have you signed in to see offers? It will show current sales. I dont see great prices, but who knows with covid if they will go up or down. If you know the date and book early saver you can a,ways price match. The great prices early into covid are long gone.

[crzndeb]

To add on to what Firefly stated...make sure you check cancellation and change fees associated with rate you are booking, especially with Early Saver.

[BlerkOne]

It's all marketing gimmicks and buyer beware. Forget the promotions and book the cruise you want to book.

[xDisconnections]

8 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Seems to me rcl sales are all the same, no matter what it says

So true.

[sfaaa]

On 1/15/2021 at 10:36 AM, firefly333 said:

Carnival for the first time ever is offering cheers on us to boost bookings. If you book early saver and the price drops, you can get the price drop almost up to the time of sailing. Also multiple offers at once. Have you signed in to see offers? It will show current sales. I dont see great prices, but who knows with covid if they will go up or down. If you know the date and book early saver you can a,ways price match. The great prices early into covid are long gone.

Agree especially the part about price trending upward. Just to add, if you price match under ES, you lose your current promo. So be sure to think it through before you make the change.

[BlerkOne]

The Carnival cheers offer is not free. You have to book under the promotion rate which is higher than you could book without Cheers. Whatever the cruise line, there is no free "lunch". At a discount perhaps, but never free.

 

Promotions, aka marketing, only exist as long as they are getting the desired return, otherwise, poof.

[Organized Chaos]

On 1/15/2021 at 12:22 PM, nanowerx said:

I have only cruised with Royal Caribbean before and they tend to have a different sale/promotion every couple of weeks. Wait a few weeks or so and you will find a better deal with potential extras.

 

Is this similar to how Carnival operates as well, various sales with no rhyme or reason? Or is it a matter of booking as early as possible to ensure a better rate?

 

Looking at a May 2022 cruise out of Charleston on the Sunshine for my 10th wedding anniversary so there is no particular rush to book ASAP (other than rooms filling up faster than i'd like)

 

It's usually best to book as soon as you can. Aside from getting a better selection of cabins, it's more often then not cheaper the further out you book. Carnival typically doesn't offer extras as part of their sales. For example, nothing like free specialty dinners or things that normally are an additional fee. As someone already mentioned, right now they're offering free Cheers (drink) package until Jan. 30th, but I think that's only for select return cruisers. That's the first time I've ever seen them offer free Cheers. It's obviously because of COVID.

 

Their sales often include things like reduced fares, reduced deposits, & sometimes onboard credit. Return cruisers are often offered different rates that others can't get. Early Saver is typically the cheapest rate available, but it comes with stipulations & penalties. For example, a non-refundable deposit, cancellation fees, and it doesn't allow for name changes (changing a person in a cabin from one to another). So you need to take those things into account. Early Saver also allows for price matching until 2 days before the cruise. If the price goes down and you haven't paid in full, they'll adjust the balance. If it's paid in full, you'll get an onboard credit for the difference.

 

If you have a Carnival account, login and click on My Offers to see if they've offered you any other deals.

[sfaaa]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

The Carnival cheers offer is not free. You have to book under the promotion rate which is higher than you could book without Cheers. Whatever the cruise line, there is no free "lunch". At a discount perhaps, but never free.

 

Promotions, aka marketing, only exist as long as they are getting the desired return, otherwise, poof.

Not free but it can still be a good deal. Cheers offer on my upcoming 6 day cruise only costs $30 more or $5 pp per day. That's a steal.

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Not free but it can still be a good deal. Cheers offer on my upcoming 6 day cruise only costs $30 more or $5 pp per day. That's a steal.

That's a good deal. The price varies and not all are bargains.

[SNJCruisers]

9 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Not free but it can still be a good deal. Cheers offer on my upcoming 6 day cruise only costs $30 more or $5 pp per day. That's a steal.

 

4 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

That's a good deal. The price varies and not all are bargains.

The bargains are RU1, RU2 and RU3 to those who were lucky enough to have Carnival's marketing program bestow it to them as an option.  The RU9 code is an absolute joke. 

[SNJCruisers]

On 1/15/2021 at 1:22 PM, nanowerx said:

Looking at a May 2022 cruise out of Charleston on the Sunshine for my 10th wedding anniversary so there is no particular rush to book ASAP (other than rooms filling up faster than i'd like)

If this particular cruise is the one that you are locked into, it would behoove you to lock it down now.  I say this because you're  cruising out of Charleston,  where Carnival has no competition and you pay an upcharge for the privilege of embarking from there.   If you book early saver and there is a price drop, you can take advantage of it.