Carnival Shares - no joy because I booked through a TA. Help!

[Selkie74]

I received some helpful advice on here about CarnivaI share purchase and getting OBC. All good, bought the shares, and emailed Carnival with the details of our forthcoming trip. They’ve just come back to me saying they are unable to apply the OBC of $250 because we “have been given a net rate discount through your travel agent”. 
I’ve done loads of reading up on this, and I can’t find anything to say that booking through an agent means we don’t get shareholder benefit. I’m confused and a bit cross. Can any of you wise lot shed any light on this? I’ll be phoning the TA in the morning to see what they say.

[Winifred 22]

It may be because you have been given a special / discounted fare. Shareholder benefit may not be available on all fare types particularly some discounted ones or special concession rates .

 

[Selkie74]

As far as I’m aware it wasn’t a special or discounted fare.

[Winifred 22]

Just now, Selkie74 said:

As far as I’m aware it wasn’t a special or discounted fare.

I think they are referring to that when they say you were given a net rate discount 

[Selkie74]

I’ve been reading another thread on here which seems to say that people using TAs (including those getting discount fares) have had the OBC approved. It’s baffling.

[Host Hattie]

As @Winifred 22 says it's not because you used a Travel Agent but the particular fare they sold you. They should have warned you though. 

[Essiesmom]

7 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

As @Winifred 22 says it's not because you used a Travel Agent but the particular fare they sold you. They should have warned you though. 

I don’t think he owned the shares until after he booked.  EM

[Host Hattie]

2 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I don’t think he owned the shares until after he booked.  EM

The TA should still have mentioned that the fare wasn't eligible for Shareholder credit. 

[Host Hattie]

There was a similar thread on the P&O board a few months ago so it seems to be a Carnival UK thing.

 

 

[Selkie74]

Thanks for that, Hattie.

The only reason I used the TA was because I wanted to add on a hotel stay, and Cunard didn’t offer that. 
There’s nothing in the TA’s Term and Conditions about Shareholder Benefits only applying to some rates.

I’m not sure where to go next.

[MCC retired]

OP:

Ask your TA for the Rate Code that you are booked at then return here with that info .

Perhaps one of the many TA's here on Cruise Critic will then confirm your eligability.

[Selkie74]

Thank you, I will do that. 

[NavyPanda]

A 'net' rate is where the travel agent puts together their own package instead of simply selling the official cruise + flight package from Cunard (you will know if its an official package because flights will be in your voyage personaliser and will probably be on your Cunard issued booking confirmation)

 

In your case, you presumably booked a flight + hotel + cruise.  Cunard would have sold the cruise part of the package at a discount as they don't have to provide flights and/or transfers. 

[deck chair]

Hi!  I have used CCL shares for OBCs for years.   Plan on doing so for my next two voyages in 2023-24..  This seems very strange, and I wonder if you have received wrong information from whoever handled this.  Please don' t drop this.

Find out!   Good luck.

 

[Selkie74]

Thanks everyone. I couldn’t get through to the TA yesterday, so hoping for a callback today. 
As NavyPanda has surmised, I booked a cruise/hotel/flight package through the TA. It was in no way sold as a cheap deal - I booked a specific cabin. The Carnival Shares small print does exclude anyone “cruising at a reduced rate” from claiming OBC. But rates go up and down all the time. What constitutes “reduced”? 
I know it’s “only” $250 out of quite a few thousand, but it just seems like sharp practice.

[Winifred 22]

15 minutes ago, Selkie74 said:

Thanks everyone. I couldn’t get through to the TA yesterday, so hoping for a callback today. 
As NavyPanda has surmised, I booked a cruise/hotel/flight package through the TA. It was in no way sold as a cheap deal - I booked a specific cabin. The Carnival Shares small print does exclude anyone “cruising at a reduced rate” from claiming OBC. But rates go up and down all the time. What constitutes “reduced”? 
I know it’s “only” $250 out of quite a few thousand, but it just seems like sharp practice.

Hi it’s not the ticket price it’s the type of fare /ticket price regardless of the actual coat. By reduced rate they mean it could be one of the rates that are excluded from being eligible.  Some ‘special fares’  are included and others are not. Your T A will be able to advise you but sadly I think these bundle type fares are excluded from eligibility. For example I sometimes travel on a Friends and Family rate and these fares are not eligible so I can’t claim OBC. You could ask your T A to make good the OBC you could have received had you booked at a different fare type. It’s not really shape practice as Shareholder benefits do say in their T and C  that certain fare types are excluded and therefore  it’s up to you to decide if you want to book on that rate knowing you are not going to get your shareholders benefit. Sorry to paint a gloomy picture. Hopefully your TA can sort it for you to your satisfaction. 

.

Edited October 5, 2023 by Winifred 22

[Selkie74]

I would have thought that getting a friends and family discount is a bit different from buying a package in good faith with no perception that it was in any way discounted?

[Colin_Cameron]

But the problem may be that that's what the TA has booked (or something similar), without telling you. The "rate code" that they used will tell those in the know what type of fare they booked and therefor whether it should be eligible for the shareholder OBC.

[Winifred 22]

29 minutes ago, Selkie74 said:

I would have thought that getting a friends and family discount is a bit different from buying a package in good faith with no perception that it was in any way discounted?

I agree it’s not the same but the point  I was making is that not all fare types are eligible. This was just an example. It’s down to your T A to point out that deal your were being offered would exclude you from shareholder benefit if that was relevant to you. That may  then have informed you if you would have wanted a different quote/ rate that would have been eligible for Shareholder OBC 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Winifred 22

[Pushpit]

2 hours ago, Selkie74 said:

 It was in no way sold as a cheap deal 

I can see why it looks confusing. Broadly the travel industry - not just cruises - often have 2 groups of fares / charges. One based on buying a sailing in cabin X from A to B, known as direct sales. And another group of fares which are called something like "Nett", "Travel Inclusive", "Inclusive Tour". These are combinable with other components such as insurance, flights, hotels. The profit margins to Travel Agents on these components vary tremendously, from next to nothing on flights to 30% on insurance.

 

So Cunard get Travel Agents to promote the Cunard business by offering that second group of fares, and building up a package. Airlines also do the same, so BA offers Cunard "tour inclusive" rates provided they are sold in packages, which give one way flights way below market rates. Otherwise in this internet age you could just build your own package and it may end up cheaper overall. You get convenience, the travel agent gets a profit. In Europe (including the UK) there is additional consumer protection on packages which you do not get if you build your own package.

 

The upshot is that even thought the "nett" rate may not be particularly cheap, the fact that the booking was sold outside the direct sales channel means that shareholder credit isn't payable. This shareholder benefit is extremely well known so the travel agent should have told you, and / or worked with Cunard to get you an OBC that was good enough from your perspective. If an agent is going to lose a sale due to the shareholder issue, then you can see it would be worth their while to do something about it, even if it meant cutting their own profit margin to do it.

[Selkie74]

Finally got through to the TA, after an hour on hold. They were not able to help at all. Not were they able to give me a rate code, she just said it was a net rate, and there was no code to give me. And that the sales person who sold me the package “could not have been expected” to give me such a level of detail that would have included the fact that it was a special rate and not eligible for shareholder benefit. 
I guess it isn’t worth me contacting Cunard, as my contract is with the TA. 

[Winifred 22]

14 minutes ago, Selkie74 said:

Finally got through to the TA, after an hour on hold. They were not able to help at all. Not were they able to give me a rate code, she just said it was a net rate, and there was no code to give me. And that the sales person who sold me the package “could not have been expected” to give me such a level of detail that would have included the fact that it was a special rate and not eligible for shareholder benefit. 
I guess it isn’t worth me contacting Cunard, as my contract is with the TA. 

Sadly no Cunard will only deal with queries regarding bookings made direct with them. They will just refer you back to your T A. 

[NE John]

The whole promo issue seems weird to me because I have taken advantage of the Carnival shareholder promo and it’s been $100 extra OBC, not $250.
I bought the 100 CCL shares after I made my booking (via a TA too), filled out Cunard’s form, emailed it to Cunard, and received $100 OBC confirmation a few days later.  Easy process. 
I suggest you ask if you are eligible for the $100 OBC/shareholder promo. 

[Host Hattie]

Shareholder OBC varies depending on length of voyage. 

[Winifred 22]

3 minutes ago, NE John said:

The whole promo issue seems weird to me because I have taken advantage of the Carnival shareholder promo and it’s been $100 extra OBC, not $250.
I bought the 100 CCL shares after I made my booking (via a TA too), filled out Cunard’s form, emailed it to Cunard, and received $100 OBC confirmation a few days later.  Easy process. 
I suggest you ask if you are eligible for the $100 OBC/shareholder promo. 

UK bookings with T A ‘s will be subject to different booking terms and conditions and different fare types will be available. I have never seen or received any shareholder promo just the normal advertised

shareholder allowances depending on the length of the voyage and dependant on the fare type booked.