Who do I buy the cruise from?

[guntheros]

I am new to cruising and have read a lot about if you buy the cruise (and haven't made the final payment) and the price goes down, you can get the new price, get OBC or an upgrade. I just am not sure if that is if you book through Carnival, TA or an online site like Orbitz or Travelocity?Everyone has the same price, so it doesn't matter to me who I buy it from. Any advice? I am planning on going on the Carnival Legend Oct 7-14 getting a guaranteed balcony. Any buying advice at all is greatly appreciated.

TIA, Nicole

[Annmarie58]

I use carnival pvp and check for price drops online , then call or e-mail my pvp and she handles the credit :D

[MamaParrotHead]

I am new to cruising and have read a lot about if you buy the cruise (and haven't made the final payment) and the price goes down, you can get the new price, get OBC or an upgrade. I just am not sure if that is if you book through Carnival, TA or an online site like Orbitz or Travelocity?Everyone has the same price, so it doesn't matter to me who I buy it from. Any advice? I am planning on going on the Carnival Legend Oct 7-14 getting a guaranteed balcony. Any buying advice at all is greatly appreciated.

TIA, Nicole

 

The only thing that varies is within what time frame you can get that adjustment. There is some disagreement as up to what point an adjustment can be given. My PVP says it's only before "final payment" is due (about 75 days prior to sailing), others claim to have TAs or PVPs that give them adjustments no matter how close it is to sailing.

 

You're likely to get a ZILLION different opinions on who you should book with. I personally have booked with a TA before and HATED it. She didn't know the answers to ANY of my questions and was not familiar with cruising at ALL. I couldn't call Carnival to ask THEM questions, because since the reservation was made with a TA, they didn't have access to the reservation.

 

I now have an AWESOME PVP (Carnival lingo for "Personal Vacation Planner") who is excellent at returning my phone calls, promptly answering any and ALL questions I have (and I've had a LOT of them, since we booked 2/06 for our 4/07 cruise, LOL) and IMO, it's better to go to someone who's a trained "expert" on the product versus a middle man. And the price difference, that I have been able to see for myself (versus hearing all these supposed "deals" people are getting), is negligible and the conveinence to me is worth the pocket change difference. Just MY opinion.:)

[dbrucern]

I am new to cruising and have read a lot about if you buy the cruise (and haven't made the final payment) and the price goes down, you can get the new price, get OBC or an upgrade. I just am not sure if that is if you book through Carnival, TA or an online site like Orbitz or Travelocity?Everyone has the same price, so it doesn't matter to me who I buy it from. Any advice? I am planning on going on the Carnival Legend Oct 7-14 getting a guaranteed balcony. Any buying advice at all is greatly appreciated.

TIA, Nicole

 

I changed our Dec. reservation from Carnaval to an independent company that advertises on this site after I made the deposit because they offered a better deal that the PVP at Carnaval would not match. I always call the different internet sites because I usually fine that they will give me an even better deal when calling then they advertised on the internet.

[mrdood]

Some TA's will charge you a fee if you cancel, booking with the cruiseline direct, you are never charged a fee to cancel outside of the final payment window.

 

If you use a TA you should be very clear about what they will and will not do for you... actually that is a good idea no matter who you book with.

[cruisindoggie]

I prefer a T/A and leave the price change to her. I have never had a problem. However, every T/A is ot that willing to give u the commission due to the lower price. I am fortunate to have areat T/A.

[guntheros]

Thanks so much for everyone's thoughts. I think maybe I'll go with Carnival beings I really don't use or know a reliable TA. Any other tips or hints?

Nicole

[rajntra]

My PVP says it's only before "final payment" is due (about 75 days prior to sailing), ...

 

Never mind just did the math. DUH...2+2=8.

[sasha19]

our cruise final payment was 60 days out as well... our pvp also gave us OBC 2 weeks before our cruise so unless we were extremely lucky, we have gotten price breaks all the way up

[rajntra]

What is OBC? Our Big Child?

[sasha19]

What is OBC? Our Big Child?

LOL, that was cute... On Board Credit... it was given for the difference in fares since final payment was made.

[rajntra]

All these abbreviations make my brain spin. IYKWIM. :cool:

[LHP]

The bottom line is that there are really good PVPs and not so good PVPs.

There are really good TAs and not so good TAs.

 

You need to decide what level of contact you are comfortable with. Somethings are not worth sacrificing to save a buck.

 

Are you the kind of person who would feel more comfortable speaking face to face with someone...since you are new to this? That is completely understandable. In that case, I would get friends to recommend a good TA in your area.

 

A cruise is a very personal experience and finding a ship (not just a cruise line) that is a proper fit is very important. This is where a TA can help. Take the time to tell them what you expect from a cruise.

 

Some people can't stand to just be at sea, so they need cruises that are more port intensive. Some people could care less about ports and just want to be on the open water.

 

You can still get a good price and good service. It just takes a little research! Welcome to Cruise Critic, you have found a great place to start your search!!

[sasha19]

All these abbreviations make my brain spin. IYKWIM. :cool:

 

 

me too!:eek: