Is there really such a thing as a free cruise?

[rpinsky]

Hi....I have received a "free" cruise. I attended a sales
presentation and received a 3 night cruise for 2 on the Carnival
Paradise. I had to jump through a lot of hoops sending forms in and
requesting various dates.

I paid $90 port charges and $50 processing fee per person for my free
cruise (I guess they don't really understand what "free"
means...lol). Even so, it only cost me $280 total and thats a pretty
good price. (Occasionaly, Carnival sends me a $199 (including port
charges) email offer a week before a cruise when they can't sell all
their cabins, so $280 isn't bad)

My wife and I are booked on a Category 1A on the Carnival Paradise
for Oct 1 thru 4th in cabin U167. I asked how much it would cost to
upgrade to a Cat 6A and they said it would cost $250 per person
more....Heck, for that price, I could buy it directly from
Carnival...thats no bargin. That would be $780 for a free cruise.

The company that offered this promotion (World Wide Travel), is a
very low service company. You can only call them after they have
processed your forms and then they will only offer you one date (i.e.
no changes). You must submit 3 dates more than 90 days out and then
you won't know which one you get until 60-90 days before the cruise
sails.

Now here is my question....I would like to try to get an upgrade...at
least to a 4A, but I have specific cabin assignment (i.e. not a
guaranteed category). World Wide Travel will not take another phone
call from me or make any changes. Do you think Carnival will deal
with me trying to do a sidestep around the agent? Maybe I can get
them to change my cabin assignment to a guaranteed which might allow
me to get that upgrade.

Also....I have sailed on the Carnival Ecstasy before....I know the
Paradise is identical in layout, but how do they compare? We had a
great time on the Ecstasy. The food was great, service was great and
we liked the entertainment. Hopefully the Paradise is similar.

Thanks,
Robert Pinsky

[Cotton]

[quote name='rpinsky']

Now here is my question....I would like to try to get an upgrade...at
least to a 4A, but I have specific cabin assignment (i.e. not a
guaranteed category). World Wide Travel will not take another phone
call from me or make any changes. Do you think Carnival will deal
with me trying to do a sidestep around the agent? Maybe I can get
them to change my cabin assignment to a guaranteed which might allow
me to get that upgrade.[/QUOTE][b][color=darkslategray]Well, Robert, I'll just make an educated (?) guess here. I doubt calling Carnival would make any difference. My reasoning is - the company did the booking and you paid them the taxes/port charges - [u]with the stipulation that there would be[/u] [u]NO changes[/u], right? [/color][/b]

[b][color=darkslategray]You can call, but I doubt you'll be able to change anything at all. Carnival will not usually intervene when the booking is made with anyone other than the cruise line itself. Carnival would probably tell you to get back with that company, and since you say they will NOT take another phone call from you (how very odd!), then I think you're status quo for your cruise.[/color][/b]

[b][color=#2f4f4f]Just go and enjoy![/color][/b]

[GoinCruisin]

That is the thing about these "free cruises", there are many stipulations and you have to take what they give you... they negotiate low pricing with the cruiseshuips for the lowest category of cabin... I have received these offers before, but the "fine fine fine print" has always turned me off.... $280 for 2 is not bad at all for a cruise, and had you booked it on your own, it would have cost you much more... and they do say "free cruise", but they also say "excluding taxes and port charges", so they did fulfill their obligation... Rule of thumb is generally when you get something for free, you can just about count on it being something that cost the offerer the least amount of money. Carnival will not deal with you if you did not book directly through them... I'm sorry you are disappointed, but just go and enjoy yourselves! It is still a good price for a cruise!

[rpinsky]

$280 is a good price, but I didn't realize I'd have to sleep in a separate bed from my wife. It appears that a category 1A is two bunk beds stacked on top of each other. I didn't realize that until I looked.

I don't know if the ship will sell out, but if not maybe I can get an upgrade when I board the ship its self. Its worth asking.

Robert

[tef43]

There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

You get what you pay for.