What is Carnival Vacation Club?

[sherin65]

I saw a presentation listed on one of the Capers posted in another thread. Is it like a timeshare of some sort?

 

Sher

[Tantor58]

I saw a presentation listed on one of the Capers posted in another thread. Is it like a timeshare of some sort?

 

Sher

 

 

we went to the meeting. And some people were signing up. You get so many vacations a year, and earn cruises. But a lot of people said not to do it because it is a rip off. I don't know. we did not join. for one, did not have the money. You had to pay so much up front, and so much a month to be a member.

[Wennfred]

Carnival Vacation Club was a Membership that consisted of points so that you can book your cruise with. You were also VIP and they also had other Perks to go with this Membership including 3 Land Shore resorts etc, depending on which package you got.

 

Carnival Vacation Club has terminated their new memberships and will only work with the people that are currently members.

 

We are members and its not a rip off. One time fee, no monthly payments.

 

 

 

Fred

[klfrodo]

We are members also and it is definatly a big fat RIP Off.

 

I know, I know... Fred has had a great experience with CVC and really talks it up. However, I have to respectfully disagree with Fred.

 

I think for every "Fred" experience out there, you'll find 4 or 5 of me out there saying " I've learned my lesson, no more CVC for me".

 

 

Come on,,,

the ONLY legal place to sell this was in international waters. THAT should have been my first clue.

[dbrucern]

We are also CVC members and like "Fred" we have had nothing but a wonderful experience and even though it has been terminated we still continue to great service. But like anything in life there are pros and cons, people that are happy and people that are not. But every time we go on a cruise and I see the smile on my DH's face as we get VIP embarktion and disembarktion it tells me it was worth it.

[davidt1968]

I'm a member (3601 points and 3 vacation vouchers) left. My wife and I have a 3 year old, so points go a little bit quicker. The big deal is probably the cost of the points. Yes, there are many competitive websites out there that offer cruises so cheap, you can't refuse. This is part of why CVC just can't compete anymore. We'll probably use the remaining points on a cheapo cruise such as the Paradise. CVC has served it's purpose. It's gotten use closer to Platinum status, which the perks are better. We still have 3 vouchers to use ($299 for a week) that are offered in various places. Our membership expires March/2009, so we still have a little time to use it. If I were to rate the program as a whole, it would be a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. That's my 2 cents worth.

 

David

Upcoming Cruises:

Holland America Noordam: Alaska-09/23/07

Carninal Elation: Mexico-12/10/2007

Past Cruises:

NCL Star: Mexico-Apr/2007

Carnival Liberty: Western Carribean-Jan/2007

Carnival Paradise: Baja Mexico-Dec/2006

Carnival Pride: Mexico-Oct/2006

Carnival Spirit: Mexico-Feb/2006

NCL Star: Alaska-Sept/2005

Carnival Paradise: Baja Mexico-Apr/2005

Carnival Pride: Mexico-Sept/2004

Carnival Elation: Mexico-June/2003

[LMHSRN]

We are also members. the points and land vacations were well worth the cost.

 

As others have said, got us closer to Platinum and the cruises were paid in advance. No worries when we were ready to book.

 

Like a savings account with a bonus. The perks are great!

[Chuggiebug]

We too are members. We have no complaints. It was explained to us before buying and everything we were promsied has been lived up to. We have one year left and by the end of that year we will be platinum and will no longer need the CVC perks.

[wblp]

I just want to put in my 2 cents worth to offset all the criticism about the club. My husband and I are satisfied members. All the facts were explained to us and we did not feel pressured at all. We did not buy right away and took half a day to think about it. I figured that the club would only be worth it for us if we could make full use of the resort stays, so before buying I asked to see their website so that I could check out what resorts they offered to make sure it would be worth it.

 

After booking 2 cruises and a resort stay I don't think CVC is a rip off at all but you need to use the resort stays to get maximum value out of your membership. The cruise points required changes all the time just like prices on Carnival's website. CVC credited points back or upgraded us when the points required went down. For our resort stay we got a 5 star resort for $299 for 1 week. Checking an internet travel agency, that resort would have cost us $400 per night. There are a lot of resorts on CVC that look like they are barely 3 stars and I would feel ripped off if I booked those, but it's a great bargain to find a 4 or 5 star resort that suits. It helps that we are somewhat flexible on where and when we can go.

 

We love the embark/debark benefits. On our Glory cruise in May we arrived a day early and stayed 2 days after. We planned a full schedule of things to do in Orlando for those days. The VIP embark allowed us to get to the port later than we normally would knowing that we could skip the lineup, and we got a real early start to our day when we were able to debark early without having to drag our own luggage out.

[Uncle Doug]

We are also CVC members and have booked and taken a 7 night Alaska ans 8 night Eastern Carribiean cruises with the points and still have a few left over and might be able to squeze in a 4 nighter. The only complaint I have is not that the CVC is in its flux state some of the on board perks were not being met.

 

We also just returned from a land based trip where we used one of the $299 certificates to stay 7 nights at a Westgate Resorts (big US timeshare). We thought we would get another sales pitch staying there as they were very activaly selling the days we were there but they treated us like we were already resort owners. Even giving us discounts on some of there on site activities like indoor waterpark. We have since booked another 7 night at another Westgate property in another state. The certificates are only valid for a limited time and are space available. Both booking were made 2-3 months in advance but even sooner is better.

 

The CVC meet our needs and also carried us thru to the Platinum level. The points listed for cruises seem to be a little high if you convert the points back to $$ and compare to other sites like Seamiles or CCL site.

 

I find it odd that the OP just encountered a CVC sales pitch as I had heard that new sales have been stopped.

[LHP]

 

I find it odd that the OP just encountered a CVC sales pitch as I had heard that new sales have been stopped.

 

 

Probably an old Caper she saw online somewhere (Webshots) since this program was removed from the Carnival ships in of April 2007.

[gottacruisesoon]

WE joined the CVC while aboard the Glory in 2006. Just got the time this summer to use some points and we were very happy with the perks we received. Friends of ours booked their cruise through CVC also and were able to get all of our same perks with the friends and family perks. The early boarding and debarkation were worth the money that is for sure. We were brought to a special area and on the ship in 10 minutes from when we arrived and off the ship and in our cars by 8 am. That is the best. I have been in the "cattle call" type of debarkation in Miami and never ever want to have to go through that again. Haven't tried the certificates yet but are planning to soon.

[Alcouple]

CVC worked for us. We too like the perks and VIP status. Platinmum is creeping up on us. Using the 'Solutions at Sea' 'PVPs' has been a real joy. They have been extremely nice and served us greatly. No complaints here.:D

[CALMOM]

Can you say "RIP OFF":eek: If you do it, read ALL the FINE print:cool:

[LHP]

Can you say "RIP OFF":eek: If you do it, read ALL the FINE print:cool:

 

You can't "do it" any longer. No more contracts are being sold. Carnival has closed all the ship's offices. Current contracts are being honored until the last one expires in May 2012.