cecparkinson Posted November 26, 2008 #1 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Hi all, I read many posts on this site talking about price drops and OBC. Can anybody tell me why, that as fellow passengers travelling on the same cruise as our American compatriots we are not entitled to the OBC that everyone goes on about. I have phoned carnival UK only to be told " Oh we get asked that alot but no you cant get it when you book in the UK". Another example of Rip off Britain. Many thanks in advance Kim and cec :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hevuk Posted November 26, 2008 #2 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I know the feeling!I had someone in the uk office argue with me that this didnt happen in the US,that she had worked for carnival for a long time and had never heard of it before.She implied that i was making it up.:( It also bugs me that we dont get the cheap rates that you see advertised on the american websites,I even tried to book through carnival US but they wouldnt let me.Hey,its just as well i love carnival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racegrrl Posted November 26, 2008 #3 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Wow! What a bummer for you folks! I had no idea it worked like that for our friends overseas. Do you ever travel with Americans that could book for you? In this economy, seems like the prices are dropping through the floor. Anyone who has booked in advance (and normally this would be a very wise idea) is getting shafted if they cannot get a little OBC for the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill_boo Posted November 26, 2008 #4 Share Posted November 26, 2008 This could be a great business idea for someone in the US or Canada. Booking and getting great deals for international cruisers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callajl Posted November 26, 2008 #5 Share Posted November 26, 2008 You get a pretty good currency conversion rate so actually I would think that your price would be better than ours in the US. Don't feel bad though, since we booked with a group we aren't able to get OBC or price reductions on our cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hevuk Posted November 26, 2008 #6 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Unfortunatly this wouldnt work.I even tried to book a cruise while i was on vacation in florida with no joy.I,l not tell you how much i am paying for my upcoming cruise on the splendor to Buenos Aires{only 67 days to go.Yipee!!!!}Its just as well its the trip of a lifetime.Mind you I did treat myself to a 9a aft wrap;)Ah well,food and heat is over rated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark star Posted November 26, 2008 #7 Share Posted November 26, 2008 hi i'm also a brit living in the u.k. every one of my cruises have been booked through an american t.a. it's not very difficult there are plenty who would love your business and guess what ? THEY'RE CHEAPER!!! suprise,suprise. if you need any help or info post me with your e-mail, i'll be glad to help. davy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecparkinson Posted November 26, 2008 Author #8 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I have used a Stateside Travel Agent to book two cruises in the past due to the fact that most cruises are cheaper in the States. But it is not allowed, she had to say I lived in Florida, However she reccomended that I booked my upcoming Carnival Cruise in the UK I dont know why. The reason I was given that cruises are cheaper in the States is apparently because we have ABTA which is a company that looks after travel Agents and steps in if things go wrong, but I thought that was what travel Insurance was for. I do not think the cruise lines have a genuine reason why we cant book in the States apart from the fact that they charge more money in the UK market.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark star Posted November 26, 2008 #9 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I have used a Stateside Travel Agent to book two cruises in the past due to the fact that most cruises are cheaper in the States. But it is not allowed, she had to say I lived in Florida, However she reccomended that I booked my upcoming Carnival Cruise in the UK I dont know why. The reason I was given that cruises are cheaper in the States is apparently because we have ABTA which is a company that looks after travel Agents and steps in if things go wrong, but I thought that was what travel Insurance was for. I do not think the cruise lines have a genuine reason why we cant book in the States apart from the fact that they charge more money in the UK market.:) they want your buisiness bad; there are ways round what she said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDevil Posted November 27, 2008 #10 Share Posted November 27, 2008 We have booked directly with Carnival before, we just phoned the US number and they put us through to the International booking dept or something like that. However, for our upcoming cruise we have booked with one of the major US travel agents (and they managed to get us a price reduction just last week) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnDeNo.UK Posted November 27, 2008 #11 Share Posted November 27, 2008 I know the feeling!I had someone in the uk office argue with me that this didnt happen in the US,that she had worked for carnival for a long time and had never heard of it before.She implied that i was making it up.:(It also bugs me that we dont get the cheap rates that you see advertised on the american websites,I even tried to book through carnival US but they wouldnt let me.Hey,its just as well i love carnival. We have booked 3 Cruises thro' Carnival US with no problems. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanoitarus Posted November 27, 2008 #12 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Just a quick FYI-- if any hit issues using their UK credit cards to book in the US, try getting/using an american express card. MC and Visa numbers can be identified by country based on the number (and therefore overseas-issued cards can be refused), but american express numbers don't give this information away. Also works great for topping up overseas prepaid cell phones, because they try to restrict it to domestic cards. I keep my UK T-Mobile SIM card topped up with my US Amex this way even though their system rejects all my US-issued MC/visas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kujobie Posted November 27, 2008 #13 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Hi all, I read many posts on this site talking about price drops and OBC. Can anybody tell me why, that as fellow passengers travelling on the same cruise as our American compatriots we are not entitled to the OBC that everyone goes on about. I have phoned carnival UK only to be told " Oh we get asked that alot but no you cant get it when you book in the UK". Another example of Rip off Britain. Many thanks in advance Kim and cec :) It's just payback for that whole "revolutionary war" thing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa_girl Posted November 27, 2008 #14 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Hi We also use a TA in the States and have had no problems at all, the only cruise line you cannot book directly with in the States is Princess. We book our own flights months and months in advance to get the cheaper prices and then use a TA in the States for the cruise. I refuse to get ripped off by the TA's and cruises companies in the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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