Early Saver vs Past Guest

[bermudafreak]

Any thoughts on Early Saver (price protection and select your own room) vs Past Guest (select your own room and upgrades)? For my cruise, there is a $20 difference. I've heard Early Saver is probably the best price you are going to get and it probably won't go down by much. Thoughts? Maybe it is worth it to pay the extra 20 and hope for an upgrade. Has anyone actually got an upgrade? Thanks in advance for feedback.

[Cruznut2]

Past guest is not lways the best deal. A lot of people call me for quotes. When I go check for them sometimes the fun saver or fun select is better or the residency rate. I always choose the best one they qualify for.

Laura

[Donna]

In any event, I would talk to a good cruise travel agent and get the best deal they can get for you...You may be able to save even more....

As for upgrades, I've booked a few time with the guarantee catagory and so far, never received an upgrade.

[robh]

Per Donna,
"As for upgrades, I've booked a few time with the guarantee catagory and so far, never received an upgrade"

Same here though once my TA phoned to say we were upgraded from a balcony to another balcony down the hall.

Pricewise it meant we were closer to the elevator,
Did not mean much to us but for some folks it does.

Once I paid extra as in $1,000 because I waited putting a deposit down, yet a friend in the UK paid less then me on the same ship, same date, same balcony, sane deck as he booked at the last moment and I booked nine months prior. In his case the TA was able to get a last moment fill the cabins request a he was on a Air/Cruise combo
Same steak for enjoyment/

[dhudd]

Our Travel agent will search the best price for us based on the location of our stateroom that we want, without upgrades. Then she will find us all the discounts that are available to us, prior cruisers, early saver, military, AAA, and any other that may apply to us. One of our relitives usually receives a great discount because he is a "Firefighter".

[Moiraine]

Early Saver is usually, but not always, your best bet. I got one cheap ($100) upgrade for my first cruise using Early Saver.

[luv2vacation63]

I booked Early Saver for the first time. I'm booked for the Premium Vista balcony on the Freedom in August and thought the price would never go down because of my room type. But I was wrong. The price dropped $50 and I was very pleasantly surprised.

[Dan40]

Originally Posted by bermudafreak

Any thoughts on Early Saver (price protection and select your own room) vs Past Guest (select your own room and upgrades)? For my cruise, there is a $20 difference. I've heard Early Saver is probably the best price you are going to get and it probably won't go down by much. Thoughts? Maybe it is worth it to pay the extra 20 and hope for an upgrade. Has anyone actually got an upgrade? Thanks in advance for feedback.

Remember that with ES, you sacrifice your deposit for price protection.

I search all any any discounts I can find and book what I'm willing to pay. After that if someone gets a better deal, bully for them, I was happy with my deal and I'll stay that way. We don't discuss rates with anyone on the ship anyway.

Upgrades are practically a myth these days, they've been replaced by UPSELLS. Upgrades were always fairly mythical. We have 51 cruises under our belts. ONE true upgrade, from a cat. 4 to a cat. 6. Otherwise we have routinely been "upgraded" from a cat. X-a to a cat. X-c or d or f. But that is the exact same cabin with the exact same amenities in a different location, and NOT necessarily in a better location. But many sing the praises of being upgraded from a cat. 8a to a cat 8c. Silly.
Pick your cruise at a price you're satisfied with and plan your fun instead of squeezing pennies. Squeeze the pennies before booking.

[dhudd]

Only certain staterooms and or cabins qualify for the "Early Saver" program. Yes we wanted to upgrade to the better category 9 balcony stateroom, but when you purchase those staterooms, there are NO discounts....so we just stayed with our usual cabin of category 8C...in which is ok.

[newlywed]

This is our first cruise ever - booked Early Saver on the Fantasy cruising July 2011.

Our Carnival TA (Melanie) was talking to a friend who was pricing last night. TA noticed the price drop & told the friend that if she talked to me before she did to let me know the price changed & to call her immeidately.

I called this a.m. & found out it dropped $110/pp so we'll get $220. back. We could've taken onboard credit or upgrade (we would've had to pay more $ for a suite). Not sure what category we're in but we're booked on Empress floor room E90. We don't plan on staying in the room much so we're taking the onboard credit. I filled out the price protection form today & am waiting for an answer back, supposedly within 3 days.

Although I have no comparisons since this is our first cruise, we're very happy to have a $220. onboard credit waiting for us

[Moiraine]

That personally is what I would have done, too. It's just that many more drinks to have out on deck, and as you are total newbies, you will want to use it in the shops, too. I hope you enjoy looking forward to it, and to the cruise itself when the time comes.

[newlywed]

Thanks Moiraine! We were so excited even before the credit!

[gjcomingo]

I booked the early saver in aug and so far have one lower price, one grade upgraded and OBC

[Dwayne]

I always book Early Saver for the possible UpDecks. If the price drops you can choose either a reduction in price (if outside of penalty), or OBC if paid in full, or UpDeck based on any Carnival advertised rate you are eligible for.

You don't really sacrifice all of your deposit. They can change sailings and ships for a $50 Admin fee per person. Or they will hold your deposit for a certain length of time.