Sure, apologize to someone ELSE that you got heated with me, but continue to chastise ME because I told the truth about MY experience. AND to add insult to injury, you mischaracterize what I've said. I'VE never questioned anyone's motives. I think perhaps someone else did (maybe in response to their motives being questioned, who knows). Unlike you, I've said all along that I believe everyone has told the truth about their experiences and their opinions.

I've given no excuses for those representatives that misrepresented the program, I've said they were wrong to do so. I've said they should get their money back.

I have not PROMOTED anything, but merely shared my own experience, which has been nothing but good. Apparently, I am supposed to be filled with shame that things went right for me -- or at the very least deny it -- because otherwise I've stolen happiness from someone else. rolleyes:

So...you misrepresent what I've said just as outrageously as some people say CVC reps have misrepresented the program to them. What are you trying to do -- have a some fun at the expense of someone else's happiness?

Honestly....be indignant, but be indignant at the right things. You are projecting your feelings about the program onto me. I'm not selling it; I'm not telling anyone else they should buy it; ALL I've done is shared my experience and my opinion honestly. Personally, I don't think I should be villified for that.

...And with that, I feel no compulsion to continue in this thread, or at least to respond to LHP about this subject.

I'd much rather go on to subjects about which we can all appreciate the information given by others, take that information as it may or may not apply to us, and enjoy our shared common interest of the wonderful world of CRUISING!!!

Whether you ever realize why your words were insulting to me or not, LHP, it doesn't matter to me any longer. Life is too short to worry too much about a differing opinion on a message board.

Here's a friendly hello and a for wanting to help others.

The bottom line is that the only thing anyone gets for overpaying a minimum of $1,000.00 for these cruises by purchasing the CVC packages is a guarantee of VIP Check In and Debarkation, as long as you sail with Carnival.
You do not get any perks for going outside of Carnival to use your points.

The parties promised are not on the majority of their ships. (only those with a CVC office) The rest of the strawberries etc are mostly provided but those have been hit and miss as well on ships that do not have CVC offices

The resorts promoted as being "world wide" and abundant are not. They are very limited and difficult to book. And (most importantly) can be gotten for the same rate without joining CVC. Therefore you do not get anything financial advantage in the resorts.

It is against the law for them to sell you these packages if you are a resident of South Carolina and 18 more States do not allow you to "rent points". So if you have "points" left over, you lose them...if you are a resident of those 18 states.

Their employees are constantly threatened with termination if they do not meet their "quotas" and some very hard working people have been fired from CVC simply because they were "to nice". (CVC managers words....not mine)

You will not save 30-60% on your cruises.
You will not be able to book 3 balcony cruises with a Bronze package.

Of 102 people reporting on this and other boards from January - June 2006....2 people were happy with CVC. 80 were livid at being lied to. 20 said that while they did not think they were told the complete truth, it was still a deal they could live with. Of those 20 people, NONE were going to renew and NONE would recommend CVC to their friends and family.

It is clear that anyone "happy" with CVC is the exception....not the rule.

Now all that being said, as I have stated repeatedly, if VIP Check In and Debarkation is worth $1,000.00 to you ...then you will be happy with CVC. But that is the only factor that should be in your decision.

All the responsible people on this board have ever done is ask CVC to be sold honestly. period

Since the beginning, CVC has repeatedly chosen not to do that. If people want to support a company that is so unethical and deceitful, than that is certainly their right.

Sadly the reports on this and other forums are just the tip of the iceberg. I cruised with a lady whose elderly husband lost his dignity because he was scammed by CVC. She told me of how long it took her to get him to actually use the points, because he always felt like he was to smart to be scammed like that. And when it happened to him, this man cried.

On the Pride I stood in the VIP line with another lovely older couple. I wasn't even thinking about CVC when I asked if they were Plainum (which was the reason we were in the VIP line outside the dome). He said no, they were using their CVC points for this cruise to get rid of them and how embarassed they were that they had been "taken" like that.

And to see CVC agents "high fiveing" each other on the Miracle last month as the last straw for me.

There is a reason that this program is only sold on Carnival. And (according to an ex-employee who was there from the beginning) it had nothing to do with giving people a good deal and everything to do with the fact that Carnival caters to a less educated "Walmart" ~again their words not mine~ crowd.

There is a reason you are forced to make a decision "while on board" and not given the opportunity to research it (unless you want to pay .75 a minute for a slow internet connection on the ship). They acknowledge the fact that they are "banking" on Carnival cruisers to not only be less educated, but not as "apt" to check before they buy. And certainly not to check after they get home ...at least until the 3 day grace period has passed.

The "slight of hand" 25 cents per point "changing to 17.5 cents per point" is also a deliberate attempt to confuse a less educated and less experienced traveler.

Do we see a common thread in CVC's discussion of training tactics? They are demeaning the very people they intended to make their money off of. CVC considers them "less educated" and "easily confused".

And add to all this the fact that they supply you with lots of alcohol to make you feel good.

Since my Miracle cruise, where I got a lot more disgusting information, I have been on contact with the "powers that be" at Carnival and voiced my disgust at what I have uncovered at CVC. Especially, the fact that CVC believes it is taking advantage of Carnival "uneducated" Walmart (again their words~not mine) crowd and that Carnival's reputation is damaged for allowing CVC to do so.

What does that say about Carnival? What does that say about Carnival's reputation when they will allow their customers (who are considered easy targets) to be set up to be taken advantage of?

And what does it say about people who on this board have typed I WILL DEFEND THEM (meaning CVC) and others who have supported these kinds of posts....and PROMOTED CVC in the process...despite their protests to the contrary.

Sadly, it says that people out there need protecting and it is up to honest, decent folks like us to do just that when we can.

Well said - Thank you, LHP!!!

Folks,

just a reminder: Please do not get personal. Insulting each other etc. is not a proper means of communication that we can tolerate. Thanks for considering that!

quote:

Originally posted by Raoul Fiebig:
Folks,

just a reminder: Please do not get personal. Insulting each other etc. is not a proper means of communication that we can tolerate. Thanks for considering that!

Hi Raoul

I agreee. BUT I DO RECOMMEND to anyone wanting to purchase or unsure PLEASE read the noticeboard.Some of us posting used to work for Carnival Vacation Club.It does cost more,you do pay $1500 extra on a silver to be given the $299 certificates. These resort can cost as little as $199 for 7 days available to all who can walk talk and use the net. All of us posting here quit a good paying job BECAUSE we are ethical and do not believe in ripping folks off

I just returned from a cruise on the Carnival Glory, and we too joined the CVC. Upon researching our purchase, I came across this message board which threw me into buyers remorse, and I sent in my cancellation paperwork (within my 3 day window).

I have to say though, that our CVC rep was a great person; friendly, professional, and not a hard sell by any means. But, much of the information I was told was identical to what I read about here, and that concerned me greatly.

I would like to think that there are more people out there with positive CVC experiences...but I don't know where to find them. I'm just very suprised that Carnival would condone letting Solutions at Sea take advantage of their customers as indicated by the comments I have read.

We were told that the premise behind the club was to get people to "come back". By paying for their cruises up front, at discounted rates and with the VIP perks, they would be likely to spend more money on board since they were saving money getting there as well as enjoying the VIP benefits. This made sense, and if CVC could truly stick to this philosophy (really giving a members-only discounted rate) while being truthful in their sales representation, they would have an awesome product that would sell itself.

Jan 03 - Carnival Destiny
Nov 06 - Carnival Glory

'08 - planning for the Carnival Freedom

quote:

Originally posted by crznfmly:

I would like to think that there are more people out there with positive CVC experiences...but I don't know where to find them.

There are....although I don't know where you would find them, either, unless it is on a cruise (if you plan on cruising again, you might see if you run into any of them and ask what they think, I guess). I mean, my husband and I have so far had nothing but positive CVC experience, but I was lambasted for having the temerity to post it.

We ran into a few people (on our last cruise, where we signed up for CVC) that were already CVC members, and they had nothing but great things to say about it. One couple had just purchased their third Platinum, and had treated their extended family to a family-reunion cruise. (I am not trying to imply that their CVC membership was what allowed them to do this....anyone with enough $$$ to buy three Platinum memberships probably has enough money to take their family on a cruise anyway! *L*)

Like you, our salesman was friendly and professional and not a hard sell...and there was never any pie-in-the-sky, something-for-nothing promises made. As I said in my first post in this thread, maybe we were just lucky in that regard, I really have no idea.

I hope you enjoyed your cruise on the Glory!!

quote:

Originally posted by crznfmly:
I just returned from a cruise on the Carnival Glory, and we too joined the CVC. Upon researching our purchase, I came across this message board which threw me into buyers remorse, and I sent in my cancellation paperwork (within my 3 day window).

I have to say though, that our CVC rep was a great person; friendly, professional, and not a hard sell by any means. But, much of the information I was told was identical to what I read about here, and that concerned me greatly.

I would like to think that there are more people out there with positive CVC experiences...but I don't know where to find them. I'm just very suprised that Carnival would condone letting Solutions at Sea take advantage of their customers as indicated by the comments I have read.

We were told that the premise behind the club was to get people to "come back". By paying for their cruises up front, at discounted rates and with the VIP perks, they would be likely to spend more money on board since they were saving money getting there as well as enjoying the VIP benefits. This made sense, and if CVC could truly stick to this philosophy (really giving a members-only discounted rate) while being truthful in their sales representation, they would have an awesome product that would sell itself.

Jan 03 - Carnival Destiny
Nov 06 - Carnival Glory

'08 - planning for the Carnival Freedom

I think CVCEnlightened said it all. He is someone who worked for them, so he knows of which he speaks. There are some who praise CVC, but sadly many who did ...did so without knowing what they were talking about. There was one poor soul on another board just praising what he got for the $375.00 he "lost" (as he put it). The sad part was the he did not lose $375.00...he lost $1,500.00. He did not even know how to calculate what the package had cost him. Another poor soul bragged about the great cruise rates until he confessed that before CVC, he had been paying $900.00 per person for a 4A GTY on Carnival. Everyone knows that you don't pay that much for 4AGTY. But because he had paid such ridiculous prices in the past, he actually thought CVC prices were a good deal. And I have read of folks actually bragging about CVC only to find out later it was because they were to embarassed to admit that they had been taken.

The bottom line is to be informed about what you are actually getting for your money. Of the folks I have talked with, the biggest complaint was the lack of availability of those "7 day 5 star resorts" that were promised. And those few that were available could be purchased without joining CVC. The second biggest complaint was promises of 30% =60% savings on their cruises. But that all comes from the 25 cent vs 17.5 cent "slight of hand" tactics.

CVC and Carnival have only been in this venture since 2004. It is like anything else, there are salemen who try to maintain their integrity and there are those who do not. ICE simply makes it harder than most companies to maintain that integrity by putting the pressure and stress on their staff to "perform". And as with anything else, you will always have people who "got $200 off the sticker price of that new car" and think they got a good deal.

I have been on dozens of boards and have not seen anyone "blasted" for saying they like CVC. I have watched people get blasted for providing inaccurate information that would promote the taking of an innocent victim's money.
Again, there is a reason that they "selected" Carnival. And the comments about Carnival's passengers being more likely "targets" was enough for me to say "no way"...no matter how good they made the deal sound. There comes a time when a person's integrity is worth more than the money they may save on a cruise. (If they have any integrity to begin with...that is.)

Glad you found this website before your grace period expired.

I'm with Terri - all of my experiences with CVC have been extremely positive.

quote:

Originally posted by BetteJ:
I'm with Terri - all of my experiences with CVC have been extremely positive.

Glad it has worked out for you.

The following are some tips I gave another member back in October to get the most "bang for your buck".

Some tips for getting the most "bang for your points" from someone who "claims" *(and I am just taking him at his word) that he has gotten 4 cruises out of the $5,000.00 package for he and his wife.

1. Always book a 1a or 4a GTY during the off season. Then hope for the upgrade, but don't be disappointed if you don't get it.

2. Remember that you still get the VIP Check In/Debark even on cruises that you don't use points for. I have read of a couple of CVC members who use their points for their "every day" cruises and pay cash for the ones where they want to make sure they have a balcony.

3. Even after you have used all your points up (if you are still with in the time frame in your contract) and you pay cash for a cruise...you still get the VIP Check In/Debark.

4. Where the resorts are concerned...someone on these boards wrote about a week in Aruba that is usually open every September (which a lot of folks don't know about). So keep that in mind, if you have a problem booking something out of the US. (and are not interested in Mexico)

I just returned from the Spirit, and sat thru the VC presentation out of curiosity. I did not "come back to the office for some free gifts" because I knew I would get the hard sell. I would never purchase anything that (like a timeshare) requires a decision before you leave, even if you have 3 days to cancel. I only need a few more cruises to qualify for VIP status on my own, and by booking the 4A Guaranty we got upgraded to 4E, and got such a good price from our travel agent as past guests that I doubt we would do better thru VC.

quote:

Originally posted by Crocodillos:
I just returned from the Spirit, and sat thru the VC presentation out of curiosity. I did not "come back to the office for some free gifts" because I knew I would get the hard sell. I would never purchase anything that (like a timeshare) requires a decision before you leave, even if you have 3 days to cancel. I only need a few more cruises to qualify for VIP status on my own, and by booking the 4A Guaranty we got upgraded to 4E, and got such a good price from our travel agent as past guests that I doubt we would do better thru VC.

Our first presentation was on the Spirit as well, but it was on our Alaskan cruise back in July 2005.

The "must buy on this cruise" was one of the many red flags we saw.

I mean if it was such a wonderful deal, why can't they sell it in the good ole USA??

Another red flag was the fact that South Carolina outlawed it being sold to their residents (which was bad enough) but then CVC agents trying to get SC residents to use a false address in order to still sell it to them.

I have always found that a good product sells itself. If "the old hard sell" is needed, then there is a reason.

Enjoy your Platinum perks!! You will be there before you know it and they are such a treat!!

Also, make sure that all your cruises are listed on your cruise history. (on the Carnival website) When your documents arrive for your 10th cruise, those wonderful words "please proceed to VIP Check In" should be on the front of the documents. But in case they are not, just print out your cruise history and take it with you.

In the beginning, many documents (like mine on the Pride in March) did not have those wonderful words on them (even though this was our family's 13th cruise). Hopefully, that bug has been worked out.

It also does not hurt to have your PVP double check with the ship itself. When we received the documents for the Pride without those wonderful words, our PVP contact the Pride's Purser's desk just to double check that we were listed as Platinum and we were.

The Miracle in October went off without a hitch.

Happy Cruising!!

LHL,
You mentioned checking your cruise history at carnival.com. I have cruised 5 times and have had some trouble keeping my record correct as one time I used a middle initial and another used Jr etc. I did not see a link even when I signed in. Any help for the link to my history.

Thanks


Caribbean Activities & Attractions

quote:

Originally posted by CruiseDad:
LHL,
You mentioned checking your cruise history at carnival.com. I have cruised 5 times and have had some trouble keeping my record correct as one time I used a middle initial and another used Jr etc. I did not see a link even when I signed in. Any help for the link to my history.

Thanks


Caribbean Activities & Attractions

If you will go to :

www.carnival.com

Click on: My Profile

(it will ask you to Log In ~ email address and password)

~~~ If you have not registered at Carnival's website, you will have to do that first. You must have your email address and password on file to get past this point.~~~


You will then click on: View Cruise History
(it is under Past Guest Number)

That will show the complete list of your cruises.

If there are some cruises not listed (for whatever reason) ... select:

Add/Update Cruises

And then list the cruises you need to add.

If Carnival has a problem adding them, they will contact you and request the needed "proof". At that point, you will at least have the name of someone at Carnival that you can deal with directly.

We had to have 8 cruises added, since Carnival did not have all this "computer stuff" back then. All they asked for from us was copies of the embarkation pictures and a picture ID (so that they would know that was the correct person in the embarkation picture).

For the very first cruise, we did not have an embarkation picture and they accepted a regular picture and a copy of an original luggage tag we happen to have (go figure).

Also remember if they ask for proof, you can always contact the TA that you used and ask if they have any old records on file. The TA used back then has long since retired, so that wasn't an option for us. But just another avenue for folks to explore.

Once you have gotten your cruise history correct, it doesn't hurt to carry a copy with you once you have reached that every popular Platinum level!!


Good luck!!

Thank You, I got it and it was correct. Nice to have it confirmed. If you travel on the Liberty between now and end of April say Hi to Linda, she is a dancer and my daughter.
CruiseDad

quote:

Originally posted by CruiseDad:
Thank You, I got it and it was correct. Nice to have it confirmed. If you travel on the Liberty between now and end of April say Hi to Linda, she is a dancer and my daughter.
CruiseDad

How exciting!!! I have many many friendships that have developed over the years with the fine crew, staff and entertainers at Carnival.

I am excited about getting to see a friend of mine (Noonan) next week on the Fantasy.

I don't believe I ever truly appreciated the dancers until the Miracle in October.

I was part of the Legends show and the grace and patience the dancers showed to us (newbies) was unparalleled. Here these professionals are having to "train" (in one run through) a bunch of rookies that don't have a clue. They don't know anything about the different shapes and sizes that will be thrown at the lady that handles the wardrobe. 99% of us have 2 left feet and they are not only guiding us through dance steps and moving us all over the stage, they make it look so effortless.

I will look forward to sailing with her one day.
Maybe we will get to do a Legends show together!

Another tip, is once you have reached that Platinum level (at least on your 10th cruise) it would not hurt to have your PVP contact the ship and confirm your status.

Mine did this for me when we were going out on the Pride (which was our 13th ~I think) and our documents came in without those wonderful words on them.

Our PVP contacted the Pride just to make sure our status was correct and then, we took our cruise history with us....but it wasn't needed.

We just went to the VIP Check In and they did not even look at our documents.

I too have enjoyed the Perks of the CVC. I have the top level package. Like anything that requires a saleman, it is only a good price if you are happy with it. I'm in the Military and Carnival has so called Military specials, if you want a interior room just above the crew, and many folks I know boast about how great a deal they get on military discounts.Once again they are happy with the purchase, not for me.
That being said, with CVC I was able to by it in my name and my personal(on the side) business name, which allows me to give away cruises to my employees of the year and use this as a tax deduction. So I enjoy the perks(which do cost you extra). You however must decide if you or happy with what you get out of it. Anything added to it as free extras are like buying a car to get the free Floor Mats....

Carnival's military discount applies to any cabin being booked. We've used it many times and are not ever placed one deck above crew level unless we request that category. The military discount applies to balconys, suites, etc. and is a considerable discount from published fares.

quote:

Originally posted by tncruiseman:
Carnival's military discount applies to any cabin being booked. We've used it many times and are not ever placed one deck above crew level unless we request that category. The military discount applies to balconys, suites, etc. and is a considerable discount from published fares.

I checked into to this for the booking I have and it is NOT offered with a Balcony on the Liberty in Feb. The rep said it is based on ship and time of season and booking date. So, you are right, it is possible, however not on the larger ships in high s