Early Saver
Carnival has an Early Saver rate that guarantees that you are paying the lowest advertised rate for that cruise. If the price of your cruise drops, you will get credit for the difference. There are restrictions on this fare, however. You cannot switch cruises before the final payment deadline, and you cannot change guests. The price of the cruise has only gone up since I booked, but we did have the peace of mind of knowing that we were paying the lowest possible price.
AMEX Offers
This was the catalyst that made me book the cruise when we did. I found out that a couple of the American Express cards we had were offering a discount on Carnival and Norwegian. You find these offers at the bottom of the page when you log into your account. I made the deposit using one of the cards and saved $75. I then made an additional $250 payment on another card and saved an additional $75.
Ebay Carnival Gift Card Flash Sale
Ebay had a “flash sale” in March on Carnival gift cards. These were digital cards that I printed out and saved to use when making my final payment. The deal was for $15 off each $75 purchase. I made two orders of a $50 card and a $25 card for a total savings of $30.
Publix Carnival Gift Card Sale
I usually do my grocery shopping at Publix, and I always look at the weekly circular to see if they have any discounts on their gift cards. I like to take advantage of the $10 off of $50 gas cards. But one week they were offering $100 Carnival gift cards for $85 and I picked up one.
AARP Carnival Gift Cards
After applying all the above discounts, I had just a few dollars left to pay on my cruise. For this, I used the old standby–Carnival gift cards from AARP. I had gotten a $500 gift card for $450. The details on how to get these cards can be found on the most popular post on my blog. If you cruise on Carnival it is a no - brainer to get these cards. I will have a large balance on this card but will apply it on my ship board account to pay gratuities and drinks. Any balance will be refunded to me.
Carnival Corporation Shareholder Credit
I own 100 shares of Carnival stock, and as a stockholder I get on board credit for my cruises. On this 5-day cruise we will get a $50 shareholder credit. Our party of four will have a tab of $259 in gratuities for the cruise, so the discount will be 19% using the SHC.