Nov. 13th Sailing friends and family cancellation

[momof3princesses]

Where any of you using the friends and family discount for this sailing and get cancelled? And where any of you able to reschedule?
Thanks so much.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You would be best to post this on the Carnival Section.

Not too many people here on HAL sail on Carnival on a regular basis.

[momof3princesses]

Sorry I messed that question up. I'm asking for a friend who was booked on the Nov. 13th sailing of the Oosterdam. I am going on Carnival she just wanted me to ask for her.:)
She booked under friends and family and got notified on Thursday that she was cancelled because it was filled with normal bookings.

Probably not a lot of people will answer for the sailing since they are getting on the boat about now.

[cruisinjudy]

Unless she was on a waiting list I can't imagine them canceling her cruise. Or were they overbooked and she was offered an incentive to change cruises? Or does the Friends and Family rate have certain restrictions?

[K2DangerGirl]

F&F's can get bumped at any time. But it's still a bummer if/when it happens!

[IRL_Joanie]

F&F's can get bumped at any time. But it's still a bummer if/when it happens!

Guess I get to be the one who asks, so here goes....

What is Friends and Family and.......?????

Joanie

[wdw1972]

I'm pretty sure it's a deeply discounted space-available rate for "friends and family" of HAL employees. Basically, unsold cabins can go cheap to friends & family of employees. But, if the cabins sell at the last minute, the friend or family doesn't get to go!

Sue/WDW1972
Zuiderdam 11/23/10
Eurodam 3/5/11

[NJpassenger]

Wow! When did they notify her of the cancellation? I've never heard of such a thing!

Did they refund her money or is she committed to rescheduling?

[jtl513]

Wow! When did they notify her of the cancellation? I've never heard of such a thing!

Did they refund her money or is she committed to rescheduling?I believe this happens on all lines. I know it happens on Disney, where my SiL works. It's much like standby on airlines ... if you don't get to go you don't pay. It's up to you whether you want to try to get on another cruise or not.

[NJpassenger]

Just noticed that you stated that your friend was notified two days before schedule departure. What was she offered as a substitute cruise and was she already at the destination for departure. I ask because we are thinking of a Friends and Family cruise for this coming winter. You would think that they would give you more than 2 days notice........How disappointing for your friend. What did she decide to do?

How common is this with friends and family discounts? It is clearly stated that you can be bumped but does it happen frequently and is there any kind of order to those who are bumped based on when you purchased your cruise? Anyone have any ideas.

[momof3princesses]

She was not at her destination yet. She booked the same exact cruise but for Dec.4th. They gave her a free upgrade on the next cruise and guaranteed her she would not get bumped again. They also said if there was any airline fees for cancelling and rescheduling they would pay those. She was just wondering if this happened to anyone else from this same cruise ship and sailing date. We are wondering if people that where scheduled to sail on the Nov. 14th Carnival Splendor turned around and booked on HAL as soon as their cruise was cancelled. And they being full fare people would bump her. Just a theory.

[NJpassenger]

So correct me if I am wrong. Your friend was scheduled on a "Friends and Family cruise" (employee rate) for Nov 13 and was notified of being bumped on Nov 11. At that time she had not traveled yet and they offered to pay her airline rescheduling fee? with a guarantee of a Dec 4 sailing?

I just am nervous about booking on an upcoming "friends and family" rate, however would be happy with the option that they gave your friend. Although in our case we would already be at our destination city 2 days ahead of cruise so this could be a major inconvenience. Do they always bump you so close to boarding?embarkation time?

[momof3princesses]

That is right. I don't know if this is normal. This is her second time booking with the friends and family and she was fine the last time. Her friend that works for HAL (who she booked through) said this never happens. So I don't know what to tell you. Hopefully you will be fine.

[NJpassenger]

MomofPrincess,
Do you happen to know what upgrade they gave your friend for her "friends and family" sailing for her upcoming cruise? I assume that she has been assigned her cabin by now.

I finally booked our "friends and family" cruise and was only able to book guarantee as this is the policy for "friends and family" bookings so I'm curious as to how much they actually upgraded your friend.

Thanks.