Carnival Canceled my Cruise!!

I received an email to day about a canceled excursion due to "full booking cancellation". Took my a few minutes to figure out they meant they had cancelled my cruise!! I just about lost it. Called Carnival right away, after being put on hold for twenty minutes,:rolleyes: two dropped calls:mad: I finally got to talk to someone. Come to find out they never processed my cc for the final payment!!! 2 1/2 hours later Carnival was able to reinstate everything and get me my room back. I lost my FTTF though and all my Shore excursions. Very Bummed about the FTTF because there are so many tender ports on this cruise. Happy we are not missing the boat though!!

They did NOT "reinstate everything" !

And if I were you, I'd insist as far up the ladder as I need to, that they give you back the FTTF you were able to book and paid for!

Really ! Anything else is way wrong.....what kind of crap excuse did they give you as to why they wouldn't give you back the FTTF?

Had you called or gone online to make the final payment by the due date?

Next cruise: Carnival Vista - July 2016

Wow that stinks, but I'm glad you at least got your booking back!:):) After I make final payment (or any booking payment or changes), I go over the emailed booking confirmation with a fine-toothed comb to ensure all info is correct including any applied payments. We just made final payment on our cruise and I verified that the payment was actually applied by checking the emailed confirmation and by logging into our booking on Carnival's website.

People are human and make mistakes; computer glitches happen. I've learned the hard way to triple-check everything.

Did you actually log in to your account online to initiate the final payment? Because as far as I know, they don't automatically charge your card when the final payment date comes around.

If you did, and the payment never went through for whatever reason, I think this is a good example of why you shouldn't wait until the final payment date to make the payment. I just made mine tonight even though it's not due until 8/8. Would rather have another chance if the payment doesn't go through.

In any case, I'm happy that you were able to get the booking reinstated. Enjoy your cruise!

Did you actually log in to your account online to initiate the final payment? Because as far as I know, they don't automatically charge your card when the final payment date comes around.

 

If you did, and the payment never went through for whatever reason, I think this is a good example of why you shouldn't wait until the final payment date to make the payment. I just made mine tonight even though it's not due until 8/8. Would rather have another chance if the payment doesn't go through.

 

In any case, I'm happy that you were able to get the booking reinstated. Enjoy your cruise!

Yes, you can set up your final pay to be automatic. Our PVP always does this for us.

Yes, you can set up your final pay to be automatic. Our PVP always does this for us.

Auto-pay can be a good tool, but realize it could fail for a number of reasons:

You no longer have the credit account the auto-pay was set up on.

Your credit card number was compromised between the time you booked and the final payment due date, resulting in issuance of a new account number by the card company.

The cruise agent or travel agent failed/forgot to set your booking up for auto-pay.

Computer glitch.

Etc.

Wow that stinks, but I'm glad you at least got your booking back!:):) After I make final payment (or any booking payment or changes), I go over the emailed booking confirmation with a fine-toothed comb to ensure all info is correct including any applied payments. We just made final payment on our cruise and I verified that the payment was actually applied by checking the emailed confirmation and by logging into our booking on Carnival's website.

 

People are human and make mistakes; computer glitches happen. I've learned the hard way to triple-check everything.

Each time I make a payment, including the final payment, and anything we book, such as FTTF, or an excursion through Carnival, I always check in the "Manage My Cruise" section to make sure it went through, and I also check for an e-mail confirmation. If anything is not correct, I call our PVP right away, and she takes care of it immediately. Carnival is no different than any other large company. There are good, conscientious people working hard at their computers to take care of the customers, and there are slackers that do the bare minimum to earn their paycheck.

Yes I did have it set up on auto pay. That is the way I have done it for all six cruises that I have done before with carnival. Final payment was due today that is why I was checking my email. I will call tomorrow and see if I can get my forward to the fun reinstated. I tried to rebook it but of course it is sold out.

They should have offered you some obc as a way of saying sorry for what they put you thru.

They should have offered you some obc as a way of saying sorry for what they put you thru.

Let me first say to the OP that you did nothing wrong, but threads like yours pop up here on Cruise Critic all the time. And since the members of CC is such a minute percentage of the cruising population, I'm sure this type of thing happens a lot more than you can imagine.

I always advise my friends NOT to take the auto pay option, especially when booking way in advance, because many things can happen, both on Carnival's end, and your end, which will prevent the final payment from going through. For example, just getting a new card when the old one expires. The new expiration date and security code on the new card, may prevent your charge going through. even though the card number is the same. I just had this issue with a recurring charge account I have, so you have to remember to update that information on all auto pay accounts that you have.

It's easier to just TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR ACCOUNT! You are spending a lot of money, so don't just forget about it and hope it gets taken care of.The final payment date is clearly indicated on your confirmation email, and is visable when you go to your booking on Carnival's website. Pay it off a few days ahead of the due date to make sure the payment is received on time.

Don't expect Carnival to call or email you when your payment is due, though you think that they would! :eek:

Glad you got things straightened out, and good luck getting your FTTF back.

Yes, you can set up your final pay to be automatic. Our PVP always does this for us.

While it is nice to have your PVP do this are you sure they are able to set up an automatic payment? Or do they go in on your due date and make the final payment using the credit card on file In either case you are depending on another person to take care of YOUR payment.

My preference is to be responsible for myself.

My TA always asks if I want to use the auto-pay option and I always decline. We prefer to pay the cruise off when we want to, way before the final payment date. For example, final on our next cruise is due 9/3, but I paid it off last week. I wouldn't trust the auto pay system considering how many times all of the cruise lines have computer issues.

If I don't pay a trip in full early, our TA sends a reminder about 2 weeks before it is due asking which date I want her to run it , and if I want to change the Credit card on file.

Yes I did have it set up on auto pay. That is the way I have done it for all six cruises that I have done before with carnival. Final payment was due today that is why I was checking my email. I will call tomorrow and see if I can get my forward to the fun reinstated. I tried to rebook it but of course it is sold out.

So they canceled your cruise the day final payment was due?

I didnt notice final payment was due a bunch of cruises ago and a week later called to make payment.

Cruise was cancelled but luckily pvp was able to get it reinstated. Learned a good lesson that day.

Since than I put final payment date on my calendar and call about a week before to make payment.

Sounds like you originally booked your excursions through Carnival, since those were cancelled. If you can rebook those through Carnival, you really don't have to worry about FTTF, as you will likely meet in the theatre the morning of your excurions and then proceed to the tender in one big group. At least that is how it worked for us in Belize. Had I bought FTTF for that purpose, I would have felt it a huge waste given how it worked out.

Sounds like you originally booked your excursions through Carnival, since those were cancelled. If you can rebook those through Carnival, you really don't have to worry about FTTF, as you will likely meet in the theatre the morning of your excurions and then proceed to the tender in one big group. At least that is how it worked for us in Belize. Had I bought FTTF for that purpose, I would have felt it a huge waste given how it worked out.

Not every port is set up this way. For example, our excursion to the rain forest in San Juan that started soon after docking has us meet insider the port building. However when we had our snorkeling excursion in Grand Turk we met on the boat.

Not every port is set up this way. For example, our excursion to the rain forest in San Juan that started soon after docking has us meet insider the port building. However when we had our snorkeling excursion in Grand Turk we met on the boat.

I think Badfinger was referring to just tender ports. Generally they want everyone on the same excursion to be on the same tender. Grand Turk and San Juan are not tender ports.

I did get an e-mail reminder of final payment due for upcoming cruise--first time ever receiving a reminder.

I have always called the 800 # to make final payment (don't have or want PVP) and asked for and received e-mail confirmation. My question is if I make final payment on line will I automatically receive confirmation or am I better off speaking to a "real" person?

Nobody, knows the REASON, why a payment did not go through, on a message board. It is automatically assumed, it was Carnival - with people piping in- demands "should" be made. An example, would be a credit card denial? Change of credit card, card expired, over the limit etc etc etc.

There is more than one area, the problem could have occurred. (NOT asking for anyone's details).

Your credit card number was compromised between the time you booked and the final payment due date, resulting in issuance of a new account number by the card company.

My bank has had to issue me new debit cards twice in the past year due to them possible being compromised. With all the news a few months ago about big retailers being hacked, this is a possibility for a lot of people. You also tend not to think of auto payments until you get the e-mail saying payment didn't go through because that card number on file no longer exists.

My question is if I make final payment on line will I automatically receive confirmation or am I better off speaking to a "real" person?

I've made final payments on line and always received confirmation.

I called carnival yesterday they gave me an email address to send my request to see if I can have my forward to the fun reinstated. I guess it is a new thing that just started this week so we will see.