No refund 2 weeks post cancelled Irma cruise

Carnival did say it might take "extra" time to process the refunds since there were so many, but 2 weeks seems a bit long. Delta airlines took 3 days, same AMEX card.

 

Refunds from certain businesses have always perplexed me a little. They'll take your money the second it's required but for some reason, reversals just take so long. Some blame the credit card companies, but I've noticed that a reversal swipe at a brick and mortar merchant takes hardly no time for the credit to appear.

 

 

Sad thing is, I'm ready today to book another cruise but will not until this is settled up. Should have just asked for a FCC but not sure it was even an option.

Carnival did say it might take "extra" time to process the refunds since there were so many, but 2 weeks seems a bit long. Delta airlines took 3 days, same AMEX card.

 

Refunds from certain businesses have always perplexed me a little. They'll take your money the second it's required but for some reason, reversals just take so long. Some blame the credit card companies, but I've noticed that a reversal swipe at a brick and mortar merchant takes hardly no time for the credit to appear.

 

 

Sad thing is, I'm ready today to book another cruise but will not until this is settled up. Should have just asked for a FCC but not sure it was even an option.

Carnival should be ashamed ! they are making a huge profit from the southern islands disaster ! we are now paying the same 1500.00 for 2 of us to go to a 300.00 OR LESS cruise to western islands that we intentionally didnt book. When we called to reschedule or get refunded their answer was. "GO, OR DONT GO"

of course we feel horrible about the loss and devistation in the south islamds but Carnival should NOT be charging the same for what they changed the itinerary to.

FURIOUS IN FL.

 

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Carnival did say it might take "extra" time to process the refunds since there were so many, but 2 weeks seems a bit long. Delta airlines took 3 days, same AMEX card.

Delta is based here in Atlanta. Carnival is based in Miami. The hurricane affected southern Florida far more than northern Georgia.

 

Carnival should be ashamed !

I'm sorry that you've been upset by the consequences of the recent hurricanes and are disappointed with the arrangements offered to you in response.

 

they are making a huge profit from the southern islands disaster !

You'll have to prove that claim. Given how many cruises they have canceled and how many passenger-days they've given away for free to passengers whose cruises were extended by the storm, there is no reason to believe that your inflammatory contention has any basis in fact.

 

Having said that, if overall the company is not structured to make a bigger profit than could be made from investing in the stock market, then why the heck would any of its owners invest in the company? Every dollar invested competes with every other way that dollar could be invested. Failing to structure the offerings in such a manner that they remain highly profitable even in the context of the set of hurricanes that are reasonably expected to occur each year, would be a breach of their fiduciary obligations.

 

we are now paying the same 1500.00 for 2 of us to go to a 300.00 OR LESS cruise to western islands that we intentionally didnt book. When we called to reschedule or get refunded their answer was. "GO, OR DONT GO" of course we feel horrible about the loss and devistation in the south islamds but Carnival should NOT be charging the same for what they changed the itinerary to.

FURIOUS IN FL.

The cruise lines aren't doing anything less than what they made clear they would do in such circumstances when they first offered these cruises for purchase.

 

The risk passengers booking cruises this time of year is well-known and factored into the terms and conditions and the (much lower) pricing. Again, I'm sorry that you've been upset by the consequences of the recent hurricanes and are disappointed with the arrangements offered to you in response, but it is the storms that are to blame: The cruise lines are doing exactly what they said they'd do (and more!) before the cruises were booked.

Delta is based here in Atlanta. Carnival is based in Miami. The hurricane affected southern Florida far more than northern Georgia.

 

I'm sorry that you've been upset by the consequences of the recent hurricanes and are disappointed with the arrangements offered to you in response.

 

You'll have to prove that claim. Given how many cruises they have canceled and how many passenger-days they've given away for free to passengers whose cruises were extended by the storm, there is no reason to believe that your inflammatory contention has any basis in fact.

 

Having said that, if overall the company is not structured to make a bigger profit than could be made from investing in the stock market, then why the heck would any of its owners invest in the company? Every dollar invested competes with every other way that dollar could be invested. Failing to structure the offerings in such a manner that they remain highly profitable even in the context of the set of hurricanes that are reasonably expected to occur each year, would be a breach of their fiduciary obligations.

 

The cruise lines aren't doing anything less than what they made clear they would do in such circumstances when they first offered these cruises for purchase.

 

The risk passengers booking cruises this time of year is well-known and factored into the terms and conditions and the (much lower) pricing. Again, I'm sorry that you've been upset by the consequences of the recent hurricanes and are disappointed with the arrangements offered to you in response, but it is the storms that are to blame: The cruise lines are doing exactly what they said they'd do (and more!) before the cruises were booked.

actually. take a look at the FAQ. when we went they had been shut down so good luck with that.

 

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actually. take a look at the FAQ. when we went they had been shut down so good luck with that.

What are you talking about?

 

Here's a link to the cruise contract:

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract.aspx

They have said in EVERY single instance that the refund will be refunded back to the original form of payment within 3 weeks.

 

I have no idea what oneluvablepest is posting about.

Carnival should be ashamed ! they are making a huge profit from the southern islands disaster ! we are now paying the same 1500.00 for 2 of us to go to a 300.00 OR LESS cruise to western islands that we intentionally didnt book. When we called to reschedule or get refunded their answer was. "GO, OR DONT GO"

of course we feel horrible about the loss and devistation in the south islamds but Carnival should NOT be charging the same for what they changed the itinerary to.

FURIOUS IN FL.

 

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Here is a clue for you. Dont EVER book a cruise during hurricane season, especially PEAK hurricane season, if you cant handle change. :rolleyes: The rest of you fuss is just ridiculous. In every single case Ive seen they are offering a full cruise credit if you dont want to go on the cruise. Sorry, but if the ship sails, you ARENT getting a refund. Read that contract you signed next time instead of blaming Carnival.

Yep, that is the risk of cruising during peak hurricane season.

 

Best rates of the year but easily the most risk to itinerary changes.

 

Being in Florida I would never book a cruise during this time of year, if I did it would be some sort of Pack & Go, last minute type of deal where I can have some clue on whats out there in the Atlantic.

What western itinerary is $300 or less when compared to an eastern? Are you talking an inside cabin on the western vs a balcony on the eastern?

Oneluvablepest, In Carnival's defense, we were given the opportunity to cancel on our own a few days' prior to them cancelling because of the duration and itinerary change.

 

Had we done that, we would have received a future credit instead of a refund. Because we waited it out and they eventually cancelled 2 days before the modified departure date, they are now issuing full refunds to the original form of payment.

 

My beef is that it seems unreasonable to take so long to process a refund, especially to a card. If they were processing checks, I would understand. I understand they may be overwhelmed with cancellations and numerous other changes, but 3 weeks seems like a long time.

 

I work in a field closely tied to accounts payable and receivable and I understand the significance of cash flow as it related to payment terms. Our money isn't sitting idle -- they are, on paper, getting some return. Yes, there are countering losses on the other side of their balance sheet, probably far greater. But holding that money does weaken the blow.

What western itinerary is $300 or less when compared to an eastern? Are you talking an inside cabin on the western vs a balcony on the eastern?

no actually same exact cabin. west vs southern islands.

 

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Here is a clue for you. Dont EVER book a cruise during hurricane season, especially PEAK hurricane season, if you cant handle change. :rolleyes: The rest of you fuss is just ridiculous. In every single case Ive seen they are offering a full cruise credit if you dont want to go on the cruise. Sorry, but if the ship sails, you ARENT getting a refund. Read that contract you signed next time instead of blaming Carnival.

 

Oneluvablepest, In Carnival's defense, we were given the opportunity to cancel on our own a few days' prior to them cancelling because of the duration and itinerary change.

 

Had we done that, we would have received a future credit instead of a refund. Because we waited it out and they eventually cancelled 2 days before the modified departure date, they are now issuing full refunds to the original form of payment.

 

My beef is that it seems unreasonable to take so long to process a refund, especially to a card. If they were processing checks, I would understand. I understand they may be overwhelmed with cancellations and numerous other changes, but 3 weeks seems like a long time.

 

I work in a field closely tied to accounts payable and receivable and I understand the significance of cash flow as it related to payment terms. Our money isn't sitting idle -- they are, on paper, getting some return. Yes, there are countering losses on the other side of their balance sheet, probably far greater. But holding that money does weaken the blow.

Ryano, the first line of your response seems to be the same talking points as offered by Carnival Customer Service via email and telephone, blame the hurricane. I haven't read any post on all of the threads in which people have voiced a complaint where they are complaining about the weather; they are complaining about the way Carnival has handled the situation.

Razor_Poke; the first line of your response, "In Carnival's defense" again is the same as Carnival's Customer Service however you go on to say how you were offered a choice to cancel and get a full refund. Well, those passengers of the Sep 3d Carnival Pride were not offered a damn thing; we weren't even told of the itinerary change until after muster and then were taken to Charleston South Carolina, in place of Grand Turk and then to Freeport and Nassau where most everything was closed as they were boarding up and sand bagging all the businesses. So far the only thing Carnival has done is blame the weather. They refuse to accept responsibility for their lack of communication and caring for passengers.

If they were processing checks, I would understand. I understand they may be overwhelmed with cancellations and numerous other changes, but 3 weeks seems like a long time.

Except it is not just being overwhelmed with cancellations and numerous other changes, but it was also that they were hit by the storm, themselves, and lost a number of workdays as a result. 15 million Floridians lost power, and thousands in South Florida were still without power several days later. Given the impact of the storm on the people doing the work of issuing the refunds, themselves, an extra week is very reasonable.

Ryano, the first line of your response seems to be the same talking points as offered by Carnival Customer Service via email and telephone, blame the hurricane.

Roll back to the comment ryano was replying to: The previous poster was seeking to lay blame for the impact of a hurricane. If you're going to have an issue with the matter of blame, then what's appropriate is to take issue with the contention that there is blame. As I indicated before, nothing that happened here was unforeseen. Yes, the storm was a percentage larger than previous storms but the impact was foreseen years ago, the cruise line's responses were more than generous with regard to what they explicitly promised they would do under these circumstances. If I tell someone, "If X happens I will do Y," and then X happens and I do Y, on what logical basis would you support any assessment of blame?

 

It is unfortunate that this storm happened, and it is fair to feel bad for those affected, of course those in the path of the storm but yes even for those who's vacations were affected. However, that doesn't mean there was wrong doing or lack of communication. The communication was again completely consistent with what was explicitly promised, and completely consistent with long-standard industry practice. It's possible for bad things to happen without anyone being culpable.

The cruise line must have a "hurricane" plan that anticipates these type of situations (although this situation was a little more intense) and everyone knows that the cruise line can not control the weather but, they have complete control of the customer service and in my opinion, after 42 cruises among 5 cruise lines, this has been the most poorly handled customer service nightmare. They need to stop blaming the "hurricane", treat ALL the passengers fairly, take the loss and move on. My last phone conversation with a supervisor at Carnival, he agreed that passengers on different ships, facing identical situation, were treated differently. They need to make it right.

They need to make it right.

It sure seems to me like they are, as well as I've seen any economy mass market cruise line handle this situation over the last 10+ years. I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree.

It sure seems to me like they are, as well as I've seen any economy mass market cruise line handle this situation over the last 10+ years. I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I will agree with you that they did take care of some of the passengers; for instance, as I said, on our cruise we got nothing, no notice of the change and no consideration for the poor experience whereas the cruise following ours passengers were given 4 days notice of the itinerary change and a choice to cancel with full refund or continue on the cruise and get 25% off a future cruise. Would you agree that is inconsistent?

All travel involves risk and things do not always go according to plan. That is what insurance is for. I keep reading about people that are complaining because of what is happening. I can assure you the airlines, hotels, and cruise line are even less happy about all this then we are - and are losing crap loads of money.

 

I had to speak to my PVP a few days ago and he mentioned that he is doing tasks he has never had to do before because Carnival is so swamped with all this mess. They have ALL hands on deck, PVP agents, Fun Shop agents, Shore Excursion agents, etc. doing tasks that they don't typical do trying to get things resolved for all these guests. It is just going to take some TIME. They still have some cruises that haven't even happened yet that are getting cancelled too... there are thousands and thousands of things they have to take care of.

 

I think under the circumstances we should cut them some slack. This isn't a "one off" situation where they failed to respond properly... this is an unprecedented event that all the travel industry is having to deal with. Carnival is even stepping up and helping people get refunds from airlines that didn't even book through them with the Fly and go program because they are trying to make this right for everyone.

 

If you travel without insurance, you need to accept the consequences. NOW this is coming from someone that does NOT buy insurance. I do this because I choose to and travel a lot and have determined that in the off chance that I loose out sometime, the money I would spend every trip in insurance is far more than the one trip I might loose money on (I have made an informed decision). I also cruise every year during hurricane season. I know the risk though and would not be having a fit if I had to wait a little longer for a refund, I would just be happy that I was getting my money back.

 

I know people look forward to their vacation and are upset that all this has happened, but we need to try to see this from both sides - not just Carnival, but all the tourism that has been impacted and is having to deal with this mess!

Would you agree that is inconsistent?

Different circumstances handled differently isn't "inconsistent". I have to say though that such complaints sound like envy: Some other passenger getting a better deal than I did. We see that all the time, of course. I bet that the folks in both cabins next to mine on our upcoming cruise paid a good bit less than we did for the same cabin, because one of them was already booked when we booked and the fares were lower when the cruise was first offered, and the other one was not booked right after final payment and was snapped up when a lower fare was offered. Different circumstances, handled different: Not inconsistent.

 

I know people look forward to their vacation and are upset that all this has happened, but we need to try to see this from both sides - not just Carnival, but all the tourism that has been impacted and is having to deal with this mess!

Precisely, and we don't even need to try to see it from both sides for Carnival's benefit (who the heck cares about them - they're the enemy, if you wish) but rather for our own benefit as passengers. The unreasonable, unfounded expectations that stem from failing to know what we're purchasing and from failing to see the purchase from both sides leads us passengers to unnecessary dissatisfaction.

no actually same exact cabin. west vs southern islands.

 

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So as I asked, what western is $300 and what southern was $1500 for the same cabin? I don't see any western for that price anywhere.

Different circumstances handled differently isn't "inconsistent". I have to say though that such complaints sound like envy: Some other passenger getting a better deal than I did. We see that all the time, of course. I bet that the folks in both cabins next to mine on our upcoming cruise paid a good bit less than we did for the same cabin, because one of them was already booked when we booked and the fares were lower when the cruise was first offered, and the other one was not booked right after final payment and was snapped up when a lower fare was offered. Different circumstances, handled different: Not inconsistent.

 

Precisely, and we don't even need to try to see it from both sides for Carnival's benefit (who the heck cares about them - they're the enemy, if you wish) but rather for our own benefit as passengers. The unreasonable, unfounded expectations that stem from failing to know what we're purchasing and from failing to see the purchase from both sides leads us passengers to unnecessary dissatisfaction.

Not different circumstances: Sep 3d: Welcome onboard passengers, oh by the way, your itinerary has changed, not going to the Caribbean but South Carolina. Sep 10th: 4 days before their cruise gets notice of itinerary change and offered a choice of cancelling and getting a full refund or 25% future cruise credit. Same circumstances, different treatment.

The only difference is that the Sep 3d passengers were not given any prior notice and no choices.

The only difference is that the Sep 3d passengers were not given any prior notice and no choices.

 

Sigh, does ANYONE not read the contract they electronically sign? They dont have to do anything. They dont have to give you choices. They dont have to give you a refund. Itinerary changes happen, especially in peak hurricane season, and it tells you right there on the contact you signed saying you read it. The reason you got nothing is because the full cruise still went on in its entirety didnt it? 8 days before the hurricane even hit FL! The next cruises were either cancelled or shortened. Thats why they were given options.

I am by no means in the cruise industry and I am not a Carnival cheerleader, but I am in a business that was effected by the hurricane in Florida. Yes, businesses are set up to accept money quickly, but in my case as well as the cruise, refunds don't happen too often. When they do happen, only X# of employees are allowed to issue refunds. When something happens in the magnitude that this storm hit Miami (Carnival headquarters), many changes internally need to take place to continue business. As a business, I'm sure they would like to retain as many customers as possible by offering a different cruise to keep the cash flow going which means contacting customers on a case by case basis. Now, for the customers asking for refunds, training has to take place for additional people to handle this (it's not just a click of a button). This also means you have to have employees who can come to work that didn't evacuate, that have electricity or a means to get to work. This took at least a week to somewhat come back to normal.

 

I'm sorry if I'm all over the place, but until you experience something like this in your own business or life, it's tough to understand. Trust me, Carnival and the other cruise lines want to retain every customer they can, refund or not. Take a chill pill and give them a chance to hit the 3 week mark to issue refunds. And if you think this is just Carnival, please read the other boards and you will hear the same complaints from other lines.

Sigh, does ANYONE not read the contract they electronically sign? They dont have to do anything. They dont have to give you choices. They dont have to give you a refund. Itinerary changes happen, especially in peak hurricane season, and it tells you right there on the contact you signed saying you read it. The reason you got nothing is because the full cruise still went on in its entirety didnt it? 8 days before the hurricane even hit FL! The next cruises were either cancelled or shortened. Thats why they were given options.

Ryano, Ryano, Ryano; take off your "I love Carnival no matter what hat" and remember a couple of things: first, Hurricane Irma did just pop up over night; second, predictions had all the Caribbean Islands on watches and warnings for days; third, Carnival encouraged passengers to sign up for "alert text messages; fourth, weather stopping a cruise from entering a port is one thing, knowing that weather is going to be a factor days in advance and doing nothing about it is different circumstances; and lastly, as you said, "they don't have to do anything. They don't have to give you choices. They don't have to give you a refund" however, when the decision if made to provide a refund and or choices to some passengers, it should be applied to all passengers. I have spoken to two Carnival representatives and both agreed that passengers from the two cruises were treated differently and both agreed that they could not explain why.

Carnival did say it might take "extra" time to process the refunds since there were so many, but 2 weeks seems a bit long. Delta airlines took 3 days, same AMEX card.

 

 

 

Refunds from certain businesses have always perplexed me a little. They'll take your money the second it's required but for some reason, reversals just take so long. Some blame the credit card companies, but I've noticed that a reversal swipe at a brick and mortar merchant takes hardly no time for the credit to appear.

 

 

 

 

 

Sad thing is, I'm ready today to book another cruise but will not until this is settled up. Should have just asked for a FCC but not sure it was even an option.

 

 

 

They usually say refunds can take up to 30 business days.

 

 

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