Has anyone ever used the Carnival Great Vacation Guarantee?

It's just like the 110% price guarantee for the excursions. Good luck with that.

I got 38.00 OBC with this Shore Excursion Guarantee, so I can say that it is not Bogus.

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I got 38.00 OBC with this Shore Excursion Guarantee, so I can say that it is not Bogus.

 

 

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Was it when the program first launched?

It's been out for quite a while... enough time for Carnival to reach out to operating participants and change the contractual language to a point the excursions are "determined" to be "different" and the price difference does not have to be reimbursed in the form of onboard credit.

Of course... because the cruise operator has absolutely no possible fault for someone not being happy on a cruise. Carnival is perfect in every single way, including the employees and the product.

 

Welcome to the hospitality industry, where everything is perfect 100% of the time and if you're upset, it's your own fault and you're a miserable person.

Honestly, most of the time this IS the case. Some people are just bound and determined to find a way to be miserable...

aenglish1609,

Sail on the Sunshine and get back to me on that. :)

This past March (2014) we were on the Sunshine. You can read lot's of reviews of the Sunshine and reach your own conclusions. At any rate, things were so bad in the first 12-15 hours that I went to guest services the first morning and asked for details to invoke the guarantee. We were about 90% ready to invoke at that point.

 

At the mention of the possibility I might invoke the guarantee Carnival went the extra mile to make the cruise tolerable and we decided to stay on board. The cruise was still the worst we've ever had but they made a significant effort and we thank them for that. We will never set foot on the Sunshine again but that's another story.

 

I am not suggesting you use the threat as a club to resolve some minor issue. My wife and I both met with the guest services manager and I think she could easily tell we were seriously dissatisfied at that point. Had Carnival not done so much to help resolve our issues we would have jumped ship at the first port. It was that bad. We were very pleased with their efforts to resolve the problems.

 

We are looking forward to our 14 day B2B on the Splendor coming up this November so I guess you could say they did a good job of keeping us a Carnival customers.

Travler27: did you write a review?

Would be interested to know what went haywire on your Sunshine cruise, what happened to make it your worst cruise.

Thanks --

If my upcoming New England itinerary gets turned into a Bermuda or Caribbean itinerary, I'm using it. I won't have packed clothes for it, and I signed up for a nice fall weather destination. I'll take my money back and so something closer to what I wanted.

Yeah, yeah, itinerary changes happen. But changing complete climates? That is too much for me.

I could see it happening if someone was prone to seasickness and didn't know it. I know someone a few years ago that had to be talked back onto the ship when they reached the first port. They were horribly sick the entire time at sea.

If my upcoming New England itinerary gets turned into a Bermuda or Caribbean itinerary, I'm using it. I won't have packed clothes for it, and I signed up for a nice fall weather destination. I'll take my money back and so something closer to what I wanted.

 

Yeah, yeah, itinerary changes happen. But changing complete climates? That is too much for me.

If a hurricane prevent them from taking you north to Canada where else would you expect them to take you????

where else would you expect them to take you????

7 day cruise to nowhere?

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If a hurricane prevent them from taking you north to Canada where else would you expect them to take you????

Nowhere! I'd prefer my money back. Heck, I'd prefer circling the North Atlantic, waiting out the storm for 1 or 2 ports than heading to hot weather.

If I wanted to go to the tropics, I could have picked among dozens of options (hundreds including the other lines). I bet if a hurricane was bearing down on the Antilles and Carnival chose to shift to Canada instead of the Western Caribbean, I bet the outrage on this site would be huge.

aenglish1609,

 

 

 

Sail on the Sunshine and get back to me on that. :)

I've sailed The Sunshine and we had a very good time! It is by no means my favorite ship, but granddaughter and I had great slide races, the spa was fabulous, and Guys and the Iguana rock for food!! Our suite was small but clean, quiet, and cold! The layout is...unique, to be nice, but easily overcome. MDR food was no better or worse than others.

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According to the story posted today by Cruise Critic, the percentage of passengers that invoked the guarantee during the first year of having it was 0.00104%.

Its very unlikely I will ever invoke this, but I can see myself doing it if the air conditioning doesn't work and I had no where to go (full cruise)

Would this ban you from cruising in the future? If it does, would it be just on Carnival or is there a "ban" list that all cruiselines have access to.

Would this ban you from cruising in the future? If it does, would it be just on Carnival or is there a "ban" list that all cruiselines have access to.

If you invoke the guarantee, an incentive will be extended to you, should you decide to give Carnival another try.

However, there are reports of Royal Caribbean banning a passenger from future cruises because of complaining onboard then bragging about their compensation on message boards, such as Cruise Critic.

Nowhere! I'd prefer my money back. Heck, I'd prefer circling the North Atlantic, waiting out the storm for 1 or 2 ports than heading to hot weather.

 

If I wanted to go to the tropics, I could have picked among dozens of options (hundreds including the other lines). I bet if a hurricane was bearing down on the Antilles and Carnival chose to shift to Canada instead of the Western Caribbean, I bet the outrage on this site would be huge.

When we cruise during hurricane season and we do every year for great pricing we understand it is possible we will not go where we planned to go/ Not the cruise lines fault for this and they are keeping you and the crew safely away from the storm.

It was used 47 times last year.

When we cruise during hurricane season and we do every year for great pricing we understand it is possible we will not go where we planned to go/ Not the cruise lines fault for this and they are keeping you and the crew safely away from the storm.

Yeah, I understand. I'm not mad at the line, I just only want to take the type of vacation I signed up for: namely a cool weather trip. If that can't happen, ok, but I want my money back so I can do something else. Me and my suitcase full of long pants and sweaters are not going to have a good time in Nassau.

Also, hurricanes are far, far more common in the tropics. It's a larger risk down there, but also offers more similar alternatives, but there is no similar alternatives in New England. Subbing Cozumel for St. Maarten is acceptable, Half Moon Cay for Halifax is not.

Ask yourself if the situation was different you would find it ok. You packed a suitcase full of shorts , sleeveless shirts and swimwear only to step on the ship and find you are bound for Saint John, New Brunswick, forecast high of 60 degrees, low of 45. Would you honestly be accepting of that change?

According to this article the guarantee was used 47 times between September 2013 and September 2014. This article says that Carnival had 4.5 million passengers during that time period, so the rate of usage is .001%

If a hurricane prevent them from taking you north to Canada where else would you expect them to take you????

The Mediterranean, of course! ;)

I know someone who used it and they got all their money back and sent home. Oh and they cruised again with them. You see what happened was their wife had to cancel and couldn't go so he was miserable but tried to go anyway. They couldn't get their money back so he was going to try to make the best of it. And he just couldn't do it by himself. I could go by myself and be fine..but some folks can't. He was booked in a suite.

We were on a cruise and we let them - Carnival pick our cabin. They put us on the lowest deck all the way in the back of the ship. That was okay. What wasn't okay was that the entire room rattled constantly. Not one rattle but many different things rattled. (I counted 23 distinct rattle locations). I went to GS and asked if they had another room and they said. no. I then said that I would probably need to use the 110% guarantee then. The lady looked at me like I was crazy and said "What guarantee?". I said nicely, you may want to ask your boss about it. She turned, ask another lady who was sitting at the desk. She jumped up and quickly disappeared. The next thing I knew I was in the GS manager's office and we discussed moving us away form the rattles. He confirmed that lower level rooms near the engine were notorious for rattles and he found us a new room. It was middle level deck in the middle of the ship and it had an ocean view! I would have just been happy with a quieter room but they upgraded us. I loved the cruise and I slept so much better! Because of how well they corrected the problem, we cruised again on the same ship 6 months later.....by the way, I'm usually the guy that just puts up with problems and never complains. This was out of character for me.

We were on a cruise and we let them - Carnival pick our cabin. They put us on the lowest deck all the way in the back of the ship. That was okay. What wasn't okay was that the entire room rattled constantly. Not one rattle but many different things rattled. (I counted 23 distinct rattle locations). I went to GS and asked if they had another room and they said. no. I then said that I would probably need to use the 110% guarantee then. The lady looked at me like I was crazy and said "What guarantee?". I said nicely, you may want to ask your boss about it. She turned, ask another lady who was sitting at the desk. She jumped up and quickly disappeared. The next thing I knew I was in the GS manager's office and we discussed moving us away form the rattles. He confirmed that lower level rooms near the engine were notorious for rattles and he found us a new room. It was middle level deck in the middle of the ship and it had an ocean view! I would have just been happy with a quieter room but they upgraded us. I loved the cruise and I slept so much better! Because of how well they corrected the problem, we cruised again on the same ship 6 months later.....by the way, I'm usually the guy that just puts up with problems and never complains. This was out of character for me.

Between this post and the one a few months ago about someone's children onboard, it appears that unless you inquire about the guarantee, Carnival associates onboard may not be too concerned about resolving certain situations.

Now that the number of vacation guarantees that have been invoked has been confirmed, some may be curious how many guests decided not to use it once Carnival tried to resolve the issue.

According to this article the guarantee was used 47 times between September 2013 and September 2014. This article says that Carnival had 4.5 million passengers during that time period, so the rate of usage is .001%

It's interesting to note that those who decide a BC is good enough to sail on a closed loop cruise would be unable to take advantage of the guarantee.

It's interesting to note that those who decide a BC is good enough to sail on a closed loop cruise would be unable to take advantage of the guarantee.

Yes, that is one of the risks (unless of course the first port is a US port;)).