Is Carnival Splendor Compensation Fair?

[rhodesengr]

So we had a wedding planned on the 12/19 sailing so we were motivated to find an alternative for the same date(the rebook immediately option). We got on the phone and changed all 14 people over to the same date on Spirit out of San Diego. I am very confused about the costing however. At first we were getting a rate that with the 25% discount was giving us all some money back. Then, midstream we were told that the "did it wrong" and we ended up having to fork over an additional $1300. This was including the 25% discount. Felt like a bait and switch. Also, we lost all of our returning passenger discounts. One of our room was a "spa balcony room" which has no equivalent on Spirit. We are are paying more, and getting less to keep our original date. Also the change process took FOREVER. We were literally on the phone for 3 hours.

 

So the question is "what is fair". I don't think we should have had to pay more. I guess Carnival figures they could have sold the rooms for the higher prices. We plan to complain.

[Phil & Jen]

I will never cease to be amazed at how many whiners there are in the world.

 

The ship needing repairs isn't anyones fault...is not like Carnival said to themselves..."Hmm, lets break this ship and screw all these people out of their vacations."

 

People who had their cruise cancelled are being well taken care of. All cruise and airfare money back plus a 25 % discount on their next cruise. I agree this is a very ****ty time of year for this to happen, but when you travel away from home sometimes things like this do happen whether it's a plane, a cruise ship or maybe your own vehicle.

 

You can't tell me that if you were on a cruise that was leaving shortly after the information about the ship catching fire was made public that you didn't consider your cruise would be cancelled and started looking at your options. I know most of us don't have loads of spare cash laying around, but doing a bit of planning doesn't cost anything.

 

 

As for the military not getting two days off in a row (I think it was what "jebuell" said)....what freakin military is that? I have been in the military for the last 22 years and time off is never an issue unless there is training or a mission going on. Maybe Canada is way nicer to their soldiers.

 

As for the rates going up, what did you expect. Carnival is in the business of making money. After all these cruises being cancelled and them paying back money to everyone naturally they are going to raise their rates some. I honestly can't think of a business that wouldn't raise their rates in order to capture back some of their losses.

 

Like many have said Carnival is being very fair to the people who had their cruises cancelled. No, I was not one of them. If I was naturally I would be pissed, but getting my money back and a discount would sure help me get over it and plan something else to do for my vacation.

[big_duck]

I wonder what compensation guests at the Riviera Princess Resort are getting?

 

Just sayin'.

[big_duck]

So we had a wedding planned on the 12/19 sailing so we were motivated to find an alternative for the same date(the rebook immediately option). We got on the phone and changed all 14 people over to the same date on Spirit out of San Diego. I am very confused about the costing however. At first we were getting a rate that with the 25% discount was giving us all some money back. Then, midstream we were told that the "did it wrong" and we ended up having to fork over an additional $1300. This was including the 25% discount. Felt like a bait and switch. Also, we lost all of our returning passenger discounts. One of our room was a "spa balcony room" which has no equivalent on Spirit. We are are paying more, and getting less to keep our original date. Also the change process took FOREVER. We were literally on the phone for 3 hours.

 

So the question is "what is fair". I don't think we should have had to pay more. I guess Carnival figures they could have sold the rooms for the higher prices. We plan to complain.

 

Congratulations on finding the non-existent (according to some on here, including the CC editor) 7 day Carnival cruise out of SoCal. :rolleyes:

[jramsey757]

Carnival is not telling all the Facts!!This is the Holiday Season and people have put a lot of Money and Celebrations out for this! Whether you are Local or International there needs to be more of a Compensation. Air at Christmas or thanksgiving is Impossible to get this Late..

It doesn't take that long to put a Fire!! They had a lot of Lobster, Crab and shrimp that is always served Cold. They have BBQ's onboard that they could have done steaks and Hamburgers. The Coolers do not go bad in less than 3 days!! Ships that are on a 7 day cruise carry enough Food for 10 days Minimum!!! Wise up People..This is a Farse on Carnivals part..:confused::mad:

[rhodesengr]

not sure what you mean by "nonexistent".

 

Spirit was available early this morning. I found a press release about the cancellation by doing a Goggle search before carnival sent out emails or updated the posting on their website. probably just sold out now.

[big_duck]

Carnival is not telling all the Facts!!This is the Holiday Season and people have put a lot of Money and Celebrations out for this! Whether you are Local or International there needs to be more of a Compensation. Air at Christmas or thanksgiving is Impossible to get this Late..

It doesn't take that long to put a Fire!! They had a lot of Lobster, Crab and shrimp that is always served Cold. They have BBQ's onboard that they could have done steaks and Hamburgers. The Coolers do not go bad in less than 3 days!! Ships that are on a 7 day cruise carry enough Food for 10 days Minimum!!! Wise up People..This is a Farse on Carnivals part..:confused::mad:

 

Let's assume this farce (spelled correctly) of a scenario is true.

 

What would be Carnival's benefit?

[big_duck]

not sure what you mean by "nonexistent".

 

Spirit was available early this morning. I found a press release about the cancellation by doing a Goggle search before carnival sent out emails or updated the posting on their website. probably just sold out now.

 

I know, I guess you didn't see the dripping sarcasm (aimed at others not you).

[Imagineer]

...to me it seems very fair, where I think they need to go the extra mile is with special arrangements, such as the situation that CC member 'Splendor bride' found herself in. Her wedding was planned to be aboard the Splendor on the December 12 sailing and now all her plans are kiboshed, she tried to make alternative arrangements with Carnival but they were going to charge her additional fees, so now everything's up in the air for her. I know there will always be those that tell you to never plan something like a wedding where there complications could be a definite reality, but nonetheless, Carnival should be pulling out all the stops for this type of scenario, just my humble opinion, for what it's worth...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineer

[newcatintown]

Carnival is not telling all the Facts!!This is the Holiday Season and people have put a lot of Money and Celebrations out for this! Whether you are Local or International there needs to be more of a Compensation. Air at Christmas or thanksgiving is Impossible to get this Late..

It doesn't take that long to put a Fire!! and it doesn't take that long for said fire to do major damage. They had a lot of Lobster, Crab and shrimp that is always served Cold. Served cold, sure, all the time, but not until it has been cooked :eek: Some cerviche maybe, but labor intensive. They have BBQ's onboard that they could have done steaks and Hamburgers. Electric grills. No power, no grill. The Coolers do not go bad in less than 3 days!! No, the coolers don't go bad, just the food in them. Once you've been without power for a few days, you'll understand. On land the neighborhood would be having grilling parties to cook up what was otherwise going to spoil. Ships that are on a 7 day cruise carry enough Food for 10 days Minimum!!! Most of which requires some cooking to be edible. Wise up People..This is a Farse on Carnivals part..:confused::mad:

 

You really believe what you wrote?

[ib4cruzn]

Actually, the only voters should be those directly affected.

 

This would negate the "pom-pom" factor.

 

YMMV

[largoman]

I think it's fair. 25% off any cabin is a good deal. We live in Florida, cruise often, and are aware that stuff happens (Hurricanes and all). I think Carnival has handled this whole issue very well. :)

[newcatintown]

Actually, the only voters should be those directly affected.

 

This would negate the "pom-pom" factor.

 

YMMV

 

 

Sounds fair to me, but I have no dog in the fight. That could change things. I didn't vote :p:D

[katisdale]

I think the offer was very fair. Everyone who is complaining about the 25% off a future cruise fails to mention that it is in addition to a 100% refund of the cruise fare. The only thing that would have made it better is if Carnival Corp. had arranged for those wishing to rebook the same dates to do so on another Carnival owned line like Princess or HAL. Fitting all these displaced cruisers onto Carnival ships at the same time as their original booking would be a logistical nightmare. I feel for the customer service workers. All of that said, I think the offer is fair.

[jebuell]

I wonder what compensation guests at the Riviera Princess Resort are getting?

 

Just sayin'.

 

They have two parts to their resort that are virtually identical and no one is losing their bookings there.

 

But you're comparing an incident caused by natural causes (I believe they said on the news it was caused by some sort of natural swamp gas explosion) with something that was caused by what could be considered a man-created issue that could have been prevented (which may or may not be the case, as far as I can tell they haven't really said yet what caused the fire, only what actually actually caught fire). These are two very different things. When "Act of God" prevents a plane from taking off, passengers are screwed. When it's the airlines fault, they compensate, at least in my experience.

 

Also I'm sure the resort will work out compensation to the families of those who lost their lives in the form of large amounts of money even though, technically, the explosion was not their fault. But of course, you could always argue that they could have built the resort further away from the swamp.

[jebuell]

I think the offer was very fair. Everyone who is complaining about the 25% off a future cruise fails to mention that it is in addition to a 100% refund of the cruise fare. The only thing that would have made it better is if Carnival Corp. had arranged for those wishing to rebook the same dates to do so on another Carnival owned line like Princess or HAL. Fitting all these displaced cruisers onto Carnival ships at the same time as their original booking would be a logistical nightmare. I feel for the customer service workers. All of that said, I think the offer is fair.

 

Or at the very least allow the discounts to be used on Carnival owned but non-Carnival cruises. It unfortunately would not be possible to rebook ALL of the passengers on similar cruises because they simply don't exist. There is one Princess cruise with a similar itinerary but it doesn't sail as often and when I checked, was mostly booked up. There just is nowhere to put all the people.

[cathy_kearns]

I've had reservations, not even fully paid stays, at hotels that when I arrived were not available. The front desk always had rooms booked for me in other nearby hotels, usually nicer ones, for the same price.

 

Last time that happened was in Paris, and I was moved from a 3 star to a brand new 4 star in a better part of town. They paid for the cab to take me across town, and made sure the parties booked with me were moved too, even though they were coming in days later, and by then there would be room. And they got their rooms at the same good price.

 

I've had airline flights cancelled after I booked them. I would get a call or an email with my new flight number. I wouldn't get charged more.

 

Above are examples of excellent service. If Carnival had sent an email to all the folks on the cancelled cruised telling them Carnival would try and rebook them, and then put a ton of reservationist on the phones and called all the parties and attempted to get them in a similar cabin on a similar itinerary the same week they had booked, I would call that excellent service.

 

If Carnival had told people when the ship caught fire that if the could cancel with no penalties if their cruise was before the end of the year, letting people rebook on other lines a week ago, I would have considered that kind and decent service.

 

What they are doing now for the folks with near future cancelled sailings doesn't really impress me at all.

[firefly333]

Or at the very least allow the discounts to be used on Carnival owned but non-Carnival cruises. It unfortunately would not be possible to rebook ALL of the passengers on similar cruises because they simply don't exist. There is one Princess cruise with a similar itinerary but it doesn't sail as often and when I checked, was mostly booked up. There just is nowhere to put all the people.

 

In that case, I want my 25% off Cunard.

[jebuell]

I think it's fair. 25% off any cabin is a good deal. We live in Florida, cruise often, and are aware that stuff happens (Hurricanes and all). I think Carnival has handled this whole issue very well. :)

 

See, but you're comparing apples to oranges in two different places here.

 

1) Had this happened in Florida or the Caribbean it would be a whole different story. You have options. You have lots of ships. You have lots of pretty, pretty islands. We have 2-3 ships and really only two places to go (Catalina and Mexico). So when one ship is no longer available, options are virtually non-existent.

 

2) You're talking about "Act of God" (weather) versus "Act of Man" (mechanical). When you book a cruise out of Florida during hurricane season you have to expect there could be a problem with the weather and that's a gamble you take. But who expects a Pacific cruise's engine to catch fire and take two months to repair? Had someone even suggested this when we booked our cruise I would have laughed and told you that cruiselines are way too diligent on their maintenance to allow something like that to happen!

[Tbay-eh]

Can we let this go pretty soon - there are still multiple threads on the Spendor.

[kassimer1]

The only thing they might have done differently is give a flight change credit for those who have to change flights. People have booked flights far in advance I'm sure and tried to get deals. Trying to book a flight around Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years now is going to be quite expensive.

My thoughts are if their current airfare were say $300 round trip and to change now it's $500 Carnival should pony up the $200. Just my opinion and I am not affected by this at all.

I agree. They just dashed a lot of families holidays and some wont be able to pay the difference so they will be out of luck. I think they will be hurting for a while til everyone forgets.

[nrdsb4]

It doesn't take that long to put a Fire!! They had a lot of Lobster, Crab and shrimp that is always served Cold. They have BBQ's onboard that they could have done steaks and Hamburgers. The Coolers do not go bad in less than 3 days!! Ships that are on a 7 day cruise carry enough Food for 10 days Minimum!!! Wise up People..This is a Farse on Carnivals part..:confused::mad:

 

Umm, it's kind of hard to keep seafood fresh and edible without refrigeration.:rolleyes: Some food spoils very quickly when not kept at the proper temperature. I sure as heck wouldn't eat seafood which has not been kept chilled.

 

And what is your point, anyway? That Carnival had tons of edible food and just held back on it for giggles?:confused:

[kas129]

I think it's fair. This was not Carnival's fault people. It was an accident.

We do not know yet whether or not Carnival was "at fault" - I have a feeling that the final report from the NTSB et al may show something - this ship has only been in service a little over two (2) years - What about Carnival's "older" ships?

[*Mach*]

Carnival is not telling all the Facts!!This is the Holiday Season and people have put a lot of Money and Celebrations out for this! Whether you are Local or International there needs to be more of a Compensation. Air at Christmas or thanksgiving is Impossible to get this Late..

It doesn't take that long to put a Fire!! They had a lot of Lobster, Crab and shrimp that is always served Cold. They have BBQ's onboard that they could have done steaks and Hamburgers. The Coolers do not go bad in less than 3 days!! Ships that are on a 7 day cruise carry enough Food for 10 days Minimum!!! Wise up People..This is a Farse on Carnivals part..:confused::mad:

 

 

Just one little point here... ALL of the cooking equipment... stoves, grills, flat tops... EVERYTHING is heated electrically. There are no open fires on Carnival ships.

:)

[jebuell]

Just one little point here... ALL of the cooking equipment... stoves, grills, flat tops... EVERYTHING is heated electrically. There are no open fires on Carnival ships.

 

:)

 

 

Well... they had one. :p

 

Sorry, horrible horrible joke but I couldn't resist.