Very disappointed by Carnival, they outright lied

[cruiseco]

No, the problem is this is a troll. Come on people.........first post, dicey and incorrect info and they never come back. Smells like a troll to me.

 

By my clock the original post was about 9 hours ago. Never came back??? Not all of us can monitor this board every moment of the day. God forbid he has a job or something.

 

And what incorrect info?

[Doug R.]

I had 30+ cruises under my belt before my first post here. So what?

 

Was it a angry bitter negative post that streched the limits of credulity?

[cruise_csuf]

No, the problem is this is a troll. Come on people.........first post, dicey and incorrect info and they never come back. Smells like a troll to me.

 

This comment is exactly the reason why I lurk and never post/share anything in forums. :mad:

 

Every wonder that this was the info given to her by the cruise line and it was just pass on to the readers here?

[TravlGrl]

I'm sorry this happened, but I've never heard of transferring a reservation booked directly with the cruise line to a TA. How is that possible?:eek:

 

NCL has restrictions on how close to the sail date you can do it, and as already mentioned RCCL does that (as does Celebrity), and most other lines don't even have any restrictions in terms of when you can transfer the booking. Some people will book directly with the cruise line first, then transfer to a TA to get OBCs and other gifts.

[cruiseco]

This comment is exactly the reason why I lurk and never post/share anything in forums. :mad:

 

My sister has cruised over 20 times and often reads these forums but she will NEVER EVER post here because of this nonsense of calling those with a low post count "trolls" if you don't like what they're posting. She has a lot of info to share but has a thinner skin than I do. It's a shame.

 

By the way, the agency I was with was huge with Carnival, dating back to when they only had three old ships in the fleet. Back then (pre-internet) all of our bookings were made by phone so we were on the phone with CCL's phone reps constantly. Everything the OP posted rings true -- depending on what rep you get the info they'll give you can be pure garbage. It was a joke in our office (since we knew CCL's policies and procedures better than some of their reps) that if you got one that didn't have a clue, as the OP apparently did, you'd just say "oops, my other phone is ringing", hang up and try again. This happened all the time and there were many times I was given even worse info than the OP got, but luckily knew better than to rely on it. From my experience, everything the OP wrote sounds 100% possible. You may not like it, but that doesn't make him "smell" like a "troll".

[Hlitner]

Where to start? First, there is no reason to flame the poster because they chose to vent over a valid issue. Second, yes, it is very common to transfer reservations to a TA after booking direct with a cruise line including Carnival.

 

The OP mentioned they were already in the "penalty period" so we can take an educated guess that they booked at the last minute and were required to pay for the entire cruise in full at the time of booking. Although transferring reservations is common with all the mass market cruise lines.....most do not allow the transfer once the final payment has been made. Soooo, the OP was mis-informed by the Carnival rep. If I had an onboard credit for every time we have received incorrect info from a cruise line rep we would not have to worry about paying our bar bill on our next cruise (and we take very long cruises). Oh, I should mention that we are no "troll" and stopped counting all of our cruises (far in excess of 60 with 12 different cruise lines). My only advice to the OP is to learn from their bad experience and keep in mind that you cannot believe everything you are told by cruise line reps (from all cruise lines). Personally, we generally insist on getting promises confirmed in writing when it comes to both cruise line reps and TAs.

 

Hank

[pdmlynek]

you spent 4-5hrs and in tears over $80 ? :o

 

I think that she is more upset about feeling tricked or being taken advantage of, rather than the money.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I'm sorry this happened, but I've never heard of transferring a reservation booked directly with the cruise line to a TA. How is that possible?:eek:

 

We have done this with HAL.

You have so many days to do make the transfer.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I think that she is more upset about feeling tricked or being taken advantage of, rather than the money.

 

 

I agree.

it wasn't so much the money -- but the frustration of being lied to.

[Jade13]

They booked within final payment, I assume had to pay in full, and then could not transfer to an outside travel agent.

 

 

I would suggest the OP write a letter (hopefully they know the agents name) and maybe they can get some OBC from the cruseline.

[jennmaybe]

NCL has restrictions on how close to the sail date you can do it, and as already mentioned RCCL does that (as does Celebrity), and most other lines don't even have any restrictions in terms of when you can transfer the booking. Some people will book directly with the cruise line first, then transfer to a TA to get OBCs and other gifts.

 

I'm really glad I read this thread (just about didn't), because I learn so much from you guys!! I never knew we could do this, but I am definitely going to keep this in mind for my future cruises!!

[LHP]

I need to share this because I don't want it to happen to someone else. I was given all sorts of false information by Carnival and they pushed and pushed until I made a reservation with them. I called to get my past guest number and let the woman know that I had to book through my credit card site to use an $80 certificate. She assured me that I could book with them and then the credit card travel agency could transfer the reservation. I literally asked her several times and went over the fine print on my certificate. She assured me I would be fine. (Commission hungry/willling to lie.) I called the agency, they said they could transfer it no problem. I paid Carnival and then I promptly called the travel agency to be switched over. Carnival absolutely would not transfer the reservation or honor the $80 even though I told them about it repeatedly! Carnival told me all these things and then would not honor it. I asked if I could cancel everything then, only 45 minutes after making the reservation and they said I was now in a "penalty period." Really!?! after a matter of mere minutes. So sad that a company is set up to 100% protect themselves and not be accountable for even a basic level of customer service. In the end, they transferred the reservation, but I won't get the $80 off before I go on my trip. I spent 4.5 hours and lots of tears trying to figure this out. Carnival also refused to give me any onboard credit for my time and hassle. They were actually quite rude and downright mean. So sad! I just had to take the time to post because I would hate for something like to happen to my grandma or someone else.

Please beware!

One mighty stressed out cruiser

 

 

First of all, Carnival employees that book cruises do not work on commission.

 

And I have found that while Carnival (like any company ) can make mistakes.... the vast majority of the time, it is the passenger who creates the drama. (not just with Carnival but with any cruise line)

 

I book cruises with my PVP all the time and transfer them to a travel agent.

 

You have 30 days with which to do so.

 

I can certainly understand why Carnival would become frustrated with anyone who would be in tears over $80. really???

[Jo-Bob]

Just another thought...this $80?

 

While it's not a lot of money to worry over, I think I'd be pretty choked too, especially if it happened to be $80 that I had been 'building' in travel points for a long time....you sort of expect to be able to use that money when you get around to doing so.

 

DH got our first 'travel reward' card over 3 years ago. Thought it was a good one, compairing other cards that were out there. And thought we undestood the point calculations. We had no travel planned, but knew eventually we would, and those points would come in handy. So.....we funnelled everything through that card...10's of thousand of dollars...(paid balance each month) didn't pay a lot of attention to the accumulation of points. This past april, DH was able to travel to San Diego basically for free in terms of hotel and 1 leg of flight (8 nights) but that was a nice thing to be able to do, for sure.

 

However, I'd been blindly going along thinking there was 3x as many points piling up.....so I was a little bummed. The pooints are gone, and we still don't have enough for us to travel anywhere together....it's going to take another 6 years to get enough for us both:eek: Better than nothing, I realize and maybe we need to shop for new cards;)

 

So, my long-winded way of saying maybe she really was married to those $80, had taken a long time earning it/the points/, whatever. I know, it's a stretch maybe, but possible. Everyone makes mistakes.

[sarafinadh]

Many states have consumer protection laws.

 

In California you have 3 to 30 days, depending on the situation, to cancel an order made over the phone.

 

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/k-6.shtml

[johneeo]

My sister has cruised over 20 times and often reads these forums but she will NEVER EVER post here because of this nonsense of calling those with a low post count "trolls" if you don't like what they're posting. She has a lot of info to share but has a thinner skin than I do. It's a shame.

 

 

I have thousands of posts and get called a troll, and other things.

 

Does it bother me a little bit? Nope.

 

Matter of fact, there has never been anything posted here that has ever bothered me. What others find bothersome, I find to be amusing.:D

[downward cruise]

Thank you everyone for your help and feedback. It made me feel a lot better after such a hairy expereince. I could have gone on and on about all the details here. The issue is that I didn't want people to believe everything that Carnival says because they were super sweet and comfortable while lying. That was my motivation for reaching out. I called Carnival in the first place because I just wanted my past Carnival # to give to the other agency. I only booked with Carnival because they said they transfer reservations all the time. I also flet like they could answer more of my questions, so why not. I trusted and I got burned. For someone like me that works 60-70 hours a week, saving a few phone calls is a major bonus. I will lose the $80 before the cruise and 5% on my transaction for trusting. So...about $250 altogether in losses. The time invested became a matter of principal and also after all of the mix ups, I didn't want to go on the cruise at all. So, for those of you that were concerned about me spending so much time on $80, I should have included more details. It's $80 plus 5% on anything ran through Carnival. Then, after outright lies and misinformation, I wanted NOTHING to do with them. But, I guess these big corporations are set up to entirely protect themselves and not the little guy, so we are going ane hopefully we will like it!

 

If anyone can help, I am sailing to Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Cuaraco, and Aruba. After my oh so lovely booking, I looked at excursions and so many of them got terrible reviews and they don't offer a ton of excursions. Any tips? Anybody really enjoy any excursions on this itinerary?

 

I will say I miss Royal Caribbean, we had great times with them, but their rates are so high now and we are saving to start a family. This will be our last trip before we pay big $$$ for invitro, so I really want it to be relaxing and special. Hopefully I will come back feeling better than I did booking this.

 

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate taking the time to read this and offering me tips and support for a special vaca for us.

[downward cruise]

It's good you were able to get your booking transferred to your TA.

What I don't understand is that you read the certificate and knew that you'd only get the $80 it you booked through the company that the certificate came from. I'm sorry, but you didn't adhere to the rules of the certificate...it would be like taking an $80 coupon from Khol's and trying to use it at Target. Lesson learned...always read the fine print!

Have fun on your cruise!!!!:)

 

I actually read Carnival the fine print from the certificate several times on the call and she assured me it was fine. I also felt secure when I called the agency and they also said I could transfer it. I just trusted the lady and I had already asked her so many questions, I felt like I had covered my bases and she knew what I wanted to book, guess I didn't want to start over with a new agent and more time.

[downward cruise]

With Princess you can transfer a booking from Princess to a TA anytime before making final payment.

 

When I posted on Facebook, everyone kept sugegsting I go with Princess next time. I am going to need to check them out. They sound great!

 

Thanks for the tip.

[HMH G]

you spent 4-5hrs and in tears over $80 ? :o

 

Um $80 can be a pretty fair amount for a lot of people.

 

I think they were more frustrated by the situation, though.

[cruise_csuf]

Many states have consumer protection laws.

 

In California you have 3 to 30 days, depending on the situation, to cancel an order made over the phone.

 

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/k-6.shtml

 

This is a great link! Thanks for sharing.

[lady_cruiser]

I actually read Carnival the fine print from the certificate several times on the call and she assured me it was fine. I also felt secure when I called the agency and they also said I could transfer it. I just trusted the lady and I had already asked her so many questions, I felt like I had covered my bases and she knew what I wanted to book, guess I didn't want to start over with a new agent and more time.

Well we all learn from our mistakes. I have been on ten cruises (so I am still considered a "newbie or cruise virgin") and I am still learning a lot about booking cruises.

Just consider this a lesson learned, go on your cruise and enjoy yourself.

[alex12_3]

Thank you everyone for your help and feedback. It made me feel a lot better after such a hairy expereince. I could have gone on and on about all the details here. The issue is that I didn't want people to believe everything that Carnival says because they were super sweet and comfortable while lying. That was my motivation for reaching out. I called Carnival in the first place because I just wanted my past Carnival # to give to the other agency. I only booked with Carnival because they said they transfer reservations all the time. I also flet like they could answer more of my questions, so why not. I trusted and I got burned. For someone like me that works 60-70 hours a week, saving a few phone calls is a major bonus. I will lose the $80 before the cruise and 5% on my transaction for trusting. So...about $250 altogether in losses. The time invested became a matter of principal and also after all of the mix ups, I didn't want to go on the cruise at all. So, for those of you that were concerned about me spending so much time on $80, I should have included more details. It's $80 plus 5% on anything ran through Carnival. Then, after outright lies and misinformation, I wanted NOTHING to do with them. But, I guess these big corporations are set up to entirely protect themselves and not the little guy, so we are going ane hopefully we will like it!

 

If anyone can help, I am sailing to Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Cuaraco, and Aruba. After my oh so lovely booking, I looked at excursions and so many of them got terrible reviews and they don't offer a ton of excursions. Any tips? Anybody really enjoy any excursions on this itinerary?

 

I will say I miss Royal Caribbean, we had great times with them, but their rates are so high now and we are saving to start a family. This will be our last trip before we pay big $$$ for invitro, so I really want it to be relaxing and special. Hopefully I will come back feeling better than I did booking this.

 

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate taking the time to read this and offering me tips and support for a special vaca for us.

I worked my butt off (70-80 hours a week, 6-7 days per week, for months) at a pretty tough job to get a hold of all the money to book my first and so far only cruise and then to pay for everything involved therewith. $80 can be a big deal. Hopefully that's the worst part of your vacation experience...it should all get better from here.

 

As far as Dominican Republic, it didn't really seem like there was a lot to do there, but I'm told you just need to know where to look. We did an ATV tour and saw some beautiful scenery. Cayo Levantado, a beach/island/resort, is a popular excursion and seems to get very good reviews. Check out the Dominican Republic section here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=374

 

Edit:

Also, where in Dominican Republic does your ship visit? For us, it was Samana.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I'm sorry this happened, but I've never heard of transferring a reservation booked directly with the cruise line to a TA. How is that possible?:eek:

We book on the ship always, and when we get home transfer it to our TA...

[kassimer1]

I'm sorry this happened, but I've never heard of transferring a reservation booked directly with the cruise line to a TA. How is that possible?:eek:

 

we have done this with all our cruises. We have never had a problem. Maybe it was a special promotion that had to be booked with them. I dont know . Now that its over enjoy the cruise

[doddsm]

We had a friend that had about the same issue with Carnival, to get the booking they lied, then when they wanted to transfer, which they were told they could do, it turned out they could not.

We just thought maybe is was a mistake, but maybe not