Carnival cancels my reservations

[missouri mike]

WOW! After all the press on the find a lower rate and we will honor it, Carnival blew this one. I applied on line for the lower rate about $200. Filled the on line form out, sent it, and a few days later the booking shows the new rate. Awesome it works I thought to myself. This weekend I could not log into my booking. I figured they were having web site problems again. Today I call to figure out how to see my bookings. I was told that an email was sent to myself and my wife telling us they needed another $100 for the deposit. We booked under the reduced deposit before, so, this rate forced into paying the full deposit. No problem with that, I can handle it if I was informed of it. Neither wife nor I seen an email from them informing us of this and after 3 days they cancelled our reservations! I guess they could have called me, or put a note on the doc's, but, they already have my money, so, why bother. I rebooked our cruise for $100 less than our original fare, but, $100 more than our savings fare.

 

I don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about Carnival right now! Hopefully the new CEO can right the SS Carnival.

 

Sorry for the rant, just want people to know that the online form has some problems with it! I will call from now on with my lawyer sitting beside me...lol.

[klfrodo]

Sorry you had an issue however, it's well known that if you booked at a rate with a reduced deposit, any changes you make will require the full deposit immediately.

Many people have posted about this.

Could Carnival do better? Yes they could.

Could people pay more attention to the terms and conditions? Yes they could.

[missouri mike]

Sorry you had an issue however, it's well known that if you booked at a rate with a reduced deposit, any changes you make will require the full deposit immediately.

Many people have posted about this.

Could Carnival do better? Yes they could.

Could people pay more attention to the terms and conditions? Yes they could.

 

Ouch I was hoping for some sympathy....

...big corps stealing my money.

[2 cruzen]

Sorry you had the hassle. Hope you got ES this time and will enjoy some OBC. Have fun, I have never been in the Dream. Hope to some day.

[hftmrock]

when I read the title of this thread I could have told you the contents. Its happened to so many people. Did you register with your email address when you first booked? did you check the spam or junk folders?

 

They need to do a better job of letting people know but as the poster above said, its well known that if you book a cabin with a reduced deposit and change the reservation in any way, you will owe the resto of the deposit.

 

sorry it happened and glad you got your reservation back.

[missouri mike]

when I read the title of this thread I could have told you the contents. Its happened to so many people. Did you register with your email address when you first booked? did you check the spam or junk folders?

 

They need to do a better job of letting people know but as the poster above said, its well known that if you book a cabin with a reduced deposit and change the reservation in any way, you will owe the resto of the deposit.

 

sorry it happened and glad you got your reservation back.

 

Thanks for the reply...I was hoping for some sympathy. They were able to send my confirmation to the email address within seconds, but, not an email to tell me to pay up or my reservations would be cancelled? That way they could collect more money.

 

I know the customer is always wrong at Carnival...

[Sarahsmomi]

You have my sympathies!

 

As for it being "well known" I would say that is subjective. I certainly would not have known that, and I would expect that when I changed my reservation I would be informed at that point of any further deposit or monies owing.

 

Sorry this happened to you. I wouldn't be feeling very warm and fuzzy either. :(

[jkrislc]

Sorry you had an issue however, it's well known that if you booked at a rate with a reduced deposit, any changes you make will require the full deposit immediately.

Many people have posted about this.

Could Carnival do better? Yes they could.

Could people pay more attention to the terms and conditions? Yes they could.

 

Well known by those who frequent this board; not well known to cruisers. Given the frequency of these types of situations being posted, I would expect Carnival to be more proactive. Perhaps when they grant the lower fare, they should acknowledge then and there that an additional deposit is required.

 

I'm seriously starting to doubt that these emails are being received given the number of posts by people who state that they haven't received them. If Carnival wants to shore up its bookings, they need to stop canceling cruises. Perhaps that's why the prices are dropping. They're thinking there's less demand because they keep canceling bookings.

 

For what it's worth, I've had excellent customer service by Carnival, but I've never been put in this situation and I known that my TA hasn't had the best time in working with them with her other clients because of the various fare categories and associated rules.

[missouri mike]

You have my sympathies!

 

As for it being "well known" I would say that is subjective. I certainly would not have known that, and I would expect that when I changed my reservation I would be informed at that point of any further deposit or monies owing.

 

Sorry this happened to you. I wouldn't be feeling very warm and fuzzy either. :(

 

I love you Sarahsmomi....thanks I needed that!

[missouri mike]

Well known by those who frequent this board; not well known to cruisers. Given the frequency of these types of situations being posted, I would expect Carnival to be more proactive. Perhaps when they grant the lower fare, they should acknowledge then and there that an additional deposit is required.

 

I'm seriously starting to doubt that these emails are being received given the number of posts by people who state that they haven't received them. If Carnival wants to shore up its bookings, they need to stop canceling cruises. Perhaps that's why the prices are dropping. They're thinking there's less demand because they keep canceling bookings.

 

For what it's worth, I've had excellent customer service by Carnival, but I've never been put in this situation and I known that my TA hasn't had the best time in working with them with her other clients because of the various fare categories and associated rules.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like cruising the fun ships. I have been on quite a few over the years, Princess, Celebrity, etc...and have always had good service.

 

This just rubbed me raw

[cruizinisthebest]

You have my sympathies!

 

As for it being "well known" I would say that is subjective. I certainly would not have known that, and I would expect that when I changed my reservation I would be informed at that point of any further deposit or monies owing.

 

Sorry this happened to you. I wouldn't be feeling very warm and fuzzy either. :(

 

It is well known around this board. If you frequent it alot, which not everyone who visits here or even is a member does. Carnival should have a way of letting the agents know right away that changes in rates or room categories, will require the full deposit on a trip booked with the 50% deposit promotion. It happens all of the time. Later for sending an email days later, the reservation should be flagged so that this information isn't missed when the adjustment is made. Just don't take it personally. It is their policy. And one they need to do a better job at communicating immediately.

Edited December 3, 2013 by cruizinisthebest

[nickjones3418]

When I called to see what was going on with my booking they told me it was canceled as well they told me they sent it to my email address the only problem is that I had never received it. :mad: I have since gotten it all fixed but it still cost more money. :mad::mad::mad:

[13607]

We do at least 10 cruises a year, and this has happened to us with a booking we booked during a sale under reduced deposit.

 

Never before had we booked with a reduced deposit - it is a nightmare and you end up being cancelled for any price drop processed.

 

The fix we have found: When they tell you it is a reduced deposit, insist on paying a full deposit - that is the only way you will be able to avoid this snafu in the future.

 

Different departments handle price reductions, and when they match a rate without a full deposit, no one is notified, it triggers an automatic setting in their computer that is used for people who are given 24 hours to decide if they want to book a cruise - if they do not have a full deposit in 24 hours, the offer is off the table, and the reservation is released.

 

Unfortunately, when this is triggered and you reservation falls into this 24 hour hold, since you do not have a full deposit, it is an automatic cancel.

 

Even the PVP's are losing bookings to this because they make a change and everything is fine, unknown to anyone, the 24 hour ticker is counting. Some people do catch it because if you happen to sign into your carnival.com account, you booking will say that $XXXX dollars is due by the next day. Once it is cancelled, it disappears from you cruise listings.

 

If you do see a cruise go missing, it is a sure sign it fell into the 24 hour cancel.

[missouri mike]

When I called to see what was going on with my booking they told me it was canceled as well they told me they sent it to my email address the only problem is that I had never received it. :mad: I have since gotten it all fixed but it still cost more money. :mad::mad::mad:

 

Must be something about that cruise date and ship!

[nickjones3418]

Must be something about that cruise date and ship!

Im going to call the MOB to see if he cant get it fixed :D

[nickjones3418]

I think that whenever you change your booking on the computer they should have to call you and let you know about the price change not send a email. I mean they can call your phone for other stupid stuff. They call me all the time trying to get me to sign up for excursions. If they can call for that then why cant they call me and say hey if you dont give us more money then we will cancel your cruise.

[missouri mike]

We do at least 10 cruises a year, and this has happened to us with a booking we booked during a sale under reduced deposit.

 

Never before had we booked with a reduced deposit - it is a nightmare and you end up being cancelled for any price drop processed.

 

The fix we have found: When they tell you it is a reduced deposit, insist on paying a full deposit - that is the only way you will be able to avoid this snafu in the future.

 

Different departments handle price reductions, and when they match a rate without a full deposit, no one is notified, it triggers an automatic setting in their computer that is used for people who are given 24 hours to decide if they want to book a cruise - if they do not have a full deposit in 24 hours, the offer is off the table, and the reservation is released.

 

Unfortunately, when this is triggered and you reservation falls into this 24 hour hold, since you do not have a full deposit, it is an automatic cancel.

 

Even the PVP's are losing bookings to this because they make a change and everything is fine, unknown to anyone, the 24 hour ticker is counting. Some people do catch it because if you happen to sign into your carnival.com account, you booking will say that $XXXX dollars is due by the next day. Once it is cancelled, it disappears from you cruise listings.

 

If you do see a cruise go missing, it is a sure sign it fell into the 24 hour cancel.

 

Thanks for the tip! I will definitely do that the next time.

[missouri mike]

I think that whenever you change your booking on the computer they should have to call you and let you know about the price change not send a email. I mean they can call your phone for other stupid stuff. They call me all the time trying to get me to sign up for excursions. If they can call for that then why cant they call me and say hey if you dont give us more money then we will cancel your cruise.

 

My feelings exactly! Couldn't have said it any better...

[loxley]

Well known by those who frequent this board; not well known to cruisers. Given the frequency of these types of situations being posted, I would expect Carnival to be more proactive. Perhaps when they grant the lower fare, they should acknowledge then and there that an additional deposit is required.

 

I'm seriously starting to doubt that these emails are being received given the number of posts by people who state that they haven't received them. If Carnival wants to shore up its bookings, they need to stop canceling cruises. Perhaps that's why the prices are dropping. They're thinking there's less demand because they keep canceling bookings.

 

For what it's worth, I've had excellent customer service by Carnival, but I've never been put in this situation and I known that my TA hasn't had the best time in working with them with her other clients because of the various fare categories and associated rules.

 

I agree. How many people have posted they found out about the cancel when they receive an email that says their fttf has been canceled? Not one of these people have been able to find the cancel email even in their spam folders. If all the other emails are making it to them, why not that one? Those emails are not really being sent.

[missouri mike]

I agree. How many people have posted they found out about the cancel when they receive an email that says their fttf has been canceled? Not one of these people have been able to find the cancel email even in their spam folders. If all the other emails are making it to them, why not that one? Those emails are not really being sent.

 

I think you may be on to something....

 

Remember at Carnival the customer is always wrong, even if they are right.

[txcruzer53]

Same thing happened to me. I did receive the email saying the full deposit had not been paid, BUT that I had 5 days to pay the full amount or the bookings (4 rooms) would be cancelled. Tried to pay the next day and the bookings had already been cancelled. Luckily I was able to call, make the payment and restore the bookings after spending 25 minutes on the phone. Carnival needs to fix this.

[Colorado Kat]

Mike - I'm sorry this happened to you. Carnival is not doing a good job of notifying people about the deposits changing. I'm glad you were able to book the cruise again.

[MsTabbyKats]

Mike-

 

You have my sympathy.

 

Not everyone is a CC member and even if someone is....not everyone reads every thread to keep abreast of "Carnival Policy".

 

This deposit increase should come up in big bold red letters....so the agent doing the booking can inform you.

 

I changed something on my reservation....and all was going well. As I was hanging up....I said..."And I don't have to do anything, right?" Then the rep said..."Oh...you need to put more $$$ towards your deposit."

 

If I had just said "good-bye"....I probably would have had mine canceled also. (I was passively aware....which is why I asked.)

[Ocean Dancer]

Hey Missouri Mike, A bit off topic, but I did want to congratulate you on your recent non smoking:) My smoke free anniversary will be December 10, 2008 at noon. I saved all that money that did not go up in smoke and DH and I did a bucket list once in a lifetime 49 day repo cruise from LA around the Horn of South America to NYC. It was amazing. Save that money for a few years and treat yourself and family to something very special. You deserve it.:)

 

Sorry about the lack of communication with Carnival......it happened to us once back in the day when you were literally sent a pack of "DOCS" We booked a cruise direct from Carnival three weeks prior to sailing. When the docs failed to show up almost 2 weeks later, I called. Someone failed to run our card and we were never even booked, we were lucky to get a cabin on that ship, but it was too late to send the docs. We had to do everything at the pier. Of course this was prior to the internet and computers. And in some ways technology still has not changed!! Even had to argue and prove that we were on that sailing since it was missing from our cruise history.:cool:

[larkz]

Sorry you had an issue however, it's well known that if you booked at a rate with a reduced deposit, any changes you make will require the full deposit immediately.

Many people have posted about this.

Could Carnival do better? Yes they could.

Could people pay more attention to the terms and conditions? Yes they could.

 

Uh, no.

 

Pay more attention to the terms and conditions? This is a total fail on Carnival's part. They really need to just dump that stupid 50% promotion or have it stay in place when price drops and cabin changes take place. Not only is it confusing to customers, their own (often ruefully ignorant) reps don't even understand how it works!

 

I was told by a rep that "NO, you don't have to worry about the deposit changing, you're just fine..." when I inquired during a conversion of my booking from Past Guest to Early Saver category.

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong my silly little Carnival rep! Fortunately, I pay attention to the single most important thing, more important than the fine print: never believe Carnival reps. Or as Reagan used to say about the Soviets, "Trust, but verify." My rep's mistake came soon after one of the earliest 50% promotions, and I was lucky that somebody had already posted here about the problem of cancelled cruises -- and likewise that I was a fanatic CC follower who had the opportunity to actually SEE that post. (Surprising to some here, but most cruisers have never even heard of this board.)

 

After making my ES change, I checked my booking online, and sure enough the rest of the deposit was due. I paid off the booking entirely. And no, I did not receive an email notifying me that the remainder of the deposit was due; being in web technology, I know how to manage an email account. Had I accepted the rep's assurance, my cruise, too, would have been cancelled.