FCC Can't be used to book a new Cruise?

[Boyshockeymommy]

Last year in May we booked a cruise for our family (6 people) with Carnival and I paid a $1500 CAD deposit. In August, we had to cancel due to my daughter in law getting pregnant and with complications her doctor would not let her travel. After paying a $300 USD cancellation fee ($50pp) I was told by Carnival that my money would be held as a future cruise credit for booking another cruise. Okay, fine by me.......

 

Three months ago, we contacted our TA to say we wanted to utilize our credit and book this cruise. She booked our cruise and sent us the info including the booking number. Okay, we are on our way!!!!! After information on this board regarding price drops, we had our TA fill out the appropriate paperwork and we were given a $140 pp price reduction from Carnival.

 

Sunday evening this past week, I went to the Carnival site to order my water for our stateroom, and for whatever reason, my booking number would not work. So, I contacted our TA Monday (yesterday) to see if when the price reduction went through our booking number changed. She contacted Carnival who then told her, that our booking was CANCELLED because we failed to pay an $800 USD deposit for the cruise!!! WHAT???????? When was paying a deposit requested? They already have over $1000 of my money! So, I guess according to Carnival as of yesterday, we should have paid $800USD deposit and then the money I already paid to them would have been added to our account. Wait. WHAT????? The person our TA talked to yesterday would not budge. Apparently FCC means you can't use this money to book your cruise. How is that right? Why in three months of talking with the operators at Carnival was the issue of a deposit never mentioned?????? Even through all the paperwork for the rate reduction, nobody mentioned a deposit.

 

Why would anyone buy FCC if you can't use them to book a cruise? This seems like a shoddy way to do business and maybe I will have to chalk this up to a lesson learned and take my business to another line...........

[love my grandkids]

I would have your TA talk to someone else.

 

BTW why didnt your TA know Carnival cancelled your booking? Seems to me she should have gotten something in writing from Carnival.

[Boyshockeymommy]

I would have your TA talk to someone else.

 

BTW why didnt your TA know Carnival cancelled your booking? Seems to me she should have gotten something in writing from Carnival.

 

This has gone up the chain of command at our Travel Agency. It is a rather large company. Hopefully the district manager can intervene for us. As for the TA herself, she may have gotten notice sometime this week if I hadn't approached her first as to why my booking number wouldn't give me access to the Carnival website. It was when she called them yesterday, that she was informed our booking would be cancelled as of today for lack of payment of the deposit.

 

When booking for us three months ago, she requested the credit I had with Carnival be applied to our booking. Never was a deposit requested by Carnival until she called yesterday to find out why my booking number would not access the Carnival website. She was as astonished at this "screw up", as I am angry.

 

I don't blame her at all.

 

Kimm

[loxley]

Maybe if you or your TA had bothered reading the rules this would not be such a shock to you.

 

This is how it works when you book early saver and then cancel that cruise.

 

You lose $50 per person and the rest is held or up to 2 years.

 

IF you book another cruise at the time of cancelation, the rest can be applied to the deposit and you just have to top it up at that time. (because you lost $50 per person)

 

IF you do not book another cruise at the time of cancellation, but decide to book at a later date, as you did, a whole new deposit is due at booking and what ever was left over from the cancelled cruise is then deducted from the balance.

 

You say you do not blame your TA, but that is directly where the blame should be placed because your TA should have known that rule and informed you at the time you rebooked.

 

This is not something Carnival has just thought of. That is how it has been since just after early saver rates started. At first you could not apply remaining balance at all but was changed so if you rebook while cancelling, it can be used as the deposit.

 

Whatever cruise line you decide to take your business to will also have rules that they follow. I suggest you or your TA read and understand them so you do not get disappointed when they follow them the next time.

[bakersdozen12]

Hmm...this doesn't seem right. Your TA would definitely have seen the deposit amount due and due date, if she took the time to look.

 

I say this because I had a case recently where I was booked with a TA under her rate (a refundable rate), then saw that the Early Saver rate was lower and asked to be switched to that rate. She had to cancel my original booking, rebook me under Early Saver, then add the new booking to her group booking.

 

There was a delay between when I got the new booking ID and when she took over the booking with her group ID, and during that time I was able to see the payment info (you can't see payment info when booked with a TA, only they can see it). Anyway, during the short period of time when I had control of the booking I saw the "deposit of $500 due by xx/xx/xx" message. Apparently it took a little while for Carnival to apply my money to the new booking.

 

Now keep in mind, my deposit was fully refundable, and the money coming back to you from your cancelled cruise wasn't. Which is why mine was applied to my deposit. But what I'm saying is that I'm fairly sure your TA dropped the ball on this one by not telling you that you had a deposit due.

 

Anyway, hope you get this resolved and end up on your cruise as planned. Good luck!

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Were you able to keep or rebook your cruise?

Edited June 23, 2015 by PrincessArlena'sDad

[loxley]

Hmm...this doesn't seem right. Your TA would definitely have seen the deposit amount due and due date, if she took the time to look.

 

I say this because I had a case recently where I was booked with a TA under her rate (a refundable rate), then saw that the Early Saver rate was lower and asked to be switched to that rate. She had to cancel my original booking, rebook me under Early Saver, then add the new booking to her group booking.

 

There was a delay between when I got the new booking ID and when she took over the booking with her group ID, and during that time I was able to see the payment info (you can't see payment info when booked with a TA, only they can see it). Anyway, during the short period of time when I had control of the booking I saw the "deposit of $500 due by xx/xx/xx" message. Apparently it took a little while for Carnival to apply my money to the new booking.

 

Now keep in mind, my deposit was fully refundable, and the money coming back to you from your cancelled cruise wasn't. Which is why mine was applied to my deposit. But what I'm saying is that I'm fairly sure your TA dropped the ball on this one by not telling you that you had a deposit due.

 

Anyway, hope you get this resolved and end up on your cruise as planned. Good luck!

 

I think what happened was the TA saw the deposit but thought they will be applying the FCC and that will take care of the deposit because she did not know or did not understand the rules of early saver rebooking and had not checked on it again to see if indeed that happened.

[klfrodo]

Your TA screwed you.

 

A professional would have know that the customer MUST pay the deposit.

Then and only then can the FCC be applied towards final payment on the cruise.

 

You cannot use the FCC as a deposit to book a cruise

[firemanbobswife]

I agree that your TA should have known. It has been Carnival's policy for as long as I can remember. We had to cancel an ES once and when I asked my PVP if it could be used for booking another one he said no because the computer doesn't recognize it as cash (a deposit) down because it's a credit and they are coded differently in the system or something to that effect.

 

It was totally her fault for not knowing and the only thing going up the chain of command at the TA will do is probably get her in trouble. Carnival doesn't bend the rules for people that book direct, and I don't see them starting for those that book with TAs either.

 

Hopefully she learned from her mistake and won't let it happen to anyone else. I'm glad you caught it before things went bad.

[loxley]

Well, she got her resolution.

 

http://forums.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=46934217&postcount=368

 

She is still blaming it on Carnival instead of where it should be placed.

 

I think the TA now knows she made a mistake and is covering the deposit until final payment.

 

But, whatever, she is now rebooked.

 

Oh and OP, it has nothing to do with FINE PRINT. It is clearly spelled out. Also, it is not up to Carnival to explain the rules to your TA. It is the TA's job to know those rules and to seek clarification if she does not understand them.

[firemanbobswife]

Yep I agree - no fine print. Not Carnival's fault. A good TA would have known better. And that's all I'm gonna say about that!

[goduckies05]

Your TA screwed you.

 

A professional would have know that the customer MUST pay the deposit.

Then and only then can the FCC be applied towards final payment on the cruise.

 

You cannot use the FCC as a deposit to book a cruise

 

They allowed me to use my FCC for my upcoming inspiration cruise. They gave me an extra week on the hold and the applied the funds. It says cancelled online too by i have email confirmation and phone confirmation i am booked and good to go.