Onboard credit for itinerary changes?

[DoingGlory]

Hi-

My husband and I sailed on the Glory on 11/5/05. We booked our cruise at the beginning of April 2005. When we booked it, our ports of call were:

• Key West
  
• Cozumel
  
• Progreso
  
• Belize

We booked this particular cruise because we enjoy lots of ports. Well, shortly after booking the cruise, we get a letter from Carnival stating that Progreso had been removed from the itinerary due to customer complaints and that they were extending our stay in Cozumel by 5 hours. I am also 90% sure that it said there might be another port added to take the place of Progreso but if they did not add a port, we would receive a $20 shipboard credit per person. And now of course I can't find that damn letter. :mad:

 

I just spent a frustrating 45 minutes on the phone with Carnival trying to find out about the credit (that we didn't get) and I could not get this annoying Carnival rep to understand what I was talking about! She kept saying that Costa Maya was substituted for Cozumel because of the damage from Wilma. She simply could not grasp the fact that this itinerary change was MONTHS ago, long before Hurricane Wilma ever thought of being a storm.:mad: :mad:

 

It's only $40 bucks - but this woman has me more po'd than ever. I just wish I could find that stupid letter!!! It even has a section about this in the Welcome Aboard book stating the same thing (port substitution or onboard credit).

 

Oh yes, when I finally got her to understand that I am talking about something that happened BEFORE Wilma, she says that Progreso was never on the itinerary and that they replaced Nassau with Key West. :eek: I had NO FREAKIN CLUE what this woman was talking about - but my guess is that she was confusing the Eastern and Western itineraries.

 

Anyway, here's my question. Has this ever happened to anyone before? And did you get the onboard credit?!?! Has anyone received one of these letters?

 

My other thought is that Carninval is going to say (IF I ever talk to someone who knows what they are talking about) that because they lengthened our stay in Cozumel, that takes the place of Progreso. And you know what, it's not what I want to hear but at least it would be an answer! I just wish I could find that damn letter!

 

Thoughts, ideas? Any feedback is appreciated. :)

 

-Rose

[GoinCruisin]

They really sort of have you there... because they can change or remove ports at any time... you have the option of cancelling within 24 hours if they do. I personally would never book a cruise for the ports, weather is just too unpredictable, and they can pretty much do what they want. If you stayed longer in Coz, that probably ate up the credit in port charges (they are charged by the hour)... the contract is written in a way that you really aren't going to get much help. I'm surprised they gave you a credit at all when it was changed months ago, generally if they change it ahead of time, you get nothing. Good luck!

[cheshyrkat]

Well, I am sorry I don't have any inspired ideas. Just keep trying with the people at Carnival until you get one who is willing to understand you if it is important to you that your money is refunded. Maybe you could contact customer service? I have been dealing with frustrations over similar issues. Everything is confusing over there already and the storms definitely didn't clear anything up.

[DoingGlory]

GoinCruisin- They didn't give us the shipboard credit - that's the problem. And I can't find the letter stating that they would give it to us if they didn't replace the port with something else. Also, not that this matters, but we chose the cruise on the number of ports visited, not the actual places. We like to stop and get off of the ship alot - it doesn't matter what the ports are. And as for staying longer in Cozumel, well, we didn't even go to Cozumel because of Hurricane Wilma. We ended up in Costa Maya but only from 8am to 5pm.

 

You know I didn't even think about the port charges until this afternoon either...hmmm.....

 

I was just wondering hoping to find someone else who sailed the Glory from 11/5 to 11/12 booked early and went through the port change situation. I thought if they still had their letter, they could clear this up for me. It's quite possible that I read the letter wrong and after dealing with Customer Service today, it's not likely that I will get an answer to this relatively simple question in the near future. And the rest of my post was just a venting session I suppose....

[christhree]

Book during Hurricane season, get took......end of story. You want $40pp because they changed a Port of Call??? Get real.....

Good grief....read your ticket. ;)

[cheshyrkat]

Book during Hurricane season, get took......end of story. You want $40pp because they changed a Port of Call??? Get real.....

 

Good grief....read your ticket. ;)

 

Geez, that's pretty harsh!

[GoinCruisin]

Geez, that's pretty harsh!

 

Considering the source, I was not surprised ;) :D

[cheshyrkat]

Considering the source, I was not surprised ;) :D

 

I was noticing that...but past history doesn't entitle anyone to just bite heads off. :( If you don't have anything helpful to say and if a comment wasn't directed at you I just don't see any reason to post just to inject meanness! Maybe it's just me...:rolleyes:

[JJCalder19]

I think what Carnival did was instead of adding another port, they extended the stay in Cozumel. It was either, or. If they couldn't have extended the stay in Cozumel, then the onboard credit would be given.

Thats my theory.

[GoinCruisin]

I think what Carnival did was instead of adding another port, they extended the stay in Cozumel. It was either, or. If they couldn't have extended the stay in Cozumel, then the onboard credit would be given.

Thats my theory.

 

But then Cozumel was taken off because of the hurricane... and they went to Costa Maya... Either way, Carnival covers themselves pretty good.

 

Kat, I know what you mean... but some people are just plain mean :(

[GuitarPlayer]

We were on the Legend 10/24/05, er 10/26/05 (delayed out of Ft. Lauderdale 2 days due to Wilma (and we actually embarked out of Miami and disembarked at Ft. Lauderdale)) and were given 25% discount off the cruise price and $50 pp ship credit. Our ports, too, were changed, but not sure if the $50 was due to the port changes or due to the delay.

[loveJake]

We booked the 12/3 Glory in March when Progresso was still a scheduled stop we too like a lot of ports. Consider your self lucky you received a letter, I fould it out by reading these boards and the Carnival site. I found out that we were not going to Cozumel by looking at the Carnival site. By right if we paid port charges for Progresso, and are not staying an extended time in Cozumel then the port charges for Progresso should be refunded. But I an surely not going to get into a tizzy about $40, would be nice if it was refunded but I will not ruin my cruise by worring about it or spend time trying to get the money refunded.

[Stircrzy]

I was noticing that...but past history doesn't entitle anyone to just bite heads off. :( If you don't have anything helpful to say and if a comment wasn't directed at you I just don't see any reason to post just to inject meanness! Maybe it's just me...:rolleyes:

 

Not just you, it's ME, too...

 

I've been sorely dismayed at the turn some of these posts take. I almost (note: almost) feel sorry for those people who get their jollies being mean to others.

 

Good discussion and alternate "truths" are one thing, meanness is quite something else.

 

(slipping off the soapbox now...)

[DoingGlory]

christhree- your post isn't even worth responding too.

 

lovejake-glad to hear you won't be working yourself into a "tizzy". If asking a question on an internet board because I was irritated by a customer service rep who couldn't understand a simple question equals a tizzy, then I am guilty of having one I suppose. :)

 

guitarplayer, goincruisin, jjcalder19 and cheshyrkat - thanks for your helpful replies. I think I'm going to go with the combined theories of jjcalder/GoingCruisin. I know this should have been an easy question for Customer Service to answer. The lady I talked to refused to accept the fact that Progreso was once a port of call on the Glory's itinerary. That's definitely what frustrated me the most.

[cheshyrkat]

The lady I talked to refused to accept the fact that Progreso was once a port of call on the Glory's itinerary.

 

Well I can't say that shocks me, but...

 

So what was the actual reason Carnival stopped calling in Progreso anyway? They sure don't mind calling there when they are in a bind! I got to go there. And yes, for those who might be interested, it was during hurricane season. LOL :rolleyes:

[DoingGlory]

The letter I got stated that they (Carnival) made the decision to remove Progreso from the itinerary because they received too many complaints from passengers about the port. The letter also said that passengers wanted to spend more time in Cozumel so that's why they made our stay in that port longer.

 

I LOVE Cozumel - and the damage Wilma inflicted was awful. Hopefully they get back on their feet soon. Our replacement port for Cozumel was Costa Maya. It was our first time there and we had an absolute BLAST. I would love to go back! :)

 

I visited Progreso via a Celebrity cruise a few years back. We saw the Mayan ruins (Chitzan Itza I think?) We had fun there too - I remember that it definitely wasn't as 'pretty' as some of the other ports. Maybe that's why people complained? I dunno...

[cheshyrkat]

Well, Progreso isn't as pretty as some places...I had seen a post some time back that implied that the port had been changed because Progreso was "dangerous" and didn't know if you'd heard the same. I can understand why it wasn't the most popular port of call though.

[GoinCruisin]

Well, Progreso isn't as pretty as some places...I had seen a post some time back that implied that the port had been changed because Progreso was "dangerous" and didn't know if you'd heard the same. I can understand why it wasn't the most popular port of call though.

 

I think it was also the weather issues... it didn't take much wind at all for the sailing to be delayed. Plus they had to be out of the port by a certain time and this screwed up a lot of sailings apparently... probably several issues with Progresso, so they just decided to do away with it...

[cheshyrkat]

Aha...well that would make a lot of sense.

[BoxerGal]

I know next to nothing (okay, *literally* nothing) about port charges, however, we're sailing on the Glory on 12/3. We booked an inside guarantee in June for $499 pp. I found this site during the aftermath of Wilma and, boy have I learned a LOT (THANKS!)! I realized we were entitled to a military discount (DH was in the Navy). I called my TA this week and found out we could upgrade to a balcony for only $150 more pp. Hubby said GO FOR IT! - so I did. TA had me on hold while he made the change with Carnival. When he came back on the line, he told me that the increase would only be $130 pp. He said that port charges had gone UP since the time I booked (which is why he quoted me the $150 pp), but they charged me the amount that was in place back in June. Only change in our itinerary is Costa Maya (8-5) instead of Cozumel (7:30 - 10:00). We'll actually be in port less time than originally planned, so who knows how they calculate the port charges. Maybe CM is more per hour.

 

DoingGlory, thought it might make you feel better about not getting your onboard credit if you knew that Carnival was actually paying more for port charges - which seems to be the case.

 

Susan

[tef43]

It's always about the Gimme Gimme Gimme. :mad:

[LABecca]

I think the problem here is that you called them after the cruise to inquire about the credit. They really can't do anything for you now. I know you probably don't want to hear this but the time to inquire about the credit was before you sailed or when you got on board. I've always found the Vacation Planners at Carnival to be very helpful in obtaining on board credit before a sail.

 

IMO Carnival has some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. When I call the Carnival Toll Free # (You do have to press a couple #'s) someone usually picks up within a couple of seconds, and it is a real person who is probably in the US! I haven't experienced that kind of customer service on the phone in quite a few years.

[TXParrothead]

Tef Gimme huh..... Well isn't complaining about gimme a gimme for yourself? So is it gimme, don't gimme so I can have a roundabout gimme?:confused:

[cheshyrkat]

It's always about the Gimme Gimme Gimme. :mad:

 

My understanding is that OP was told she was entitled to credit for an itenerary change. Why is that gimme gimme? If I understood correctly Carnival offered the credit...:confused:

[cheshyrkat]

Tef Gimme huh..... Well isn't complaining about gimme a gimme for yourself? So is it gimme, don't gimme so I can have a roundabout gimme?:confused:

 

What? I'm confused!