No cabin upon boarding - what would you do?

[orimeep]

We sailed a few weeks ago on the Horizon - originally booked 3 interiors in a row, upgraded to 3 balcony cabins in a row - for ease of discussion, I’ll call them cabins 1, 2, 3.

 

When we printed out our boarding passes they were for cabins 2, 3, 4 which we didn’t notice cause they were all in a row still.

 

When we got on board, cabins 2 & 3 had keys, nothing for cabin 4. Figured there was a delay, went to get lunch.

 

Went back after lunch and found the cabin steward, who was confused cause there was another party in both cabins 1 and 4 - and she had us in cabins 1, 2, 3. Told us the people in cabin 1 (which is the one we had booked) had decided to do a B2B and wanted to stay in the same cabin.

 

Stood in line for over an hour at guest services, found out that the people in cabin 4 had been offered a new cabin on other deck so we could still have 3 in a row, but had declined and somehow the process just stopped there - no other cabin had been assigned to our party.

 

Apparently someone in cabin 5 no showed so they gave us that room and offered our a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant - we said “Thanks for the dinner, that makes up for the several hours we lost today trying to sort this out, but it is not sufficient compensation for not giving us the three cabins in a row we booked.” Hours of further struggles with guest services ensued but eventually the people in the missing cabin got a spa credit.

 

The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth and I’ve been stewing on it and trying to sort out whether I’m being a jerk to be mad.

 

Has this happened to anyone else? How was it resolved? 

[cruisingguy007]

Sounds like a mess. Glad you got it sorted out. I'd be irritated as well but wouldn't let it ruin my vacation. Definitely their error but I wouldn't waste another second on it, I'd enjoy the dinner and spa credit and keep it moving. They probably didn't have three cabins in a row to give you. It's spilled milk at this point. Go enjoy your cruise!  

[Elaine5715]

43 minutes ago, orimeep said:

We sailed a few weeks ago on the Horizon - originally booked 3 interiors in a row, upgraded to 3 balcony cabins in a row - for ease of discussion, I’ll call them cabins 1, 2, 3.

 

When we printed out our boarding passes they were for cabins 2, 3, 4 which we didn’t notice cause they were all in a row still.

 

When we got on board, cabins 2 & 3 had keys, nothing for cabin 4. Figured there was a delay, went to get lunch.

 

Went back after lunch and found the cabin steward, who was confused cause there was another party in both cabins 1 and 4 - and she had us in cabins 1, 2, 3. Told us the people in cabin 1 (which is the one we had booked) had decided to do a B2B and wanted to stay in the same cabin.

 

Stood in line for over an hour at guest services, found out that the people in cabin 4 had been offered a new cabin on other deck so we could still have 3 in a row, but had declined and somehow the process just stopped there - no other cabin had been assigned to our party.

 

Apparently someone in cabin 5 no showed so they gave us that room and offered our a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant - we said “Thanks for the dinner, that makes up for the several hours we lost today trying to sort this out, but it is not sufficient compensation for not giving us the three cabins in a row we booked.” Hours of further struggles with guest services ensued but eventually the people in the missing cabin got a spa credit.

 

The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth and I’ve been stewing on it and trying to sort out whether I’m being a jerk to be mad.

 

Has this happened to anyone else? How was it resolved? 

 

18 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Sounds like a mess. Glad you got it sorted out. I'd be irritated as well but wouldn't let it ruin my vacation. Definitely their error but I wouldn't waste another second on it, I'd enjoy the dinner and spa credit and keep it moving. They probably didn't have three cabins in a row to give you. It's spilled milk at this point. Go enjoy your cruise!  

Cruisingguy got it right.  They didn't need to offer anything.  Your cruise contract does allow them to assign you to any cabins.  You could have had your PVP correct it when you printed out boarding passes.

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, orimeep said:

 

 

The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth and I’ve been stewing on it and trying to sort out whether I’m being a jerk to be mad.

 

Has this happened to anyone else? How was it resolved? 

Understand the frustration.

 

You sailed a few weeks ago.

 

You're still stewing. Why?   What part of your life is being improved by still stewing on something from 3 weeks ago?  What tangible thing could possibly happen in the next 30 minutes that would cure everything and make you stop stewing?

[orimeep]

56 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Understand the frustration.

 

You sailed a few weeks ago.

 

You're still stewing. Why?   What part of your life is being improved by still stewing on something from 3 weeks ago?  What tangible thing could possibly happen in the next 30 minutes that would cure everything and make you stop stewing?

Guess I’m just embarrassed that I brought new cruisers on board and this was their experience! But also, I realized that there was the possibility that I was being a jerk si I guess I have my answer 🤣

[mz-s]

I'm not sure how I would react if they did a switcheroo on me without my knowledge or permission. How was someone even allowed to board the ship if the room on their boarding pass was given to someone else? That seems like a big "whoops" to me.

 

I would probably invoke the "24 hour great vacation guarantee" if it were me frankly.

 

But like you said this has been over for weeks. Nothing to be gained by continuing to get upset by it.

[audcc77]

Since you’re back home now, agree that you shouldn’t waste even more energy on this. 
 

However, I can see your point about spending your vacay time trying to fix the issue. That would really annoy me, especially since it sounds like the time you spent was over an hour. 
 

Not only that, when I show somebody a cool thing and then it comes off as slip-shod, it’s kind of embarrassing.  
 

[Indytraveler83]

This is the second time now I've heard of this very weird situation where a b2b cruiser is supposed to switch rooms, doesn't for some reason, and then someone is left without a cabin.  

 

Not sure what I'd do or how I'd handle it, but it's clear Carnival has some sort of new b2b problem that they need to get fixed quickly.  

[orimeep]

41 minutes ago, mz-s said:

I'm not sure how I would react if they did a switcheroo on me without my knowledge or permission. How was someone even allowed to board the ship if the room on their boarding pass was given to someone else? That seems like a big "whoops" to me.

 

I would probably invoke the "24 hour great vacation guarantee" if it were me frankly.

 

But like you said this has been over for weeks. Nothing to be gained by continuing to get upset by it.

I wish I had known that existed!! I was mad enough at the time that I probably would have invoked it!

 

That’s what I could get over - how they even let us on board without a room, the room switch was annoying but I figured probably allowable in the fine print, but not having a room for us at all seemed like something that should have been flagged somewhere.

 

Anyway, thanks for making me feel like I’m not totally unreasonable for being annoyed by it all.

[nwcruiselover]

People who decide to make their journey into a B2B during the first cruise should not be allowed to dictate to Carnival that they be allowed to stay in the same cabin.  If their current cabin is already booked for the second cruise, they should have to move to a new cabin, period.

[mz-s]

10 minutes ago, orimeep said:

I wish I had known that existed!! I was mad enough at the time that I probably would have invoked it!

 

That’s what I could get over - how they even let us on board without a room, the room switch was annoying but I figured probably allowable in the fine print, but not having a room for us at all seemed like something that should have been flagged somewhere.

 

Anyway, thanks for making me feel like I’m not totally unreasonable for being annoyed by it all.

 

I'm not sure the great vacation guarantee exists anymore, actually. If it does they really hide it on their site. They used to prominently promote it on their website. One cruise started off so bad that all we had to do was mention those three words and everyone's tenor changed immediately. My guess is if Carnival ever actually has to uphold the guarantee, there are a lot of people in Miami asking the ship officers some hard questions.

[cruisingguy007]

58 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

I'm not sure the great vacation guarantee exists anymore, actually. If it does they really hide it on their site. They used to prominently promote it on their website. One cruise started off so bad that all we had to do was mention those three words and everyone's tenor changed immediately. My guess is if Carnival ever actually has to uphold the guarantee, there are a lot of people in Miami asking the ship officers some hard questions.

 

They still have it. I'm not sure the OP's complaint would rise to that level though. It's not like they downgraded the cabin or anything, got the same cabin type and it was just a few doors down. I think it would be crazy to cancel a vacation for that but I guess it's an option. That's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, though, IMO. Obviously OP felt much more strongly if she's still stewing over it. 

[firefly333]

Once I booked a 1A cabin with port holes. I love them because they are the size of a ov cabin. I went to what I thought was my cabin and shut the door ..later saw my cabin number was different. I have no idea when it was changed.

 

It was a teensy 4J handicap cabin...the bathroom was half the room. I had to draw the shades every night for navigation. I was pissed to be honest. They thought evidently it was a upgrade. I wanted what I booked.

 

My pvp took carnivals side and said carnival has the right to change your cabin it says so where you clicked to agree to the terms. ..she never took my side that I was disappointed. Things were never the same with her. I now use a TA who takes my side.

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

They still have it. I'm not sure the OP's complaint would rise to that level though. It's not like they downgraded the cabin or anything, got the same cabin type and it was just a few doors down. I think it would be crazy to cancel a vacation for that but I guess it's an option. That's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, though, IMO. Obviously OP felt much more strongly if she's still stewing over it. 

According yo the old guarantee it said if you are not 100% happy for any reason.

 

dont know uf its still the same if it does exist

[cruisinqt]

A few weeks ago we sailed on the Horizon and had 2 cabins side by side with our adult daughters. The girls cabin next door wasn’t cleaned and someone else’s luggage was sitting in their room. We were very upset thinking they gave our cabin away. It turned out that the cruisers in that cabin were doing a B2B and just left their luggage in the room without explaining to their cabin steward that they were moving to a different location. He thought they were staying in the same cabin and he kept telling us that cabin was already taken. So we were panicking thinking we would be staying in cabins on opposite sides of the ship or worst case scenario half of our family wouldn’t be able to go on the cruise. It was total chaos outside of our cabin as several employees were talking loudly over one another trying to figure out what was going on. It was pretty crazy for an hour or so and we were very distraught. Eventually they figured everything out and removed the cruisers luggage and cleaned the cabin for us.
But I have to say Carnival needs to do better in this area. There seems to be no standard protocol on how to handle B2B cruisers. When they have to leave their cabin for the second week of the cruise it should be mandatory that their luggage go along with them unless they have been assigned the same cabin for the second week. The practice of leaving the luggage in the cabin leaves it open for cruisers to refuse to leave and claim a cabin that’s not theirs. It also carries the risk of that luggage not going to the correct cabin and possibly even being taken off of the ship if the cabin steward doesn’t know what’s going on. If it were mandatory to pack up and leave there wouldn’t have been squatters in the OP’s cabin and we wouldn’t have had a dirty cabin full of luggage. 

That being said, we got nothing from Carnival for our troubles. We mentioned it to a couple of employees and it was addressed in our guest survey when we got home. But we didn’t really make a big deal out of it. We never went to guest services, the line was enormous and we had better things to do with our time. We know the ships are very understaffed right now and things are a bit confusing. I think we had 80 covid cases for employees on our cruise. I can’t imagine losing 80 workers. 

[icft]

I think the OP should have been outraged! I really don't believe anyone who says they were in that situation and was not very upset. That would not be human. Once it was sorted out there was nothing to do but block it out and move on which is hopefully what the OP did.

 

On it leaving a bad taste in the OP's mouth weeks later? It would leave a bad taste in my mouth forever. We have had a couple of not as bad experiences with Carnival and I still remember them. But we still sail Carnival, just with the knowledge that you can't trust Carnival to do things right. That comes into the "how much am I willing to pay" calculation. These days with free cruises I figure we are way ahead under cost/benefit analysis.

[cruisingguy007]

4 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

According yo the old guarantee it said if you are not 100% happy for any reason.

 

dont know uf its still the same if it does exist

 

Entertaining read: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k8811884-Carnival_Great_vacation_Guarantee_SCAM-Cruises.html

 

I actually googled it and it does show up but no link to a Carnival page to provide specifics. Many travel sites pop up with it but not a official Carnival page. Maybe it's no more? Appears to be that way. I still don't think the OP's issue was enough to cancel a cruise IMO. That's extreme for such a minor problem, being a few doors down but same category, type and floor, but theoretically, should have been an option if this guarantee is still available. I guess that's the question. Is it available or not, seems unclear at this point.   

[Pellaz]

10 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I'm not sure the great vacation guarantee exists anymore, actually. If it does they really hide it on their site.

I saw a reference recently to a discounted cruise that said it did NOT qualify for the Vacation Guarantee...so I assume that it still exists.  

10 hours ago, mz-s said:

They used to prominently promote it on their website. One cruise started off so bad that all we had to do was mention those three words and everyone's tenor changed immediately. My guess is if Carnival ever actually has to uphold the guarantee, there are a lot of people in Miami asking the ship officers some hard questions.

Years ago on the Liberty our cabin didn't have any A/C; it was very stuffy and the air wasn't being "conditioned."

After going back and forth to Guest Services and having a technician come out ("It is 73F and meets Carnival standards."  "Uh-huh.  Now try testing with the room door closed") I finally invoked the guarantee since my sister couldn't medically tolerate that humid stuffiness for a 7-day cruise.  Suddenly, they were able to move us to a different cabin 🙂  and I had the impression that it was the ONLY available cabin on the ship since it was an upgrade to a balcony, and we kept getting stuff intended for the guests who had presumably cancelled.

 

Fast forward to my cruise on the Sunrise a few weeks ago; same situation.  

I told the room steward, he said he'd call Engineering and I got that familiar sinking feeling.  

But NO, a guy came by within a half-hour, took off the vent cover, adjusted something, and I could immediately feel the difference. 

"Was it the damper?" I asked.  

He gave me a wide grin.  "Yes!"  

 

 

 

[sanger727]

14 hours ago, mz-s said:

I'm not sure how I would react if they did a switcheroo on me without my knowledge or permission. How was someone even allowed to board the ship if the room on their boarding pass was given to someone else? That seems like a big "whoops" to me.

 

I would probably invoke the "24 hour great vacation guarantee" if it were me frankly.

 

But like you said this has been over for weeks. Nothing to be gained by continuing to get upset by it.

so cancel the vacation altogether and go home because of an issue in day 1 that resulted in one couple getting moved by 1 cabin?? 

[drew69]

19 hours ago, orimeep said:

We sailed a few weeks ago on the Horizon - originally booked 3 interiors in a row, upgraded to 3 balcony cabins in a row - for ease of discussion, I’ll call them cabins 1, 2, 3.

 

When we printed out our boarding passes they were for cabins 2, 3, 4 which we didn’t notice cause they were all in a row still.

 

When we got on board, cabins 2 & 3 had keys, nothing for cabin 4. Figured there was a delay, went to get lunch.

 

Went back after lunch and found the cabin steward, who was confused cause there was another party in both cabins 1 and 4 - and she had us in cabins 1, 2, 3. Told us the people in cabin 1 (which is the one we had booked) had decided to do a B2B and wanted to stay in the same cabin.

 

Stood in line for over an hour at guest services, found out that the people in cabin 4 had been offered a new cabin on other deck so we could still have 3 in a row, but had declined and somehow the process just stopped there - no other cabin had been assigned to our party.

 

Apparently someone in cabin 5 no showed so they gave us that room and offered our a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant - we said “Thanks for the dinner, that makes up for the several hours we lost today trying to sort this out, but it is not sufficient compensation for not giving us the three cabins in a row we booked.” Hours of further struggles with guest services ensued but eventually the people in the missing cabin got a spa credit.

 

The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth and I’ve been stewing on it and trying to sort out whether I’m being a jerk to be mad.

 

Has this happened to anyone else? How was it resolved? 

While what is done is done, you had every right to be aggravated.

 

Carnival dropped the ball and because of that, you started your cruise with inconvenience and headaches due to their incompetence.

 

First- the couple with the B2B should have been the ones inconvenienced and needing to move if that cabin was not available for the second leg.

 

Two - if they were going to have them remain in the cabin you booked, it should have been sorted out, you notified, and the proper cabin cleaned and assigned prior to you boarding.

 

Carnival dropped the ball and screwed up, not you.

 

 

 

[Elaine5715]

18 hours ago, orimeep said:

I wish I had known that existed!! I was mad enough at the time that I probably would have invoked it!

 

That’s what I could get over - how they even let us on board without a room, the room switch was annoying but I figured probably allowable in the fine print, but not having a room for us at all seemed like something that should have been flagged somewhere.

 

Anyway, thanks for making me feel like I’m not totally unreasonable for being annoyed by it all.

Invoking the "guarantee" means you and your party exit the ship  at the first available opportunity with your cruise fare refunded but not your flights. hotels. etc.

[Buckeyefrank100]

12 hours ago, icft said:

I think the OP should have been outraged! I really don't believe anyone who says they were in that situation and was not very upset. That would not be human. Once it was sorted out there was nothing to do but block it out and move on which is hopefully what the OP did.

 

On it leaving a bad taste in the OP's mouth weeks later? It would leave a bad taste in my mouth forever. We have had a couple of not as bad experiences with Carnival and I still remember them. But we still sail Carnival, just with the knowledge that you can't trust Carnival to do things right. That comes into the "how much am I willing to pay" calculation. These days with free cruises I figure we are way ahead under cost/benefit analysis.

All this because they had to walk an extra 4 steps to get to the last door.  I understand being upset and irritated because the room screwup.   Once they got a room, problem solved....  

[Jareds_mommytoo]

I don’t think the original poster is upset about the prospect of walking an extra few feet to the door. It’s the fact there was no room when they first got there they had to sort it out and stand in line and waste hours. If somebody had been on the ball and issued the room right away yes it would’ve been an annoyance but hours of their vacation would not of been wasted. And the stressOf not knowing if they even had a room originally. If the original cruisers doing the back to back cruise wanted to stay in the same room then they should’ve booked those rooms for both cruises not the original poster  problem

[Illbcruzn4life]

4 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Invoking the "guarantee" means you and your party exit the ship  at the first available opportunity with your cruise fare refunded but not your flights. hotels. etc.

That's not what the guarantee used to say. Not sure if it's even a thing anymore though.

 

• If you’re not happy with any 3–14 day Carnival Cruise Line vacation you take to The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, Bermuda, Canada/New England or Alaska, just let Carnival know within 24 hours of leaving the port of embarkation. If Carnival gets something wrong, they will refund 100% of your fare with no hassles and our Guest Services team will get you back to your home or port of embarkation free of charge.
• Their Guest Services team will make all the arrangements to get you off the ship as quickly as they can, and fly you to either your home airport if you flew in, or back to your point of embarkation if you drove to the ship.
• Simply notify Carnival’s on board Guest Services desk.  If you decide later that you want to give Carnival another try, they will give a $100 per stateroom on board credit to any guest in your party who exercised the guarantee and, within a year, books another Carnival cruise.
• Applies to individuals who are U.S. and Canadian residents only.

[Ohio Bucki]

On 3/7/2022 at 1:25 PM, klfrodo said:

Understand the frustration.

 

You sailed a few weeks ago.

 

You're still stewing. Why?   What part of your life is being improved by still stewing on something from 3 weeks ago?  What tangible thing could possibly happen in the next 30 minutes that would cure everything and make you stop stewing?

Amen!!!