OBC MIA Question

[junglecat]

Hello
I'm dealing with a situation that I can NOT get resolved and don't know what else I can do.  In September of 2019 we had a cruise booked out of New Orleans for our first wedding anniversary.  We all know what happened next.  We opted for Carnival to keep our deposit and rebook.  On December 31, 2021 we rebooked a cruise out of Houston and were promised a $300 OBC for opting to rebook and not cancel.  My parents were also given the same deal as both my parents and inlaws were going with us.  My parents booked and cruised in January of this year and had their $300 OBC to use.  Our cruise doesn't sail until September of this year.  Originally I was told that the OBC would appear on our invoice on line, it never did or has appeared.  When it didn't show up I called Carnival.  Since then I've called 5 or 6 times to try and resolve this and been unsuccessful.  I've been told a variety of different stories.  The most popular was "wait until you get on the ship and it will appear on your Sign and Sail card.  I once was told to fill out a claim only to be told no claim was needed.  My parents didn't file a claim so that's what I did, didn't file a claim.  In June we're to pay off our balance (under $75) and the OBC for $300 still doesn't appear.  In my last correspondence with Carnival I received and email explaining that my OBC for rebooking had expired on 3-31-23.  WAIT WHAT?  Carnival is now telling me that it expired and that we're not getting the $300 OBC.  We booked on our own and not with a PVP which I've learned is a lesson learned in maybe getting this resolved.  Does anyone have a direct line to John? LOL.  What am I doing wrong since I was told at booking there was nothing to do?  We stayed true to Carnival during the pandemic and believed they would make a come back and had them keep our deposit knowing we would cruise again.  What are my options?  Would my parent's PVP be able or even willing to help since I didn't book directly with him?  ANY and ALL help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!!    

[canes20]

I do not have all the emails that were sent about rebooking and having to use the OBC by a certain sail date, but I believe it did have to be used by 3-31-23 sailing. I will look and see what emails I can find. There is no direct line to John. You can dm him on the other site that is forbidden to mention here.

[junglecat]

Thanks for your help.  

[wemjam]

So sorry, but yes if you are past the set deadline, not much you can do.  It happened to me with airfare credit (we had like 5 cruise booked when Covid hit).  Our airline allowed you to cancel and hold the value of your tickets as an Ecredit, but we were not able to fly enough to use up all the credit we had by their deadline once things broke loose, so we lost a little bit (not a lot, less than like $100).  

 

Look at it like this, at least it wasn't your money you lost.  It was just a potential bonus from Carnival you didn't get.  We lost money we had spent 🤨

 

PS:  As far as a PVP you are allowed to use any PVP you want.  If you already have one and decide you don't like them, you can be transferred to a new one (I did this - the PVP I had for like 10-12 years got promoted and I went through 3 before I found a keeper again).  Since you don't have one, if your parents is good, I would get hooked up with them right away.  Just call them and advise them they handle your parents and ask if they can take on a new client and handle you too.  I always say, I can book cruises myself all day long, but a PVP becomes INVALUABLE when something goes  wrong.  That is why I use one.  IF they do take you on, I would explain the situation to them and see IF they can help maybe.  They might be able to bend the rules, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.  A good PVP taking on a new client would try to help even if they didn't do the booking.  I found my PVP was able to bend rules and make exceptions sometimes... so you never know. 

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by wemjam

[junglecat]

Sorry.  I'm still confused.  Ok, here's what I don't understand.

 

DD and SIL booked on new years eve BEFORE the March 31 deadline.  We booked the same, but much earlier but used a PVP and got the OBC.  DD & SIL booked on our own and have been told basically 3 different stories.  1.  Nothing to do it will appear once you're on board.  2.  Fill out the claim form.  3.  There is no form to fill out.  So are you all saying there WAS a claim form that needed filled out and because they booked on their own the claim form didn't get filled out????  Could it be that our PVP filled ours out because we did NOTHING and got the OBC?  I'm confused as they are the same situation and the only difference is we used someone from Carnival to rebook and they did not and they didn't get the OBC.  

[canes20]

17 minutes ago, junglecat said:

Sorry.  I'm still confused.  Ok, here's what I don't understand.

 

DD and SIL booked on new years eve BEFORE the March 31 deadline.  We booked the same, but much earlier but used a PVP and got the OBC.  DD & SIL booked on our own and have been told basically 3 different stories.  1.  Nothing to do it will appear once you're on board.  2.  Fill out the claim form.  3.  There is no form to fill out.  So are you all saying there WAS a claim form that needed filled out and because they booked on their own the claim form didn't get filled out????  Could it be that our PVP filled ours out because we did NOTHING and got the OBC?  I'm confused as they are the same situation and the only difference is we used someone from Carnival to rebook and they did not and they didn't get the OBC.  

Did they sail before march 31, 2023?

[vwrestler171]

6 hours ago, junglecat said:

Sorry.  I'm still confused.  Ok, here's what I don't understand.

 

DD and SIL booked on new years eve BEFORE the March 31 deadline.  We booked the same, but much earlier but used a PVP and got the OBC.  DD & SIL booked on our own and have been told basically 3 different stories.  1.  Nothing to do it will appear once you're on board.  2.  Fill out the claim form.  3.  There is no form to fill out.  So are you all saying there WAS a claim form that needed filled out and because they booked on their own the claim form didn't get filled out????  Could it be that our PVP filled ours out because we did NOTHING and got the OBC?  I'm confused as they are the same situation and the only difference is we used someone from Carnival to rebook and they did not and they didn't get the OBC.  

You had to have SAILED before March 31, NOT just booked.  The claim form was for any FCC which would also apply the OBC.  

[junglecat]

Perfect!  THIS is the answer(s) that I needed.  NO, they don't sail until September.  THANK YOU all for clearing that up.  I was just a Mom trying to help and couldn't NOT figure this out.