DO NOT Allow Carnival to book your flights!

Sorry this has happened and thank you for sharing the information, I have only driven to ports at this point so I can't comment on what you should or shouldn't have done as some others have.

I will say if you are counting on RC's honesty you might want to go read the pages and pages of Anthem threads where plenty are saying RC isn't so up front either. In a nutshell you could run into the same issue on any cruiseline you let handle your travel plans. I hope everything works out for you with your flights and you have a nice vacation.

We were talked into allowing Carnival to arranging our flight tickets. And that is where our nightmare started. The first go around, they had us sleeping for 14 hours in an airline. The second go around they purchased tickets that were three times the amount as the first. Then, the third go around, everything seemed to be great...so it seemed.

 

We paid Carnival instantly for our tickets...everything. For many months after we paid Carnival, we were unable to check our seat assignments online at AA.com because it showed "UNPAID". We couldn't do anything with our flight arrangements. We called AA and they said until Carnival transfers the $$ to them, we cannot even be confirmed on the flight. We called Carnival at least ten times demanding that they pay the money they were holding, to the airline. We were afraid we would not get good seats or get to sit with our 10 yr old child, who is flying for the first time. Well, after much complaining over three months, Carnival finally released the funds to the airline. Now...exactly as we feared, they are out of standard seats. In order to get to fly, we have to purchase premium seats. On a transatlantic flight, that's $245 extra dollars.

 

I tried to see if I could use my miles to upgrade the seats to first class so we could be confirmed and sit with our child...nope. You see Carnival charges you the same price you can get the tickets for on the airlines website, but what you are buying at the airlines website are full-fare tickets, which are easily upgradable. But Carnival buys the cheapest discounted economy tickets, pocketing the difference and ultimately insuring that you cannot upgrade them for any amount of miles.

 

Carnival does not tell you any of this ahead of time. They sell it to you as "a good deal for you".

 

I am now stuck with $245 out of pocket fees for using their Fly2Fun program. I've been told by their customer support that that's on me...there is nothing they will do, not even onboard credit for the amount they've cost me.

 

As a GOLD VIPF and a long time customer of Carnivals, all I can say is after this cruise is done...I'm saying Se La Vi to Carnival and going back to Royal Caribbean, where they are honest with their customers. Booking 8C9NW0

 

Run away FAAAAAAAAAAAST from Carnivals Fly2Fun program. it's a mess!!

Why anyone would book their air flights and transfers through Carnival or Princess is beyond me. Did the transfer thing once and that was enough. I book my air fare because I want to be in control of it. Carnival and Princess only think about the $$$ and not the customer. Just look how they run their business - it's quite blatant as to what their real goal is. I no longer book cruises through Carnival or Princess as they cannot be trusted. If you want anything done right do it yourself otherwise don't complain.

We were talked into allowing Carnival to arranging our flight tickets. And that is where our nightmare started. The first go around, they had us sleeping for 14 hours in an airline. The second go around they purchased tickets that were three times the amount as the first. Then, the third go around, everything seemed to be great...so it seemed.

 

We paid Carnival instantly for our tickets...everything. For many months after we paid Carnival, we were unable to check our seat assignments online at AA.com because it showed "UNPAID". We couldn't do anything with our flight arrangements. We called AA and they said until Carnival transfers the $$ to them, we cannot even be confirmed on the flight. We called Carnival at least ten times demanding that they pay the money they were holding, to the airline. We were afraid we would not get good seats or get to sit with our 10 yr old child, who is flying for the first time. Well, after much complaining over three months, Carnival finally released the funds to the airline. Now...exactly as we feared, they are out of standard seats. In order to get to fly, we have to purchase premium seats. On a transatlantic flight, that's $245 extra dollars.

 

I tried to see if I could use my miles to upgrade the seats to first class so we could be confirmed and sit with our child...nope. You see Carnival charges you the same price you can get the tickets for on the airlines website, but what you are buying at the airlines website are full-fare tickets, which are easily upgradable. But Carnival buys the cheapest discounted economy tickets, pocketing the difference and ultimately insuring that you cannot upgrade them for any amount of miles.

 

Carnival does not tell you any of this ahead of time. They sell it to you as "a good deal for you".

 

I am now stuck with $245 out of pocket fees for using their Fly2Fun program. I've been told by their customer support that that's on me...there is nothing they will do, not even onboard credit for the amount they've cost me.

 

As a GOLD VIPF and a long time customer of Carnivals, all I can say is after this cruise is done...I'm saying Se La Vi to Carnival and going back to Royal Caribbean, where they are honest with their customers. Booking 8C9NW0

 

Run away FAAAAAAAAAAAST from Carnivals Fly2Fun program. it's a mess!!

Sorry, but you did not do your homework and made some very wrong assumptions.

Nobody "talked" you into this either without you fully agreeing to it, likely based on price.

If you had looked further, you would have found out, tickets aren't issued until maybe a couple months prior to sailing. Calling 10+ times, did nothing. These are VERY different- highly restrictive tickets. Hope you don't experience, additional negative features. as well. eg no interline.

But, looking further- especially at the cruise air forum on the Cruise Critic site could have avoided a lot of this problem. There is a very detailed and informative sticky that is "necessary" reading for many people.

It isn't Carnival's fault for these events= which are standard.

The whole "sleeping for 14 hrs on a flight" thing is hyperbole as well. It is NOT a 14 hr flight to Europe form Dallas (or any midwest/east coast airport for that matter). If you were going to Japan/Hong Kong/Sydney then your 14hr flight is more accurate. And most of the flights eastbound to Europe are overnight flights so you can arrive first thing in the morning. There are some morning east coast flights but you generally pay much more for those.

The first reservation included a 14 hr midnight layover. We would have slept in an airport. Not on a plane. What is the sense in that?

The first reservation included a 14 hr midnight layover. We would have slept in an airport. Not on a plane. What is the sense in that?

I am curious to see the flights and times with the layover. Can you post them here?

I am curious to see the flights and times with the layover. Can you post them here?

Looked for the PDF..but long since deleted. This happened back in October. I do remember it was on the return flight.

This cruise is for the maiden voyage of the Vista May 1, 2016

Thanks for looking

Sorry that happened to you. I NEVER book flights through carnival. I keep as much control as i can

With the new fly2fun program YOU choose your flights, you are not 'assigned' flights.

The flight with the 14 hour layover is probably the cheapest one out there but you don't have to choose that one. For a few more dollars you can pick one that is convenient for YOU, IF there is anything available.

Flights to Europe are not as plentiful as domestic flights so there are fewer options. This is even more so if you are flying from a small town and not a major international hub.

The first "and last" time I used their "fly away" program our luggage went missing one the way to San Juan from Philly. Didn't see my luggage 'til 3 months later. They said it was stored in one of US Air's warehouses on the west coast.

Our cruise in April I let Carnival book our flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. When we first book it the cost was about $5.00 more than what I could book it at. Then Delta had a big price drop. I call and they rebooked with the lower cost. That night I was able to pick our seat on Delta. Also got the time of day we were asking for.

You did not have to purchase premium seats. :rolleyes: You would have been assigned your seats either when you checked in or shortly before leaving. (after the elites got their upgades and other folks moved up the "better seat" ladder and their original seats became available.). You might have been sitting in row 35 with a middle seat but you would have had a seat. The GA's and even FA's do and would have made an effort to get everyone seated together if possible. (being polite and asking nicely to other pax and the GA's and FA's helps as well. )

 

Exactly what I was going to say. Carnival guarantees the price you paid at the time you booked airfare.... OP did NOT have to pay the extra money for the upgrade, they were guaranteed 3 seats at the price paid.

With that said, I had a group of 16 (including 2 children and 1 adult with disability) travel under CCL FlyAweigh program from LAX to San Juan Puerto Rico. All 16 of us on same flight, both families with minor children all were sat together.

Carnival made it crystal clear when booking that that seats would be purchased and guaranteed for the price we paid, but that they would not be ticketed until 60-70 days prior to sailing. Thus, at 60 days before sailing we were able to log onto the airline website and check seat assignment, etc.

I will say that a few people were annoyed with theprocess... but the guarantee of price and guarantee to the cruise ship was worth the small inconvenience. At the end of the day.... all 16 of us agreed that the CCL air program was totally worth it!

When I called carnival to book our flights for April NYC to Tampa, she read a couple of options to me and I compared the flights on orbitz to make sure we where getting a deal (we weren't the flights were cheaper on Orbitz) but the way she explained it if we had booked with them they would be booking us on the exact flight I picked off the list she gave me right then and there, and I would be able to go on and pick my seats the next day. The only reason we didn't book was because Orbitz gave us a better deal and we where flying in the day befor and didn't need the "your carnival flight was canceled so carnival will fly you to the next port" guarantee

Something I thought I'd also point out is that Carnival isn't necessarily making a huge profit, if any at all, by offering airfare..... on our return home from Puerto Rico, we ran into major issues with Delta, snowstorm, crew time topped out, plane out of gas, all of which ended up in 8 hours of sitting at the gate and/or tarmac!

Long story short... we paid $449 pp for r/t through CCL FlyAweigh LAX to SJU. (United to SJU and Delta home) After writing a strongly worded letter to Delta about the unacceptable manner in which they handled the delay... Delta agreed to refund all 16 of us our full fare ticket paid of $279/pp (which Carnival purchased on our behalf), plus baggage fees, PLUS a $500.00 Delta credit for each person booked through CCL program.

Since we are positive that CCL paid Delta $279 per person, that means that our outbound United Flight would had to be less than $170 for Carnival to make any profit. Just out of curiousity, I checked 1 way fares from LAX to SJU and they average $300.00.... I am thinking Carnival may have lost money on the 16 of us!

P.S. No need to use Carnival air on our trip nex January because this one will be on Delta :D

The first "and last" time I used their "fly away" program our luggage went missing one the way to San Juan from Philly. Didn't see my luggage 'til 3 months later. They said it was stored in one of US Air's warehouses on the west coast.

Doubt you can blame that one on Carnival.

The first reservation included a 14 hr midnight layover. We would have slept in an airport. Not on a plane. What is the sense in that?

Now you are changing your story. You originally said you spent 14 in an airline...now you are saying you had a layover. Too many holes in this story for me.

Now you are changing your story. You originally said you spent 14 in an airline...now you are saying you had a layover. Too many holes in this story for me.

Couldn't have been a typo. No one has ever typed "airline" when they meant "airport."

I agree that there seem to be many holes in this story including:

- why is the child in 1st class and parents not

- if you have miles to upgrade to 1st class, why didn't you use miles to book the air ticket to start with

- you think being Gold VIFP means special treatment for air travel arrangements. I am platinum and wouldn't expect anything special

- cheap air tix usually mean long layovers. Someone who knows the ins and outs should know that

- I agree that $245 does not sound like a big tragedy

- the OP is planning to switch to a much more expensive cruise line for $245

Which is why everyone here never books air through Carnival. We've all researched via this website before booking anything.

Bet you don't even have a passport and never booked travel to and from Europe from different cities. Carnival can save some money in these cases. Also. they would not be in business if nobody used them

Don't exaggerate.

I am so glad I kept reading on this thread!! Everyone was really getting to me about not letting Carnival book flights. I am locked in on a flight to San Juan out of Chicago in October 2016, that is half of what the rest of my family is paying out of Indianapolis, booking themselves and weeks later than I did. I was almost ready to cancel this hold and book at a much more expensive cost. Thanks for this information. Since we are flying into San Juan 2 days early, I am not expecting many issues!!

I am so glad I kept reading on this thread!! Everyone was really getting to me about not letting Carnival book flights. I am locked in on a flight to San Juan out of Chicago in October 2016, that is half of what the rest of my family is paying out of Indianapolis, booking themselves and weeks later than I did. I was almost ready to cancel this hold and book at a much more expensive cost. Thanks for this information. Since we are flying into San Juan 2 days early, I am not expecting many issues!!

Our CCL flights into San Juan in January were fantastic! No problems with CCL whatsoever :) Just remember... about 60 days out, you can go onto the actual airline website and check your seating arrangement to verify that you are together :) If you have any problems while traveling (like our Delta nightmare), just call the travel emergency #. They were available for me at 2 a.m. and offered to put us up in a hotel in NYC until the airline issue was resolved.

As soon as I saw that the OP booked seats on AA I immediately remembered an article that I recently read. The seat issue has more to do with AA than Carnival.

For most customers, American Airlines hides from view open seats reserved for potential bookings by elite-level or full-fare customers by marking them “occupied.’’ On a 767 flight from Los Angeles to New York for next week, checked one week before departure with plenty of tickets available for purchase, a non-elite customer was shown one available middle seat and 11 seats that could be reserved by paying a $56 fee. Elite-level frequent fliers saw a seat map with 41 open coach seats.

There was probably really no need to upgrade to premium seats, but this practice scares people into thinking they won't get a seat assignment.

Something I thought I'd also point out is that Carnival isn't necessarily making a huge profit, if any at all, by offering airfare..... on our return home from Puerto Rico, we ran into major issues with Delta, snowstorm, crew time topped out, plane out of gas, all of which ended up in 8 hours of sitting at the gate and/or tarmac!

 

Long story short... we paid $449 pp for r/t through CCL FlyAweigh LAX to SJU. (United to SJU and Delta home) After writing a strongly worded letter to Delta about the unacceptable manner in which they handled the delay... Delta agreed to refund all 16 of us our full fare ticket paid of $279/pp (which Carnival purchased on our behalf), plus baggage fees, PLUS a $500.00 Delta credit for each person booked through CCL program.

 

Since we are positive that CCL paid Delta $279 per person, that means that our outbound United Flight would had to be less than $170 for Carnival to make any profit. Just out of curiousity, I checked 1 way fares from LAX to SJU and they average $300.00.... I am thinking Carnival may have lost money on the 16 of us!

 

P.S. No need to use Carnival air on our trip nex January because this one will be on Delta :D

Carnival pays consolidator fares. Google that and you will understand why there are such issues with these tickets.

I am flying with the fly2fun program. Booked my flight a couple of months ago. Don't cruise on the Vists till September. Was able to chose my seats by calling the airlines a couple of days later. No problem. I have gone online and changed our seats a couple of times. Always looking for the best ones. We have a great flight. Saved $500 per person booking through Carnival. I wonder if it dspends on the airline wheather or not you can go ahead and pick your seats. We will be on Delta. We had not paid anything on the flight when we picked our seats.

We too had a negative experience. Had always booked on our own until the new Fly2Fun began. Favorable rate popped up via Carnival back in October (rate not available direct with Delta), we booked flexible, no problem, rec'd booking # and went to Delta site. Selected standard seats, could not upgrade to Comfort as booking had not been paid by Carnival at the time. Quick call to Delta, using status we were upgraded to Economy Comfort, no problem. Actually think someone at Delta goofed on this but to our advantage.

Fast forward to January, had TA check our cruise and air rates for reduction as we had been monitoring. Call TA, whom contact Carnival, whom made adjustment around $200pp to our credit, woohoo. Also reduction in cruise fare around $110pp. Checked our booking same evening, noticed booking #'s changed, uh what's up. Checked Delta, original booking was gone. Carnival essentially cancelled the original and made new booking. Okay, so we'll go back to Delta to get our upgrade back. No go, can't do it until ticketed, or paid for by Carni. Trust me, we called and chatted with 6-8 diff Delta reps to pull this off. Explained that we did it in October, many apologies later Delta confirmed that whomever made the upgrade in October should not have done so, they goofed. Okay, so we'll take standard seats in the Medallion area of plane and attempt upgrade later...when Carnival pays which is around 60-75 days prior to sailing, least that's what we were told. Needless to say we're uphappy at that point but such as life.

Fortunately, third week of January Delta has European sale. Check rates direct with Delta, significant drop. We purchase direct with Delta, get the exact seats we wanted, called TA next day and had him cancel the Fly2Fun. He completely understood.

It seemed like a good idea at the time and would have been had the reduction not complicated our seating. Oh well, lesson learned. We'll book direct with airline as we always have going forward, too much control lost.

That's my story. Enjoy:)