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DO NOT Allow Carnival to book your flights!


tee17
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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!!

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Four of us had Carnival book our flights via Fly2Fun and it worked well. Our flight times were satisfactory and we had no problems. When we first booked a few months ago, there were a few details that took a week or so to iron out as the system was so new. After the initial glitches we were all able to choose the same flights and were all able to choose our seats on the airline's web sites. Fly2Fun cost less than their original Fly Aweigh program.

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We have taken seven Caribbean cruises. I personally arrange for everything involved in our travel:

Flights, the cruises, airport transfers, shore excursions, private guides at the ports, hotels, etc.

I do not use travel agents, either.

I would NEVER book our flights, through a cruise line.

I can do better myself.

** Travel insurance is a must for everyone, I believe.

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Not sure I would trust Fly2Fun. I do a lot of research here before booking anything and the people happy with booking air through Carnival seem few compared to the number who don't. I know Fly2Fun is pretty new, but until I see the majority of people happy with it, I just wouldn't trust it.

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We have taken seven Caribbean cruises. I personally arrange for everything involved in our travel:

Flights, the cruises, airport transfers, shore excursions, private guides at the ports, hotels, etc.

I do not use travel agents, either.

I would NEVER book our flights, through a cruise line.

I can do better myself.

** Travel insurance is a must for everyone, I believe.

 

Ditto. Never use travel agent. Book everything ourselves. That way we are in control of everything.

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As others have said here, saving a few dollars is not worth allowing some 3rd party to mis-manage your travel plans (I believe that is why most who let the cruise lines book their air do so).

 

If one make even the most rudimentary attempt to understand airfares, everyone can book good airfare at a fair price. It's the naiive who get beat up buying airfare.

 

I always book my own, always book non-stop even if it costs a few dollars more.

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I agree with self booking, we just took a land trip to Hawaii and wanted to upgrade hotel rooms, etc and it was a nightmare since we had used a travel agent, where if we hadn't it would have been simple and less time consuming, she did not get us anything extra or better rates, etc and booked things, initially until we caught it, in her name so we didn't get Hilton honors pts, never again!

 

 

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It is, if you've already purchased $1500 per person tickets and want standard seats. These "premium seats" are called premium because they are closer to the bathrooms. We would just as soon have standard seats. The point is, we incurred these costs because Carnival withheld payment to the airline for several months.

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It is, if you've already purchased $1500 per person tickets and want standard seats. These "premium seats" are called premium because they are closer to the bathrooms. We would just as soon have standard seats. The point is, we incurred these costs because Carnival withheld payment to the airline for several months.

 

 

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

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

 

Not entirely true. It seems like a number of people are having a good experience flying to Europe (booking through Carnival) for this summer.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2234608&page=11

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

On another social media forum, it gets good reviews. Great actually. Carnival has fly2fun where you pick your own flights and they are added to your booking thereby allowing you to pay for everything in the same place. You can also use gift cards towards the added on flights, which if you get them discounted that actually saves you money. There are also some other advantages.

 

Then there's the traditional program that's been around where they pick your flights and add on transfers. And that's usually a hot mess! They will pick same day flights, bad connections, etc. I believe that's the one you choose by clicking on a box during your cruise reservation process.

 

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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 this happened to you, and thank you for sharing this valuable information with us about Carnival's new Fly2Fun air program. What a bummer that your hard-earned vacation has started with unnecessary stress already in the booking phase. The planning and anticipation are supposed to be fun! I hope everything goes smoothly from here.

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For years I've heard complaints about Carnival booking flights. For the life in me I don't understand why someone would allow them to book them. Flying is as complex as it as ever been and having the ability to make adjustments when needed is crucial. Leave the cruising to Carnival and book your own flights or at the very least use a local TA.

 

 

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We have had mostly good experience booking our European air travel through the cruise lines (Never used Carnival, but have used Princess, HAL & Viking). I have found it to be cheaper. All the cruise lines book the air travel pretty much the same, buying in bulk, getting discounted rates, and the flights are not always the most convenient. The upside, is that most offer next port protection, which you don't get if booking on your own.

 

With that out of the way. When you go to check in, I am sure AA will find a way to ensure your nine year old is not flying by himself. The gate agent, and flight attendants have some leeway to fix things. I always have to make sure I get a seat with extra leg room for my 6'8" DH, and I have always managed to get him a decent seat, even on a full flight. Paid upgrades may also be available at the ticket counter.

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There are many travelers who aren't as "savvy" as those who use and understand the intricacies of booking travel and TAs and "flight" bookings are a godsend to them.

 

It's great that Carnival has a source for those who don't travel much and would become overwhelmed and stressed if they had to work out all the minutia of bookings on their own. For others it is an option that is best avoided if they find it fun and exhilarating to work out their own plans.

 

Why would someone who "knows" the ins and outs turn over their vacation to a third party and then "complain" when it isn't how they would have worked it all out. Does the saving of a few dollars become so enticing that they abandon their own abilities...and then they blame the system for not doing it the way they would have.

 

I have no sympathy for the OP. They made their initial choice and they should have been aware that the choice they made wouldn't, necessarily, coincide with their exact wishes or end up being totally inline with what they had "assumed" would be the outcome. It's like booking a "guarantee" cabin and then spending countless hours complaining that they didn't get exactly what they wanted when eventually assigned a space.

 

I don't think Carnival is at fault here....I just don't think expectations were met and that falls on the shoulders of the person booking "cheaper" flights through Carnival to save a few dollars. What did they expect.

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I agree to a certain point that you are giving up control when you let someone else book your flights. You cannot be surprised if you don't get the flights you would have chosen or are restricted in your ability to upgrade. However, I can understand the frustration in OP's situation, where Carnival took their money and then delayed in passing it on to the airline, until OP was required to pay more out of pocket for premium seats. It is reasonable to expect Carnival to purchase the tickets in a timely manner. In this situation, it would just have been good customer service to offer OBC.

 

OP, I would not worry about your child, however. No one wants to sit next to an unaccompanied, nervous kid. As long as you're switching comparable seats (aisle to aisle, etc.) or giving up a better seat, you'll be able to work something out once you board to have one parent sit with the child. I have seen that happen many times on airlines that charge extra for seat assignment.

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...Booking XXXXXX...

 

I can't comment on your airfare ordeal, beyond to say that it sounds annoying, but you should remove your booking number from your post (or rather, ask someone at Cruisecritic to do it since they don't allow editing after 15 minutes). This is a public forum and that information may allow someone with nefarious intentions to cause trouble with your reservation.

Edited by gtalum
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Ditto. Never use travel agent. Book everything ourselves. That way we are in control of everything.

 

I totally agree, I always book my own flights, like one of the posts said they would not use fly2fun until the program is better received, it is too new to take a chance.

 

 

Gary

Edited by shipbound2
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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!!

 

I just booked my flights through them with no problem. I have a gift card through carnival and it was either book through them and pay with the gift card or book on my own and pay out of pocket.

They notified me when I bought the tickets that it was a restricted airfare. I did look up flights prior to calling them so I knew what I wanted and what the price would be. It was $23 more expensive to book through carnival than on the airlines website however. It took a day and my flights showed up and I can manage them externally now.

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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. )

 

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.

Edited by TruckerDave
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