Jshutterbugf

Just wanted to share that I wasn’t impressed with the reviews for the 2 hotels that had Stay, Park, and Cruise packages for NYC. I googled the best rated hotels in NJ close to the terminal and called them to ask about parking. Aloft Meadowlands Secaucus told us parking was in a lot and free and they would give us a permit for the car but, that people parked extended there all the time. We parked right in front of the lobby and our car was totally fine for 11 days. They could not have been more accommodating about it. The hotel cost less than $150 through Vio.com. It was modern and super clean. Looked like plenty to do there but, we only came to sleep. Lyft was $55 each way to the terminal and took less than 20 minutes. Highly recommend. 

Yes, if they had quoted me the true price when I entered the waitlist, I wouldn't have held out for this. I would have made alternate plans. Now I blew my vacation week with my family for the year.

My husband and I received a week off with about a months notice. I found the Carnival Pride had a balcony open for $829pp. When I called to book it, they told me that we could not have our 2 year old with us. (The agent actually suggested we just leave her home, but that's a whole new subject). They suggested we put down a refundable deposit of $250pp and be put on the waitlist. If someone canceled, which was likely, we could book a room for 3. The agent quoted me that the final price would be around $2000 for an interior and $2200 for an oceanview, before our frequent cruise discounts. Great.

The week before the cruise, I called every day, sometimes twice. I got every answer you can imagine from; we are #5 on the waitlist, we are #3 on the waitlist so the line was moving, the waitlist has no order, you're on but you just haven't been assigned a cabin yet. Even talking to supervisors didn't help. I got a different answer everytime I called. 4 days before the sailing, an oceanview cabin had opened up when I called. Thank god! They then proceeded to tell me that it was $3200 total! They refused to honor my quote, any discounts, anything I had been told. They even threatened to keep my deposit if I didn't take the reservation. I found myself 2 days before my vacation without any place to go and everything is either sold out or out of our price range now.

I searched and searched and hadn't found much for waitlist success or failures so, I think it's important to share what they did to us so people don't hold out hope. The likelihood that a few groups with cancel a few days before is high, but don't expect them to not take total advantage of you! I was told by a supervisor that it's acceptable because it's "around the same price". Totally ridiculous as well as expecting me to pay $1000 for an infant to cruise. I'm holding out for an escalated supervisor to call back but, I'm sure that's fruitless. They told me I'll get a phone call within 72 hours. Well, let's see if that even happens before the boat sails. I will never book Carnival ever again!