Affected by Sandy, but unable to get a cancel for full refund/credit from carnival

I am booked on a cruise on 8th November from Tampa Florida on Carnival.

I live in NJ which is severely affected by super storm Sandy, so I am in no position to go on a cruise.

Carnival is refusing to give any refund/credit for cancelling the cruise.:mad:

I do not have any travel insurance or cancellation options purchased.

Anybody in similar situation?

How can we have carnival give a full refund/full credit?

I had a air travel booked via United and they are giving full credit and waiving trip change fees.

As if losses due to Sandy are not bad enough, we are going to lose cruise fees.:mad:

Be careful, you are going to get blasted on here.

I am sorry not only for your current situation but that Carnival is not heping you.

If you havent already try calling guest care at 1800 929 6400

We never buy travel insurance but this recent storm has really made me consider purchasing it from now on. Our cruise was affected by hurricane sandy as well.

Is there any way you could transfer it to someone elses names that was able to go and then possibly have them pay you back or did you book a fare with no name changes?

First of all I have sympathy .. I know before Ike hit Galveston, even the cruise leaving 48 hours before Ike... they were not allowed to cancel and get any kind of refund.. they had to make a choice. (before you think I dont care.. I was on conquest and never saw my car again... no one was allowed to cancel was my point)

I also once purchased a AI vacation and it cost me over $1000, for the flight and week.. and I even bought insurance.. my fiancees father died.. not marrried...insurance no coverage, sorry charlie. It still grates on me that I lost $1000 by going to the funeral .. we broke up later. So insurance doesnt always help.. though Im sure some here will say you should have bought it.. after that .. I dont buy it.

I remember a bad storm in Baltimore 2 winters ago? where some didnt get to the port days early to miss it.. and some even lived in Baltimore... but said their road wasnt plowed yet, so they couldnt get out and seemed surprised that they could not cancel last minute. It was a really bad snow storm... nothing moved for the 2 or 3 days before the cruise left.

Losing my money still smarts. Carnival I know from reading these boards for years.. will not allow you to cancel. I know of a case someone went into ICU.. not allowed to cancel.

I am so so sorry that NJ and the other states up there are going thru this. My heart goes out to you. It sounds like you were hit bad by this storm. Im truly sorry.

I suggest calling guest solutions too, call Monday when the big wigs are in, not this weekend .. and start asking for a supervisor .. and their supervisor.. see if you can come up with any credit.. thats all I can suggest.. start calling, the squeeky wheel gets the oil. Call and call and start emailing until you hit someone. I once started emailing all the VP names i could find and got a hit and got something fixed.. so call and pester them to death.

I am booked on a cruise on 8th November from Tampa Florida on Carnival.

 

I live in NJ which is severely affected by super storm Sandy, so I am in no position to go on a cruise.

 

Carnival is refusing to give any refund/credit for cancelling the cruise.:mad:

 

I do not have any travel insurance or cancellation options purchased.

 

Anybody in similar situation?

 

How can we have carnival give a full refund/full credit?

 

I had a air travel booked via United and they are giving full credit and waiving trip change fees.

 

As if losses due to Sandy are not bad enough, we are going to lose cruise fees.:mad:

I am unsure why you think Carnival has to take the hit for your situation.

And even if you has regular insurance, it's usually spelled out the reasons you can claim. The only one responsible for you buying insurance or not is you.

Be careful, you are going to get blasted on here.

 

I am sorry not only for your current situation but that Carnival is not heping you.

 

If you havent already try calling guest care at 1800 929 6400

 

We never buy travel insurance but this recent storm has really made me consider purchasing it from now on. Our cruise was affected by hurricane sandy as well.

 

Is there any way you could transfer it to someone elses names that was able to go and then possibly have them pay you back or did you book a fare with no name changes?

thank you!! agc291

will call guest care.

Did know that I could transfer, that is a great option, will check if name change is allowed on my booking.

I recommend selling the cruise to someone else.

While it is a shame, Carnival is in the right not to reimburse. I agree that it would be nice if they did but they don't have to and would take a huge hit if they did that for everyone who didn't buy travel insurance during Sandy.

They'd be sailing with 1/2 full boats & refunds.

I am not saying they are right from a nice-guy point-of-view but they are in the right from a business point-of-view.

They also had to cancel a cruise in its entirety this week, pay full refunds, hotels, travel costs, food vouchers and 25% off future cruises with them.

Good luck to you! I'm sorry you've had such a hard time.

Im sorry for your situation right now. I know that technically Carnival is in their right to refuse a refund after final payment, but in your situation, I would keep calling till you get someone, maybe someone higher up in the pecking order? who at least will give you maybe a future cruise credit for when you are able to travel again. I dont mean to give false hope here, but just thinking that if all else fails, this might be an option for now. Again, so sorry for what you are going through, and I hope that you will soon be getting some sense of normalcy back in your life

And if and when you do get through to someone at Carnival with a "heart", let them know that the airline is waiving cancelation fees, and giving you a full refund. Just a long shot, but...

First of all I have sympathy .. I know before Ike hit Galveston, even the cruise leaving 48 hours before Ike... they were not allowed to cancel and get any kind of refund.. they had to make a choice. (before you think I dont care.. I was on conquest and never saw my car again... no one was allowed to cancel was my point)

 

I also once purchased a AI vacation and it cost me over $1000, for the flight and week.. and I even bought insurance.. my fiancees father died.. not marrried...insurance no coverage, sorry charlie. It still grates on me that I lost $1000 by going to the funeral .. we broke up later. So insurance doesnt always help.. though Im sure some here will say you should have bought it.. after that .. I dont buy it.

 

I remember a bad storm in Baltimore 2 winters ago? where some didnt get to the port days early to miss it.. and some even lived in Baltimore... but said their road wasnt plowed yet, so they couldnt get out and seemed surprised that they could not cancel last minute. It was a really bad snow storm... nothing moved for the 2 or 3 days before the cruise left.

 

Losing my money still smarts. Carnival I know from reading these boards for years.. will not allow you to cancel. I know of a case someone went into ICU.. not allowed to cancel.

 

I am so so sorry that NJ and the other states up there are going thru this. My heart goes out to you. It sounds like you were hit bad by this storm. Im truly sorry.

 

I suggest calling guest solutions too, call Monday when the big wigs are in, not this weekend .. and start asking for a supervisor .. and their supervisor.. see if you can come up with any credit.. thats all I can suggest.. start calling, the squeeky wheel gets the oil. Call and call and start emailing until you hit someone. I once started emailing all the VP names i could find and got a hit and got something fixed.. so call and pester them to death.

Firefly you are so kind and helpful. Nice post.

If the cruise sails it is not Carnival's fault if you don't make make it to the ship. I am sure you were aware of Carnival's cancelation policy at the time you purchased the cruise.

Why did you not buy trip insurance since you were cruising during hurricane season?

There are times that Carnival makes exceptions but its certainly not the norm. We live in Hurricane Alley in the center of the gulf states. More than once, we've left home with a storm heading straight for us. I'm not worried about being on a cruise but I don't like to leave my home unattended.

A little storm named Katrina hit us hard and we were scheduled to go on a Mediterranean cruise two weeks later. We HAD travel insurance and that's when I read the fine print and discovered we were only covered if our home were uninhabitable. We had $40,000 damage but we could live in it...no power, no water and all. Utilities were restored, temporary repairs made and we made the trip. It was a great trip and a nice break between the stress of the storm and the work needed to clean up and repair.

I would not have expected a refund from Carnival if we hadn't gone though. I would have fought the insurance tooth and nail but not Carnival.

Good luck. Things will get better quickly but it takes a long time to get to normal. I feel for everyone affected by Sandy.

First I am sorry for what you are going thru. Even if you had bought insurance you still might not be able to cancel. You would likely have needed cancel for any reason since the storm is over but not the aftermath. I know I working for one of the major freight companies and we are not paying any claims on freight that was lost or damaged due to the storm while in our care. Acts of God are not covered so any trip insurance you buy you will need to make sure that if something like this happens the aftermath is covered as well as the storm. Again sorry Carnival isn't doing what you feel is the right thing even though from a business standpoint they are. All you can do is keep bugging them and maybe someone will listen and take care of it but don't be surprised if they don't

That sucks however it is a prime example of why travel insurance is in order.

That sucks however it is a prime example of why travel insurance is in order.

They would need insurance with "cancel for any reason" unless their home were severely damaged anyway. I would wager to bet 95% of all the people who buy travel insurance do not buy that additional coverage. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

 

Why did you not buy trip insurance since you were cruising during hurricane season?

I don't think trip insurance would have helped in this case, so why even bring it up?

I don't think trip insurance would have helped in this case, so why even bring it up?

It depends on the trip insurance bought.

First I am sorry for what you are going thru. Even if you had bought insurance you still might not be able to cancel. You would likely have needed cancel for any reason since the storm is over but not the aftermath. I know I working for one of the major freight companies and we are not paying any claims on freight that was lost or damaged due to the storm while in our care. Acts of God are not covered so any trip insurance you buy you will need to make sure that if something like this happens the aftermath is covered as well as the storm. Again sorry Carnival isn't doing what you feel is the right thing even though from a business standpoint they are. All you can do is keep bugging them and maybe someone will listen and take care of it but don't be surprised if they don't

I believe Carnival has changed their policy since Katrina hit and now covers weather related cancellations..Ken would know the details .. He is the insurance expert on CC.

That sucks however it is a prime example of why travel insurance is in order.

+1

I feel sorry for your case however I see no reason Carnival should reimburse you at all. United is doing that because flights are a mess at this current time. I expect once the mess of flight schedules is cleaned up, they won't reimburse anyone anymore. There is nothing affecting the cruise ships therefore no reason to reimburse anyone. The ones they did reimburse last week were directly affected by the storm. The ones now are not. It's a sorry about your luck issue and hopefully a lesson learned to get insurance.

First of all I have sympathy .. I know before Ike hit Galveston, even the cruise leaving 48 hours before Ike... they were not allowed to cancel and get any kind of refund.. they had to make a choice. (before you think I dont care.. I was on conquest and never saw my car again... no one was allowed to cancel was my point)

 

I also once purchased a AI vacation and it cost me over $1000, for the flight and week.. and I even bought insurance.. my fiancees father died.. not marrried...insurance no coverage, sorry charlie. It still grates on me that I lost $1000 by going to the funeral .. we broke up later. So insurance doesnt always help.. though Im sure some here will say you should have bought it.. after that .. I dont buy it.

 

I remember a bad storm in Baltimore 2 winters ago? where some didnt get to the port days early to miss it.. and some even lived in Baltimore... but said their road wasnt plowed yet, so they couldnt get out and seemed surprised that they could not cancel last minute. It was a really bad snow storm... nothing moved for the 2 or 3 days before the cruise left.

 

Losing my money still smarts. Carnival I know from reading these boards for years.. will not allow you to cancel. I know of a case someone went into ICU.. not allowed to cancel.

 

I am so so sorry that NJ and the other states up there are going thru this. My heart goes out to you. It sounds like you were hit bad by this storm. Im truly sorry.

 

I suggest calling guest solutions too, call Monday when the big wigs are in, not this weekend .. and start asking for a supervisor .. and their supervisor.. see if you can come up with any credit.. thats all I can suggest.. start calling, the squeeky wheel gets the oil. Call and call and start emailing until you hit someone. I once started emailing all the VP names i could find and got a hit and got something fixed.. so call and pester them to death.

thank you firefly333 for your post!

I will call guest solutions and see how it goes.

There is at least some good news.

After reading the cancellation policy, think that I should be able to get back the taxes/gov fees.

Also I had prepaid gratuities, most likely I will get those refunded.

Can anyone confirm this/experince with this?

how did you pay for your trip? sometimes if you have paid with your credit card, there could be insurance there. I have it with my Visa, so I don't get travel insurance as it also gives me medical. Look at your fine print, and good luck

how did you pay for your trip? sometimes if you have paid with your credit card, there could be insurance there. I have it with my Visa, so I don't get travel insurance as it also gives me medical. Look at your fine print, and good luck

That is a good idea. If nothing else the Credit Card co MIGHT be able to help

thank you firefly333 for your post!

I will call guest solutions and see how it goes.

There is at least some good news.

After reading the cancellation policy, think that I should be able to get back the taxes/gov fees.

Also I had prepaid gratuities, most likely I will get those refunded.

Can anyone confirm this/experince with this?

If you do not cruise, you will automatically be refunded your taxes/gov. fees. i am not sure about prepaid grats....but I would think/hope so.

Sorry about your situation. I'm glad you are safe however.

That is a good idea. If nothing else the Credit Card co MIGHT be able to help

thank you!

will check that

Also confirmed that I will get a refund for taxes and prepaid gratuities

thank you!! agc291

will call guest care.

Didn't know that I could transfer, that is a great option, will check if name change is allowed on my booking.

called and was told that I can change rest of the passengers, but the primary one has to sail, meaning I may not be able to transfer this to someone else.

called and was told that I can change rest of the passengers, but the primary one has to sail, meaning I may not be able to transfer this to someone else.

Check on if you can change your room to a 3/4 person room. All of the rooms may be gone now that it is so close to sailing. Then you could change pax #2, add #3 and then you just are a "no show".

If the cruise sails it is not Carnival's fault if you don't make make it to the ship. I am sure you were aware of Carnival's cancelation policy at the time you purchased the cruise.

 

Why did you not buy trip insurance since you were cruising during hurricane season?

Completely agree it is not carnival's fault and I should have considered buying insurance. Usually I don't buy insurance due to the exclusion policies and fine print. Now I see that carnival has a insurance which refunds 100% for some reasons and 75% for any other reasons.