One passenger can't go. Do we cancel or just no show him

[tbmiller]

My brother cannot go on our cruise that leaves on Saturday. He is booked in a room with three other passengers. We paid for this cruise for everyone and would like to get his port fees and prepaid gratuity back if possible. Do we cancel him or just have him be a no show. If he is a no show will they give us back the fees and gratuity?

[shof515]

you reached the point of no return. Good luck getting your money back. Overall, it will be easier and less of a hassle for them to be a NO SHOW instead of trying to cancel. Just an FYI here is carnival cancellation policy:

What is the cruise cancellation policy?

 

Cruise Cancellation Policy:

 

Length of Cruise Days Prior to Sailing Departure Charge (Per Guest)

2, 3, 4, and 5 day cruises Up to 61 days None (except for Cruise-To-Nowhere and Early Saver Fares*)

60 to 46 days Deposit^

45 to 30 days 50% of Total Fare

29 to 15 days 75% of Total Fare

14 days or less 100% of Total Fare

 

6, 7 and 8 day cruises Up to 76 days None (except for Early Saver Fares*)

75 to 46 days Deposit

45 to 30 days 50% of Total Fare

29 to 15 days 75% of Total Fare

14 days or less 100% of total Fare

 

Alaska cruises, CruiseTours

and 10 day or longer cruises Up to 76 days None (except for Early Saver Fares*)

75 to 46 days Deposit

45 to 30 days 50% of Total Fare

29 to 15 days 75% of Total Fare

14 days or less 100% of Total Fare

 

12 & 16 day Europe Cruises,14, 17 Up to 91 days None (except for Early Saver Fares*)

& 18 day South America Cruises 90 to 56 days Deposit

and 14 day Panama Canal Cruise 55 to 30 days 50% of Total Fare

29 to 15 days 75% of Total Fare

14 days or less 100% of Total Fare

 

Note: Should cancellation charges apply, guests who purchased Carnival’s Cruise Vacation Protection -- including the new Cancel for Any Reason feature -- may be eligible for a refund of, or credits towards, the otherwise non-refundable value of their prepaid cruise vacation. Refer to the plan description for specific terms, conditions and exclusions.

 

 

Total Fare is defined as Cruise Fare, Air Fare Supplement, Transfer Services and Pre-/Post-Cruise Vacation Packages.

 

*The deposit is non-refundable.

 

^For Cruises-To-Nowhere, the cancellation charge is 25% of the total fare.

 

Government fees/taxes are excluded from cancellation penalties.

 

For special 3/4/5th guest rates, if the cancellation penalty exceeds the rate, the penalty will be equivalent to that rate. Reservations will be held until 30 minutes prior to departure without risk of automatic cancellation.

 

No refunds will be made in the event of "no shows". We recommend the purchase of trip cancellation insurance.

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-544539

[patticake1961]

Either way you should still be able to get port fees and gratuities back.

[glrounds]

I think "technically" you have to cancel him to get the fees and gratuities back.

 

[Essiesmom]

If you cancel him, it will not have any effect on the fares of the other occupants of the cabin, so there is no reason for him to be a 'no-show'. EM

[k2excursion]

Either way, you will get the gov't fees & tips refunded. If it were a 2-person room, and only one couldn't go, that would be a case to do the no-show. But in your case, it makes no difference, so you might as well cancel him now and get a head start on getting that money back.

 

Port fees are an invisible charge. It's thrown in as a part of the cruise fare (not a part of the gov't fees & taxes), and we never know how much they are. Unfortunately, these are not refunded. They should be, since Carnival doesn't have to pay them for someone who cancels, but that's an argument we'll never win.

[kcdancerkc]

just wondering in general == can you stick somebody else in the slot if somebody cannot go within the same week time frame?

Sometimes life gets in the way and somebody can't go --- can you substitute them?

[gunther619]

just wondering in general == can you stick somebody else in the slot if somebody cannot go within the same week time frame?

 

Sometimes life gets in the way and somebody can't go --- can you substitute them?

 

Pretty sure (not 100%) if it's an ES, you have to pay an admin fee ($50) to change the name. Not sure about the other rates?

 

I just know what I had to cancel my cruise to change the dates, I had to pay $50 a person...and I heard they charge you that for something as little as a name change...for the ES rate, anyways.

[BananaAnna]

Pretty sure (not 100%) if it's an ES, you have to pay an admin fee ($50) to change the name. Not sure about the other rates?

 

I just know what I had to cancel my cruise to change the dates, I had to pay $50 a person...and I heard they charge you that for something as little as a name change...for the ES rate, anyways.

 

INCORRECT INFO - you can not do a name change on an ES booking.

[terryinal]

BananaAnna is right. you can not do a name change on an ES booking.

[MrPete]

My brother cannot go on our cruise that leaves on Saturday. He is booked in a room with three other passengers. We paid for this cruise for everyone and would like to get his port fees and prepaid gratuity back if possible. Do we cancel him or just have him be a no show. If he is a no show will they give us back the fees and gratuity?

 

We were booked as a triple once, and it was only I that sailed in the end.

 

I called Carnival 4 days before my sailing, and they refunded me one fare. I said THANK YOU!

[Maraprince]

I am in the 2 person situation and still do not know whether or not the other person will be going! What can I expect to recoup? I paid for 2 people and took insurance out for both of us.

 

MARAPRINCE

[k2excursion]

I am in the 2 person situation and still do not know whether or not the other person will be going! What can I expect to recoup? I paid for 2 people and took insurance out for both of us.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Alot of it depends on how close you are to sailing, what rate you're booked at, and whether your insurance will cover the reason that person can't go. If you are after your final payment date & the insurance won't cover, then that's the worst case scenario. In this case, Don't cancel. Have the person be a no-show. If you were to call & cancel, you may get a portion of the cruise fare back, or none of it, depending on how close you are to sailing. The problem is that you then have to pay for an entire other cruise fare, because solos have to pay 2 cruise fares (referred to as a 200% solo supplement). So you would then be paying 2 cruise fares plus the cancel penalty. You don't want that. When you check in at the terminal, report that the person will be a no-show. I'm not sure how & when the gov't fees for that person are refunded, but they are.

 

If the insurance will cover the reason the person cannot go (make sure of this first), then you can call & cancel. If the insurance is through a 3rd party, you will pay any penalty, plus the 200% solo supplement. The insurance will then pay you back for the penalty & the solo supplement. If you are booked with Early Saver and it's before final payment, the penalty is actually only $50, as the rest of the deposit is held for a future cruise. If it's any other rate and it's before final payment, the deposit will be refunded, and the insurance will then only need to cover the solo supplement.

 

As far as the name change discussion, it is true that no name changes are allowed under Early Saver, ever. There is no bending on this rule. Other rates, however, will allow it for a $50 fee.

 

Carnival recently made changes to their timetable as to the penalties after final payment. The one listed in this thread is old. A few small changes have been made. You can find it about 1/3 of the way down the page here: http://www.carnival.com/cms/static_templates/ticket_contract.aspx

[Maraprince]

Alot of it depends on how close you are to sailing, what rate you're booked at, and whether your insurance will cover the reason that person can't go. If you are after your final payment date & the insurance won't cover, then that's the worst case scenario. In this case, Don't cancel. Have the person be a no-show. If you were to call & cancel, you may get a portion of the cruise fare back, or none of it, depending on how close you are to sailing. The problem is that you then have to pay for an entire other cruise fare, because solos have to pay 2 cruise fares (referred to as a 200% solo supplement). So you would then be paying 2 cruise fares plus the cancel penalty. You don't want that. When you check in at the terminal, report that the person will be a no-show. I'm not sure how & when the gov't fees for that person are refunded, but they are.

 

If the insurance will cover the reason the person cannot go (make sure of this first), then you can call & cancel. If the insurance is through a 3rd party, you will pay any penalty, plus the 200% solo supplement. The insurance will then pay you back for the penalty & the solo supplement. If you are booked with Early Saver and it's before final payment, the penalty is actually only $50, as the rest of the deposit is held for a future cruise. If it's any other rate and it's before final payment, the deposit will be refunded, and the insurance will then only need to cover the solo supplement.

 

As far as the name change discussion, it is true that no name changes are allowed under Early Saver, ever. There is no bending on this rule. Other rates, however, will allow it for a $50 fee.

 

Carnival recently made changes to their timetable as to the penalties after final payment. The one listed in this thread is old. A few small changes have been made. You can find it about 1/3 of the way down the page here: http://www.carnival.com/cms/static_templates/ticket_contract.aspx

 

 

 

Did not book under ES. We sail on 6/7 and I paid in full for 2 people including the insurance through a 3rd party insurer. It may turn out to be for a medical reason for the 2nd person if they cancel.

 

So it seems I can substitute another person.

 

Since I already paid for 2 people on my credit card, they cannot charge me more than I alrady paid. I may get back the port taxes for the 2nd person?

 

MARAPRINCE

[k2excursion]

Did not book under ES. We sail on 6/7 and I paid in full for 2 people including the insurance through a 3rd party insurer. It may turn out to be for a medical reason for the 2nd person if they cancel.

 

So it seems I can substitute another person.

 

Since I already paid for 2 people on my credit card, they cannot charge me more than I alrady paid. I may get back the port taxes for the 2nd person?

 

MARAPRINCE

 

I was hoping that someone whose had experience in situations like yours would come on here & tell you exactly how it works. I haven't been there. I'm just speaking from what I've heard, and came close to experiencing once.

 

Since you are not ES, you should be able to do a name change for a $50 fee, if you know of someone else who can go. I don't know if the insurance would cover that fee though. If you cannot find someone else, and if the insurance will cover the reason the person cannot go, you can call & cancel that person. If this is for a 6-day cruise or longer, you are now (as of the last hour or so) into the next penalty stage. Yesterday (56 days from sailing), the penalty was the deposit. Today (55 days from sailing), the penalty is 50% of the cruise fare or the deposit, whichever is greater. That's the change that was made. In the table posted in this thread, it lists it as 45 days, but that's old. It's been changed to 55 days. If it's for a 5-day or less cruise, the penalty is still the deposit for another 9 days.

 

Once you cancel the 2nd person, you will have to pay the solo supplement (even though there was a cancellation penalty), which is equal to another cruise fare. If you don't pay it within a reasonable number of days, your booking would be cancelled, and you wouldn't get anything back. There's no getting around the 200% solo supplement, even in cases like this. Otherwise, people could put in a fake person as a 2nd and then cancel them to get some of that 2nd cruise fare back. It would be too easy for people to manipulate. That's why the no-show option would be the only way for you to go if you didn't have the insurance & couldn't find someone else to go.

 

The amount of penalty and the solo supplement won't matter, as long as your insurance will cover the reason for canceling. Because the insurance should cover it. Check with them, and make sure you get all the documentation that the insurance will require. And yes, if you are the only one that goes, the gov't taxes for the 2nd person will be refunded by Carnival directly, whatever route you take. I just don't know how & when it gets refunded with the no-show option.