So upset. Reservation accidentally cancelled by Carnival - any recourse?

[cdreher]

I can't help the OP, but here is my general advice

 

Put a note on your calendar a week before your payment is due.

 

Double check that the payment is posted or that your check is cashed. If you see nothing on the day before the payment is due, it's time to make the call.

 

Don't take anything for granted - including auto payments and check's getting to their destination.

 

Make sure to check your airline reservations prior to paying for the cruise.

 

There is alot of cross checking with cruises because it's not like you get a bill in the mail. It's all on your shoulders.

[glorialagos]

 

My learning experience...I always take some $$$ to pay for early morning room service..Not pay..$3 tip.....and usually I keep them in the drawer close to the phone..easy access. So my DH had taken some money from the safe...In $50 dollar bills..and handed me one..I just laid it down.

So DH is in there..he is talking....wanting to go to the buffet..I am telling him to go and run some energy off before coming back....Coffee is there..I had the Delivery person 3 dollars. I thought. He did have a big smile.

After he left..I started looking for the Fifty. Gone. Realized I had tipped the Guy $52 for two cups of coffee. What to do? If I called..it could get the guy in trouble. They work hard..are not rich people..supporting family back home. NO. Not on my conscience. Will he bring it back. No. don't blame him. some passengers are nutty as bessie bugs.

 

SO...I decided he would spend that money in some way to help people. It was not a tip..it was a donation to charity. To helping people work and improve their lives.

It became my husband's favorite story. The $52 dollar cup of coffee. Several passengers we met..asked me to just call their cabins and they could get me a cup of coffe for half that price...

Live and Learn. I am still very glad I let it drop. The price of that coffee..maybe it bought some child in Bosnia...books for school. Food. paid the rent.

The mills of the Gods grind slowly..but they grind exceedingly fine...............I need some good Kharma.

and also..What would Jesus do? Shut up and blame myself? I think so. I need some brownie points there too................so all is well.

Husband still loves telling the story of my "cup of coffee". He has gotten fifty dollars worth of laughs out of it.

 

LOVE this story!! What a wonderful outlook you had on the situation. Karma will be kind to you!!:)

[golfadj]

OP I too am sorry this happened to you - have to agree with the above poster - a travel agent probably would not have allowed this to happen to you. They would have reminded you your payment was due.

 

Whats the difference here between TA and booking direct?

 

TA might call, Carnival did call.

[iahawkize]

So papayagirl I think you're on our Carnival Liberty 11/3/12 cruise. Go over to the "Roll Calls" and check out out group of "Fritos Banditos" Maybe partying with us will make your cruise more enjoyable!

 

Ken (iahawkize) "El Presidentes" Assistant and Steve (Frito58) "El President for Life"

[packedandready]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. I did confirm the spelling of my first name and email address (it's the same 5 letters before the @ symbol), but somehow it was still entered incorrectly. I never received any emails from them - not even a booking confirmation. I was disappointed that they were pretty poor with communication, but not all hotels and airlines do this, so I had no way of knowing something was up. Now I know, and it was an expensive lesson learned. I'll try pleading my case one more time, and know to use a travel agent next time.

 

And btw - the current cruise price was actually closer to $700 more, but they agreed to give my parents the retuning guest rate (which is the same hmy dad wouldve ben eligible for as retired military if he could dig up his discharge papers) to knock $200 or so off the price. So at least it's something.

I'm off to go camping now, so I won't be online for a while. Thanks again!

 

AHHHH......cruisin' and campin'.....the best 2 things on earth :D

[cruise77]

This is why I recommend TA's, they would fight for you!

[firefly333]

This is why I recommend TA's, they would fight for you!

 

Sounds like you never had a good PVP as they would also fight for you.. and mine would have called back if I had not replied when she called me that my payment was late.. and emailed me.

 

Thats why its good to have someone you have established a relationship with.

 

PVP or TA..both have good and bad members.

[golfadj]

This is why I recommend TA's, they would fight for you!

 

Some will some will not but understand why Carnival cancelled reservation.

[smc0320]

I do feel bad for the OP....it must have been very stressful to go through that....

 

BUT.....

 

had she checked the voice mail they left her 5-minutes after the rep left it, instead of 10 FREAKING DAYS.....she would have known right away there was a problem and could have handled it right away. Oh boy, silly me, I already have a cruise booked and they must be calling me to sell me something else or book me another cruise! Remind me not to call her when I get into trouble and need help right away.

 

Another thought that came to mind was that if I made a reservation for me and another for my mom, and I was getting email notifications....but not my mom.....I think I would have wanted to find out what's happening.

 

What about when her credit card was charged for the balance? Did she not think to ask her mom if her card had also been charged?

 

I am happy she got the same room re-booked.....I do agree that Carnival "could" have met her half way, but they didn't have to do anything. What would she have done if there were no rooms available....or only expensive suites?

 

You can't just keep calling back again & again and demanding to go up the chain of command until you get what you want.

 

There is NO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY in this country any longer.

 

Enjoy your cruise.....put all of this behind you now or you won't ever get on that ship and have a goood time. At least you got your mom onto a cruise.,..my Mom won't go because she thinks we have no business being that far out in the ocean and the boat will sink.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

LOVE this story!! What a wonderful outlook you had on the situation. Karma will be kind to you!!:)

 

I like to tip the cabin steward extra a couple of times a week and once on my way to the casino I had a fifty in one pocket and a ten in the other... Yeah, I did. The casino gig was quite a bit shorter that day but I did learn a lesson.

[kmc500]

Originally Posted by AmberTeka View Post It became my husband's favorite story. The $52 dollar cup of coffee. Several passengers we met..asked me to just call their cabins and they could get me a cup of coffe for half that price...

My wife did a very similar thing - room service showed up while she was in the shower. She told them to take the money on the counter - oops, wrong pile! They took the $100 bill and the two ones, rather than the three singles.

 

I was not as kind or sanguine as you were, we did call room service to see if we could get it back. The attendant was kind enough to return with the money he took, and we tipped him $10 for the effort. I hope we didn't get him in trouble. He did nothing wrong, and we explained that to whomever we spoke with at room service.

 

For a moment was definitely our most expensive continental breakfast!

 

Kevin C

[wentworth]

My PVP calls about a week before final payment is due just as a

reminder. This is usually around the xmas holiday so I appreciate

her call.

[nlktx49]

Looks like everyone else has told you enough that this was your fault! I still don't blame you for being upset about this, just an unfortunate series of events. I hope you don't let this sour your cruise or your future with Carnival.

 

It's wonderful you get to cruise with your kids and your parents! Take a deep breath, forget about this, and have the best cruise ever! And get a travel agent - mine calls to let me know she's about to make my final payment, has my credit card number and charges it. The way my memory is, I'd probably forget to do it if it was up to me.

[mikel24m]

My wife did a very similar thing - room service showed up while she was in the shower. She told them to take the money on the counter - oops, wrong pile! They took the $100 bill and the two ones, rather than the three singles.

 

I was not as kind or sanguine as you were, we did call room service to see if we could get it back. The attendant was kind enough to return with the money he took, and we tipped him $10 for the effort. I hope we didn't get him in trouble. He did nothing wrong, and we explained that to whomever we spoke with at room service.

 

For a moment was definitely our most expensive continental breakfast!

 

Kevin C

 

I have had this happen to me several times, customer walks up orders a beer pays with a $100 thinks its a $10 and walks away.I just put his change behind the bar and when they realize and come back I hand them their change with a smile .Im sure this happens alot

[papayagirl]

I do feel bad for the OP....it must have been very stressful to go through that....

 

BUT.....

 

had she checked the voice mail they left her 5-minutes after the rep left it, instead of 10 FREAKING DAYS.....she would have known right away there was a problem and could have handled it right away. Oh boy, silly me, I already have a cruise booked and they must be calling me to sell me something else or book me another cruise! Remind me not to call her when I get into trouble and need help right away.

 

Another thought that came to mind was that if I made a reservation for me and another for my mom, and I was getting email notifications....but not my mom.....I think I would have wanted to find out what's happening.

 

I think it's fair to say that Carnival and I both played a part in this misunderstanding, and there are things we both could've done differently. But I do want to defend myself against a few people who've made me out to be a serial ignorer of messages.

 

This is going to be my first cruise ever, and everything about Carnival is new to me. From the time I initially called to ask about prices, it took a month or so for me to decide on and book the cruise. And during the in-between time, I received sales calls almost daily from Carnival asking if I was ready to book yet. Had I given more thought to the cruise? Was there something I was waiting on? Do I know how awsome their Fun Ships are? Experienced cruisers probably know how to avoid this, but I literally came to dread seeing Miami, FL pop up on my cell phone and had to plead with them to please STOP calling me at work every day because I guaranteed that I'd call them back as soon as I was ready. Usually, they still called again later in the week.

 

In response to the comment above, I wasn't getting any email notifications about my booking at all, and neither was my mom. Presumably the first booking agent entered my email address incorrectly, and the second agent carried over the same information when I called back to book for my parents. I *did* specifically sign up to receive email notifications on the Carnival website, and I was baffled that Carnival continued to send me sometimes two emails a day as recently as Friday warning me Don't Say Bon Voyage to Cruise Savings! and Sale Ends Today! But given the frequency and nature of their phone calls, I started to get the picture that Carnival was all about marketing.

 

So after all that, I don't think it's far-fetched to understand why I migh'tve initially disregarded another call from them and not even realized they'd left a voicemail saying that this time, something was wrong.

 

(Feel free to carry on discussing room service and other expensive lessons learned, which have actually helped me feel a little bit better about my situation. ;-)

[firefly333]

I *did* specifically sign up to receive email notifications on the Carnival website, and I was baffled that Carnival continued to send me sometimes two emails a day as recently as Friday warning me Don't Say Bon Voyage to Cruise Savings! and Sale Ends Today!

 

This is what I do NOT sign up for.. it means you are asking to receive all their emails for sales and whatever .. .. has nothing to do with signing up to receive emails regarding your specific booking unfortunately.

 

I have a PVP who knows not to call me, Ill contact her if I want to book, but I have heard of others who dont have someone getting calls like this to book. Ive never gone thru this.

 

Carnival cant even find my email addy to email me the survey after my cruises.

 

I learned my lesson though about getting emails regarding final payment thru a TA I had booked with .. .. and gone around with them why they dont notify you when its due, instead of saying its on your confirmation. .. I had booked almost 2 years in advance.. who remembers a final payment date for 2 years??

 

I think they should notify you when its due myself.

[mikel24m]

This is what I do NOT sign up for.. it means you are asking to receive all their emails for sales and whatever .. .. has nothing to do with signing up to receive emails regarding your specific booking unfortunately.

 

I have a PVP who knows not to call me, Ill contact her if I want to book, but I have heard of others who dont have someone getting calls like this to book. Ive never gone thru this.

 

Carnival cant even find my email addy to email me the survey after my cruises.

 

I learned my lesson though about getting emails regarding final payment thru a TA I had booked with .. .. and gone around with them why they dont notify you when its due, instead of saying its on your confirmation. .. I had booked almost 2 years in advance.. who remembers a final payment date for 2 years??

 

I think they should notify you when its due myself.

 

We didnt sign up for emails or calls and the funny thing is today my wife got a call from our new vacation planner,she didnt answer we were sleeping.

 

Last night she was online researching on the website for the cruise we have already booked,you think they would check before the calls start.Very annoying for us