I am aggravated with Carnival's booking policies

[cruzincritter]

Yes, you've been more than fair and balanced in your response to the OP. Interestingly, I sensed frustration rather than anger from the OP.

 

However, when you mention the rate code and what the PVP can or can't do, I still think you may be missing the point. The OP doesn't care (nor should he need to) what the "rate code" is. If I go to a hardware store and I buy a box of screws and I come back the next day because I'm one screw short and ask them if they can throw in another screw, the answer should be either yes or no, but if it is no, the explanation shouldn't be, "no because if I did that I'd have to record the screw under a rate code that would require me to cancel your original transaction, process a refund and re-sell the original box plus one screw for the original price".

 

And I don't think the OP was suggesting that the PVP should try to do anything secretly for him that would be contrary to company policy and certainly not something "willy-nilly ... that would cost the PVP her job if she got caught". I think he would have hoped the PVP might have got authorization to make the change from the shift supervisor, or if the shift supervisor didn't have the authority to get the shift supervisor to get authority from the divisional manager and if he/she didn't have authority, to get approval from the regional manager, etc.

 

I have no doubt that CCL has some way to put you, me or a chimpanzee into their booking system and charge them $1, zero dollars, a million dollars or any other amount they want. Any booking system will have some sort of override, but I agree the PVP likely doesn't have authority to do it herself.

 

But I'll say again that I don't have a ton of sympathy for the OP's position. They have a rate structure and policy and they stick to it. But the reason they're sticking to it is a policy reason, not a mechanical excuse that the booking system is so inflexible that they couldn't possibly add another party without going through the mechanical exercise you focused on.

 

And don't take my reply as a criticism of your tone in dealing with the OP. You've been fair, pleasant and balanced.

 

 

EXACTLY!!!!!!! Let's not pretend here that Carnival's policies, plans, business practices, etc. CANNOT be changed OR influenced.....we all know this happens every single day.....Carnival calls at will and moves people all over a particular ship, let's say, and as long as those of you are benefiting all is good, right? CARNIVAL MOVES PEOPLE ALL THE TIME!!!! Do you really think that they CAN"T change some asinine CODE on a booking? CARNIVAL does this ALL the time, get it? Good Grief, how many times over the years I've been visiting this site have I come on here and read about HOW CARNIVAL changed this or that, gave me an UP-GRADE, or whatever, and I do NOT recall those folks having a problem with THAT. BUT!!!! When someone comes on here and has a LEGITIMATE FRUSTRATION, he/she gets hit with undue precipatation. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Bottom line is that the OP was going to give CARNIVAL more MONEY people!!!! YES!!! I said CARNIVAL was in a win-win situation and it was not going to COST THEM one red cent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHOULD have been a no-brainer and I do not care what "the policy" says......there are businesses all around this country that WISH something like this would happen to them but CARNIVAL has gotten the "big head" and THIS is the reason why my family left them in the first place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just my .02cents.............Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ScottsSweetie]

the same old argument surfaces time and again. and what so many don't seem to grasp is that if carnival bends the rules for one customer they need to bend the rules for everyone. . . .

 

This is not always true - a rule is sometimes your "Starting Point". Say I run a Preschool and you pay a $150.00 non-refundable deposit in the spring for your child to enter next fall. Five people will decide not to come to the school. Three of those will just be no-shows, because they will say to themselves, "the rule is the rule". One will call and say they decided on a different school - sorry, no refund for you. The last will call and say job has been transferred and we have to leave the state - we decide to refund. How faithful the family has been to the preschool may also weigh into the decision (compare to Platinum CCL cruiser). In the end, the five people will most likely not be communicating with each other, so they will not know what the others got (or didn't get).

 

I realize it's much easier to do with a small scale operation than a company like Carnival, and you can't give everyone their money back or the cheapest rate when it goes into effect.

 

It's kind of like the "zero tolerance" rules at school - if they find a butter knife in your kid's car they get expelled, because "rules are rules", and we have no flexibility in punishment for "weapons" on campus.

[cruzincritter]

This is not always true - a rule is sometimes your "Starting Point". Say I run a Preschool and you pay a $150.00 non-refundable deposit in the spring for your child to enter next fall. Five people will decide not to come to the school. Three of those will just be no-shows, because they will say to themselves, "the rule is the rule". One will call and say they decided on a different school - sorry, no refund for you. The last will call and say job has been transferred and we have to leave the state - we decide to refund. How faithful the family has been to the preschool may also weigh into the decision (compare to Platinum CCL cruiser). In the end, the five people will most likely not be communicating with each other, so they will not know what the others got (or didn't get).

 

I realize it's much easier to do with a small scale operation than a company like Carnival, and you can't give everyone their money back or the cheapest rate when it goes into effect.

 

It's kind of like the "zero tolerance" rules at school - if they find a butter knife in your kid's car they get expelled, because "rules are rules", and we have no flexibility in punishment for "weapons" on campus.

 

 

Seriously? Are you kidding me? We're talking preschool/daycare now.....c'mon man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

[coops]

Seriously? Are you kidding me? We're talking preschool/daycare now.....c'mon man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

 

With some of the people on these boards nowadays that is how they understand it. . lol

[stewpapa]

$400 is a great deal for 1 week on Carnival Conquest. I'd pay and enjoy!

[ScottsSweetie]

Seriously? Are you kidding me? We're talking preschool/daycare now.....c'mon man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

 

No, we're talking about a for-profit business with a set of rules designed to make money, not lose it. EVERY business has a starting set of rules with the flexibility to change them. As someone else mentioned previously, Wal-Mart has a written 90-day return policy - but they will sometimes allow returns after that date. I'm sure that are lots of business owners (and I am not, btw, just used an example) that will tell you that they have bent a rule or two in order to make a long-term customer happy.

 

I'm not saying Carnival should do this, just saying that rules were made to be broken. The customer is definitely NOT always right - but sometimes a company will shoot itself in the foot by doing something foolish.

[macandlucy]

Business policies are guidelines put in place for the benefit of the company, not to ensure fairness to every customer. Someone pointed out earlier that Carnival has many different rates, none of which are based on fairness. (Is it fair (meaning equal treatment) that people in Ohio get a discount and people in Washington don't? )

 

It's a business policy, not a creedo or set of ethics.

[dcedar]

My wife and I are currently booked on the Conquest leaving out of New Orleans on February 10th. The cruise has of course passed the final payment date. I have been calling for the past several weeks to see just how much it would cost to add my son to the booking. It has been, and remains, quite expensive in my opinion. I was on Carnivals website checking pricing today, and noticed that today the price for the three of us would only be about $200 more than my original price that has been paid in full. Do you think that Carnival would let me pay the additional $200 and add him to the cabin that I am in which is already configured for three people? No. Instead, they want to charge me over $400 to add him. They say that I can’t pay the lower rate because that would require them to change the rate code on my booking – something that they will not do this close to sailing. It did not matter that we were all Platinum guests or that they would actually make more money on the deal.

 

I find it interesting that they are so inflexible. I did not ask for an OBC or any money back. All I asked was to be allowed to pay them more money and they said no, not enough.

My best guess as to the additional revenue that they are missing out on is as follows:

 

What we would have spent

 

3rd person Ticket - $200.00

7 Day Soda Card - ($4.50 / day x 7 days - $31.50 + 15% Gratuity ) $36.23

1 Excursion Ticket - $50.00

1 Gratuities - $11.50 / Day $80.50

1 Assumed misc expenses (based upon my previous 7 cruises with him) $200.00

 

Total $566.73

 

What Carnival Wanted and is not getting:

 

3rd person Ticket - $400.00

 

The amount of additional revenue that Carnival could have had without creating any additional cabin space had they allowed me to pay the lower rate - $166.73.

 

That is just in DIRECT COSTS. Now I understand that $166 is not a large amount of money, but they actually could stand to lose more because now I am mad at them and will be MUCH less willing to splurge on any additional on-board expenses such as:

Bar Tab - $400

Jewelery - $150 - $200

Perfume - $200

Bingo - $10

 

All told, they could stand to lose an additional $810 in INDIRECT COSTS. Plus I may take my 1 or 2 cruises per year to Royal Caribbean (that is an unknown future loss).

 

Basically, they lost out on about $1,000 of additional on board revenue because they would not change a fare code on a booking. Oh yeah, I understand completely. I guess is probably a good thing that I sold my CCL stock last year as decisions like this don't seem to make much financial sense.

 

Oh, and for those of you who will flame me for taking my frustration out on the crew by not spending anything while on board - I FULLY INTEND TO PAY MY GRATUITIES, AND PROBABLY SOME MORE. The crew works entirely too hard for what little pay they receive.

 

 

Right or wrong your numbers are off. If you switch to another cruise line Carnival will still sell all cabins.

 

If you spend $400 at the bar Carnival does not make $400. They have to pay for the liquor, the bartender, the soap to wash the glasses, licenses, etc. There are many costs that are involved in all areas of cruising. The same with Jewelry, perfume, etc. If you don't buy it someone else will.

 

And surely you cannot think Carnival gets the full amount of an excursion price?

 

Even the smallest things add up. An extra person is more weight (the person and the luggage) on the ship. Extra weight is extra fuel. And who knows if Carnival has to pay other fees per person. Yes, I know it is such a tiny detail and doesn't make too much difference but it is still a factor.

 

AND... if Carnival bent the rules for you surely they would bend them for others as well right? There are many, many, platinum cruisers. So, if they allowed platinum members to make up there own prices and change rates whenever they want then they would start losing money like crazy!

 

Some rules suck but there are really good reasons for them. And I find it hard to believe someone would not spend money on the things they enjoy to 'get even' with a company that would not notice such a tiny amount of loss.

 

Carnival would not even know you were 'punishing' them. If they were to think about it at all they would just think that you could not afford to spend any money and they would probably hope that you at least had a great time anyway. Many people cruise and don't spend a lot on board for whatever reasons. I for one do not spend much on board because I do not wear jewelry or perfume and I don't drink much.

 

So 'punish' them if you must but honestly you will only be hurting yourself. And I honestly do not believe any other line would bend the rules for you either.

[happy cruzer]

When the OP booked he tied up a cabin that could have been booked by someone else for more or for less. He tied up an asset at a price. It seems to have been a cabin for three so that is what he got for the price he booked at. Carnival may have lost revenue because that cabin was out of inventory.

 

Now he wants to make a change instead of two people he wants to book three NOW. He has had the benefit of tieing up a cabin for all this time and now he wants to make the change. They have a policy for changes. Cancel existing booking and go with current rates. No one complains when the costs go down with the policy only when they wait and the costs go up.

 

We all want what we want, but sometimes we don't get it. If you don't like the policy, you will need to make sure that next time you make a booking that has terms and conditions that you do.

 

Carnival has a policy in place for the change.

[katiel53]

No, I wasn't asking for any savings. I was asking to pay an additional amount so that we could add a third person. Carnival and I just could not agree what that ADDITIONAL cost was going to be...

 

Maybe that is where my miscommunication is here - some of the people here seem to think that I am asking Carnival for some savings (special treatment), while I believe that I was asking to pay an additional amount equal to that of the amount being paid by others booking today. I wanted to pay MORE than I already had..

 

 

I think we all understand you want/wanted to pay more, BUT, you are changing the rules from when you booked. You decided at a late date to add someone, then you have to pay the going rate----simple to understand, albeit, you choose to not understand and think you are being sc---d---

 

If you think that, understand that there are people who book a cabin as a single who pay double for the cabin, ie a balcony cabin. Then a few weeks before the cruise decide to add a 2nd person---(keep in mind the original occupant paid double the price, so should only have to pay the government fees for the second person) only to be told--oops, sorry, there are many people who have had 3 or 4 to a cabin and there is no way for you to add the second person.

 

OP, give it up and stop your complaining. Either you pay $400 and stop worrying about the extra $200. The example I have given was a whole lot more than $200.

 

Your threats about lost money fall on deaf ears as far as Carnival is concerned and just because you want rules/policies/whatever changed to meet your demands doesn't mean it will happen. I do give you kudos for trying, but that's it. I don't think Carnival owes you a darn cent and you have to decide if the extra money is worth it and if not, so be it.

 

I just want to add one other thing, the example I gave of someone sailing as a single is someone that is Platinum on Carnival, so it makes not a darn bit of difference.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

I understand the frustration and at this point I think you know it is what it is.

 

Carnival will lose a little but your son is losing a cruise.

 

I would gladly pay the extra $200 and take my son.

 

 

Pay the $400, take your son, have a great cruise and move onto other lines. Its good to branch out, heck I am not loytal to any cruise line, find the best ones for your needs and book em.

[awhcruiser]

Will you tell your son he cant go because Carnival won't bend the rules?

[mdcrim]

I had to pay $576.68 for my child to be the third passenger in my room. Would have been THRILLED to only have had to pay an extra $400. I definitely didn't think to call Carnival to try and negotiate for a cheaper rate. And if I had I don't think I would have gotten mad at them not honoring my offer.