Bad upsell experience!

[dcfan08]

Yesterday I received a call from a very nice employee from Carnival. She offered me a second interior cabin for my April 18th Splendor cruise for $240 and a move to the other side of the ship so the rooms would be across from one another. Our first room was an 8D Balcony for 4 and we would be put in a Balcony for 2 and an interior for 2 so I said that would be great as our kids are 17 and 15 and they would love being away from us. I also stated we had faster to the fun and that it would be a deal breaker if we couldn't have it for both rooms so she spoke to a manager and came back and said yes it would still be applied for the 4 of us. I received 2 E-mail confirmations and when I opened them faster to the fun was gone on both and we now had a balance of $2800 due by March 24th. I called back and asked for the employee I spoke to earlier but she was off duty,so the person opened my account and said yes we do now have a balance due. I asked to speak to a manager who was very nice and we asked to be put back in the original room and have fttf reinstated. He did so and sent us a confirmation for the original booking with a cancellation of the 2 rooms but because we cancelled in the penalty period we were assessed a $240 penalty.So we called back and after talking to 3 more people they assured us we would be reimbursed but as of yet nothing has changed on our credit card. Has this ever happened to anyone else or is this just an isolated incident.:(

[deborahjo]

Yesterday I received a call from a very nice employee from Carnival. She offered me a second interior cabin for my April 18th Splendor cruise for $240 and a move to the other side of the ship so the rooms would be across from one another. Our first room was an 8D Balcony for 4 and we would be put in a Balcony for 2 and an interior for 2 so I said that would be great as our kids are 17 and 15 and they would love being away from us. I also stated we had faster to the fun and that it would be a deal breaker if we couldn't have it for both rooms so she spoke to a manager and came back and said yes it would still be applied for the 4 of us. I received 2 E-mail confirmations and when I opened them faster to the fun was gone on both and we now had a balance of $2800 due by March 24th. I called back and asked for the employee I spoke to earlier but she was off duty,so the person opened my account and said yes we do now have a balance due. I asked to speak to a manager who was very nice and we asked to be put back in the original room and have fttf reinstated. He did so and sent us a confirmation for the original booking with a cancellation of the 2 rooms but because we cancelled in the penalty period we were assessed a $240 penalty.So we called back and after talking to 3 more people they assured us we would be reimbursed but as of yet nothing has changed on our credit card. Has this ever happened to anyone else or is this just an isolated incident.:(

 

Sorry this happened. What I do when we make changes I stay on the phone with Carnival til I get the email to make sure it is correct. No surprise that way. Good luck.

[dcfan08]

Sorry this happened. What I do when we make changes I stay on the phone with Carnival til I get the email to make sure it is correct. No surprise that way. Good luck.

 

Thank You! Good point you can bet the next time that is what i am going to do!:)

[sprint180]

Thank You! Good point you can bet the next time that is what i am going to do!:)

 

I never thought of that. It is near impossible to get back ahold of someone you have talked to. Yes, this maybe be common sense to most.

[deborahjo]

All it took was one bad experience for me. You can always make small talk for the minute or two it takes to get the email.

[9876]

Sorry this happened. What I do when we make changes I stay on the phone with Carnival til I get the email to make sure it is correct. No surprise that way. Good luck.

 

Good advice. I have never thought of that but will do so in the future. OP, I hope all works out for you all.

[pungo3]

I love Carnival, but I hate their customer service. I agree with the posters who say wait on the line until you receive an email with the information you just agreed to. Good luck sorting it out, and have a fabulous cruise.

[dcfan08]

Thank you for your replies,I will let you know how I made out as soon as I see the adjustment on my credit card.:)

[PAPERBKWRITER]

What a nightmare. Even if it works out they put you through a lot for nothing.

[dcfan08]

What a nightmare. Even if it works out they put you through a lot for nothing.

 

True! I thought I was doing something right for a change and when my wife came home from work and explained that we now have 2 rooms she was a bit skeptical. She was actually the one to open the E-mail and her reply was "What did you do". I felt like I had just screwed up our family vacation but aside from being unsure as to the $240 reimbursement all our original bookings seem to be in order:)

[Midwestgal]

And people wonder why I don't book through Carnival and only with a TA cruise specialist .

Sorry hope it all works out for you.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Midwestgal

[MsTabbyKats]

OP-

 

I have a feeling there was miscommunication between you and the agent.

I'm re-reading your post.

 

It states that you would get a second cabin for $240. That's for 2 people for 8 days.

 

Maybe I'm reading it wrong...but that would have been one good upsell....

[092306]

That's really stressful! Hope it gets resolved soon.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[pauleydm]

Yikes, that is beyond crazy. I would be asking for some sort of OBC for all the trouble you have gone through:)

[Casco Bay Kid]

And people wonder why I don't book through Carnival and only with a TA cruise specialist .

Sorry hope it all works out for you.

 

Really? I think it's worse with a TA. Too many people to mess it up. Direct is better IMO. TAs are dinosaurs with today's technology.

 

Sent from my HTC One mini using Forums mobile app

[camper49]

Sorry this happened. What I do when we make changes I stay on the phone with Carnival til I get the email to make sure it is correct. No surprise that way. Good luck.

Good advice..the last time i called Carnival, the person i spoke with said she was sending an e-mail with the change and to stay on the line til i saw it!

[dcfan08]

OP-

 

I have a feeling there was miscommunication between you and the agent.

I'm re-reading your post.

 

It states that you would get a second cabin for $240. That's for 2 people for 8 days.

 

Maybe I'm reading it wrong...but that would have been one good upsell....

 

I repeated the offer back to her and even stated to her that basically she was giving me a free room. She stated there was a need for 4 person balconies and I would be switched to a 2 person balcony and a 2 person I/S cabin. I guess for families with small children that they could not split up. So I was very clear in my questioning to her, Even going so far as to say "I am not going to be hit with port charges and tip adjustments and taxes". To which she said $240 only.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

OP-

 

I have a feeling there was miscommunication between you and the agent.

I'm re-reading your post.

 

It states that you would get a second cabin for $240. That's for 2 people for 8 days.

 

Maybe I'm reading it wrong...but that would have been one good upsell....

 

Probably why OP accepted the offer.

 

If the 3rd and fourth in the cabin were deleted from the original cabin surely that money would be used towards the new inside cabin for the 2 kids.

 

The price of a 4F IS cabin is $2032. So how they came up with a $2800 balance owed is quite the mystery.

 

Bill

[Paumavista]

Yes, I can understand where for an "additional" $240 you could get an inside cabin in addition to your balcony.

 

Actually I was just talking to some family members about this......an outside cabin for 4 people on our Splendor cruise is about $2750.......

An outside cabin for 2 people is $1700

An inside cabin for 2 people is $1175

These prices include tax & fees.

The total for the 2 cabins (one interior/one balcony) = $2875

 

So the difference between a balcony for four and 2 cabins for 2 across from one another is ONLY $125

 

You could word this that an "upgrade" to two cabins is $125!!!!!!

 

Actually a good deal I think...if the kids can be separate...it gives two bathrooms and a lot of extra space and privacy!! - - we've done it many times!

 

OP didn't say what his original balcony room cost was......IF....when changing the reservation all balances needed to be paid it could explain why the bill came in now (for the original 4 personal balcony cabin plus the $240)....to cover the two rooms they converted to....

Edited March 22, 2014 by Paumavista

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Yes, I can understand where for an "additional" $240 you could get an inside cabin in addition to your balcony.

 

Actually I was just talking to some family members about this......an outside cabin for 4 people on our Splendor cruise is about $2750.......

An outside cabin for 2 people is $1700

An inside cabin for 2 people is $1175

These prices include tax & fees.

The total for the 2 cabins (one interior/one balcony) = $2875

 

So the difference between a balcony for four and 2 cabins for 2 across from one another is ONLY $125

 

You could word this that an "upgrade" to two cabins is $125!!!!!!

 

Actually a good deal I think...if the kids can be separate...it gives two bathrooms and a lot of extra space and privacy!! - - we've done it many times!

 

OP didn't say what his original balcony room cost was......IF....when changing the reservation all balances needed to be paid it could explain why the bill came in now (for the original 4 personal balcony cabin plus the $240)....to cover the two rooms they converted to....

 

Their cruise is in less than a month so the balconey room is paid off already I'm sure. All that should be due is the $240

 

 

Bill

[sjcruiser]

Sorry for the bad experience, but I had a similar situation last summer when I changed/upgraded rooms on my own on the Breeze. The first email sent did not have the FTTF noted, which I pointed out to the rep. on the phone (not my PVP). The second email sent a few minutes later did have the information noted. When I have dealt with my PVP this year with booking several cabins for family members on our summer cruise, he usually tells me to check my email to make sure everything is ok, while he is finishing up the call, but before he finishes with his welcome aboard spiel.