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$100 change fee-should I bother to fight it???

PhoenixDawgCruising
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PhoenixDawgCruising

PhoenixDawgCruising

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So this morning I changed from a 3 night on Inspiration to a 5 night on Freedom. After talking to a few different people at Carnival, I got Jerry to do the change. He said they would probably be able to waive the $100 fee, then he put me on hold for a long time, came back, said he tried, but THEY wouldn't waive it. THEY who??:eek:

 

It's only $100, and Jerry was a nice enough old guy, but it kinda annoyed me that I had to pay $100 to change ships.

 

I didn't press the issue with Jerry, so I was wondering about other people's experiences with changing ships. I retained the same booking number, so I don't understand the charge. I have never had to pay a fee to do this on Royal, and it isn't a big deal, just wanna know if I'll get anywhere if I call back and try somebody else.

 

Thanks!:)

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poison7fl

poison7fl

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Seems to me that you made a change...

 

Why didn't you just cancel and re-book?

 

Are you in the refund stage for the 3 day?

 

How close is the cruise?

 

Finally, Carnival is not Royal....

 

Seems to me that you left a lot out of your post.

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PhoenixDawgCruising

PhoenixDawgCruising

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Final payment isn't due til July, both old cruise and new in August. I don't really know enough about Carnival to know if this is correct or not. Don't know if the fact that the original cruise was booked under the Kids Free rate matters?

 

 

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Edited by PhoenixDawgCruising
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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

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Final payment isn't due til July, both old cruise and new in August. I don't really know enough about Carnival to know if this is correct or not. Don't know if the fact that the original cruise was booked under the Kids Free rate matters?

 

 

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you'd better make some calls. You shouldn't be paying any penalty

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hftmrock

hftmrock

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you'd better make some calls. You shouldn't be paying any penalty

 

even though they probably should have not charged you, unfortunately its in their verbiage. I would call a supervisor and maybe get it reversed

 

KIDS SAIL FREE

Cruise rates are in US dollars, per person and based on double occupancy. 3rd/4th/5th guests are free combinable with Carnival’s Fun Select rates only. $50 per person non-refundable deposit is applicable to sailings outside of final payment due date and it is valid for all ships, stateroom types and sail dates. Changes made to the reservation may result in the assessment of cancellation penalties or service fees. Offer is capacity controlled and is not combinable with any other discount or promotional offer. Category restrictions and exclusions apply. Carnival reserves the right to withdraw and/or change offer at any time without prior notice. Offer is for the cruise fare only and does not include Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses. Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses range from $42.38 to $324.27, and are assessed on a per guest basis for all guests according to the itinerary. Guest may select the stateroom, but a minimum purchase of category 4A is required. Cancellation penalties apply. Offer bookings made as part of a group will include amenities. Offer is not applicable on Carnival Australia sailings. Offer is applicable on new bookings made by May 4, 2014 EST on select cruises that depart between May 1, 2014 and August 28, 2014. Please request rate code PKF. Ships' Registry: The Bahamas, Panama & Malta.

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Meyer2

Meyer2

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Found this when I did a 'Mock' booking for the Kids Sail Free details. It says changes may result in penalties/fees. So I'm not sure if they would end up dropping the fee. Sorry.

 

3rd /4th /5th Guests: FREE - price below is average per person to allow comparison vs other promotions

$50 per person non-refundable deposit

Choose your room

 

3rd/4th/5th guests are free combinable with Carnival’s Fun Select rates only. $50 per person non-refundable deposit is applicable to sailings outside of final payment due date. Changes made to the reservation may result in the assessment of cancellation penalties or service fees. Offer is capacity controlled and is not combinable with any other discount or promotional offer. Offer is for the cruise fare only and does not include Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses. Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses range from $42.38 to $324.27, and are assessed on a per guest basis for all guests according to the itinerary. Guest may select the stateroom, but a minimum purchase of category 4A is required. Offer is not applicable on Carnival Australia sailings. Offer is applicable on new bookings made by May 4, 2014 EST on select cruises that depart between July and August 2014.

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bigman01

bigman01

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even though they probably should have not charged you, unfortunately its in their verbiage. I would call a supervisor and maybe get it reversed

 

KIDS SAIL FREE

Cruise rates are in US dollars, per person and based on double occupancy. 3rd/4th/5th guests are free combinable with Carnival’s Fun Select rates only. $50 per person non-refundable deposit is applicable to sailings outside of final payment due date and it is valid for all ships, stateroom types and sail dates.

 

The highlighted part is the key here I think - $50 per person non-refundable deposit. So, according to that, if there are 3 booked in the room, the non-refundable deposit should have been $150 instead of $100. And if you continue to push the subject, don't be surprised if they catch that mistake and charge you an additional $50.

 

The key to all of these promotions is to read, know and UNDERSTAND all of the terms and conditions. It's unfortunate, but it looks to me like the change fee is appropriate based on the rate that the cruise was booked under.

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hftmrock

hftmrock

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The highlighted part is the key here I think - $50 per person non-refundable deposit. So, according to that, if there are 3 booked in the room, the non-refundable deposit should have been $150 instead of $100. And if you continue to push the subject, don't be surprised if they catch that mistake and charge you an additional $50.

 

The key to all of these promotions is to read, know and UNDERSTAND all of the terms and conditions. It's unfortunate, but it looks to me like the change fee is appropriate based on the rate that the cruise was booked under.

 

you might be right about the $50 per person non refundable deposit. It even makes more sense because with the kids sail free, I dont think they will charge $50 for a passenger that is free. there was no deposit on the free child probably. so $100 makes sense

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travel33

travel33

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Thanks everyone, now that I see the contract says they "may" charge me, I'm not going to bother bickering over $100! Thanks everyone.

 

 

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I just changed ships also with the kids sail free promotion, and I did incur $100. also. They didn't charge for the 3rd/4th passenger, as they were "free". Hope that helps!

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bigman01

bigman01

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Thanks everyone, now that I see the contract says they "may" charge me, I'm not going to bother bickering over $100! Thanks everyone.

 

 

That's probably what I'd do too. I will say that they could have probably explained the restrictions to the rate code better. I think a lot of times, Carnival PVPs and CVS's just assume we know the restrictions and don't bother going over them with us, which of course, isn't always true.

 

As a last ditch effort, you COULD send a nicely worded email to cclsupport@carnival.com and explain that you weren't made aware of the change fee, and ask if there is anything they could do to help you.

 

If nothing else, take this as a lesson learned and go on the cruise and ENJOY it!

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S.S.Oceanlover

S.S.Oceanlover

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That's probably what I'd do too. I will say that they could have probably explained the restrictions to the rate code better. I think a lot of times, Carnival PVPs and CVS's just assume we know the restrictions and don't bother going over them with us, which of course, isn't always true.

 

As a last ditch effort, you COULD send a nicely worded email to cclsupport@carnival.com and explain that you weren't made aware of the change fee, and ask if there is anything they could do to help you.

 

If nothing else, take this as a lesson learned and go on the cruise and ENJOY it!

 

By reading many of the post on here it doesn't sound like CVS, PVP's or TA's do much explaining, especially about the ES.

 

How many people book and then come here and ask about the rules. I don't blame them for not knowing but whomever they are booking with should explain it if they've never booked before and with CCL going after the newbies that could be quite a few people.

 

Bill

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bigman01

bigman01

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Posted
By reading many of the post on here it doesn't sound like CVS, PVP's or TA's do much explaining, especially about the ES.

 

How many people book and then come here and ask about the rules. I don't blame them for not knowing but whomever they are booking with should explain it if they've never booked before and with CCL going after the newbies that could be quite a few people.

 

Bill

 

 

Bill, I agree. It's almost as if they purposely don't explain the rules for whatever rate is booked. I like to give Carnival more credit, but is it possible they do it as a revenue generator? I sure hope not, but it seems plausible at times.

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Tapi Great Review Rare

Tapi

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Bill, I agree. It's almost as if they purposely don't explain the rules for whatever rate is booked. I like to give Carnival more credit, but is it possible they do it as a revenue generator? I sure hope not, but it seems plausible at times.

 

 

My PVP (who is also a good friend of our family) has told me that one of the most frustrating things for him is explaining to people the fine print before they book. Guests will normally say "yes, yes, I understand", but then will call weeks later with some change and claiming that they had NO clue about the penalties and that nobody informed them. He's made it a habit to document all of his bookings when he informs the guests of penalties, cabin layouts, or anything that may come back to bite him. It's all time stamped.

 

I know that not all PVP's do this, but mine has been doing this for 10 years and has learned his lesson with guests who claim amnesia :o.

 

 

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RuthlessBoss

RuthlessBoss

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That's probably what I'd do too. I will say that they could have probably explained the restrictions to the rate code better. I think a lot of times, Carnival PVPs and CVS's just assume we know the restrictions and don't bother going over them with us, which of course, isn't always true.

 

As a last ditch effort, you COULD send a nicely worded email to cclsupport@carnival.com and explain that you weren't made aware of the change fee, and ask if there is anything they could do to help you.

 

If nothing else, take this as a lesson learned and go on the cruise and ENJOY it!

 

They can ask if you read the contract (so you should have been aware of the non refundable clause). So easy to miss though, because it's usually in small print or amongst long paragraphs of the agreement.

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S.S.Oceanlover

S.S.Oceanlover

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My PVP (who is also a good friend of our family) has told me that one of the most frustrating things for him is explaining to people the fine print before they book. Guests will normally say "yes, yes, I understand", but then will call weeks later with some change and claiming that they had NO clue about the penalties and that nobody informed them. He's made it a habit to document all of his bookings when he informs the guests of penalties, cabin layouts, or anything that may come back to bite him. It's all time stamped.

 

I know that not all PVP's do this, but mine has been doing this for 10 years and has learned his lesson with guests who claim amnesia :o.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Tapi,

 

Your PVP is a great one. Maybe CCL could pick his brain on how to better train their other PVP's and CVS's.

 

Bill

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