Views on whether you consider this an upgrade

[nomad098]

We are a family of 5 the kids being 14, 9 & 9

Booking in the UK deposits are non refundable

We booked Vista specifically for the Havana staterooms and the associate facilities and the ship not the itinerary

We booked a Havana Cabana Suite for my wife and the twins and an Havana interior for me and the eldest

We spoke to Carnival UK several times confirming information about the rooms and facilities before we booked and they had full knowledge of the ages of the kids

After reading on here that the Havana area can only be booked with kids over the age of 12 we contacted Carnival.

4 days later we received this email

 

This is in reference to your sailing on the Carnival Vista August 26, 2016, we have been informed that the Havana cabins on the Vista cannot have anyone booked in them that is 11 years old or under, regardless if they are with their parents in the same cabin or not for the following reason, “this is because we are creating more tailored accommodation options specific to the needs of our guests. The Havana cabins and experience is designed to be a place where guests can relax and recharge in a more intimate and private setting and the 12 years and older age requirement will enable us to sustain the desired atmosphere.”

 

For this reason we are contacting you to let you know that we have upgraded your cabins to two of our Ocean Suite cabins 7375 & 7377 as complimentary upgrade. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you and your family.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

 

I understand they have got to move us. This is not a rant at Carnival they made a mistake and are working to rectify it but considering this as a package comparing what we booked with all the facilities the Havana area offers to 2 suites with no extra facilities do you consider this an upgrade and why?

[EZ4]

We are a family of 5 the kids being 14, 9 & 9

Booking in the UK deposits are non refundable

We booked Vista specifically for the Havana staterooms and the associate facilities and the ship not the itinerary

We booked a Havana Cabana Suite for my wife and the twins and an Havana interior for me and the eldest

We spoke to Carnival UK several times confirming information about the rooms and facilities before we booked and they had full knowledge of the ages of the kids

After reading on here that the Havana area can only be booked with kids over the age of 12 we contacted Carnival.

4 days later we received this email

 

This is in reference to your sailing on the Carnival Vista August 26, 2016, we have been informed that the Havana cabins on the Vista cannot have anyone booked in them that is 11 years old or under, regardless if they are with their parents in the same cabin or not for the following reason, “this is because we are creating more tailored accommodation options specific to the needs of our guests. The Havana cabins and experience is designed to be a place where guests can relax and recharge in a more intimate and private setting and the 12 years and older age requirement will enable us to sustain the desired atmosphere.”

 

For this reason we are contacting you to let you know that we have upgraded your cabins to two of our Ocean Suite cabins 7375 & 7377 as complimentary upgrade. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to you and your family.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

 

I understand they have got to move us. This is not a rant at Carnival they made a mistake and are working to rectify it but considering this as a package comparing what we booked with all the facilities the Havana area offers to 2 suites with no extra facilities do you consider this an upgrade and why?

 

Not an upgrade. You got screwed.

[Pixelate]

Write to Vicky Rey and demand compensation.

[Isa65]

I, for one, consider this a nice upgrade. You had one Havana Suite and an Interior.

 

Now you have TWO suites that cost the same as your HS.

If you feel like you're missing out on "extra facilities", contact the department that offered you the upgrade and demand these facilities added to your package.

 

With 9-yr olds, have you considered the Family Harbour Suites?

[ce_cruise]

Though one to say. On the plus side you are going from an inside cabin to a balcony suite. The suites are side by side. On the negative side you loose the perks of the exclusivity of the Havana suites. I would ask if you are really going to be able to use that though as you are in port almost every day.

 

I think Carnival has tried, perhaps you could negotiate a little more, Steak dinner for the family and a his and her massage. :) Good luck!

[nomad098]

I, for one, consider this a nice upgrade. You had one Havana Suite and an Interior.

 

Now you have TWO suites that cost the same as your HS.

If you feel like you're missing out on "extra facilities", contact the department that offered you the upgrade and demand these facilities added to your package.

 

With 9-yr olds, have you considered the Family Harbour Suites?

 

We did consider the family harbour suites but the kids ruled them out to many kids down there for them.:eek:

They enjoy the kids club when it's not to busy in there but they enjoy their quite time reading and playing on their tablets.

 

We did ask about access for us and the eldest but were told only for Havana guests during the day.

[Pixelate]

We did ask about access for us and the eldest but were told only for Havana guests during the day.

 

Write to vrey@carnival.com and demand what you were originally contracted for. I'm sure they will make accommodations for you once it reaches Vicky Rey (VP of Guest Services).

 

Be sure to reference that Carnival authorized this booking for that stateroom category with minors. Carnival changed your stateroom without asking you (which they can do per cruise ticket contract). When asking about a benefit you purchased, you were told it was for Havana guests only, to which you were until they unwillingly changed your stateroom.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Pixelate

[nomad098]

Though one to say. On the plus side you are going from an inside cabin to a balcony suite. The suites are side by side. On the negative side you loose the perks of the exclusivity of the Havana suites. I would ask if you are really going to be able to use that though as you are in port almost every day.

 

I think Carnival has tried, perhaps you could negotiate a little more, Steak dinner for the family and a his and her massage. :) Good luck!

 

I think we would have got the use out of the area as we would have only got off in Marseilles as we have done the other ports several times and holidayed in the area

 

The interior room was not that import to us just somewhere to sleep it was the access to my wife's suite balcony and patio area and the hammock:D I'm going to miss that hammock

 

The eldest boys idea was to let mum take the ocean suite with the twins and me and him stay in the Havana inside. This was quickly vetoed by mum

[Pixelate]

I think we would have got the use out of the area as we would have only got off in Marseilles as we have done the other ports several times and holidayed in the area

 

The interior room was not that import to us just somewhere to sleep it was the access to my wife's suite balcony and patio area and the hammock:D I'm going to miss that hammock

 

The eldest boys idea was to let mum take the ocean suite with the twins and me and him stay in the Havana inside. This was quickly vetoed by mum

 

You could have done that for booking purposes and asked for extra keys/VIN keys at Guest Services. They don't care where you sleep (only billing information) and if enforcement uses wristbands, you may be able to share the wristband and the key authorized to the stateroom to enjoy the pool. Perhaps you can ask for one suite to be modified to the old Havana suite and just get extra keys to stay in the same room as your wife with the kids in the other suite.

[nomad098]

Write to vrey@carnival.com and demand what you were originally contracted for. I'm sure they will make accommodations for you once it reaches Vicky Rey (VP of Guest Services).

 

Be sure to reference that Carnival authorized this booking for that stateroom category with minors. Carnival changed your stateroom without asking you (which they can do per cruise ticket contract). When asking about a benefit you purchased, you were told it was for Havana guests only, to which you were until they unwillingly changed your stateroom.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Carnival where supposed to get back to me Wednesday or Thursday at the latest it's Saturday here and heard nothing yet

[Pixelate]

Thanks for the info

 

Carnival where supposed to get back to me Wednesday or Thursday at the latest it's Saturday here and heard nothing yet

 

Then bypass the CSRs, escalate it yourself and deal with the executive level.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Pixelate

[fuddrules]

You could have done that for booking purposes and asked for extra keys/VIN keys at Guest Services. They don't care where you sleep (only billing information) and if enforcement uses wristbands, you may be able to share the wristband and the key authorized to the stateroom to enjoy the pool. Perhaps you can ask for one suite to be modified to the old Havana suite and just get extra keys to stay in the same room as your wife with the kids in the other suite.

 

LOL, now you're thinking like me. I was going to do just that with our booking.

 

But I just decided it would be best for all of us to stay in Havana area as it seems from what I can tell the only drawback will be possible late night noise.

[nomad098]

Then bypass the CSRs, escalate it yourself and deal with the executive level.

 

Will have to wait until Monday as I doubt executives work weekends

 

I managed to find the email of the CEO Carnival UK so will fire one off to him on Monday

[Pixelate]

Definitely let us know how it goes!

 

PS: I had received email communications from Kristina Savedge (Gerry Cahill's old assistant) on a weekend.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Pixelate

[dpal2208]

Nomad.

Please let me know how it turns out as I Wil be sail with our 8 year old.

 

Bon Voyage

 

Djp

[heatherbelle]

As a fellow Brit, do not even bother with Carnival UK, they are hopeless and don't have any authority to do anything.

 

Go straight to the contact that Pixelate gave you. Whoever has taken over from Gerry Cahil contact them and mark it complaint.

 

I had no end of trouble with Carnival UK over a price drop that I should have been entitled to a few years ago. In the end I wrote to the CEO in Miami which was picked up and after explaining about my contract being with Carnival US and not Carnival UK I got the price drop. Carnival UK still tried to get out of it, even when I sent them the email from Miami, so Miami had to phone them to sort it out. I also got some OBC as an apology too. Now contracts issued by Carnival UK are just UK contracts.

 

I am not sure if you are the same person who is on a Disney website for Brits, but they too have been upgraded from a Havana inside to balcony cabins.

 

Personally I agree with others you have not been given an upgrade for what you wanted, access to the Havana area and your hammock. Although personally I would be thrilled with 2 ocean suites. There are lots of great areas on the ship, especially the water park for the kids and Senerity if your kids are in the clubs.

 

Ask them for an upgrade to the Captains suit instead:D you never know you might get lucky, check if it holds 5.

[Pixelate]

As a fellow Brit, do not even bother with Carnival UK, they are hopeless and don't have any authority to do anything.

 

Go straight to the contact that Pixelate gave you. Whoever has taken over from Gerry Cahil contact them and mark it complaint.

 

I had no end of trouble with Carnival UK over a price drop that I should have been entitled to a few years ago. In the end I wrote to the CEO in Miami which was picked up and after explaining about my contract being with Carnival US and not Carnival UK I got the price drop. Carnival UK still tried to get out of it, even when I sent them the email from Miami, so Miami had to phone them to sort it out. I also got some OBC as an apology too. Now contracts issued by Carnival UK are just UK contracts.

 

I am not sure if you are the same person who is on a Disney website for Brits, but they too have been upgraded from a Havana inside to balcony cabins.

 

Personally I agree with others you have not been given an upgrade for what you wanted, access to the Havana area and your hammock. Although personally I would be thrilled with 2 ocean suites. There are lots of great areas on the ship, especially the water park for the kids and Senerity if your kids are in the clubs.

 

Ask them for an upgrade to the Captains suit instead:D you never know you might get lucky, check if it holds 5.

 

Gerry Cahill still has no replacement for the CEO position. Christine Duffy will be replacing his position as President beginning next month. For now, Vicky Rey is the highest person at Carnival Cruise Line that can assist. If you want to escalate it further, Arnold Donald (CEO of Carnival Corporation - the parent company) is very responsive at adonald@carnival.com. I'd sooner have Vicky Rey deal with this, if it were me.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Pixelate

[nomad098]

As a fellow Brit, do not even bother with Carnival UK, they are hopeless and don't have any authority to do anything.

 

Go straight to the contact that Pixelate gave you. Whoever has taken over from Gerry Cahil contact them and mark it complaint.

 

I am not sure if you are the same person who is on a Disney website for Brits, but they too have been upgraded from a Havana inside to balcony cabins.

 

Personally I agree with others you have not been given an upgrade for what you wanted, access to the Havana area and your hammock. Although personally I would be thrilled with 2 ocean suites. There are lots of great areas on the ship, especially the water park for the kids and Senerity if your kids are in the clubs.

 

Ask them for an upgrade to the Captains suit instead:D you never know you might get lucky, check if it holds 5.

 

Thank you for the feedback.

 

I am not the one on the Disney boards

 

Form what I have read on these boards the perks with Carnival for booking a suite are quite limited compared to the other lines and I think they must be struggling with working out what constitutes an upgrade now they are offering perks on top of what they would normally offer. But a lot of it will come down to what the customer perceives to be an upgrade if you've booked specific rooms for a reason it's going to be difficult to convince the customer what they are offering is an upgrade

 

Under the UK cruise contract they have got to offer something comparable. We feel that though the Havana interior to ocean suit might be considered a big upgrade in terms of room it is a downgrade in terms of facilities, as we only wanted the room to sleep in, the main reason was the associate facilities. As far as the Havana suite goes we feel this is a huge downgrade. What we loose on top of the Havana facilities is, less sq footage(HS 360m2 OS 340m2), the ability to separate the bedroom from the lounge, 1 tv, 1 lounger, more usable outside space, we could have sat out there as a family and of course 1 hammock

 

After seeing the Captains Suite on the Sunshine I would be happy to give up both cabins for that one for the 5 of us. Unfortunately they do not have these on the Vista

 

Gerry Cahill still has no replacement for the CEO position. Christine Duffy will be replacing his position as President beginning next month. For now, Vicky Rey is the highest person at Carnival Cruise Line that can assist. If you want to escalate it further, Arnold Donald (CEO of Carnival Corporation - the parent company) is very responsive at adonald@carnival.com. I'd sooner have Vicky Rey deal with this, if it were me.

 

I have emailed Vicky Rey and the CEO of CarnivalUK as he is the lowest executive I can find in the UK

[HoneyBeeGood]

I'm just curious to why you and your wife are not sleeping in the same suite? When we book the Vista, our children will be the same ages almost (14, 9, 7) and no way I would be sleeping in separate beds from my husband...I guess that's another conversation. Anyhoo, why not you and the wife rebook the Havana Suite and give the kids the Ocean Suite. They are old enough to sleep on their own. I was thinking of booking the Havana Suite but I don't like how others can see you while relaxing on your balcony. We'll just book the Family Harbour Suites. :D

[nomad098]

I'm just curious to why you and your wife are not sleeping in the same suite? When we book the Vista, our children will be the same ages almost (14, 9, 7) and no way I would be sleeping in separate beds from my husband...I guess that's another conversation. Anyhoo, why not you and the wife rebook the Havana Suite and give the kids the Ocean Suite. They are old enough to sleep on their own. I was thinking of booking the Havana Suite but I don't like how others can see you while relaxing on your balcony. We'll just book the Family Harbour Suites. :D

 

Hi

 

I was under the impression that children could not be booked on their own into a separate cabin unless it was connecting or very close by.

 

Even if we could do what you suggest we would not want the kids so far away from us and the eldest still would not have access to the Havana area

 

And the main reason we generally book 2 cabins or cabins with separate sleeping areas is the fact I snore loudly :eek:

 

The kids and me could sleep through a thunderstorm but my wife is a light sleeper so the plan was we would be able to put the kids to bed in the suite and we could sit out on the balcony enjoying a drink whilst listening to the Latin rhythms coming from the Havana area.:D

[BaseballMomof4]

Two balcony suites side by side where you can open up the divider and have a double sided balcony - yeah, I would take that in a heartbeat!

 

While the Havana Suites look nice they will have their drawbacks and on a port intensive cruise like this I would definitely take the extra square footage the suites will provide.

[nomad098]

Two balcony suites side by side where you can open up the divider and have a double sided balcony - yeah, I would take that in a heartbeat!

 

While the Havana Suites look nice they will have their drawbacks and on a port intensive cruise like this I would definitely take the extra square footage the suites will provide.

 

I did not think you could open up the dividers as it is a fire risk.

 

Having done the Med several times we chose this cruise because of the facilities on the ship in particular the facilities that came with booking in the Havana area

 

The Ocean suite is smaller overall than the Havana Suite. I appreciate that the Ocean Suite is a lot bigger than the interior however the interior was just for sleeping in and access to the Havana facilities. The Balcony with the Havana Suite is a more usable space for us as a family and the Havana Suite can be sectioned off to create separate areas.

 

I appreciate your point about the overall size of the two suites but this does not take into account the extra facilities not normally offered by Carnival when booking a Suite.

[HoneyBeeGood]

Hi

 

I was under the impression that children could not be booked on their own into a separate cabin unless it was connecting or very close by.

 

Even if we could do what you suggest we would not want the kids so far away from us and the eldest still would not have access to the Havana area

 

And the main reason we generally book 2 cabins or cabins with separate sleeping areas is the fact I snore loudly :eek:

 

The kids and me could sleep through a thunderstorm but my wife is a light sleeper so the plan was we would be able to put the kids to bed in the suite and we could sit out on the balcony enjoying a drink whilst listening to the Latin rhythms coming from the Havana area.:D

 

Well, technically they cannot be on a different deck, but considering their age and you REALLY wanted the Havana Suite, it was only a suggestion. When we book 2 cabins they usually hang out in our cabin and just sleep in theirs; which, is what I was suggesting. I would buy the wife some ear plugs and tell the son he will have to explore other amenities while mom and dad hang out in the Havana area. You have that right since you are paying for the trip. Otherwise, I strongly suggest the Family Suites with the larger cabins and balconies and tell kiddies to suck it up LOL. I hope it works out for your family. ;)

Edited February 3, 2015 by HoneyBeeGood

[BaseballMomof4]

I did not think you could open up the dividers as it is a fire risk.

 

Having done the Med several times we chose this cruise because of the facilities on the ship in particular the facilities that came with booking in the Havana area

 

The Ocean suite is smaller overall than the Havana Suite. I appreciate that the Ocean Suite is a lot bigger than the interior however the interior was just for sleeping in and access to the Havana facilities. The Balcony with the Havana Suite is a more usable space for us as a family and the Havana Suite can be sectioned off to create separate areas.

 

I appreciate your point about the overall size of the two suites but this does not take into account the extra facilities not normally offered by Carnival when booking a Suite.

 

The Ocean Suite is actually 275 sq. feet to the Havana Cabana's 185 sq. feet in room. While the balcony is larger in the Havana (100 sq. ft.) you will have two 65 sq. ft. balconies for a net gain of 30 square feet. And they will be far more private than the Havana. I have never heard of not being able to open the divider between balconies.

 

 

Ocean Suite diagram Sleeps up to: 4

Cabin: 275 sq ft

Balcony: 65 sq ft

46 Staterooms

 

 

 

Havana Cabana diagram Sleeps up to: 4

Cabin: 185 sq ft

Balcony: 100 sq ft

27 Staterooms

[BabyJacks17]

The Ocean Suite is actually 275 sq. feet to the Havana Cabana's 185 sq. feet in room. While the balcony is larger in the Havana (100 sq. ft.) you will have two 65 sq. ft. balconies for a net gain of 30 square feet. And they will be far more private than the Havana. I have never heard of not being able to open the divider between balconies.

 

 

Ocean Suite diagram Sleeps up to: 4

Cabin: 275 sq ft

Balcony: 65 sq ft

46 Staterooms

 

 

 

Havana Cabana diagram Sleeps up to: 4

Cabin: 185 sq ft

Balcony: 100 sq ft

27 Staterooms

 

 

I think Nomad may have booked the Havana Cabana Suite which is 260 sq ft, which is still as you said, smaller than an Ocean Suite but comes w/ the 100 sq ft Balcony and the amenities that the Ocean Suite does not entail.