How often does Carnival cancel?

[kimmimom]

Been cruising for 20 years and the only time I'm aware of where the cruise lines 'Cancelled" a cruise is if there was a natural disaster or a terrorist attack.

 

The cruise you're talking about, someone chartered the entire ship. Therefore those people who had booked a cruise on that ship are offered different things, Sail on a different ship, Sail on a different date, etc.

 

Now, you're right in that they could care less about your seperately purchased airline ticket. That's not their problem nor should it be. You can change the ticket, you can cancel the ticket and maybe get future credit. That's all on you. Insurance might cover. Nobody twisted anybodies arm and made somebody buy the cheapest non refundable ticket. That was a choice the consumer made.

 

And Yes,,, all cruise lines will charter out a ship. That's BIG money right there.

 

We were booked on Glory back in 2006. Several months before they contacted us and told us Glory would go into dry dock and not sail our date. They allowed us to change dates and stay on Glory or pick a different ship on the same date, which we did. I have sailed something like 17 times (can't ever remember-lol) and that was the only time it happened.

[Gallivanting Souls]

Our family of six were also to be on the same cruise. Correct. No communication from Carnival. We were flying to Nola to drive to Mobile as well. We were booked on Frontier and they said nothing had been canceled so we had to make the attempt. We made it to DEN were we stood in line for several hours. Frontier offered to get us on a plane to PNS. Oh no! I am not getting off a plane and into a shelter, so we had McDonald's lunch on the run between terminals at the DEN airport. Took several weeks and we got back our money for the cruise and the airfare. Wanted to rebook but the Holiday ended up being a hotel for relief workers for a long time and Carnival never offered any incentives. My vacation time went poof and changed into living room furniture. Finally, we will try sailing on Carnival this coming December on the Conquest.

 

Yes, my very first cruise on Carnival was cancelled due to Katrina. We were driving from Illinois to NOLA to pick up husbands son who was flying in from Nevada then we were going to head to the port in Mobile. We actually stopped in Jackson, MS due to Katrina bearing down on the coast. We called Carnival several times that day trying to get some information on whether the cruise the next day was going to be cancelled or diverted, we were never given any concrete answers. (by this time son's flight was cancelled)

 

Of course the next morning (cruise day) Katrina hit, the cruise was still not in a cancelled status at 8am that morning. With no power in the hotel, no internet and cell phones on low batteries we finally resorted to calling my parents so they could check the Carnival website and relay the info to us--it was eventually changed to a 3 day cruise going nowhere to being cancelled within a few hours.

 

Carnival did not contact us in any way during this whole time! Not even one email or phone call. We did however get our $ back, that took about 3 weeks.

 

I'm glad we eventually rebooked another cruise the following year and have been sailing with Carnival since. :)

 

We still wanted to salvage some of our vacation, so we ended up driving down to Galveston for the week and had an awesome time. Now we love Galveston!

[mbisson]

I also booked a late 2017 cruise...got an email today saying it has been cancelled. No price protection mentioned, no admin fee credit (it was nice of them to give you that :) ), $25 obc if I rebook something else. We're considering our options :( . Oh well, stuff happens-it'll all work out :)

 

Seems that I'm one of those unfortunately 'lucky' passengers who books so far in advance that the chance for full charter, or itinerary change (without any substitution) is greatly increased.

 

I've taken a very long break from the Carnival brand but decided earlier this month to book one for later in 2017. Chose a ship I'd not previously been on, and a fun week. Received an e-mail yesterday morning that it was cancelled due to full charter. No big deal, as it's so far in advance . . . but that was #6 for me with Carnival. :eek:

 

The apologetic e-mail was quite clear of what my options were for rebooking, and offered a price protection if booking a similar replacement sailing. I checked online and found an option rather quickly and called to make the swap. I quickly remembered what it was about guest service that had soured me on Carnival earlier, but knew I had to put on my patience pants and deal with it. Replacement was identical in length, different Florida embarkation port, starting one day earlier, same number of stops, comparable class ship, and exact same cabin. It took 45 minutes on the phone (repeatedly placed on hold) for someone to make the decision that is was a near perfect match and would be allowed. Yea! And there would be a very minimal onboard credit applied for the inconvenience. Yea again, as I clearly know they don't have to do squat. But then the 'fun' began.

 

New invoice showed the revised sailing with price protection, small OBC, and a nice Administrative Fee of $50 for making the change. :confused: I'd previously been paid in full, so that was unexpected. Another call, and at the 45 minute mark I asked if I was truly needed to remain on the phone as there were zero questions needed of me while a supervisor checked on this error. The answer: "Yes, because if you hang up we will no longer continue to work on your issue, and will have to take care of the next caller."

 

Welcome back to Carnival, Don!

I'm still gonna have a terrific time onboard . . . no doubt. None of those dim bulbs will be on the ship. :)

 

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[jgskes]

I was booked on the Triumph a few months after they were stuck at sea. We were offered a great rate and took the Magic instead...yes..it was a little more..but on a newer ship. I think it is hit or miss with Carnival whether they take care of you or not. But I still love them :)

[geoherb]

I generally book our cruises late and have never had one cancelled. Full-ship charters usually are booked way in advance. By the time I book, the cruise line isn't even moving ships around early. That type of move usually happens several months in advance.