Help with Early Saver Change Fees

[ChrisCJSU]

I have been on several NCL cruises and decided to take a Carnival Cruise out of Mobile, AL in February. This will be my first time Carnival Cruise. I booked this 4-night cruise back in May. Today I learned there is a conflict with the date of the cruise so I need to move it to a different sailing in February. The cruise sailing I want to change to is a 5-night sailing. I called Carnival customer service this evening to get the cruise date changed. I was informed that there would be a $50 per person change fee. I was floored. I have made changes, including dates, on NCL cruises in the past without any additional fees or charges. I spoke to two levels of supervisors and they would not budge waiving the fees. They did explain that the early saver fare I had booked is subject to these change fees.

 

My question to the community here is what advice do any of you have to get to the right level of management that can look at making an exception to this fee?

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Not sure why you get the benefits of ES and then get the benefits of a non ES booking as well.

 

It seems you didn't read the TOS for an ES booking.

 

I can't help with anyone higher up but doubt you'll get an exception. Some people have reported getting the change fee waived, so good luck.:)

 

Bill

[RuthlessBoss]

You compare to NCL not charging a fee, but they don't have an ES program. If you had done a standard booking on Carnival, there would also be no fee. For whatever reason you booked ES that carries it's own restrictions and benefits.

[cruzn buckeye]

The Early Saver program clearly states that there is a 50 dollar change fee. The rates are cheaper than some other rates and allow for price drops up until 2 days prior to sailing. By choosing this rate, to get these benefits, you have agreed to the change fee, as thousands of others have. Nothing to get floored about... sorry it is just part of this booking program. When you consider the price difference had you not booked this rate, you probably would have paid more anyway.

[cruizinisthebest]

No there's no one in management to contact. That $50 per person change fee is part of the terms of the rate you booked under. Carnival certainly has rates that don't come with a fee to make changes just like NCL and others. The rate you chose isn't one of them.

 

Unfortunate you didn't come to this board and ask about the rate first. You could have gotten some guidance although the terms are clear. Good luck.

 

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[StolidCruiser]

As others have said, the terms of the Early Saver fare are quite clear.

 

There is no higher-up to whom you can appeal.

 

Assuming every line has the same cancellation or rebooking terms is a mistake commonly made. It pays to understand the deal you are making before purchasing, especially the first time dealing with a company.

[bakersdozen12]

Not trying to be rude, but why do you think that the rules shouldn't apply to you? The $50 penalty is clearly stated in the terms of the booking rate. Did you not read the terms before you booked? You did check off that you agreed to them. Do you always blindly agree to things? If that's the case, I have a bridge I would like to sell you. [emoji57]

 

 

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[ChrisCJSU]

Not trying to be rude, but why do you think that the rules shouldn't apply to you? The $50 penalty is clearly stated in the terms of the booking rate. Did you not read the terms before you booked? You did check off that you agreed to them. Do you always blindly agree to things? If that's the case, I have a bridge I would like to sell you. [emoji57]

 

 

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This will be my first and probably last Carnival Cruise. What a great way to establish a relationship with a customer.

[Retired_to_Cruise]

This will be my first and probably last Carnival Cruise. What a great way to establish a relationship with a customer.

 

Wait a minute! You chose the ES rate and indicated that you agreed to its requirements when you booked your cruise. Now you want to change the rules to suit your needs. Guess what, that doesn't happen. What would you say if Carnival decided to raise the price of your cruise after they sold it to you at the original price? It seems to me that you need to put on your big Boy/Girl pants and accept the fact that you agreed to a contract and the other party is holding you to that agreement.

[bakersdozen12]

This will be my first and probably last Carnival Cruise. What a great way to establish a relationship with a customer.

 

 

That's a pretty petty reason to never cruise on Carnival again. It's certainly not their fault that you didn't read the terms before you booked. Early Saver comes with the benefit of being able to get price drops, assuring that you are going to get the lowest price possible. I'm not familiar with other lines, but how many others offer the same?

 

I saved hundreds of dollars on my last cruise thanks to Early Saver. And I would gladly pay a $50 per person fee if I needed to change my cruise due to an unforeseen circumstance, since that's what I agreed to. Carnival offers other rates that don't have this restriction if you don't want to be faced with this fee. You had the option of choosing one of those rates instead.

 

 

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Edited September 16, 2016 by bakersdozen12

[firemanbobswife]

Too bad people don't come here BEFORE they book a cruise to get educated about the different rate types and restrictions instead of after to whine and complain.

 

The fee is the fee. Take it as a learning experience and move on. Even those of us that know what we're doing in regards to booking cruises and choose ES have had to pay it when we decided to change cruises.

[Ken076]

This will be my first and probably last Carnival Cruise. What a great way to establish a relationship with a customer.

 

I believe if you call, cancel your current cruise and re-book subsequent cruise in same phone call, your current deposit (less $50pp penalty) will be applied toward deposit on the new cruise.

 

If you cancel in one call and call back later to re-book, you'll have to pay full depositon the new cruise and your current deposit (less $50pp penalty) will be applied toward the Cruisefare on the subsequent cruise.

 

You might ask if you HAVE to re-book under Early Saver rate, but the available rates for you may be quite a bit higher than the Early Saver Rate (with it's restrictions); if one person in your cabin qualifiesy for the military rate, the Military Rate is often the same as the Early Saver Rate, with fewer restrictions. If one person in your cabin is a Carnival Past Guest, you'd qualify for the Past Guest Rate or the Past Guest with Upgrades Rates.

 

Ken

Edited September 16, 2016 by Ken076

[cruizinisthebest]

This will be my first and probably last Carnival Cruise. What a great way to establish a relationship with a customer.

 

I would suggest you take the cruise and enjoy yourself before you write off Carnival. You're not the first person that's been caught off guard by the rules associated with early saver. Nor will you be the last. However the rules are not hidden. They are pretty clear. People don't read or ask questions. At the least you should have come here for advice beforehand - just like you were quick to do when you wanted to find a way to circumvent the rules.

 

If your approach to doing business as a new customer is looking for reasons to complain about fees associated with the way YOU CHOSE to pay for something, then the loss is all yours. I'm sure Carnival is just fine with one less ill-informed cruiser calling and asking for supervisors and exceptions to be made to the early saver change fee.

[bigdog1958]

This will be my first and probably last Carnival Cruise. What a great way to establish a relationship with a customer.

 

Good, would not want someone like you on my cruise, who thinks that a company should break the rules for them. It is simple, you should have booked the higher cruise rate that had no restrictions and you would not have to pay 50.00. This is very common in travel, many hotels give you a cheaper rate when you agree to a penalty for cancelling. Go back to NCL and pay more money for your cruise and then you can cancel with them when you want.

[ChrisCJSU]

Good, would not want someone like you on my cruise, who thinks that a company should break the rules for them. It is simple, you should have booked the higher cruise rate that had no restrictions and you would not have to pay 50.00. This is very common in travel, many hotels give you a cheaper rate when you agree to a penalty for cancelling. Go back to NCL and pay more money for your cruise and then you can cancel with them when you want.

 

 

 

I chose this cruise because of its port location and I wanted to try the Carnival brand. My opinion is that Carnival tries extremely hard to force you to pick the lowest price (the early saver price in this case) and bury the details about change fees in the fine print. I've never had a bad NCL cruise. Yes you may pay more but you do get what you pay for. I'll be glad to take my future business to a company that actually cares about their customers. Talking to the agents and supervisors yesterday painted a clear message that Carnival does not care about their customers.

 

 

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[dacsmom]

There are many fare choices when you book a Carnival cruise, you chose to book Early Saver, you did not have to. They are clearly spelled out on the website, the pros and cons of each type. Do not blame the cruise line for that.

Sometimes ES fares work for me, and sometimes they don't.

[firemanbobswife]

I chose this cruise because of its port location and I wanted to try the Carnival brand. My opinion is that Carnival tries extremely hard to force you to pick the lowest price (the early saver price in this case) and bury the details about change fees in the fine print. I've never had a bad NCL cruise. Yes you may pay more but you do get what you pay for. I'll be glad to take my future business to a company that actually cares about their customers. Talking to the agents and supervisors yesterday painted a clear message that Carnival does not care about their customers.

 

 

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Not true. They DO care about their customers. How is it that they should make an exception for you and not others? I'm glad they didn't actually. Not because of you personally, but because that is their policy. It's good to see they are treating all their customers equally and fairly.

 

Try and do a change fee on one of the legacy airlines without having status and see where that gets you. It will be a whole lot more than $50!

 

Again, if you would have came here first to get the info you needed, then you wouldn't have this issue.

[klfrodo]

I chose this cruise because of its port location and I wanted to try the Carnival brand. My opinion is that Carnival tries extremely hard to force you to pick the lowest price (the early saver price in this case) and bury the details about change fees in the fine print. I've never had a bad NCL cruise. Yes you may pay more but you do get what you pay for. I'll be glad to take my future business to a company that actually cares about their customers. Talking to the agents and supervisors yesterday painted a clear message that Carnival does not care about their customers.

 

 

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There are 2 ways to look at this

 

One of them is the path you have chosen. "It's carnival's fault and they suck"

 

The other might have been

'Dear carnival board members,, I screwed up. I booked early saver when I really didn't understand what I was getting into..

I now have a problem. Does anyone out there have any ideas how I can solve this problem?"

 

We can see how Option 1 turned out.

Why not be a man, suck it up, and try option 2?

[JohnSpo]

I had to pay this $50 change fee once and I was OK with it because I was able to book a better Carnival cruise at a cheaper fare. I have also saved hundreds of dollars of price protection benefits. Carnival should not have to break the rules for you. It really is your fault for not understanding the rules of the fare. Don't blame Carnival.

[cruizinisthebest]

I chose this cruise because of its port location and I wanted to try the Carnival brand. My opinion is that Carnival tries extremely hard to force you to pick the lowest price (the early saver price in this case) and bury the details about change fees in the fine print. I've never had a bad NCL cruise. Yes you may pay more but you do get what you pay for. I'll be glad to take my future business to a company that actually cares about their customers. Talking to the agents and supervisors yesterday painted a clear message that Carnival does not care about their customers.

 

 

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You sound quite immature. The details aren't buried. But it sounds like your head was.

 

If you found your way here to ask questions about a supervisor to contact to whine about an exception, then you could have done the same when initially booking.

 

Yes please go back to NCL.

 

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Edited September 16, 2016 by cruizinisthebest

[Karnyval]

I have had NCL drop prices immediately after final payment was due and paid, and they absolutely would not budge on matching the price, even though it was cheaper for me to cancel, pay the penalty, and re-book. They have no concept of Early Saver.

 

Enjoy that cheap nickle and dime NCL cruise line. I like Carnival Early Saver and understand the contract is a two way street. I don't book ES unless I am certain I can make the cruise and don't whine if I screw up.

[springs741]

I feel your pain of having the $50 change fee. I have had to do it twice. BUT I knew when I booked the risk. I did not expect a wave. You can see from my signature I am an avid Carnival cruiser.

 

And trust me the $400 I paid to move my family of 8 to a different sail date was nothing compared to the $1600 for the airline.

 

But I was able, because I booked ES, to price match to cover the cost of the airline. It doesn't happen much anymore but it did back in 2013.

[tropicaledrink]

I chose this cruise because of its port location and I wanted to try the Carnival brand. My opinion is that Carnival tries extremely hard to force you to pick the lowest price (the early saver price in this case) and bury the details about change fees in the fine print. I've never had a bad NCL cruise. Yes you may pay more but you do get what you pay for. I'll be glad to take my future business to a company that actually cares about their customers. Talking to the agents and supervisors yesterday painted a clear message that Carnival does not care about their customers.

 

 

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We will just sit here and pretend that NCL doesn't have any hidden fees *cough* "free" drink package *cough* :cool: :rolleyes:

 

Technically, you've never had a bad Carnival cruise either. You haven't actually set foot on the ship yet.

 

And as others pointed out, it's your responsibility to know what you are purchasing. I can tell you that when I book on another line, you better believe I will be calling and asking questions since I am not as familiar with their terms and conditions as Carnival's. This is on you for not understanding. Admitting you made a mistake (even to Carnival) might help you get the resolution you desire, instead of acting like you are owed an exception here.

[tef43]

 

My question to the community here is what advice do any of you have to get to the right level of management that can look at making an exception to this fee?

Why should they make an exception for you, just because you didn't read the terms and conditions before booking?

 

Take some personal responsibility.

[serene56]

I chose this cruise because of its port location and I wanted to try the Carnival brand. My opinion is that Carnival tries extremely hard to force you to pick the lowest price (the early saver price in this case) and bury the details about change fees in the fine print. I've never had a bad NCL cruise. Yes you may pay more but you do get what you pay for. I'll be glad to take my future business to a company that actually cares about their customers. Talking to the agents and supervisors yesterday painted a clear message that Carnival does not care about their customers.

 

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since your cruise is in February-- I hope it gives you a chance to calm down some. Sometimes small disappointments can snowball into large ones and you will not have a hard time finding all the "wrong" stuff on your cruise.

 

Sorry that you are disappointed.