VIFP days paid but not sailed?

[Good Buck]

We had a 8 day cruise on Carnival & paid the full price, but had to cancel, due to illness.  The problem is Carnival's policy is you have to sail to get credit for the days on the VFIP program.  Has anyone fought this & got their days reimbursed?

 

I feel they got my money & was still able to resell the room, even at a last minute lower price. (had to cancel 2 weeks before the cruise).  We are very close to Diamond & would make it on our net cruise if those 8 days were credited.   Just looking for a little feed back before I start calling to complain.

[Shaded Lady]

I don't have specific experience with this but I do have an opinion! Like you said, if you paid for the cruise, you should get the credit for those days sailed. I'd call and ask to speak to a supervisor. If you don't get satisfaction, call back the next day and again speak to a supervisor!

 

If all else fails, I'd post your query to John Heald's FB page and ask him to intercede on your behalf. (go to FB and search on his name, you'll find his page).

[Elaine5715]

40 minutes ago, Good Buck said:

We had a 8 day cruise on Carnival & paid the full price, but had to cancel, due to illness.  The problem is Carnival's policy is you have to sail to get credit for the days on the VFIP program.  Has anyone fought this & got their days reimbursed?

 

I feel they got my money & was still able to resell the room, even at a last minute lower price. (had to cancel 2 weeks before the cruise).  We are very close to Diamond & would make it on our net cruise if those 8 days were credited.   Just looking for a little feed back before I start calling to complain.

It will be as likely as getting an airline to credit you for flights paid for and not taken.  It will be a waste of your time.

[Elaine5715]

38 minutes ago, Shaded Lady said:

I don't have specific experience with this but I do have an opinion! Like you said, if you paid for the cruise, you should get the credit for those days sailed. I'd call and ask to speak to a supervisor. If you don't get satisfaction, call back the next day and again speak to a supervisor!

 

If all else fails, I'd post your query to John Heald's FB page and ask him to intercede on your behalf. (go to FB and search on his name, you'll find his page).

Then the argument would be who ever pays for the cruise, should get the sail credit.  

[PhillyFan33579]

I had to cancel a cruise last minute awhile back because of work. Like you I didn’t get credit for the days “not” sailed. I made a few calls about trying to get credit for the cruise without success. However, I didn’t pursue it too hard because I read something they sent me that stated you only get credit for days you actually cruise.  I  am not big on challenging rules (spending over 20 years in the military does that to you). However, I would appreciate it if you would post here if you get a favorable response. All it takes is one exception to open pandora’s box. 

[bakersdozen12]

You are not going to get anywhere if you try to fight this. VIFP points are for days sailed. Period. Not for money spent with Carnival. If you are unhappy you lost money, then you should have purchase insurance. Which is a whole other issue. 

[Lottacruises]

I don't understand your argument. It's for days sailed. If you lose your deposit, should you get a partial number of days credited? How about if I pay for two rooms, should I get credit for both? 

[pinto18]

We had to cancel once due to our adult son getting a cancer diagnosis. ( he is fine now). At the time the last thing we worried about was the loss of the money...but a couple of years later I did call to see if we could get the days counted towards VIFP...and they agreed. So, it can be done ( probably if you talk to the right person, we were lucky I guess)

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, Good Buck said:

We had a 8 day cruise on Carnival & paid the full price, but had to cancel, due to illness.  The problem is Carnival's policy is you have to sail to get credit for the days on the VFIP program.  Has anyone fought this & got their days reimbursed?

 

I feel they got my money & was still able to resell the room, even at a last minute lower price. (had to cancel 2 weeks before the cruise).  We are very close to Diamond & would make it on our net cruise if those 8 days were credited.   Just looking for a little feed back before I start calling to complain.

From the Carnival website:

Step 1:
Just sign up.

Haven’t cruised yet? Let’s start you off with great members-only fares and promotions.

Step 2:
Take a cruise.

Earn VIFP points just lounging by the pool. Each day you cruise is another VIFP point earned, so whether you like long cruises or spontaneous getaways, every one is totally worth it.

 

If you didn't cruise, you have no right to the points.

Edited July 20, 2019 by Shmoo here

[pinto18]

Maybe we didn’t have the “right” to ask for the days, but carnival agreed right away without a fuss and so I don’t think it was an unreasonable request. We didn’t ask for our $2000 back. We know that traveling without insurance is a risk. 

Op..I say just try asking...it worked for us

[Elaine5715]

43 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

Maybe we didn’t have the “right” to ask for the days, but carnival agreed right away without a fuss and so I don’t think it was an unreasonable request. We didn’t ask for our $2000 back. We know that traveling without insurance is a risk. 

Op..I say just try asking...it worked for us

How long ago?

[pinto18]

4 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

How long ago?

The forfeited cruise was around 9 years ago. A few years ago as we were getting close to platinum I called to try to get credit for a cruise we took in 1984 for our honeymoon and also asked about getting credit for the one we couldn’t go on. We got credit for both 

[pinto18]

Now that I look back, I actually emailed ccl support and asked about it. My missed cruise was in 2009 and the email was in 2015. I think a random call to carnival wouldn’t have done it

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, pinto18 said:

The forfeited cruise was around 9 years ago. A few years ago as we were getting close to platinum I called to try to get credit for a cruise we took in 1984 for our honeymoon and also asked about getting credit for the one we couldn’t go on. We got credit for both 

 

27 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

Now that I look back, I actually emailed ccl support and asked about it. My missed cruise was in 2009 and the email was in 2015. I think a random call to carnival wouldn’t have done it

There has been a significant change to the VIFP program since then.  They will credit missing taken cruises if one can provide proof.

[pinto18]

5 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

 

There has been a significant change to the VIFP program since then.  They will credit missing taken cruises if one can provide proof.

I did provide proof of honeymoon cruise ( photo with date). I gave him the date of the missed cruise and he looked that up as well.

[Elaine5715]

Just now, pinto18 said:

I did provide proof of honeymoon cruise ( photo with date). I gave him the date of the missed cruise and he looked that up as well.

That is what I posted.

[SadieN]

I had to cancel a cruise a week out.  Yes, Carnival kept my money as expected.  Cancellation penalties are written in the cruise contract.  I got reimbursed thru our travel insurance policy.

Didn't get credited for the days as I hadn't sailed on the cruise.

Edited July 21, 2019 by SadieN

[xDisconnections]

Most hotel chains don’t give you loyalty points or elite qualifying nights for late cancellations or guaranteed no shows. Why should cruises credit you the days?

 

Have you read the terms and conditions of the loyalty program in which you agreed to abide by upon enrollment via your cruise ticket contract?

Edited July 21, 2019 by xDisconnections

[crooooze]

The cruise line really makes their profits from revenue generated while you are ON the ship (photos, drinks, specialty restaurants, daily gratuities, etc.). It makes sense that loyalty points are awarded for days sailed.

 

(just kidding about daily gratuities LOL)

Edited July 21, 2019 by crooooze

[coevan]

pretty sure if you cancel a flight you do not get the mileage

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, coevan said:

pretty sure if you cancel a flight you do not get the mileage

Bingo

[pinto18]

I’m not sure why everyone feels the need to scold the OP.  All he asked was if someone has been in a similar situation and gotten the days towards VIFP. I was. 

Carnival had my money , I assume resold the cabin and so were not out any money, I fact made money off my cancellation ( not arguing that)

I feel like it was a nice goodwill gesture to let me have the points. One that I appreciated and helped me make the decision to keep cruising with CCL.

[Organized Chaos]

15 hours ago, SadieN said:

I had to cancel a cruise a week out.  Yes, Carnival kept my money as expected.  Cancellation penalties are written in the cruise contract.  I got reimbursed thru our travel insurance policy.

Didn't get credited for the days as I hadn't sailed on the cruise.

 

This opens up a whole new can of worms. How many people who do get reimbursed through their third-party travel insurance will still think they are deserving of the VIFP points for days not sailed, just because other people got it? We wouldn't even CONSIDER asking for VIFP points for a cruise we didn't take. We are all aware of terms & conditions, cruise contract requirements, and cancellation policies when we book a cruise (or at least you should be). When we book a cruise, we know the risks and the consequences of what happens if we have to cancel. That's exactly why trip insurance exists. With all of this clearly laid out for everyone, I'm not sure why anyone thinks they deserve points they didn't earn. The more people Carnival agrees to credit the points for this type of thing, the more people will ask. They're going to regret it if they make it a habit.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, pinto18 said:

I’m not sure why everyone feels the need to scold the OP.  All he asked was if someone has been in a similar situation and gotten the days towards VIFP. I was. 

Carnival had my money , I assume resold the cabin and so were not out any money, I fact made money off my cancellation ( not arguing that)

I feel like it was a nice goodwill gesture to let me have the points. One that I appreciated and helped me make the decision to keep cruising with CCL.

 

 

I didn't read any scolding. However see my mileage post. There is no way you get the miles unless you fly, same applies to hotels and cruise ships.

[Shaded Lady]

8 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

I didn't read any scolding. However see my mileage post. There is no way you get the miles unless you fly, same applies to hotels and cruise ships.

I'm also not sure why people continue to argue about this... the OP asked if it has ever been done, at least one poster replied in the affirmative. The OP decided that it was worth their time to try it and they'd let us know if it worked! Asked & answered!

 

Because it doesn't work that way for airmiles or other travel incentives, and doesn't normally work for cruising, doesn't mean NEVER! And trust me, the tone of several posts was definitely scolding the OP for even asking the question!