Custody issue

[jordanaire]

My son, who is divorced, and our 14-year old grandson have a cruise coming up in October. Everything has been OK until yesterday, when his ex-wife decided NOT to allow their son to go on the cruise. She's a real, well let's just say she's not a very nice human being. She does the same thing with visitation, always finding some excuse for my son not to have him on designated weekends.

 

Anyways, my son is going to have to make some changes to his reservation for the cruise. Will Carnival charge him for changing passenger's name? His girlfriend wants to go now. And what happens if she doesn't go? Will he be charged as a solo passenger when he arrives at the port by himself?

 

Not a very good ending to what was suppose to be a great time for father and son. But with only 44 days left before the cruise, my son has to go or else he loses a bunch of money.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[CruisingViper]

that sucks, but I don't think changing the passenger should be an issue. Maybe someone with experience can confirm.

 

Also once he gets his gf set up and confirmed, watch the ex, a few weeks before they leave, suddenly change her mind and allow your grandson to go.

[Cruiser_1977]

Depending on timing/type of reservation:

 

For bookings that do not include airfare booked through Carnival, and not booked under a restricted/non-refundable fare*, there is no charge for a name change.

 

*Restricted and Non-Refundable fares include the following but not limited to these promotions: Early Saver, Pack & Go, Super Saver, etc.

If your booking is made under a restricted/non-refundable fare*, please check the Terms and Conditions of the specific promotion to see if name changes are permitted. If name changes are not allowed, the original guest will be subject to a non-refundable deposit (or full fare) or applicable cancellation penalties. An additional deposit will be required for the new guest.

 

If the GF no shows at the port her taxes and port fees will be refunded and he will not have to pay extra. 

Edited August 21, 2019 by JennyB1977

[VolzCruiser]

10 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

Depending on timing/type of reservation:

 

For bookings that do not include airfare booked through Carnival, and not booked under a restricted/non-refundable fare*, there is no charge for a name change.

 

*Restricted and Non-Refundable fares include the following but not limited to these promotions: Early Saver, Pack & Go, Super Saver, etc.

If your booking is made under a restricted/non-refundable fare*, please check the Terms and Conditions of the specific promotion to see if name changes are permitted. If name changes are not allowed, the original guest will be subject to a non-refundable deposit (or full fare) or applicable cancellation penalties. An additional deposit will be required for the new guest.

 

If the GF no shows at the port her taxes and port fees will be refunded and he will not have to pay extra. 

 

I for one thought there as an $50 name change fee. Glad they changed this and thank you for informing me as so I wouldn't give bad info. 

[Cruiser_1977]

@VolzCruiser I did too and had even typed that before I checked their website to verify.

[buckeyefrank]

1 hour ago, jordanaire said:

My son, who is divorced, and our 14-year old grandson have a cruise coming up in October. Everything has been OK until yesterday, when his ex-wife decided NOT to allow their son to go on the cruise. She's a real, well let's just say she's not a very nice human being. She does the same thing with visitation, always finding some excuse for my son not to have him on designated weekends.

 

Anyways, my son is going to have to make some changes to his reservation for the cruise. Will Carnival charge him for changing passenger's name? His girlfriend wants to go now. And what happens if she doesn't go? Will he be charged as a solo passenger when he arrives at the port by himself?

 

Not a very good ending to what was suppose to be a great time for father and son. But with only 44 days left before the cruise, my son has to go or else he loses a bunch of money.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

That's a real bummer.  I think the $50 name change is for a non-refundable deposit fare such as Early Saver.  I could be wrong but as long as you didn't book under that you should be able to change the name for no charge.  

 

Do not under any circumstances, cancel the 2nd person in the room though.  Let them be a no-show.  If you cancel you will incur penalties.  They have the right to withhold the 2nd person's fare for themselves as the penalty.  They can then require your son to incur the solo supplement, which is the amount of another passenger.  So not only could he be out the money for the 2nd passenger, but also an additional fare for himself.  May not happen, but not worth the risk.

[mimgan3]

I agree with BuckeyeFrank, don't cancel the second person. We had this similar situation a couple of years ago. My DD was rooming with a friend, and after final payments were made, friend found that she would not be able to go. Since final payments were made, the cabin was paid for regardless as to one person, or two people. 

We never notified Carnival, and just arrived as if though we were all cruising. DD's travel mate was just handled as a NO SHOW, and DD wasn't required to do anything else.

Carnival did refund friends taxes and port charges when we returned.

[jordanaire]

38 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

That's a real bummer.  I think the $50 name change is for a non-refundable deposit fare such as Early Saver.  I could be wrong but as long as you didn't book under that you should be able to change the name for no charge.  

 

Do not under any circumstances, cancel the 2nd person in the room though.  Let them be a no-show.  If you cancel you will incur penalties.  They have the right to withhold the 2nd person's fare for themselves as the penalty.  They can then require your son to incur the solo supplement, which is the amount of another passenger.  So not only could he be out the money for the 2nd passenger, but also an additional fare for himself.  May not happen, but not worth the risk.

It's extremely hard to let him be a no-show since he's a child 1,000 miles from home.

[Organized Chaos]

11 minutes ago, jordanaire said:

It's extremely hard to let him be a no-show since he's a child 1,000 miles from home.

 

Your grandson won't be a no-show because your son is replacing his son with his girlfriend. But you asked about the girlfriend possibly not being able to go, too. If she wasn't able to go, but your son still went by himself, then let the girlfriend be a no-show. Your son still has to pay the two-person rate, but Carnival would refund the taxes & port fees for the girlfriend.

 

If he booked Early Saver, that rate does not allow name changes. We just went through that last year. Our son was supposed to be sharing a cabin with three of his cousins, but that family backed out on us. So we decided to let him take a friend instead. Since we booked Early Saver (no name changes), we had to cancel his cabin, pay the $50pp cancellation fee, then re-book him with his friend. Had to pay the current rate, which was higher than what we originally paid because we had originally booked over a year in advance, and a deposit for the friend. This all happened before our final payment date. It sounds like your son is passed final payment. The rate he paid (Early Saver, Fun Select, etc.) will determine how much of it goes.

[sixesandeights]

I have done name changes in several cruises.  Have never had an issue.  Never been charged.  As long as one name stays the same you should be good to go.

 

6&8

[4hunters]

10 minutes ago, sixesandeights said:

I have done name changes in several cruises.  Have never had an issue.  Never been charged.  As long as one name stays the same you should be good to go.

 

6&8

Agreed.  I had to do this a few years ago.  My father passed away before a cruise we had scheduled with him.  We just called Carnival directly and they changed the name from my father's to that of our daughter.  Simple and I'm pretty sure I remember it didn't cost us anything.

[Jerseygirl1416]

In my cruise manager there’s a prompt that says “edit guest details”. I wonder if you could just change the name there yourself?

[Organized Chaos]

2 hours ago, sixesandeights said:

I have done name changes in several cruises.  Have never had an issue.  Never been charged.  As long as one name stays the same you should be good to go.

 

1 hour ago, 4hunters said:

Agreed.  I had to do this a few years ago.  My father passed away before a cruise we had scheduled with him.  We just called Carnival directly and they changed the name from my father's to that of our daughter.  Simple and I'm pretty sure I remember it didn't cost us anything.

 

If either, or both, of you paid the Early Saver rate and were allowed to do a name change without any additional charges, then you're the exception to the rule, not the rule. A stipulation to the Early Saver rate is that it does not (typically) allow name changes. If it happened for you, great, but it's not always going to work out that way for others.

 

1 hour ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

In my cruise manager there’s a prompt that says “edit guest details”. I wonder if you could just change the name there yourself?

 

You can, but that's not the same as an official name change. I wish it were that simple.

[Jerseygirl1416]

9 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

 

 

 

You can, but that's not the same as an official name change. I wish it were that simple.

Why? The agents look at the same information that we do on our cruise managers. I remember a thread a couple of years ago where someone said they did this. They said they had to change the first name first and save it and then they did the last name.

[sixesandeights]

9 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

If either, or both, of you paid the Early Saver rate and were allowed to do a name change without any additional charges, then you're the exception to the rule, not the rule. A stipulation to the Early Saver rate is that it does not (typically) allow name changes. If it happened for you, great, but it's not always going to work out that way for others.

I have name changed several cruises all without issue.  I organize group cruises for our friends group and have had several instances where people couldn't make it last minute and were swapped out.  In all cases this was handled without issue and without fee.  They want people on the boat.  The cost of a cruise is nothing, the other things are where the money is.  The real answer is a phone call away.  If the OP calls and is nice on the phone I have little doubt they will be happily accommodated.  

 

6&8

[4hunters]

13 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

If either, or both, of you paid the Early Saver rate and were allowed to do a name change without any additional charges, then you're the exception to the rule, not the rule. A stipulation to the Early Saver rate is that it does not (typically) allow name changes. If it happened for you, great, but it's not always going to work out that way for others.

 

 

You can, but that's not the same as an official name change. I wish it were that simple.

Like I said, I am "pretty sure" I didn't have to pay anything.  Maybe I did pay something for the name change.  If I did it was a small amount, $50 or so, and well worth it.

[HillBilly Bob]

5 hours ago, jordanaire said:

Will Carnival charge him for changing passenger's name? His girlfriend wants to go now. And what happens if she doesn't go? Will he be charged as a solo passenger when he arrives at the port by himself?

Your questions will have to be answered by CCL...since no one here has the power or authority to make a definitive answer.  

[Organized Chaos]

52 minutes ago, sixesandeights said:

I have name changed several cruises all without issue.  I organize group cruises for our friends group and have had several instances where people couldn't make it last minute and were swapped out.  In all cases this was handled without issue and without fee.  They want people on the boat.  The cost of a cruise is nothing, the other things are where the money is.  The real answer is a phone call away.  If the OP calls and is nice on the phone I have little doubt they will be happily accommodated. 

 

When I'm giving someone advice on here, I can't guarantee that what happened to me will also happen for them, especially if what happened to me goes against Carnival policy. So I'll always inform someone of official policy first. Since experiences can differ, I just prefer to clarify what that policy is. Like I said, if you've done name changes under the Early Saver rate without any kind of penalty, fee, or hassle, that's great. I didn't have that same experience. We had to do what amounted to a name change last year after a family backed out on us, but we had to follow Early Saver policy, and paid dearly for it. I'm not trying to discredit your experience. I just want the OP, or anyone, to know what the policy is and that it may not happen free & clear like it has for you.

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Why? The agents look at the same information that we do on our cruise managers. I remember a thread a couple of years ago where someone said they did this. They said they had to change the first name first and save it and then they did the last name.

 

Your son can try it this way, but out of the many discussions I've read concerning name changes, I have never seen anyone say it was as simple as doing it ourselves in Cruise Manager. It has to be done by them. Their system is a lot more extensive than our Cruise Managers.

[buckeyefrank]

17 hours ago, jordanaire said:

It's extremely hard to let him be a no-show since he's a child 1,000 miles from home.

 

That a text-book definition of a no-show........    He didn't show....

[evandbob]

If visitation is spelled out in a divorce decree, then the OP's son needs to contact his lawyer and have his lawyer take action.  The OP says it's only 44 days till the cruise, but bullying like this has to be confronted.

 

I personally cringe when I hear of parents using kids as pawns in their power struggles.

[bakersdozen12]

19 hours ago, buckeyefrank said:

That's a real bummer.  I think the $50 name change is for a non-refundable deposit fare such as Early Saver.  I could be wrong but as long as you didn't book under that you should be able to change the name for no charge. 

 

Correct, there is no "$50 name change fee."  Early Saver doesn't allow for name changes, so the $50 is the penalty for cancelling an Early Saver fare.

[DramaQueen22]

20 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

Depending on timing/type of reservation:

 

For bookings that do not include airfare booked through Carnival, and not booked under a restricted/non-refundable fare*, there is no charge for a name change.

 

*Restricted and Non-Refundable fares include the following but not limited to these promotions: Early Saver, Pack & Go, Super Saver, etc.

If your booking is made under a restricted/non-refundable fare*, please check the Terms and Conditions of the specific promotion to see if name changes are permitted. If name changes are not allowed, the original guest will be subject to a non-refundable deposit (or full fare) or applicable cancellation penalties. An additional deposit will be required for the new guest.

 

If the GF no shows at the port her taxes and port fees will be refunded and he will not have to pay extra. 

If you book one of those restricted/non-refundable rates, you pay a $250 name change fee.  I know.  Just had to do it for my Horizon cruise on 9/15.

[buckeyefrank]

2 hours ago, bakersdozen12 said:

 

Correct, there is no "$50 name change fee."  Early Saver doesn't allow for name changes, so the $50 is the penalty for cancelling an Early Saver fare.

You are correct.  I misspoke.  Thank you.

[carib1]

It depends on what fare you booked.  I have done a name change and was charged $50 for the change--this was 7 days prior to the cruise.  It was not an Early Saver fare.  I would call Carnival.