Booked 4 people, only 2 can come

[shanhowl]

Hello,

I’ll start by saying that I don’t typically book with Carnival so this is our first time and I do have an email in to our TA but she can’t get back with me until tomorrow. I’m asking here in hopes someone can shed some light.

We booked a 7 day cruise for December to take our kids on their first cruise. We have a balcony room for 4 people.

Long story short- we had a family emergency and our kids are now not able to miss 5 days of school to be able to come with us.

We are trying to see if there is a comparable cruise we can switch our current one to so we can still take the kids but the price is almost double Christmas week and New Years week, so we aren’t hopeful. We also have outside travel insurance through Allianz that is cancel for any reason, but I did upgrade our room so I won’t get 100% of my money back.

What I’m curious about, if my husband and I opted to still go and not bring our kids on this one- Whats they typically protocol? Can we be refunded any part from Carnival for their portion of the room or gratuity if they just don’t show up? 
We haven’t decided what we are fully going to do yet. The itinerary that we currently have isn’t the one we truly wanted to take the kids on anyway. We were limited on dates, departure port and pricing so I’m not totally opposed to just booking something new later for them- but I don’t know what to do with our current booking. Like what our best option is. 

[jbethel11]

22 minutes ago, shanhowl said:

We booked a 7 day cruise for December to take our kids on their first cruise. We have a balcony room for 4 people.

Long story short- we had a family emergency and our kids are now not able to miss 5 days of school to be able to come with us.

That's unfortunate! It would have been so cool to take your kids on their first cruise! I assume that you are well past final payment date, so you will be charged a lot more than if you weren't. You basically have two options. Cancel and lose money or no-show and lose money. You have to decide whichever will cost you less. Take a look at this page on Carnival's website since I do not know when your sailing is. 

[shanhowl]

Yes, well past final payment. We are leaving in 34 days- Dec 15th through 22nd.

I think we are probably just going to have myself and my husband go and eat the cost of kids.

Im also seeing if we can use the trip insurance for just the two kids on the policy since it’s cancel for any reason. 

[jbethel11]

1 minute ago, shanhowl said:

Yes, well past final payment. We are leaving in 34 days- Dec 15th through 22nd.

I think we are probably just going to have myself and my husband go and eat the cost of kids.

Im also seeing if we can use the trip insurance for just the two kids on the policy since it’s cancel for any reason. 

46 minutes ago, shanhowl said:

We also have outside travel insurance through Allianz that is cancel for any reason, but I did upgrade our room so I won’t get 100% of my money back.

Sorry, but I'm a little confused on what you mean by this. Wouldn't the policy stay the same? Or did it change because the overall cost of your vacation was greater than that covered under the CFAR policy?

[shanhowl]

The original policy was for $1900 but I was offered an up sell to a balcony and increased the total price by $280. The coverage on the outside travel insurance didn’t increase even though I paid more. 

Ive also already paid the gratuity for 4 people so I’m overall trying to see how much I would be out.

TBH, I don’t love my travel agent. She’s not very attentive and I’m wishing I would have just booked directly through Carnival so I would ask these questions directly to them. 

 

[2wheelin]

My CFAR insurance will not pay if the entire cost of the trip is not covered. And it may only pay 75%. However, you might be able to prove the kids paid less. I increase my coverage (if I want it) as I pay off the cruise or add to the cost. 

You should get the gratuities and port fees returned for them either way.

[Illbcruzn4life]

you will get back the taxes/fees and the gratuities for the 2 no shows.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Illbcruzn4life

[simplelife]

If you have CFAR, why not just cancel everything and rebook something for the two of you. At most, it seems  you will lose just what you paid for the upgrade.

 

[shanhowl]

7 minutes ago, simplelife said:

If you have CFAR, why not just cancel everything and rebook something for the two of you. At most, it seems  you will lose just what you paid for the upgrade.

 

I’m honestly confused on how to do the CFAR. The documents show it will pay 80% of the policy. So I know I would get a refund there but what happens to my actual booking with Carnival? If I’m reading correctly, I’ll get 75% after the $50 per person deposit back, as a future cruise fare— maybe?

so I would get cruise credit and the refund from my insurance policy? Is that how it works?

 

My TA is garbage. She hasn’t answered any questions for me during the process and this is only the second cruise we’ve ever taken. 

[simplelife]

Of course it depends on the actual  terms of your policy, but insurance usually pays independent of Carnival (unless it's through them). You probably will have to produce some documentation from Carnival that you cancelled - if they gave you any credits or adjustments, that probably is taken off the total that the CFAR will pay - so you'll probably get 80% of the non-refundable charges. Sorry your TA is a disappointment - good luck figuring our all the specifics - maybe someone with the actual insurance company can help? 

[Purvis1231]

4 hours ago, shanhowl said:

Yes, well past final payment. We are leaving in 34 days- Dec 15th through 22nd.

I think we are probably just going to have myself and my husband go and eat the cost of kids.

Im also seeing if we can use the trip insurance for just the two kids on the policy since it’s cancel for any reason. 

The insurance policy should payoff no matter what you decide to do- cancel completely or if you go without the kids.  

[mjktg99]

Did you book 1 room or 2?  If you booked 1 room that is rated for 4 people and you cancel 2 guests beforehand, that could cause an issue with Carnival making you change cabins or changing the rates your are charged because there is no longer 4 people in the room.  If you no show those 2 passengers that aren't going, none of the above will happen.  I would also verify with your insurance policy that they will refund a no show and not make you officially cancel the 2 passengers to be able to collect on the insurance policy.

Edited November 12, 2019 by mjktg99

[sanger727]

From carnival's info page it appears that if you cancel up to 30 days before sailing you would be eligible for a 50% refund. So you could

1. cancel the whole cruise and get all port fees, taxes, prepaid gratuities back plus half or your cruise fare. Then file with you insurance to get 80% back of what you did not get refunded. So you would get a significant portion of your money back to take the kids later

2. cancel the kids and get their port fees, taxes, prepaid gratuities back plus half of their portion of the fare. Then claim on your insurance to get 80% back of what did not get refunded from their fare. I really don't think you would be in danger of having the first two passengers repriced, but there is a chance they could move you to a room that only holds 2 people instead of four

3. have your kids no show and get port fees, taxes, and prepaid gratuities back. You'll get nothing refunded on their fares and I don't think you can claim on the insurance unless you "cancel" them.

 

I think option 3 is clearly the worst. But all this is based on your having a rate that allows refunds on cancellations which is a question that you TA will have to answer. But you NEED to get an answer from her within the next few days before you hit 29 days out.

Edited November 12, 2019 by sanger727

[bingomamma19]

I assume the kids fare was pretty cheap (being the 3rd and 4th passenger).   I would just no show them at the gate, you will receive a refund of the port taxes and the pre paid gratuities.

 

I don't think it would be worth it to get 75 percent back from the reduced fares under the insurance or 50 percent back if you cancel them before the 30 days,  if the process is cancelling the booking and possibly losing your room (if you are still planning on going)

 

 

Edited November 12, 2019 by bingomamma19

[shlbil]

We had two people not able to go at the last minute on our last cruise. We had a large group and several rooms and no insurance. They were no shows and they just ate the money, most of it anyway. They were refunded for the prepaid gratuities and for port fees, but the majority of it was a loss. I'm not sure if the insurance would have helped them since the whole party didn't cancel and their rooms were still being used. Goodluck with whatever you decide.