What Is Carnival Doing About Airfares?

[N7786W Flyer]

I think I already know the answer, but thought I would ask the general audience...

 

My wife and I had an Hawaiian cruise scheduled this coming September from San Francisco.  Anticipating that airfares would go up as we got closer to September, I purchased our airfares late last year before the Covid-19 issues were known.

 

Now that Carnival has cancelled our cruise, do I have any recourse to recoup the airfare...or am I just out of luck?  ...and to add insult to injury, our 3rd party insurance provider is saying the pandemic is "not a covered peril", so it appears I'm also out the cost of the insurance policy itself as well.

 

Anyone had any luck recovering costs from Carnival, the airlines, or their insurance company?

 

Garnett

[mrpayroll]

We had to cancel our flight on Spirit. They have us a full credit to use on a future flight.

[N7786W Flyer]

I understand they're (the airlines) are giving credits for flights through May, but don't believe they're offering any relief for flights in June or beyond (ours was in September).

 

When was your flight scheduled?

 

Garnett

[klfrodo]

32 minutes ago, N7786W Flyer said:

I think I already know the answer, but thought I would ask the general audience...

 

My wife and I had an Hawaiian cruise scheduled this coming September from San Francisco.  Anticipating that airfares would go up as we got closer to September, I purchased our airfares late last year before the Covid-19 issues were known.

 

Now that Carnival has cancelled our cruise, do I have any recourse to recoup the airfare...or am I just out of luck?  ...and to add insult to injury, our 3rd party insurance provider is saying the pandemic is "not a covered peril", so it appears I'm also out the cost of the insurance policy itself as well.

 

Anyone had any luck recovering costs from Carnival, the airlines, or their insurance company?

 

Garnett

You have multiple things going on.

1. You have a cruise

2. You have air transportation

3. You probably have a hotel reservation.

4. You have Travel Insurance

 

As far as YOU are concerned, all 4 businesses are inter-connected and work as one.

 

Unfortunately, from a business perspective, each one is a stand alone entity and 1 has nothing in common with the other.

 

Carnival cancelled the cruise. The airline, the hotel, and travel insurance could all care less. The plane is still flying, the hotel has an empty room waiting for you, and Travel Insurance still has nothing to do because Carnival either gave you a full refund or an FCC. They don't owe you for anything else because you have no loss,,,,, YET.

 

Therefore, to answer your question,,,,, What is Carnival doing about airfares?"     Nothing, why should they? They sell cruises. They have nothing to do with airfares in this instance since you purchased elsewhere.

 

**** Your best bet is to just wait and see what happens with this Covid-19 thing. If it passes,,,, go to Hawaii anyway. If you don't want to go anyway,,,, then you'll have to hope the airline will give you a credit.

If it doesn't pass, then the airline will cancel and you can request a refund.

Another possibility is that you can hope the airline schedule will change so much that you will be offered the opportunity to cancel for full refund.

Edited April 14, 2020 by klfrodo

[N7786W Flyer]

2 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Therefore, to answer your question,,,,, What is Carnival doing about airfares?"     Nothing, why should they? They sell cruises. They have nothing to do with airfares in this instance since you purchased elsewhere.

 

 

Thanks for the input.

 

To be clear, I don't necessarily expect Carnival to do anything.  Having said that, I do know that in the past, they have assisted their customers with the costs of airfare when a cruise was cancelled/rescheduled but I don't think Carnival is necessarily obligated to give me anything.

 

You've basically confirmed my thinking...I'll have to wait until September (or thereabouts) and see what happens with the pandemic and the airlines' scheduling.

[xDisconnections]

3 minutes ago, N7786W Flyer said:

Thanks for the input.

 

To be clear, I don't necessarily expect Carnival to do anything.  Having said that, I do know that in the past, they have assisted their customers with the costs of airfare when a cruise was cancelled/rescheduled but I don't think Carnival is necessarily obligated to give me anything.

 

You've basically confirmed my thinking...I'll have to wait until September (or thereabouts) and see what happens with the pandemic and the airlines' scheduling.

Did you call the airline?

 

Which airline are you booked with? Do you have any elite status? 

[N7786W Flyer]

Just now, xDisconnections said:

Did you call the airline?

 

Which airline are you booked with? Do you have any elite status? 

 

I have not contacted the airline on this particular flight at this point.  Still arguing with them about flights to take place this month and then next.

 

The flight is on Delta and since I retired, I have lost my 'elite' status.

 

Garnett

[Joanne G.]

From reading these boards lately, it seems Delta has been more accommodating than American, the one I am dealing with over a May flight to London for an NCL cruise, which I will cancel if NCL doesn't.   The advice I got was to keep checking my flight reservation to see if the airline makes any changes to my flights, as that can present an opportunity to request a refund if you don't want to accept the change.   Eventually, American canceled my direct flights and put me on flights with layovers, and I canceled right away online and requested a refund.    A week later, my request is still pending.   Who knows how hard I will have to fight for what I am entitled to (per DOT regulations) or if I will ever get it. 

 

Anyway, you can check your reservation periodically for such a change.   Otherwise, you may as well wait until closer to the date of your scheduled flight to call them and plead your case.  Good luck.  

 

[NavyCruiser]

Since our March European river cruise cancelled,

We just had our TA refunded our Air fares refunded 100% without penalties from KLM from Houston to Amsterdam & Delta from Hawaii to Amsterdam.

That's because we booked air directly thru the cruise line & they've handled refunds for us.

But since you booked air separately & in future in Sept, airlines probably still considers those domestic air flights still a go, you might be stuck with it, maybe best is Future air credits...

[Knights on the Beach]

Here's what it said in our notification from Carnival when they canceled our 4/10 Spirit cruise (Honolulu to Vancouver):

 

If you purchased your own flights for getting to your cruise, we encourage you to contact your airline or travel agent about your options as the airlines are being flexible with change fees.

 

We had flights booked on three different airlines - American (Orlando to Maui), Southwest (Maui to Honolulu) and Delta (Vancouver to Orlando). 

 

American canceled the second leg of our flight (DFW - Maui) a few days prior to our scheduled date, so on 3/31 I called and requested a refund.  The agent I got on the phone was great and said it would be refunded back to my credit card within 7-10 days.  I actually got it the next day.  My SIL was booked on the same flight and she also called American on 3/31 and is still waiting for her refund.  She's had to call three different times and has spoken with several people including supervisors.  On her third call, American actually tried to tell her she canceled the flight before they did, which is incorrect.  We waited until our reservation showed the flight was canceled, then we both called the next day.  Last week, a supervisor finally agreed to give her a refund but said it will take three weeks.  😞 

 

Our Southwest flight was finally canceled the day before the flight was to take place, but they immediately rebooked us on a flight a couple hours later.  I actually got a text saying our Early Bird fees were being refunded to us before I got a notification saying our flight was canceled.  For that one I just logged in on my app and canceled the flight and have flight credit that's good until June of next year.  We fly SW all the time so I have no problem with getting the flight credit instead of a refund. 

 

Delta hasn't yet canceled our 4/21 Vancouver to Orlando flight but they've changed it so many times, it's now completely messed up.  It was originally a two leg flight connecting in Seattle and they've changed it to four segments with the second leg of the flight taking off 90 minutes before the first leg even leaves Vancouver.  No lie.  😂  At this point, I think I could probably call and ask for a refund but it's so comical it's entertaining.  Every day I log in and see how many flights they have us booked on now.  lol  I'm just waiting to see if they cancel so I can request a refund online.  I'd really rather not call if I don't have to.

Edited April 14, 2020 by cruisemom2

[TNcruising02]

I received a voucher with Allegiant when I cancelled my tickets.  I asked for a refund for my Delta tickets, but got a voucher.  These tickets were for flights in April.

[N7786W Flyer]

1 hour ago, Joanne G. said:

From reading these boards lately, it seems Delta has been more accommodating than American, the one I am dealing with over a May flight to London for an NCL cruise, which I will cancel if NCL doesn't.   The advice I got was to keep checking my flight reservation to see if the airline makes any changes to my flights, as that can present an opportunity to request a refund if you don't want to accept the change.   Eventually, American canceled my direct flights and put me on flights with layovers, and I canceled right away online and requested a refund.    A week later, my request is still pending.   Who knows how hard I will have to fight for what I am entitled to (per DOT regulations) or if I will ever get it. 

 

Anyway, you can check your reservation periodically for such a change.   Otherwise, you may as well wait until closer to the date of your scheduled flight to call them and plead your case.  Good luck.  

 

Good thoughts.  Thanks for the information.

 

Garnett

[poz222]

Sometimes it depends on who you get on the phone. We booked our Europe tickets for the Legend in October with AA miles, It took 3 calls to different agents until one agent at American was willing to raise the $150 redeposit fee to refund the miles. So your mileage may vary depending on who you get at the airlines. 

[Joebucks]

Nearly all airlines have some sort of process in place for at least a credit. Give them a call.

[TAIC1234]

2 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

From reading these boards lately, it seems Delta has been more accommodating than American, the one I am dealing with over a May flight to London for an NCL cruise, which I will cancel if NCL doesn't.   The advice I got was to keep checking my flight reservation to see if the airline makes any changes to my flights, as that can present an opportunity to request a refund if you don't want to accept the change.   Eventually, American canceled my direct flights and put me on flights with layovers, and I canceled right away online and requested a refund.    A week later, my request is still pending.   Who knows how hard I will have to fight for what I am entitled to (per DOT regulations) or if I will ever get it. 

 

Anyway, you can check your reservation periodically for such a change.   Otherwise, you may as well wait until closer to the date of your scheduled flight to call them and plead your case.  Good luck.  

 

United is the worst of all of them.  They have $3000 of mine that they refuse to give back. I'm currently disputing the charges through my CC company.  I guess my last resort would be to join the class action lawsuit against them.

[vamartha]

We were scheduled on a Journeys cruise in 19 days.  We had two one way flights scheduled with two different airlines and both of them have issued me a credit to use.  One by 12/31/21 and the other by 5/30/22 and I am quite happy with arrangement.  I suspect we will finally cruise next fall and I will use them then.  

[Joanne G.]

23 minutes ago, TAIC1234 said:

United is the worst of all of them.  They have $3000 of mine that they refuse to give back. I'm currently disputing the charges through my CC company.  I guess my last resort would be to join the class action lawsuit against them.

 

I bought my American Airlines ticket on an American Airlines credit card -- not an AA branded Visa or MC, but a credit card just for flights.  So I probably won't win a dispute with that CC company.  🙁

[Mntbiker2008]

My June 5th cruise was cancelled on Monday.  I had a new cruise booked for July (called my PVP's cell and he got it taken care of right away), my Delta flights for all 5 of us rescheduled, and hotels rescheduled by 5pm that same day.  All the companies are very forgiving right now and want to make things as easy and stress free as possible.  My flight was super simple (hold time to get someone to help took 3 hours so be prepared for that). 

[screamingreen]

I've read elsewhere here on CC that some 3rd party insurance companies are willing to transfer coverage to another cruise in the future or issue a credit for coverage for another cruise. Would be worth a phone call. We had our air fare, insurance and cruise with Princess and they refunded all of it.

[DB2VA]

Both Delta and now American are giving you the credit of your flight and must rebook by Dec. 30, 2021.

[teknoge3k]

I know it doesn't answer your question but I wanted to put the information out there in case anyone else finds themselves in the same situation.

 

Since our cruise was cancelled next month we obviously had to cancel our flights. We book directly with Southwest and use points. It was quick and easy to cancel the flights with Southwest. Logged into our account, found the flight we had and clicked "cancel". The points were refunded to us immediately and the $40 we paid for early-bird will be refunded to our credit card. 

[JaxsMama]

My travel insurance will refund for flights if there is a cdc travel warning level 3 or 4 on the date of travel. Luckily Allegiant changed my flight time so I was able to get a refund. It hit my cc within 5 days. Since I didnt use my insurance they have sent me a form to refund my cost to me (or transfer to a rebooked trip).  I would check my flights daily and if they change the time on you then call and say the new time won't work and you want a refund. Also the DOT is telling airlines they must refund you for canceled flights. So, if your flight was canceled and they only offered a future credit you can call back and tell them you want your money. 

[quattrohead]

Southwest are an honorable company that I trust with my credit.

Just called Delta about the refund I had requested 3 weeks ago....guess what it had not been processed !!!

They did it for me right there and then.

You gotta push back hard on these companies, it's your money until you get the goods.

[MT_Sea_Cruisers]

I have travel plans in August.  I received an email from Delta that basically said that any travel planned for future but fare purchased prior to April could be canceled or altered without penalty.  My ticket was a fare saver non refundable, purchased for  $575.  I found that if I traveled a week earlier that the fare dropped to $350 so I amended my reservation.  Delta gave me a eCredit for the difference!  Totally unexpected but very much appreciated. 

 

Alternately, we had our April cruise cancelled.  The airfare on Delta for our April cruise was also purchased as a non-refundable fare.  When we canceled the flight they automatically applied eCredits for our full fare to our accounts.  So it would appear that at least in Delta's case they are being very flexible. 

[CILCIANRQTS]

If the airline cancels the flight, you get a refund, not a voucher.

 

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-issues-enforcement-notice-clarifying-air-carrier-refund