Missed Final Payment

[13cheermom]

So just got off the phone with Carnival after an hour with a resolution specialist.  Final payment was on 8/7/22, had lots of issues going on, and forgot to check on the actual date until today 8/12/22.  Long story short I missed my final payment, never have before, and we're long -time Carnival cruisers.  Just a heads up, I received no email stating "your final payment is near" prior to the date.  Never received an email on the date "hey you forgot your payment, hurry and pay now".  Never received a cancellation from Carnival saying "your cruise was cancelled for non-payment".  So don't rely on them for any heads-up from now on.  I know it's my responsibility, and I assume that, however, it was nice to get those little reminders when we get caught up in everyday life.  When we used to cruise all the time it was like second nature, but we just started back this year, well we were trying to, lol.  Anyway, as a result I lost $600 OBC, $434 FCC, and the rate went up by $440.  So I just cancelled the booking, and decided it's not worth it.  The rep. refunded my deposit because of all the trouble, however she said they have cracked down since end of June and aren't allowing any exceptions in these situations.  It's kind of disheartening, I'm not trying to cash in on anything, just trying to get back to cruising.  Guess I will just take my money to another cruise line for now.There are some major glitches in their system right now as far as communication goes, hopefully they figure it out and work out the kinks.  Hope this can help others avoid this situation, we all fall short sometime. 🥲

[Megan_Strick]

1 minute ago, 13cheermom said:

So just got off the phone with Carnival after an hour with a resolution specialist.  Final payment was on 8/7/22, had lots of issues going on, and forgot to check on the actual date until today 8/12/22.  Long story short I missed my final payment, never have before, and we're long -time Carnival cruisers.  Just a heads up, I received no email stating "your final payment is near" prior to the date.  Never received an email on the date "hey you forgot your payment, hurry and pay now".  Never received a cancellation from Carnival saying "your cruise was cancelled for non-payment".  So don't rely on them for any heads-up from now on.  I know it's my responsibility, and I assume that, however, it was nice to get those little reminders when we get caught up in everyday life.  When we used to cruise all the time it was like second nature, but we just started back this year, well we were trying to, lol.  Anyway, as a result I lost $600 OBC, $434 FCC, and the rate went up by $440.  So I just cancelled the booking, and decided it's not worth it.  The rep. refunded my deposit because of all the trouble, however she said they have cracked down since end of June and aren't allowing any exceptions in these situations.  It's kind of disheartening, I'm not trying to cash in on anything, just trying to get back to cruising.  Guess I will just take my money to another cruise line for now.There are some major glitches in their system right now as far as communication goes, hopefully they figure it out and work out the kinks.  Hope this can help others avoid this situation, we all fall short sometime. 🥲

I just scheduled mine to automatically come out. Sorry you lost all that money. That does suck and yes I agree. At least an email would be nice.

[tallnthensome]

I mean I get it but ....... YOU missed YOUR final payment date so it is on you when it comes down to it. I too would be disappointed though as well and that part is understandable. 

[mz-s]

I don't see how this is anyone's fault but your own?

 

Certainly your right to not book with Carnival anymore for any reason, but to blame them because you forgot your payment date is beyond the pale in my opinion.

 

I forgot to pay my water bill one month and got a late fee. I called and asked them to waive it as it was a mistake, but they declined and I paid it. I didn't blame their nonexistent "glitches" for my forgetting to pay the bill. It was my fault.

[staceyglow]

I am sorry this happened to you. I am not the most organized person in the world, so I could totally see that happening to me. 

 

That’s one more reason to have a PVP. I know ours would never let us forget the final payment, because then she wouldn't be able to get credit for the booking. 

 

 

[ColeThornton]

The thing about situations like this and saying you'll just go to another line is that guess what...the other lines are penny pinching and tightening their money belts also.  Tough time for all the lines which you can see if you peruse the other cruise line forums.

 

Chalk it up to a lesson learned, acknowledge and move on.  🙂

[groundloop]

5 minutes ago, mz-s said:

I don't see how this is anyone's fault but your own?

 

 

Did you not read the part that said: I know it's my responsibility, and I assume that....

 

13cheermom admitted to making a mistake, and also makes some good points that Carnival could do a better job at communicating.  While I've never missed a final payment (I use a TA who has my credit card on file and also emails me a couple of weeks before final payment) I totally agree that Carnival needs to improve their communication with customers.

[ProgRockCruiser]

This is a bit of bad luck.  But tough to blame Carnival, though it would be nice if they sent reminder emails (I've never gotten one).  They've possibly already re-sold your cabin.

 

I set myself reminders in my phone calendar to make sure that I know when to make my payment, and also set up the autopay.  I can then doublecheck to make sure it all goes right.

 

One of my cruises isn't set up for autopay for some reason (it was a rebooking, IIRC, as a result of COVID), so I definitely will be relying on my calendar reminders!

Edited August 12, 2022 by ProgRockCruiser

[ontheweb]

Many TAs give you a due date a week or so before the actual cruise line's due date. If you miss it by a few days, you are still within the cruise line's cancellation cutoff date. And they can then remind you that it is due.

[nascartim]

It does stink, that's a tough pill to swallow, but it is a great reminder to others to make sure you keep track of your final payment due dates as you won't get any kind of reminder from Carnival. I suspect they prefer it that way so they can recoup any FCC or OBC, so in that instance it benefits them. 

[Hoosierpop]

This does suck. On the one hand, you acknowledge it was your responsibility. On the other, you say you’re going to take your money to another cruise line for your mistake.

 

If you find a cruise on another line that fits your needs better than Carnival, go for it. But doing that to somehow punish Carnival seems short sighted.

[jsglow]

45 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

So just got off the phone with Carnival after an hour with a resolution specialist..... Long story short I missed my final payment, never have before, and we're long -time Carnival cruisers.  Just a heads up, I received no email stating "your final payment is near" prior to the date.....  The rep. refunded my deposit because of all the trouble, ........  It's kind of disheartening, I'm not trying to cash in on anything, just trying to get back to cruising.  Guess I will just take my money to another cruise line for now.There are some major glitches in their system right now as far as communication goes, ........

 

Wait..... YOU missed your final payment date and the cruise auto cancelled.  And Carnival REFUNDED your deposit meaning you are out exactly zero of your own dollars. And your solution is to go over to a competitor's line?  Makes perfect sense to me.

Edited August 12, 2022 by jsglow

[yogibear]

38 minutes ago, mz-s said:

I don't see how this is anyone's fault but your own?

 

Certainly your right to not book with Carnival anymore for any reason, but to blame them because you forgot your payment date is beyond the pale in my opinion.

 

I forgot to pay my water bill one month and got a late fee. I called and asked them to waive it as it was a mistake, but they declined and I paid it. I didn't blame their nonexistent "glitches" for my forgetting to pay the bill. It was my fault.

I agree with you 100%

 

Karen

[Island Dog]

Man, people are insensitive and insulting.  She admitted it was her mistake..... but I'd be pretty upset if they took all that away from me by missing a deadline by a few days. Kind of a short sighted policy by Carnival to alienate a loyal customer like that. Wouldn't a late fee be in order (like every other industry)? I don't blame her one bit for moving on, there's other ships in da sea.

[13cheermom]

14 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Yes said "I know it's my responsibility"

 

then later on said "There are some major glitches in their system right now as far as communication goes, hopefully they figure it out and work out the kinks."

 

There are no kinks when it comes to this - they notify people when final payment is due, and if you forget to pay then it's on you. They're not going to send out the rescue squad, they don't deal with 5th graders here.

If you read my entire post I stated I never received any emails whatsoever before, on , or after due date.  There are some problems in their system, the resolution specialist agreed with me.  Therefore refunded my entire deposit (which was a refundable booking).  My point was that they are being very strict with their rules now and I didn't lose a penny (just money they were giving away to begin with) but some might not be as fortunate.  I chose not to rebook in order to try some other cruise lines.  I only posted this to let others know how they are handling things as of right now.  

.

[BossyKat]

You can see your booking on their website.  They even have the countdown on how many days till you cruise.

 

In BIG letters it shows when your final payment is needed.

 

Sorry, I think it is a them problem not a Carnival problem. 

[13cheermom]

30 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

One of my cruises isn't set up for autopay for some reason (it was a rebooking, IIRC, as a result of COVID), so I definitely will be relying on my calendar reminders!

Yes this a booking that originated in 2019 on Mardi Gras, and had been changed 2 times all by Carnival, she had a hard time looking back to figure out what they had done in the past.  But like I stated the specialist did refund my cruise deposit with no penalty because she totally understood my point of view as well.  I usually do the calendar also, but just slipped up on me.  

[mz-s]

1 minute ago, 13cheermom said:

If you read my entire post I stated I never received any emails whatsoever before, on , or after due date.  There are some problems in their system, the resolution specialist agreed with me.  Therefore refunded my entire deposit (which was a refundable booking).  My point was that they are being very strict with their rules now and I didn't lose a penny (just money they were giving away to begin with) but some might not be as fortunate.  I chose not to rebook in order to try some other cruise lines.  I only posted this to let others know how they are handling things as of right now.  

.

 

They never send out emails about due dates. At least I have never received one. And I've been cruising Carnival for almost a decade. The only time I get any kind of reminder email at all from Carnival is when I have a cruise on a complimentary hold and the hold is about to expire.

 

I don't get emails when my light bill is almost due either. And back to my example of my water bill, I had no idea I'd forgotten to pay it until I saw my next month's bill with a late fee on it. No emails or letters or calls or anything for a month. Some glitch huh! lol

[13cheermom]

9 minutes ago, jsglow said:

 

Wait..... YOU missed your final payment date and the cruise auto cancelled.  And Carnival REFUNDED your deposit meaning you are out exactly zero of your own dollars. And your solution is to go over to a competitor's line?  Makes perfect sense to me.

Yes because if I were to rebook I would have lost $1,000 in OBC & FCC.  As well as the rate was $440 more.  So I decided to take my money elsewhere for this trip.  It does make sense if you were me.🙂

[nascartim]

1 minute ago, mz-s said:

 

They never send out emails about due dates. At least I have never received one. And I've been cruising Carnival for almost a decade. The only time I get any kind of reminder email at all from Carnival is when I have a cruise on a complimentary hold and the hold is about to expire.

 

I don't get emails when my light bill is almost due either. And back to my example of my water bill, I had no idea I'd forgotten to pay it until I saw my next month's bill with a late fee on it. No emails or letters or calls or anything for a month. Some glitch huh! lol

I have to admit, that's a little bit different. You probably get a water bill every month, or check your bank acct quite a bit if you use bill pay. Sometimes final payment isn't due for possibly a year or more. I can totally understand final payment coming due and you weren't ready for it.

[jsglow]

2 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

Yes because if I were to rebook I would have lost $1,000 in OBC & FCC.  As well as the rate was $440 more.  So I decided to take my money elsewhere for this trip.  It does make sense if you were me.🙂

Totally understand assuming you're locked into that week because of other considerations.  Have a great trip.

[nascartim]

I would cancel the trip also if it was me, it is no longer a good deal. Lost over 1k in obc and rate was raised $440. Get your initial money back and hope to find another deal.

[volfan22701]

we had a final payment date in July for our October cruise and they started sending me reminders every few days a month in advance. always have for other cruses as well. not that i would miss one because i stay on top of my dates. just how i am.

[ThaNectar]

I had a $600 OBC due to a fear virus cancelation on their end.

 

I guess it had to be used  by a certain date..

I didn't catch the date within the 10 emails they send me per day. 

 

So I lost my $600 OBC

[BlerkOne]

11 minutes ago, 13cheermom said:

Yes because if I were to rebook I would have lost $1,000 in OBC & FCC.  As well as the rate was $440 more.  So I decided to take my money elsewhere for this trip.  It does make sense if you were me.🙂

Don't you still lose $1000 in OBC and FCC?