Booking a casino offer - person with offer cannot go

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Do any of you know what would happen if a cabin was booked through a casino offer - such as a free cabin except for taxes and port charges and then something happens and the person who originally had the casino offer couldn't go?  Would the 2nd person and or other people booked in the cabin still sail as usual or would there be an upcharge for their cabin?

 

Anyone had this experience?

 

[BlerkOne]

Maybe, maybe not. The offers require the person with the offer to sail.

[lazydayz]

I agree with BlerkOne that the offer states that the invited person must sail, but we have at least one instance reported on here where the second person only sailed, and it was not an issue.  However, it is a crap shoot and Carnival would have a legitimate right to reprice the cabin.  Personally, I would not take that risk.  Who wants to get to the port and be told they have to pay hundreds of dollars more, or be denied boarding?  

[firefly333]

15 hours ago, lazydayz said:

I agree with BlerkOne that the offer states that the invited person must sail, but we have at least one instance reported on here where the second person only sailed, and it was not an issue.  However, it is a crap shoot and Carnival would have a legitimate right to reprice the cabin.  Personally, I would not take that risk.  Who wants to get to the port and be told they have to pay hundreds of dollars more, or be denied boarding?  

If the person is a no show, and the 2nd pax boards, I'm not sure they would be asked to pay more at the port. They wouldnt know the main pax wasnt cruising. Board and say nothing. You might not get their perks but still get the cruise itself. 

[weezal]

Don’t risk it:

 

This offer is solely intended for the named VIFP Club® Member who qualifies for the stated promotion (which must be active at the time of booking). As such, the same VIFP Club® Member must sail to redeem this offer and any related offer benefits. No name changes allowed.

[Elaine5715]

21 hours ago, lazydayz said:

I agree with BlerkOne that the offer states that the invited person must sail, but we have at least one instance reported on here where the second person only sailed, and it was not an issue.  However, it is a crap shoot and Carnival would have a legitimate right to reprice the cabin.  Personally, I would not take that risk.  Who wants to get to the port and be told they have to pay hundreds of dollars more, or be denied boarding?  

There was another where the person needed to paid rack rate to board.  Not worth the stress to find out

[StephPS79]

5 hours ago, firefly333 said:

If the person is a no show, and the 2nd pax boards, I'm not sure they would be asked to pay more at the port. They wouldnt know the main pax wasnt cruising. Board and say nothing. You might not get their perks but still get the cruise itself. 

 

They would eventually figure this out.  I actually did have this happen, and they will call you to see where the other person is.  You can try to put them off, but once the ship sails and that person is not accounted for, they have their answer. 

 

In my case, the casino offer was in my name, so I just told them the other person wasn't going to make it in time, so no example to say if they repriced, but it is policy to do so. 

 

You will still have an onboard account, and they absolutely could charge that person before they get off the ship.  Whether or not this happens is really left to chance.

[BlerkOne]

When I checked in for an upcoming cruise they reminded me:

"

Reminder!

To expedite check-in and minimize waiting, all guests must board together during the selected arrival appointment window."

 

Do they really check? Do you feel lucky? A gambler would understand.

[mjkacmom]

I can’t imagine this loophole is open. What would prevent someone with an offer to book for 2, sell the booking to someone else, and then be a no show.

[Mike45LC]

The offers all clearly state "The eligible VIFP Member must sail to redeem this offer."  

But I do not know what they would do if the guest checked in and the eligible member did not show up.

 

 

[DallasGuy75219]

5 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I can’t imagine this loophole is open. What would prevent someone with an offer to book for 2, sell the booking to someone else, and then be a no show.

Nothing to stop you from booking that and selling it to someone else, but...

3 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

The offers all clearly state "The eligible VIFP Member must sail to redeem this offer."  

But I do not know what they would do if the guest checked in and the eligible member did not show up.

As others have stated, if/when Carnival catches on that the whale didn't sail they have the right to charge the roommate the rack rate fare with single supplement and take away the casino perks.  

 

Theoretically they could catch it before sailaway and give you the chance to disembark, but I think that's pretty unlikely because (1) they have more important things to do to prepare for sailaway and (2) it's too late to sell the cabin to someone else, so they'd wind up losing revenue on an empty cabin that didn't get paid for.

[Haljo1935]

7 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

When I checked in for an upcoming cruise they reminded me:

"

Reminder!

To expedite check-in and minimize waiting, all guests must board together during the selected arrival appointment window."

So what happens when cabin mates don't travel together as they're coming from different places, flying in on different flights? We've done that - one person flies in from west coast, checks in and boards and doesn't see the other person (who flew in from east coast) until we finally run into each other in the cabin. Didn't fly together, didn't check in together, didn't board together. Is that no longer allowed?

 

[BlerkOne]

22 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

and (2) it's too late to sell the cabin to someone else, so they'd wind up losing revenue on an empty cabin that didn't get paid for.

As cheap as gambler's cabins are, they wouldn't lose much, if anything, and depending on the cabin, they could upgrade someone who respects the rules and who would appreciate it. The deposits are non-refundable so Carnival keeps that.

 

Even if empty, the casino might be on the hook to pay for it, anyway.

 

 

[BlerkOne]

15 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

So what happens when cabin mates don't travel together as they're coming from different places, flying in on different flights? We've done that - one person flies in from west coast, checks in and boards and doesn't see the other person (who flew in from east coast) until we finally run into each other in the cabin. Didn't fly together, didn't check in together, didn't board together. Is that no longer allowed?

 

Call Carnival?

[MrMarc]

If they follow their rules, you will be charged full fare for the cruise.  I would guess it could also affect the future offers from the casino.  So that free cruise could get quite expensive.  Please let us know what happens, but don't complain when they charge you the full single fare for the cabin.

[Mike45LC]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Call Carnival?

I would not expect an honest or a definitive answer from Carnival.  What are they going to say, "go ahead and scam us, and we will cooperate"?   We need an answer from someone who has sailed without the Casino comped member present.

[BlerkOne]

6 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

I would not expect an honest or a definitive answer from Carnival.  What are they going to say, "go ahead and scam us, and we will cooperate"?   We need an answer from someone who has sailed without the Casino comped member present.

I thought the question was does everyone have to check in together?

[Elaine5715]

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

I would not expect an honest or a definitive answer from Carnival.  What are they going to say, "go ahead and scam us, and we will cooperate"?   We need an answer from someone who has sailed without the Casino comped member present.

The question has been answered.  People have reported here that 1) No problem and 2) problem.  The policy is clear.  We have no way of predicting what will happen in your case.  There is also a strong possibility that failure of the casino guest to show may result in loss of future casino offers.   

Edited August 26, 2023 by Elaine5715

[Haljo1935]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

I thought the question was does everyone have to check in together?

That is my question.

[DallasGuy75219]

12 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

As cheap as gambler's cabins are, they wouldn't lose much

The casino loses the revenue from the person who got the offer not gambling.

[2wheelin]

 

22 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

When I checked in for an upcoming cruise they reminded me:

"

Reminder!

To expedite check-in and minimize waiting, all guests must board together during the selected arrival appointment window."

 

Do they really check? Do you feel lucky? A gambler would understand.

 

14 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

So what happens when cabin mates don't travel together as they're coming from different places, flying in on different flights? We've done that - one person flies in from west coast, checks in and boards and doesn't see the other person (who flew in from east coast) until we finally run into each other in the cabin. Didn't fly together, didn't check in together, didn't board together. Is that no longer allowed?

 

Technically, it says “to expedite check-in and minimize waiting” check in together. It does not say that it is mandatory to check in together in all cases. It just MIGHT make it faster for you.