Penalty for canceling

[Sea and Me]

My daughter and her family along with myself booked a cruise on the Conquest. It will leave Miami in December 26 and return on December 29. Everything was in place. Then it all fell apart!! My granddaughter, who is a nurse, has to work on the 29th. My travel agent started the cancellation process, Carnival is charging us 1/2 of what the cabins are priced. We booked a balcony and an inside cabin. I cannot believe that this is their policy. I would understand if it were 10-20% but 50% is highway robbery!!  Needless to say we will never consider booking a Carnival cruise again.

 

Question has this ever happened to any of you..

Thanks for your reply. Have a good day.

[jsglow]

You are within roughly 45 days of sailing.  Standard cancellation rates apply, are similar across all cruise brands, and are well publicized in your contract.

[shof515]

The website is very clear what happens when you cancel: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3401/~/i-need-to-cancel-my-booking%2C-is-there-a-penalty%3F

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

The website is very clear what happens when you cancel: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3401/~/i-need-to-cancel-my-booking%2C-is-there-a-penalty%3F

and as mentioned by jsglow it is basically the same on all mainstream cruise lines.

 

On a better note you should be able to recover your loss by filing a claim with your travel insurance.

[staceyglow]

Sounds like you have several people on this trip.  Did you consider having everyone go except for your daughter?  

[TiredTrucker]

9 hours ago, Sea and Me said:

My daughter and her family along with myself booked a cruise on the Conquest. It will leave Miami in December 26 and return on December 29. Everything was in place. Then it all fell apart!! My granddaughter, who is a nurse, has to work on the 29th. My travel agent started the cancellation process, Carnival is charging us 1/2 of what the cabins are priced. We booked a balcony and an inside cabin. I cannot believe that this is their policy. I would understand if it were 10-20% but 50% is highway robbery!!  Needless to say we will never consider booking a Carnival cruise again.

 

Question has this ever happened to any of you..

Thanks for your reply. Have a good day.

 

I'm sorry you are finding out this fact the hard way.  To play devil's advocate for a minute what do you expect from the cruise line? That's two rooms on a sailing just over a month away that Carnival has to try and fill.

[mz-s]

10 hours ago, Sea and Me said:

My daughter and her family along with myself booked a cruise on the Conquest. It will leave Miami in December 26 and return on December 29. Everything was in place. Then it all fell apart!! My granddaughter, who is a nurse, has to work on the 29th. My travel agent started the cancellation process, Carnival is charging us 1/2 of what the cabins are priced. We booked a balcony and an inside cabin. I cannot believe that this is their policy. I would understand if it were 10-20% but 50% is highway robbery!!  Needless to say we will never consider booking a Carnival cruise again.

 

Question has this ever happened to any of you..

Thanks for your reply. Have a good day.

 

There is no cruise line where you can cancel within 45 days and only pay a 10% penalty. Sounds like you have unrealistic expectations. Sorry this is happening to you but as the saying goes, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

 

Cruise lines aren't like hotels where you can cancel with little penalty, never have been and never will be.

Edited November 9, 2023 by mz-s

[ChutChut]

OP - look at the travel insurance you, presumably, purchased. If your cancellation is a covered reason, you may be able to recover some of the loss. If you didn't purchase travel protection - live and learn.

[Haljo1935]

Name change from granddaughter to someone else would be much cheaper. Or for her to simply not show up.

Sorry for you to learn a painful lesson, but as others have said, the fee is within industry standards and spelled out in your contract.

[mz-s]

14 minutes ago, ChutChut said:

OP - look at the travel insurance you, presumably, purchased. If your cancellation is a covered reason, you may be able to recover some of the loss. If you didn't purchase travel protection - live and learn.

 

Travel insurance that includes cancel for work reasons would presumably cover the granddaughter's fees, but not everyone else who apparently suddenly think they can't go either.

[sparks1093]

Sorry you are only finding this out now. I presume that you've at least some sailings under your belt and even a cursory reading of the terms and conditions show the penalties quite clearly that start after the final payment date. As mentioned this is common across all cruise lines (I don't believe that it is simply limited to the main stream lines) so if you are otherwise happy with Carnival leaving them will not get you a different result.

[sanger727]

It's curious that someone who has been on cruise critic for over 15 years is unaware of standard cancellation policies that every cruise line has. 

[mjkacmom]

How is this a surprise?

[Sea and Me]

I thank all of you for your replies. Have a good day.

 

 

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, Sea and Me said:

I thank all of you for your replies. Have a good day.

 

 

Hard pill to swallow when you don't get the feedback you were hoping for. Then again, maybe you learned something and didn't know that your travel insurance might allow you to recover some of this loss. (Also check to see if you have any travel cancellation insurance with the credit card used.)

 

But, most of all, Thank YOU for coming back to respond in a polite manner. Many people don't. Especially if the feedback isn't what they expected.

 

Cruisecritic can be a little harsh at times, but we do empathize with your disappointment.

[Sea and Me]

Klfrodo: thanks for your reply. You are very kind.

[jedi bobs]

I hope that you had travel insurance, if not, at least you get %50 back - Port fees and gratuities/Pre-paid items.  Good luck and thank your Granddaughter for doing what she does.  My wife was in the hospital in Aug, and got taken better care of by the Nurses than the actual doctors.

 

 

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Hard pill to swallow when you don't get the feedback you were hoping for. Then again, maybe you learned something and didn't know that your travel insurance might allow you to recover some of this loss. (Also check to see if you have any travel cancellation insurance with the credit card used.)

 

But, most of all, Thank YOU for coming back to respond in a polite manner. Many people don't. Especially if the feedback isn't what they expected.

 

Cruisecritic can be a little harsh at times, but we do empathize with your disappointment.

It may not come through in the comments but I think many of us do empathize with the disappointment, to lose out on a cruise is bad enough and then to be hit with the penalties is a hard pill to swallow. I also know that comments like "we will never consider booking Carnival again", as normal as that reaction may be to the situation, doesn't sit well with others, either. Especially when it's for an industry wide practice such as this.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

7 hours ago, sanger727 said:

It's curious that someone who has been on cruise critic for over 15 years is unaware of standard cancellation policies that every cruise line has. 

I even checked the date... No, not April 1.

[Earthworm Jim]

18 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

On a better note you should be able to recover your loss by filing a claim with your travel insurance.

 

This is entirely speculation on my part, and I could be totally wrong, but I'd guess only maybe 50% of cruisers get travel insurance. It's probably higher than average among Cruise Critic members, but probably lower for short, inexpensive cruises like the OPs. (Though their's was at holiday time, so perhaps not that inexpensive)

 

Recovering the cost of the cruise isn't what you want travel insurance for anyway. Say the insurance is 7% of the trip cost. That means you'd have to file a 100% of cost claim for one out of every 15 cruises to come out even on the trip cost. Unless you're likely to have to cancel for work or health reasons, it may not be worth it for cruise cost coverage. The reason it is worth it is for the medical coverage.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Earthworm Jim

[sanger727]

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

It may not come through in the comments but I think many of us do empathize with the disappointment, to lose out on a cruise is bad enough and then to be hit with the penalties is a hard pill to swallow. I also know that comments like "we will never consider booking Carnival again", as normal as that reaction may be to the situation, doesn't sit well with others, either. Especially when it's for an industry wide practice such as this.

Only the most inexperienced traveler could be naive enough to not realize that canceling a trip would forfeit a portion to all of monies paid. The OP could have been booked on a land trip with non-refundable air and hotel and get nothing back. The grand scheme of travel, 50% back isn’t that bad. It’s hard to sympathize with someone who doesn’t take personal responsibility to know what they are buying and instead just blames the company for selling it to them.

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, sanger727 said:

Only the most inexperienced traveler could be naive enough to not realize that canceling a trip would forfeit a portion to all of monies paid. The OP could have been booked on a land trip with non-refundable air and hotel and get nothing back. The grand scheme of travel, 50% back isn’t that bad. It’s hard to sympathize with someone who doesn’t take personal responsibility to know what they are buying and instead just blames the company for selling it to them.

This is why I said "many" and not all. I have made many mistakes in my life, even when I should have known better or being irresponsible. That allows me to feel sympathy toward the OP. It doesn't mean that I feel that the company is wrong or that there is any need to make the OP whole or that the OPs reaction is warranted. Sympathy doesn't require any of that. But I can sympathize with him. ETA- just looked up the difference between sympathy and empathy so perhaps empathy might be the better word choice.

Edited November 10, 2023 by sparks1093

[cynt]

On 11/8/2023 at 9:16 PM, Sea and Me said:

My daughter and her family along with myself booked a cruise on the Conquest. It will leave Miami in December 26 and return on December 29. Everything was in place. Then it all fell apart!! My granddaughter, who is a nurse, has to work on the 29th. My travel agent started the cancellation process, Carnival is charging us 1/2 of what the cabins are priced. We booked a balcony and an inside cabin. I cannot believe that this is their policy. I would understand if it were 10-20% but 50% is highway robbery!!  Needless to say we will never consider booking a Carnival cruise again.

 

Question has this ever happened to any of you..

Thanks for your reply. Have a good day.

 

Hopefully, your family can still go and you can leave the granddaughter behind or the GD can call in sick. 

 

I feel your pain. We had to cancel our Christmas cruise and lost our deposit. These non refundable deposit cruises can sneak up on you. We were grateful that's all we lost.

[mpacker]

On 11/8/2023 at 11:59 PM, Illbcruzn4life said:

and as mentioned by jsglow it is basically the same on all mainstream cruise lines.

 

On a better note you should be able to recover your loss by filing a claim with your travel insurance.

 

we always get TI now even for non-cruises.   

[simplelife]

On 11/8/2023 at 10:16 PM, Sea and Me said:

Carnival is charging us 1/2 of what the cabins are priced. We booked a balcony and an inside cabin. I cannot believe that this is their policy. I would understand if it were 10-20% but 50% is highway robbery!!  Needless to say we will never consider booking a Carnival cruise again.

 

 

I think you will find similar cancellation policies across cruise lines