PLEASE HELP!! Carnival gave incorrect info...wedding crisis!!!

[Rocky2006]

Hi,

I recently booked a wedding cruise on the Fascination for February 2009...before I made the reservation...I asked what the age is for an infant to travel...I was told 4 months...and my maid of honour called to book her trip for her family (including my fiances brother, which is her husband) and she was told they cannot make a reservation for her unborn child...because at the time of sailing the baby will be 5 and a half months (apparently the age limit is 6 months!!) ...so now my maid of honour will be staying home with her new baby...and her other daughter who will be 4...is supposed to be my flower girl...she will be staying home as well...I called Carnival and they said there is nothing they can do...because it is an immigration/homeland security issue..it is out of Carnival's hands...they told me that because I don't have the name of the agent...there is nothing at all they can do...they told me to change the date of my wedding...this was after I told them the invitations had gone out...time was booked off work etc!!! Does anyone have any advise on how to get Carnival to somehow compensate me or my group for this huge inconvenience??? Also 4 of the guest crusing have cruised carnival over 10 times each!! including me!!!!!!!

 

thanks

[faeriechick]

It sort of depends on when you asked the agent. The policy has changed in the past few months, actually as of Jan. 1st. Also, since Carnival is so strict on their age policy, the only person who would probably be able to override that would be either a director or a VP.

[big_duck]

I don't know what you can do.

 

I know that the minimum age has recently changed, so what may have been true when you called and asked changed between that time and the time of the actual booking attempt by your friend.

[faeriechick]

double post

[lvtotrvl1]

I do agree with the other posters..It could have been all in timing, since the policy has recently changed. Unfortunatly there is no way around it..Does your bridesmaid have grandparents that can help her out? That is the only option that I can see.

[bonstersd]

Maybe the baby will be born earlier than the due date... make the reservation and cancel if you need to if the baby doesn't meet the age requirement.

[sassy0930]

I'd have her call back and lie about the age!!!

 

I know I know it's dishonest and they only state the ages for the saftey of the children but 2 weeks difference at that stage won't REALLY make a difference. AND she may deliver 2 weeks early (I bet the OP would cross her fingers for that) and she'd be fine!

 

With that tactic you may run into issues with the birth cert, but again she could say she delivered two weeks late (Might be a little confusing seeing as though the wedding is so far off) and how was she to know she'd be late when she booked her cruise!!! it's always worth a try.

 

If she'll go along with it, it may make it possible to be together for your wedding!!!

[Cruise, J.D.]

I'd have her call back and lie about the age!!!

 

I know I know it's dishonest and they only state the ages for the saftey of the children but 2 weeks difference at that stage won't REALLY make a difference. AND she may deliver 2 weeks early (I bet the OP would cross her fingers for that) and she'd be fine!

 

With that tactic you may run into issues with the birth cert, but again she could say she delivered two weeks late (Might be a little confusing seeing as though the wedding is so far off) and how was she to know she'd be late when she booked her cruise!!! it's always worth a try.

 

If she'll go along with it, it may make it possible to be together for your wedding!!!

 

:confused: That sounds like a good way to be denied boarding at the terminal with no refund.

[mosel]

If she is not 6 months at boarding they will deny boarding and not give a refund. They don't care when she was born but her age at embarkation and since you have to show the birth certificate to board you can not lie about it. If you had booked when they said 4 months she would have been grandfathered in but since they changed the age since you asked they can only book under the current guidelines. Cindy

[woodey]

I'd have her call back and lie about the age!!!

 

I know I know it's dishonest and they only state the ages for the saftey of the children but 2 weeks difference at that stage won't REALLY make a difference. AND she may deliver 2 weeks early (I bet the OP would cross her fingers for that) and she'd be fine!

 

With that tactic you may run into issues with the birth cert, but again she could say she delivered two weeks late (Might be a little confusing seeing as though the wedding is so far off) and how was she to know she'd be late when she booked her cruise!!! it's always worth a try.

 

If she'll go along with it, it may make it possible to be together for your wedding!!!

Not good Advice.........

 

OP.... dont even try to sneak on....your friend will most likely get refused to board... then you will really be SOL...Carnival wont give you any compensation for this.....they are within there rights and you guys have been notified far enough in advance to make appropriate changes that need to be made...Sorry this happend to you..... but it is not there fault, they need to follow safety rules and federal Laws to protect themselfs...If you owned a buisness you would do the same....sorry you had somebody that did not inform you properly about the changes..I hope it all works out for you and Have a great wedding Cruise

[cruisin_fanatic]

Hi,

I recently booked a wedding cruise on the Fascination for February 2009...before I made the reservation...I asked what the age is for an infant to travel...I was told 4 months...and my maid of honour called to book her trip for her family (including my fiances brother, which is her husband) and she was told they cannot make a reservation for her unborn child...because at the time of sailing the baby will be 5 and a half months (apparently the age limit is 6 months!!) ...so now my maid of honour will be staying home with her new baby...and her other daughter who will be 4...is supposed to be my flower girl...she will be staying home as well...I called Carnival and they said there is nothing they can do...because it is an immigration/homeland security issue..it is out of Carnival's hands...they told me that because I don't have the name of the agent...there is nothing at all they can do...they told me to change the date of my wedding...this was after I told them the invitations had gone out...time was booked off work etc!!! Does anyone have any advise on how to get Carnival to somehow compensate me or my group for this huge inconvenience??? Also 4 of the guest crusing have cruised carnival over 10 times each!! including me!!!!!!!

 

thanks

 

 

Did you speak with a manager in the guest relations dept or just spoke to someone at the 1888carnival number? If it wasnt guest relations, I would try them...it wont hurt. But I hate when I call companies and you depend on them for accurate info and they provide you with incorrect info, that is why I always write down the name and ext (if possible) of the person I spoke to because people will blatantly lie. Also express to them how often you have cruised to see if there is ANYTHING they can do...Hopefully you can get everything worked out..:o The only other option I guess is to not have a maid of honor or flower girl or change your date and send out new invitations, its still early enough for people to possibly reschedule their PTO before its too late to even do that. Or you can check another cruise line and see what their criteria requirements are and hopefully you can get a sailing around that same time you planned your carnival sailing.

[Ship Addict]

I really feel bad for you and your situation. I don't have any helpful advice other than what others have already mentioned.

 

However, I do have one question -- why in the world have invitations already gone out for a Feb 2009 wedding? That is 9 months away! :confused:

[sassy0930]

It would be terrible customer service to turn away a mother who , as far as they know true or not, has been booked for nearly a year and who under no control of hers delivered her baby two weeks early. If the OP's SIL is not afraid to take matters into her own hands she'd be fine getting onboard. BUT that would only work if she believed (as I do) that carnival is in the wrong with trying to deny her and her baby boarding because of two weeks.

 

If that isn't possible I suppose the OP could find a company who is willing to work with her and her SIL to make sure she can sail WHEN SHE WANTS TO. The best case scenario is that she can find another cruise leaving the same day from a nearby port (or even the same port) on a different line (not owned by CCL) Then the she'd just need to drop a wuick note with the changes to all who she sent the invites to. Plans would only change a little bit and it's still far enough out that guests can plan accordingly.

 

It sucks royally and that most of the reason I chose to only have three guests at my carnival wedding. (I couldn't handle this kind of stress)

[nrdsb4]

Hi,

I recently booked a wedding cruise on the Fascination for February 2009...before I made the reservation...I asked what the age is for an infant to travel...I was told 4 months...and my maid of honour called to book her trip for her family (including my fiances brother, which is her husband) and she was told they cannot make a reservation for her unborn child...because at the time of sailing the baby will be 5 and a half months (apparently the age limit is 6 months!!) ...so now my maid of honour will be staying home with her new baby...and her other daughter who will be 4...is supposed to be my flower girl...she will be staying home as well...I called Carnival and they said there is nothing they can do...because it is an immigration/homeland security issue..it is out of Carnival's hands...they told me that because I don't have the name of the agent...there is nothing at all they can do...they told me to change the date of my wedding...this was after I told them the invitations had gone out...time was booked off work etc!!! Does anyone have any advise on how to get Carnival to somehow compensate me or my group for this huge inconvenience??? Also 4 of the guest crusing have cruised carnival over 10 times each!! including me!!!!!!!

 

thanks

 

 

Two questions:

 

1)How is this remotely a security/immigration issue? I have yet to hear that there is a federal law forbidding travel by the young babes. This sounds more like a company policy.

 

2)I've never heard of anyone sending out wedding invitations a year early! But I guess if your entire wedding party/guests are to be on a cruise, that makes sense.

 

I would definitely not lie about the baby's age. How foolish would that be? They require birth certificates for all passengers, so this would not get by them!

[bplazo]

I believe that RCCL just changed their policy of babies cruising at 6 months also. Probably will not be long untill all cruise lines do this.

[Kurbanfan]

However, I do have one question -- why in the world have invitations already gone out for a Feb 2009 wedding? That is 9 months away! :confused:

 

This I don't understand at all either....

Maybe a save the date memo but invitations:confused:

 

Op I would highly recommend not lying about the child's age. Like a few said they will need the Birth Certificate of that child.....so lying is moot.:rolleyes:

If I really wanted that maid of honor I personally would just change the date......don't need any last minute stress while getting married......

[Froufie]

Even if invitations have gone out and time off booked surely you can make a change given you are not getting married til Feb 2009??? If you really really want your friend and her family involved in the wedding you may need to change the date by a few weeks.

[mom2tcdx2]

Can I sail with my infant?Minimum age for sailing will be generally 6 months and 12 months for Transatlantic, Hawaii and South American cruises. This is a company policy which takes into consideration the safety and comfort of the infant as well as the other guests. Carnival has fully researched the legality of the policy and it is not discriminatory and does not violate any applicable law. Carnival will not make exceptions and do not allow for the signing of waivers or releases to make an exception to the policy.

Fly-Aweigh infants (6 to 23 months of age) will be charged the "Cruise-Only" rate as long as the infant sits on a parent's lap on the airplane. If an airline seat is requested by the parent, then the infant will be charged the standard Fly-Aweigh rate. When an infant reaches 24 months of age, an airline ticket is required by the airlines.

 

 

 

The above is directly from Carnival's website and that has been a rule for quite a while from what I remember. I had looked at a cruise in 2006 and my sister was looking at going and the specific date we were looking at in May 06 her son would have been 5 months old and not old enough to travel then. Same rule applies also to Royal Caribbean, they state 6 months and 12 months for transatlantic, Hawaii, etc. Disney however seemed to state 12 weeks old from what I could find on their site.

[happy cruzin]

It would be terrible customer service to turn away a mother who , as far as they know true or not, has been booked for nearly a year and who under no control of hers delivered her baby two weeks early. If the OP's SIL is not afraid to take matters into her own hands she'd be fine getting onboard. BUT that would only work if she believed (as I do) that carnival is in the wrong with trying to deny her and her baby boarding because of two weeks.

 

If that isn't possible I suppose the OP could find a company who is willing to work with her and her SIL to make sure she can sail WHEN SHE WANTS TO. The best case scenario is that she can find another cruise leaving the same day from a nearby port (or even the same port) on a different line (not owned by CCL) Then the she'd just need to drop a wuick note with the changes to all who she sent the invites to. Plans would only change a little bit and it's still far enough out that guests can plan accordingly.

 

It sucks royally and that most of the reason I chose to only have three guests at my carnival wedding. (I couldn't handle this kind of stress)

 

I really think you are way off here....Carnival will expect to see a valid BC at checking-in prior to boarding. They will most definately deny boarding - based on the DOB - because they do not care what was said at the time of booking. EVERYTHING age related is based on the time of sailing. So if the OP tries your "plan" they had better be prepared to be denied boarding and to loose everything they have paid :eek: !!

 

To the OP: Please remember that - although it is frustrating for you - the changes recently made to the ages for infants and pregnant women are because they ship is NOT equipped to provide care to those groups should something bad happen :( .

[bankerbabe]

OK, please don't flame me. I'm not necessarily recommending this course of action, but putting it out there as a possibility.

 

If a delivery two weeks earlier would put the baby at six months old come cruise time, she could just have the baby two weeks early.

 

People induce labor for all kinds of crazy reasons, and two weeks early is still within the window considered "full term" and healthy (though this would be for her doctor to decide, obviously, and not some random stranger on the 'net like me). She would, of course, have to be sure of her due date and be willing to go along with the plan.

 

Just a thought.

[zqvol]

I'd have her call back and lie about the age!!!

 

I know I know it's dishonest and they only state the ages for the saftey of the children but 2 weeks difference at that stage won't REALLY make a difference. AND she may deliver 2 weeks early (I bet the OP would cross her fingers for that) and she'd be fine!

 

With that tactic you may run into issues with the birth cert, but again she could say she delivered two weeks late (Might be a little confusing seeing as though the wedding is so far off) and how was she to know she'd be late when she booked her cruise!!! it's always worth a try.

 

If she'll go along with it, it may make it possible to be together for your wedding!!!

 

If she does this and the baby is not born early then they will be denied boarding and will not get a refund. (The parents will have to present a certified copy of the baby's birth certificate and hope that they don't have a problem and have to fly home.) This is some of the worse advice that has been offered in a long time.

[tracy b]

could the baby get by without a passport? which you couldn't get until he/she was born...i think there is plenty of time to wait for the birth and then figure it out. deal with it then - no reason to freak out the pregnant mom now - she has a while to go and she doesn't need the stress of ruining someones wedding on her shoulders. It's not the worse thing that could happen - life is too short - get married, be happy and know that she is in your thoughts - concentrate your energies on a healthy baby, ok?

[In2why]

OK, please don't flame me. I'm not necessarily recommending this course of action, but putting it out there as a possibility.

 

If a delivery two weeks earlier would put the baby at six months old come cruise time, she could just have the baby two weeks early.

 

People induce labor for all kinds of crazy reasons, and two weeks early is still within the window considered "full term" and healthy (though this would be for her doctor to decide, obviously, and not some random stranger on the 'net like me). She would, of course, have to be sure of her due date and be willing to go along with the plan.

 

Just a thought.

 

I am not going to flame you....but is it okay to state that my head just exploded. I can just see someone asking me if I would mind having labor induced so that my child is purposely born before its time....so that I don't inconvenience their wedding date.

[cruisecastle]

This is not CArnival's fault it's bad planning by the OP. Take responsibility for your mistakes don't blame others.

[woodey]

OK, please don't flame me. I'm not necessarily recommending this course of action, but putting it out there as a possibility.

 

If a delivery two weeks earlier would put the baby at six months old come cruise time, she could just have the baby two weeks early.

 

People induce labor for all kinds of crazy reasons, and two weeks early is still within the window considered "full term" and healthy (though this would be for her doctor to decide, obviously, and not some random stranger on the 'net like me). She would, of course, have to be sure of her due date and be willing to go along with the plan.

 

Just a thought.

any chance i can be the fly on the wall when she asks her friend that question???