Carnival pulled a fast one!

[Socref124]

Did they change your booking # when you requested the Sr. Discount? If not I think I would use that as one point in fighting for the fuel charge. A new booking would give you a NEW BOOKING #.

 

For others - If you do call and get a price drop that has a OBC then get them to e-mail you a invoice ASAP (while you are on the phone) and look it over to make sure the changes are correct.

 

Great point!!!! A new booking would have a different booking #. I don't mind the surcharge, but if they told you that you would get the price drop and no fuel surcharge, then they should suck it up and honor their commitment.

[flowerchild]

So did they give you a NEW booking number when this was changed?

 

My booking number never changed, it just "reset" it to a NEW booking.

[sassy0930]

HMMM... that doesn't seem copacetic. You're approaching this with a great attitude, but I think if you wanted to get it back you would be able to, of course with the help of your TA. If they didn't give you a new booking number then it's not fair to consider it a new booking. I know when I initially booked (way back in feb of 07) I changed around a lot. I even changed SHIPS and they kept the same booking number. they just transferred it over. I got a new invoice because the cruise we chose was MUCH cheaper than the original, but we had the same booking number and we're getting an OBC for the fuel surcharge

[kicia]

The senior rate code is PSE and only one person age 55 or over has to be in the cabin to get that rate.

 

The same thing happened to us last week when I found a price decrease on our Splendor cruise. The price went down $100 per person but instead of getting a $120 credit for the fuel surcharge since we booked in May, 2007 we would have had to pay the new fuel surcharge and it came out to a $3 per person difference so I just left it as it was.

 

A similar thing happened last year on one of our cruises. The price went down but the port charges had gone up so we had to pay the difference between what we paid and what the new charges were. The price drop was bigger than the change in port charges so we were still ahead.

[flowerchild]

HMMM... that doesn't seem copacetic... If they didn't give you a new booking number then it's not fair to consider it a new booking.

 

I argued the same thing with Carnival directly, so did my TA and her supervisor. But it is so. It's Carnival's rules and I guess they can do whatever they want to. I think it is unfair. I upgraded and still lost the refund.

[zqvol]

Just a warning...Carnival givith & Carnival takith (sp?) away! Just received my cruise docs for my upcoming Valor cruise. I noticed that my onboard credit was less then what Carnival told my TA back in late March. I just got off the phone with my TA who just got off the phone with Carnival. Here is what happened:

 

My deposit was made in March 2007...before the fuel charge was assessed. The judgement to recind the fuel surcharge for all bookings after Nov. 11, 2007 applied to my booking & I received an onboard credit of $70 (this all happened after I made my final payment this past March). Thanks to a post on CC, I was able to get an additional price drop for a senior discount of $200 several weeks after my final payment was made. My TA secured this from Carnival. Carnival told my TA that the Sr. discount would be listed on my docs as an OBC since I had already made my final payment. They informed my TA that my total OBC would be $270 (inc. the fuel surcharge). Wow! we thought...this is really great!

 

Well.....that turns out not to be the case. When we went over my just arrived docs, we noticed that my OBC was only $172...not $270. My TA's assistant called Carnival to find out what happened to the original amount. Carnival told her that when they applied the Sr. discount rate to my account, they considered it a NEW BOOKING subject to the fuel surcharge! So, they added the fuel surcharge back on!

 

My TA is out of the office this week but has been informed of this development. She plans on contacting Carnival on Monday when she returns to the office. My TA's assistant said this has surprised all of them & they are now wondering how many of their Carnival cruise clients, who have received recent price drops, are now being assessed the fuel surcharge under the "New Booking" rule that was applied to me.

 

Carnival did tell my TA that they will readjust my OBC as they shorted me $28 out of the $200 Sr. discount. In the final total, $200 is better than $70 but really Carnival (!).......what a sneaky way to go about this!

 

They are doing this on all changes now. They probably don't have to but then again they don't have to give price drops after booking either. Look at it as you came out $200 ahead and go with it.

[zqvol]

She tried, I tried, her supervisor tried. Nothing.

 

The rep at Carnival read the policy out loud to me. They have created a loophole to continue charging the surcharge.

 

Bonnys, this all happened at final payment...I wonder if your case will change when it comes time for your final payment.

 

"RKinNC You can slam me if you want. I think carnival has every right to treat a price decrease as a new booking. You agreed to the original price then if the price drops you get the decrease as if you just booked that day."

 

OK, RK, how about for me, my price did not go down, in fact, the same balcony cabin at my original booking time (Oct 2007) was cheaper than when I upgraded, three months later. I spend another $1000 and I still got refused.

 

Any cabin change is always considered a new booking, and always has been.

 

Booking number does not have to change for Carnival to consider it a new booking.

[firefly333]

Great point!!!! A new booking would have a different booking #. I don't mind the surcharge, but if they told you that you would get the price drop and no fuel surcharge, then they should suck it up and honor their commitment.

 

As I see it, that is part of the problem. The OP has a TA who talked to Carnival, not the OP. OP is getting it third hand.

[Chigirlcruzin]

Actually, if they're considering it a new booking and applying the fuel surcharge, the original $172 OBC was correct (new $7 fuel surcharge * 2 people * 2 days). You're lucky you're getting the full $200!

 

However, I see your point...if they said you were getting $270, that's what you should get!

[marktac]

That really stinks!:mad: I guess they're going to get that fuel service charge out of you one way or another. Sometimes you just can't win. Enjoy your cruise anyway!

Happy Cruising :)

Barb

 

Please explain to me why that stinks? It was a new booking (always has been a new booking if you modify after the final payment...nothing new here) and as such would then be eligible for the surcharge.

 

Someone misspoke at Carnival (possible) or the TA misunderstood (also possible). Bottom line is that everything was kosher, IMHO.

[novalab]

Actually, if they're considering it a new booking and applying the fuel surcharge, the original $172 OBC was correct (new $7 fuel surcharge * 2 people * 2 days). You're lucky you're getting the full $200!

 

However, I see your point...if they said you were getting $270, that's what you should get!

 

Actually, the $200 is correct. That is my Sr. Discount amount. The $70.00 was the fuel surcharge that was removed from the $270 OBC. Originally, the fuel surcharge was $5.00 per person per day. Two passengers @ the original $5.00 a day for a 7 day cruise equaled $70. I realize it is now $7 per person per day. Carnival was nice enough to keep me charged out at my original $70 fuel charge for our trip.

This morning, the Carnival Rep who talked to my TA admitted that they did make a $28 error on my OBC & credited it back to me...thus the $172 is now the full Sr. Discount of $200.

 

As confusing as this seems to be, one thing is certain...I will really enjoy using my OBC! Awwwww.....Miami Vices here I come (17 days & counting!):D

 

Thanks for all the great info & advice everyone! It was very much appreciated.

[cuyahoga11]

I argued the same thing with Carnival directly, so did my TA and her supervisor. But it is so. It's Carnival's rules and I guess they can do whatever they want to. I think it is unfair. I upgraded and still lost the refund.

 

 

Very confused here. I was under the impression if you booked with a TA, then Carnival would not even talk to you. :confused:

[ezjack1825]

As I have said on other threads on the same, I would contact the Attorney General of Florida that mede them do the fuel surcharge refunds that they didn't want to do and see if they think Carnival is acting in the spirit of the agreement.

 

If your booking number didn't change, I'd argue it's the same booking.

 

You might not get anywhere, but had people not made complaints to the AG in the first place, there probably wouldn't be any fuel surcharge refunds at all. It doesn't cost you anything to try... It could help a lot of people.

[marktac]

Very confused here. I was under the impression if you booked with a TA, then Carnival would not even talk to you. :confused:

 

Oh, they'll talk with you, but they won't change a thing on your booking unless it comes through the TA.

 

Face it, he got himself into this when he, in effect, rebooked. Carnival cut him some slack by not charging the full $7, and did the $5 per day.

 

Fan or not of the surcharge, this was done by the book this time.

[sixy-six]

Carnival ran a 1 day Sr. Discount special cruise rate a little while back. In Carnival's eyes, you are a Sr. at 55:rolleyes: A CC post alerted me to the special. I called my TA & she called Carnival & was able to get the discount for me even though I had already made my final payment (this was in March). However, it did bring on the above mentioned changes to my booking. Just want to warn everyone to crunch the numbers before they make changes to their bookings. In my case, it still works out to my advantage.

Thanks I'll have to have my TA to look into it. I still have to make my final payment.

[PINEVIEW01]

[quote name='Cruise, J.D.']As much as I think Carnival has bungled the fuel surcharge issue, I don't have a problem with this. They are not obligated to apply price drops or discounts that were not in effect at the time you booked.

If they want to place a stipulation on an OBC due to a price drop or discount, I don't see the problem. It's a freebie. They would be within their rights to require a person to cancel his or her current booking and rebook to get a price drop or discount - thus incurring the fuel surcharge.[/quote]
Yes, and when you fight to get the drop in price for new booking only. You have to take the good with the bad.

As the OP stated you need to do the numbers to see if it is best to take the new pricing or not.

[Chigirlcruzin]

[quote name='novalab']Actually, the $200 is correct. That is my Sr. Discount amount. The $70.00 was the fuel surcharge that was removed from the $270 OBC. Originally, the fuel surcharge was $5.00 per person per day. Two passengers @ the original $5.00 a day for a 7 day cruise equaled $70. I realize it is now $7 per person per day. Carnival was nice enough to keep me charged out at my original $70 fuel charge for our trip.
This morning, the Carnival Rep who talked to my TA admitted that they did make a $28 error on my OBC & credited it back to me...thus the $172 is now the full Sr. Discount of $200.

[/quote]

That was my point...it was a courtesy they didn't apply the $7 surcharge. 7*7*2=108. 270-108=172. Since they're considering it a new booking, you're lucky you got the additional $28 in OBC. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the way they figured things, I'm just saying that if they were being consistent, your OBC would only be $172. I'm glad you're getting $200.

In any case, enjoy your cruise! Valor is a great ship!

[PaulMedik]

I don't think the details are accurate in this case. The refund was first announced late in the evening on March 31 and only the larger stock brokerages received the announcement.

If the OP contacted their TA who then contacted Carnival, I am sure that whoever they talked to at Carnival had no clue that fuel surcharges were being refunded late in the evening of March 31.

[cruisecastle]

[quote name='novalab']Just a warning...Carnival givith & Carnival takith (sp?) away! Just received my cruise docs for my upcoming Valor cruise. I noticed that my onboard credit was less then what Carnival told my TA back in late March. I just got off the phone with my TA who just got off the phone with Carnival. Here is what happened:

My deposit was made in March 2007...before the fuel charge was assessed. The judgement to recind the fuel surcharge for all bookings after Nov. 11, 2007 applied to my booking & I received an onboard credit of $70 (this all happened after I made my final payment this past March). Thanks to a post on CC, I was able to get an additional price drop for a senior discount of $200 several weeks after my final payment was made. My TA secured this from Carnival. Carnival told my TA that the Sr. discount would be listed on my docs as an OBC since I had already made my final payment. They informed my TA that my total OBC would be $270 (inc. the fuel surcharge). Wow! we thought...this is really great!

Well.....that turns out not to be the case. When we went over my just arrived docs, we noticed that my OBC was only $172...not $270. My TA's assistant called Carnival to find out what happened to the original amount. Carnival told her that when they applied the Sr. discount rate to my account, they considered it a NEW BOOKING subject to the fuel surcharge! So, they added the fuel surcharge back on!

My TA is out of the office this week but has been informed of this development. She plans on contacting Carnival on Monday when she returns to the office. My TA's assistant said this has surprised all of them & they are now wondering how many of their Carnival cruise clients, who have received recent price drops, are now being assessed the fuel surcharge under the "New Booking" rule that was applied to me.

Carnival did tell my TA that they will readjust my OBC as they shorted me $28 out of the $200 Sr. discount. In the final total, $200 is better than $70 but really Carnival (!).......what a sneaky way to go about this![/QUOTE]

Its not a fast one. It's common sense. Don't confuse your lack of understanding and common sense for Carnival trying to "pulll a fast one"

[bonnys]

[quote name='cruisecastle']Its not a fast one. It's common sense. Don't confuse your lack of understanding and common sense for Carnival trying to "pulll a fast one"[/quote]
It is not a lack of understanding or common sense to expect to receive what a representative of a corporation tells you you will get.

[tourlink99]

Whenever a TA makes a new booking or makes a change to an existing booking it generates either a fax or email to the agent showing the new info including all price changes. On request this info can also be sent to the direct booking passenger. If there was any inappropriate charges or errors, now is the time to call and bring it to Carnivals attention. Unfortunately, this info is not always read on a timely basis and when you finally realize what occurred its a big problem to reverse what has transpired.

[Chigirlcruzin]

Nobody noticed my math error...7*7*2=98, not 108. I knew that, but typed it wrong. Other numbers are correct:)

[flowerchild]

[quote name='cuyahoga11']Very confused here. I was under the impression if you booked with a TA, then Carnival would not even talk to you. :confused:[/QUOTE]

They couldn't do anything to the reservation, but they could read me the policy...

[flowerchild]

[quote name='cruisecastle']Its not a fast one. It's common sense. Don't confuse your lack of understanding and common sense for Carnival trying to "pulll a fast one"[/QUOTE]

I disagree with you completely. How is it that Carnival got $1000 more of my money to upgrade (not a drop in price, as the OP) and is still refusing the refund? I can understand the arguement that the OP was getting a better price and that she can't have her cake and eat it too. But what about in my case or in the case of others, who simply changed cabins? I think it is completely wrong...and I am not a Carnival basher, I am a fan. Carnival has completely botched this whole issue.

If the reservation and deposit were made before the cut off, and Carnival maintained at least the same price for the cabin, they should rebate the refund.

[faeriechick]

[quote name='Chigirlcruzin']Nobody noticed my math error...7*7*2=98, not 108. I knew that, but typed it wrong. Other numbers are correct:)[/quote]

The difference could have also been the travel agent's commission. Any time a price reduction is done, the agent's commission goes down, and they would need to return the difference in commission in order for the guest to get their full OBC.