Never Cruising Carnival Again - PLEASE read and give me a chance !

[chadinennistx]

Shame on him for being a first time traveller!

what are you talking about? i'm on the OP's side and would understand if he never gives carnival another cent.//was responding to another poster not the OP

[Pegs222]

But Pegs222, he did try remember. He called Carnival about this very issue, and was assured all was good, not to worry.

 

And apparently he was worried for a very good reason. I even think I read where he flew Air Canada. Flying in the winter, that is just such a risk on the day of the cruise. I do think Carnival dropped the ball, yes I admit it, telling the OP "all is good" with the air.

 

Just where does this so called TA come in the mix?

[SAAdds1]

 

Carnival on the other hands sucks out loud in your case. They did not address your issues and basically thought a general "sorry" letter would work.

 

 

I have always been told that when a complaint letter is written, you should state the problem and then you think should be done. I might have missed it, but in the first letter, it seems like (at the end), that what Race wanted Carnival to do was apologize. (He said something about they didn't even get a simple apology.) So, in Carnival's first letter, they apologized. But, in Race's second letter, he clearly stated what he wanted (20% off on next cruise). Carnival didn't even address that in their second letter.

 

I think Carnival is in the wrong, and I probably wouldn't give them my business. And, I would write them one last time, telling that fact and why I felt that way. Are you addressing your letters to the President?

 

Carnival should have given Race some sort of compensation.

[Freckles_51]

Wow I feel so bad for the OP. Carnival has us booked on Air Canada too :eek:, and we feel that it is too close for comfort, but we do have 3 hours from "expected" arrival time in Miami to sailaway time, so a bit more than OP had. I know this means nothing at all, but we asked our TA about changing it and she told us that it is fine and not to worry :eek:

 

You had it right when you had concerns about flying in at 2pm of the day of, but right there you should of taken action. If Carnival wouldn't change the flight I would of Canceled the Fly-aweigh and booked it yourself.

 

Fred

 

Now this I do not understand.....Carnival does not make your flights known until after final payment has been made. To cancel Fly-Aweigh would surely cost a cancellation fee? To request a change at this point would also cost more....not just the deviation fee but also whatever Carnival has to pay the airline to cancel the ticket, as well as any extra for a requested flight, if it is more money. At least that is how I understand it.

 

We were told that it would cost us $150 more each to change ours :mad: . We are kicking ourselves now, we really thought they would have us arriving in Miami by 9:30am, as they did last year and as they did for my friends the year before. :o

[Nunu]

what are you talking about? i'm on the OP's side and would understand if he never gives carnival another cent.//was responding to another poster not the OP

 

I was being sarcastic.

[Fazzdaan]

RaceMedic, I have a totally serious question. Did you have baggage delay insurance? If so, did you know you had it at the time you were told your options? If so why didn't you just call the insurer right then and then go rent clothes? My point, ever so delicately phrased, is if you were covered why even get upset about it? Just rent the stuff, have a good time, and deal with the insurance claim afterward?

[trock]

Not at all Nunu, you should pay closer attention. OP is being slammed because he didn't bother to do any research prior to cruising, but found this board pronto, quick, fast-like, when something went wrong. IF he had found us that quickly BEFORE his cruise, he would already know that Carnival customer service sucks and nothing can be done about it, and 2, never, ever, ever, ever, book your air through Carnival. Ever. Ever. Period.

 

 

That is lame.. Cruise Critic is not the be all and end all of cruising.. :rolleyes:

Carnival IS the cruiseline and should know better and the TA should know better..

 

Most first time cruisers rely on the agent or company for a reliable itinerary and to be honest and forthright in their responses when he called the 2 or 3 times to follow up on the timing of the flight..Why would he have doubted them? There was no reason for him to google cruising at that point.

[HawaiiFiveOh]

Wow I feel so bad for the OP. Carnival has us booked on Air Canada too :eek:, and we feel that it is too close for comfort, but we do have 3 hours from "expected" arrival time in Miami to sailaway time, so a bit more than OP had. I know this means nothing at all, but we asked our TA about changing it and she told us that it is fine and not to worry :eek:

 

 

 

Now this I do not understand.....Carnival does not make your flights known until after final payment has been made. To cancel Fly-Aweigh would surely cost a cancellation fee? To request a change at this point would also cost more....not just the deviation fee but also whatever Carnival has to pay the airline to cancel the ticket, as well as any extra for a requested flight, if it is more money. At least that is how I understand it.

 

We were told that it would cost us $150 more each to change ours :mad: . We are kicking ourselves now, we really thought they would have us arriving in Miami by 9:30am, as they did last year and as they did for my friends the year before. :o

 

Is there any way to change to a different flight through Carnival, or even a different airline? After reading all of these posts I worry for you. I hope all goes well with your trip. Get the insurance and read all that you can RE: clothing rental, lost baggage etc...

[gracie65]

RaceMedic, I have a totally serious question. Did you have baggage delay insurance? If so, did you know you had it at the time you were told your options? If so why didn't you just call the insurer right then and then go rent clothes? My point, ever so delicately phrased, is if you were covered why even get upset about it? Just rent the stuff, have a good time, and deal with the insurance claim afterward?

 

I'm sure with the time the oP had to get from the airport to the port he was too frazzled to think about all that. I know in my early cruising years I probably woudn't have till I had relaxed and had a little calm down time.

[Kurbanfan]

Wow I feel so bad for the OP. Carnival has us booked on Air Canada too :eek:, and we feel that it is too close for comfort, but we do have 3 hours from "expected" arrival time in Miami to sailaway time, so a bit more than OP had. I know this means nothing at all, but we asked our TA about changing it and she told us that it is fine and not to worry :eek:

 

 

 

Now this I do not understand.....Carnival does not make your flights known until after final payment has been made. To cancel Fly-Aweigh would surely cost a cancellation fee? To request a change at this point would also cost more....not just the deviation fee but also whatever Carnival has to pay the airline to cancel the ticket, as well as any extra for a requested flight, if it is more money. At least that is how I understand it.

 

We were told that it would cost us $150 more each to change ours . We are kicking ourselves now, we really thought they would have us arriving in Miami by 9:30am, as they did last year and as they did for my friends the year before. :o

 

I have read this more then once about not knowing your flight until close to cruising.....also I have never read anywhere where anyone who went thru Carnival had a flight the day before the cruise.....this I do not get.

Won't they even book anyone a day ahead?

3 hours sounds ok but let me tell you anything can go wrong. Our last flight to San Juan we were stuck on our plane for 2 hours before they could get the latch fixed for the luggage door to close properly:mad:Then once we arrived in San Juan our luggage was not on our plane:mad: We waited another hour for our luggage to arrive on another flight:mad: Luckily for us we fly in the day before......

This is why I do not understand why Carnival promoted flights, which their sole purpose is meant to get people to their ships, cut their flights so close like that.

Never would I ever book thru them.........

[trock]

I don't think some are getting it. This being a Carnival promoted airfare.

Air fare to get you on a Carnival cruise:D

Kurb it must be us.. that is twice today.... lol

 

Nunu i love you

[G'ma]

Clueless TA? Come on Fred are you for real? Yeah maybe they could have warned him those flight times were cutting it close but CARNIVAL is the one that booked the flights. CARNIVAL on two different occasions told him not to worry about those flight times. CARNIVAL is the one that did NOT follow up getting their luggage to the first port. CARNIVAL is the one that offered them no assistance on board with anything.

 

Put the pom poms away and put yourself in their position. CARNIVAL as much as I enjoy their cruises totally dropped the ball and frankly in an age of non existent customer service it does not shock me at all.

 

Carnival is NOT the one who picks the flights. They (and other cruise lines) have bulk space that they book for cruises..... When they call the airlines, they airlines tell THEM which flights are available to book, based on the contracted bulk fare and depending upon the city they are flying out of........ In the contract between the airline and Carnival, all parameters are in writing...such as, last possible time to arrive in order to board the ship, etc..... When the OP's flights were booked, they were well within the parameters.... Carnival would not book,nor would the airline offer, flights outside the parameters.

 

A good TA, who was familiar with the whole fly/cruise experience might have advised OP that in her personal experience, she wouldn't take the offered flights......and why. This didn't happen.

 

Beyond that, no one has control over airline scheduling other than the airline involved. Carnival has no control, certainly. They offer to book air as a convenience only....and have nothing to do with it after that.

 

As for the luggage catching up with the cruise, it did. It had to be located, processed, checked by Security and forwarded on the next available flight to wherever the ship will be docking..... Again, it's an airline responsibility.

 

I still don't know what kind of "assistance" OP expected onboard. The luggage is not on the ship, it will be sent out as soon as possible..beyond that, there isn't any assistance to give.

 

If there truly is such a thing as a "free tuxedo rental" (which I've never heard of over 64 cruises with them - doesn't mean it doesn't exist), then someone should have been proactive and offered that service. Beyond that, Carnival needs to do nothing.....and their contract clearly defines that......

 

Fortunately, OP had insurance which will recoop the costs...smart move!

That's what insurance is for......

 

Ball not dropped....no Carnival ball involved.

Carnival responded to OP's letters with appropriate apologies and regrets.

 

That's the end of it.

[Wennfred]

Clueless TA? Come on Fred are you for real? Yeah maybe they could have warned him those flight times were cutting it close but CARNIVAL is the one that booked the flights. CARNIVAL on two different occasions told him not to worry about those flight times. CARNIVAL is the one that did NOT follow up getting their luggage to the first port. CARNIVAL is the one that offered them no assistance on board with anything.

 

I agree with you 100% that there were many people that dropped the ball in all of this. I have found out early enough to find out my flights when I booked with Carnival. The call to the Flight Deviation office to cancel a Red Eye flight the day of the cruise and to flight out the day before didn't cost not one cent.

 

If people are now finding out that they are getting the flight info so close to the cruise then I wouldn't book with Carnival Air ever again since as you can see we are really taking a chance with our trip.

 

As I posted last year on my Freedom Cruise, we arrived in Dallas to change flights, we headed to another gate to find out that our connecting flight was inop. We were sent back to the original gate to continue to Miami. We arrived at 3:30pm and with NO LUGGAGE. Our luggage did not make it back on the original flight. We flew in 2 days ahead of time and luckly our luggage arrived on the next flight at 5:30pm from Dallas.

 

Years ago you could rely on the Airline to get you to your destination and back but today, I would be more careful.

 

 

 

Fred

[G'ma]

But Pegs222, he did try remember. He called Carnival about this very issue, and was assured all was good, not to worry.

 

It was all good. The flights were legal, timewise, arrival was legal, timewise.....

 

Not Carnival's fault when airlines screw up their schedules, delay or cancel flights....

[mag]

Clueless TA? Come on Fred are you for real? Yeah maybe they could have warned him those flight times were cutting it close but CARNIVAL is the one that booked the flights. CARNIVAL on two different occasions told him not to worry about those flight times. CARNIVAL is the one that did NOT follow up getting their luggage to the first port. CARNIVAL is the one that offered them no assistance on board with anything.

 

Put the pom poms away and put yourself in their position. CARNIVAL as much as I enjoy their cruises totally dropped the ball and frankly in an age of non existent customer service it does not shock me at all.

 

 

 

I agree with you. Carnival screwed up and should have at least treated this gentleman better in their responses to him. Also, I don't get it when you are saying that he should have/could have found CC prior to his cruise??? Come on...

 

Fred, I usually think you are right on target but I don't agree with your opinion this time. And that is my opinion.

 

RaceMedic, Carnival is my line of choice and they should have treated you better. I am glad you did not let this ruin your cruise. Happy travels.

[G'ma]

OP says he talked to Carnival about his concerns about the airflight arrangements, despite (I guess) having booked his cruise through a TA. So what? He called Carnival to ask them a question, they answered. As a first-time cruiser and not a CC member at the time, presumably he didn't know the arcane rules about whether Carnival will talk to you about your stuff if you're using a TA. You have a cruise with Carnival, you call up and talk to Carnival. Seems reasonable to me. If Carnival doesn't want to talk to you because you booked with a TA, THEN CARNIVAL SHOULDN'T TALK TO YOU! It's up to Carnival to enforce their own rules, isn't it?

 

Normally, if a passenger is enroute, Carnival will assist. They know that reaching your TA might not be possible if you've already left home.

[Fazzdaan]

I'm sure with the time the oP had to get from the airport to the port he was too frazzled to think about all that. I know in my early cruising years I probably woudn't have till I had relaxed and had a little calm down time.

 

Yes, we are all wired a bit differently. My brain would go into the options mode and I would be considering all of that during that frantic ride to the airport. But that is me and I know different folks can have totally different and equally valid responses.

[Nunu]

It was all good. The flights were legal' date=' timewise, arrival was legal, timewise.....

 

Not Carnival's fault when airlines screw up their schedules, delay or cancel flights....[/quote']

I believe you were a travel agent. Would a red flag have gone up to you when Carnival booked them to arrive 2 hrs prior to the ship leaving?

[G'ma]

Until I found this website, I did not know that you couldn't talk to Carnival directly if you had a TA. In fact, I did not know this until this month.

 

OMG This is so frustrating.

 

I wish I was like Pegs and know EVERYTHING there is to know and to know ALL the questions to ask about Everything. Seems to me that he saw something that didn't look right and called the people that he thought would be the appropriate people to ask those questions of. Wow who would have thought that those assumptions were wrong?

 

Next time I have a question I will be sure to come here and ask everyone, who should I direct those questions to? Maybe since "Some" people have all the answers they will direct me to the correct channel. Oh..but then again, if I ask those questions here, am I going to get the correct answer or better yet, get nasty responses on how I should search a forum before asking those questions?

 

Gonna just shut up for now.

 

Not to stir the pot....but there are many former and current travel agents, former and current cruise employees and others on these boards who do, in fact, know what they are talking about.......:D

[Wennfred]

also I have never read anywhere where anyone who went thru Carnival had a flight the day before the cruise.....this I do not get.

 

It was written in the books back in the day that if you are flying from California to Florida, Coast to Coast due to the distance they would fly you out a day before and put you up in a nice Airport Hotel.

 

I have done this many times when booking with Carnival. We leave at 6am from San Diego and arrive Miami around 5:30pm that same day. Usually there is a layover depending on which airline they book you with.

 

Now being that Canada is probably alot further then the Coast to Coast flight you would think that Carnival or the T/A would have booked these people to fly out the day before. Not sure if this was the OP preference but this is where someone dropped the ball.

 

 

Fred

[JerseyshoreBruce]

I still love Carnival because nothing real bad has happened to me yet, with that said this is a terrible job by Carnival and if it happened to me I would have never cruised them again either. 100% Carnivals problem and they should have handled it the right way. When a ship is not full they comp a cruise to a Vegas or Atlantic City highroller but can't give this family a free cruise for their screw up! Go figure?

[jks336]

i am just amazed at your story. and how carnival treated you with this. to not offer ANYTHING is really an insult. i agree with the other poster, KEEP WRITING. when i first booked w/carnival i decided to let them do the airfare, but after reading posts, i will do my own. even if the cost is a little more with having to add transporatation its just so much better. live and learn situation, sad, but now you know what to do and do it with ANY cruise line, not just carnival. even though their prices are better, i would be hard pressed to book again with them after your experience. shoot, just some thing go such a long way.. like you said, just 2 dang tux rentals.. come on that wasnt asking for much. i wish you much luck.

[Nunu]

It was written in the books back in the day that if you are flying from California to Florida, Coast to Coast due to the distance they would fly you out a day before and put you up in a nice Airport Hotel.

 

I have done this many times when booking with Carnival. We leave at 6am from San Diego and arrive Miami around 5:30pm that same day. Usually there is a layover depending on which airline they book you with.

 

Now being that Canada is probably alot further then the Coast to Coast flight you would thing that Carnival or the T/A would have booked these people to fly out the day before. Not sure if this was the OP preference but this is where someone dropped the ball.

 

 

Fred

Actually Toronto to Miami would be around half the distance that a coast to coast flight is.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

Not to stir the pot....but there are many former and current travel agents' date=' former and current cruise employees and others on these boards who do, in fact, know what they are talking about.......:D[/quote']

Not to restir the pot but who said all travel agents are good? They may be good in their own minds;)

[tess2cruz]

Yes...and the TA should have been all over them about it.

 

They are getting off easy...why do you think they are offering him a discount? Because they know they dropped the ball.

 

:rolleyes:

 

Have to agree with you on this one, OP should not have been dealing with it at all, his TA should have realized what problems such a short window would cause.

His TA knows they goofed.