Come out of the closet Carnival

[Blondie008]

I am getting very frustrated at the various questions John heald has been asking recently on FB regarding smoking.

Carnival.. COME out now!!!!

WE in the UK pay NON REFUNDABLE deposits...

If you are going to make changes, then get it over and done with so we can take our money elsewhere.

I for one will be LIVID if we lose nearly £1000 we have already paid in deposits. If cruise lines wanna change their policies, fine, but, give us CHOICES, and dont take our money unless you can guarantee us that policy at the time of booking.

You dont care two hoots about UK cruisers, we are the minority I know..

I am desperate to book a third cruise on to our existing two B2Bs, but all this talk of smoking on John healds page is making me wonder if change is on the horizon, and if it is, WHAT kind of changes? WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW CARNIVAL!!! PLEASE give us some notice!

If we knew NOW, then there would be a possibility of transferring our cruise to sooner rather than later, leaving it too late, simply means we lose deposits both on cruises, and on transatlantic airfares!

NOW CARNIVAL!! Where are you going with this??????

[Jacky01]

I am getting very frustrated at the various questions John heald has been asking recently on FB regarding smoking.

Carnival.. COME out now!!!!

WE in the UK pay NON REFUNDABLE deposits...

If you are going to make changes, then get it over and done with so we can take our money elsewhere.

I for one will be LIVID if we lose nearly £1000 we have already paid in deposits. If cruise lines wanna change their policies, fine, but, give us CHOICES, and dont take our money unless you can guarantee us that policy at the time of booking.

You dont care two hoots about UK cruisers, we are the minority I know..

I am desperate to book a third cruise on to our existing two B2Bs, but all this talk of smoking on John healds page is making me wonder if change is on the horizon, and if it is, WHAT kind of changes? WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW CARNIVAL!!! PLEASE give us some notice!

If we knew NOW, then there would be a possibility of transferring our cruise to sooner rather than later, leaving it too late, simply means we lose deposits both on cruises, and on transatlantic airfares!

NOW CARNIVAL!! Where are you going with this??????

 

Why not post this on Johns FB if you want a quick answer? You know the Beards read all of it :D

[daijayx2]

Have you expressed thru email to Carnival about how you feel? And if so what was their reply?

[jessemon]

I agree go right to JH and ask him and make sure you say "REPLY"

 

I have noticed though that on the new "Magic" they have an outdoor seating area for the disco.....Makes one wonder, doesn't it.....;)

[firefly333]

RCL did this to pax, so I can well understand the OPs concern. Cabins suddenly went to nonsmoking and the UK was screaming.

 

People on ES would be the same situation though.

[stitchnfool]

Copied from Facebook from John:

 

"Morning Blondie 008. A British friend of mine sent me your comment from CC. We do care about British Carnival fans............I care especially, obviously. There are no plans..........repeat no plans to make any changes and I am here to help you if you have any concerns.............and I promise.............no blonde jokes.

As I am not a CC member can someone who is post this please...cheers"

[jessemon]

Copied from Facebook from John:

 

"Morning Blondie 008. A British friend of mine sent me your comment from CC. We do care about British Carnival fans............I care especially, obviously. There are no plans..........repeat no plans to make any changes and I am here to help you if you have any concerns.............and I promise.............no blonde jokes.

As I am not a CC member can someone who is post this please...cheers"

Good catch Stitch...Tell Mach I said hey....

[Blondie008]

WOW!! thank you everyone! I had at the same time sent a private message to John, but clearly this is the fastrack:D

Ok, so now I am hedging my bets on going ahead and booking that third B2B. I really dont mind if they pull smoking inside cabins, but its the balcony scenario which is a total deal breaker for us.

Being in the UK, it is a big concern. Celebrity total point blank refused to refund our deposits, our only option in the end, was to transfer deposits AT EXTRA CHARGE incidentally, to RCI, and there was limited choice of cruise as we already had our dates, travel plans etc in place.

For this to happen to us again...it would spell Nightmare!!

thank you everyone, and pass my thanks to john please!!!!!

Do hope he is on Freedom when we go, (tell him if his word stands, a pack of smoked salmon which we produce for Her Majesty, will be brought on board for him!!)

Ok..so now..how am I gonna pack for THREE cruises hahahaha!!

[salty dingo]

I see no reason to allow smoking in the cabin. Besides the obvious fire hazard, there are countless outer decks everywhere that people can puff away on without leaving the stench sticking to the walls and furnishings.

 

Is it asking too much of someone to go outside to smoke? We do it in every office in the USA!!

[halos]

You dont care two hoots about UK cruisers, we are the minority I know..

 

I thought I should respond to this statement.

I was reading the NCL boards last night and came across this thread. It seems that the laws in the UK differ from here in the US and that is what causes the differences in how ALL cruise lines deal with passengers from the UK. I don't think CCL doesn't give two hoots about you....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1378955

Posts #48 and 49 may explain best

[jimbo5544]

I have read this thread twice and I am still notsure what is going on:eek:

[Blondie008]

I thought I should respond to this statement.

I was reading the NCL boards last night and came across this thread. It seems that the laws in the UK differ from here in the US and that is what causes the differences in how ALL cruise lines deal with passengers from the UK. I don't think CCL doesn't give two hoots about you....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1378955

Posts #48 and 49 may explain best

 

 

I'm a blonde:rolleyes: tried to read thru it all but bit beyond me..

Yes, totally appreciate why we in the UK need insurance up front etc. My point however, is that ANY vacation company, who sells us a vacation, should not change their policies for the term of that brochure. We just dont have a leg to stand on.... I really dont mind any company, choosing whichever policy they wish - I just wish they would offer refunds if their changes affect the enjoyment of our vacation.

Okay, lets say for talking's sake you are a non smoker. You book a vacation and pay out $1500 in deposits, as, at the time you booked, and the time you researched, all areas on your vacation were non smoking. A few months down the line, the company decide....ok, going to change that rule, lets make it now all areas are smoking... how would you feel about your $1500. I am not asking you whether or not smoking is important to you, it could be anything, from kids go free to theres gonna be a riotous rock band on board. Anything, which ultimately, for YOU personally, means a "total no go" for your vacation.

There is no allowance for that in the UK terms & conditions of booking. We pay our money, take our chances, and no going back. Our insurance wont pay out either on forfeited deposits.

We have to pay the travel agent, not one deposit, but a deposit for every sector of the cruise AND airfare..

I just wish they would introduce some kind of advance clause, which, if ships policy changes to a point which means you would rather not take the vacation, even some portion of the deposit was refunded.

Its never going to happen, and hence, why we havent cruised now for two years as we have been frightened to pay out again...

Just HOPING all goes well with this one, and according to the above, it does look like I have nothing to be concerned over..thankfully:D

There are some situations, where we can move deposits. Last year I booked a trip to Egypt, but changed my mind, I was able to move that deposit to another country but within the same tour operator, paid a small fee, but it was possible. But with a cruise, its a whole different ball game.

[jessemon]

Blondie008...

I whole heartedly agree with you. If a contract is signed in good faith at a certain point it seems very unfair to change policy in the middle of it and then not refund money even though the company has changed the conditions of what was agreed to....

I'll even be more to the point...It sux...

[Blondie008]

Blondie008...

I whole heartedly agree with you. If a contract is signed in good faith at a certain point it seems very unfair to change policy in the middle of it and then not refund money even though the company has changed the conditions of what was agreed to....

I'll even be more to the point...It sux...

 

Thanks Jessemon for seeing where I am coming from.

My travel agent two years ago, fought and fought to try and get our, and many others deposits back with Celebrity. They totally firewalled everyone, AND to add insult to injury, they charged us to transfer to RCI. A few couples in our party couldnt change their dates, so we lost out on those deposits completely. We ended up cruising out of NYC, which was ccoooooooooold to the Caribbean, we upgraded to a very nice suite, but nooooo, it was the least enjoyable cruise we had as it simply was not one we would have chosen. It was basically our only choice to try and salvage something....

We book long cruises as we fly TA, for us, its gotta be around 12 nights minimum. We have currently got a 6 night and an 8 night booked, but as its a good time of year for us, and various reasons, we are now thinking of adding on another 6 nights. Just a bit edgy on putting down that extra deposit... still thinking on it but dont want to lose out on the specific cabin...

Thanks!!

[Bo Didly]

Go ahead, lite one up.

It's on JH and Carnival :)

[firefly333]

Blondie008...

I whole heartedly agree with you. If a contract is signed in good faith at a certain point it seems very unfair to change policy in the middle of it and then not refund money even though the company has changed the conditions of what was agreed to....

I'll even be more to the point...It sux...

 

solo cruisers who booked in good faith ES, rules changed last July, and now the 200% price has to drop to get price drops.

 

When I booked the policy was $25 for a missed port, changed a couple of months before my cruise to taxes on the port fees only, about $60 less when we missed two ports.

 

... on and on. Just because this one policy affects you .... why would Carnival suddenly agree to not change policies on already booked cruises...they do it constantly.

[Half Pint]

I see no reason to allow smoking in the cabin. Besides the obvious fire hazard, there are countless outer decks everywhere that people can puff away on without leaving the stench sticking to the walls and furnishings.

 

Is it asking too much of someone to go outside to smoke? We do it in every office in the USA!!

 

Yes, for some smokers, it is too much to ask.

 

BTW, I agree with you. :)

[Tapi]

While I'm holding my breath (no pun intended:D) for the day that ALL cruise lines ban smoking in cabins including balconies (those "partitions" do NOTHING to contain the neighbor's smoking), I agree with the OP 100% that Carnival (or any company) should NOT change their policies, specially concerning something that will hinder the OP's enjoyment of their vacation without at least giving them the option of refunding their money.

 

Think about it. What if Carnival announced tomorrow that ALL cruises will now be alcohol free, and deposits are non refundable, so tough luck? :eek:

[Perfect Stranger]

I'm glad I'm only addicted to coffee!

[T&Dcruisers]

No smoking inside?! LOVE IT! It's the law here in Illinois, smokers got over it!

 

But, the real issue here, I think, is cruiselines changing policies without notice or opportunity for paid customers to revoke their said contract. I can see your side to this, however with the amount of time before a cruise that a lot of passengers book (and pay) it would be almost impossible to account for this. An option, like that of cell phone companies, is that if a policy does change a passenger would have an alloted amount of time to cancel contract or allow to go on as changed.

[luv2gonow]

OP....I don't see Carnival changing their balcony smoking policy EVER.

 

Inside cabins maybe....actually surprised they let it for fire hazard.

 

And I 100% agree if anything changes after a deposit is made....that deposit should be refunded if the changes are unsatisfactory.....total rubbish!

[jenwales]

I can't see Carnival changing the policy concerning outside smoking (on balconies or open decks) but they will eventually evolve with the other major cruiselines and ban inside smoking.

 

When they do, Carnival will get most of my money that currently goes to DCL. Smokers should be free to smoke outside, but nonsmokers should be free to breathe clean air inside.

 

If Carnival was to implement a major change to their smoking policy, they should of course give people a 30 or 60 day period of time to opt out of their cruises without penalty. I think you'll find, though, that there aren't many policies more lenient and smokers really won't have anyplace to go (on the lines in the U.S. anyway).

[firefly333]

And I 100% agree if anything changes after a deposit is made....that deposit should be refunded if the changes are unsatisfactory.....total rubbish!

 

They change the policies all the time on already booked cruises.

 

Dream on. If Carnival thinks they can push issues and cost their bottom line less ...thats the new policy.

[Crusin6]

it seems as though CCL is adjusting or is thinking about adjusting their smoking policy....from what I am reading here it looks as though certain locations will become non smoking.....interesting....

 

 

and yes..I agree with the OP and others here...if a smoker makes a deposit and then the smoking policy is tightened..then by all means that person who put the deposit down must be reimbursed and not sail on the ship if the smoking policy is too restrictive for them

[LHP]

I do not worry about a fire in a cabin....IF that was such a huge threat..it would have happened already.

 

However, I do think that Carnival will eventually stop allowing smoking in the cabins because far to much smoke gets out into the hallways (and into cabins next door especially on the Fantasy class ships) which is a health hazard to children.

 

Carnival advertises itself as a family cruise line and you can't do that AND have children exposed to that much smok.

 

 

I do not see Carnival ever stopping smoking on the balconies.