help with cancellation info please!

[WEDOFISH]

About two weeks ago, we cancelled our June cruise...we were traveling with several other couples for an anniversary party & Carnival changed our cabin w/o asking us. [They stuck us under the pool!] We had handpicked the room so that all of us were together - the cabin was an aft extended balcony. Anyway - we cancelled BEFORE final payment. Three of the eight cabins cancelled because of room changes.

Our TA - not one we usually use and certainly not one we will use again - is now charging us $125 per couple cancellation fee. We will, of course fight this through our credit card company. She announced today that the cruise line may not refund our money until the date of the cruise - June 15. Is this true? We know that our credit card will receive the credit, but should it take that long??

Our initial recei[t says there wil be a $25 cancellation fee - no mention of the $100! The TA claims it is because she had to spend so much time on our reservation!! We are experineced cruisers. We chose the cabin - made the reservation and paid the deposit. We got a receipt in the mail in early September and that's the last we heard of the TA until March 10. Doesn't seem like a lot of time to us!!

Any help will be appreciated!

[Cruising89143]

I cancelled a cruise last week that was paid in full for a May 9th sailing. I was booked directly with Carnival. My credit card was credited within 7 business days for the full amount. I know that Carnival usually states that it can take up to four weeks for the credit to be issued.

 

As far as the cancellation charge, there are some TA's that do indeed charge if you cancel a cruise. I would check the fine print of your paperwork received from your TA.

 

I will also tell you that I have cruised with Carnival many times and have never had them change my cabin without first asking if I wanted an upgrade. It sounds like your TA did not lock in your cabin choice with Carnival at the time of booking. Something sounds fishy all the way around with your TA.

[marktac]

Carnival may change your cabin (unlikely, however), but it is very easy to get the original one back if you insist with Carnival....IF you reserved that cabin.

 

Carnival will refund your credit card, usually within a week. Or, did you let the TA put the charge under their name on the credit card (Charged to them & they pay Carnival). If that is the case you may have an issue.

 

If there is a cancellation fee, it will be noted on the receipt you received from the TA, assuming you got a receipt. If you didn't get something in writing, they may have you. Many TA's are charging a fee, since the return on their investment is so small on a cruise, especially if they are a mom/pop outfit.

 

All you will get here is conjecture, because we don't have enough info to give a really intelligent answer. You probably need to have a talk with another TA, and then Carnival directly, explaining what has happened and that your TA may not be on the up and up with you.

 

Good luck.

Mark T.

[GoinCruisin]

I think this is a different situation... I think in this situation (if I remember correctly), the TA booked them in a cabin that held more people than they had, so they were bumped due to occupancy, which Carnival can and will do. I agree with the above poster... your TA sounds very fishy. I know many charge a fee for cancellation, but I have not heard of one charging that much. I have had 2 refunds from Carnival and both were done within a week... Ditch the TA, I'm not sure how they stay in business with some of their practices...

[GottaLuvCruising]

Your TA cannot decide after-the-fact to charge you an additional fee because she spent a lot of time on your bookings. If your receipt says "$25", that's all she can charge you. The cruise line should refund your deposit immediately and you should see it in about a week. I would immediately write a charge-back letter to your credit card company. I'd also write one to the Better Business Bureau (and copy your TA on both of them).

[marktac]

I think this is a different situation... I think in this situation (if I remember correctly), the TA booked them in a cabin that held more people than they had, so they were bumped due to occupancy, which Carnival can and will do. I agree with the above poster... your TA sounds very fishy. I know many charge a fee for cancellation, but I have not heard of one charging that much. I have had 2 refunds from Carnival and both were done within a week... Ditch the TA, I'm not sure how they stay in business with some of their practices...

 

 

Don't believe so....at least on the Valor and her class, the extended balcony rear cabins hold 3. I read that they were "couples".

 

Enquiring minds want to know....

 

Mark T.

[GoinCruisin]

Don't believe so....at least on the Valor and her class, the extended balcony rear cabins hold 3. I read that they were "couples".

 

Enquiring minds want to know....

 

Mark T.

 

Exactly, they were a couple.. the cabin held 3. They can bump you out if you are in a cabin that holds more than what you have booked.

[marktac]

Exactly, they were a couple.. the cabin held 3. They can bump you out if you are in a cabin that holds more than what you have booked.

 

not if that is the cabin you reserved!!! They may offer an upgrade, but you have it....if the TA actually reserved it. That is why they call it a RESERVATION.

 

Mark T.

[TXRoo]

Nope, not so. Carnival and every other cruise line I have called always reserve the right to bump you from even an assigned cabin if it is a tri or a quad and they need it and you are only a couple.

 

I am sweating bullets right now as I have an aft balcony on the Rhapsody right now and I was told up front that they could bump me if they needed it for more people.

[crazidude1400]

who is your travel agent?

Also, how many times have you used them to book a cruise...or how many times have you cruised on the cruise line that were scheduled to go on?

 

if there is an answer to any of these, then a good half an hour on the phone with the supervisor will do the trick..don't worry...however for future notice, ask if you can get this waved in advance just in case

heres why: the agent wants to sell the deal to you, and if you express that it is your only concer, chances are they are going to grant your wish...

 

good luck

[Snowball]

not if that is the cabin you reserved!!! They may offer an upgrade, but you have it....if the TA actually reserved it. That is why they call it a RESERVATION.

That is incorrect. If you select a cabin that holds more people than the number that are actually booked to stay in that room, Carnival will move you to another room if they need your cabin for a triple or quad booking. I've seen where now they won't even let you book a triple or quad cabin if you are only booking for two people, especially for sailings that they anticipate will be big sellers (new ships, peak season, etc).

[Cruising89143]

not if that is the cabin you reserved!!! They may offer an upgrade, but you have it....if the TA actually reserved it. That is why they call it a RESERVATION.

 

Mark T.

 

If the OP did in fact book a cabin that is a triple or quad and they do not have the numbers to fill it then the cruise can and will move them if they need the space. Deposit or not. Makes a big difference.

[WEDOFISH]

Thanks for all the info. BTW the TA never told us that the room was a triple and our deck plans did not show it as a triple. New deck plans DO show it as a triple now.

The TA is in SC and is our friend's TA - not ours. We have never met her. She is the owner of the agency.

We have only cruised on Carnival once before. We usually cruise on Celebrity.

We DID insist on our original room, but to no avail! So we cancelled.

Do I call the 888 CARNIVAL number to complain? Anyone have any addresses I can use to complain?

Thanks! :]

[iluvdoxies]

Sorry this happened to you! I remembr your original threas- as far as complaing- do you want to complain about being moved or the &125.00?

If it's about the room, the only way Carnival will talk to you is a 3 way call with the ta on the line-

As for the 125 the ta says you owe her---I wouldnt pay it- just the 25 that you were expecting-

Anyhow- good luck!

[lisaluvscruising2004]

Hi,

This post not related to subject but where can I get info on the rescue league mentioned in your info.?

[iluvdoxies]

ji Lisa --the website is http://www.drna.org

[lisaluvscruising2004]

Thank you so much!!

[WEDOFISH]

Sorry this happened to you! I remembr your original threas- as far as complaing- do you want to complain about being moved or the &125.00?

If it's about the room, the only way Carnival will talk to you is a 3 way call with the ta on the line-

As for the 125 the ta says you owe her---I wouldnt pay it- just the 25 that you were expecting-

Anyhow- good luck!

It's not a matter of what we owe. but a matter of what she will give back to us!! She is giving us our money by way of our credit card. So instead of giving us the entire $500 that we paid her she is keeping $125 and just giving us $375!!

I would still like to know how to complain in writing to CARNIVAL. Anyone have an address I could use??

[BrendaB1]

Carnival Place

3655 NW 87 Avenue

Miami, FL 33178-2428 Phone 305-599-2200

 

Just a note: Writing to Carnival may take too long. I suggest calling & speaking to a supervisor. Yes, they are correct......call must be three way with your TA included. Good luck! I hope things work out for you.

[HeidiHo]

After reading this post, I read the fine print on my invoice from a local TA. Sure enough, there is a $25.00 cancellation fee per adult on 7 day cruises. I'm sure they would consider my teens as adults since they are booked in their own cabin so that would be $100.00.:eek: I meant to ask about this before I booked but in my excitement in booking, I forgot. I should have booked direct with Carnival as they were the same price. I booked with an online TA last time and was less than pleased so decided to try a local cruise only travel agency that has been around for years. It's not a small mom & pop agency either. They're pretty big. I'm already unhappy with their service. When I received my invoices in the mail, I saw they were charging me for the insurance even tho I had opted out (going to get it cheaper on my own). I called my TA but when she didn't call back by the next day, I called the billing dept. The person there said she'd take care of it and send new invoices. 2 days later I receive only 1 invoice with the insurance removed. I called billing again and she says she just forgot to mail the 2nd one. OK, no problem. I'm still waiting for that one but it's only been a couple of days. In the mean time, my TA STILL hasn't called me back. I hope this isn't a bad omen. I figured going with a large cruise only agency would be best because they are the experts, right?:confused: Well, we'll see in time I guess.

[Snowball]

It's not a matter of what we owe. but a matter of what she will give back to us!! She is giving us our money by way of our credit card. So instead of giving us the entire $500 that we paid her she is keeping $125 and just giving us $375!!

I would still like to know how to complain in writing to CARNIVAL. Anyone have an address I could use??

You should dispute the $100 difference with your credit card company. There is no way that they can arbitrarily charge you more than the cancellation charge that is listed on your invoice.