Air problems with Carnival

[CruiseGirl001]

Hello! This is my second cruise with Carnival, third cruise all-together. We are sailing the Carnival Valor on 4/10 and JUST received our flight information Friday from our TA.

 

Basically we do not have seat assignments on our return flight from Ft Lauderdale (port is in Miami) to Chicago, and while in Chicago we only have a 34 minute layover to catch our next flight. We also do not have seats together on our flight down to FL.

 

Has this happened to anyone? I'm worried about the flight from Ft Lauderdale to Chicago being overbooked and us missing our flight in Chicago....My TA says this is not normal and I am extremely frustrated.

 

WE cruised the Grand Princess on our honeymoon and everything went very smoothly.

 

Any advice or similar stories?

 

Many thanks in advance!

[Wennfred]

Since you already have your confirmation, flight times etc, I recommend calling the AirLine now to see if you can get your seats asap or also see if they have upgrades to First class.

 

We book directly with Carnival and never experienced this problem before, I wonder if the TA booked your air separately.

[jcanino]

Basically we do not have seat assignments on our return flight from Ft Lauderdale (port is in Miami) to Chicago, and while in Chicago we only have a 34 minute layover to catch our next flight. We also do not have seats together on our flight down to FL.

 

Has this happened to anyone? I'm worried about the flight from Ft Lauderdale to Chicago being overbooked and us missing our flight in Chicago....My TA says this is not normal and I am extremely frustrated.

 

I hate to say this but your TA is wrong. If you are travelling at peak times, by the time the cruise line booked your air tickets, there may not be seats that anyone except a gate agent at the airport can assign. This is a very common occurrence. If you are on the same airline in both directions, have the gate agent assign seats when you depart your home airport.

[CruiseGirl001]

Wennfred and JCanino -

Thank you both for your response. I will call the airline to check on seat assignments this week, and if that doesn't work, I will follow up when we depart.

 

Thanks so much again!

[twinkletoes4445]

Carnival booked our air, and once I found out what airlines (we were on two, one going and another coming home), I called the airlines directly and checked on seat assignments.

 

We had a weird thing happen to us...When we picked up our tickets from the TA, I noticed the departure airports (coming home) were wrong. I told the TA this, and she called Carnival. Carnival said they were right. I knew they were wrong since I had been checking on them (we traveled at Xmas) on a regular basis. When I got home, I called the airlines and sure enough, I was told the tickets were wrong.

 

The tickets had the right flight numbers, but the wrong departure city. They showed us leaving from Miami, when in fact, we were leaving out of FLL. You can't even imagine how irritated I would have been had the six of us made our way to the Miami airport, only to find out we should have been at the one in Ft L.

 

Carnival issued new tickets and they blamed the airline. The airline blamed Carnival. I don't know who made the mistake, but I was glad I caught it.

 

Make sure and double check all the info on your tickets, including flight numbers and departure city.

[TrentS]

More examples of why you NEVER let the cruise line book your flights, that's something you should ALWAYS do on your own.

[folashade]

In most instances unless you book quite early you are not going to be seated together. What you should do is exactly 24 hours before your flight if your airline offers it you should go online and checkin for your flight. This way you get your seat assignments. Also make sure your reservations together so when you check in you can choose seats near each other if possible.

 

As to the comment of the poster above this is more a case of why whether you or someone else books your flights YOU have to double check and confirm your flights

[CruiseGirl001]

Thank you to everyone! I went to the American Airlines Ticket Counter at our local airport today and was able to get the last two seats on our return flight!

 

I will definitely check online 24 hours prior to departure to get seats together!

 

Thanks again!

[Wennfred]

Most people when flying alone wont mind changing seats with you so that you can seat with your family member, just ask if they could change seats, if not, just grab them and yank them out of the seat LOL.

 

 

Good lucks

[Bsan1221]

I have very close friends who work for Carnival and I myself have booked airfare with them.

 

They tell you what days your flying out and airline but you on your own have to call the airline and confirm your seats

[folashade]

Most people when flying alone wont mind changing seats with you so that you can seat with your family member, just ask if they could change seats, if not, just grab them and yank them out of the seat LOL.

 

 

Good lucks

 

Don't count on it :) . If you have ever read the boards at flyertalk you can be assured that not everyone will change seats.

 

As long as you are changing like for like people don't mind ie

• window for window
  
• middle for middle
  
• aisle for aisle
  

For example I won't switch to a window, middle or rear of the plane seat. And if it is a bulkhead or exit row seat most people will not switch