Need serious help changing a room

[Savlamara]

I have a question, that I need the experts advice on. SOrry so long and drawn out...

 

We booked 2 cabins on a Carnival cruise guaranteed rate about 30 days out from sail date (yes, I KNOW). We got our room assignments this week and we are about 5-6 decks apart! Now although we did expect to be separated, we thought that since the reservations for both rooms were linked AND paid for by the same person and credit card we thought we would at LEAST be on the same floor. We have some issues consisting of an injured passenger, an elderly passenger (over 65), and a small child under age 2. The elderly is not the same as the handicapped person for reference. One cabin has 3 passengers and one cabin has 2.

 

I called the PVP to see if I can be added to a list of people willing to upgrade when we get closer to sail date. Cause if ONE cabins can get on another floor closer to the other it would at least be helpful with the challenges we are dealing with. But my PVP was so negative, even kept interrupting what I was saying and basically said she "doesnt see it happening because the ship is totally sold out" and "dont get your hopes up." What? I log in and do a few dummy bookings and I see at LEAST 15-20 rooms in the room categories we have chosen, we are now a little over 2 weeks out so i would assume they would want the rooms filled at higher rate then sitting empty? She gave nothing else as an option. And honestly hasnt done anything in the years I've booked with her that I couldnt do for myself online. She has never gone above and beyond, nothing. Even when we booked our honeymoon cruise with her previously, not even a congratulations note, so I dont see their purpose. I am ready to change to someone who can at least have a positive outlook.

 

All of this to say.. Is there an upgrade or change dept to call? DO I call another PVP? Especially with a member of our party handicapped and has a handicap permit on their car (they are not in a wheelchair though). This is a family vacation and being 6 floors apart is really not only inconvenient, its going to basically RUIN our entire trip with the challenges we are dealing with. We booked guarantee actually EXPECTING to have both cabins on the bottom so we could be close!!! I'm not looking for a free upgrade. We even asked to have the higher floor moved down to 2 and even though there are currently 7 rooms on the 2nd floor, my PVP said she couldnt book it because the room would only have 2 people and those are 3 and 4 person cabins. Keep in mind when I do a dummy booking for 2 pax every single one of those 3/4 person cabins come up as available to book for just 2! Whats the purpose of working with a PVP if they cant help you when you have challenges like this?!?

 

Another piece of information, we are NOT new cruisers, we've cruised with Carnival multiple times before, and with NCL and RCCL as well. I'm a long time member first registered in 2009, but couldnt change my name so yesterday I created a brand new account. I have seen many people changed all over the place but it seems they obviously have PVPs assigned to them that are actually willing to help. I need to know what our options are so our trip isnt a total waste. Changing the cruise date isnt feasible because all the airfares to port have already been purchased and vacation time at work scheduled at well.

 

I'd appreciate helpful responses. We know we took a risk with the guaranteed room so repeating that or saying we should have paid to pick rooms is not necessary. Anyone have any insight on what we can do or who to go to??

Edited July 16, 2014 by aeshaunua

[Mary Ellen1]

Have you tried calling someone else (not your PVP) and seeing what answer you get? (Although, in my experience, they've cracked down on allowing you to switch Guarantee cabins after they've been assigned).

 

Good luck. :)

[JohnSpo]

I have had Guanantee Cabins reassigned without an issue.

 

What you could do is find the exact cabins you would like that you see are available. Then call Carnival Customer Service (Not a PVP) for the change. If you save them the task of looking for the cabins then perhaps they may help you. That has usually worked for me. If it doesn't work then you will have to call back multiple times until you get an agent to change it. Good luck.

[stargate fan]

I have a question, that I need the experts advice on. SOrry so long and drawn out...

 

We booked 2 cabins on a Carnival cruise guaranteed rate about 30 days out from sail date (yes, I KNOW). We got our room assignments this week and we are about 5-6 decks apart! Now although we did expect to be separated, we thought that since the reservations for both rooms were linked AND paid for by the same person and credit card we thought we would at LEAST be on the same floor. We have some issues consisting of an injured passenger, an elderly passenger (over 65), and a small child under age 2. The elderly is not the same as the handicapped person for reference. One cabin has 3 passengers and one cabin has 2.

 

I called the PVP to see if I can be added to a list of people willing to upgrade when we get closer to sail date. Cause if ONE cabins can get on another floor closer to the other it would at least be helpful with the challenges we are dealing with. But my PVP was so negative, even kept interrupting what I was saying and basically said she "doesnt see it happening because the ship is totally sold out" and "dont get your hopes up." What? I log in and do a few dummy bookings and I see at LEAST 15-20 rooms in the room categories we have chosen, we are now a little over 2 weeks out so i would assume they would want the rooms filled at higher rate then sitting empty? She gave nothing else as an option. And honestly hasnt done anything in the years I've booked with her that I couldnt do for myself online. She has never gone above and beyond, nothing. Even when we booked our honeymoon cruise with her previously, not even a congratulations note, so I dont see their purpose. I am ready to change to someone who can at least have a positive outlook.

 

All of this to say.. Is there an upgrade or change dept to call? DO I call another PVP? Especially with a member of our party handicapped and has a handicap permit on their car (they are not in a wheelchair though). This is a family vacation and being 6 floors apart is really not only inconvenient, its going to basically RUIN our entire trip with the challenges we are dealing with. We booked guarantee actually EXPECTING to have both cabins on the bottom so we could be close!!! I'm not looking for a free upgrade. We even asked to have the higher floor moved down to 2 and even though there are currently 7 rooms on the 2nd floor, my PVP said she couldnt book it because the room would only have 2 people and those are 3 and 4 person cabins. Keep in mind when I do a dummy booking for 2 pax every single one of those 3/4 person cabins come up as available to book for just 2! Whats the purpose of working with a PVP if they cant help you when you have challenges like this?!?

 

Another piece of information, we are NOT new cruisers, we've cruised with Carnival multiple times before, and with NCL and RCCL as well. I'm a long time member first registered in 2009, but couldnt change my name so yesterday I created a brand new account. I have seen many people changed all over the place but it seems they obviously have PVPs assigned to them that are actually willing to help. I need to know what our options are so our trip isnt a total waste. Changing the cruise date isnt feasible because all the airfares to port have already been purchased and vacation time at work scheduled at well.

 

I'd appreciate helpful responses. We know we took a risk with the guaranteed room so repeating that or saying we should have paid to pick rooms is not necessary. Anyone have any insight on what we can do or who to go to??

 

I wonder if contacting the Special Needs dept. might be helpful. A different PVP is definitely in order.

 

Good luck.

[Badfinger]

I would call another or call back. Forget all the handicap, senior, two year old blather... That is just background noise to them. Just ask them what can be done to get your two cabins together or at least on the same deck. Period.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Badfinger

[SadieN]

Now you know why booking a guarantee (to save money) is never a good idea if you have any special needs to be met.

[bury me at sea]

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but I believe that they will hold cabins that accommodate 3 or 4 people hoping to fill them with 3 or 4 people. More money for them.

[FlaMilkman]

Unfortunately this is the risk that you ran by saving a couple of dollars booking guarantee cabins. Same argument with those that do not purchase insurance and then have an issue. If Carnival doesn't enforce their policies than what is the point of having them in the first place???

 

One piece of advice would be to go on to a website like ************ and try to make a dummy reservation. This will tell you if, and where, cabins are still available on the ship (if any). Then you can try and call another PVP. There isn't any ethical obligation for Carnival to help you as you knew, and ignored, the risks of booking a guarantee cabin. If the ship truly is sold out than, unfortunately, you are out of luck.

 

In the future, try using an established TA. They have access to all of Carnival's rate codes and might be able to find you a lower rate to start with at the time of booking. In addition, the better ones will keep track of your reservations and let you know of any price decreases through the time of final payment. Hopefully by doing so the amount of money between a regular cabin and a guarantee is minimal.

 

Good luck.

[Morgsmom]

Now you know why booking a guarantee (to save money) is never a good idea if you have any special needs to be met.

 

I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but I believe that they will hold cabins that accommodate 3 or 4 people hoping to fill them with 3 or 4 people. More money for them.

 

Yes on the first - even if reservations are linked they are under no obligation to keep cabins near each other. That is 100% the chance you take and agreed to when booking it that way (Yes, I know, it stinks, but it was the terms & conditions).

 

And on #2 - Any cruiseline is in the business to maximize revenue. They do not want to fill a cabin that can hold 3 or 4 with 2 and will only do that with last minute guarantees.

[cruizinisthebest]

It's a guaranteed booking. Nothing saying they will be together although I would think they might have tried. I know other posters on here that had several cabins booked under a guarantee and got a row of rooms together. I would just call back and see if there was a way to be put on the same floor or at least closer than 5/6 decks apart. Don't start picking out specific rooms. If you were going to do that, you wouldn't have booked a guarantee to begin with. Good luck.

[cruizinisthebest]

I wonder if contacting the Special Needs dept. might be helpful. A different PVP is definitely in order.

 

Good luck.

 

What's the special need?

[pbsteve]

What's the special need?

 

Special needs is a dept for any special needs you have, kosher, vegan, lactose intolerant, special medications needed, and of course, getting those who need them, the cabins built for wheelchairs, and or disabled. Call let them know you have a need for one. If there is one that is not already reserved by special needs they will hand it over to you, even if that means giving whoever is in there already the boot to another cabin.

[cruizinisthebest]

Lol. I know what the department is. I'm asking what is the special need that the OP has based on the OP.

 

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[HawksFan74]

This is a family vacation and being 6 floors apart is really not only inconvenient, its going to basically RUIN our entire trip with the challenges we are dealing with.

If it were me, and there was a chance my vacation would be ruined, I would have picked my own cabins.

[loxley]

If it were me, and there was a chance my vacation would be ruined, I would have picked my own cabins.

 

No kidding.

 

I don't see what the problem even is. The rooms are however far apart they are with a short elevator ride in the middle.

 

 

OP set this problem up for themselves. No wonder carnival has stopped allowing room changes.

 

Only advice I can give is for the op to pay to upgrade to what will not ruin their cruise.

[winddawn]

I have a question, that I need the experts advice on. SOrry so long and drawn out...

 

We booked 2 cabins on a Carnival cruise guaranteed rate about 30 days out from sail date (yes, I KNOW). We got our room assignments this week and we are about 5-6 decks apart! Now although we did expect to be separated, we thought that since the reservations for both rooms were linked AND paid for by the same person and credit card we thought we would at LEAST be on the same floor. We have some issues consisting of an injured passenger, an elderly passenger (over 65), and a small child under age 2. The elderly is not the same as the handicapped person for reference. One cabin has 3 passengers and one cabin has 2.

 

I called the PVP to see if I can be added to a list of people willing to upgrade when we get closer to sail date. Cause if ONE cabins can get on another floor closer to the other it would at least be helpful with the challenges we are dealing with. But my PVP was so negative, even kept interrupting what I was saying and basically said she "doesnt see it happening because the ship is totally sold out" and "dont get your hopes up." What? I log in and do a few dummy bookings and I see at LEAST 15-20 rooms in the room categories we have chosen, we are now a little over 2 weeks out so i would assume they would want the rooms filled at higher rate then sitting empty? She gave nothing else as an option. And honestly hasnt done anything in the years I've booked with her that I couldnt do for myself online. She has never gone above and beyond, nothing. Even when we booked our honeymoon cruise with her previously, not even a congratulations note, so I dont see their purpose. I am ready to change to someone who can at least have a positive outlook.

 

All of this to say.. Is there an upgrade or change dept to call? DO I call another PVP? Especially with a member of our party handicapped and has a handicap permit on their car (they are not in a wheelchair though). This is a family vacation and being 6 floors apart is really not only inconvenient, its going to basically RUIN our entire trip with the challenges we are dealing with. We booked guarantee actually EXPECTING to have both cabins on the bottom so we could be close!!! I'm not looking for a free upgrade. We even asked to have the higher floor moved down to 2 and even though there are currently 7 rooms on the 2nd floor, my PVP said she couldnt book it because the room would only have 2 people and those are 3 and 4 person cabins. Keep in mind when I do a dummy booking for 2 pax every single one of those 3/4 person cabins come up as available to book for just 2! Whats the purpose of working with a PVP if they cant help you when you have challenges like this?!?

 

Another piece of information, we are NOT new cruisers, we've cruised with Carnival multiple times before, and with NCL and RCCL as well. I'm a long time member first registered in 2009, but couldnt change my name so yesterday I created a brand new account. I have seen many people changed all over the place but it seems they obviously have PVPs assigned to them that are actually willing to help. I need to know what our options are so our trip isnt a total waste. Changing the cruise date isnt feasible because all the airfares to port have already been purchased and vacation time at work scheduled at well.

 

I'd appreciate helpful responses. We know we took a risk with the guaranteed room so repeating that or saying we should have paid to pick rooms is not necessary. Anyone have any insight on what we can do or who to go to??

I'd call the 1-800-CARNIVAL number and ask them if there is anything you can do to get one cabin moved, like an upgrade of one cabin. I wouldn't go into details. Just be very courteous and ask.

 

Hope it works out well for you. Come back and let us know how it works out for you.

[sweetsixteencruisers]

If it were me, and there was a chance my vacation would be ruined, I would have picked my own cabins.

 

My thoughts as well.

[serene56]

Good luck with finding two cabins close together this late in the game.

 

the person you booked through should have tried to talk you out of saving money because MOST times cabins are not together

 

have you tried to find out how much it will cost to "buy" an upgrade to get both cabins on the same floor.?

Edited July 17, 2014 by serene56

[AdGuyMG]

..... We have some issues consisting of an injured passenger, an elderly passenger (over 65), and a small child under age 2. The elderly is not the same as the handicapped person for reference ....

and being 6 floors apart is really not only inconvenient, its going to basically RUIN our entire trip with the challenges we are dealing with.

 

Based on your passenger mix you should have been strongly discouraged by your PVP from booking 2 guarantees. If you did not heed her advice, this is on you.

 

If your current cabin location assignment isn't adequate, and it's going to ruin your trip, offer to pay the difference to move to one of the open cabins you see on your dummy bookings. It's only money.

[Donray]

OP are willing to pay for the privilege of changing cabins? If not, why did you book a gty?

[FlaMilkman]

OP are willing to pay for the privilege of changing cabins? If not, why did you book a gty?

 

 

"we thought that since the reservations for both rooms were linked AND paid for by the same person and credit card we thought we would at LEAST be on the same floor."

 

For the life of me I can never understand why someone would make this assumption at the risk of "completely ruining my vacation."

 

I don't intend on being mean but the OP rolled the dice and lost. I just ran a dummy reservation on Carnival's website for our upcoming Thanksgiving cruise. The difference between a balcony guarantee and a reserved cabin in our 8C category is $40 per person (and this is a very high priced cruise as it is over a major holiday plus I didn't call my TA to see if there are any residency discounts, etc.). I am, by no means, a wealthy person but I certainly will invest $80 to be able to select where on the ship I am located to avoid being directly under the Lido Deck (moving chairs early and late in the day), away from the central elevators (higher foot traffic outside my cabin 24/7), being directly above the main theater, etc. This is especially true if travelling with a group of people where we want to be close together.

 

I hope that the OP is able to work things out with Carnival. If not, I hope in the future that she does what I believe the vast majority of people booking do - don't leave things to chance on an expensive vacation. Or, if taking you are going to assume the risk, don't complain that Carnival isn't working with them after the fact.

[Savlamara]

Wow at these responses! :confused: Okay, I guess some of you care for an update...

 

I did end up changing PVPs. I picked a very nice one after searching online and reading CC forums, I saw a few PVPs that were highly recommended by multiple people. I figured if she couldnt help, her attitude and pleasantness was worth it for me to switch, I am definitely looking forward to working with her in the future! She started working her absolute darndest on my issue even though she didnt do the initial booking. At this point even if she cant find a way to help us, her customer service and positive attitude make her worth her weight in gold. So I am happy because the purpose of a PVP (to ME) is for the personal attention.

 

I'm sure it was overlooked, but I did indicate in my OP that my initial PVP was not very helpful, most times she offered nothing in the way of additional information or suggestions or deals that I couldnt see for myself online. In fact before booking this cruise I hadnt heard from her in a year. It wasnt until AFTER I had reserved that she actually scolded me for not calling her direct to book! When we did book and pay in full on the guarantee rate she made it seem like we would DEFINITELY all be at the bottom. She even went so far to say she doubts we would even get upgraded but its possible, but VERY rare. Which is why I felt safe booking 2 guaranteeds.

 

As for the negative Nancy’s, this is the internet (surprise!). You DON'T know everyone’s personal situation. For US, we could either cruise alone in the usual Balcony or Jr Suite we usually cruise in, or go the cheap route and have some of our family cruise with us to make it a family affair (in this case they happen to be elderly and needing assistance). The difference between guarantee and reserved rooms was over $100pp, all cruises are not the same. So since both rooms were being paid for by ONE person, and since we REALLY wanted the additional family members with us, it was cheap guaranteed rate or no cruise at all, and I guess stupid me, I chose guaranteed with family versus not cruising entirely. And since we have had a rough past few months with loss of jobs to health issues, we ALL needed a vacation. <facepalm> What was I thinking? The fact that so many took the time out of their “busy” lives to post the obvious that add absolutely nothing constructive to the conversation is appreciated. It must make some people feel so warm and toasty inside to tell a perfect stranger, who already saw the err of their ways in the original post, an indirect “I told you so.” I am sure you are such a joy to be with in real life. </sarcasm>

 

For the people who were empathetic, and offered alternatives THANK YOU for the helpful replies. I hope someone pays it forward to you a hundred fold.

 

At any rate, enjoy your cruises EVERYONE… Whether you be in a 1A or a Grand Suite! Rest assured regardless of this outcome, my family and I will definitely enjoy ours… Challenges and all... =)

Edited July 18, 2014 by aeshaunua

[cruizinisthebest]

Well at least you've resolved to enjoy your cruise regardless. You first said it would be ruined over the cabins not being together. I think some people thought that declaration (having booked a guarantee room) was a bit much. You're being optimistic now. In your initial post. ..not so much. Hence some of the replies you received.

 

Have a great time.

 

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[Mary Ellen1]

So you got a new PVP.

 

But did you get new cabins??? :D We're all dying to find out.

 

Thanks for the update. Regardless, have a great cruise. It's (usually) nice to cruise with family. :)

[Carnival_Brides]

I'm sure it was overlooked, but I did indicate in my OP that my initial PVP was not very helpful, most times she offered nothing in the way of additional information or suggestions or deals that I couldnt see for myself online. In fact before booking this cruise I hadnt heard from her in a year. It wasnt until AFTER I had reserved that she actually scolded me for not calling her direct to book! When we did book and pay in full on the guarantee rate she made it seem like we would DEFINITELY all be at the bottom. She even went so far to say she doubts we would even get upgraded but its possible, but VERY rare. Which is why I felt safe booking 2 guaranteeds.

 

PVPs only get credit for cabins that are booked with them. So if she put any kind of time into your booking and then you didn't book with her she'd be upset. Some PVPs do set up their clients with realistic expectations of GTYs (mine does) and tells me if I book x category I could end up at x part of the ship or in x kind of cabin.

 

I'm interested to hear the outcome. Happy cruising.