Shame on Carnival...or normal business practice?

[smokester]

We sail this Sat on the Sunshine. Have friends that wanted to sail,also but had to wait to book. Called 2 weeks ago, no availablity. They put down a $300 pp , 3 people, to be put on a waitlist. So far, no calls from Carnival. Last week , on the website, a cabin showed available so our friends tried to book onine & it would not allow them to book . They called Carnival said computer error & reassured them that they were 1st on the waiting list. Well yesterday several cabins, inside & Oceanview showed available. They were able to book a cabin. They were so excited for a very short period. After an email & a phone call to Carnival they were told that they really did not have a cabin-just put themselves on a waiting list again, only Carnival got full payment this time. Carnival open cabins in expectation that people will cancel so they are assured all cabins are sold. I know had I booked online, received a cabin number, input all my information and input my credit card number I would think I was sailing this Sat. Really seems like bad business to me.

[bigdog1958]

We sail this Sat on the Sunshine. Have friends that wanted to sail,also but had to wait to book. Called 2 weeks ago, no availablity. They put down a $300 pp , 3 people, to be put on a waitlist. So far, no calls from Carnival. Last week , on the website, a cabin showed available so our friends tried to book onine & it would not allow them to book . They called Carnival said computer error & reassured them that they were 1st on the waiting list. Well yesterday several cabins, inside & Oceanview showed available. They were able to book a cabin. They were so excited for a very short period. After an email & a phone call to Carnival they were told that they really did not have a cabin-just put themselves on a waiting list again, only Carnival got full payment this time. Carnival open cabins in expectation that people will cancel so they are assured all cabins are sold. I know had I booked online, received a cabin number, input all my information and input my credit card number I would think I was sailing this Sat. Really seems like bad business to me.

 

Am I missing something here.. Your friends booked, paid in full and received their cabin number, but carnival says they are still just on a waiting list? How could they have a cabin number if the cabin is sold to someone else.. I do not understand how they could have a cabin number that is booked under someone else for this cruise.

[riffatsea]

Hi,

It sounds very strange that people would give full payment before getting a cabin??? It even sounds strange that they would pay money to be on a waiting list?

I agree that if they have a cabin number how can they be on a wait list?? It all sounds very weird and not normal business at all!

Are you sure they were using the actual Carnival web site??

[smokester]

Yep sad thing is, what if my friends didn't read their email and just showed up in PC? 7 hour drive from home? How many others booked thinking they have a cabin? Looked this morning and a few cabins, including,the one they booked still showing available.

[Tapi]

Did your friends put a deposit for a wait list and then separately booked a cabin when they saw it open up online? There may be two separate booking numbers and the agent that they last spoke to only pulled up the wait listed booking. Have your friends contact a Carnival rep and pull up both booking numbers. They may still have a confirmed booking in which case the wait listed one needs to be canceled and refunded.

[smokester]

Hi,

It sounds very strange that people would give full payment before getting a cabin??? It even sounds strange that they would pay money to be on a waiting list?

I agree that if they have a cabin number how can they be on a wait list?? It all sounds very weird and not normal business at all!

Are you sure they were using the actual Carnival web site??

 

Yep Carnival website. They paid online, like if you do a mock booking but they BOOKED instead of backing out. Did a mock booking this morning, cabins still available but Carnival says ship is sold out & they are expecting people to cancel this week. Maybe people normally cancel week of cruise and this is normal practice??? :confused:

[riffatsea]

I would definitely call back and speak to someone else.

Check what Tapi said and/or ask for the tech department because it is a web site issue.

I have found the tech department to be quite helpful!

I would not just wait around after paying money.

[smokester]

Did your friends put a deposit for a wait list and then separately booked a cabin when they saw it open up online? There may be two separate booking numbers and the agent that they last spoke to only pulled up the wait listed booking. Have your friends contact a Carnival rep and pull up both booking numbers. They may still have a confirmed booking in which case the wait listed one needs to be canceled and refunded.

 

Yes they did . After they booked online, they received an email stating that they really didn't have a cabin, only put on a waitlist for a cabin. They immediately called Carnival & were told that they now had 2 numbers on the waitlist. Carnival removed the latest one, the online one. Carnival told them it is normal practice to show availability on the website even tho the cruise is sold out because they expect people to cancel and this way Carnival sails with a full ship because people are on a waitlist. I will never ever book online always call

[sarmat1]

Yes they did . After they booked online, they received an email stating that they really didn't have a cabin, only put on a waitlist for a cabin. They immediately called Carnival & were told that they now had 2 numbers on the waitlist. Carnival removed the latest one, the online one. Carnival told them it is normal practice to show availability on the website even tho the cruise is sold out because they expect people to cancel and this way Carnival sails with a full ship because people are on a waitlist. I will never ever book online always call

 

What you're stating just doesn't make sense. If they paid in full and have a cabin number, they're on the ship. When Carnival sells out a sailing, they remove that sailing completely from their website. The sailing shows back up if there is a cancellation. Happened on each of the last 3 cruises we were on. Either your friends are booked on the ship or they're misunderstanding something.

Edited October 6, 2015 by sarmat1

[smokester]

I promise this has happened. I don't understand either why they do t have a cabin They spoke with 3 different Carnival reps. This is legit and has made them so upset and frustrated. They are not first time cruisers and have sailed carnival several times including this past July. This sucks for them unless someone cancels between now and sat with a room for 3 then all will be smooth sailing.

[stargate fan]

Is this something new? I've never heard of putting down a deposit to be on a waiting list for a potential cabin.

[PCHENG]

This story doesn't make sense at all, a cruise reservation is not like hotel or car rental in which last minute cancellations (or no shows) are routine occurrence. If you are within a week of sailing, the cruise would have long been paid in full, so the odds of someone cancelling is slim except for sudden emergencies. Even if someone did cancel, the ship is still deemed to be sailing full because Carnival already sold the cabin and got the money.

 

The last thing Carnival wants is bad PR brought about by people being stranded at the dock. Unless I see a scan of the letter from Carnival, I have to question your friend's story.

Edited October 6, 2015 by PCHENG

[winddawn]

I have never heard of this either in my 20 years of cruising Carnival. If they booked online, they should also have received a booking number which means they can go online and do their online check-in to receive their boarding pass.

 

Have they attempted to add the booking to their online profile and check in for the cruise?

[RuthlessBoss]

Was the cabin number for 2 or 3? Did you check? I'm wondering if that's the problem.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I believe Carnival is expecting more cancellations than usual because of the flooding in South Carolina. When Hurricane Sandy devastated the northeast, I was able to book a weekend cruise on Majesty of the Seas for $99 because of the last minute cancellations by people from NJ. I think Carnival is trying to get those cabins booked now, before they have to greatly reduce prices to fill them.

[StolidCruiser]

Nothing in this post makes any sense.

 

1st - Paying a deposit to be waitlisted? Never heard of it before.

 

2nd - Booking online, getting a cabin assignment, paying in full... then being emailed to be told "Fooled You!"? Never heard of it before.

 

3rd - Getting all of this third hand from someone who guarantees it has happened.... to their friend.

 

There are far too many goofy claims within the story to know exactly what the true problem is. Therefore, there is no real way to determine if it shameful or normal.

[Elaine5715]

Open cabins do not mean there's room on the ship. If there's already people to lifeboat capacity reached because of crew numbers and 3/4 people in stateroom, there will be unoccupied cabins but the ship is full because lifeboat capacity is reached.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

so they paid $300 to be on a waitlist then booked online paying in full with a cabin number only to get an email stating you are on a waitlist?

 

1 + 1 = 3.:confused:

 

Bill

[smokester]

3rd party info..yes do I think my friends are lying..no. They talked to 3 different Carnival reps about this because they couldn't believe it either. When she booked online it gave her a booking number, took all her info, cc #. When she received the email back from Carnival it stated this was a booking reservation only. One rep apologized said she was the fourth person he had spoken with that had booked that same cabin. It's a sad but true story. Have also NEVER heard such BS in my years of dealing with Carnival BUT I have never booked online within the week of sailing date either

[guxu]

When the ship was sold out, it would be just off their web site. How could they pay deposit to be on the waitlist? I really want to know how so I can try my luck on a Christmas sailing that is full now.

[smokester]

so they paid $300 to be on a waitlist then booked online paying in full with a cabin number only to get an email stating you are on a waitlist?

 

1 + 1 = 3.:confused:

 

Bill

 

Yes they went ahead and booked it online when they saw a cabin was available thinking maybe Carnival forgot to call them since it was showing available cabins on the website. They did not want to lose the cabin so they booked it & was gonna call Carnival afterwards to take themselves off the wait list.

[smokester]

There is another thread on here I started where several people have put various amounts down pp to be on a wait list. They called and asked and were put on one

[mrpayroll]

so they paid $300 to be on a waitlist then booked online paying in full with a cabin number only to get an email stating you are on a waitlist?

 

1 + 1 = 3.:confused:

 

Bill

 

I agree. Sounds like new common core math.

[pretzellover]

Wait list deposit does happen. My daughter had a friend that decided to go with us 2 weeks before our cruise. It was sold out but they put us on a wait list with a paid deposit. We saw an inside cabin open up online and called to get it but it was not available. Strangely, another cabin was but it was a higher category. Carnival worked with us and got us that cabin for the 1 A price since it said available online. We had to be persistent and go up the chain though.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited October 6, 2015 by pretzellover

[NCTribeFan]

Yet another example of why having a good PVP is helpful. Could I book online (since when I call him I already have the screen open and know exactly the cabin I want and what it's going to cost)?

 

Yep. But I call him anyway. And if there were to be ANY issue, I could call and get a "real" response quickly.

 

My upcoming cruise has been sold out for a while and it was not showing up anywhere last week. It's now back, with a few insides showing.

 

I'm guessing it's a capacity issue. Perhaps the cabin is one that holds 3 or 4 and Carnival won't truly make it available until they see if that number of people want/need it.

 

Have you looked at the deck plans to see what this particular cabin holds?