Wife can't go

[ShdwKnght]

My wife is in the US Army. After waiting over a month, she found out today that her leave for our upcoming cruise next month is not approved. It's way too late to cancel, so my son and I are still going. We paid for 3, with my wife and I being listed as passengers 1 & 2 and my son as 3. So even if we tried to cancel her, I am sure they would try to make my son and I pay more for the double rate, so we would end up losing money. So I guess it would just be better if she is a no-show.

 

My question is, the special rate we got includes $40/p/d OBC for the first 2 passengers in the room. Would her not showing up affect that, or is it just for the 2 people in the room?

[Eileenfa1]

I'm thinking since she's in military-they might treat your issue different. Since it's not her fault the government wouldn't let her off your rate might still be the same. I could be wrong.

[stressedmomof3]

By chance did you guys buy any travel insurance? Carnival's trip insurance will only cover being called to deploy for disasters, etc... but some of the trip insurances on that .com site offer active duty members 100% refund for the service member and any traveling companions if they are called for deployment or if their commanding officer will not grant leave. (Need to read the fine print) In which they would need to send supporting documentation from the CO or have the leave denial form.

 

As per just calling Carnival,you may get lucky and speak to a supervisor to help, but with their policy they do not have to in the service agreement.

 

Other than that if it's too late, best to just have a no show or see if you can change the 3rd person to grandma???. For the OBC, it will be on your sign and sail account when you board. Just let the registration people know that your wife should be checking in later that day;)

 

I know how it can be to have crappy CO's who do not approve leave or revoke it right before a vacation-our family has lived through a couple in our younger years...

[cb at sea]

I don't see why it would cost more...the 3rd passenger is usually an extra cost...I'd call and cancel her....it should be less than for 3. The 1st 2 people pay the going rate...doesn't matter if it's a kid or adult.

Edited October 20, 2015 by cb at sea

[lazydayz]

I would call Carnival. There is no commitment on your part, just ask what the new total would be if your wife cancelled. If you don't like the answer, don't cancel her. At that point, she could just be a no show. And no shows do get taxes and port charges refunded. Been there, done that, unfortunately.

[Budget Queen]

I'm thinking since she's in military-they might treat your issue different. Since it's not her fault the government wouldn't let her off your rate might still be the same. I could be wrong.

 

However, this does not sound like the military, have done a short notice denial. it doesn't sound like anything was approved to begin with, with the booking made- "hoping" she would be able to go?

[Budget Queen]

My wife is in the US Army. After waiting over a month, she found out today that her leave for our upcoming cruise next month is not approved. It's way too late to cancel, so my son and I are still going. We paid for 3, with my wife and I being listed as passengers 1 & 2 and my son as 3. So even if we tried to cancel her, I am sure they would try to make my son and I pay more for the double rate, so we would end up losing money. So I guess it would just be better if she is a no-show.

 

My question is, the special rate we got includes $40/p/d OBC for the first 2 passengers in the room. Would her not showing up affect that, or is it just for the 2 people in the room?

 

No, only the people who check in are credited with obc's, is this a military rate that you booked? And is she the only one who qualifies? That's another problem.

[ShdwKnght]

No, only the people who check in are credited with obc's, is this a military rate that you booked? And is she the only one who qualifies? That's another problem.

 

I was wrong about the special. It was $20/person (max $40) OBC. The OBC would be the same for 2 people as it was for 3. It was a little more than the military rate, but with the OBC we came out better. So, no, we didn't book military rate.

 

She had put in for her leave when this special came up. We did book before her leave was approved, but in between then and now, her company was put on stand-by deployment. She was told since she put in her leave request before that happened, it was possible she would still be approved. Yesterday, her company commander told her if she had put in for leave to go home, he probably would have approved it, but the cruise was just too far away since they are on stand-by. We are both disappointed, but as she said, it was the job she chose.

 

I'm not trying to get anything over on CCL, or trying to get anything we didn't pay for. I am willing to take the loss for the 3rd person, it is only 1/3 of the first 2 passengers, and I will get back the taxes fees and port expenses. I just don't want to lose the OBC, since there are still 2 of us in the cabin.

 

And Budget Queen, my wife is practically your neighbor.

[sunlover5]

Shwdknght...first and foremost thank your wife for her duty to our country and our freedom!

Our son in law is in the US Navy and I sympathize.....even if it was approved for your wife they can change it in an instance. Our son in law was not to be deployed for awhile but he is now gone till Christmas. So yes Budget Queen it does happen and in the military your call to duty can change in a second.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I hope your son and you have a wonderful cruise and again a BIG thank you to the sacrifices your wife and family make for us!

[Drazil65]

I'm thinking since she's in military-they might treat your issue different. Since it's not her fault the government wouldn't let her off your rate might still be the same. I could be wrong.

 

A job is a job and if you committed before getting final approval then you are SOL. Doesn't matter who your boss is and they should have waited BUT that is why you buy travel insurance.

 

OP: Travel Insurance????

[ShdwKnght]

I'm thinking since she's in military-they might treat your issue different. Since it's not her fault the government wouldn't let her off your rate might still be the same. I could be wrong.

 

A job is a job and if you committed before getting final approval then you are SOL. Doesn't matter who your boss is and they should have waited BUT that is why you buy travel insurance.

 

OP: Travel Insurance????

 

No, no travel insurance yet. When I booked the cruise, I paid cash and at the time, didn't have enough for insurance too. That is something I plan to get before we leave. I am more concerned about something happening during the trip than before.

 

Again, I am not trying to get anything back from Carnival, other than tax and fees. As long as my son can just slide into that second passenger position with no problem, I will take the loss of the 3rd passenger fee and count it as lesson learned. I will call my PVP today, and see what he tells me...a "what-if" scenario.

[thomarvin]

FYI for insurance we used travelguard in the past and under 18 was free. We paid $149 for the insurance for the 4 of us.

 

Not sure how old your son is but if he is older (teens) have you considered a name change for your wife and let your son bring a friend? That would be $50. If you are going to loose your money anyway it's an option.

 

Thanks to your wife for her service and to you too.

[e050377]

I'm pretty sure your PVP can move the positions of people in your cabin so you'd be 1, your son 2, your wife 3. Ours did that for us moving people between 2 rooms and adding my mom in law as the 3rd in a room with my children listed as 1 and 2. Hope everything works out for you

[k2excursion]

Should not be any problem at all. Son will become the new 2nd person in the cabin, and he will get the other half of the OBC. The 3rd person rate is much less than the 1st/2nd persons, so any refund percentage would be off of the lower 3rd person rate. There will not be any extra charge in your case, so no financial reason to do a no-show. The current rate for your cruise may be higher than what you had booked, but they will not change you to the current higher rate.

 

One other thing to consider. You are currently 3 people in a room, so your room holds at least 3. When you go down to 2, it is possible that they might bump you to a 2-person room. It's more likely to happen if it's a high demand sailing, such as over Thanksgiving. If you really like your room and don't want to risk losing it, then you might consider the no-show, especially if the refund would be pretty small. The taxes would still get refunded on a no-show. If you decide to go this route, then have them move son up to guest #2 & wife to guest #3, just to make sure with the OBC issue. If your room location isn't an issue, then you could also pick out a good 2-person room to switch to that is within your same category. That way, you could still cancel & get some money back.

[loxley]

OP, you need to cancel your wife if you are not in 100% penalty yet.

 

That is all you need to do. Your son will automatically become pax number 2.

 

Your obc will not be affected.

 

I don't know why people want to make it hard.

 

You may be moved to a two person room, but nothing more will change.

 

Even though your wife is listed as second person, any refund you may get will not be from the second person rate, it will be the third person rate.

 

Canceling a person, no matter what order they are listed on paper, from a three person room is a lot different than canceling a person from a two person room.

 

When it us three, TWO people are still booked in the room.

 

If there are only two, the person left becomes a solo cruiser and solo supplement will need to be paid.

 

That does not come into play here. Go ahead and cancel her and get any refund available. If no refund is available, you can still cancel her unless you just love your room and want to hold on to it and would rather lose any refund you may have coming.

 

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[ShdwKnght]

Should not be any problem at all. Son will become the new 2nd person in the cabin, and he will get the other half of the OBC. The 3rd person rate is much less than the 1st/2nd persons, so any refund percentage would be off of the lower 3rd person rate. There will not be any extra charge in your case, so no financial reason to do a no-show. The current rate for your cruise may be higher than what you had booked, but they will not change you to the current higher rate.

 

One other thing to consider. You are currently 3 people in a room, so your room holds at least 3. When you go down to 2, it is possible that they might bump you to a 2-person room. It's more likely to happen if it's a high demand sailing, such as over Thanksgiving. If you really like your room and don't want to risk losing it, then you might consider the no-show, especially if the refund would be pretty small. The taxes would still get refunded on a no-show. If you decide to go this route, then have them move son up to guest #2 & wife to guest #3, just to make sure with the OBC issue. If your room location isn't an issue, then you could also pick out a good 2-person room to switch to that is within your same category. That way, you could still cancel & get some money back.

 

 

I spoke to my PVP yesterday, and he pretty much told me the same thing as far as cancelling my wife. My son will become passenger 2 and we will be cancelling passenger 3. He also told me to get him a copy of the denial letter and he will turn it in and try to get a refund or credit for passenger 3.

 

As far as changing rooms, he did not mention that. But since I paid extra to choose my room, they would not give me a lower room would they?

[E&B]

I think when you choose a guarantee, it's just a guarantee of that type of cabin (inside, ov, balcony) and they could put you anywhere on the ship within that type. But, if you chose your cabin you are guaranteed a specific class (8C balcony, 4F inside etc) so they could move you to a two person in that same rate category. Not sure though. Maybe someone else knows for sure.

[Havingfun2010]

I'm thinking since she's in military-they might treat your issue different. Since it's not her fault the government wouldn't let her off your rate might still be the same. I could be wrong.

 

A job is a job and if you committed before getting final approval then you are SOL. Doesn't matter who your boss is and they should have waited BUT that is why you buy travel insurance.

 

OP: Travel Insurance????

 

A job is not always a job. The military, you are 24/7 and can you name another job that is 24/7? (besides being a parent). Approved leave is never a done deal in the military. If the leave was approved before the standby notice, the leave would be revoked. The leave could be revoked the same day you are packing. It is extremely difficult to plan a prepaid vacation while in the military. Cruise companies have a separate set of rules for the military, and the poster should check with Carnival. More than likely the fact that the poster is on standby they would have orders to show it, Carnival or any cruise line would be more likely to honor a change.

 

Call Carnival and have your orders available.

[rlkubi]

Thank your wife for her service!

[hirent]

A job is not always a job. The military, you are 24/7 and can you name another job that is 24/7? (besides being a parent). Approved leave is never a done deal in the military.

 

There are plenty of jobs that are 24/7.

Off the top of my head, I would say a doctor's job is always 24/7; even when they might not be on call.

I work in academic R&D and we are familiar with plenty of academic and industry jobs which are 24/7.

The difference is, a military job commands more respect due to the sacrifices and the level of work & duty demanded from them.

Hopefully, OP should not have any problems cancelling his wife from the booking.

Edited October 21, 2015 by hirent

[Havingfun2010]

There are plenty of jobs that are 24/7.

Off the top of my head, I would say a doctor's job is always 24/7; even when they might not be on call.

 

Taking a phone call would not be considered working 24/7 while sitting at home, watching tv as opposed to sitting in a foxhole, with you rifle at the ready the same. My son works up to 10 days at a time, in a training environment where he stays outside, eats/sleeps/works and will not have a real shower.

 

I work in academic R&D and we are familiar with plenty of academic and industry jobs which are 24/7.

 

People sometimes work many hours, but they still do not officially work 24/7. They are also not under a command chain that requires certain items 24/7/365

 

The difference is, a military job commands more respect due to the sacrifices and the level of work & duty demanded from them.

Hopefully, OP should not have any problems cancelling his wife from the booking.

 

The term 24/7 means you are on constant duty 24/7 without an option of taking a break. Being placed on standby restricts you to only your local area and being ready at a moments notice to pack and deploy.

[Who Cares?]

There are plenty of jobs that are 24/7.

Off the top of my head, I would say a doctor's job is always 24/7; even when they might not be on call.

I work in academic R&D and we are familiar with plenty of academic and industry jobs which are 24/7.

The difference is, a military job commands more respect due to the sacrifices and the level of work & duty demanded from them.

Hopefully, OP should not have any problems cancelling his wife from the booking.

 

One big difference. You can quit/leave a regular job (24/7 or not) but you cannot do the same with the military.

[Budget Queen]

A job is not always a job. The military, you are 24/7 and can you name another job that is 24/7? (besides being a parent). Approved leave is never a done deal in the military. If the leave was approved before the standby notice, the leave would be revoked. The leave could be revoked the same day you are packing. It is extremely difficult to plan a prepaid vacation while in the military. Cruise companies have a separate set of rules for the military, and the poster should check with Carnival. More than likely the fact that the poster is on standby they would have orders to show it, Carnival or any cruise line would be more likely to honor a change.

 

Call Carnival and have your orders available.

 

Not to make light of a difficult job- BUT- this is a whole different story- they did NOT have any approval to begin with.

[ShdwKnght]

Not to make light of a difficult job- BUT- this is a whole different story- they did NOT have any approval to begin with.

 

 

You are correct. She did not have approval for leave at the time. But when she put in for her leave, we did not know that in less than a month her company would be put in stand-by deployment. My son and I also had to put in for our vacation days. We also needed to go ahead and book the cruise since there was just under 2 months left until the dates we had planned and with the deal that was offered at the time. I guess it was a good thing we did because it seems this cruise is sold out now.

 

And wouldn't it have been a shame if we had all gotten the time off, but no cruise to go on?

 

PS. It seems this story is not quite over yet. She told me this morning to not cancel her ticket yet because her leave is back up for review.

[E&B]

I don't understand why everyone is giving this family flack for booking the trip before she put in for leave. In my opinion, military should be afforded benefits the rest of us wouldn't get. Including anytime cancellation etc. They sacrifice so much on a daily basis for the rest of us.