refund? or credit voucher? or switching ships? We don't want this cruise

[ARcruisin2]

Hey cheer up, you are going on a cruise!

 

I just can't fathom giving up 1/2 the cost of a cruise.

 

Like a few others have said, call Carnival and ask to speak to a supervisor, explain that your TA is unresponsive and get switched to an OV or balcony room, for which you are willing to pay the difference. It probably goes without saying, but stay calm, speak nicely, but be insistent. You may have to keep asking to talk to someone farther up the until you get someone that can help you.

 

Also, I just want to say that I would not bash styxfire for not doing research - some people use a travel agent because either they do not have the time, patience or web skills to do it themselves. They are hiring someone to answer their questions and do the research for them. styxfire got a bad one. I would get out of my deal with them for the Europe trip first thing Monday morning.

[cruzelover55]

OP, don't let anyone make you feel bad. My middle name should be "research" and I messed up on my upcoming cruise. I booked TA once and was not happy with that, so always go through Carnival now. But, no matter what people say, Carnival WILL lie to you. We can only travel in Sept. due to husband's work schedule. Will only leave out of Galveston, since we live in Galveston and does not make sense to go to N.O. as same destinations are offered. We really don't care about the ports as have been to all, just love the ship life. I also only book early saver as one time had $900. obc when we boarded. Last time only $150., but it is fun to check everyday and then do the happy dance if the price drops. I wanted to go on the Breeze this time as would prefer not to go smaller than the Magic. I researched till I was cross eyed and then called Carnival. I had not researched the Freedom at all. I swear I don't know how it happened, I think the guy was a hypnotist. Before I knew it I was booked on the Freedom in a junior suite on the Lido deck. (we only book on the lido deck) Supposedly our dates we could cruise, not one balcony was available on the Breeze on the Lido. He assured me I would have a better chance of price drops due to the Breeze being newer and more popular than the Freedom. $750. for the deposit. Then as soon as I hung up, I thought am I really this stupid? How will there be any price drops when they only have 2 JS on the lido deck? I called right back as know it is the law you can change your mind on a purchase within 72 hours. Well, not with Carnival, my credit card company even said I could dispute the charge but in her time there had seen this come up with Carnival and you never win as of their fine print in the contract. I wanted to change to a balcony on the Lido and Carnival said NO down grades, I would lose $100. and my deposit kept towards a future cruise. I called again and decided to just suck it up and lose the $100., (actually $160. as now would have to buy FTTF as would not have priority boarding) I lucked out as the person I talked to this time talked to a manager and said I could make a one time courtesy change to a Lido balcony. Great, huh? Except I am still not on the ship I wanted to be on and now that I have researched the Freedom and read reviews on CC, I can tell this is not the ship for us. No ocean plaza with daytime karioke and according to other posters nothing really to do in the daytime till after 3 PM. BUT, I am going to stop with the negative and start finding things we will like to do and will definitely have a great cruise as we always have. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[kids-in-2-centuries]

I was on the Sunshine 8 day cruise over Christmas last year, 2014. While I cannot address any of your questions about canceling I can try to answer any question you have about cruising over Christmas, particularly on the Sunshine.

In short, I had a wonderful time. I thought all the crew went above and beyond, and there was definitely a more festive vibe. I saw many more cabin door decorations, we decorated a small tabletop tree in our cabin and strung battery operated lights everywhere. I stayed in an interior cabin on deck 6 with two other people and had plenty of room. There was some sort of holiday celebration most nights and various celebrations covered multiple religions. They did a wonderful and very special evening show on Christmas night. The food was spectacular and you absolutely cannot beat the CD Jaime D.

I would go again in a heartbeat :)

[styxfire]

What you paid for a SPA interior should certainly get you an Ocean view and with a little less a Balcony. AND while we don't use it........The Adults only Sanctuary is the prettiest one I have seen. They have a pool. A water fall. Lovely.

Why not that?

Concerns about space & lack of in-room seating... we weighed those options & decided having access to the Tha-pool was higher priority. Paid for the cruise.

 

As time went on and my health deteriorated, and I read more and more about the 4S cabins being smaller than advertised and having no furniture. My concern about sleeping arrangements for (3 elder adults) grew. Culminated in me requesting to pay for a upgrade to 8T this week. While waiting for T.A. to act on it, I accidentally stumbled across 1 tiny post in which a person mentioned the Cloud 9 spa on Carnival didn't have the normal Cloud 9 amenities. I previously had no reason to suspect that... just like you would have no reason to suspect that Guy's Burgers on Sunshine doesn't serve lettuce & ketchup, even though it does serve them on every other Carnival ship. One just assumes that "Guys Burgers" will automatically serve ketchup and lettuce since the Carnival website shows photos of ketchup & lettuce on the Guys Burgers website.

 

Everyone values amenities differently. And I've discovered some people won't share their cancellation stories unless they approve of WHY I want to cancel. But WHY I want to cancel has nothing to do with the question. The scale (pros vs cons) has shifted... I want to cancel.

 

I was confused about whether that results in a voucher, or OBC, or refund, or nothing at all. Through some helpful people here, I've explored the avenues and find that I can't do anything definitive until Monday at least.

 

We were on the Sunshine in June and are going back again for Christmas. I have read the Daily Schedules for the Christmas week.

Wow, we can view the Christmas activities ahead of time?

[styxfire]

Thanks for your comments, Kids-n-2. I have read other comments about Jamie D being good. I don't remember the names of any of my previous CD's, so if that many people remember her, then she must make it enjoyable.

[styxfire]

OP, don't let anyone make you feel bad. My middle name should be "research" and I messed up on my upcoming cruise....

 

...except I am still not on the ship I wanted to be on and now that I have researched the Freedom and read reviews on CC, I can tell this is not the ship for us. No ocean plaza with daytime karioke and according to other posters nothing really to do in the daytime till after 3 PM. BUT, I am going to stop with the negative and start finding things we will like to do and will definitely have a great cruise as we always have.

 

I hear ya! Thankyou cruzelover, I appreciate your post more than you know. Sometimes the perfect cruise is crystal clear. Other times it eludes us. This year I kept a spreadsheet of weekly price changes on ~30 departures, trying to outsmart the price-setters by guessing on cabin availability. All that work, and I still end up with a situation causing me worry. How the heck are people who don't have time to surf the WWW still finding good cruises? I wonder if the correct method is to quit researching so much.

 

If it makes you feel any better: "U.S. News & World Report" travel website says that Freedom is CCL's #2 ship. Whereas Breeze is far below, tied with several others for only #13.

Edited November 8, 2015 by styxfire

[styxfire]

[ATTACH]367760[/ATTACH]

 

I wasn't referring to your original post on this thread. 18 hours ago on another thread (see picture) you just realized that there was no t-pool. That was last night, not Tuesday. If that was so important to you that you'd cancel over it then you did not research what was important to you. It is not the TAs fault.

I feel better now that I know you won't blame my travel agent.

Edited November 8, 2015 by styxfire

[styxfire]

Hey cheer up, you are going on a cruise!

 

I just can't fathom giving up 1/2 the cost of a cruise.

Yah I know. I'm undecided. I still don't know if it's 50% forfeit, or 100% forfeit. (Carnival said it could be 100% depending on how the TA booked it.)

 

For what it's worth, I did find the toll-free # and the website for the agency who handled my booking. Their website says they're open 7 days a week, but obviously they aren't.

 

And for those of you who asked the agent's name, I don't think I should give it, but they were simply the low price on the website where TA's compete for bids, for the 2 cruises I was booking. And they were listed as the highest selling agent at that time. Perhaps a less-busy agent has more time to help :) I had some red flags during each booking, which I ignored because of low price quote.

[firemanbobswife]

I hope you get it figured out soon so you can stop stressing and get planning. What are you going to do if it's 50% penalty? 100% penalty? I think I would move to an OV room. There will at least be a sofa then for the 3 of you.

[styxfire]

...

Edited November 8, 2015 by styxfire

[cruizinisthebest]

I hope you get it straightened out too OP. We were on the Sunshine for 8 days back in August and thought it was a wonderful choice. So glad we decided on it. One glaring difference in the Sunshine ' s cloud 9 spa was no tpool. In my own rigorous research of the ship I learned that early on. There was no room for it basically and it is noted here and there on this board. But it didn't matter to me, so I booked it anyway.

 

Only you can decide if losing the 50% or more is worth it. Having been on the Sunshine I say you can have a wonderful time even with no tpool. Good luck.

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

[styxfire]

I have a carnival pvp and

I have his ext. I have been dealing with him for five years now and he

is great. I agree that when you just call carnival and talk to just anyone

you can get wrong answers. You need to find one and stick with that one

for every cruise you book.

What is a pvp?

[firemanbobswife]

What is a pvp?

 

Personal Vacation Planner. They work for Carnival. It's wonderful having a really good one! I call mine if I need anything and if he's not at the office, it gets forwarded to his cell phone. I have gotten a hold of him at night and weekends. One time he was out doing yard work and called me right back! I wish we could give out names on here, but it's against the rules :mad:

[Tapi]

Just my personal opinion, but here it goes: Don't cancel the cruise. Do try to change the cabin to at least an oceanview (for the extra space, sitting area, and large window). But if you are stuck with the spa stateroom, make the most of it. Enjoy the facilities and pair it up with a visit to the Serenity Area. I know that the hot tubs there are not quite like a thalassotherapy pool, but that, combined with the other amenities at the Cloud 9 spa should give you a fairly decent alternative.

 

I'm going to guess that once you find yourself onboard the ship, and the excitement about being on vacation kicks in, all the feelings of panic and devastation will subside and you will have a wonderful cruise. Of course, that will only happen if you allow it. [emoji4]

 

Whatever happens with your plans, I hope that you have a very enjoyable time.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Tapi

[nol4am]

I am so sorry you are stressing over your cruise. But I can understand. I don't recommend inside cabins to anyone unless it's 2 people only and limited funds. I can see where you would choose this cabin if it did have the tpool you enjoy. I understand why now you are disappointed. But as far as the Sunshine, I have been on her 4 times and am going back in February. Everyone has different things they enjoy on a cruise and it can make or break a cruise. I love the sunshine. It will be decorated and will have many Christmas activities. It is old ship that was re done and it was done very beautifully. I hope you chose to stay on that ship and upgrade to an ocean view room or a balcony. But once you do decide which course your gonna take, don't look back and look forward to your vacation and make it all it can be. You will be enjoy.

[tinkr2]

We were on an interior spa on Breeze and really loved it. But there was only 2 of us.there was no extra seating in the room. We loved the spa.., and the thas pool. And the private elevator with quick access to the spa. We took all our showers in those amazing spa showers.The cabin was beautiful but small . Don't panic but I'd keep it unless you're moving to a MUCH bigger cabin.

 

 

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[Budget Queen]

That contact was Tue evening, attempting to upgrade. Still unresolved after emails Wed & Thur. Fri I emailed with different request, wanting to quit reservation. Another 2 phone calls Saturday. No contact.

 

.

 

 

 

It could very well be, your emails were NOT received since all you did until Saturday is email. You would have gotten someone by phone much sooner.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Budget Queen

[AmberTeka]

Thanks for your comments, Kids-n-2. I have read other comments about Jamie D being good. I don't remember the names of any of my previous CD's, so if that many people remember her, then she must make it enjoyable.

 

I did not like her so much. And let me qualify that. She was out and about a lot. GOOD. There were a lot of activities. Good

BUT Trivia was done by gender. You did not play on teams. My husband and I enjoy Trivia. ( some people like Bingo, and I like that too, some like the casino, and we like that too, some like shows, I like that but we really like Trivia.

WE always play with a group we have never met before and then remember them fondly for the rest of our lives. They are always good too.

Enjoyed it but

She had a staff member who was bad. Not funny.Ran around in a tutu. Told jokes which were not funny. Did Trivia some. Came in with entire trivia sessions about some TV show that had not been aired in the last 20 years. At Bingo...did not tell people she was changing the order of the Bingo Cards. My husband and I were marking the sheets in order as you usually do. ONE COUPLE BINGOed Twice. I thought how lucky. Another staff member came by and told us we were on the wrong color sheet. I said I did not hear her say to use sheets out of order. SHE said..SHE DIDN"T. I think about 99% of the people in that theater was using the wrong sheets. Cost us $40 bucks. We NEVER win anyway, so let it ride. but Now husband, whom I had drug there, won't go back. That chapped me. WHY was J.D. NOT watching that girl? is her Uncle the CEO of Carnival? Really bad.

and it may have been out of her control. You have to be careful in these situation because you don't know the whole story.

We still loved activities. We had one young lady from Canada who was Great. Ditto a couple of the guys.

LOVED the shows. saw them all.

GOING back at Christmas Time. WOO HOO

[cruizinisthebest]

We didn't have Jaime D. We had Donkey and was fantastic! I believe he left two weeks after our cruise for the Pride.

 

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[BananaAnna]

To reiterate:

 

I made a mistake.

I now have buyers remorse and would prefer to switch ships.

 

No response from T.A. Started leaving msgs on Tuesday night, it's now Saturday. Sent email inquiry to Carnival Cruise line on Fri. No response yet.

 

Haven't yet been able to find the refund/voucher policy. 42 days until sailing.

 

I'm not a victim. I'm a consumer who found out something and wants to get off the ship onto another ship. Posted here for info, not insults.

 

http://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract.aspx

 

Item 6 lists the cancellation policy.

(I went to carnival . com and searched for 'cancellation policy'.)

[DebJ14]

You aren't missing much. It's not the fountain of youth pool. Don't mean to be negative but if that was the main attraction of you booking the room you should have researched it.

 

I have to agree. The last cruise we did on the Magic in a spa balcony the Thalo pool was out of service the entire week. It did not ruin our cruise by any means.

[cruzeluver]

I cannot assist with the cancellation situation, but are there really posts stating that Sunshine has no Christmas activities at all, and that some cabins have NO FURNITURE?!

[wemjam]

I made a mistake in reserving a room on Sunshine. Have learned it doesn't have the amenities we anticipated when we reserved it.

 

It's a Christmas cruise so we're inside the 90-day window, and have already paid in full. Are there any options for getting out of the cabin?

 

We would take a lower cost room if the difference could be refunded or OBC.

 

The travel agent is difficult to contact, and somewhat difficult to work with. I will keep calling him, but in the meantime, does anyone know if it's possible to get out of a cabin 6 wks in advance? We had already inquired about an upgrade, but the agent delayed his response, and after that I discovered the room is lesser quality.

 

I'm just so devastated...

On this special holiday, I learned that my reservation is simply a smaller-than-average interior cabin to cram multiple adults into. I feel like such a sucker. Ideally we can jump ship (i.e. we'd like a (any) different cruise altogether). Next choice would be a different room...

 

So, here are your options as I see it. You can cancel your cruise all together and eat the loss (which is likely to be several hundred dollars at this point)... or look at upgrading to a different room that might be available. I don't think canceling is the smartest way to go as it likely will be the greatest loss out of pocket for you.

 

I would suggest you go to Carnival's website and do a "mock" booking of our own and you can see what rooms would be available and at what cost. Then you can compare this to what you have paid. You can NOT downgrade your room, Carnival will not do this; however, they will allow you to upgrade your room to any higher category and pay the difference.

 

See what is available and determine if the cost is worth the move for you. Also, keep in mind it can be any "upgrade" as long as it is a higher category than what you are in now. So an inside spa room category 4 to like a 6A (lowest ocean view room) would be an upgrade. You MAY actually find (depending on how prices have changed since you booked) that "upgrading" could be a lower cost. If it is more - you pay the difference, if it is less they will issue you a credit as OBC. All this is dependent on what sale you booked under too keep in mind... if it is ES then all that I have said applies, if it is another type of sale then the rules might be different.

 

Once YOU figure out exactly what you want I would call your TA endlessly and have them make the change immediately.. I would even tell them specifically what room number you want (you can see what is available when you do the mock booking).

Edited November 9, 2015 by wemjam

[KatieCharlotte]

I cannot assist with the cancellation situation, but are there really posts stating that Sunshine has no Christmas activities at all, and that some cabins have NO FURNITURE?!

 

Not that I can find. We're going on the same cruise as the OP, and I have done plenty of research. The CD, Jamie Dee, posted on her FB page that there will be a small Christmas ceremony. From everything I have read, all ships have decorations, snow in the atrium, and Christmas carols.

 

We are staying in an inside cabin, which is what we usually choose, and can't wait for our cruise. I hope the OP thinks about the positives and lets the rest go. I understand what it's like to be an anxious person who wants to get everything just right and doesn't want to feel misled, but it will be okay if you let it be. I was worried at first when I realized that we (like many families on this cruise) are waitlisted for early dining, but if we end up with YTD, we'll just take advantage of the flexibility. So, go ahead and see if you can change to an OV if you'd prefer, but try to focus on all the other reasons you were looking forward to this cruise.

[sweetsixteencruisers]

Sorry, that you find yourself in this situation. But I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason.

 

I say, GO!! It could be the best cruise ever!!! You'll never know, if you don't go. With that said, you have to change the way your thinking. A pool shouldn't make or break your cruise. What if you got on the ship and it wasn't working! Then what..

 

I wouldn't lose all that money, no way!

 

Good luck! Hope all goes well! Happy cruising!