Getting annoyed

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Last week I booked the Terracross Outback excursion in Amber Cove.

I then found it cheaper on another site. I located the form that has to be completed, got halfway through and could not finish as it does not give Amber Cove as one of the ports. You can't move forward on the form without that information. So I emailed the shore excursion desk. After a couple of days they emailed me back and said just to fill out the manual form once onboard. First of all that's 6 weeks away so who knows if the other company will still be offering it at that time. Second I don't want to have to remember to bring all of the details with me to get the guarantee that they should be giving me. SO I emailed them every detail that is requested n the form. They emailed me again saying to do it on the ship. I responded asking them to scan the manual form. Now they've emailed me again saying they fixed the form. So I went back to the form, started filling it all out again and lo and behold, it is not fixed, there is still no option for Amber Cove.

Has anyone else had this much difficulty getting Carnival to honour the price guarantee?

[firemanbobswife]

I don't book excursions through the Cruiseline anymore. Maybe you should tell them to get it fixed now or you will cancel and book with the other company. This sounds like too much hassle to me. They may just want you to give up and pay the higher fare.

[10Jan54]

just cancel with carnival and do it on your own. Usually there will still be room if you decide to go through carnival.

[Nic6318]

Personally I would just book with the cheaper company.

I say this just because as you say they aren't able to fix the online form. You do have an email from them stating how to proceed. You would need to bring the paperwork you have to the excursions desk and fill out the required form. Now they should just take your form and give you your credit with no discussion. That wouldn't seem like much of an inconvenience, but if they give you any kind of runaround it's just not worth the effort.

 

 

don't sweat the small stuff

and

have a great cruise

[loubetti]

Another thumbs up for "just cancel it and re-book with the other company".

 

Done deal, yes?

[Donray]

Keep in mind it has to be the exact tour. There is a good chance that it is not the exact tour and you will not get the refund.

 

Does the tour pick up from the port or do you need to meet them at a hotel? Difference and no money from Carnival.

[ohiowilly]

I ran into a similar situation with another excursion at a Southern Carib port. The private operator offered a price that was about half of what the cruiseline offered, but when I tried to book direct, I received a reply that I needed to book directly through the cruiseline - they were under contract with the line.

 

The online form wasn't working, so I sent a series of screenshots to the Shore Excursion dept. I was sent a form to fill out, on which I needed to re-enter all of the details that I had submitted via email, and then sent it back.

 

One point I see missing in the OP's original questions is that I don't think that you can file the claim until you have booked the tour with Carnival. Once you have done that, your claim is reviewed. In my case, my claim was granted, and I will have OBC for the difference waiting for me on my S+S account.

 

Other than the technical glitch, Carnival held true to the letter of the guarantee, in my case.

[rgmacm]

I had trouble with it....not THAT much trouble, but did have trouble.... (not Amber Cove...)

An email to the company did the trick for me...and we got an $11 OBC credit. :o:o

 

I always say...the squeaky wheel gets the oil...I'd probably call my PVP on this one.... and if I understand the program correctly, it can't be done onboard...??? I could be wrong on that as I'm speaking from memory and don't have the webpage open right now.......but anyway....

Yep...I'd forgo the emailing and call 'em :)

Edited January 11, 2016 by rgmacm

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

I did book the excursion through Carnival and although I usually don't do that, I don't know this port and the excursion is a 35 minute drive away. I am giving them until tomorrow to properly address the guarantee and then I will escalate it. If I cancel now I will lose $$ because of the fees for the exchange from US to Canadian and it's a fair bit since the excursion was for 4 of us.

[bakersdozen12]

Instead of filling out the form, you can just email all of the information to shoreexcursions@carnival.com. I had to do that once when the form wasn't working.

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Instead of filling out the form, you can just email all of the information to shoreexcursions@carnival.com. I had to do that once when the form wasn't working.

 

that's what I did so and they just keep saying wait until you get to the ship, then fill out the form. I don't want to do this because there is no guarantee they will give the the better price