Carnival Guest Care Don't Care!

[dmdiver]

Carnival could stick with just the shuttle refund & call it square. That being said, we had an excursion in Grand Cayman that was cancelled. The problem was we had already tendered ashore, planning on a scuba trip. We were not told of the cancellation until we got ashore. Now of course, Carnival refunded the cost of the excursion. What upset us was that they had to have known early on that the excursion was cancelled, so why not make an attempt to contact the participants before they left the ship? With this type of excursion, what we wore & took ashore was not what we would have worn & taken ashore had we planned on shopping & wandering around town. As a goodwill gesture, they gave us 15% off a future booking.

 

So, it's not unreasonable to ask for a goodwill gesture, but you just never know if you're gonna get it.

[spleenstomper]

Cab fare would be reimbursed through trip insurance if you purchased trip interruption.

[Jay Smedley]

Everyone knows in life, there's no such thing as a free transfer.:cool:

[_Bonnie_]

OP means "original poster", ie first person who posted this thread. Sorry, offhand not sure what TS means. LOL> I have been on Cruise Critic since 2007 but still dont know what all the the abbreviations mean. but here goes.

 

DH, dear husband, DW dear wife. DD dear daughter, DS dear son. MDR main dining room. That is all I can think of at this time LOL. so many more though.

 

Bonnie...on a side note. I think, that the cruise line transfers are not always the best deal. I have used them in the past, but usually only on debarkation day, from ship to airport. Has worked ok, but have also found that there are better ways to do this now, for example Uber.

 

Hope you had a decent cruise regardless of this mess up.

 

Thanks for the abbreviations :) The boat, the staff, the shore excursions, the food...all 110% Im just a bit bitter at the customer service I received. It took a few phone calls for them to approve the refunds.

[winddawn]

I've been cruising Carnival for over 20 years and I've never encountered a circumstance where Carnival provides transfers except on embarkation day. Sorry this happened to the OP. Sounds like a communication breakdown along with a lack of research.

[firemanbobswife]

I've been cruising Carnival for over 20 years and I've never encountered a circumstance where Carnival provides transfers except on embarkation day. Sorry this happened to the OP. Sounds like a communication breakdown along with a lack of research.

 

My feelings as well. There are too many details missing for me to blame Carnival for this. I still think it was OPs error(s) that put them in this predicament.

[loxley]

My feelings as well. There are too many details missing for me to blame Carnival for this. I still think it was OPs error(s) that put them in this predicament.

I was just thinking a better title for this thread might be I screwed up and had to pay 107$ for a taxi to the pier but luckily carnival refunded the fees for the transfers I somehow managed to miss.

 

 

 

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[joepeka]

My feelings as well. There are too many details missing for me to blame Carnival for this. I still think it was OPs error(s) that put them in this predicament.

I dunno FBW. It's true the OP is inexperienced in cruising (her first cruise I believe) and in that case you rely on what the cruise line reps tell you as due diligence in research. If she was led to believe (rightly or wrongly) by Carnival that the transfer company would meet them at the airport the day prior to the cruise, I'm not sure what else should she should expect. As someone mentioned, it's probably a case of miscommunication and misunderstanding (like that never happens when dealing with a cruise line??) and the OP did say they contacted the transfer company directly and they had no record of her reservation on either day (embarkation day or day prior). I tend to give her the benefit of the doubt and put it on Carnival. :)

[thinfool]

If the OP writes to Carnival in the belligerent mode that her post describes, she stands a good chance of having her correspondence finding it's way to the waste basket or deleted.

[firemanbobswife]

I dunno FBW. It's true the OP is inexperienced in cruising (her first cruise I believe) and in that case you rely on what the cruise line reps tell you as due diligence in research. If she was led to believe (rightly or wrongly) by Carnival that the transfer company would meet them at the airport the day prior to the cruise, I'm not sure what else should she should expect. As someone mentioned, it's probably a case of miscommunication and misunderstanding (like that never happens when dealing with a cruise line??) and the OP did say they contacted the transfer company directly and they had no record of her reservation on either day (embarkation day or day prior). I tend to give her the benefit of the doubt and put it on Carnival. :)

 

Surely she wouldn't go to the port the day before would she? I think they didn't make it back to the airport in time and that's why no one was there. Or maybe thought they would pick them up at the hotel? I have no idea. There's too much info missing. Don't they give you the details on the transfer when you purchase it?

[Cruzlover7]

Carnival transfers are usually only the day of cruise and are only from airport to port. I know Galveston is a different port but I don't think any of their transfers include airport, hotel,hotel to port.

 

 

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I was thinking the same. I've never heard of getting picked up the day before. The buses hold quite a few people.

 

 

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[spleenstomper]

Carnival Cruise Line offers transportation between George Bush Intercontinental Airport or Hobby International Airport to the Port of Galveston on the day of embarkation or debarkation only. Guests may purchase transfers up to 5 days prior to their sail date.

Transfer Cost Between:

 

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Port of Galveston: One-way: $47.00*. Hobby International Airport (HOU) and Port of Galveston: One-way: $37.00*.

 

Flight and Transfer Times:

Airport to pier transfers - To purchase Carnival’s transfer service, your flight must arrive at:

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) no later than 1:00 PM on the day of your cruise.
  
• Hobby International Airport (HOU) no later than 1:30 PM on the day of your cruise.
  

Transfer service will be provided from:

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) between 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM.
  
• Hobby International Airport (HOU) between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM.
  

Pier to airport transfers- Return flights must not be any earlier than 1:30 PM on the day of debarkation. Transfer service will be provided during the duration of the debarkation process.

 

Purchasing Transfers:

To purchase transfers, guests can either contact their travel agent or Carnival reservations directly at 1-800-327-9501. Guests may also go to My Cruise Manager to purchase transfers by following these steps:

 

1. Log in to Access My Cruise Manager 2. Under Cruise Checklist click “Airport Transfers”

3. Once on “Transfers” page, select Pre and Post cruise transfers 4. Once transfers are purchased, return to Online Check-In and provide your flight itinerary

 

 

Guests who purchase their own air are required to provide flight information via Online Check-In when purchasing transfers. Changes to flight details are the responsibility of the guest and must be re-entered into Online Check-In no later than 4 days prior to their cruise. Carnival is not responsible to provide transfers for guests who schedule flights outside of the service times (listed above) or provide incorrect flight information.

 

Upon Arrival at the Airport:

A greeter will be available at the baggage claim area to meet guests and direct them to their motorcoach for transfer to the pier.

 

 

On the Return Home:

A pier representative will direct guests to their motorcoach once they clear customs and exit the terminal.

 

Conditions and Restrictions

The vehicle operator is an independent contractor. Carnival assumes no liability for losses, damages or injuries in connection with the use of the operator. Carnival reserves the right to discontinue transfer service at any time. Prices and acceptable flight times are subject to change without notice.

 

*Transfer rates are subject to change and unused services are non-refundable.

https://www.carnival.com/cruise-transfers/galveston.aspx

[JohnSpo]

You should probably get compensated for the Carnival transfer and the difference between the Carnival transfer amount and the taxi. Then you are made whole. I don't think you should get a free transfer out of this. Emotional distress. I don't think so.

[firemanbobswife]

You should probably get compensated for the Carnival transfer and the difference between the Carnival transfer amount and the taxi. Then you are made whole. I don't think you should get a free transfer out of this. Emotional distress. I don't think so.

 

They came out $4 ahead. It was $107 for the taxi and $111 for the transfer ($37ppx3).

[JohnSpo]

They came out $4 ahead. It was $107 for the taxi and $111 for the transfer ($37ppx3).

 

Right. More clarification is in order.

[ledelstein]

Yes. I understood that the $107 was for the taxi fare. And I understand she got her Carnival money back. So ultimately she paid $107 for 5 people to get to the port. I just don't see the issue here unless the OP was looking for a totally free trip.

 

Either way, with Carnival or taxi she was paying to get to the port. carnival screwed up, perhaps, and they refunded her money. I don't see the reason for them to pay for the taxi too.

 

 

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Totally agree with this. [emoji1319][emoji1319]

 

 

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[TNcruising02]

Where did they tell you to wait for the shuttle? The shuttle at the airport, but maybe you were told to wait in the wrong place. Carnival provides shuttles and they are there the morning of the cruise. It seems like Carnival would have refunded you the difference between what they charged you and what you paid for the taxi so that you wouldn't be out any money. I don't see them refunding you the shuttle payment and the taxi fee. BTW, that is a great rate on the taxi!

[sanger727]

I'm a bit confused on whether your hotel was near the port or near the airport. There's no way a shuttle would have picked you up at the airport the day before but you should have had some luck on the day of if you had paperwork with you. So just unsure if you were stranded on the 14th and had to make your own way to your hotel or if you had returned to the airport on the 15th for a shuttle to the port.

 

Either way I'm sorry to say that with the same set of circumstances I doubt you'd have had a different result with a different cruise line. Once you start dealing with off the ship items - transfers, the terminal, excursions; much of it is outside of cruise lines control and they don't do much in the way of compensation for poor service or misunderstandings. But if not cruising carnival on the principle helps then I get it.

 

But to be perfectly honest I doubt very much if you will ever successfully recover any portion of that $107; you may have to just let it go. Keeping in mind that really you are only out your aggravation and $33 if that was the difference between the transfer you expected to pay for and the transfer you ended up paying for.

 

 

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[deborahjo]

Bonnie- you came out $4 ahead. Why continue to complain? You have to pay for your transportation. It is not free. Don't understand why you still want Carnival to pay for something you are legally obligated to pay.

 

 

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[mpdog42]

come on Bonnie, hardly stranded, they have taxis, Uber and Lyft, hardly stranded

 

And a Quick Google Search would have brought up Galveston Express which I have used many times, Been thru Houston Airport many times and have never heard of there not being a "Carnival Shuttle" to the Port or a least a Carnival Rep at the Airport!!!

 

Mike

mpdog42

[firemanbobswife]

Bonnie- you came out $4 ahead. Why continue to complain? You have to pay for your transportation. It is not free. Don't understand why you still want Carnival to pay for something you are legally obligated to pay.

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Especially since she's the one that didn't show up when or where she was supposed to. At least that's what it appears to me as I never have gotten an answer to any of my questions. If they were truly in the right, then I would have expected an immediate response saying what happened. Instead, crickets. I take that as they know they messed up and are too embarrassed to admit it. They should be thankful they got the transfer money back. Other cruise lines wouldn't be any different.

[Elaine5715]

Something is off. The cruise line representatives are very visible at baggage claim. They also can accommodate any walk ups to port. Carnival never takes anyone to their pre cruise hotel.

[Crusingdiva62]

Cruise Transfers don't take place the day before a cruise only the day of. Clearly states this on the website. So if you screwed up the Cab fare is on you! You got your transfer money back nothing else needs to be refunded.

[LMaxwell]

I agree with this, I have had fair results by going through them when I had a problem. I am sure it is a typo, but it is icare@carnival.com

 

Yes, a typo. Good catch. Thank you for offering the correction to OP.

[AdGuyMG]

Correct Domino....Carnival will refund the transfer, but not the $107.00 taxi cab I had to pay to get to the port from the airport. Its not the money, its the fact that Carnival Guest Care, has no clue what Customer Service means..Because of their rude behavior, Myself and family will board other cruise lines, and they were okay with that. :eek:

 

If it's not the money, and you actually came out $4 ahead after Carnival refunded you for your transfers, just mail Carnival a check for the 4 bucks ... call it even ... and move on to boarding other cruise lines.

 

It's then Carnival and their management team's problem to somehow, someway run the numbers and figure out a way to stay in business profitably for the next few years without your family's business.