Paid Cabin Upgrade - lost dining and boarding times

[dcdiva]

Looking for some suggestions on how to resolve this problem. We paid for an upgrade from a balcony for 3, to a 2 Havana Cabana cabins for 4. Our party is mom, two kids and aunt. In order to make this happen, Carnival split our reservations and booked us into two cabins which each accommodate two. Mom and one child is one cabin, and aunt in the other with the second child. Before the upgrade, the single cabin had late dining and boarding at 1pm. Now the family has been split, as have the reservations. For dining, we are split between 'waitlist' for late dining - although it was confirmed before the upgrade - and waitlist for Your Time for the other cabin. For boarding, we are split with 1pm boarding and 2:30 or later boarding. But I am pretty sure Aunt and minor child will not be able to board without Mom who doesn't have the same boarding time. Our travel agent tells us our reservations are 'linked'. But we still have different boarding and dining times.

 

Our TA has been unsuccessful in getting this resolved despite multiple calls to Carnival. We sail in 13 days. We paid more than $3,000 for this upgrade, and now we are told we have no recourse. Anyone have any suggestions on how to escalate this with Carnival?

 

 

 

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Edited June 12, 2018 by dcdiva

[Cruzlover7]

Sorry to hear about this issue, I do congratulate you on the Havana Cabins. I could not get one for my sailing, but I will sometime in the future.

 

As for your boarding time, you can all join your Aunt at the later time without issue. For Dining my suggestion would be to see the Maitre D as soon as you can and explain what happened with the upgrade. He/she will do what they can to accommodate your group. If not resolved the first evening, you could always eat at the Lido Buffet. Hopefully you’ll be contacted and notified that your preferred dining is available by day two.

 

I hope you get it resolved and enjoy your cruise.

 

 

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[bingomamma19]

Looking for some suggestions on how to resolve this problem. We paid for an upgrade from a balcony for 3, to a 2 Havana Cabana cabins for 4. Our party is mom, two kids and aunt. In order to make this happen, Carnival split our reservations and booked us into two cabins which each accommodate two. Mom and one child is one cabin, and aunt in the other with the second child. Before the upgrade, the single cabin had late dining and boarding at 1pm. Now the family has been split, as have the reservations. For dining, we are split between 'waitlist' for late dining - although it was confirmed before the upgrade - and waitlist for Your Time for the other cabin. For boarding, we are split with 1pm boarding and 2:30 or later boarding. But I am pretty sure Aunt and minor child will not be able to board without Mom who doesn't have the same boarding time. Our travel agent tells us our reservations are 'linked'. But we still have different boarding and dining times.

 

Our TA has been unsuccessful in getting this resolved despite multiple calls to Carnival. We sail in 13 days. We paid more than $3,000 for this upgrade, and now we are told we have no recourse. Anyone have any suggestions on how to escalate this with Carnival?

 

 

 

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I wouldn't worry about the boarding time...all go together at 2:30pm.

 

For the dining, there are always options once you are on board to talk to the maître d and get them linked together for the same time. You shouldn't have a problem with picking a time together.

 

Don't let minor things cause anxiety which can set the wrong tone on a vacation. It will all work out ok

[dcdiva]

We are not excited about standing on the sidewalk in NYC for two or more hours before waiting to board. (Does anyone know if there is an option to wait in an 'early arrival' standby line in NY?)

 

Also, we understand that Maitre D is only available until 3pm on embarkation day. Unless our boarding times get changed, we won't even be on the ship until after 3pm, so it seems unlikely we will be able to speak with the Maitre D on day 1. No offense to those who like the Lido, but we didn't spend eight grand to eat the in the cafeteria. Carnival rep assured us 'you will be able to eat' then laughed. Didn't find this funny. At all.

 

 

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[siestakeys04]

I say all try boarding at 1/130. Hopefully it will work out then head to the dining room to see about your dinner table.

Edited June 12, 2018 by siestakeys04

[Ziggy7]

Try contacting John Heald on FB, he may be able to help you! You should not have lost everything to pay more :(

[Fatcat604]

Looking for some suggestions on how to resolve this problem. We paid for an upgrade from a balcony for 3, to a 2 Havana Cabana cabins for 4. Our party is mom, two kids and aunt. In order to make this happen, Carnival split our reservations and booked us into two cabins which each accommodate two. Mom and one child is one cabin, and aunt in the other with the second child. Before the upgrade, the single cabin had late dining and boarding at 1pm. Now the family has been split, as have the reservations. For dining, we are split between 'waitlist' for late dining - although it was confirmed before the upgrade - and waitlist for Your Time for the other cabin. For boarding, we are split with 1pm boarding and 2:30 or later boarding. But I am pretty sure Aunt and minor child will not be able to board without Mom who doesn't have the same boarding time. Our travel agent tells us our reservations are 'linked'. But we still have different boarding and dining times.

 

Our TA has been unsuccessful in getting this resolved despite multiple calls to Carnival. We sail in 13 days. We paid more than $3,000 for this upgrade, and now we are told we have no recourse. Anyone have any suggestions on how to escalate this with Carnival?

 

 

 

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Which ship you are going? I would contact maitre d a head of time to get one thing resolve. Also you need to make sure the two booking are link together

[jas1178]

Assuming the kids are 13+ (since younger aren't permitted in Havana rooms or Pool Area?)

[dcdiva]

Looking for some suggestions on how to resolve this problem. We paid for an upgrade from a balcony for 3, to a 2 Havana Cabana cabins for 4. Our party is mom, two kids and aunt. In order to make this happen, Carnival split our reservations and booked us into two cabins which each accommodate two. Mom and one child is one cabin, and aunt in the other with the second child. Before the upgrade, the single cabin had late dining and boarding at 1pm. Now the family has been split, as have the reservations. For dining, we are split between 'waitlist' for late dining - although it was confirmed before the upgrade - and waitlist for Your Time for the other cabin. For boarding, we are split with 1pm boarding and 2:30 or later boarding. But I am pretty sure Aunt and minor child will not be able to board without Mom who doesn't have the same boarding time. Our travel agent tells us our reservations are 'linked'. But we still have different boarding and dining times.

 

Our TA has been unsuccessful in getting this resolved despite multiple calls to Carnival. We sail in 13 days. We paid more than $3,000 for this upgrade, and now we are told we have no recourse. Anyone have any suggestions on how to escalate this with Carnival?

 

 

 

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Thanks for this suggestion. I've reached out to John. I'll post back here if I get a response.

 

 

 

 

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[dcdiva]

Which ship you are going? I would contact maitre d a head of time to get one thing resolve. Also you need to make sure the two booking are link together

 

 

 

We are on Horizon, sailing on June 25. So not a lot of time to get this resolved. If anyone knows how we can contact the Maite's D or onboard dining team, please let me know.

 

 

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[bingomamma19]

We are not excited about standing on the sidewalk in NYC for two or more hours before waiting to board. (Does anyone know if there is an option to wait in an 'early arrival' standby line in NY?)

 

Also, we understand that Maitre D is only available until 3pm on embarkation day. Unless our boarding times get changed, we won't even be on the ship until after 3pm, so it seems unlikely we will be able to speak with the Maitre D on day 1. No offense to those who like the Lido, but we didn't spend eight grand to eat the in the cafeteria. Carnival rep assured us 'you will be able to eat' then laughed. Didn't find this funny. At all.

 

 

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There are people here who know the emails for all the maître d's for the ships, someone should be able to provide that. Although John Heald has asked that people don't email them, many do and they get results. Hopefully John will answer your request from his facebook. Good Luck and have a great cruise!!

[Fatcat604]

We are on Horizon, sailing on June 25. So not a lot of time to get this resolved. If anyone knows how we can contact the Maite's D or onboard dining team, please let me know.

 

 

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I contacted my ship maitre d , and got respond next day, I'm taking 8 kids on the cruise, so I don't want anything happen during dinner, I would be more comfortable to eat my dinner and not to worry.

 

 

It's : hzmaitred@carnival.com

In the future just search for carnival ship classes and use the 2 letter

[firemanbobswife]

How old are the kids?

[dcdiva]

How old are the kids?

 

 

 

Kids are 12 and 14. 12 year old is booked with 'Aunt Diva', not with her Mom. So she won't be able to board with me. Which is one reason why the split boarding is such a concern.

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

Kids are 12 and 14. 12 year old is booked with 'Aunt Diva', not with her Mom. So she won't be able to board with me. Which is one reason why the split boarding is such a concern.

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Any chance you can get FTTF?

[dcdiva]

Any chance you can get FTTF?

 

 

 

That would be great, but we've had no luck with that.

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

That would be great, but we've had no luck with that.

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Ugh. Keep checking. I’ve had luck super early in the morning like 6AM.

[Quilcruisers]

We boarded with split party before. My best friends son was 12 and booked in a cabin with my in laws, who were platinum at the time. They boarded before us. My best friend was in a totally different cabin from her son and they let him check in the line with my husband and I. We had his documents and even though he was in different cabin. Not ideal but it worked. Keep looking for boarding time changes that may come open. As for dinner , make sure you all are linked together, then choose waitlist for both same dining times. If you are anytime and she is fixed dining, they are two different dining rooms. But we were able to get our dining situation resolved by talking to the dining room team as soon as we boarded. We had a major split issue once where none of our 6 cabins were booked, same cruise, and we all had different dining from our own children , I had not linked everything together when I booked. They gave us a temporary arrangement that first night and then send a postcard to our room that they were able to give us a 12 top table the next night at our selected dining time. If you can’t get there before they close that first night, see them as soon as you can. The waitlist option has worked for us on several cruises too, whether it be going from late to anytime or early to late. After a few days, we were notified that we got changed. This happened to us a month ago on an upcoming cruise. Good luck to you, keep working on it and it will work out for you.

 

 

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[dcdiva]

We boarded with split party before. My best friends son was 12 and booked in a cabin with my in laws, who were platinum at the time. They boarded before us. My best friend was in a totally different cabin from her son and they let him check in the line with my husband and I. We had his documents and even though he was in different cabin. Not ideal but it worked. Keep looking for boarding time changes that may come open. As for dinner , make sure you all are linked together, then choose waitlist for both same dining times. If you are anytime and she is fixed dining, they are two different dining rooms. But we were able to get our dining situation resolved by talking to the dining room team as soon as we boarded. We had a major split issue once where none of our 6 cabins were booked, same cruise, and we all had different dining from our own children , I had not linked everything together when I booked. They gave us a temporary arrangement that first night and then send a postcard to our room that they were able to give us a 12 top table the next night at our selected dining time. If you can’t get there before they close that first night, see them as soon as you can. The waitlist option has worked for us on several cruises too, whether it be going from late to anytime or early to late. After a few days, we were notified that we got changed. This happened to us a month ago on an upcoming cruise. Good luck to you, keep working on it and it will work out for you.

 

 

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Thanks for sharing this. Gives me some hope that we will be able to board before the very last group. With only 13 days until sailing, it's unlikely that any earlier slots will open up. We will keep checking, but will take our chances and arrive early.

 

As for linking our bookings, we have no idea what the status is. Our TA has been told we are linked. But nothing in our online records or cruise documents confirms that. We are waitlisted for different dining times, and have been assigned different boarding times. No options to choose anything else. Only hope is to try and resolve things onboard -- which will be time consuming and may prove fruitless. Carnival will not guarantee seating for our family of 4 at the same time or in the same dining room. We would hate Your Time dining, but at this point, we'd take any option that would allow to eat dinner together.

 

 

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[S.S.Oceanlover]

Thanks for sharing this. Gives me some hope that we will be able to board before the very last group. With only 13 days until sailing, it's unlikely that any earlier slots will open up. We will keep checking, but will take our chances and arrive early.

 

As for linking our bookings, we have no idea what the status is. Our TA has been told we are linked. But nothing in our online records or cruise documents confirms that. We are waitlisted for different dining times, and have been assigned different boarding times. No options to choose anything else. Only hope is to try and resolve things onboard -- which will be time consuming and may prove fruitless. Carnival will not guarantee seating for our family of 4 at the same time or in the same dining room. We would hate Your Time dining, but at this point, we'd take any option that would allow to eat dinner together.

 

 

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hopefully everything will get resolved before you board.

 

Why would you hate your time dining?

 

Bill

[iamsteph]

If you cannot get it fixed, you all can show up together for the later boarding time. As for dinner, you are now assigned Anytime. You all can show up together, at the same time, at 8:15 pm (when late dining starts), be seated together, and you can request the same waitstaff every single night.

 

Enjoy the Havana area, it's wonderful!

[firemanbobswife]

If you cannot get it fixed, you all can show up together for the later boarding time. As for dinner, you are now assigned Anytime. You all can show up together, at the same time, at 8:15 pm (when late dining starts), be seated together, and you can request the same waitstaff every single night.

Enjoy the Havana area, it's wonderful!

 

They will more than likely be in different dining rooms.

[Nic6318]

Hi DC Diva

 

You have great cabins, so you will have a fantastic time. Don't sweat it now.

 

You have already reached out to John. He generally will get request done. So feel confidant of that. You can also email the maître d'.

 

At worst, if at boarding day it (dining time) still isn't resolved, have Aunt, board at 1p.m. alone. She can go directly to the dining room to sort out your dining time and meet up with the rest of you when you board. I agree that it is inconvenient having to wait that extra time, but you might be able to get in earlier. Because the staggered check in times works well, the lines after 1:30 p.m. thin out significantly, they can process people faster and may let others in early.

 

have a great cruise

[Schoifmom]

I really hope that you will have a great cruise. Don't sweat it, it will all work out in the end. If the Maitre d' is not available once you board, go to GS and have them help you get in contact with them to get the dining straightened out (if it isn't before you board, which I'm sure it will be).

 

Consider this a lesson learned. This is one of the many reasons that I don't give control of my vacation to someone else by using a TA. Once a TA is involved in the booking, Carnival will not work with you directly on most concerns and will require you to go through your TA.

[dcdiva]

Hi DC Diva

 

At worst, if at boarding day it (dining time) still isn't resolved, have Aunt, board at 1p.m. alone. She can go directly to the dining room to sort out your dining time and meet up with the rest of you when you board.

 

 

This would be a great idea, but Aunt has the last boarding time assigned. And we can't send Mom alone. Sigh. Hoping John H will come through. And our TA is also still working hard to get Carnival do something. It's just so frustrating to pay hefty sum for an upgrade and then get kicked to the end of the line.

 

For those with suggestions on dining, I may not have been clear about where things stand. Right now, we have NO assigned dining. Two of are on the waitlist for late seating, and two are on the waitlist for Your Time. And Carnival won't even move us to the late waitlist.

 

On the upside, we are really looking forward to the Havana Cabana cabins.

Edited June 12, 2018 by dcdiva