Cancel due to positive test - FCC question

[gnocchi_mommy]

My daughter and friends need to cancel a cruise due to a positive Covid test 5 days before sailing- how does the FCC work? She was told it needed to be used immediately and they had to rebook now at time of cancellation- has anyone else encountered this? If that is the case, is it possible to rebook any given cruise in the future and then move to money to a cruise they really want (right now they can’t commit because of uncertain schedules beyond the immediate future) 

[Joe817]

5 minutes ago, gnocchi_mommy said:

My daughter and friends need to cancel a cruise due to a positive Covid test 5 days before sailing- how does the FCC work? She was told it needed to be used immediately and they had to rebook now at time of cancellation- has anyone else encountered this? If that is the case, is it possible to rebook any given cruise in the future and then move to money to a cruise they really want (right now they can’t commit because of uncertain schedules beyond the immediate future) 

In the recent past(the last 18-24 months) Carnival recognized this was entirely possible and offered a  100 % future cruse credit, that had to be used within 12 months. IIRC. But HAD to rebook IMMEDIATELY??? Not only does that does not sound right, it's just plain wrong. I would escalate that situation to a supervisor if I were you. Don't take no for an answer!  

[vwrestler171]

30 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

In the recent past(the last 18-24 months) Carnival recognized this was entirely possible and offered a  100 % future cruse credit, that had to be used within 12 months. IIRC. But HAD to rebook IMMEDIATELY??? Not only does that does not sound right, it's just plain wrong. I would escalate that situation to a supervisor if I were you. Don't take no for an answer!  

To be honest, they don't have to offer anything.  Thats what insurance is for......

[Joe817]

1 minute ago, vwrestler171 said:

To be honest, they don't have to offer anything.  Thats what insurance is for......

Agreed! If you don't mind jumping through hoops, if you don't need to. If that doesn't work, by all means!

[mz-s]

40 minutes ago, vwrestler171 said:

To be honest, they don't have to offer anything.  Thats what insurance is for......

 

Then you will have people with COVID on cruises even more than you do now.

[kicia]

That won't happen because you have to show a negative covid test to board.

[groundloop]

49 minutes ago, kicia said:

That won't happen because you have to show a negative covid test to board.

 

And NOBODY would ever dream of printing faked test results so as not to lose several thousand dollars, would they?

 

[ledges1]

I cancelled my daughter on a cruise after a false positive before she had a second test that was negative. I was offered a full refund or a future cruise credit for the amount of the refund. I took the refund (no penalties at that time, pre April). We did not have to provide any documentation to support our request.

I booked a cruise recently and asked my planner if I decided to cancel for any reason, what were my options. She said I could cancel now and penalties would be applied according to the contract or I could receive a future cruise credit without penalties. She said Carnival had in the past charged $150 to cancel and get a future credit. That charge is currently waived. I have found Carnival to be open to answering what if questions. Just keep in mind, they have a lot of new employees and many are still learning the ropes. If the answer you receive does not sound right, ask the question again 

[gnocchi_mommy]

11 hours ago, vwrestler171 said:

To be honest, they don't have to offer anything.  Thats what insurance is for......

Yeah Carnival sure isn’t advertising any such restrictive policy, because they know a lot of people won’t book if negative test is required and their money would be lost if the test is positive. On their Covid update page they specifically say there is a FCC if you test positive within 10 days of cruise. 
 

As for insurance, the last 2 years have been a nightmare for people who bought travel insurance only to discover their pandemic covered issues were less than stellar. But besides that it is moot- if you book a cruise with a written policy allowing for FCC in case of positive test then that’s the policy you should expect. 

[mz-s]

11 hours ago, kicia said:

That won't happen because you have to show a negative covid test to board.

 

You sweet summer child. Never heard of Microsoft Word have you.

[crdtrnr]

I just had to cancel my 5/21 sailing on the Vista.  I tested positive within 10 days of sailing. I called to cancel, and the FCC had to be applied to a cruise sailing within 12 months. I had 2 sailings booked for later this year, so I applied the FCC to those. My port fees/taxes, I was able to apply to a cruise in 10/2023. I was not refunded my Carnival insurance fee.  I did email in my Positive test result.

If I had thought about it, I would have called back and tried to get another agent, but I did not feel up to it.

I had spoken with someone in Fun Shops, regarding cancelling my pre booked items, but she transferred me before I got confirmation of the cancellation.  I am now checking my credit card account, looking for the refund.

 

[CruisinRach]

We tested positive on our pre-cruise test for a May 1 sailing. When I called to cancel on April 29, the agent said he could move the cruise ticket funds to another sailing right then if I had one in mind. I knew we were going to rebook, but at that point I hadn’t made a definite decision yet. So instead,  I had to send an email to reviews@carnival.com with my booking info and attach a copy of the positive lab report requesting a fcc. I sent that on the 29th and haven’t heard anything back yet besides the automatic reply saying they received my request and that there are busier than normal and responses will take longer than usual. The port taxes and all the pre-cruise purchases, spa, cheers, steakhouse were refunded to the cc within a few days. I ended up booking for august a few days later and tried calling on the 12th to see if I could use the fcc, but she told me they didn’t process it yet. Basically, now I have to wait for that department to review and process it and she did tell me they only work m-f so don’t expect a response on the weekends. 
 

So you don’t have to rebook immediately, but as I have now learned the process definitely goes faster if you have something booked to move it to immediately. Now  it’s just a waiting game, I’m not really concerned about it it’ll get done eventually. We put deposits on 3 other cruises as well, so if it doesn’t come in time to use for the august sailing it’s not the end of the world. 
 

hope this helps

[victory2020]

For all of you who tested positive, did you have symptoms? Is that why you tested early? I'm testing every day before my cruise on Thursday

[Joe817]

48 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

For all of you who tested positive, did you have symptoms? Is that why you tested early? I'm testing every day before my cruise on Thursday

It's better to err on the side of caution, so....good job! 👍

[ledges1]

46 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

For all of you who tested positive, did you have symptoms? Is that why you tested early? I'm testing every day before my cruise on Thursday

My wife tested positive at Walgreens two days  before the April 11th cruise with no symptoms. The test was free/paid by Medicare. We took the positive results across the street to the urgent care center. The results from Walgreens indicated she should seek medical attention. We showed the Urgent Care center the positive results for insurance claim. She was tested again with a deep nasal test. Results were negative. We threw the Walgreens results in the trash and took the new results and enjoyed the cruise. I wondered if Walgreens provided their results to the CDC. The Urgent Care Center sutilly indicated we were not the first to have a false positive from Walgreens. Always get a second opinion if you do not have symptoms.

[BTromboneFrack]

We just had to cancel the first leg of our b2b because of positive COVID tests.   I immediately called Carnival and they sent me to the Casino department because that is the promo we used.   The Casino department originally told us that we would lose our money because it was too close to departure time, but when I mentioned that their website says we would get a full FCC, the lady said she would check.   She came back and told us that we would won't lose any money and we would get the full FCC.   However, when I went to our email, Carnival had written and told us that $448 was credited to our credit card account and we would lose the rest due to the lateness of the cancellation.   I have written Carnival twice I the last two days.   No response yet, but I think we will get our full amount back.  I may have to jump hoops, but I will do it.  

  

[crdtrnr]

I tested early due to the fact that I had gotten off the Vista on 5/7, even though I had been diagnosed with congestion from my Dr. on 4/28, (with 4 negative tests leading up to that), I felt worse than I had.  Sunday 5/8 I took 2 home tests (different ones), and on Monday 5/9 went to Walgreens for a test.  All 3 were Positive.  I took another test at Walgreens on 5/12 to be within the 10 days cancellation period of 5/21. That's the only reason that I tested earlier than 5/18.

[Earthworm Jim]

On 5/14/2022 at 2:45 PM, CruisinRach said:

I had to send an email to reviews@carnival.com with my booking info and attach a copy of the positive lab report requesting a fcc. I sent that on the 29th and haven’t heard anything back yet besides the automatic reply saying they received my request and that there are busier than normal and responses will take longer than usual.

 

Yes we did the same thing in March. The FCC was approved 18 days later. Our PVP said she was asking them about it in the interim. I'm not sure if that sped things up or not.

 

I had canceled due to the positive Covid test through our PVP, and I don't recall her saying we could book something immediately at that time if we wished. But it was all so sudden we hadn't yet given that any thought. So perhaps she did offer an immediate rebooking and I just declined and didn't find it notable enough to remember.

 

In the end, it was better that we didn't rebook at the time of cancellation because we were able to use our FCC during the 50% off Birthday Sale they had. So we got a suite with the FCC from a balcony. This will be our first, and probably only I'd guess, suite.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Earthworm Jim

[Carla in Texas 61]

I didn't purchase insurance for my July cruise, so if we have to cancel due to a positive Covid test a few days before we will get a FCC even though we didn't purchase the cruise insurance?

 

 

[cruisingguy007]

On 5/13/2022 at 7:59 PM, groundloop said:

 

And NOBODY would ever dream of printing faked test results so as not to lose several thousand dollars, would they?

 

 

This is why pre-cruise testing should end IMO. Scan old test, change dates, reprint = negative covid test. I'm sure there is lots of this going on, especially since testing can be expensive but would probably still happen even if it were free because folks want to sail and may be asymptomatic or have very minor symptoms. It's theater at this point.  

Edited May 17, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[keels81]

I've canceled two just because of close contacts testing positive, but not testing positive myself. I simply called the number they list when you fill out your health declaration and I told them what was going on. I don't know if it was because I was booked on a TA rate for one and a last-minute casino rate on the other, but there was no FCC offer. They just refunded the full amount to my credit card. 

[BlerkOne]

On 5/13/2022 at 9:59 PM, groundloop said:

 

And NOBODY would ever dream of printing faked test results so as not to lose several thousand dollars, would they?

 

Nobody with any integrity. 

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

This is why pre-cruise testing should end IMO. Scan old test, change dates, reprint = negative covid test. I'm sure there is lots of this going on, especially since testing can be expensive but would probably still happen even if it were free because folks want to sail and may be asymptomatic or have very minor symptoms. It's theater at this point.  

This sounds like a more likely scenario for other, more expensive cruise lines. Really, if you are going to lie, cheat, and steal, go big or stay home.

[Jedijohn]

My wife and I tested positive on 5/16 for our 5/21 sailing. So far our taxes, port fees, excursions and other funshop purchases have all been refunded.  We haven't heard anything on the FCC (not even an automated response) for the remainder and are ready to re-book for the fall. Does anyone know how long usually takes? Can we put a deposit down now, and apply the FCC once it is available?

[CruisinRach]

1 hour ago, Jedijohn said:

My wife and I tested positive on 5/16 for our 5/21 sailing. So far our taxes, port fees, excursions and other funshop purchases have all been refunded.  We haven't heard anything on the FCC (not even an automated response) for the remainder and are ready to re-book for the fall. Does anyone know how long usually takes? Can we put a deposit down now, and apply the FCC once it is available?

We tested positive 4/29 for a 5/1 cruise, we sent the email requesting fcc along with the positive results on 4/29. We received the automated response the same day. In the meantime I put a deposit on an August cruise. I called 5/19 to follow up since final payment on the new sailing was due 5/22. The customer rep was able to see it available then, but I didn’t receive the official email about it until 5/20. She did fill out the form to have it applied for me. Also, she moved the final payment out a week since she said it could take up to 5 business days for it to be applied. As of today, it still hasn’t been applied but I’m sure it will be shortly.

 

Maybe double check the email address you sent it to, since you didn’t get an automated response. We were told to send it to reviews@carnival.com

 

Hope this helps.