Missed Final Payment - PVP saved the day

[itching2cruiseagain]

I usually pay cruises off way ahead of time and still receive reminder emails about final payment dates. We went on 3 cruises earlier this year and after those cruises had already been paid in full, I still received reminder texts as well as emails about final payment dates. 

In September 2021 we had booked 2 cabins for a cruise in November 2022.  I logged in this past Sunday to make final payments and the bookings were not there. I tried adding them back with the booking numbers and got pop-up messages something along the lines of "That booking does not exist". We contacted our PVP *** and I am so grateful that we use him for all our bookings. Jorge said he usually gets a notice when anyone booked through him has a final payment date approaching and he would have called and/or emailed us, but he hadn't gotten one either. He contacted the casino department and all is well. We got the same rooms, the same pricing, our tournament entries, our fun play and we have our onboard credit back too. I doubt we would have gotten the same results without our PVP.

I find it odd that in the past I had always received notifications and now I, nor my PVP, did not receive any notification. I will set calendar reminders for future cruises so this doesn't happen again. Please check your final payment dates so you don't have to go through this.

I noticed today that they also cancelled the poolside cabana at Amber Cove I had booked last January for this cruise and refunded it to my credit card. I was not able to rebook that, so our PVP is checking into what he can do to help. I will post about the cabana when I hear back from him.

 

[knagl]

There was another recent thread here where the poster missed their final payment date, and they also reported not receiving any communication from Carnival about it. They got roasted here about it, despite acknowledging that they were ultimately responsible for keeping track of the date.

 

Their thread and your post are good cautionary tales that there's something going on with Carnival's e-mail system right now, and that folks need to be extra cautious to not miss their final payment date. That's good news for you that your PVP was able to help you out.

[notscb]

1 hour ago, knagl said:

despite acknowledging that they were ultimately responsible for keeping track of the date.

Wasn't that the kicker, though. They owned up to the mistake and still got three pages of thread out of it.

 

OP, thanks for posting this and sharing the value of the PVP. I think many of us try to be as self-sufficient as possible in planning our travel and overlook the value of a good travel agent/advocate.

[itching2cruiseagain]

As an update, my PVP was not able to get the cabana back, but I am on a waitlist. 

[Jamman54]

11 minutes ago, itching2cruiseagain said:

As an update, my PVP was not able to get the cabana back, but I am on a waitlist. 

Sorry you lost your cabana,  but they have a VIP area right in front of the cabanas where you can get cushioned loungers, umbrella, pool noodles,  and good waiter service  for about $100. First come, first served. 😎

[itching2cruiseagain]

Thanks Jamman54 

[Indytraveler83]

This certainly is a good reminder not to rely on an email to make your final payment.  While it is ultimately our own responsibility to make payments, sometimes juggling multiple cruises and life in general can cause things to be missed.

 

One piece of advice for the OP and anyone else who has these worries:

 

When booking the cruise, you can put a card on file to pay the balance in full at the deadline.  Our PVP knows I prefer that he set this on every cruise we book.  This way, I can still make payments on other cards or in smaller chunks in the meantime, but if we miss it (because I definitely would) it gets auto charged at the deadline.  

[sunonfire]

I just received an IMPORTANT INFORMATION in red from Carnival reminding me that my final payment is due in 20 days. It also stated urgent. I received it in my email today. The email really stands out from typical Carnival emails. 

[13cheermom]

6 hours ago, sunonfire said:

I just received an IMPORTANT INFORMATION in red from Carnival reminding me that my final payment is due in 20 days. It also stated urgent. I received it in my email today. The email really stands out from typical Carnival emails. 

Yes I did as well for an upcoming sailing in January. I will not forget it this time. Btw, I was the OP of the one who never received this email for a November cruise that got cancelled because I missed payment by days. Decided not to re-book at the higher rate at the time. But actually got a better offer last weekend for same cruise different time. So it all worked out in my best interest in the long run. Somebody is looking out for me. 🥰