So VERY Confused! Watch after upgrade offers??

[wemjam]

Just a little info for others to heed closely (apologize for the length, but lesson learned!).

 

A few weeks ago I was posting asking about a refund I had received via e gift card to make sure it was legit.  A couple individuals were kind enough to confirm it was.  I also had reached out to Carnival about the refund as well, because I was completely baffled as to why I had gotten it.  At the time I thought MAYBE it was tied to a complaint I had made about an excursion we were on in March.

 

I had received an unknown $49 refund via my credit card, and then within a week a $69 refund via e gift card.  The E gift card at least had a reference number I could trace back to a cruise last September!  Again, by my accounting (and I know where EVERY penny goes usually), I should not have been owed anything.

 

Was told after getting passed around for 1/2 hour on the phone by Carnival can only be handled via email.  So I did as instructed and emailed.  I simply received an email back after a couple weeks indicating that the refunds indeed were legitimate and were processed for monies owed.   No other explanation as to WHAT? monies owed.  Figured OK - maybe I missed something from our cruise last Fall they owed me and let it go.

 

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon.  I call Carnival about my upcoming cruise at the end of August about possibly upgrading my room on the Conquest (I saw a new room we love had just opened up).  In discussing pricing with the Diamond desk she advise what the total would be, which is more than what I was coming up with.  Long story short after going back and forth, she says "well if you want to 'add back' the insurance for your husband that is the difference."  I was like what the H#LL, what do you mean "add back."  I told her the insurance was prepaid for both of us months ago, along with gratuities and such when the cruise was paid off (again this was like 4 or 5 months ago I had it all paid off).  She advised me that she showed just his insurance was cancelled in April "on line" which means I must have cancelled it.  So, come to find out THAT is where the $49 refund came from to my Credit Card!  Now mind you - I Made NO changes to the booking.  

 

I told her I made not changes and authorized no one else to do so either!,  I also told her that once the insurance is added I can not remove it myself on line even if I want to, there is NO option to do this!  I pointed out examples of the cruises we have booked in December and in April of next year and how there is no option for me to remove it (there is a button when you want to add, but once you do there is no button to remove like gratuities).   She said, "well I don't know."   I also told her that when these random refunds showed up I called, spoke to 3 different people, and emailed and only got a vague answer as to why it was refunded.  I did NOT get an updated booking confirmation when the insurance was removed so there was NO way I would have known (and that if I hadn't happened to have called about an upgrade and talked to her about the price difference I would have left for vacation and he would have had no insurance unbeknownst to me).  She said I can add it back though for you.  I asked about the fact that we are just a couple weeks from our cruise and what impact this now has to the actual coverage.  She said I will have to check, put me on hold, and came back and basically told me - while all the medical and such is still applicable - Carnival's Coverages such as Cancel for Any Reason would not be because I was adding it after the final payment date.   I almost lost my S4!T with her.  I said, some how, someone at Carnival had to do something to my booking and now I am paying the penalty for that.  She told me that if something happened and I did need to cancel, I could dispute it and an investigation could be opened.

 

FUNNY thing is she specifically asked me if I had "gotten an room upgrade offers."  I told her as a matter of fact I had.  I had received an upgrade offer three different times on this booking and went in to review what was offered, and then refused them.  She asked me when that was, and I start thinking about it and say it was around April.  I said, OK does my husbands insurance getting cancelled in April have something to do with a glitch related to the upgrade offers?  She says, no I wouldn't think so.  But here I sit wondering why would she ask me that very specific question, then I correlate that it indeed did coincide with the timing of my husbands insurance randomly being dropped, but she says it's not relevant.  

 

Such a HOT mess and I am so confused!  I told her that I wanted to know exactly how my booking was changed without my knowledge or permission and they most certainly should be able to ascertain exactly who made that modification to my booking (because I sure as H#LL didn't) she said she was going to send an email to the back office but in so many words told me not to hold my breath for an answer.

 

 

[ninjacat123]

WOW!  So sorry this happened to you.  I remember when you posted about the "refunds" and gift card thing and it did sound odd.  Can you ask to speak to a supervisor?  I have received "upsells" via my Cruise Manager, looked at them and refused them.  I did notice the fine print that stated my insurance or gratuities may be affected if I accept the offer.  But you didn't accept the offer.  Please keep us posted on what transpires with Carnival.  Good luck!!

PS I hope your cruise is wonderful, regardless👍

[DebOinKC]

I would be speaking to the supervisor. And if you still don't receive the answers, then speak to the next supervisor, and so on. 

[wemjam]

I started down the Supervisor road and decided it wasn't worth my energy at this point.  We have no intention of cancelling, and as long as the other coverages are in place "just in case" something goes wrong medically or something, I am not going to exert any more effort or frustration.

 

IF for some reason something absolutely crazy happens and we were forced to cancel, at that point you better believe I would be fighting them all the way on covering my cancellation.

 

It is a short 3 dayer and wasn't super expensive to start with so going to pick the hill to die on.  At this point it has not affected me financially in anyway so I will retreat and prepare for battle another day.  As I said, I KNOW it has to be internally something they were doing (same reason they issued some kind of refund at the same time for a cruise from last September).  I couldn't have cancelled it if I wanted to myself, the option just isn't there once you add it, so know it isn't a weird case of someone hacking my account either.  Nothing else on any of my bookings is messed with, they all look good.

 

[VentureMan_2000]

Now I'm glad I just ignore those emails for up-sell offers, and don't go into my booking.  Sorry for your mess.