Book and not show?

[jxtgreek]

I'm an avid cruiser and get many, many nice offers from Carnival.  My sister only goes occasionally and of course doesn't get the same offers.  I was wondering if the following is possible or if anyone has ever tried this.  Can I book a room for 3, including me getting the offer and then not show on the cruise date and my sister tells them at check in that I had an emergency.  Of course they still pay for the cruise and the port/taxes should be refunded for me.  They then can go on the cruise.  

[jxtgreek]

I should add I did a test to see.  I booked a 4 day out of port Canaveral for 3, ocean view.  The price was $225 for first 2 guests, $109 for 3rd.  Port fees and taxes for roughly $450, total $1007.  If I don't show 1/3rd of the taxes fees would be refunded so the cruise would cost $857 plus we get $200 on board credit?  Am I missing anything? 

[mz-s]

The terms of all of these VIFP deals state the person who got the offer must sail.

 

So Carnival could refare the room if you don't end up sailing.

 

Has that ever happened? Not that I'm aware of.

[jam19872016]

Even if they don't refare the room, which they have the right to do, I am almost positive you will lose the OBC. The point of the OBC is to persuade against people gaming the system, which seems to be what you intend to do.

 

YMMV.

[kdr69]

There is a part on the offer called Terms and Conditions.  Thats always a good place to start when your thinking of purchasing something to use for someone else.

[thundercrack]

@jxtgreek For what it's worth, I'm in a somewhat similar situation.  I have 3 rooms booked for an April cruise, 2 adults in each room.  One of my daughters can no longer go and she is the primary on the booking for one of the rooms along with another daughter.  I posted earlier on this site for suggestions about if she should just be a no show or what alternatives I had and received many good suggestions.

 

I called Carnival and was going to try and switch the names so the daughter that is going would be the first on the booking, and if that didn’t work, possibly rebook the room.  The Carnival representative told me that to switch the names she would have to do a rebooking and in would be $2,200 more that I would owe. 

 

She then said to just have my daughter be a now show since my other daughter is also a VIFP member (not sure what that has to do with it)  and all I would lose is the fare I currently paid for her since I am past final payment date and I would get the port charges refunded to original form of payment, they would not rebook the room because she was a no show.  I asked her if she was sure and she said yes, and it just makes economical sense for her to be a no show and I would save $2,200, plus the port fees.

[kdr69]

10 minutes ago, thundercrack said:

@jxtgreek For what it's worth, I'm in a somewhat similar situation.  I have 3 rooms booked for an April cruise, 2 adults in each room.  One of my daughters can no longer go and she is the primary on the booking for one of the rooms along with another daughter.  I posted earlier on this site for suggestions about if she should just be a no show or what alternatives I had and received many good suggestions.

 

I called Carnival and was going to try and switch the names so the daughter that is going would be the first on the booking, and if that didn’t work, possibly rebook the room.  The Carnival representative told me that to switch the names she would have to do a rebooking and in would be $2,200 more that I would owe. 

 

She then said to just have my daughter be a now show since my other daughter is also a VIFP member (not sure what that has to do with it)  and all I would lose is the fare I currently paid for her since I am past final payment date and I would get the port charges refunded to original form of payment, they would not rebook the room because she was a no show.  I asked her if she was sure and she said yes, and it just makes economical sense for her to be a no show and I would save $2,200, plus the port fees.

Yaaaaa highly unlikely.  You are right that you dont know what that has to do with it because unless your other daughter has the same offer you could end up paying the 2200 at the port.  You can ask 5 different agents this same scenario and get 5 different responses and they might be sure of their responses but that wont make them right. 

[starstruck05]

Mardi Gras New Years cruise in Dec. My brother was the primary booked for him, his wife and their two kids. He decided to take a job that required him to start Jan 2. He called Carnival to see what the name change fee or rebooking with just her name on it. Decided against it. He just no showed. We didn't tell anyone on the ship he wasn't coming. Got refunded the fees while we were still sailing. Nothing ever charged. No questions were asked. Just do a no show.

[Ferry_Watcher]

19 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

Mardi Gras New Years cruise in Dec. My brother was the primary booked for him, his wife and their two kids. He decided to take a job that required him to start Jan 2. He called Carnival to see what the name change fee or rebooking with just her name on it. Decided against it. He just no showed. We didn't tell anyone on the ship he wasn't coming. Got refunded the fees while we were still sailing. Nothing ever charged. No questions were asked. Just do a no show.

 

I think the other mentioned scenarios involved special cruise deals/fare pricing offered to past passengers who frequent the casino.  For an ordinary passenger paying the market price, it really doesn't matter that you are a 'no show'.  A typical 'no show' passenger would lose their fare, but be refunded port fees and taxes.  The other remaining passenger(s) in the cabin would not financially impacted.

[starstruck05]

17 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

I think the other mentioned scenarios involved special cruise deals/fare pricing offered to past passengers who frequent the casino.  For an ordinary passenger paying the market price, it really doesn't matter that you are a 'no show'.  A typical 'no show' passenger would lose their fare, but be refunded port fees and taxes.  The other remaining passenger(s) in the cabin would not financially impacted.

My brother was on a special booked fared. It would have been his 3rd cruise.

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, jxtgreek said:

I'm an avid cruiser and get many, many nice offers from Carnival.  My sister only goes occasionally and of course doesn't get the same offers.  I was wondering if the following is possible or if anyone has ever tried this.  Can I book a room for 3, including me getting the offer and then not show on the cruise date and my sister tells them at check in that I had an emergency.  Of course they still pay for the cruise and the port/taxes should be refunded for me.  They then can go on the cruise.  

If the obc is for your offer, I doubt they will get it.

 

There is no point in your sister telling them you have a emergency. They dont care and helps nothing. They will know you didnt board and refund taxes and fees automatically.  No reason for her to say anything.

[firefly333]

50 minutes ago, starstruck05 said:

Mardi Gras New Years cruise in Dec. My brother was the primary booked for him, his wife and their two kids. He decided to take a job that required him to start Jan 2. He called Carnival to see what the name change fee or rebooking with just her name on it. Decided against it. He just no showed. We didn't tell anyone on the ship he wasn't coming. Got refunded the fees while we were still sailing. Nothing ever charged. No questions were asked. Just do a no show.

This ... say nothing at check in. 

[jxtgreek]

thank you for those that have tried this.  To those that are saying I am "gaming the system" I would say, "so what".  I have done over 20 cruises and these cruise lines get lots of money out of us both with add ons as well as lots of casino action.  I am just trying to help family enjoy a cruise at a reasonable price.  These increases have been unreal lately so when I once see a "deal" I want to take advantage of it.

[Pyxie]

I don't even know how they could refare you at the port. The people checking you in do not work for Carnival. If guest services tried to charge extra after boarding, what would they do if you couldn't pay? Kick you off? I mean I guess they could, but I have never heard of this happening.

 

So as long as you know you are going in with somewhat of a risk, then I don't see any issues. It's true they likely won't get the OBC though since that would be tied to your name.

[thundercrack]

3 hours ago, kdr69 said:

Yaaaaa highly unlikely.  You are right that you dont know what that has to do with it because unless your other daughter has the same offer you could end up paying the 2200 at the port.  You can ask 5 different agents this same scenario and get 5 different responses and they might be sure of their responses but that wont make them right. 

@kdr69 I hear ya Kdr, just like on these board, you can get 5 different answers but that also does not make any of them right.   I was just asking for suggestions to see all my options when I posted.  I've decided to gamble and have daughter be a no show.  If it needs to be repriced when I board and I have to pay the additional fare so be it.  Btw, my other daughter had the same offer when this cruise was booked 2 years ago.  It was not tied to any special code, just reduced deposits if booked by X date.

 

Hoping what happened to starstruck05's brother happens to me.  I will report back when I return in case anyone is interested in what happened.

[mz-s]

2 hours ago, Pyxie said:

I don't even know how they could refare you at the port. The people checking you in do not work for Carnival. If guest services tried to charge extra after boarding, what would they do if you couldn't pay? Kick you off? I mean I guess they could, but I have never heard of this happening.

 

So as long as you know you are going in with somewhat of a risk, then I don't see any issues. It's true they likely won't get the OBC though since that would be tied to your name.

 

Right it's all academic. They could make those who did check in leave the ship before sailaway unless they pay a higher fare, but it has never happened and probably won't.

[jxtgreek]

It would be nice to hear from people that this actually happened to and their actual experience.

[Elaine5715]

8 hours ago, jxtgreek said:

I'm an avid cruiser and get many, many nice offers from Carnival.  My sister only goes occasionally and of course doesn't get the same offers.  I was wondering if the following is possible or if anyone has ever tried this.  Can I book a room for 3, including me getting the offer and then not show on the cruise date and my sister tells them at check in that I had an emergency.  Of course they still pay for the cruise and the port/taxes should be refunded for me.  They then can go on the cruise.  

This is the current Terms and Conditions.  Note no name changes and charges for no shows.  

[n6uqqq]

41 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

This is the current Terms and Conditions.  Note no name changes and charges for no shows.  

 

Is this the casino offer T&C? I think no showing of a normal fared cruise is a lot different than a person who books a casino offer no showing. I think there very well could be a refare of the cruise if the person who was given a cut rate or free cruise no shows. I don't receive casino offers myself but have done "regular" no shows without issue.

[n6uqqq]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

Right it's all academic. They could make those who did check in leave the ship before sailaway unless they pay a higher fare, but it has never happened and probably won't.

That is a rather bold statement. Are you privy to this sort of information? How can you possibly say it has never happened? I think casino offers are tied to the person who is offered a reduced or free sailing actually showing up. 

[scpirate]

2 hours ago, jxtgreek said:

It would be nice to hear from people that this actually happened to and their actual experience.

Yes but it still doesn't mean that's your outcome. All you can do is FAFO. It is what is . Prepare for the worst and hope for the best... Good luck.

[jxtgreek]

it would be nice to hear from recent experiences 

[mz-s]

36 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

That is a rather bold statement. Are you privy to this sort of information? How can you possibly say it has never happened? I think casino offers are tied to the person who is offered a reduced or free sailing actually showing up. 

 

All VIFP rate codes in the terms say the person who got the offer must sail to get the price.

 

As often as we get no show questions on here, if Carnival suddenly decided to start refaring no shows we would know very quickly.

[n6uqqq]

Just now, mz-s said:

 

All VIFP rate codes in the terms say the person who got the offer must sail to get the price.

 

As often as we get no show questions on here, if Carnival suddenly decided to start refaring no shows we would know very quickly.

But this isn't a garden variety no show, this sounds like the person who received a casino offer no showing after securing a "free" or greatly reduced cruise fare based on their offer. Someone should post the T&C for casino offers and we could probably figure it out, at least theoretically since Carnival can do things a number of different ways at different times.

[DallasGuy75219]

52 minutes ago, jxtgreek said:

it would be nice to hear from recent experiences 

You posted the same thing 2 hours ago.  Regardless of anyone's actual recent experience, yours may be different.  Carnival is notorious for its inconsistency.

 

1. There are 2 possible outcomes if you no-show:
2. 1. Your taxes/fees get refunded. The rest of your party sails as usual.
3. 2. Carnival realizes you booked a rate that required you to cruise and gives your family the option to debark or pay full price.  If the ship has already left port, maybe they don't have an option and have to pay full price.

 

Regardless of any else's recent experience, if you book your family under your offer intending to no-show, you and your family need to prepare for the possibility of #2.

Edited March 9 by DallasGuy75219