Flawed On Board Credit Authorization Process

[LemurCat]

No, not a troll....just a cruiser who knows when something is a valid complaint.

 

If it's a valid complaint then why is it posted here and not sent to Carnival's corporate headquarters or board of directors? I've never understood why people think posting things like this on the internet is going to vindicate them, especially when the internet is known as a haven for whackadoos.

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

If it's a valid complaint then why is it posted here and not sent to Carnival's corporate headquarters or board of directors? I've never understood why people think posting things like this on the internet is going to vindicate them, especially when the internet is known as a haven for whackadoos.

 

 

News Flash

 

This board is for posting one's experiences with cruising. That's just what the OP did. If you don't like the thread then just move along.

 

Dr. Jack

[LemurCat]

News Flash

 

This board is for posting one's experiences with cruising. That's just what the OP did. If you don't like the thread then just move along.

 

Dr. Jack

 

 

NEWS FLASH

I'm entitled to have an opinion on his post. If you don't like my posts, feel free to stick me on your ignore list.

Good day, sir.

[BullDogChief]

NEWS FLASH

 

I'm entitled to have an opinion on his post. If you don't like my posts, feel free to stick me on your ignore list.

 

Good day, sir.

 

 

I love the ignore list...at least that way I don't have to put up with the constantly negative basher of others like that guy...:rolleyes:

[cruisecastle]

I've just returned from the Carnival Miracle Jan 24 Southern Caribbean cruise. While most aspects of this cruise were excellent, one glaring and unresolved problem has caused me to cancel my future cruise plans with Carnival and to vow never to cruise with them again. For background, please note that I have had 8 cruises with Carnival, all within the last 4 years, and that 4 of these cruises were in suites--including this last one.

 

The problem has to do with the on board credit authorization process. I check in with my debit/credit card which is tied directly to my primary bank account. Easy. I monitor both the health of my card and my bank account while on board, utilizing my BlackBerry, at least twice a day--just to be sure there are no surprises. During this cruise, as has always been the case, all was well with my card, and my bank account had sufficient funds to pay for a normal person's ship board living expenses for a couple of months. So how could a problem develop? Trust Carnival to find a way...

 

On day 6 of this cruise, after attending a special reception hosted by Carnival for the purpose of reassuring us return cruisers just how important we were to the company, my wife and I proceeded to the dining room. Upon ordering our usual bottle of wine, our waiter returned with a slip of paper informing us that our sign and sail account had been suspended and that no additional charges would be authorized. Everyone at tables adjacent to ours became aware of our situation. I was told to see the Purser, and asked if I'd like dinner anyway. Well, with our dinner experience having just been ruined, and having just been publicly humiliated in the dining room, I did indeed decide to visit the Purser, to share my thoughts with them on this situation. What I met was a nasty bunch of folks who assumed I had credit problems and advised me to call my credit card company. They would not listen to my explanation that it was not my, nor my card company's problem, but was Carnival's. So I called my company and, of course, they informed me that there was nothing wrong with my account--no security issues, no credit issues, no bank account issues. Everything was 100% OK, as I knew it would be.

 

So back I went to the Purser's desk. They did not believe me, of course. Everyone says the same thing supposedly. Besides, they had already closed out my account. So they had to swipe my card again and re-establish my account. And when the card was accepted immediately they had no comment as to why. As I told them, it had been good all along, and it was their flawed authorization system which had just ruined my cruise. Did I pay $3000 for a suite in order to be treated as a criminal? Apparently. But it will be the last time. I demanded an apology from Carnival and some form of compensation for their error. I was told by the Purser that I would have an answer the next day. In the meantime, several other cruisers had overheard this conversation, and came up to me to let me know they had had similar problems. No surprise.

 

So back to the dining room we went--for a very late dinner. Our waiters were most apologetic (it was not their fault) and we had a fine dinner. Our hope was that Carnival would have some sort of decent apology for us the next day. But this company, who we now see cares very little if at all for their repeat customers, called us in our cabin the next afternoon to inform us there would be no apology and no compensation as this was clearly a problem between us and our credit card company. They advised us their authorization system functions perfectly and is installed in all their ships fleet wide. I replied that their system was flawed, that I could prove it in a courtroom if necessary (as my credit card company would gladly provide the records concerning the state of my account that night), and that I would ensure that I never set foot on a ship of Carnival's fleet again. To that last remark, the Carnival customer service representative said that would be just fine.

 

So I am gone from Carnival. All they had to do was apologize and offer something. A free bottle of wine would have been OK. I had three additional cruises planned with Carnival this year, but I will not be taking them. Instead, I've booked with Royal Caribbean. I've had 6 cruises with them, and they are just fine. No trouble. No hassle. Just good times. I even had a Royal Caribbean cruise preceding this ill-fated Carnival cruise. It was back-to-back. So the comparison was most obvious.

 

No, I will not sue Carnival. I am too lazy. I'd rather cruise. Many lines to choose from, but Royal Caribbean will benefit most from my last experience on Carnival.

 

A word of advice. If you must cruise Carnival and want to ensure you don't have an experience such as mine, bring lots of cash and use it to establish your account. Their credit authorization system is flawed, and you may be it's next victim.

 

For me, it's incredible that they will not admit they may have problems in this area. I'm a retired Information Systems Manager with over 25 years experience in on-line financial systems. One thing you learn quickly is that no system is perfect. Communications problems develop (especially at sea!), errors occur, and some transactions need to be resubmitted to get a good result. This is normal. But Carnival's reaction to their problem is completely unacceptable. And they even enhance their chances of having problems by obtaining authorizations against their cruisers' accounts multiple times a day. Everytime you buy something, they go for another authorization--5 or 6 times a day they will do it. I guess they don't even realize this fits the profile for fraudulent credit card activity which some credit card companies use in order to deny charges.

 

But I don't need to be concerned with this. I, happily, will not cruise on a Carnival ship again, and Carnival is happy to be rid of me as well.

 

Looking forward to my next cruise--on Royal Caribbean!

 

What a ridiculous post! Publicly humiliated? Sue Carnival because you can't afford the cruise you're on? Hilarious why else would you be checking your card everyday unless you were nervous about it being able to afford it. There is no problem with Carnivals authorization system only a problem with you level of available fund. What a joke.

[SmerkyGrl]

News Flash

 

This board is for posting one's experiences with cruising. That's just what the OP did. If you don't like the thread then just move along.

 

Dr. Jack

 

Why must you be such a contrary jerkbag to everyone on this thread? :rolleyes: Get some chocolate and we'll smooth out those emotions!

[Kurbanfan]

If it's a valid complaint then why is it posted here and not sent to Carnival's corporate headquarters or board of directors? I've never understood why people think posting things like this on the internet is going to vindicate them, especially when the internet is known as a haven for whackadoos.

 

He posted it here to tell of his experience I would assume........

 

Did he ask for vindication? Your damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here.......if he didn't say he was done with Carnival.....would he have gotten the same reaction:confused::rolleyes:

[bobsfamily]

No, not a troll....just a cruiser who knows when something is a valid complaint.

 

WOW a great 9th post!

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

WOW a great 9th post!

 

What a great 1399th post!

[LemurCat]

He posted it here to tell of his experience I would assume........

 

Did he ask for vindication? Your damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here.......if he didn't say he was done with Carnival.....would he have gotten the same reaction:confused::rolleyes:

 

Probably not. But then again, it's difficult to judge with this forum as it depends on who's attention you draw. If he'd couched his message as "look at what happened to me, wow this aspect sucked" as opposed to "unresolved problem has caused me to cancel my future cruise plans with Carnival and to vow never to cruise with them again" and complaints that he didn't receive any compensation for the hassle he went through he might have gotten a different response. I'm all for complaining when things go wrong, but putting it on an internet site like this generally doesn't prove to be an effective way to get the resolution one is seeking. And he's clearly seeking resolution, hence is own comment in his first paragraph about the problem being unresolved.

[skay]

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your nomination of me, for an award on another thread.

 

Returning the favor,

I nominate you for the "Nastiest poster with the fewest posts award!"

Congratulations!

 

Dan (the guy with the mid life crisis sports car)

WHAT? The HELL you say! I demand a recount. I KNOW I won that award hands down, fair and square. In the infamous words of John McEnroe: "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!"

 

[CruzVinnieCruz]

He posted it here to tell of his experience I would assume........

 

Did he ask for vindication? Your damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb here.......if he didn't say he was done with Carnival.....would he have gotten the same reaction:confused::rolleyes:

 

I think the OP would not have gotten the reaction he did either if he would have left that out.

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Probably not. But then again, it's difficult to judge with this forum as it depends on who's attention you draw. If he'd couched his message as "look at what happened to me, wow this aspect sucked" as opposed to "unresolved problem has caused me to cancel my future cruise plans with Carnival and to vow never to cruise with them again" and complaints that he didn't receive any compensation for the hassle he went through he might have gotten a different response. I'm all for complaining when things go wrong, but putting it on an internet site like this generally doesn't prove to be an effective way to get the resolution one is seeking. And he's clearly seeking resolution, hence is own comment in his first paragraph about the problem being unresolved.

 

Rah! Rah! Sis Boom Bah!

 

GOOOOOO CARNIVAL!!!!!!!

[skay]

Rah! Rah! Sis Boom Bah!

 

GOOOOOO CARNIVAL!!!!!!!

Doc...are you padding your post count again?

 

LOL. J/K. Carry on.

 

:cool:

[bobsfamily]

What a great 1399th post!

 

Got into early today did you?

[DaDivaMom]

Haven't read the whole thread but Bob I think your issue is that you are using a DEBIT card. Yes it authorized to be used just like a credit card but there are limitations on that. This problem was most likely YOUR BANK and not Carnival. I'm not a Carnival cheerleader but I have 15 years in the banking industry.

 

Carnival authorizes your card for a set amount say 500 bucks this places a hold on those funds. You then proceed to rack up another 600 bucks in spa, pics, DoDs etc........your debit card limit at your bank is a set amount. If your limit is only 1000 bucks you can see that with the authorization and expenditures you would have reached that in 1 day. The next day the limit resets and your card would be fine. It has been my experience that this happens to many people when using their debit card.

 

You might want to check with your bank and check your daily charging limit. It can be raised.

 

As to your point about multi charges and fraud alerts. Yes this can sometimes be impacteful as well but in my experience not as much as the above.

 

I think that Carnival did not offer any apology or compensation because from their point of view the availability of your credit is your problem not theirs.........not being mean.

 

I would check out the above before I got upset and refused to do business with Carnival.

 

I too would be upset and perhaps embarrassed but my work experience leads me to think this is banking issue and not a Carnival issue. It is extremely common when people are traveling or on a big shopping trip.

[kyrisong1]

Back to the thread. We use one credit card for our s&s account and just dedicate it to that alone, I use my credit card that I know has a good limit and nothing else is coming out of. Then we use a different CC or cash for ports and stuff.

My life is hectic enough without dealing with bumps in the road such as this. I truly haven't had a Purser be disinterested or mean to me. But I think when someone approaches another upset and angry it can cause another to get their back up.

My husband is a Systems designer and I can absolutely assure you that no system is without it's flaws, and all it takes is one wrong move from a Operator to mess something up, or one bit of data to be entered in error.

So who was at fault? Does it matter? Was it resolved quickly? Yes, wtg!!! Did anyone learn anything from it? Yes, not to use Debit Card for S&S.

If OP doesn't want to give Carnival another chance then he will go off on another line, but life is full of challanges, and I think if people would use them as learning experiences it would make them live so much longer. Stress kills.

:) Carole

[pe4all]

I would rather Carnival err on the side of safety in the case of my credit card. While I know I would be upset, I'd rather they flag my card, alert me to a potential problem, and have it turn out to be "nothing" than find out there is some sort of fraud, etc., going on with my card. Maybe the messenger should be "shot" for possibly embarrasing the op in the dining room, and maybe the purser's desk was rude, and did not handle the situation correctly. (we have experienced this ourselves) We always carry 2 credit cards with us in the event of emergency or problems with one card.

[dan40]

Sounds like a violation of the terms of service to me. I would think a member of the "5000+ Posts Club" such as yourself would be more familiar with the rules.:eek:

 

Such a Deal! YOU,,,,get to ignore the rules and be a self-anointed enforcer.

 

 

I know of only one way for you to get your post count up with the "grown ups." Much as I hate the thought of it.

 

Dan

[PaulMedik]

I used a debit card ONCE - and that was enough... with Carnival placing multiple holds (of various amounts) on my account, it did not take long to cause a problem. I might, for example, make A LOT of charges in a day (a grand or two), and pay them off that evening with cash from the casino (if I'm lucky).... rinse and repeat... as a result:

 

After a few days my onboard account may show a ZERO balance, but my checking account still shows SEVERAL thousand of HOLDS. The next time I used my card - BAM - the waiter: "sir, your signing privileges have been suspended, something to do with your account - you need to see the purser". Others were around and overheard this, and NO MATTER WHAT, if you hear that happening to someone, you tend to jump to conclusions. Heck, I felt embarrassed! After heading there, all that it took was putting another card into their system for my account. No biggie. HOWEVER -- just try and use that debit card for a few days after the cruise - forget it!!!

 

So, I ONLY use a credit card now.

 

..................

 

Tom,

 

We had a similar issue with our debit card and a trip to the purser to switch cards fixed it. I was able to show them a print out of my account balance by printing it out at the internet cafe and they showed me the declined notices proving my bank was in error. They gave me a free phone call to my bank, and the holds caused the problem even though I had plenty of cash in the account to cover the actual charges.

 

Odds are the OP's bank did the same thing mine did. I gave my bank rep additional grief because I have auto transfer from savings to checking for any over drafts. Bottom line is that bank debit cards suck for any activity involving multiple holds.

[Kurbanfan]

I would rather Carnival err on the side of safety in the case of my credit card. While I know I would be upset, I'd rather they flag my card, alert me to a potential problem, and have it turn out to be "nothing" than find out there is some sort of fraud, etc., going on with my card. Maybe the messenger should be "shot" for possibly embarrasing the op in the dining room, and maybe the purser's desk was rude, and did not handle the situation correctly. (we have experienced this ourselves) We always carry 2 credit cards with us in the event of emergency or problems with one card.

 

We always carry 2 credit cards also....just in case.......

I know in our situation when they cut us off on the Elation a year ago, it wasn't because we were cut off.... it was how it was handled.......which upset me.........

You don't even want me to go there lol!

All of this can be avoided in the way the situation is handled. And I am assuming this thread would not be here today if it was taken care of in a different manner.......

I have come to terms that the employees who work at the pursers desk for Carnival are not happy campers:cool:

And I would like to stress again.....we didn't use a debit card, so it can still happens with a cc.......

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

I know of only one way for you to get your post count up with the "grown ups." Much as I hate the thought of it.

 

Dan

 

 

Gee if only my life was so empty that I had time to average 20 posts per day for years I might be a "grown up" someday.

 

Oh well...I guess I'll never be a "grown up"! That's a small price to pay for have a full, well rounded life that doesn't revolve around posting on cruise critic.

 

Dr. Jack

[Sun&FunTraveler]

First time cruiser here and I don't want any problems, so can you have one credit card tied to you onboard account but when it comes to pay the bill at the end of the cruise pay it with another card (travel points)?

[Kurbanfan]

First time cruiser here and I don't want any problems, so can you have one credit card tied to you onboard account but when it comes to pay the bill at the end of the cruise pay it with another card (travel points)?

 

Yes....

[skay]

Gee if only my life was so empty that I had time to average 20 posts per day for years I might be a "grown up" someday.

 

Oh well...I guess I'll never be a "grown up"! That's a small price to pay for have a full, well rounded life that doesn't revolve around posting on cruise critic.

 

Dr. Jack

But Doc...look what you'll be missing out on. You'll never be able to have a sports car like Dan the Man to compensate for your mid life crisis/male inadequacies. :cool: