Carnival Cancelled my Booking for being 3 days Late and having to pay extra $600

Anybody had this happen and any advise to in getting a refund or on board credit, at least? Booked through expedia who sent me reminder emails but they got lost in my hundreds. No call, no letter, no email or any contact from Carnival directly which seems a bit off. A 2 minute phone call would've resolved the situation but instead they auto cancel me and I have to re-book at extra $600 or lose my $600 deposit. Strange the $600 extra ticket price is the same amount as the deposit huh? Very unfair...speaking the "supervisers" at both Carnival and Expedia I am left thinking I will have to dispute the original $600 deposit via my credit card company on grounds of a completely unethical business practice. They didn't even offer an upgrade or credit of any sort whatsoever. Great service from the fun ships.

Tags: Carnival Cruise Lines

46 Answers

Love it!

The OP mentioned getting the reminders but still neglected to pay on time. It wasn’t Carnival’s fault in the least - they clearly state that the booking can be cancelled if the don’t receive the final payment on time. It really is worthwhile reading the cruise contract, and marking down payment dates on a calendar.

We are aware of these things. We know our final payment dates, and act accordingly.

btw, I an The LAST person that would cheer for Carnival, and people will attest to that. This policy is an industry standard. Pay by the due date, or risk losing your booking.

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^^This.

I book through an online TA for RCI since the website there is so quirky. I have to make my final payment a couple of weeks earlier than it is actually due so they have time to forward the payment to the cruiseline and deal with any glitches.

I have heard of a few instances where folks called Carnival and explained that they had extenuating circumstances. Carnival was kind enough to give them a few extra days. These were folks who had booked directly with Carnival and who were proactive in dealing with a late payment issue. If you missed your Expedia email, that's on you, not on Expedia or Carnival.

I do feel bad for what happened to you, but hopefully others will learn a lesson and not let it happen to them.

I prefer booking direct, but after hearing stories from seasoned cruisers about trying to make a change on RCI website and getting their cruise cancelled, I'm happy letting a third party deal with that mess.

If you book through a travel agent, the cruise line pays them commission. They then expect the agent to deal with the customer. Most cruise lines will not speak to a client who has a travel agent. I think your problem, insofar as it rests with anyone but you, lies with your agent not the cruise line. The agent has been paid to look after your booking and it would have been a good policy for the agent to call you if they had not received your payment.

No Gary, we are not a bunch of D-Bags, and to the best of my knowledge, no one here is a Carnival employee.

We are simply grown adults who realize our obligations and are mature enough to own our mistakes, rather than trying to pin the blame on "the big, bad, evil corporation".

As a consumer I am aware of any binding contract I am involved in. In this case the cruise line will hold your cabin for an exact period of time with just a deposit put up. On or before this date full payment is to be made. It has been a while since I have booked with another line besides Carnival so I don't remember how that went, but pretty sure same kind of contract (could be wrong). I book directly thru them and with my deposit they keep credit card info and tell you if you do not pay in advance the final payment has been scheduled. I have used a travel agent in the past and it went well, but I prefer there not be a third party involved. I understand your frustration and would be frustrated also, difference being I would be mad at myself for not taking care of my business.

Really can't understand why you are so upset! You aren't a child they don't have to hold your hand and tell you when to pay

Yes, I think it is fair to voice disagreement with a company's policies and behavior. Some people on here seem to think otherwise for no apparent reason. You'd think consumers would want to be aware of these things.

Have a nice day!

I looked at the Corp policy when my TA told me about the due date and it stated something along the lines of final payment being 75 days prior to departure. Being that I had been planning on this cruise for almost a year, I buckled down and made sure it was paid ahead of time.

Additionally, in this date and age of email spam, I also have a hard time catching important emails unless I know they are coming because there is so much crap funneled through my email account. This is only my second cruise and so far I have been happy with the service from Carnival and have experienced no issues but in the event that I do, I also have no problem voicing that to not only places like this but also Corporations.

Have a great weekend Gary!

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