OK, we booked at the last minute--on Feb. 6th for a March 3rd cruise. No problem, said our TA, but you have to pay in full TOMORROW. OK, we did it.
Then he called a couple of days later and said that Carnival was worried about our flight getting to Miami in time, so they wanted us to fly in on Friday and Carnival would put us up that night. OK, we took another day off from work, made more arrangement for our kids and our TA came back with a booking number.
Now, tonight--one week from when I thought I'd be in Miami having a nice dinner and not worrying about getting to the ship, our TA calls and says that Carnival told him the Friday flight had been cancelled and that we'd now be flying a different carrier into Ft Lauderdale, getting in around noon on Saturday.
NOT OK, I said. Our TA told us he thinks Carnival lied about the flight--he'd gone online and found it still flying on Friday. He thinks Carnival is just trying to get out of paying for the hotel on Friday. Messing with us for $100? Can't believe it.
So we told our TA to fight the fight to a point. We'd still like to go down on Friday, but if we have to get there last minute on Saturday, they should throw us a decent bone to make up for it. Any suggestions? I was thinking shipboard credit.
CCL puts people up in hotels all the time. I doubt that they are trying to save $100. Had your TA already given you a copy of the flight schedule for friday? You could check yourself if it had been cancelled. Even so getting into Ft Lauderdale at 12:00 noon on Saturday isn't last minute. You can always ask for the shipboard credit but I don't really see where your inconvenienced. They are getting you there in plenty of time for the cruise.
I think you are taking the right approach. But if CCL was paying for the hotel and did not change the price of your flight, I'm not sure there is much you can do.
But, that doesn't mean you should have to re arrange your plans at the last minute. If you are arranging for someone to look after the kiddos, explain to Carnival that your arrangements can not be changed now... its worth a shot. Noon isn't too bad, but having the safety net of a night before in case of delayed flights is very comforting.
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================================================== ========== Carnival Cruise Lines:
Fantasy 90, Celebration 95, Victory 05, Conquest 05, Spirit 6/06, Freedom 6/08, Holiday 7/08, Victory 6/09, Valor 9/09, Dream 6/10, Splendor 8/10,Conquest 8/11,Magic 11/11,Triumph 4/12,Spirit 7/12,Freedom 11/12, Triumph 2/13 - The fire cruise
NCL Dream October 2006, RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
Sorry to hear about your situation. It is possible that the flight is cancelled, but hasn't yet been reflected on the airline's site when your TA looked. That's happened to me before. It's also possible that there were no seats available when Carnival attempted to book you on the flight.
Had you received a confirmation number for the flight, or just the cruise? Same question, about the hotel?
I agree with you on getting into Fort Lauderdale at noon, considering your cruise is leaving from Miami presumably four hours later. By the time you collect your luggage and complete the transfer to the ship, it will be at least 1:30-2:00. That's time enough to make the cruise, but still a little close for me.
I'd keep pushing for Friday night. Cruise lines do have some clout with the airlines. Several years ago, we were booked on a flight out of the wrong city and learned about this about two weeks before sailing. The line was able to get us on the right flight within a couple of hours after we let them know.
Hi folks. Thanks for all the moral support on this. I actually got the arrival in FL wrong--we leave ATLANTA at 1147, but don't get into FL until 1:12pm.
Yes, our TA had given us flight info--including seat assignments on the Friday flight.
Our original flight had us leaving early Sat morning and arriving around noon in Miami, not FL. Now we're coming in over an hour later and into an airport further away. And yes, that causes me some distress.
We agreed to the change to Friday, took another day off work and were leaving our kids for an extra day, which caused a change of plans too.
Our TA had been having trouble getting our materials to us--he'd been told Carnival was having computer problems and couldn't print out the tickets, etc. He's been great--calling every other day or so. Our cruise is a week away and I still don't have anything concrete to prove it. Just a booking number.
So yeah, we are being inconvenienced on this. We were happy, then they changed it. We got happy (because they were giving us an extra night in Miami on-the-house), now they've taken that away and are making us cut our arrival at the ship a lot closer than I'd like--which means less time onboard for us. I'd been hoping to get on as early as possible to grab every moment...and unless they go back to the Friday flight,it looks like we might be among the last to board. It's disappointing.
gkyagermom, not only is this disappointing, but I'd say it's unacceptable. It sounds as if you are making a connection in Atlanta, and that your trip is originating from elsewhere. If you this is the case, I would definitely keep pressing them for an earlier flight, as they had promised and ticketed.
Be sure to pre-register online. You will need your booking number and go the Funpass section on Carnival's website. Having your information pre-register should help things go a little faster at pier check-in.
Finally, all seems well! Our TA waited for the callback from Carnival (none came) so he called them this afternoon. After much hemming and hawing, it appears that the reservationist didn't understand, thought we DIDN'T want to arrive on Friday and so cancelled those tickets. We're on a different carrier now, still on Fridy, still with the room in Miami Friday night. *phew*
Still no documents--TA says not to stress too much until Wednesday. He's sure the fedex will arrive tomorrow, but if not, Wednesday for sure.
All this planning and talking, and still no tangible proof I'm even going! I did fill out the FunPass stuff long ago, so that's something.
Has anyone else had last-minute booking issues like we've had? We booked on Feb. 6 for a March 3 cruise. Close, I know, but golly--I'd thought to have something in hand well before now!
It is very common even when booking far in advance to not get documents until two weeks prior to the cruise. Often when cruise line air is involved it can be closer. Obviously your TA gave you your booking number or you wouldn't have been able to do your FUNPASS. But I'm surprised your TA didn't give you some type of invoice as documentation of what you've booked.
We have booked last minute before - tickets arrived about 3 days before the cruise. The agent we were working with did send me an e-mail that could be printed out if the tickets hadn't arrived in time so I didn't worry too much but with the plane situation, I would be antsy too.
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