Where is the $750 Carnival cruise refund promised to me?

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By Christopher Elliott

Like so many other passengers last year, Bessie Walker canceled her scheduled cruise after the COVID-19 outbreak. She says Carnival offered her a full refund of her deposit or a future cruise credit. But now it won’t give her either. Can we help?

Question

Last year, I paid a $750 deposit for three tickets on a Carnival cruise from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After the COVID-19 outbreak, Carnival canceled its cruises. Carnival sent a refund for one of the cruise deposits. It sent me a letter stating we had until May 2021 to decide whether to accept a full refund or reschedule a cruise and get $500 additional cruise credit.

But somewhere along the line, they decided to change the offer without informing their customers. When I asked a representative said they had an internal email that they decided to deny refunds to anyone that had canceled more than 90 days before the cancellation. Now they are refusing our refund. Can you help me get my $500 deposit back? — Bessie Walker, Waipahu, Hawaii

Answer

Carnival, like all other cruise lines, suspended operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carnival offered its customers a choice of a refund or a future cruise credit. The offer changed over time, which led to some confusion for the cruise line, as well as travel agents and passengers. Yours appears to be one of those cases.

Carnival’s records show that you canceled your booking 68 days before it suspended its operations. It offered you no refund but said you qualified for a $150 “early saver credit” for each booking. (Related: “The stomping did not stop until 12:45 a.m.”)

However, your phone records suggest you contacted Carnival on April 18, more than a month after it announced its suspension. You indicated at the time that you intended to accept the future $500 onboard credit offered by Carnival.

Here’s the problem: Carnival’s emails to you were clear about its refund process. Carnival had “fully automated” the refund and cruise credit process, “avoiding the need to call us.”

“We urge you to carefully review this information and follow the online process, as calling us will not expedite your request,” it added.

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I’m not sure if Carnival wanted you to call. Phoning it may have led to some confusion about the timing of your rebooking request. And since a phone call generates no paper trail, it’s really Carnival’s word against yours.

By the way, this type of cancellation confusion has been a problem across all cruise lines during the pandemic. (See: Can the cruise line cancel my trip and keep my money?)

You said it should be Carnival’s responsibility to provide an exact date and name of the person you called and canceled the booking, as well as a transcript. But unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Although companies like Carnival have sophisticated call center technology that generates transcripts and track each conversation, the only way to access it is with a court order. And no one is going to hire a lawyer over a $500 deposit; it’s not cost-effective.

The Good news: Here’s the refund of your cruise deposit from Carnival

I recommended that you reach out to one of the cruise line’s executive contacts. The Elliott Advocacy research team publishes the names, numbers and email addresses of Carnival Cruise Line executives in our database found at the top of our homepage.

You emailed Carnival’s executives, as I suggested. Separately, I also reached out to Carnival on your behalf. It reviewed its records, including its phone logs, and fully refunded your deposit.

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Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter. He is based in Panamá City.

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