It’s been a rough week for guests trying to book their next Carnival cruise and onboard amenities.
On Saturday, December 14, 2024, guests were not able to access the Carnival Cruise Line website or the HUB app due to “technical maintenance updates” that went on for much longer than anticipated.
The maintenance was supposed to be completed overnight – with the website back online by 6 a.m. EST on December 14. However, the outage lasted well into the afternoon.
This prevented guests from booking new sailings, making payments toward their cruise, pre-booking amenities, and completing their online check-in, which was particularly worrisome for guests embarking on their sailings in the next few days.
But while the website is back online, future guests are still unable to use their onboard credits (OBC) to pre-book amenities to use onboard – which includes things like internet packages and the popular Cheers! Drink Package.
While onboard credits issued during Carnival sailings don’t typically carry over to the next voyage, certain booking promotions come with onboard credits – which guests can put towards onboard amenities and experiences prior to embarking.
According to Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald, Carnival is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it.
“My sincere apologies again for the delay in the ability for you to use the OBC for pre cruise purchases. I don’t have any news yet but I promise the Beards are working very hard to get this repaired on our website. Many of you who have written to me have vented your frustration as this has been like this for a week or more,” Heald posted on his public Facebook page.
That said, there is no estimate as to when the onboard credits will be available again for advance purchases as of the time of publication.
Most in the comments section concurred that this service was still unavailable to them – with the exception of one gentleman who said his onboard credits became usable again as of December 18.
Immediate Sailings to Honor Pre-Cruise Pricing
Guests who wait to use their onboard credits until they are onboard their ship won’t miss out. As the name suggests, these credits can be used during the cruise and are good for the duration of the sailing.
The bigger issue at hand is that pre-purchasing amenities – including the internet and Cheers! Drink package – comes with discounts as an incentive to buy them early.
Naturally, guests would like to stretch their onboard credits as far as possible – and would rather put them toward the discounted prices than the more expensive onboard prices.
Read Also: Carnival Cruise Gift Cards: What You Need to Know
That said, Heald announced that Carnival would be honoring the pre-cruise prices onboard for at least the Cheers! Package for guests setting sail in the next few days who weren’t able to pre-purchase with their onboard credits.
“Can I remind those sailing today or over the next few days that if you have been unable to use your OBC for the Cheers pre cruise price, or indeed your Gift Card then you can use this once on board the ship and purchase it at the pre cruise price as well,” said Heald.
The brand ambassador promised to follow up with any updates – and hopefully good news – soon.
While it’s understandably frustrating when things don’t work as they should, sometimes glitches happen – especially on a massive and constantly-evolving website like Carnival’s.
Even as recently as just about six months ago, Carnival had to repair another glitch on its website that made the timing for online check-in confusing due to time zone issues.
