Key Aspects:
- Carnival Cruise Line will not provide refunds to guests who choose not to sail if a hurricane disrupts their cruise.
- Refunds will only be provided if the cruise line cancels a sailing, not if itineraries are changed.
- Rude behavior is not tolerated from any guest, and in fact is a violation of Carnival’s Guest Ticket Contract.
With at least nine cruise ships sailing across six different cruise lines making itinerary changes due to Hurricane Erin, what if guests no longer feel confident to go on their cruises?
While such feelings can be understandable, Carnival Cruise Line will not be providing refunds upon request if guests choose not to set sail.
The issue comes from a rather colorfully-phrased and less-than-polite inquiry to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador.
“Trying to get an answer from you or the —-s at your call center is like finding a needle in a haystack,” the obviously upset guest claimed. “Does Carnival give full refunds if we decide we ain’t cruising while there is a hurricane out there. Hello, McFly? Hello? Anybody home?”
It always fascinates me that people expect polite and professional answers when they don’t exhibit those qualities themselves. Still, Heald responds with far more courtesy than such a guest deserves.
“Thank you and the answer is that we will not give a full refund unless your cruise is canceled. However, this is a great question,” he notes.
“The simple advice here is that we will always keep you safe, always. Trust the Captain, trust the crew, and have all the fun you deserve.”
Carnival Cruise Line does reserve the right to change ports of call, itinerary routes, and otherwise adjust any sailing at any time, as outlined in the Cruise Ticket Contract, section 8(d).
There is a long list of possible reasons for such changes, including “adverse weather, hurricanes, [and] tornadoes.” All of these may be possible with Hurricane Erin.
This type of clause is standard in the cruise industry and is not just exclusive to Carnival Cruise Line.
Heald does note that if Carnival cancels a voyage, guests will receive a full refund. This does not apply, however, if guests voluntarily choose not to set sail.
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This can be difficult for guests who may live in storm-impacted areas. It can certainly put a damper on even the best cruise if you are worried about damage to your home or the safety of your family and friends while you’re at sea.
Still, this is not the cruise line’s responsibility. Just like missing the ship due to traffic on the drive to the homeport, no refunds will be available for such cancellations or no-shows.
Poor Treatment of Crew Members Is Never Acceptable
The guest goes on with a Back to the Future reference to the character Marty McFly, which doesn’t make sense for Carnival Cruise Line. On Royal Caribbean’s new Star of the Seas, however, “Back to the Future: The Musical” is a headlining show.
At any rate, Heald also addresses the guest’s reference to the cruise line’s call center employees as “—-s” (fill in the four-letter word of your choice).
“My colleagues though at the Mother Ship do a fabulous job and will always do their best for you so calling them —-s was uncalled for sir,” he said.
Heald will not tolerate abuse of any crew members, whether onboard a Carnival ship or over the phone. Instead, he asks that if someone feels it necessary to curse or call names, they do that to him instead.
In fact, such abuse is also prohibited by the Guest Ticket Contract, as outlined in Section 9(h), which prohibits “obscene, offensive, or outrageous behavior.”
Should guests violate that policy, they may be debarked at the next port of call, again without any refund.
