Please Help!

[Gamom4]

We have booked aboard the Celebration out of Jacksonville on May 19th. This is for my daughters senior trip. Right now we have 5 adults going and about 12 or 13 kids. We are booked 2 to a room - double occupancy. Each person booked their own room. We are doing this directly through Carnival and I'm using an agent that I have used for our last two cruises. My problem is - everywhere I look including the Carnival website it talks about not being able to board if you are under 21 unless you are in the same stateroom as a parent or a guardian. Well the past 2 years it has been just my family and me & my husband stayed in one room and our 2 kids in the one beside us..of course it was booked as an adult and child in each room. The agent we are using with Carnival assures me this will be NO PROBLEM - since he has us booked all on the same hall in a row. But what if we drive to Jacksonville and someone is turned away? Anyway you look at it there will not be an adult in each room - there would be no way possible with double occupancy and this is what we are paying for. He said we may want to get a notarized letter from each parent stating they are allowed to board the ship with us...but that still doesn't answer my question and I can't get anything in writing from him saying they will be able to be in a room without an adult. I know that seniors go on cruises all the time and that they don't have adults in the rooms - but I don't know how they book - it may be through a travel agency. What are your opinions on this? It is important that we know for sure - because we don't want to get down to Jacksonville and have a mess. Thank you.

 

[TampaMike]

This seems like a situation where your most reliable answer is ONLY going to come from Carnival themselves. If I were in your position, I would call Carnival and without mentioning that you've already booked, question a different agent with your circumstances and See what they tell you. If it appears questionable, ask to speak with someone at a higher level.

 

[Gamom4]

After worrying about this all weekend long - I don't know why but I just couldn't get it off my mind - I did call Carnival last nightI \ 1-800 #. She was able to verify my reservation and the rooms of the other 4 people with their parents (or chaperones) but then she said that there were some that were cross referenced with my name that there was a problem with - she said that some of them should have never been booked - there were two boys in a room together (18 year olds) that there was one boy booked by himself (in a single room) and two girls (18 year olds). She said that a memo was being sent to the vacation planner that I use and he was going to have to call each person and get this straight. She said luckily we are in the period where changes can still be made. She said we would have saved money by booking 4 in a room. But that you had to have a parent with you if you were under 21 and you were in a room without someone over 25 in the room. It was all confusing - and I'm sure some of the parents will be mad at me - but they would have been alot madder if they would have lost their money and their child was left at the pier. This was my 1st & last time ever trying to help plan anything.

Someone told me after this that they took their daughter and her 3 best friends on a cruise for her 16th birthday and that the girls stayed quad to a room straight across from her and she was never questioned at all.Not once was I questioned re: who the girls were, where were their parents, no one asked me for a notarized letter and no one said a word that their cabin and mine were not the same. So, I personally think it can be done. Please check again.

And YES, it was a Carnival ship and YES, I would do it all over again....the girls were great!!

But I'm glad that I finally called Carnival - and yes my planner may be mad - of course Carnival "assured" me that he wouldn't and they "assured" me that they aren't paid by commission like regular agents - the more they book the more they make. Anyway they said that he was going to have to personally contact each family that had a child without a parent and see what could be done. My suggestion to my daughter was to find more parents or to have the other kids find somewhere else to go. I still can't quite figure out how other groups of teenagers go - and I know they do - because my nephew went on his senior trip....but anyway Carnival assured me that they don't break these rules for anyone.

 

[nimbex]

ugh, messy and frustrating. Doesn't ANY parent want to go to the caribbean??? I don't know your reasons for that particular ship or port (we personally LOVED this cruise), we just booked RCCL and they let the kids be in seperate cabins aslong as they were booked in chosen rooms, not guarentees close to us.

Now RCCL is closest to port canaveral and more $$ but this may be an option if the kids are determined to do this, parents refuse to join in AND you have the resources to get to that port.... just a suggestion. I'd try to make this work if you can, we LOVED the celebration. An unbelievable bargin.

 

[Gamom4]

Well - things haven't gotten any better...one of the people going on the cruise said that she called and told that Carnival has "loopholes" around taking kids under 18 on the ship. I just don't know - I don't feel comfortable with other people spending money and then having a problem once we get to the ship. I think the best thing would be fore everyone without a chaperone to cancel their reservation. I guess maybe tomorrow I should personally call each parent and tell them the problem and maybe they can call themselves and see what they are told...I just can't believe I'm in this mess!

 

[SandyBeach]

I don't know what the answer is...but I keep thinking of the Holloway girl on that cruise to Aruba...there were how many - 50 kids to 12 adults?..there has to be a way to do it. Wish I could help.

 

[Babushka]

I had a cruise booked one year with quite a few teenagers and we HAD to have at least one adult booked in each room. They told us there was no way around that. The kids could room together without an adult actually staying in in the room but it had to show that each room had an adult with the kids. I've never heard of Carnival bending on this rule but maybe it can be done. Hope you can work it all out.

 

[Gamom4]

I just don't understand why when we started booking the rooms and each person booked their own (of course the ones going with their daughters booked theirs and the daughter) anyway - I don't know why putting quad in a room was never mentioned - I asked the woman Sunday night if it was because the Carnival planner got more commission per room - but they claim that isn't true that the planners aren't paid by commission on each room. But I just don't know - and I also find it kind of strange that my planner hasn't called me back - I have used him for the past 2 years - so this is 3 in a row - and I thought I was doing him a favor by having everyone call him - but maybe I have ended up getting him in trouble...but anyway if he just sells just the 5 rooms with the parents - that is 5 rooms. But I do understand about how you can be booked in a room and then when you get on the boat switch keys and be in other rooms that is how we have done it with our children - I was booked in the room with daughter, husband with son - they were rooms right next to each other - and then daughter and son stayed together and me and husband - it worked perfectly.

But I say the same thing that was said about I know that large groups go places....even from our small town - I know the year before last a group of about 25 or more kids went - I think they had about 12 adults.

 

[Mbandy]

The cruise line rules are....

If someone in a cabin is under 21 they must either be booked in a cabin with someone who is 25 or older or be booked in a cabin that is directly next door to or directly across the hall from their own parents

If someone is under the age of 21 not traveling with their own parents there is a parental permission form that needs to be filled out and signed by the parents and by someone traveling who is designated as chapperone.

 

[Gamom4]

They have never mentioned the parental permission form - where do you get that from? I sure understand having it because we even have to do that for field trips and all with the schools. I just don't understand why all of this wasn't made clearer to begin with and I don't understand why they let two 18 year old boys (actually 17 years old now - but 18 by then) book a room. And in one room one 18 year old boy booked a room by himself. It seems like at the time that I was giving out the phone number and the price that the agent had given me - I was having everyone to call him - that he would have said "hey, wait - you have to be in a room with someone 25 or older IF your parents aren't on board". And then Carnival told me Sunday night that they were sending a memo to the Carnival person that I book with and tell him that he must call each of the people that didn't have a parent going and tell them the rule ... well today is Wednesday and not one of them have heard from him. I don't want to get him in any kind of trouble - because I really like him - but it through up a red flag to me when he wouldn't put anything in writing to me about them being able to go. And now I'm beginning to wonder since he hasn't called anyone. Do you think that they even sent him an e-mail at all? I just don't know what to do.....

 

[Gayle V]

The answer to all your "why" questions, is most likely that this is an incompetant Ta. You should call the agent yourself, and ask if he got the call from Carnival, and what he intends to do about it, and when. I would call the other parents too, and forwarn them.

If more parents don't sign on, I don't know how this can be resolved, short of canceling and planning something else. But be certain that the canceling idea comes from that travel agent, because I have a very strong feeling that this TA is one of the ones that would want to charge his own cancelation fee for any cancelations. (The cruise line wouldn't charge anything for canceling this early, but many TAs do charge as much as $75 pp for cancelation at any time.)

 

[Gamom4]

It was a Carnival Personal Vacation Planner that we are using. I called Carnival directly the first year and he was the one I got so we have been using him ever since - been very happy with him. That's why I'm having such a hard time understanding these problems. I guess it is because he wants to help me - but we are dealing with 18 year olds. I just don't want to get to Jacksonville to the pier and someones child not be able to get on the boat. Or have a problem with any of the rooms once we get on. A beach vacation for them sounds better and better. I just wish I wasn't involved with any of it because I DON'T want any parent to blame me for anything. And you know how other people can get - especially about their children.

 

[Gamom4]

I just spoke with a supervisor at Carnival after being on hold for 25 minutes - any way she "assured me" that there were NO 18 year olds booked on the cruise that the system wouldn't let them register like that. Well I told her that she could believe whatever she wanted to and that I wasn't in charge of anyone but my daughter....but I was concerned about the others...after a while and after she checked into it -she found out that they were booked. And said we had a problem - she said they had to find out who would be in the room over 25 with them or their reservations would be canceled.

 

[Babushka]

Gamom4,
Can't you cancel your reservations and start over? You mentioned that you only had 2 people booked per cabin. I believe you said you had about 5 adults for 12 or 13 kids. Why don't you just book quad rooms instead and this way you can fit 4 kids per room but you can show that you have and adult in each room? For the adults you can probably get one double room and one triple room. Even if you choose to not cancel and start all over they really should be able to move you out of the double rooms and into quads...providing that they are available of course. We had to do that on one of our cruises. We didn't lose out on our deposit and we didn't have to cancel anything. You may not all be in cabins next to eachother or even on the same floor but you'll at least all be on the same cruise. You will just have to figure out how you will divide up payments with different people going. Usually you book under the same credit card for your sign and sail or each adult in each room puts their sign and sail card on their own credit card. When we did that one year I just put all purchases on my card and the kids kept track of their purchases and paid me in cash at the end of the cruise. I really hope everything works out for you. I am always the one that plans our large group cruises and I know it can be stressful. Just let your parents know what's going on so they don't have any problems. Good luck!

 

[Gamom4]

I was told that each student could have their own sign and sail card (well I know they will have their own) but that they could put cash money down on it or travelers checks) I sure hope that everyone's don't have to be put on one credit card. I know I don't have a credit card that would hold everyone's $200.00 that is required for a 5 night cruise.

I just don't know how you do the planning for large groups - because like I said I don't consider myself planning this -- but for some reason that is how it is turning out. I am very disappointed in my Personal Vacation Planner with Carnival not calling me or e-mailing me back...this hasn't happened before. Of course he could be sick or on vacation or something. But I guess talking with the supervisor last night was probably the best thing. It was just strange that she said anyone without a parent would need a signed consent form for them to be able to board with someone else - when I was told Sunday night that I wouldn't need this.

 

[Babushka]

I know how how frustrating it is to be told one thing from someone and an entirely different thing by someone else...and from the same company!!!! They need to be trained the same things!

You are better off safe than sorry by having those parent consent forms signed. It took my daughter and her friend on a 3 day cruise along with my other daughter and some friends a couple years back. The older girls had just graduated high school and my daughter was 18 but her friend wasn't. I was not required to bring a note from a parent. However, I remember reading a review of the same ship I was on and someone said they were actually not even allowed to board the ship BECAUSE they didn't have the consent form from a parent and the kids were similar in age to my situation. She was extremely upset that she missed her cruise for this reason. I really hope you are able to get this resolved soon. Maybe you just need to cancel. Book your cruise for you and your child and give the info to other parents and let them get their kids booked on their own. Good luck again!

 

[Gamom4]

Well that actually is what I did - I booked just mine and my daughters. And it is paid for in full. But then I told everyone else about it and so they started calling - and the problem came in when some of the kids parents called and booked for them and they took the reservations and their deposits - and one of the parents even asked them if 2 18 year olds could book and be in a room by themselves and they said yes. I really do wish that we would have never started this...but we just thought it was safer than letting a group go to the beach - and I sure wasn't going to chaperone anyone at the beach

 

[Gamom4]

I was just going to let you know that I'm basically letting one of the other mothers take over doing most of the talking to Carnival. Anyway they have put one of the other girls in the room with me and my daughter (of course my daughter won't even actually be in there and neither will this girl...but today I get a new e-mail/fax from Carnival and our room that was showing as paid in full now has a balance owing on it - I guess it is the other girls. But it really makes me mad that it is showing she only owes $149.00 more and she has only paid $200.00 deposit. I realize her rate probably dropped when she was added to my room - but she's not going to be staying in my room...and my daughter is going to be staying in a quad inside room when I'm paying for her to be in a double ocean view. This is just too much for me. One of the parents is "worried" that some of the adults that are going may be going to party...well adults are adults. I just don't know...anyway I booked my son and husband a room today - ocean view down the hall...and it is a cheaper price than what I'm paying. Same level and all....I have sent an e-mail to my carnival vacation planner regarding this...I actually talked to him today to book my husband & son...he wasn't over friendly...he is ticked I guess since his supervisor was contacted...actually he kept making little comments regarding that - but I sort of ignored him... and we went on with the business...I sent him an e-mail after that telling him that I was sorry to keep bothering him but that he sounded frustrated - he said he wasn't and didn't mean to sound that way. And it was his job to work problems out....well...I didn't misunderstand frustration...but then again we all get that way.

 

[Babushka]

Gamom4...your daughter's friend was a lower rate because 3rd & 4th passengers are less expesive than 2 passengers. When we've had more than 2 in a cabin we just split the room between all of us. Why should the 3rd/4th person pay a lower price than you? Maybe you should just split it 3 ways so you're all paying an equal price. You poor thing, this whole thing sounds so confusing! And here you're just trying to plan a nice trip for yourself and daughter! I'm starting to get confused just trying to follow along with you! Glad to hear your husband and son will be joining you!

 

[Gamom4]

My daughter wasn't to pleased to hear they were going..but it's like I told her she will be hanging with her friends and will probably never see us...the last two cruises all my husband and son did was play ping pong and eat ice cream. I certainly agree about the price being split up ... my daughter will actually be staying in a quad room so her price should be cheaper also...but I guess in reality I will be staying in a double room if the girls all stay together and it is just me an another mom.....who knows..this is so confusing...I guess that what makes me mad is that I have already paid in full...so unless another mom (not me) decides how to divide up money among ourselves....then I'm probably stuck with the money I've paid...but honestly to just not have to think about this stuff I'm about ready to do that.