Carnival Cruise Line Cancels Bookings After Glitch Dramatically Cut Fares: ‘Literally a Steal’
Customers have been left frustrated after Carnival Cruise Line canceled a batch of reservations following a computer glitch on its website that led to a drastic drop in prices.
An IT maintenance project reportedly disrupted sections of the company’s reservations system and a passenger reported booking a trip at an extremely low price, Fox News reported Saturday, citing a Carnival Cruise fan Reddit page.
“After site maintenance on Saturday, I was able to book a solo balcony on a 6-day cruise yesterday for $300… Hoping Carnival will honor the price because it was literally a steal,” the individual reportedly said.
Although the company ultimately canceled the affected reservations, informed refunded customers of what had happened, and offered a $100 onboard credit to people who rebooked before the end of August, some people argued that the company should have simply taken the financial hit and left the failed reservations alone.
“Sometimes when a company makes a mistake, they should just take the loss,” one Reddit user said, according to the Fox article. The outlet noted that another person said the company did not need to honor a transaction that occurred because of a glitch in the system.
The news comes as some cruise lines cut fares ahead of summer due to a lack of demand, virus-related concerns and rising operating costs, Focus On Travel News reported Saturday:
The wave of discounts comes after several high-profile health incidents involving cruise ships have attracted international attention in recent weeks, including outbreaks of hantavirus and norovirus that disrupted travel and triggered quarantine measures.
Journey Agents have reported that some travelers who had booked cruises months earlier are now seeing the same itineraries sold at significantly lower prices. In some cases, agencies said it might even be cheaper for passengers to cancel an existing reservation and rebook with the new promotional fares.
Earlier this month, Nerd Wallet told readers how to save money on a cruise by booking at the right time.
“In the cruise world, ‘wave season’ – typically January to March – is a great time to book a trip, as cruise lines offer deals to fill ships for the coming year. But even outside of this window, prices can vary widely,” the report said.
The recent bug issue wasn’t the first time Carnival passengers were upset by booking errors. In 2024, people aboard one of the company’s ships became frustrated when their itinerary was changed due to engine problems, Breitbart News reported.
“When the crew discovered a technical problem with the ship’s cruising speed, they were forced to change their plans and make stops at Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport and Half Moon Cay,” the news outlet said.
