Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival added a $70 fee after the cruise was paid for, claims it will take up to two months to refund our money Miami Florida

My husband and I booked a cruise for February in July and paid for it in full in August. We were of course then surprised to received a notice on 11/19 that our "final payment" of $70 was due by 11/27.

I called American Airlines Cruises, who we booked our cruise through to find out what this additional payment was for, as there was no explanation on the letter. The representative at AA knew immediately what it was about and explained to me that it was a "fuel surcharge."

Apparently, Carnival decided that because the cost of fuel had risen, they would would pass that cost on to their customers. Ordinarily I wouldn't see a problem with this, but the reason one books and pays for a cruise ahead of time is so that you will lock in the advertised rate. What I didn't know, because I booked over the phone, is that Carnival apparently has a clause (according to them) that gives them the right to add on any fees they want up until the time you leave. Once I discovered this, I decided to cancel the cruise immediately.

There was no assurance that if I paid the $70, they wouldn't demand more money the next week. And again the next week. Basically, in my mind it amounted to extortion. If we wanted to take the cruise that was now less than three months away, we had to give them more money than we had agreed to.

So we canceled and they agreed to waive the penalties. But here is where my complaint really kicks in. They have now had my money for five and six months. It has been 10 days since I canceled the cruise and I still haven't seen a credit on my credit card. We would like to book another vacation but need that credit before we can do so.

So I called American Airlines today to find out where our money is and why it hasn't shown up on my card. AA informed me that it can take up to TWO MONTHS before it shows up.

We are supposed to take a vacation in February. That is now only two months away. And they aren't going to give us our money back until the end of January? How are we supposed to be able to book another vacation? It only takes a few minutes to process a credit!

I will NEVER sail on any of the Carnival owned ships (Carnival, Princess, Holland America, and Cunard.) Hopefully I will get my money back someday so I get a chance to vacation with a better managed company.

Teresa
Everett, Washington
U.S.A.