Carnival Cruise Line Offers New Customers Money-Back Guarantee

Still reeling from a year of bad publicity, Carnival Cruise Lines is offering a new money-back guarantee in order to win back the trust of its customers.

The Great Vacation Guarantee from Carnival will allow guests to end their voyages early and receive a 110 percent refund plus free transportation home, along with a $100 shipboard credit for a future cruise, if they they are dissatisfied for any reason with their cruise.Customers have to notify guest services of their dissatisfaction within 24 hours of boarding a ship.

"We are proud to carry nearly 4.5 million satisfied guests each year, and are very confident in the quality of the vacation experience we provide on board the 24 ships of Carnival Cruise Lines," said Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill. "The Great Vacation Guarantee is designed to provide an assurance to those consumers who may be considering a cruise that we stand behind our product and, if they are dissatisfied for any reason, they have a simple and hassle-free means for receiving a full refund and more."

The Doral-based cruise line comes after several months of problems on a number of Carnival ships. Perhaps the most notable incident on the cruise line this year was when the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph had a fire which knocked out the ship's main power. The emergency backup power that kicked in shortly after the fire wasn't sufficient to provide passengers with working toilets, air conditioning and lighting in many areas of the ship.

Polls indicate that trust in the cruise line has dropped significantly over the year.

Carnival says the new vacation guarantee is valid on all three- to eight-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Canada and New England departing through April 30, 2015. The program applies to U.S. and Canadian residents only and passengers must possess a valid passport to return to the U.S. by air.