Carnival Ecstasy passengers treated HORRIBLY!

[corina27]

For theose of you leaving on the next cruise good luck have fun!!!For the ones that just got back,we are all glad you made it back...And please dont let one bad cruise discourage you.

[khinzman]

My husband and I were on the 2/26/05 cruise on the Ecstacy, right before dk3410. It's ironic, but we thought we were limping back to Galveston when we arrived on 3/3/05. On Tuesday, 3/1, right after we left Playa del Carmen, the ship stopped during our 8:00am dinner seating. We looked out the windows after dinner, and we were dead in the water. They had even turned out the lights that shine down onto the water so we had to get up and paster our nose to the glass to see out. Then about 1 1/2 later, we started moving again.

 

I posted a review of our cruise under the heading Carnival vs. Disney. You'll see that ours was not much better than yours. The only difference is that we signed up for the 5 day cruise, which we were miserable the last day at sea also.

 

My husband and I decided we would not cruise again, unless it was Disney.

[milesaway]

Where to begin??? My husband and I just returned last night from the 3/03/05 sailing on the Ecstasy. It was our first-time to cruise and if it weren't for other passengers on the ship encouraging us not to give up on cruising and to try other cruise lines - I think we wouldn't cruise again.

.

 

I'm sorry if you feel "scorched" by some of the postings. Honestly I think most of us watching your ship limp home were concerned for you and your fellow travelers and the travelers anxiously waiting to start their fun. We're cruising fans on this board and wouldn't wish a bad experience on any fellow traveler. May you have a wonderful week ahead, a happy spring and summer and keep in mind that in the greater scheme of things, some memories are different than others. Be well.:o

[suseg]

Yeah,it probably was.Now me..I would be loving it.Thats only because,as a SAHM,with a 5 yo..(who cruises with me) I have no where to be.So as long as it was warm enough to sit outside,and eat..I would have been cool.

I of course would not have even tried to carry my own luggage..Way to many,way to heavy....Way to lazy:p

 

 

Someone after my own heart! But then I live in Idaho where it snows in August...and whenever else Mother Nature wants to make Susan a chilly girl!

 

I always book return flights at least 6 hours after docking time "just in case" and because I like to extend my vacation by every minute!!! *L*

 

It does sound like Carnival is experiencing some PR problems, of late, however. Perhaps it's time for a new VP of Customer Service.

[sgriff17]

Stircrazy, what did you play to win all that!!!???

[Are we there yet?]

What's an SAHM?????

 

I believe it is a "stay at home mum". :)

[brn2crz]

Sorry..I thought GoinCrusin answered this already.

STAY AT HOME MOM.

[JenX]

Khinzman, we were on the cruise together as well 2/26. I'm looking forward to reading your review...so you noticed that too on the last day? My husband mentioned Wednesday night that the ship seemed to be "vibrating" more and was more noisy. I also thought we were really slow getting back. I have to say, though, I'm glad it wasn't us the next day! Sure, staying at sea an extra day (if you can remain under budget!) is great for people that don't have jobs to get back to, and kids or pets to make further arrangements for (the scenarios are endless). Not everyone can have a laissez-faire attitude, ya know?

[sgriff17]

nevermind stircrazy, i saw your other thread. i never win crap on slots.

[phoebe123]

wow sounds like a repeat of the all the sounding off of the cruise i was on on ther glory 2/19.....the dissappiontment wont deter my taking another cruise but i think carnival needs some revamping or work on thier ships.....hope all you future criusers have better luck....

[prekteacher904]

Where to begin??? My husband and I just returned last night from the 3/03/05 sailing on the Ecstasy. It was our first-time to cruise and if it weren't for other passengers on the ship encouraging us not to give up on cruising and to try other cruise lines - I think we wouldn't cruise again.

 

 

.

 

You should go and read the boards regarding the Glory of Feb.19-26. Guess what, we had the same problems, and guess what, we were treated the same. Amazing, and Carnival tries to say this problem is rare.

[dk3410]

Hey everyone -- I just logged in to read the posts as I've been working and unable to get online here. No worries -- I'm not feeling attacked or flamed at all. In fact, the more I read posts here and elsewhere, it only reaffirms my feelings as to Carnival's seriously lacking PR efforts to its paying customers. As a matter of fact, have any of you read today that the cruise that left the night we got off never even made it to Cozumel?? They broke down somewhere off the Yucatan peninsula and crippled back to Galveston. THOSE poor passengers paid for a 2-port of call cruise and got ZERO. Carnival knew they were taking those people out on a ship that wasn't fully repaired. Now, it seems as though they also set sail on the cruise we were on knowing before we left Galveston that they had problems! Wow......

 

Joe and Sherri - hey guys!!! Saw your post....thanks for letting us hear from you. I'm really sorry you didn't make it home until 3:30am!!! Hope everything is well with you and back to normal. Hope we can keep in touch.....we enjoyed your company, too!!!

[Happy ks]

I've been reading these boards for several years now (longer than my registration date). It is unfortunate sometimes mechanical difficulties or bad weather affects cruises. I have to comment on your issue with customer service and communication to passengers. It appears not to be a Carnival problem, but a industry wide problem. I suppose you cannot expect the cruise director or their staff to be in constant communication with the engine room to advise passengers of the status of the repair. In a perfect world, we would all know what is going on, but even then there would be rumors abounding. I think they don't say anything because they don't know exactly what is happening. Your complaints seem to be the standard for all cruises with mechanical problems, no matter what line it is.

 

There is absolutely no excuse for the rude remarks from the dining room waiter. We were on Ecstacy once and probably had the same guy they had, we get better service from our local Denny's restaurant. If it had not been for the gracious assistant waiter, our meals would have been miserable, plus the food was better than I had hoped for. It is also unfortunate the representative speaking with pax was not more polite. It must be very hard to deal with 1000 annoyed people, but, that is their job, they should be trained to interact with more grace. Unfortunately, your opportunity to address these issues has now passed, it needs to be dealt with at the time it happens, the company will now do no more than issue an apology and perhaps a minor discount on a future cruise.

 

The best part of the OPs post is the information not to include yourself into the self-disembarkation debacle when there is a potential problem facing the turn around at port. This is very good information for future cruisers and you may potentially have saved others from the same miserable experience. This is the great part about Cruise Critic, we can learn from each other. I'm very sorry you had an unpleasant experience and you have every right to be upset, but thank you for sharing.

 

Over the years, we have learned when you are travelling to allow for time for unforseen events. Always have a book, a bottle of water, a snack and a huge dose of patience. I hope you try cruising again, perhaps with a different line and that you have a more positive experience in the future.

[GoinCruisin]

Hey everyone -- I just logged in to read the posts as I've been working and unable to get online here. No worries -- I'm not feeling attacked or flamed at all. In fact, the more I read posts here and elsewhere, it only reaffirms my feelings as to Carnival's seriously lacking PR efforts to its paying customers. As a matter of fact, have any of you read today that the cruise that left the night we got off never even made it to Cozumel?? They broke down somewhere off the Yucatan peninsula and crippled back to Galveston. THOSE poor passengers paid for a 2-port of call cruise and got ZERO. Carnival knew they were taking those people out on a ship that wasn't fully repaired. Now, it seems as though they also set sail on the cruise we were on knowing before we left Galveston that they had problems! Wow......

 

 

DK, if you read one of the other gazillion posts on this subject, you will see that those passengers were notified that it was going to be a cruise to nowhere and there was only a possibility to make it to ANY port at all... they were offered a full refund or they could cruise and get a 50% discount (everyone still seems confused as to how this breaks down) and a shipboard credit... so it's not "those poor people"... they were given the option and knew the ship would not make it and were compensated, or cancelled with a full refund.

[dk3410]

Actually, I had not read that as I haven't had any time away from work this week to browse these boards. If that's the case, then I stand corrected. We have a friend on that cruise that comes in today, so I'll be interested to hear from her.

[sgriff17]

No excuse for how you were treated, but if you look on some other boards, this isn't a Carnival problem, but an industry problem. If I get the job I want with Carnival after graduation, maybe I can shed some light as to WHY they do what they do (or DONT do) :D

[jshawnh]

I've noticed several people on these boards complain about the seas in the Gulf of Mexico. First of all, let me say that the seas aren't the fault of the cruise line and they do normally have the stablizers out. On an earlier post, someone complained about the ship "rolling" but the captain said the seas were only 6-8 feet. In the Gulf of Mexico, lower seas can make for a rougher ride than you'd get in the Atlantic ocean or Caribbean Sea. In the Gulf, the seas tend to be more choppy and the wave period shorter. I know small craft operators that can take their boat out in 10 foot seas off the Florida East Coast but will get beaten up by 4-6 foot seas in the Gulf of Mexico off the West Coast. The reason is the wave period. This is well known to boaters around Florida. Also, this time of year, stormy weather from Continental US weather systems is much more likely to cause problems near ports like Galveston, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Tampa than for cruises leaving directly from ports like Miami. The weather is always different and each day at sea is different but those are some general guidelines.

 

 

Ummm, I think your excuse for the lack of stablizer use is a little weak. Short choppy seas to a huge ship will have to little effect on the ride, while they would to smaller craft. Carnival can't be late, so they take the stabilzers in to make up speed against headwinds. That's the plain and simple truth. I've sailed on smaller ships in rougher seas that were much smoother than the Ecstacy on our November 2004 cruise. The sea was almost glassy and the ship rocked and rolled like crazy; even the crew were complaining and running to the heads and trashcans to throw up. Some of the staff were "sick-in-quarters" due to the motion of the ship.

 

Shawn

 

Jubilee 2003

Holiday 2004

Ecstacy 2004

[tahoe22]

are you an employee of Carnival??????????

[cruisinonmymind]

Stay At Home Mom

[PiperMcB]

DK, if you read one of the other gazillion posts on this subject, you will see that those passengers were notified that it was going to be a cruise to nowhere and there was only a possibility to make it to ANY port at all... they were offered a full refund or they could cruise and get a 50% discount (everyone still seems confused as to how this breaks down) and a shipboard credit... so it's not "those poor people"... they were given the option and knew the ship would not make it and were compensated, or cancelled with a full refund.

 

The actual letter that was handed out says:

 

While we have not yet finished the repair, we are optimistic about completing the work that will allow the ship to operate at normal cruising speeds. However, we want you to be aware that the work may not be fully completed before we sail this evening.

 

Due to our departure delay, we will be forced to arrive late into Cozumel on Wednesday. We will now arrive at about 3:00 PM and depart at 1:00 AM (Thursday). Our call in Calica will operate as scheduled.

 

Please understand that there is some chance that we will not be able to complete the repair on a timely basis. If that would happen, the ship could not operate at a speed sufficient to visit any ports of call. We would be forced to operate this as a cruise-to-nowhere. In this situation, we would provide you with a 50% refund of your cruise fare for this cruise and a 25% discount off a future Carnival cruise.*

 

If you are not comfortable sailing given this unlikely possibility, then you can cancel this cruise and receive a full refund of your cruise fare.

 

Given that this was handed out very late (around 10:30), what do you think you would do?

[GoinCruisin]

I would have gone, no questions asked. I would also know that we might not make it to any ports, and stepping on board would mean my acceptance of that... I would be happy with the discount provided considering I was still getting all the amenities I was paying for... Personally, I wish they had 7 day cruises to nowhere... but that is just me. I'm at least glad that Carnival gave the option of cancelling, and I am glad they gave the discount plus a future discount... much more than the other ships of late that have had the same problems... Sure, there were things that could have been handled better... but like I said, I would have gotten onboard without question and had a great time... but everyone is different in how they handle things...

[BabsandPaul]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/rssstory.mpl/front/3082555

[Philly Steve]

I'm starting to wonder if there is a curse on that ship, given its service record.

[Happy ks]

Throwing fruit in the atrium, oh my! This is a situation for Joelight, if I've ever read one!

 

I would certainly be disappointed in this cruise to nowhere, but, maybe not, DH and I love sea days and many times stay onboard when the ship is in port. After reading the above article, I'm a little more disappointed in the behavior of the pax.

 

All I can say is, I cruised on Ecstacy a few years ago, if it would have been our first cruise, I would never have cruised again. What a yucky ship it was.

[cpayne]

We sailed Carnival Celebration out of Galveston several years ago and we too lost an engine which delayed our return to Galveston by one day. However, our experience with how the situation was handled by Carnival was they did the best they could do given the circumstances. Each person in the cabin was given 10 min of free phone calls. For the original poster that said she had to pay for her $50 phone call I would call Carnival and pursue this. You should NOT have paid for that and you should pursue this. I personally would also contact my credit card company (assuming that's how you paid for it?) and place a dispute on that charge until it is resolved.

 

We were not given an option of self disembarkment so can comment on this. I do know we were off the ship and had our bags relatively quickly.

 

It is unfortunate you arrival was delayed. However, do not let this ruin your view of cruising. If you read these boards you will find EVERY cruise line has had their problems. I wouldn't label Carnival just because of one bad experience. I have always told people to not judge the cruise line, but to judge the ships themselves. Would I sail the Ecstasy again? Probably not. Would I sail Carnival again? Absolutely!

 

Also keep in mind you could have had delays getting home if you'd done a land vacation. Things do happen and will continue to happen. Numerous times my arrival back home has been delayed a day because of weather issues, mechanical troubles with the airplane and my favorite.....the airline cancels the flight because there are not enough people on it. That's happened to me several times and of course it was the last flight of the day! Do you think that made me happy??!! NOT, but I still continue to fly.

 

Again, sorry that your experience was terrible and I'm not trying to "lecture". Just saying please don't let one bad experience deny you the pleasure of future cruises. You'll really be missing out!