Carnival Ecstasy passengers treated HORRIBLY!

[TXRoo]

That's so terribly pathetic. You have rude passengers who knew when they got on the ship that it might be a cruise to nowhere and then they have the ever loving gall to stand in the atrium and start throwing fruit and water.

 

And they wonder why the crew is rude to them? They are idiots, that's why!

 

Good Lord and the sad thing is that some will try to excuse their childish behaviour.

[TXRoo]

So I read on another thread from someone who took the cruise that attorneys and media people onboard were instigating the "riot".

 

Sweet. It makes me want to retch.

 

I think it sux what happened to these people, and for certain people, like karen, who we assured that she would have a good time because we had a great cruise on the Ecstasy, I feel the need to apologise.

[DannyMac]

According to the Houston Chronicle, (3-13-05) passengers were warned about the propulsion problems prior to embarkation. There are two sides to every story and we will have to wait until they sort themselves out. If Carnival knew of the propulsion problem BEFORE embarking, they should have canceled the cruise and repaired the engines! If passengers were forewarned as the article suggests, they have should not make a big issue of their misfortune.

[brn2crz]

Channel 11 showed a video of the protest...and the px shouting "take us home"

"take us home".It was not that wild,what was shown anyway...And alot of the people doing it were laughing,and a lot were kids.

Now...I know there were a lot pf folks there..I saw the pic posted here..But it did not seem to be too out of hand from the video.

I was pretty confused as to why the protest and all.But it seems (and Karen can correct me) that most were mad because,they would have only gotten a 25/25 discount if they had made it to Progresso.,...

Anyway...what a rough week for ya'll...Wonder what this next one brings.

[GoinCruisin]

According to the Houston Chronicle, (3-13-05) passengers were warned about the propulsion problems prior to embarkation. There are two sides to every story and we will have to wait until they sort themselves out. If Carnival knew of the propulsion problem BEFORE embarking, they should have canceled the cruise and repaired the engines! If passengers were forewarned as the article suggests, they have should not make a big issue of their misfortune.

 

As stated by many passengers from that cruise, they were aware of the problems prior to getting on the ship... they had the option of cancelling. I agree with TxRoo, it is pathetic! Throwing fruit? Did these people NOT read the letter? They were getting a 50% discount and they throw fruit? Disgusting. And the talk of lawsuits? Sorry, the passengers knew it was a possibility and still stepped on the ship... no basis for a lawsuit here. I'm sorry it happened, but bottom line, the passengers were warned it was a possibility and still accepted it... So now you have people who received all the amenities of a cruise, a 50% discount , a 25% discount on a future cruise and they are STILL looking for something... RIDICULOUS! Still sounds like the majority of the passengers stated out of the fray and did the best to enjoy themselves... the other passengers should be ashamed of themselves for starting and participating in a "riot" :rolleyes:

[brn2crz]

According to the Houston Chronicle, (3-13-05) passengers were warned about the propulsion problems prior to embarkation. There are two sides to every story and we will have to wait until they sort themselves out. If Carnival knew of the propulsion problem BEFORE embarking, they should have canceled the cruise and repaired the engines! If passengers were forewarned as the article suggests, they have should not make a big issue of their misfortune.

 

Danny,I understand what you are saying.But along with what I mentioned above.The letter was very optimistic that ports would be reached...And a lot of folks did not even get the info on the refund,or it was given to them after their luggage had been taken,and they were literally walking on the ship.Hungry tired and screaming kids..No airline tickets home..your only weeks vacation...What would you do? The one sentence that would have made me go ahead and get onboard "In the Unlikely event that we do not make it to ...."

[corina27]

Lets just hope they fix it and all goes well.

[BBiles]

Optimistic is not a 100% certainty. Maybe they did the best they could in trying to get it rectified, only to dig deeper into the problem and find that it was worse than they had anticipated? Hence, maybe not getting much information to the passengers as they were working till the last minute hoping that it could be fixed.

 

As far as what goingcruising says...I agree with you totally...Except the part where you say it was disgusting that they were offered 50% off and still throwing fruit.. Shouldn't matter if they received a refund or not..The throwing of fruit is downright immature and childish for a supposedly grown adult.

[karenh1127]

So I read on another thread from someone who took the cruise that attorneys and media people onboard were instigating the "riot".

 

Sweet. It makes me want to retch.

 

I think it sux what happened to these people, and for certain people, like karen, who we assured that she would have a good time because we had a great cruise on the Ecstasy, I feel the need to apologise.

 

Oh please dont apologize over something you could not control. I am sure you had a great time and honestly we did too. I have no complaints with the service, food, entertainment, our cabin, or activities. It is a FUN SHIP! My only disappointment was not getting to the ports. But with a 50% refund it doesnt hurt too bad. I missed the riot. I heard the announcement about going to the Sapphire Lounge for the Q & A and as we were walking there I saw the people gathered around the atrium with crew in white clothes down below. My DH said he wondered what was going on? I am not the rioting kind so it did seem silly. I didnt hear about the throwing fruit. Might have been kids. There were tons onboard.

[karenh1127]

Danny,I understand what you are saying.But along with what I mentioned above.The letter was very optimistic that ports would be reached...And a lot of folks did not even get the info on the refund,or it was given to them after their luggage had been taken,and they were literally walking on the ship.Hungry tired and screaming kids..No airline tickets home..your only weeks vacation...What would you do? The one sentence that would have made me go ahead and get onboard "In the Unlikely event that we do not make it to ...."

 

 

No one got the letter until literally minutes before boarding around 10pm after sitting and waiting for hours and hours. Yes there were crying kids and anxious adults. Me? I was just hungry!! I chose to cruise because my kids were on spring break, DH was on vacation and we looked so forward to our first cruise. With the ship visable thru the windows there was no way we could walk away. I also figured if we took the refund, it would be weeks before we got it or it was credited to my cc and I had no other money around to go somewhere else this week. I dont regret going at all. I just hope they are more upfront about problems when they occur.

[GoinCruisin]

No one got the letter until literally minutes before boarding around 10pm after sitting and waiting for hours and hours. Yes there were crying kids and anxious adults. Me? I was just hungry!! I chose to cruise because my kids were on spring break, DH was on vacation and we looked so forward to our first cruise. With the ship visable thru the windows there was no way we could walk away. I also figured if we took the refund, it would be weeks before we got it or it was credited to my cc and I had no other money around to go somewhere else this week. I dont regret going at all. I just hope they are more upfront about problems when they occur.

 

Karen, I am actually excited for you... not that these bad things happened, but between the 50% refund and the 25% off a future cruise, you can book a much bigger and newer ship for next Spring Break and it will cost you hardly a thing!!!!! I know your first experience wasn't the best... It was not until my last cruise that I had a SINGLE thing go wrong, so had it happened on my first, I might have a slight concern in booking again. But it sounds like you made the best of it and you will have a fabulous time next time!!!!!

[karenh1127]

Actually we are going skiing next spring break but we do want to book another cruise. I think we will go when it is a bit more warmer because it was so cold and windy you could not enjoy the balcony or the upper decks or the pool. Some kids were swimming and half of those had on wet suits. I want to go when I know it is warm enough to swim but not during peak hurricane season. I was thinking early June.

[CrazyMums]

No one got the letter until literally minutes before boarding around 10pm after sitting and waiting for hours and hours.

 

One account (which I can't find at the moment) said that the TA's were notified earlier of the problems but most pax seem to be blaming Carnival for the last minute notification. What about the TA's? No one seems to be upset with them. I would imagine that Carnival hoped they could fix it, hence the late passing out of the letter. At least the pax that chose to board still had all the amenities and were at sea. When the Destiny broke down in the middle of the ocean and drifted for five days back in 2000, Carnival tried real hard to get it fixed. The part needed was not available and they ended up taking it off a ship that was being built in Europe, flying it over, and getting it out to the ship. This all takes time. I don't recall any protests or bad attitudes. It seemed that everyone (including my family group of 13) were having a great time. Glad to hear you made the best of it. Too bad others didn't have your great attitude.

[JenX]

I don't understand why people waste money on TA's anyway. In this day and age you don't need them. :)

[TxMom]

The letters handed out on Monday were optimistic in tone. And, yes, they were handed out, 1 letter per group, after 10:30 p.m. My father even thought to write down the time it was received. By this time we'd been there for hours, we were tired and hungry. We had taken vacation time from work and the kids were on spring break. My parents and sister had flown in to join us and my other sister and our families. We figured if it turned into a trip to nowhere at least we'd be together. The hard part was accepting Progresso as an even trade for Cozumel and Calica. That didn't fly with anyone. I think everyone was upset because by them saying we were going to go to Progresso they wouldn't have to give the 50% refund. I must say they came up with excursion choices in Progresso pretty quickly though. Wonder how they knew to have all that printing done up??

 

I was at the "peaceful protest" and never saw anyhting being thrown. Neither did anyone else in my family. There were alot of kids on board, though. I spoke to someone who had a group of 80 kids on board from a school group from out of town. They had held several fundraisers to pay for their trip. They couldn't just walk off the boat on Monday night.

 

I think Carnival knew on Monday when we left that we weren't going to go anywhere and just chose not to share this in a straightforward manner. Heck, they were still selling excursions to Calica and Cozumel on Tuesday before they closed the excursion desk! I just feel they put customer satisfaction very low in their priorities. They just wanted to sail. This latest PR for them isn't going to help them much....

[GoinCruisin]

This latest PR for them isn't going to help them much....

 

Sorry to say, it's not going to hurt them much. Since less than 1% of people that cruise actually visit message boards, and most people that cruise will never hear of this incident, it's not going to hurt them a bit. It's a great value and people will continue to cruise... it's a growing industry and will continue to be that way I believe.

[PiperMcB]

As stated by many passengers from that cruise, they were aware of the problems prior to getting on the ship... they had the option of cancelling. I agree with TxRoo, it is pathetic! Throwing fruit? Did these people NOT read the letter? They were getting a 50% discount and they throw fruit? Disgusting. And the talk of lawsuits? Sorry, the passengers knew it was a possibility and still stepped on the ship... no basis for a lawsuit here. I'm sorry it happened, but bottom line, the passengers were warned it was a possibility and still accepted it... So now you have people who received all the amenities of a cruise, a 50% discount , a 25% discount on a future cruise and they are STILL looking for something... RIDICULOUS! Still sounds like the majority of the passengers stated out of the fray and did the best to enjoy themselves... the other passengers should be ashamed of themselves for starting and participating in a "riot" :rolleyes:

 

At that point the people did NOT think they were getting a 50% refund. They thought Carnival was going to Progresso (not a very good port) to avoid the 50%. Also, there were 3 high school bands and many college spring breakers and lots of children on board. I didn't see fruit thrown. If it were thrown, I'd lay bets on the young folk doing it.

[sgriff17]

I don't understand why people waste money on TA's anyway. In this day and age you don't need them. :)

 

I agree with you Jen, what a waste of money.

[GoinCruisin]

I will still hold my opinion.... no excuse for a "riot" :rolleyes: Some times adults need to be role models, and staging a riot is certainly not the way to handle problems... Had I been the captain, I wouldn't have shown up. The idea of standing in front of 500 screaming angry passengers doesn't sit well with me. These people know how riots go in the US, I would have hidden in my quarters, LOL... Carnival may have handled things poorly, but from the reports here... so did many of the passengers.

[TxMom]

Sorry to say, it's not going to hurt them much. Since less than 1% of people that cruise actually visit message boards, and most people that cruise will never hear of this incident, it's not going to hurt them a bit. It's a great value and people will continue to cruise... it's a growing industry and will continue to be that way I believe.

 

Well, it's getting a lot of negative PR on the Houston TV and newspapers now. Almost everyone on board seemed to be from Texas and the majority of those were from the Houston area. It is a great value and people will most certainly continue to cruise...but now there are more options out of Galveston and people can choose accordingly...

[GoinCruisin]

Well, it's getting a lot of negative PR on the Houston TV and newspapers now. Almost everyone on board seemed to be from Texas and the majority of those were from the Houston area. It is a great value and people will most certainly continue to cruise...but now there are more options out of Galveston and people can choose accordingly...

 

So then it happens on another cruiseline and everyone from Houston boycotts that cruiseline too... so then everyone in Houston is left without an option... but the rest of the country is still enjoying cruising... Just WHO is that hurting? Not hurting the cruiselines. This kind of thing happens... not just Carnival. I'll be meeting with all my Texan friends at the M&M next week and most of them LOVE Carnival and something like this would certainly not keep them from cruising Carnival...

[mp3jrick]

I don't think it's fair of Carnival to knowingly let people arrive only to greet them with this news, options or not, they are taking advantage of people by doing so to minimize their losses.

These ships run 50 weeks a year despite major malfunctions.

Passengers who knowingly take the option and board have no clue what it is like bobbing around in seas at less than moderate/headway cruise speed.

When the motion sickness sets in is when feelings change.

This is what turns the whole situation around, nobody wants to be sick.

 

You as a passenger are put on the spot to board or go home, and lured on with discounted rates and future discounts. This is B.S.

 

Having been on a ship with problems before I realized what the trap of not knowing feels like.

But, the trap on not knowing compounded by the unknown of motion sickness with no way off or out is criminal on their behalf.

 

Business fail and succeed based on word of mouth, Carnival will get their due.

You can bet on it.

[JenX]

I'm not sure about the only 1% of cruisers visiting message boards. Maybe that is true of this particular website, but there are lots of cruise forums (hundreds) and tens of thousands of travel message boards. Most travelers want to be educated and informed not only of cruise info but of reviews and opinions. I know there are many people who don't utilize the internet for these things at all (and frankly, where else would you get the info...Frommer's?) but I believe most are net-savvy enough to realize that if they want their money's worth they better spend a little time researching. To do otherwise is just ignorant. Carnival will catch on to this eventually or they will go the way of the dinosaur.

[halos]

Carnival will catch on to this eventually or they will go the way of the dinosaur.

 

With their sales being what they are, it's a VERY long time before they need to worry about extinction.

[Stircrzy]

I'll be meeting with all my Texan friends at the M&M next week and most of them LOVE Carnival and something like this would certainly not keep them from cruising Carnival...

 

Hey...why wasn't *I* invited to eat M&Ms with you in Texas??

 

HAHHAHAHAHHA!

 

As for Carnival and the way this debacle was handled:

 

Public Relations 101...first rule is to cover your ass.

 

"Might be unable, but expect to be able", etc. Discount the negative (we got your money and we're taking you NOWHERE...or to Progreso because we need the revenue that you spend onboard to cover those 50% discounts), accentuate the positive (ALL other onboard amenities are operable...we just can't go fast). All other offenses are covered in the Terms of Service (we got your money and we can do anything with you as long as we leave the dock...that's ALL we have promised...and we're leaving the damn dock even if we have to be towed by that tug!).

 

Now, where's my compensation for having to stay onboard for an extra 12+ hours last Monday? Yeah, I got fed, won some money at the slots, and had a hellacious time getting off of the freakin' ship, but...I had things to do at home Monday afternoon that I didn't get to do, and getting home at midnight made me sleep late on Tuesday and I wasted that day, too!! Carnival already knew that ship was broken...where's my discount?

 

(And how do I get on the list for one of those $99 cruise to nowhere's out of Galveston?)

 

(Post meant to be my attempt at humor...those who flame me will be ignored as ignorant twits. Laugh and the world laughs with you...crying only messes up your mascara.)