Ship Inspection Feedback

[SB2788]

I am an travel agent and work for one of the larger agencies. I book most of my cruises through Carnival's portal and recently received an e-mail from our Business Development Manager about an opportunity to tour one of the Carnival ships in New York. Since I was due to go on the cruise myself, I decided it would be interesting to go on the tour or as it is sometimes referred to, "ship inspection." In addition to me going on the tour, I took two of my better clients with me since they were considering booking a few cabins for a company function later this year. this wasn't my first ship inspection..

 

On this particular inspection, I was horrified to see the behavior of some of my fellow travel agents and their guests. People made it openly known that they were, "only here for lunch" and things of that nature. Many people were whining and complaining about the length of the tour. Some were questioning why was it necessary to visit the various stateroom categories and public areas on the ship when they already knew about the ship.

 

I really do not understand what/ why they were complaining about. It is a TOUR. In a TOUR, you go around and see various parts of the ship. They obviously knew what it was when they signed up for it but yet felt the need to complain loudly about it. I overhead one gentleman say upon disembarking from the ship that he was, "glad to be off that wreck of a ship" and it being, "pointless to tour it since all of CCL's ships are cookie cutter ships." If that is your feeling, why sign up? A woman with a service dog was complaining about how Carnival set up the tour so inconveniently for her; she never wanted to do so much walking. My question: Why even sign up if that is your attitude?

 

I do apologize for my long rant.. I was wondering if other travel agents have had this same experience or any passengers who have gone on ship inspections experienced the same behavior from agents and their guests. This was my first time having a "negative" experience on a ship inspection and would love to hear what others have experienced on them.

 

For the record, I enjoyed the tour and was grateful for the opportunity to tour the vessel.

[CWcruisers]

How can I say this delicately, but it may be because of the geographic location of the tour. I grew up in upstate New York and now live in California and Mexico and, well, there is a difference in attitudes.

 

I toured a HAL ship and did the two day Cruise to Nowhere when the Splendor moved to California and enjoyed learning of the hidden treasures of each ship.

[BallFour4]

We've been invited aboard several ships and most recently spent the night aboard the Magic when she came to Galveston. In that 18 hour period we saw two people handcuffed and escorted off, one fight and a few drunks.

 

This was a free event!

 

 

.

[CWcruisers]

We've been invited aboard several ships and most recently spent the night aboard the Magic when she came to Galveston. In that 18 hour period we saw two people handcuffed and escorted off, one fight and a few drunks.

 

This was a free event!

 

 

.

 

 

Wow!:confused:

[Sillyjilly]

We've been invited aboard several ships and most recently spent the night aboard the Magic when she came to Galveston. In that 18 hour period we saw two people handcuffed and escorted off, one fight and a few drunks.

 

This was a free event!

 

 

.

 

I learned a long time ago that when something is free, it seems to bring out the dregs of society. I avoid most free events now. :eek:

[Kilnwood]

I learned a long time ago that when something is free, it seems to bring out the dregs of society. I avoid most free events now. :eek:

 

BBM

 

To these profound statements, I will add only that it's been my experience that "people don't appreciate what they don't pay for."

 

Thank you for sharing!

[RyanDMB99@aol.com]

If you read half the posts on cc people dont appreciate what they pay for either. I was recently at a concert in Scranton, Pa which attracted many "locals" from the OP's tour location. They Have a very ego-centric mentality.

[twindaddy]

I learned a long time ago that when something is free, it seems to bring out the dregs of society. I avoid most free events now. :eek:

 

Agreed.

[Moobaby214]

I learned a long time ago that when something is free, it seems to bring out the dregs of society. I avoid most free events now. :eek:

 

Agreed!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[9876]

The sad thing is that agents who really wanted to tour the ship probably were not able to sign up to the event being full. Too bad.

[Gailerina]

I would love to do an event like this, but I may get in trouble for snapping at people.

 

People love to complain more then praise. At work when someone comes in a praise for people...even the managers are surprised.

[AZbeachboy]

How can I say this delicately, but it may be because of the geographic location of the tour. I grew up in upstate New York and now live in California and Mexico and, well, there is a difference in attitudes.

 

I toured a HAL ship and did the two day Cruise to Nowhere when the Splendor moved to California and enjoyed learning of the hidden treasures of each ship.

 

I agree about New Yorkers and easterners in general. When you come west across the Mississippi River, Please have your passports or green cards ready. We really should be two counties.

[beachsea&sail]

I am an travel agent and work for one of the larger agencies. I book most of my cruises through Carnival's portal and recently received an e-mail from our Business Development Manager about an opportunity to tour one of the Carnival ships in New York. Since I was due to go on the cruise myself, I decided it would be interesting to go on the tour or as it is sometimes referred to, "ship inspection." In addition to me going on the tour, I took two of my better clients with me since they were considering booking a few cabins for a company function later this year. this wasn't my first ship inspection..

 

On this particular inspection, I was horrified to see the behavior of some of my fellow travel agents and their guests. People made it openly known that they were, "only here for lunch" and things of that nature. Many people were whining and complaining about the length of the tour. Some were questioning why was it necessary to visit the various stateroom categories and public areas on the ship when they already knew about the ship.

 

I really do not understand what/ why they were complaining about. It is a TOUR. In a TOUR, you go around and see various parts of the ship. They obviously knew what it was when they signed up for it but yet felt the need to complain loudly about it. I overhead one gentleman say upon disembarking from the ship that he was, "glad to be off that wreck of a ship" and it being, "pointless to tour it since all of CCL's ships are cookie cutter ships." If that is your feeling, why sign up? A woman with a service dog was complaining about how Carnival set up the tour so inconveniently for her; she never wanted to do so much walking. My question: Why even sign up if that is your attitude?

 

I do apologize for my long rant.. I was wondering if other travel agents have had this same experience or any passengers who have gone on ship inspections experienced the same behavior from agents and their guests. This was my first time having a "negative" experience on a ship inspection and would love to hear what others have experienced on them.

 

For the record, I enjoyed the tour and was grateful for the opportunity to tour the vessel.

 

Thank you for posting...and your feedback. I will be taking this tour at the end of July for just the same reason and it will be my first "ship inspection", so I was sort of curious to know what to expect. Since I will be staying with family in NY for a few weeks, and not driving down from Ottawa specifically for this event, at least I won't be too angry if this is a "negative" experience. I was also looking forward to the event, as I will be cruising on the ship in November. Oh well:(

[BallFour4]

I learned a long time ago that when something is free, it seems to bring out the dregs of society. I avoid most free events now. :eek:

 

 

Here are the pictures I took, and we loved the time spent aboard!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

[Cricket63]

Here are the pictures I took, and we loved the time spent aboard!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

 

Thanks for sharing your tour...the Magic is beautiful!

[NCTribeFan]

If this tour was on Miracle, then she most definitely is NOT a cookie-cutter ship and travel agents need to be aware of that fact. The four ships in the Spirit class as very, very different from the others in Carnival's fleet.

 

I've always said that the other classes of ships are just bigger, expanded versions of Carnival's "floating shoebox" design from Fantasy on up to Breeze.

 

I much, much, much prefer the layout of Miracle than any of the others but realize that Carnival will never add any more ships of that style to the fleet. :(

 

One of the best things about my HAL cruise to Hawaii was that Zaandam was sort of a smaller version of a Spirit-class ship.

 

Anyway, sad to read that this happened, but I guess it doesn't really surprise me.

[LRDR01]

I am an travel agent and work for one of the larger agencies. I book most of my cruises through Carnival's portal and recently received an e-mail from our Business Development Manager about an opportunity to tour one of the Carnival ships in New York. Since I was due to go on the cruise myself, I decided it would be interesting to go on the tour or as it is sometimes referred to, "ship inspection." In addition to me going on the tour, I took two of my better clients with me since they were considering booking a few cabins for a company function later this year. this wasn't my first ship inspection..

 

On this particular inspection, I was horrified to see the behavior of some of my fellow travel agents and their guests. People made it openly known that they were, "only here for lunch" and things of that nature. Many people were whining and complaining about the length of the tour. Some were questioning why was it necessary to visit the various stateroom categories and public areas on the ship when they already knew about the ship.

 

I really do not understand what/ why they were complaining about. It is a TOUR. In a TOUR, you go around and see various parts of the ship. They obviously knew what it was when they signed up for it but yet felt the need to complain loudly about it. I overhead one gentleman say upon disembarking from the ship that he was, "glad to be off that wreck of a ship" and it being, "pointless to tour it since all of CCL's ships are cookie cutter ships." If that is your feeling, why sign up? A woman with a service dog was complaining about how Carnival set up the tour so inconveniently for her; she never wanted to do so much walking. My question: Why even sign up if that is your attitude?

 

I do apologize for my long rant.. I was wondering if other travel agents have had this same experience or any passengers who have gone on ship inspections experienced the same behavior from agents and their guests. This was my first time having a "negative" experience on a ship inspection and would love to hear what others have experienced on them.

 

For the record, I enjoyed the tour and was grateful for the opportunity to tour the vessel.

 

 

Like you, I also was a TA for a larger Travel Company based on the East Coast (we lived West of Philadelphia at that time). As DH was also working for a different larger TA at the same time, we were both afforded some fantastic opportunities to tour and sometimes stay aboard some of the new ships in NY. We have seen some horrific and sometimes blatent acts of disrespect from TA's and their guests in that area (not only ones from NY, but CT, PA, MA and RI). I'm not sure what these individuals were thinking and where they learned their manners. It was embarrassing at times to call myself a TA.

I remember several occassions being invited to 5 star hotels in the Philly area for a Vendor event where I personally observed several TA's whip out ziplock baggies and fill them with shrimp and such provided by the vendor through the hotel, then, stuff that baggie in their purse. Terrible.

I no longer work as a TA, but, DH is still with his company in a different capacity and we now live in Arizona. We still attend TA functions though DH and, not once have I ever witnessed any type of behavior out here that has made me shake my head. It's a different world. Best move we ever made.

I also notice quite a difference in the passengers aboard the ships. As you can see from our signature, we still cruise a little, but, mostly from the West Coast now. Our cruises from FLA were all the same thing. 3 or 4 nights of rudeness and outrageous behavior from the North East passengers (not all of them, but, more than less). We have never experienced anything like that when sailing from LA or San Diego. Always a laidback group and, for the most part, extremely courteous.

I feel your pain.

[LizaMM]

Here are the pictures I took, and we loved the time spent aboard!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeusry/sets/72157628129712752/

 

Thanks for posting the link to your photos!!

[katiel53]

I grew up in NJ and believe that the people living in the NYC area are the most rude people I have ever seen on a ship. We lived Upstate NY, Syracuse area, before moving to FL and the people from Upstate are far different from those in NYC.

 

We now live in FL and whenever we sail from there, it is very obvious who is from the NYC area on the ship. I know not ALL are loud, obnoxious, self-centered and argumentative, but the ones who are tarnish the others with the same brush.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I am sure thay were not the top seller TA.

[SB2788]

Thank you for posting...and your feedback. I will be taking this tour at the end of July for just the same reason and it will be my first "ship inspection", so I was sort of curious to know what to expect. Since I will be staying with family in NY for a few weeks, and not driving down from Ottawa specifically for this event, at least I won't be too angry if this is a "negative" experience. I was also looking forward to the event, as I will be cruising on the ship in November. Oh well:(

 

The tour itself is not bad! I am betting you will enjoy it. You will first visit the various types of cabins. Inside all the way up to Suites) Then, you will take a tour of the public areas including the casino, shops, dining venues, clubs, bars, chapel, library, and the atrium. Then, you will head up to Lido where you will then see the spa, fitness center, and steakhouse. It's quite informative and a great opportunity for taking photos without worrying about many other cruisers obstructing your photos. Then, you will have lunch in the MDR where it's business as usual.

 

My only advice is to wear comfortable shoes because you will be doing quite a bit of walking. The elevators are in use for luggage so you will mostly be taking the stairs.

[SB2788]

Like you, I also was a TA for a larger Travel Company based on the East Coast (we lived West of Philadelphia at that time). As DH was also working for a different larger TA at the same time, we were both afforded some fantastic opportunities to tour and sometimes stay aboard some of the new ships in NY. We have seen some horrific and sometimes blatent acts of disrespect from TA's and their guests in that area (not only ones from NY, but CT, PA, MA and RI). I'm not sure what these individuals were thinking and where they learned their manners. It was embarrassing at times to call myself a TA.

I remember several occassions being invited to 5 star hotels in the Philly area for a Vendor event where I personally observed several TA's whip out ziplock baggies and fill them with shrimp and such provided by the vendor through the hotel, then, stuff that baggie in their purse. Terrible.

I no longer work as a TA, but, DH is still with his company in a different capacity and we now live in Arizona. We still attend TA functions though DH and, not once have I ever witnessed any type of behavior out here that has made me shake my head. It's a different world. Best move we ever made.

I also notice quite a difference in the passengers aboard the ships. As you can see from our signature, we still cruise a little, but, mostly from the West Coast now. Our cruises from FLA were all the same thing. 3 or 4 nights of rudeness and outrageous behavior from the North East passengers (not all of them, but, more than less). We have never experienced anything like that when sailing from LA or San Diego. Always a laidback group and, for the most part, extremely courteous.

I feel your pain.

 

Sadly, this is is the scheme of things..

On a cruise, I saw an agent (You could tell he was part of some tour group because he had on a tie and had the little ID badge on his belt loop) that broke away from his group and was lined up on Lido Deck with a tray getting food! On this inspection (Miracle), I noticed an agent picking up pens from cabins we visited! Have they no shame?

 

I love cruises but I am beginning to prefer hotel/ resort FAM's as they require a nominal fee ($100-- $350) but well worth the amenities and atmosphere. Since there is a fee and you are responsible for your own airfare, there isn't as much mooching.

[nlktx49]

Maybe it is just a regional thing. I live in Texas and have been part of a group cruise twice that included my TA, also from Texas. She is great, made sure we were all taken care of, but in a friendly, courteous manner. I can't imagine she would act like you said TA's on your tour acted! I can understand your disappointment.

[Herfnerd]

I grew up in NJ and believe that the people living in the NYC area are the most rude people I have ever seen on a ship. We lived Upstate NY, Syracuse area, before moving to FL and the people from Upstate are far different from those in NYC.

 

We now live in FL and whenever we sail from there, it is very obvious who is from the NYC area on the ship. I know not ALL are loud, obnoxious, self-centered and argumentative, but the ones who are tarnish the others with the same brush.

 

I agree - I think CWCruisers meant to say downstate NY. I was born and raised in Upstate NY - Corning, Elmira, Horseheads area. Those in NYC are a totally different breed and nothing like the rest of the state.

 

I find it funny when I tell people I am from originally from NY and they say I don't sound like I'm from NY - like Brooklyn encompasses the entire state....

[Fungusgnat]

I learned a long time ago that when something is free, it seems to bring out the dregs of society. I avoid most free events now. :eek:

 

Oh really??? :mad: That is good to know, as we dregs can associate with our own peeps!!!