Is It Making You Think Twice About Cruising?

[Himself]

I willnot hesitate to cruise. I just will not saill on Carnival theso called fun ships.

[scamper]

Too bad you feel that way about Carnival .they do have great ships,great staff,good food and good entertainment .if you have been onone and did not like fine but to say you would not go without ever having been ...i say ...too bad ..you are missing something .....

Do not cut your nose to spite your face ....I like carnival .......and Princess NCLetc etc etc

 

I'm happy that they work for you. And, yes, I have cruised on what I refer to as the "mass market lines" that you listed. They aren't my cup of tea. I prefer a quieter, more sedate and, dare I say, luxurious experience that I find on Holland, Celebrity, Seabourn, and Cunard.

 

I know they work for many cruisers. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in business. Call me a snob if you like, and my answer will be, "Damn straight!"

[world~citizen]

...Call me a snob if you like, ...

 

Ok - you are a snob, but by that standard so am I so its alright.:)

[sandij]

I will continue to cruise and I love Carnival, never had a bad experience on them all the many times we have sailed. A good attitude goes a long way to making a cruise what you expect. I realize there are extenuating circumstances from time to time and I would never want to be in the situation the people on the Triumph were but still I would and will cruise.

[Rotterdam]

With all due respect anyone that has sailed on Veendam or some of the other HAL ships will know of maintainence problems....a/c plumbing, pools.

 

3 years ago was my last cruise w/ HAL on Veendam.....I could list & verify the problems onboard.( I am a 4 Star Mariner starting to sail w/ HAL back in 1977). I have not nor will be back onboard a HAL ship. Too bad - they ruined a good thing.

 

 

CCL did the same thing with the QE2/ CUNARD starting back in the early 2000's...a friend of mine was a Chief Engineer with CCL.....enough said.

 

 

I understand you have a financial interest w/ CCL but to grandstand for this company is below you...sorry to say.

 

sppunk,

 

Would it be possible to be a bit more specific?

 

When was your cruise in the VEENDAM and what kind of problems did you experience?

 

Thanks,

 

Stephen

[MrBill64]

This incident will not affect my future cruise bookings. But I would like to say that another couple that we are trying to convince going on a cruise with us have told us "no way" after reading and seeing the Triumph incident. They have cruised a couple times but refuse to book another cruise.

 

I think most people that post here won't hesitate to book another cruise. Also I would think that this incident might be a plus for those of us looking to book cruises in the near future. I would anticipate a short term downturn in cruise bookings which might mean lower pricing. I read that after the Concordia accident, cruise bookings went down and so did prices to compensate. Not to make light of what the passengers went through on the Carnival ship this week, but for those diehard cruisers lower prices might be the silver lining.

 

Food for thought.

[sammiedawg]

Holland America has had significant maintenance issues on the veendam, plumbing and air conditioning failures. Then the failed health and sanitation inspection really creeped me out as we had been on that ship in South America a couple months prior. I saw tremendous cutbacks in dining room staffing which concerns me, if there are cutbacks in the front of the house what is going on in the back.

We have never done transatlantic for the concerns regarding emergent health problems. Now I would worry about mechanical,failures.

But we will cruise again and hope for the best.

I am somewhat embarrassed when non cruising friends bring these horrible ship stories up.

[Watson's aunt]

hi Been on Carnavial twice and hated it. I like Hal and will cruise on them. I don't really worry about crusing. Or flying once I am at airport. So I will continue to fly and cruie. not sure what I want to do this year. Last year I brought Diapers I am sure people would have loved those than the ref bags. I bring plastic bags for disposial.

 

 

Mary

[GeriatricNurse]

I have only cruised with HAL & X. I have not had a 'regretful' cruising experience with either cruiseline. :)

[Barrheadlass]

I'll keep cruising. We have a TA booked on Oceania for 2014 and are thinking of doing another and some of the above posts are a little scary!

[PEB]

It has not changed my mind about cruising at all. I will continue to cruise as long as I can afford it. I would have no problem going back on Carnival either if I found the right cruise for the right price.

[mermaid72]

It gives one pause to consider whether a land vacation might be a better idea for some people' date=' especially those with health and age issues and the handicapped whose mobility is a problem. These last few days on the Triumph has got to have been very difficult or worse for those who are not young or healthy. I myself would still cruise I think, but on smaller ships only.[/quote']

I will probably cruise in the far future, but never on Carnival or any cruise line that is mainly concerned with the bottom line instead of it's passengers comfort and safety.

Perhaps Carnival will finally pull its head out of the sand because of this fiasco.

[sail7seas]

This incident will not affect my future cruise bookings. But I would like to say that another couple that we are trying to convince going on a cruise with us have told us "no way" after reading and seeing the Triumph incident. They have cruised a couple times but refuse to book another cruise.

 

I think most people that post here won't hesitate to book another cruise. Also I would think that this incident might be a plus for those of us looking to book cruises in the near future. I would anticipate a short term downturn in cruise bookings which might mean lower pricing. I read that after the Concordia accident, cruise bookings went down and so did prices to compensate. Not to make light of what the passengers went through on the Carnival ship this week, but for those diehard cruisers lower prices might be the silver lining.

 

Food for thought.

 

 

Be careful what you wish for.

The lower they keep pricing these cruises, the more cutbacks. It's simple arithmetic. If they charge less, they have to provide less.

 

We each decide what works for us....... do we want the 'cheapest' experience possible or do we want a quality product?

 

You get what you pay for..... or at least, if you pay a lot, you hope you get value for your money.

 

 

 

 

I will probably cruise in the far future, but never on Carnival or any cruise line that is mainly concerned with the bottom line instead of it's passengers comfort and safety.

Perhaps Carnival will finally pull its head out of the sand because of this fiasco.

 

 

 

Every business, every cruise line is always about bottom line or they are out of business quickly.

 

 

 

[luxurysailer]

Cruise ship problems will not dissuade us from cruising. In fact we're looking forward to our cruise on the Volendam next month.

 

However, what we should all do is at least think about potential problems and do a little planning ahead. For instance, both the Costa Concordia disaster and the Carnival Triumph problem point out that we should have a good flashlight with us at all times when on a cruise ship. Some very good ones are now available that can be carried in a man's pocket or a lady's purse without adding significant weight or bulk. Incidentally, I've purchased two.

[MrBill64]

Be careful what you wish for.

The lower they keep pricing these cruises, the more cutbacks. It's simple arithmetic. If they charge less, they have to provide less.

 

We each decide what works for us....... do we want the 'cheapest' experience possible or do we want a quality product?

 

You get what you pay for..... or at least, if you pay a lot, you hope you get value for your money.

 

 

I agree with this in the long term but my point was that prices will come down in the short term to fill cabins. With the general public being jaded toward cruising, the main way to get them to book is cheap pricing and showing them cruising is safe. This would be tough to do if you cut back on service and crew. Once the public fears subside, bookings will begin to increase and you will see prices rise and cutbacks won't be necessary. But if the down turn in bookings continues, then yes, lower prices AND cutbacks will probably be the norm. And this is NOT what I am wishing for.

 

We all want a high quality product for a "reasonable" price. Everyone's definition of reasonable will be different of course ;) . But I believe in the short term the consumer can benefit from this Triumph incident.

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Bill

[Rotterdam]

Prinsendam & Noordam I can attest to....I gave up on HAL after 30+ years of cruising on their ships. Veendam was the worst with the Prinsendam a close second.

 

The continuing plumbing/air cond problems on Veendam and a few other ships over a period of years pretty much settles this maintanence arguement. There also was the failed CDC inspection that involved some maintanence issues.

[Tampa Girl]

There are several outboard motors stored below. Once the gas runs out they switch to the oars

The more you row the higher the OBC is and you get addition mariners credit

 

 

This would make a great cartoon!

[kangforpres]

With the widespread acceptance of mass market cruising there are more cruises and people cruising then ever before. So the rate of incidents and accidents will go up.

 

What concerns me the most about recent events is the parent company's culture of sailing at any cost. (which I fear has trickled down to all the subsidary lines) If the Truimph was not ready to sail it should have been pulled out of service and repaired. This would have resulted in cancellations and refunds which is the last thing Carnival wants to do.

 

Everyone in the CC comunity has concerns and complaints about the current Industry culture yet we keep cruising becasue it appeals to us. If novices and newbies are scared there is still enough of us to fill ships, hopefully the industry will redeadicate itself to safety and service but don't hold your breath, which you should practice doing since the smells on the ships are not always pleasant.

[KirkNC]

Just wondering.... given all the dire reports from the Carnival ship this week, is it putting anyone off of cruising? I've heard people say no way would they ever cruise anyway, and the Carnival situation is a good reason. For myself, it won't stop me cruising, but it certainly does make you wonder if it could ever happen to you. And this is the second time in recent years with Carnival.

 

No but I did see s thread that listed eleven ships that had fires of some magnitude in the last three years, I was surprised it was that many.

[Tampa Girl]

Can someone enlighten me as to the extent of control each cruise line has over maintenance and day-to-day operations? Each cruise line is a corporation in and of itself, with presumably its own CEO. How much control does Carnival Corporation, itself, have over each cruise line? For that matter, how extensive is Carnival Corporation"s knowledge of each cruise line's corporate and adminisitrative operations? Any corporate attorneys out there?

[sammiedawg]

I would think carnival corporation assigns a budget to each line. I would think each line has revenue and profit goals to meet.

[Tampa Girl]

I would think carnival corporation assigns a budget to each line. I would think each line has revenue and profit goals to meet.

 

But each of these lines is a separate corporation under the umbrella of Carnival Corporation. I would be surprised if Carnival Corporation assigns a "budget", but it might require a certain profit margin. My knowledge of corporations would have to grow to become cursory.

[mermaid72]

Be careful what you wish for.

The lower they keep pricing these cruises, the more cutbacks. It's simple arithmetic. If they charge less, they have to provide less.

 

We each decide what works for us....... do we want the 'cheapest' experience possible or do we want a quality product?

 

You get what you pay for..... or at least, if you pay a lot, you hope you get value for your money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every business, every cruise line is always about bottom line or they are out of business quickly.

 

 

 

Of course the bottom line is important in any business, but passenger safety should be right up there with the CEO's bonus!

[Tredebo]

The recovery of the Triumph has me a little intrigued. They sent 2 tugs out then a third. I saw 2 other Carnival ships near her as well. Is there an engineering/physics/practical barrier to one of the ships being able to tow her?

[DFD1]

As to the OP's original question....We will likely continue to cruise, but we'll be careful to avoid a stateroom on the lower two decks. The Triumph experience impressed on me the need to be where it is quick and easy to get outside.

 

Further, we'll hesitate to book a TA or Hawaii cruise because of the possibility of a break-down in mid ocean where recovering the ship could take a week or more and the weather could make a bad situation into a disaster.

 

I'm impressed with the fire compression systems on the ships. The recent fires have been contained before they spread. That speaks well for the fire fighting systems and training.

 

IMO