Informal poll, did the carnival incident make you change your mind about cruising

[JAYRAY1259]

I'm curious as to whether or not this most recent Carnival fiasco has made you change your mind about cruising. I just watched the hatchet job that the news did on the cruise industry on Friday night. For one thing just about everything they brought out was just a rehash, except for the incident this week. I do know this, I would not cruise on Carnival. The Costa Concordia belongs to them and they have treated the survivors and the families of the 30 some people who perished on that night pretty bad. That should never have happened, the captain was an idiot and most of the crew were ill prepared to handle that situation. Carnival had another engine failure on another ship last year, which caused it to drift without any power for several days.

They also talked about people going overboard and lost at sea. They say that on average 23 people a year go overboard. I don't think that's accurate, but I do know that it's pretty damn hard to fall off of a ship. They interviewed one gentleman who said he woke up in the ocean and somehow managed to stay afloat for over 4 hours. He got rescued by a passing freighter. He did admit to getting plastered while partying all night.....HELLLLLOOOOO.

My feeling is this, Carnival does not maintain their ships properly or this would not happen. They took that ship out with known prior engine problems, just for the God almighty dollar. They jeopardized those peoples lives and at the very least ruined their vacations. Any man made machine can encounter a mechanical problem. If that happens and your on a ship that was well maintained and through no fault of the crew develops a problem, then so be it. You can buy a brand new car and have a mechanical problem. Carnival did not hold up their end of the bargain with their passengers.

As for the people that somehow find themselves in the ocean and the ship sailing away without them, well take responsibility for you own actions. I like to enjoy cocktails just like anyone else. For many people including myself and my wife it's a fun time and you don't have to worry about driving home. I do not allow myself nor does my wife to drink ourselves into oblivion.

I for one love the cruise experience as does my lovely wife Libby. I will not allow this to deter me in any way. I took my first cruise on Carnival back in 1992. We had a great time, but after that we have stayed with RCCL. I like the mix of young and older folks, they are very kid friendly and their officers and crew seem to handle themselves very professionally.

I'm sure there will be lots of pros and cons out there because of this latest incident, so lets hear what you have to say. Smooth sailing to all, Joe & Libby, Philadelphia, Pa

[rugbypopsie]

Hell no...give up cruising ..never. Cruise on Carnval...probably not but never say "never". Ships break down, dreadfully unpleasant and inconvenient...planes break down...dead!

 

 

Sue

[UNV-IT!!!]

Nope I feel no different. Things can happen. Anywhere anytime. I just choose to cruise with safer lines.

[whataboutport]

My second cruise was actually on Celebrity, one month after 9/11. It was booked well in advance of that, we went anyway. My dad told us if it was our time to go, it was our time to go. No reason to worry or fret. It turned out to be one of my best vacations ever, and what I compare all vacays and cruises to this day.

[SueBabe]

Hell no...give up cruising ..never. Cruise on Carnval...probably not but never say "never". Ships break down, dreadfully unpleasant and inconvenient...planes break down...dead!

 

 

Sue

 

I watched the movie, "Flight" with Denzel Washington tonight and thought the same thing!

[CosmoLover]

I am on the fence. I know taking a Carnival cruise is completely out of the question now. I was hesitant to book with them for my first cruise because of reviews and advice from friends who cruised CCL..but now, I am not sure about cruising in general..I can't imagine those poor people on the Triumph with no electric, toilets, or a/c. I know it was a freak thing but just that such a thing could happen on any ship..is a bit jarring.

[rummenroman]

The Carnival incident does nothing in my mind about cruising. My partner and I had already said we weren't going to take a Carnival cruise (he has been on Carnival - the Triumph in fact, I have not). We have taken several Royal cruises, and have enjoyed them all. At this point in our lives, we are operating under the policy of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." At some point we will take an X cruise, but that is in the future.

 

If we all spend our days worrying about every little detail, there wouldn't be a person that would leave the house (but then again they would worry about the house). Things happen, many of those aren't directly controlled by me. I could be driving home from work in the morning and a passing car's tire could fly off and kill me; that doesn't stop me from living my life. Just like a floating poop pool that was the Triumph isn't going to stop me from cruising!

[abridalmaven]

until I am either out of money or too old to go anywhere. Planes crash and people die, cars crash and people get hurt or die. No one died because of what happened. Do you still dry or fly?

[Kellie Poodle]

I'm still going to cruise as long as I can find interesting ports.

 

I have never sailed on Carnival and most certainly will not - ever. Probably wouldn't sail Princess, Holland America or even Cunard. Forget about Costa. I am extremely leery of boarding a ship with a corporate culture of negligent maintenance policies, faulty design and poor personnel choices.

 

There were questions raised about the master of the Carnival Splendor when it had an engine fire not too long ago. Then there was the captain on the Costa ship.....

 

I've been treated extremely well by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I'm sticking with what works for me.

[pattle66]

It won't stop us from cruising. It may give me a bit more pull when convincing my husband to book a balcony :D

 

We normally cruise with RCI but have a cruise next month on carnival spirit - in an interior cabin, on a lower level :eek: here's hoping for a smooth sailing!!

[Kellie Poodle]

It won't stop us from cruising. It may give me a bit more pull when convincing my husband to book a balcony :D

 

We normally cruise with RCI but have a cruise next month on carnival spirit - in an interior cabin, on a lower level :eek: here's hoping for a smooth sailing!!

 

Interior cabin on a lower level? On Carnival that's probably $150 for the cruise :D

 

seriously, I hope you have a great and uneventful sailing.

[kylenne]

This incident hasn't deterred me and mine from cruising at all, in fact I am beginning to look at a cruise for next year with my partner and my mom and I were talking about trying out the Breakaway. Partner is new to cruising, this would be her first one, but she knows enough from talking to me that the media is just going bananas. All this incident has done is reinforce my existing feelings that I don't want to go on Carnival. To each their own obviously but what they have to offer is not what I'm looking for in a cruise product.

 

That 20/20 episode really was a giant rehash though, they even repeated the same segment they showed on the episode they did right after the Concordia disaster. It was very misleading stuff that the general non-cruising public will eat up as proof that cruises are terrible, sadly. Odd behavior from a network whose parent company runs a cruise line (they actually bothered to disclose that this time, which surprised me).

[paul.ed]

No.

[molly361]

It has not deterred us, however the Today Show did a poll on that and it was 70% said they would NOT cruise and 30% said they would.

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

No but it did reaffirm that we'd never sail with Carnival again.

[struther1]

Nope, not a chance

[Brigbound]

No.

[BillB48]

It has not deterred us, however the Today Show did a poll on that and it was 70% said they would NOT cruise and 30% said they would.

 

I suspect it would be the same 70% that probably haven't cruised or were not going to cruise anyway;)!

 

Now the real question is.... How many cruise points would you earn if you had been on the Triumph?:D

[TxKroozer]

You will likely find the majority on CC will say no. They wouldn't be pursuing these boards or most of them if they didn't like cruising. As such, most will say no and have many future cruise planned. I agree with the earlier post. You can't always worry about events that happen will happen to you. That is called paranoia. I actually am more concerned about driving or flying to take my cruise than cruising.

[Esmerelda]

Absolutely not, we will be cruising again in July. We don't plan on ever sailing on Carnival again even before this. (see signature)

 

This wasn't a slam on Carnival (for the Carnival fans), I'm just honestly answering the OP's question.

[galavant3]

We'll definitely cruise again but I doubt we'll ever go on Carnival. I've been on one Carnival cruise (the Triumph) and I had already pretty much decided it wasn't a good fit for us.

[north29]

In this world, not us, cruise on. Cruises are safer, even on Carnival, than the car ride to the port.

Why worry, be happy, travel now, cruise now, spend your money now, now is the best time to travel, for price and yes for many/most of us, health issues that come with age which keep you at home.

[Todnet]

It has not deterred us, however the Today Show did a poll on that and it was 70% said they would NOT cruise and 30% said they would.

 

I hope the Today Show poll is correct, that should mean lower prices for me!

[chi-esq]

Coming to these Boards for a poll on this topic, is like polling the Florida Tourism Board to impartially name their favorite vacation destination.

 

I doubt many people here will let this change their view of cruising....because they have ALREADY had enough positive cruise experiences to offset the disgusting accounts we are hearing.

 

The lost revenue will come mainly from those "newbies" that the Cruise Lines are trying to entice away from land based vacations. They don't have the memories to offset the images they will see, the stories they will hear. I think there will be a significant impact on those type of bookings.

 

That will mean that "faithful cruise vacationers" must be the ones wooed awayfrom other cruise lines by Carnival...to compensate for the loss of newbies. Good luck with that.

[Mlkkc]

I love cruising and have one set for Oct. On Allure,prolly will still give Carnival another shot just on newer ships but my friends who have not prolly will not lol