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Carnival ruined our Cruise by not caring about safety!

lovewine

By lovewine,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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lovewine

lovewine

Posted
Posted

Carnival Freedom December 2014 Notes

 

Negatives:

1. Deck chairs overboard at 1 am – loud crash and banging sound. Hit our railing. A life vest was thrown overboard as well – terrible customer service and safety response

a. Multiple different answers given as to ramifications of actions of cruise passenger

b. First they told us they did not know who threw them over, then they said they read the incident report and that the passenger was on board but they couldn’t elaborate. Then they got the “head” of security and they told us the passenger was being monitored by cruise security personnel.

c. When we were at the front desk a different day for an entirely different issue, they offered (without us asking) that the passenger was actually thrown off the ship at the first port. We asked the crew member why we had been told otherwise. They got the same “head” of security and we were then told the old answer that the passenger was still on board but being monitored.

d. They basically tried to brush us off each time we mentioned we were nervous to go out onto our balconies.

2. We waited 45 minutes for a comedy show (you have to arrive early or you won’t get a seat at all) and were told with less than 5 minutes before the show started they were going to postpone the show until 1 am and continue having the football game play instead.

a. Normally this wouldn’t matter, but the international lounge was right above our cabin and the comedy shows are LOUD. This would keep us up until way past 2 am.

b. We went down to the front desk and we were told there was nothing they could do and that it was a “corporate” decision. They couldn’t move the comedy show to another location, or the football viewing to another location. Basically, we’d have to deal with a lot of late loud noise for one night.

c. The staff were clearly not trained in good customer service skills. Instead of trying to apologize or make us feel better, they made us feel like it was our fault we didn’t like waiting 45 min for a show to be cancelled and then having to wait until 1 am to see it, or not even sleep because it was going on above our heads. Instead of taking the approach of the “customer is always right” they took the approach of always making us feel like we were being interrogated for complaining or asking what was going on.

3. Aruba

a. We specifically booked this cruise for the chance to get to Aruba on NYE. The original port time was until 11:30 pm. As we were approaching Aruba, the captain came on and said the port personnel were closing port early so we would have to be back on the ship at 8:30 pm. This drastically changed our plans on the island for the day. When cruise ships book ports, they know and the port knows ahead of time all the timings for coming and leaving, meaning, Carnival knew ahead of time they would have to leave port early and still tried to advertise that the cruise ship would be staying in port later. (Obviously port times can change due to weather conditions) We might not have booked this cruise if we knew we would have been leaving Aruba that early and would miss a lot of the NYE celebrations that Aruba is so famous for.

4. Breakfast Buffet

a. BORING. Seriously beyond boring. Same items every single day. Nothing ever differed except the type of sausage you were offered. I ate two hard boiled eggs every morning with a slice of fruit. Plain pancakes and waffles. Same egg benedict.

b. They did have an omelet station, but the lines were so long that it was almost pointless. You should eat breakfast, then get in line to have an omelet ready by lunch. The staff didn’t speak English, so ordering was nearly impossible. They also didn’t have signs with the options to put in the omelets so every person that walked up asked the same question, “What are my options?” and the staff would have to figure out how to communicate it back in English. Once waited over 30 minutes in line and the line never moved, so gave up and went through the regular buffet.

5. Room Service

a. Breakfast. They only really offered yogurt, coffee and cereal and a few baked goods. Nothing else. Pointless if you are trying to eat before you get off the ship in your own room. Honestly pointless. They also wouldn’t let you order anything special – like hard boiled eggs (which they could just take off the buffet).

b. In general – there was almost nothing on the menu. A couple sandwiches and salads and that’s it. Not even pizza. Never even bothered to order it.

6. Pizza station was always a long line and it took forever to get a slice. They hand make each piece, which is great, but really too time consuming.

7. Entertainment. This was the worst I have ever seen on a ship.

a. Piano bar: The piano guy was not playing 2 or 3 nights of the cruise. No notice, just a sign up on the door of the bar that it was closed for the night. The one night we caught him, it was packed in there, but then he decided to go all religious on us. Sang a gospel Jesus song. So inappropriate on a cruise. No one even asked for the song to be played, he just decided he wanted to preach to us all.

b. Main shows: We only sort of saw one. We had to walk out. I’m shocked my glass didn’t shatter from the horrific singing. Whoever decided to give a microphone to that group is nuts. They were terrible.

8. Smoke. Yuck. IT was everywhere on the ship. Even in the non smoking places. Based on the layout of the ship you can smell it inside almost everywhere you go. Plus, with vaping, people thought they could smoke anyplace they wanted. And did.

9. Cell phones. Carnival has a great deal for social media access and internet access while on the ship. While it was incredibly convenient for folks who needed, it was really distracting to people who wanted to really “disconnect” while at sea. Cell phones popped up in inappropriate places – for example, at the highly acclaimed Chefs table. Put down your phone and enjoy the meal! Normally I wouldn’t care, but it held up the meal because the Chef wanted everyone’s attention before he spoke (and rightfully so!).

10. We love cruising, and cruise often across many lines, including the Carnival family of brands,and were very disappointed with our cruise experience regarding passenger safety and the poor attitude of the front desk. They were not professional.

 

11. I cannot tell you how completely disappointed we were with the response of the cruise line failing to have a passenger be tossed off the ship when the passenger purposefully threw TWO lounge chairs off over the back of deck 10 that crashed on our balcony on deck 6 (gouge marks were quite visible, along with the lounge chairs on the back railing near the water line). This passenger endangered our well being, and could have caused us great bodily harm or worse had we (or one of your crew) been on our back balcony at the time. There is no plausible excuse for this at all. The passenger was allowed to stay on board, was being "monitored" but that didn't mean under 24 hour surveillance. Simply said, the passenger destroyed your property and could have KILLED someone on board by his actions. Forget about the implications of a lifevest being tossed overboard, which also occurred at the same time. The further comment from your staff was that if there would be another incident, he would be asked to leave. Some comfort to us. We didn't enjoy our overall experience, our cabin, nor appreciate your blatant disregard for passenger safety or security. I recognize that you have no control over passenger behavior, that is precisely the point of why you establish, or should establish, safety policies; and those policies should have greater regard for those passengers who DON'T destroy your property nor endanger your passengers or crew. This passenger should have been tossed off the ship. This passenger was afforded more concern when he (and if necessary his family) should have been unceremoniously tossed off the ship, just like he did with your lounge chairs. So, Carnival FUN takes on a whole new meaning. Oh, and by the way, we understand that there were fees and fines assessed against the family, Nice way to boost the Carnival bottom line, how about us? What do we get for having lounge chairs rain down on our balcony? Essentially, blown off...don't worry, it won't happen again, we promise. Really?

Positives:

1. Chefs Table – this was a wonderful experience. Highly suggest for anyone going on a carnival cruise. Remains a highlight of all of my cruising experiences across many lines. Chef was personable and the food was fantastic. The wine server was also very passionate.

2. Steakhouse – had the best chocolate martini off my life. Ivan was the bartender up there and he was absolutely amazing. Liquid gold! The food was also fantastic, service was great and we really enjoyed our evening up there.

3. Internet

 

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thecruiserofships

thecruiserofships

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm sorry this happened to you. People throwing things overboard pose a threat to everyone's safety and someone could have gotten hurt.

 

I would consider giving Carnival at least one more chance on a different ship. This is not the normal for any of Carnival's ships.

Edited by thecruiserofships
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Indytraveler83

Indytraveler83

Posted
Posted

While throwing deck chairs overboard is very dangerous, your response to this issue is beyond reasonable.

 

1) Carnival is responsible for the safety and well being of the offending passenger. You do not know this person's circumstances. While it is entirely possible they were drunk and angry, maybe they had a disability or disorder that was not under control. This person also may not have had a passport, making re-entry to the US a nightmare if they were dropped at the first port. Regardless, they likely didn't want to make a bad situation worse. Image the safety problems they would have if they dropped off a passenger at the first port, and the passenger was unable to return to the US or was injured or killed while trying to get back? That person's safety still matters, even if they did something very stupid. Security assured you this person was being observed and they had a handle on it. Why was throwing them off the ship the only option in your mind?

 

2) Any passenger could injure you at any time. Another person could have thrown a deck chair, punched you, kicked you, etc. This could happen any time we are on a ship or on land. Don't want that risk? Don't leave your house. Your paranoia is your own problem, not Carnival's.

 

 

Carnival handled the issue, and you should have been able to return to enjoying your cruise. (You did not mention any other deck chairs arriving in your balcony) Instead you vindictively insisted that you should be in charge of the other passenger's punishment, haunted customer service and security and made your own trip much worse. Carnival responded very reasonably, you did not.

 

 

 

As for the other issues, while they seem exaggerated, do your research. A little knowledge before hand may have helped you improve your cruise (like bringing earplugs and knowing the room service menu is limited) or allowed you to decide that this wasn't the cruise for you (It is no secret that Carnival shows are frequently not very popular).

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Lerin

Lerin

Posted
Posted (edited)
Carnival knew ahead of time they would have to leave port early and still tried to advertise that the cruise ship would be staying in port later. (Obviously port times can change due to weather conditions)

 

And the reason you know that CCL knew this ahead of time is....?

Edited by Lerin
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Sweet Dutch Girl

Sweet Dutch Girl

Posted
Posted

I am sure Carnival did the best they could in handling a safety situation after the fact since they probably had no prior knowledge that some guy was going to go ballistic on the ship. And I'm not sure what purpose it would serve to advertise how they handled the situation, post incident. Someone could have told you anything and you would never be privy to the actual outcome since, other than your peace of mind, it had no bearing on you. And I don't think I would have worried about the incident happening twice since it's rare that you hear of it happening once.

 

Buffets rarely, in any circumstance, have a trillion options...that just isn't the nature of the beast. And if you wanted an omelet cooked to order there is always brunch or breakfast in the dining room...its a nice peaceful way to begin a morning with no hassles or lines.

 

I, too, hate cell phones but I can't expect a cruise line to control the disrespect of other passengers. Same things happen in business meetings, restaurants even in movie theaters.

 

Room service has now taken a back seat since the cruising public got their wish and "buffet" is now the norm if you choose to skip the dining room. For me room service is a nice gap filler...coffee before the rest of the ship is humming, a quick sandwich after a shore excursion and the wait for late dining. I like to mingle on a ship and holing up in my cabin to eat a "meal", well I could do that at home in front of my own TV.

 

Won't comment on the entertainment since that's not my gig...I would have been one of the ones upset if they turned off a good sports event for mediocre entertainment. And, I would have thought where I was going to book my room well in advance so I wouldn't have to be anywhere near a public space, especially directly above or below.

 

I hope the OPs next cruising experience is more to their liking...with any luck the fellow throwing loungers won't book the same one.

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cruzeluver

cruzeluver

Posted
Posted

Did not realize the OP posted this twice. Here is my response in the duplicate thread:

 

Wow, was that difficult to read! Paragraphs are your friend.

 

You are not owed an explanation as to how Carnival dealt with the loud crash of deck chairs being thrown. Its none of your business. You state near the end that you could have been hurt. But you were not, so what's the big deal?

 

If the port authority closed the port early in Aruba, there is nothing Carnival can do about that. And port times change all the time for a lot of different reasons. This is something one needs to understand if ones is to go on cruises.

 

I have seen the complaint before about repetition in the breakfast buffet and always find it baffling. What would you expect them to have that they did not?

 

What were you told when you alerted a crew member about smoking going on in non-smoking areas? That would be a legitimate concern. As vaping produces no smoke or smell, I wouldn't care about that.

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SMSACE6

SMSACE6

Posted
Posted (edited)

Sorry for the deck chairs overboard thing. that is truly unacceptable, and sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise. Was there not even one thing that you found enjoyable though?

 

I cruised on the Freedom in November and had a completely different experience. In fact, I could not find anything at all to complain about, and I really tried to find just one thing to balance out my review (member reviews). As for the breakfast buffet; I would not call it spectacular, but it was not boring at all to me. If anything there was way too much variety, for me to not overload my plate. There were the standard "scrambled eggs", eggs benedict, both the regular type with ham, and one day they switched it up to salmon instead of ham. Yes, they did change the sausage type every day or so, and there were different types of hash browns/potato, waffles one day, pancake the next, bacon, ham, and much much more. I did not find it boring. Buffet is a buffet. Dining room breakfast is always much better, or sea day brunch on sea days even better again.

 

As for Aruba; Carnival can hardly be blamed for the locals deciding to close up shop early.

 

I really am sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise. I have had two wonderful cruises on the Freedom, and cannot imagine having such a bad time as you have described. I wish you better luck and a better time on your next vacation.

 

Ok I see your three positives listed at the end of your "review", so disregard my question as to what you enjoyed.

Edited by SMSACE6
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doe326

doe326

Posted
Posted

WOW! I can't imagine any type of vacation to your liking. Yes it is a safety concern if someone is throwing chairs off their balcony. But it is none of your business what Carnival did for punishment. The behavior stopped so I don't see why you continued to complain about it and the punishment.

 

Do Not take a cruise for a particular port. The port authority of each country has the right to close a port any time they want. And yes Carnival may not have been informed. Missed two ports on my Grand Med this October. Big deal. I know that before I cruise.

 

I think you are far too rigid for cruising. You need to go with the flow on a cruise. Nothing is perfect and you have learn to loosen up a little.

 

Hope your next cruise or vacation experience meets your very high standards.

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