Worst carnival cruise ever!

[JStarbrite]

I did not heed the warnings about the Paradise, thinking that it was just the naysayers who just like to complain about anything. Yeah, the cruise was cheap, but I've been on inexpensive cruises from Carnival before with much better service.

 

First the good:

 

Food was exceptional. I did not have a bad meal anywhere. Better than most Carnival cruises.

 

Food service was good as always.

 

Entertainment was fantastic. Great comics, a full live troupe of dancers and live music, and live music in front of the casino. The Lido deck had recorded music. Piano bar was fun. The cruise director was a fantastic fiddle player. One of the most memorable moments of the cruise was when he played "Devil went to Georgia".

 

Most of the crew members remembered my name. My wife had happy birthday sang to her twice!

 

Now for the bad:

 

When we arrived, our cabin had no ice bucket and only one glass. Figuring that we would not be back to the cabin until much later, we thought that they would just provide one when they came in for the turndown service.

 

There was no turndown service the first day. We called and got a bucket of ice delivered albeit it was two hours before it arrived. It makes me wonder if we even had clean sheets the first day.

 

There was no basket of anatomies in our cabin. When we called to get them, we were told we had to go to the gift shop and purchase them.

 

When my wife called customer service to get a hair dryer, they told her we had to call room service, who told us we had to call housekeeping. When we reached our steward Joan, she said she was sleeping. Imagine that, doesn't Carnival cover shifts while their employees sleep?

 

The room steward never provided us with the breakfast door hanger. We had to go to guest services every day and pick one up.

 

I know the ship is due for drydock soon, but the carpet looked dirty,and even had a burn hole in it. The drapes look dingy and the cabin just had an over all dirty feel, like you're staying at a cheap hotel.

 

Although we paid our tips for the Cheers card, bar waiters and waitresses were almost nonexistent. The only way to get to the drink would be to go up to the crowded bar. I ordered a martini as soon as we sat down for elegant night, it did not come until after we were finished with the entire meal. We complained to the maître d', but he did nothing. Bar service in the casino was nonexistent. If you want a drink you had to leave your game and go to the bar. You rarely saw a waiter or waitress on the Lido deck. My wife ordered a drink on the serenity deck, after a half an hour she got up and went and got herself. We stayed an additional hour and the drink still did not come. I ordered a beer to chase down the bloody Mary we got on sea day brunch, it never arrived. I guess Carnival went to self-service when it comes to drinks. Ironic because that is where they make their profit.

 

There was only one crew member that had a genuine smile throughout the cruise, Nina. The rest of the crew looked ragged or put out a forced smile. Carnival must be working these people to death. I know the ship is registered out of Liberia, but really, their work practices need to be investigated.

 

This is the first cruise were I should have gone to the purser's desk and demanded a refund for my tips. On a land base operation, the only one who deserved a tip was our food servers. I still may write them and request a refund. My wife already wrote them a nasty letter.

 

This may be my last cruise with Carnival. If they offer to make things right, I may give them a second chance as this was the first time we ever had a bad experience out of nine cruises.

[A&Jfamily]

I did not heed the warnings about the Paradise, thinking that it was just the naysayers who just like to complain about anything. Yeah, the cruise was cheap, but I've been on inexpensive cruises from Carnival before with much better service.

 

First the good:

 

Food was exceptional. I did not have a bad meal anywhere. Better than most Carnival cruises.

 

Food service was good as always.

 

Entertainment was fantastic. Great comics, a full live troupe of dancers and live music, and live music in front of the casino. The Lido deck had recorded music. Piano bar was fun. The cruise director was a fantastic fiddle player. One of the most memorable moments of the cruise was when he played "Devil went to Georgia".

 

Most of the crew members remembered my name. My wife had happy birthday sang to her twice!

 

Now for the bad:

 

When we arrived, our cabin had no ice bucket and only one glass. Figuring that we would not be back to the cabin until much later, we thought that they would just provide one when they came in for the turndown service.

 

There was no turndown service the first day. We called and got a bucket of ice delivered albeit it was two hours before it arrived. It makes me wonder if we even had clean sheets the first day.

 

There was no basket of anatomies in our cabin. When we called to get them, we were told we had to go to the gift shop and purchase them.

 

When my wife called customer service to get a hair dryer, they told her we had to call room service, who told us we had to call housekeeping. When we reached our steward Joan, she said she was sleeping. Imagine that, doesn't Carnival cover shifts while their employees sleep?

 

The room steward never provided us with the breakfast door hanger. We had to go to guest services every day and pick one up.

 

I know the ship is due for drydock soon, but the carpet looked dirty,and even had a burn hole in it. The drapes look dingy and the cabin just had an over all dirty feel, like you're staying at a cheap hotel.

 

Although we paid our tips for the Cheers card, bar waiters and waitresses were almost nonexistent. The only way to get to the drink would be to go up to the crowded bar. I ordered a martini as soon as we sat down for elegant night, it did not come until after we were finished with the entire meal. We complained to the maître d', but he did nothing. Bar service in the casino was nonexistent. If you want a drink you had to leave your game and go to the bar. You rarely saw a waiter or waitress on the Lido deck. My wife ordered a drink on the serenity deck, after a half an hour she got up and went and got herself. We stayed an additional hour and the drink still did not come. I ordered a beer to chase down the bloody Mary we got on sea day brunch, it never arrived. I guess Carnival went to self-service when it comes to drinks. Ironic because that is where they make their profit.

 

There was only one crew member that had a genuine smile throughout the cruise, Nina. The rest of the crew looked ragged or put out a forced smile. Carnival must be working these people to death. I know the ship is registered out of Liberia, but really, their work practices need to be investigated.

 

This is the first cruise were I should have gone to the purser's desk and demanded a refund for my tips. On a land base operation, the only one who deserved a tip was our food servers. I still may write them and request a refund. My wife already wrote them a nasty letter.

 

This may be my last cruise with Carnival. If they offer to make things right, I may give them a second chance as this was the first time we ever had a bad experience out of nine cruises.

 

While I understand that you had some bad experiences, your pluses seem to outweigh the minuses. You knew that the ship needed dry dock for upgrades to carpet etc. so none of those things should surprise you a an experienced cruiser. You had a less than stellar cabin steward and that happens. And stinky bar service. Again that happens. And you did the appropriate thing for both and removed your tips - ie you did not compensate bad service. You could have tipped your food servers in cash separately, and hope you did so.

 

I know that this was a disappointing experience, but step back and take a deep breath. Carnival is still 90% excellent in your book - not many things one can say that about in life! In the larger scope of bad cruises, this one is very minor, IMHO. To say that you would never cruise them again is extreme.

 

I appreciate your information - as with other posts, it makes me want to be aware about ships heading into dry dock.

[amyh13]

I have found that bar service can be terrible on any cruiseline. At the pool, dinner, etc. I do not get it. Why would you make a passenger chase down a drink???

 

I certainly don't want hovering bar service and it doesn't ruin my day if I have to search out a drink but this just doesn't make business sense. Alcohol is a revenue generator. And the more people drink, the more they drink. I would make this the most efficient system on the boat.

 

I am glad I drink wine at dinner. They bring out my bottle and it sits on the table so I can refill at my leisure.

[SMSACE6]

I did not heed the warnings about the Paradise, thinking that it was just the naysayers who just like to complain about anything. Yeah, the cruise was cheap, but I've been on inexpensive cruises from Carnival before with much better service.

 

First the good:

 

Food was exceptional. I did not have a bad meal anywhere. Better than most Carnival cruises.

 

Food service was good as always.

 

Entertainment was fantastic. Great comics, a full live troupe of dancers and live music, and live music in front of the casino. The Lido deck had recorded music. Piano bar was fun. The cruise director was a fantastic fiddle player. One of the most memorable moments of the cruise was when he played "Devil went to Georgia".

 

Most of the crew members remembered my name. My wife had happy birthday sang to her twice!

 

Now for the bad:

 

When we arrived, our cabin had no ice bucket and only one glass. Figuring that we would not be back to the cabin until much later, we thought that they would just provide one when they came in for the turndown service.

 

There was no turndown service the first day. We called and got a bucket of ice delivered albeit it was two hours before it arrived. It makes me wonder if we even had clean sheets the first day.

 

There was no basket of anatomies in our cabin. When we called to get them, we were told we had to go to the gift shop and purchase them.

 

When my wife called customer service to get a hair dryer, they told her we had to call room service, who told us we had to call housekeeping. When we reached our steward Joan, she said she was sleeping. Imagine that, doesn't Carnival cover shifts while their employees sleep?

 

The room steward never provided us with the breakfast door hanger. We had to go to guest services every day and pick one up.

 

I know the ship is due for drydock soon, but the carpet looked dirty,and even had a burn hole in it. The drapes look dingy and the cabin just had an over all dirty feel, like you're staying at a cheap hotel.

 

Although we paid our tips for the Cheers card, bar waiters and waitresses were almost nonexistent. The only way to get to the drink would be to go up to the crowded bar. I ordered a martini as soon as we sat down for elegant night, it did not come until after we were finished with the entire meal. We complained to the maître d', but he did nothing. Bar service in the casino was nonexistent. If you want a drink you had to leave your game and go to the bar. You rarely saw a waiter or waitress on the Lido deck. My wife ordered a drink on the serenity deck, after a half an hour she got up and went and got herself. We stayed an additional hour and the drink still did not come. I ordered a beer to chase down the bloody Mary we got on sea day brunch, it never arrived. I guess Carnival went to self-service when it comes to drinks. Ironic because that is where they make their profit.

 

There was only one crew member that had a genuine smile throughout the cruise, Nina. The rest of the crew looked ragged or put out a forced smile. Carnival must be working these people to death. I know the ship is registered out of Liberia, but really, their work practices need to be investigated.

 

This is the first cruise were I should have gone to the purser's desk and demanded a refund for my tips. On a land base operation, the only one who deserved a tip was our food servers. I still may write them and request a refund. My wife already wrote them a nasty letter.

 

This may be my last cruise with Carnival. If they offer to make things right, I may give them a second chance as this was the first time we ever had a bad experience out of nine cruises.

 

 

I am reading quite a few positives here with your cruise experience, but you definitely got a dud of a room steward, and your bar service lacked badly. You mention if they offer to make things right, you might give them another chance. I am just curious, how they could at this point make things right, since the cruise is over. Hope your next cruise will be much much better.

[Surfwench]

Just off Paradise a couple months ago. Everyone was nice as pie. That rust bucket is showing her age, though. I don't think the Fantasy class ships do it for me anymore. Spirit or above from here one out.... unless they re-purpose the Fantasy class ships for exotic itineraries that the larger ships can't reach. That would be awesome.

[rocking-m-cruiser]

Wow we usually get a great steward and we pick our favorite bartenders too.

That's too bad you were not happy.

[ZJ13820]

You should have invoked the Carnival Vacation Guarantee. :rolleyes:

[JennN]

Sorry all these little things piled up on you and let you down.

 

Did you go down to guest services while you were actually on the trip? This would have given them an opportunity to correct the situation while you were still on board.

 

What exactly would making it up to you entail?

 

Personally, I am a firm believer of changing things around (read my Breeze review below) but giving people the opportunity to do so in the moment.

[L&J]

Personally I'm a glass half full person. Do things go wrong? Absolutely. But I also know that I get what I pay for. I don't expect a steak on a hamburger budget. If I want perfection I'll cruise with a company that charges more than anyone else and I'll expect that everything be perfect. But when I cruise Carnival I know that I'm paying the cheapest price of all cruise lines and they still do a damn fine job of giving us an amazing experience. We have an amazing time whenever we are fortunate enough to go and if things come up so be it. I'll bring it to someones attention and give them the opportunity to fix it. Generally they do. Remember, the worst day cruising is still better than the best day at work.:)

Edited February 4, 2015 by L&J

[KevInPitt]

I agree it sounds like you had an excruciating experience. If I were you I wouldnt give Carnival another penny of your money.:rolleyes:

[Rena921]

Sorry you had a miserable time...but I think if it were truly "the worst cruise ever" the ship would have sunk. Ask the people on the Titanic. :rolleyes::eek:

[cruising maniac]

You've been a Cruise Critic member for a long time and this isn't your first post. I appreciate your opinion. You had a certain expectation and you were disappointed. I'm sorry your long awaited and probably desperately needed vacation wasn't all you had hoped it would be.

[OCruisers]

Gosh, I would not have been happy with the problems you had either. :(

LuLu

[luddite]

I did not heed the warnings about the Paradise, thinking that it was just the naysayers who just like to complain about anything. Yeah, the cruise was cheap, but I've been on inexpensive cruises from Carnival before with much better service.

 

First the good:

 

Food was exceptional. I did not have a bad meal anywhere. Better than most Carnival cruises.

 

Food service was good as always.

 

Entertainment was fantastic. Great comics, a full live troupe of dancers and live music, and live music in front of the casino. The Lido deck had recorded music. Piano bar was fun. The cruise director was a fantastic fiddle player. One of the most memorable moments of the cruise was when he played "Devil went to Georgia".

 

Most of the crew members remembered my name. My wife had happy birthday sang to her twice!

 

Now for the bad:

 

When we arrived, our cabin had no ice bucket and only one glass. Figuring that we would not be back to the cabin until much later, we thought that they would just provide one when they came in for the turndown service.

 

There was no turndown service the first day. We called and got a bucket of ice delivered albeit it was two hours before it arrived. It makes me wonder if we even had clean sheets the first day.

 

There was no basket of anatomies in our cabin. When we called to get them, we were told we had to go to the gift shop and purchase them.

 

When my wife called customer service to get a hair dryer, they told her we had to call room service, who told us we had to call housekeeping. When we reached our steward Joan, she said she was sleeping. Imagine that, doesn't Carnival cover shifts while their employees sleep?

 

The room steward never provided us with the breakfast door hanger. We had to go to guest services every day and pick one up.

 

I know the ship is due for drydock soon, but the carpet looked dirty,and even had a burn hole in it. The drapes look dingy and the cabin just had an over all dirty feel, like you're staying at a cheap hotel.

 

Although we paid our tips for the Cheers card, bar waiters and waitresses were almost nonexistent. The only way to get to the drink would be to go up to the crowded bar. I ordered a martini as soon as we sat down for elegant night, it did not come until after we were finished with the entire meal. We complained to the maître d', but he did nothing. Bar service in the casino was nonexistent. If you want a drink you had to leave your game and go to the bar. You rarely saw a waiter or waitress on the Lido deck. My wife ordered a drink on the serenity deck, after a half an hour she got up and went and got herself. We stayed an additional hour and the drink still did not come. I ordered a beer to chase down the bloody Mary we got on sea day brunch, it never arrived. I guess Carnival went to self-service when it comes to drinks. Ironic because that is where they make their profit.

 

There was only one crew member that had a genuine smile throughout the cruise, Nina. The rest of the crew looked ragged or put out a forced smile. Carnival must be working these people to death. I know the ship is registered out of Liberia, but really, their work practices need to be investigated.

 

This is the first cruise were I should have gone to the purser's desk and demanded a refund for my tips. On a land base operation, the only one who deserved a tip was our food servers. I still may write them and request a refund. My wife already wrote them a nasty letter.

 

This may be my last cruise with Carnival. If they offer to make things right, I may give them a second chance as this was the first time we ever had a bad experience out of nine cruises.

 

Just so we're clear: This was worse than being on the Triumph and getting towed across the Gulf without power?

Huh.

[CRJ700]

I did not heed the warnings about the Paradise, thinking that it was just the naysayers who just like to complain about anything. Yeah, the cruise was cheap, but I've been on inexpensive cruises from Carnival before with much better service.

 

 

Now for the bad:

 

When we arrived, our cabin had no ice bucket and only one glass. Figuring that we would not be back to the cabin until much later, we thought that they would just provide one when they came in for the turndown service.

 

There was no turndown service the first day. We called and got a bucket of ice delivered albeit it was two hours before it arrived. It makes me wonder if we even had clean sheets the first day.

 

There was no basket of anatomies in our cabin. When we called to get them, we were told we had to go to the gift shop and purchase them.

 

When my wife called customer service to get a hair dryer, they told her we had to call room service, who told us we had to call housekeeping. When we reached our steward Joan, she said she was sleeping. Imagine that, doesn't Carnival cover shifts while their employees sleep?

 

The room steward never provided us with the breakfast door hanger. We had to go to guest services every day and pick one up.

 

I know the ship is due for drydock soon, but the carpet looked dirty,and even had a burn hole in it. The drapes look dingy and the cabin just had an over all dirty feel, like you're staying at a cheap hotel.

 

Although we paid our tips for the Cheers card, bar waiters and waitresses were almost nonexistent. The only way to get to the drink would be to go up to the crowded bar. I ordered a martini as soon as we sat down for elegant night, it did not come until after we were finished with the entire meal. We complained to the maître d', but he did nothing. Bar service in the casino was nonexistent. If you want a drink you had to leave your game and go to the bar. You rarely saw a waiter or waitress on the Lido deck. My wife ordered a drink on the serenity deck, after a half an hour she got up and went and got herself. We stayed an additional hour and the drink still did not come. I ordered a beer to chase down the bloody Mary we got on sea day brunch, it never arrived. I guess Carnival went to self-service when it comes to drinks. Ironic because that is where they make their profit.

 

There was only one crew member that had a genuine smile throughout the cruise, Nina. The rest of the crew looked ragged or put out a forced smile. Carnival must be working these people to death. I know the ship is registered out of Liberia, but really, their work practices need to be investigated.

 

This is the first cruise were I should have gone to the purser's desk and demanded a refund for my tips. On a land base operation, the only one who deserved a tip was our food servers. I still may write them and request a refund. My wife already wrote them a nasty letter.

 

This may be my last cruise with Carnival. If they offer to make things right, I may give them a second chance as this was the first time we ever had a bad experience out of nine cruises.

 

If things were so horrible, why didn't you invoke Carnivals 100% Vacation Guarantee and get off at the first port to be flown home at Carnival's expense?

Edited February 5, 2015 by CRJ700

[cccer]

You should have invoked the Carnival Vacation Guarantee. :rolleyes:

 

I agree, obviously the cruise was not that bad. OP can write all the letters he wants, he wont get anything from Carnival. I love how people say that they will cruise elsewhere unless Carnival "makes it right". Not sure what they want Carnival to do for them.

[In2why]

Sorry you had a miserable time...but I think if it were truly "the worst cruise ever" the ship would have sunk. Ask the people on the Titanic. :rolleyes::eek:

 

This reminds me of the old joke......."So other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play" I guess she should have just made the best of it and be glad to have gotten out of the House for a change.

Edited February 5, 2015 by In2why

[PathfinderEss]

Sorry your cruise did not go well.:(

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Does anyone think bar service may be slower when you have the cheers package? I have never purchased it. But read that OP did.

[Peg_S]

OP: sounds like a frustrating cruise. Not exactly what we hope for when we plan a vacation.

 

Always interesting to read all the comments attempting to diminish your experience... Seems if it wasn't truly the WORST experience ever, they don't want to hear about it.

[sjn911]

Does anyone think bar service may be slower when you have the cheers package? I have never purchased it. But read that OP did.

 

 

I think maybe so...but second trip on Carnival was nothing like the first..waitng for a drink w/o cheers either time..was rather short on Paradise..2009 and awful on Spirit 2012. I do think they must be downsizing and working staff double hard..too hard lately...

 

The only quick drink serving on Spirit to Cabo was frozen dancy drinks an afternoon I stayed on Lido, instead of tendering in, listening to music in that beautiful harbor with the arches, and water sports to watch all around etc. Lovely memory..not a cloud in the sky and warm not hot...and a private resort feel with not many folks on Lido...changed buget to fancy that PM.

Edited February 5, 2015 by sjn911

[sprint180]

I wouldn't have liked the grungy looking room either. On our NCL pearl trip last summer the carpet in our room was VERY stained up. It really was a turn off. Sorry your trip wasn't what you hoped. I don't use bar service so I wouldn't never know if it was good or bad.

[Laurie S.]

Two cruises with Cheers, and no problem with bar service.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

If things were so horrible, why didn't you invoke Carnivals 100% Vacation Guarantee and get off at the first port to be flown home at Carnival's expense?

 

All of what the OP reported happened within the first 24 hours? If so YIKES!!!

 

Bill

[rocking-m-cruiser]

All of our cruises have been wonderful. So sorry you did not enjoy yours.