Onboard Now - Serious Issue - How to Handle?

[D&L Thomas]

I am currently onboard a ship. In brief, we have experienced a serious issue regarding an emergency phone call from home (involving the imminent death of a family member, which has since occurred). We never received the message. The way the situation has been handled onboard has been abysmal.

 

My immediate question: Should we contact the corporate office now, while we are still onboard? Or wait until we debark? We have been given a "ticket number" documenting the issue. But the onboard staff is basically blaming everything on corporate, and I feel like it could easily get brushed aside once we are off the ship.

 

I am able to post because they did give us permission to use the internet for free as well as to make phone calls - to make funeral arrangements and contact family. That, and a form letter, is how they are handling it onboard.

 

I appreciate any input.

[Florings]

I am very sorry for the death of your family member. My best advice is to wait until you are back to take the complaint process further. Emotions are running high, understandably.

 

You have a complaint/ticket number and I don't believe it will be brushed aside by corporate.

 

This is just my opinion - but I think trying to get some satisfaction while onboard will just add stress to an already stressful situation.

[riffatsea]

I am sorry for your loss.

What is it that you want the on board folks to do for you at this point?

I think that you need to stop and think about that before going any further. In fact when you do contact corporate it would be a good idea for you to have that in mind.

They cannot make up the time you have lost in missing the phone call. I am wondering how long it took between the phone call and you actually receiving the information about the death? Would you have left the ship at that time? Do you want them to get you off the ship now? Asking for what you want/need might be the way to go forward.

[pe4all]

Condolences to you and your family.

- First off, there is no excuse for you not getting the message - there was no red light on on your cabin phone indicating a message was left? How did they finally contact you?

-You didn't indicate what ship, or where you are. Are you getting off at the next port? Or is the ship reaching "home" tomorrow? If you are debarking tomorrow, corporate is closed on the weekend. However, they are open now if you want to contact them. I would also follow up with a letter stating what happened, and any paperwork Guest Services may give you to back it up. Would you have been able to get home to that family member in time if you had gotten the message?

As Florings said - emotions are running high. You have more important things to handle now - but if it makes you feel better, call corporate and see what they have to say. Again - sorry for your loss.

[sparks1093]

You have my condolences also. A lot depends upon what you want to achieve by the contact. Yes, they handled the issue poorly but what does that get you when all is said and done? Personally I would wait until everything had been dealt with before reaching out to corporate.

[coevan]

Which means soon or about to happen. Did he already pass or is the passing imminent as stated. CCL should accommodate you nay way possible. Hope you have trip insurance.

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

Sorry for your loss!

 

But you are mad because you are in the middle of the ocean, with limited access to the outside world (satellite home, satellite internet, etc.). It seems like Carnival was able to get the message to you. You could have kept your cell phone on, incurring outrageous fees instead of making Carnival responsible.

 

Once again, I'm truly sorry for your loss, but I don't see the purpose of this post.

[cynt]

My condolences.

 

Let it go. You're an emotional wreck right now. If you would have found out the day your family contacted the ship what if anything would have changed?

 

And why didn't you purchase the cell phone plan so YOUR cell phone would have been on to receive emergency calls IF you're traveling while a loved one is ill? And why are you traveling if your loved one is ill?

 

If it was a sudden death, there's nothing you could have done whether notified on that day or not.

 

My father had triple bypass surgery yesterday and I'm supposed to cruise Thanksgiving. So I understand life happening when you have prior plans. The Dr says he should be up and doing fine at 6 weeks but if he doesn't meet my standards of being well, I'll be at home eating turkey and dressing.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[ryano]

If you would have found out the day your family contacted the ship what if anything would have changed?

 

 

Exactly. To be honest, I dont want to know. That may sound cold and indifferent but there is absolutely nothing I can do for it or about it. The only immediate family member I have left is my mom and she is always on the cruise with us.

 

Im not sure the purpose of this post. What else does the OP expect Carnival to do over what they have done already?

[tonit964]

So sorry for your loss. As others have said, let it go and focus on your family.

 

In our family, we have discussed whether to notify the person thats on a cruise if something were to happen at home and we decided we would not.

 

I can't imagine the anguish of being at sea for a couple of days or more and finding out a loved one passed and you can't do a thing about it. Even if you were at or near a port, having to arrange getting home and stuff.

 

We just would't put our loved one through that. It can wait a few days until they get home.

[sc4125]

Having worked as a Purser for a cruise line, I can tell you that no matter how hard we tried, things happened. I'm sure that the onboard staff is doing all that they can for you, but they can't undo what happened. If you're looking for the right person to blame, you need to find out:

 

1) Did the family member who sent the message have the right contact information? There is a way to contact the ship directly - this is the information I leave with my family in case of a real emergency, along with the 1-800 # to get a message to me.

 

2) Who got the message & when? Did they simply call CCL's corporate # or did they use the contact # given for messages to get to the ship. If they simply called the 1-800 # for Carnival, who knows who they spoke to. Unfortunately they may have reached a person that wasn't sure what to do.

 

I do feel for you - there's not much worse than being out of touch when something happens to a family member. Crewmembers onboard ships understand this more than a lot of other people, and I can't believe they wouldn't have done everything they could to help you. Like someone else said, do you think they did this on purpose?

[scottydog123]

I alway call home once a day to check on my family when on a cruise using the phone in the cabin. In Cabin Calls are $1.99 per minute. We alway have a very brief conversation, but it puts my mind at ease very cheaply.

[Doggielover68]

I'm sorry for your loss. In short, I would wait until you get home. This is not the time to deal with less important issues. Emotions are all over the place and it's difficult to be rational. I do not think that corporate will brush it aside.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[ryano]

I alway call home once a day to check on my family when on a cruise using the phone in the cabin. In Cabin Calls are $1.99 per minute. We alway have a very brief conversation, but it puts my mind at ease very cheaply.

 

Thats not bad at all. You can get a lot said in a couple minutes and it costs less than one drink. Royal charges 7.99 a minute for ship to shore calls from your cabin :eek:

Edited October 14, 2016 by ryano

[RogueMonk]

My deep condolences!

 

If you have an immanent need while you are on the ship that is not being met, I would not delay in escalating your complaint process to corporate. If your needs are now being met -- despite the abysmal failure you mentioned -- I would spare yourself the extra stress during this difficult time and follow up when you are able.

[Donray]

Seem like you are getting a lot from Carnival. They did not need to give you free internet nor phone calls.

 

This far you have not stated what they did wrong or your suggestion on how to fix it.

 

What should have they done???????

[Donray]

Seem like you are getting a lot from Carnival. They did not need to give you free internet nor phone calls.

 

This far you have not stated what they did wrong or your suggestion on how to fix it.

 

What should have they done???????

[happy cruzin]

Having worked as a Purser for a cruise line, I can tell you that no matter how hard we tried, things happened. I'm sure that the onboard staff is doing all that they can for you, but they can't undo what happened. If you're looking for the right person to blame, you need to find out:

 

1) Did the family member who sent the message have the right contact information? There is a way to contact the ship directly - this is the information I leave with my family in case of a real emergency, along with the 1-800 # to get a message to me.

 

2) Who got the message & when? Did they simply call CCL's corporate # or did they use the contact # given for messages to get to the ship. If they simply called the 1-800 # for Carnival, who knows who they spoke to. Unfortunately they may have reached a person that wasn't sure what to do.

 

I do feel for you - there's not much worse than being out of touch when something happens to a family member. Crewmembers onboard ships understand this more than a lot of other people, and I can't believe they wouldn't have done everything they could to help you. Like someone else said, do you think they did this on purpose?

 

All good thoughts that could have interrupted or effected the message process!

Edited October 14, 2016 by happy cruzin

[maldenmusic]

Condolences but I'm not exactly sure what you are wanting Carnival to do.

[dacsmom]

Sorry for the loss of your family member. I would wait until emotions are not so high. Corporate will not dismiss your complaint if you follow up with a letter. I am not sure what Carnival can do for you right now that they haven't already done.

 

I am currently onboard a ship. In brief, we have experienced a serious issue regarding an emergency phone call from home (involving the imminent death of a family member, which has since occurred). We never received the message. The way the situation has been handled onboard has been abysmal. You did not tell us what they did that was abysmal, so there is no way to comment

 

My immediate question: Should we contact the corporate office now, while we are still onboard? Or wait until we debark? We have been given a "ticket number" documenting the issue. But the onboard staff is basically blaming everything on corporate, and I feel like it could easily get brushed aside once we are off the ship. If your family members called the ship, how is it corporates fault? Everytime I am on a ship, I leave the direct number to the ship in case of emergency. Or was it a case of people knew you were on a cruise ship somewhere, but did not know which one? In that case, it may have taken a bit of time to track you down and get the message to you.

 

I am able to post because they did give us permission to use the internet for free as well as to make phone calls - to make funeral arrangements and contact family. That, and a form letter, is how they are handling it onboard. I think that is nice of Carnival to give you phone and Internet for free, they did not have to at all. Again, not knowing all the facts, why are you trying to make funeral arrangements on the ship if your cruise is ending soon?

 

I appreciate any input.

[DrHfuhruhurr]

I offer my sympathies and prayers along with the rest of the group (some of whom are not being very nice--don't let that get you down).

[KatieCharlotte]

OP received an emergency call about an imminent death of a family member. Carnival did not give them the message. The family member has since died. OP was understandably emotional and not clear on this point, but I can easily imagine several ways in which this delay in relaying the information caused harm, including possibly preventing the onboard relatives from saying goodbye over the telephone, being involved in health care decisions, even being able to pray. Having free calls and internet after the fact can't make that better.

 

We don't know why the message was not delivered and it was unlikely intentional, but I can certainly understand OP being upset and wanting to express their outrage. I don't think it's appropriate to lecture them on how messages get lost or what they or their relatives could have done differently.

 

I do think it's not a bad idea to wait until you've gotten home and had time to process such an emotional event. My prayers and condolences.

[bury me at sea]

I am sorry for your loss. Things will be better when you get home.

[joeyancho]

Seem like you are getting a lot from Carnival. They did not need to give you free internet nor phone calls.

 

This far you have not stated what they did wrong or your suggestion on how to fix it.

 

What should have they done???????

 

Really? Getting a lot? They didn't have to give phone and internet? It's called common decency and compassion.

[poobears]

There's nothing Carnival can offer that hasn't been offered already. I'm sure she's already gotten several apologies and that's all she will get from Corp. unless she gets comped for her cruise. I'm not sure how getting a free cruise will fix anything at this point so no I would not pursue anything after getting off the ship. Once I got off the ship I would put all of my focus on my family where it belonged and not waste another moment on this.

 

I know it's always easier in a time of crisis to blame others or to focus on something else but your family will need you and you are going to need them so set this aside and let it go. You will be better for it in the end. Nothing you will get from Carnival will make up for the time you will waste on dealing with it instead of healing with your family.