Carnival Magic Thanksgiving cruise review - luggage disaster with an ok end

[jat1977]

I wish I could say the cruise went exactly as we had planned as it was our long-awaited anniversary cruise. Unfortunately, it didn't. However, we made the best of it.

 

Embarkation was a breeze. We got to the port around noon, dropped one bag to be checked, and walked on with our garment bag and a backpack. We were eating lunch at Guy's Burgers by 12:35. Our cabin was ready by 1:15 so we dropped our extra items and explored the ship. We entered the spa raffle and ended up winning $100 credit towards a spa treatment. So far, so good.

 

However, it was about to go south. We had anytime dining so we were planning on a late dinner as we had a massage scheduled for 7:30. Around 6:30, we called down to guest services to inquire about our luggage as we had noticed that every other cabin on our deck had already received their luggage. Guest services told us to come down and look amongst the bags that had lost their tags during loading. We came down to look and immediately saw that our bag was not there. We went to the desk and notified the guest services crew member. She inquired what our cabin number was and after typing it into the computer, it became quite apparent that something bad had happened. She had no poker face so her eyes got as big as saucers, and she inquired two more times what our cabin number was. After we confirmed, she asked us to hold on while she called someone. As she was speaking with them, I was telling my husband that I was worried our luggage was on another ship. However, when she was done, she told us she needed to escort us somewhere. We followed her to a small room next to the main dining room where we immediately saw several suitcases that had towels on top of them. At least one of them was entirely covered in mud/muck. As we walked towards our luggage, one of the crew members began "There was an accident . . ." and his voice trailed off. I completed his sentence "And our luggage fell in the water." He nodded. He and the guest services supervisor apologized while my husband and I just stared at our brand new luggage (purchased specifically for this trip) in disbelief. Thankfully, ours was not one of the ones covered in mud. We had to inventory everything. Most of my husband's clothing was soaked, but thankfully his nice dress shoes were not. Only a few of my things got wet. It appears that Samsonite either makes water resistant luggage or ours had only been floating for a few minutes before it was retrieved. :rolleyes: We had several electronic items in the luggage (hair dryer, razor, cell phone chargers), and thankfully only one cell phone charger ended up destroyed. The other items still worked. Carnival cleaned and dried all of the wet clothing. They attempted to clean the luggage, but in doing so, they broke an inside zipper, and the luggage ended up not being really cleaned. They gave us the money for the value of the luggage and the cell phone charger. They also offered to give us a comp meal in the Prime Steakhouse, but as we had a Chef's Table dinner already booked, we asked them to comp that, and they agreed. And on the last night of the cruise, they gave us an additional $250 of onboard credit which we could have had refunded as cash if we had wanted to (instead of being applied to our onboard charges). We felt that that was a nice courtesy considering my husband had no change of clothes for an entire day (except for one formal outfit that had been in the garment bag we carried on with us), and considering that we had to keep checking back with guest services about the status of our luggage for half of our cruise (we didn't get it back until the 3rd day of the cruise). From what I learned over the course of the cruise, there were anywhere from 5-12 total bags that fell into the water.

 

I will say that my biggest disappointment with how the luggage incident was handled was that we were never notified and only learned about it because we were proactive in looking for our luggage. Guest Services insisted they tried to leave a message for us, but there was no message on our phone or on our ship account (via the tv message system). As far as we are concerned, as soon as the bags went into the water, Carnival should have IMMEDIATELY made an announcement for any affected guests to come to the guest services desk. They certainly made announcements for other reasons so why they let our wet luggage containing our wet/damp clothes sit for several hours without making any attempt to find us is beyond us.

 

Since we didn't have our swimsuits to change into for our spa appointment, that got moved to the following day. We ended up getting the embarkation special (swedish full body massage, foot and ankle massage, and scalp massage) and added the bamboo enhancement. It was terrific! We really liked the spa amenities, and took full advantage of the thalossotherapy (sp?) pool, heated loungers, and aroma steam room. We had a spa cabin so all of that was included at no charge. We also spent a good deal of time on the Serenity deck. On sea days, it was crowded, but if you waited a few minutes, you could usually find a cabana or hammock.

 

Food in the main dining room was not good. My prime rib looked and tasted like ham. I took two bites and couldn't finish. My Mahi Mahi was overcooked. My husband's choices weren't much better. The appetizers were only slightly better. And the only good dessert was the chocolate melting cake. This was a big change for us as we have typically enjoyed the food on our prior Carnival cruises. I will say that Guy's Burgers and the breakfast burritos at Blue Iguana were good (my husband ate at both places there three times). We also tried Tandoor and liked it, though it was very spicy (and we like spicy things). Breakfast buffet was just ok. I stuck to the french toast, bacon, and fruit. The eggs were cold and flavorless, and the turkey bacon was gross. We weren't able to try Pig and Anchor as the wind prevented them from opening it. We tried the Red Frog and the conch fritters and wings were really good, as was the beer! Their dirty Mojito was not. Alchemy bar was great! We did the tasting the first night and like everything we tried. Our favorite was the "Forty is the New Twenty" martini. For us, the Chef's Table was a new experience and was a highlight of the trip. We liked everything (except I wasn't too fond of the quail), and we enjoyed having a more intimate dining experience. We even met a nice couple who doesn't live too far from us.

 

Ports - we were able to stop in Amber Cove, but unfortunately our waterfall tour was cancelled due to flooding and damage that had not yet been repaired. So we opted to do the zipline adventure tour through Carnival, and we really enjoyed it! The port area itself was pretty. It was our first time there and we were surprised at how lush the mountain areas are. We were hopeful about getting to see Grand Turk, and we actually could see the island as we were working out in the gym on the morning that we were supposed to stop there. But at the last minute, the captain decided to turn us around due to high winds. This was very disappointing to us as Grand Turk was the reason we selected this cruise, but we obviously understood that safety has to come first. The replacement port was Nassau. We have been there several times so we opted not to do an excursion there. Instead, we just walked the waterfront, tried some coconut water (and the raw meat), bought some souvenirs for our kids, and had a drink at Senor Frogs. It ended up being a nice day.

 

The only show we went to was the "Love and Marriage" show. It was pretty funny and Dr. E was a great cruise director! He made us laugh daily. We also watched one movie under the stars (Star Trek and Beyond) which was a first for us. We enjoyed the experience. We did not go into the casino as it was full of smoke and we don't like that. We did the ropes course once; it was a little scary but fun. And we tried the water slides once. They were fun, but you can feel the joints in the slide so they were also a little painful for my adult back. ;)

 

The cabin was nice. It was an interior spa cabin on deck 11. The decor was nicer than other cabins and we liked being able to use the special elevator nearby. We also liked the upgraded toiletries and the use of the robe and slippers. Our cabin steward, Romel, was very nice and funny, and most importantly, he kept the cabin clean! He gave us a card for a free 5X7 photo in celebration of our anniversary. Unfortunately, we couldn't use it as Carnival literally took no photos of us that they printed in that size. We appreciated the gesture though.

 

Debarkation for us was a breeze. Since we didn't trust Carnival to handle our luggage (for obvious reasons), we walked off with our own luggage. We were off the ship by 7:50 and headed home by 8:30 (we had used a park and shuttle service).

 

Overall, we had a good time. It did not end up being the little escape we had anticipated, but we tried to make the best out of a bad situation. We were thankful that Carnival owned up to their mistake and tried to make it right, but they definitely need to work on some things. We will cruise again, but we may take a break from Carnival.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review and your adventure.

[sjcruiser]

WOW, sorry that this happened, but glad you received your luggage. I've never seen any bags enter the water, but have heard stories of others that have. A few years ago there was a thread or post on here from a member who experienced the same twice. After the first time, they put all their belongings in a large trash bag in or space saver bag in their luggage to prevent items from getting wet. I haven't done it while cruising, but have done it while flying.

[easyboy]

Sorry for what happened to your luggage. Glad you've moved pass it even before the cruise ended. Maybe I would not have. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Port of Tampa]

Wow that is crazy...but seems Carnival comped you pretty good. Hope the next cruise goes smoother for you.

 

Cheers and happy cruising!

[pcvtmom]

What an unfortunate experience with your luggage! I'm glad Carnival treated you well to make up for the incident.

[louanne93]

WOW! I did not expect this! That is crazy. Glad you made the best of it and glad Carnival treated you well!

 

That is just a crazy story!

[jat1977]

If it hadn't happened to us, we probably wouldn't have believed it ourselves. The first night, my husband and I just kept wavering between being angry and then laughing at our bad luck. We figured that with 4500 passengers, the chances of something like that happening were incredibly small. There was another family whose luggage ended up on the Valor . . . and they didn't get it back until we got back to Port Canaveral. So I'd say their luck was worse, and we were grateful to have at least had our luggage on the ship. I googled when we got back and found several reports of luggage falling in the water so I guess it isn't as uncommon as I would have guessed. It does make me want to pack multiple smaller bags next time though and just carry them on.

[dacsmom]

What an awful experience, luckily you did not let it ruin your cruise. Carnival did try to make it up to you, but I do agree you could have been notified a lot sooner.

[MaraBerk]

Great review, could you post the chefs table menu?

 

TIA

[clarkg]

Yikes! What an awful thing to happen.

[harry0]

Did you tip the porter when he took your bags????LOL

I always kid my wife and say"tip the porter well or our luggage will swim with the fish!"

[Clarea]

Sorry about the luggage problem and thanks for the report.

[Micahs Grandad]

When we were waiting to get on the Vista I watched a palleted luggage container get lifted onto the ship by a fork lift. One suitcase started to slip from the top and nearly fell off the stack. A guy on the pier had a long pole that he used to push the item back from the edge of disaster. I can see an avalanche happening once in a while just from the luggage handlers inability (or desire) to stack the luggage neatly for transport.

 

Makes one wonder what they are tipped for.

 

Glad to see Carnival tried to make it better but they should have notified passengers affected by luggage going into the drink.

[shof515]

depending on the terminal and how the ship is docked, i noticed both under the gangway and some of the loading doors is a protective net that should of prevented this. I guess they dont use the new that often and depends if the workers wants to set it up.

[Jelly_Toast]

Wow, that is crazy about your bag. I'm glad they finally did compensate you for it. I was also on that cruise, Pig & Anchor was open on our first sea day. I liked it, my husband thought it was amazing and was sad it wasn't open a second time. Hopefully you'll get a chance to try it in the future.

[ABQrobin]

Glad Carnival compensated you for the ooops, but that could have honestly happened with any cruise line. In fact, in Galveston on our second cruise, we watched a RC ship luggage being loaded and swore we saw bags go in the water. Don't know for sure, but it sure looked like some fell off the pallets before they were ever even lifted up.

 

Our first cruise, we met a couple who had flown in the morning of embarkation from Calif and their luggage never made it. They had to wear same shorts and t-shirts and flipflops all week... just sayin', it could have been worse! At least you had the bag.

 

I wouldn't let this discourage you from doing Carnival cruises again. Just my 2 cents.

Edited November 29, 2016 by ABQrobin

[Pyrate13]

A real shame about your luggage incident, what a PIA. It sounds like Carnival did a pretty good job with compensation. I would think that this type of thing could happen occasionally (heard of it before) but is rather unusual so it would not discourage me from sailing with any cruise line. I bet it has happened to most, if not all of them at one time or another.

 

Not sure I understand about the other guest having their luggage end up on the Valor. The ships leave from two separate terminals and the luggage drop off for each is a separate area. Sounds like someone dropped the luggage at the wrong terminal. Either the guest or perhaps a shuttle service. The porters work for the cruise port, not the cruise line, and possibly don't pay a whole lot of attention to the name of the ship on the luggage tags. :confused:

[wampuscat7]

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you had a good time and managed to have a laugh about the luggage debacle. I agree that Carnival should've notified you, but I'm glad you were adequately compensated.

 

Also sorry about the quality of the food in the MDR. That would put a damper on my vacation as well.

[BigAlexC]

I think I may know you... Great recap! Too bad the cruise wasn't everything you hoped it would be. Every time we ran into you guys it looked like you were having a helluva time! Hope our paths cross again some day. Until then, safe travels!

[jat1977]

Great review, could you post the chefs table menu?

 

TIA

 

I had trouble posting a pic, but here is what was on the menu:

 

Spring peas & matcha soup

Berkshire pork belly, shrimps (veil of yuzu mustard, crustacean essence)

Slow cooked crispy lamb (roasted beet & port au jus)

Olive oil poached sea bass (asparagus & white miso)

Quail, wild mushroom and carnaroli (parmasean, pepper threads, roasted onion au jus)

Veal, crushed green apples (light cheese broth)

 

Dessert was:

 

Citrus cream (lime snow & elderflower caviar)

Chocolate hazelnut (basil moss, cocoa logs, chocolate soil)

 

We also had several amuse-bouche items, including an olive covered in cotton candy.

 

As I mentioned in my review, we loved everything! Even though I wasn't especially fond of the quail, that was more of a personal preference. It did not taste bad. We would do the Chef's Table again, probably even at the higher price point.

[jat1977]

I think I may know you... Great recap! Too bad the cruise wasn't everything you hoped it would be. Every time we ran into you guys it looked like you were having a helluva time! Hope our paths cross again some day. Until then, safe travels!

 

If you are who I think you are, then you and your wife are who I mentioned in my review of the Chef's Table! ;) We really enjoyed getting to meet you both. Hope you enjoy your next cruise!

[MaraBerk]

Thanks! I'm so happy there's a new menu

[winddawn]

I can remember reading about the soggy luggage issue on this board a few times over the years. Sorry this happened to you. I'm glad to hear Carnival tried to compensate you, but I find it disheartening they didn't even try to notify you. There's no excuse for that. My large Samsonite suitcase was severely ripped by the airline coming home from my cruise this month. I just received a new one in the mail yesterday, taking advantage of a good sale at eBags with no shipping charge nor sales tax. I'm pleased with the quality of my new suitcase (link below if you're interested) although I know it's just a matter of time until the airline tears this one up too. That seems to happen to me every 3 years or so.

 

Congratulations on your anniversary.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1447392

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2160654

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=747163

 

http://www.ebags.com/product/it-luggage/amsterdam-iii-8-wheel-313-inch-spinner/322827

[maldenmusic]

Too bad they couldn't have alerted the passengers who didn't get their luggage to come to Customer service ASAP instead of you having to go search for it.