Carnival Valor

[lolarn]

We sailed on the Western Carribean in January this year. We had a great time, beautiful ports, wonderful activites, beautiful ship BUT.....

 

We missed the ship embarkation due to weather at home airport. We had the fly aweigh air and travel insurance and everything worked out but it was one of the most stressful travel experiences I have ever dealt with. Yes, we were disappointed in not getting to embark with the other cruisers but the treatment by the Carnival representatives on the 24/7 line was reprehensible. Even the airline agents could not believe the inaccuracy of the information that we were consistently given. It was not until we were enroute to Grand Cayman where we were able to speak to AJ at Carnival who ensured us that the situation could be worked out. It was not until then that anyone at Carnival acknowledged that we might be stressed and concerned by this instead of being told "I don't know what to tell you. Call us back when you figure things out."

 

When we arrived on the ship, once again this was an ordeal as Carnival rep forgot to put us on the embarkation list in Grand Cayman resulting in immigration having to radio the ship while they held us, even though they were notified of our new flight info and I was later told that it was in the computer after all.

 

The pursurers desk checked us in. Not once did they say "We're glad you made it etc" We told them that we had some serious concerns that we wanted to discuss and were told to go ahead and tell them but the woman never looked up and just continued typing the whole time, clearly not listening.

 

There was constant confusion with our shore excursion booking since we had not arrived with anyone else which led to confusion about our final bill. Whenever we tried to explain the situation, it was clear that it was not a priority as we heard sighing, typing, and general irritation. What a mess.

 

Now, if you don't miss the ship you will probably have an awesome time. Unfortunately for us, it took some time to come down from the anxiety level that we had built up. All it would have taken was some empathy and good customer service to turn this around. I am torn because while I enjoyed greatly the trip, this rude treatment on our honeymoon no less, would make ME hesitant to return to Carnvial. Missing the ship can happen on any ship but rude treatment shouldn't. Thanks to Delta airlines for sorting this out for us.

 

One extra note, to disembark for Roatan was terrible. Mass exodus of people pressed and smashed together. A prior poster said this and it was absolutely true.

 

You will all have a wonderful time. Wish I was going with you. It's 15 below zero and snowing. Ugh. Send some warmth my way.:)

[sea_u_onboard]

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise even though it didn't start out on the right foot. I don't know what to tell you about the pursers desk. The pursers desk is hit and miss. You have those that have a superiority complex or something. Some that work at the purser desk act like they have no concern or care much what the passengers think of their behavior and and this is not exclusive of Carnival - I've run into this on RCL also. I avoid the place like the plague. Only go there when absolutely possible.

 

You should try Carnival again - but relieve your stress a little by flying in the day before. Not only will it give you time to recover from mis-steps but hopefully you will be refreshed when you get on the ship. We always arrive in the port at least a day before whether driving or flying.

 

Again - Sorry that your trip didn't start out the way you planned but I'm glad you were able to finally let it pass and enjoy part of your vacation.

[cruise-4-ever]

I am truly sorry for what happen. I have had bad experiences with the pursers desk too. As the other poster said it is a hit and miss. What Carnival needs to do is have customer service training 101. Believe me looking at the person during your conversation doesn't hurt. They should show some empathy to their customers. This stems from the head purser who must have his or her standards at a high level and pass it on to his fellow workers. I'm glad that you enjoyed the balance of your cruise.

[shortstop95]

I feel your pain. We love cruising and really enjoy Carnival. On our trip on the Glory the airline lost my luggage. We had flown into Orlando and took a limo for my wife's birthday to Port Canaveral. As it was early in the day they (carnival) assured me someone would pick it up and I would have it before the ship sailed. Once I bordered the ship I confirmed this at the purser's desk. While the Carnival staff at both the airport and the purser's desk were polite.. it only seemed to last for ONE request. Needless to say I did not get my luggage before we sailed.. and was subsequently promised it would be at our next port of call for three straight stops. Like you, my anxiety level was through the roof and it was a roller coaster each day hoping today would be the day I'd get only to be disappointed again. The lack of accurate information that was given to me, plus the general feeling that I was being a nuisance to them only added to my disappointment. I know these things happen and that's fine- but as you stated the smallest amount of empathy would have been appreciated. I got none all week. It has not discouraged me from sailing carinval.. but I won't fly the same airline again.

[Dee777]

I am very sorry for your experience. We cruised on Valor on Jan 6-13th, and had a wonderful time. As for the disembarkation in Roatan, I am sorry to hear about that, too. I cannot stand crowds pushing and shoving, and so I usually waited until the majority of people went through before I attempted to go down to dis embark. Unless I had an excursion, then I braved the people pushing and shoving.

 

Honestly, I don't know what all the rush and impatience is for. People can get to a place without all the rudeness and selfishness.

[dec2007w3boys]

I am sorry to hear about your experience. I am glad to hear though that you had a nice time despite the issues that you encountered. We cruised the Valor on Nov 25 and had a great time. I do know what you mean about Roatan. We were coming down the stairs just as the line was moving. As we tried to figure out which way to go for the line, we were pushed from the people behind us on the stairs. We ended up off the ship pretty quickly. :eek: The 11:00 port time would be better much earlier!

[2Ports]

There was a couple (from Canada, I think) right ahead of us on the galley tour on the Jan. 6 - 13 Western cruise who had missed the sailaway and had to fly to GC to meet the ship. They said they saw the ship sail as they were landing. I think they were on the Northworst flight from Detroit. We took that same flight the day before and it was delayed - we would have missed the ship too if it had sailed that day! That's one reason we always fly in a day early. Glad to hear you had travel insurance (if it was you) - we wondered about that. Later I said to Mrs. 2Ports "THAT'S why we waste the $100 every cruise!"