Above And Beyond

[code_d]

What has happened on a Cruise that was above and beyond your expectations?

 

We love Carnival as the sevice is so darn great overall. Before cruising I never experienced this level of service.

 

My DW is severly allergic to eggs. On the Miracle they made sure she had the menu for the following night so she could order what she wanted, and the chef made it with out any eggs if at all possible. One night she didn't make it to the dinning room and the actual head chef called our room to make sure she was feeling all right and had our server bring her dinner to the room, as on the second night she got very ill and had to rush out of the dinning room, so they thought it had happened again. (turns out she was reacting to the sour mix the use in the mixed drinks at the captains dinner-it is powder base with egg almond extract) When the chef had called and dinner came my DW was in tears (happy ones).:)

[deborah grimes]

sorry I don't know what happen!

[deborah grimes]

We was on the Liberty last year, My DH got a burger and put so mayonnaise on it and got really sick. We figured out the cause, the mayonnaise was sitting out all day in a bowl not in any ice and it was a hot day. That night DH said "he thought he could eat some soup if they had any,". So I went to the Lido buffet and there was not soup around (It was late) I asked one of the chiefs if they had any I could get and explain to him about what happen with the mayonnaise. He said " It may take me a will but let me whip something up." In about 15 mins. He brought me out this biggest bowl of Chicken Noodle soup with vegs. in it, with some saltine crackers. I think that was service. He did not have to do that. My Hubby said it was the best soup he had.

[code_d]

That's the kind of stuff that has amazed me too. Maybe its the difference in thier culture. We were eating at a grill once and the server was very nice and we hit it off. I asked if they had grilled cheese as I was getting some tomato soup. They never heard of it. I told them what it is and ordered wingd. They brought out a double decker inpromptu grilled cheese, and it was the greasiest best one I ever had.:D

[saltmom1]

We had brought our DOD back to the room and left the cups ( the tall plastic ones) on the counter. The next morning they were gone, so we thought that we could not keep them. A short time later there was a knock on the door and it was our room steward. He said he washed them and brought them back.

[wasiii]

.....a message had gotten to Risa Barnes, the cruise director of the Inspiration, that my son wanted to become a cruise director when he grows up. On our B2B cruise this past August, my son was treated like royalty by her and her staff. I can't thank her enough for doing it for him. It was an experience that he will never forget. He talks about it constantly to me and his friends at school till this day.

 

:D :) :D :) :D

 

wasiii

[airhead22]

One of our girls broke her flip flop and the room streard noticed she was carrying it back to our cabin. That night her shoe had been magicallly repaired. when we came back from dinner. Thanks Benni!!!!!

[mdma03]

On our first cruise as a couple (I had cruised before but not my husband), the thing he was mostly amazed about was his first night in the dining room, upon taking the drink orders he ordered a coffee. The assitant waiter asked if he wanted coffee before or after his meal. He said before (he likes coffee with his meal). The assistant waiter was a bit surprised as most people order coffee after the meal. So every night after that, his coffee was brought to him automatically within a few minutes of sitting down. He was hooked!! LOL

[LHP]

I feel like I could write a book about this subject....which is why I get called a cheerleader!!

 

Our son is 17 and has Autism. He has cruised with Carnival since he was 5.

 

In those 10+ years (and 24 cruises)..... I can not explain the lengths that Carnival staff and crew have gone to and how much it has meant to us.

 

He got ill the very first cruise after a day in Tampa (that was one of our ports). He ran a 102 fever. I took him to the ship doctor to rule out an ear infection. They could not find anything wrong. So I just gave him Tylenol and stayed in the cabin with him. Hubby asked the Cabin Steward to just swap out the towels, since DJ and I would not be leaving the cabin that night. Hubby and oldest son went on to dinner.

 

The cabin steward asked hubby what I would like from the dining room menu.

Hubby told him all I eat is beef. So about 6:00pm, the cabin steward arrives with my dinner and pizza for DJ (that is all he would eat back in those days).

 

Then all through the night until 10pm, the cabin steward would stop in and check on us. Turns out, he had two sons the same age back home.

 

The next morning DJ was fine. (like it had never happen) And the rest of the cruise was flawless.

 

That was just the beginning of wonderful cruise experiences. Now that DJ is older, Club O2 and the Entertainment Staff have him feeling so comfortable on a cruise...that it is like he gets to be a "normal kid" for an entire week.

 

Priceless!!!

[code_d]

One of our girls broke her flip flop and the room streard noticed she was carrying it back to our cabin. That night her shoe had been magicallly repaired. when we came back from dinner. Thanks Benni!!!!!

 

We had brought our DOD back to the room and left the cups ( the tall plastic ones) on the counter. The next morning they were gone, so we thought that we could not keep them. A short time later there was a knock on the door and it was our room steward. He said he washed them and brought them back.

 

It seems it is always the little things that go such a long way:).

[mdma03]

Forgot to say mine!!! LOL

 

This happened on RCL (sorry). We sailed on the Adventure of the Seas from San Juan in June 2007, southern Caribbean itinerary. 2 years later, I was invited to visited the Serenade of the Seas while being in port here in Atlantic Canada. Upon visiting the dining room, I recognised a server that was on the Adventure of the Sea when I was on, but he was not our server. He came up to me and started this wonderful conversation on how I'd been, etc. I was sure he didn't remember me, so I asked him, do you remember me? He said sure!! You were on Adventure of the Seas in June of last year! I almost fainted!

[oceanbums]

Last June we were on the Valor and my husband did his own packing. Well he forgot a few things, including his dress socks for elegant night. Within 20 minutes of finding this out, our room steward found a pair-still in the wrapper-and brought them to us. One night I didn't feel well and stayed in, and our steward was so attentive, asking if he could bring me anything. The personal touch made us feel special:D .

[divetrash]

I've told this one before, but it's a big part of the reason I've stayed with Carnival.

 

It was my first cruise back in 2003 on the Inspiration. On the first morning at sea, I went to the Internet Cafe to check my email. My sister had sent me a message saying that my grandmother has fallen and broken her hip and wasn't expect to live out the week, and I should call home immediately. I left the cafe a bit stunned and unsure how to proceed, (this was the days of no cell service at sea and 8.99/minute ship to shore calls). I happened to run into the piano bar entertainer Darrin right after receiving the email. He noticed my distressed and asked what was wrong. I explained the problem to him and he asked for my cabin number and told me he'd see what he could do. By the time I got back to my cabin, the phone was ringing. It was Assistant Purser Allie. Darrin told her my problem and she told me that if I needed to call home, to come down to the pursers office and I could use the phone there for free.

 

I called home and talked to my sister, mom and even my grandmother. They all told me to stay on the cruise with my niece. And they would keep me updated. When I finished, Allie told me that she alerted the rest of the purser staff to my situation, so anytime I needed to call home, I just had to come see them.

 

In the piano bar that night and the rest of the week, Darrin, Allie and the rest of the crew that hung out in there adopted me and pulled me into their fun.

 

My grandmother passed away that Friday and I called home to find out that the funeral would be Monday the day after we returned. The pursers and the crew were so sweet and so kind to me. I couldn't believe it. But it just pointed out that the crew is what makes Carnival special.

 

Okay and from a purely selfish standpoint, my second favorite "above and beyond" moment was my reserved seat in the piano bar on the Freedom last January. LOL!

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

[rjburd]

On my first Ecstasy cruise, I woke during the first night with a healthy dose of seasickness. Hubby called the purser's desk hoping to find me some relief. Here, in the middle of the night, comes our steward, fully dressed and proper, bringing me some seasickness pills.

I was sick and in bed most of the next day. The steward checked on me every couple of hours, and kept bringing me fresh ice water and juice so I wouldn't get dehydrated.

Bless his heart, he HOOKED me on Carnival!

[G'ma]

My grandson has been cruising with me once a year since he was 6 years old. He is, indeed, an experienced cruiser and simply loves it. He makes friend easy and always gets involved in the activities offered by the "kids" programs onboard. When he was 14, he was going through one of those "stages" that teenage boys sometimes go through; wanting to be "cool", wear the right clothes (baggy pants, oversized shirts that fell past his knees, huge junk jewelry hanging around his neck, etc.).

 

He is a racially mixed child and a very good-looking one. At 14, he was a little chubby with that "baby-fat" thing that runs in our family and was very careful to hide everything.

 

In order to declare his independence, he decided to let his hair grow into a natural "afro" - which, in his mind, added to the "cool". So, it grew....and grew....and grew! Eventually, it was HUGE....

 

That year, we were scheduled to sail the Fascination. All along the route, at the airports, at the hotel, in elevators, on the street, his huge afro gathered much attention and many open-mouthed gapes. People would ask if they could "touch his hair"...including many pre-pubescent girls....which pleased him to no end.

 

Onboard, the attention was even more intense with wait staff, room attendants, officers and others coming up to him and commenting. He was getting "high 5's" from so many people and comments that were pleasing to him....like he'd climbed Mt. Everest or something....HA!

 

On the last night of the cruise at dinner, when our waiters started bringing out the food, they had all managed somehow to find "afro" wigs...huge ones....and they appeared wearing these huge wigs and wore them through the evening. It was hysterically funny. Pictures from that night still bring a belly-laugh with my grandson and these wonderful people from all over the world resplendant in their huge hair-do's and grins from ear-to-ear!!!

 

Fortunately, he outgrew this phase and decided to get that mound of hair cut.

 

He's pushing 18 now and is quite a fine young man and an honor student. This year will, no doubt, be the last cruise for him and me for awhile. As a Senior, he is college bound and poised to enter the real adult world of his own making. I'll miss those yearly jaunts with him but delight in his maturity.

[rjburd]

What a wonderful story, G'ma, and thanks so much for sharing it!

[Willie T]

Afro wigs....my pick so far.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

:) Well this isn't about me but it is what got me into trying Carnival first and I stuck with them ever since. My ex-brother-in-law always cruised with Carnival and he booked airfare on his own and landed late. He called Carnival from the airport and they told him to take a taxi directly to the port and keep the receipt and they would reimburse him. Oh yes I forgot to mention his luggage got lost on the flight which is why he was calling Carnival. Thats why they said take the taxi and we will pay for it. They gave him and his wife $200.00 dollars each to buy any clothes they would need till they recieved his clothes. The first day at a port Carnival got the luggage to them. So Carnival paid for taxi....200.00 each for clothes and got the luggage to them.....none of this they had to do because the air was not bought thru Carnival. This is why I choose Carnival and will stick with them. I have never had a bad experience yet and am booked for my 4th cruise with them on the Pride 8/15/09. Great job Carnival!

[beach410]

Thats hilarious! All of these stories are very nice, I cant really top any of them, but on our last cruise, we experienced the best wait staff ever, and all but one cruise they have been top notch. But on this past cruise, we were a party of 20, 10 kids had their own table right next to ours. Our wait staff treated them very well, offered to cut their steaks and such, but what really stood out was our waiter, everynight he would teach them a magic trick and on the last night he sat down at the table for quite awhile doing magic with them. The kids really enjoyed this attention and it was fun to watch.

[slkmbz]

First I believe Carnival goes above and beyond for all - regardless of nationality or age. They truly do have the best service.

 

My story is about my brother. My brother suffered a brain injury when he was young. (He will be 30 in Jan 09 and we are cruising to celebrate!) He is very smart - too smart in some areas! He is very cognitive regarding when someone is less than nice to him and he is very aware of the differences between he and other men his age - which is very emotionally draining. His main issues are communication and some motor skills. He also has a lot of autistic tendancies. In day to day life people will look at him and give that "grin" that is so rude. We were a bit nervous about the first cruise because "what if he has an autistic episode and goes overboard"...and so many other what ifs! He immediately became familiar with the deck plan and knew where everything was and the "escape" routes. On the first day at sea when the Men's Hairy Chest Contest started we were sitting back and just laughing like "Oh this will be great to see who will actually enter this contest!" Guess what? My brother was on Stage! Of course our mother was as nervous as she could be fearing both what he would do and what the reaction of the crowd will be - and hoping the CD's will respond appropriately for him. I don't think she breathed the entire contest. I immediately raced to the front to be by the stage "just in case". He participated in the contest just like everyone else and when he had to speak the CD was very appropriate in continuing the conversation when my brother wasn't understood. All in all - he didn't win first place but they did give him a trophy for most unique dance (remember modified motor skills). Afterward, the CD came up to us and said that he had met my brother on the first day of the cruise and was glad he was participating. For the rest of the cruise any time the CD's saw my brother they would always HI 5 or point him out. Other cruisers and staff were also very nice commenting on how they saw him on TV. Our room steward left him extra treats to celebrate his victory on his pillow. He felt like a celebrity!

 

So now for the continued breathing habits of our mother, we also go and introduce ourselves to the CD's and let them know that he will be an active participant of all activities. They are always accomodating and gracious! (Why isn't the rest of the world like that on a daily basis?)

 

P.S. - He has been in 5 hairy chest contests and won a prize in every one but finally took 1st prize on the 5th! Thanks to all the ladies that joined his Conga line!

[code_d]

Keep 'em coming. These are wounderful stories.

 

Divetrash so sorry to hear that you had to be gone during your families trouble times. It is so nice to hear that so many were able to help you thru it.

 

G'ma I had to laugh out loud when I read that.

 

And any family with special needs family members have it tough enough, nice to hear CCL personel make it so accomidating.

 

They certainly are some special people that do these jobs. We so much enjoy just talking to them and learning about their lives. I remember in the cigar lounge on the Mircacle going in each night and talking to the bartender. He had our scotch ready each time we came in and always a hardy "hello Miss Michelle and Mr Dan". He then talked about his family and actually started to tear up as we were so interested and he missed them so much.

[code_d]

My grandson has been cruising with me once a year since he was 6 years old. He is' date=' indeed, an experienced cruiser and simply loves it. He makes friend easy and always gets involved in the activities offered by the "kids" programs onboard. When he was 14, he was going through one of those "stages" that teenage boys sometimes go through; wanting to be "cool", wear the right clothes (baggy pants, oversized shirts that fell past his knees, huge junk jewelry hanging around his neck, etc.).

 

He is a racially mixed child and a very good-looking one. At 14, he was a little chubby with that "baby-fat" thing that runs in our family and was very careful to hide everything.

 

In order to declare his independence, he decided to let his hair grow into a natural "afro" - which, in his mind, added to the "cool". So, it grew....and grew....and grew! Eventually, it was HUGE....

 

That year, we were scheduled to sail the Fascination. All along the route, at the airports, at the hotel, in elevators, on the street, his huge afro gathered much attention and many open-mouthed gapes. People would ask if they could "touch his hair"...including many pre-pubescent girls....which pleased him to no end.

 

Onboard, the attention was even more intense with wait staff, room attendants, officers and others coming up to him and commenting. He was getting "high 5's" from so many people and comments that were pleasing to him....like he'd climbed Mt. Everest or something....HA!

 

On the last night of the cruise at dinner, when our waiters started bringing out the food, they had all managed somehow to find "afro" wigs...huge ones....and they appeared wearing these huge wigs and wore them through the evening. It was hysterically funny. Pictures from that night still bring a belly-laugh with my grandson and these wonderful people from all over the world resplendant in their huge hair-do's and grins from ear-to-ear!!!

 

Fortunately, he outgrew this phase and decided to get that mound of hair cut.

 

He's pushing 18 now and is quite a fine young man and an honor student. This year will, no doubt, be the last cruise for him and me for awhile. As a Senior, he is college bound and poised to enter the real adult world of his own making. I'll miss those yearly jaunts with him but delight in his maturity.[/quote']

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