Letter Sent to Carnival!!!!!

[sailor44]

they stopped serving filet mignon???? :confused::eek::(

 

This is almost off topic, but I believe I read on another thread that filet mignon was not being offered on the shorter cruises.

[cruiserbryce]

did you receieve a response? Thats really too bad you had such a bad experience

[Wennfred]

I wonder if this cruise was short staffed, if it was it really shows.

 

 

Fred

[VillaHappy]

I have a letter that I'm writting to Princess Cruises. I would like to share what happend to me, but in private. I don't want to tell everyone so if you could explain to me how to contact you some way you'll be surprised. Oh, Carnival is Royal compared to Princess. I'm sorry you also had bad luck.

Please respond.

Thank you.

 

Was there an unwanted man in your room?

[Fat Boy]

To Whom It May Concern:

On Saturday, March 21, 2009, eleven family members, friends, and I embarked (2Z7G77) on what I truly believed would be a vacation of a lifetime for us.

...

“Disappointed” was the way many of us summarized our trip.

We anxiously await a response from Carnival Cruise Lines. Please include a reason why our next vacation should be on a Carnival Fun Ship

 

Did you actually send Carnival a letter? I recently did, and I got a satisfactory response (frankly, I was surprised I got any response). If you're expecting them to respond directly on this board, you shouldn't hold your breath.

[kyrisong1]

Man.....the hair in the food has to be the worst you stated!!! That freaks me out really bad. Just imagine all the hairs we don't see but consume!:eek: As for the chair hogs. remove their things after 30 minutes and the chair is yours! As for unruly kids....not much you can do about that! I hope we don't experience this stuff on our cruise.:eek:

are you aware that canned and processed food is allowed to have a certain amount of vermin excrement and hair in it? Gross huh? :eek:

[Wolfie48]

they stopped serving filet mignon???? :confused::eek::(

 

I just got off the Spirit and I had Filet Mignon.....someone is making things up to cause trouble I think.:eek:

[spencercoop]

I wanted to post on this subject as I was on the same cruise as the original poster. I am sorry that he had such difficulties. There was a water major water break that occured, leading to the water problems. Passengers were informed of the situation. Maybe his cabin was located in the area of the water break, exposing him to more problems than other passengers. The only difficulty that we experienced was a coffee shortage in the morning. We had plenty for showering and did not see any black water. Also, the ship was not dirty as he implied. There were more kids/teens on the ship than usual, but we did not experience any of them running out of control. We were told there were 500 kids on the ship, but we barely noticed them. Our cabin service was also fine. My husband thought that the service on the ship was slightly below standard, which he attributed to the economy and most likely cutbacks by Carnival. We did not attend many of the shows, because as the poster stated, they are repetitive if you cruise Carnival frequently. The same with the "dining room entertainment" The dining service that we had was very good,

however the dining room entertainment was very substandard - the staff did not put their hearts into it the way they usually do. I really liked the Liberty, the big screen on the Lido deck was great. My husband really enjoyed watching the basketball games.

 

To Whom It May Concern:

On Saturday, March 21, 2009, eleven family members, friends, and I embarked (2Z7G77) on what I truly believed would be a vacation of a lifetime for us. We sailed on a 7 Day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Liberty. For two of us, it was our second adventure on this ship albeit a different itinerary. Our previous cruise on Liberty was phenomenal.

As we planned our 2009 vacation, we encouraged our family and friends, some of them first-time cruisers, to join us on a Carnival Cruise. Of course our previous experience steered us in our decision making process. Twelve of us embarked on what can be best described as a mediocre week at sea. Part of the cruising experience is the fun and enjoyment experienced between ports. What follows is a list of disappointing and disturbing events and occurrences that riddled our family vacation.

· On three occasions there was a hair in our food;

Was this ever brought up with the matre'd???

· Coffee was at a premium – they ran out every morning;

From the other person on the cruise it sounds like it only happened once.

· The ship was generally unkept – food on the floor, spilled drinks, etc.;

It sounds like you were spending your cruise looking for little messes around the ship. According to the other guest the ship was not dirty like you stated.

· State rooms were not re-stocked properly – we had to ask for toilet paper, soap, etc.;

Did you ever bring this up with the guest services desk?

· The shows were the very same as two years prior – and not as good as before;

That is not really something to complain about. They can't change the shows just becuase one guest has already seen them.

· Teenagers overtook the elevators; security alerted- and their response was reprehensible – “This is a fun ship – even for kids” – At the expense of others’ fun?

Is it Carnival's fault there were rude teens onboard??

· Deck chairs were being reserved by guests for other guests that never appeared;

Once again is it Carnival's fault there were chair hogs???

· Water completely stopped in the state rooms just prior to our departure from St. Thomas;

understandable

· Day 2 of the cruise the water ran “black” – with no explanation given

it sounds like from the other guest from your cruise, that there was an explanation given.

We brought these items to the attention of staff members, when one could find a moment to talk to us. They appeared to be over-tasked and too busy to attend to our concerns. We spoke with many guests, and we concurred that the staff was obviously at a minimum level, as evidenced by our mediocre service. “Disappointed” was the way many of us summarized our trip.

We anxiously await a response from Carnival Cruise Lines. Please include a reason why our next vacation should be on a Carnival Fun Ship

 

Some of the issues the OP stated are understandable, but some of the others are not. I have no idea how it is Carnival's fault that there are chair hogs or rude teens. The issues like the hair in the food and the cabin steward should have been brought up to someone on the ship. It sounds like this person is looking for something from Carnival and spent their whole cruise looking for the bad things. There was no reason to write in the letter about the teens, coffee, chair hogs, and shows. With all the things the OP complained about that he/she didn't have to, is probably going to get them a less chance of some compensation from Carnival. When Carnival reads the letter it is going to sound to them like someone was just complaining about everything and looking for everything that went wrong.

[jessemon]

Ran out of coffee:eek:

Oh well...at least they didn't run out of beer......:D:D:D

[jessemon]

To Whom It May Concern:

On Saturday, March 21, 2009, eleven family members, friends, and I embarked (2Z7G77) on what I truly believed would be a vacation of a lifetime for us. We sailed on a 7 Day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Liberty. For two of us, it was our second adventure on this ship albeit a different itinerary. Our previous cruise on Liberty was phenomenal.

As we planned our 2009 vacation, we encouraged our family and friends, some of them first-time cruisers, to join us on a Carnival Cruise. Of course our previous experience steered us in our decision making process. Twelve of us embarked on what can be best described as a mediocre week at sea. Part of the cruising experience is the fun and enjoyment experienced between ports. What follows is a list of disappointing and disturbing events and occurrences that riddled our family vacation.

· On three occasions there was a hair in our food;

· Coffee was at a premium – they ran out every morning;

· The ship was generally unkept – food on the floor, spilled drinks, etc.;

· State rooms were not re-stocked properly – we had to ask for toilet paper, soap, etc.;

· The shows were the very same as two years prior – and not as good as before;

· Teenagers overtook the elevators; security alerted- and their response was reprehensible – “This is a fun ship – even for kids” – At the expense of others’ fun?

· Deck chairs were being reserved by guests for other guests that never appeared;

· Water completely stopped in the state rooms just prior to our departure from St. Thomas;

· Day 2 of the cruise the water ran “black” – with no explanation given

We brought these items to the attention of staff members, when one could find a moment to talk to us. They appeared to be over-tasked and too busy to attend to our concerns. We spoke with many guests, and we concurred that the staff was obviously at a minimum level, as evidenced by our mediocre service. “Disappointed” was the way many of us summarized our trip.

We anxiously await a response from Carnival Cruise Lines. Please include a reason why our next vacation should be on a Carnival Fun Ship

So how much are you looking for in compensation for all these problems....?????:rolleyes:

[pe4all]

So how much are you looking for in compensation for all these problems....?????:rolleyes:

 

A free cruise, perhaps?:D Stuff happens. The only thing that really would get to me would be hair in the food on multiple occasions. (and I also wonder - did they tell the maitre-d of that area?) OP is hitting spring break cruise - will be tons of kids/teens, and ship would be running at full capacity. Blast - I'll take all those problems to be on a cruise right now! (and you won't hear a peep out of me!)

[pnjkeith]

I am a go with the flow, easy-going cruiser, and I love Carnival, but this think this response to the OP was kind of ridiculous.

 

Some of the items would not have bothered me (the shows being the same, chair hogs), but some are really wrong (black water, no running water, no coffee, ship looking dirty).

 

People pay a lot of money for these cruises and the suggestion that the OP should have just "taken on bottled water" to solve his or her issues with black water or no water is just silly.

 

That was the point. His post was ridiculous. :D:D

[happy cruzer]

While I agree you should have written carnival I think you took a little too far to be taken seriously. The complaints about chair hogs, teens, old shows etc are petty at best and just makes you sound like you are nitpicking.

 

If you are going to write to a corporation and expect a satisfying response you need to list the major complaints and leave the rest unsaid. The food, the water, cleanliness or lack there of is important and they would have seen that you had some major problems.

 

As it's written the real issues get lost among the other petty complaints. IMO

 

yes, I agree mention the items that affect safety and sanitation only and then state what would make you consider booking Carnival again. If you do not get very specific of course you will just get a boiler plate apology.

 

Personally, I would just ask for about one days price of the cruise as an OBC as compensation for the water problems. The rest could have been handled on the spot on the ship, complaining about hair after the fact does not work very well.

 

Good luck.

[rose21]

I bite my tongue reading this message board a lot, but come on! You're on vacation, why make a list of every little annoyance? H and I didn't even have air conditioning on a 10 day cruise, yet we still had a wonderful time. In the real world, we have short tempers and little patience. But our motto on a cruise is "Don't let it get to us! Let it go!"

 

Kids are irritating. ignore them. Hair in the food is disgusting, but easily and immediately corrected. Asking for soap or TP takes literally 20 seconds. Toss the chair hogs' crap on the floor and take their chairs. Do you really go on a cruise to watch movies? Yes? Fine, bring a portable DVD and DVD's from home. And coffee is available through room service, coffee bars, dining room, etc. Yeah, the buffet gets busy and it runs out, but but it's not your only source.

 

I don't see why people are so uptight on a vacation. Relax! Life isn't perfect, there's no way the cruise line can make your vacation perfect.

 

ActuLLY I had a bad experience on the freedom 2 years ago. I also booked the cruise for friends and family and it was my 6th , all on carnival. Our problem started when one of our friends because ill with the flu. He had to stay in his room and rest. The cruise was at newyears so it was full and there were many kids. The kids started phoning his room and hanging up. we called the pursers office and they claimed there was nothing they could do. So we had to disconnect the phone. Then the kids started running up to his door and also a whole bunch of rooms banging on doors. He called again and they said nothing they could do. SO I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and waited for the kids. Caught them, marched them to there parents room, not before I scared the living daylights out of them. Obviously carnival does not like to resolve problems, so with this in mind I try to take care of the problems. Enjoy the cruise anyway because a few problems do not ruin a vacation. I also wrote to carnival and received a form letter saying sorry. That was it. I will be cruising with them again . Unfortunaly nothing is perfect in life .:)

[luckycruzer]

Black water?? I have alway said Carnival's water is hit and miss

 

is touted as brown, when actually it is light amber colour

[2young2care]

is touted as brown, when actually it is light amber colour

 

I'll bet it's BEER running through the faucets then!!

[luckycruzer]

I'll bet U R right...I love beer....!

[BullDogChief]

I am a go with the flow, easy-going cruiser, and I love Carnival, but this think this response to the OP was kind of ridiculous.

 

Some of the items would not have bothered me (the shows being the same, chair hogs), but some are really wrong (black water, no running water, no coffee, ship looking dirty).

 

People pay a lot of money for these cruises and the suggestion that the OP should have just "taken on bottled water" to solve his or her issues with black water or no water is just silly.

 

I do believe PNJKeith was joking, when you re-read it maybe you will get the joke. ;)

[BullDogChief]

Mississippi moon won't you keep on shinin' on me......

 

 

Keep on shinin your light...gonna make everything alright...

[gtalum]

To the OP: That does sound like a disappointing cruise. I hope Carnival responds to your satisfaction. Keep us posted. :)

 

Ignore the negative responses, your complaints seem quite valid and reasonable.

 

In the future, if you have similar problems, go straight to the top. The ship's purser and the hotel director are the ones who can fix your problem the easiest. Bypass all other steps in the chain by asking to speak to one of these two people. They should offer you some immediate compensation.

[DocF]

We have been on three cruises in recent times, all on Carnival. We have another one booked on Carnival. We have had issues on all of these, but nothing worth mentioning here.

 

The main reason the issues were minor is because we did something intelligent to rectify them. We went to the purser's desk (now called customer service desk, I believe) and told them about the problem. Each and every one was corrected very quickly and courteously. Complaining to "a staff member" may or may not get a problem corrected. One can complain till the cows come home to the deckhand with a swab who is cleaning the scuppers. He will nod and be pleasant and keep cleaning the scuppers.

 

We have not experienced any issues with the water supply, but it is possible that there could be a temporary disruption in the potable water supply. It is made from sea water which is run through a reverse osmosis system and further treated before it goes to the end user. If the potable water supply is disrupted, coffee is going to be disrupted too; coffee is made from: water and coffee, you know.

 

We have a well at our home. We get grit in our water frequently as source is not in bedrock, it is in a vein of sand in our red clay world. Potable? Yes. Unpleasant? Yes. I suspect "black water" may be a similar issue and one that was transient.

 

Show change infrequently for several reasons. The main one is the sets are very expensive and require a great deal of time to change out on the ship. This is generally done when the ship is in drydock. It may just be me, but I find it very interesting to see the same show in a different production.

 

There are so many entertainment venues on these ships that I cannot believe that a passenger who does not want to see "the same old show" can't find an alternative activity.

 

As to the food issue, the Liberty's current sanitation rating is lower than the usual Carnival ship. This may be a reflection of that. I must say, though, that any perceived problem with our food has always been taken care of by our waiter without us even asking. Maybe the OP might have gotten better results by being more pleasant to the people serving his party?

 

I guess this is all a long-winded way of saying that by addressing an issue on board and immediately with the proper person, the matter was taken care of right away and in a satisfactory manner.

 

Doc

[Texaslandshark]

I wanted to post on this subject as I was on the same cruise as the original poster. I am sorry that he had such difficulties. There was a water major water break that occured, leading to the water problems. Passengers were informed of the situation. Maybe his cabin was located in the area of the water break, exposing him to more problems than other passengers. The only difficulty that we experienced was a coffee shortage in the morning. We had plenty for showering and did not see any black water. Also, the ship was not dirty as he implied. There were more kids/teens on the ship than usual, but we did not experience any of them running out of control. We were told there were 500 kids on the ship, but we barely noticed them. Our cabin service was also fine. My husband thought that the service on the ship was slightly below standard, which he attributed to the economy and most likely cutbacks by Carnival. We did not attend many of the shows, because as the poster stated, they are repetitive if you cruise Carnival frequently. The same with the "dining room entertainment" The dining service that we had was very good,

however the dining room entertainment was very substandard - the staff did not put their hearts into it the way they usually do. I really liked the Liberty, the big screen on the Lido deck was great. My husband really enjoyed watching the basketball games.

 

Your post was the one I was waiting to hear because you were on the same cruise. I know only a small number of people who cruise come to this site but surely someone else would complain as well if things were way out of hand..

It does seem however that too many people on this site forget that this is Cruise CRITIC. They might want to look up the definition of that one word.

[LoriTX]

As for the teenagers and kids playing with the elevator -

 

When I come across them - I just look them in the eye (so I know they are paying attention) and say to the person I am with "I know who they are and who thier parents are, Lets go to the pursers desk and report them" I dont know who they are really, but they dont know that!! This really works for the younger teens that parents have set loose!!

[PaulMedik]

.......... They might want to look up the definition of that one word.

 

Alrighty then, here ya go;

 

From Dictionary DOT com

 

1. a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes: a poor critic of men.

2. a person who judges, evaluates, or analyzes literary or artistic works, dramatic or musical performances, or the like, esp. for a newspaper or magazine.

3. a person who tends too readily to make captious, trivial, or harsh judgments; faultfinder.

4. Archaic.

 

If we go by the definition of 'critic,' we would all be 'faultfinders.' No thanks. The only faults I'm interested in are the seismic type. ;)

 

I'll grant you he did make trivial and harsh judgements too readily.

[figs]

Sigh. I'm happy I've been here long enough to know that there are just some jerky people posting on this board. If I was brand new, I would see threads like this and never come back here. It's been really getting out of hand lately with the slamming. Blah. What the heck happened to this being a board to post your experiences and questions, without getting poo flung at you for not saying your cruise was perfect? :p

 

OP, I'm sorry you're getting some ridiculous criticism from other board members. Multiple instances of hair in your party's food, lack of proper supplies, water that you are unable to clean yourself in, unresolved complaints to the ship's staff re: teens running amok (And yes, this IS an issue. If it were grown men taking over the elevators and not letting them be used as needed, everyone would understand why security should step in. Why is it different because it's teens? The outcome is EXACTLY the same), etc.

 

I love Carnival as much as the next gal. I've got a cruise booked for September. But I've been on cruises where they "ran out" of iced tea the very first day, and never got it back the whole cruise. So I believe you on the coffee thing. I've been on cruises where my fellow passengers were physically violent with each other, and I've SEEN how Carnival can be slow to step in, whatever their reasoning might be. I've seen MANY complaints on this board about "brown water" on various ships, so obviously that's not a new occurrence, either.

 

Even your fellow cruiser pretty much CONFIRMED your experiences, they just didn't have it quite as bad. Frankly, that post made me trust your critique more than anything else---they admitted there was a water problem, they admitted there was a coffee problem, they admitted there were more kids than usual..... sounds like they may not have got the brunt of the issues on that cruise, but at least we ALL know now that you weren't making it up. Some people seem to have missed that point.