Never Cruising Carnival Again - PLEASE read and give me a chance !

[Nunu]

Good point:confused: LMAO!!

 

[trock]

 

Pass the Koolaid Rev Jim..

[RaceMedic]

Just wondering, since you're responding to a later post and might not have seen my earlier query -- did Carnival suggest you pay the deviation fee and schedule a flight the day before the cruise either of the times you called them with your concerns about your flight arrangements? If, as I suspect, they didn't, then I really feel they screwed up and led a first-time cruiser into a real trap of their own devising.

 

Sorry ... trying to catch up with all the questions ... I am at work so am off and on the internet ...

 

They did not suggest anything ... simply not to worry !! TWICE !

[Kurbanfan]

 

[gracie65]

 

 

That's Cute

[Nunu]

 

[Kurbanfan]

Pass the Koolaid Rev Jim..

 

 

[dan40]

OK, OP didn't have a tux.

Carnival told him to cram sand.

 

Are we about done here?

 

Dan

[Wennfred]

OK, OP didn't have a tux.

Carnival told him to cram sand.

 

Are we about done here?

 

Dan

 

Yes we are done :D NEXT !!!

 

 

 

Fred :)

[groverrh]

John knows the deal on these type of things. He is fully aware of where responsibility resides. OP isn't the first passenger whose flight was delayed' date=' whose luggage was lost or who made the ship by the hair on his head..... Nobody needs to "inform" anyone.

 

As for being treated "crappy"....that's just naivete and not being aware of the contracts, or they system. It's all in writing..all one needs to do is read....[/quote']

 

That's right, and if you see something you don't like call Carnival and ask them if they are sure it is OK.

 

Oh, right, he did that...

 

With 20/20 hindsight, we can all see that the OP should have called his TA about the flight, not Carnival. If I had been his TA I would have moved him to another flight and perhaps a day earlier, and I believe his TA would have as well, if he/she had known. But as much as we would like to, TAs can't always check on the flights when Carnival posts them as late as they did this one. Hopefully the TA has learned something here about keeping the client in the loop and encouraging him to call if there is a concern. The TA is trying to make it up to his client. But in spite of the fine print and all the disclaimers, Carnival is refusing to admit it's mishandling of the problem. Carnival employees have said that he should have gotten better treatment on the ship. Is it really too much to ask for a future cruise voucher for, at least, the cost of the Tuxedo? Do you think Carnival would lose money on that? I have had clients make stupid mistakes that could have been avoided by a single call to me. That doesn't mean that I blow them off. A happy client makes the agent and the cruise line much more money than one that doesn't come back. Especially when the cost of making them happy is so small.

[Nunu]

OK, OP didn't have a tux.

Carnival told him to cram sand.

 

Are we about done here?

 

Dan

 

Not likely.

[Kurbanfan]

OK, OP didn't have a tux.

Carnival told him to cram sand.

 

Are we about done here?

 

Dan

 

Yes sir Danny boy.......I am off to go register for my up coming cruise:D

[Nunu]

Yes sir Danny boy.......I am off to go register for my up coming cruise:D

 

Don't forget your flights.

[Kurbanfan]

Don't forget your flights.

 

I'm not cruising Carnival

[RaceMedic]

RaceMedic, I have a totally serious question. Did you have baggage delay insurance? If so, did you know you had it at the time you were told your options? If so why didn't you just call the insurer right then and then go rent clothes? My point, ever so delicately phrased, is if you were covered why even get upset about it? Just rent the stuff, have a good time, and deal with the insurance claim afterward?

 

I was told the policy covered the purchasing of clothes ... I did not know if it covered rentals or not .... it REALLY is not about the dollar value of the tuxedo etc. but the way it was POORLY handled byCarnival on the ship and after the cruise !

[Nunu]

I'm not cruising Carnival

[COMBOY]

Your experience is a prime reason I would never advise anyone to fly in the day of the cruise. A 2 pm flight arrival is cutting it way too close from my point of view and I wouldn't do it. Although Carnival's air department would ticket this as an appropriate arrival time and verbally confirm it with you common sense would dictated otherwise if there were any delays. I always fact in "what happens if my flight is delayed and I should or my luggage miss the ship." I'm sorry for your experience especially since it's your first cruise; however, I think Carnival's response was fair. I do believe they should have extended some onboard comps which would have gone along way in making you feel better. Remember - Carnival did not delay your flight. It was the airline. You did make the ship less your luggage. People miss the ship, lose luggage, etc., all the time. When you are dealing with thousand of passengers weekly, on hundreds of flights you are bound to have numerous problems on each and every sailing. Lesson learned. I can understand your anger at Carnival, but it's time to let it go. You were right to let them know how disappointed you were with them. Maybe the air department will avoid using that flight in the future. Remember the fun you had and start planning your next cruise (maybe with a different cruise line) - with a one night pre-cruise hotel! Happy cruising.

[missabbi]

I can't read the letters due to my crappy laptop shutting down everytime I click on them, but I get the drift of what happened.

 

I love Carnival. I have sailed other lines but keep returning to Carnival because I love the product and the price is good for me. That being said, I noticed their customer service is getting rather lacking lately. I have a cruise on the Victory booked for my family which is costing me over $6000...the most I have ever spent on one cruise. One of the members of my party has a nut allergy. I have been trying for weeks to get the form sent to my e-mail (per the service rep at Carnival) to be filled out and returned to Carnival before my cruise. For some reason, it's just not happening. I spoke to two Carnival reps last week, explained the problem and asked very nicely if the form could be mailed to me...via the post office. Well, you would have thought I was asking them to come pick me up and drive me to my port...they were so rude. The one rep said "Lady, I don't have a printer here, just a computer...now give me your e-mail address again". :( I refused and finally was connected to guest relations or some department who finally agreed to mail me the form. I asked both "rude Carnival reps" what they do for people who have no internet service or computer available...I was told they needed a fax machine instead. :rolleyes: It seems in these time of "economic trouble" that companies would try harder to keep business instead of making it harder for the customer to enjoy their product. My last phone conversation took over one hour to get straight...that in itself is ridiculous...all to get one form mailed to me. I miss the good ole days when they mailed you your cruise documents in the mail with the luggage tags...I didn't have to spend hours at the computer filling out forms and printing things off....but I digress! :D

 

OP, I hope you will continue to cruise. When I think of the things I didn't know when I took my first cruise, I break out into a sweat. I could have very well been a "Chevy Chase Vacation Movie"....things went that bad. But, it hasn't deterred me from cruising and having a good time.

[mistergq]

Race: I am sorry about your situation. I am not sure the result would have been much different. i am not going to say to give Carnival another chance, because they are dropping the ball on this one. But I would recommend taking away from this experience to fly in at least 1 day before. You just never know what is going to happen on the airline. Also, in the future, book your own airfare. You will save money besides being in more control.

[missabbi]

Oh, and don't ever let an airline talk you into being on "stand by" in Miami during spring break so you can use your frequent flier miles. Trust me, it's not a pretty sight. :o

[beachgirl75]

:phey race!!! soooooory to hear of your bad luck with carnival........I also had some problems with them and they actually fixed my problem.....I had alot of money involved as I booked a verandah suite for my mom daughter and I for christmas...and I simply told them if they did not help me solve the situation I wanted every dime back for I would take a disney cruise....and waalah....they fixed it.....so I do know they can be good folks but I sure agree with you about alot>>>> I hope you keep cruising though!!!!! It is alot of fun>>>>I always drive to the ports so I havent had any nightmare airlines stories........good luck with future trips.....just book online ...there are so many good deals out there......best of luck, beachgirl75:p

[misguidedangel]

I sympathize with you, but you should have known something wasn't right and cancelled the flight portion out and booked your own flight/hotel for the day before.

 

I was going to use cruise air for our Conquest cruise out of Galveston because of distance. The first problem was they booked our flights the day of the cruise and left us a window of 90 minutes. I live in Edmonton and we had three options for flights that went via Calgary and Denver the day before to Galveston via Houston. They opted to fly us out the day of the cruise on a red-eye flight to Toronto (fly 4 hours East) and then get on a flight to Houston (fly 2-3 hours West and 2-3 hours South). Yes, really stupid to fly is East only to get on another plane only to backtrack West (and South). We booked a Cat 11 cabin and knew they should have flown us the day before. We wanted to be one of the first people on the ship.

 

We cancelled out of cruise air and paid $50 fee each for doing so and booked flights to Houston via Calgary that, in the end, costed us an additional $100 each person. We were in Galveston by 6pm and on the ship before noon the following day.

 

Carnival doesn't consider you or your family when booking the flight. They have contracts with the airlines and they use the flights available. I've ran into people from Edmonton on the various ships who used cruise air and no two had the same. Some were on Delta, Northwest, United, AC, American..whatever they can book, they do..

 

The guest Relations desk is not concerned with who booked your flight, they are concerned with the ship itself. Do not ever think they will hold the ship for you, even if you are the only ship in port They pay port fees and if they are set to leave at 4, they will leave ASAP. The other factor about leaving is the pilot, if the harbour pilot says go, the ship goes!!!!

 

They should not be booking flights for people to arrive after 2pm, as the cut off for check is is now as early as 2:30--just enough time to ger your bags and race to the port. The cruise air department should be the one your are complaining too as they booked the air portion and should have known that there could be weather delays!!!

 

I learned that they can give you a good price on air, but if you are not careful, you can get a dud flight, and you got a did....

 

Don't give up on the cruise line, simply learn from the experience and book the flight yourself the day before!!!!!

[RaceMedic]

Thank-you again for all the comments .....

 

I fully understand some people feel Carnival has done what they needed to but I ALSO agree that the majority of people who have replied agree that Carnival cound have done better.

 

Again ... it is not the dollar figure per say but more of "We have an upset costumer with a fair complaint ... how do we keep them as a customer".

 

To show you how bad their customer service line is .... I called them tonight and asked for the name of the president as I figure I will write one last letter to his attention and see if I get a response.

 

:eek: SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SPELL HIS NAME !!!! :eek:

 

If and when I get a reply back from him I will post the reply and then put this thread to rest.

 

P.S. Can I ask .... what is this John's Blog on Facebook !?

[Guest JJWW]

The next time I'm on a cruise ,I'll buy you a drink .

And I'm sure most of the posters here would .

So your bound to get something from someone :D.

 

Don't sweat it life's to short,have fun

[Nicole721]

A few thoughts...

 

1. Any TA worth their weight would have known this was a bad idea to begin with. If you're going to blame Carnival (and I agree, they're at fault...to a degree), you need to blame them, too. And if you didn't let them know? That's on you, and you should have.

 

2. If you save and plan for a long time for a trip, it's common sense to do a bit of research. Googling "cruises" brings up this site, as well as a few others. Was this Carnivals fault? Yes. But you, too, need to take your share of the blame for not researching where you were sending your money to. Carnival services thousands of first time cruisers weekly, and it's not their responsibility to give them a crash course in Cruising 101. That's up to the consumer to find out what they need to know, and up to their TA to make sure they know that. If you had researched your travel insurance before traveling, for instance, you would have known that the tuxes would have been covered.

 

3. I think you kind of discredited your claims by demanding compensation. I'm not saying you don't deserve it (I believe some OBC or a % off your next cruise would be appropriate), but cruise lines don't look kindly upon people demanding compensation. It invalidates your claims, a bit, and makes it seem like you're out for something and the focus is taken away from what wronged you and is put on the fact that you now want compensation for it.

 

Again, I think the treatment they're giving you now is disrespectful and slight, but there's nothing here that clearly broke any contract you had with them and that's probably why you aren't being offered compensation. I haven't seen you take any responsibility for your part in this (lesson learned: if you're traveling ANYWHERE, do your research. "Not knowing" because you're a first-time cruiser doesn't negate the fact that the information is out there and it's your responsibility to find it, not the cruise lines responsibility to spell it out for you...they do that in your cruise documents and contract), or blame your TA for not warning you. Any TA who knows ANYTHING about cruises would advise you to fly in a day early, or at least take an early morning flight.

 

In any case, I hope this is resolved in a manner that's acceptable to you and you enjoy your next cruise. Hopefully, this will make you wiser for your next travels.