Carnival Called Me Today

[kkbay]

I had been meaning to call Carnival upon our return from our cruise, but they beat me to it! Today the phone rang and it was a rep from Carnival, asking how we liked our cruise on the Ecstasy (June 27 - July 2). I told him I did not appreciate paying top dollar for a cruise on a ship with a BAD MECHANICAL PROBLEM. This ship was at least 4 hours late in arriving in Galveston; I did a little "private investigating" while waiting and was told by many employees that this was the norm for the Ecstasy. Seems that it is always late and experiencing "technical" problems. I know someone who cruised it in March, and they had to leave Cozumel early, so it could limp back to Galveston to get there on time for the next cruise! Personally, I feel that all the ships with home ports in the Gulf leave LOTS to be desired. Carnival KNOWS that a large percentage of the cruisers on these ships are "drive ups", meaning that they don't fly in but rather drive to the port. Also, most are first-time cruisers, so they do not have prior experiences to compare to. I also grew tired hearing how we had to tip the dining room staff, etc., from the cruise director.

Back to the mechanical problems - I do not feel that it is safe for Carnival to continue to operate this ship when the problems continue to exist. It is scheduled for dry dock in September.

[lazydayz]

So what was the Carnival agent's response?

[salty dingo]

My guess is that the call he received was a sales call. They were trying to sell him another cruise and the pitch started out with a question about the last cruise. I doubt the rep was in a position to handle the earrful he must have received. The person was probably not related to customer service.

 

Regarding altering schedules due to mechanical problems - this ranks right up there with missed ports in customer gripes.

 

The OP does not state why he was so irritated by the delay - did he miss his flight home? He seems to assume that a mechanical problem should not continue week after week, and then points out leaving a port of call early - which would seem to reduce the chance of a late arrival.

 

I think some understanding is called for here. When certain types of problems occur under the ship, the only choice to fix them is a dry dock. If they do that out of the regular schedule, people are going to have a cruise cancelled.

 

Which is worse - losing your entire cruise or having a 4 hour delay? You be the judge.

[stlrboo]

We have always had wonderful cruises from Tampa (in the Gulf)... :)

 

Guess choosing a different ship next time might be in order..!!:rolleyes:;)

 

'Top Dollar' on a five day sailing...?? Hmmmm.m.m.m.......:o

[salty dingo]

'Top Dollar' on a five day sailing...?? Hmmmm.m.m.m.......:o

I noticed that, and wanted to point that out too. When people start emphasizing how much they paid in a complaint, I'm thinking they probably feel they did not get their money's worth, and would really like some compensation from the cruise line.

 

The OP did not say that, but I can't help but think it from his tone.

[Texas-Ben]

This has always been advertised as a Hotel on water. If the ship can't move as it should, that's a problem that HAS to be corrected. PERIOD.

 

I live in Texas (Duh) and the cruises out of Galveston are much higher than New Orleans or Mobile. Those are the only three ports I would be willing to drive and then cruise. So Top Dollar is not an unappropriate team. Getting a ship that gets to ports (all of them) when scheduled is kinda the point (weather excluded). I agree with giving Carnival an earful if the ship can't move through the water as it should.

 

So if that's not their BUSINESS what exactly are the selling? I want a ship that has motors to move it in the water, get me to my ports when scheduled and get me home when expected. Is this asking too much?

[PaulMedik]

............ I want a ship that has motors to move it in the water, get me to my ports when scheduled and get me home when expected. Is this asking too much?

 

 

Texas-Ben,

 

I want a ship that is there at or near the time I expect to board. I prefer that it not return early. Returning late means I'm on it longer; I'd even consider paying extra to have them return late. :eek::D Ports? Yeah I'd like to see the places we planned for, but I'd be OK with missing them as long as they have enough food and drink on board. Since our port plans usually involve spending money, I would most likely donate those funds to the casino, so I'd prefer they not charge extra for extra time on board instead of in port. :)

 

Don't let the smileys fool you. I mean every single word of what I typed.

[ksatte03]

So what did they call you? (sorry, couldn't resist being a smarta$$)

[firefly333]

I noticed that, and wanted to point that out too. When people start emphasizing how much they paid in a complaint, I'm thinking they probably feel they did not get their money's worth, and would really like some compensation from the cruise line.

 

Actually, I feel that Ecstasy is paying top dollar compared to Conquest. I was booking for early 2011, and Ecstasy costs more on a per day basis than Conquest, plus on Conquest I can now defray the cost by $200, combining stock credit and next cruise credit.

 

The difference to cruise on Conquest for 2 extra days only came out to $50 pp difference, $25 a day for the extra days.

 

I too am surprised that on a per day basis Ecstasy can cost more than Conquest .... too bad I love Ecstasy.

[Traveler353]

I had been meaning to call Carnival upon our return from our cruise, but they beat me to it! Today the phone rang and it was a rep from Carnival, asking how we liked our cruise on the Ecstasy (June 27 - July 2). I told him I did not appreciate paying top dollar for a cruise on a ship with a BAD MECHANICAL PROBLEM. This ship was at least 4 hours late in arriving in Galveston; I did a little "private investigating" while waiting and was told by many employees that this was the norm for the Ecstasy. Seems that it is always late and experiencing "technical" problems. I know someone who cruised it in March, and they had to leave Cozumel early, so it could limp back to Galveston to get there on time for the next cruise! Personally, I feel that all the ships with home ports in the Gulf leave LOTS to be desired. Carnival KNOWS that a large percentage of the cruisers on these ships are "drive ups", meaning that they don't fly in but rather drive to the port. Also, most are first-time cruisers, so they do not have prior experiences to compare to. I also grew tired hearing how we had to tip the dining room staff, etc., from the cruise director.

Back to the mechanical problems - I do not feel that it is safe for Carnival to continue to operate this ship when the problems continue to exist. It is scheduled for dry dock in September.

 

Sorry that you had such a miserable cruise. Hopefully your next will be a better experience for you. Just curious, what is your source of information for your statments (in red)?

[firefly333]

Sorry that you had such a miserable cruise. Hopefully your next will be a better experience for you. Just curious, what is your source of information for your statments (in red)?

 

I dont have a source either, but my own observations, based on numerous cruises, is Carnival does have a large percentage of Texans on board (Carnival even has Texans in the audience clap or some such, so you can kinda guess there are a lot from the responses).

 

I also notice on my last two Voyager cruises, during Easter, there were surprisingingly few Texans, most of my roll call flew into Houston. I was scratching my head, thinking maybe it was just because of Easter and local folks wanted to be home for Easter, so it could have been a abnormality. We also had a surpringly large Mexican contingent, who knew it was Mexican spring break week, like 1400 I think onboard. (talk about a bad customs line)

 

.... I would concur with the Op's statement myself, from what I have seen.

 

It could be the times of the year, I have Ecstasy booked the next two Januarys, so do RCL cruise later in the spring around Easter week, so I admit I could be wrong too.

[lady_cruiser]

...............

 

The OP does not state why he was so irritated by the delay - did he miss his flight home?................

 

I can answer that question for you. NO. According to his location he is from San Antonio which is about a 4 hour drive from Galveston.

 

At least he made it home on the same day. Our first cruise with Carnival found us out-to-sea an extra 2 days because Hurricane Rita closed the Port of Galveston :(. My cousin, her husband and her siser-in-law along with hundreds of other people all missed their flights home. And no one complainted because we knew it was out of our control.

[mudpievelour]

Personally, I feel that all the ships with home ports in the Gulf leave LOTS to be desired. Carnival KNOWS that a large percentage of the cruisers on these ships are "drive ups", meaning that they don't fly in but rather drive to the port. Also, most are first-time cruisers, so they do not have prior experiences to compare to.

 

Okay, having been to the past guest party several times on cruises from Galveston, I can tell you that a great many of the Galveston cruisers are NOT first time cruisers. I will agree that if a ship has consistent problems with it's propulsion system, it needs to be fixed NOW. But you are talking about one ship. I don't see any of the other ships having any problems, so I would like a clarification of "lots to be desired". They are the same class of ships that are cruising out of Miami, San Diego, and other oceanic ports, so how are these ships different?

 

I think the OP's rant left a lot to be desired.

[Trplnckl]

My guess is that the call he received was a sales call. They were trying to sell him another cruise and the pitch started out with a question about the last cruise. I doubt the rep was in a position to handle the earrful he must have received. The person was probably not related to customer service.

 

If they don't want an honest answer the a question, they shouldn't ask one regardless of what department they are in.

 

Regarding altering schedules due to mechanical problems - this ranks right up there with missed ports in customer gripes.

 

As far as significance, they might be in the same ranks but shouldn't. Ports are missed for various reasons and are usually not the "norm". From what I have read here Carnival usually returns the port charge when this happens, which would indicate the line feels the customer has been wronged.

 

The OP does not state why he was so irritated by the delay - did he miss his flight home? He seems to assume that a mechanical problem should not continue week after week, and then points out leaving a port of call early - which would seem to reduce the chance of a late arrival.

 

As far as why he was irritated by the late arrival, it is irrelevant, there could be many reasons.

 

I WOULD think they would fix the problem before it gets so bad they can't "limp" back home. I bet towing one of those monsters from the middle of the Caribbean takes awhile. The leaving a port early part happened to a friend of the OP.

 

I think some understanding is called for here. When certain types of problems occur under the ship, the only choice to fix them is a dry dock. If they do that out of the regular schedule, people are going to have a cruise cancelled.

 

I have understanding, I understand they have a real problem with this ship and they are trying to keep it going until the dry dock. Doing this puts out their CUSTOMERS(you know the ones that pay the bills), to which it really seems that Carnival could care less, after all it's probably covered in the fine print of the contract. I also understand there are many customers that will dismiss the situation as "Stuff happens". When the same "stuff" happens on a regular basis the company should either fix the problem or modify the schedule ( and possibly the charges) so people will know up front what they are getting and get what they are paying for.

 

Which is worse - losing your entire cruise or having a 4 hour delay? You be the judge.

What would be worse is the ship loosing all propulsion in the ocean with a storm approaching. I know that hasn't happened, but it is more of a possibility with this ship than one that isn't having these issues.

[Trplnckl]

I can answer that question for you. NO. According to his location he is from San Antonio which is about a 4 hour drive from Galveston.

 

At least he made it home on the same day. Our first cruise with Carnival found us out-to-sea an extra 2 days because Hurricane Rita closed the Port of Galveston :(. My cousin, her husband and her siser-in-law along with hundreds of other people all missed their flights home. And no one complainted because we knew it was out of our control.

If I had been on the same cruise, I would have had a 10 hour drive home. 4 hours is alot of time to be late.

This begs the question, " How many times being late does it take to establish a new "On Time"?

[oldvato]

Actually, I feel that Ecstasy is paying top dollar compared to Conquest. I was booking for early 2011, and Ecstasy costs more on a per day basis than Conquest, plus on Conquest I can now defray the cost by $200, combining stock credit and next cruise credit.

 

The difference to cruise on Conquest for 2 extra days only came out to $50 pp difference, $25 a day for the extra days.

 

I too am surprised that on a per day basis Ecstasy can cost more than Conquest .... too bad I love Ecstasy.

 

 

In my case for a July 25th sail on Ecstasy and a Jul 26th sail on Conquest, the difference would have been approx $933 for both, for two extra days and that was with the best discounts I could get.

 

Conquest is approx $315.00 per day and Ecstasy is $257.00 per day. We are going on Ecstasy on Jul 25th on a 6E cabin. Let's hope there are no mechanial problems on the ship.

 

I think we got a darn good price for a Jul sail.

[lady_cruiser]

If I had been on the same cruise, I would have had a 10 hour drive home. 4 hours is alot of time to be late.

This begs the question, " How many times being late does it take to establish a new "On Time"?

 

Sounds like you live in the Dallas area. It takes me 4 hours to get to the Port of Galveston if I leave from my house in the Lafayette, LA area and 4 hours if I leave from my sister's house in San Antonio. I guess I am just lucky, both in the fact that Galveston is the halfway point for both my sister and that I am able to schedule the next day off so I can unpack and rest before going back to work.

[kkbay]

It's me, the original poster. I DID NOT want any compensation from Carnival. I feel that the cruise line called me to get a true picture of my cruise experience, and that is what I gave them. We knew this ship was not as nice as some of the others. In fact, I had sailed on it in January, 2008, so I knew what it was like. I wanted to tell Carnival that I felt the mechanical problems definitely need to be corrected, and that to continuously run this ship when it is not in the best mechanical condition is not fair to the guests.

[jbroons]

I had been meaning to call Carnival upon our return from our cruise, but they beat me to it! Today the phone rang and it was a rep from Carnival, asking how we liked our cruise on the Ecstasy (June 27 - July 2). I told him I did not appreciate paying top dollar for a cruise on a ship with a BAD MECHANICAL PROBLEM. This ship was at least 4 hours late in arriving in Galveston;

 

I can see the Carnival Rep right now, face in hands: Oh, God, why did I make this call". Too funny!!