Carnival Cruise Lines
Reviews and Complaints

I booked this cruise months ago for our anniversary. Unfortunately, our anticipated vacation has turned into a nightmare, not because of the hurricane but how Carnival is handling the situation. Our cruise is scheduled to leave in less than two weeks, however at this time, we have no idea if it's going to happen or not. Carnival has given us zero information. We have flights and hotel booked, and don't know if we should cancel, change flights, or even plan something else. Even the November cruises have updates but we don't. I am amazed at Carnival's Irresponsibility. We are being held hostage, this is ridiculous. I have cruised with Carnival several times but I am disgusted by how they are handling this situation. I plan to NEVER cruise with them again and am telling everyone I know to never travel with them. What you save in money is not worth your sanity. Shame on you Carnival.

Page URL : http://cruiseadvice.org/CruiseShips/Casino.aspx?ShipName=carnival+inspiration
E-Mail Address: [protected]@aol.com
Message: We just recently went on the Inspiration 9/29-10/2. We played the slot machines and we were told that if you wanted to change machines you just take the card out and the balance would remain on the card. My question is, were we supposed to cash out every time and the start again on the new slot machine with our password and so on? The reason I ask is my bill was over $2400.00 and I pre-paid for the cruise the Cheers card and gratuities also. my folio # was 8637 and my wife's was 8636. I need some help on this because there is no way we had that much activity and bad luck on top of it.

My wife and I booked a cruise on carnival Freedom for 09/09/17 to Key West, Freeport and Nassau Bahamas. On August 25 2017 we were hit with a devastating Hurricane Harvey which caused massive damage in our town of Victoria, Tx. While our home did not suffer major damage our son's did. We were without electricity for nine days. We took in our son and his wife and their son and his pregnant wife because their homes were uninhabitable. As this was playing out Hurricane Irma hit the Bahamas and Florida and we could not cruise those destinations. We had no desire to cruise the alternate destinations offered by Carnival and we had lost our enthusiasm for any cruise at this time. We asked for cruise credit for a later date and were refused any help. Now I am getting emails and phone calls offering special deals to sail with Carnival. If I ever cruise it would be hard for me to cruise with Carnival. We spent $1800 and received a $350 credit. Lost $1500.

I am currently booked for Carnival fascination that leaves out of San Juan on October 15. As of today October 4th the cruise leaves in less than two weeks and there has been zero updates on the cruise itinerary. Unfortunately with hurricane season the port of San Juan has been damaged and most of Puerto Rico are trying to get back on their feet. Our hotels have been cancelled and flights still remain booked for days before the cruise is supposed to take off. We are unable to change our flights because we are still unsure if the boat will even leave out of Puerto Rico. The airport and ports are still not even open in Puerto Rico. Flights to Puerto Rico have now been hiked up to almost $500 and Carnival has no remorse.
We have called every day for the past week requesting an update on where the cruise will be leaving from and what islands will be on the itinerary as many of them have been effected. Carnival is unable to provide any updates even though on the website it stated there will be an update given 3-4 weeks prior to the cruise date. The option of switching to another cruise ship the same week was mentioned but Carnival expects my family and I to pay more money out of our pocket to switch to another cruise. We can't receive a full refund or switch our money over because Carnival clearly doesn't understand customer service. Every other cruise line has accommodated their customers due to the circumstances and I feel that the situation has been handled poorly. My family and I can't even make provisions to do anything else for vacation because carnival is holding our money. Within my household alone we have been on more than 20 carnival cruise ships and after this incident I will not be booking another cruise with Carnival. I am disgusted with your service and I will be spreading the word on how Carnival has handled the situation.

Had original birth certificate and it was not accepted. It was not accepted because it was not from the county and was from the hospital. I was not allowed to board ship. I traveled a long distance with my family for this trip and was hurt and very disappointed that I could not go on this trip with my family. I had to find transportation back to my home, which cost me extra money. Specific guidelines were not in place as to what was acceptable in the acceptance of a birth certificate. In the paper work I received, it stated an original birth certificate was acceptable and I also had a Federal ID.

Hi...
I had a Booking Ref. No. 8LB7G8, I had made a deposit of $150 in August and had to pay the rest of the cruise off that month to have my sailing date, but I wasn't able to do that due to Hurricane Irma coming through my area last month, we didn't have any electricity for weeks in my area, Im self employed and it cost me thousands of dollars in the process from no work and some tree's down that caused some damage, which is normal from a Natural Disaster. I called your Company middle of last month and spoke with an agent about my schedule and she said victims of Irma would get full credit even without insurance paid, for the cruise and to send n email to this address (no hurry just get my stuff from Irma figured out), which I am doing now to get everything situated. So I'm not complaining, I'm just doing what she told me to do... my question is now whats my next step to booking a new cruise with my $150 credit?

Thanks,
Kevin

My wife was diagnose with carcinoid tumor in the colon. She has been going through a lot with tests, scans and possible surgery. She was unable to take her trip on Dec 28 2017 booking #5RL1H1. Due to all the tests and scans and scope surgery. We accumulated a lot of doctor bills, office visits, and copays. We would like to have are funds returned so we can pay some of these doctor bills before it gets out of hand. It took us by surprise because she wasn't feeling well in july having stomach problems and complaining on side hurts all the time. That's when we decided to talk to her family doctor and advise us to have a colonoscopy. They found a tumor at stage 1 cancer after it was sent to lab to be checked. Now she has to have go through possibly having her being checked in other areas do to cells are in her blood . So this is the reason we had to cancel are trip with are children that were devastated about her condition and trip. We hope and pray that she can live a long life and possibly take a cruise with her family.

August 18, 2017
To Whom It May Concern,
My name is Mary Brandano. This is not a complaint but rather a request. I am a frequent cruiser with Carnival Cruise Lines. I had three cruises booked with Carnival this year, August, November and December. Unfortunately, this summer I fell and had a severe break to my leg. I needed to cancel my August and November cruises. I was charged $949 to cancel my August cruise where I had booked a Grand Suite on the Carnival Conquest. My booking number was 6GP2F8. I was told that I should submit an email and a letter from my doctor to see if I could get a refund on any of this money. I have attached the doctor’s letter to this email.
I also canceled a November cruise on the Vista where I planned to take my two grandchildren. My booking number was 6ZX6L7. I called and was given $225 toward my December cruise on the Glory but lost $150 as I was charged $50 per person on this reservation. Since that time I have rebooked the cruise in November as I am healing faster than first anticipated. That booking number is 8SN8J6.
So at this point I am out $1, 099. I am currently booked on the Carnival Glory for a Dec. 30th cruise. That booking number is 5JC4B1. If I am allowed any refund can I have that applied to this cruise?
Thank you for your consideration with this request.
Sincerely,
Mary H Brandano
1537 E Hillsboro Blvd. Apt. 941
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441
VIFP #[protected]

Some 6 or 7 months ago I booked an Eastern Caribbean cruise for 10/28/17-Virgin Island, Turks&Caicos, Puerto Rico & Bahamas- to take my 3 granddaughters to destinations that had not traveled to. Due to the devastation by the recent hurricanes, Carnival sent me an email 9/28/17 advising I would be cruising to Mexico instead My granddaughters & I have cruised the Western Caribbean and had no desire to go back. Carnival offered no options except go to Mexico or forfeit. As I read the cruise contract, Carnival has the right to "alter the cruise to avoid such weather systems", i.e. hurricanes, tropical storms, etc. My cruise has been altered, however there is no weather system to avoid. I believe Carnival should have offered options, i.e., Carnival keeps my money & I rebook same cruise later, Carnival keeps my money & book a cruise of my choosing or total refund. I did send the attached email to Carnival's Chief Communication Officer:
Mr. Frizzell, After reviewing all the information I could find on the internet regarding Carnival Corp.pcl and Carnival Cruise Line, I decided you should be the person the person I direct my complaint to, although I did send an email to [protected]@carmival.com.
As the Chief Communications Officer, it is my hope you will take the time to read and respond to my concerns. If, however, you are only concerned with communications at the corporate level, I would appreciate you letting me know who would be most likely to not only hear my complaint but take it seriously.
I booked my cruise to the Eastern Caribbean some 6 or 7 months ago because I was taking my 3 granddaughters to destinations they had not visited and I needed the extra time to be able to pay for the cruise. I myself have been to all of the destinations and that's one of the reasons I chose that particular cruise. I was looking forward to sharing this experience with my granddaughters. I am not a wealthy person and I stepped out of my comfort zone so I could introduce my granddaughters to new locations and cultures.
I understand no one could have predicted the horrible devastation caused by the two hurricanes. I also understand it just wasn't practical to cruise to those particular ports. My problem is that Carnival didn't give me ANY OPTIONS. They sent me an email stating basically, "hey guess what, you're going to Mexico". If I had wanted a Western Caribbean cruise, I would have booked one. My granddaughters and I have been to the Western Caribbean more than once and are not particularly interested in going back. As I said previously, I wanted them to experience the Eastern Caribbean destinations. What Carnival did, in my opinion, is completely dishonorable and lacks integrity. And more importantly, shows a total lack of concern for preserving a good relationship with past and returning cruisers.
Mr. Frizzell, I am a very patient and flexible person. I would have been happy letting Carnival keep my money and let me reschedule the same cruise at a later time, or redirecting my cruise to possibly a Southern Caribbean location or even allowing my money to be put toward a cruise of my choosing. But to take all the money I paid to specifically cruise to the Eastern Caribbean and then send me to Mexico is unacceptable. It's equivalent to planning a trip to New York City and being sent Albuquerque, NM. Carnival sent me to a different ocean, a different country and in a totally opposite direction. And, sadly, it appears I had no choice and no voice in the matter.
And please don't bother telling me about the "terms of the cruise contract". I thought I understood you have that right however, after looking over the contract I notice it specifically says "The Guest acknowledges that the cruise may be booked in a location that is susceptible to severe weather systems, including but not limited to, hurricanes, tropical storms and depressions, and that Carnival reserves the right to alter the ship’s course, ports of call, itinerary, activity and shore excursions TO AVOID SUCH WEATHER SYSTEMS AND INSURE THE COMFORT AND SAFETY OF THE GUEST AND CREW. ***My cruise has not been altered to avoid a bad weather system.*** There is nothing relating to the weather that would prevent this cruise from taking place. However, due to the unforeseen circumstances by everyone, it seems Carnival should be OPEN TO OPTIONS. I have cruised with Carnival numerous times and was actually reaching platinum status soon. I believe Carnival offers great cruise options at affordable prices, however, I am now genuinely concerned about Carnival's integrity.
I sincerely hope you or someone in the organization who actually has the power to effect change will reach out to me. Unless I get a response and resolution very soon, we both know that on October 28th, my 3 granddaughters and I will most likely be cruising to Mexico because I can't afford to forfeit the money. If that happens, my opinion of Carnival will be forever changed. I know I'm just one person, one of millions that sail with Carnival, but sometimes one voice can make a difference.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to address my concerns.

We are past carnival cruisers and live in New Orleans. We often cruise out of New Orleans because of the convenience. My family and I decided we wanted to go to other ports of call, so in order to do this we have to travel to another city.
Today I received an email informing us that we will be leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale to visit the ports of Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamica, instead of Eastern Carribean ports of call that were damaged by the hurricanes. These are the same ports of call we can go to out of New Orleans . I called to see if we can just change our cruise to leave out of New Orleans instead of flying all the way to Florida to visit the same ports we can visit cruising out of New Orleans. What I am upset about is that we will get charged a cancellation fee of 50% if we cancel. The woman on the phone could care less about my situation. If carnival is the fun ship and wants to make their patrons happy, they should make an exception for cruisers who want to change ships due to tropical weather. They are not losing money at all and we would still be cruising with them. The main reason for this trip was to visit places we can visit on a cruise ship out of New Orleans. It seems silly to have to fly all the way to Florida to go to destinations that we can visit out of our home town.

We pre booked a year ago a cruise to EASTERN CARIBBEAN to St Martin, St Kitts, San Juan and Grand Turk. While I have the deepest compassion and understanding for the people of those islands and realize that carnival is not responsible for acts of nature, it does not change that my cruise has been changed to Western Ports of Ochos Rios, Cozumel, Grand Caymans and princess Cay. I've been to most of these ports and found them to be less than impressive and would even call Ochos Rios a [censor]. We are a large group that cruises yearly and carnival is not trying to compensate our itenerary change in any way. Basically they are saying "sorry for your luck but we are getting paid anyway regardless of whether you want to go to these [censor]s" After 7 years of cruising faithfully and enjoying our experiences, we may have to look toward other vacation plans in the future. Not that they care about losing our small group. Guess the lesson is 1) always purchase the insurance and 2) carnival does not care about its customers only getting their bottom line.

My name is Enrique Soto. Me and my wife had booked a carnival cruise for this December. Unfortunately we were affected by hurricane Harvey and are unable to go. We missed lots of days from work and our expenses are too much. Our family was also affected in which we had 15 people in our 2br apartment. We were trying to get our 99 dollar deposit refunded if possible. Please let us know for further information needed. Thanks.

I paid for a 5 day cruise to Key West and Cuba on April 27, 2017. Unfortunately, Irma, Jose and a Gulf hurricane wrecked havoc on the area and I called Carnival and was informed that my cruise itinerary was going to be changed.
On 9/21/17 I received an email changing my cruise to 'Fun Days at Sea' and Cuba. I called and asked if I could receive a partial credit and rebook at a later date because I had traveled to Key West in January and was really looking forward to showing our group around. I was denied.
I am a retired 71 year old teacher assistant on a fixed income. I cannot afford to completely lose $554.40. I was able to get a full credit for my airfare from the airline, thank god.
All I am requesting is at least a partial credit that I can use with Carnival at a later date.

I was on the cruise with my partner for what we thought would be a great delayed honeymoon. Things started off poorly when we had to race out of San Juan to beat hurricane Maria. But the navigational crew did a ggod job of keeping us away from harm. From therd things went downhill rapidly as we had to change ports several times and missed one altogether.
Housekeeping, wait staff, and crew did everything they could to keep spirits up and keep everyone entertained. The management at the spa, however, seemed to do just the opposite to antagonize and complicate what was a very simple situation. I have an orthopedic problem with my knees and back and wearing shoes exacerbates it. I have a medical doctor's advice to eschew them whenever and wherever possible. This had no sway with the crew in the spa as i was asked to leave and prevented from using the gym again without shoes even though a sign outside the gym states use of the gym is at your own risk. I guess this means "your own risk" stops at the ankles and the spa is then forced to assume liability from the ankles down.
On top of this discrimination, my partner and I had spent over $400 in this spa on massages the day before.
This is unacceptable as ive been ill earlier in the year and was in the process of putting weight back on and this caused a setback in that goal. At minimum i would want the equivalent of the cost of the gym to be deducted from my cruise cost approx $100.

Hi, I regretfully had to cancel my carnival cruise due to circumstances out of my control. I would like for you to review this in hopes that something good could come out of this. My confirmation # thru cheap tickets is 309-[protected]. My carnival cruise line reservation is 7BL9V5. If you need to reach me, my email address is [protected]@yahoo.com. Please be patient while I go thru this and try to explain, thank you. In April 2017, I booked my round trip flight thru Orbitz. I paid the money for the flights months ago. I received a booking #, confirmation # from Orbitz. I also received my ticket ID # and my husbands ticket #. I tried to checkin with Delta 24 hours before the flight on sept 23rd. My flight was scheduled to leave on Sunday September 24th. Delta did not recognize my information. I spoke with Orbitz and they Said that back in June when I made a change to the flight it got changed on their end but they failed to RE-ISSUE the ticket thru delta. Orbitz openly admitted this terrible mistake to me over the phone. Another words the ticket was not re-issued and delta gave my seats away to someone else. They searched and searched for other flight times to Orlando, everything was booked. I needed a certain time frame because a shuttle was picking me up at Orlando and taking me to Port Canavaral. I needed to be at the ship by a specific time. I spoke with Orbitz thru the corporate office in Chicago. They have refunded my flight money back to me ( I have an email to prove this) usually you never get back flight money so that should prove my point. This Is why I had no choice but to cancel my cruise, I could not fly out due to Orbitz mistake. I asked for an email from Orbitz admitting fault on paper, just so that you would understand that I am telling the truth. Orbitz declined saying the refund should be sufficient. Please understand we were packed ready to go until I found out that my ticket did not get re-issued. We are devistated because we booked the trip to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Carnival has said that they will refund 189.10 and also the gradutity that I paid up front. However my penalty amount to cancel was 758.00 that I lost. I asked carnival to move my trip to another week, they said they could not do this. Please,
consider this situation I understand this was not your fault either. My Anniversary has been ruined and I'm out a lot of money also. I'm out cruise money, shuttle money, airport parking money, and excursion money while on the cruise. I paid for all of this up front! I did take out Insurance for the cruise, but depending on who I talk with everyone tells me something different. Please understand this was out of my control! If possible please consider helping me get some of the money back, or possibly getting a trip for a later time. Thank you

I ordered and paid for 2 bottles of liquor at the Fun shop aboard Carnival Breeze on Saturday 23rd. I never received my liquor. I ordered a few bottles before that day. Those was the only ones that was boxed up and delivered to my stateroom. I never received my 2 bottles of Vodka. I was in cabin 6327. I called the Service desk while still on the ship. The Service desk told me that all liquor had already been delivered to all the cabins. When I realized I was two bottles short. The Fun shop where I paid for my order at was closed.

This was my wife's birthday celebration and she decided to take a trip with her friends to celebrate because she had a great time and good experiences on prior cruises. Day 1 set the tone for the rest of the cruise and this cruise left us both rather disappointed and we have decided to consider other cruise lines!
My wife decided to change in her bathroom. As she was changing, an employee barged into the room and into the bathroom and proceeded to come towards my wife as she stood their completely naked. My wife screamed which caused him to run away. My wife regained her composure and reported this egregious incident to a supervisor. Carnival did nothing to ensure my wife's safety, which really did not sit well with me. I have yet to hear anything from Carnival or it's security in regards to this situation.
I am beyond upset! I made 3 attempts to report this incident and seek some sort of help and no one has contacted me back. I called and spoke with someone in customer care and solution department and to no avail.
My wife saw the supervisor again and all he said was "I'm sorry that happened" rather nonchalantly.
I have NEVER felt so unsafe and helpless on a Carnival ship in the past.
It's a shame that this happened and also that Carnival' s security is not there to protect its guest when needed.
This situation has truly disappointed my wife and I, who are avid cruisers. We truly want to stick with Carnival for all of our cruises but after this incident we are discussing and looking into other cruise lines.
I really hope someone takes the time to read this complaint and institute some changes in their hiring process and security. The safety of my family is important to me! Carnival specifically states that their guest safety is their #1 priority as well, but this incident left me doubting that! We should not pay as much as we do to cruise and not be safe, as well as, our complaints not be heard!

Booked 2 cabins last year for sailing on freedom sept. 23. Due to huricane harvey we encountered damage to our home and lost our kitchen, remodel is taking place this week, if I put it off we sit on a waiting list to get the work done. I did call your customer service and was told to send the letter and would receive credit for future cruise which we would like to take in december, have loved cruising with carnival and appreciate your help.

Thankyou
Deborah harding

Booking # 4wL5bo

My husband and I booked a cruise on the Carnival Glory-7ZZ5C8-leaving 9/30/17 out of Miami. We chose this cruise because of the itinerary which was taking us to Puerto Rico and Turks and Caicos, two places we had yet to visit on a cruise. Then came Hurricane Irma resulting in a change of itinerary to ports that we had no desire to visit...again. I called our booking agent to request a refund and was told that it was in the contract that Carnival has the right to change the itinerary based on weather. Very disappointing. I then asked about getting spa credits, room credits, or something in exchange for the inconvenience and was told no to that as well. I have taken several Carnival cruises over the years and am disappointed to find out that loyalty means nothing.

To Whom it May Concern:

I just returned from my second cruise with Carnival. Please note that our first cruise with Carnival was fabulous and that is exactly why we booked with a second time.
First, two days before we sailed, I personally contacted Carnival to find out if we would still be sailing to all ports on our itinerary. With the exception of Grand Turk (we already were aware the we weren't able to go here because of the devastation to that location), I was told that our cruise was still on and that our first stop would be changed. I then received a new itinerary stating that the first stop was changed to Amber Cover and all other ports were still on. So now we are going to two ports in Domincan Republic which was disappointing but we were still looking forward to our last two ports, Caracao and Aruba. Please keep in mind that we booked this specific cruise for Curacao and Aruba.
The nightmare began at the Fort Lauderdale airport waiting for our transfer purchased through Carnival. The Carnival representatives waiting for us were very flustered and uninformative. In addition, no line was formed to speak and register with the representatives. People were coming from all directions and we were pushed aside many times by aggressive people. Not organized or professional at all.
After three days on board, an announcement was made indicating that we were not going to make it to Caracao and Aruba and those ports were going to be replaced with Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. Big, big disappointment.
After several discussions with others on board, we found that a lot of people felt this way. We stood in line for 40 minutes at Guest Services and we were told by a woman that they aren't taking complaints regarding the change in ports and that we had to contact corporate headquarters once we arrive home. We never even spoke personally to this woman. She just abruptly told everyone by shouting it out to people in line. Very unprofessional.
On 9/25/17, the day after I returned, I called Carnival to report my disappointment. The woman indicated that there was absolutely nothing that they would do for me because we signed the Contract and they have the right to change the itinerary. I understand all of this; however, we did not go to places that were of equal value. I feel that we were overcharged for the places that we went. This woman did nothing for me! Really? I spoke to other guests on the ship and they paid way less for their cruise than I did and it was their first time cruising. This upset me even more and I feel ripped off. I understand that different deals happen at different times but come on ($400-$500 difference?). I feel that I am entitled to a refund/or credit of some kind.

I am really sad. I guess being a VIFP and purchasing vacation protection means nothing.

Aside from the major disappointment in the change of plans, there were many other disappointments as well. Food, excursions, towels, etc., etc., etc.

Two highlights from our trip...lots of sunshine and a gentleman named Vhanroy on Deck 9. He was so funny and personable. I actually looked forward to speaking to him everyday and he was the pleasant part of our trip.

Thank you. Beth Kohnen