Carnival Cruise Lines
Reviews and Complaints

We went on our first cruise in December 2007 on board Carnical legend. let me start by stating that our entire cruise was wonderful. We had great service from almost all personel. Even now, comparing this cruise with other cruises, I still think we had the best service on Carnival. However, we had one very frightening experience. i was on the upper deck track with my 3 year old son. He was sitting on a bench with a glass of water. I was jogging toward him, saw a man come up a side stair case, looked away for a few seconds, and looked back to see him missing and his glass of water on a bench. I immediately thought he must have ran to the other side of the track in which was out of my view despite the simple fact that it didn't make sense that he could dissapear that quickly. I ran to the other side, to find only my husband. I asked him if he saw our son. he replied no, I thought he was on the bench. we circled the small track again. no sign of him. We each ran down one of the two stair cases to find people at the bottom of each shuffle boarding. They claimed to not see him...so what could have happened to him. My husband started to strategically search this deck with all of the pools from compartment to compartment. I on the other hand started to panick. i frantically ran to the spa, as this was where i knew i could find personel. I told them to notify security at once that my 3 year old went missing. they did not do so...instead they put me on a phone to the persurs desk personel who could barely speak english. what i made out of the call was to go to the persers desk on the other side of the ship, with a picture of my son. This took 5 minutes to figure out since she spoke broken english. I felt like i was in the Twilight Zone. I began to freak out more. I felt as if nothing was being done. I asked them to put me through to security...and this request was not fulfilled. I also wanted a notification overhead via intercom...but nothing was done. I was crying hysterically at this point, and other passengers were offering to help me search. so now me and a small group of passengers began searching for a missing 3 year old, but no staff assisted us. Almost 20 minutes later, I saw a security personel and he asked me a few questions. Finally, I took the One security personel to the last place i saw my son. As we walked up the stairs, there was my three year old jogging out of the fog on the track. He would not tell us what had happened. There were alot of doors that only personel could get in or out of on the track level. The worse thoughts went through my mind that a worker stole my child, and next port was a 3rd world county. Or...he climbed the side of the railings...ect. I was so happy to have found him, and angray at myself for losing him. I realize that losing him was our fault, however, we were shocked and appalled to find out, that no sytem exhisted to find a missing person, especially a child on this cruise line. My only wish from this complaint is that possibly, some sort of system gets set up to locate missing persons on board in a quick manor. Our son later revealed to us, that he saw a stranger come up the stairs and climbed behind a solid wooden bench chained to the wall, that was slid out and had apparently enough room for him to hide.

This was my first cruise, a four day cruise in April 2010 from San Diego to Catalina to Baja.

I don't even know where to start, I guess I would begin with the 80.00 I was charged to pay for "gratuities". I prepaid this figuring I wouldn't have to be bothered at each and every turn. WRONG!
When I wasn't charged again for it on my bill, I was being asked several times a day by various people to not to forget to tip this person or that person.. because the money I had prepaid wasn't available to them.

The dinners ( I've had better meals at the local nursing home while visiting)... were pathetic. Our centerpiece on the table was a 1 1/2 liter plastic bottle of water. The first night, we opened it and drank it. At the end of the meal we were presented with a bill +tip for the water we drank!

The "Wine and shop" trip for 30.00 each was a total joke, they drove us to a big old abandoned warehouse that had several large wine casks, NOT a winery! Then to another abandoned old building and served "marguaritas" in dixie cups and lead us to a central plaza for some "good deals" on shopping, it amounted to about 10 street vendors selling beaded bracelets and some pottery. We were horrified that we got completely taken by Carnival. They had promoted all day before about their fantastic excursions.

There were children running wild all over the ship the entire time, they filled the pool so it was not possible to even use any of the services on the Lido deck. People were smoking all over the ship, it was hard to get away from the 750 children or the smokers. As for the entertainment, Steve the cruise director held a game called the "marriage game" or something along those lines... one of the question we heard before we left, went something like this:
when you husband gets out of the shower... what kind of car does his penis look like? a limo or a pink VW bug... ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is Carnivals idea of entertainment?

On the morning of departure, I woke up vomiting and with diarrhea. I begged the housekeeping staff to stay in my room until we were called to leave the ship. Unfortunately, we were the last to be called, of the 25, we were 23. It would be about a 3 hour wait in the lobby filled with hundreds of people and misbehaving children. I was told I had to leave my room, so I called the infirmary to see if I could rest there near a bathroom. I was told that would not be possible, when I ask why, I was told it would be VERY expensive. At this point I went to guest services and was told to just go sit in the lobby. I told the woman, that would be fine, I would be throwing up in her lobby! She then gave me a pass to leave the ship immediately. By then I was in tears, it was the final straw. The worst vacation my husband and I have ever had, and we're in our mid 50's, so we've had many vacations.

We will never cruise again. What a pathetic vacation they offer.

I am very upset with the utter disrespect and discriminatory treatment my group received from Carnival Cruises. We had so many issues on this trip it’s shocking. As there are so many issues I will list them by location and then by day.

Rex Lounge:

Monday night several members of our group were in the Rex Lounge. There was an incident that began with the DJ. When Jessica Bowles approached the DJ booth the security guard allowed her to enter the DJ booth to request a song. When she approached him to request “Birthday Sex” he told her “back up ###!” I cannot imagine what could possible happen that would cause this type of response. The group was sarcastically told that it was the end of his contract, which apparently meant he didn’t care about repercussions. Regardless of the length of his “contract” he is still a representative of Carnival.

The next issue that even was also in the Rex Lounge, Jessica was dancing proactively in the adult club and while dancing became overheated and removed her upper shirt revealing a sports top underneath. This prompted security, Franklin A, to demand they leave the club due to this incident. I do want to call attention to other similar incidents we videotaped in the Rex Lounge. There were some homosexual men that removed their shirts revealing only their bare chests and proceeded to lick one another’s chests. This same evening there were women scantily clad with very revealing tops that resembled bandeau bras.

On Tuesday evening there was a bachelorette party in the Rex Lounge between 12-2 am who were performing pole dances and erotically simulating sex acts on one another on the dance floor in front of the DJ. Shortly thereafter there was a man sitting along the wall across from the DJ bar who removed his shirt and began giving a lap dance to another male. After this incident a member of our party was sitting at the bar and another member climbed on to the stool she was on and was hugging her from behind. Interestingly enough they are sisters. Immediately the security approached our group and advised that Jessica would need to leave the bar immediately because by climbing on to the stool she was “endangering the safely of the other travelers.” I can certainly agree this was not safe behavior but I do not feel it was handled appropriately. In a normal bar setting this type of display would result in the bar staff warning the culprit. However in this instance Franklin removed her from the bar. I find it disturbing that the ethnic individuals in my party seemed to be discriminated against. I don’t know if this is race related because the bachlorette group were all comprised of Caucasian female and the males that were performing oral acts on one another were also of Caucasian descent. Yet another example was during the Carnival sponsored hairy chest contest when a contestant, at the direction of the Carnival staff, told to parade down the stairs and upon performing he nearly fell from the middle of the stairs. Not only did our group capture this on film Carnival has included this in the DVD from the sailing.

On Tuesday I wanted to request a song, but felt very worried about the complaints and reports I had received about the DJ. I gently approached security and asked if the DJ took requests, he smiled and said yes. I asked where to go and he told me to enter the DJ booth. I stepped about 2 feet into the DJ booth and politely said “excuse me, may I request a song.” At this time the DJ glanced to his side at me with nothing but distain and turned back around. He was incredibly rude and didn’t have enough respect to nod or give me any kind of acknowledgement. After he played the wrong song I returned to the booth and again tried to have a song played. He was visible angry for some reason. Certainly employees have bad days but Carnival is advertised as the fun ship and is marketed as a vacation getaway. All of the internal issues within Carnival should be invisible to guests.

On Thursday my group was to have a happy hour. I gathered my group of 37 cruises and one member entered the Rex Lounge and asked where to go. My group member was told that the staff member didn’t know what he was talking about. A moment later I received the report from my group member and went into the Rex Lounge personally. The bar staff member yelled at me stating, “I don’t anything about your group, that is Linda’s party, they are old ladies.” I was furious and left the lounge to retrieve the letter from Carnival placed under my door the day before. Upon returning I spoke with Lancelot, he saw that my group was on the list and Emil was just being lazy. I demanded to speak with Clarke the contacted listed on my paperwork. Prior to Clarke arriving the F & B Manager came. I spent additionally time retelling the story. I was assured my group would get their full hour as we agreed to with Carnival. I was trying to enjoy our get together but found myself running around calming everyone down over yet another issue and rehashing the issues with the various members of the management staff. The F & B manager assured me my group would get a full hour, however our time was cut short due to the issues. Yet again I had 37 upset travelers.

Paris Restaurant:

The staff working with the Paris Restaurant all seemed to be unhappy; none smiled or acknowledged the cruisers. I saw numerous travelers trying to get some attention from the staff for ketchup, mustard, or assistance. I personally was in the buffet line on Mexican night at 11 pm and there was a female employee preparing the tacos who was involved in a very intense conversation with another staff member regarding how upset she was that another employee was not back yet to help her and apparently she was supposed to have a break. The traveler in front of me stood there for several minutes waiting for her attention. This held up the entire line. Also waiting for her conversation to finish I attempted to get serving of the taco meat for my plate and I was immediately reprimanded.

Destiny Dinning Room:

I arranged for my group to have a bottle of red wine during the cruise. On the first night there were bottles of wine on the 4 tables assigned to my group in the Destiny. As members started being seated some bottles were opened. As the wait staff was opening the bottles we were asked to sign a document acknowledging receipt. During the dinner bottles were taken from some tables and given to other tables I believe because not all members of attending the dinner. At the end of dinner I was approached by the headwaiter advising he was missing one signature and he was unable to locate the 1 bottle of wine. He approached me and other members of our group many times. So much we felt uncomfortable and just signed the slip. Due to the issues on Monday night 33 travelers in the group did not attend dinner in the dining room two nights. On Thursday night I returned to the Destiny for another try and I was again approached about the bottle of wine because one couple did not get their bottle. I was so frustrated, irritated, and embarrassed that he would continue to draw attention to this issue I finally just told him to give them a new bottle of wine and I would pay. I believe that if there was a bottle of the wine missing it was the fault of the wait staff for failing to get the signatures or paying attention while opening the wine. The entire group complained about the headwaiter but wanted to make note of the other waiter, although we cannot remember his name we do remember he is from St. Vincent. The maitre de and this gentleman from St. Vincent was the only redeeming quality of the dining room.

Pool Side Bar / Bar Staff

The bartenders at the poolside bar and the America bar were clearly bitter and uninterested in refilling sodas or performing any form of customers that did not yield a tip. We were all educated on the “slave like” wages they were paid and how dependent the wait staff was on the tips. These are terms and opinions that were articulated to several of use. There was many times the poolside bartender (an older gentleman on the smoking side with glasses) that members actually had to wave him down and plead for his attention. Jennifer Milligan was unable to receive any assistance on Monday that she finally gave up and went to her room to retrieve soda. This same evening Stephanie Henry, Linda McLain, Donna Gates, and myself had to stand up and wave our arms around to get his attention. I would understand if he was helping another customer or performing any of his job duties but flirting with a few drunk bachlorettes should be done on his break or personal time, or if anything have a helper at the bar.

Each member of my group ascribes the continual agonizing, annoying, badgering from the wait staff to buy the drink of the day as harassment. It became so bad nobody wanted to be near the pool and we opening joked that a restraining order may be necessary. I am also very concerned with the alcohol beverages that were served to a 16 year old.

Lastly, I believe her name is Melanie who conducted the section E Muster’s drill, the game show on Monday night, helped with Bingo, and introduced the comedian made it a point to tell us at each opportunity that it was the end of her contract. I can certainly understand being eager to return home but the emphasis that was placed on her leaving certainly made it abundantly clear the ship was not the fun place we were sold on. This behavior does not seem to be appropriate and certainly got travelers to talk and discuss the unprofessional staff.

I want to draw attention to the fact that each member of my party became so resentful of Carnival all gratuities were removed from each traveler. Many had planned on making various purchases in the duty free stores but opted to forgo the savings because they were so bitter about the ongoing disrespect they received from Carnival staff. You will see that each member of the group also took significant time to fill out the comment cards in great detail. I would also offer you the photos and video we began taking of the issues. We were all so frustrated that we began recording some of the issues that we saw as evidence.

My group ranges from 35-53 individuals and we book a group cruise once a year. In the past we have always traveled with Royal Caribbean and had no complaints. We have all raved about being treated like royalty on the Monarch of the Seas and the Pride. However, on the Paradise we feel like we were treated like trash. We selected Carnival this year due to its reputation and price. We were all very upset with how poorly we were treated. I would request that each member of the group is personally contacted and receive an apology.

I look forward to your attention to this matter.

Went on carnival cruise triumph from new orleans, la.on 1-9-10 return 1-16-10. return to find out that 1 of our luggage is missing. they could care less if you lost your luggage. i've cruised with carnival 5 times and that will be the last time. they're telling us now that we have to wait 30 days, they're saying not liable for it because we didn't take the insurance. they're the one that lost our luggage. i'm also going to call the better business and making a complaint and whatever else that can be done. they may not care but it's my luggage and items that is in it.

I recently took a cruise on your cruise line and I was grossly disappointed. The cruise was the Carnival Destiny which set sail on Saturday January 16th 2010 from Miami FL. This was my second cruise and I was expecting a great experience, especially since I was cruising with a self-proclaimed leader in the cruise industry. The misery began when we boarded the ship and found out that we would be delayed in our departure from port. After not leaving on time we were advised that there was a problem bringing portable drinking water onto the ship. I find this to be disconcerting knowing that there was enough time to reprint that day’s edition of “Capers”, this indicating that the problem was known well in advance. Considering what happens in the next several hours one has to question whether your staff was being completely honest with the passengers about the true problem. Once we left port, nearly four hours late, we set out to sea only to be told that there was a problem with the ships propulsion system. Here is where one might ask if the true problem was being dealt with at the port? Although only a mere passenger, I am very well aware that if that ship were to never leave port, your cruise line would stand to lose a substantial amount of capital and suffer quite a tarnished reputation. However once the ship sets sail all passengers now become prisoners of the fine print of the sailing contract. To be brief, this cruise never made the two original ports of call, which I was planning my vacation around seeing as I had never been to these places; this is why I selected this itinerary. What transpires next is the complete addition of insult to injury.
In an attempt to compensate the passengers for this “technical problem”, you offered each passenger $75.00, which was deemed a refund of the port taxes for the non-visited ports of call. No other compensation was offered. This money, by law would have to be returned, as these ports were never called on. During the nearly three days at sea, the mood of the passengers was, as expected terrible, with no help from the staff to pacify the passengers. No offering of a complimentary cocktail or even a smallest token of apology from your cruise line. One particular instance to make note of was the insults delivered to audience by one of your entertainment staff during a karaoke performance. The staff member while moderating karaoke, tried to make jokes about the missed ports of call and, when booed, told the audience, “I’m not the captain and you can just leave”. My mother called Carnival cruise lines and asked where our location was and she was told we were in Grand Cayman meanwhile we were in Nassau, Bahamas. I think this bothers me the most especially since a 5.8 magnitude earthquake was felt on Grand Cayman the day we were supposed to be at that port and my mother was scared for my safety. All of these experiences combined with the fact that the two original ports of call were missed made for what I consider the worst vacation of my life. On top of that, this was my second cruise experience with Carnival, which has brought me to never want to board a cruise ship ever again. I am incensed at the fact the Carnival made such a feeble attempt to compensate passengers for such a major problem. I am also concerned by the idea that this problem was known, prior to the ships departure however the ship still set sail. Seeing as Carnival is refusing to offer any other compensation, I find no other alternative than filing a class action lawsuit against your company. I also plan to file complaints and inquiries with maritime safety authorities regarding the sailing of this vessel, especially considering the same problem occurred in September of 2009.I am grossly disappointed in the business practices of your company and plan to enlighten the world and show them that you are clearly not the leader of the cruise line industry. I have already made contact with several news station investigative reporters to share this experience with them. If you truly are the leader of the cruise line industry you will try to make good on this and show the industry that you stand behind your commitment to quality.

We and paid for a 5 day cruise on Carnival (departing 1/25/2010) and 2 days before we departed got a phone call that they were having engine trouble and had to change the itenary. Instead of going the distance to Grand Turk island but now are going to Freeport (just 50 miles from Miami). It is clear from simmilar posts that the line is saving money by shortening the trips after they book you on the line. I smell a class action coming soon or a bankruptcy of the line. If they can't aford to go where they say they are going then they need to disclose that to the customer. the $50.00 in room credit is NOT enough of a perk to excuse this practice. Besides if you have engine problems how can you sail at all and if you can sail then go to the places you say your are going. I will NEVER sail Carnival again.

We love cruising. In the past we used Royal Caribbean cruise ship. We wanted to try something different. We sailed on Carnival Inspiration 70M9B7 room M299. This whole vacation was a nightmare. This excursion started out by waited three and half hours in line to get onto the ship. We understand it was due to foggy weather. However, we were told many times that Carnival will reimburse us fifteen dollars for each person to go and eat. This was to create an incentive to leave because there were too many people waiting and according to Carnival's safety code, this scene created a safety hazardous. We complied and did eat at Hooters restaurant. At the end of the trip, we ask guest services to reimburse us the fifteen dollars for each person. They argued they had no information on the fifteen dollars rebate and did not reimburse us for fifteen dollars.

This episode and throughout the trip there were constant lack of communication. One staff member will say something then the next staff member will say something totally opposite of what was said prior.

After three and half hours of mass confusing in line, we finally boarded. We were told we could eat. We went to the buffet line and saw flies around the food. The hamburgers were burnt, the buns and bread were stale, chicken were raw, spoiled salad, and cold raw French fries. In the morning, the eggs were watery, and the sausages and the French toast were under cook. All this is a health hazard and can lead to fatal sicknesses.

We then finally were able to go into our room and were not impressed. I realized that every staff members were in a rushed due to delay in porting, but it is no excuse for not following universal precaution. We went into the bathroom, the toilet was nasty, toilet paper was half used, the floor was dirty, and I know the sheets was not changed. Again, this could lead to health hazard and fatal sicknesses.

One of our family members was sick and vomited all over the floor in the bathroom. We call to have the bathroom cleaned and disinfected. No one showed up. Forty-five minutes went by; still no one showed up to help clean this mess up. We had to call again and finally someone showed up to disinfect the bathroom.
Next, we went to the gym. They offered us a five minutes free massage. As I was watching the massage girl give one Carnival guest a massage to the next Carnival guest a message, she did not wash her hands or change the towels. She used the same towel on several guests. This episode is definitely a health hazard! You ask any health inspector what their view on this and prior incidents.

We then proceeded to work out at the gym. Some of the weights were lose and can create disaster. There were only two disinfectants to use for the whole gym participants. Some of the people were tired of looking for the disinfectant and did not bother cleaning their workout area where they worked out. This is unsanitary and again a health issue. Then when you want to complain to the gym workers, they are no where to be found. While on this topic of the gym, there were several seminars which were interested, but you have to pay extra for those lectures. The amount of money you pay to go on this trip, Carnival could not include these seminars?

We were disgusted in this and went back to the room ready for safety lesson on the life boats and life preservers. We waited several hours and no instructions were executed. We decided to call to confirm what time. They told us the next day they would perform this procedure, again lack of communication. While on this topic, the seas were rough. Carnival waited until the next day to perform this procedure. What if something disastrous happen during the night? How would 2500 people know where to go? The next day we had a fifteen minute presentation on how to put on a life preserver. That was all the instructions we received. There were no instructions on where to go and what boat to use. This incident was appalling; especially for five days of the seas being rough. Following this was several places needed caution signs, especially where there are steep steps. My son and his friend several times fell due to lack of cautions signs.

Regarding safety, there was lack of security guards. There were several incidents on board that several young teenager guests were ready to fight. I could not find one security guard until the next day. I did not want my teenager to go alone like he did on Royal Caribbean. This ruined part of his vacation. Another safety issue is how door to our room did not lock completely. When the sea became rough, the door will open by itself. This incident happened several times during the day as well as during the night.

The next complaint is how most of your staffing (not all) was rude and arrogant towards us. They were arrogant towards us, especially when you ask a question. They were some that went out of their way to help us, but there were very few. When you order items or do the extras that require staff services, they compel you and intimidate you to tip them. They will not take no for an answer. Tipping is not mandatory. You tip if the services were good not when the services are bad. It was noted that in 1997, the Carnival Inspiration was the "Top Class Related Ship". This was thirteen years ago. What happen since then? I do not see any more recognition?

We were told prior to purchase this cruise adventure we could order a fifteen dollar soda card. At the bar we purchase the soda card, but instead of fifteen dollars it cost twenty-eight dollars. I was also told that orange juice and lemon aid were unlimited and free. I ask for orange juice at several bars because this ship only supplies orange juice in the morning. I guess that is the only time you suppose to drink orange juice. The bar tender said they have to charge me. I told them I was told it was to be free. They said only in the morning in the dining room. This is another deceiving tactics that Carnival used for us to spend more money. I went to guest services to complain and wanted to talk to the supervisors. She refused and claimed that she was the only person to talk to about this matter. I then proceeded to ask for a phone number, she said I have to email my complaint.

The shore excursion was a disappointment. The Grand Cayman Island's sea was rough. The Carnival Inspiration had to port away from the town. We had no problem with this episode. The problem was that this ship port away from all the action and in order for us to go into town, we had to pay five dollars per person going there and another six dollars back to the ship. The Carnival Inspiration should have paid for us to at least go into town.

We were at sea for two days at a time. On those days, there were very few entertainments to keep you busy. The music on the deck only played few times a day. At night, there were no entertainments on top deck. In order to keep you busy, it would cost you.

Below is a horror story my parents endured.
Carnival's reply was no concessions to our suffering. We promised to publicize this as much as Carnival was unflinching, so here it is below...

Date: Dec. 19, 2009

From: Ricky Y. Chen

To: Carnival Cruise Lines
Guest Relations Department

Subject: Service Complaint, Refund Claim.
Booking# 24NM90 Destiny, Sailing Date: Dec. 10, 2009

Dear Madam or Sir,

Our cruise with Carnival took a turn for the worst, when the ship Destiny left Cozumel before the scheduled 10pm Dec 12th, 2009. I was left stranded, and had to find a taxi, hotel to stay for the night, ferry to the main land the next day, bus ride to Cancun, book an airline ticket, and deal with corrupt Mexican Custom in order to reunite with my family back in Miami Port where Destiny returns.

Our family had planned this trip, so the family can spend quality time together, since my Mom is recovering from breast cancer.

From the point I missed the Cozumel departure, the Cruise Line performed poorly as follows:

1. Ship leaving before scheduled 10pm.
2. My parents asked the security to update them any time, around the clock, when new information about my where about becomes available. But when I called a third party to notify ship security on the Dec 13th, 2009. 7pm. My parents were not notified until late the next morning.
3. For the remainder of the cruise, my parents lost appetite, and couldn’t sleep for days. My Uncles and Aunts who were also onboard had their trip ruined as well.
4. At Miami port, my parents’ bags were taken away, without notifying them, thus aggravated the situation for the worse. My Mom had to chase it down at the Information, wondering if their luggage was stolen by theft.
5. At the Miami Port, Destiny security interviewed me with rude attitude, as if I was a criminal, demanding me to stand accounted for my where about.
6. At the Miami port, no managers were ever to be seen to resolve the issues, and relied on port service representative as go between. The service reps. Mis-communicated to the invisible manager, blame the customer for their wrong assumption that I had my own room, and thus packed my bags without checking and notifying my parents.
7. The service rep also tried to send me away, without correctly understanding the situation that my luggage was on board, and that I had missed the ship at Cozumel. After I persisted, did the service rep. relent and talk to the manager, and came back blaming the customer for not explaining properly.

While missing ship departure is unfortunate, and not uncommon,
how the cruise line handle the situation is more crucial in this competitive market.In this case, Carnival had handled each step for the worse. Not only did Carnival fail to resolve each issues as they arise, but Carnival also let the problem compound, diverge, and aggravate.

If Carnival wish to retain us as customers in the future, and wish to turn this unfortunate incident into a positive marketing and public relations exercise, we ask for full refund for all three passengers: Robert Chen, Maude Chen, and Ricky Chen.

We can then tell our network of friends and family how the trip had been happily recovered.

Regards,

Ricky Chen.

My 75 year old mother broke her back, as a result of the boat rocking, and a decorative towel which was placed on the floor in the bathroom, which had a loop type of fold in it. she caught her foot in the loop and the other foot landed on the two ends, causing her to twist around and fall in the shower. The nurse came and yelled at her and told her she was faking it. She spent the week on her back, this happened the first night. At port, she was advised by the crew to take her to a doctor, by special attendants, etc., and get examined and xrayed. She was then told, after the cruise to make special flight arrangements. All of this came out of my fathers pocket, as they we were assured that Carnival would pay it all back, a total reimbursement. She was forced to retire from her job as a counselor in a middle school, she is in pain every day, seven years later. Out of pocket expenses were $ 70, 000 plus. She dealt with an adjuster named "tony blanco", I believe, who was very friendly, told her to keep going to the doctor, and told her that the Statute to file a suit was "two years, I believe", to be exact. He said this many times. My mother counseled him with a personal problem he was having, he appeared to be a friend. BIG LIAR, this adjuster. After one year passed, he sent her a letter stating that the statute was one year, and she had no legal recourse, he hasn't returned any telephone calls since. If carnival and tony wish to file suit against me, please do, I invite them, respectively, to do so. Beware of Cruise lines, they are not registered in the U.S., so the rules are different.

Carnival is a rip off. My cruise was scheduled for Sept 11 to 16, 2009 from Miami. Around 10:30am on the morning of our scheduled departure, I received a call from a Carnival rep stating that the ship (Destiny) was going to be late docking and that I should not report to the port before 2:30pm. I was already in route to the port. I arrived at the port around 12:30pm. I could clearly see Carnival's Destiny ship. As I was getting out of my car and a gentleman came to retrieve my luggage from the trunk, my cell phone rang and again it was a another Carnival rep with the same conversation as the first rep. I asked the gentleman if the ship I was looking at was the right ship and he replied "YES". The Carnival rep insisted it was not the ship. I told the rep that I would call back I was going inside to find out for sure. The gentleman assured me that was the right ship on the dock and directed me to embarkation. As I opened the door I was given a letter informing me that my itinerary was changed from Jamaica to Bahamas due to a malfunction with the ship's propulsion system. I asked the worker who was handing out the flyers a few questions about the change and she informed me that the ship malfunctioned a few days earlier and it had not been fixed. By this time I was furious. If Carnival knew a few days before my scheduled departure date then it was their responsibility to notify the customers. They didn't do that and were still not truthful on the day of the departure. I shared a cabin with 1 other person. We requested a refund and was told that we were only entitled to a $273.00 refund even though we paid double that amount. This was my very first cruise and will be my last with Carnival. They are really getting over on their passengers. I contacted guest services and was told there was nothing they could do. Over 1, 000 signatures were collected on our cruise and the young lady who collected the signatures wrote to Carnival and the BBB. Carnival only apologized for the inconvenience and offered a 20% discount on a future cruise. This is unacceptable because the Jamaica cruise was much higher than 20% of the Bahamas cruise. Customer service was terrible aboard the ship. What makes them think that I would want to sail with them in the future? I will never sail with them again. I do not recommend anyone to sail with this cruise line.

Janetha Dean
[protected]@yahoo.com
Georgia

We were booked on the carnival destiny scheduled to depart on 11/21... My group met up in florida on 11/20 to enjoy florida b4 the cruise. Carnival notified the bulk of ous on 11/20 to advise of a itinerary change. Needelss to say we did not find out about this until we were on board ship 11/21. Carnival advises a propulsion problem forced them to change itinerary to half moon cay which is nothing more than a desolete island, with all of the maybe 6 the shops i`m sure belonging to carnival. We were also forced to once again go to nassau.

I`m wondering how long carnival will use this obvious lie about the propulsion? And how long as consumers will we put up with it?

I am looking for some assistance to getting on the road to a resolution, actually I feel carnival owes my small group their cruise. Or some remedy

5-day cruise was booked and paid. Upon arriving to the docks we were informed by a representative that the engines were not working up to par and that the itinerary was changing from Jamaica to the Bahamas [which we visited just 3 months prior]. We were not informed, not called by my Carnival Agent, even though I called her immediately upon receiving this information about our changes. Others told us that they were informed a few days prior, yet we were not. Also, we had prepaid air fare which was not reimbursable anyway. We were given the option to cancel but, as teachers we only get 2 person days off per year, and we could not get another chance to go...not to mention the air fare costs. Later we found out that this "engine problem" had been an ongoing issues on this boat for the previous 2 cruises. I can not believe that a company this big could not find an engineer in the world could not be flown in to fix this after 3 weeks. The $50/pp compensation was a drop in the bucket compared with the savings in fuel they saved, since we were basically in the Bahamas for the entire time. It also seems likely that they have cut staff since the rooms were never cleaned on time, breakfast was late, the entertainment was BAD, the Jacuzzis in the adult area were broken the last 2 days, there were kids in the adult jacuzzis the first couple of days, the water was cold on the excursions [due due the fact we were many miles north of Jamaica], the hot water in our room did not work, there was a septic spell due a plumbing problem on out floor, elevators did not work, ...just to name a few things. This company should be out of business, yet they brag about their successes as if oblivious to their many short comings. Everyone we spoke to was very, very upset. One couple had actually planned a wedding and guests were flying to Jamaica...where, of course, we did not go. And finally, upon returning to Miami, the engines miraculously were back at full speed. Someone should file a class action suit vs this company. I thought about getting people organized and signing a petition to file but we had to catch a flight.

We just returned from a Carnival Cruise to Nova Scotia. We have cruised on Royal Caribbean 5 times previously.Waiting in line for 30 minutes and longer is not acceptable. Our bed had a huge crater in the middle of it. The service in the dinning room came complete with attitude most of the time, tere were exceptions. Get ready to pay for alot of extras! The fifth day of the cruise I woke up very ill. Our room was covered with black soot from a vent cleaning the crew performed the day before. The hot chocolate ran out of fourth day of trip, and remained out the balance of the trip. On day two I went for some orange juice in the Lido Dinning room. The OJ was hot! When I informed an employee he completed ignored me. Two days later a sign, "Out Of Order" was installed and the machine remained out the balance of the cruise. Not exactly a "Fun Ship"!

We took a cruise on Carnival earlier this year. As part of the services, we signed up for the transportation option that included Pickup/Transfer at the airport the days of embarkation and debarkation. The fee for this was $160.

The Carnival customer service reps told us we would be met at the airport by company representatives and taken by Carnival transportation directly to the ship at the pier.

We arrived at the airport in NYC about 10 minutes early. After waiting 30 minutes, no one from Carnival arrived. We called Carnival customer service and were told that the reps came on duty at 11am (this was at 10:45am). By 11:30am, no one from Carnival arrived. We again called Carnival customer service and were told that the reps would be there very soon. After another hour of waiting, no one from Carnival arrived. The NY Port Authority customer service rep arranged for a van service to take us to the ship. That van made 4 stops over an hour and a half travel time dropping off other customers before we finally go to the ship. But we were very thankful that the Port Authority was there to help where Carnival failed.

While on the cruise, we stopped by the customer service desk to ask about return transportation given the problems inbound. The rep assured us that there would be Carnival people at the pier when we debarked, and there would be transportation to the airport as promised.

When we debarked, there were no Carnival reps who knew anything about transportation. We asked many Carnival people, but they had no idea. We finally found a separate van service that would take us to the airport.

Given poor customer service and the expense for this undelivered service, we wrote a letter to Carnival. The response was that they were having trouble with the contractors who provided the greeting and transportation service. That was the cause of the lack of service. They were sorry it occurred.

We then wrote a letter to the President (Mr. Gerald R. Cahill) detailing the poor service and the equally poor response. The reply letter said they it was disheartening to learn of (our) continued disappointment. While (they) have documented (our) concerns, (they) must respectfully decline (our) request for compensation. That compensation was my $160 back for services not provided by Carnival.

Continuing my disappointment, I wrote again to Mr. Cahill. The response from another Guest Care clerk was that they needed the goodwill of their guests and had told the managers to take corrective action.

BUT they also said: While we value all input from our guests, we must now consider this matter closed. They finished by saying that they hoped we would allow them the opportunity to regain our patronage.

In other words: stop complaining, Carnival doesnt care.

Certainly a return of the payment for service never received would have been a good start. But the clearly cavalier response to their failure to provide contracted service speaks louder than any well written letter dismissing a customers concerns.

We cruise every year. This was our first cruise with Carnival. It will also be our last. To add insult to injury, we have been stockholders of Carnival for years.

I hope this is helpful to readers of the site.

I took a crusie on sept.20-27th on the valor ship, and we had purchased express chech out and when we were waiting to get off the ship some lady came up to us and said they couldnt find our luggage that we would have to go to the luggage holding area to find our luggage. So we did and when we could not find it we had asked a lady that worked for carnival and she asked us for our luggage tag numbers and she called someone on the radio and then told us they were already sent to the airport on the express and we told her we were told they couldnt find our luggage to do that and she said well they went to the airport already! So now we land in NY and find that our luggage was not here! we notified the lost luggage at the airport and the crusie lines and everyday they keep lying to me telling me they found luggage that might be mine but they are not aloud to open it to tell me if it is mine that they are sending it to me so i can check to see if it is mine! Well everyday i call them and they tell me its going to be delivered to my house and they track it everyday and say its coming well its 16 days and i still dont have any luggage and they have the balls to keep lying to me !They have not made one phone call to me i have made them all to them! I would never take carnival again because they cant even reinburse me for the things i had to replace to survive!

Good Sirs

Re: Complaint Code: 11671585A

I recently had the pleasure of taking a 3 day Mexico Cruse – and enjoyed 98% of my first time Carnival vacation experience.

I am writing to resolve a Check-in problem -- that almost ruined my vacation.

At this point, I would like someone from the Company to call me or write – and either tell me that the situation was not handled well by the on-duty check-in person, and that some steps will be taken to insure that others do not receive similar treatment. Or, that somehow I misunderstood the Check-in process – so this will not be repeated on my next cruse.

Here is what happened:

I arrived at the Long Beach Check-in Gate at approximately 3PM and presented my Guest Confirmation to an African-America woman ( Supervisor, possibly Olga? ). She stated that she did not recognize the Booking Number, and that I would have to call the original Booking Agent ( Carnival ) to get a valid number.

I informed her that I had left my cell phone at home for the vacation, and asked her to check in her computer to verify my Reservation, or call the Booking Office.

She said “no.” that I would have to walk with luggage about 3 blocks to the nearest pay phone. Arriving at the pay phone, I called the Carnival Agent – who confirmed that the Booking Number ( 53MD14 ) was correct.

I then walked back to the Check-In Gate and spoke with Olga again. After telling her that the Carnival Booking Agent I phoned ( 3 blocks away ) confirmed my Reservation Booking Number, I had to strongly INSIST she call the Booking Office so she could also confirm the Number, and check me in.

She FINALLY called and in 60 seconds confirmed the number, and took me inside to the Ticket Office.

At that point, a Mrs. Ortiz helped me complete the Check-In. She was wonderful, apologizing for my inconvenience and making sure everything was now correct for me to get onboard. She was terrific!

Unless I have misunderstood process, at least 3 mistakes were made:

1. At original Check-In, Supervisor Olga would NOT look up my Booking Number, or call the Ticket/Booking Office, insisting my Guest Confirmation as invalid. She did not take me seriously.

2. She asked me to walk 3 blocks to a pay phone with luggage, rather than immediately handling it at the Check-In gate or taking me to ticket office, or allowing me to use her area phone.
3. Once everything was cleared up, she offered no apology for what I see as her mistake – and showed a lack of problem solving ability.

Again, I just want a call or written response from Carnival – from someone who understands the Check-In Process – to insure this does not happen again., especially to first-time cruisers.

Appreciate your attention to this, looking forward to next voyage, and hearing from you.

Alan Quach
2805 E. 3rd St.
Unit 8
Long Beach, Ca. 90814

[protected]

[protected]@yahoo.com

Just recently on 9/12/09, I sailed on the Carnival "Funship" Destiny(LOL). This cruise was quite the contrary! This cruise was chaos from the start. Carnival made an itenerary change and conveniently told all passengers as they were entering the second check in at port station. First, I have to wonder, why is it important for us to give phone #'s and ect, if they are not going to be used in cases such as this? I travelled with a group of 14 on this trip and the group was very upset. We planned this trip from last December, and some were first time cruisers. I agree with the last poster, the service was horrible, in fact if you asked for something simple like a spoon, the servers pointed to where you could go and get it. The pointing was due to the fact, that english was definately, without question, their second language. There were leaks all over the ship and in fact, a women in my group fell and strained her ankle and she was not in a pool area and it had not rained! I also think that Carnival being a debt free cruiseline should do more than to offer 20% off the next cruise, they should definately give 30% of our money back, just for turning a 5 day cruise into a 3-day bahama cruise. The majority of the time, we were standing still and able to see the Miami Skyline, either to our left or right, which means we were travelling in circles. I truly did not purchase 3 cabins to travel in circles. I err all to be cautious when travelling Carnival. My last cruise was on Royal Carribbean and I had no problems, so needless to say Carnival has lost my business along with the others in the group.

As an extended family of 13, we had agreed to all participate in a celebratory cruise upon the return of a family member — a u. s. marine — who had been honorably serving his country in iraq. he has just recently returned and is now on a 30-day leave. with his return, all 13 of us have been greatly anticipating our upcoming may 24 – 31 carnival cruise on their newest ship, the splendor, departing from long beach. we had previously purchased our tickets for the 7-day cruise along the mexican riviera. for many of us, this was to be our second carnival cruise.

Well, we have just been informed that carnival has changed the may 24 – 31 itinerary, due to the flu situation. we understand the safety concern. however, we purchased our tickets to enjoy sunshine and warmth…and we are now being diverted to the cloudy and rainy northwest…astoria, victoria and vancouver…not what we paid our money for! of course we are also being given the other option of a cruise credit should we choose not to sail into the cold and rain on may 24…this future cruise credit won’t help us because our marine hero’s leave ends in june. thus the credit will not allow us to celebrate as we had promised our marine. and, we either celebrate as an entire family or we don’t celebrate at all. so a future cruise is out. incidentally, our marine’s next deployment is afghanistan…

We have attempted to reason with carnival for a refund…and have been told no exceptions can be made to their “you have two options” policy. if we were able to get our money refunded, we could use that money to celebrate as a family with our marine…perhaps by vacationing on the beach in san diego. no exceptions, says carnival. well, carnival, listen to this exception: you have lost our family’s entire future cruise business. plus, guess how many times this experience will be retold? what’s that worth?