Carnival Cruise Lines
reviews and complaints

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.

On September 12, 2009 my wife and I boarded the Carnival Destiny whose itinerary included Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Upon stepping into the ship’s lobby, I overheard a fellow guest complaining about the ship’s safety and engine not working properly. I immediately went to the information desk and waited for over 20 minutes in line to be told that the ship’s propeller was not working properly and that the cruise was no longer going to the destinations that we originally purchased this cruise for. I was offered a 20% discount on a future cruise and directed back to the ship’s terminal to speak with a Carnival Cruise Line Supervisor to get further information and to find out all of our options. I left my wife in the lobby as she suffers from a chronic medical condition and has difficulty standing for long periods. When I entered the terminal it was a mad house, people were confused, angry and told that they would be able to speak to a supervisor if they signed up and got in line. I immediately signed up and was told repeatedly by a cruise associate that I would be the next in line to speak to the next available supervisor. I waited for over 2 ½ hours without speaking or meeting with one supervisor, even though all guests were told the ship would not leave the terminal until each guest was able to speak with a supervisor. Instead I was given a generic card for guest services to contact after the actual trip. With no options I had to return to the ship, as the horn was blowing indicating that the ship was leaving port. My wife was on this ship, as were our belongings, though we did not know the location of our luggage and were told if we got off the ship, it would be without our luggage, which wouldn’t be returned to us until the ship returned from the cruise. Some medications, personal care items and all of our clothing, shoes were in our luggage. This fact left us with no options, but to stay on a ship sailing to places we didn’t want to go. They never offered in any way to compensate us or return any of our money, and stated that if passengers didn’t take the cruise, their money wouldn’t be returned until 10 days after the cruise. We did not have additional funds for a hotel and did not have the ability to replace our clothing, medications, personal care products etc. We were therefore trapped, as we never received the letter that some passengers had received during the check in process, even though we had to wait in three separate lines to gain access to the ship. During the check in process at the terminal my wife and I waited in three different lines w/o any communication by the staff that the itinerary had changed. We had no way to get off the ship, as we didn’t know where are belongings were and couldn’t get our money returned to us that day. We did not have any money to take another flight home, as we were not scheduled to fly home until September 19th 2009 and on April 29th we had already paid $300.00 to change our airfare and travel destination in order to take the Carnival Destiny to Jamaica, as we had thoroughly enjoyed our last brief time in Jamaica several months ago, through the Carnival Freedom.
Not only were we devastated about not going to Jamaica, we were very angry that we were never given the opportunity prior to entering the ship and handing over our luggage to not take the cruise, as I never received the paperwork, period. I was promised I would have the ability to speak to a supervisor when I spoke with a customer service representative in the terminal and I never got the opportunity to find out what our options were, until the ship’s horn blew. Our trip was the absolute worse trip we have ever experienced in our entire lives. Not only was the staff rude, illiterate and unhelpful, they had no skills in terms of customer service. We were put in lines for breakfast and lunch that were obscenely long, in which 50-60 people were in one line as the staff closed other lines that could have reduced the 30-40 minutes it took to get our food. Food particles were frequently found on our plates, bowls and silverware, which we attribute as the source of the viral infections we acquired during our stay onboard. My wife unbeknownst to her ended up using a spoon that had dried on food particles and once this happened we frequently had to change utensils, bowls, plates for the fact that they had dried on food, which could have led to more than the food poisoning, and viral infections we obtained. Specifically, I obtained food poisoning on the first sea day after eating an undercooked hamburger during lunch. I also found my fork had dried on food particles on it as well. Vomiting, sweating, diarrhea ensued for over 24 hrs, which occurred less than one hour after eating the meal. Food borne illness is a serious issue. Hepatitis A, and other chronic diseases are a few of the diseases we could have acquired while unknowingly eating from utensils and plates, bowls that were not cleaned properly and when the issue of my food poisoning was brought to the attention of the kitchen staff, they never even responded to the seriousness of this issue, only stating that it sometimes happens. Room service failed to even come one day when we called, another day our room service tray sat out in front of our cabin for over 5 ½ hours. On the last day of our trip in port, we were told we could have breakfast until 9:30am and when I attempted to get some at 9:00am, the cruise attendants were putting it away, before I could even get to it.
On our first day at sea, my wife had to assist a female passenger who had fallen from the wet deck stairs of the hot tub. Puddles of water were everywhere by the pool and hot tub areas. My wife worked on preventing the woman from going into shock and preventing her from unconsciousness. When this fall occurred I went to the nearest staff and instructed him to call the medical personnel. The bar attendant who barely spoke English stated he wanted to see the woman first, and I had to continue redirecting him to get immediate medical attention. When I returned to the site of the woman’s fall, there were 10 or more workers standing around, not having any clue as to what to do. If it wasn’t for my wife and another passenger keeping her alert and awake, this woman may be in a coma today. The medical personnel did not arrive for at least 15 to 20 minutes and was a nurse, not the doctor, who came when the nurse requested his presence and it took him 10-15 minutes to get there. The nurse stated to my wife that she had completed all the requirements of a cardiac assessment and my wife tried to explain that the passenger hadn’t had a heart attack, but had instead fallen due to the slipperiness of the pool/hot tub area that was being neglected by the staff. The nurse demanded them to mop up the water, something that every other single cruise line we have ever been on, does on a consistent basis. When my wife tried to tell the doctor about the burning pain the fallen passenger was experiencing in her lower back, she was dismissed as he was focusing on the sling she had on from a fall that occurred the night before, because of slippery steps. The patient had to wait 10-15 minutes to get pain relief and as witnesses, wasn’t even asked if she was allergic to any medications. This woman may be dead today if she had indeed been allergic. These actions from the medical personnel display extreme negligence, malpractice and incompetency. The staff that placed her on a board rolled her on her back, which led her to scream in agony, instead of placing a stabilizing board up against her back to stabilize her, prior to rolling her over and prevent any further injury. My wife is trained in both CPR and First AID and was horrified when the staff that placed her on a board rolled her on her back, the area of injury, which led her to scream in agony, instead of placing a stabilizing board up against her back to stabilize her, prior to rolling her over and preventing any further injury. The staff acted as if they had never been trained in using the device and had to be directed to unbelt the belts on the board. The staff was frequently reprimanded by the nurse, almost dropping the patient a couple of times. Shortly, after this injured passenger was removed from the deck, I went to the grill and obtained some lunch, which included a hamburger and fries, and some nachos. About an hour later I began sweating profusely with nausea that led to vomiting and diarrhea. This went on for the rest of the day and evening, in which I recognized the symptoms of food poisoning as my wife had experienced the same symptoms earlier this year after drinking unknowingly milk. Most likely spoiled the meat from the hamburger was undercooked, as the next day I was feeling better. Two days later after my wife discovered dried food on a spoon she had eaten ice cream with and we both came down with a viral infection.
On top of the food poisoning dry, cold or lukewarm food and undercooked food was a repeated theme on this cruise. My wife was eating ice cream when she felt a hard object on her spoon, which turned out to be dried on food that wasn’t washed properly. We found numerous bowls, plates that were not cleaned properly w/ dried on pieces of food as evidence. Staff was blasé about these facts and did nothing to correct these problems. Shortly thereafter my wife and I both became sick with viral infections, though we took every plausible precaution, washing hands frequently, using germ sanitizer, we weren’t aware of the unclean dishes with stuck on foods, until after the fact. Other problems included Elevators that were frequently inoperable, stuck on certain floors or completely out of service. There were no directions provided as to where to go in order to get off of ship when in ports and many guests walked around aimlessly, in which crew members were not able to speak in English to direct us. The Family show that took place at 8:45pm each evening frequently involved inappropriate adult-themed material. One evening we were exposed to the female dancers dressed with undergarment costumes that resembled thong underwear, in which they completely exposed their buttocks as they engaged in risqué interactions with the male dancers. Children were removed during this time, by responsible parents. This form of entertainment is not something one should see on a cruise ship. We were utterly disgusted with this cruise, its ship, staff’s treatment of its guests and are therefore requesting all of our money $ 400.00 of it credited to our Capital One Credit Card, which is the credit card that we used for our onboard cruise account. In addition, having had taken several cruises with most of the other cruise lines, usage of the internet and the amount of time it took to log on, was absolutely ridiculous and the $50.00 that we were charged we also want to dispute as no one would help us with the ridiculous fees we were charged and it is an obscene amount of money to charge guests, when your cruise line has the ability to connect to wireless forms of communication quite easily. As of 9/22/09 after speaking to Guest Relations Department, they are unwilling to give us any of our money back and we have had to contact you, our credit card company for mediation and assistance. Consumer Affairs website has over 52 pages of complaints similar to ours, submitted by other naïve passengers of previous Carnival Cruises. We have enclosed some sample pages from their website. As of 9/22/09 after speaking to Guest Relations Department, they are unwilling to give us any of our money back and we have had to contact other services for mediation Matthew & Kristine Picardo. This lack of action taken by Carnival Cruise Line should be illegal. They take advantage of passengers trapped financially, physically and legally, bullying the Middle Class American to the fullest extent, while they make billions of dollars, dollars that hardworking individuals try to earn and save for a nice vacation, but instead end up with more problems, stress, conflict, powerlessness, they incurred before the so-called vacation. Carnival Cruise Line’s customer service, communication, fairness and respect are non existent. If we had known their “we don’t care” attitude towards their customers, we would never have done business with them. We have never had such poor customer service and will go to whatever means necessary to get our hard-earned money returned to us.

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?

There were twelve of us who decided on carnival triumph (june 29 - july 4, 2009). reserving alone was a nightmare. holding time is a full time concert and the adds tore our eardrums open! every five minutes was the message, "thank you for your patience, please continue to hold." the reservations person, a neisha?, did not/would not return our call. given that she was out sick for two days, there was no one else to pick up her business? so six of us (my daughter, her husband and their 4 kids) reserved with cruises only. ms. neisha finally touched bases with the other six of us and did the booking. she couldn't get one name straight and we kept going back and forth with her with a very simple name a ms (she put mrs.) mary jane smith (not real name) that was recorded on the reservation sheets as mrs. mary jane. then there was the frustration over the carnival website. it took days just to log in. upon checking our reservations, the message was forever "your name does not appear on this booking. please check your entry and try again." it's a impossibility too to reserve a preferred dinner time (a month away, two weeks away, a week away, a day away = ms. neisha kept saying it had to be done on the ship). bs - my daughter and her brood got their preferred time with cruise lines. ms. neisha (with a sigh) walked us thru (not too clear either). the website from hell showed the sailing ship on the screen that kept prompting us to log in and we've had to change email addresses each time or the message says "email already used." omg c'mon carnival, take a tip from the unobtrusive sight and sound of pennsylvania where it's website quickly (but oh so quickly) takes you from a seat reservation to printing your ticket to the show!

Now, as for the on-board experience: the check-in was a breeze but no one ever asked us for our dinner time preference. arbitrarily printed on our ticket was: 8 pm dinner reservation. the cabin was naturally cramped, but it was way uncomfortable to have the queen-sized bed flushed to the a wall. the poor person designated to sleep against the wall, had to crawl out of bed to go to the bathroom at night. the cabin steward was almost always out of-reach out-of-sight. the food on deck 8 was so-cafeteria, altho' the dessert table was good. then the food gets quickly devoured and there are no replenishments until early evening. the sit-down dinner was acceptable, with some entrees being so plebeian and tasteless. the junkfood eating sites (hotdog, pizza, burgers and fries) really should revert to healtheir choices.

Also, why can't there be prominent signs by the elevators to show arrows going to paris, london or rome? it's the simplest of directions instead of passengers doing a dance to right and left and then asking someone else where the casino is located.

After a few days from our precious cruise, ms. neisha very sweetly called each of us. it was a too-late-the-hero telephone pr. some of us accepted her call and were polite enough to say that the cruise was okay. diffidence does make cowards of us all. as for me, she left a syrupy message on my voicemail that can only deserve a smirk from me.

Carnival - improve or you'll be written off.

We recently completed our 9th and probably last cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines. Just to let anybody know who doesn't already know, when you fill out your comment card and enter it into the drawing on the ship to win a cruise before you leave, if your name is called you don't REALLY win a cruise. What you do win is a piece of paper indicating you are a semi-finalist for a "monthly" drawing which takes place at the end of the month. Apparently, all the different Carnival ships' winners are entered into this drawing. My mother-in-law "won" this on our ship on our cruise in July, 2009. After she didn't hear anything, I contacted Carnival's customer service and have researched it further and that's the REAL STORY! I'm sure there's some "fine print" about this in Carnival's literature, or there's a "play on words", but until it happened to us, we had no idea that's what really happens! Just beware.

I need your assistance with Carnival. I am a Travel Agent; I booked Valerie Echezuria as my first customer on a cruise that sailed on July 26th on the Legend (Record #89J4X8). She has ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and is almost totally paralyzed. This was to be her last Hoorah. When she first booked, she was getting an inside cabin and I was quoted the price with a $120/pp on board credit. She decided to take a balcony so she could smoke. I was quoted the price for a balcony cabin, I was told it was an obstructed view, and that there would still be the on-board credit. After talking to Valerie She asked about a discount for being over 55, I called Carnival and was told the senior discounts allotted for that cruise were sold out. I told Valerie that and she still decided to book the balcony.

Valerie has returned from her cruise and she was not given her on-board credit. When I called today to find out what went wrong, first the person I talked to didn't know what credit I was talking about. I talked to the people at the Special Accommodations desk that books for persons needing accessibility so I called them (at #70025). They knew what I was talking about but said this booking was not booked under this rate.

Valerie really had a great time, but was counting on that ship credit. She would like to go again (one more time) before she is totally paralyzed. Is there any assistance you can give to me? I don't know who to talk to next, or if it will make any difference. She was due that credit.

I have tried working this out with Judy Rowe CCL, but her response was --- "My suggestion is to be sure in the future that the agent is verifying what actual promotion she is booking, before finalizing the booking".

I really hate to start off my relationship with CCL this way, but Valerie was my 'Guest' and as such she is due what was offered.

My company name is AccessABILITY Travel and the market I am targeting is persons with DissAbilities I have an extensive background in this area and I am not afraid to fight for my guests/customers.

Even though Valerie was not getting an equal opportunity, on this ship. (Not being able to visit all of the ports), She would like to go again, ASAP. Each day is one more day with fewer capabilities.

We would appreciate any assistance, anyone can offer.

In may of this year my boyfriend and I went on a Cruise to the bahamas aboard the Fascination cruise ship. Before leaving I asked my travel agent, who works directly with the cruise line would there be an elegant night on the three day cruise that I was going on. He responded, " No, only on the longer cruises." I thrusting this man we did not pack any Formal wear and missed out on the festivities of that day. To make matters worst when I e-mailed him and told him that he had misinformed me he start to email me snappy remarks and when asked about compensation he told me he does understand the problem and said thing like, " did you miss an meal." There was no apology or any sence of remorse and finally he would not provide me with a complaint department and started to ingore my e- mails. Heres to you Rick Maday. Thanks for being so helpful

Incident
We have been on cruises before and choose the Carnival Imagination because of our 8 yr.old twins. Well first off the ship has poor customer service, wait staff is poor, they have only one deck they serve a buffet on and it is crowded. When you ask a staff member a question they don't know anything or cannot understand you. Asked several times for a comment card never received. Staff serving alcohol and you say no they were very rude to you. Took a excursion to Playa Mia and everything was broke, the boats, the straps to the ice berg, trampoline. on the morning of departure I asked for a iced tea and took a huge drink and what I had was what I am guessing was the night before BBQ, dirty water and had to drive home sick after vomiting. Told the Matra D that morning and on several occasions that service was horrible and nothing was done. This was the worst cruise I have ever taken. We tried to get things corrected by the customer service on board ship and they didn't want to hear it and said we would need to make it on the comment card which I previously stated that they never delivered them to our room. I have called corp. but they say they will place their comments only in writing to us. DO NOT CRUISE ON CARNIVAL IT IS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME AND MONEY! IF YOU WANT CHEAP AND NASTY THEN GO ON CARNIVAL!

Damage Resulting
became sick from the dirty iced tea water, lost money on the so called tips that the wait staff did not deserve. Was not able to enjoy our excursion because all the things were broken that was over 200 dollars.