Carnival Cruise Lines
reviews and complaints

I arranged for my group's annual cruise for 18 people. Carnival made a business decision to charter the ship to FEMA and cancelled our cruise which was to depart Jan 21. Because people had arranged to get off work at the same time, we were locked in to the dates. We were offered three alternative cruises by the representative of Carnival and selected one leaving from Miami on Jan 20 . We ended up paying more and seeing fewer sites than the original cruise. I asked our rep to do something to make this right. After several days of calling, he said he could not do anything and I asked for his supervisor. The supervisor called me and said he could not offer anything. I asked for his supervisor and he refused to give me his number but said he would have him call me. I have waited 4 days and no call back. Our group was made up of loyal, repeat carnival cruisers and some first time cruisers. This experience has shown Carnival in a new light for us.
Jim Ennis

Booking #6CN8K4
I contact carnival [protected]@ [protected] on my sailing date @ 1:31 p.m. EST. I spoke with a customer service representatives name Kelly. I asked Kelly what is the latest time that I board the ship because I was not going to make my appointment time because I caught a flat tire on the expressway while driving there. Kelly informed me that this ship leaves at 5 p.m. eastern time and that 4 p.m. will be the latest that I can board the boat. On the contrary she also stated that there would be an email sent on my behalf. I arrived at the dock at 3:50 p.m. eastern time, as I was entering the building the security guards tells me to turn around no one else is allowed in the building, and that the ship boarding has closed. My company guess had already boarded the ship, they spoke with guest services and they also spoke with the captain of the ship while I was standing outside on the dock for 45 minutes while my guest was asking to allow me to get on the ship. The captain's stated there was nothing he can do, and said its up to custom patrol . As I stood outside the boat there was still time for me to get on because the boat didn't leave until 4:50 p.m. eastern time. I communicated with the representative Kelly who works for Carnival Cruise Line who informed me of the wrong information stating that the boat leaves at 5 p.m. and that my arrival at 4 p.m. would have been fine. I was also told there was an email sent to the captain but it's at his discretion to delay the ship. I was not contacted back by no one from Carnival saying that the captain did not honor, nor was I contacted back by Carnival when I got the wrong information from an agent that works for Carnival. I am requesting a full refund or a credit for another booking date. Because I was informed of the wrong information from a carnival customer service agent. Then I called customer service @[protected] @ 5:07 p.m. eastern time and spoke with customers service representative Terry who informed me that he would not be able to give me a full refund but only refund me back $195.00. Or I would have to contact this department to request for a full refund, or to request for different sail date.

Dear Carnival Cruise Lines Complaint Department,
I Susan J. McClory and husband Daniel J. McClory were booked on your Carnival Glory Cruise Booking #6LL6X to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Leaving Miami September 16, 2017 returning September 23, 2017 for a 7 Day Exotic Eastern Caribbean Cruise. A adventure which we planned for 6 months. Unfortunately Hurricane Irma hit the Miami area very badly and airports, electricity, transportation were all effected along with severe flooding problems. The reports on the hourly news were upsetting I had a hard time sleeping for days. Not only were we worried about Irma's problems but hurricane Maria was right on its tail. All I could think about for days was do we cancel or take the chance in getting stranded at the Atlanta airport because of flight delays or cancellations of flights or at Miami airport. Forcing us to miss our cruise or taking the chance of being sea sick from the turbulent ocean. We chose to cancel.
I called AON Affinity Inc. through you requesting procedures on filing a claim to get the 100% refund due back to us because of the above mentioned fears and the severe problems Irma had left behind. The representative at AON assured me we would be eligible for a full refund Claim #17CCL16742 due to our concerns. We also had to cancel our flight which was a non refundable airlines tickets from Delta which amounted to $374.20 (I only had to buy one ticket for me and used skymiles for Daniel's).
Well a denial letter from AON was sent to us on October 4, 2017. We were to say the least very disappointed. I thought this is why we bought Carnival Cancellation Fee Waiver Insurance. We thought we could be at easy knowing if a cat 4 hurricane hits the port your sailing out of and some of the islands we were sailing to along with a new major cat 5 Maria heading for the whole eastern Caribbean that we were sailing to would qualify for a full refund.
They did say that Carnival would pay 75% of the cruise vacation cost.
The good news is we are willing to try again to celebrate our 25th anniversary so we re-booked with you on February 17, 2017 to February 24th, 2017 on Carnival Miracle 7 day Western Caribbean booking #8SL1H1.
Could you please please take into consideration Daniel and my situation and review our claim so see if you can help us out with some additional credit towards our new booking. We lost so much money already and any help from you would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to our trip.
Thank You,
Susan J. McClory and Daniel J. McClory

I

I was charged a 75 dollars penalty to change a name on my bookings when I was informed previously by agent that I would not be charged. I will not book with this cruise again nor will the 11 other guest in my group if I am treated unfairly and lied to by this cruise line. I am requesting an on board gift card in the amount of the fee I was required to pay bc I was misinformed by STAFF and the RECORDED phone could not be found.

To Whom It May Concern:
With reference to Booking number 7PV3B5 my husband had a heart attack on 10/23/17 and we will not be able to make this sailing due to future medical appointments and tests/procedures. I am not asking for a full refund, but was hoping that since we are platinum members, we could receive a credit towards a future sailing, which we will definitely take once this ordeal is over. Thank in advance for your consideration.

To whom this message will reach my name is Llewellyn Schexnayder and I am contacting carnival on behalf of the Triumph cruise due to sail on 10/28/17. Unfortunately my wife and I will not be able to make the date on behalf of the unexpected passing of my father on 10/18/17 and if things was not bad enough we found out that my father n law has plaque that has buildup in his arteries and now he have to have surgery on 10/27/17. We are not looking for sympathy nor are we looking for our money back we are just asking for Carnival to be patient with us we can provide a death certificate and also hospital papers in order for Carnival to verify everything that we are saying is true we have been looking forward to this trip all year and not it has to be set back again it would be deeply appreciated if carnival can find it in their hearts to reschedule I'll cruise for a later date instead of losing all of our finances

I had a scheduled cruise to Ensenada from Los Angeles for Oct 27th. Last Friday, Oct 20th I was told by my Dr. I would need to have emergency surgery on Wednesday, Oct 25th to remove a tumor from my left foot. Unfortunately it's cancer.

I called the customer service center over the weekend to see if I can cancel or better yet reschedule. I was told no because it was to close to the sail date and I did not purchase the insurance.

I am a regular cruiser with Carnival I think this would have been my 10 cruise, and I have another one scheduled for next year. I'm also a regular gambler on the cruises so I have invested a lot of money and have had some great amazing vacations on Carnival. I am heartbroken that as loyal customer I would this reaction when I am dealing with a health emergency.

In addition, I am the Executive Director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, (NAHJ.org) with over 2100 journalists members throughout the US. While I have not made this public I haven't ruled out a more public approach to expressing my frustration.

I will deal with this when I get back only feet in a few weeks. The cruise info is.
3 Day ENSENADA Cruise
Booking #: 3KM5N4
Sailed on: 9/22/2016
Aboard: Carnival Imagination
Stateroom #: R135 (Outside, 6B)

Anything that can be done to get me rescheduled and/or the refund would be appreciated my email addresses are Amendozacastro @aol.com or my work email [protected]@nahj.org.
Thank you
Alberto

Boarding #5MJ8D2-9/14/2017-Carnival Liberty--I was scheduled to take a cruise with 9 of my friends that we take every year, but hurricane Irma hit I could not go. My house sustained damage and was without power. I am also employed by First Choice FL Vacation Rentals and we had many properties that also sustained major damage so I had to work. I am requesting a refund due to weather conditions that was beyond my control.

I was booked on the Carnival Cruise - Fascination - Cruise was cancelled due to Fascination being used to house Puerto Rico workers. I contacted American Airlines and they refused to reimburse me the 495.70 x 2 for my husband and myself. Carnival said that they would reimburse us up to 400.00 per person for any out of pocket losses. My booking # 6RV4H7001. Called Carnival and they said to fill this out. Please contact me at [protected]@aol.com

while aboard the MAJIC my wife and I found the food in the dining room to be unsatisfactory the vegetables in the wedding soup were raw, when meat was ordered well done it came back "bloody" and cold. We had the 2015 hr. seating and never made the late show due to slow service. These items stood out as we have always enjoyed the food on carnival cruises. The line for the Mongolian grill was and hour and half this was unsatisfactory.
there were glasses left in the elevators, there was cake that was squashed into the carpet for over a 24 hr period, the carpet outside our cabin was dirty (crumbs for potato chips) not ours. We have never encountered these problems on other carnival ships

thanks you
semper fi
allen and michelle becker
rosie [protected]@gmail.com

My husband and I booked a cruise for our honeymoon to go to the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Grand Turks on the Carnival Magic the first week of September. Got on the ship and then was informed we were not going to those places but to Mexico, which we did not want, since we have been there many times. Was not given the option to rebook at a later time. had to spend 4 extra days at sea, house was not ready for the hurricane and when we finally returned to port, 70% of the vehicles were damaged or destroyed. Carnival never offered us a thing, just gouged every cent they could. The royal carribbean was at sea and when they returned to port they gave all their passengers a free cruise at a later time. Never again will i travel with Carnival and I will be telling everyone I know and posting it everywhere i can.

We went on the Carnival Spirit from Sydney-Moreton Island-Sydney between the 5th October-9th October, 2017. Our booking reference was CCDJ5Q. Our stateroom was 8177.
The first day and a half went well and we were enjoying the experience however the cruise was wrecked for us from the 7th October until the end due to the actions of the person operating the tender which was taking us to Moreton Island for our shore excursions.
At approximately 9.15am on the 7th October we boarded a tender to the island. My 10 year old son was already upset as he is scared of being on smaller boats but he had agreed to go on one as we had great activities planned on the island and we had reassured him many times that he was safe. Our reassurance was misplaced as the tender started to accelerate away from the ship and smashed into the tender in front. The side windows smashed & glass went over other guests and the side of the the tender was pushed in. Instead of returning immediately to the ship the driver took us further into the ocean and sat idle causing us to spend a few minutes trying to determine if we were taking on water and if so how we would save our children.
Eventually the tender returned to the ship where we disembarked. Instead of being given time to process what just happened or debrief or know if everyone was alright the crew barked at to get into the next tender we had just hit. We got on the next tender and as we sat there my kids started crying so my son & husband got off saying they were going back onto the ship, this put me in an impossible situation as I now had my 10 year old son distraught & crying about the thought of getting on another tender & a 12 year old daughter crying from the accident but also at the thought of missing out on swimming with the dolphins if we didn't get on. The staff suggested my son could go to kids club all day while we went to the island, as if I would leave my son who was visibly distraught in the hands of strangers and tell him we were going to have a great day without him! My husband offered to stay on the ship with our son while I went to the island with my daughter but this is not was not a resolution that either of us were happy with as it split the family up on a day where we should all have been together having fun. Now my son was under pressure as he knew he was the one stopping us from going and therefore wrecking the holiday.
We all decided to try and get on with the fun day we had planned and somehow my son agreed to get back on another tender which is what we did. After travelling a few minutes away from the ship we regretted our decision as both my children were crying uncontrollably from fear of being in the tender. One other lady next to me as she walked on "If we're going to die, we'll die together". The ride over was rougher than we'd hoped for and we had adults vomiting around us. This just added to our trauma/stress. We could not do anything but proceed to the island and when we got off knew our children (or ourselves) would not get back onto another tender straight away so decided to try and forget about it and get on with our day and did our first booked shore excursion. Unfortunately this ended up being on another small boat and we hated every minute of it. We got off this boat, all felt the day had been wrecked as not one of us could forget the fact that we would eventually have to get back on another tender still to get back to the ship. Going on with our planned activities was impossible as the fear/anxiety would have built up all day till we got the return trip over & done with so we gave up and returned to the boat.
We sadly went back to our cabin and spent the rest of the day staring at an island we never got to enjoy (very hard to do). We all missed out on no doubt lovely experiences/memories that day and considering it was our only stop this was a big deal. The rest of the trip was wrecked for us as all we could think about was the crash & what we'd missed out on.
We waited for staff/management from Carnival Cruises to come and talk to us, apologise, see what they could do for us but this never happened. It was left to me to make a complaint at guest services and ask for the cost of our shore excursions back that we didn't do. These 2 excursions were refunded but Carnival staff handled the entire incident very poorly.
We spent a large amount of money for a 4 night cruise ($3811) that we had saved up to do and can only look back on our experience with unhappiness and disappointment. Carnival Cruiselines is responsible for this. I would like to make it up to our children and take them on another (non-cruise) holiday (as the my kids will not do another cruise) but now don't have the money to do so. We are happy to pay for the food & accommodation we were given but expect compensation and a formal apology for what happened.

Reservation #86J8W3 with Carnival Cruise Fantasy Ship for december 10th 2017. I had until september 26th 2017 to make final payment. I am a resident of Puerto Rico and unfortunetly on september 20th 2017 we were hit by Hurricane Maria. Because of the damage caused to our island we have experienced trouble with phone and internet access. It was impossible for me to make the final payment for the Cruise. I am requesting if it is possible that Carnival Cruise grant me a credit for the amount I paid for reservation so I can use towards a future reservation. I have attached a copy of my drivers license as proof of being a PR resident. Thank you.

I have had to cancel my cruise due to medical reasons beyond my control. I have been having problems with both of my feet the doctors have had to amputate my right foot in the last 4 weeks and may have to remove my left one in the future. I am confined to a wheel chair. I am unable to drive, walk or care for myself without assistance. I would like to get a voucher for the amount that I paid for a future cruise if possible. I am a Platinum VIFP with Carnival #[protected]. I am posting 5 pictures of my situation. If you need verification from my doctors I will be able to get that for you as well. I was so looking forward to going but this is out of my control.

Sincerely, Emery Clemmons

Hi I am sailing Date Dec 23, 2017 Destination 7 Day Eastern Caribbean...What I have found out via the itinerary updates is that no longer am I going to 4 ports...the St. Thomas Island has been removed. I was told that it is a "bonus" for actually docking and that I am not paying for "docking" but what is on the ship and if I read the contract correctly it was spelled out...WOW! I wasn't expecting that...moving forward...We are still cruising to San Juan even though the island is devastated "...30 percent of the island still has no drinking water and 80 percent doesn't have power. That's according to government data updated daily, which some volunteer workers on the ground say is inaccurate. They say the situation is far more grim" (this is from today's Washington Post) I do not want to tour devastation...this trip was supposed to be relaxing and fun...it is not turning out that way. I do not want to be one of those 1rst world people looking down on someone...it is bad enough that Mr. Trump does that...what is my alternative...cant we do western Caribbean? Or how about a refund?

Booking number 5GP2K3 Due to unforeseen circumstances and losing my job I am having to cancel my 02/2018 cruise on the Carnival Dream for myself and our kids. I was advised to send in a complaint so that I can be contacted to get my additional money back which is $500 and for my children and I we really need that at this time. I was only given a partial refund and I'm in desperate need of the rest. Please have someone contact me at [protected]@gmail.com to further discuss so I can get a rebuke refund of what I have paid.

Thanks,
Stacy

I ended up getting over 20 bed bug bites while on the cruise AND took some of the nasty guys home with our luggage.. see attached photos.

I called the carnival customer service line yesterday, waited for 15 minutes to talk to someone, only to be transferred to another department where I waited another 41 minutes to talk to someone who only took notes of my complaint and told me to look for an email in 3-5 weeks. I told him he NEEDS to get someone to the room ASAP to remove the bed as there was another group of people boarding 1.5 hours after we got off of the boat, but he said he would send the complaint to the department but he couldn’t guarantee any immediate action as “the department that deals with these issues is very backlogged.” I asked to speak with a manager about this horrible customer service process and he said they couldn’t take my call either because they were also very backlogged with complaints.

After spending hours unpacking everything in the driveway and transporting our clothes in trash bags to our laundry room, washing all of our clothes in hot water, rinsing everything we could in hot water, and leaving everything else in the garage or bathtub, we are now calling our pest control company to come bomb our house and ordering bed bug pesticides on Amazon because despite our efforts, we found bed bugs in the items we could not rinse in hot water that we quarantined in our bath tub. We are taking everything that isn't machine washable to be steam cleaned tomorrow. Needless to say, this has become a miserable, tedious, expensive inconvenience and we are wondering what carnival can do to rectify the situation.

What are your suggestions?

Thanks,

Chantelle

We are scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral on Dec 2, 2017 on the Carnival Magic. We are sailing with 4 other individuals. We booked this cruise many months ago and although Carnival cannot control the weather they do indeed have control over making things right with their passengers. After NUMEROUS calls and time spent arguing in vain via telephone we are still going on our cruise...mainly because we are forced to! St Thomas and San Juan being substituted with Nassau and Half Moon Cay are hardly the same! It's like comparing apples to oranges. We got absolutely NOWHERE with the Carnival reps that we spoke to. We are not ignorant or heartless and understand the devastation in the islands affected however we PAID for destinations that were much BETTER than what Carnival substituted! If unable to take us to similar destinations I felt some type of on board credit or drink package or partial fare refund would have been fair. NO! Carnival washed their hands of it all and basically go on the cruise, change the itinerary /trip date for a fee of $500.00 per couple or lose all the money paid for cancellation. Might I add we were notified of the itinerary change 57 days out from our cruise date! How convenient it was not done within the 60 day no penalty period. We will go and make the best of it however as Gold Members it has caused me to step back and reevaluate where I spend my hard earned money. Next cruise we will look into Norwegian...who provides all kinds of amenities when you book a cruise. Very, VERY disappointed in the reaction of Carnival Cruise Lines and their "we take no accountability or give a crap" attitude.

Dori A Lovell
South Carolina
Gold Status

Dear Cruise line,

let me inform you, the change of our itinerary that was made by you to ensure we have the best possible shore experience is not very suitable for us, because of 2 reasons:
1. on st. Thomas we have planned short re-union with uncle Georges, due to this change this meeting will have to be cancelled
2. we shall spend 4 full days on Nassau between 07.10. - 10.10.2017, please see enclosed our booking of hotel as well we flight tickets as a proof. We are sure you understand, we do not wish to come to the same island "Nassau" after 4 days once more by cruise ship, for us it is useless.

Although, we understand that recent storms are not your fault, please understand our point of view. We shall travel from Europe to our very awaited honeymoon and two islands you have cancelled were important for us.

Of course, you will not change the itinerary for us, but we hope you can provide us a satisfactory kind of compensation. Taking into account we shall spend 4 days on Nassau before the cruise, it would be nice if you could provide a shore excursion for free.

Thank you.
Best regards

Roman and Lucia Visnovsky
roman.[protected]@gmail.com

I Had a cruise booked with two rooms for Dec 3 out of san juan puerto rico on Fascination. Carnival cancelled our cruise due to hurricane Irma. I have friends that were booked on the same cruise same dates, they recieved an email notifying them of the cancellation, information regarding refunds and how to obtain a refund for the airfare. They were also offered a 25% discount on there next cruise. I have called twice and am currently sitting on hold for 1hr20mins with no resolution. I requested a copy of that email be sent to me, they said they would but have not. I am extremely disappointed in this company and their customer service. The only way I knew the cruise was cancelled originally is by accessing the website...but that doesn't offer the steps neccesary to obtain refunds on the airfare or 25percent off my next cruise.