Carnival Cruise Lines
reviews and complaints

On January 7th 2017, my friend and I were preparing to catch a flight to Miami from JFK airport in New York. Our flight was to depart at 7:59pm that night but kept getting delayed due to the weather. Our flight was delayed 4-5 times that night. At 11:30pm, as our plane was about to be cleaned and we were going to board, our flight was cancelled due to having "no flight crew". As we tried to rebook our flight to get to Miami, we found ourselves on line for several hours. While on this line, we called a representative from Carnival and told them our ordeal. The guy gave us two options: 1) To fly out to Cayman Islands to meet the cruise or 2) Cancel the cruise. We decided that with all the money we spent, we will try our best to catch the cruise in Cayman Islands. We were able to get a flight out on January 9th 2017 at 4pm, which was a connecting flight to Atlanta, then to Grand Cayman.
On Tuesday morning, January 10th 2017, around 8 in the morning, a friend of ours that was on the cruise called to tell us that the ship was not going to dock in Cayman port "due to the weather". I called Carnival cruise line with my friend to find out if this was accurate. When they said yes, we asked, "what now?" They said that there was absolutely nothing that they could do. We endured a 12-hour ordeal in the airport in order to get to the next port to meet the cruise. We were even willing to fly to the next port as well but the airport in Grand Cayman did not fly out to Mahogany Bay, Honduras. We made every effort and we feel as though Carnival should have made the effort to notify us first, even the day before so that we didn't fly out. I'm requesting that we get a refund for our troubles.

Customer Service,

I initially sent an email to Deborah Maestu on March 1st at 7:19 p.m. CST, received an automatic reply (below); however, it is now March 10th and I still have not received a response.

Thank you for your email. Due to the amazing promotions we are offering during our "WAVE" season, I am unable to respond to your email at this time. I will respond to emails with 24 hours or as soon as possible.

My wife and I are requesting assistance with getting a full refund of $1700.00 for the money we have on our Carnival account. Since our booking, many concerning things have come out in the news about Carnival ships: teen passengers getting raped, missing passengers, and Carnival employees trying to have sex with passengers. Also, Carnival ship’s technical issues that have recently made the news and one of the Carnival ships being stuck at sea as recent as January 2017 are something we are not willing to risk having happen to us.

We have teenagers who really enjoyed the Teen Club, Arcade, etc. when we cruised with Carnival a few years ago; however, we are no longer comfortable with allowing them to go to the Club or Arcade on their own; they have also communicated the fear of ‘what if it happens to us’? The glory of being on a cruise ship is the vast array of amenities for all ages and for them to not be able to safely enjoy all of it is truly a shame.

I hope that Carnival will understand and refund the money that they have held from me and my family so we can plan something other than a cruise.

Thanks
Mike Dubej

On 02/25/17 on the Carnival Freedom out of Galveston TX. Per our boarding pass our check in time was 12:00 PM a lot later than we had ever arrived. First thing I noticed was a huge crowed, when I asked a Carnival rep, we were told they were not concerned with the check in time. FIRST WARNNING SIGN! We had a party of 9 passengers, 4 state rooms traveling with 2 individuals in wheel chairs and 2 of us are considered handicapped by the State of Texas that where out of wheel chairs. The Cruise line has what is called a special assistance check in; we were told by a Carnival Rep that only the 2 in the wheelchairs could use this service. They made my wife (who has 2 Torn Rotator Cups in her Arms Push the wheel chair up all the ramps, because I was not in the stateroom) and the rest of the Party including 2 that where handicapped were told they could not use the assistance check in stand in line for 2.5 hours to check in. SECOND WARNING SIGN! When all of the Party was finally able to Board 3PM, we tried to go to the buffet to eat. Wouldn’t you know it; they were cleaning up to close it. THIRD WARNING SIGN! The cruise time for activities was missed managed and conflicting with Dinners and other activities. The Ship is not Wheelchair friendly especially in the lounges. I found most of the Crew Rude, unless you were Drinking Alcohol. If we would have been told about Carnival Guarantee after complaint was filed the first day, we would have gotten off the boat and flown home from Jamaica. I am a Diamond Member on Royal and have never been on a Cruise like this, Including Carnival. I work for a large company and have posted on our employee web board against traveling on Carnival. I would expect Carnival to refund at least our Cruise fare. There where may other incidents aboard, attempted tip changing on forms from the spa. Albert Williams Booking #4KC4T1 & 4KC4R5

On January 7th my friend and I had a flight to JFK to MIA. Unfortunately our flight was canceled due to "no flight crew". Early Sunday while on line stuck at the airport, my friend and I spoke to a carnival representative and he suggested two options: 1) To either fly out to Cayman Islands to meet the cruise ship or 2) Cancel the cruise altogether. During that day we made two reports to carnival about our situation and we decided that we would get a plane and meet the cruise ship.
Tuesday morning which was January 10, another friend of ours who was already on the ship called to notify us that Carnival Splendor would not be passing by Cayman Islands "due to weather", which Carnival never called us about . I believe it was carnival's responsibility to notify us about not passing by Cayman Islands. We could've been stuck at the port at Cayman with no place to go. It's not like we called and canceled and told Carnival that we will no longer be there. We made every effort to make two reports and to contact carnival and told them of our situation. No call or email from Carnival stating that they wouldn't be able to stop at Cayman Islands. It was after the fact when we got the phone call from my friend. That shouldn't have happended! Also since we didn't make it for the cruise, we had to stay over my cousin's house in Cayman for that week . We just want our money back due to the unpleasant experience that we faced. Will we go back to Carnival...Absolutely Not!

Ms. Doyle
I have recently left 2 voicemails on your extension about our cruise to Jamaica. As you know we did not make it to Jamaica. We did not leave Galveston tx until 2:00 am Sunday morning, while we were told it was because of fog I find it difficult to understand, I know that we had a 45-minute window that we had no fog, and as we over heard several of the crew discussing the fact that we could not leave because of a wedding party of which of the members were supposed to leave the ship and could not be found until very late. When we did leave, it was also very foggy and the ships are equipped with Doppler radar that is used to navigate the ship in dark and fog, as you know it was my wife and I’s honey moon and I mentioned it to you several times while setting up plans for the other 10 people in our party that were going with us to Jamaica to celebrate our honey moon. I expected to see some type of happy honey moon decor in the room when we got on board that was not the case, when we got to our room we found the drawers full of human hair, dust and dirt on all of the counters and bathroom shelving and some type of liquid on the ceiling above the room counter, of unknown type, something that resembled gum stuck to the light fixture above the television, and I have pictures of all of these to back this up, the bathroom smelled of urine, when I complained to the room steward all he could say was, you need to speak to guest services, and still didn’t clean the room. When I complained to guest services all I got was we are very sorry, After the second day, we meet up with a lady named Wanda in the elevator who said she was the housekeeping supervisor on another floor, she said she would get in touch with the supervisor for our floor, the next day we had a message written on our mirror that said, happy honey moon joe and Brenda, he also left a $50 spa discount card in the room. Me nor Brenda used the card it was left in the room. but the room was still not cleaned, all he did each day was make the bed, I don’t know if he even changed the sheets, its questionable. when the ship arrived costa Maya. Replacement for Jamaica. There were approximately 10 shops there that might have been open, everything else, and I mean everything was under construction, closed, or roped off where you could not get to it. When we booked our excursion to stingray island it was scheduled for three hours, the boat was an hour late getting to the dock so their supervisor instructed the drivers to drive us around the island so we drove around and listen to the driver talk about how long he lived on the island, not what I call a sting ray encounter. When we got to sting ray island we found one, yes one stingray that they jumped in and grabbed and held on to for the duration of the encounter which lasted 50 minutes and then we were returned to the dock. There are several other issues that went on during this cruise, I received my drink card from the casino after only having 800 points on my card, Brenda played a lot more than I did but when she asked about her card the denied it, when they gave it to her on the last day her points jumped from 1200 to 2300 in a matter of 5 minutes, there was several times myself, bobby graves and my wife and two friends witnessed different pay scales for the same card hands, and also witnessed the pit boss watching two different dealers making mistakes and correcting them in their foreign language, and I am going to see what I must do to request a refund for our trip, I am also going to post this issue and photos to social media as well as the forum for the cruise ship, it was not anything like it was supposed to be, positively the worst honey moon I could have had with my wife, or our guest. If you would like to discuss these issues with me, please feel free to contact me. [protected]

Rodney Farmer
[protected]@gmail.com
[protected]

To whom this may confer my boyfriend and I booked the magic for 3/4 to 3/11 however no one has been helpful in helping us receive our refund. My boyfriend father passed and they told us pretty much we lost out money and that there's nothing they can do. I would go above and beyond to solve this issue. A tragic has happen and they refuse to refund us

Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Robin Gardner and have been a Carnival cruiser since 2010. I am so upset, disappointed and disgusted with your company. I was to set sail tomorrow (march 5th) on my HONEYMOON cruise.( booked since last September) Received an email regarding the struggle with The Splendor. I understand technical problems occur from time to time but to NOT OFFER A THING for my trouble other than a full refund or to cruise with the changed itinerary (both ports of Nassau and Freeport) of which I've visited twice before. To be such a loyal customer and only choose Carnival in the past and to be treated like a nobody. We spent extra money for the balcony room. I am just devastated that I was treated so poorly by your staff, who gave the impression that they didnt care at all about the fact that this was supposed to me the most romantic trip of my life... From this point forward I will not choose to cruise with Carnival. My honeymoon has been ruined. Then to make us wait for our refund... I haven't received an apology or any effort to make this right... Your loss I guess...
Sincerely,
Robin Gardner
Avid carnival cruiser...
Booking # 3PG3HO

Travel agent Cheryl never calls back ever I waited more then an hrs to try to talk to someone then lady gets on the phone with an attitude and hangs up on me at # [protected] ext.70450. I'm still on the phone for hrs trying to see why carnival has $4000 of my money on hold says my card won't go threw up the cruise line has the hold on it this cruise line took down all the wrong information on my email and the name they spelled wrong then say there gonna charge me to make name right on the room they will not let me talk to a supervisor at all. We have over 30 people going on this cruise I've spent hrs on phone trying to pay and straighten out all there issues we had someone die in our party and they won't let us keep the money on the room that was already been paid have to repay again this has been a miserable experience they have had no compassion have not tried to accommodate us at all just horrible I'll never use them again and I hope all 35 people we go with don't use them either

I was on the splendor Feb 19-26. I flew into Miami from nc and was super excited as this was my very first cruise ever, and boy was I extremely let down.The second day I became very sick after eating in the buffet with symptoms of food poisoning and was down for the rest of that day, I still felt terrible the next day but wanted to truly enjoy my trip.the 3rd day I was sitting in the casino when a waitress came barging into me dropping a heavy glass on my foot with flip flops on, leaving very sore and a big bruise .the room smelled terrible of sewage even with door shut, we couldnt see out of our window because it was so dirty, called room service twice and they never showed up. I got charged 3 times for the same charges, tying up my trip money.i could never get in a hot tub no matter what time I went because they were packed to the brim.the smell from the room gave me a constant headache, I went to guest services twice while on board but was trying to make the best of it as I wanted so bad to enjoy my first cruise of many more to.follow. I heard a lot of stories as to how carnival isn't the best cruise line to chose, But I'm usually a very easy person to please and am never one to complain so I thought eh it can't be that bad .I truly hope this isn't the carnival norm and that I just happen to have a bad first experience.

REZ#: 1LS4P7 FEB 12TH my suite was very small and old looking the shower head would not sty up the bed was wore out. the ship was had been in dry dock and was not ready there was not enough food in the dinning rooms the first two nights. there was only one pool open on that big ship at one time so always busy and out of 8 hot tubs there was only one maybe two open and again very busy could not get in it. o was a member of he cloud 9 spa but it too was so busy you could not get in it, because there was not any hot tubs open. and for dining if you did not eat in the dining hen you were forcing eating in the buffet style area which is fine, but however they only had one level of that open and after about 630 only half of that was open. and if you waited until after 10:00 p.m. all you had was pizza. All i can say is i spent almost 4, 000.00 on a cruise that i was very unhappy with and i will never cruise with carnival again. and i will tell everyone i possibly can how unhappy i am, because i feel like a lot of what was done to make this cruise as bad as i was could have been made a lot better if members of the cruise ship would have done there jobs better.

jackie pyles

I was on Carnival Splendor Feb 12-19, 2017
I was in the Red Carpet Bar and a glass was knocked over and cut my foot and leg. The staff cleaned up the mess but no one checked to make sure I was okay. At the time I thought the glass had simply grazed me. Once I got home I realized the cut was much deeper than I thought. I have not been able to get anyone on the phone to report this incident. I now have to go see my doctor to make sure the cut doesn't get infected or that i don't need any type of stitches. I spoke with my attorney and was told the cruise line could possibly be liable since the incident happened on a carnival ship.

Went on the freedom on Feb 11th for a 7 day cruise and it was hands down the worst vacation experience I have ever had. I got food poisoning the second day of the cruise and was sick pretty much the entire cruise. I called carnival to let them know and before I could even finish saying what all happened the service representative shut me down saying it isn't their problem and carnival never promised I would have a good experience. This is what really made me mad more than anything! I had been on 5 carnival cruises in the last 3 years and have not once called to complain. So now when I have a bad experience thru no fault of my own their response is oh well not our problem. I don't appreciate being treated that way. That was my LAST time cruising w carnival. I will go royal Caribbean from now on. Carnival has lost my business for ever after this last aweful cruise.

I was suppose to board Carnival Victory December 9, 2016 leaving out of Miami. Upon boarding our flight we were told the flight had some mechanical issues and would be a short delay. The flight ended up being canceled from Boston to Miami. I was very upset being this was going to be my first cruise and celebrating my birthday Dec 10. I was told by carnival to submit documentation of proof that the flight was canceled, in order to receive a full refund. I do not want the refund, I would still like to cruise. Is there anyway I am still able to cruise or will I have to take the refund?

Regarding: January 28th Valor – Galveston - Folio 4842 - Room 9257

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to you regarding my recent cruise with your company, which departed from Galveston on January 28th. I have traveled on several cruise lines and several Carnival ships, and being aboard the Valor has been by far the worst experience I have ever had on a cruise. I am hoping that you can offer some form of redress for the terrible journey I took on your ship.

I found myself not feeling not long after our first dining night in the Washington Room (early seating) and I had the salmon. It was obviously food poisoning. I could only stay in my cabin for the next two days, not being able to do anything the ship had to offer, eat in any of the restaurants, or see either of the ports of call. Since your gift shop is not open during the day while in port, I was unable to get the Imodium AD that I knew would take care of my symptoms. As it turns out the gift shop doesn’t offer any type of over the counter remedies so going to the medical center was our only option. I was told that I had to be quarantined for another day (the last day of the cruise)! (Strangely enough my two fellow travelers in the same room were not quarantined or asked about symptoms)

The medical officer told us that we would be credited one day for the quarantine. We found a letter stating otherwise upon debarkation offering a $98 credit toward a future cruise. Later, several other passengers had mentioned others being sick after that first night.

THREE days of our five day cruise I was UNABLE to partake of anything the cruise had to offer: dining, events, shows, excursions and etc. I was told I was to eat only from room service which only offered clear soup and crackers. When I ordered a 7-up I was charged being told that my “Cheers Program” was not allowed for in room beverages. My husband ran down to several places to buy me ginger ale using our PAID For Cheers Program. Not only did all of this ruin my vacation that I waited over a year to take, I will not be able to take time off again for another two years, it impacted my husband and my best friends who was on her first cruise and probably now her last.

In addition, the first meal we had poolside were the shredded pork and chicken tacos which had more than 8 bones that we fortunately found rather than choking on them. At Rosie’s buffet we found several hairs in the eggs. And my husband almost consumed a pint of milk that looked like blue cheese and smelled worse! I am very unsure about cruising with Carnival again after this horrific experience.

I request that you remedy this situation immediately. I believe that in the very least a refund for 3 days that I was unable to partake in ANY of the “included” dining option, events, shows and etc. would be appropriate. I am sure that the total will not come close to the money saved by Carnival by all of the people on board effected.

While on carnival cruise starting on 18 december 2016 (booking number 2tw4b4, ship carnival fascination, stateroom e-60, guest), I purchased 10 photos on the first formal dining and received one shutterfly free small luggage tag - code # ca2h-2ev2-jgf5-wwyfpy and free 8x8 photo book - code # ca2k-b2jn-bkmy-s8x7cm. I then purchased another 10 photos on the second formal dining and received another shutterfly free small luggage tag - code # ca2h-82pt-4uzv-0mgbxx and free 8x8 photo book - code ca2k-76ha-yhcd-c9vz54. after working on building the book (6 days), I tried to redeem my free gifts and couldn't. I spoke with shutterfly customer service who inform me that I couldn't both tag and book codes. only one per account and address, they also informed me that carnival was aware of the problem. they further stated that if the first four letters are the same, the system will automatically see it as the same code. on february 13, at approximately 10:45 am, I spoke with customer care, who also then spoke with the photos - pixels people, who stated that they were aware of the problem. but, couldn't offer me a new codes to make my purchase. as I explain to your rep this is false advertisement and I spend over $500.00 and was told by carnival photo rep that I could redeem my gift. that was a lie.
If they are aware of the problem why practice false information, only to make a purchase!

I booked a 5 day cruise on the Carnival Elation departing out of Jacksonville, FL on January 9, 2017 through the Priceline website. Listed on the website were special offers:

Great Rates + A 2-Category Upgrade!
◦ EXCLUSIVE: up to $50 Onboard Spending! – 3 days left!
◦ Up to $1000 FREE Hotel Coupon – 4 days left!
◦ $100 bonus hotel coupon for last minute bookings – 4 days left!
◦ Onboard Spending: Up To $1000!
◦ Earn Unlimited Future Cruise Credits for Referrals!
◦Up to 3-Category Upgrade!

When I inquired about the special offers, the operator told me they would be given upon boarding the ship. However, the cruise staff and supervisor refused to honor any of the special offers and referred me back to the booking agents. Of course, the booking agent bounced me back to the cruise staff. It was a classic bait and switch and a volley ball situation.

Upon arriving in our room, I nearly cried. I had taken a previous cruise through Carnival and the room was beautiful and well maintained. The room we were put in was disgusting. The carpet was has never been replaced (1998) and was filthy. We couldn't see out of the window because there was a leak in the seal between the panes except the one day the staff cleaned it. The furnishings were also from 1998 and were dirty and outdated. The mattress has never been replaced either which is probably some violation of health codes. Many public areas on the ship were outdated, rusty, damaged and badly in need of renovation and replacement. Some of the photos are posted below (cloudy window, flatscreen tv in old box, mildew on shower wall and more). The photos I saw on the websites were obviously taken when the ship was new, 19 years ago. To top it off, the room smelled so I had a headache most of the cruise.

Despite my tearfully begging and speaking with staff six or more times about moving me into a better room (which I offered to pay for), they continuously refused or lied and said they would contact me at the next port... I recorded some of these conversations. On the last day, we were sent a $2 bottle of red wine as consolation (I'm allergic to red wine).

To add insult to injury, I checked a bottle of Ole Nassau Mango Rum as a keepsake memoir which I purchased in Nassau. Because the staffer checking it, sat it aside and did not tag it right away, I asked her to. When I got home from the trip, I open the brown bag she taped it in to find a bottle of coconut rum which was not mine.

To be clear, If there had been any way I could have disembarked, gotten my thousand dollars worth of flight money and hotel money back, I would have.

I would like my money back and I would like Carnival to send me a bottle of Ole Nassau Mango Rum. I was deceived about the Special Offers and the room condition and appearance. My rum was switched. This is paramount to fraud and theft.

We were on Carnival Elation Thurs Feb 2nd - Mon Feb 6. The very first evening (Feb. 2) of our cruise we were seated in the dining room (6pm seating) 5 of us in our group at a small table surrounded by 4 tables of 10 guests. The table directly in front of us was being very loud, but we just let it go for a while. They were visibly intoxicated and getting up out of their seats and stumbling around, moving from table to table (found out they were on a company trip). They became increasingly louder and we asked our server if we could possibly move. We had our 2 year old granddaughter with us. He laughed it off and said, Oh I will get them to calm down. The surrounding tables were getting upset and annoyed with the level of noise also. The staff continued to bring them drinks which only made them more loud and obnoxious. Then they started using very foul language, so we asked them to please have some respect for the people sitting around them trying to enjoy their dinner and also to watch their language. This angered them and one gentlemen stood up and told my husband he was going to choke him. This continued throughout our entire dinner. Some of the staff went and got the Maitre D and he came over to the table and told them that this stops now. They argued with the Maitre D and talked about freedom of speech and a bunch of other nonsense. Saying we should have taken a Disney Cruise if we wanted to have a child on here with us. He firmly said "this stops now!"
And that was the end of what was done. After the Maitre D left, they continued to run their mouths, cursing and the one man stood up and again said if he sees my husband later, he is going to choke him. My Son in law stood up and another man stood, but nothing came of that. They were not escorted out of the dining room. Our dinner was ruined, and we ran into them a few times on the ship and nasty comments were made. They insisted they were on a company trip and here to have fun. Well isn't everyone who goes on a cruise there to have fun? Our cruise was our birthday/anniversary gift from our kids. We feel like we shouldn't have had to deal with that in the dining room, it wasn't like we were at the bar. All guest should be able to enjoy their dining experience. After asking our server several times if we could have a different table, we decided to ask the Maitre D the next morning if we could move. He was very accommodating and moved us to a completely different area and did so for the remainder of the cruise. This was our 4th Carnival cruise, and all of the others were great. I know Carnival isn't responsible for how people act, we just feel they should have been escorted out, and not keep serving them alcohol when they are belligerent and disrespecting the staff and other guests. The company they were representing was [removed].
We feel it should never have escalated to the point where we had to ask them to quiet down, or be threatened by another guest. Should have been taken care of when we first complained to our server.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter

[removed]

There was an incident at the Fort Lauradale airport on January 6th because of which our flight was cancelled and we were rebooked by Delta via Atlanta to West Palm Beach. In Atlanta the next morning flights were delayed due to weather conditions. I called Carnival and informed them of the possibility of us being late. Carnival representative informed me that should I miss the ship then I’ll have to fly to Ocho Rio, the next port of call where I can board the ship. Fortunately, we were able to board the ship an hour before the scheduled sailing time in part due to shuttle provided by Delta airline to the Miami cruise terminal.

Within one hour of sailing on January 7th 2017 from Miami, the Captain announced that Sensation would not be traveling to Jamaica, but Cozumel, Mexico, because of adverse weather conditions (high seas). That evening the ship began rocking and rolling and the next day there were noticeable numbers of passengers that were sick and vomiting in the walkways. We have never been seasick but were feeling not well that day. Most of that day was a write off. We spent most of our time trying to find a spot that was stable.

What was particularly disappointing is that no directions were provided on board by Carnival to deal with this situation and passengers were left to fend for themselves. The crew could not also care less.

Later on the second day afternoon it was announced that the Sensation would not be also traveling to the Grand Cayman Island, but to Freeport, Bahamas. This change in itinerary was also made due to adverse weather conditions. A lot of people were angry about this and complained to the guest services.

We had an Ocean view room that was small but fine for five days. The housekeeping staff provided good service. When the ship was hitting the waves, the closet doors would sometimes bang open and shut. Security staff on the ship also provided quick and efficient service while getting off and on ship on the two ports of call.

The food was average. We dined in the Fantasy dining room for all five evenings. The waitperson provided good service. The amount of time to receive appetizers and the main entrée was adequate. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the Lido Restaurant which offered casual food options such as Seaview restaurant, Mongolian Wok, Salad Bar, and the Carnival Deli. The food was at best average – options one would find in the food court at the mall. After eating in the Seaview restaurant twice I did not feel well both times and decided to give it a pass.

The ship is noticeably old and has a purple décor. Sensation was built in 1993 and was revamped but it is still very dated and lacking amenities newer ships. Overall the ship was crowded especially the Lido deck area. The hot tubs were usually full. It was so windy therefore it wasn’t possible to sit outside. Often the Sun deck was closed due to the wind.

Our pre-booked excursion on Cayman Island was automatically refunded into our account. We booked another excursion on the ship on a short notice at Cozumel. The excursion in Cozumel was good and things went smoothly there. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Freeport. The area where the ship docked is in a commercial area with freight and container ships. We took a taxi to Port Lucaya marketplace. Many shops were closed and there was little to do. After a few hours, we took the taxi back to the ship. Why the decision was made to visit a place where there was nothing to do and where there was major hurricane damage is beyond me!

Thus we ended up going to Cozumel and Freeport instead of Ocho Rios, Jamaica & Cayman Islands. Carvinal refunded difference port charges into our accounts. Most people on this cruise felt disappointed with change of ports we visited.

Disembarkation process from the ship could have been smoother. We were waiting for about an hour and it was around 10:00 a.m. before we disembarked. Not sure what happened but there was a hold up to get passengers off the ship. The waiting areas were full.

I contacted Carnival “Guest Care” multiple times via email for discount off future cruise given the above state of affairs. Carnival’s stated position is they do not offer compensation of any kind for weather events beyond their control. Carnival does not care about their guest having a good experience during cruise. While they say customer service is important, they have done nothing to show that they care about customers under the circumstances we underwent.

This is in contrast with Delta Airlines which offered a future travel credit and the Holiday Inn in Miami which offered points credit for future use for weather/FLL incident which was also beyond their control.

Summary
Sensation was the worst cruise I have been on yet (we had previously been on an Alaska cruise). Given, that Carnival does not care for their customer’s satisfaction we will be trying a different Cruise Line next time. We do not feel that we enjoyed this cruising experience.

In the end know that if there are any unanticipated weather events which result in change in itinerary to lesser quality ports then Carnival will not be there to compensate (or offer future cruise discount) you. For Carnival – the customer is not first. The strategy appears to be one of offering low price to bait customers. Ultimately know that you will be getting what you pay for and haven forbid of something unanticipated happens then Carnival will not be there for you.

We booked a cruise though Frosch/pompano beach, Betty . We bought the insurance, but was not told it was for sickness only, we even ask if we could book on another cruise at a later date, was told no. We paid a little over $1700.00, the cruise was 7 days and was for Jan 21 2017, We told them on Jan 1 2017 our situation, and just got the letter from the insurance, Allianz, on Feb. 3 informing us that it was not covered and have lost the money we paid. We told the lady Betty that we booked the trip though we wanted the insurance in case something would come up or happen, we was never told it was for sickness only. Charles and Brenda Mooney [protected]

My husband and I decide to take a cruise out of Charleston after taking numerus cruised out of ports all over Florida. We thought this would be a convent way to take longer cruised from our home state. After booking this 5 day cruise we took off 3 days of work to go. We have always been able to get on the ships by noon and spend the day enjoying the ship. This was a big mistake we received an email that the ship was going to have a slight delay and that we should not arrive before 5PM. I’m sorry this is not a slight delay this is missing a day off my cruise. It was too late for me to not take the day off of work so I lost my pay for this. Then I get the call saying that Carnival will give us a $15 credit for the delay for lunch in Charleston this was an insult. I think this should have been more like a $150.00 credit for each of us for a missed day of the cruise.
The first problem started in the parking lot with the horrible line we ran into. After you pass through the gate you are stuck. They did not tell us the line would not move for 4 hours. We ended up sitting in the parking lot until almost 6:30 when it finally started to move. I know that the parking lot was not staffed by Carnival employees but Charleston Port workers. I will say this was the worst experience I have ever had with parking. The employees were rude and making us think we were stupid for getting in line. I live in Charleston and know my way around I knew that after sitting in the line for over an hours this was going to be a problem. I ask if I could walk out of the gate and go across the street to grab a sandwich but was told if I left I would not be able to re-enter. When the line finally started to move we were ask 3 times in the line to see boarding passes and passports this has never happened and any port we have ever sailed out of. Then after dropping off bags we were directed back out onto the street/ outside the gates! Did I also mention that these where the rudest workers we have ever dealt with so much for the southern hospitality? If this is what we are portraying as the friendliest city we are in trouble and I would vote no for more cruise ships.
After finally getting to the desk to check in they give me my card then handed my husband his and say welcome to your first cruise? I told the lady we had always traveled together and there must be a mistake I had registered us online as normal and had no problems. She tells us this will have to be fixed on board and to go to guest services. No problem we can do this on the cruise- another big mistake the lines for guest services where extremely long like an hours wait every day. We finally decide to take the time and stand there on the second day. The attendant was very nice and said everything was taken care of and that the extra water and drink coupons would be sent to the cabin. No they had to come from them so again back to stand in this very long line the next day.
I have cruised on many different ships and never made a complaint I know that not everything can be perfect. But for a ship that was just taken out of dry dock for updates I was very disappointed. They made sure that the first bath room that you saw on the cruise was clean and looked new. While the bathrooms on the deck had tiles that were missing and exposing beams with wires hanging down the other was closed so this was the only choice. As for the room it was clean but the bath room in our room did not get a good cleaning until the second day when I mentioned to the cabin attendant. I was very disappointed in the towels I sent several back due to very large dark stains making me wonder if they had been washed. Again he was very helpful and brought new towels.
As for the food on this cruise I was very disappointed. Most of the time the food was cold and very limited. Granted I don’t go on a cruise for the food I go for the relaxation so I have no expectation for food. I would like to say I have never been on a cruise that required me to pay for lobster on the elegant night. After the bad experience that we had getting on we decided to dress up and go to dinner only to find out we had to pay for my husband’s steak. Which by the way was over rated and over cooked. I decide I did not need lobster if I had to pay for it. But probably the worst was the coffee makers! Don’t put thousands of people on a boat in the middle of the ocean with coffee makers that don’t work! I was very disappointed in the staff to be told that there was a coffee bar on the ship but we would need to pay for our coffee! The next two mornings I decide to order room service just for the coffee.
Again I have never complained and have been a loyal Carnival cruiser for years but this was the worst experience I have ever had. We now have the time to cruise more but may decide that it’s time for a change if this matter is not considered to be important to Carnival. I normally rave on the experiences that we have and the fun with Carnival but I have been very quiet on this matter. Several people have ask how the trip out of Charleston was I have decided that now is not the time to comment. I was really hoping this would have been a better cruise considering we could jump on a ship out of a port 15 minutes from my house for a quick weekend away.

Thank you,
Cynthia Waterlander
Kenneth Waterlander
Cabin E253
Booking Number 4KX4N4
Carnival Ecstasy
EC20140125005