Carnival Cruise Line Consumer Reviews - Page 6

My husband I went on a Carnival Cruise on our Honeymoon. We left out of Florida on Sept 7th and headed to the Bahamas. We were having a good time until one of the ships motors broke down. Therefore we were late getting into one of our ports, they captain informed us that they would be fixing the problem and we would then leave the port. We left the port thinking the problem was fixed, a few hours later the motor broke again. The captain then informed us that we would not get back into Florida until 11am when we were supposed to get in at 7:30am.

Due to the delay several passengers missed their flights home. Carnival stated that they would reimburse us for our flights, but we needed to pay for it first. My husband and I were able to get later flights from Florida to Phoenix, but there were no flights to Tucson (which is where we live). So we had to rent a car and to Tucson from Phoenix to even get home. When we first sent in our receipts to Carnival they said that they did not receive it. So my husband ended up faxing it to them.

Carnival then informed us they will only pay for our plane tickets from Florida to Phoenix. They will not reimburse us for our car rental to get home. We had to pay over $1000 to get home out of our pocket for their mess up. Now they are saying that they will only pay us back $850. They should have reimbursed us the whole amount that we had to pay to get home. Again, we went on our cruise on September 7, 2009 and it is now October 29, 2009 and we have no gotten any of our money back. This was supposed to be the best trip of our life and it has turned into a horrible mess.

I have taken many cruises on different cruise lines. I have taken 6 Carnival Cruises in the past few years. Carnival is an inexpensive cruise opportunity. The food is not stellar but once again it is a bargain when you consider the cost of the average Carnival Cruise compared to Holland America for example. There is an abundance of food and pizza is offered 24 hours a day. Several of the pricier lines offer flexible formal dining, yet Carnival still assigns you the dining room time and table.

We have endured obnoxious drunk dinner table mates that spilled food. And on one cruise folks that wanted to preach religion at dinner. Now I like an occasional drink and belong to a religion but these folks were an ordeal. Flexible formal dining would be a wonderful addition yet I don't expect it from Carnival.

On one cruise my husband's room key card didn't work and we received horrible, rude customer service. On another cruise, on the Cruise Ship, the Holiday, we had engine problems and brownish water from the sink and shower. So why do we continue to use Carnival you may wonder. Well Carnival is the least expensive of cruise lines. We don't expect the food to be the best, nor do we expect the ships to be as elegant or lovely as the Princess, Cunard, or Holland America Service.

Carnival is a cruise line for the average person and they provide a bargain if you book early and use their fare specials. I do believe that they could work more on Customer Service but once again we make a choice. We cruise several times a year. I can usually take 2 Carnival cruises for the price of one better cruise line cruise. I expect that on a Carnival Cruise I will get what I pay for. I don't expect a perfect experience but do get a lot for my money. Carnival may not be a 5-star experience but it is what it is - a bargain cruise experience that the average American can afford. Carnival has made cruising available to the masses and I applaud them for that.

If you take a Carnival Cruise don't expect a 5-star experience. Now one of our Carnival Cruises was a 5-star experience so hopefully you will have one too. In fact we are taking another Carnival Cruise in a few weeks and it will be fun even if it isn't perfect. I compare Carnival to a discount hotel chain. You get a bargain but it may not meet all of your expectations.

I am a Platinum member with Carnival. I have taken almost 20 cruises with Carnival. I purchased two cabins on the Carnival Victory on March 29th. My mother (who is also Platinum) and my 13 year old son were in 1 cabin. I was in another cabin with my then 7 month old. (why I had to pay full price for my 7 month old is another story). I also brought two friends who were first time cruisers. The night before debarkation, we put our bags outside of the door as usual. When we arrived at the baggage claim area in San Juan to claim our bags, my 13 year old's bag was missing.

My son is a special needs child. He has been cruising since he was 6 months old. He could not understand why his bag was missing and I am still explaining till this day why his new "cool" clothes, his only suit and all of his souvenirs are gone. I told him that Carnival is going to try to find it and compensate us if they can't find it. Like I said he is a special needs child so this was absolutely devastating to him. He took this very personal. It has taken 3 months to resolve this issue with Carnival. I was told that Carnival is not responsible for items that I left on board and that they were not going to give me anything. I did not leave anything on board, it was stolen.

Carnival informed me that they are not responsible for stolen items and can only give me a maximum $50 compensation. So in essence they are rewarding their employees for stealing passengers' luggage by not taking any responsibility. What a racket! I have been cruising exclusively with Carnival since I was 16. So much for loyalty. I am disappointed that one of the few companies that I have respected and supported would not take responsibility for their actions. It's unfortunate that we will have to take our business elsewhere. Royal Caribbean here we come.

GALVESTON, TEXAS -- We took a family cruise over the Christmas break choosing Carnival for its ports of call, and three person and balcony cabin availability. It was such a mistake to have chosen Carnival. On day one we waited for 7 hours to board with no information provided from the cruise line even after numerous phone calls to the emergency line. Finally we boarded - too late for the late dinner seating. The next day people were smoking everywhere on deck around the pools. Our youngest has severe allergies and is asthmatic to the smoke was a real problem. We moved five times trying to find a smoke free spot before giving up to go inside and at least enjoy our balcony.

Wrong - smoke there too from the adjoining cabins. This pattern continued all through the cruise with the addition of drugs being regularly smoked on the balconies following our stop in Jamaica. Security, customer service and even the cruise director were informed and contacted numerous times to no avail. We could not use the public areas or our balcony for the duration of the cruise. Carnival refused to enforce their smoking rules continuing to serve drinks to guests smoking in unauthorized areas. I called Carnival headquarters again as soon as we got home and was told how "concerned" they were.

It is now several weeks later and still no follow up. Corporate "concern" obviously is well matched with the shipboard "concern" for our safety and well being. Having cruised many times before, I know there are different levels of service and safety available. I feel as if I have been cheated out of our vacation time as a family not to mention thousands of dollars. We had never cruised with Carnival and will not entrust our care to them again.

INDIANA -- Hello. To start things off it took us a year to plan this vacation. The Victory, I can totally understand why we couldn't dock, bad weather. OK, I got it. BUT they should have been prepared for such an event. #1 We were some of the first to get on and the last to get luggage. #2 The food was well below our expectation. If you ate in the formal dinning room one night, and the buffet the next, you got leftovers. OMG. You've got to be kidding.

Room service sucked. Cold food only and you could pick from 5 or 6 things. Bottled water and soft drinks were outrageous. No matter what it was they try to get more money out of you. Didn't I pay enough to begin with? The first time we were to dock at Costa Maya well the weather stopped us from docking. OK, I can deal with it. They were nice enough to give us $25.00. Our port charges back on ship credit only. Still nothing to do but drink, gamble, bingo and again all cost money. Second stop Grand Cayman. Very very disappointed by now.

Again they gave us our 25.00 back ship credit only, then told us to go to the ships library get a book or go to the gift shop and buy a deck of cards. What is wrong with this picture? Remember we've been on the boat for 5 days now. Finally we docked at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Finally we can get off the boat for a mere 7 hours, then it was back to Miami. Saturday the last full day on ship (thank god) I went to the salon for a massage, and again they tried to sell me something else at an outrageous prices after giving them 100.00.

They want me to buy a 75 dollar bottle of lotion. Get real. I have already turned them into the BBB. I don't know what else to do. This has got to be the worst case of false advertising I have ever seen. I have called, written, emailed and all I got was "Sorry about your luck." Somebody needs to do something about these people ripping hard working people off. It's not just unfair treatment, it's illegal and there is nothing we can do.

I forgot to mention, we did go to karaoke. That was another joke. The man running it was the rudest person on the ship. He was upset also because he had to work another day (because of not docking) and he let everybody know he was pissed. Last time cruiser with Carnival.

PORT CANAVERAL, FLORIDA -- Put off the ship after a wedding because I left my birth certificate in my suitcase.. I was escorted off the ship like a terrorist and heard the terminal supervisor tell the wedding coordinator.."I told you to watch her.. now we can't find her" as I was walking by... I was left in the middle of nowhere with no plane ticket, no money, nothing.. I was hysterical and one employee told me "you'll have get some family to wire you some money" and my response was "wire it to where."

We had all checked out of the hotel... my friend, who got married on the ship, her day was just ruined.. and it was my first cruise and when I told their people that I was sailing Carnival... they snickered. It was horrible.. I was left standing in the middle of the terminal in a long evening dress with nothing. I did not have a change of clothes, no money, no airline ticket home. Came back from the cruise.. and they told me that I would get my luggage after the ship came back to dock after the cruise but they were willing to fly me to the Bahamas but I had to have a passport. But I didn't need one to get on the ship.

I was on American soil why didn't they just let me sail until my luggage came up and then I could have presented my b. certificate and then if I was lying then not let me get off the ship. But no, they had to put me through that. Fortunately there were two ladies who had attended the wedding that did not sail and they saw to it that I got back home to Phila. It cost me 500.00 to get home, to change my plane ticket, to buy some clothes to travel in and to eat and to get a shuttle to the airport.. It was a complete nightmare...

MIAMI, FLORIDA -- If you were one of the tens of thousands of people who were booked aboard the Carnival Triumph during the months of late February, March, and early April 2013 you have undoubtedly heard that Carnival has offered refunds for the cruise costs and non refundable airfare. What you may not have heard yet is that Carnival is quietly backing out of its commitment to refund passengers for the non refundable airfare. Here is the initial press release from Carnival:

"…Carnival has also canceled 14 voyages of the Carnival Triumph through April 13, 2013. Guests on the affected sailings will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, as well as non-refundable transportation costs, pre-paid shore excursions, gratuities, and government fees and taxes."

What many of you already know or are about to find out is that Carnival has backed out of its commitment. Cruise fare is being slowly refunded, but the company has made a decision to not allow airfare refunds, stating that airlines will offer credit for non-refundable airfare.

Not all the details in Carnival's letter are correct, but a credit that is good only for the next eight months and only on Southwest Airlines is nowhere close to a “full refund.” Thank you Southwest for being the responsible company and offering to give credit. But Carnival has really taken the low road on this one. As for us, we have our vacations planned out for the next year… and thus have no use for the credits. We are out about $1000 due to Carnival's cancellation.

If we are any representation of “normal travel expenses” then $333 per passenger, 3000 paid cruisers, aboard each of the 14 cruises; Carnival seems to be sacking their paying customers with a $13,986,000 bill that Carnival agreed to pay in exchange for good will.

If you are one of the people negatively impacted by Carnival's decision to back out of their offer please consider writing about it. Look up who wrote about Carnival in your local newspaper and write them. Here are some of the reporters that covered the topic.

ALICANTE, SPAIN -- My husband and I have recently returned from a Queen Mary 2 cruise from Hong Kong to Southampton. Our boarding in Hong Kong was not too bad however, we were required to present our passports to Chinese immigration in person later on in the evening resulting in long ques and a lot of pushing and shoving. The much hyped farewell to Hong Kong was delayed until well past midnight, missed by us because we had gone to bed. Almost all ports of call were to container ports resulting in long transfers to the advertised destination, in some cases up to 40 minutes.

Trips were overpriced and in the case of Sokhana, if you hadn't booked one, you were stuck on board as it was made quite clear that after a 10 minute transfer, there were no taxis available outside the port. Drinks on board were also pricey. Food in the Britannia restaurant was fine most of the time although portion control was certainly high on the agenda. We were only offered vegetables with our main course after a group on the next table who arrived on board in Dubai complained food in the self service King's court was unappetizing with very little choice.

In general, service was okay but having had three or four instances of either being ignored or downright rudeness, we decided to cancel our automatic gratuities and tipped only those staff who were helpful. Organisation is certainly lacking. In Cochin (India), after queuing for well over an hour, we gave up and decided to stay on board with a number of people who had booked excursions and were unable to fight their way through the crowds to get to them.

After developing Norovirus, I was one of 16 people on deck 6 to have it. We were charged $50 for a visit from a nurse and some Imodium tablets. I wrote to Cunard to complain and point out that in a number of cases, we had reported to staff that the hand gels were either empty or faulty and not working. Basically got the brush off. The ship certainly has air conditioning problem as the smell of cigarette smoke was evident, quite strongly in specific areas such as the Champagne bar and the Chart room and in some of the lift/stairwells. The last straw was changing ports of call. I realize that this, for various reasons, can and does happen.

My complaint was not at any time being informed. We were not alone, a great number of other people had no idea either. Our last itinerary was dated 1-03-2012, we departed for Hong Kong on 22-03-20012. On reaching Malaga, not Lisbon as per the itinerary, we decided we had had enough and disembarked. And true to form, it took almost 2 hours to get our cases. Never, never again Cunard. We will stick to Celebrity.

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA -- 2 months ago my husband and I booked a cruise with Carnival leaving on May 19th from Port of Charleston, South Carolina. We booked online and never spoke with a human being except when final payment was due. No one ever explained to us as first time cruisers that proof of citizenship could only be an ORIGINAL birth certificate or a passport (which you cannot obtain without ORIGINAL birth certificate). Upon arriving at port which was a four hour drive, we were pulled aside and detained while they decided to let us sail or not.

My husband did not have his birth certificate but he showed driver's license, voter registration (proof of citizenship), and any other legal documents that we thought would help. After about an hour, we were told that we could not sail. The lieutenant at port authority even cracked jokes about maybe if my husband worked for homeland security, he could let us slide. We were ushered to the terminal at which point, "Kaye", actually made a copy of his driver's license (for this she did not explain) and told us there was no way he could board.

Now of course we were humiliated, embarrassed, and distraught and were given a paper to sign stating that while he wasn't allowed to board, I could still go WITHOUT him but that I had refused and therefore, could not receive a refund of the almost $1000 dollars we paid for this trip. Now tell me why would I board a ship with 500 strangers for 5 days without my husband?? They were rude and uncaring. And when I called to speak with an actual Carnival agent, she was just as short and rude despite my stress.

What I want to know is why couldn't we board and have a birth certificate faxed to port authority during our sail (as this was a Saturday and no offices were open upon departure date)? Why didn't someone, just out of the goodness of their heart, say "OK, you paid all this money, you have forms of I.D., boarding passes, etc."? Why can't Carnival at least reimburse HALF our money or offer to reschedule us for another time? No one did ANYTHING to try to ease the pain of having been denied access to a trip we looked so forward to! I was devastated and defeated with nothing to show for it.

I've never met people like this in all my 43 years. I felt like I'd lost a close family member when we left that port. Carnival certainly needs to retrain their customer service and at least give a courtesy call to first timers to make sure they understand the rules because nowhere in the copies I made from registration did it say anything about birth certificates! Very distraught, depressed and disappointed, and out of $1000 dollars of hard earned money.

On June 20, 2011 I was set to sail on the Carnival Imagination Cruise for 4 days. I booked the flights out of Rochester, New York because they were cheaper then Syracuse. As I was traveling on the highway to Rochester I caught a flat tire. I gave myself two and a half hours to travel. Things of this nature do happen. I was very upset because I was taking my best friend on a cruise for her birthday. We sail with Carnival before when she took me on my first cruise for my birthday. The flight was on time at 6:00 AM which we missed due to the flat tire. We arrive in Rochester at 6:10 AM thinking that maybe the flight was delayed.

I ask the young man at the ticket booth "Was there another flight leaving to go to Miami?" He then looked it up on the computer and said yes the flight leaves Rochester at 10 A.M. I explain to him that it would be too late because the cruise sail out of Miami at 4 P.M. I then contacted the cruise lines to see if I could use the money that I already paid for towards another cruise. The cruise lines stated that they were sorry and could only give me tax fee back on my credit card which is $99.00. I just wanted to have that money go toward another cruise in the future. I didn't want a cash refund and I explain that to the cruise line representative she stated there was nothing she could do.

I feel that if not all was credited then they should had given me half of credit towards another cruise. Cruises are very expensive to lose all your money due to a flat tire - something that you can't prevent. I'm very unhappy with services from Carnival Cruise lines. Will look for different cruise lines in the future for my next cruise in August. Unhappy customer.