Destiny cancelled sailing on 2/18, and it failed to notify me until I found out today

[bplazo]

I really think that Carnivla should have made sure that every passenger was contacted personally. Not everyone is on Cruise Critic or their computer all the time. Has to be a better system.

[Crazy4Koko]

Contacting 5000 passengers ( this drydock effects 2 sailings, doesn't it?) and rebooking or handling each passengers request takes time. There are only so many PVPS to handle not only new requests, but the reschedule as well. You can be sure its not a 5 minute phone call.

 

 

If you have a TA, I'm wondering why THEY didn't contact you by telephone and say 'why didn't you call me about this?'

[grampasgrumpy]

newnew68,

 

I would say it's a safe bet that you aren't the only one just now finding out and that there WILL be people show up for the cancelled sailings.

 

Personally I find email to be MUCH more dependable than snail mail. Email is frequently tracked with read receipts to indicate when it was received and read. Carnival can track the email they send you and know whether they needed to try other contact methods; I do not know that they tracked the emails, but I am sure they can. ;)

Not necessarily. Firewalls can block the outgoing notification that a message was read and e-mail clients can be set to not send the notification.

 

For something as important as this, they should have used multiple methods to make sure everyone was notified. Every contact method has it pitfalls and Carnival should have gone the extra mile to make sure everyone was notified.

[cruiserNC]

I agree that email is just not good enough. You would think they would have some sort of maas automated calling system alerting passengers the changes. This is huge not just for the passengers but them as well millions of dollars involved.

[stay_or_go]

Every single email I get from Carnival looks exactly like the one you received.

 

But that is probably because I work with a PVP and not with another TA.

 

I think the email should have been followed up with the automated phone call, just like they use when they notify you not to show up too early. They called everyone of the Splendor passengers on our cruise, why not everyone who got cancelled?

[gargoyle999]

and titled "ESTA Notification". I want to ask everyone, does that look like a improtant email and from "Carnival"? Carnival is not even on anywhere in the mail, then there is this attachment. It really looks like a mail that contains virus.

 

I will agree with you on the email appearance. I received one of those once from Carnival due to an itinerary change or something and it looked just like that. Sender looked just like a spammer as did the title. I remember thinking how dumb it was that they would send an email looking like that. It looked just like something that should be in the junk folder and ignored. :cool:

[FireIce0010]

If you booked through a TA then it is their fault for not notifying you. If you booked directly through Carnival then the fault is with them. They should have picked up the phone and contacted you in person, not through an email. I would not have opened an email from that address either. I would have taken it as spam.

 

You won't find any sympathy on this board from anyone. Some of us don't spend each and every day of our waking moments sitting at a computer because we have a life.:rolleyes:

[Chelseaprincess]

Sorry to hear about what happened to your travel plans. I would be extremely unhappy, just to put it mildly. Carnival should not rely on emails only to communicate such an important piece of information.

BTW, I do not understand, why people (and businesses) these days assume that everybody has computers with Internet access. And even if some of us (or let’s say majority) do, that we check emails every day. What if your computer is broken? What if you have a snow storm and a power outage for a couple of days?

What happened to the proper customer service?

Chelsea

[Janespup]

Wow. I would die if they suddenly cancelled my cruise a few weeks before sailing date. I would never have opened that email either, as it looks like spam. I'm shocked that the word "Carnival" was nowhere on the address.

[trock]

That email is a fax generated email that goes directly to faxes and emails-and should have clearly been labeled or subject titled CARNIVAL CRUISE URGENT INFO

 

 

 

Email alone is not sufficient enough.... A snail mail letter should also have been sent

Not everyone that cruises is computer literate or uses email...

 

But I do believe the OP is misunderstanding the offer... ;)

[ntodowell]

I understand how you feel, I was on that same sailing and got the dreaded email on Jan 26th. My mother was going with me and she did not receive the email about the cancellation untill a week after me...ridiculous:rolleyes: that i had to tell her a week before the cruiseline notified her thatt her sailing was cancelled....I do realize they have a lot of people to contact but when something like this happens they really should get on it!!! a week could mean the difference between someone purchasing airline tickets, hotels, etc...sometimes money can be saved by a proper notification...then 3-4 weeks for a refund:mad:

[pe4all]

If you booked through a TA then it is their fault for not notifying you. If you booked directly through Carnival then the fault is with them.

 

This is soooo correct. So OP - did you book directly thru Carnival, or thru a TA? You have not said which, though a few people have asked this already. Either way, you should have been contacted. I guess if Carnival called everyone, or snail-mailed everyone people would still say they never got the call or notification. Since Carnival's cruise docs are all e-docs now, I think they figure everyone is on the computer checking them from time to time. Are there any other cruises leaving that week that you can switch to? Hopefully, there are, and you won't lose anything.

[steveaaaaa]

Because I was trying to register on line and it says reservation cancelled. I can not believe it! We worked so hard to get the vacation together and already paid $1800 for the flight and hotel. I called them in shock, and they will only give a $75 credit if one books a future cruise. I tried to get them to get me more discount or onbroad credit for a 3 day cruise so I don't have to waste my plane tickets, but they will not issue any. First of all, if I had known about this 2 weeks ago when they claim they sent the email, I would have gotten a much better deal. Then we would done a different arrangement with our vacation that I didn't have to book a hotel for $200, and now it is going to be wasted. I can't believe they can't try other ways to inform everyone, via phone and via mail. They only sent an email! I didn't receive such an email!!! If I weren't trying to register on line, I would have shown up at the port on next Weds! I have friends who sends me email which I never receive, how can they depend on email to send such important notification?

 

It is so irresponsible of Carnival to "just send an email" to inform such an important notice! We all spent so much money and energy trying to put the vacation together, I can't believe it can be done so carelessly. I am very pissed off! I got their headquarter address and number, and am going to complain. Any idea and input, and similar experiences? I can't speak for everyone, does this seems right to everyone? I worked so hard to get my few days vacation together, it took so much planning and now, it all came down to this.

 

Your travel insurance will/should be able to cover any net loss you may have.Have you called them yet?:confused:

 

Steve

[Traveler353]

OP: I have received several e-mails that turned out to be from Carnival that had the same kind of crazy address and subject lines. Usually when I do open them I get a blank page. I would not have known what they were about if my very on the ball and proactive PVP had not called me directly. I am a diabetic and it is usually forms requested by the Special Needs Dept. Each time my filter tags them as spam and moves them to that file. I feel bad that this has happened to you and hope that all turns out ok and you are able to enjoy a future cruise without this leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

[gtalum]

The ship had to be fixed so 'does it seem right?' Yes.

 

I doubt it's the cancellation the OP was talking about, but the lack of effective communication by Carnival. It seems to me that phone calls and even snail mail would be in order to back up any emails sent.

 

I applaud Carnival for finally canceling a sailing to fix Destiny, but their handling of it leaves something to be desired.

[steveaaaaa]

I doubt it's the cancellation the OP was talking about, but the lack of effective communication by Carnival. It seems to me that phone calls and even snail mail would be in order to back up any emails sent.

 

I applaud Carnival for finally canceling a sailing to fix Destiny, but their handling of it leaves something to be desired.

 

 

Why? If the OP gave an email,and they sent one then whats the real problem?

 

If the OP did not give one,then a phone call would have been made.

 

What would be the purpose of giving an email? As far as the heading or virus looking subject,that is what virus scanners are for.

 

Steve

[gtalum]

Why? If the OP gave an email,and they sent one then whats the real problem?

 

The problem is that no business should rely solely on email to communicate critical information to its customers. It's simply bad business practice and bad customer service. Carnival has his phone number and address (and those of the TA, if the OP used one), and for critical information like this they should use every contact available.

[steveaaaaa]

The problem is that no business should rely solely on email to communicate critical information to its customers. It's simply bad business practice and bad customer service. Carnival has his phone number and address (and those of the TA, if the OP used one), and for critical information like this they should use every contact available.

 

So what you are saying is that they should have email,called,and snail mailed every passenger on every sailing available or should I say affected by the cancellation?

 

I do not think that would be neccesary, but I do think some safeguard needs to be put in place.A "reply that you got this email would help" so then they could call or snail mail those who did not reply.

 

Steve

[zqvol]

and titled "ESTA Notification". I want to ask everyone, does that look like a improtant email and from "Carnival"? Carnival is not even on anywhere in the mail, then there is this attachment. It really looks like a mail that contains virus. I am really puzzled how can they do this. I am very surprised not more people complaining about this. I won't be surprise if someone who assume everything is fine and just showed up at the port on 2/18.

 

Very typical of a travel related e-mail.

 

So you got it two weeks ago and ignored it. Now all of your arguments have become moot.

[osiebosie]

What does ESTA stand for?

 

I would not have opened this email, either.

 

And, 5,000 pax does not mean contacting 5,000 people, but contacting one person per stateroom.

 

Shay

[steveaaaaa]

What does ESTA stand for?

 

I would not have opened this email, either.

 

And, 5,000 pax does not mean contacting 5,000 people, but contacting one person per stateroom.

 

Shay

 

I know it as......Electronic System Travel Authorizing (or authority?:confused:)

 

Steve

[80sramfan]

Thanks. You made me feel better. I will somehow do something about this! This is not right, there should be a class action against this.

 

 

Lol you aren't out of pocket a dime. You have nothing to sue for. Why don't you take some responsibility and just admit you dropped the ball and deleted their email and didn't keep up on your travel arrangement. You're a member of the no responsibility generatioin that's for sure

[pe4all]

Still waiting to hear if this ball was dropped by TA or Carnival. OP? Tap, tap, tap...

[gtalum]

So what you are saying is that they should have email,called,and snail mailed every passenger on every sailing... affected by the cancellation?

 

That's exactly what I'm saying. It's not like it's a great sum of money. Destiny has ~1300 cabins. Say it costs $1 to mail a letter and $1 to call for each cabin (both estimates are extremely high, I assure you). It would then cost Carnival $2600 to call and send a letter to everyone for each canceled sailing.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Well...my Congressman can certainly call hundreds of thousands of houses to tell us how good a job He is doing every time election season rolls around.

 

Certainly Carnival - and every other cruise line - can contact a couple thousand people when they cancel their vacations. There are even outside companies that can do it for them efficiently and quickly! :rolleyes:

 

IMHO it doesn't matter whose fault it is.

It's about improving the system they currently have in place.