Sensation Wedding Horror Story

[alwayshappytocruise]

I don't think I'll ever get married on a cruise after reading these posts.

 

Don't give up on the idea.....both my daughter and my sister were recently married on cruise ships (Oasis and Oosterdam). Both weddings went off without a hitch, non-sailing guests were well escorted both on and off the ships.

That being said.....if this horrible debacle would have happened to either of them well you can bet compensation would be expected and pursued. This was one of, if not THE, most important day of this couples life together....you can only imagine the months of planning that went into it not to imagine the excitement and anticipation.

[big_duck]

then don't sell wedding services!

 

I realize that the bomb scare was not under Carnival's control, but their lack of contingency planning is something that is under their control. This can not be the first nor will it be the last time that a wedding may have had to be altered due to any number of circumstances. Either have a plan in place to re-arrange the wedding to everyone's satisfaction (which may have to include a partial refund), or cancel and refund the couple's money in its entirety! This seems like a no brainer.

 

We would be reading exactly the same story as to how Carnival ruined their wedding only it would be "They refused to even try to go through with the ceremony, they only offered to give us our money back. We went to all the trouble to have our guests there and everything".

 

Situations like this are no win period end of story.

[big_duck]

I am personally insulted by your remark and your attitude.

 

Your privilege I suppose. Feel free to say the same about Military Intelligence I'll just chuckle and move on.

[kelz66]

exactly.

 

Shakespeare wrote, in Henry VI Part 2

 

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers". - (Act IV, Scene II).

 

You realize, of course, that the quote, in context, is a call to anarchy.

 

 

http://www.dramabutton.com/

[Kurbanfan]

http://www.dramabutton.com/

 

Thanks I was looking for that button:D

[kelz66]

Thanks I was looking for that button:D

 

no problems...I have it saved along with a few others.

[TinkyPatz]

So, as I was about to sail on the Sensation last week, I put on my life vest and went to the muster station, where I saw a buffet, and thought: "Oh, how awesome, a buffet while we go through this awful drill! Other ships should start doing the same!"

 

:eek::D

[songbird1329]

Your privilege I suppose. Feel free to say the same about Military Intelligence I'll just chuckle and move on.

 

not original, but here goes:

 

Military Intelligence, an oxymoron.

[scwhiner]

Okay - so maybe I missed it through all the pages, but I'll go with the Conspiracy Theory - This is in good fun and humor because I do feel terrible that the wedding and reception didn't get to be as they had hoped but that is the risk you take with any contract and not reading the fine print.

 

SO, someone calls in a bomb threat knowing this couple is planning their wedding and they did it because they didn't want them to get married OR the couple wanted a free ride... Not so uncommon these days to try and pull a hoax to get something for nothing.

 

As far as the PR -- I think it is just a lesson learned for anyone wanting to book a wedding pre-cruise. Anything can happen that is beyond the cruisline's control and have a back up plan. Be prepared for it. You may hope it doesn't, but the cruiseline can't and shouldn't be held liable for things that are well beyond their control. I agree with the another poster on here that said --- thank goodness it wasn't real and that there wasn't anyone hurt! You can always re-do an event or function --- you can't bring back people that you wanted there.

[big_duck]

not original, but here goes:

 

Military Intelligence, an oxymoron.

 

Chuckle *moving on*

[Star930]

I feel so bad for the couple....I hope this doesn't happen again. I am getting married on Carnival Victory:( in October. Hearing things like this makes me so nervous.

[lrtjs5]

[

 

]"Cheaper is not always better."

 

Carnival officials said on Tuesday that they will fully compensate the couple for the wedding, which the Pidgeons say cost $2,500.

 

 

“We apologize for the disappointing experience,” wrote Joyce Oliva, spokeswoman for Carnival, in an e-mail.

 

Looks like Carnival is trying to make amends!

[newcatintown]

Just an update to the story >> Carnival did reimburse ALL of the money back to the couple >> I live in the same city as they do and it was in the local paper this morning..

 

Thanks for the update. This is a great opportunity for them to find ways to improve on this type of situation. It was handled poorly from the get-go, there should always be a plan 'B', if not a plan 'C' too. Even if they never, ever have to resort to these plans, they still need to be in place.

[gtalum]

Looks like Carnival made good. I rescind my earlier comments. :)

[MrCo9]

What was the "Pride Incident"?

They had someone that threatened to jump over the atrium railing.

[songbird1329]

I am glad to hear that Carnival is making good...it's good publicity for them.

 

They really needed a backup plan for this event. Obviously they cannot control everything but they can certainly minimize inconvenience to their passengers/customers.

[combatboots2jimmychoos]

I'm shocked that Carnival didn't simply refund the $2500 for the wedding package.

 

That said, I don't understand why people want to get married on a cruise. Why not just get married at home and go on a cruise for the honeymoon?

 

Since I just booked my wedding cruise, I'll tell you why I did a wedding cruise.

 

I live in Atlanta with my fiance and my family lives in NY, I could bring them down here or go up there but it seemed pointless to have them come down for the ceremony and then rude for us to take off on our honeymoon. My wedding is small- just my parents, 3 sisters, grandma and my fiance's mom and sister, so the cost of a venue and catering and what not wasn't necessary- we wanted something affordable (just bought our first house and we're in school too) and yet nice and could be double as a vacation. We fell in love with cruising on our Christmas Cruise this past year and found out they did weddings........... a wedding luncheon is only 1475.....and that includes the venue, officiant, flowers, and food for my small amount of guests, and wedding cake. We told our families in January what our plans were and everyone was for it- they all wanted a vacation and what could be cooler than a cruise that goes to different locations (especially since we had so much fun at the 3 ports we visited in christmas). They also wanted to come to Atlanta to see my new house- so we decided to cruise out of Mobile.

 

It's also 2 weeks after my college graduation and a week before my fiances, and 2 sisters birthdays...........so it's a full week of celebrations.

 

Now, wedding cruises are not for everyone as you give up the majority of control to the cruiseship/wedding coordinators. They will tell me 2 weeks before what time the wedding will be and in what room it will be in as they do up to 3 weddings on embarkation day. I didn't mind this, I can get ready in 10 minutes or take my time. Everything that matters to me- like my bouquet- I'm bringing myself since I think theirs don't match me. I also know that I planned my wedding during Hurricane season (Aug 14), and I will not become Bridezilla if our wedding has to be rescheduled or if we have to go to another ship because something happens to the Elation. I'm also getting wedding insurance.

 

They post this on their advertisement:

HURRICANE SEASON:

June 10th through November 10th is hurricane season. In the event any of our regular home ports or out ports is under hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning and your wedding cannot take place we will reschedule your wedding to another port, or cancel your wedding. In the event your wedding cannot take place you will be fully refunded. During this season all wedding couples being married on any outport (island) will need to send Carnival Weddings copies of their passport or birth certificates also copies of divorce or death decrees (if applicable.)

 

 

After seeing the lawyers on the thread talk about language- this is what they state on the website:

CHANGE IN ITINERARY:

Carnival wedding department reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any wedding at any time and for

any reason whatsoever without prior notice, and shall not be held liable for any inconveniences caused to

our guests by reason of such cancellation or rescheduling.

 

I'm not a lawyer (my sister is though) but seems like they covered their butts.

[LemurCat]

Why get married on a cruise? It's instant insurance that my mother won't get herself in the middle of every freakin' thing and turn it into her own personal dream wedding instead of mine.

 

Not that I'm getting married. But yeah, that'd be my reasoning for getting married on a cruise.

[luvmyboyz]

...and on totally non related news: "Disgruntled Ex-Boyfriend Calls in a Fake Bomb Threat to Mess Up Ex-Girlfriend's Wedding Day"

 

:D

 

Too funny - I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing! :p

 

This is an absolute nightmare, but honestly, I am surprised that they CCL refunded them the entire cost of the wedding, especially since that signed contract defintiely seemed to give them an out. I would never book something as expensive as a wedding on CCL if in order to do so I had to sign something that limited me so much in the event of everything going wrong.

 

Our 1st cruise was my BIL's wedding on RCCL, and it was lovely, but still, the possibility of this happening is just way too scary!

[luvmyboyz]

Why get married on a cruise? It's instant insurance that my mother won't get herself in the middle of every freakin' thing and turn it into her own personal dream wedding instead of mine.

 

Not that I'm getting married. But yeah, that'd be my reasoning for getting married on a cruise.

 

This is the reason my husband and I paid for our own wedding. I adore my mom, but I totally get where you're coming from.

[kingpinJK]

Too funny - I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing! :p

 

This is an absolute nightmare, but honestly, I am surprised that they CCL refunded them the entire cost of the wedding, especially since that signed contract defintiely seemed to give them an out. I would never book something as expensive as a wedding on CCL if in order to do so I had to sign something that limited me so much in the event of everything going wrong.

 

Our 1st cruise was my BIL's wedding on RCCL, and it was lovely, but still, the possibility of this happening is just way too scary!

 

i'm sure the good will towards the couple(and would make carnival look like the good guys) would go a hell of a lot further than the $2500 in carnival's bank account.

[cruiseknots]

Okay - so maybe I missed it through all the pages, but I'll go with the Conspiracy Theory - This is in good fun and humor because I do feel terrible that the wedding and reception didn't get to be as they had hoped but that is the risk you take with any contract and not reading the fine print.

 

SO, someone calls in a bomb threat knowing this couple is planning their wedding and they did it because they didn't want them to get married OR the couple wanted a free ride... Not so uncommon these days to try and pull a hoax to get something for nothing.

 

As far as the PR -- I think it is just a lesson learned for anyone wanting to book a wedding pre-cruise. Anything can happen that is beyond the cruisline's control and have a back up plan. Be prepared for it. You may hope it doesn't, but the cruiseline can't and shouldn't be held liable for things that are well beyond their control. I agree with the another poster on here that said --- thank goodness it wasn't real and that there wasn't anyone hurt! You can always re-do an event or function --- you can't bring back people that you wanted there.

 

I think most of us know and understand that some things are beyond the cruise lines controls. However, this should be part of the cost of doing business. I don't mean in all cases, but certainly in this one. Was the bomb threat CCL's fault? No. But CCL also entered into this contract knowing things can happen beyond their control. For a business, sometimes these types of things just need to be written off as a business expense. It shouldn't be the consumer who takes the hit. What if this couple missed the cruise as a result of some circumstance beyond their control. Do you think CCL would refund them? No.

 

Here is a better analogy than my first one!

Lets say you just bought that beautiful new LCD TV you have been wanting for $2500.00. As it is being delivered on the delivery truck, a car pulls out. To avoid hitting the car, the delivery truck swerves. This causes your brand new TV to fall over and crack the screen. You mean to tell me, that you the consumer should take the loss on this? In this case it wasn't the stores fault, it wasn't the delivery trucks fault. Most of the folks on here that have been taking CCL's side, would not be happy in this situation if you called the store and they said "sorry. It was beyond our control".

 

Again it was unfortunate, but CCL did the right thing in refunding the couples money. I'm sure 98% of the time, the weddings go as planned and everyone is happy. In the end CCL has made lots of money off of these weddings. It should just be the cost of doing business!

[pinkiek]

I was on the Fascnination February 6th and we were supposed to go to Key West. We found out the day before that we could not go there and would go to Freeport instead.

 

A couple on the ship were supposed to be married in Key West. All their family and friends were meeting them their.

 

I am not sure what finally happened but the ships don't always go where they are supposed to.

 

Also, we didn't have to bring our life jackets to our muster station. I thought they did not do that anymore.

[cruisinsly]

How sad. I do hope this couple will receive the compinsation that they are looking for.

[Traveler353]

.

 

Also, we didn't have to bring our life jackets to our muster station. I thought they did not do that anymore.[/quote]

 

They don't. I am sure the couple made it sound more exciting and dramatic that way for the reporters benefit.:eek: