Observations from my Liberty Cruise...I'm soooo glad to be back home!!!

[halos]

correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall her saying that situation made her cruise bad.....or that her cruise was bad at all.

 

You people just like to take peoples posts and run with it. SHEESH.

I agree...she is posting her experience. If it wasn't all sunshine and flowers as some inists it SHOULD be, is she supposed to omit the negative aspects and just make up flowery, happy thoughts to make posters here happy???

Jeeze! :rolleyes:

[dulcimergirl]

Can you really fault that waiter and call it a complaint that made your cruise bad? An accident, such as this can happen anywhere - from the hole in the wall diner to an upscale 5 star restaurant in the heart of Hollywood - it happens. I'm sure the waiter was probably embarrassed and felt horrible, but he/she is human and we all have faults. I'm sorry, but that sounds a bit like nit-picking to me. So far I have read nothing in your review up until this point that would become a huge negative to me and ruin my cruise.

Oh please, she did not fault the waiter, and said it was an accident. She felt sorry for the lady the mishap happened to.

I'm with you OP...

Enjoying your review. Your very brave to take on this cruise with the two "ladies" tagging along.

[lhanson38]

What I can't understand is how you allowed her to drink and go off on her own in the frist place!! You went to all the trouble to make sure she couldn't get off the ship with out you! You control the money.

But on the ship you left her to fend for herself. knowing full well she would be the life of the party!!! Not cool...:mad:

 

I TOTALY AGREE WIYH THIS POSTER!!

As to your situation with the ladies in your charge. I think you are very lucky that the head of security didn't give you a lecture as well, highly irresponsible on so many levels. Not calling to say she was located in her cabin, allowing her to over drink and not keeping careful track of her location. I know that people can slip away, I've raised teens and young adults but she was entrusted to your care and I feel both the captain and the security team had legitimate issues with her and you.

[MrPete]

What I can't understand is how you allowed her to drink and go off on her own in the frist place!! You went to all the trouble to make sure she couldn't get off the ship with out you! You control the money.

But on the ship you left her to fend for herself. knowing full well she would be the life of the party!!! Not cool...:mad:

 

I TOTALY AGREE WIYH THIS POSTER!!

As to your situation with the ladies in your charge. I think you are very lucky that the head of security didn't give you a lecture as well, highly irresponsible on so many levels. Not calling to say she was located in her cabin, allowing her to over drink and not keeping careful track of her location. I know that people can slip away, I've raised teens and young adults but she was entrusted to your care and I feel both the captain and the security team I

had legitimate issues with her and you.

 

It actually kind of reminds me of what some parents do with their children. They let them wander off thinking the boundaries of the ship will contain them.

[lhanson38]

It actually kind of reminds me of what some parents do with their children. They let them wander off thinking the boundaries of the ship will contain them.

 

Thats what I was thinking....!!!!!

[MrPete]

Thats what I was thinking....!!!!!

 

Now think about it. Have you ever read about a parent losing their child for 18 hours and posting it on anonymous message board?

[crewsweeper]

PB...As the one who earlier called you on making "rookie" mistakes, I appreciate you coming back here to explain your opening remarks and provide us with the fuller account. Like others on this thread, you are to be commended for attempting to give a couple of "mentally challenged" young women the opportunity to go on a cruise. And I do agree with some of your comments regarding MDR service and Lido buffet food quality. Some entertainment options are indeed lame, IMO, including the Legends show.

 

However, you do bear, and did bear from moment #1, the responsibility/obligation to look after both women, not just the nice, quiet one. You failed to fulfill that obligation and you then sought via your initial post to foster the majority of the blame on the weather, the hotel, and Carnival. In your later updates, you then focused the blame on the Carnival security chief, who only shares responsibility for his manner, not the actions and inactions of yourself or the women under your charge/care. And then you attempt to divert attention from your irresponsibility to the clumsy waiter. And although that incident put a real damper on the Asian woman's last evening, it did not have anything to do with your cruise. I do think you realize this though.

 

I understand you wanted to get your story out quickly and not drag it out "for days on end". But you were exhausted, stressed out, and had other more pressing needs to take care of before ever venturing out of CC to opine on your cruise. I suggest in the future, you spend a little time, off line writing down your thoughts and editing them before rushing out and posting a review on these boards, which you can wait to do at a time better suited for you, if you desire to post one.

 

I do hope you have learned a valuable lesson and don't rush to grab a cruise based solely on a cheap but immediate response needed cruise fare. Do take sometime to lower your own stress and get back into your typical routine and then perhaps reflect on ways your own actions, not only regarding this cruise but in all aspects of your life, are adding to your stress/poor health levels. You have a young child that needs its mother to be healthy and able to provide the necessary care and nuturing he/she requires. As commendable as your thoughts for your clients may be, your child should be your number 1 priority.

[2young2care]

"Is this real life or am I dreaming?"

 

For me, if my guest said this..... it would have made the stress, anxiety, and tension of the rest of the events almost worth it.

 

This one sweet girl wrapped up the entire cruise experience in one question. And we've all felt it.

[picklebongo]

To the person that mentioned I've gone on nine cruises and know that there are no clocks, well, I had forgotten that aspect. But I mentioned it in my review to alert others who are cruising and just to make a suggestion that perhaps they should note in the fun times that the time can be found on a certain channel. My review included suggestions for Carnival too.

 

To another person who wondered why I said "client" instead of "consumer". If I had been talking to others in the field on board that dealt with people with developmental disabilities, I would have said that. But here folks are discussing cruising and I felt the use of that word would be actually more confusing and would generate even more questions. Since cc attracts some of the most literate folks in the universe, perhaps not though.

 

To those who wondered why I didn't let the bartenders know to cut off her service, that would have been pointless because she wasn't buying the drinks. Ultimately this young woman ended up not getting anything on her card to spend, other passengers bought the drinks.

 

As others said, there are different levels of disabilities. The young woman who I took on a cruise lives totally independently in her own apartment. Staff come in periodically to insure her apartment is being maintained properly, help with menu and grocery planning, etc. She takes a couple of noncredit classes at the local college in reading and writing.

 

Yes, she does go to bars back at home because she has the same rights as anybody else and as an adult, can't be told she is not allowed. Before going I specifically clarified with case managers if I could purchase one of them a drink. The answer was absolutely. Just because one has a disability doesn't prevent them from having dod and living life fully.

 

The other young woman in question should NOT have been drinking and is court ordered not to. Luckily the courts here recognize that there is only so much I can do to prevent this. They also recognize that it was and is impossible to keep this young with me 24/7, I can't even do that when I'm not on a ship. Overall she had earned this trip and most of the time she is doing exactly what she should, hence being able to go on an all expensive paid trip.

 

To others who say in the past I've drawn negative comments regarding my threads, well that has nothing to do with me. I can't help it that I don't post the typical threads related to tips, jeans in the dining room, etc. I admit, my threads to tend to generate alot of dialogue, discussion, bantering, whatever you want to call it. But I never resort to namecalling or get angry and like one poster said, I ALWAYS come back to respond.

 

Remember, several posters have already said they didn't know the S&S card could be flagged and it would be helpful information when sailing with teens. I didn't even know what the security process was for a missing person, paging the whole ship. I've heard that done when somebody hasn't returned and the ship is about to sail, but not otherwise.

[picklebongo]

PB...As the one who earlier called you on making "rookie" mistakes, I appreciate you coming back here to explain your opening remarks and provide us with the fuller account. Like others on this thread, you are to be commended for attempting to give a couple of "mentally challenged" young women the opportunity to go on a cruise. And I do agree with some of your comments regarding MDR service and Lido buffet food quality. Some entertainment options are indeed lame, IMO, including the Legends show.

 

However, you do bear, and did bear from moment #1, the responsibility/obligation to look after both women, not just the nice, quiet one. You failed to fulfill that obligation and you then sought via your initial post to foster the majority of the blame on the weather, the hotel, and Carnival. In your later updates, you then focused the blame on the Carnival security chief, who only shares responsibility for his manner, not the actions and inactions of yourself or the women under your charge/care. And then you attempt to divert attention from your irresponsibility to the clumsy waiter. And although that incident put a real damper on the Asian woman's last evening, it did not have anything to do with your cruise. I do think you realize this though.

 

I understand you wanted to get your story out quickly and not drag it out "for days on end". But you were exhausted, stressed out, and had other more pressing needs to take care of before ever venturing out of CC to opine on your cruise. I suggest in the future, you spend a little time, off line writing down your thoughts and editing them before rushing out and posting a review on these boards, which you can wait to do at a time better suited for you, if you desire to post one.

 

I do hope you have learned a valuable lesson and don't rush to grab a cruise based solely on a cheap but immediate response needed cruise fare. Do take sometime to lower your own stress and get back into your typical routine and then perhaps reflect on ways your own actions, not only regarding this cruise but in all aspects of your life, are adding to your stress/poor health levels. You have a young child that needs its mother to be healthy and able to provide the necessary care and nuturing he/she requires. As commendable as your thoughts for your clients may be, your child should be your number 1 priority.

 

Now you have just taken this thing to a whole new level. To assert that I'm not being a good mother because I posted something about my cruise right after returning, oh my goodness! That's exactly why I wasn't posting the whole day when folks were calling for my head! I went out to breakfast with my child, we went to the library/playgroup/storytime for 90 minutes, nap, etc. You were out of line with your assertions and I will leave it at that.

 

I did not try and divert any attention. When I mentioned the incident in the dining room, it had absolutely no impact on me, it was simply an observation. I think if anybody had witnessed seeing a person with about ten full plates of food dumped on their head, it would stand out in their minds. I just cited random observations, in no order of importance, just things that stood out, suggestions, etc. Isn't that what a review is? I didn't mention everything day by day, or every bit of food I took or even every experience, but I think the general idea was that the ship is excellent and I would cruise on it again!

[okgirl]

Yes, I later found out from the other young woman. It's not a pretty story.

 

I'm going to get some sleep. I dread what I'm going to wake up to if folks are so bothered by this at this time of the night. Just imagine when the vast majority of cc folks wake up. In one day I've gone from being bizarro to being irresponsible and I was just trying to take two disabled young women on an all expensive paid cruise. I attempted to put all the safety measures in place, but for two hours I forgot to inform security the person had returned, instead, crashed in my bed from absolute exhaustion.

 

I don't think it's responsible to take 2 cognitively disabled young women on a cruise and then loose track of one of them and not question their disappearance for 18 hours.

 

You knew that she was vulnerable and easily taken advantage of and yet you were okay with her being plied with free drinks and then abandoning her to be taken advantage of by any jerk(s) that could lure her back to their cabin.

 

That's not putting all the safety measures in place. It sounds like you were more concerned with them spending through your money than you were about their personal safety.

 

You should have had check in times established (if you left them alone at all), you should have had a curfew, you should have insisted that all meals are taken together. The fact that they were both 21 years old is irrelevant given their mental capabilities.

 

You were right to restrict their ability to leave the ship unescorted, but forgot about the dangers right there on the ship.

 

I wonder what her family thinks your liability should be for what sounds like might have resulted in the assault of their daughter?

[pittpanther]

Yes, I later found out from the other young woman. It's not a pretty story.

 

I never saw the end result of this. What was the missing young lady doing for 18 hours?

[hermitstyle]

PB...As the one who earlier called you on making "rookie" mistakes, I appreciate you coming back here to explain your opening remarks and provide us with the fuller account. Like others on this thread, you are to be commended for attempting to give a couple of "mentally challenged" young women the opportunity to go on a cruise. And I do agree with some of your comments regarding MDR service and Lido buffet food quality. Some entertainment options are indeed lame, IMO, including the Legends show.

 

However, you do bear, and did bear from moment #1, the responsibility/obligation to look after both women, not just the nice, quiet one. You failed to fulfill that obligation and you then sought via your initial post to foster the majority of the blame on the weather, the hotel, and Carnival. In your later updates, you then focused the blame on the Carnival security chief, who only shares responsibility for his manner, not the actions and inactions of yourself or the women under your charge/care. And then you attempt to divert attention from your irresponsibility to the clumsy waiter. And although that incident put a real damper on the Asian woman's last evening, it did not have anything to do with your cruise. I do think you realize this though.

 

I understand you wanted to get your story out quickly and not drag it out "for days on end". But you were exhausted, stressed out, and had other more pressing needs to take care of before ever venturing out of CC to opine on your cruise. I suggest in the future, you spend a little time, off line writing down your thoughts and editing them before rushing out and posting a review on these boards, which you can wait to do at a time better suited for you, if you desire to post one.

I'm glad someone else gets it. I felt a bit alone here. It's not that I or anyone else was doing wrong, but the OP posting what appeared to be an everything was negative review and turned out to be something totally different from the first couple of posts by OP.

 

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, then it's a duck. This review started out looking like an everything was negative, thread, was walking like an everything was negative thread, and talking like an everything was negative thread, so it's natural to think it was going to be an everything was negative thread

[Umbarger]

What I can't understand is how you allowed her to drink and go off on her own in the frist place!! You went to all the trouble to make sure she couldn't get off the ship with out you! You control the money.

But on the ship you left her to fend for herself. knowing full well she would be the life of the party!!! Not cool...:mad:

 

I TOTALY AGREE WIYH THIS POSTER!!

As to your situation with the ladies in your charge. I think you are very lucky that the head of security didn't give you a lecture as well, highly irresponsible on so many levels. Not calling to say she was located in her cabin, allowing her to over drink and not keeping careful track of her location. I know that people can slip away, I've raised teens and young adults but she was entrusted to your care and I feel both the captain and the security team had legitimate issues with her and you.

 

I agree I think the pickle is at fault for the young ladies problems on board.

 

She knew they were disabled, vunerable, and went so far as to flag their card , control their spending, not let them off the ship alone so they don't miss the ship etc. By her own words she also knew this girl was the life of the party and that people were buying her drinks. Isn't it obvious there is going to be a problem? Instead of supervising this girl which she should have done she just lets them loose on the ship????????

 

Everyone is saying how wonderful pickle is for taking these girls on a cruise. Yeah that's great but this praise is only warrented if she supervised these girls properly. Pickle caused the upset by not supervising this disabled girl properly. Now she is back paddling by saying the girl lives independently etc etc. Either she is disabled or she's not.

 

If I was security I would have yelled at pickle not her ward. Just look at it from security point of view. They are searching everywhere for this disabled girl. The girl is found and security is not informed by pickle??? I think if you were security you would be mad too.

 

My elderly mom is now mentally disabled. I take her on cruises and it is no vacation believe me. I have to keep an hawk eye on her at all times. Mom is everyone's friend. If people aren't buying her drinks they are getting her to buy them drinks. Mentally disabled and alcohol don't go together. It is an accident waiting to happen. I can't leave her alone for a minute. Pickle shouldn't have left this girl alone either.

[remharri]

I never saw the end result of this. What was the missing young lady doing for 18 hours?

 

I've been trying to see if I missed that part....but I reread and can't find anything.

[CruisefromNY]

Picklebongo- as a parent of a special needs dd23, only those who live or work with these special needs adults really know the trials and tribulations they, and we go thru. You are a very special person to take them on a trip of their lifetime. DD23 has been cruising with us since age 4. She is sweet, cute, looks "normal," but each cruise we take with her reminds us that she not only has strengths, and moreso has weaknesses we have to protect her from. I get her a green muster bracelet each cruise. Yes, it is just for children, but if she got separated from us (she is totally responsible to be left in the cabin by herself if she doesn't want to go to a show/piano bar/casino) I would hope someone would help her. Her day program takes participants on a cruise each year. This year they invited her, but I wasn't comfortable with her being in her own cabin, unsupervised, with a ratio of 5:1 consumers to staff on the ship. (and the Concordia didn't help!) Ignore those who don't walk a mile in our shoes.:)

 

Well said, and she is a lovely young woman.

[okgirl]

I've been trying to see if I missed that part....but I reread and can't find anything.

 

Pickle indicated that she found out from the other girl what happened and it wasn't pretty but she hasn't said specifically what happened. Given that she had been missing for 18 hours and wasn't reported as such until the middle of the night and wasn't found in any public area of the ship I think we can assume that she was in someones cabin.

 

And given that she had been being bought drinks all day and evening nothing that happened or infact even going to a cabin in the 1st place can be considered consentual.

 

I still just don't get why she was missing for so long before Pickle became concerned.

[RuthlessBoss]

I agree I think the pickle is at fault for the young ladies problems on board.

 

She knew they were disabled, vunerable, and went so far as to flag their card , control their spending, not let them off the ship alone so they don't miss the ship etc. By her own words she also knew this girl was the life of the party and that people were buying her drinks. Isn't it obvious there is going to be a problem? Instead of supervising this girl which she should have done she just lets them loose on the ship????????

 

Everyone is saying how wonderful pickle is for taking these girls on a cruise. Yeah that's great but this praise is only warrented if she supervised these girls properly. Pickle caused the upset by not supervising this disabled girl properly. Now she is back paddling by saying the girl lives independently etc etc. Either she is disabled or she's not.

 

If I was security I would have yelled at pickle not her ward. Just look at it from security point of view. They are searching everywhere for this disabled girl. The girl is found and security is not informed by pickle??? I think if you were security you would be mad too.

 

My elderly mom is now mentally disabled. I take her on cruises and it is no vacation believe me. I have to keep an hawk eye on her at all times. Mom is everyone's friend. If people aren't buying her drinks they are getting her to buy them drinks. Mentally disabled and alcohol don't go together. It is an accident waiting to happen. I can't leave her alone for a minute. Pickle shouldn't have left this girl alone either.

 

I never saw the end result of this. What was the missing young lady doing for 18 hours?

I still don't see how anyone can "lose" someone for 18 hours, especially a 21 y.o., vulnerable, likely in someone's cabin (obviously not in a public area), and not be "climbing the walls".

[Silverman]

I feel sorry for first timers coming to these boards and reading all this. Why would anyone want to sail with most of the posters on here is beyond me. If you dont have something nice to say dont say anything at al!!!

[pittpanther]

Pickle indicated that she found out from the other girl what happened and it wasn't pretty but she hasn't said specifically what happened. Given that she had been missing for 18 hours and wasn't reported as such until the middle of the night and wasn't found in any public area of the ship I think we can assume that she was in someones cabin.

I don't want to assume, so I hope pickle can come back and tell us where the young lady was and what she was doing for those missing 18 hours.

 

And given that she had been being bought drinks all day and evening nothing that happened or infact even going to a cabin in the 1st place can be considered consentual.

Are you implying a rape occurred?

 

I still just don't get why she was missing for so long before Pickle became concerned.

I assume pickle was not with both women 24x7. Only pickle can explain if the women had a "check in time" where they were allowed to be away for a certain amount of time, but then need to check in with pickle periodically.

[bunny1954]

I feel sorry for first timers coming to these boards and reading all this. Why would anyone want to sail with most of the posters on here is beyond me. If you dont have something nice to say dont say anything at al!!!

 

 

A very valid point. A lot of the problem is that people on any forum have a tendency not to read thru a whole thread and jump in with both feet before they have all the facts (I was guilty of this early on and now try to make sure I am not making a wrong assumption).

 

There was another thread on CC about the struggles someone was having with ES and one poster blatantly admitted they had not read beyond the first page but still felt it was necessary to jump in with an opinion that was so far out in left field of where the whole topic was going that it was laughable.

 

As far as I can tell, Pickle came in here to let us know how her cruise went. I think she did a good job with that. She admitted where she was at fault with not letting security know that the individual had been found, but she also went on to say that she had commended the staff for how helpful they were.

 

Someone posted about her being irresponsible for waiting 18 hours to let security know she was missing. That individual needs to go back and read what she actually posted.....that the person had been missing for awhile and Pickle notified security. The 18 hours was how long it was from the time Pickle last saw her until she was located sleeping in her bunk.

 

I raised two kids who turned out pretty doggone good. Was I a perfect parent and knew where my kids were every minute? Absolutely not. Not for a lack of trying or thru negligence, but because people have a free will and are going to do what they want to do despite our best efforts. You can put every safeguard into place, but things happen despite our best efforts. We are all flawed human beings and rather than beat people down, we should learn from each other's experiences. I am going to take away some newfound knowledge from Pickle's experiences.

 

Thanks Pickle.

[KrystalWaters]

Can't we all just get along?:p:)

Pickle: relax, relate, release...you sound very stressed. Posters are just responding to the information that you have chosen to post. There seems to be gaps in the story that you have chosen to eliminate, which is your right, which maybe the reason for the disconnect in the opinions being posted.

 

Bottom line no one but you and the 2 women know what fully happened. Please don't get upset on the response you are receiving.

"When one knows better they do better"-Maya Angelou

 

oh, i was the one referring to the snow storm. I believe i stated i didn't remember a snow storm during that time. I wasn't trying to call you out. Just an opinion. But then like food...that's relative. I thought we are having such a wonderful mild winter this year.:p:D

 

In closing, i'm glad everyone made it home safely and you had a wonderful time. When you are able to relax and settle down I would love to read a full review. Do you take any pictures? How did you like the ports? Did you do any fun excursions? I do hope you come back and post pictures. I too like Paul's reviews.

 

Kristy:)