Disappointed with Carnival Conquest in Cozumel....make it right :-(

[Spring1onu]

I am sympathetic but the subject line says .... Carnival make it right. He wants to be compensated ... thats where I disagree. He lost my sympathy there.

 

Agree!

[Moobaby214]

I am sympathetic but the subject line says .... Carnival make it right. He wants to be compensated ... thats where I disagree. He lost my sympathy there.

 

Totally agree!

 

 

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[chill6x6]

"Hello Carnival cruisers this is your cruise director Corey. Sorry we are having the delay getting off the ship this morning. The Carnival Elation has pulled up adjacent to us on the pier and while the docking procedure is going on we had to put a hold on passengers leaving the ship. To help compensate for this we will move our departure time from 4:30 to 5:00 to allow you a little more time in Cozumel. Again sorry for the delay and departure time is now 5:00. Bye bye for now!"

[cruznkate]

I was on this same cruise. I can say that the seas were VERY calm (like glass) and that Freedom of the Seas was the only other ship docked and they were using a different pier. I, thankfully, was traveling with my very slowpoke in laws and we didn't head for deck 0 until about 11:15, at which point all the congestion had cleared so we did not experience the headache that the OP mentioned...though we did hear quite a bit about it. We actually walked right off. We did hear an announcement at about 11:00 asking people for patience and to wait a few minutes to head down if you didn't have an excursion to get to for a certain time. Our problem was getting back on. It took about an hour of waiting in line. With that being said, we did wait until about 4:00 to start back down the pier so I'm sure that was why it was so crowded...everyone else was trying to get back at the same time!

[Cruisingzs]

I was on the Magic last week. We were delayed getting off in Nassau by nearly an hour. The crew kept us all posted of the progress every few minutes. Before we were let off the ship, the crew made an announcement that we would stay in Nassau an hour later to make up for the time lost. They also said all independant tours knew we were delayed and that they should still be waiting.

Everyone was happy with the way they handled it. Communication is key to solving any problem

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for sharing the information about your cruise. Sorry it did not go well for you.

[RuthlessBoss]

And, the mystery remains. They started unloading at 10. Then, no unloading. Why?

[vacruizer]

"Hello Carnival cruisers this is your cruise director Corey. Sorry we are having the delay getting off the ship this morning. The Carnival Elation has pulled up adjacent to us on the pier and while the docking procedure is going on we had to put a hold on passengers leaving the ship. To help compensate for this we will move our departure time from 4:30 to 5:00 to allow you a little more time in Cozumel. Again sorry for the delay and departure time is now 5:00. Bye bye for now!"

 

Exactly what should have happened with the exception of the extra time possibly. Great if they can do it, but ships can't just decide to hang in port extra time. They need permission of the harbormaster and local authorities, they are often charged fees or fines for being in port extra time since that's more time the port's crew has to be paid for to man the pier, and they have to look at weather/distance/sailing speed/fuel costs to the next port as well. It also involves rescheduling the pilot who could be scheduled for other vessels at a later time. In busier ports, they also have to look at traffic and other ships that may have precedence like military vessels, although this is more common in the homeports than it is in the ports of call.

[dsotm73]

I was also on this sailing and the facts the OP relates are accurate. Disembarkation at Cozumel was delayed about an hour, thus time in port was cut back the same if you returned to the ship in time for the scheduled departure. Departure was also delayed about an hour for that mainland excursion to return and those passengers to walk from one pier to another to board the Conquest.

 

Yes it would have been nice to get an explanation for the delay at disembarkation. It would have been even nicer to know that embarkation/departure would be delayed an hour on the back end and that we could enjoy another hour in port. We got to and from our excursion OK but had to rush touring and shopping to get back on the ship at the scheduled time, only to wait and watch the other passengers stroll on late.

 

But to say this ruined our cruise? That we would never sail Carnival again? That Carnival should compensate us for this minor inconvenience? These thoughts never crossed my mind until I came across this thread. This week was one of the best vacation experiences my family has had, and something so very minor would not put a damper on that. Really these things are all about attitude. If you want these things to bother you, then of course they will.

[deborahjo]

Carnival always lets their excurisions off the ship first. Are told that when you book. Yes an explaination would have helped defuse the matter but the way it sounds nothing was going to work here.

[quickrate]

Just like Fire and some others that have posted here, we have learned[especially on the bigger ship], to wait an hour after arrival and then we usually walk right off with no line. We also return about 30 minutes before we know the rush will begin and walk right on. Makes for a much more relaxing day!!

Pat

[Georgiagolfer]

Carnival always lets their excurisions off the ship first. Are told that when you book. Yes an explaination would have helped defuse the matter but the way it sounds nothing was going to work here.

 

Not just CCL, but RCI does the same with excursions. Can't comment on the other lines.

[OnePsychLynne]

I am sympathetic but the subject line says .... Carnival make it right. He wants to be compensated ... thats where I disagree. He lost my sympathy there.

 

Agree also!

[jetteh22]

Am I the only person who disagrees with the OP? Crap happens. There are delays and you can't really expect Carnival to compensate -every- passenger who goes to guest services to complain about the delays.

 

Yes, they should have handled it better. Yes, they should have made an announcement of some sort saying there was a delay for so-and-so reason but even if they HAD made an announcement 99% of the frustrated/upset passengers would have still been frustrated/upset (maybe you including? I don't know you so I can't say this for sure).

 

I would have been frustrated also, during the wait, but as soon as I got off of the boat I would have completely forgotten about it. Maybe I'm just more of a go-with-the-flow type of person. But you're taking ONE incident out of 3 of your cruises and saying you're going to stop using Carnival because of it? Because of an hour less you didn't get to spend on the beach? Come on. It's not THAT big of a deal.

[cruznkate]

Am I the only person who disagrees with the OP? Crap happens. There are delays and you can't really expect Carnival to compensate -every- passenger who goes to guest services to complain about the delays.

 

Yes, they should have handled it better. Yes, they should have made an announcement of some sort saying there was a delay for so-and-so reason but even if they HAD made an announcement 99% of the frustrated/upset passengers would have still been frustrated/upset (maybe you including? I don't know you so I can't say this for sure).

 

I would have been frustrated also, during the wait, but as soon as I got off of the boat I would have completely forgotten about it. Maybe I'm just more of a go-with-the-flow type of person. But you're taking ONE incident out of 3 of your cruises and saying you're going to stop using Carnival because of it? Because of an hour less you didn't get to spend on the beach? Come on. It's not THAT big of a deal.

 

This!

[Redsfan]

I would also be pissed bigtime...there is limited time in Ports and I want to enjoy every minute. However, I wouldn't swear off Carnival because of this, as each ship seems to have it's own set of issues. How was Debark at Ports for other Islands visited? Was it just Cozumel that was the issue?

[LHP]

Probably another ship docking...which means they have to stop folks getting of the ship until it is docked and tied down....

but the Cruise Director should have let folks know what was going on.

We have had this happen one time (in the bizillion times we have cruised to Cozumel) and it was actually a Disney ship tying up next to us.

Delayed debark by about 45 minutes.

Sorry it happened to you and they did not keep you informed.

[LHP]

I meant to also add...that I truly do not get the "make it right" part...

yes the Cruise Director should have told you another ship was tying up....but that does not equate to any kind of compensation.

The CD telling you exactly what was happening would not have gotten you off the ship any faster.

[Shaded Lady]

We just got off the Paradise last week. The only delay we encountered was the tender back onto the ship around noon (2.5 hrs before needing to get back onboard). The tender that was picking up people to take them ashore took FOREVER to leave the ship so our tender could let us off.

The result? DH & I had to sit in a boat in gorgeous blue water, enjoying the scenery and relaxing for about 20 minutes til we could get onboard. If I'd been stuck all that time in a stairway waiting to get off, it might have been a different story!

In both ports we had no excursions booked so we waited til the CD announced that we were now free to get off the ship at our leisure. But if I had an excursion planned and had to wait an hour, I can't say I'd be pleased... but I would have written it off as one of those minor things that happen on a vacation. I wouldn't have expected compensation, and I wouldn't have let it irritate me to the degree that the OP did.

[conchead]

[quote name='vacruizer']Exactly what should have happened [COLOR="Red"][B]with the exception of the extra time possibly. Great if they can do it, but ships can't just decide to hang in port extra time.[/B][/COLOR] They need permission of the harbormaster and local authorities, they are often charged fees or fines for being in port extra time since that's more time the port's crew has to be paid for to man the pier, and they have to look at weather/distance/sailing speed/fuel costs to the next port as well. It also involves rescheduling the pilot who could be scheduled for other vessels at a later time. In busier ports, they also have to look at traffic and other ships that may have precedence like military vessels, although this is more common in the homeports than it is in the ports of call.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR="Teal"][SIZE="3"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]They have no problem doing it if one of their excursions are late[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[jetskier]

And as the ships keep getting bigger this issue will crop up. Sort of hard to shove
4000+ folks out of two doors. And then the icing on the cake is having the line held up while they try to generate revenue by taking photos on the gangway thusly causing the line to back up even further.
Dave

[happy cruzer]

One thing that slows the line down, is the passengers themselves not having their pass out ready to swipe.

It's just the way it is with a big ship and security, they want to know who is on and off the ship. It's slow and if anything unusual happens, it's really slow.

[bplazo]

For everything that goes wrong in life does not require compensation.

[RuthlessBoss]

[quote name='LHP']Probably another ship docking...which means they have to stop folks getting of the ship until it is docked and tied down....

but the Cruise Director should have let folks know what was going on.

We have had this happen one time (in the bizillion times we have cruised to Cozumel) and it was actually a Disney ship tying up next to us.

Delayed debark by about 45 minutes.

Sorry it happened to you and they did not keep you informed.[/quote]
At first, I could see no connection with another ship docking. Was thinking "so what?" But thinking about it, if the ship was docking in front of you, or even on the other side of the dock, those ropes being tossed could land in the wrong place and strike a passenger or two.

[dsotm73]

Just to repeat, because a lot of folk seem to be focusing on the "other ship docking" theory, there was no other ship at our pier during debarkation at Cozumel. The NCL ship was already docked at a different pier when we arrived.