Carnival Offers Generous Compensation to Triumph Passengers

[jimdalva]

Colonel Hogan 'I know nothing'

[Fishon28]

I think the biggest problem is that Carnival took away "that moment" for people when deciding on compensation.

 

A lot of these people were probably on the cruise for special occasions. Some of these people will not be able to cruise again for over a year due to the American way of distributing vacation time.

 

I would expect enough compensation to make me feel that I DID have a vacation.

[jimbo5544]

I think the biggest problem is that Carnival took away "that moment" for people when deciding on compensation.

 

A lot of these people were probably on the cruise for special occasions. Some of these people will not be able to cruise again for over a year due to the American way of distributing vacation time.

 

I would expect enough compensation to make me feel that I DID have a vacation.

Which begs the question, for you, what would do that?

[bgraham34]

I am a little late to the party but I just wanted to say that with the compensation having Carnival offer a free Cruise up to the value of what they paid is not enough. They should offer a free cruise up to 7 days in the same category room in which you stayed in. Don't put a monetary value on it. I think now Carnival needs to go above and beyond what they are offering currently. I know they just announced $500 to cover expenses and that's a step in the right direction.

[Georgiagolfer]

Now Carnival is kicking in a extra $500 for those currently on Triumph. They are making out like bandits. Refund of their cruise costs for a cruise that was basically over. An extension of their cruise for a few days at now extra charge. The price of the cruise applicable to a future cruise. And now an extra $500. I'm thinking Carnival should also throw in a 1099 and let them pay taxes on that much compensation, it is way beyond generous.

A refund of your cruise and transportation costs. The price of your cruise in credit toward a future cruise. Plus $500.

 

Toilets were available within a day. Little food? Cruise ships have tons of food. Unsanitary conditions? The crew is working overtime cleaning. There has been no outbreak of disease. The ship is probably cleaner than most of the passenger's homes.

 

So, you think the passengers are making out like bandits, and they should have to claim this as income on their taxes? And then to say that most of the passengers homes aren't as clean? How insensitive can one get? :confused:

 

I have no idea what the actual conditions are onboard the Triumph, but it is far more than just a minor inconvenience, I would think. What is or isn't generous, I would think depends on the actual passengers, not me or anyone else on CC.

[lady_cruiser]

Lets not forget that they are providing hotel rooms and air transportation back to Houston. Or should this be Galveston?

[texsun49]

I think the biggest problem is that Carnival took away "that moment" for people when deciding on compensation.

 

A lot of these people were probably on the cruise for special occasions. Some of these people will not be able to cruise again for over a year due to the American way of distributing vacation time.

 

I would expect enough compensation to make me feel that I DID have a vacation.

 

Just curious...what did you mean by "American way of distributing vacation time"?

[BigLar1]

I am in no way shape or form minimizing the horror that those people had to endure for a week and I have to speak for myself as if I went through that. I would just be thanking GOD and the universe that I still have my life. Being the type of person I am and hearing what those people are going through. I would take what they (CCL) give me and get far away as possible LOL... But I know not everyone think like that.

[Seago2]

Just curious...what did you mean by "American way of distributing vacation time"?

 

Ten weeks of vacation is standard in Scandinavia- maybe that's the reference.

[Carol1560]

I know that I do feel sorry for these passengers!! This is not what they bargained for. But for Sargent_Schultz to make the statements that he did about them. OMG But you know it was time to for thedecents to find about Sargent_Schultz and what kind of person that he is. I dont get the Sargent part, wouldnt want him in a fox hole with me!!

 

 

As Far as Carnival, they haven't done near enough for all the passengers!!

[mdwcruises]

My husband and I (along with about 50 other people) were scheduled to be on the 2/11 sailing as soon as this sailing returned. we were not told anything by the cruise line until about 14 hours before she was supposed to dock in Galveston, that the 2/11 and 2/16 sailings had been cancelled. While I feel terrible for the deplorable conditions those passengers AND crewmembers are facing, we feel that we as the next group have not been "adequately" compensated. we were given 14 hours notice, had booked hotels, spent money in gas to drive, some members of the group came from as far away as Canada and Alaska, only to arrive at the terminal to receive a letter saying the ship had been cancelled. We appreciate the full refund of this sailing, but feel that just like those aboard now, we should be compensated with a credit for a future cruise (in the amount we paid for the 2/11) as well, not just a 25% discount, which if applied to a cuise this year, will NOT help as the cost for any cruise is drastically increased from what we all paid for the 2/11 sailing. Also, we should not be limited to a 3-5 day cruise ... we should be given the option of what ship we want, not just a select few..

 

One of the couples in our group was on the Ecstasy on the April 27,2009 sailing when the Swine Flu outbreak caused them to miss their ports of call in Mexico and they had a 5 day cruise to nowhere. the sailing immediately following theirs was cancelled and they were given a refund and a 100% credit for a future cruise an the passengers from the 4/27 sailing were given a 25% discount for a future cruise .... it sets a precedence..

 

CJK, I am sorry to hear about your lost vacation! I hope you eventually found some way to at least enjoy the time off somehow.

 

I absolutely agree with you, it's not just the money, it's about the lost vacation. Opportunity cost. Many people may not have another chance for a decent vacation for a long long time to come.

 

My cousins are in the same predicament. They really looked forward to this Valentine's day cruise for so long and I was so excited for them too. They spent a lot of time searching for the least expensive cruise and airfare that they could afford. Got time off at the same time, which was very difficult. They were few of the lucky ones who managed to fly out of Philly on Sunday with that storm going on, only to be notified that their cruise was canceled. They naively went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but of course couldn't find a decent hotel room within 50 miles. So they decided to spend time with family in Houston, which was part of the original plan but not for whole week.

 

And it will be a long time before they can afford another cruise (they are both college kids) and more importantly, find the time to do it.

[Crazy Gramps]

First off it's almost impossible to sue a cruise line. read the "Terms of Service" on your ticket.

Second there isn't any possible way to really compensate someone for what happened.

 

Once the ship is in cell phone range of shore the videos are going to be flying off the ship.

 

It's not going to just be Carnival that has a problem. the entire industry will be going under a microscope.

 

Expect to see massive changes.

 

Carnivals response to this whole incident has been awful. they have to know it. As for keeping the passengers quiet , forget about it.

 

Gramps

[stevenr597]

Carnival is always very generous! :)

 

Stranding passengers for over one week, forcing them to live in unsanitary conditions, and then Carnival says they will compensate (to avoid a law-suit). I think Carnival should make serious changes in the operations of their ships to make sure that this problem never happens again.

[gfh77665]

A refund of your cruise and transportation costs. The price of your cruise in credit toward a future cruise. Plus $500.

 

Toilets were available within a day. Little food? Cruise ships have tons of food. Unsanitary conditions? The crew is working overtime cleaning. There has been no outbreak of disease. The ship is probably cleaner than most of the passenger's homes.

 

How LAUGHABLE. NBCNews is describing it "like Katrina in the Dome", Schultz.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/katrina-dome-except-its-afloat-nightmare-cruise-finally-nears-alabama-1B8325828

[JediSkipdogg]

I haven't read this whole thread but I think it is all very generous. Remember, there's a reason we recommend people take out travel insurance. If you fall and break your leg going ziplining do you get thousands of dollars? Nope. You get ONLY what you are out. Nothing extra.

 

This was a freak accident that they most likely didn't see coming. We still have no clue what exactly caused it. People assume Carnival just repaired a bad hose or something last time and let the ship go. They could have overhauled the entire engine and some replacement part failed. I've had it happen on a car, how is a cruise ship any different?

 

For those that didn't take out travel insurance, well, shame on them, hopefully a lesson learned as I'm sure it would cover some of the missed worked depending on who they went through. But a free cruise, probably free second cruise, free drinks (I've heard mixed answers on alcohol being cut off but have heard all Coke products are free), free transportation, and $500? They are getting probably for a party of two close to $3000. And it happened on the last day of the cruise, so it's not like they ruined the entire cruise, they ruined 1/4 of it.

 

And the idea of transfering to another ship. Well, I laugh at that. Keep in mind this was one of their larger ships. Only the three new Dream class ships are larger. And you would have to send those ships out with almost no crew so you can transfer the crew over as well. Now you have a crew operating on a ship that they know nothing about. Let's not forget, people won't want to leave their luggage behind. So now you have everyone carrying luggage into the lifeboats which they are not designed to do. People would be greatly injured in doing that. Would you leave the Triumph with all of your belongings and hope to see them again in a few weeks? I would imagine alot of lost luggage unless everyone wants to wait till the Triumph gets back to an American port and then you would have to take time back off work to go pick it up.

 

I think Carnival is being much more generous than other cruise lines and I'm not sure what more they could give.

[dclark]

S.S. is the mouthpiece of CCL, he is a joke. He is the same person who maintain that the cutbacks to the platinum program were improvements:p

 

The passengers were stuck in hell for about an extra 100 hours. If their compensation totals around $2,000 per passenger, then it is like they are being paid $1 per hour for their time on the Funship Amistad.

 

Does a dollar an hour for this fear factor experience sound "generous" to anyone?

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

Showers are available. Nobody, but nobody has ever starved to death on a cruise ship. Two other cruise ships dropped off additional supplies. The Coast Guard has been shadowing the ship.

 

The only food that was limited was limited HOT food. Even coffee has been available.

 

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. ;)

 

How much does Carnival Corp pay you? What ever it is you should get a raise for your Brilliant PR skills!! I have been on 12 Carnival cruises and you are just something else;)

[MsConfetti]

What I find laughable is that people thinks banks, credit card companies and utility companies will give a damn that the person paying late, behind, over drafted was stuck on a cruise ship. Seriously? No, they don't. One does not have to be rich to cruise, a 4 dayer out of Galveston is not a huge expense. Do you really think it is filled with people who have unlimited budgets, unlimited time off work, jobs that will be 100% fine with them missing extra time? Texas is an AT WILL state, in this economy anyone who has a job is just lucky to have it. People get let go for less every day of the week. It's easy for those of us who are comfortable and have a cushion, family to help us and good circumstances to think it's no big deal. But I have no doubt in my mind this will cause harm to some on board and that is truly the tragedy here.

 

I am not saying anyone should sue or they are all entitled to X amount of dollars, just that this goes so far beyond $500, a free cruise or whatever else. Yes they are all lucky they are alive etc. etc. but that does not dismiss what is waiting for some when they step off board. For some people it really does only take one incident of falling on bad luck to knock them off track and put them behind.

[mainelycruising]

Carnival will now keep the passengers in their care on land after the ship docks. They will be bused to NO or back to Texas. It will speak volumes if the press are not allowed to speak to these folk until they have been taken to their final land destination; I wonder what Carnival has in mind as far as a compensation agreement they will ask passengers to sign.

 

My advice would be: sign nothing until you are home and think about it. Do nothing while you are tired or under duress.

[Seago2]

How much does Carnival Corp pay you? What ever it is you should get a raise for your Brilliant PR skills!! I have been on 12 Carnival cruises and you are just something else;)

 

Not a good thing to call people out and fight on CC.

 

However, my ignore list is getting fatter by the minute. It's a great thing.:)

[Anjanu]

It's really sad. Personally attacking someone because they don't agree with you? Whatever happened to respecting other people's opinion and just agreeing to disagree?

 

This seems to be the new normal in this country.

 

Sad. Sad. Sad.

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

Not attacking anyone. Pot meet kettle. He has great PR skills!!

[NEWORLEANSCRUISER1]

Not a good thing to call people out and fight on CC.

 

However, my ignore list is getting fatter by the minute. It's a great thing.:)

 

Yes the Ignore button is great!!

[deepnite10]

the compensation seems fair..getting people safely back to port and footing the bill to get them home in a timely manner..

 

but, the discounted fair for a future seems inadequate considering what passengers on the Triumph had to go thru..after all, they did sign aboard

with the guaratee that they d have a good time..and this is far from it..

 

certainly i d be angry giving up work time..others giving up much more for an experience like this..

[In2why]

Stranding passengers for over one week, forcing them to live in unsanitary conditions, and then Carnival says they will compensate (to avoid a law-suit). I think Carnival should make serious changes in the operations of their ships to make sure that this problem never happens again.

 

 

I agree and ABC News just reported that there will be a triage center set up at the docks for the passengers that are disembarking. How many sick people do they expect to need a triage center? When this was first reported I basically had the attitude of no biggie. We sail in balcony cabins, and I am not picky about food. It would suck if the kids were with us because finding them food might be a challenge but I could deal with it. But now that there are reports of sewage everywhere...........and triage needed for the sick or injured that is beyond an adventure. We can all know that this is pretty bad since Carnival is giving everyone the extra $500 per person. My other concern is that Carnival knew this ship had problem and kept it going anyway. I understand looking at the bottom line and needing to turn a profit, but if they knew, and they put off maintenance then that is reckless. Would I sue? No. But will I hesitate to book a Carnival cruise again...yes. I certainly won't book on any of the older ships. I also will weigh the cost versus the history. When booking if another line isn't too far out on pricing I will pay more to go on the other line. Overall I would imagine this will cost Carnival more than taking the Triumph out of rotation earlier and fixing it before this happened. Perhaps a big lawsuit would convince cruiselines that it is in their long term interests to maintain their ships better. I don't know.