TS Karen Elation cruise

[nowendy]

We were on the Elation for the TS Karen cruise. The only time we had rough seas was when we were going from Progresso to Cozumel. It was really rough around 3 in the morning. Some people got sick but EVERYONE was saying how rough it was. When we got to Cozumel it was raining but some people bought ponchos and went to shore anyway. We waited the rain out and went to shore in the afternoon. They announced the cancellation of most of the water excursions but I think everyone had fun anyway.

As far as how Carnival handled the situation,they went above and beyond my expectations.

First thing they did was announce that the cabin phone lines would be open at no charge for you to call your loved ones. The phone lines remained free for the entire remaining time. It was difficult to get through but you figure 2000 people trying to call out, so you just had to be patient. At first from the information that they had they projected our arrival into New Orleans on Monday. They announced that the tips for these two extra days and the parking for the extra days would be taken care of by Carnival. Thankfully the TS didn't get worse and the river was opened on Sunday so we arrived earlier than expected. At this point you had the option of leaving the ship, leaving the ship to visit New Orleans and getting back on board til Monday morning or just staying on the ship. We choose to go home because of work on Monday. I have to tell you that we could not tell the difference in treatment of these two days. Everyone was still cheerful and helpful. The food was just as usual and the entertainment continued. The menu reverted back to the first day and then skipped the 2nd nt (darn because it would of been lobster)and went to the 3rd nt menu.

Carnival was great in spite of the situation. Hey I look at it like I had a 6 nt cruise for the price of a 5. Had a great time.

[okgirl]

I'm glad you had a great cruise despite some difficult and rough times.

 

I didn't realize that anyone had the option of staying on the ship last night, I thought everyone would disembark as scheduled......kudos to Carnival.

 

Also great that they gave free phone service, I'm sure many people needed to contact family. For us, our family knows that if there are weather related issues they should know that we are safe and keep themselves abreast of changes through carnival.com or we will email them or something like that.

 

Since we are retired we don't have the issue of needing to get back home at any certain time.

[CRUZBUDS]

I'm glad your trip wasn't too rough.

 

We're in our hotel now getting ready to head to the terminal to board the Conquest. The Conquest passengers were also given the option to stay aboard last night. Our boarding starts at 10:00 this morning.

 

The Elation boarding is scheduled to start at 11:00. The Elation is doing a 3 day cruise to nowhere rather than the five day that was scheduled.

 

Our Conquest cruise went from a 7 to 6 day. Freeport was dropped

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the report!

[Yazoo cruiser]

We had almost the same thing a few years ago, the river was closed and they took us to Galveston to disembark. By the time we got to Galveston they had reopened the river. We were given the option of getting off in Galveston and being bussed back or staying on the ship and going back to N.O, we stayed on the ship. Despite the same great service, food and entertainment, there were lots of people causing a disruption because we were being charged the tips for the two extra days. Knowing how hard the stewards and other crew members worked, I was really dissapointed in the actions of some of the passengers.However, it was still one of our most memorable cruises.

[OCruisers]

Thanks for reporting back!

 

Happy to hear you had a good cruise in spite of Karen! :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

[ubenumber2]

We were on for our first cruise and we think the crew of the Elation did a great job keeping us informed , safe and entertained the extra time out at sea. Great job by Carnival all the way around

[nowendy]

We were on for our first cruise and we think the crew of the Elation did a great job keeping us informed , safe and entertained the extra time out at sea. Great job by Carnival all the way around

 

Did you stay the extra night or leave on Sunday?

[dane225]

Glad to hear you had a good cruise despite TS Karen!!

[ubenumber2]

Did you stay the extra night or leave on Sunday?

 

 

 

 

We left on Sunday ,went down to the French Quarter and enjoyed some good food and music and shopping then drove home around 7 that night , I had family that stayed the extra night though

[flynnsport]

refreshing to hear about Good customer service. Thanks!

[PunkyH]

We, too, were on the Elation for the storm. Only the one night was rough to us.

Carnival was great, as usual. We decided to disembark yesterday as most everyone we knew was leaving also.

[HO HO]

we were on the elation for the ts karen cruise. The only time we had rough seas was when we were going from progresso to cozumel. It was really rough around 3 in the morning. Some people got sick but everyone was saying how rough it was. When we got to cozumel it was raining but some people bought ponchos and went to shore anyway. We waited the rain out and went to shore in the afternoon. They announced the cancellation of most of the water excursions but i think everyone had fun anyway.

As far as how carnival handled the situation,they went above and beyond my expectations.

First thing they did was announce that the cabin phone lines would be open at no charge for you to call your loved ones. The phone lines remained free for the entire remaining time. It was difficult to get through but you figure 2000 people trying to call out, so you just had to be patient. At first from the information that they had they projected our arrival into new orleans on monday. They announced that the tips for these two extra days and the parking for the extra days would be taken care of by carnival. Thankfully the ts didn't get worse and the river was opened on sunday so we arrived earlier than expected. At this point you had the option of leaving the ship, leaving the ship to visit new orleans and getting back on board til monday morning or just staying on the ship. We choose to go home because of work on monday. I have to tell you that we could not tell the difference in treatment of these two days. Everyone was still cheerful and helpful. The food was just as usual and the entertainment continued. The menu reverted back to the first day and then skipped the 2nd nt (darn because it would of been lobster)and went to the 3rd nt menu.

Carnival was great in spite of the situation. Hey i look at it like i had a 6 nt cruise for the price of a 5. Had a great time.

 

thank you for that!!!

[winddawn]

We were on the Elation for the TS Karen cruise. The only time we had rough seas was when we were going from Progresso to Cozumel. It was really rough around 3 in the morning. Some people got sick but EVERYONE was saying how rough it was. When we got to Cozumel it was raining but some people bought ponchos and went to shore anyway. We waited the rain out and went to shore in the afternoon. They announced the cancellation of most of the water excursions but I think everyone had fun anyway.

As far as how Carnival handled the situation,they went above and beyond my expectations.

First thing they did was announce that the cabin phone lines would be open at no charge for you to call your loved ones. The phone lines remained free for the entire remaining time. It was difficult to get through but you figure 2000 people trying to call out, so you just had to be patient. At first from the information that they had they projected our arrival into New Orleans on Monday. They announced that the tips for these two extra days and the parking for the extra days would be taken care of by Carnival. Thankfully the TS didn't get worse and the river was opened on Sunday so we arrived earlier than expected. At this point you had the option of leaving the ship, leaving the ship to visit New Orleans and getting back on board til Monday morning or just staying on the ship. We choose to go home because of work on Monday. I have to tell you that we could not tell the difference in treatment of these two days. Everyone was still cheerful and helpful. The food was just as usual and the entertainment continued. The menu reverted back to the first day and then skipped the 2nd nt (darn because it would of been lobster)and went to the 3rd nt menu.

Carnival was great in spite of the situation. Hey I look at it like I had a 6 nt cruise for the price of a 5. Had a great time.

Glad you made it home safe and sound. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Sounds like you had a nice cruise in spite of the weather, and that Carnival treated everyone well.

[BIG_Steve]

We were on the Elation for the TS Karen cruise. The only time we had rough seas was when we were going from Progresso to Cozumel. It was really rough around 3 in the morning. Some people got sick but EVERYONE was saying how rough it was. When we got to Cozumel it was raining but some people bought ponchos and went to shore anyway. We waited the rain out and went to shore in the afternoon. They announced the cancellation of most of the water excursions but I think everyone had fun anyway.

As far as how Carnival handled the situation,they went above and beyond my expectations.

First thing they did was announce that the cabin phone lines would be open at no charge for you to call your loved ones. The phone lines remained free for the entire remaining time. It was difficult to get through but you figure 2000 people trying to call out, so you just had to be patient. At first from the information that they had they projected our arrival into New Orleans on Monday. They announced that the tips for these two extra days and the parking for the extra days would be taken care of by Carnival. Thankfully the TS didn't get worse and the river was opened on Sunday so we arrived earlier than expected. At this point you had the option of leaving the ship, leaving the ship to visit New Orleans and getting back on board til Monday morning or just staying on the ship. We choose to go home because of work on Monday. I have to tell you that we could not tell the difference in treatment of these two days. Everyone was still cheerful and helpful. The food was just as usual and the entertainment continued. The menu reverted back to the first day and then skipped the 2nd nt (darn because it would of been lobster)and went to the 3rd nt menu.

Carnival was great in spite of the situation. Hey I look at it like I had a 6 nt cruise for the price of a 5. Had a great time.

 

Hogwash! SUE the cruise line!! Demand a refund!!! Insist on a free cruise in the future!!!!

 

sorry......

[nowendy]

Heck..... free cruises for LIFE lol

[bryanool]

We were also on this cruise. It wasn't terrible but the added expenses we had that weren't planned for and kind of sucked! $250 to change flight, $75 for a hotel room, 2 days of missed work (both of us), extra boarding for our pup, extra parking fees. This quick cheap vacay turned into an expensive long trip. Just on our way home now.

[trvlgirlmq]

We were on the sailing as well. We ended up going only as far as the port shops in Cozumel. We had planned on a beach day but weren't sure if we would have time by the time the rain stopped. We'll just have to go back!

 

The staff and crew were outstanding! We continued to have great service and the entertainment staff threw together extra shows and such.

 

We stayed on the ship Sunday night as we had a 9 hour drive home and decided to start fresh Monday. Had to take the extra vacation day but I had the time so was not in dire straights.

 

I think we will not be sailing during Fall Break again though!

[teacher32]

Just logged in to Carnival and saw that they credited our VIFP with 7 nights instead of the 5. Way to go Carnival!

[GTO-Girl]

We were also on this cruise. It wasn't terrible but the added expenses we had that weren't planned for and kind of sucked! $250 to change flight, $75 for a hotel room, 2 days of missed work (both of us), extra boarding for our pup, extra parking fees. This quick cheap vacay turned into an expensive long trip. Just on our way home now.

 

Please don't take this as being mean.....but this is exactly why people are encouraged to buy trip insurance. All of this (except pet boarding) probably would have been covered....;)

[bryanool]

Please don't take this as being mean.....but this is exactly why people are encouraged to buy trip insurance. All of this (except pet boarding) probably would have been covered....;)

 

I realize that. Thanks for your input. My frustration is when carnival rebooked my flight for Tuesday and when we finally were told we would be docking on Sunday it was too late to rebook for Monday without paying $825 per ticket for an additional change fee.

[grantbob]

I was on the shortened Elation cruise. All the kids were pretty disappointed that we didn't get to go to Mexico, but Carnival was great and everyone still had a good time. They credited my VIFP with 5 days sailing (even though it was only 3), they refunded 50% of cruise fare, all port fees, 2 days of gratuities and extended a 50% discount on our next cruise.

[bryanool]

I was on the shortened Elation cruise. All the kids were pretty disappointed that we didn't get to go to Mexico, but Carnival was great and everyone still had a good time. They credited my VIFP with 5 days sailing (even though it was only 3), they refunded 50% of cruise fare, all port fees, 2 days of gratuities and extended a 50% discount on our next cruise.

 

I saw that on their press release. I wish they would have extended something to us on the extended cruise. Even a slight discount on our next sailing would have been nice for all the hassle.

[luckycruzer]

my waitstaff and cabin staff got extra tips for that too. The was a letter, that I skimmed that said the op..but.....I love my boys..and got

"pinned" by a sweet officer,,,, now have the "I AM CARNIVAL" lapel pin. Will see them all again for Halloween, ftee I return from my London trip Tues. 3 friends will do it again!!!!!..We gals are Diamonds, the men are working on Gold! Lots of fun coming up

[2 cruzen]

We had almost the same thing a few years ago, the river was closed and they took us to Galveston to disembark. By the time we got to Galveston they had reopened the river. We were given the option of getting off in Galveston and being bussed back or staying on the ship and going back to N.O, we stayed on the ship. Despite the same great service, food and entertainment, there were lots of people causing a disruption because we were being charged the tips for the two extra days. Knowing how hard the stewards and other crew members worked, I was really dissapointed in the actions of some of the passengers.However, it was still one of our most memorable cruises.

 

It is incredible that people would complain about paying $46 for two extra days of food, lodging, entertainment, and transportation! Egads. :confused: