Go ahead, flame away!!!

[sparks1093]

Isn't today the day you set sail again on Carnival?

 

There is a big difference between deciding not to sail with a cruise line again and cancelling a cruise so close to sailing with the 100% cancellation penalty. If I were the OP I would do the same thing- I would go on the cruise and make the best of it, regardless of my future plans.

[golfadj]

There is a big difference between deciding not to sail with a cruise line again and cancelling a cruise so close to sailing with the 100% cancellation penalty. If I were the OP I would do the same thing- I would go on the cruise and make the best of it, regardless of my future plans.

 

Agreed. Everything the OP has said rings true to me and disgraceful CCL didnt do anything to help her.

[SMSACE6]

I do also believe Pungo, and agree that she has good reason to be upset. If is in fact sailing today, I do hope that she can make the best of it and enjoy her cruise. She should also know that there are many cruiselines to choose from in the future, and hope she finds one that works for her.

[Pine Bluff]

I have been a very loyal customer and have overlooked the decline in food/service over the years because I felt I was still getting good value for my money. I overlooked Carnival

 

...snip....

 

called to find out why the credit isn't showing on my cruise documents. Tve had service any longer. So, you won't see me posting here anymore, and you won't see me booking anymore Carnival cruises. The aggravation has now outweighed the enjoyment of the cruise. Goodbye to Carnival. Let the flaming begin.

 

Boy are you a patient cruiser. I would have jumped ship long ago.

 

My reason for leaving was simply choosing another line that offered an itinerary Carnival wasn't offering, and quickly found out there were many things Carnival wasn't offering.

[EasyBreezy83]

Sounds like a lot of unfortunate bad expediences. Wow! I've always had a pleasant experience with Carnival.. sorry to hear you haven't had the same. Hope you find another line you enjoy. :)

[gelli8112]

No flaming. RCI will take you with open arms. It's OK. Come on down to the Diamond lounge. Tell them gelli sent you.

 

All kidding aside. You're a paying customer and if you feel that your concerns aren't being addressed, take your business elsewhere. I hope you find a line the treats you better. Happy cruising.

[Badfinger]

As for the boarded up window, I have have called my Credit Card company (I always charge cruises and related expenses to my cc) and told them the vendor did not provide the product that was paid for (view of the ocean..ie window) and to reverse the charges. That would have gotten their attention IMO.

 

Also as for free cruises, it seems that they reward those that spend a LOT of money on the ship with free cruise. Not those that just cruise a lot. Big difference to their bottom line. So start gambling big time and you will likely get a free cruise offer down the road.

 

As for luggage...that is just a peril of travel IMO. Airlines, cruises, buses...even the trunk/latch on your vehicle can damage a suitcase. Not something I would get all worked up about.

[jetta8300]

Although I don't feel I owe anyone an explanation since these are experiences I've had with Carnival, I knew there would be those who would choose not to believe without proof. Therefore, I'm attaching a photo of the oceanview window which was 'boarded' up (actually a large piece of heavy metal which was bolted over the window). Guest services said they were expecting severe weather (which we NEVER had) and they refused to remove the cover for the duration of the cruise.

 

To those who wonder why I've only had positive things to say about Carnival in my posts, I never let this sort of garbage ruin my cruises. I've had fun on all my cruises except for one which I'll give you a quick summation of. When I cruised the Destiny in 04 out of Puerto Rico, two rival gangs were on board, probably because the ship didn't fill and they sold cabins very cheaply. They took over the Lido deck. Our balcony cabin was on the Lido Deck and they would not let us cross their territory for anything on the Lido. We complained to security and guest services and nothing was done. I think they were just as scared of them as we were. It was a miserable experience. We felt we were held hostage in our cabin for the week. Thank God for room service. You can read my review as I tactfully explained what happened. The remainder of my cruises have been fun, even though Carnival has treated us poorly on several occasions.

 

As far as the OBC, Carnival's website screwed up my booking. I was sent the 'special fare' for $200 OBC for cruises 7 days or more. That is what I booked under. I am positive. Unfortunately, my printer wasn't working at that time and I was unable to print it. They say I used a different rate and will NOT give me the money. I've written Corporate Headquarters as well as John Heald and gotten no reply from either. It's only $200, but combined with all the other stuff Carnival has refused to make right, I'm fed up. I can spend my dollars on many different vacations, so I choose to no longer cruise Carnival. Period.

 

To the person who thinks I"m embarrassed, why in the world would I be? I've only told the truth. The whole truth. Not one word is made up or exaggerated. I have been a loyal cruiser and have only wanted to help other cruisers and encourage them to have a great cruise. I just felt it was time to speak up and tell my cruising friends that Carnival's customer service stinks!!

 

I had no plans to return here, but one of my friends emailed and said I should take a look. I'm not coming back again, so don't waste your time posting questions. This really isn't worth my time trying to explain.

 

sheesh! :confused: I am one who said I would like to see a picture of the boarded up window. And it's not because I didn't believe you necessarially... It's just I want to see what this would actually look like. I'm just very curious I guess, what they would do to a window and still make the customer pay.

 

99% of the replies on here were very sympathetic to you, and agreed with you being upset at the situations you have found yourself in with Carnival. I'm not sure why you felt anyone was putting you in a position to have to defend yourself and snap back. I hope you have wonderful cruises in the future whether it is with Carnival or not!

Edited July 27, 2014 by jetta8300

[fishtaco]

I believe the OP will be back with Carnival as soon as they dont get any immediate perks on another line. Perhaps as soon as experiencing queuing up with everyone else for the first time in many cruises.

 

I dont blame the OP I even jumped ship from P&O Australia because their ships always had constant construction maintenance but i will never be loyal to any cruise line anyway given the abundance of choice with close pricings.

 

Some seem to be loyal through convenience of being able to take many cheap cruises close to home and not necessarily the overall cruise experience.

 

The only point I would flame if you call it flaming is the adding in the original post of "Free Cruises" for others but not for the "Loyal"`This says to me that the OP wants much more from a cruise line for being loyal than just a great cruise vacation.

[sparks1093]

As for the boarded up window, I have have called my Credit Card company (I always charge cruises and related expenses to my cc) and told them the vendor did not provide the product that was paid for (view of the ocean..ie window) and to reverse the charges. That would have gotten their attention IMO.

 

 

Except for this line in the contract: "Specific stateroom assignments are not guaranteed." Since the window was boarded up because of potential severe weather that means that all of the OV's were similarly boarded up. I would have been upset also having my OV be turned into an inside, but evidently CCL decided not to provide any consideration to any of the passengers affected. Sort of like when you end up in Nassau instead of a nicer port because of a storm. It sucks, but because it's weather related there's not much that can be done.

[Disconnections]

I believe the OP will be back with Carnival as soon as they dont get any immediate perks on another line. Perhaps as soon as experiencing queuing up with everyone else for the first time in many cruises.

 

I dont blame the OP I even jumped ship from P&O Australia because their ships always had constant construction maintenance but i will never be loyal to any cruise line anyway given the abundance of choice with close pricings.

 

Some seem to be loyal through convenience of being able to take many cheap cruises close to home and not necessarily the overall cruise experience.

 

The only point I would flame if you call it flaming is the adding in the original post of "Free Cruises" for others but not for the "Loyal"`This says to me that the OP wants much more from a cruise line for being loyal than just a great cruise vacation.

 

I disagree. I'm not so sure the OP will be back for your stated reason "as soon as they no longer receive perks" for having elite status through a calculative marketing strategy, such as a loyalty program. You should keep in mind that not everyone who says they choose to not patronize a specific company are so quick to return.

 

We stopped sailing with Carnival in March of 2012 and switched to Princess. Our only immediate perk was past guest pricing. We reached Platinum with Carnival in under two years. From the time that we started sailing with Princess, we will be only five cruises short from their highest tier status in two years. We had an affective/calculative relationship with Carnival. With two not so hot cruises on the Magic TA and the Ecstasy, followed by a disturbing experience on the Carnival Miracle, the affective relationship has been lost, as the love for the brand had disappeared. With the devaluation of the loyalty program, our calculative relationship had diminished, as we were no longer getting the same perks that we valued. After that, many cost cutting measures had been implemented and a little bit later, we had a new preferred cruise line.

 

As far as the free cruises that you had mentioned... it would be handled much differently if nobody broadcasted that they had received one.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Disconnections

[golfadj]

Except for this line in the contract: "Specific stateroom assignments are not guaranteed." Since the window was boarded up because of potential severe weather that means that all of the OV's were similarly boarded up. I would have been upset also having my OV be turned into an inside, but evidently CCL decided not to provide any consideration to any of the passengers affected. Sort of like when you end up in Nassau instead of a nicer port because of a storm. It sucks, but because it's weather related there's not much that can be done.

 

I diddnt get the impression that all the OV;s on the ship were boarded up. If so that would make things rather different.

[sparks1093]

I diddnt get the impression that all the OV;s on the ship were boarded up. If so that would make things rather different.

 

True, it could have just been the OV's on the deck the OP was on. I doubt that it was only OP's window that was boarded up (and if it was than that certainly would change things). As far as filing a complaint with the credit card company though it probably wouldn't go too far because of the contract language which is the point I was trying to inartfully make.

[golfadj]

True, it could have just been the OV's on the deck the OP was on. I doubt that it was only OP's window that was boarded up (and if it was than that certainly would change things). As far as filing a complaint with the credit card company though it probably wouldn't go too far because of the contract language which is the point I was trying to inartfully make.

 

My impression was her ov was only one boarded up. If done for weather reasons different story entirely.

[sparks1093]

My impression was her ov was only one boarded up. If done for weather reasons different story entirely.

 

Anything is possible and your impression may be correct. My experience with severe weather onboard ship was on ships that didn't have many windows and what windows there were had watertight hatches that could be closed on the inside:), so I don't know what is normal in the cruise ship industry (such as, do they only board up certain windows or do they board up all of the windows on certain decks, etc.). If it was only her window that was boarded up (I know it was actually metal, but "metaled up" just doesn't sound right:o) then that would of course increased her dissatisfaction with CCL's handling of the issue.

 

A credit card dispute might result in some consideraton being given by the cruise line, especially if it were only OP's window that was affected, but it's highly doubtful that such a dispute would result in a complete reversal of the charges as suggested by the PP.

[Out to sea!]

My impression was her ov was only one boarded up. If done for weather reasons different story entirely.

 

But even if it was boarded up for weather, there should have been some sort of compensation. If you miss a port, at minimum, you get your port charges back and sometimes a future cruise credit. To have your OV turned into an inside knowing full well that you paid extra money for an OV tells me something should have been done (even if it was just a free dinner at the steakhouse or something else instead of cash).

[Out to sea!]

True, it could have just been the OV's on the deck the OP was on. I doubt that it was only OP's window that was boarded up (and if it was than that certainly would change things). As far as filing a complaint with the credit card company though it probably wouldn't go too far because of the contract language which is the point I was trying to inartfully make.

 

I didn't think a credit card complaint could even be filed after 60 days after the payment was made.

[sparks1093]

I didn't think a credit card complaint could even be filed after 60 days after the payment was made.

 

I believe the PP that mentioned the credit card dispute was saying "this is what I would have done back then", not so much "this is what I would do now".

[golfadj]

But even if it was boarded up for weather, there should have been some sort of compensation. If you miss a port, at minimum, you get your port charges back and sometimes a future cruise credit. To have your OV turned into an inside knowing full well that you paid extra money for an OV tells me something should have been done (even if it was just a free dinner at the steakhouse or something else instead of cash).

 

If it was boarded up for weather it was for the protection of cabin and occupants and dont see that compensation is in order.

[Badfinger]

Except for this line in the contract: "Specific stateroom assignments are not guaranteed." Since the window was boarded up because of potential severe weather that means that all of the OV's were similarly boarded up. I would have been upset also having my OV be turned into an inside, but evidently CCL decided not to provide any consideration to any of the passengers affected. Sort of like when you end up in Nassau instead of a nicer port because of a storm. It sucks, but because it's weather related there's not much that can be done.

 

I never stated Carnival would give them a refund, but that it might get their "attention". Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

[sparks1093]

I never stated Carnival would give them a refund, but that it might get their "attention". Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

Sorry, I misread what you meant about "reversing the charges" and see now that you meant to use the credit card company as leverage.

[Out to sea!]

If it was boarded up for weather it was for the protection of cabin and occupants and dont see that compensation is in order.

 

I understand it was for their protection but just as you receive port charges back for not going to a port, I think some kind of offering for not getting what you paid for (a room with a window and view) would be made. Along the lines of a "sorry we had to inconvenience you" token. Heck, even a plate of strawberry's that JH gives away left and right could suffice.