Great Vacation Guarantee and uncomfortable hot cabins

[cruizinisthebest]

Try a Fantasy class ship. You can get a hurricane going on.

You can say that again. Damn near froze to death on the Sensation last year!

Edited October 8, 2014 by cruizinisthebest

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Domino, I am with you! I am also from GA (Gwinnett) and I am like you and my hubby is like your wife! He always has a fan and I am blanketed up. TO me 80 would be fine, he would find it uncomfortable.

 

When we last cruised, I brought along my digital thermometer (got one for work as they liked to keep that place like an icebox!) and it never read more than 75 degrees in the room. There are ways to turn it up or down, but I think it is more like opening the vent to let more or less air in vs actually turning the thermostat down.

 

From what I have read, it seems the standard is something like 72-77. Pretty big range really. I agree that it would take more than a temperature to make me pack up and go home. But remember that the Vacation Guarantee has to be enforced within the first 24 hours and if you have a legitimate complaint about the temp, you would have to give them time to fix it. Not sure that the timing would work out to use it unless you did not give time to fix and then you would basically be shooting yourself in the foot by leaving the ship.

 

No need to give them time to fix anything...

 

The Carnival Great Vacation Guarantee™ is the greatest guarantee you’ll never need to use. If you’re not happy with any 3–8 day Carnival vacation you take to The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, Canada/New England or Alaska, just let us know within 24 hours of your departure. We’ll refund 110% of your fare and our Guest Services will get you back to your home, free of charge. With no hassles and no questions asked.

 

Bill

[WayTooCool]

79 degrees at 1:00 am is a deal breaker for us. Hot cabin really put a downer on our cruise last week. And we're Platinum ; obviously this has not been a problem in the past. But it sure us now!:mad:

[TerReuv]

No need to give them time to fix anything...

 

The Carnival Great Vacation Guarantee™ is the greatest guarantee you’ll never need to use. If you’re not happy with any 3–8 day Carnival vacation you take to The Bahamas, the Caribbean, the Mexican Riviera, Canada/New England or Alaska, just let us know within 24 hours of your departure. We’ll refund 110% of your fare and our Guest Services will get you back to your home, free of charge. With no hassles and no questions asked.

 

Bill

 

I think you misunderstood. I know you do not have to give them time to fix the issues, but my thought was would you really want to leave your cruise because of a hot room that they might have been able to correct with one phone call. They might not be able to fix it, but if they could fix it easily then why would you not want to give them the chance before leaving the ship. If I did that, then our vacation would consist of one day on a cruise ship and the rest at home. What a waste of vacation time. Unless they were going to give me my 110% back immediately, we sure could not afford to go anywhere else that week.

[andy.capitan]

You don't have to give them time to fix anything, but there is no guarantee you'll like their choice of transportation to get you back to the port of embarkation or home.

 

110% of fare might not include taxes and fees and likely doesn't include your costs in getting to the cruise. Or anything you spent while on the ship.

 

Your mileage may vary, some assembly required, batteries not included

Edited October 8, 2014 by andy.capitan

[Disconnections]

You don't have to give them time to fix anything, but there is no guarantee you'll like their choice of transportation to get you back to the port of embarkation or home.

 

110% of fare might not include taxes and fees and likely doesn't include your costs in getting to the cruise. Or anything you spent while on the ship.

 

Your mileage may vary, some assembly required, batteries not included

 

What's there not to like about the transportation to the port of embarkation? You pay for the flight and they reimburse you.

 

Edited October 8, 2014 by Disconnections

[fourkittys]

Guess I've missed the threads about unbearable temps but for me it wouldn't be a deal breaker, but I would be asking for consideration (at least 3 drink coupons;)). They would have to provide a fan for DW because she can't tolerate heat the way that I can (and for her it might be a deal breaker if it were too hot). We typically cruise in the spring and night time temps are usually not too high so leaving the balcony door open is of course an option.

 

Not sure why CCL is controlling the thermostats, they generate their own power and I can't imagine that the cost/fuel savings are that significant, but I wasn't in engineering when I was in the Navy so I'm not positive.

 

 

Leaving the balcony door open is not an option of new ships. The room AC automatically shuts off when the door is left open resulting in more hot and humid air.

 

In regard to cost/fuel savings being insignificant please refer to post by steven597 on this same post.

 

Define UNBEARABLE temps.

[Disconnections]

Leaving the balcony door open is not an option of new ships. The room AC automatically shuts off when the door is left open resulting in more hot and humid air.

 

It's still an option. Bring a nickel-sized magnet.

 

At hotels, use VIP mode.

[sparks1093]

Leaving the balcony door open is not an option of new ships. The room AC automatically shuts off when the door is left open resulting in more hot and humid air.

 

In regard to cost/fuel savings being insignificant please refer to post by steven597 on this same post.

 

Define UNBEARABLE temps.

 

If the AC isn't cooling the cabin sufficiently and the outdoor air temp is cooler than the in cabin temp then it would make sense to leave it open. If you are referring to the thread by that poster I read it and am aware of what CCL is claiming. My personal jury is still out. For me if I can't sleep because it's too hot then it's unbearable.

[Domino D]

79 degrees at 1:00 am is a deal breaker for us. Hot cabin really put a downer on our cruise last week. And we're Platinum ; obviously this has not been a problem in the past. But it sure us now!:mad:

 

Was that the actual temperature on your last cruise? Did they ever get it adjusted? Please understand, I'm not saying that if it was only one night, it wasn't a problem. I am curious as to what they did to make you comfortable.

 

You don't have to give them time to fix anything, but there is no guarantee you'll like their choice of transportation to get you back to the port of embarkation or home.

 

110% of fare might not include taxes and fees and likely doesn't include your costs in getting to the cruise. Or anything you spent while on the ship.

 

Your mileage may vary, some assembly required, batteries not included

 

I think her point was if it was uncomfortably hot on the first night, she try to get it fixed before abandoning her vacation. If she waited to the second night to see if it was better it would be to late to take advantage of the guarantee. Brings up a question, if you notify Carnival of a problem on the first night and they say it will be addressed, can you still use the guarantee on day 2 if they did not get the problem fixed?

 

Guess I've missed the threads about unbearable temps but for me it wouldn't be a deal breaker, but I would be asking for consideration (at least 3 drink coupons;)).

 

Good job Sparks. What constitutes unacceptable cabin temperature will always be different by passenger, but we must remain united in terms of one night in an uncomfortable cabin is worth a MINIMUM of $25 OBC or 3 free drinks. More if you can get it, but accept no less.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Domino D

[tallyho8]

I don't know if I would invoke the guarantee but I might threaten to do it to see if it would get them to find me another cabin or fix the a/c.

 

My wife has asthma and it is unbearable for her to sleep in a hot room. Being senior citizens is much different than when we were young and neither of us having air conditioning until we were 25 years old.

 

I retired from my air conditioning business after 38 years and when testing air conditioners to see if they were working properly, one of the tests was to put a thermometer on the vent coming into the room and another thermometer on the vent going out of the room and the absolute minimum difference of temperature had to be 15 degrees.

 

If the air blowing out the vent on your cabin door is 80 degrees, the absolute minimum temperature of air coming out of your ceiling vent should be 65 degrees. This is what it would take to keep your cabin at about 72 degrees.

 

When the Carnival employee comes to check your a/c after you complain he will usually stick the thermometer in the ceiling vent and then tell you the temperature is 75 degrees which meets their standards but this test does not tell you the temperature in the room. Having your own thermometer in the middle of the room is a more accurate test and proof that they need to make adjustments.

 

Suffering silently in your hot cabin without complaining just allows Carnival to keep saving fuel by using less for air conditioning.

[Domino D]

I don't know if I would invoke the guarantee but I might threaten to do it to see if it would get them to find me another cabin or fix the a/c.

 

My wife has asthma and it is unbearable for her to sleep in a hot room. Being senior citizens is much different than when we were young and neither of us having air conditioning until we were 25 years old.

 

I retired from my air conditioning business after 38 years and when testing air conditioners to see if they were working properly, one of the tests was to put a thermometer on the vent coming into the room and another thermometer on the vent going out of the room and the absolute minimum difference of temperature had to be 15 degrees.

 

If the air blowing out the vent on your cabin door is 80 degrees, the absolute minimum temperature of air coming out of your ceiling vent should be 65 degrees. This is what it would take to keep your cabin at about 72 degrees.

 

When the Carnival employee comes to check your a/c after you complain he will usually stick the thermometer in the ceiling vent and then tell you the temperature is 75 degrees which meets their standards but this test does not tell you the temperature in the room. Having your own thermometer in the middle of the room is a more accurate test and proof that they need to make adjustments.

 

Suffering silently in your hot cabin without complaining just allows Carnival to keep saving fuel by using less for air conditioning.

 

I have been waiting for someone with AC experience. There are a lot of people experiencing this, so clearly something is going on. Being in the hotel business, I have no problem believing that Carnival has made changes in terms of energy management. You make a great point regarding that everyone points to the Carnival maintenance staff checking the air coming out of the vent, but not the return air. I also wonder about the rate of air flow. In July and August the low temp is 78-79 in the Caribbean. So the temperatures some people are reporting point to no cooling at all. But with all that said, it is not every room. A lot of people still talk about being cold. As far as I know it is a central system (in zones), not individual units. It sounds like it's certain rooms or zones.

 

Do you think the location of the cabin, in terms of how many cabins are on the same duct and where it is located in the run would make a difference? If you are at the end of a run, would that mean less air flow or a warming of the air as it travels through the duct work?

 

Could it be that there is not enough make up air in some sections?

 

Could people propping open balcony doors be putting more warm moist air into a zone than it can handle?

 

How much can what is going on in the spaces above, below, and beside the cabin effect its temperature? I know in a hotel if you are adjacent in anyway to an electrical room, boiler room, mechanical room, etc. you can get heat off those spaces.

 

It just does not sound like it's as simple as they adjusted the cooling system. I would think if that was the case all the cabins would be experiencing the same conditions. No I am not absolving Carnival. Regardless of what is causing the cabins in question to be so warm, the answer of "It's within our limits" is not acceptable if people are uncomfortable.

 

I hope you and wife never have to deal with this. Once you retire, you deserve to sit back and enjoy your cruises. I know that's what i'm working towards.

[Nathanyell]

We always take a clock that has a thermometer in it. Once our room was hot but I think it was mostly the afternoon heat (78). When I complained to guest services I told them the temp in the room. The room was definitely cooler later and did not get that hot again. You could always ask for maintenance to be with you in the room to check the temperature.

 

 

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[Live to Dream]

If you paid for your cruise on a credit card, I would dispute the services and adk for a refund sowing all documentation that you tried to remedy while on boatd and very good pics of the thetmometer that you take with you to record the temp. And yes, I already verified this withe our credit card.

[9876]

This is a great thread with fantastic information. I am following.

[Domino D]

If you paid for your cruise on a credit card, I would dispute the services and adk for a refund sowing all documentation that you tried to remedy while on boatd and very good pics of the thetmometer that you take with you to record the temp. And yes, I already verified this withe our credit card.

 

Dream,

If my cruise were impacted severely, that is definitely an option I would avail myself of. To me this would mean I gave Carnival every chance to remedy the situation, they had acknowledged their awareness of the problem, and it had not gotten resolved. I think documenting things would be the key.

[A2Mich]

I have been waiting for someone with AC experience. There are a lot of people experiencing this, so clearly something is going on. Being in the hotel business, I have no problem believing that Carnival has made changes in terms of energy management. You make a great point regarding that everyone points to the Carnival maintenance staff checking the air coming out of the vent, but not the return air. I also wonder about the rate of air flow. In July and August the low temp is 78-79 in the Caribbean. So the temperatures some people are reporting point to no cooling at all. But with all that said, it is not every room. A lot of people still talk about being cold. As far as I know it is a central system (in zones), not individual units. It sounds like it's certain rooms or zones.

 

Do you think the location of the cabin, in terms of how many cabins are on the same duct and where it is located in the run would make a difference? If you are at the end of a run, would that mean less air flow or a warming of the air as it travels through the duct work?

 

Could it be that there is not enough make up air in some sections?

 

Could people propping open balcony doors be putting more warm moist air into a zone than it can handle?

 

How much can what is going on in the spaces above, below, and beside the cabin effect its temperature? I know in a hotel if you are adjacent in anyway to an electrical room, boiler room, mechanical room, etc. you can get heat off those spaces.

 

It just does not sound like it's as simple as they adjusted the cooling system. I would think if that was the case all the cabins would be experiencing the same conditions. No I am not absolving Carnival. Regardless of what is causing the cabins in question to be so warm, the answer of "It's within our limits" is not acceptable if people are uncomfortable.

 

I hope you and wife never have to deal with this. Once you retire, you deserve to sit back and enjoy your cruises. I know that's what i'm working towards.

 

I mentioned these very same things in an earlier thread about this same subject. My guess is the most likely cause is going to be people propping balcony doors open. It really wouldn't make much sense on Carnival's part to make their equipment run less efficiently - if it's not maintaining temperature, the system is going to run continuously. Chengkp75 would be a great one to answer these questions. I would surmise that the ships are using large chillers for space conditioning. Even in a typical residential/commercial AC system, high humidity levels can decrease temperature deltas by several degrees. Again, leaving balcony doors open not only affects the one cabin, but every space on that particular zone by increasing humidity levels and return air temperatures. But, as long as people find ways to cheat the system, my guess is this complaint will not go away. As for earlier comments about freezing on a Fantasy class ship - it has no balconies (except maybe a handful added during a drydock).

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I mentioned these very same things in an earlier thread about this same subject. My guess is the most likely cause is going to be people propping balcony doors open. It really wouldn't make much sense on Carnival's part to make their equipment run less efficiently - if it's not maintaining temperature, the system is going to run continuously. Chengkp75 would be a great one to answer these questions. I would surmise that the ships are using large chillers for space conditioning. Even in a typical residential/commercial AC system, high humidity levels can decrease temperature deltas by several degrees. Again, leaving balcony doors open not only affects the one cabin, but every space on that particular zone by increasing humidity levels and return air temperatures. But, as long as people find ways to cheat the system, my guess is this complaint will not go away. As for earlier comments about freezing on a Fantasy class ship - it has no balconies (except maybe a handful added during a drydock).

 

you make some very good points.

 

It looks like i may have my fellow pax to thank for my extremely hot cabin on our CCL cruise which happened to be an inside cabin.

 

Bill

[peteukmcr]

I'm scared. Our first Carnival cruise next year and there seems to be a lot of talk of room temperatures of mid to high 70s. Far too hot for us. Our home is never hotter than 68 and the bedrooms cooler. I cannot sleep if the temp is 70 or above. I hope I can get the temp down.

[Domino D]

I'm scared. Our first Carnival cruise next year and there seems to be a lot of talk of room temperatures of mid to high 70s. Far too hot for us. Our home is never hotter than 68 and the bedrooms cooler. I cannot sleep if the temp is 70 or above. I hope I can get the temp down.

 

Pete,

Try not to let it worry you too much in advance. I admit room temperature is not as critical to me, but I understand if you like a room as cold as you do, why this might cause concern. Just have a plan of what you will do if it happens, and then let it go. My family’s concerns run more to crowding, wait times, food quality, and weather. I always remind them lots of things have happened to us on a trip (land or sea), and you just have to deal with them. Despite Carnivals claim, there is no “Guarantee”.

 

1. It’s not statistically likely to be a problem:

 

This is a hot button because it should be under your control and isn’t in these situations, but while there are indeed some people who have had major issues, it is not every cabin. As many people have pointed out, many ships and cabins are fine. Look at it this way: How many people cruise each week? How many come here or other places and tell us how hot their rooms were? Even if we assume that for every person that post that complaint there was another that was hot and didn't say anything, it’s still a small percentage of the total number of people sailing.

 

2. They likely will be able to make it better:

 

Of the people who experienced issues, most (from what I can see) have been resolved by maintenance at some point. I believe it was luvtocruise (sp) who in another thread said she had gotten feedback from Carnival that there had indeed been an AC issue on the Liberty but it was fixed.

There was a woman doing a Sunshine review. She was in a Spa balcony. She said that her cabin was too warm. She went to Guest Services and waited in line, they sent maintenance to fix it. It was better. The next day it warmed again, she had them comeback. That time they fixed it for good. I think it is terrible service that she had to go twice, but that is what it took to be comfortable.

 

I know it doesn't sound like it on the forums sometimes, but I doubt Carnival wants anyone to be unhappy.

 

3. Take full advantage of the ideas on this and other threads.

 

If your cabin is uncomfortable, keep telling them you want it addressed.

Bring a fan

 

Bring a travel clock with a thermometer

 

Try to get someone at Carnival to respond in an email before you sail, as to what the acceptable "cabin" temperature should be. Print that email and take it with you. Point to your thermometer if the room temperature is not in that range.

 

Turn the AC down as soon as you get to the room if you like it cold. Make sure it is blowing noticeably cold air.

 

If there is a problem, tell them sooner than later.

 

If they tell you the air coming out of the vent is acceptable, make them look at room temperature and return air temperature.

 

Tell them you will contact your credit card company and deny the charge if it is not fixed.

 

I am not saying there isn’t a problem. I'm just trying to put it in perspective. Carnival needs to make its passengers comfortable, and while you shouldn’t have to, you may need to take the situation in your hands and make them find an acceptable solution and/or compensation.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Domino D

[Domino D]

I mentioned these very same things in an earlier thread about this same subject. My guess is the most likely cause is going to be people propping balcony doors open. It really wouldn't make much sense on Carnival's part to make their equipment run less efficiently - if it's not maintaining temperature, the system is going to run continuously. Chengkp75 would be a great one to answer these questions. I would surmise that the ships are using large chillers for space conditioning. Even in a typical residential/commercial AC system, high humidity levels can decrease temperature deltas by several degrees. Again, leaving balcony doors open not only affects the one cabin, but every space on that particular zone by increasing humidity levels and return air temperatures. But, as long as people find ways to cheat the system, my guess is this complaint will not go away. As for earlier comments about freezing on a Fantasy class ship - it has no balconies (except maybe a handful added during a drydock).

 

You and I have indeed had this exchange before. Whenever I see this topic, I ask those questions. So far the answer from you and others is always the same.

 

I'm not defending Carnival. They need to make passengers comfortable. I do not however believe this is part of a conscious effort to warm the ships. That's not because I think they are above that type of action, but rather the nature of the problem.

 

If these circumstances were the result of the energy management efforts (alone) then the problems would be much more widespread. I completely understand that this has been an awful situation when it has happened, but it seems "relatively" isolated.

 

A2Mich makes a pretty solid argument that the Fantasy class doesn't have balconies, and are most often described as freezing.

 

I wonder also if anyone has had an extremely warm cabin on decks 1 or 2, since they don't have balconies?

 

I have not seen these comments about the Breeze. Has anyone else?

 

A2Mich, I wonder if they added the balconies, and in some cases extra cabins, and didn't beef up the HVAC sufficiently?

 

To play devils advocate, this does seem like a more recent phenomenon, so it may be some combination of balcony doors (or other environmental factor) and something to do with changes in energy management.

[Surfwench]

Give the ship a helping hand and keep your drapes shut as much as possible, and balcony door closed.

 

We've noticed on our aft balcony cabins the afternoon sun shining directly on the windows will heat up the place unless we draw the drapes.

 

It's not by accident the stewards go into each cabin after the passengers leave for the day and close the drapes.

[tallyho8]

I do not believe that the problem exists because people leave balcony doors open.

 

When my cove balcony cabin was hot on the Dream, I walked around on the Promenade deck where you can look up and see most of the balconies, except for the cove balconies, and I did not see any doors open and most on the sunny side of the ship had their curtains closed.

[fourkittys]

Pete,

Try not to let it worry you too much in advance. I admit room temperature is not as critical to me, but I understand if you like a room as cold as you do, why this might cause concern. Just have a plan of what you will do if it happens, and then let it go. My family’s concerns run more to crowding, wait times, food quality, and weather. I always remind them lots of things have happened to us on a trip (land or sea), and you just have to deal with them. Despite Carnivals claim, there is no “Guarantee”.

 

1. It’s not statistically likely to be a problem:

 

This is a hot button because it should be under your control and isn’t in these situations, but while there are indeed some people who have had major issues, it is not every cabin. As many people have pointed out, many ships and cabins are fine. Look at it this way: How many people cruise each week? How many come here or other places and tell us how hot their rooms were? Even if we assume that for every person that post that complaint there was another that was hot and didn't say anything, it’s still a small percentage of the total number of people sailing.

 

2. They likely will be able to make it better:

 

Of the people who experienced issues, most (from what I can see) have been resolved by maintenance at some point. I believe it was luvtocruise (sp) who in another thread said she had gotten feedback from Carnival that there had indeed been an AC issue on the Liberty but it was fixed.

There was a woman doing a Sunshine review. She was in a Spa balcony. She said that her cabin was too warm. She went to Guest Services and waited in line, they sent maintenance to fix it. It was better. The next day it warmed again, she had them comeback. That time they fixed it for good. I think it is terrible service that she had to go twice, but that is what it took to be comfortable.

 

I know it doesn't sound like it on the forums sometimes, but I doubt Carnival wants anyone to be unhappy.

 

3. Take full advantage of the ideas on this and other threads.

 

If your cabin is uncomfortable, keep telling them you want it addressed.

Bring a fan

 

Bring a travel clock with a thermometer

 

Try to get someone at Carnival to respond in an email before you sail, as to what the acceptable "cabin" temperature should be. Print that email and take it with you. Point to your thermometer if the room temperature is not in that range.

 

Turn the AC down as soon as you get to the room if you like it cold. Make sure it is blowing noticeably cold air.

 

If there is a problem, tell them sooner than later.

 

If they tell you the air coming out of the vent is acceptable, make them look at room temperature and return air temperature.

 

Tell them you will contact your credit card company and deny the charge if it is not fixed.

 

I am not saying there isn’t a problem. I'm just trying to put it in perspective. Carnival needs to make its passengers comfortable, and while you shouldn’t have to, you may need to take the situation in your hands and make them find an acceptable solution and/or compensation.

 

 

Great suggestions, thanks for your very tactful and helpful input.

[tilliebob1919]

Sincerely hope this ac thing will not be a problem for us on the Liberty Halloween cruise. My husband does have respiratory issues and we definitely need to have a nice cool, comfortable cabin otherwise he will experience an exacerbation of his breathing difficulties. We are on the 8th deck, beginning of the mid in a balcony room. Praying that it was a good choice. Really looking forward to this cruise to get away, relax and have tons of fun on the Liberty, which we have never cruised on before.

 

 

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