Unfortunate Magic Cruise

[Gatorj]

Carnival Magic 3-22-15 Sailing Review

 

This was our 15th cruise overall, and 3rd on Carnival. Our last Carnival cruise was 2006 on the Destiny, and we decided to give it a try again based on reading many favorable reviews and seeing the new ships. We were sorely disappointed with the experience, and will not be back on another Carnival Cruise.

 

We are an early 40’s couple sailing with our 17-year old daughter and another family of 4. For this particular sailing, we chose a Spa Suite on deck 11 for the space and the quietness of the cabin location, and the kids had a spa inside cabin across the hall from us. FYI – the spa is VERY nice. Read on for complete impressions.

 

Pre-cruise Hotel: Four Points Sheraton on Seawall Blvd in Galveston

Our initial impressions of the hotel were very favorable. We checked in mid-afternoon the day before the cruise, and were greeting by a friendly staff and a clean room. The restaurant was empty all afternoon and only a few people were there during happy hour. The drinks were reasonably priced and the service was good.

 

We had pre-reserved taxi service with the front desk when we checked in. They put everything on their “list” and assured us a taxi would be waiting on us at 10:45am Sunday for the ride over to the terminal. When we checked out at 10:30 and inquired about our taxi, they informed us they did not have a taxi for us, and did not have a list from the previous day. We received no apology, nor did they seem to care that they had clearly messed up. An hour and a half later, and many visits back to the front desk, discussions with the manager, and phone calls of our own to every known taxi service in Galveston, we finally had rides for our party of 7. We never did get an apology. Completely inexcusable.

 

Embarkation: All I can say is that it was smooth and quick. We arrived at the terminal around 12:15, dropped our bags with the porters, went through the priority line, and were on the ship in 10 minutes. Flawless!

 

First Impressions, and ship in general:

 

We entered through the main lobby on deck 3, and the atrium is very nice. Not gaudy like on some other ships we’ve sailed. Yes, it was crowded, but we only needed to wait for a few minutes for our cruise companions to board and we were on our way to get some lunch. The buffet was busy, and the Mongolian Wok line was long (this would be a theme all week, and we never did wait in the 20-minute line for what looked to be very good food). After a mediocre first lunch, we took off for our self-guided tour of the ship. The ship is very clean, well laid out, and certainly does not seem to be a 130k-ton ship. I consider this a plus, and it never seemed to take as long as you would expect to walk from one end to the other. The venues were laid out well, and there always seemed to be a food or beverage option relatively close to where you are.

 

Cabin:

We had cabin 11215, which is a spa suite on deck 11. There are cabins above and below, and therefore very little noise. Cabin was very spacious for 2, with 4 decent size closets, a nice sofa, an extended balcony, a bathroom with jetted tub and dual vanities, and a makeup area in the walkway to the bathroom. The cabin was clean, and the cabin steward was amazing. He was very engaging, friendly, and kept our room spotless. This was one of the best cabin setups we’ve had. Our daughter and a friend were across the hall in 11217, which was an inside cabin. It was small, but equally clean and cared for with the same attention ours was. Kudos to our steward.

 

Dining:

Our cruise essentially went south on day 1 when we arrived and compared dining with our cruise companions. We had 3 cabins all booked together by the same travel agency. We had confirmed (and re-confirmed) several times leading up to the cruise that we would have early dining (Southern Lights), and would be seated together. When we arrived, we found that 2 of the cabins were seated together, and the third was assigned to Your Time Dining. No problem, right? Talk to the Maitre’d and get it switched, right? Guess what? On Carnival, they really don’t care whether you like it or not, whether you reserved it or not, and were certainly not going to help us. Here’s the run down….

 

Day 1 – Went to the dining room that was taking dinner requests and asked to have our dining reassigned for us all to be together (as booked, reserved, requested, etc.). We were told that early dining was full and the other couple would be put on a waiting list. No worries – we’ll give it one day. So, the 4 of us with early dining go to our assigned table (which was an 8-top), and the other 4 people assigned to the table do not show up. We had a really good dinner, with absolutely outstanding service from our waiter (actually, some of the best we’ve EVER had), and find out that the other 4 people at our table are all from 1 cabin.

 

Day 2 – We were supposed to hear what the status of our dining reservation was by mid-morning. We go to guest services to inquire, and they essentially tell us they can’t help us and we need to speak to the Maitre’d. We reiterate the story, and express deep dissatisfaction with the situation, and are told we’d hear by mid-afternoon. Mid-afternoon rolls around and we hear nothing. So, off to dinner again. Again, the other side of the table is a no-show. So….we are at a table for 8, with the other party not showing up, and our other 3 companions can’t get into our dining room? Someone needs to be fired. We talk again to the Maitre’d, and essentially tell him he needs to call the other people (the ones who haven’t shown up), and ask THEM to move to anytime dining. Alas, they apparently don’t know how to dial phones.

 

Day 3 – I’ve had enough. Back to the front desk to let them know we are requesting all of our gratuities to be removed to ensure the Maitre’d and his staff receives nothing from us. This gets their attention. Now off to the dining room to meet with the Senior Mairte’d. He is only somewhat concerned with our situation, and essentially tells us the only thing he can do is move those of us with assigned dining to anytime dining, because heaven forbid they pick up the phone and call the freakin’ people who never show up for dinner. Finally, on day three, they move us to anytime dining, so now we can sit together, but we no longer have the fantastic servers. Oh well – we made sure they were tipped very well, and with our apologies, we moved to anytime dining. We did find out that the MIA guests at our assigned table showed up ONCE all week. What a joke. Carnival should be ashamed and really take a look at their dining room leadership again. We did ultimately allow the gratuities be charged, but we made it a point to ask that the dining leadership not receive a portion.

 

So, does Carnival care? Not really. But we didn’t let that completely ruin our impression of Carnival….other things helped with that.

 

Anyway, the food in the main dining room was pretty good, surprisingly. We didn’t have a bad meal, and some were quite good. The Steakhouse was simply fantastic. We ate far too much, and still wanted more. It was worth every penny, and was possibly the best meal food-wise we’ve had on a ship. The buffet was blah. Same crap for breakfast every day, long lines for omelets, and limited options otherwise. Lunch was pretty much the same. Long lines for the grill and the wok, and limited (and repetitive) options otherwise. The pizza however was outstanding, and was a favorite of our group each evening as a good-night snack. A side mention to the servers in the Your Time Dining (Northern Lights) – they were hit or miss. One night would be good, the next would be terrible. Clearly it’s their training ground for the new folks. Enough on the food and dining.

 

Open Decks:

Perhaps it was because there were 1000 kids on the ship due to spring break (and families sleeping in), but we never had an issue finding good chairs at the pool. We arrived between 8-9 each morning, and found at least half the chairs were still available. Yes there were kids everywhere, but when you book Spring Break, what do you expect? Didn’t bother us, and we had a good time at the pool areas. Our older teens enjoyed the pool deck, and the sports deck. Always found fun stuff to do during the day. Don’t miss the hot dog stand at the sports court – yummy!

 

Kids Clubs:

2 words – unsupervised and boring. We had a 14, 16, and 17-year old with us, and there were ZERO planned activities during the day, and only 1 activity each evening, that was not supervised by any staff from Carnival? What the heck? On other cruise lines, there are activities planned all week long in each age group, and published ahead of time. On a cruise with this many kids, to have nothing is completely ridiculous. Not sure who owns this folly, but clearly another poor decision.

 

Bar Service, Red Frog, and other venues:

The bar service was really good. Maybe the best we’ve seen in years. Not pushy, but very friendly and responsive. Drinks were good, although pricey, but not a discouragement to us. The beer in the Red Frog was very good, and some of the best bartenders are found here. The outside patio was always packed, although the inside rarely was. Other bars had good service as well, and we never had to wait for drinks anywhere.

 

Other cruisers:

Families, families, families, and families. There was not a huge contingent of “spring breakers” on this ship, but it was very much full of families of all ages. A good mix really. We didn’t have any issue with the other passengers, and didn’t seem to see anyone get unruly.

 

Entertainment:

Our biggest issue on the Magic. I really don’t know if this is a Carnival issue, a Magic issue, or a Cruise Director issue, however the entertainment was terrible. So here’s the thing; we’re active, we like to have fun, and we like options. We also like audience participation shows and events. Carnival has 3 basic options for your evening: Comedy shows, a piano bar, or a main theater show. That’s it. Let’s run down the list:

 

Comedy Shows - each evening, there are 3-4 30-minute shows. You get in line, file in, order drinks, laugh (maybe) for 20-30 minutes then are asked to leave the venue and get back in line (hopefully) to see the next show. Lather, rinse, repeat. The comedians? Hit or miss. No thanks.

Piano bar - Where’d they find this guy? Could play the piano ok, but limited repertoire, and frankly couldn’t sing a lick. Every song sounded the same, and nothing sounded like the original. When you run a sing-a-long piano bar, the songs shouldn’t sound like you’re trying to make your own American Idol edition. For Pete’s sake, fire the guy and hire someone who can sing.

Main Shows - These may have been ok, but we tried the first 2, and couldn’t make it through.

 

So, what’s left at night? Nothing. The club was sparsely populated, and there wasn’t anything left. On NCL, there are so many different entertainment options each evening, you have a hard time choosing. The audience participation shows (Newlywed, No so Newlywed, Name that Song, Etc) were held during the day, or at really inconvenient times. Who does that? A final note about the Cruise Director and Staff. The CD was Eli, and I understand he was on the ship as a replacement for the full-time CD who was on vacation. Eli was “ok”. He did his thing and disappeared. His staff, on the other hand were arrogant, not engaged, and seemed not to care that they were there for our enjoyment, and not the other way around. I found a couple of them to be so standoffish that I would be surprised if they could remain employed on NCL or RCI.

 

Anyway, the entertainment was so bad, by halfway through the week, when we pulled into port next to RCI and NCL we wanted to jump ship.

 

Ports:

Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We spent a half-day at Margaritaville in Montego Bay and had a blast. Took a tour on Grand Cayman with NativeWay Watersports (which I highly recommend) to Stingray City, snorkeling, and Rum Point beach for lunch and lounging. On Cozumel we went shopping and the required stop at Senior Frogs.

 

Overall Impressions:

Carnival Magic was a really nice ship with a nice layout. It was clean, and those people that were not in a management position we interacted with were very good and left us feeling very happy. Unfortunately, the negatives really were negative, and Carnival’s seeming lack of concern for our situation in the dining room, and severe degradation of afternoon and evening activities have convinced us that we will no longer consider Carnival as a viable cruise line for our dollars.

[loveJake]

Had somewhat the same dinning room problems on RCI, gave up after the 2nd day and just enjoyed the cruise. I would have just gone with anytime and made a reservation for the same time each night, we had 8 the 1 cruise and it worked fine for us even without reservations. Our last Carnival cruise with our GK's they were happy with the clubs, did not want structured activities at their ages, just a place to hang out and meet other kids. Hope you did enjoy ost of your cruise.

[tkportersat]

Didn't have any issues on our recent Magic Cruise, sorry you didn't have the same experience.

[flc]

Sounds like you Booked your cruise with a Independant TA.

 

My 1st question I guess were you ever able to view your Cruise Booking through Carnival ? or .... was that information only available through your Independant TA ?

 

If so ..... your TA did not monitor that to insure your Cabins were tied together. That .... is the TA's job.

 

In my earlier cruises, I had some serious issues with using a Independant TA. I now only us my Carnival PVP. I have had nothing but perfect service :)

 

If you were able to view your Booking Information before you sailed .... it would have shown you what your Dinning Time was and rather it was Your Time Dining or Traditional.

 

Sounds to me like your Independant TA messed up. Just my opinion

[ryanedoyle]

We were on the March 22, 2015 cruise with you and your family. I am very sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your vacation and the time on the ship. I am also very sad that they were not able to fix your dining situation like they should have.

 

We were in a group of 8 including our 10 month old son in four cabins and did your time dining (what ever its called) and found it to be wonderful. We very much enjoyed and flexibility. We were able to get same same severs (Felix and his staff) who were beyond top notch. The food every night was outstanding as well. We also enjoyed the steak house and the Italian up sell restaurant which we found to be amazing.

 

Where we differ is this was the best vacation, on the best ship with the best staff we have ever been on. This is our fifth cruise and we found this one the best hands down. We felt the cruise director and staff were awesome. The bartenders were our favorites and always remembered our name and the drinks we wanted. Several of them even stopped to say hi to me as I was taking the Behind the Fun Tour on the last sea day.

 

Our son was under two so we were only able to put him in camp ocean during night owls and for a few hours during port days. We only took advantage of it a few time so we could have some adult time.

 

I must disagree with you on the piano bar. I found both performers I watched to be very good and got a lost of interaction from the guests. I enjoyed singing along to the music! I agree that the shows were about the same as they always were (nothing to write home about). After watching a few we would rather spend our time playing shuffleboard or just relaxing somewhere.

 

Just thought I would share my much shorter side of the story and hope that the OP has a MUCH better time in the future. :)

[Gatorj]

Sounds like you Booked your cruise with a Independant TA.

 

My 1st question I guess were you ever able to view your Cruise Booking through Carnival ? or .... was that information only available through your Independant TA ?

 

If so ..... your TA did not monitor that to insure your Cabins were tied together. That .... is the TA's job.

 

In my earlier cruises, I had some serious issues with using a Independant TA. I now only us my Carnival PVP. I have had nothing but perfect service :)

 

If you were able to view your Booking Information before you sailed .... it would have shown you what your Dinning Time was and rather it was Your Time Dining or Traditional.

 

Sounds to me like your Independant TA messed up. Just my opinion

 

We booked through the largest cruise booking company in the world, and our reservations were all viewable directly on Carnival's website for months prior to the cruise. All reservations were linked in both TA's and Carnival's systems (as well as reservation paperwork and boarding documents), and dining times were confirmed through Carnival's online system. It was clearly Carnival's miss. Frankly, we were told by the Maitre'D that they had the wrong cabins linked together in their system.

 

It really is irrelevant where or how the issue happened. Customer service is about how you handle a situation, not looking for blame. In this case, Carnival should have move our cruise companions to our table and been done with it. They treated us as if WE were the problem, even though we were in the second most expensive cabins on the ship.

[Tapi]

Just curious. Once you were switched to Anytime Dining, how did you track that the other family that was originally assigned to your table only attended one time? Did you continue monitoring or walking by the other table at the assigned time? Did the MDR staff provide that info? Truly curious.

 

Carnival should have move our cruise companions to our table and been done with it. They treated us as if WE were the problem, even though we were in the second most expensive cabins on the ship.

 

 

I truly understand why you were feeling that way, but I don't think that removing the other family from the original table in order to accommodate your friends would've been the best solution. I'm one of those cruisers that only attends the MDR a handful of nights, sometimes just one or two. If I had assigned dining and I showed up at the restaurant only to find out that my table had been given to someone else, I would've been LIVID. You don't inconvenience one guest to make another one happy.

 

And about getting special treatment because you were traveling on a "suite": Not on Carnival. As you know, the only perk that you get besides priority embarkation is that your cabin description has the word "suite". No special treatment, no perks, no priority dining reservations, no nothing. You're just as special as the guy on a 1A inside bunk cabin on the Riviera deck. Respectfully, if you want suite perks, you need to sail on a cruise line that does provide suite perks.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Tapi

[flc]

We booked through the largest cruise booking company in the world, and our reservations were all viewable directly on Carnival's website for months prior to the cruise. All reservations were linked in both TA's and Carnival's systems (as well as reservation paperwork and boarding documents), and dining times were confirmed through Carnival's online system. It was clearly Carnival's miss. Frankly, we were told by the Maitre'D that they had the wrong cabins linked together in their system.

 

It really is irrelevant where or how the issue happened. Customer service is about how you handle a situation, not looking for blame. In this case, Carnival should have move our cruise companions to our table and been done with it. They treated us as if WE were the problem, even though we were in the second most expensive cabins on the ship.

 

 

Wow ..... with that said .... sounds like you have a very valid Complaint.

 

I'm very sorry what happend to your Family & Friends.

[arpie05]

Your dining time is listed on your confirmation - do all three have Early? We have always done early and recently switched to late due to my son aging out of Camp Carnival/02 - he's now 19 - and even the new CabinConfirmation email has late dining now.

 

Also - why didn't they just go with you and make room? I did that on our Dream sailing 5 yrs ago. My son bailed and dining guests didn't show so I was alone so I went to another table and pulled up a chair.

 

On the Elation we sat at another table with who we wanted to sit with instead of the rude guests we were stuck with. Didn't asked, just squeezed in. (They had a booth and our table was close by so our waiter just handed down our food from the upper level (middle of the room) down to us.

 

Our Glory cruise was a mess. A couple we met - won't sail again because of the mis-steps. Sometimes you just have to roll with it and not let consume you.

 

Hope you managed to relax a bit. Plus you did go during spring break... crazy busy time any vacation spot!

[falkcor]

Part if the entertainment problem may have been Eli. I had him as a stand in cd before on splendor and I've never heard so many complaints about the entertainment, talking with other cruisers. This is one of those instances where the cd DOES matter. Personally I didn't mind much, I always keep myself entertained, but I will say that the scheduling of and events offered did seem sub par so I understood others complaints.

[forwardcabin]

As for other entertainment options, there is Karaoke, Trivia, and a three-piece band--all at Ocean Plaza (deck 5 mid-ship) every afternoon and evening. Bingo is available every day in the main lounge. The casino is open when not in port. The Fun Times each day shows when entertainers are in different venues, such as Red Frog Pub and the Vibe. There are one- and two-piece live entertainers in the atrium throughout each day. In addition, there are various events scheduled on Lido each day and the Sports Square has tons of things to do, including the famous ropes course.

[OCruisers]

Thanks for taking your time to tell us about your cruise ... both the good and the bad.

The most upsetting to me is the lack for concern about doing what was needed to address your very valid dining issues. :(

LuLu

[BigB0882]

I agree that the dining issue was a TA problem. Carnival can not kick people out of their dining reservation for not showing up. No one has to show up, they have the choice of other dining options but the reservations are first come first serve and those people got theirs. I wouldn't get a reservation if I knew I was hardly going to use it but maybe they didn't know that ahead of time. Our TA really didn't do right by us on a booking so from now on I book my own cruises. I wouldn't object to using one of Carniva's PVPs, though.

 

The entertainment sounds about right. I guess it doesn't bother me since I spend so much time in the casino. If I didn't gamble I could see having the same issues on any Carnival ship.

[cruiser fanatic]

I am sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise. However, the only valid complaint I am reading about is the dining. It is ALWAYS a good idea to print out your documents and take them with you. That way, if there is any problem on the ship you have the documents to back it up. On the Freedom, a few weeks ago they had me listed as Your Time Dining even though I was confirmed for Early Dining. By having these documents when I went and spoke to the Maître D he was able to change it to Early Dining no questions asked. Also, gratuities don't even go to the dining management team, they just go to your service staff. I also don't agree about inconveniencing another guest just to make you happy. I also would have been LIVID if my dining time had been changed due to this situation. As for the food, I have never been impressed with the food on the Magic. I think you should give Carnival another try because I have never heard of this happening. Have you complained to the head office?

[cruizinisthebest]

There's nothing more annoying about a situation that is not your fault then when people don't (A) apologize and/or (B) act expediently to fix it. That goes from the taxi situation at the hotel to the MDR mess.

 

They should have moved you guys to a table together at the time you asked for. I am not a fan of ATD and would not have liked that. Although offering that alternative with some concern would have helped smooth things over.

 

I don't think it would have been right to move the other party at your table without their O.K. There could have been any number of reasons they didn't show up much. Their choice. We don't always eat in the MDR either. Like Tapi, I'm curious how you knew the breakdown of when they did show up. It also shouldn't matter how much you paid for your cabin. Everyone is entitled to decent customer service.

 

Looking forward to sailing the Magic if/when she comes to the East.

[Podna's]

I agree that the dining issue was a TA problem. Carnival can not kick people out of their dining reservation for not showing up. No one has to show up, they have the choice of other dining options but the reservations are first come first serve and those people got theirs. I wouldn't get a reservation if I knew I was hardly going to use it but maybe they didn't know that ahead of time. Our TA really didn't do right by us on a booking so from now on I book my own cruises. I wouldn't object to using one of Carniva's PVPs, .

 

 

I agree 100%. I don't think Carnival dropped the ball. Maybe they could've handled it better, but when the op called for someone to get fired because they wouldn't call and move the other party the review went south for me. That's ridiculous. You just can't do that. If op cruises as much as they say they do, should know better and also should know removing tips affects a lot more than the dining room crew.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Podna's

[ASchaff]

Just curious. Once you were switched to Anytime Dining, how did you track that the other family that was originally assigned to your table only attended one time? Did you continue monitoring or walking by the other table at the assigned time? Did the MDR staff provide that info? Truly curious.

 

 

 

 

I truly understand why you were feeling that way, but I don't think that removing the other family from the original table in order to accommodate your friends would've been the best solution. I'm one of those cruisers that only attends the MDR a handful of nights, sometimes just one or two. If I had assigned dining and I showed up at the restaurant only to find out that my table had been given to someone else, I would've been LIVID. You don't inconvenience one guest to make another one happy.

 

And about getting special treatment because you were traveling on a "suite": Not on Carnival. As you know, the only perk that you get besides priority embarkation is that your cabin description has the word "suite". No special treatment, no perks, no priority dining reservations, no nothing. You're just as special as the guy on a 1A inside bunk cabin on the Riviera deck. Respectfully, if you want suite perks, you need to sail on a cruise line that does provide suite perks.

 

I agree with every single bit of this. You don't change someone else's arrangement to make someone happy. I would also be very upset if I missed the first meal or two, and come to the dining room on the 3rd night to find I don't have a place. Talk about awkward and likely embarrassing.

 

The suite/platinum/diamond etc is also a huge pet peeve of mine. You paid more for a better room not to be treated better than other guests.

[cruiser fanatic]

Just curious. Once you were switched to Anytime Dining, how did you track that the other family that was originally assigned to your table only attended one time? Did you continue monitoring or walking by the other table at the assigned time? Did the MDR staff provide that info? Truly curious.

 

 

 

 

I truly understand why you were feeling that way, but I don't think that removing the other family from the original table in order to accommodate your friends would've been the best solution. I'm one of those cruisers that only attends the MDR a handful of nights, sometimes just one or two. If I had assigned dining and I showed up at the restaurant only to find out that my table had been given to someone else, I would've been LIVID. You don't inconvenience one guest to make another one happy.

 

And about getting special treatment because you were traveling on a "suite": Not on Carnival. As you know, the only perk that you get besides priority embarkation is that your cabin description has the word "suite". No special treatment, no perks, no priority dining reservations, no nothing. You're just as special as the guy on a 1A inside bunk cabin on the Riviera deck. Respectfully, if you want suite perks, you need to sail on a cruise line that does provide suite perks.

 

I very much agree with this. You don't inconvenience one guest just to make another one happy. It shouldn't matter if you are in a suite, platinum, diamond etc.. everyone should be treated the same.

[Bellicheck Brain Trust]

I agree with every single bit of this. You don't change someone else's arrangement to make someone happy. I would also be very upset if I missed the first meal or two, and come to the dining room on the 3rd night to find I don't have a place. Talk about awkward and likely embarrassing.

 

The suite/platinum/diamond etc is also a huge pet peeve of mine. You paid more for a better room not to be treated better than other guests.

 

These people could not have summed it up any better.... First off the dining is your TA's fault and has nothing to do with Carnival. I have booked numerous times with different rooms and never once have we had this problem... The answer is because we have a competent TA. Secondly, why should they move people who had a valid reservation for you? Should Carnival have tried to accommodate you, yes, but should they kick someone out of a valid reservation at your expense, no. Please go on another cruise line, attitudes like this are not welcome at carnival

[Gatorj]

Thanks for all of the feedback and potential reasons our situation occurred. Not trying to be inflammatory, but you folks either didn't read closely, or misunderstood what was written.

 

1) All written documentation, both from the TA and Carnival clearly states that all reservations are linked and Early Dining is confirmed. We had this documentation available. They didn't even offer to move us to ATD until the 3rd day. This is a Carnival issue, not a TA issue.

 

2) I clearly stated that it would have been easier to ASK the guests that were not attending the early seating table if they would prefer Any time dining and at the very least see what they said. I did not ask that they be MOVED without their permission or knowledge. Simply asking a question should in no way make anyone upset. This is called customer service, and is done (usually) with a smile in most other venues, when an error has been made.

 

3) The dining rooms were being monitored very closely, and everyone attempting to attend ATD was required to give room number and # of guests. The assigned seating was equally monitored, so there was no way to "buck the system", which we would not have done anyway.

 

I'm not trying to bash Carnival, I just feel this situation would have been handled far better in just about any other venue I've ever been in.

 

We can debate all day long, but facts are facts, and there is very little "opinion" or subjectiveness about this situation. It was handled poorly, period.

 

We know we now prefer both RCI and NCL over Carnival. This review was written as an opinion, and intended to be as honest as possible. We DID have fun, and we DID enjoy ourselves, but Carnival is not going to get our business again.

[cruizinisthebest]

Gatorj maybe you didn't read ALL of the responses. Mine in particular did place the blame for the MDR situation on the Carnival staff. You clearly said your dinner arrangements had been confirmed with the TA several times. People around here are quick to blame a TA once they know one is involved.

 

I also said it wouldn't have been right to move the other party without asking. They might have agreed. Might not have. I don't see anything wrong with asking.

 

I don't agree that your situation called for anyone's firing.

 

Take your money where you feel it is better spent. Nothing wrong with your review just because people offered feedback.

[cruiser fanatic]

My response did not put the blame on the TA and I apologize if it came across that way. I do believe Carnival could have handled this situation better.

 

I guess I didn't see the part where it might be better to ASK the other family if they would like to go to YTD. I still believe that it could have been handled another away.

 

As I said before, Carnival could have and should have handled this situation better. However, threatening to remove gratuities and calling for someone's termination is a little overboard on your part.

Edited April 1, 2015 by cruiser fanatic

[ASchaff]

However, threatening to remove gratuities and calling for someone's termination is a little overboard on your part.

 

Yup, and this makes me take the review less seriously. Short of an injury or theft, calling for a termination is ridiculous and makes the cruiser look bad, and not the cruise line.

[ASchaff]

A few years ago my group of four(two rooms, linked without issues) were seated in a booth near the waiters station. It smelled like rotting food the first night and we asked to be moved. They were unable to move us because the dining room was full. We noticed other tables through out the week that were empty on some nights, but never tried to make them switch because someone missed a night or two. Someone missing a night or two shouldn't mean they have to move to a bad table that was originally ours. We would have been upset if that shoe was on the other foot. The staff would pour bleach down the sink every 15 minutes or so to cover the smell which was able to fix the food smell, but still wasn't pleasant. We just enjoyed our meals, and didn't linger in the dining room. It was not the wait staffs fault that there was a sink issue. We would never have dreamed of taking their tips away for something out of their control.

[Podna's]

Yup, and this makes me take the review less seriously. Short of an injury or theft, calling for a termination is ridiculous and makes the cruiser look bad, and not the cruise line.

 

 

Agreed. And spending the rest of the cruise trying to find out if the other party ever showed up to their table. Nice vacation.