Issues with carnival customer service

[dyson]

I was on the Carnival Dream on April 26th room 1297

 

It started off great fast boarding friendly staff. everything I would expect from carnival.

This was our first platinum cruise so we had been looking forward to it for some time

 

let me start this off right i own my own business and work in customer service. So I personally am the time of let it go and move on until it builds up to a point. we reached that point several times on this cruise.

when we got to the room my sons sheets were dirty. No big deal I asked the steward to change the sheets and moved on...

later when we went to bed the room was rather hot. So I went to guest services the next day and they sent someone right out and they left a card saying that the room was in normal temp range.

 

So we wrote it off as a temp change between the ships we have been on and this one.. no big deal....

then the room frig stopped working. and we reported it and it never worked right the entire cruise but it was a minor thing so we just moved on.....

 

Then we started noticing that my wife was developing a rash in the morning. so we asked the steward if Carnival has changed their laundry soap and we were told no.

we wrote it off as maybe something odd she ate,

the next morning she had the rash again and we decided to talk to guest services they were very friendly and assured us that they would look into it asap

 

when we went back to the room we saw a group of people rush by and go into the room 1279- not ours 1297. they quickly changed everything and i thought that's odd maybe they are having the same issue too. but it ends up they went to the wrong room and we only found that out a few hours later when we went to the guest services desk and they told us they they didn't find anything and we told them they never went to our room. they then sent another group to the room and they said again they didn't find anything. HOWEVER the next day after the bedding was replaced no rash.. seems to me if you change one thing and it fixes the problem more than likely it was that thing right?

 

In Belize we revived a notice that we would have priority tender because of platinum and faster to the fun. we were supposed to meet in the dining room at 7am we were there at 630.. at seven the asst cruise director came and said it would be a small wait. we were taken to the boats at 730-740 we were taken to the tendering and we were worked in with the other guests. < not priority or having booked a excursion with carnival >

we didn't make it to shore until almost 8:30 when we got to shore I had booked a excursion off ship and the rep was leaving and only stopped because security saw him and stopped him or us. < port not ship >

he explained he was leaving because we were late < priority disembark right??> when we reached the van with the others on the excursion they were all from our ship and red and blue card holders one gold. NONE priority or faster to the fun but they all had been waiting for us.. <priory disembark?????> we did exactly what the shipped asked but they couldn't even manage to follow the company's own disembark program for guests. I would understand if 1 or two had managed to get off but when a bus of 14 people 4 of them us and 10 regular guests who most didn't know each other were allowed to get off firs how is that right?

the next day we went to your new dive in movies and we knew we wanted the entire family to see guardians of the galaxy but it had been raining all day. so we found a table at 5pm and decided to stay there until the movie at 7pm.so we could see it and not get rained on. we went and got our dinners and even ate them there. normally even on a busy day within a few minutes 30 at the most the table would have been cleaned. it took over 3 hours for us to give up and do it ourselves, mind you we were right in front of the tequila bar so we weren't in a odd place and we asked over 5 times at the bar for them to get whoever section to come and clear it before we gave up and did it our selves.

5 times. the only service we got was for empty bar glasses to be removed but NOTHING ELSE.

again we rolled with it because people can be busy. and we didn't want to complain again

 

then we started noticing something odd at the bars. in a normal bar situation if there are 10 customers 5 before you and 3 after they generally follow the first come first serve unless you have a unruly customer. which is understandable

 

we started noticing that when they

saw we had the cheers card we would get pushed to the end of the line . later I asked them what was going on and I was informed about the tip program and how that's how they make their money and when they sell to s cheers card they cant be sure they get their money but when its normal they do. now I partially understand their situation but I have paid 1000 for these cards and i am getting worse service than someone who buys a 10.00 drink...

 

 

finally i had enough and went to guest services and told them everything above and i was assured by Danielle from England , who was extremely friendly and by far the best guest services rep we have encountered in some time> that someone would contact us first thing tomorrow. we never heard anything..

the next day <2 days after guest services > Danielle saw me and asked if anyone followed up. i told her no and she had me stand there while she called the bar manager and the other managers that were supposed to call me and they at first were going to come right away and then they were to busy....and she assured me they would call me today.

 

I later got a call from someone at guest services that was obviously going through the motions he apologized for issues that I didn't even state. something about the pizza and the mature d. i explained that i didn't even call about that and he quickly apologized for the issues i told him about but you could tell it was more of lets just get off the phone situation

the bar manager called and scheduled a meeting for 7pm rather unusual time so i went to guest services to ask for a earlier time and rather than rescheduling he had us wait by guest services for 30 minutes for his assistant who was very friendly but i couldn't get my point across to him.He was more interested in getting the conversation over with so he could move on

 

 

after all of that we went to the doctors when we got home and confirmed that it was bug bites on my wife . And we were so upset with the entire cruise we canceled the next one we had booked on the ship < at the beginning before everything went south >

 

we have been on a large amount of cruises with carnival to Alaska to Hawaii and many Caribbean . and NEVER have we felt so unwelcome and like we were nothing more than dollars to them.

 

My wife was so upset after everything we went through we called and canceled our cruise we booked on ship. for 2016

 

a few days ago My PVP called and made a great offer so we decided to give carnival another try and we booked one of The Journeys cruises when i got the confirmation I noticed that we were gold vifp.

So I called and asked what was going on and the rep Linda asked for our previous booking and vifp number for myself and my wife . we gave her the information and sat on hold for some time and when she came back she said she spoke to Wendy her supervisor and she agreed we were indeed supposed to be platinum. just like on the cruise we were just on that I still have my card somewhere

she said she had to put me on hold to update the account and send forms in. when she came back she said she sent in the form to correct the issue and it would take 24-48 hours.

I again verified that we were supposed to be platinum and was given both her name Linda and her login 7lw and her supervisor was Wendy and her login was w2b all given to me by Linda

I called back two days later and was told by guest relation that I was not platinum,i tried to explain what happened but he was more interested in telling me the program of the VIFP. I asked for a supervisor and was placed on hold.

when he came back he said he spoke to one rather than have me transferred and I again asked for a supervisor.

Then the supervisor came on and was rather rude. she insisted on talking over me as much as she could and I have to admit this is one of my biggest pet peeves

i explained the situation and she said that she could only find the note from Linda saying that paperwork has been filled out to move us up a level but that wasn't enough information. I explained again what was going on and she said that they would not correct it even though Linda and Wendy said they would.

 

Linda said I was correct and her supervisor said i was correct. how can I control what they enter into notes being thorough enough?at first she said she was going to have to call the rep linda, but later when I asked her to verify she refused...

 

now heres the question of the day what do i do now

 

 

[Wilgr]

Relax?

[dyson]

I tried to relax, through most of the process but after a while you get tired of letting things roll off your shoulders. from insect bites to rude staff it gets tiring.

 

but to get demoted from platinum to gold is a little to far.

[Wilgr]

I tried to relax, through most of the process but after a while you get tired of letting things roll off your shoulders. from insect bites to rude staff it gets tiring.

 

but to get demoted from platinum to gold is a little to far.

 

I am sure they will get it straight. Is the cruise leaving tomorrow?

[kona_wahine]

I don't understand how you went from platinum to gold? My Vifp on carnivals website shows exactly all my cruise days. If you cruised platinum why would it show you now with less than 75 days?

 

Everything else I'd be upset also, it all adds up. Not much you can do about that though.

[dyson]

long story basically i was a few days from platinum and on my last cruise they had called and offered me a upgrade I took it and when they moved me they somehow canceled my Faster to the fun and lost 100.00 obc. they swore there was nothing they could do.

 

so they offered to move me to platinum now,as compensation saying because I would be 1 day away when I got back they could just bump me know.because I fell under the old platinum lines.. not exact wording but basically..

[lazydayz]

Sorry to hear about your cruise. Bedbugs - that' a pretty good reason to give yourself a break from Carnival. We sail in three days and I am a little concerned by your story and others. After this cruise, it might be time for us to retreat back to Royal, Celebrity or Holland.

[dyson]

I am sure they will get it straight. Is the cruise leaving tomorrow?

 

no we leave some time from now but in my experience if you dont address it right away they wont do anything

our trip is Jan 14th but its honestly more the point of it if you know what I mean after everything else. this on top was a kick in the shins

[dyson]

Sorry to hear about your cruise. Bedbugs - that' a pretty good reason to give yourself a break from Carnival. We sail in three days and I am a little concerned by your story and others. After this cruise, it might be time for us to retreat back to Royal, Celebrity or Holland.

 

i dont want you to think its the entire company and more than likely its just a few people..

 

but I have been going on them for a while. and the staff just seems beat down and they have no problem complaining about the company or how they feel they are mistreated.

but most of them come from countries that even with the mistreatment this is a good job

 

for me it was the general attitude of dont bother me when I finally did say something

[Budget Queen]

You do not know where the bug bites came from. Belize is noted for them and so is Roatan. Can't blame that on Carnival.

 

It does take time to upgrade the VIFP account. As mentioned, your "urgency" isn't giving them enough time. Is your next cruise- coming up shortly? Interesting you booked another after, canceling?

[dyson]

actually the bug bites started on day one,and Belize was quite a few days later However we thought it may have been detergent or a food allergy or something else.

only after we got home did they confirm what they were .

and I can blame carnival because after they stripped the bedding it stopped again before Belize. so this was a housekeeping issue

 

so that tells me they didn't do a full clean on the room after the last guest

 

And as for the new booking we have been on a bunch of cruises, this was the worst so yes when we got home we canceled the booking we did on the ship because nerves were still raw.

but we do enjoy cruising and when they called with the journey's offer we took them up on it it was a great rate and we hoped for better on the next trip. we figured new year most of the staff will have rotated out.

 

if i have a bad experience in a restrant Im not going to boycott it. I may stay away for a while but I would first left them know.. But if they have the attitude of yea and so what thats different

 

but the platinum thing took the cake. it was the straw that broke the camels back.

 

and PLEASE understand its not a matter of they will get back with me I talked to two people one said she would fix it and the other said deal with it.

Edited June 10, 2015 by dyson

[Vitamin_Sea]

I actually believe sometimes stewards cut corners.

If they are behind they wont change robes/bed sheets

[dyson]

my sons bedsheets were obviously dirty , so we had them changed right away but we didn't want to be that guest who says I know you said you did the entire room but do it again with me watching

[edbro]

I actually believe sometimes stewards cut corners.

If they are behind they wont change robes/bed sheets

 

Between sailings? :eek:

[Budget Queen]

You would be best to do some homework and find out what a bug infestation involves. You don't get rid of it, by changing sheets, or by ordinary cruise ship room cleaning. You still do not know where they were gotten- with your "day 1" claim, YOU could have brought them on.

[Vitamin_Sea]

Between sailings? :eek:

 

I believe it has happened. You think these people are always on the up and up?

 

These stewards work there butt off on debark day and sometimes they will cut corners here and there to catch up

[Tutontow]

I hope this works for you

 

Complaint Department Number: 800-438-6744

 

Complaint Department Webpage: http://www.carnival.com/contactus.aspx

 

I would tell them exactly what you told us. Make it clear you were loyal enough to reach Platinum but you will not be sailing CCL again due to the way you were treated.

 

I would further explain you understand things can and will go wrong but it was the run around and basically getting the old B.S. line to get rid of you and then nothing being done is the reason you are leaving CCL.

 

Based upon what you told us no matter how good your next CCL cruise might be it will still suck because of the sour taste left in your mouth from this cruise. I pray I never experience so many examples of poor customer service on any one cruise.

[Wilgr]

Sorry to hear about your cruise. Bedbugs - that' a pretty good reason to give yourself a break from Carnival. We sail in three days and I am a little concerned by your story and others. After this cruise, it might be time for us to retreat back to Royal, Celebrity or Holland.

 

Who said bedbugs? Bug bites and bedbugs are quite a but different.

[elainmir]

Well I think you have a right to complain..the bed bug issue is NO JOKE...and I feel your pain, you've tried to be kind and look the other way in regard to many things, people are telling you they will help you but you can tell they are going through the motions. I feel for you but I say this, don't abandon ship unless you consistently see the same issues on each cruise. Every ship and experience will be different. I say write a well written letter to Carnival's CEO and maybe you will get a response in regard to your issues.

[Wilgr]

Well I think you have a right to complain..the bed bug issue is NO JOKE...and I feel your pain, you've tried to be kind and look the other way in regard to many things, people are telling you they will help you but you can tell they are going through the motions. I feel for you but I say this, don't abandon ship unless you consistently see the same issues on each cruise. Every ship and experience will be different. I say write a well written letter to Carnival's CEO and maybe you will get a response in regard to your issues.

 

Who said bedbugs? Bug bites and bedbugs are quite a bit different.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Wilgr

[elliair]

now heres the question of the day what do i do now

 

 

Find another line to cruise on. I think you've already had enough nonsense from Carnival. We cruise both Carnival and Princess just to get a change of pace from the two. Maybe try Princess or another line and see how it goes for you. I wouldn't have put up with what you did, I'd be down at customer serivce constantly bugging them. Those who yell the loudest gets the most.

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

You may not be aware but the premier habitat for bed bugs is luggage...if someone stores their luggage and then uses it for a trip the bedbugs may move from the luggage to the clothes and then on to the humans.

 

As an FYI....I believe most cruise line cabins are sprayed. Not to say your wife didn't get the bug bites on the cruise...just saying that unless you physically saw them it becomes a hard issue to prove.

 

Hope you resolve your issues. Happy cruising.

[Tutontow]

wouldn't have put up with what you did, I'd be down at customer serivce constantly bugging them. Those who yell the loudest gets the most.

 

Those that know me know I am very laid back to the point of being called a floor mat by some. When I finally reach the breaking point, as much as it pains me, I will turn into an A number one A**hole, and yes you are correct most of the time in these situations they will do something just to shut you up.

 

One thing for sure, you have to keep moving up the food chain because the guy behind the bar, or the guy cleaning your room just wants you out of his or her face so that can move on to the next task that is before them.

[bruadhin]

My question would be, why are you even thinking about cruising with Carnival again? It seems you have given them ample opportunity to make things right and they consistency have not.

 

I'd find another cruise line or completely different type of vacation were it me.

[thinfool]

Send your experience to customerservice@carnival.com