Freedom May 23, 2015 (define confirmation? )

[meslt1992]

I have in my possession a confirmation sheet that shows my cabin number, it shows my cruise date, the cruise ship, and it also shows anytime dining.

When we arrived on board we were promptly placed on the 8:15 dining time.

When I discussed this with guest services I was referred to the head maitre d. I discussed this issue with boththe head and assistant maitre d's and both of them said we will get back to you.

I received postcards in my mailbox in my cabin that said, sorry you're out of luck.

So what does confirmation mean to Carnival Cruise Lines? Well I can tell you what it means to me.

It means that I will never cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines again.

They try to imitate Norwegian Cruise Lines by having anytime dining, but once again Carnival will always fall short of the premium Cruise Lines .

what a failure.

Even after a similar survey left for CCL they've made no attempt to contact me.

I'm left with the assumption that Carnival Cruise Lines has no concern for their guests, just their guests $$$.[emoji107]

[SMSACE6]

Did they give you a reason for this? And did you book it yourself or with a PVP or TA? If so, is it possible they made the mistake? Either way, I would be really p'o d, if that happened to me. I would not stop until I found out who made the error. Errors aside, they did not do right by you.

[meslt1992]

I booked online.

When I have booked online in the past with Norwegian cruise lines I've always got a phone call from my personal cruise consultant.

The fact that nobody has called me to this day is just another "nail in the coffin " .

[Cruise, J.D.]

Sorry this happened to you. To me, it would be unacceptable. I've read reviews of it happening to others.

 

It is too late now, but after final refusal to honor the confirmation I would have removed dining staff tips or invoked the vacation guarantee. I would hate having to use that tactic, but sometimes it takes a hammer to get their attention.

[crazyfrazee]

They WILL NOT contact you. I was assaulted by the head waiter and turned him in and they never contacted me. They got my money, they're happy. I still cruise CCL. I have a cruise January 10th on the Breeze. I'm not going to let one idiot (head waiter) mess up where I vacation. As far as CCL, their a big company and deal with so much crap I can see them not following up.

[meslt1992]

I will be very happy to continue cruising with NCL.

I know CCL is a big company,

I can do more good by warning the masses of Carnivals lack-luster guest services, than bothering to dial their toll-free number.

We both know the only thing that matters to them is $$$$.

Hoping people will read this and reconsider traveling with carnival.

[steph7021]

So how does anytime dining work? Do they check your sign and sail card each time? I would have been tempted to show up to anytime dining anyhow. That is ridiculous, shouldn't be that big of a deal to switch you! You have to wait for a table anyhow!

[Cruise, J.D.]

So how does anytime dining work? Do they check your sign and sail card each time? I would have been tempted to show up to anytime dining anyhow. That is ridiculous, shouldn't be that big of a deal to switch you! You have to wait for a table anyhow!

 

Yes, they do check it each time.

[meslt1992]

I agree. So why the refusal to accommodate us? Especially with a printed confirmation in hand. Easy choice not to return.

[crazyfrazee]

So how does anytime dining work? Do they check your sign and sail card each time? I would have been tempted to show up to anytime dining anyhow. That is ridiculous, shouldn't be that big of a deal to switch you! You have to wait for a table anyhow!

 

If I remember correctly they scan your card. I know they ask for it and your room number so they would know if you were YTD or not. When all of our party didn't go to dinner together they knew to ask if the others were coming. They do know it all.

[Hac Ptui]

I can understand your disappointment. I would probably contact Carnival and explain your experience to them. We are set to sail in July on the Freedom and we have requested YTD too. I booked on line just like you did. I hope it was just an isolated error. :(

[DebJ14]

Maybe the OP got bumped because there were lots of Diamonds that wanted YTD. While Platinum people get "priority", the Diamonds are guaranteed the dining time of their choice.

[firemanbobswife]

Sorry this happened to you. To me, it would be unacceptable. I've read reviews of it happening to others.

 

It is too late now, but after final refusal to honor the confirmation I would have removed dining staff tips or invoked the vacation guarantee. I would hate having to use that tactic, but sometimes it takes a hammer to get their attention.

 

 

I totally disagree with this. Removing tips does absolutely nothing to Carnival as a company. It just punishes the innocent wait staff that has absolutely nothing to do with the scheduling aspect. I hope that they did take good care of you and I would also be very upset if this happened to me, but not enough to cancel my cruise and go home by using the vacation guarantee.

 

I am sorry this happened. I love Traditional Dining and wouldn't be a happy camper, either if the opposite happened to me. I might not be so upset if they gave me a reason why and the courtesy of some type of communication. I understand that sometimes things happen. It's how it's handled (or not) that usually dictates one's feelings.

Edited June 15, 2015 by firemanbobswife

[meslt1992]

I was told that a confirmation is not a guarantee. The assistant maitre d told us that there were guests that had booked 10 months early and were not guaranteed YTD.

Then don't give a confirmation. Leave it as a request only.

Still a deal breaker....won't be back on Carnival.

[meslt1992]

I also want to say that the traditional dining staff was TOP NOTCH !! Even gave them a little something extra.

But, finishing dinner at 9:45 p.m. is simply unacceptable for me.

[EmmasNana]

Maybe the OP got bumped because there were lots of Diamonds that wanted YTD. While Platinum people get "priority", the Diamonds are guaranteed the dining time of their choice.

 

This is what happened to you. Sorry it happened. I ended up on late dining with RCI and was not happy either. Platinum's or Diamonds knocked you out.

Edited June 15, 2015 by EmmasNana

[RuthlessBoss]

So the problem was the maître d. Now you won't sail Carnival:confused:

[meslt1992]

I have a confirmation that No Carnival representative will acknowledge.

They made their choice, the consequences of that choice is to loose a life long customer.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has no difficulty in free-style dining. Including traditional multi - course dinners.

Carnival can only pretend to be kinda like NCL.

[Cruise, J.D.]

I totally disagree with this. Removing tips does absolutely nothing to Carnival as a company. It just punishes the innocent wait staff that has absolutely nothing to do with the scheduling aspect. I hope that they did take good care of you and I would also be very upset if this happened to me, but not enough to cancel my cruise and go home by using the vacation guarantee.

 

Yes, I agree. It is a negotiating tactic. When you propose either of those, they will usually jump.

 

I wouldn't remove tips unless I didn't actually use the dining room. I'm not eating dinner at 8:15 pm, so if they didn't budge, I would remove the dining room portion because I would be dining elsewhere.

[SMSACE6]

That is really unacceptable, and stupid for them to issue a doc confirming YTD, then refusing to abide by that on the ship. I have YTD in October and if this happens to me, I will be an unhappy Carnival cruiser for the very first time in all my cruises. OP, in your case, I would say that the only thing you can do at this point is vote with your wallet, but I would definitely also follow up with customer service and tell them about this, and that it means they have lost a customer.

[meslt1992]

I agree,and by voicing my concerns here, hopefully others will do likewise.

At a minimum folks will have the opportunity to call CCL before embarkation to lock in the 6:15 p.m. dining option before they are stuck like I was.

[loxley]

What the OP does not realize is the confirmation was only a confirmation of what he requested not what was set in stone.

 

All dining request are just that until you get on the ship. They sent a confirmation that you had requested any time dining, not that that was what you were getting.

 

I would not accept that dining time either btw.

 

Just a heads up, all cruise lines except NCL handle dining the same way. Just because an option is requested does not mean that is what you will get.

 

I am a NCL lover simply because of their dining, but they do not have a ship in my homeport year round and Carnival does so I go mostly on Carnival, but if I can not have any time dining, I am not going. I would be invoking my satisfaction option before we pulled out of the dock, but I live right here so no big deal for me.

[meslt1992]

With that logic, my cabin, the ship, even the date were merely a request and nothing more.

Seeing as they were ALL on the same page with the YTD.

There is no disclaimer for said request...only the single page confirmation.

[loxley]

With that logic, my cabin, the ship, even the date were merely a request and nothing more.

Seeing as they were ALL on the same page with the YTD.

There is no disclaimer for said request...only the single page confirmation.

 

 

That is right. The ship and date are probably the only thing "confirmed" and even that is not actually confirmed because changes can and have happened. Ask the people who was cancelled because the ship was chartered. Ask the people who were booked on the CTN, some were cancelled and some were changed. The ship can be swapped out on you. As you well know, ports can be changed.

 

Even your room can be changed when you get to the port. About the dining, there used to be something about that on the site. In fact, if you book on site I think there is a thing you check, but it has been a long time since I looked so I am not totally positive. But I know I read it there before. I am not making it up. It clearly said something to the effect that they try to give you your preferred dining time, but you would not know for sure until you boarded.

 

They probably should change what they send out to make it clearer to people that just because it says confirmation it is only confirmation of what you requested.

 

Like I said, I would not have accepted that time and would have invoked my satisfaction guarantee on the spot. Although I sort of think they would have managed to fit me in if I did. Because I am serious, I would not go.

[K.T.B.]

I was told that a confirmation is not a guarantee. The assistant maitre d told us that there were guests that had booked 10 months early and were not guaranteed YTD.

Then don't give a confirmation. Leave it as a request only.

Still a deal breaker....won't be back on Carnival.

 

Sorry, but a confirmation IS a guarantee. It's confirming what you purchased. You buy X, you get confirmation of X, you get X and not Z instead!

 

Using the asst. Maitre'D's logic, having a confirmation of a flight at noon, means you're now flying out at 5PM. :rolleyes: