Carnival Glory 1/7/17 Disaster

[Nein2]

On January 7, 2017, I boarded the Carnival Glory for my wedding. I got married on the Carnival Glory at approximately 1:45pm this day, and the wedding ceremony and reception could not have gone better.

 

The Glory set sail on the following itinerary: Jan 8 2017 Half Moon Cay Bahamas, Jan 9 2017 Day at Sea, Jan 10 2017 St Thomas USVI, Jan 11 2017 Puerto Rico, Jan 12 2017 Grand Turk, Jan 13 2017 Day at Sea, Jan 14 2017 Return to Miami FL.

 

As soon as we left the port of Miami on Jan 7 2017, it began to rain, and on that evening, rumors began to surface about the cancellation of Half Moon Cay due to bad weather. Soon thereafter, an announcement was made confirming these rumors. Guests did not have an issue with this as it was clear the decision was made for the safety of the guests aboard the Glory.

 

It was at this time that we checked the weather for the remainder of the cruise and we discovered that high winds would be present during our time at Grand Turk Island. The weather channel reported winds in excess of 25mph at Grand Turk Island for January 12 2017. This is where the problems began.

 

The next 4 days both at sea, and on islands were battered with high winds, and rough waters. Fortunately we were able to enjoy sunshine on islands, however at sea it was a different story. Rocky waters caused several hundred passengers to become seasick. Dinners were ruined due to waiters spilling drinks, toilet water spilled out of the toilets in the bathrooms, and public areas began to be covered in vomit. My parents room flooded from the ceiling ruining several clothing items and putting them out of their room for hours at a time for maintenance. Passengers in wheelchairs fell over, and older passengers were unable to make it out of their rooms, or back to their rooms due to the rough waters.

 

The waters were the worst on the night from Jan 11 to Jan 12. The pool deck was closed, outside areas were not able to be enjoyed, and the entertainment had to be completely moved inside and adjusted to accommodate the weather and high winds.

 

On Jan 12 2017, we arrived at the beautiful Grand Turk Island running over one hour late. No rain, minimal wind (always wind on the ship), and clear skies were present. Our Captain made one attempt to dock at the port, did not come within a reasonable distance of the port (in my opinion more than 100 yards away), and turned around. We later received an announcement on how we would not be visiting Grand Turk Island due to bad weather conditions. No more than 30mins after leaving the island, it began to rain again.

 

As a result of missing this port, entertainers were unable to board the ship making all of the shows for the remaining days at sea repeats of the previous shows we had already enjoyed. The same comedy show is not too funny the second and third times around.

 

An immediate uproar erupted on the ship. People protested, and complained to customer service for hours. Myself and a few other close friends gained over 650 signatures of upset and disappointed passengers who wished we would have had the opportunity to go to another island.

 

The problem was not the cancellation of Grand Turk Island, but the manner in which it was done. We sped through the night in rough waters, with no regard to the safety and discomfort of passengers to arrive at a port over an hour late, and cancel the port over a condition that was reported days ahead of time. The port was cancelled due to high winds yet I have family members who were on the top deck of the ship taking pictures. If these high winds were present, at the port at sea level, I would expect that on the top deck of the ship would be closed. As these winds would certainly present a safety concern for those standing 200ft or more above the ocean.

 

Carnival learned about our situation and in return offered all passengers 25% off a future cruise. The issue that I have with this is that many passengers will not be able to make even with this offer. Passengers from England, Australia, or other foreign lands will not have the opportunity to cruise again with Carnival. The elderly may never be healthy enough to cruise again. 25% off a future cruise does not make up for my lost honeymoon, the wasted birthdays seasick, or anniversaries that will never happen again. I feel that it is clear that Carnival is using our bad experience as a marketing ploy to keep customers in the future instead of taking care of its current customers. Additionally, the 25% will likely be off of the “base rate” of a room. Carnival discounts its rooms so tis 25% off will likely leave customers at the same price advertised online, or at a higher price. It got worse.

 

In the days following the cruise we learned that every cruise ship that attempted to dock at Grand Turk Island from Jan 7 to Jan 13 had been canceled, or unable to dock due to bad weather. This supports my claim that we had no reason to attempt to go to Grand Turk Island to begin with and instead Carnival should have directed us to calmer waters where we could enjoy the days at sea. Additionally, the Marine Operations Manager/Port Agent of Grand Turk Port Mr. Sharrad Smith stated that the ship attempted to dock and was unable due to high winds however Jr. Agent of Grand Turk Island Mr. Rostand Malcolm stated that the port was closed for that week. Two people working together and directly impacting our ship at the port have contradicting stories. On top of this, I have yet to see a picture of anyone at the port. I am no ship captain, however I have never heard of a self docking ship. We also learned that the

'high winds" that causes us to not be able to dock at the port were only 18mph. Things just do not add up.

 

Their are many layers to this issue and myself along with over 100 others are working to have Carnival do right by its passengers. We understand that a contract is in place, and are not arguing a contract violation but instead an ethical violation in regards to customer service. We feel that Carnival knew ahead of time of the weather in Grand Turk and risked its passengers well being in route to the island when it had more than enough knowledge that it would not be able to dock. We feel that Carnival did this because it knew it was the only way to not violate its contract, and take advantage of its customers.

 

I’ll use this example:

If you went to Olive Garden and ordered $15 soup but got $.99 soup from a can is it your fault, or does Olive Garden have the obligation to uphold a certain level of customer service, and customer consideration?

 

Thank you for listening to my story. If anyone can help please feel free to send me a message.

 

For those of you who are on the fence about cruising and are looking for advice I say cruise. This was my 7th cruise since 2011, (4th with my wife) and I feel it is an extreme outlier. Cruising is an experience unlike any other and I look forward to cruising time and time again through my life. May or may not be with Carnival, but cruising in general is still my number one vacation preference.

Hope you prevail. Carnival really has gone to the dogs.

[bakersdozen12]

Why wouldn't the people from Australia and England be able to use a future cruise credit with Carnival?! Carnival sails out of Australia, and they sail out of Europe when they have new ships (next time will be in 2018).

 

 

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[Ddbraxt]

Spending time collecting signatures on a petition instead of doing honeymoon stuff had to have helped in ruining your honeymoon. Bottom line - ports are not guaranteed on a cruise. This was already floated out there on Facebook and didn't get far in terms of sympathy per your new groom. And posts like these are typically met with plenty of reminders about your cruise contract. So while I'm sorry ya'll feelings are hurt in more ways than one, I'm not sure why you're surprised by the responses. Neither one of you knew more than the Captain. And even if you did, you weren't in charge.

 

Please don't cruise for your anniversary.

 

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What's funny is that gathering the signatures was one of the most fun parts of this horrible experience. We met a lot of cool people that shared our views. So I guess you could say jokes on you, but thanks

[Dave0311]

Spending time collecting signatures on a petition instead of doing honeymoon stuff had to have helped in ruining your honeymoon. Bottom line - ports are not guaranteed on a cruise. This was already floated out there on Facebook and didn't get far in terms of sympathy per your new groom. And posts like these are typically met with plenty of reminders about your cruise contract. So while I'm sorry ya'll feelings are hurt in more ways than one, I'm not sure why you're surprised by the responses. Neither one of you knew more than the Captain. And even if you did, you weren't in charge.

This, exactly!

 

When a cruise goes bad, try to focus on the good. Keeping your focus on what went wrong while you were on the ship was just setting yourself up for more disappointments. A cruise (or any vacation) is only as good as you make it.

 

Oh there were attempt to clean alright... but that didn't stop the stench. The point of this post is not the fact that we didn't get to go to 2 of the ports and it's not the weather, it's the horrible customer service and hospitality we received with BS consolation

They're giving you 25% off a future cruise when they were required to give you nothing but port fees. Sounds like decent customer service to me.

 

Maybe I missed it, but what exactly are you looking for from Carnival? Genuinely curious.

[swscruiser]

Well it's a good thing you aren't in charge

 

Better her than you

[cruizinisthebest]

What's funny is that gathering the signatures was one of the most fun parts of this horrible experience. We met a lot of cool people that shared our views. So I guess you could say jokes on you, but thanks

Not really. If creating a useless petition is the most fun you had on your honeymoon and the best way you met people, trust me the jokes on you. And him.

 

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[firemanbobswife]

Better her than you

 

HAHAHAHAHA! Agree. Thanks! :D :p

[Doggielover68]

Doesn't sound like a disaster to me. Half moon cay and grand turk are missed pretty frequently. We missed grand turk in October when the weather appeared okay but I am not the captain of a ship. They always try their hardest to make it into the port. Carnival doesn't want to avoid ports.

 

Was I disappointed about missing grand Turk? Of course...but it happens. We also had very rough seas for several days and very little sunshine. Carnival can not control the weather and they can not always redirect a ship to another itinerary. I'm sorry your honeymoon was "ruined" but maybe you should just be happy that you married somebody you love and got to go on a vacation that some may not be able to afford.

 

Birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, etc are just days. Things don't always go as planned.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

Doesn't sound like a disaster to me. Half moon cay and grand turk are missed pretty frequently. We missed grand turk in October when the weather appeared okay but I am not the captain of a ship. They always try their hardest to make it into the port. Carnival doesn't want to avoid ports.

 

Was I disappointed about missing grand Turk? Of course...but it happens. We also had very rough seas for several days and very little sunshine. Carnival can not control the weather and they can not always redirect a ship to another itinerary. I'm sorry your honeymoon was "ruined" but maybe you should just be happy that you married somebody you love and got to go on a vacation that some may not be able to afford.

 

Birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, etc are just days. Things don't always go as planned.

 

 

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Def one of the best posts in weeks, nice job!

 

 

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[tonit964]

When you choose to cruise, you are never guaranteed to stop at a port, heck there is the possibility, you could be debarked at a different port than you embarked at.

With all of the cruises we have been on, we always have that in our minds. Especially cruising in summer to the caribbean. I tell my DH, we may get to go to all the ports, some of the ports or none of the ports.

 

We did miss Roatan on our first time there. While I was so disappointed, but I understood and we made the best of the day and actually had so much fun.

 

I kept thinking about all the crew that were expecting the ship to be pretty much empty and maybe having some time off and then all of a sudden,they have to work, not to mention, they have to scramble to get activities and such together.

 

ETA: Or you could be docked at the embarkation port for the day and night because of bad weather like the Ruby is in LA. People are complaining about that.

Edited January 18, 2017 by tonit964

[Rudyard]

Sorry if you all don't see this as a disaster but I do.

 

If this is what you truly consider a disaster, I'd hate to be around you when life really hauls off and slaps you upside the head with a true disaster. What you went through was an inconvenience.

[Ddbraxt]

If this is what you truly consider a disaster, I'd hate to be around you when life really hauls off and slaps you upside the head with a true disaster. What you went through was an inconvenience.

 

It was a disaster in terms of the cruise.. not a life disaster, but I'll be sure to contact you when life slaps me upside the head

[Drazil65]

Maybe you are missing the fact that it was our honeymoon.. it was a complete disaster - the wife

 

Maybe spending more time in your cabin, with each other ;), might have made for a better honeymoon!

 

You keep repeating the word "disaster" as if you are setting the stage to use this post in your defense of your petition and complaint? Weird...look the weather is always a risk when cruising and missing ports are also a risk. Too bad things didn't go your way for your guests but I guess you should have been entertaining each other and not worried about grown people and what they were doing. Who goes on a honeymoon with all their family and friends? It is what it is and now its a memory!

[IntrepidFromDC]

... something good will come from your post. Perhaps people who haven't been on a rough cruise will read it and use it as a benchmark for when they do have one. I had one really rough cruise but it was clearly not as bad as yours, although we did miss one port and I do remember hearing glass breaking in the MDR from time to time during open seas. In the open sea is where it got really bad - I don't remember any wheelchairs tipping over but my stack of casino chips went tumbling and I felt like a fool scrambling to pick them up off the floor while trying to keep one eye on the remaining shorter stacks on the table, fearful things would only get worse if they also tipped over. I feel bad for you because I imagine you weren't expecting the harsh replies you got, but stripping away their attitudes, I agree that everything that happened was a) a series of unfortunate weather-related events, and b) covered in the contract. I'm glad you returned safely and wish you a long happy marriage. I wish I had gotten 25% off a future cruise.

[Ddbraxt]

... something good will come from your post. Perhaps people who haven't been on a rough cruise will read it and use it as a benchmark for when they do have one. I had one really rough cruise but it was clearly not as bad as yours, although we did miss one port and I do remember hearing glass breaking in the MDR from time to time during open seas. In the open sea is where it got really bad - I don't remember any wheelchairs tipping over but my stack of casino chips went tumbling and I felt like a fool scrambling to pick them up off the floor while trying to keep one eye on the remaining shorter stacks on the table, fearful things would only get worse if they also tipped over. I feel bad for you because I imagine you weren't expecting the harsh replies you got, but stripping away their attitudes, I agree that everything that happened was a) a series of unfortunate weather-related events, and b) covered in the contract. I'm glad you returned safely and wish you a long happy marriage. I wish I had gotten 25% off a future cruise.

 

Carnival blatantly lied to us. The port of grand Turk was closed for maintenance for that whole week and it was scheduled well in advance. I'd we signed a contract stating that they could lie to us, then ok cool, but that wasn't in the contract.

[jimbo5544]

Carnival blatantly lied to us. The port of grand Turk was closed for maintenance for that whole week and it was scheduled well in advance. I'd we signed a contract stating that they could lie to us, then ok cool, but that wasn't in the contract.

 

 

Any proof of the closure? Why would they attempt to dock if the port was closed?

 

 

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Edited January 18, 2017 by jimbo5544

[riclop]

Safety comes first, and you were on your honeymoon who needs to go to a windy port, your room should of been heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

[Athankfulheart]

We had a sailing in January of 2014 on the Dream that was our worst run of weather bad luck. We also had 20 new cruisers (friends) with us. We had plans at Roatan, Belize, Cozumel and Costa Maya. It was going to be fabulous !

 

 

We wound up running in very rough seas most of the days and nights that week. We were POURED on in Cozumel and we missed Roatan and Belize altogether. Costa Maya was the port we were least looking forward to, but we toured the Mayan ruins in an all day drizzle. There were barf bags out on several of the days and nights that week but I never saw a single person puke in public - and none on the floor. I grew up on the sea and never get seasick, but even I had a couple of little queasy episodes. It was pretty bad. Our family felt badly for our first timer friends especially.

 

With all that said, the crew did a good job of keeping us occupied as they gave up thier days off to entertain us on those extra sea days. When we missed our second port, the captain sent champagne to everyone at dinner - all 4,000 of us - as a small "I'm sorry" from Carnival. There was no uproar and no petition. On our last sea day we heard from the Captain overhead. He announced that each of us should see the refunds of our port fees from the missed ports on our onboard accounts and that we should expect a letter to each of our staterooms. He explained how sorry they were that the trip did not go as planned and that he knew how we were disappointed. The coming letter would be good for 25% off a future cruise within 2 years. It was a very sweet gesture and surprise and my family made good use of our voucher.

 

All of that to show that I agree with a previous poster. Something good came out of reading this post. I appreciate even more the gift we received from Carnival, even though there was no petition and no mob on our sailing.

[Dave0311]

Carnival blatantly lied to us. The port of grand Turk was closed for maintenance for that whole week and it was scheduled well in advance. I'd we signed a contract stating that they could lie to us, then ok cool, but that wasn't in the contract.

So Carnival knew the port was closed, didn't change the itinerary ahead of time, and used additional fuel ($$) to pretend to go there to trick everyone on board so they could get away with canceling the port. Sounds plausible.

[RiotAct]

This post was created to raise awareness not to hear loads of snooty comments about "the contract" blah blah blah. Sorry if you all don't see this as a disaster but I do. This was my honeymoon, and the worst cruise of my life. I was disgusted and let down. If you don't understand the root of our frustrations you can exit stage left. Thank you for those of you who have shared sympathy.

- the wife

 

 

sounds like you have some attitude issues.

 

-- the RiotAct

[OceansOfTravels]

You had me thinking the boat sank or something .... :rolleyes:

[Ddbraxt]

Any proof of the closure? Why would they attempt to dock if the port was closed?

 

 

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Yes you can see on Facebook the port schedule for the month and we called them to confirm

[Ddbraxt]

sounds like you have some attitude issues.

 

-- the RiotAct

 

Never that, just a very heartbroken bride.. thanks tho

[Micahs Grandad]

I would suggest booking your next cruise on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.

 

I can guarantee that you will never have rough seas and you will never miss a port.

 

 

 

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very true

[Drazil65]

This post was created to raise awareness not to hear loads of snooty comments about "the contract" blah blah blah. Sorry if you all don't see this as a disaster but I do. This was my honeymoon, and the worst cruise of my life. I was disgusted and let down. If you don't understand the root of our frustrations you can exit stage left. Thank you for those of you who have shared sympathy.

- the wife

 

Wow...bottom line is that Carnival IS NOT responsible for your honeymoon, you took a chance on a cruise, it didn't work the way you thought it ought to.

 

It is now obvious you are trying to get something more from Carnival for your "disappointment"...you got a 25% future cruise certificate and maybe you should move on, it is done and over!

 

just a very heartbroken bride.

 

LOL...you are kidding right??? Heartbroken??? OK.....

Edited January 18, 2017 by Drazil65