3/23 Sensation Cruise NOT Sensational

[blackwing]

[quote]Could also be that the homeless people of New Orleans moved in and made a Ghetto out of the ship and by the time Carnival figured out how big the repairs were going to be, the ship was already scheduled out. So they did the best they could.[/quote]I thought the Sensation was used as temporary housing for the relief workers. The Red Cross, etc. I didn't think that the New Orleans area residents who lost their homes were the ones who were staying on the Sensation.

[LHP]

[quote name='Panama74']I don't understand people criticizing those of us who were actually on the cruise for complaining about the cruise. For us, it was a family cruise-2 adults, 3 kids. Maybe I haven't been on 20 cruises, but I have been on a couple and this cruise was definitely not what it should had been. Before I post our list of complaints for those of you who don't understand why so many people were not happy, let me say this: Carnival Vacation Guarantee-once you arrive at the first port outside of the U.S., you may get off the boat and find your own way back to the States, then they will provide you with a 100% refund. Some of us were hoping that the next 2 days would be better seeing how it was too late to plan a new vacation.
So with that said, here's your list guys (some of these have already been posted):

1. Stuck inside the terminal for 11 hours. We arrived at the port at 11:15, supposedly able to board between 11:30-12:00.
2. The cookies and sandwiches that were served 5-6 hours after waiting were not appetizing and almost impossible to get due to the lack of organization from Carnival and the rude guests that cruised with us (no, I'm not blaming Carnival for allowing rude guests, just thought I would note that they didn't make the cruise any better).
3. Carnival should have noticed all of the safety hazards that have been all over the news before the U.S. Coast Guard inspection. They say that they are worried about our safety, but if that were the case, at least most of these issues would have been corrected before the inspection.
4. While we were waiting, we only had 3 updates of the situation and all three of these updates informed us that we would be boarding in approximately 20 minutes. Eleven hours later, we were allowed to board.
5. Kiddie pool was never opened (we have a 3 yr old)
6. Water slide was inoperative the entire time (we also have a 10 and 12 yr old)
7. Camp Carnival was not located where the map showed, which would not be a big issue had the information desk or any of the Carnival employees known where it was moved to. We finally found it after about three hours of looking for it and when we did find it, it was a vacant room that was turned into the daycare.
8. Two of the shows were cancelled.
9. Some of the bars were closed, and those that were opened were extremely understaffed. It took us anywhere from 15-30 minutes to get a drink from the bar almost every time we went! As far as the waiting staff, you could bet on 30 minutes or more almost every time.
10. The bars ran out of all rum (except for Malibu) along with 2 of their beer choices.
11. We should have spent more time in Nassau and less time in Freeport. (yes, this may be just my family's opinion, but it is still a legitimate complaint if you ask us).
12. The reggae band was not entertaining (not knowing 1/2 of the songs that they were trying to cover).
13. The food truly sucked. I've had better food at McDonald's with exception of the Roasted Duck that I had on Saturday night.
14. And last but certainly not least, although the staff did keep a smile on and was polite if they did speak to you, many of them just tried to ignore you. This was not just one incident, this happened on numerous occasions.

You can say what you want to about those of us who are complaining, but it was definitely not what a cruise is supposed to be, and not all of us are just trying to get something for nothing.[/QUOTE]


Sorry you had such a bad time. There are lots of ther cruise lines out there that may have a product more suited for you. Some of your complaints are legit and some are not. Yes, I know how the Carnival Vacation guarantee works and that should not be a problem for anyone with a credit card. Any grown adult can grab a taxi to the airport and buy a ticket home.

1. The embarkation time is clearly printed on your documents. "supposedly able to board between 11:30 and 12:00" is not what Carnival promised, it is a bonus when things go right.

2. The sandwiches and water should have started at 1:30pm, when the embarkation time was not going to be met. Carnival dropped the ball on the timing of this. But I do feel that $50.00 each and 25% off your next cruise is sufficient. Delta didn't give our family of four "jack" when our flight home was delayed 9 hours for safety reasons. Just because you didn't think they were "appetizing" is not a legit complaint, but personal preference.

3 - 7: Carnival clearly rushed this ship back into service. However, a refurbish after 6 months of housing FEMA refugees was a first time experience for Carnival. Normal dry docking is carefully planned and documented. I have not doubt the shipyard got hit with a lot of "unexpected" repairs after this once in a lifetime experiment with FEMA.

When you start getting into generalizations like "the food sucked" , sorry you lose credibility. An entire food line for 4 days at all the food locations (including room service) - (except for the duck) - does not suck, unless you had unrealistic expectations.

As for the staff, (as I said in an earlier post) one only needs to watch 2 episodes of "Airline" to see the "quality" of the traveling public today. You specifically pointed out how rude the passengers were. And you wonder why the staff may have been a little evasive??? go figure

Again, stuff happens on all cruise lines. The very first Carnival cruise on the Mardi Gras ran aground.

If I were a betting person, I would bet that if you sit down and write a mature, detailed letter (let me say this again, mature) explaining your disappointment listing the legit complaints about having to wait to board, the kiddie pool not being operational, the slide not being operational, Camp Carnival not being ready and the bar being understaffed...that you may get a 50% off your next cruise, instead of the 25%. But if you write a letter using exaggerations and generalizations, you will be labeled as "packing a starfish" and you will be ignored (as you should be).

I guess my biggest gripe is when people act like "Carnival did this on purpose". I can assure you that Carnival did not grow to be the largest cruise line but trying to make folks mad. Hopefully, they have learned a lesson from this experience that will benefit another cruiser one day. There have been a few cruising experiences that happened to us, since 1982 that taught Carnival lessons that later cruisers benefited from. As mature seasoned travelers, we have always been fairly compensated for those errors. I have no reason to believe that we are the only people they treat that well.

I can assure you that there is not a cruise ship for you that will not disappoint in some ways that cost a lot more to cruise on. One only needs to read the other boards about the "horrible" cruises on RCCL, NCL, Celebrity, HAL (and the rest of the cruise lines) to know that sometimes you have to learn to roll with the flow. Seasoned travelers know that.

[stampingcruiser]

Oh another thing, the food and water we did received was from the Port Canaveral, not CCL. I spoke personally to the Port Manager and he told me that.

[stampingcruiser]

People inside the terminal were NOT allowed back in once they left the building.

[LHP]

[quote name='cruisin_maniac']Could also be that the homeless people of New Orleans moved in and made a Ghetto out of the ship and by the time Carnival figured out how big the repairs were going to be, the ship was already scheduled out. So they did the best they could.

I wish I could here from some passengers how a small group of passengers actually ruined the cruise more so than anything that Carnival did. I understand that they were outright rude and obnoxious in the terminal and on the ship. A few of the ones that I am talking about were asked to leave. Probably Carnival made a mistake by boarding anyone who was acting like an idiot in the terminal.

Carnival was prevented from bringing food, water, or ice from the ship by either Coast Guard or Port Authority bureaucracy. They were prevented from boarding or leaving by the Coast Guard. Carnival owns this delay because they were not ready to sail. The Ghetto people own the fact that the ship needed so many repairs. The idiot misbehaving passengers own any further ruining of the remainder of the cruise.

It is also not true whoever posted that there was no food on the lido deck.[/QUOTE]

While a few may have been residents, I believe a majority were relief workers. I doubt they "trashed the ship". However, in the maintenance of a vessel of that size, there are maintenance folks that do nothing but prepare a "honey do list" for the shipyard at dry dock time. I dare say that this usual procedure was not followed with the FEMA experiment being a first time deal.
The shipyard probably got more than their share of "surprises" which would cause delays. I would be willing to cut Carnival some slack for this being a first time event.

[GoinCruisin]

[quote name='cruisin_maniac']Could also be that the homeless people of New Orleans moved in and made a Ghetto out of the ship and by the time Carnival figured out how big the repairs were going to be, the ship was already scheduled out. So they did the best they could.

I wish I could here from some passengers how a small group of passengers actually ruined the cruise more so than anything that Carnival did. I understand that they were outright rude and obnoxious in the terminal and on the ship. A few of the ones that I am talking about were asked to leave. Probably Carnival made a mistake by boarding anyone who was acting like an idiot in the terminal.

Carnival was prevented from bringing food, water, or ice from the ship by either Coast Guard or Port Authority bureaucracy. They were prevented from boarding or leaving by the Coast Guard. Carnival owns this delay because they were not ready to sail. The Ghetto people own the fact that the ship needed so many repairs. The idiot misbehaving passengers own any further ruining of the remainder of the cruise.

It is also not true whoever posted that there was no food on the lido deck.[/quote]

Blue Herons, just wanted to point this post out to you... BINGO!!!! LOL!

To the above poster... do you even KNOW who stayed on the Sensation in NOLA? RELIEF WORKERS, FIREFIGHTERS, and POLICE OFFICERS. :rolleyes: Sorry, I have no desire to read your post after reading the first paragraph. What a completely ignorant thing to say... I have supported people being upset, and I have defended many of them... for you, I have no words of support. With an attitude like you have, and the spreading of disgust, I am surprised you have fun anywhere :rolleyes:

[GoinCruisin]

[quote name='blackwing']I thought the Sensation was used as temporary housing for the relief workers. The Red Cross, etc. I didn't think that the New Orleans area residents who lost their homes were the ones who were staying on the Sensation.[/quote]

It was... you can't help the people that don't educate themselves before opening their mouths.

[LHP]

[quote name='stampingcruiser']Oh another thing, the food and water we did received was from the Port Canaveral, not CCL. I spoke personally to the Port Manager and he told me that.[/QUOTE]


I would not be surprised with that fact. If someone only knew the Customs Rules and Procedures of what a "foreign" ship can and can not do...you would be dizzy just carrying all the paperwork. However, I can assure you that if the Port did the actual delivery of the food and water, Carnival paid for it!

As for not being allowed to leave the terminal, again, the traveling public is dealing with a whole new world of Homeland Security and what Customs will and will not allow. Carnival does not control that terminal. Customs does. And if no one was allowed to leave, it wasn't Carnival saying you can't go.

[Cruisin975]

I was inside the terminal near the front. I'm not sure about other food items, but the sandwiches and cookies came straight from the ship. The CCL employees came up the hallway where you board and came into the terminal and served us from there.

[surfklutz]

[quote name='Debs224']People seem to be missing the point that the ship was delayed for the safety of the passengers! It sucks to be stuck in port and have your vacation shortened by a few hours, but I'd rather that then a safety issue at sea.

Should Carnival do anything? I think that an on-board credit is fair. They have no control over how long it takes the Coast Guard to reinspect. They do state in their terms that they reserve the right to change itineraries, shorten times in port, etc. for the safety of the passengers and crew. The on board credit was a show of good faith, not a requirement.[/quote]

Wait just a second.....Carnival rushed that ship out of dry dock too soon. They did not leave sufficient time for the Coast Guard to sign off on everything. And why do you think they did it? Because they stood to lose a ton of money if they cancelled the cruise. And it may not have even been a safety issue - there are any number of reasons why the Coast Guard holds the ship - and some of them have nothing at all to do with safety.

So they saved themselves from losing money by cancelling the cruise - but the trip was compromised by Carnival for the passengers who were affected. What Carnival did was not right - they did have a certain amount of control over the situation and the people who expected a full 4 night cruise didn't get it. They were cheated out of dinner and evening activities - and in fact were subject to unpleasant conditions that were beyond the guests control.

These people do deserve compensation - absolutely. Not just a token, but something that tells them, we value your business and are sorry you for what our poor planning put you through.

[Top-Cat]

Reading all this, I can understand that some of this was beyond Carnivals control, but some of it was also poor planning. It sounds as though that this was an ill-fated cruise from the beginning.

 

I also understand that cruising isn't free or even real cheap. I can understand a thing or two going wrong would be tolerable, but I have to admit, with so much going wrong, I probably would have been bummed too. Especially if I'd had children and so much being closed and not ready. I feel sorry for those who saved a lot of money to go.

 

I can usually make lemonaide out out lemons and still smile, but at this point, I am almost not looking forward to our cruise on her in May. I hope the future reveiws are better before then and they get the kinks out and get the place cleaned up. I wonder at 5 weeks out, how much money I would lose to switch. Anybody know?

[zqvol]

Oh ok. Sorry about that advice. I never read where it stated otherwise, but I see your point. Just use the iron on the Empress deck then or get some wrinkle releaser stuff. Is that fair enough? =)

Of course, I think with the Princess fire last week we are all a bit on the sensitive side right now.

[Panama74]

Sorry you had such a bad time. There are lots of ther cruise lines out there that may have a product more suited for you. Some of your complaints are legit and some are not. Yes, I know how the Carnival Vacation guarantee works and that should not be a problem for anyone with a credit card. Any grown adult can grab a taxi to the airport and buy a ticket home.

 

1. The embarkation time is clearly printed on your documents. "supposedly able to board between 11:30 and 12:00" is not what Carnival promised, it is a bonus when things go right.

 

2. The sandwiches and water should have started at 1:30pm, when the embarkation time was not going to be met. Carnival dropped the ball on the timing of this. But I do feel that $50.00 each and 25% off your next cruise is sufficient. Delta didn't give our family of four "jack" when our flight home was delayed 9 hours for safety reasons. Just because you didn't think they were "appetizing" is not a legit complaint, but personal preference.

 

3 - 7: Carnival clearly rushed this ship back into service. However, a refurbish after 6 months of housing FEMA refugees was a first time experience for Carnival. Normal dry docking is carefully planned and documented. I have not doubt the shipyard got hit with a lot of "unexpected" repairs after this once in a lifetime experiment with FEMA.

 

When you start getting into generalizations like "the food sucked" , sorry you lose credibility. An entire food line for 4 days at all the food locations (including room service) - (except for the duck) - does not suck, unless you had unrealistic expectations.

 

As for the staff, (as I said in an earlier post) one only needs to watch 2 episodes of "Airline" to see the "quality" of the traveling public today. You specifically pointed out how rude the passengers were. And you wonder why the staff may have been a little evasive??? go figure

 

Again, stuff happens on all cruise lines. The very first Carnival cruise on the Mardi Gras ran aground.

 

If I were a betting person, I would bet that if you sit down and write a mature, detailed letter (let me say this again, mature) explaining your disappointment listing the legit complaints about having to wait to board, the kiddie pool not being operational, the slide not being operational, Camp Carnival not being ready and the bar being understaffed...that you may get a 50% off your next cruise, instead of the 25%. But if you write a letter using exaggerations and generalizations, you will be labeled as "packing a starfish" and you will be ignored (as you should be).

 

I guess my biggest gripe is when people act like "Carnival did this on purpose". I can assure you that Carnival did not grow to be the largest cruise line but trying to make folks mad. Hopefully, they have learned a lesson from this experience that will benefit another cruiser one day. There have been a few cruising experiences that happened to us, since 1982 that taught Carnival lessons that later cruisers benefited from. As mature seasoned travelers, we have always been fairly compensated for those errors. I have no reason to believe that we are the only people they treat that well.

 

I can assure you that there is not a cruise ship for you that will not disappoint in some ways that cost a lot more to cruise on. One only needs to read the other boards about the "horrible" cruises on RCCL, NCL, Celebrity, HAL (and the rest of the cruise lines) to know that sometimes you have to learn to roll with the flow. Seasoned travelers know that.

I'm sorry if you feel that I am being immature and using generalizations (#2 and #10-13 on the list). Maybe I should point out that when we did get the sandwiches, we got 2 that didn't even have meet on them, so no, they were not that appetizing. The soda and water were warm, so no, they were not that good either. Ever had a warm Coca-cola? Ever had a sandwich with no meat or a warm cola, I promise you that it's not a generalization to say that it's not that appetizing. As far as the claim that the food sucked, yes you may be right. Maybe I should have not phrased that so "immaturely". But to back up that claim, I spoke with several veteraned travelers (many of them Carnival fans) who agreed that the food was not anywhere close to their expectations. And as far as the Freeport vs. Nassau complaint, have you been to Freeport since the last coulpe of hurricane seasons? Nassau is a much nicer port. And I did not intend to make it sound like Carnival purposely treated us in a bad way, no company in their right mind would do that. If that is the feeling you got from the post, then I am sending the wrong message. I was just trying to inform all on this post of what my family's gripe consisted of.

[stampingcruiser]

Our agent at Carnival told us it would be revamped and also I had read it on the boards on here.

[GoinCruisin]

Our agent at Carnival told us it would be revamped and also I had read it on the boards on here.

 

This is what Carnival announced and what was posted here... only the Suites on the Sensation were being refurbished... the other cabins had been refurbished in October 2004... I'm not sure when they will be getting it done again.

 

Renovations to Ecstasy and Sensation

The refurbishments of the 2,052-passenger Ecstasy and Sensation, which will take place in Mobile, Ala., will include new nine-hole miniature golf courses and new 1,600-square-foot Children’s World play areas, part of the ongoing expansion of the line’s top-rated "Camp Carnival" program.

Aft lounges on both ships will be reconfigured to house new family recreation areas featuring audio/visual equipment for displaying movies and other programming. The Ecstasy and Sensation will also house new art galleries and 1,200-square-foot conference rooms.

 

All of the Ecstasy’s 1,026 cabins, including 54 suites, will be completely refurbished, while new lighting, flooring, wall coverings and dessert stations will be added to the Panorama Bar & Grill poolside restaurant. The ship’s gift shop will be renovated, as well.

 

A patisserie offering specialty coffees and sweets and a new photo gallery will be installed on the Sensation’s promenade, while a redesigned Internet café will be located adjacent to the ship’s purser’s information desk on Empress Deck.

 

The Sensation’s 12,000-square-foot Spa Carnival facility will also be renovated and a poolside stage will be relocated to a covered area on Lido Deck, providing guests with more space for sunning and relaxing. Suites on the Sensation will also be refurbished to include an entirely new décor and completely remodeled bathrooms.

[blackwing]

at this point, I am almost not looking forward to our cruise on her in May. I hope the future reveiws are better before then and they get the kinks out and get the place cleaned up. I wonder at 5 weeks out, how much money I would lose to switch. Anybody know?

We are on the 5/27 sailing. My wife was concerned after hearing all these stories so she called up Carnival and asked if we wanted to switch to a different cruise if there would be any penalty. She was told that if we upgraded to a more expensive cruise (7 days, better cabin, etc) that there would likely be no charge, although each case is reviewed individually by a manager. Or something like that.

 

We are going to stay with the Sensation, I think. Hopefully everything will be in proper order by then, and hopefully Turks and Caicos will still be on the itinerary.

[big_duck]

We are on the 5/27 sailing. My wife was concerned after hearing all these stories so she called up Carnival and asked if we wanted to switch to a different cruise if there would be any penalty. She was told that if we upgraded to a more expensive cruise (7 days, better cabin, etc) that there would likely be no charge, although each case is reviewed individually by a manager. Or something like that.

 

We are going to stay with the Sensation, I think. Hopefully everything will be in proper order by then, and hopefully Turks and Caicos will still be on the itinerary.

 

I assume you mean no penalty, not no charge, otherwise the Sensation would sail empty. ;)

 

I wouldn't sweat it. The Triumphs first cruise out of drydock didn't go that well, and now it is getting rave reviews each week.

[stampingcruiser]

The reason more people from this cruise don't post is that our posts get nit-picked to death. I really would love to know how some of you would react if this happened to you. Not how you SAY you would react, but how you would. I bet you would be the biggest complainers of the bunch.

 

The port guy at Port Canaveral told me that the Port paid for the food, we were getting nothing from Carnival. I believe he was as exasperated with Carnival as the rest of us were.

 

I was told that the entire ship would be revamped, not just the suites, that was something that came up about a week before the cruise on the message board.

 

For the Carnival Cheerleading squad: You are making people dislike Carnival MORE, blame them MORE, and in general you are only making us madder by trying to belittle what we went through. A LITTLE sympathy would go a long way! Very few people were so upset they would never go on Carnival again, but we do deserve to be listened to and given commone courtesy (since you did ask for specifics and then proceed to pick us to death!) on this subject.

[blackwing]

For the Carnival Cheerleading squad: You are making people dislike Carnival MORE, blame them MORE, and in general you are only making us madder by trying to belittle what we went through. A LITTLE sympathy would go a long way!

I do have sympathy, but I also try to have an attitude that your vacation is what you make of it. It all depends on your attitude and whether you're a half-full or half-empty kind of person. Me, I know that I would think it sucked to sit in a terminal for 10 hours. I'm not going to deny that this would be unpleasant. But the flip side is that I could be sitting in my cubicle slaving over a computer.

 

I'm not a Carnival cheerleader. I know Carnival is not perfect. But nothing is. Anywhere you go, you will encounter problems in all facets of life. You could go to a hotel and have slow elevators. You could go to a restaurant and have bad service and overcooked food. You could go to a grocery store and they are out of stock of fat free potato chips or the weekly special on meat.

 

Yeah, it sucks, but it just seems to me that people are less understanding when it comes to cruiselines. I've never heard of anyone demanding in a restaurant that dinners for their entire party be given free because it was their opinion that the service was not good.

 

I know that cruises are expensive, but sometimes I feel like whenever there are any problems with the ship of any nature, people automatically feel very entitled and feel like the cruiseline did everything to them on purpose or had no sympathy. And that the only way that they can atone for it is to give everyone on board a free cruise.

[tess2cruz]

Well I saw News coverage of them returning and Heard 6 Guests complaining that when they ran the Water that rust was coming out of the Faucets, (This would be caused by not using faucets for a long period of time) Which in case would leave rust pebbles in the screen creating another problem with clogging.

While they interviewed passengers getting off her most people I saw where giving thumbs down and saying Carnival Sucks.

 

I guess they Didn't read these Boards hearing people say not a good idea to cruise the first Sail after Drydock.

 

I once had a tub on a HAL cruise turm my hair green. Still had a great time.

[HollyGoheavy]

How many of you would like to wait for 9 hours for ANYTHING at all if you have children with you? I live 20 min from the port of Jacksonville and if we'd been delayed that long I would have left and gone home and requested a refund for my trip. 9 hours is a ridiculous time to be kept waiting whether it's for a ship, a plane or childbirth.

 

Salty Dingo-please tell me you were kidding when you made the comment about water fountains in the terminal. You seriously can't think that water fountains would be sufficient to keep 1000 people happy for 9 hours.

 

I love Carnival, even when my very first cruise was so horrible that I cried until I could get off the ship (the Fantasy), but I am realistic about it-and Carnival grossly mismanaged this situation.

[sugarstick]

To the OP, thank you for taking the time to relate your experience. I am sorry for the terrible way your cruise started. It looks like to me you were the victim of several factors outside your control, i.e., (1) a rushed return to service of the Sensation, (2) an unusually aggressive Coast Guard inspection, and (3) lack of an acceptable response to the situation by the port authorities and Carnival.

 

Fortunately, your experience is rare, but it does not deserve to be discounted by those who defend Carnival at all costs. I loved my experience on the Carnival Conquest, but I can see how your experience at the terminal would affect the remainder of your cruise. Most humans are not robots who can instantly turn on the "fun" button after a miserable situation has passed.

 

If you desire a response from Carnival, I suggest you write a detailed letter citing specific instances of conduct you find unacceptable. I would relate facts rather than conclusions. The more detail you provide, the more credible your letter will appear. I hope Carnival can provide a satisfactory resolution to you, I don't think you will get a free cruise, but if you do, GREAT!

 

Thanks to some of you for not blasting me for telling my side of the story. I have been on lots of cruises (not Carnival) and do realize that things do not always go as planned and that not everything is perfect. BUT, having said that, this cruise was WAY below anyone's standard expectations. When I pay for a cruise, I expect to: Get on Board by dinner time the first day; Have decent if not good food; Have CLEAN clear running water; Have a clean, dry room with shampoo and soap; Not be sickened by rank smells in certain areas; Have a bathroom door that closes WITH toilet paper in common areas; Be able to use the ship's facilities such as pool, golf, elevators; Arrive at port in time for shore excursions.........I AM telling what the "real review" of our Sensation cruise.

 

I did talk with Guest Relations today and she said that nothing would be done more than the $50.00 per person. I am documenting my experience and will send it off to Carnival to see if they really do value the customer. If not, I will not be sailing Carnival again...(which by the sounds of it...would make some of you happy). I have read this board for years before going on any cruises for good information...didn't realize it could be so hostile when someone is just trying to inform fellow cruisers. I just don't think it's fair that people spend their hard earned money for this kind of treatment.

[picklebongo]

I have just finished reading every single post in this thread and now I have formed an opinion. In this instance I think Carnival totally dropped the ball land based on the eyewitness reports of people who were present in the terminal and on the cruise, they should certainly receive more compensation than just $50.00 and 25% off a future cruise. The 25% off is meaningless if most folks never want to cruise with Carnival again anyway. The safety issues are ones that Carnival should have known about beforehand and corrected before the sailing. To have guests, thousands of them, packed into a small area, sitting on the floor and lined up for long periods to use the restroom, with no food must have been intolerable. I can't imagine what it must have been line with no food and water.

 

I agree, to not do something as basic as keeping guests informed is also egregious. Folks will cut you some slack if they have a general sense of what the problem is and that it's being corrected. Just to say it's a "security issue" doesn't cut it.

 

If the ship reeked of sewage, there was backup sewage in some rooms, and so forth, that also is not acceptable.

 

To the person who made the comment about homeless people living on the ship and making it ghetto like, where in the world did that come from? Some NO residents were housed on the ship, considering how much Carnival overcharged us for the usage, I am glad that some folks who need housing were able to get it. The ship was drydocked before sailing and they should have made certain it was shipshape before putting it back into service.

 

Everybody isn't looking for something free, these folks just wanted the vacation they paid for, IMHO.

[cruisecastle]

Why do you think they are all from third world countries. Most aren't.

 

Actually most are.Unfortunately most people are not aware of how countries rank. Currently there is just one first world country--the USA. A few european countries and canada and a few asian fall into the 2nd world category. Mexico and most other countries we used to consider 2nd are now 3rd world. A new 4th world category was created for the worse of the worse that were previously categoried as 3rd world.

[Beach4me]

To the OP, thanks for posting your experiences. I think the whole situation was ridiculous and to say I would have been "disappointed" would have been a HUGE understatement. I cancelled this cruise several months ago - glad I did!

 

I've been reading all of the posts that I can find regarding this voyage - but I haven't seen mention of the muster drill. When was it held? Just thinking that after all that time in the terminal, the last thing I would have been looking forward to was a muster drill. (And before anyone comments, of course I understand the importance AND the timing of the drills...perhaps better than many people. I was on a Princess ship that caught fire in 1980 - at that time musters were only required within the first 24 hours of sailing...ours was scheduled for the next day - we "real life" mustered without any drill and it was not fun.)

 

To those still questioning the use of cell phones, in the last 20 months I have cruised out of Canaveral 3 times, Jacksonville once, and Lauderdale once. The cell phone rule was STRICTLY enforced in all cases/all terminals. They bordered on nasty with folks last time out of Canaveral.

 

Again, sorry for your experience, OP. Everyone deserves better!