Insulting response from Carnival

[caprcorn28]

I recieve email notifications all the time telling me when a scheduled departure time changes by even 5 minutes.

Lucky you! EVERY SINGLE TIME that I have had time changes via air...I found out on my own!! Never once did anyone notify me by email, mail, phone....I know that those kind of things happen, I am PROactive and keep up with time changes of my particular flights.

This last trip alone....My flight times changed three or four times!! I lost count!!! Could have been more, those were just the times that I noticed it!!

 

It may just be that you aren't the cruisin' type. On 3 out of 4 of my Carnival cruises, my itinerary was changed. Guess when I found that out?!? Twice, right on board...the ship was turning around so they made the announcement. Medical emergencies both times for fellow passengers...ports had to be changed, because we wouldn't make the original ports after dropping off the gravely ill passengers. The next time, it was Hurricane Wilma's fault. But, the NEWS tipped me off to that...I rec'd NO official notification from CCL...Did that annoy me? Nope...The Hurricane was pretty newsworthy, I figured that Coz was out of the picture, and just waited to see what CCL's website notification replaced it with. But, then again...that's me. I am proactive and a "go-with-the-flow" kind of person. I figure...the sick passengers and the poor people of Coz were having a much harder time than I was. I was thankful that that was the worst of my problems....

[zqvol]

Lucky you! EVERY SINGLE TIME that I have had time changes via air...I found out on my own!! Never once did anyone notify me by email, mail, phone....I know that those kind of things happen, I am PROactive and keep up with time changes of my particular flights.

This last trip alone....My flight times changed three or four times!! I lost count!!! Could have been more, those were just the times that I noticed it!!

 

It may just be that you aren't the cruisin' type. On 3 out of 4 of my Carnival cruises, my itinerary was changed. Guess when I found that out?!? Twice, right on board...the ship was turning around so they made the announcement. Medical emergencies both times for fellow passengers...ports had to be changed, because we wouldn't make the original ports after dropping off the gravely ill passengers. The next time, it was Hurricane Wilma's fault. But, the NEWS tipped me off to that...I rec'd NO official notification from CCL...Did that annoy me? Nope...The Hurricane was pretty newsworthy, I figured that Coz was out of the picture, and just waited to see what CCL's website notification replaced it with. But, then again...that's me. I am proactive and a "go-with-the-flow" kind of person. I figure...the sick passengers and the poor people of Coz were having a much harder time than I was. I was thankful that that was the worst of my problems....

I have never had an air change that the company has not notified me. Carnival dropped the ball and then treated the OP terribly. The carnival supporters just don't get it. Carnival was wrong and dropped the ball and then treated the OP like a number instead of a person.

[Randy & Carmen]

Lucky you! EVERY SINGLE TIME that I have had time changes via air...I found out on my own!! Never once did anyone notify me by email, mail, phone....I know that those kind of things happen, I am PROactive and keep up with time changes of my particular flights.

This last trip alone....My flight times changed three or four times!! I lost count!!! Could have been more, those were just the times that I noticed it!!

 

It may just be that you aren't the cruisin' type. On 3 out of 4 of my Carnival cruises, my itinerary was changed. Guess when I found that out?!? Twice, right on board...the ship was turning around so they made the announcement. Medical emergencies both times for fellow passengers...ports had to be changed, because we wouldn't make the original ports after dropping off the gravely ill passengers. The next time, it was Hurricane Wilma's fault. But, the NEWS tipped me off to that...I rec'd NO official notification from CCL...Did that annoy me? Nope...The Hurricane was pretty newsworthy, I figured that Coz was out of the picture, and just waited to see what CCL's website notification replaced it with. But, then again...that's me. I am proactive and a "go-with-the-flow" kind of person. I figure...the sick passengers and the poor people of Coz were having a much harder time than I was. I was thankful that that was the worst of my problems....

Good for you Caprcorn.....great proactive attitude......but why am I surprised?...us Cappy's are just that way! (1-10 here):D

[dan40]

PRINCE1,

I outnumber you by 46 cruises to your 1. But you outnumber me by 4 Beemers to my 3. [now drive cars built by MB] and you surpass my 1.6 million air miles by almost double. Even tho, I consider myself a savvy traveler. And I do not even consider booking excursions thru the cruiseline. With your experience, it seems impossible that you would not regularly check status on your trip. You have to do it for your air travel [or your sec. did as was my case]

You were notified that COZ was back on. It was posted on their website 2/6.

No email? Maybe when you recd. the 1st notification the ship was way below capacity and CCL had emails for most. Later, the ship may have been nearly booked up and I doubt that they have email addys for more that a 3rd of pax. if that. Sure we all on this board have email addys, many have multiples. But we represent less than 10% of the pax on any given [non-CC group] cruise. So the web posting was notification and you missed it. Whose fault? Savvy travelers don't let these things happen to them, maybe you know you were asleep at the mouse and that's what you're really angry about?

 

Dan

[Randy & Carmen]

Carnival dropped the ball and then treated the OP terribly. The carnival supporters just don't get it. Carnival was wrong and dropped the ball and then treated the OP like a number instead of a person.

Oh we all get it.....we just could care less because we love the ships and sailing and have learned how to get our own info.....AND.....MAYBE the OP will glean that info thru this.;)

[pickpart2]

Take some responsiblity for yourself.

My last cruise AS WE SET SAIL the captain changed from Nasau to Purto Rico. PLUS we were only at PR from 5-11pm.

While I did get refunded for unused excursions at Nasau I had nothing booked or even looked at for PR.

Our group just went with the flow and found PR to be very nice and had a blast at captain frogs.

LIFE is not perfect. NO matter how much planning you make.

YOU are what you make of your cruise.

YOU can choose to do as little or as much as YOU like.

[GoinCruisin]

I have never had an air change that the company has not notified me. Carnival dropped the ball and then treated the OP terribly. The carnival supporters just don't get it. Carnival was wrong and dropped the ball and then treated the OP like a number instead of a person.

 

I travel quite frequently, and have had it happen quite often. Mostly on AA, but on other airlines as well.

[futaba951]

I have never had an air change that the company has not notified me. Carnival dropped the ball and then treated the OP terribly. The carnival supporters just don't get it. Carnival was wrong and dropped the ball and then treated the OP like a number instead of a person.

 

Geez, get off your Carnival cheerleader kick. YOU don't seem to get it. The notification of the change was made 2 months prior to the OP's sail date. How much more notice do you want. The OP just didn't bother to look. Yeah, it would have been nice for Carnival to send a letter or e-mail notification of the change. But they didn't have to and in this case they didn't. So what? A general, public notification was made. This is not a Carnival problem. It's an OP problem. They busted a poisoned thread on us and are bitter because we won't throw a pity party. We are the ones who should feel insulted.

[stlawrence]

Responses coming fast and furious. Trying to catch up...

 

- I booked the shore excursion myself, not through Carnival. For what it's worth, the entrance price to Xcaret I paid was $49 per person vs. $89 paid by those who booked through Carnival. I know some of you will point out that my experience justifies the price differential and you may have a point.

Carnival recommends that you book your shore excursions thru them. Point made, change of ports becomes Carnivals problem not yours. Also, you didn't include your email to them for us to read. Maybe the questions wasn't explained well because you were upset. I know I don't explain myself well when I am all fired up. However thankfully you had a great cruise & everything did work out. Just remember booking thru Carnival for everything can sure make life easier whether flying or shore excursions.

[ahoys]

My cruise is over a year away, and you better believe I'm checking my status periodically throughout this next year. Itinerary the same? check. Times in port still the same? check. Still on the Spirit? check. Cabin number still the same? check. Once I'm on board and they decide to change the itinerary, my attitude is --- oh well, "the best laid plans o' mice and men".... and go with the flow.

[caprcorn28]

Good for you Caprcorn.....great proactive attitude......but why am I surprised?...us Cappy's are just that way! (1-10 here):D

We're the best aren't we?!? :p LOL

 

Just for fun, check out: http://www.astrology-online.com/capricrn.htm

[GoinCruisin]

Good for you Caprcorn.....great proactive attitude......but why am I surprised?...us Cappy's are just that way! (1-10 here):D

 

Yes indeedy :D Caprcorn should join us for the bday cruise!! :D

[caprcorn28]

Yes indeedy :D Caprcorn should join us for the bday cruise!! :D

Whoo Hoo!! I am sure that it would be a BLAST - I am guessing that is the one out of NOLA?! Love New Orleans!!

 

You own an IT company, my DH is in IT....I am a Capricorn, Randy is a Capricorn...it's a beautiful picture!! LOL!!

[zqvol]

Geez, get off your Carnival cheerleader kick. YOU don't seem to get it. The notification of the change was made 2 months prior to the OP's sail date. How much more notice do you want. The OP just didn't bother to look. Yeah, it would have been nice for Carnival to send a letter or e-mail notification of the change. But they didn't have to and in this case they didn't. So what? A general, public notification was made. This is not a Carnival problem. It's an OP problem. They busted a poisoned thread on us and are bitter because we won't throw a pity party. We are the ones who should feel insulted.

The carnival cheerleaders will never quit, of course the TENT rule applies.

[hstrybuf]

I can't believe I waded through every post on this thread! :D

 

First a couple of observations. We often have first time posters who come here to make a complaint. Why does this surprise anyone? The name of the site is Cruise Critic! Anyone unfamiliar with the site is going to think that this is the place to make their complaints or criticisms about their cruise. Duhhh! Let's give the first timers with a beef a little leeway, send them to the proper place to make their concerns known and educate them in what cruising is all about. Then, if they stick around, they'll find that there is much more about this site that can be useful.

 

Those of us who frequent cruise message boards tend to be much better informed of what is going on and what reasonable expectations we can have for our own cruises. Unfortunately, we are only a small percentage of the cruising population. We know our contracts, we research our ports, ships and excursions and we watch for changes. I'm sure there are travelers out there who never look at a message board and are still well informed, but again, I believe them to be another small percentage of the cruising public. No doubt these uninformed people are the ones making the biggest complaints when something doesn't go the way they expected. Thus, the need for form letters in response to any type of frequent complaint.

 

To the OP. I'm sorry the miscommunication, or lack thereof, caused you problems. In your shoes, I would have felt the same since I didn't find these boards until after my first cruise as well. My first cruise was during a tropical storm. Ports were missed, there were delays and many experienced cruisers chose to use the Carnival Guarantee to leave the ship at the first port. We went on and had a blast!

 

Just by reading the responses here, you are already becoming better informed. At some point, we can no longer rely on other sources to keep us informed when there are changes. Carnival may have had the time to inform you, but they didn't and this is no surprise to many of us who cruise on this and other lines. (I choose three lines to sail on so I don't consider myself a "loyalist".) Each of us needs to take responsibility for our own plans and do the best we can to keep informed. Hopefully, if you continue to cruise, you will learn from this incident and continue to learn from these boards. :)

[Kittybork]

The carnival cheerleaders will never quit, of course the TENT rule applies.

 

What is the TENT rule?

[dickinson]

It took me quite a while to read through all these responses. Prince1- I agree with you. Carnival should have personalized their letter to you. We have all come to accept bad customer service and make excuses as to why it is either ok or not the company's fault. All you were looking for was for Carnival to say they were sorry this happened to you. I work in customer service so when I deal with another company and I see something that could be fixed I don't hesitate to mention it to them. If they don't know something is wrong then how can they fix it? Unfotunately it is probably falling on deaf ears but I still tell them anyways as you never know.

 

As for all the posters who are critical of the Op and that he should have known on his own, etc.... that is not his reason for posting! He was not complaining about that. His concern is strictly customer service from a large company and them not personalizing a letter to them and saying they were sorry. He actually asked for nothing from them other than an explanation. How many of you would have been expecting a percentage off your next cruise or maybe a letter that said to call Carnival 45 days before your next cruise for a little gift?

[hstrybuf]

As for all the posters who are critical of the Op and that he should have known on his own, etc.... that is not his reason for posting! He was not complaining about that. His concern is strictly customer service from a large company and them not personalizing a letter to them and saying they were sorry. He actually asked for nothing from them other than an explanation. How many of you would have been expecting a percentage off your next cruise or maybe a letter that said to call Carnival 45 days before your next cruise for a little gift?

 

Carnival's customer service is what it is. People who frequent these boards know that. Maybe if they get enough complaints about a certain area that needs improvement, then they'll fix it. It would be nice if the kind of customer service that we would like to have was a reality with every company with which we deal. Unfortunately, it isn't.

 

As for myself, I NEVER expect something that isn't due to me. No gifts, no percentages off. Missed ports? Maybe return of the port charges but that would be it and they are so small that it wouldn't make that much of a difference to me.

[pickpart2]

:confused: YOU never did say what your documents stated for ports>????

IF as you state more then a month prior to sailing carnival changed ports then I can only assume your documents when mailed to your home had the corrected information on them as typically documents are mailed 2 weeks prior to sailing.

 

 

Took my family on our first cruise, aboard the Fascination 4/17-21. When we booked it the itinerary was Miami-Key West-Cozumel. Several months before the cruise I recieved a formal email notification from Carnival that due to damage from the hurricane in Cozumel we were changing ports to Calica (copy of the letter attached below). Ok, I thought, so be it. I was impressed that Carnival had such a good pocess in place for notification of changes. We made shore plans accordingly.

 

Long story short, it turns out that more than a month prior to sailing Carnival changed ports BACK to Cozumel and NEVER made any attempt to notify me. It wasn't until we were actually on board that we found out we weren't going to Calica. So much for their good process for notification of changes.

 

After returning from the cruise I contacted Carnival customer relations asking one simple question... why was I notified of the first change, but not the 2nd? Yesterday I got the most insulting communications I have ever recieved from any company. It was a terse form letter reminding me that my ticket contract states that Carnival reserves the right to alter itineraries. It further said "When possible, Carnival notifies guests of any changes to the ports of call".

 

Excuse me, but that last statement is 100% patently false. There was clearly ample time for notification, and they most definitely knew how to contact me... they just simply didn't.

 

I guess I'll never know what happened, but a better (and more HONEST) response from Carnival would have said "you're right, we failed to live up to the high expectations we set for ourselves in communicating with our guests. We offer our sincere apologies and hope you'll give Carnival a chance to demonstrate our commitment to customer service excellence in your future cruising plans".

 

Yeah, fat chance!!

 

~~~Notice of itinerary change~~~

 

Carnival

The Fun Ships.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

FASCINATION 4 DAY CRUISES

JANUARY 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; FEBRUARY 6, 13, 20, 27; MARCH 6, 13, 20, 27;

APRIL 3, 10, 17 AND 24, 2006

CHANGING COZUMEL TO CALICA, MEXICO

December 16, 2005

Dear Carnival Guest

We will need to change our itinerary because Cozumel has sustained damage due to Hurricane Wilma. The Fascination 4 day cruises scheduled to depart on Monday, january 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; February 6, 13, 20, 27; March 6, 13, 20, 27; April 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2006 will call at Calica,

Mexico from Noon to 8 PM instead of Cozumel. From Calica, you will be able to visit nearby Playa del Carmen, the spectacular Mayan ruins of Tulum and other exciting options. We know you will enjoy this new port in Mexico.

Based on our “Change in Itinerary” policy, you have the opportunity to cancel without penalty, if the booking is cancelled by December 21, 2005.

Thank you for choosing Carnival for your vacation. We are looking forward to welcoming you aboard the spectacular Fascination.

Sincerely,

Vicki L. Freed, CTC

Senior Vice President— Sales & Marketing

[GoinCruisin]

:confused: YOU never did say what your documents stated for ports>????

IF as you state more then a month prior to sailing carnival changed ports then I can only assume your documents when mailed to your home had the corrected information on them as typically documents are mailed 2 weeks prior to sailing.

 

It's been asked a few times, no answer that I can see yet

[GoinCruisin]

Whoo Hoo!! I am sure that it would be a BLAST - I am guessing that is the one out of NOLA?! Love New Orleans!!

 

You own an IT company, my DH is in IT....I am a Capricorn, Randy is a Capricorn...it's a beautiful picture!! LOL!!

 

Yup! that's the one!! come join us... lots of bday celebrations going on that week!!! It'll be a blast! :D

 

 

Deb, great post!!!!!

[curlydog]

Well I guess everyone keeps missing Big Ducks Reply!!! CARNIVAL POSTED THE CHANGE ON THEIR WEBSITE ON FEBRUARY 6th!!! You should ALWAYS check your reservations prior to leaving. If someone has over 3 million air miles, they know this. CHECK before you leave to see if there are any changes. This was posted on Cruise Critic as well as Carnival. If you would have called Carnival anytime between February 6th and April 17th, you would have found out about the change. You assumed that your itinerary hadn't changed, when indeed, it had. Why is this Carnival's fault? Because they didn't personally contact the 10's of thousands of people about the change?? :rolleyes:

 

Itinerary Update – February 6, 2006

We have finalized our itinerary changes for Western Caribbean cruise departures through April 30, 2007.

Inspiration 4 Day from Tampa: These cruises will visit Cozumel (Sat.)

Inspiration 5 Day from Tampa: Monday cruises will visit Grand Cayman (Wed.) and Cozumel (Thurs.) and Saturday cruises will visit Grand Cayman (Mon.) and Cozumel (Tues.)

Ecstasy 4 Day from Galveston: These cruises will visit Calica (Sat.)

 

.

 

Well even checking the website is a crap shoot...the above clearly states Saturday Inspiration will be going to Cozumel..."we have finalized changes" .....yet we are going to Calica

 

 

So it seems a crap shoot to me....but hey I am a total rookie and no matter where they take me, I am gonna have a blast...Novia Scotia sounds kinda cool.

[billh65]

Those of us who frequent cruise message boards tend to be much better informed of what is going on and what reasonable expectations we can have for our own cruises. Unfortunately, we are only a small percentage of the cruising population.

 

My wife and I did our first cruise on Nov 26, last year, as you can see in the profile, I joined CC Novemer Nov 7. An internet user since the first days of single-based providers (Prodigy, etc), I am probably as well internet savy for searching, etc as the next one. But it took until Nov 7 to stumble onto CC -- thankfully. You can believe I read every Carnival posting there was, as well as the area for my cruise date. Reading those posts caused me to lessen my expectations a touch, realizing ports of call could be changed or cancelled, and knew to call Carnival a couple times the last 10 days to be sure all was in order (since Coz WAS to have been one of the ports of call, and we had made a Carnival shore excursion rez for there).

 

Thanks to all those post here that helped prepare me, especially the vets of 5000+ posters.

[I Luv Crusin]

"When possible, Carnival notifies guests of any changes to the ports of call".

 

 

They are not under any obligation to notify you of changes!

 

Was the rest of your cruise satisfactory? It's to bad that you seem to be allowing this mishap to define your vacation :rolleyes: !!!

 

"When possible, means that they are capable of notifying but choose not to for whateve reason. I just found out, not by Carnival but by this board that my cruise itinerary has had 2 changes. I too understand that they are not under any obligation to contact me but I'd would be upset if I get on the ship in Nov to find that Carnival changed again.

[Randy & Carmen]

I too understand that they are not under any obligation to contact me but I'd would be upset if I get on the ship in Nov to find that Carnival changed again.

Oh it could happen....but when you finally realize that this IS what happens on cruise ships .....then.......you'll be able to say oh well, I knew this before I booked and then go ahead and have a great time anyway and not even be looking for an apology that is not owed.