Disgruntled Former Carnival Cruiser

[Starspangle1]

Dizzy, I totally agree with you! So far, we've only saied on Carnival and RCI - four times on each. Our last cruise was with Carnival, and it was DEFINITELY our last with them. The nickel-and-diming, you'll find on every cruise ship, I imagine. It was the fact that they reneged on half of the onboard credits AFTER we got home from the cruise! When we left the ship, our bill was actually a two cent credit, but when our credit card bill arrived later on, they'd billed us for half of what they'd promised us as onboard credits. Add to that the air conditioning going out, the nonworking elevators, and the terrible dining room service, and you can see why Carnival is history for THIS cruiser! We've already booked our holiday cruise for December on RCI, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

 

 

I always check my bill the night before and the morning leaving the ship, if there's a problem then they will gladly fix it before getting off the ship AND this is on any criuse line. If the charge wasn't on your invoice then how did it get on your credit card statement?

[rvrgirl]

I'm not sure what happened to the promised perks. In my case it was a collective case of memory lose by the entire casino division. It will be their lose though in the long run, as I love to gamble but have the worst luck in the world. To tell you how bad it was, as a platinum card member, we were entitle to priority deembarkation. They sent us all to a room and then forgot about us, as people who should of gotten off after us, started leaving. We had to call to 'remind' them that we were not yet given any priority.

 

To me it's all about Carnival just taking the customers for granted, and thinking they will always return.

 

Just curious regarding the ocean players club. We were on the Liberty in March and received lots of perks. Complimentary wine, fruit basket, even decorated our room. Casino Manager came around and gave us free drinks every night we were in the Casino. Also received $10.00 cash back in the slots after getting so many points.

Did you use your card in the machines? Because it should all be in their computer. Can't understand memory loss, if it's documented?

[rvrgirl]

I always check my bill the night before and the morning leaving the ship, if there's a problem then they will gladly fix it before getting off the ship AND this is on any criuse line. If the charge wasn't on your invoice then how did it get on your credit card statement?

 

You are absolutly right. Always check for mistakes beforehand. We were on the Monarch of Seas and they messed up our bill. Had a heck of a time getting straigtened out. But I will still sail on Royal Caribbean. One incident is not going to upset me;)

[knuckles]

Just curious regarding the ocean players club. We were on the Liberty in March and received lots of perks. Complimentary wine, fruit basket, even decorated our room. Casino Manager came around and gave us free drinks every night we were in the Casino. Also received $10.00 cash back in the slots after getting so many points.

Did you use your card in the machines? Because it should all be in their computer. Can't understand memory loss, if it's documented?

 

The $10 cash back is standard and is available to anyone based on usage in the slots. My issues were with the Casino manager who claims to not have received notice of my arrival. Even though I saw the letter (but don't want to get someone in trouble, who faxed me a copy and shouldn't have). What really got me was the 'damage control' they went into after I tried to get an answer and how no letter existed and how I wasn't rated because I didn't play high or long enough and finally that they didn't even care. That was the difference, they always tried to resolve issues, now it wasn't a priority to them.

 

I've said it before and will say it again, there is a new culture going on and Carnival is not the same cruise line it was even a few months ago.

[MGilly]

I always check my bill the night before and the morning leaving the ship, if there's a problem then they will gladly fix it before getting off the ship AND this is on any criuse line. If the charge wasn't on your invoice then how did it get on your credit card statement?

Good question! We DID check our statement on the night before AND the morning of debarkation, and both stated a credit of 2 cents. When our credit card bill arrived, there was a $49.98 charge for Carnival. It took three or four months for them to straighten it out. We had been promised a $50 credit per person, but someone in the accounting office decided it was $50 per cabin. We got different answers from every person we spoke with during the period of time that we were trying to resolve this. As in every organization, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, so in that respect, we were not surprised. What DID frustrate us is the fact that we had everything in writing, had faxed it to many Carnival people, and they just dragged their feet through the whole resolution process.

 

I, too, used to get annoyed at people who stated emphatically that they'd "never" do something again. However, it seems to me that, if someone really has had enough bad experiences with one cruise line, they'd just be gluttons for punishment if they continued sailing with that line. With all the choices out there, it does not seem unreasonable to sail with lines you haven't had problems with. Besides, not knowing what circumstances life has dealt to people, it seems a bit judgemental to chastise someone for their personal preferences, don't you think?

[rvrgirl]

The $10 cash back is standard and is available to anyone based on usage in the slots. My issues were with the Casino manager who claims to not have received notice of my arrival. Even though I saw the letter (but don't want to get someone in trouble, who faxed me a copy and shouldn't have). What really got me was the 'damage control' they went into after I tried to get an answer and how no letter existed and how I wasn't rated because I didn't play high or long enough and finally that they didn't even care. That was the difference, they always tried to resolve issues, now it wasn't a priority to them.

 

I've said it before and will say it again, there is a new culture going on and Carnival is not the same cruise line it was even a few months ago.

 

 

So you did notify the Ocean Players club before your cruise. But they are saying they received nothing? You have a letter to prove it? That stinks! Is there any way to send them a copy of that letter without saying who you got it from? I guess I will ask for a confirmation when I notify them on our upcoming cruise in Dec.

But if you have gone on 11 other cruises, and they were fine. I would not let one bad one discourage you. We have been on a bad Royal Caribbean cruise, but that won't stop us from cruising them again. sh#@ happens:)

[knuckles]

So you did notify the Ocean Players club before your cruise. But they are saying they received nothing? You have a letter to prove it? That stinks! Is there any way to send them a copy of that letter without saying who you got it from? I guess I will ask for a confirmation when I notify them on our upcoming cruise in Dec.

But if you have gone on 11 other cruises, and they were fine. I would not let one bad one discourage you. We have been on a bad Royal Caribbean cruise, but that won't stop us from cruising them again. sh#@ happens:)

 

I am very close with a consultant in the Ocean Players Club and speak to her very often. She is the one who sent me a copy of the letter and I do not want to get her in trouble. It is very clear a mistake was made by the casino manager on the Valor. But for me it was not just the bad experience, I understand that mistakes happen and was very willing to chalk it up as a bad experience. I would have been very happy with an apology and even another small discount to make up for loses on this cruise. It was their attitude and couple that with what in my opinion was a change of culture make me never want to return. It is my cunsultant friend who agrees with me and has similar issues on the inside with the lack of consistant policies. I really wanted this to work out and am sorry it can not be.

[rvrgirl]

I am very close with a consultant in the Ocean Players Club and speak to her very often. She is the one who sent me a copy of the letter and I do not want to get her in trouble. It is very clear a mistake was made by the casino manager on the Valor. But for me it was not just the bad experience, I understand that mistakes happen and was very willing to chalk it up as a bad experience. I would have been very happy with an apology and even another small discount to make up for loses on this cruise. It was their attitude and couple that with what in my opinion was a change of culture make me never want to return. It is my cunsultant friend who agrees with me and has similar issues on the inside with the lack of consistant policies. I really wanted this to work out and am sorry it can not be.

 

Sorry to hear that. We are booked to go on the Valor in Dec. Maybe you can give me some tips. You are not being specific regarding the problems. Maybe you can't say on the boards what the real problem was. You mentioned change of culture? Not sure what you mean.

[knuckles]

Sorry to hear that. We are booked to go on the Valor in Dec. Maybe you can give me some tips. You are not being specific regarding the problems. Maybe you can't say on the boards what the real problem was. You mentioned change of culture? Not sure what you mean.

 

My main problems were very specific and may not happen to anyone else. My advise though is if you are part of the Ocean Players Club and have been promised perks (in my case - free drinks whenever I am at the tables, based on current play and the casino managers discretion - possible free excursions, elaborate gift bag, liquor, etc), get it in writing and be prepared to show it to the Valor casino manager. Because they will look for ways to screw you.

 

If you are not a Ocean Players Club or Platinum Club member, those other issues may not bother you. Mayble I was overly sensitive. These were my opinions and observations and some on the ship agree and others don't. If you have specific questions, I will try to answer them.

[rvrgirl]

My main problems were very specific and may not happen to anyone else. My advise though is if you are part of the Ocean Players Club and have been promised perks (in my case - free drinks whenever I am at the tables, based on current play and the casino managers discretion - possible free excursions, elaborate gift bag, liquor, etc), get it in writing and be prepared to show it to the Valor casino manager. Because they will look for ways to screw you.

 

If you are not a Ocean Players Club or Platinum Club member, those other issues may not bother you. Mayble I was overly sensitive. These were my opinions and observations and some on the ship agree and others don't. If you have specific questions, I will try to answer them.

 

Thank you, I will take you advise. We are suppose to be getting a $100.00 shipboard credit from Ocean Players Club when we are on the Valor. I will make sure we have something in writing.

I'm wondering if it is just that ship or maybe that particular casino manager. I would sure like to hear if anyone else had that problem on the Valor. Because we have never had that problem.

[threeofus]

We've never sailed on Carnival but I will say one thing.....I get emails from them all the time with unbelievable bargains. It would really annoy me to know that everyone on the ship paid a different price and that the person next door might have paid a fraction of my cruise fare.

That would really toast me.

 

To those that are complaining about the recent "cheapness" remember those bargains have to translate somewhere.

[MGilly]

We've booked RCI's Legend OTS for their holiday cruise this December. I just checked Carnival's web site, and virtually the same cruise (same port of embarkation, etc. - only one different port of call) came out HIGHER priced on CCL than Legend OTS (at least the balcony cabin did). On top of that, we were able to choose our cabin on RCI rather than rely on a guarantee with CCL. So much for the price difference argument!

[rvrgirl]

We've booked RCI's Legend OTS for their holiday cruise this December. I just checked Carnival's web site, and virtually the same cruise (same port of embarkation, etc. - only one different port of call) came out HIGHER priced on CCL than Legend OTS (at least the balcony cabin did). On top of that, we were able to choose our cabin on RCI rather than rely on a guarantee with CCL. So much for the price difference argument!

 

Good for you. But everytime we book a cruise for a certain date, Royal Caribbean has always been higher. Must be the date. :cool:

[cruiseknots]

You get what you pay for! We too are long time Carnival customers having been on 10+ with them. But after the last 3 on Carnival, we felt the staff was not as friendly and pleasant as we remembered and the ships, especially the public restrooms, were very dirty and the ships overall were just not as well maintained. We noticed that the pool band on our last two cruises hardly played at all and took hour long breaks every 40 mins or so. Outside activities at night were non existent except for the deck party the one night out of seven. The pools had nets on them by the time the early sitting dinner was over. The staff didn't seem very happy and on two different occasions, we heard staff complaining about the was Carnival was treating them. Over all, we just felt that Carnival has gotten cheapy on everything and that some of the "fun" in "the fun ships" was gone.

We took our first of 4 RCL cruises last year and what a noticeable difference. We couldn't believe how much cleaner the ships were. The staff was excellent. The entertainment is nonstop. The kids club is second to none. We usually only put our kids in the KC for a couple of hours after diner and that's it. On Carnival, the hours varied from day to day depending on whether it was a sea day, formal night etc. On RCL the hours were the same every day. Also, on Carnival we found ourselves threatening to put the kids IN the kids club as a way to curb whinny behavior. On RCL it was the opposite. We couldn't get them out. We had to start threatening them with NOT going to the kids club instead. The pools were open well into the night. The pool bar was open until at least 10pm everynight and later on a couple of them. There was life on deck at night. Who wants to spend all night indoors? We have always felt that there needs to be more outside activities at night. We need to soak in all that tropical air that we can while we can.

Would we sail CCL again? Sure, if they have a great deal. But if we can sail on RCL, we will. Carnival still has better food IMHO. Especially the tiramisu and pizza!

[threeofus]

The prices for carnival may start out one way...but they can be deeply discounted...

I get emails for two category upgrades....one day sales....etc. and we are not club members. We never even sailed on carnival.