Carnival Responsiveness

[MrPete]

I is important to take care of your issues while on board, never afterwards. There are plenty of people in charge to help. Work right up the line.

 

To try to take care of an issue afterwards is pointless.

[truecruiser]

truecruiser,

I was on the Elation for Thanksgiving both the ship and crew were wonderful. It was an almost perfect cruise and my only complaint was some of the weather and I do kinda find it hard to blame CCL for that. Have no worries about the Elation enjoy your cruise.

 

my previous reply must have gotten zapped in cyber space b/c it never showed up:confused:

 

thanks for the info. and re: the weather, someone on here won't hesitate to blame it on CCL. LOL.

[ccartman2]

We were on the Empress deck and were near a service door that banged loudly through out the first and second nights of the cruise. Stewards and room service personnel were using it. We, and our neighbors, asked several staff to stop slamming the door and to see what could be done to fix the situation. We were ignored. At about 5:30 am on the second night, I called the purser's desk, who did get it fixed. We never heard it slam again.

 

I'm guessing this was the biggest problem. This was found in the OP's review of this cruise.

[truecruiser]

In summary:

There were a few service issues on-board, but the itinerary made this trip exceptional. I am happy to answer any questons you may have.

 

thanks, Cartman (Reminds me of South Park). guess i didn't re-read far enough. the above from her 1st post was all i saw.

[ahoys]

... Staff was unresponsive, until I thought to go to the Purser with the issue. It was then fixed, ...

...

I don't expect anything from CCL other than an acknowledgement that my concerns were heard and taken seriously. quote]

 

I'm confused...if the OP did talk to the purser's office onboard and the problem was fixed, didn't the purser's office hear the concerns and took them seriously? What exactly is the OP asking for?

[mrdood]

LOL!

Sounds like a grudge to me. No different then the other whiners.

When the shoes on the other foot......people tend to look at things in a different perspective......

 

Definitely a grudge, I thought I was pretty clear about it... the whiner scale is a continuum, and not discrete. In other words, I may whine that my bag was delivered late as compared to my situation, where my bag was destroyed. One is a much higher pitched whine, but both are whiny, and yes I am whining as well...

[ccartman2]

Yeah, I sort of stole my screen name from Cartman :)

[terri23]

well the OP's whine is a pitiful whimpering if the problem really was a slamming door that was corrected while on board...sheesh...now they want to complain to corporate? I don't get it.

[19snapshot]

Snapshot has yet to tell us the problem, though. signed off now, but wasn't for an hour after the request for info was made. not trying to be nosey, but this is what the board is about, at least in part. conveying instances that occur...sharing them so that if others encounter a similar problem, they might be armed w/ some knowledge as to how to best handle it. also, maybe the problem has already happened w/ another member on this board. in such a case, they may be in a position to help the OP resolve his/her dilemma.

 

Hi,

Actually I signed off right after posting it. I had to go to work. Here's what happened. Our cabin was across from a service door used by crew on the Empress deck. The door was broken and was loudly slamming...all night long. We asked several crew members coming and going through the door to see if it could be fixed. On the second night, at one point there were three of us from seperate cabins in the hallway practically begging them to stop the banging. At about 5 AM I decided to call the purser's desk. The woman that answered the phone could hear the banging through the closed door and over the phone. It was that LOUD. It was fixed an hour later. My husband is chronically ill and the two nights with no sleep truly ruined our trip. He was not well the rest of the journey and it was several days after the trip before he was better. The crew members could obviously hear the banging as they came and went through the door. There were also passengers complaining and nothing was done until we called the purser. Lesson learned. Have a problem...call the purser's desk right away.

[19snapshot]

was it crew related????:o i'm headed for Elation in 3 wks, and i'm a little concerned as i recently noticed that the OP had done an Elation review (so that's obviously the ship she's talking about too), and she said in her review (which i just re-checked a little while ago), that there were "service" issues, though she did not specify what they were.

 

The service issues were minor and had more to do with not meeting up to really fantastic expereiences we have had in the past.

[terri23]

I also recommend that you put some earplugs in your toiletry kit.

 

But really, the banging door was fixed, what do you want corporate to do now? And why would you think you would get an instantaneous response (much less anything more) for something so trivial? And the pursers desk helped you right away, how is that not "responsive"?

 

Hope you get the reaction you're loooking for... :confused:

[19snapshot]

I have always sent any issues I have directly to Bob Dickinson the President and have always received a quick and satisfactory response from someone on his staff. I have always done this via e-mail to BDickinson@Carnival.com.

Good Luck

 

Thank you...this is exctly what I was looking for. It sounds like 6 weeks is the turn around time with guest relations (although they say 1). I think I'll wait 4 more weeks then try Bob Dickinson. Thanks again!

[19snapshot]

I also recommend that you put some earplugs in your toiletry kit.

 

But really, the banging door was fixed, what do you want corporate to do now? And why would you think you would get an instantaneous response (much less anything more) for something so trivial? And the pursers desk helped you right away, how is that not "responsive"?

 

Hope you get the reaction you're loooking for... :confused:

 

Wow...I am not sure why you sound so angry to me.

 

Earplugs...great idea, but can you hear your wake-up call in the morning?

 

The banging door was not resolved until we went two nights without sleep, although at least 15 crew members were asked to get the problem fixed. In my place of work, any staff member that receives a customer complaint has a responsibility to hand it on to the person that can fix it.

 

The purser was responsive and that was appreciated (and noted on my comment card).

 

I did not expect "instanenous" and would have patiently waited the 6 weeks, if I had been told that. However, guest realations told me that I would hear from someone within a week -two weeks ago.

 

An apology would be nice. No "perk" or credit or anything else will give us back the vacation we lost.

 

It may seem trivial to you, but we save long and hard to be able to take a nice vacation. Additionally, when someone is seriously ill, it is no minor thing to go two nights without sleep. I hope you are not in a position to know that first hand - but it was a serious issue for us.

[mrdood]

Wow...I am not sure why you sound so angry to me.

 

Sound angry on a chat site, I did not see any anger :mad: in that message at all, what I saw was somebody being blunt and practical, I guess you interpreted that as anger. They asked a valid question, what do you want, what are your expectations???

 

On the Imagination in Sept we had a room right across from a crew door, same problem, I took the door stop from our room and used it to prop the door open. Problem solved for that night. The next day we informed the pursers desk, and it was handled.

 

...while many business empower their associates to bring issues up the chain to resolve them, I don't find it to be true on a Cruise Ship. The pursers desk really is the place to go with a problem. The crew going in and out of our door were mostly room service delivery people. On a cruise ship I would not expect a maintenance problem to get resolved talking to them, I would always expect to deal with the pursers desk for results. Heck they may have agreed and nodded, but not even have understood what you were complaining about...

[19snapshot]

Sound angry on a chat site, I did not see any anger :mad: in that message at all, what I saw was somebody being blunt and practical, I guess you interpreted that as anger. They asked a valid question, what do you want, what are your expectations???

 

On the Imagination in Sept we had a room right across from a crew door, same problem, I took the door stop from our room and used it to prop the door open. Problem solved for that night. The next day we informed the pursers desk, and it was handled.

 

...while many business empower their associates to bring issues up the chain to resolve them, I don't find it to be true on a Cruise Ship. The pursers desk really is the place to go with a problem. The crew going in and out of our door were mostly room service delivery people. On a cruise ship I would not expect a maintenance problem to get resolved talking to them, I would always expect to deal with the pursers desk for results. Heck they may have agreed and nodded, but not even have understood what you were complaining about...

 

We didn't have a door stop, but I am not sure it would have fixed the problem. The door was actually broken. You are absolutely right on the purser's desk being the place to go for resolution. Lesson learned. However, the crew coming and going could hear the noise, if not understand the people asking for help. It could have been handled better. A simple apology would go a long way with me. No one has, not the purser, not the customer service person. It doesn't seem like much, but it would make me feel better. The comment that sounded angry to me was, "well the OP's whine is a pitiful whimpering" That doesn't sound constructive or practical to me.

[mrdood]

"well the OP's whine is a pitiful whimpering" That doesn't sound constructive or practical to me.

 

Constructive and practical is far from what you will find on a forum like this...

 

They are certainly entitled to have their opinion, you are welcome to disagree, but try not to "interpret" what emotion was behind their post, I still don't see anger, sarcasm - probably, and again, we are entitled to our opinions.

 

Be improvisational next time, a rolled up wash cloth or hand towel would have worked as a door stop. I am not Mr. Gadget, but many times, resolving the immediate problem yourself is quicker and more efficient...

 

DW was ready to put a sign on the door, if anyone undid our work, but she did not need to...

[19snapshot]

Constructive and practical is far from what you will find on a forum like this...

 

They are certainly entitled to have their opinion, you are welcome to disagree, but try not to "interpret" what emotion was behind their post, I still don't see anger, sarcasm - probably, and again, we are entitled to our opinions.

 

Be improvisational next time, a rolled up wash cloth or hand towel would have worked as a door stop. I am not Mr. Gadget, but many times, resolving the immediate problem yourself is quicker and more efficient...

 

DW was ready to put a sign on the door, if anyone undid our work, but she did not need to...

 

I know not every post is constructive, but I just don't think its necessary to be downright insulting and rude.

 

OK...the note thing it totally funny. We had no tape, but on the second night my DH put a post-it note on the door. It clearly wasn't large enough to get anyone's attention, but it makes me laugh to think that your DW was going to do the same thing.

 

Do you think it is out of line to think that some one, some where along the way would say, "We are sorry this happened?" I work in a service industry and have for more than 20 years (yikes). I just can't imagine not offering a simple apology to a customer that felt they had a bad experience.

 

By the way, thanks. Although you say that "Constructive and practical is far from what you will find on a forum like this..." your comments seem to be exactly that.

[terri23]

We didn't have a door stop, but I am not sure it would have fixed the problem. The door was actually broken. You are absolutely right on the purser's desk being the place to go for resolution. Lesson learned. However, the crew coming and going could hear the noise, if not understand the people asking for help. It could have been handled better. A simple apology would go a long way with me. No one has, not the purser, not the customer service person. It doesn't seem like much, but it would make me feel better. The comment that sounded angry to me was, "well the OP's whine is a pitiful whimpering" That doesn't sound constructive or practical to me.

 

Sorry you were offended - no, my first comment wasn't constructive or helpful - I meant it more humorously but appreciate that it didn't come across that way - and then came back and tried to better understand your issue. IMHO Carnival already resolved your problem and (enter constructive / practical) if traveling with someone ill and for whom sleep is so critical, I would bring earplugs, white noise machine, etc, etc, as you never know what you might encounter on vacation. Maybe you could give your DH the earplugs and you can listen for the wakeup call? Maybe you can ask for a wakeup call, set your phone to vibrate alarm in your pajama pocket AND order room service as a triple wakeup measure? Ask someone you're traveling with to make sure you're up? It's hard to believe your whole vacation was "lost" over this, but I hope your next one is better, for sure.

[mrdood]

By the way, thanks. Although you say that "Constructive and practical is far from what you will find on a forum like this..." your comments seem to be exactly that.

 

I have been interpreted as rude and nasty on many occasion, I tend to be blunt and pretty intolerant, many refer to me as the "rooddood". I don't waste emotions on posts, and I am very heavy on sarcasm...

 

I think you are on track, and I do believe guest relations will apologize and you will receive a follow up letter from them, they are overwhelmed, which says something right there ;) but they do literally handle 40,000+ people on board every week.

 

Good luck and please let us know if you do hear from them!

[Cotton]

=19snapshot;8915652]... ...

I don't expect anything from CCL other than an acknowledgement that my concerns were heard and taken seriously. quote]

 

I'm confused...if the OP did talk to the purser's office onboard and the problem was fixed, didn't the purser's office hear the concerns and took them seriously? What exactly is the OP asking for?

 

I agree, Ahoys.:D This is from my reply to the OP (reply #5 on first page of this thread)....

 

"You've already made your concerns known to someone at Carnival, yet you want this to go further; otherwise, you would have dropped it, right?"

[zaandam_2]

I have been interpreted as rude and nasty on many occasion, I tend to be blunt and pretty intolerant, many refer to me as the "rooddood". I don't waste emotions on posts, and I am very heavy on sarcasm...

 

I think you are on track, and I do believe guest relations will apologize and you will receive a follow up letter from them, they are overwhelmed, which says something right there ;) but they do literally handle 40,000+ people on board every week.

 

Good luck and please let us know if you do hear from them!

 

ok, who kidnapped mr dood?

 

i do think crew members should've relayed the complaint. the OP is much more paitent than i am. i would've been on the phone to the purser immediatly.

[19snapshot]

Sorry you were offended - no, my first comment wasn't constructive or helpful - I meant it more humorously but appreciate that it didn't come across that way - and then came back and tried to better understand your issue. IMHO Carnival already resolved your problem and (enter constructive / practical) if traveling with someone ill and for whom sleep is so critical, I would bring earplugs, white noise machine, etc, etc, as you never know what you might encounter on vacation. Maybe you could give your DH the earplugs and you can listen for the wakeup call? Maybe you can ask for a wakeup call, set your phone to vibrate alarm in your pajama pocket AND order room service as a triple wakeup measure? Ask someone you're traveling with to make sure you're up? It's hard to believe your whole vacation was "lost" over this, but I hope your next one is better, for sure.

 

Thanks for clarifying. I usually have a good sense of humor, but it must be off today. I wouldn't say the vacation was lost. We missed a lot of on-board stuff, that we usually enjoy, because DH was pretty trashed. It was a low-key itinerary, which was good. We've taken several cruises and never needed ear plugs, but it is definately going to be on our packing list for any potential future cruises. DH is not a light sleeper by any means. I completely understand ssues unfortunately happen. It is just nice to hear sorry when things go wrong. That is what I mean by the issue being taken seriously and being heard. I didn't articulate that well.

Room service as back-up for the wake-up call...love that idea, thanks.

[scperk]

Last cruise my DW had a problem with the pursers desk...She wrote Carinal a letter on her platinum stationary that she recieved and they got right back to her....Dennis

[nrdsb4]

I usually have a good sense of humor, but it must be off today. I wouldn't say the vacation was lost. We missed a lot of on-board stuff, that we usually enjoy, because DH was pretty trashed. It was a low-key itinerary, which was good.

 

 

I'm glad to read this. In your one of your other posts, you said:

 

Hi,

My husband is chronically ill and the two nights with no sleep truly ruined our trip.

 

I thought that was so unfortunate that this situation would have completely ruined the whole trip. Glad that in looking back you feel better about the cruise as a whole.

[terri23]

 

An apology would be nice. No "perk" or credit or anything else will give us back the vacation we lost.

 

 

I am glad, too, that in retrospect your vacay had some bright spots! Thanks for clarifying that!