Interview with Ruby Wilson, stuck on Elvis cruise

[Deaf Dude]

It's easy to say you would be happy being "stuck" on a cruise ship, but when you have kids at home, work, and other obligations at home, it's not all that fun. I had to make extended arrangements for my school age kids who were home with my Mother, I had to change my flight 4 times because of Carnival's lack of communication on what was happening, I had to cancel appointments that were scheduled for those days that I would have been home all at my own cell phone expense. It would have been nice for the cruise line to offer a complimentary anything to help ease the unhappiness, but they did nothing. They acted as though we were getting a deal being stranded on the ship for two extra days. I cannot even imagine how much my cell phone bill will be for all the phone calls I had to make and then make again because Carnival kept telling us one thing then another... The cruise line could have ported us in Florida and allowed us to leave the ship and fly home from there, but I guess that would have prevented them from making as much money as they could on the bar tabs that the passengers were creating. Carnival did not communicate ANY information to the passengers until well after we suspected something was going on. They told us we were on our way back to Mobile, only to wake up and realize that the ship was not moving and facing the wrong direction. Did they think we are too stupid to realize what direction the sun should be facing if we were traveling in the right direction? Unless you've been in the same situation, you have no idea what it is like to be held prisoner on a cruise ship that is as crappy as that one is. I'd be surprised if anyone even attended the Elvis Cruise next year. The staff that organized the cruise were just as bad at communication and organization as the cruiseline was.

 

Personally, I would love to be stuck on a cruise ship right now instead of stuck in a hotel right now. we had to evacuate because of the hurricane. when you left mobile, you KNEW a hurricane was coming that way and should have realized it might affect your cruise. if you were so worried about your kids and work, you should have stayed home. I am sure your mom didnt mind watching the grand kids few extra days. even if Carnival did make it back in time to mobile, you would have been stuck there in the airport since many in mobile were evacuating too. I am pretty sure all flights were canceled. you wanted the ship to drop you off in another port? what about the people on their way to Mobile to get on the hip once you got off? Are you more important than them? you need to understand that this storm affected over a million people. Many, like me, who can still not return home. you should be grateful for the fact that you got an extra few days of vacation and that you are back home safe and sound with your family.

 

Now for a dose of reality. below are pictures of what happened at my house while you were stuck at sea. Am I mad or upset about it. No, I am just glad that we are safe. Insurance will cover the damages and the inconvenience is something that we realize can happen when you live in an area affected by hurricanes. complaining about it and blaming others will not make it better.

 

The 40 foot tall oak tree in front of our house split in half and damaged our house, our neighbors on both sides, and 2 of our vehicles. Family members who stayed for the storm sent us some pics. It's not really as bad as it looks.

 

Here are some pics

This is my OLD van. I recently bought a new one and that's what we evacuated in. My GF's SUV is in front of the old van and you can't even see it. both are totaled. our house is behind the tree. neighbor's house is at right and has slight damage to the left corner of the roof

Here is the tree where it split. our house is behind it. limbs that fell to the left hit the OTHER neighbor's house!!

 

This is the actual damage to the house. the tree just swiped the end of it before landing on our vehicles. The damage is not as bad as it looks. we finally arrived home and the inside of the house is fine. There is no electricity, so we can't stay there. we have someone thre now cutting up the tree and we should be able to move back in within a week.

 

 

Paul

[pitchersmom02]

.....my question to the OP...did you get on the ship knowing there was a Hurricane brewing? :confused: ...If so why did you not make some plans with those at home before you left ? If not..well :rolleyes:

[Deaf Dude]

Note to self: Do NOT take a cruise during peak hurricane season unless I have the ability to be VERY flexible.....:rolleyes:

 

 

Actually, you shouldn't take a cruise ANYTIME unless you have the ability to be flexible. problems can happen on any cruise and with the way air travel is right now it would be wise to make contingency plans just in case you need hem.

 

 

[Monty'sMum]

Paul, glad to hear that you and your's were all OK. The house stuff is definitely more of an annoyance than sitting on a cruise ship for two extra days and having to rebook flights, etc. Hopefully you can get everything back to right soon and aren't without power for too long.

 

As brought up on another thread that went 'poof', it's all about perspective. :)

[trock]

.....my question to the OP...did you get on the ship knowing there was a Hurricane brewing? :confused: ...If so why did you not make some plans with those at home before you left ? If not..well :rolleyes:

Yes she did.. read the role call... it was only brought up a handful of times... :rolleyes:

[trock]

Personally, I would love to be stuck on a cruise ship right now instead of stuck in a hotel right now. we had to evacuate because of the hurricane. when you left mobile, you KNEW a hurricane was coming that way and should have realized it might affect your cruise. if you were so worried about your kids and work, you should have stayed home. I am sure your mom didnt mind watching the grand kids few extra days. even if Carnival did make it back in time to mobile, you would have been stuck there in the airport since many in mobile were evacuating too. I am pretty sure all flights were canceled. you wanted the ship to drop you off in another port? what about the people on their way to Mobile to get on the hip once you got off? Are you more important than them? you need to understand that this storm affected over a million people. Many, like me, who can still not return home. you should be grateful for the fact that you got an extra few days of vacation and that you are back home safe and sound with your family.

 

Now for a dose of reality. below are pictures of what happened at my house while you were stuck at sea. Am I mad or upset about it. No, I am just glad that we are safe. Insurance will cover the damages and the inconvenience is something that we realize can happen when you live in an area affected by hurricanes. complaining about it and blaming others will not make it better.

 

The 40 foot tall oak tree in front of our house split in half and damaged our house, our neighbors on both sides, and 2 of our vehicles. Family members who stayed for the storm sent us some pics. It's not really as bad as it looks.

 

 

Paul

Thank god you and your GF Evacuated.. I am sorry for your loss! I have friends in St Francisville that decided to stay and ride it out and all seems to be ok with them.. damages but nothing to complain about...

 

Good luck to you both and thanks for giving everyone a reality check!!!

 

We are on long island and people are panicking about TS Hanna:rolleyes:

 

20yrs ago we had Gloria which was a '2' maybe even a '1'... I dont remember but there was damage... but nothing like NOLA was hit with...

Good Luck!!!!

[IndyGirl]

TCB, you mention in both of your posts that Carnival just wanted to make money off of you by keeping you out to sea...........has it occurred to you that they will lose an incredible amount of money by possibly having to refund ALL of the passengers who were supposed to board your ship when you returned?? It's not like the cruiseline is making money hand over fist in situations like this..........think about the issues they face with food suppliers having to rearrange deliveries, modify the quantities they'll need on the next cruise, take care of other supplies for the ship, crew members who were maybe leaving the ship after that cruise and had to change their plans, shore excursions for both your cruise and the next to be rearranged, bus/luggage service that had to be dealt with, people who had probably already shown up in port for the next cruise and had to find hotels, etc. etc. Do you think 2 additional days of bar tabs is going to cover all those expenses??

 

 

No TCB did not think of the consequences to anyone else, just me, me, me!

[KY Transplant]

I would describe this situation as "bittersweet".

Sure it's great to get an extra 3 days of crusing at no charge and I'm sure all cruisers were pleased on one hand...BUT...on the other hand...flight reservations were in shambles...people who had children at relatives or babysitters had to make long distance arrangements as did those who had pets in kennels.

And not to mention inconviencing your employer and fellow employees who had to pitch in for you unexpectedly...and what if your the boss and your acting supervisor has other duties that 'must' be tended to?

All of these are legitimate concerns. Life is not all play people...some of you are whining like grade school children that didn't want to come off the playground and back to school. ;)

But if you are retired with no job, no bills, no phone, nowhere to go...you gotta admit...it was great! :D

[lgerrish]

I would describe this situation as "bittersweet".[

All of these are legitimate concerns. Life is not all play people...some of you are whining like grade school children that didn't want to come off the playground and back to school. ;)

But if you are retired with no job, no bills, no phone, nowhere to go...you gotta admit...it was great! :D

 

That's why they have substitute teachers!:D

Life is so busy and hectic, sometimes us adults need that extra playground time (I'm a teacher!)

[mcfam5]

ANYTIME that I can get a 6 day cruise for the price of a four day, I'm gonna be shickled titless! The idea that anyone would bellyache about it is incredible.

 

I am right there with you, but we do drive to port.

[arcanium]

It's easy to say you would be happy being "stuck" on a cruise ship, but when you have kids at home, work, and other obligations at home, it's not all that fun. I had to make extended arrangements for my school age kids who were home with my Mother, I had to change my flight 4 times because of Carnival's lack of communication on what was happening, I had to cancel appointments that were scheduled for those days that I would have been home all at my own cell phone expense. It would have been nice for the cruise line to offer a complimentary anything to help ease the unhappiness, but they did nothing. They acted as though we were getting a deal being stranded on the ship for two extra days. I cannot even imagine how much my cell phone bill will be for all the phone calls I had to make and then make again because Carnival kept telling us one thing then another... The cruise line could have ported us in Florida and allowed us to leave the ship and fly home from there, but I guess that would have prevented them from making as much money as they could on the bar tabs that the passengers were creating. Carnival did not communicate ANY information to the passengers until well after we suspected something was going on. They told us we were on our way back to Mobile, only to wake up and realize that the ship was not moving and facing the wrong direction. Did they think we are too stupid to realize what direction the sun should be facing if we were traveling in the right direction? Unless you've been in the same situation, you have no idea what it is like to be held prisoner on a cruise ship that is as crappy as that one is. I'd be surprised if anyone even attended the Elvis Cruise next year. The staff that organized the cruise were just as bad at communication and organization as the cruiseline was.

 

Since you've posted this... what... three or four times now, I don't feel at all bad about responding with this:

 

[mamasue]

ANYTIME that I can get a 6 day cruise for the price of a four day, I'm gonna be shickled titless! The idea that anyone would bellyache about it is incredible.

 

 

PMSL@ shickled titless!!!!!:D :D :D

[Rok4u2]

I left New Orleans last Sat to avoid GUSTAV. I spent a week in Northern AL. Today I arrived in Mobile to sail on Monday on the HOLIDAY. IKE?? Yea, he might affect my cruise -- do I care? NO! I am safer at sea on a cruise ship than I would be in New Orleans. Add a day or two or three to my cruise -- so what. IKE may destroy my house, but I have everthing out of it that is important to me and it is in a safe place. I am going to enjoy the cruise.

[Deaf Dude]

I left New Orleans last Sat to avoid GUSTAV. I spent a week in Northern AL. Today I arrived in Mobile to sail on Monday on the HOLIDAY. IKE?? Yea, he might affect my cruise -- do I care? NO! I am safer at sea on a cruise ship than I would be in New Orleans. Add a day or two or three to my cruise -- so what. IKE may destroy my house, but I have everthing out of it that is important to me and it is in a safe place. I am going to enjoy the cruise.

 

Hope you have a great trip on the holiday. we are sailing on her in November.

[KLLund]

I think I would rather pay for a cell phone and re-arranging flights etc than pay for a Medivac in a hurricane .. good job Carnival of keeping everyone safe ...

[lgerrish]

I left New Orleans last Sat to avoid GUSTAV. I spent a week in Northern AL. Today I arrived in Mobile to sail on Monday on the HOLIDAY. IKE?? Yea, he might affect my cruise -- do I care? NO! I am safer at sea on a cruise ship than I would be in New Orleans. Add a day or two or three to my cruise -- so what. IKE may destroy my house, but I have everthing out of it that is important to me and it is in a safe place. I am going to enjoy the cruise.

 

...your cruise and I hope all is well in your area. It must be nerve-racking to evacuate your home and not knowing if your home will be standing when you return. Pray for a safe cruise, no damage to your home and the people in your town, and many more cruises to enjoy!

[LHP]

It's easy to say you would be happy being "stuck" on a cruise ship, but when you have kids at home, work, and other obligations at home, it's not all that fun. I had to make extended arrangements for my school age kids who were home with my Mother, I had to change my flight 4 times because of Carnival's lack of communication on what was happening, I had to cancel appointments that were scheduled for those days that I would have been home all at my own cell phone expense. It would have been nice for the cruise line to offer a complimentary anything to help ease the unhappiness, but they did nothing. They acted as though we were getting a deal being stranded on the ship for two extra days. I cannot even imagine how much my cell phone bill will be for all the phone calls I had to make and then make again because Carnival kept telling us one thing then another... The cruise line could have ported us in Florida and allowed us to leave the ship and fly home from there, but I guess that would have prevented them from making as much money as they could on the bar tabs that the passengers were creating. Carnival did not communicate ANY information to the passengers until well after we suspected something was going on. They told us we were on our way back to Mobile, only to wake up and realize that the ship was not moving and facing the wrong direction. Did they think we are too stupid to realize what direction the sun should be facing if we were traveling in the right direction? Unless you've been in the same situation, you have no idea what it is like to be held prisoner on a cruise ship that is as crappy as that one is. I'd be surprised if anyone even attended the Elvis Cruise next year. The staff that organized the cruise were just as bad at communication and organization as the cruiseline was.

 

 

If you can't handle the obstacles that come with cruising...

 

A) Don't cruise during hurricane season

 

B) By travel insurance.

 

It is called personal responsibility!!!!

 

PLEASE don't ever cruise Carnival again. We only like to cruise with ADULTS!

Not children that have to have their snotty noses wiped.

 

geezzz....