Not Safe to Fall Asleep on the Glory?

[WK-Orlando]

Cruise was 13th til the 20th. I just noticed that I put 25th instead of 18th on one of the dates...

[caribbean dreams]

Why is it the passengers job to identify a odor? !

 

I think if it was me and the Steward smelled it but others said it was my imagination, i would try and seek out the odor just to prove to them that it's not in my head.

[ardfinnantoo]

also what the date of the cruise? i did not know that the glory went to ocho rios and grand cayman.

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

I have never been on Glory but I know last Sept on Legend there was some painting or something similar going on near Enchanted Forrest.

 

THE SMELL OF PAINT OR WHATEVER CHEMICAL WAS BEING USED WAS OVER POWERING. Going anywhere near that area was not pleasant! I cannot imagine being in a small enclosed stateroom with that smell.

 

Of course other times on different ships I have experienced this same odor.

 

OP I feel for you. I know first hand what its like to run into a brick wall when trying to get an issue resolved while on a cruise. (I tried helping a fellow passenger with an issue and nobody wanted to deal with it.)

 

At any rate I am sorry you had to deal with this and if it is any consolation, I do believe you!

 

Painting and other maintenance is not limited to ship yard time.

 

I hope you get the resolution you are looking for. I know it is easy for some people to sit back and judge when they were not in the situation.

 

Let us know how it turns out.

[caribbean dreams]

also what the date of the cruise? i did not know that the glory went to ocho rios and grand cayman.

 

There was a cruise on Glory to Jamaica Cayman & Cozumel on June 13th

[Terre]

Why is it the passengers job to identify a odor? He stated what he thought it was and info that the "odor" stopped when he complained. I wonder why anyone wants to post anything on these boards - you just get attacked or called a liar. Geesh!

I totally agree with Denise...it seems that no one can post anything negative about Carnival without being jumped on. I've seen this so many times on these boards and I don't understand why. The OP was just letting us know about his experience, why must everyone doubt that it happened?

 

Why can't we all just get a long?

[DocJohnB]

I think if it was me and the Steward smelled it but others said it was my imagination, i would try and seek out the odor just to prove to them that it's not in my head.

 

And, pray tell, just how would you do that. The OP wrote:

Best we can figure, they were stripping and painting behind some of the tender/life boats right on top of an air intake for the AC in our section. Never got a straight answer. There was also construction in the laundry room just down the hall and next to the print shop. Could have been any of them.

 

behind some of the tender/life boats. Your not going to get to that area.

construction in the laundry room . This area is off limits to passengers

construction in the laundry room . This area is off limits to passengers.

 

So, are we to assume that you would just barge into these "off limit" areas and demand to know where the odor is coming from. I doubtoubt it.

 

I am not sure what went on here . . . . in fact, some of the OP's other threads lead me to believe that he may be a bit of a c.c. on c/c (chronic complainer), but the story as he writes it certainly seems plausible.

 

I realize that some may think that your 10,000 posts allows you to post stuff like this. I would disagree at least to the point that you need to provide proof that what appears to be just a "snarky" post has some plausibility to it.

 

I think the OP just found this letter & posted it, not sure OP has ever been on Carnival, mostly a Princess cruiser.

[caribbean dreams]

And, pray tell, just how would you do that. The OP wrote:

 

Walk the deck and see if you can see anyone doing any kind of work on the ship.

 

Ships are always painting scrubbing or doing something, it's usually not that hard to find them.

The odor was only effecting 5 cabins, it had to be close.

granted, it could have traveled thru the vent system but then i would think, more than 5 cabins would have been involved.

 

The Steward smelled it, he could ask around also.

 

Point is, i would have made an attempt, instead of the staff thinking it was my imagination.

 

Thats just what i would have done. never said the OP should have done that!

[Maxax]

Wow...heated debate!!! I agree though...that it all just doesn't quite seem to add up! I think the OP sounds legitimate...but what I can't imagine...and have never experienced...is a complete disregard for passenger safety, or passenger comfort/care...from Carnival. Its hard for me to imagine anyone...let alone...a company like Carnival...to just completely ignore someone...if there is a problem. Maybe some day I'll be proven wrong. Maybe I have been very fortunate...but anytime I have ever had a problem...of this type of nature...the responsible parties...have always acted accordingly. (This is the only part of the story...that just doesn't make sense to me...and makes me question the legitimacy...of the whole event!)

[arby70]

Why is it the passengers job to identify a odor? He stated what he thought it was and info that the "odor" stopped when he complained. I wonder why anyone wants to post anything on these boards - you just get attacked or called a liar. Geesh!

 

I totally agree. People don't want to believe their chosen cruise line can actually make mistakes I guess.:rolleyes:

[Bandman]

If you cruise long enough you know that things happen from time to time that are not handled the way they should be. It doesn't keep me from cruising. I understand how the system works. It is one of the few things about cruising I don't like.

 

These boards have become a place where members pounce at any suggestion their personal favorite cruise line could do wrong. :rolleyes:

[Crusin6]

the first incident was tues 16 and the next thurs 25 ---on a 7 day cruise?

when did the glory go to ocho rios and grand cayman? seems fishy to me!

good catch! The OP also says DW and her parents and then keeps saying his mother. Could be a typo, but he does say "my mother"

[caribbean dreams]

I totally agree. People don't want to believe their chosen cruise line can actually make mistakes I guess.:rolleyes:

 

So.....you think that because a cruiseline tells a passenger that an odor is their imagination and the passenger tracks it down on their own to prove the cruiseline wrong, thats being on the cruiseline side????:rolleyes:

 

Don't know where you come from but where i come from, when you prove someone wrong, thats usually not being on their side!!!

[Crusin6]

Flame away if you want.

 

The Purser was the highest ranking person that would speak with us and every attempt at escalation was refused. When we asked for the source of the chemicals, they would not say. All we could get was 'maintenance in progress'. One person said they were painting and another said we 'might' be smelling a 'bonding agent' aka glue.

 

In the letter the Purser sent us, they acknowledged that an 'unknown' substance had entered our cabin through the AC on multiple days. Again I asked what they exposed us too and asked to speak with the safety officer which they are REQUIRED to have on the ship. (International Law) I even verified with one of the assistent pursers that this person existed and was the correct officer. Why they would not let me see him/her I do not know. It seemed like the ships staff (sailors etc) and the hotel staff (cleaners) where not 'coorperating' with each other. The hotel staff would tell them to stop whatever they were doing and the next morning they would do it again. It was obvious that the Pursers staff was very frustrated that this was happening but still refused to connect me with the 'officers' on the ships side of things. One of the staff explained that the 'likely' problems is that we are in a hotel in a ship. The hotel people deal with passengers and the ship people make sure we do not sink. The ship staff do not want to deal with passengers unless we are sinking. Passengers are the job of the hotel staff. They have different chains of command and only the captain is above both. I honestly feel the only reason it finally stopped was that after several days of this, someone finally told the captain what was going on...

 

As for compensation, yes, we wanted them to give us a reasonable credit on this or a future ride. Why shouldn't we? We laid out a lot of money for the trip and spent most of it recovering from this bs. I would have been satisfied with a reasonable future cruise credit and a face to face with the safety officer telling me what happened and what was being done to make it safe for us to return to our cabins. We did not throw fits, yell at anyone or get ugly in any way. The only people we had access too where not the people to blame nor did they have the power to order the sailors to stop what they were doing. THAT IS THE SAFETY OFFICERS JOB!!!

 

To flame away but you tell me how you would have responded to having your small, less than well vented, cabin so full of thinner fumes that you had to run out as you woke up three days in a row. Once, ok just an opps.. Three times and the line owes us a handshake and an explination.

Could you clarify the exact dates of your cruise? You mention the 16th and the 25th. Just how many days was this cruise? I love long cruises and may be interesed in it.

[islandchicklet]

Could you clarify the exact dates of your cruise? You mention the 16th and the 25th. Just how many days was this cruise? I love long cruises and may be interesed in it.

 

He already clarified this! He meant the 13th through the 20th.

[caribbean dreams]

I realize that some may think that your 10,000 posts allows you to post stuff like this. I would disagree at least to the point that you need to provide proof that what appears to be just a "snarky" post has some plausibility to it.

 

Where did i write that the OP should have looked for the smell??

I said i would look for the smell to prove the cruiseline wrong.

Take a look at this thread, i at no point said i did not believe the OP, i thought maybe he was reposting a story from a complaint board before be came back to answer questions!! but i never said the story was false!

There are posters on this board thinking there was no Glory Cruise on the OP's dates...I am the one that said there was a glory cruise on that date!

 

So don't jump all over me for letting everyone know what i would do and that i would have used my vacation guarantee.

Was it OK with you that i defended the OP...or are you upset at that also??

[Crusin6]

Wow...heated debate!!! I agree though...that it all just doesn't quite seem to add up! I think the OP sounds legitimate...but what I can't imagine...and have never experienced...is a complete disregard for passenger safety, or passenger comfort/care...from Carnival. Its hard for me to imagine anyone...let alone...a company like Carnival...to just completely ignore someone...if there is a problem. Maybe some day I'll be proven wrong. Maybe I have been very fortunate...but anytime I have ever had a problem...of this type of nature...the responsible parties...have always acted accordingly. (This is the only part of the story...that just doesn't make sense to me...and makes me question the legitimacy...of the whole event!)

You know if this odor was so pungent and they had to evacuate the rooms.....why didn't they just alert the ship to a possible emergency? It could have been a combustion issue or worse. That is assuming this is legit and not just a case of disgruntled cruisers with their elderly parents to contend with:D

 

No I am not saying pull a Lucy Ricardo and pull the emergency brake on the train, and it is totally reprehensible to fraudently pull a fire alarm or something, but these pax were just lame! If it were as bad as they say, they should have contacted the captain, purser, any officer available, etc. etc. Rally the neighboring cabin pax, for goodness sakes! FTLOG, they could have contacted Carnival headquarters if they wanted. All while on the ship. No, none of what I am suggesting would have been easy, but it would have been possible nonetheless.

 

 

Sorry, there is more to it than the OP says...again for my 2cents....I just see chronic whiners and anything would have set them off, regardless of the severity!

[tnf]

Here is one for those of us that feel that improved safety oversight is not required for the cruise lines. Forget how tall the rails are. People do not 'fall' off of ships, the jump or are pushed... On the otherhand, there are plenty of ways these folks put us in danger and you trust them at your own risk.

Not Safe to Fall Asleep on the Glory

On Tues the 16th, my wife and I along with her parents where sailing on the Carnival Glory on a seven day Caribbean cruise. When we awoke around 8:30 in the morning, our cabins where filled with an extremely strong smell of a ‘paint-thinner’ like chemical that was very overpowering and left us disoriented and having breathing difficulties. We immediately notified the room steward, who was in the hallway, and vacated the cabins. After about an hour, the smell began to subside and we returned to prepare for our tours (Ochoa Rios, Jamaica) while attempting to dress, the smell again flooded into the cabins (very quickly) and we were again forced to leave coughing and nauseous. At this point, both my mother and myself were having breathing problems and contacted the customer service desk for help. They eventually sent a supervisor to confirm the problem and promised it would not happen again. Despite feeling very ill, we decided to proceed ashore and join the tour group we paid for. This tour included some strenuous activities (climbing waterfalls) and when we arrived at the location, we decided that we were not able to participate safely as both of us, as well as the rest of our party, were feeling light headed and not breathing properly. These tour tickets cost us $300 and we were really trying to participate but it there was just no way to precede safely. We ended up sitting in the parking area and waiting for the bus to return.

That evening, I spoke with ‘Freddy’ the assistant to the Purser and was given his solemn promise that it was safe to sleep in our cabins and that the mornings ‘gassing’ would not be repeated. I have to sleep with a breathing assist device and my mother takes blood pressure medication. I explained that we are both very susceptible to this hazard and wanted to make sure it was safe. Someone with asthma or an elderly person could have been hospitalized or worse by what they did to us.

The next morning it was even worse. The air was so thick with chemicals that I just ran out of the room without even stopping to call the desk. Even our steward did not want to enter. To clear the air enough to grab our clothes required large floor blowers to be brought in. At this point ‘Freddy’ was offering us a ‘complementary’ trip to the ships doctor and I was demanding the ships safety officer make an appearance. Well, no safety officer. Apparently the staff did not feel he needed to be bothered and my requests to meet with him where refused. The Purser herself got involved at this point and we again proceeded ashore to the beach on Grand Cayman feeling like we could hardly breathe. Spent the day sitting in the shade on the beach trying to recover. On our return to the ship, I informed them that we did not feel safe sleeping in the cabins which did nothing to change the tune of the staff who said it was an accident and we were safe to return. Alternative cabins where not provided. At this point we did not know what to do. Two of the three ports on our trip had been ruined for us, we felt horrible, and the ships staff was simply not taking any proactive action to protect us. Lots of big talk about the Captain and such but still no safety officer or explanation as to how this could happen two mornings in a row.

Thursday the 25th. Mom can no longer sleep as she is afraid of the gas so when it starts again around 8am, she calls to get us out of bed and the cabin. Needless to say, I am rather ticked off and go straight to the desk in search of someone with a clue. The staff see me coming with a mixture of pity and avoidance in their eyes. Seems they all knew before I got there. Several hours later, the Purser finally decides it is time to actually see me and offers more apologizes. Still no offer of new sleeping arrangements or a safety officer. I told her we expected to be compensated and provided a safe place to sleep and that I felt they had crossed the line from accident, to stupidity, to gross negligence and reached total indifference at this point and repeated my request to speak with a ships officer. Received the same promises and vague assurances with no confidence that anything was going to be done after three days of this.

Friday we get a letter in our cabins offering us $120 per cabin for our troubles. Less than the cost of the lost tour on the first day. Hardly seemed fair that the most important three days of the cruise (10th anniversary for my wife and I). As far as I am concerned the entire trip was flushed. We are all stressed out, sleep deprived and poisoned and they are using some asinine formula figuring the percentage of our fare attributed to the cabin by the number of hours of lost usage. To say I was shocked is an understatement. We feel like we have been repeatedly assaulted by this crew and to tell us that we are getting $20 for each gassing. Great, they could have killed us and it is worth just less than the price of two drinks per person.

At least on Friday we did not wake up in gas chambers again. I did take the letters to the purser and tell her, politely, what I thought of the refunds. Next day we get hit again. This time in the afternoon and not as bad but bad enough. I called the desk and left the room. Did not bother to wait this time and the smell, as always, was in the hall as well. Couple of hours later, they tell me it is all my imagination and tell my wife the comp offer is final as if we made it up to get a better offer. For days, multiple staff come through and confirmed the smell, and the purser has the nerve to suggest this to my wife. If we were stateside, I would have called the police the second day and filed an assault charge.

Funny final note: when we checked our bill on the way off the ship, the credits, pathetic as they were, had not been applied to our cabins. Needless to say, a formal version of this letter is going to the Coast Guard Marine Safety office, the Federal Maritime office, a couple of Congressmen and likely an attorney as I feel we have grounds for a formal complaint. Obviously, I plan to copy Carnival, but suspect they will ignore it until queries start showing up from the authorities. Nice of the Purser to acknowledge that the incidents occurred in those offer letters. Bet the Carnival lawyers are going to love that!

Sad thing is that we sailed the Glory last year and had a wonderful time which is why we decide to return with the parents for our 10th. Go figure…

 

Did they ever say what the smell came from? We had the same kind of smell in our cabins and the hallway on the splendor in May. We also told the pursers office about it they said they would check it out. It was there the next day also. But it did not affect like it did you guys.

[gfsmith]

Why not just get off at the first port or even the second port and take advantage of vacation gaurentee?

 

I'm sorry that you feel it ruined your vacation but there is always an alternitive or even a solution for that matter.

 

This seems like a isolated incedent (not somthing that happens every sailing) If I felt it was theatening to me or my family i would have taken advantage of the gaurentee.

 

Flights are probably cheaper then what I would have lost in the casino anyway........lol:D

[KroozFoolz]

Since there seems to be a question of the actual itinerary for this sailing of Glory, here is what someone on the roll call posted just before they left.

From accuweather for our three port days. Only Ocho Rios looks bad.

 

Grand Turk 6-15 Glory

Intervals of clouds and sunshine with a shower in the area in the afternoon. Winds from the E at 14 mph.Realfeel®: 95 °F High: 88

 

Ocho Rios 6-16 Glory, Liberty of the Seas

Humid with rain. Winds from the E at 5 mph.Realfeel®: 112 °F High: 87 °F

 

Grand Cayman 6-17 Liberty Of The Seas, Freedom, Inspiration, Glory

Sunshine and patchy clouds. Winds from the ENE at 9 mph.Realfeel®: 99 °F High: 89 °F

 

gfsmith mentioned using the Carnival vacation guarantee. I believe that would have meant leaving the ship at Grand Turk (the first non-US port), which was before the first gassing incident.

[DocJohnB]

good catch! The OP also says DW and her parents and then keeps saying his mother. Could be a typo, but he does say "my mother"

Heck, for 38 years I never referred to my wife's mother as anything but "mom", not only when speaking directly to her, but in conversation with friends and family.

[gaylensgigi]

I sailed on the Glory in May during Pig Flu crisis,we were rerouted and had the best cruise ever.The ship is beautiful, and yes there is always some sort of maintenance going on..it is a floating city.

I can vouch for one thing, the purser is not one to jump to aid. My friends had an inside cabin and the air would not work. Crew came to check the temp and declared it "tolerable" , and gave them a fan:eek::eek:Took them 2 days to get moved and then it was in the middle of the night. I do like Carnival, but they,just like everyone else, are not perfect.

[LHP]

While I was not there and certainly can not attest to the fumes....I have recently had dealings with the Purser's desk on the Glory (last month) and they were woefully lacking.

 

Our A/C went out in our cabin and got one of the biggest run arounds ever.

 

Yes, we had maintenance come to our cabin and "measure" the temperature. He said it was above the acceptable levels. (not that this did us any good)

 

All we were asking for was a fan....and the Purser's Deck could not pull that off. Maintenance finally got it better (after DAYS of trying to get it fixed) ... but no where near comfortable.

 

And we are a family where 3 of our 4 members are Milestone Reward Members.

This was our 17 year old's 31st Carnival cruise.

 

Guess that doesn't even rate a fan these days.....

[DocJohnB]

Where did i write that the OP should have looked for the smell??

I said i would look for the smell to prove the cruiseline wrong.

 

Was it OK with you that i defended the OP...or are you upset at that also??

 

Geez no, I thought it was magnanimous of you to do so. Especially after some of our other comments.

 

Take a look at this thread, i at no point said i did not believe the OP

 

I think the OP just found this letter & posted it, not sure OP has ever been on Carnival, mostly a Princess cruiser.

 

A reasonable person could certainly think you didn't believe him by what you wrote. If that was not your intent, you truly need to be more careful in your choice of words. The inference of the above (quoted) sentence is that this did not happen to him, he found it and reposted it. That certainly says to me that you don't believe a word he wrote.

 

So don't jump all over me for letting everyone know what i would do and that i would have used my vacation guarantee.

 

I missed that in your previous posts in this threads. But then, according to KroozFoolz, you wouldn't have been able to do that, would you? The first port had already been visited when this happened.

 

*VACATION GUARANTEE VALID ONLY IF GUEST ADVISES SHIP’S INFORMATION DESK OF ELECTION TO DEBARK AND RECEIVE PRO-RATA REFUND BEFORE THE SHIP’S ARRIVAL AT THE FIRST NON-U.S. PORT OF CALL.

[caribbean dreams]

Geez no, I thought it was magnanimous of you to do so. Especially after some of our other comments.

 

My only other comment was that i "thought" he got this off of another site (it looked formiliar) I did not call this person a liar or fake, after the OP returned, i tryed to help him out, somehow you can't except that fact.

A reasonable person could certainly think you didn't believe him by what you wrote. If that was not your intent, you truly need to be more careful in your choice of words.

 

And maybe you need to think about the words written, then read further to make sure the poster has the intent you think they have, everyone speaks differently, the OP isn't complaining, you are!

I missed that in your previous posts in this threads. But then, according to KroozFoolz, you wouldn't have been able to do that, would you? The first port had already been visited when this happened.

 

I don't know, The ports were Jamaica, Cayman & Cozumel. Again, i was stating what i would do if this type of situation arose.

 

 

In the future, please be sure to remember to read further so you don't think the worst about people anymore and that the number of posts someone has, should not be an issue and last but not least, everyone here on CC gets to have an opnion that should be stated, not drug on for hours.

So if you want to keep being a bully and not except anything i say to you, you go right ahead, I myself am the bigger person that you.