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Thank you to those who provided helpful feedback about whether or not to expect anything from Carnival. As I said I didn't have direct information so I was simply looking for clarification/info from others who may have had similar incidents.

For those of you who thought I was heartless - I am sorry if it came across that way. I did say "they did the right thing" and obviously my heart goes out to that family. And yes I am give thanks every day, not just the days on vacation, when I am able to wake up, be with my family, and serve in some way.

All I can say is that I work in a hospital and we can literally save someones life and they will still complain about the food and expect us to compensate them somehow so perhaps I am a bit jaded when it comes to "customer service."

Overall the cruise was enjoyable but as some of you pointed out if we are able to travel again we will have more in-depth discussion about what the most important part of the trip is and plan accordingly.

Thank you.

Just back from a 5 night on Carnival Paradise. We hadn't cruised in over 10 years so this thread was invaluable.

Best things we brought: non-surge protector extension cords, over door shoe hangar for odds and ends.

Didn't bring but wish I had: lanyards. Paying $8 each onboard was overpriced but obviously not going to break the bank.

Didn't need: small fan for room. AC worked fine.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!

Just back from a 5 night cruise on the Paradise. We left our first port, Grand Cayman, on time. About 5 hours later they announced that due to a medical emergency we had to turn back. About 2 1/2 hours later they announce that we aren't going to the next port, which was Cozumel. We just spent another day in Grand Cayman.

The next day we heard from a couple we met on board that an assistant cruise director told them that the woman who had a heart attack unfortunately passed away on the tender going back ashore. While my heart goes out to the woman and her family, what they were told next is what bothers me. According to them the assistant said that the only reason we didn't go on to Cozumel was because Carnival was not willing to pay the airfare for the woman's family and her casket to go home. Obviously I have no way of knowing if this is true or not. They also said they were told that each person would receive a $60 credit.

We got our excursion fee refunded, but did not see any other credits.

I don't mean to sound callous because obviously they did the right thing getting this woman care as fast as possible, but we had to save for several years for this trip and the only reason we chose the Paradise was because of the Cozumel stop. Both my husband and I and our two teenage boys were really looking forward to the Tulum/snorkeling excursion.

I saw on another posting on this site that another Carnival cruise earlier this year got into port late due to an emergency and each person received a $25 credit and 20% off on a future cruise.

If we manage to save money for another vacation in a few years I don't see why Carnival wouldn't do something to something to encourage us to cruise with them again as opposed to just going somewhere and staying at a resort, or going on another cruise line.

Has anyone had experience communicating with Carnival for issues like this? Any success?

Thanks in advance.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply.

Thank you for the reply. That pretty much confirmed what I was thinking. Since the ruins were our main goal for this port when we booked the cruise I think we'll stick with one of the ship-offered excursions.

I've seen people mention that they found out how many ships will be in a port on a certain day. How do you do that?

We will be sailing on the Carnival Paradise and in Cozumel on June 23rd. We are planning a beach day at the prior stop (Grand Cayman) so we really wanted to take our boys to see Tulum. The excursions all seem pretty long though and I was hoping for a little time to walk around before getting back on the boat. So first question: is it worth worrying about time to walk around? I don't really see that there is much to do except eat and drink. I was hoping to walk and see some of the atmosphere/culture and maybe shop a little. Is that reasonable in Cozumel? If it is - second question would be if anyone could recommend a good private tour company that would do tours to Tulum (a tour, not just an escort/ferry/ride there and back) and could do it in shorter time than a cruise excursion? Thanks in advance!

Thank you. I was hoping to get some people who had sailed both to let me know their opinions!

We are trying to book a cruise for the week after Christmas in the western Caribbean. I am looking at the Carnival Breeze vs Norwegian Star. It will be me, my husband, and our two teenage boys. Any advice on choosing one over the other would be appreciated. I am mostly looking forward to the stops in port but obviously want to be sure there is enough to keep everyone busy/happy on board. (We did all take one cruise previously but it was a Disney cruise when the boys were smaller so I'm not sure you can really compare since that's not even a consideration at this time.) thank you!