nikki.bee.

i love how i made a suggestion to donate something to a force of "mother nature" (which is so offensive, i really don't enjoy this term) all those on their high horses praising carnival, attacking me, leaving ridiculous stories about winter vacations that had nothing to do with what i had a problem with. No one respond to my call to give something to those effected by the storm. Next time you want to go skiing or to some paradise because you have the money to do so, give it to someone who actually deserves it. I spent 2 weeks dealing with carnival and they wouldn't let us donate or give away our credit (yeah totally nice were dealing with philanthropists here) so I ended up booking the cheapest cruise with my brother. We both let our workplace know why we had to go on this cruise, and that I was not able to donate my money to any charity (find it funny carnival prides them selves on donating time and money to saint judes) We raised over five thousand dollars we wanted to donate to a relevant cause but carnival wouldnt even let us know how we could contribute this money to the same fund as they do to saint jude. I would love to give it to saint judes but we gave it to a fund started in Canada so send children of slain police officers to collage. I wasnt kidding when i said donate your cruise, no one stepped up. So enjoy and sleep well when you're throwing around your money on your vacations, skiing, snorkeling, and sailing. I made true on my comment.........i welcome your attacks and pathetic attempts to justify anything. Stand up for this company and show your true coloUrs.

I really felt for the employees on our cruise. The bartender at the martini bar explained to us their normal schedule and how little off time they really have. When a port day changes to a sea day they are required to work on a day that they originally had at least partial time off. Although they are able to sometimes get off when the ship is in port, a lot of the time they want to just catch up on sleep. Really made me realize how hard these people work. They also dont just work in one area. Youll notice staff in the dining room also working afterwards in the lounges, disco etc late into the night.

I felt for them too, gave a customer service rep a pep talk. Told her to take a step back and keep saying 'this shift will end sometime'

We all work like dogs, each of us harder than the next. I worked my way up in retail to become a store manager, talk to someone in the service industry, that's grueling. Like I said before I'm engaged to a cop, he can't loose his cool at work, if he imagine what would happen. He works a 40 hour week in 4 days with a good attitude with some of the lowest people out there. Flight attendants don't get to be scared or agitated on a flight, think of what that would do. I'm in the process of trying to get my credit transferred so I can donate it. We should all chip in something and give someone something they can't afford. Anyone else put out by Sandy in?

What you don't seem to understand is that there are many of us who had our trip cancelled who would have gladly traded places with you. We don't care which ports we visit, or if we visit no ports at all.

 

If I sound frustrated, it is because I am. You at least got to cruise; I didn't. I am jealous of you! You may not understand this, but, it is true.

Are we to assume your disappointment negates ours? Just because you feel that way our feelings are just as valid as yours. We're not allowed to feel bad because we missed the places we were physically on our way to see? I think a cruise to me and a cruise to you are different things. To me cruises stop places you can get off and visit, no ports = a boat ride....and an expensive one at that (IM NOT BLAMING THE WEATHER...seriously don't start)

I missed this. She got to cruise AND she gets 50% off her next cruise??????

 

Now I am VERY sad. I'm grateful that Carnival extended us the 25% for the cancelled Pride cruise. I am not complaining about that.... but, it does seem unfair (in a universal "unfair" sense, not a *Carnival* unfair sense) that she gets 1/2 off and doesn't want to go. <sigh> Oh well, as we all know, life isn't fair.

 

<<<going now to make a sacrifice of chocolates on the altar of the cruise gods>>>

I also spent 7 days in a floating hotel...I think we both agree the grass is always greener:p

If you were so upset that it took you two days to cruise from NYC to your first port of call, then why did you not book a cruise out of San Juan, where you visit as many as 5 ports with only 1 sea day over the course of a week?

 

You had a terrible time because of weather....something that is not Carnival's fault and you feel slighted because they are only giving you a 50% discount? You rolled the dice picking the cruise that you did because of the time of year and the fact that it took two days to get to your first port.

I was trying to rationalize why the Miracle was entitled to a 50% credit, not complaining about it.

I did not book this cruise, it was a surprise engagement gift from my late Grandfather who passed away this May.

I don't have the luxury of picking up and going on a vacation any time soon, my fiance is a police officer and his vacation time is scheduled a year in advance.

We are getting married in June and would really much like to try and start a family after that. So we're stuck planning around Carnivals deadline or loosing the credit. I've never been outside of Canada, never seen a real palm tree and never seen how beautiful different parts of the world are. I don't feel slighted because of the weather!!! I don't want to go on another Carnival cruise. You seriously don't understand how bad it was, you could hear people shouting and cursing from the lobby, the crowed was 2 seconds away from starting a riot. People were chanting and hooting and hollering, the mood was seriously dampened for the rest of the time. We had daily bean bag tossing contests to try and lift our spirits. The staff didn't even adjust the dining schedule for the days we were supposed to be in a port. There was little to no effort put in by the crew, the steward staff stopped making eye contact with guests, dinner service slowed to a crawl. The hurricane didn't do any of that. It was an attitude choice most of the crew made. When they first announced we were going home, we chose to try and make the best of it, went up to Lido deck, danced ate and drank for the night. But that buzz in the air and the spark of energy quickly faded from the crew. Don't get me wrong I had my favorites, went to the same lounge area to see the bartender, crossed our fingers and hoped we got the nicest server in the dining room. But even the service staff in the dining room would bicker with each other.

I've said it once and I'll say it until someone gets it.....CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Considering the loss of life and property associated with "Sandy" I think that anyone who has come out of it unscathed' date=' except for the disruption of their vacation, should feel themselves pretty lucky at this point. A previous poster seems to be all knowledgeable about the facts of "their" cruise and know that Carnival was out to milk every last cent out of all the "captured" passengers. Kudos to them for their insight. And while they are blasting Carnival this disgruntled passenger should also make sure that "mother nature" gets her fair share of the blame....oh but then Carnival is much more powerful and insightful than mother nature.

 

I have my own thoughts about dilettantes...and I have my own thoughts about the stupidity of people who don't get that 85 mile winds and 35 foot swells are not the norm and that these type of conditions are disruptive at the least. Life isn't fair...I've scheduled land vacations to sunny climates where it has rained for the entire trip, been on ski trips where the wind was so bad we never-ever were able to get out onto the mountain, been at the lake when conditions prevented us from ever getting our boat into the water and doing some water skiing.

 

The people who "think" that other peeps are in agreement with them and that a cruise line should be boycotted because of a weather incident are in for a rude awakening, I suspect. Most peeps have enough common sense to understand that the forces of nature aren't the responsibility of an airline, a cruise line, a resort, or well you get the drift.[/quote']

 

I really didn't come here to get into it with strangers, but everyone holds strong to their convictions, and I'll do the same. I simply saw dissatisfied customers, felt for them and shared my experience I had on the cruise.

It seems to be tastelessly implied that I am ungrateful for getting out of that storm safe and unharmed. It's a little sick to assume I take my own well-being for granted.

I believe 100% weather is something that happens and is one of the few things we can't control. It comes just as fast as it goes, acts as powerful as it does gentile and can be as beautiful as it can be ugly. Blaming anything on nature is like blaming a fish for needing water. Many cruises were effected by the hurricane but we know why. Getting mad at something we have the answers to is a waste of time, however I hope this is becoming clear to see. The lack of important information is what caused most of my frustrations and the inability to get an explanation is what lead to my anger. If there was no way of getting home early tell me that, explain to me what's going on and help me understand our situation. We were not asking for the combination to the casino vault, we simply wanted to know when we should expect to reach home. Is general idea of the day the captain is anticipating based on current weather? Are their variables that can effect his choice of rout? Considering the majority of the people on the ship were from New York I hope it's clear why they were so eager for answers. Imagine being left to wonder if you're going to arrive home in time to collect essential supplies and prepare for a state of emergency. Perhaps some readers expect those facing the need to prepare for an emergency at home to wait for the almighty Mother Nature to share her insight and intentions since we weren't getting it from Carnival.

The people who think that other peeps are in agreement with them and that a cruise line should be boycotted because of a weather ARE indeed in for a rude awakening. Most people have enough common sense not to waste their time eating at a restaurant that delivered horrible food, why waste your time with a company that delivered horrible customer service?

Most peeps have enough common sense to understand that a company offering subpar customer service does not deserve more of your hard earned money and maintaining good service isn't the customers responsibility. Fool me once...or well you get the drift.

The Glory itinerary was 6 nights to Nassau for Wedneday at 11:30 am- 10 pm on Thursday. Freeport on Friday.

 

I thought that the Miracle & Pride were both doing the Port Canaveal, Nassau, Freeport itin but I could be wrong.

 

All 3 cruises only stopped 1 of the 3 original port days.

Both the Glory and the Miracle came back a day early. The Pride came back the night before but passengers were given the option to stay on board until morning.

 

The only difference is the length of the cruises.

Glory a 6 day, Pride a 7, Miracle an 8. if the logic was that they have more days in their cruise then why did the Miracle and the Pride receive the same compensation?

I'm sure we all had an unpleasant experience because of this hurricane, I'm not sure what it was like on the other 2 ships but I just feel like we got the short end of the 3 ships at topic.

Miracle was supposed to:

Leave NYC on at 5pm Sunday Oct 21,

2 days at sea Mon Oct 22 and Tues Oct 23,

San Juan Weds Oct 24,

St. Thomas Thurs Oct 25,

Fri Grand Turk Oct 26,

2 days at sea Sat Oct 27 and Sun Oct 28,

get back to NYC 9am on Mon Oct 29.

We did come back a day early and reached New York at 9am on Saturday and therefore could not spend the night in the port because 1. we didn't find out we were arriving a day early until 4pm Saturday night (less than a day before) and 2. because the ports were closing they pushed the Miracle cruise, departing the same day we were scheduled to come back (Monday October 29) up one day which subsequently added one day, which Carnival is paying for any parking and gratuities. So those passengers get a longer cruise, don't have to pay extra for anything and all they had done were port of call adjustments. They hurried us off the boat at 9am sharp and crew had already begun scrapping the salt residue off the balcony hand rails. So it was a giant slap in the face, it was like our cruise gave a whole day away to the other cruise.

It took us 2 days to get from New York City which much further north than Baltimore and Virginia, and we arrived in San Juan (which is much more south east than Grand Turk) on the third day at 3:00pm. There wasn't much to do, most of the excursions were in the late morning/early afternoon. We had 6 and a half hours in one place, perhaps that came into play. How long did the other 2 ships have to spend at sea before reaching their port, how much time did the others get to spend in their port of call and what time of day did they get there?

We also had (as far as I'm concerned) the stupidest captain ever. We found out that the tropical storm turned into a hurricane our first full day at sea. There was no talk to diverting our ship once during the cruise, they didn't even make an effort. Tuesday was our first indication that there was unsettled weather, the boat rolled and pitched most of the day but calmed down in the night as we moved east away from the storm. We were told at 930pm on Weds Oct 24 that we would have to turn around and go home, and we would be at sea for the next 5 days. The captain was going around the hurricane, way east to around Bermuda, he would then swing west in front of the hurricane to get us back to New York. Thurs Oct 25 was a bad day, high winds, over cast but we were going 25-30 knots, which made the ride bumpy but just a little worse than Tuesday. Thursday night all hell broke loose, the ship was pitched to the right most of the night and we had 20 foot waves and 10-15 foot swells. The wind was howling and it was impossible to open the door to my balcony. This is when we slowed to about 17-20 knots but there were points we were doing 25. Twice a day we would get an announcement from the captain about the weather, and our progress through it and how far we were from home. Not once did we ever get an answer as to when we would be getting to New York. By Friday we seemed to be out of the worst of it, but everyone had cabin fever and just wanted to get off the boat. We got an announcement at 9am Friday that we were 480 nautical miles from new york, we were going 17-20 knots and this is when I started to get really ticked. I did the math and given our speed and distance left to cover, as of Friday morning we should have been home in 27 hours, putting us in New York on Saturday morning. Even if we dropped to 15 knots we still would have made it by saturday night. But I just had this feeling from the second we found out it was going to take 5 days to get back home they were milking it. Trying to drag the time home out as much as they could so they wouldnt have to give us any actual refund. We spent 141 hours suck on a boat, thats about 6 days all together. 4 of those days were rain, wind, and crap. I was understanding until we couldn't seem to get answers to our questions. I told the cruise director my math equation and politely asked when we were getting home and if there was a factor preventing us from knowing, he then took out a picture of the hurricane and said "see this biiiiig hurricane? we have to go allllll the way around it" in the most condescending, patronizing voice, he spoke to me like I was a child asking him the same question for the 100th time. So thats about when I lost it, 2+2 doesnt equal 5 days at sea. We got a 50% off credit when, from what I've read others dont get anything for worse things happening, because their idiots! All we wanted were answers, all we got were twice daily announcements about how fast we were going, how far we were from getting there, our longitude and latitude, the depth of the ocean, the temp of the ocean (cus we were really going swimming in it or something) useless info which lead to anger, frustration, agitation and a bummer feeling all over the ship.

At the end of the day, I payed for 100% of a cruise and got 37% of it, because carnival doesnt seem to want to part with their money (i dont either and they have more of it than me...) I get to take another crummy cruise at half price. And we have no proof that we get 50% off, no discount code, didn't get an email, no phone call. So as far as I know until someone gets this discount in their hot little hands, dont put too much stock into it. Lets say of all 3 ships there were 3000 people who are pissed and wont sail carnival again. If they tell 2 people how much they hate it and dont recommend it, and they tell 2 people, and they tell 2 people, ect. Eventually some damage is going to be done. Dont sit around here wasting your time fighting with each other, talk to someone who can do something. We're the customer, and at the moment they may not think we're right, but in time they will see the hard way that we are.

Another thing our captain managed to talk to abc news live from the boat while sailing us through a hurricane. Yeah awesome priorities, you would think Carnival has a spoksperson for that.....