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Anyone else disappointed with Sensation Cruise Dec 17-20?


Sassy1234

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Actually Host Mach has told us that "people" at CCL do read these.

I just seriously doubt Cahill is one of them. Others read, condense and report things.

 

That is a reason, I think when a person has something bad to say,

to give specifics. The whole ship is not crap...maybe some bad experiences,

or things that could change that would help

things run more smoothly. Everyone knows you can't please all the people all the time,

but seriously..is all the food on one ship really bad? no.

Maybe not to one persons specific likings, but it isn't all bad.

 

Is the whole crew, rude, irritible and short tempered? No, but maybe they don't have

enough employees in a specific area to handle the load of people at certain times...

meaning maybe they need to shuffle some schedules around.

 

When a person comes along, especially a new member and blast everything about a ship,

they will end up getting grief from a lot of others. This isn't right, but most people on here can tell

(and get frustrated) when a person has had a bad experience and let it ruin their entire cruise

by they way they talk down the whole ship and cruise line.

 

I don't think most people here mind hearing of a problem, if it is brought out to enlighten others.

However when a person comes along and drops the hammer and lets it all go and tells how they will never

sail on CCL or RCCL or with Gilligan again...that is when it gets things started.

 

These are just some of my perceptions.:)

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I don't think it's just CCL whose service has deteriorated. We just recently went on a Royal Caribbean cruise and there were numerous cuts and restrictions. The food was poorer quality, the food selection was of cheaper selections (where was the seafood?)the service was merely okay, they charged fees for things that used to be included. What do you expect? The cruise prices are less than they were 10 years ago. They have to make up for the cost difference somewhere. If you want luxary and being pampered, you really need to pay the higher price for a luxary cruise. The mainstream cruiselines are really "budget vacations". You truly get what you pay for. I read one member comparing Carnival to "Walmart of cruiselines". Well, I would probably add RCI and NCL to that also. I am fine with budget cruises - they are cheaper and my family can take one every year instead of the more expensive cruises which I could only take every other year. Carnival is my favorite cruiseline, because of value and the wonderful activities and kids' programs.

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I did learn not to take the last sailing before a ship goes to drydock! The crew was ordered to start the renovations on day one of our cruise and it continued the rest of the cruise.

 

Don't take one the first week out of dry dock either because they are finishing up what they didn't get done while it was in dry dock. Talk to the people who were on the Voyager of the Seas last spring the week after they completed their dry dock.

 

Tucker in Texas

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Sassy,

I hope you are still reading replies to your post, regardless of the rude replies that you got. Typical response to any post that doesn't rave about a Carnival cruise!

 

I was on the Sensation right before you, (Dec. 13-17), and I can tell you that it was my first and LAST Carnival cruise. I feel that the service was lame, most of the crew members that I dealt with didn't even speak English, or if they did, they seemed uninterested in helping me out.

 

We did my-time dining, and I didn't have any complaints with the dining service, but I thought the food was terrible! Those dinner rolls that they serve every night were as hard as hockey pucks. The ribs were so tough, I couldn't even chew them! The lido dining option that we did one night was disgusting, the only meat being served at the carving station was turkey LEGS! undercooked I might add. I should write a review of all the things I was disappointed with, but I sort of just want to forget the whole vacation. I'm sticking with Royal Caribbean.

 

Hope your next cruise is better!

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We were on the Dream in November and when we mentioned to our asst.waiter that he and the other waiter seemed very overworked and the dining room seemed understaffed,he told me that was the way the waiters liked it because that meant they had more tables and more tips to send home to their families.I never thought about it that way before.

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I found the part about the dirty glass on the balcony to be questionable. The people just left it there all week, thinking the steward would eventually take it? I would have brought the glass inside after the first day, thinking the steward does not check the balcony. That's really nit-picky.

 

I doubt getting a pair of tennis shoes wet would ruin them. Have they never walked in the rain and stepped in a muddy puddle? Shoes are sort of designed for that. Anyway, the credit for $16 is most intriguing... the OP never said what that was for.

 

I think the cruise line should have offered complimentary laundry for anythign that got wet due to the pipe bursting, but expecting them to buy a new pair of shoes is out of line.

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I am not sure but by the way gma and lhp kiss up i still think they may work for ccl:) And i really do not care how many cruises you have been on or have in the future it does not make you king:) like i said before my first 10 or so cruises on ccl were great but they have let customer service go downhill lately. It is not to hard if you would quit kissing up to your boss long enough to just take a look at the posts and notice the customer service complaints are increasing. Its not my opinion it is a (fact)wake up:rolleyes:.

 

Don't know exactly how my name came up here but, be assured, I don't work for Carnival..... I'm happily retired after 32 years in the retail end of the travel business......and cruising my socks off.....

 

Last I looked, no crown on my head (grey hair - no tiara) so can't be King....not built right anyway.:rolleyes:

 

Here's what I know: I cruise for relaxation, sun, good food attractively prepared and served by an attentive waitstaff who knows I adore their Caesar salad. They greet me by name with a smile whether in the dining room or other areas of the ship.

 

I appreciate the friendliness of the cabin steward who keeps everything ship-shape and keeps the ice bucket full. He hasn't too much to do because I'm something of a neatnick and don't leave my cabin looking like Hurricane Ida has passed through. A "good morning" with a smile goes a long way from me to him and back again.

 

When or if a problem arises, I head to the Purser's desk and speak in a civil manner to whomever is there, explain the problem and it's always taken care of.

 

I don't need a nanny, a "mommy", a caretaker and don't expect long drawn out conversations with folks who are working their butts off trying to get the job done and trying to be pleasant while doing it. I don't depend upon ships employees to provide me with social commentary.

 

I'm very independent and undemanding.

 

Personally, I've not noticed a drop in service onboard...nor a drop in customer service on the phone. If that irritates some folks, well, that's too bad. Perhaps we all need to lighten up a little bit.

 

Most of the "complaints" I've read "lately" are way over the top and are clearly exaggerated. Minor things cannot "ruin" a cruise for the average cruiser. Some things can be irritating, true, but not ruinous. Many complaints come from folks not knowing what to expect on a cruise...and/or they've not bothered to read the information provided about the cruise experience.

 

So, sorry if my satisfaction with Carnival that has held steady for over 30 years irritates some folks. You'll just have to sort of get over that....

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G'Ma I would enjoy cruising with you! Everything that happens on our cruises (and I mean everything) is part of our experiences and fun!

 

Our first cruise was scheduled for Cozemel, Belize and Progrsso..but we were detoured to the Bahamas because of a Hurricane!! Some people in our party did not get their clothes until day 3-first port-and we all laughed while we helped wash their socks ( and underwear) in the sink.

 

We laughed and sang the Gilligan's Island song when our excursion in the Cayman Islands went askew.....(boat's motor at stingray island overheated...caught fire... and we were ocean stranded until a boat could pull us to a concrete dock....)

 

...first startled, then histerically laughed, and asked to be let off at Senior Frog's, when our bus... taking us from the concrete dock after the "fire" incident..hit a car in front of us..

 

.....visiting a Mayan ruin in a jungle area and laughing as some visitors were upset athat there were bugs on the ground.....

 

... and including our excusion in Costa Maya.... our scuba boat......sank and we lost some of our equipement.....

 

And that doesn't include us out running a tornado in Oklahoma on the way back from our Galvaston cruise!

 

Every experience has been memorable and wonderful! So G'Ma I hope to someday meet you on a cruise and enjoy a memorable experience with you!

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I found the part about the dirty glass on the balcony to be questionable. The people just left it there all week, thinking the steward would eventually take it? I would have brought the glass inside after the first day, thinking the steward does not check the balcony. That's really nit-picky.

 

I doubt getting a pair of tennis shoes wet would ruin them. Have they never walked in the rain and stepped in a muddy puddle? Shoes are sort of designed for that. Anyway, the credit for $16 is most intriguing... the OP never said what that was for.

 

I think the cruise line should have offered complimentary laundry for anythign that got wet due to the pipe bursting, but expecting them to buy a new pair of shoes is out of line.

 

They do weird crap like that sometimes. Last year when we did our B2B on Inspiration, my friend took a spoonfull from his melting cake and bit down on a piece of broken plate!

 

We reported it, and they sent along some chocolate covered strawberries to our table. They put a $20 room credit on his account, and one on ours. Then, and for no explained reason, they reduced both to $10. I didn't care about ours since we didn't have the problem. Reducing the one for the guy who had the piece of plate in his food was in pretty poor taste.

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I noticed a drop in the service in the dining room on my latest cruise. A short cruise, and the wait staff may not have had a chance to get to know people's preferences. I've only been seated at booth's for 4 or tables for 2 before - and this cruise was at a 10-top. Hoping the large table size combined with a waiter that seemed a little green accounts for the change in service, and not a fleet wide cut in staff. Besides orders being mixed up, the service never seemed personal like it has on past cruises. Not enough to ruin my cruise by any means, but I've always enjoyed great service before and it is something I look forward to on a cruise.

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I'm not sure how true this is, at least in comparison to how it has always been. Are there really more complaints now than in the past or are you just remembering it that way.

 

 

I am glad that this OP (and other OP's) have shared the truth of their experiences. I think that is valuable information. On the other hand, we need to beware of rashly extrapolating this type of anecdotal evidence into faulty conclusions that the sky is falling...

 

You cant deny a couple of FACTS, not anecdotal evidence..The dining room wait staff HAS been reduced, and it HAS affected the service.

 

A number of other "cuts" have obviously been made to save money, like the midnight buffetts, the chocolate fountains, and several other "little" things, that do add up to have a noticable effect on the overall experience.

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I don't think it's just CCL whose service has deteriorated. We just recently went on a Royal Caribbean cruise and there were numerous cuts and restrictions. The food was poorer quality, the food selection was of cheaper selections (where was the seafood?)the service was merely okay, they charged fees for things that used to be included. What do you expect? The cruise prices are less than they were 10 years ago. They have to make up for the cost difference somewhere. If you want luxary and being pampered, you really need to pay the higher price for a luxary cruise. The mainstream cruiselines are really "budget vacations". You truly get what you pay for. I read one member comparing Carnival to "Walmart of cruiselines". Well, I would probably add RCI and NCL to that also. I am fine with budget cruises - they are cheaper and my family can take one every year instead of the more expensive cruises which I could only take every other year. Carnival is my favorite cruiseline, because of value and the wonderful activities and kids' programs.

 

I'm with you! I have to laugh when people are spending a few dollars a day for all the food they can eat...entertainment...activities etc....and then they complain if the waiter doesn't know their name or is slow in bringing dessert.

I've been (very) sporadically cruising for 45 years. I went on a cruise about 30 years ago. I was making about $15,000/year at the time and the cruise cost about $500 (don't remember exactly...but in that area....and it was the cheapest fare) for sharing an inside cabin for a week. Yet, I just booked a week for $449. Those 1980 $500 translate into 2010 dollars as over $1300. So, in real value I'm paying about 1/3 the price.

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Sassy,

I hope you are still reading replies to your post, regardless of the rude replies that you got. Typical response to any post that doesn't rave about a Carnival cruise!

 

I was on the Sensation right before you, (Dec. 13-17), and I can tell you that it was my first and LAST Carnival cruise. I feel that the service was lame, most of the crew members that I dealt with didn't even speak English, or if they did, they seemed uninterested in helping me out.

 

We did my-time dining, and I didn't have any complaints with the dining service, but I thought the food was terrible! Those dinner rolls that they serve every night were as hard as hockey pucks. The ribs were so tough, I couldn't even chew them! The lido dining option that we did one night was disgusting, the only meat being served at the carving station was turkey LEGS! undercooked I might add. I should write a review of all the things I was disappointed with, but I sort of just want to forget the whole vacation. I'm sticking with Royal Caribbean.

 

Hope your next cruise is better!

 

Ahhhh...come on now. You're going to stick with RCI? My....my :p

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I am not brand loyal at all. I have done Carnival, RCI and Holland. Carnival was by far the worst. It was like a cattle call to do anything, the food was disgusting (Inspiration 2006). If you have ever sailed on HAL you will quickly be blown away. Having said all of this, myself, my s-i-l, and my neighbor have booked the Valor for the wk of March 21st.

Carnival seems to have expanded choices for meals. After the Inspiration cruise, I swore never again. lol. Never say never. We are excited for our girls trip on the Valor. We got a great deal and can not wait to escape the snow!:)

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I had the exact opposite experience...my first two cruises were on two ncl ships and at the time, I thought they were great cruises....until I sailed the splendor....carnival provided an entirely better product, for much less money...

 

have four lines that I cruise, Carnival, NCL and RCCL plus a fourth. The three mentioned all have, IMO identical service levels. They are more alike than different. The fourth does not need to be mentioned because it is not a mass market line and as a result the expectations are completely different.

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Often wondered if Mr. Cahill, or anyone from Carnival monitors Cruise Critics.Com? Certainly should be at least some concern with The Dream and increasing notice of over worked staff members on all the ships.

 

 

It is funny but I don't see the staff being worked any harder than they have been for years. As far as I can tell there has been no reduction in service staff, and if you ask the staff themselves they will tell you the same thing. IMO someone on the boards decided that it happened and the myth circulates. It really does not cost carnival or any other line very much to have an extra waiter, or cabin attendant, as the bulk of their salaries come form gratuities. If there are going to be cutbacks they are going to be in the deck division or engineering, and no one sees or mentions those.

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You cant deny a couple of FACTS, not anecdotal evidence..The dining room wait staff HAS been reduced, and it HAS affected the service.

 

A number of other "cuts" have obviously been made to save money, like the midnight buffetts, the chocolate fountains, and several other "little" things, that do add up to have a noticable effect on the overall experience.

 

 

Actually, I have no evidence that the dining room wait staff has been reduced. If you have staffing records, I'll take your word for it, but I've never been bothered to count the number of guests per waiter - I've been too busy enjoying my meals...

 

Beyond that, it is hardly a fair conclusion that reduction in wait staff will automatically mean a NEGATIVE impact on service. Fewer wait staff who are excellent at what they do can provide better service than a greater amount of wait staff who are not so good.

 

I will say that I had my best dining room service on my first Carnival cruise and my worst dining room service on my second Carnival cruise (our waiter just happened to be terrible). Both of these cruises fell well before the alleged "cutbacks". Since then, my service has fluctuated between the two, depending on the waiter, but has been closer to the great service of my first cruise than the terrible service of my second cruise.

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Don't know exactly how my name came up here but' date=' be assured, I don't work for Carnival..... I'm happily retired after 32 years in the retail end of the travel business......and cruising my socks off.....

 

Last I looked, no crown on my head (grey hair - no tiara) so can't be King....not built right anyway.:rolleyes:

 

Here's what I know: I cruise for relaxation, sun, good food attractively prepared and served by an attentive waitstaff who knows I adore their Caesar salad. They greet me by name with a smile whether in the dining room or other areas of the ship.

 

I appreciate the friendliness of the cabin steward who keeps everything ship-shape and keeps the ice bucket full. He hasn't too much to do because I'm something of a neatnick and don't leave my cabin looking like Hurricane Ida has passed through. A "good morning" with a smile goes a long way from me to him and back again.

 

When or if a problem arises, I head to the Purser's desk and speak in a civil manner to whomever is there, explain the problem and it's always taken care of.

 

I don't need a nanny, a "mommy", a caretaker and don't expect long drawn out conversations with folks who are working their butts off trying to get the job done and trying to be pleasant while doing it. I don't depend upon ships employees to provide me with social commentary.

 

I'm very independent and undemanding.

 

Personally, I've not noticed a drop in service onboard...nor a drop in customer service on the phone. If that irritates some folks, well, that's too bad. Perhaps we all need to lighten up a little bit.

 

Most of the "complaints" I've read "lately" are way over the top and are clearly exaggerated. Minor things cannot "ruin" a cruise for the average cruiser. Some things can be irritating, true, but not ruinous. Many complaints come from folks not knowing what to expect on a cruise...and/or they've not bothered to read the information provided about the cruise experience.

 

So, sorry if my satisfaction with Carnival that has held steady for over 30 years irritates some folks. You'll just have to sort of get over that....[/quote']

 

Well put & I agree with you.;)

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I really don't want them to know my name......we are not going to be lifelong friends...and they are still getting the $10 per day plus an extra $20 for the steward and Head waiter and $10 for the assistants.

 

I really don't want anything extra from them...just good service...which is what should be at the minimum....what they provide.

 

I wonder how everyone knows G'ma's name? Can every crew member know anyone's name? The Steward and waiter yes...but why would the other crew know your name? Regardless of the number of cruises a person takes....the crew still sees thousands of people each year on the ships.

 

I, for one, would not be introducing myself to the crew....what for? As I said the waiters and steward, maybe, but that is all.

 

Couldn't care less about the MD or the CD

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\ the days of the waitstaff stopping at your table for a quick chat are long gone, at least on CCL.

 

Bill

 

Actually I have been on two Carnival cruises in the past few years and on both ships our experience in the MDR was fantastic. Our wait staff on both ships were incredibly attentive and took ample time to chat with us.

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Actually I have been on two Carnival cruises in the past few years and on both ships our experience in the MDR was fantastic. Our wait staff on both ships were incredibly attentive and took ample time to chat with us.

 

I am glad to see that it is not 100% gone but our experiences on the last few CCL cruises have been just the opposite.

 

As another poster mentioned I don't care if they know my name, I would just like decent service.

 

We seem to always get a team where the asst is new and is nowhere to be found 90% of the dinner and the waiter has to do everything.

 

When this happens we usually can't get refills, more bread etc and have an unusally long wait in between courses.

 

After those experiences we just eat in the buffet every night to avoid the long drawn out dinner.

 

Bill

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