Any cruise complaints to share?

[JoeLight]

Hi, I'm an intern at a national magazine, and I've been asked to find people with anecdotes to share about negative experiences on cruises. If you can answer "yes" to one or more of the following questions, PLEASE e-mail me at smintern2@hearst.com. I would be forever grateful for the help, and you would get to see your name in print! (Unless you wanted it to be off the record, of course.)

 

 

1. Have you found that a cruise line didn't honor the rates on its website?

2. Did you find that the facilities were unsanitary? Did you get sick because of it?

3. Did you feel that, as a non-smoker, it was difficult to find places on the ship to avoid people smoking?

4. Did maintenance of the ship (especially of the plumbing or engines) interfere with your trip?

5. Did you find yourself surrounded by drunks, or by people completely different from you?

6. Did you find that the excursions were a rip-off?

7. Did you choose an expensive cabin (high up in the ship), only to find that it was a nightmare in bad weather? Did they keep your balcony locked while at sea?

8. Did you discover through conversation with other crew members that you had paid too much?

9. Did you feel that the cruise line nickel-and-dimed you with unannounced charges?

10. Did you discover that a store on land was recommended by a cruise line because they gave them kick-backs? Were you able to find better deals on your own?

11. Were your children not allowed to participate in ship activites because of asthma, diabetes, etc.?

12. Did you discover that your children had access to drugs and alcohol, either because they got it on land or from other kids who bought it on land?

13. Did you arrive on board, only to discover that your itinerary had been changed? If they offered you compensation, was it sufficient?

14. Did you enlist the cruise line to make your plane reservations? If so, did you find that they unnecessarily complicated your flight plans? Do you wish you had booked it on your own?

15. Did you find that you didn't get satellite TV reception while out at sea?

16. Were you concerned with anything I haven't listed here?

 

Thanks so much!

[tomc]

Hi. I'm the mid-day anchor at a metropolitan radio station (for real), as well as an occasional travel writer for a newspaper, and I wonder why you came here looking only for negatives?

 

I have taught communications part-time on the college level for 26 years and have always told my students never to approach a subject with an agenda -- positive or negative. Looks to me as if you have one, or your editor has one. If so, you are starting your internship (a) in the wrong way or, (b) at the wrong place.

 

I'm not flaming you. I'm saving you.

 

Tom

[Crew32]

I agree. You are looking for only negatives. Doesn't seem like you are looking for a true representation. I don't read anything that is slanted positive or negative only. Look at both sides, then people would be more willing to respond and read.

[LARGIN]

tomc.. Great response.. Ditto here..

[kitty9]

You go, Tom !!!

 

I'm getting so sick and tired of the media wanting to put a negative slant on everything they report. And it doesn't seem to matter what the topic is. I was interviewed for a story for a very large NY Sunday magazine, and when I told the author that I didn't have anything but positive things to say about the issue, she got very curt and said, "that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for the bad stuff". The interview ended right there and nothing I said got into the VERY negative story. I guess negative is what sells.

 

To the OP, intern or not, you should go elsewhere for your information. This whole thing just reeks, in my opinion.

[Nitemare]

First time poster, last time poster, is my guess.

 

He'll get e-mails from the disgruntleds among us, and write his piece. Guess he forgot William Randolph Hearst's quote "Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it is more interesting."

[OBX Bill]

Here's my answer

 

1. No

2. No & No

3. No

4. No and Yes it was great meeting new people

5. No

6. No

7. No & No

8. No

9. No

10.No & No

11.NA

12 NA

13.No

14.No

15.No

16. ABSOLUTLY NOT

[Happy ks]

No to all, with the exception of #14 and that is only a partial yes. Our flight was not unecessarily complicated, but I have since then booked my own.

 

Before I read any of the responses, I had to wonder what kind of agenda this person has, I'm glad most agree with me. Why in the world would you write an article only about negatives, it sounds rather whiney to me.

 

Now, if you were to ask me about a vacation, say camping in the desert, I could find a ton of reasons why I would not want to do that.

 

I have absolutely no desire to have my name in print so, sorry, can't help you.

[marco]

It would appear that all of the issues raised pertain to "life in general", not just a cruise experience. In an ideal world, "such and such" is supposed to happen, now welcome to reality.

[joie de vivre]

I suggest he hit the retirement communities around Dade County.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Not intended to offend anyone or generalize a group of people.

[Sueseb]

I paticularly am fascinated by question #5. ""People completely different from you" -- does that mean not homo sapiens???

Also #15: I think he/she has listed just about all the negatives.

How about accentuating the positve and perhaps trying a cruise.

[Northender]

#16 - wonder why you would want all this info in such a negative light And concerned that if I put your name in my email and hit send what would happen next.....:(

[ILUVCRUIZN]

Wow!!!! The reason I come to CC is because I love to cruise. I come to this site looking for positive info not negative, negative, negative.....

 

Why don't you go on a cruise and get the information yourself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually, if you go around asking people these questions you are libel to get thrown overboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

[JoeLight]

All of the questions I asked in my initial posting came from real experiences that people described on other discussion boards. I am simply trying to ascertain whether the problems represent larger trends or are isolated incidents. Obviously, most people have positive experiences on cruises, but that does not mean that those who have had negative experiences should be ridiculed or discounted. Most people who eat hamburgers enjoy that, too, but that doesn't mean some haven't died from it; should the media have ignored Mad Cow because the percentage of people infected was so infinitesimally small? Again, anyone with *relevant* information should e-mail me at smintern2@hearst.com. And to those who have accused me of barking up the wrong tree, may I remind you that this site is called "cruiseCRITIC.com."

[tomc]

Joe--

 

Yeah, but "critic" (I was one for the newspaper) does not have a negative connotation. Or, at least, it did not originally have one. It means to separate into components and examine each one. A critique can be positive, as well as negative.

 

Obviously, every vacation experience will have its downs, as well as its ups. Most of us choose to put those downs into perspective. Some people don't; those you will find with their faces into the camera complaining bitterly. When people get ill on a voyage with the NLV, even though few are affected at any one time, you will hear the overall numbers as if they're all sick at once, vomit is flowing down the decks, and it's a ruined cruise. In actually, many of us have been on these cruises and have seen tv crews vainly trying to find someone who will be the angry face that night.

 

Better you should do a questionnaire about newspapers that don't print the "ifs, ands & buts" until down in the seventh paragraph. You know, all the qualifying stuff that negates the startling headline. It's not just about cruise stories, but so many things.

[waterrats]

JoeLight - I think I speak for most everyone on this board in saying that all of us at some point have had a negative experience on a cruise. Lets just call it a minor inconvenience lasting minutes. But we all still come back for more. The negatives by far are well out numbered by the positives (thousands to one). The people that truly don't enjoy their cruise experience are the ones that let one small thing ruin their entire vacation. I am sure that one of the major complaints (one that you did not list) is people saving loung chairs at the pool making chairs scarce. Do I let this ruin my vacation. Hell No. I get a drink and sit in the pool all day.

 

Why not get on a hotel board and find out how many people did not enjoy their hotel experience. I'm sure that you will have more negatives with the hotel industry then you do with the cruise industry. Better yet, how about getting complaints from people that have waited more than 30 minutes in a line at an amusement park. I won't complain about that one because my solution has been not to go because of the lines. I love the rides but the entire experience with the cost has turned me away from amusement parks. As far as cruising, I'm here to stay baby. No negatives here from me. Not even the pool chair example. I don't let it bother me, I'm on vacation!!!!!!!

[Sueseb]

Critic: one who expresses a reasoned opinion, a professional evaluation or an appreciation of performance.

Only secondarily, given to harsh judgement

[tomc]

When I think that the best experience I ever had in radio was when they let me bring a small hot plate into the studio to keep my mug of tea hot ... that's pretty bad.

 

When I think that the worst experience I ever had on a cruise was when my cabin was under the anchor ... that's pretty good.

[waterrats]

JoeLight - this was taken from the site below for February 25th onboard Celebration. The CDC reports that 69 of 1,647 passengers (4.19%) and 30 of 693 crew members (4.33%) reported ill during the February 21 - 26 cruise to/from Jacksonville, FL. SECOND CRUISE IN A ROW WITH OUTBREAK (Several passenger wrote and estimated the number ill were at least double CDC's numbers)

 

This is a rare outbreak on a ship for sickness. Even so, you are only looking at a small percentage on this ship. Now take into account all the other ships that same week that didn't have an outbreak, that percentage drops way down. What are we talking about, maybe 1/2 of 1% are unhappy. If so, I think that the cruise industry is doing a great job then. Hey, the President (the current, past, or future) doesn't even have an approval rating anywhere near that high and never will.

 

 

 

Then you've had better luck than the thousands of people whose cruise horror stories are detailed at http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html

[tomc]

Cruise News Daily (a subscription news service) will occasionally deal with well-known complaints. On one particularly bad occasion, as reported by passengers, it debunked almost all the complaints. The pax simply did not know what was going on and repeated rumors they heard going around. That happens so often.

 

Sure, things go wrong. But people exaggerate, or think that their world is the only one. There used to be a classic anti-HAL (Holland America Line) review on one of the sites; it was funny beyond words. The writer took great offense everything, including the color scheme in the hallways. I was at table with a couple whose cruise experience was practically ruined because our waiter was the last one serving. One person on my latest cruise said not allowing us ashore in Martha's Vineyard was "totally inappropriate"; he disregarded the high seas and their effect on our safely entering/exiting the bobbing tenders.

 

Sure, [manure] happens. You could probably write a piece about it. But my money says it would turn out --despite your efforts-- to be inaccurate. We return (my 15th is coming up soon) because the negatives are so small and the positives are so great. I don't save up all year to take a chance that things might go right.

 

By the way, if you ever get a chance to cruise, grab it. You'll be hooked for life.

[Sueseb]

Worst experience -- cabin right above bow thrusters. Talk about a rude awkening when going into a port at 5 or 6 in the morning. But considering we paid only $249 for a 7 day cruise it is what we expected and a small price to pay. Loved every other minute.

[Happy ks]

Okay, so I went to the site that joelight linked for us. The "thousands" of complaints turned into hundreds, the way I read it. You can pretty much find all the same info on Cruise Critics News section. It also includes every at sea incident there is on a cruise ship, everywhere in the world, no matter how serious or trivial.

 

There are those of us who understand what cruising on a ship can mean. As in, you are on the ocean on a ship that is powered by engines and things mechanical. Sometimes the ship cannot make it into port because of ocean conditions or engine problems, those of us that understand and have read the cruise contract will be disappointed, but can shrug it off easier than those whose only plan for the cruise was to visit a certain port. Granted, some people will have a terrible experience on a cruise, it's not for everyone. You will also occasionally read on these boards of horrible cruises from people whose expectations are different from their experience. So, I'm sure there are plenty of people who can give you the negative, but the people who will be positive will far outweigh those who complain.

 

You will get more negative feedback if you post on either Carnival or RCCL board and ask for comparisons. So many are steadfast loyal to their lines and they will be happy to run the competition into the ground for you.

 

Do yourself a favor and read through the contract portion of cruiselines (any of them) brochures, you will find almost all of your questions answered. Some of the questions I don't understand why you would blame the cruiseline for, such as drugs or liquor consumed by minors? And, wouldn't it be more responsible for the cruiseline to not allow children access to activity if it is dangerous for their health? Those issues are more of an irresponsible parenting issue. Plus, how in the world would a crew member know if you paid too much for the cruise and why would you be discussing this with crew? I hate to burst your bubble on this one, but if you are in extreme sea conditions, it does not matter where you are on the ship, the whole thing moves.

 

My final thought is that the only unsanitary conditions I have ever encountered on a ship was caused by passengers who are complete slobs and leave their mess for someone else to clean up. But, you run into those kind of people everywhere, not only on a cruise ship.

[babsee101]

Well Joelight...it looks like you came to the wrong place!

[spongerob]

No, he came to the right place, to get both sides of the story (I hope). JoeLight, it is dangerous to use only a portion of the data to draw conclusions. Would it be fair to ask people about bad stories/experiences with people of a uniquely identifiable ethnicity, and ignore the rest? Of course not, and there are laws against it. No one profits from a rush to judgment.

 

Your request highlights a serious problem with reporting today. You appear to have a conclusion, and are looking for a story to support it. Look where that got Dan Rather.

 

Courage!

[JoeLight]

Happy ks,

 

The website I mentioned before lists hundreds of incidents, many involving hundreds of people. Do the math.

 

spongerob,

 

From my previous post:

 

"All of the questions I asked in my initial posting came from real experiences that people described on other discussion boards. I am simply trying to ascertain whether the problems represent larger trends or are isolated incidents."

 

The only conclusion I've drawn so far is that most cruisers are too starry-eyed to look at the industry objectively. Thank you to those of you who have provided helpful information.