Any cruise complaints to share?

[halj]

I have been on 14 cruises :D and have never had a major problem. Sure there are little things that come up from time to time, but my wife and I consider them part of the adventure. We even had a port visit cancelled a couple of cruises ago because of weather (extremely dense fog in Bar Harbor). I only heard one person complaining. As matter of fact that was all this guy did since he checked in for his air flight. Some people are never happy. I wonder what their family life is like at home. Cruising is not cheap unless you get a "real deal" but is probably the best value for the money. Where else can you pay one lump sum for your hotel, meals, entertainment and transportation. A stay in a flea bag motel with fast food meals would cost you about as much. But with a cruise you don't have to worry about staying and eating in bad neighborhoods.

 

JoeLight needs to find some people who have foil on their heads to ward off the flying saucers. Or take acruise first hand. (better idea!!!)

[waterrats]

I checked the link to the website about the Carnival cruise. If I were on that ship, I would have been so happy. A 50% refund on my current cruise and a 25% discount on a future cruise. Yippee. Let me get that.

 

We sailed Caribbean Princess in September. We were supposed to do an Eastern Itinerary with ports of call at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Princess Cays. Well Princess Cays was canceled because of storm damage. Then we had to do a western Itinerary with ports of calls at Cozumel (did this a year earlier) and Ocho Rios (did this a year earlier) and at Nassau. We never made it to Nassau and were forced to stay at sea an extra 2 days. Well, we absolutely enjoyed it. No complaints from anyone that I was hanging with. I wish I could have had a 25% refund for having a great time.

 

The Carnival cruisers were warned of the possibilities of a cruise to nowhere and were provided with more then adequate compensation. They still did get a cruise to nowhere with no services on the ship being disrupted. What were they complaining about? I must have missed the reason for the near riot. Can someone fill me in on the reason for the near riot. I don't see it. I was set on my Eastern Itinerary but let it roll off my back when it changed and decided to go with the flow and enjoy it. Carnival cruisers really need to lighten up.

[Sueseb]

We did see illness on a ship -- a table mate became ill at the dinner table the first night out. As he left the table his wife announced that he had been ill the day before.

If a passenger who is ill does not have the sense to stay in his/her cabin until he is better it cannot be blamed on the cruise line. And it did not ruin our cruise. (They never returned to our table after that night.)

[momofmeg]

Cruising is not cheap unless you get a "real deal" but is probably the best value for the money. Where else can you pay one lump sum for your hotel, meals, entertainment and transportation. A stay in a flea bag motel with fast food meals would cost you about as much. But with a cruise you don't have to worry about staying and eating in bad neighborhoods.

 

Just what I was trying to say. No vacation is "cheap" unless you camp out in a tent in a state park or something like that and even then you are going to spend some money-but what I found is by the time we pay for food and hotel and as you said not even nice food and hotel-that cruising is a mcu better value-ofcourse normally we cruise in the fall and only twice have we had a balcony room-still though for the money spent-we have found cruises to be the best value.

[catmand]

Ya, I have a cruise complaint. I have to wait about 9 weeks until our next one.

[kujobie]

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

-Nope

 

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

-Facilities are only unsanitary because some people are slobs. And people get sick because they don't wash their hands and then pick their noses resulting in cross-contamination.

 

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

-I enjoy pissing off non-smokers.

 

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

-There was once this foul smell coming from our bathroom but I think it was my girlfriend's fault.

 

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

-Yea, I've been surrounded by drunks. And the drunks were surrounded by drunks. And we were all completely the same... drunk.

 

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

-Non-ship excursions tend to be cheaper but I wouldn't call any of them a rip-off. I enjoyed them all

 

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?

-I would pay big $$ to sleep in a deck chair during a hurricane.

 

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

-I don't think the crew pays very much for their cabins. They probably get an employee discount. Besides, I didn't talk to the crew much because I can't talk Thai.

 

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

-Like pay toilets or something?

 

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?

-The liquor is cheap everywhere

 

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

-I don't usually bring my kids when I cruise.

 

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?

-Maybe I'll start bringing my kids.

 

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

-My itinerary doesn't change, it's always no work for seven days.

 

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?

-Fortunately, I don't have to fly to cruise. THat allows me to take more cruises.

 

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

-Yea! And I found that I didn't get phone calls either. Awesome!

 

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

-Yes. I'm concerned that I may not be able to afford a 2nd cruise this year

 

Thanks so much!

-You're welcome

[waterrats]

Kujobe - Very nicely put.

[momofmeg]

Too funny this one guy's answer (he being one of the drunks)-but seriously I have never found myself "surrounded by drunks" even on my CARNIVAL so called the "party cruiseline" cruises. We had one abnoxious drunk in the dinningroom on our second sovereign cruise-but we did not see him after the first night. Also on that cruise was a bunch of partying college students-(who were intoxicated to an extent- but I blame their inmaturity just as much as the alochol)-that were happily throwing one another fully clothed in to the swimming pool on the Lido deck one evening-this went on for about 45 minutes and I saw no one try to stop them-this was a little annoying to me but it was not a big problem- I just went elsewhere after I got tried of their antics.

 

On yes and once I saw a drunk best man from an on board wedding party go down the slide on Carnival. I figured he must have been loaded as I am guessing he had to buy that tux-but he did no repeats so that he became annoying and I actually found that a little funny-thinking of how he must have felt the next day when he realized he was buying that tux. I am SURE he had a regret ot two.

[waterrats]

Joelight - in light of this thread, I decided to set up a poll. Check it out so far. Granted, this is from only people on this site (which does have some unhappy people on it as well).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=3261268#post3261268

[packercruising]

I only said 80% cuz not even cruise folk are perfect and there wasn't a 90-95% option.

 

Anyway joelite if you were truely interested in honest responses, I'd say you got them here and should be proud even of the answers you didn't like.

[Bequia]

This thread died a year ago.........:rolleyes:

[madelinerose]

This thread is almost a year old! :rolleyes:

[packercruising]

But I've only been here a month. :)

[cruisamania]

We do not think that they should charge for children under 3 years of age except for the port charge and taxes..........

 

The only one we know of, due to we just priced it out, is Disney Cruise Line is now starting to charge $30.00 plus the port charge and tax......

 

The other issue that really erks me is when you are a single parent and want to take your child let alone a infant they charge the child as a 2nd

guest rate......

 

Just think it is wrong.............what is your opinion?

[Hoyaheel]

Just think it is wrong.............what is your opinion?

You'd be really mad at me if I told you my opinion. Best not open that can of worms....It's been discussed ad nauseum all over the place....

[cruisamania]

Would love to read the thread..............do you remember where?

 

I dont mind an opinion..............but mine is, how much can a under

3 year old child eat, let alone, they most of the time cant be in their

camps and I am the one taking care of the child. Especially if the ship is not full. I cant see the cruise lines charging a full 2nd guest rate to

a single parent???

 

But it's ok, post away, curious or would love to read another thread,

I am new to the boards.

[PurpleCow]

Actually, Cruisamania, in the case of a single parent with a toddler booking a stateroom, it would be the same as just a single bookng the stateroom, 200% of the going rate. That's why singles often look for roommates, so they don't have to pay double the fare.

[Hoyaheel]

I can't link to any specific threads, but the "kid" issue comes up every so often:rolleyes:

 

People don't seem to want to pay anything for their kids to cruise, but for me to go on a vacation without any kids, I have to pay a lot of money--my only options tend to be luxury cruise lines, adults/couples only land all-inclusives, or Las Vegas. Given the state of my graduate-student budget, guess that explains why Vegas has been my destination of choice the past few years:rolleyes:

 

I like kids, just don't have any of my own (nor do I want any, love my nieces & nephew though) There are lots of vacation options for parents (cruising on many lines appears to incur more costs for travelling with a child than, say, Universal Orlando where kids get in free...) I really REALLY am not trying to start a fight or debate or even civilized discussion. It's just that it appears to me that people with kids have more affordable travel options than people who want to travel without kids.

 

And on the topic of the resurrection of this old thread--would you prefer someone start a NEW thread on this topic? At least pulling up the old thread proves people are either using the "search" function or scrolling through old threads. Just because it's old, are the posts any less relevant?

[cruisamania]

I guess I am a lucky parent that has well behaved children and FULLY respect the guests on the ship that would like a nice vacation they paid for. I cant control others and what they do, and yes I have seen it, where the parents use the ship as a baby sitting service........... BUT, :eek:

I was not even going there...................so do not know why that was

even a point?????

 

Back to the point at hand, and maybe "if and when" you ever do have children you might feel differnt????

 

You had said it was discussed before, so I was just wondering where the thread might be so I can read it................I will look for a search, like I mentioned I am new to the boards................sorry if I missed some type

of board rule................

 

Still stands, glad to see that Disney Cruise Line is only raised the no price to $30.00 for a child under 3 plus port charge & gov fee. BUT, 200%????? even for a single. I can fully understand if the ship was full and they did not need the guests, but just felt that "IF" they needed to help fill a ship that maybe they could have a special for SINGLES. A single filled cabin is better than a EMPTY ONE :) JMO :)

 

Wish the cruise lines would offer some alternatives, it would be a nice change for the consumer and would probably help on the not so full sailings.

[caprcorn28]

Yeah, the thread may have died a year ago...but it IS a perfect example of people just coming around to stir up trouble. Four posts in a year...and all that after one contraversial post.

[Happy ks]

Would love to read the thread..............do you remember where?

 

I dont mind an opinion..............but mine is, how much can a under

3 year old child eat, let alone, they most of the time cant be in their

camps and I am the one taking care of the child. Especially if the ship is not full. I cant see the cruise lines charging a full 2nd guest rate to

a single parent???

 

But it's ok, post away, curious or would love to read another thread,

I am new to the boards.

 

The charge is for body count, it has nothing to do with how much a person eats or doesn't eat. It doesn't matter who is taking care of the child. The ship is only allowed to take X amount of souls onboard and your child, no matter the age, counts. There are many people who also think they should be able to reduce the amount of gratuity for a young child, although most young children make twice the mess.

 

We get so used to discounts for our children (mine are now teens and I do miss the child plate charges!) that we come to expect them everywhere. It's not the case with most cruise lines, although a few make exceptions.

 

The point can be debated for hours on end, but it all comes down to what the company policies are. Either you pay and go, or wait until the child is older and you see a better value for the price paid.

 

Geez, if they started charging according to what people ate, there are a whole lot of pax who should be paying 2 to 3 times the normal fare :) :eek: :) !

 

BTW, I don't object to old posts being resurrected, it's kind of fun to re-visit what was written a long time ago. I do wish that the OP would have cruised and returned, to let us know how it was. I also wish he would have let us know what the handful of emails he got said. I remember several years ago, there was a whole website written by a guy disappointed in his cruise and he thought he could take the industry down. He had the support of, maybe, 2-4 other people, but he kept the site going for a couple of years.

[cruisamania]

Ok, you asked a general question about any complaints...................I am new to these boards and that was what I was thinking about ONLY, now

I am going to ASSUME that, the last remark was I guess at me and only having a low number of posts (I AM NEW TO THESE BOARDS, DUH!)

 

Sorry it was such a issue with a few of you and THANK YOU to the civil

people that seem to have a life and answer with some type of mature behavior.

 

I was not aware that this is how these boards were run and I really thought it was a good complaint. I have NO IDEA what so ever of a

thread from a year ago but I guess you all were pretty upset about it.

But to answer with the two posters (Holyaheel & Caprcorn 28) with some type of attitude????

Are you serious......................it was my opinion and that is how I

feel and if it upset some of you or you are reading to deep into

some type of perception - guess what - Your Wrong :) the reality

is plain and was simple. That was my complaint and not even that, just wanted to know if there were others out there that might have felt the same way. That was all..........so talk about pot stirring, you are wrong -

but good reach.

 

Sorry for what they called stirring a pot??????????????????

 

Wow, nice welcome to your boards.............................very surprised.

But I guess there are some out there that are just wound way to tight.

 

Did not know this was such a huge problem from before and apologizing only to those people out there that had to be part of these other posters trying to make something that it was not.

 

I look forward to posting in the future - hoping to keep it nice and quite not to disrupt the ones looking to cause problems we will try to overlook these posters.

 

Hoping that there is some type of moderating and this was just uncalled for.....................

 

I guess to them it is what THEY FEEL they would like to complain about only and that would be ok?????

 

To KS THANK YOU for such a nice reply it really is greatly appreciated!!!! Nice to see there are some civil

people out there that can go back and forth with a issue at hand with no negative implied and just what there

thought is on the subject. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!

[Happy ks]

cruisamania, I've been on these boards longer than my info indicates, too long, too addicted. One piece of advice I can give you is, never take anything personal here. Not only are some people rude with the protection of anonymity, but you cannot read tone. I've been blasted for comments I've made where I thought I was being helpful and informative. Some people take every little comment to heart, or read the wrong thing into what is written. My posts tend to be long winded and when I try to abbreviate, I don't always come across like I'd like to, I'm sure it happens toothers, too.

 

You're right, this forum should be friendly and informative, but as long as the public gets to respond and comment, that won't happen. I've always been so happy that there are not as many rude people on a cruise ship as there can be here, or other cruise message boards.

[caprcorn28]

I was not aware that this is how these boards were run and I really thought it was a good complaint. I have NO IDEA what so ever of a

thread from a year ago but I guess you all were pretty upset about it.

But to answer with the two posters (Holyaheel & Caprcorn 28) with some type of attitude????

Are you serious......................it was my opinion and that is how I

feel and if it upset some of you or you are reading to deep into

some type of perception - guess what - Your Wrong :)

 

Guess what, you are wrong with your reference to me...I was NOT referencing you or your post. I did not quote you, did not name you. I was refering to the OP - Original Poster of this thread from ONE YR ago. The OP came to CC - Cruise Critic - to stir up trouble. Coming here to ONLY ask for negatives. THAT is trouble making.

 

Yeah, the thread may have died a year ago...but it IS a perfect example of people just coming around to stir up trouble. Four posts in a year...and all that after one contraversial post.

 

 

If you would have read my entire post, it even references the OP in that they have FOUR (4) posts even after being here for a year. YOU have been here since this month (Feb 2006) and already up to NINE (9) posts. Doesn't even slightly resemble you.

 

My apologies...I should have referred to the one contraversial 'post' from the OP as 'one contraversial THREAD starter' or something. Post...thread...my simple typo oversight.

 

Because I had NO comment originally on what your question was...frankly I had to go back and read WHAT you were talking about. (As you may want to go back and read what the OP had begun this whole thread with.) I have children, all much older than yours. I have to pay for all of them. I have cruised with kids as young as three and had to pay for them as well. Kind of like the airlines, they need a ticket, I just accept that. If I want them to come along, I know that they have to pay. But because of who I cruise with, I haven't ever had to pay full fare for mine, they get the reduced third passenger plus rate. I will have to pay full cruise fare for 2 of them on the cruise after this one, cuz we will be putting them in their own room.

 

Because you are new to the boards, make sure that before you start accusing people of attitude, you know what and who they are talking to and about.

[madelinerose]

Please do not be offended, but, I've always wondered: :confused:

 

Why do people express their concerns/complain about the cost of a cruise and still book a cruise? Why not find another way to vacation where the price is agreeable to you? When there are options, would you purchase anything else in your daily life if you didn't agree with the cost?

 

Just very curious, thank you. ;)

 

We do not think that they should charge for children under 3 years of age except for the port charge and taxes..........

The only one we know of, due to we just priced it out, is Disney Cruise Line is now starting to charge $30.00 plus the port charge and tax......

The other issue that really erks me is when you are a single parent and want to take your child let alone a infant they charge the child as a 2nd

guest rate......Just think it is wrong.............what is your opinion?