Triumph 11/12-11/17...inquiring minds...

[Kimberly]

I was on the Triumph this past week and a couple of things happened that piqued my curiosity...the first being that we set sail only to have to turn around and pick up some parents of some minors who had somehow gotten on board without them. We were about 30 minutes (or more) into our cruise, and the announcement stated that they were trying to get these passengers onto the ship via another boat (I think?), and then a second announcement said that method had failed and we would be turning the ship around to head back to Galveston to pick them up! We ended up leaving Galveston around 8:00p or so that evening.

My question is this: Would this only be done for VIPs or would this be done for anyone? And, do these people have to pay Carnival for this (I mean it does take lots of fuel to turn around, right?) Also, how could this possibly have happened? We were detained because my 17-year-old niece did not have a photo ID, and we had to wait for management to intervene, so I just don't see how any minors could get on board...

 

The second thing happened leaving a port. We had pulled away from the dock (not very far, though), and then we had to go back for a young family who was getting out of a taxi. Again, are there any repercussions to those passengers?

 

Third (and this is minor), how does the safe really work? I mean, I used my old sail & sign card to lock/unlock it, so what's to keep anyone else from using any card and unlocking it? Didn't give me a very "safe" feeling.

 

Other than these inquiries, the table service was not very good this cruise. (My fifth or sixth Carnival cruise.) This was our first time for "anytime" dining, and perhaps that has something to do with it, but every night we waited between 50-60 minutes for our food, and were never out of there before two hours had passed. I guess it's OK, as we didn't really have anything to do, but...

 

Other than some vibration in my Riviera cabin (1396), the cruise was nice.

[firefly333]

Id guess it was either get the parents of the minors, or they had to throw the minors overboard? Minors cant cruise by themselves.

[cuyahoga11]

The only card that unlocks the safe is the one that locks it

[Kimberly]

Ah! Thanks, cuyahoga11!!

[okgirl]

I guessing that there wasn't a charge for going back to Galveston, because to some extent Carnival shouldn't have allowed minors to board the ship without their guardian present.....can't imagine how that happened......

 

Going back to pick the family up that missed in a port.......probably not charged, since the distance was so minimal and even though they were in a taxi, they could have been on a Carnival excursion........

 

Being VIP probably didn't have anything to do with it though....

[B and C Blake]

Ohhhhhhhh that is the story.

 

I had read ya'll had to return to pick up some pax. I am curious about the return fuel costs as well. That was one of things I had posted out of curiosity.

 

It is interesting how minors were able to board without the parents. Seriously, how do minors get checked in without parents present??:confused:

 

As for the re-docking at a port .. I have read of this happening. I simply refuse to be a pier runner, LOL

 

As for your niece .. minors over 16 are required to have state issued photo ID. I believe school photo ID's are suitable is the minor does not have a DL or permit.

She got lucky being able to board. She could have been denied.

 

Glad to hear your cruise went well.

[tommie594]

we sailed on the 17th when you came back... also on Rivera ... RM 1311... I noticed some severe vibrations when walking by a few of the rooms near the hump in the floor close to the rear of the ship...

 

we had late dining in paris upper... never had an issue with food or service etc.... my wife left her lipstick one night, and it was waiting at the table the next night for dinner.

 

like mentioned before, i refuse to be a pier runner... we are normally back on the boat about 2 hours before the ship leaves port...

 

never had an issue with turning around, going back to port etc....

 

there was a sign in our room that said you should use your driver's license for the safe, not your sail and sign card... wife used her sail and sign... :eek: