CNN reporting another Carnival Ship having trouble (The Dream)

[bolk]

will all the passengers wear their bath robes to the plane?

[Boytjie]

Just talked to someone at Carnival. They said the passengers are going to be allowed to spend the day in St. Martin and then they will fly them home sometime tomorrow. They also have not received notification that the cruise leaving saturday is cancelled so the assumption is that the ship will make it back to PC sometime Saturday and may have a delayed departure.

 

How will they fly out 3,646 passengers? :eek: They will need more that 10 empty big planes for that. I don't think those things are just sitting around idle waiting for something to do (much like cruise ships).

[musicgal]

This is unfortunate, but my opinion is starting to waiver. I loved everything about the two cruises I've had with them, but my family was considering an October cruise. I'm fine dealing with changes, delays, and such, but having a toddler when situations arrive is a whole different story.

 

Vigorosity- We find ourselves in a similar position as we next planned to "treat" our daughter, son-in-law and new grandchild to a 5-day cruise on his (SIL's) return from Afghanistan. Galveston is our home port... and we have other choices now besides CCL. Sailed Magic in February- so the choice to cruise on another line would be partly based on curiosity about the differences between CCL and Disney or RCL... but, also influenced by the fact that the line has had so much bad press lately AND that I have been following the "brand ambassador's" writings well enough to know that the head doesn't know what the tail is doing quite often at CCL. Like you said, traveling with a toddler will be fun enough without having to worry about the issues lately faced by Triumph and Dream pax.

[Aquahound]

Stuff happens, things break with even the best maintenance or even brand new items....seems to me that Carnival was looking out for passenger safety by not sailing with a broken emergency generator. Quite frankly technical problems could and do happen on every line. Just as they happen to all airlines, all car manufacturers, etc....just about anything you purchases. Nothing and no one can guarantee 100% reliability.

 

Yes, stuff happens and yes, stuff like this can happen to any cruise ship. The thing is, how many times can that minimization be said before someone says, "wait, I'm saying this alot about CCL mishaps lately." There is nothing wrong with remaining faithful to a favorite line, but at least be honest about their plague of problems lately.

[MrPete]

They don't even apologize (CNN) for running an incorrect update... I am sitting here watching their feed- drinking coffee, undistracted. Next thing I know, there will be a different pope elected... whoopsi CNN... mea culpa.

 

They reported what they were told. You reported what they "told" you. That doesn't make YOU wrong.

[LTS1960]

I must have, did you miss the part where I said I did not read all the posts on this thread?

 

If you didn't read all the posts then why would you post something? It takes time to post, time you could have used to actually read.

People kill me, so many people overreact, believe the rumors and think they have all the answers.

[rainbowflag]

From all the sewerage problems over the years to the stench in certain areas to poor service etc. all reported in many reviews and confirmed by several different friends we moved from the Dream to the Breeze. Sorry to say we will never sail on the Dream.

 

At least on the Breeze the smell shouldn't be so bad when her toilets back up. ;)

[ducklite]

Not sure where I should be posting this, but I'm curious about 2 things:

 

1.) In such an event, what do they do when a passenger medically cannot fly? I'm being serious - I actually know 2 people who cruise, but each has a medical condition that prohibits flights due to pressure.

 

Good question. I'm sure they will be handled on a case-by-case basis and probably put on a different CCL ship headed back to FL then take ground transport to PC or MCO.

 

2.) And not to add fuel to the fire so to speak, but IF carnival were to say anyone who doesn't feel safe can cancel ... I wonder really if people would run.

 

At this point, based on posts on this thread, I think a significant number would strongly consider it and a measurable number would cancel.

[eroller]

Carnival, you're falling apart. I can't help but think with all these budget cuts they made (no live band by pool, entertainment production cuts, etc.) that they also probably cut their maintenance budget. The only way we knew about the other cuts is we could see them. We have no way to know what else was cut to save money, but with all these maintenance problems we are seeing I think it's obvious something is wrong and the ships are not being maintained like they used to be.

 

 

Agreed!

[LaceyJenee]

I just read they're canceling the 16th sailing.

[TerReuv]

Finding it funny that so many are defending Carnival....would you defend a restaurant that served salmonella twice in three weeks? Or a car company that sent out dying engines twice in a month?

 

Yeah, stuff happens, but people put a lot of money into these vacations.....and frankly put their lives on the safety on the boats....to me it is inexcusable...so from HERE on out if you go Carnival, DO NOT COMPLAIN, if something happens...YOU are AWARE.

 

Weird comparison. No one got sick. Would you never go to a Red Lobster again anywhere if one had issues? Would you never go to another Darden owned restaurant? We are not talking about issues with every ship. Also, this is something totally different than Triumph. Not an engine issue. Actually, neither is an engine issue. A leak in the fuel line caused the fire on the Triumph and the way they put out the fire is what caused the ship to lose power. This time, the engine was fine, in fact everything was fine except the back-up generator and the Captain did not want to sail back without it working. No one was ever in harms way. I would not complain if it happened to me because sh*t happens everywhere. Carnival is being smart not sending the ship out without a back-up generator. With the Triumph it was a leak, not shoddy maintenance.

 

It amazes me how people can take the same story and put their own spin on it. But it should not. I am not a Carnival cheerleader, but I am also not going to let something like this change my mind about sailing the Conquest in October. There have been two recent issues with 2 different ships - that would be like saying there are two different issues with two different models of Fords and only happened with two different cars but I will never drive a Ford again.

 

I have noticed some of the same people who do not sail with Carnival but still want to put in their negative 2 cents worth are showing up here again. If you have no dog in the right why are you here except to stir up trouble?

[jsfromsc]

I think they should receive a FULL refund, not just a 3 day refund.

 

Why? They only lost 2 sea days. The whole cruise wasn't ruined.

[Aplmac]

From all the sewerage problems over the years to the stench in certain areas to poor service etc.

all reported in many reviews and confirmed by several different friends

we moved from the Dream to the Breeze.

Sorry to say we will never sail on the Dream.

Sounds like the proverbial Sick Ship, doesn't it?

.

[ducklite]

Most hotels are booked as reservations and not actually paid for until the stay (your card isn't charged until you check out). There's enough time to cancel those reservations if people jump on it.

 

Not if they were booked through Priceline or on a non-refundable rate.

[okgirl]

I am so bummed for all those affected by this.

 

I just looked at carnival.com and there are still cabins available on the Sensation 4 day to Freeport and Nassau leaving on the 17th and then the 3 day going to Nassau on the 21st with cabins from $229 and $239 respectively. Or there is the Ecstasy 5 day to Freeport, Nassau and Key West leaving on the 16th with cabins from $354.

 

I would try to salvage something of my original plans.

[Ccruzal]

They should just fly everyone back to Orlando from St Maarten and fix the ship. Why risk stranding everyone at sea like the Triumph? Get them off and get them home. If there was no working toilets Id want to just end cruise early and go home. At least give people the OPTION to get off the ship.

 

Totally agree. If I were on that ship I think I'd want to get off and fly home. I know a lot of people can't afford to do this, but that's exactly why I have an emergency credit card.

[adaptabl]

The point is that they should have issued a statement late last night that read something like this:

 

Miami, FL, March 13, 2013--The Carnival Dream has experienced generator problems after a scheduled maintenance test while docked in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten this afternoon. There were temporary problems with elevators and some public restroom facilities, however the majority of passenger services and amenities have continued without interruption. The ship has power and scheduled meal service was provided. All regular evening activities went on as scheduled.

 

There are currently XXXX passengers and XXXX crew on board. There have been no injuries as a result of this situation.

 

Engineers are working on the problem, and further information will be released as it becomes available.

 

That would make too much sense. I think the PR department at Carnival wants to treat it's customere like mushrooms.

[zenful6219]

That is why, reasonable people need to see between the two sides and see where the TRUTH is...

 

I wouldn't trust any company to not slant the story to what fits their needs.

Just like the news media has to blow things out of proportion to make it entertaining and get ratings.

 

Anybody who thought that CNN's coverage of the Triumph was anywhere near unbiased, I have a swampy plot of land to sell you cheap.

 

At least this time, CNN seems to have realized that there won't be enough ridiculouly overblown stories to play up and seem to have gotten bored.

 

Bill

 

I'm not defending CNN, but their reporting was closer to the truth than anything Carnival was saying.

[Tapi]

How will they fly out 3,646 passengers? :eek: They will need more that 10 empty big planes for that. I don't think those things are just sitting around idle waiting for something to do (much like cruise ships).

 

There are. Carnival actually chartered around 10 wide body jets from Delta Air Lines to move the stranded Triumph passengers from New Orleans back to Houston.

[mark290]

Atleast the problem was detected during scheduled maintenance rather than during an actual emergency, and Kudos to Carnival for not sailing with knowledge of the problem.

 

Kudos ? Are you serious ? Kudos to Carnival for not intentionally sailing with a broken ship ? You might want to set the bar a little higher.

[musicgal]

They reported what they were told. You reported what they "told" you. That doesn't make YOU wrong.

 

Thanks MrPete:)

[Briitini]

So funny that one of Cnns own was on the tv saying how it wasn't that bad and they were getting to spend the day in st maarten while carnival figures out the transportation home. Mellow dramatics :eek::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

Weird comparison. No one got sick. Would you never go to a Red Lobster again anywhere if one had issues? Would you never go to another Darden owned restaurant? We are not talking about issues with every ship. Also, this is something totally different than Triumph. Not an engine issue. Actually, neither is an engine issue. A leak in the fuel line caused the fire on the Triumph and the way they put out the fire is what caused the ship to lose power. This time, the engine was fine, in fact everything was fine except the back-up generator and the Captain did not want to sail back without it working. No one was ever in harms way. I would not complain if it happened to me because sh*t happens everywhere. Carnival is being smart not sending the ship out without a back-up generator. With the Triumph it was a leak, not shoddy maintenance.

 

It amazes me how people can take the same story and put their own spin on it. But it should not. I am not a Carnival cheerleader, but I am also not going to let something like this change my mind about sailing the Conquest in October. There have been two recent issues with 2 different ships - that would be like saying there are two different issues with two different models of Fords and only happened with two different cars but I will never drive a Ford again.

 

I have noticed some of the same people who do not sail with Carnival but still want to put in their negative 2 cents worth are showing up here again. If you have no dog in the right why are you here except to stir up trouble?

 

Per your red Lobster comparison...If I heard on the news someone got salmonella at a Red Lobster, then heard a month later someone got salmonella at another Red Lobster, yeah, I would stop eating at Red Lobsters.

[ducklite]

How will they fly out 3,646 passengers? :eek: They will need more that 10 empty big planes for that. I don't think those things are just sitting around idle waiting for something to do (much like cruise ships).

 

Fortunately they can do it in waves and a crew should be legal for 2.5 round trips a day. There's no reason that 3-4 planes couldn't get them all back to MCO before mid-morning on Sunday. I suspect that they'll keep the crew on board for now until they determine just how long it will take to fix the problem. Hopefully they will also compensate them for the lost tips for missed sailings.

[wildcatlh]

I have noticed some of the same people who do not sail with Carnival but still want to put in their negative 2 cents worth are showing up here again. If you have no dog in the right why are you here except to stir up trouble?

 

This is Cruise "Critic", not Cruise "You're only allowed to say nice things, and defend your Cruise Line to the Last". Carnival has had problems lately. That's something that nobody can deny. They've had problems that no other cruise line is having. That's also something that's undeniable. What's up to you is how you react to those problems.

 

This is why I'm looking forward to the lawsuits by the Triumph passengers. I really don't care if they're right to sue, or if they win or lose. But if their lawsuit goes forward, their attorneys are going to be able to get information about CCL's maintenance programs through discovery. That is going to be the best way to find out what, if any, problems actually exist with CCL's maintenance programs, whether or not they've skimped on maintenance, and what needs to be improved.