Going back to carnival!!

[satxdiver]

Thank you OP for your analysis. I will let others comment about the theft issue. I do understand your comparison in part but have only sailed on voyager class ships so far. Personally I would never book a cruise on either of the gargantuan of the seas but that is my personal preference. I hope you enjoy Carnival and I would encourage you to try the Magic or Breeze as they are quite a bit different in layout than the earlier ships.

[Spurschick]

I hope u r not serious about thinking it was a gift??? If he didn't speak English than he shouldn't be working on a cruise ship which sails from AMERICA!! And you know that throwing it in the garbage can is not even remotely the same as the worker knowingly keeping it..I wasn't looking for sympathy...but I wasn't looking for obnoxious comments either!

 

 

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To think or expect all staff to speak fluent English just because they sail out of USA is unrealistic. These maintenance workers only need to be able to communicate with their senior supervisors - no more. They are not supposed to have direct interaction with guests. They are low paid hard working people. That to them are making more money than they probably would back home. They are not highly educated in terms of being fluent in multiple languages. You don't aim a general complaint to these maintenance workers, it goes through seniority and passed down.

 

My MIL has lived in the US for over 42 years.

 

She still doesn't get "if" and hypotheticals, nor does she understand complicated English. But she could bluff her way into any job if she felt like it, just like she even fooled me into thinking she understood me the other weekend, when she didn't. Thankfully she told someone and they told me, because I'm going to be her main caregiver and I need to be reminded to slow myself down, and that she WILL try to snow me even though I know she does it to others.

 

The point is that even people who speak English don't necessarily speak it perfectly, or can understand weird or complicated situations.

 

 

Sounds like your son got caught up in a big, bad scene. Yikes. With my son, who is 10, I would WANT him to be spoken to by those in authority so strongly that he cries. I would want him scared and ashamed that he had taken part in something that bad. I would also want him to return items in the correct way, not giving them a random people. Big huge life lesson for the kiddo right now!

 

Agree with your comments.

 

In my job I come across plenty of people who work a great job, but are limited in their abilities to speak fluent English, and understand full conversations.

[Spurschick]

If Royal didn't want kids to have "free reign", than they wouldn't allow self sign out for children 9 and up. There were hundreds of "unsupervised" kids on the cruise at all hours and MANY others...TEENAGERS...involved in the arcade incident!

 

 

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With all due respect it is at parents discretion to allow self sign out. If you don't want it, you don't have to agree to sign for it.

 

And my comments are not meant to be disrespectful, just a realistic perspective on the situation.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Spurschick

[winddawn]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I enjoyed reading the contrast between the two cruise lines. It has been years since I cruised RCCL.

 

After reading about the experience regarding your son, my first thought was, why was a 10 year old left unsupervised on a mega cruise ship? There are so many things that can go wrong in that situation. IMO that was the root cause of the problem, and then when the 10 year old did what 10 year olds do when they are left unsupervised, you displaced the blame to the cruise ship staff. I just don't get that.

 

For any of us that have had our cruise experiences interrupted by unsupervised kids running up and down the halls screaming, I read your post and have to wonder what you were thinking to make that decision. The safety of your children and respect for fellow passengers should be paramount. I just don't think 10 year olds should be allowed free run of the ship while the parents are gone to supper with friends.

[Disconnections]

As far as how the ship's security staff approached your son, that has a high probability of happening on Carnival too. The security staff onboard are typically residents of a country in Asia where they are raised to experience a different culture than we are accustomed to here in the United States. It has been known for Carnival's security staff to treat a guest as if they are a criminal if they report something as lost or stolen. Remember, they are on the cruise line's side, not yours. Many countries where the crew members are from still practice a guilty before proven innocent judiciary system and it is possible that your son was treated that way because of how the security associate was brought up, acting in the cruise line's best interest in terms of loss prevention or lack of training for situations that involve younger kids. It can even have been from a combination of these.

 

In the end, it doesn't matter the reasons why. You are still a paying customer and one of their guests... meaning you deserve to be treated with respect at all times when patronizing their company. Your son ended up doing the right thing in the end and learned from his mistake, making this entire situation one of the best learning experiences he can encounter. It shows an example that your son acted in better faith than the employee he handed the watch to. Best of luck to you on your future sailings with Carnival.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Disconnections

[k2excursion]

Unlike one of the previous posters, I am not going to assume that you just turned your kid loose on the ship unsupervised. I hope you don't get too offended by that comment. Some people just jump to the wrong conclusions sometimes. And even if there was a small glitch on your part, I don't think it's fair to lump you in with the neglectful parents that we hear so much about or that some people just assume that the wild kids have. I know (and many people know) that kids are capable of doing wrong things even when they are supervised. They know when the adults' heads are turned. My job is to supervise kids in a residential setting, so we are much more attentive than any kids camp staff or the friends' parents or whomever it might have been. Yet, these kids in my supervision still find ways to do wrong things when our heads are turned. They've stolen many things from stores, even though we are very aware that this is a strong possibility when we have them out. It is commendable that your son came to his senses and hopefully was able to learn his lesson. It sounds like you did the right thing with him in response to the situation. And I agree that security was out of line, and I totally understand your feelings on the issue. Very few people will read that and think that you were blaming security for what your son did wrong. But some people will make assumptions, so get your flame suit on.

 

Away from that now. Thank you so much for your comparison of the Allure with Carnival. It's always nice to read those kind of comparisons, especially since I have found the Allure to be alluring. I've been tempted to try the monstrosities, but the price & some of the small negative issues (which you also mentioned) has kept me away. Reviews like yours definitely help me.

Edited August 12, 2014 by k2excursion

[hubofhockey]

I'm not sure why but I feel this outcome was predestined....

 

 

 

I can't imagine comparing Carnival with Royal Caribbean, I mean I just feel Carnival are a real step down. Even in the ranks of Carnival Corporation everyone I know believes Carnival to be a step way down from Princess which I would say is more comparable to Royal Caribbean.

 

 

 

Maybe you were just looking for a Carnival cruise in the wrong place.....:confused:

 

 

Funny you wrote that because Princess and Royal Caribbean are our favorite lines. With our teens, we'll go on Royal Caribbean. Without them, we'll go on Princess. However, I am at the point where I would choose Royal Caribbean even without the kids because Princess entertainment has gone downhill since 2010.

 

Back to OP, I hate to say it, but Royal Caribbean might view your family as a "risk" with a 10-year old who steals. Right or wrong, cruise lines do profile passengers. They know what you spend on board and keep track of issues like "theft" in your "permanent record". You may never want to cruise on Royal Caribbean again and Goldstein and company may not be too upset about that either. I just hope you never have to find out how Carnival would deal would deal with your son. I hope you were harder on your son than you are on Royal Caribbean.

 

A couple more points. You could have reserved flow riders ahead of time. You also could have planned skating around free skating time. We did both with our kids and they enjoyed both. A level of planning by parents is necessary on Allure/Oasis. There are skating shows and that venue is used more for shows and rehearsals than free skate. Enjoy the waterslides on Carnival because it sounds like your kid won't need to be bothered with flow riders, zip lines, skating, or rock climbing walls that they have on RCI but not on Carnival.

Edited August 12, 2014 by hubofhockey

[JamesEM]

Thanks for a well written review.

[Big_G]

This story reads like a script to this retired cop. Mom and Dad getting mad at everybody but little Johnny Lightfingers. Glad you finally told him theft was bad. :rolleyes:

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[The Tuckmeister]

Surely your Son will need to steal a watch on a Carnival ship before you can make a true comparison.

[A&L_Ont]

What kind of watch do they keep in the arcade that is worth that type of money. Having spent ample time in the Oasis arcade with our dear son the most valuable ticket price item you could win would be a basketball. They do have a few other games that might contain a bit higher values but nothing more than $75.

 

Perhaps at this young age your child has learned the consequences of stealing.

 

I am confused when I reread the story about the stealing. If the worker kept the item, why would he have kept your child's information about the watch being turned in. No written history of the watch would mean that there was no record of it being stolen, or turned in. Except for the video cameras in the arcade. How could they have known it was your son? Actually if I think about it the security cameras would have given the film to follow to see if they swiped their card to play a game, then BINGO they have your kids name.

 

Just curious, what happened to his friend, the other kid that also stole? Did their family receive the same treatment?

[A&L_Ont]

Since there are two threads on this I thought I'd repeat my post on both.

 

 

What kind of watch do they keep in the arcade that is worth that type of money. Having spent ample time in the Oasis arcade with our dear son the most valuable ticket price item you could win would be a basketball. They do have a few other games that might contain a bit higher values but nothing more than $75.

 

Perhaps at this young age your child has learned the consequences of stealing.

 

I am confused when I reread the story about the stealing. If the worker kept the item, why would he have kept your child's information about the watch being turned in. No written history of the watch would mean that there was no record of it being stolen, or turned in. Except for the video cameras in the arcade. How could they have known it was your son? Actually if I think about it the security cameras would have given the film to follow to see if they swiped their card to play a game, then BINGO they have your kids name.

 

Just curious, what happened to his friend, the other kid that also stole? Did their family receive the same treatment?

[brenderlou]

A child upset, crying and saying I'm sorry for stealing in my eyes is not a bad thing. Why is your son being upset a bad thing? I have a 10 yr old and if she did what your son did, she would be just as upset and that's just with me!!!!!

 

 

 

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[Aquahound]

Doesn't make any difference and you're totally missing the point. It's obvious that some kids need adult supervision. Now I understand why we had this situation. As far as you going back to Carnival, I'm sure that RCI will agree with that decision. I see that you posted this on the Carnival board also.

 

This one is crystal clear to me too.

[fishtaco]

I wonder how Dads team at work would handle a child who steals $120 watch and parents say he gave it to somebody so its your problem go look for it? lol:D:D:D

 

We had a family put off the ship next port on The Voyager because their young daughter stole a purse from the promenade shop! Lucky for you the theft was last night;)

[vacationmom0103]

First of all...thank u to everyone for being kind and understanding. I also posted this on RC board and they have done nothing but rip me and my son apart...another reason to go back to carnival I guess! The watch was a G-Shock...never heard of it myself, but it is sold online for $160. They knew it was my son because when the friend and his brother returned the iPod nano they did so at guest services. At that point they pulled up the security video and saw all the kids involved. My son assumed he was OK because he thought they had the watch back too. My friends son didn't have the same trouble because the iPod was never "missing" and it was never opened. The larger problem for my son was that they didn't believe him when he said he returned it because they didn't have it. Once they found the worker and the watch their attitude changed.

 

 

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[hubofhockey]

This whole OP post is filled with gold. First, the title is mean to provoke as "Going back to Carnival!" and then we find out the dad is a cop and both parents decide to go off and have dinner without the kids and leave them unsupervised. Of course, their lovely son, who has never thought of stealing a thing in his life (his dad is a cop, you know) decides to steal a watch from the arcade. This is not a problem because this wonderful boy has a conscience and decides to return the watch (it's just unfortunate that he took it out of the packaging). I just can't figure out what annoys me most here. (1) That OP leaves her two children unsupervised at night on a cruise ship while she goes out for a night on the town. (2) Her treatment of RCI security as I cannot believe a ship employee would risk his career on a cheap arcade watch (this is the least plausbile part of the story), or (3) Accepting no responsibility and blaming an entire cruise line for the way she felt mistreated by a couple of people.

 

As fishtaco pointed out, many cruise lines don't want this type of passenger. However, I don't think OP would get booted because a 10-year old child's theft of a cheap watch. Of course, the main issue the cruise line should have here is with the parents who fail to supervise their kids and then create a stink over how the ship dealt with the issue. I think Royal Caribbean is happy that OP is heading back to Carnival. Not worth it having customers like that.

[Big_G]

This whole OP post is filled with gold.

 

It's called a target rich post. :D Go B's! ;)

[hubofhockey]

It's called a target rich post. :D Go B's! ;)

 

As they say, "you can't make this stuff up". Target rich and full of entertainment for cruise critic regulars. :D Of course, Go B's. October will be here soon enough. :cool:

[vacationmom0103]

A $160 value G Shock watch is not "cheap" in my book.

 

 

 

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[vacationmom0103]

Merion...the servers had charts taped to their cash registers with all the drink packages on them across the top. Down the side was EVERY drink you could imagine. There was a black dot in a green box if the beverage was included in the package, if not the box was red. The only red boxes on the Ultimate Package was for canned soda and minibar in stateroom. This is where I saw that "Smoothies" were included. Even Redbull was green although I don't drink that so never asked for it.

 

 

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[spookwife]

I hope u r not serious about thinking it was a gift??? If he didn't speak English than he shouldn't be working on a cruise ship which sails from AMERICA!! And you know that throwing it in the garbage can is not even remotely the same as the worker knowingly keeping it..I wasn't looking for sympathy...but I wasn't looking for obnoxious comments either!

 

 

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Oh please. If you really believe that you are beyond ignorant. Furthermore I love how you automatically assumed said worker decided to steal the watch themselves. With the EXTREMELY tight schedule the entire freaking crew is on during turnaround did it ever occur to you that he was too damn busy to drop what he was doing and figure out where to deliver a watch he should never have had in his possession if YOUR kid didn't steal it in the first place?! A child of a COP no less who should have known to have never done it in the first place! I was willing to let you have your opinion on Carnival being oh so much better ( I disagree) but then you go off on this tangent. Sorry but your sone deserved to be yelled at and treated like a criminal. He is one and apparently being the son of a cop isn't enough to keep him honeT. Maybe a good yelling at by someone who can't be swayed by parental. USA needed to put the fear of god into him

 

 

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[vacationmom0103]

PompeySailor...if an item had been taken from my stateroom I would want staff to search for it...just as I wanted them to search for their maintenance worker. My problem with the handling of the situation is that they berated my son for "lying" about returning the watch...which in fact he had. The friend didn't receive the same treatment because they had the iPod nano in their possession...he was basically just spoken to and sent off. As soon as they found the watch their attitude changed. If I had an item stolen and not returned or recovered, I'd be very upset. If the item was returned, by a child, I'd be grateful for their honesty and hope that the parents dealt with it in their own way.

 

 

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[Tommy3putts]

Too bad another potentially useful review ruined by the need for a dramatic flair.

 

Why would the son return it to "a worker"? Seems he should have taken it back to the place where the crime occurred. OP you're right it's RCCLs fault, it's always someone else's fault.

 

Love the drama!

Edited August 12, 2014 by Tommy3putts
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