Onboard Now - Serious Issue - How to Handle?

[tatt2ed]

Really? Getting a lot? They didn't have to give phone and internet? It's called common decency and compassion.

Common courtesy yes, decency meh. But given the fact the OP chose to use that free internet to go on a public forum and start griping and gathering thoughts and responses on how to complain tells me this person ISN'T as busted up as she wants us to believe or ISN'T as concerned about her family member as she should be. Either way i think she is getting too much "free" internet if shes on here

[jimbo5544]

Having worked as a Purser for a cruise line, I can tell you that no matter how hard we tried, things happened. I'm sure that the onboard staff is doing all that they can for you, but they can't undo what happened. If you're looking for the right person to blame, you need to find out:

 

 

 

1) Did the family member who sent the message have the right contact information? There is a way to contact the ship directly - this is the information I leave with my family in case of a real emergency, along with the 1-800 # to get a message to me.

 

 

 

2) Who got the message & when? Did they simply call CCL's corporate # or did they use the contact # given for messages to get to the ship. If they simply called the 1-800 # for Carnival, who knows who they spoke to. Unfortunately they may have reached a person that wasn't sure what to do.

 

 

 

I do feel for you - there's not much worse than being out of touch when something happens to a family member. Crewmembers onboard ships understand this more than a lot of other people, and I can't believe they wouldn't have done everything they could to help you. Like someone else said, do you think they did this on purpose?

 

 

Great post....thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[cruizinisthebest]

Common courtesy yes, decency meh. But given the fact the OP chose to use that free internet go on a public forum and start griping and gathering thoughts and responses on how to complain tells me this person ISN'T as busted up as she wants us to believe or ISN'T as concerned about her family member as she should be. Either way i think she is getting too much "free" internet if shes on here

 

This is harsh but I agree. The OP is ridiculous IMO. Carnival is not doing anything to intentionally make things difficult. The OP already said they complained and got a ticket #. You've got free internet. Why are you on here asking if there's any other way to more aggressively complain? Use the free internet to tend to family and friends and whatever else you think can be done from a cruise ship in this situation in the first place.

[Kathy Loves Cats]

Someone should tell John Heald about this. He has so much compassion and I am sure he would help the OP

[tatt2ed]

Someone should tell John Heald about this. He has so much compassion and I am sure he would help the OP

Maybe he will arrange a privete life boat rental so they can get home quicker.

[Kathy Loves Cats]

Maybe he will arrange a privete life boat rental so they can get home quicker.

 

Or maybe he will help to see what happened and get to the truth. Plus he may be able to be a shoulder to lean on.

[tatt2ed]

Or maybe he will help to see what happened and get to the truth. Plus he may be able to be a shoulder to lean on.

Yeah he really cares. Cares about the buffets and cares about multiple desserts. Im sure this he could care less about. People die on cruises all the time do you think hes there with flowers ? A card ? Or even a shoulder ? Im laughing my A off. I hope you were joking

[lesliehr]

OP,

I would start pursuing this while onboard. Easier to get your questions answered. Once you are off the ship and home, it will be difficult to get responses. Good luck. I hope you get closure of sorts.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[DirtyDawg]

Hi guys. The OP also posted on the Ask a Cruise Question forum and followed up with this post.

 

To answer some of the questions asked - The call was made to Carnival using the emergency number from their website around 11 a.m. on Monday. We learned of the death when we reached a port where Verizon had coverage - we called the hospital and were informed that the death had occurred.

 

Per the Guest Services Assistant Manager, corporate didn't code the call correctly. The email was received on the ship within an hour of the call on Monday, but as of Thursday morning the email was in "unread" status. They will not provide us with a copy of the email.

 

So at this point I would like to caution other cruisers not to rely on the emergency number published on the cruise ship's website. To me, any call that comes in on that number should be treated as urgent.

 

What would have been a different outcome? We could have been a part of the decision that was made to remove life support. It probably would have been the same decision, but at least we would have had some input and would have been a part of the process.

 

I am not looking for anything from the cruise line except for this to not to happen to anyone else.

 

So basically;

Life threatening event happen and someone called the Carnival Emergency contact number on Monday.

Corporate sent an email to the ship within an hour

Email not marked Important

Email not opened

OP found out sad news independently on Thursday (three days later)

Email still not opened by this time on Thursday

 

OP would like fellow cruisers to know that the Emergency contact system on this cruise line is flawed

 

I for one, would like to thank the OP for thinking of the welfare of fellow cruisers and our families at a time when they (and WE) should be thinking of the welfare of the OP and his/her family.

Edited October 14, 2016 by DirtyDawg

[jimbo5544]

Hi guys. The OP also posted on the Ask a Cruise Question forum and followed up with this post.

 

 

 

So basically;

Life threatening event happen and someone called the Carnival Emergency contact number on Monday.

Corporate sent an email to the ship within an hour

Email not marked Important

Email not opened

OP found out sad news independently on Thursday (three days later)

Email still not opened by this time on Thursday

 

OP would like fellow cruisers to know that the Emergency contact system on this cruise line is flawed

 

I for one, would like to thank the OP for thinking of the welfare of fellow cruisers and our families at a time when they (and WE) should be thinking of the welfare of the OP and his/her family.

 

First off, op sorry for your issues. Now for this poster, I have read your last paragraph 3 times and still am scratching my head. I think you are bashing Carnival, but are doing in it in a much more subtle way. Did I miss something? System flawed? Maybe it was just an error, sometime stuff happens.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[DirtyDawg]

First off, op sorry for your issues. Now for this poster, I have read your last paragraph 3 times and still am scratching my head. I think you are bashing Carnival, but are doing in it in a much more subtle way. Did I miss something? System flawed? Maybe it was just an error, sometime stuff happens.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

Hi Jim,

It was a bit of a bashing. An email from corporate was not opened for three days! Can you imagine the Ford plant in Oakville, Ontario not opening an email from corporate in Dearborn for three days.

 

Sure it could be human error but the system should be designed to minimize human error.

Edited October 14, 2016 by DirtyDawg

[jimbo5544]

Hi Jim,

It was a bit of a bashing. An email from corporate was not opened for three days! Can you imagine the Ford plant in Oakville, Ontario not opening an email from corporate in Dearborn for three days.

 

Sure it could be human error but the system should be designed to minimize human error.

 

 

It was a mistake, on that I can't argue. I really had to read your post 3 times to get your read on it. Somebody did drop the ball, I am sure it was not anyone's top day. We actually had a client who we had to deliver the bad news to on a cruise. Wish I could have not had to have done that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[DirtyDawg]

It was a mistake, on that I can't argue. I really had to read your post 3 times to get your read on it. Somebody did drop the ball, I am sure it was not anyone's top day. We actually had a client who we had to deliver the bad news to on a cruise. Wish I could have not had to have done that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

 

My apologies for not being more clear in my first post.

Edited October 14, 2016 by DirtyDawg

[Cruising Jedi]

Things happen in real life when you are at sea...my father was a ship's captain and communication back at that time was like a miracle. I sometimes think people forget they are really out in the ocean, not on some pretend Disney boat ride or something. You venture onto the ocean, you are taking some risks. Communication is one. The timing of the message affected nothing. It was a personal tragedy that happened to occur while you were on a ship, which is not the doing of the cruise line. If you want to be in constant contact with back home, YOU make that happen. Sorry.

[3redheads]

This must be heart wrenching for the OP, especially considering that a decision had to be made about life support.

 

Carnival is at fault for not handling the call on the emergency line correctly, but there's not much that can be done at this point. By posting here and notifying corporate, maybe situations like this can be avoided. In the future, I will make sure family has an alternate way of contacting me.

[elliair]

The OP hasn't come back here to respond to any of the suggestions and comments. From the OP's statement, I'm not sure what he/she wants from Carnival. All the OP is going to get is an apology, excuses, placing blame on someone else. The relative is deceased and there's no remedy for that. The OP did not debark from the ship early AFAIK missing their cruise. In that case, trip insurance comes into play. I'm really not sure what the OP wants from Carnival.

Edited October 15, 2016 by elliair

[simplelife]

So sorry for your loss. These things never happen at a good time. My Brother-in-law was dying of cancer a few years ago when we were about to set sail on a long-planned cruise. My sister told us ahead of time to go ahead and go and enjoy the cruise in honor of her husband, who would want us to have a good time, and that if he passed while we away, they would not call us on the cruise. He ended up passing away the evening before we sailed. It was a relief that he was no longer suffering, and we were not wondering the whole cruise how he was doing.We drank a toast to his memory each evening.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited October 15, 2016 by simplelife

[Karnyval]

Once upon a time you could call the ships directly for about $10/minute. Not always reliable.

 

Now the process is:

Shore-to-Ship Communication – Emergency Contact Number

We do not offer a direct dialing service to our ships.

The following number is to be used as an emergency contact number for family members not traveling with our guests. In the event of a true emergency, family may contact our call center at 1-800-227-6482 on a 24/7 basis.

Our team will take down the caller's name and contact information and pass it on to our Guest Services team onboard.

 

 

It isn't real time to the guest.