Carnival's Damaged Luggage Policy.....Not!

[biomedbob]

We were on the Glory’s October’s 8th sailing to the Western Caribbean. On the last day we got our luggage out to begin the worst part of any cruise, packing for debarkation. I noticed that the feet (non-rolling side) of our brand new rolling garment bag were completely torn off.

I went to the purser’s desk to find out what I should do to file a claim. She said to bring the damaged piece to them for their examination. I had my wife do this, and they said they would send a claim form to our cabin, but if it didn’t get there soon enough, we could file a claim when we got home.

Because of Wilma, Miami was shut down for the guest relations’ folks until earlier this week.

I called them to report the damage. They needed our booking and cabin number. I was put on hold for a short while when the lady came back on the line. She said that she’d checked the purser’s records for our cruise and could find no notation about our damage.

She then told me in a matter-of-factly, nice way, that because there was no record of the damage, Carnival would assume no liability for our loss.

Moral of the story……If there is any damage to your luggage make sure you raise a stink while still on board, and get something in writing.

[NorthAlabama]

We were on the Glory’s October’s 8th sailing to the Western Caribbean. On the last day we got our luggage out to begin the worst part of any cruise, packing for debarkation. I noticed that the feet (non-rolling side) of our brand new rolling garment bag were completely torn off.

 

I went to the purser’s desk to find out what I should do to file a claim. She said to bring the damaged piece to them for their examination. I had my wife do this, and they said they would send a claim form to our cabin, but if it didn’t get there soon enough, we could file a claim when we got home.

 

Because of Wilma, Miami was shut down for the guest relations’ folks until earlier this week.

 

I called them to report the damage. They needed our booking and cabin number. I was put on hold for a short while when the lady came back on the line. She said that she’d checked the purser’s records for our cruise and could find no notation about our damage.

 

She then told me in a matter-of-factly, nice way, that because there was no record of the damage, Carnival would assume no liability for our loss.

 

Moral of the story……If there is any damage to your luggage make sure you raise a stink while still on board, and get something in writing.

 

 

Call back and ask for a supervisor. Tell them that you are not satisfied with the response you got and wish to speak to someone else. I did this

and finally think I reached the right person. Don't give up. Persistence will win in the end. If t his does not work, email bdickerson@carnival.com.

[cherylandtk]

I hate to be a wet blanket here, but you are better off filing a claim with your travel insurance than directly with Carnival. The passage contract limits the claim to $50 maximum, and that amount is if the bag is completely destroyed and rendered unusable. The loss of the feet is less than 100%, so the pro-rated amount would be substantially less.

 

It is not worth your time and effort to recoup with Carnival, with or without the onboard record of your claim. Or emails to Uncle Bob.

 

The text of the contract (section 4d):

 

" It is stipulated and agreed that the aggregate value of Guest’s property, does not exceed $50 per guest or bag with a maximum value of $100 per stateroom regardless of the number of occupants or bags and any liability of Carnival for any cause whatsoever with respect to said property shall not exceed such sum, unless the Guest shall in writing, delivered to Carnival, prior to embarkation, declare the true value thereof and pay to Carnival prior to embarkation a sum equal to 5% of the excess of such value. If Carnival shall be held liable for the loss of or damage to Guest’s baggage or property it is agreed that such liability shall not exceed the lesser of: (1) the actual cash value, or (2) value declared in the manner above provided (up to U.S. $100 if no such declaration has been made). Declared value amounts to be proportionately reduced in any case where less than all of Guest’s baggage or property is lost, delayed or rendered unusable due to damage. In no event shall Carnival be liable to pay any compensation if the nature or value of the property has been misrepresented."

[Beach4me]

I'd email Bob simply because the purser staff on the Glory in October was the absolute WORST I've ever seen. I was on the cruise after you, biomedbob. Left on the 15th. I had a request that took 3 visits before the issue was rectified - the first 2 times, the fix was not recorded. And that's only one of the issues I had at the pursers desk. I actually saw one of the 2nd pursers reduce a woman to tears...and she was most definitely in the right. I have a letter ready to go to customer service and an email almost ready to go to Bob. The woman in tears was going to write CS and Bob (I gave her the addy's). I hope she did. Something needs to be done about that staff.

 

While you might not get the compensation you're entitled to, bob, I think it's important that the higher ups know that there's a problem on that ship.

[Rowan555]

This happened to us on the Sensation last year - I ended up just throwing the bag away because it was too costly to repair - the entire wheel was gone and the casing was destroyed. SOMEHOW I didn't notice this until the last sea day, and it was too late for them to try to fix it on board. They also told me they would file the informaiton and gave me the guest relations number to contact when we got home. After 4 or 5 phone calls and a letter, I was pretty much told "too bad, not our problem." I was VERY angry but then realized that I should have noticed the damage sooner, and I should have made sure the damage was documented officially on board, rather than relying on the word of the person at the pursers desk. $50 lesson learned, and I will know better if it happens again in the future.