Son needs specific yogurt/drinks for medical reason Customer Service HORRIBLE CARNIVAL

[SweetCinNY]

We're booked on Venezia in July & I've been contacting customer service for the past month to get this rectified. I've been given the runaround. I've gotten 4 different responses and NO person to contact upon boarding.

 

My son has a feeding condition and ONLY eats 1 type of yogurt & Carnation Instant breakfast drinks and I have to be assured that these things will be available upon boarding. First they said no problem; I sent pictures and they asked me the amounts BUT then they got the amounts wrong & when I contacted them again they said there are a plethora of food items available at X amount of restaurants etc. 

 

At that point I asked for a person's name to contact specifically as this is a medical condition and these items HAVE to be available for him as he literally eats NOTHING else. 

 

How do I get this taken care of b/c at this point may have to cancel. 😞

[staceyglow]

Did you contact the Special Needs department directly?

[SweetCinNY]

No, did not know that existed. Do you have contact info by chance?

[tonit964]

8 minutes ago, SweetCinNY said:

No, did not know that existed. Do you have contact info by chance?

The information is on the Carnival website. The special needs department  # is 1-800-438-6744.

Edited June 17, 2023 by tonit964

[ColeThornton]

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/special-needs.aspx

[Homosassa]

11 minutes ago, SweetCinNY said:

We're booked on Venezia in July & I've been contacting customer service for the past month to get this rectified. I've been given the runaround. I've gotten 4 different responses and NO person to contact upon boarding.

 

My son has a feeding condition and ONLY eats 1 type of yogurt & Carnation Instant breakfast drinks and I have to be assured that these things will be available upon boarding. First they said no problem; I sent pictures and they asked me the amounts BUT then they got the amounts wrong & when I contacted them again they said there are a plethora of food items available at X amount of restaurants etc. 

 

At that point I asked for a person's name to contact specifically as this is a medical condition and these items HAVE to be available for him as he literally eats NOTHING else. 

 

How do I get this taken care of b/c at this point may have to cancel. 😞

While a cruise line will try to accommodate special needs such as diet or accessibility, there is a limit on what they can do and accommodate.

 

There may be an issue with the availability of supplies required (specific brand names, flavors, etc) and the cruise line will not   be able to guarantee their availability on board ship.

 

The statement that this is a medically required condition also kicks in the "Fitness to Travel" clause in the ticket contract.

 

You may need to cancel.

 

https://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/legal-notice/ticket-contract.aspx?icid=CC_Footer_84 

[Mommapadraig]

This is the dietary accommodations on the Carnival site.

Carnival Cruise Line can provide our guests with the following special dietary needs: Vegetarian, Low-Cholesterol, Low-Carbohydrates, Low-Sugar, Gluten Free, Indian Vegetarian and Kosher. If you have food allergies, please advise your dining staff once aboard.

 

since your requirements are such specific foods I would contact the special needs department to see if you can bring it on board and then get a letter giving you permission to bring it on board.

Edited June 17, 2023 by Mommapadraig

[1025cruise]

Since you have requirements due to medical requirements, contact Special Needs. They will advise what can and can't be done. They will also give permission for you to bring your own supplies with you.

[jennas_mum]

My son has a G-Tubs and eats nothing my mouth. We take all his food with us. Have never had a problem. I would definitely contact the special needs department though and hopefully you can get confirmation that you can bring it on board. 

[Cruising_Addict]

57 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

The statement that this is a medically required condition also kicks in the "Fitness to Travel" clause in the ticket contract.

 

You may need to cancel.

I echo this sentiment. If your son has such specific needs that are dire to him actually surging the cruise, then it sounds like, unfortunately, cruising with him isn’t something that is either feasible or that you should be trying to do. I would sincerely suggest a land vacation where you can bring with you whatever you need. 

[Joebucks]

While I am not an expert on the topic, expecting a cruise line to have a specific brand of something, in a specific size does not sound like standard reasonable accommodation. That is far different than low sodium, gluten free, or other food preparation methods. They don't have personal shoppers to run to the store and stock up whatever people "need."

 

I'd seek an accommodation at the very least where you can bring your own. 

[SweetCinNY]

I guess I’m surprised because on Norwegian it was taken care of in one contact and I got the restaurant manager’s name/extension to request more.

 

on RC they were in our fridge upon arrival; so expected the same from Carnival—guess I’m not dealing with same caliper cruise line? 🤷‍♀️

[Mommapadraig]

6 minutes ago, SweetCinNY said:

I guess I’m surprised because on Norwegian it was taken care of in one contact and I got the restaurant manager’s name/extension to request more.

 

on RC they were in our fridge upon arrival; so expected the same from Carnival—guess I’m not dealing with same caliper cruise line? 🤷‍♀️

Huh! I’m Surprised that the other cruise lines accommodated such a specific request! I would have never known this was even possible.I hope you’ll post when it’s resolved. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by Mommapadraig

[sunonfire]

I boarded a cruise where a couple brought all of their meals. The meals were all kosher. They met with maitre d. He handled everything for them.

[Homosassa]

38 minutes ago, SweetCinNY said:

I guess I’m surprised because on Norwegian it was taken care of in one contact and I got the restaurant manager’s name/extension to request more.

 

on RC they were in our fridge upon arrival; so expected the same from Carnival—guess I’m not dealing with same caliper cruise line? 🤷‍♀️

Did you follow the instructions given in the ticket contract that I posted the link for (notify in writing at time of booking, thirty days in advance of sailing, etc)?

 

Each cruise line is different and one needs to be aware of the differences when booking.

[n6uqqq]

Carnival allows 12 drinks per person so the Carnation breakfast drinks which are in cartons won't be an issue, bring them. You can also bring a small cooler with the yogurts and I highly doubt Carnival would have an issue with this either. 

Edited June 17, 2023 by n6uqqq

[jimbo5544]

We normally travel in groups and have had multiple cruises when travel with special dietary needs including feeding tube.  In each and every instance, we found them to more than accommodating including when boarded someone from the food team engaging the people every day and the hotel manager stopping twice to ensure all was well.

Edited June 17, 2023 by jimbo5544

[MadManOfBethesda]

3 hours ago, SweetCinNY said:

I guess I’m surprised because on Norwegian it was taken care of in one contact and I got the restaurant manager’s name/extension to request more.

 

on RC they were in our fridge upon arrival; so expected the same from Carnival—guess I’m not dealing with same caliper cruise line? 🤷‍♀️

Maybe not, but then again, perhaps those cruise lines had those items available already. Carnival can't be expected to go out and purchase specific brands of various food items to satisfy the needs/requirements of every passenger.  And on a related matter, is there any reason that you can't simply bring these items onboard yourself? Especially the Carnation Instant Breakfast?! I'm sure that you would not encounter any problem if you so requested such an accommodation. In fact, I have personal experience with this. Just this past March, I wrote to Carnival at access@carnival.com requesting that my wife and I each be allowed to bring aboard 24 ready-to-drink single-serve cartons of Ensure Nutrition Shakes for our upcoming transatlantic cruise the following month due to our chronic digestive health issues. This request was approved in short order. (As someone else noted, Carnival normally allows only 12 non-alcoholic drinks/pp to be brought onboard.) It never even would have crossed my mind to demand that Carnival provide these drinks to us due to our medical condition! 

[serene56]

I’d be bringing my own stuff.    Something so important I could never rely on others for a strict dietary need 

[staceyglow]

7 hours ago, SweetCinNY said:

I guess I’m surprised because on Norwegian it was taken care of in one contact and I got the restaurant manager’s name/extension to request more.

 

on RC they were in our fridge upon arrival; so expected the same from Carnival—guess I’m not dealing with same caliper cruise line? 🤷‍♀️

Per your signature, the last tie you were on Royal Caribbean was eight years ago.  With all the changes in cruising, there is no guarantee  that  they would do that for you now either.

 

I also see that you posted last December about your kid's dietary needs, and the Special Needs department was recommended to you back then.  Did you contact them at the time?

Edited June 17, 2023 by staceyglow

[klfrodo]

9 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

Per your signature, the last tie you were on Royal Caribbean was eight years ago.  With all the changes in cruising, there is no guarantee  that  they would do that for you now either.

 

I also see that you posted last December about your kid's dietary needs, and the Special Needs department was recommended to you back then.  Did you contact them at the time?

Oh snap

[Aplmac]

9 hours ago, SweetCinNY said:

How do I get this taken care of

b/c at this point may have to cancel. 😞

 

You probably should cancel if the requirements are that specific.

[SweetCinNY]

7 hours ago, n6uqqq said:

Carnival allows 12 drinks per person so the Carnation breakfast drinks which are in cartons won't be an issue, bring them. You can also bring a small cooler with the yogurts and I highly doubt Carnival would have an issue with this either. 

Thank you this is good to know! At least my mind will be at ease that he’ll be able to eat. 

[SweetCinNY]

39 minutes ago, TreyB said:

As was pointed out, this was a reply to your post about the dietary needs on December 15, 2022. It’s now June 18, 2023 less than a month before your cruise. What do you really expect Carnival to do at this point if you didn’t contact them months ago?  

 

I did contact them in April because the shop was not even in operation months ago. I’ve been getting all different answers from all different people but no contact of whom I can speak to once on the ship should the request not have been taken care of as they said it would be.

 

They also said they could not have items in our cabin.

[SweetCinNY]

50 minutes ago, TreyB said:

My last Norwegian cruise was about 18 months ago & last RC was peobably 5 years ago—had to start new profile because didn’t recall the email I had used to originally sign up—been on about 12 cruises (although my kids have only been traveling last 6-7).