3/23 Sensation Cruise NOT Sensational

[JerseyGirl97]

I'll probably get flamed for this but oh well... It always amazes me that there are many posters on this board that defend the cruise company no matter what...... Ship has broken engine or propulsion system that can't get the ship to a port as advertised and when the passenger are upset, the passengers get comments about how ungreatful they are.... And I'm not talking about major castrophes, where nothing can be done... But the cruiseline saying they'll go to a certain port for weeks/months on end when there's no intention due to mechanical problems.... That's not right......Or the Sensation gets hung up in a terminal, the passengers without food/water (yet to hear for sure but that's what the poster said) and they want compensation, they get comments again... I love cruising (I'm pretty much happy just being on the boat, at sea and being fed) and agree that alot of complaining is just that ... Whining and complaining.... Passengers need to learn to be flexible and have fun.. But the cruise companies aren't perfect, they make mistakes.... And they should rectify those mistakes and make it right to the passengers.... The cruise lines should be responsible when bad things happen..... And Princess cruise lines needs to make it right for the passengers of the Star Princess too....... Reminds me of the parent that thinks their child can do no wrong.....:rolleyes:

 

 

I agree with you!! No flames from me! It is not like a cruise (or any vacation for that matter) is a gift. You work for it, you pay for it, and anxiously wait for it to come with excitement. If things go wrong you have every right to be upset or disappointed! Carnival is not letting me on as a favor - they are paid for a service and just like every other business out there they have to complete their end of the bargain. Are all complaints on here valid? Maybe not - but that doesn't mean everyone who comes on here to give us a less than thrilling review is a whiner or miserable in life. :rolleyes:

Oh, and I just read what happened. Well, what sort of happened. Sounds like there are A LOT of unhappy cruisers. I hope the OP does come back and give us a little review. :)

[BrendaB1]

Nine hours with no food, water, clean diapers, updates made for a very long day.

 

Since when did Carnival start supplying diapers? :confused: I thought responsible parents did that.

[cruisenk]

This post is to our fellow Sensation hostages (if you were there, you know what I'm talking about). Hope you were able to find a way to feed your entire family with a quarter of a sandwich on Thursday! Nine hours with no food, water, clean diapers, updates made for a very long day. The answer from Carnival staff to our inquiries was that we were free to leave - with no luggage or refund. So we stayed and hoped things would get better.

 

Unfortunately, things didn't get any better for most of us. And we were afraid to complain, lest we be left stranded in the Bahamas.

 

This was for most of us, the worst vacation of our lives. The list is too long to print, but once again, if you were there, you know what I'm talking about.

 

Please share on this post how your complaints are being handled by Carnival, as we're sure you'll agree, 50.00 ain't cutt'n it! So far we've been directed to the Carnival Guest Relations office. The number is 1-800-929-6400. The hours are 8am-6pm EST. We are calling in the morning and will post an update with our results.

 

I have many photos of our nine hour visit to the terminal as well as photos of the ship's condition. I will post them as soon as I have recovered enough to look at them.

 

I'm sorry that you did not enjoy your vacation. It's unfortunate that it did not go as planned. I look forward to hearing the details of your less than sensational cruise. Also, do you have any advice for future Carnival cruisers?

[spanpris]

Cruzegirl you are right on. None of us seem to know all the details yet many seem to be perfectly content with defending the cruise line ad infinitum. I will be going on my first cruise in 27 days. I hope to have a great time. I hope to overlook any imperfections and enjoy myself no matter what comes my way. Being stuck on a ship for 9 hrs without food or drink doesn't sound like a lot of fun. And while safety is the number one thing to address, why were there any safety concerns to begin with? But see I don't know all the details so there may be a perfect explanation for it all.

[luvgreys]

Hmmmmmm, 1st post.:eek: :rolleyes:

 

This is my point exactly!!!! I have mentioned that before! So many people write these eleborate posts stating how the cruise been the worst ever, and (gasp!) they will never recover. and we never hear from them again. I mentioned this before, and another poster told me to chill out, and not jump all over the OP.

[futaba951]

Holiday just pulled out 5 hours late. I bet we get a flood of hater threads by Friday and Saturday.

[luvgreys]

You need to face reality. The ship was delayed for safety reasons. You know or should have know that once they started boarding that it would take two or three hours to get everyone on board. There was nothing that prevented you from going to get food or drinks, etc. Clearly you had plenty of time. Until you were on board you were responsible for yourself, Carnival wasn't.

 

You need to take responsibilty for your own actions.

 

Well said Zqvol!!! :)

[wanman]

Hmmmmmmmm 87 posts, and how many were double posted like this one????

 

Now my other analysis, what kind of cruiser shows up on the first day and does not have the diaper bag in hand? You should know you may not see those bags till midnight or later even... Two possiblities 1) they had it in hand, which complete blows their credibility because they are exagerating for effect to work that free cruise from Carnival 2) they didn't have it and they are extremely angry with themselves for not having and are trying to blame Carnival for their lack of planning

 

Either way - sorry, you had a lot of options, but now is too late.

 

...and no, Carnival is not perfect, they are penny wise and pound foolish and should have been more prepared, and should have intervened with food etc from the ship.

 

Oh wow I can't believe this but mrdood and I agree on something. :eek:

 

No diapers is not Carnivals fault, this is all the OP fault. What kind of parent would not carry extra diapers with them in their carry on's (I do not have any kids so I may be totally off base here)? If they had read their docs it clearly states bring anything you may need to get you through the night in y our carry on. No food in the terminal, not Carnivals fault, you are free to come and go until final boarding call.

 

Inspection failure, Carnivals fault, but at least it was found before it was needed. Be thankful for that.

 

This was also their first sailing in 6 months and after a refurb job as well. There were going to be kinks, breakdowns, and problems, that is just a plain fact of life.

 

Then again, if you never sail Carnival again, that is your loss.

[GoinCruisin]

Cruzegirl you are right on. None of us seem to know all the details yet many seem to be perfectly content with defending the cruise line ad infinitum. I will be going on my first cruise in 27 days. I hope to have a great time. I hope to overlook any imperfections and enjoy myself no matter what comes my way. Being stuck on a ship for 9 hrs without food or drink doesn't sound like a lot of fun. And while safety is the number one thing to address, why were there any safety concerns to begin with? But see I don't know all the details so there may be a perfect explanation for it all.

 

The Sensation was one of the ships being used for hurricane relief... she has been in dry dock for 2 weeks, undergoing quite a bit of refurbishment and renovation... so they probably squeezed a bit too much into 2 weeks, and the Coast Guard inspection wasn't completed until soon before they were supposed to depart... there were things they had to address, that were found out in that inspection... I think they probably should have just scheduled a little more time for drydock, but they do these all the time, I think this one just ran over a bit. Had they cancelled the cruise completely, you would have had just as many upset people.... p0eople who would have said "why not just leave late, rather than cancelling the entire cruise"...

[Lakeman953]

Well I saw News coverage of them returning and Heard 6 Guests complaining that when they ran the Water that rust was coming out of the Faucets, (This would be caused by not using faucets for a long period of time) Which in case would leave rust pebbles in the screen creating another problem with clogging.

While they interviewed passengers getting off her most people I saw where giving thumbs down and saying Carnival Sucks.

 

I guess they Didn't read these Boards hearing people say not a good idea to cruise the first Sail after Drydock.

[ladycaveat]

For those that had such an unhappy cruise on the Sensation . . . I really am sorry. One saves, plans and gets so excited about their next cruise (or first cruise) and have it turn out not as one had imagined but as one they rather would not even have been on. Though I can't imagine any cruise being bad . . . I've never experienced some of the things I've read about (and watched on the news video) from this cruise.

 

What really surprises me is the lack of national media coverage. In this day and age of "lets show all the horrible things that can happen on a cruise" . . . I can't believe this hasn't made national news. Between people disappearing, alleged foul play in the Smith's case, the fire aboard a cruise ship last week, missed ports because of weather and all the other things that can happen which are negative . . . they missed this gem of another stick it in the side of the cruise industry. What I really wish the news media would do is try to balance their coverage . . . show all the happy people and fun cruises that account for about 99 and 100% of cruises people take every day.

 

I know . . . one plane crash is "news" while all the hundreds of thousands of car accidents in the country that kill a heck of a lot more people than a one plane going down does . . . well, it just isn't news. I remember all those years I was a flight attendant (from 1967 to 1986) and friends asking me why I wasn't afraid to fly. All I could say was . . . "aren't you afraid to drive."

 

Again, I really am sorry that some on the Sensation did not enjoy their cruise (and I have no doubt that waiting nine or more hours to board the ship only set the stage for negative feelings). I just hope that if this does go on national news . . . they also interview people that enjoyed the cruise.

 

As so many have said . . . a bad cruise is better than no cruise . . .

[simplyred0714]

While I agree that the OP should have had enough diapers to carry them until that first evening, I can also understand some of the other complaints. One, there is nothing nearby Port Canaveral so just running out to get a drink or snack would have been difficult enough. Besides even that though, how do we know if they were given a time for when they would be able to board? I know if I were waiting to board a ship and didn't know when that would be happening, especially if the ship was already late, I wouldn't chance running somewhere to get something to eat. The newscast referred to by an earlier poster about the people getting off the cruise complaining...also included an ederly diabetic who asked the cruiseline employees numerous times for something to keep his insulin cool and was told "we will be right back with something" and they never came back. While I do agree that many people come to these boards and complain about trivial stuff that "ruined their cruise" and only want what they can get out of it, I also do see certain situations (this being one of them) where a person's dream vacation could indeed have been ruined by the lack on care and concern of one of the cruise lines. Just my .02 cents worth (and I am sure it isn't worth much more).

[CruiznWeids]

Lady - just as I was reading your post, the news here in Cleveland, OH ran a teaser of a story to come. On screen was the Sensation while they were saying 'Up next, a vacation from hell for those aboard a new cruise ship'. New ship? Vacation from hell? But, since it's made it up here to Cleveland, I'd say it didn't take long to go national!

[dznymom]

GoinCruisin, I really appreciate your perspective and your well thought out posts. It seems that frequently when I read something that makes me want to shoot my mouth off, your post will be next and very diplomatically states what I am thinking. So thanks for saving me from a life of flames :)

 

I just wish that both sides of a story was acceptable on these boards! It's pretty obvious that Carnival should have done a number of things better on this sailing, and it's just as obvious that some people are only concentrating on these negative things. I just can't imagine what it would take for me to be as furious as some of the folks from this sailing of the Sensation obviously are. I really wish we could get a few credible first hand reports.

[Jabee]

Lady - just as I was reading your post, the news here in Cleveland, OH ran a teaser of a story to come. On screen was the Sensation while they were saying 'Up next, a vacation from hell for those aboard a new cruise ship'. New ship? Vacation from hell? But, since it's made it up here to Cleveland, I'd say it didn't take long to go national!

 

After going online to some of the local reports, I realized why they are calling the Sensation a "New" Ship. She is NEW to Port Canavaral. An earlier story said Port Canavarel is getting a "New" Ship.

 

She is certainly not a "NEW" ship, but she is new to Port Canavarel. But, they better not get used to her, because she is coming home to New Orleans in October.

[Cruising89143]

Bottom line here folks, Carnival had a ship that was not ready to return to service. Unfortunately the cruise lines are more interested in getting folks back on even if the ship is not ready. RCI did this with the Sovereign last year and the Monarch the year before. The complaints were numerous. With all the bad publicity the cruise lines have seen in the last six months, they had better slow down a little. I have never seen the negative stuff this bad in my twenty years of cruising.

 

Here is just a taste of the bad stuff hitting central Florida news stations and news papers.

 

http://www.wesh.com/news/8294888/detail.html

 

For video,click on the link below and then scan the right side and you will see the link for Carnival.

http://www.wesh.com/video/index.html

 

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060327/BREAKINGNEWS/60327010

[GoinCruisin]

GoinCruisin, I really appreciate your perspective and your well thought out posts. It seems that frequently when I read something that makes me want to shoot my mouth off, your post will be next and very diplomatically states what I am thinking. So thanks for saving me from a life of flames :)

 

I just wish that both sides of a story was acceptable on these boards! It's pretty obvious that Carnival should have done a number of things better on this sailing, and it's just as obvious that some people are only concentrating on these negative things. I just can't imagine what it would take for me to be as furious as some of the folks from this sailing of the Sensation obviously are. I really wish we could get a few credible first hand reports.

 

Thanks Chris (I'm a Chris too, maybe that's it :D LOL) I hate a "one post wonder" as much as the next, but I think too many times, posters aren't given enough time to come back... we were all first time posters at one time or another... and sometimes people really are upset. I think there were alot of people upset about this delay... I'm not saying I would have reacted the same, but there are some people that would be very upset by this... so I don't think it is unwarranted at all... I just hate to see every first time poster that has anything negative at all to say, get attacked... I wouldn't want to come back either! LOL!!!! I guess they should post a few hundred times and THEN post something negative, maybe that would give them more credibility :rolleyes: Believe me, my "mouth" gets me in enough trouble around here :eek:

 

Bottom line is, we don't know how we would have handled it... none of us want a vacation to start this way. It would be much easier to handle if you were on the ship, and had a bar, or some dinner, to pass the time... but when you wait from morning til night, with no food, nothing to drink, you might get a little cranky. How you handle the rest of the cruise is up to you, but we all aren't the same, we don't handle things the same way. I'm sure it was uncomfortable at best in that terminal... I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I think we should allow the OP to come back and post his/her review... and realize that it really did start out crappy, and if that set the tone for their cruise, that was their issue... if it's not how you would have handled it, FINE! The great thing about this board is we are all different... not everyone has to handle things the way you would. Everyone has different expectations and tolerance levels.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks Chris (I'm a Chris too, maybe that's it :D LOL) I hate a "one post wonder" as much as the next, but I think too many times, posters aren't given enough time to come back... we were all first time posters at one time or another... and sometimes people really are upset. I think there were alot of people upset about this delay... I'm not saying I would have reacted the same, but there are some people that would be very upset by this... so I don't think it is unwarranted at all... I just hate to see every first time poster that has anything negative at all to say, get attacked... I wouldn't want to come back either! LOL!!!! I guess they should post a few hundred times and THEN post something negative, maybe that would give them more credibility :rolleyes: Believe me, my "mouth" gets me in enough trouble around here :eek:

 

Bottom line is, we don't know how we would have handled it... none of us want a vacation to start this way. It would be much easier to handle if you were on the ship, and had a bar, or some dinner, to pass the time... but when you wait from morning til night, with no food, nothing to drink, you might get a little cranky. How you handle the rest of the cruise is up to you, but we all aren't the same, we don't handle things the same way. I'm sure it was uncomfortable at best in that terminal... I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I think we should allow the OP to come back and post his/her review... and realize that it really did start out crappy, and if that set the tone for their cruise, that was their issue... if it's not how you would have handled it, FINE! The great thing about this board is we are all different... not everyone has to handle things the way you would. Everyone has different expectations and tolerance levels.

 

I agree with you on many of the things that you stated. I'm sure that there were probably many first time cruisers on board who have no idea about what can happen to hold up boarding. I believe that most of us know that the cruise lines are not always up front with what is going on.

 

Sounds like there was construction still going on throughout the ship and no I would not be happy with rust water coming out of the faucet.

 

I think that we need to give the folks a chance to tell their side of the story before we start jumping on them. Hopefully there were more CC regulars that will come back and tell us their thoughts.

[Casshew]

So besides the ship being late on departure... what else ruined the cruise?

[big_duck]

Bottom line here folks, Carnival had a ship that was not ready to return to service. Unfortunately the cruise lines are more interested in getting folks back on even if the ship is not ready. RCI did this with the Sovereign last year and the Monarch the year before. The complaints were numerous. With all the bad publicity the cruise lines have seen in the last six months, they had better slow down a little. I have never seen the negative stuff this bad in my twenty years of cruising.

 

Here is just a taste of the bad stuff hitting central Florida news stations and news papers.

 

http://www.wesh.com/news/8294888/detail.html

 

For video,click on the link below and then scan the right side and you will see the link for Carnival.

http://www.wesh.com/video/index.html

 

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060327/BREAKINGNEWS/60327010

 

It looks like taking the first trip on a ship out of dry dock is something to be avoided.

 

The Florida Today article was interesting. It sounds like the people who where tossed in Nassau were given the "Carnival Vacation Guarantee" whether they wanted it or not.

[aloveforwander]

The more and more I read the posts...I just needed to say this. Living in Central Florida and traveling many a times from PC- yes I do realize that there is nothing immediately visible for food from the port.

 

Having said that, while it is much better at Port of Tampa- it is FAR WORSE in Port Everglades and Port of Miami. Once stuck there- that's pretty much it.

 

Contrary to belief, food from any Pt. Canaveral's terminal is only a 15 minute cab ride or drive away. There is the Marina area and it's restaurants, McDonald's and Taco Bell off A1A ( I realize not the best choices- but better than forego a happy tummy).

 

That someone could not make this decision (and yes...it is an individual decision) and go get something to eat- bologna! Consider this- if everyone had gone away for 45 MINUTES roundtrip TOPS- the ship would certainly not leave without everyone. So ok- fine- only a few people go. Even if they start boarding immediately upon your departure, it would take at least 1.5 hrs. (through security) to board the entire ship. Therefore, again, Sensation would not have left without you.

 

Fine- clearly some don't know there's food 15 minutes away. Did anyone think of asking? Probably not, as it is far easier to assume.

 

While, I do believe that Carnival should have as a courtesy, anticipated and been prepared with at least light snacks; they can not be held responsible for the welfare (food, diapers, medicines, etc.) for anyone's family prior to boarding any ship. That is the job of the head of the family to be concerned with- the welfare of their own family. (Unless in fly aweigh or deviation programs- and even then).

 

Listen, when things out of one's control happen- just let it roll of your shoulders and make the best of what YOU can control and have at hand. My personal policy anyway. ;) Frankly, I have better battles to pick :) (Yes- I am sailing the Sensation in a few weeks...)

[JerseyGirl97]

 

It looks like taking the first trip on a ship out of dry dock is something to be avoided.

 

 

Question: Is there a schedule for these dry docks or do they do it when work is needed??? Is seems like it can't be random or else the people on those scheduled cruises would be out there vacation. If there is a schedule, where can you find it?

[CruiznWeids]

After going online to some of the local reports, I realized why they are calling the Sensation a "New" Ship. She is NEW to Port Canavaral. An earlier story said Port Canavarel is getting a "New" Ship.

 

She is certainly not a "NEW" ship, but she is new to Port Canavarel. But, they better not get used to her, because she is coming home to New Orleans in October.

 

Thanks, Jabee! That does make sense. :)

[PaulMedik]

It's been a long time since I've been to Port Canaveral, sixteen years or so, but there was a nice little burger stand with picnic tables outside where you could sit and watch the ship while waiting to board. Boarding was a lot easier back then too though I bet.

 

I can't imagine not being able to leave and get something to eat; they had to know that the ship couldn't just load up and leave within two or three hours of begining to board.

 

As for diapers; given that you are told up front you may not have your luggage until midnight or later so there's no excuse to not have all that you may need with you.

[big_duck]

Question: Is there a schedule for these dry docks or do they do it when work is needed??? Is seems like it can't be random or else the people on those scheduled cruises would be out there vacation. If there is a schedule, where can you find it?

 

Sometimes the are announced in advance, sometimes not. Hang around here, someone always seems to know.

 

The Sensations refurbishment was very highly publicized (due to the FEMA) thing. If someone boarded this ship not knowing it was the first cruise, they do a poor job of making themselves informed consumers.