Help with Carnical Customer Service....

[teachersinPittsburgh]

My husband and I just returned from a quick 4 days cruise to the Bahamas. We missed the ship due to teriible icy weather in Pittsburgh and so many flight delays along the way. (I know.. I know.. don't fly out the day you leave - we had some work issues and had to this time - never again!)

 

We had been in constant contact with Carnival the whole day of departure. We were to check in for cruise departure between 1-3 PM. We finally landed in Miami at 3:20 PM and called Carnival again. The customer service representative patched through to the pier and told us that the preboarding process had stopped and the ship was getting ready to leave by 4:00. We were told we could not go to the pier and must meet the ship in Nasua. I was OK with this... hey things happen... Maybe I should say I was OK with this until we got on the ship Saturday in Nasua and were told by the other passengers that the ship never left until 5:30 because there were so many people checking in late and the line at the pier went till about 4:30.... We definatley could have made it to the pier. In fact multiple passenger had stories of not checking in till 4:15....

 

Here is my question...who do you think I contact at Carnival? Who should I ask for? What should I ask for? Please understand I am not upset I missed the departure Friday... I am upset that I was told by Carnival that boarding was done and it was not. Thoughts?

[KroozNut]

(I know.. I know.. don't fly out the day you leave

 

I think you pretty much answered your own question. Recommend chalking it up to a lesson learned and move on..

[firefly333]

I understand there are new regulations that you have to check in 2 hours before the ship can leave the port.

 

Did you land in Orlando and go out of Port Canaveral or how far were you from the pier at 3:30 when you patched thru to Carnival.

 

If you were at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, then this might be different as it is quite close to the pier, if Port Canaveral, they knew you probably had no way of making it.

 

There should be a guest relations email but I would write a snail mail letter, not a email, they rarely respond well to emails but if its a snail mail letter they are more likely to respond with some OBC toward another cruise.

 

In case I wasnt clear, I would just address it to Geust Relations, not a specific person at Carnival snail mail. Putting it in writing always seems to get better results.

[Timmys_mom]

I understand there are new regulations that you have to check in 2 hours before the ship can leave the port.

 

Did you land in Orlando and go out of Port Canaveral or how far were you from the pier at 3:30 when you patched thru to Carnival.

 

If you were at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, then this might be different as it is quite close to the pier, if Port Canaveral, they knew you probably had no way of making it.

 

There should be a guest relations email but I would write a snail mail letter, not a email, they rarely respond well to emails but if its a snail mail letter they are more likely to respond with some OBC toward another cruise.

 

In case I wasnt clear, I would just address it to Geust Relations, not a specific person at Carnival snail mail. Putting it in writing always seems to get better results.

The OP said they landed in Miami. Assuming they had their luggage in their hands at 3:20 they could have gotten to the pier and on the ship before it sailed at 5:30. However, I do not know if there are any regulations that would prohibit a late arrival/check in, etc.

 

I do agree that snail mail is usually better at getting a prompt reply. I don't know that they will compensate you in any manner, but you should point out how disappointed you are with the information their representative provided to you.

 

I hope the rest of your cruise was enjoyable.

[rwilymz]

My first thoughts are that you were given the Official Story. They can't really be faulted for that. Whether or not there are still people in line [and still others getting in line because they, like you, were delayed] doesn't change that boarding ends at X o'clock.

 

Another thing is that they were likely trying to get everyone on board as soon as possible so they could leave as soon as possible. They were already late and not wanting to be later. Even Orlando is still roughly an hour from Port Canaveral ... and that's if you have ground transportation right there waiting. If you have to arrange it, it's even longer. Miami is 3 hours minimum. Waiting that long for two people ... "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Dr McCoy.

 

To save you a possible [very expensive] cab ride directly from the airport to the pier and then back again so you could arrange a flight to Nassau, they told you to stay at the airport, go visit AirBahama and get some one-ways, and beat the boat in to port.

 

Lesson learned or, if you prefer, a good story to tell in a few years after the frustration wears away.

[Kurbanfan]

You can try guest relations 305-599-2600.

It won't hurt to try. Good Luck!

[teachersinPittsburgh]

Thank you to those replying. We did fly into Miami and had all our luggage so could have been to the pier in about 20-30 minutes. I would never had expected them to hold the ship for the 2 of us, but I think my biggest issue was that Carnival told us that the line was gone and closed when later we found many people were still getting in line at 4:15 and Carnival let those people in line. I am just saying rules are rules.... If it was closed for us should have been closed for others and if they were keeping it open they had our cell phone which I kept giving them each time I called and should have contacted us. ...

 

I believe the suggestion of snail mail is good. Thank you - I think I am going that route and yes this is a trip that we will laugh about in years to come - in fact we where laughing about it while it was happening... just got ticked abou the line thing...

[Vidimom]

Those that were able to board may have purchased their air through Carnival and that is the reason they held the ship for them. If you had purchased yours through them, that is one of the benefits of paying more for the air through them and they will make sure you make the ship or arrange to catch up with the ship at the first port. Did you have any problems getting to Nassau? If you took out travel insurance, you can be reimbursed your costs.

 

Unfortunately if you didn't purchase the air through Carnival, you really don't have too much recourse with them. A snail mail letter may get you a discount off your next cruise or OBC but really they have no obligation to do anything. Sorry to be so frank, but having worked in the travel industry, I had this happen a few times and CCL told the people, tough luck since you didn't book your air through us.