Carnival cruise lines (valor 12/21-12/28): A cautionary tale

[phtormey]

• Carnival tells cruisers they can expect their flights, when booked through their Air & Sea department, around 30-45 days prior to sailing. When it got to be 20 days before sailing and we had no flights, we called and were told it was ‘busy’ that time of year (they didn’t know this would be the case?), but that we should have our flights soon.
  

Eleven days before the sail date, we called again. The Air and Sea rep told us they were ‘working’ on getting our flights, although said this “work” amounted to “waiting for the airlines.” When we asked to speak to a supervisor, we were told none was available because the office was moving and ‘eveything is in boxes’.

 

When we finally got our flights a week before sailing, the connection was 25 minutes through JFK!! We called Air and Sea, who said it was a “totally legal connection” that they “use all the time” and that we “shouldn’t worry about it”. When I said that, on its face, it was an impossible connection, I was referred to the airline. The airline told us immediately it was an inappropriate connection, and our new flights were not much better- 40 minutes through Atlanta. When I called Air and Sea, they told me they had the new flights logged, and that I shouldn’t worry that our on-line cruise info still listed the through-JFK flights.

 

When we complained about all this to the Air and Sea department, they acknowledged that they had dropped the ball and offered an apology letter, as well as sparkling wine and treats delivered to our three staterooms. A nice touch, but it hardly made up for the trouble that came next.

 

• The morning of the sail date, we missed the connection in Atlanta due to what the airline described as a “weight and balance issue” delaying our plane in Portland, ME. Put by the airline into a 2hr long line to re-book (although it was clear we would not get to Miami that day), we started trying to get Carnival to make good on its word to people who have booked through Air & Sea: that they will help you if you get stranded. The Air and Sea staff more than once told us we were on our own because we changed our flights and should, according to their records, have been in JFK!! This was extremely maddening, but we eventually got them to understand the change of flights was not only the result of being referred to the airline by Air and Sea themselves, but also confirmed to them after the change. One employee hung up on us (later she apologized). It was not until the afternoon that a Carnival employee could be found who could rebook us to Grand Cayman to meet the ship. We were stuck in Atlanta overnight, but our luggage went on to Miami.
  

• In Atlanta, with no luggage, we were told to save receipts for meals and incidentals and present them on the ship. While the ship did credit us for the meals and some cab fare, they did not reimburse us for the incidentals (socks, underwear and contact lens supplies). They told us we would need to submit those expenses to Carnival once we got home.
  

• We arrived in Grand Cayman and my son’s luggage was missing. Our hotel was not, as Carnival had promised, paid for. That would be another charge we would have to absorb, then apply to Carnival to have refunded. As our son was without clothing and the ship arrived the next morning, we had to buy him at least a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
  

• Upon arriving home, our difficulties with Carnival really began. Although Carnival had promised to pay the hotel (the Hotel in Atlanta they managed to pay for in advance) and we submitted the receipts (three times now), we are still, a month later, waiting for this reimbursement. There were three rooms and the total expense- including the few dollars in phone calls to the taxi company, the pier and the airport about the lost luggage, comes to almost $800. At one point, Carnival’s guest relations department told me Air and Sea had taken out the cost of those necessary calls and was recommending reimbursement of the hotel charge only. But then they said that was not a “real” number, and that the final number hadn’t been decided.
  

• We’ve not been paid for the incidentals, or the two pieces of clothing we bought for our son. We also have asked for a refund of our prepaid gratuity for the time we were not on the ship. Finally, we have submitted a list of a half dozen clothing items that were ruined by black grease oozing from a door in our children’s stateroom. Housekeeping did clean the hinge and the ship staff did attempt to clean the items, but they are indelibly damaged.
  

• We’ve called at least a half dozen times for a status on our claims, each time we have been told our file is “pending” and that Carnival will decide what to pay and send us a letter when they have decided. One Guest Relations employee told me resolution can take up to 8 months!! Yesterday, a guest relations employee told me there was NO timetable for resolution at all. I have now submitted this issue to the President of the cruise line, as the guest relations department has completely exhausted my goodwill. It bears repeating: CARNIVAL, EVEN BEFORE WE LEFT, ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM AND PROMISED TO PAY. We’re not saying we don’t expect them to look at our receipts, but anything longer than a couple weeks’ delay is WAY TOO LONG.
  

• Update: Carnival has issued a refund, but ONLY in the amount of the hotel bill MINUS THE PHONE CALLS. Apparently we were to magically come to understand how to get to the pier and to summon a taxi in the morning. And apparently Carnival feels they have the right to keep gratuity intended for ship personnel WHEN WE WERE NOT ON THE SHIP. This is PURE ROBBERY. And apparently their black grease that destroyed our clothes is our problem as well. I am sure Mr. Cahill, the president of the company, would go to work with black grease smeared across his dress shirt, as that is what he expects me to do.
  

Lesson Learned: while we saved some money booking with Carnival vs. its competition, they have more than gotten it out of us in wasted time and grief. We are now deluged with emails begging us to rebook on another Carnival cruise. Are they crazy?? We very much enjoyed our shipboard experience, but the “land” staff, with its incompetence, rudeness and foot-dragging, has COMPLETELY RUINED, our opinion of this company, to the point that I will NEVER knowingly give another dime to them, and have now booked with their competition. You get what you pay for- cruise with someone else!!

[Cruiser23490578]

Not that you want to, but I would just copy this info and send it to their Customer Relations department. I know a lot of people will blast me for this, but I think they should give you another cruise and hopefully one that won't be ruined by their mismanagement.

 

If they were to do this would you even want to go?

[Cruiser23490578]

Not that you want to, but I would just copy this info and send it to their Customer Relations department. I know a lot of people will blast me for this, but I think they should give you another cruise and hopefully one that won't be ruined by their mismanagement.

 

If they were to do this would you even want to go?

 

Sorry, istead of saying "this info" I should have said "this thread". Perhaps it will encourage them to respond sooner....but in any event, even if they do....would you even consider going on another Carnival Cruise or are you done?

[Ken076]

I've read that "Carnival will get you to the next port if you miss sailing using Airfare purchased thru Carnival, but I've never seen it in their "legal" documents, and I'm still not a believer.

 

Carnival's unrealistic scheduling of connections and destination arrivals is a common complaint - your situation only confirms the lesson-learned for Newbies BOOK YOUR OWN AIRFARE. Obviously, the other lesson-learned is PURCHASE CRUISE/AIRFARE PROTECTION INSURANCE.

 

KEN

[misguidedangel]

I think what you should have done is if you didn't get your AIR information at 75, yes 75, days out you should have called, cancelled the air portion and booked your own flight.

 

Air/Sea is supposed to book your flights 75 days out. I got my air/sea info exactly at 75 days. We booked cruise air for our Galveston cruise last year and as soon as I got the ridiculius flight info and realized a few days later they can't get us better flights we cancelled and rebooked our own flight and hotel. They were going to fly us in the day of the cruise and get us to port at the very last minute for check in...We booked a suite, we wanted to be one of the first people on the ship, not the last....

 

Red lights should have gone up and you should have been on the phone with Carnival ASAP at 74 days and options could have been excercised at that. It is sad that you had the problems you did, but your sixth sense should have said something was not right and you should have taken charge and cancelled the cruise air with NO penalty because the flights weren't booked. We had to pay $50 each ($150) to cancel and it ended up only costing $50-100 a person more to book our own flights/hotel/transortation to Galveston the day before.

 

Don't give up on Carnival, just learn by this error and book your own air instead....If the cruise was good, then the problems with air/luggage can be blown off..

 

Also, if you are not physically ON that plane, your luggage should NOT be on the plane. If you are not at the gate and don't board they are supposed to remove your luggage.

 

I hope you get some money back....give them a few days, think of how long an insurance claim can take...

[momofzeke]

Carnival's unrealistic scheduling of connections and destination arrivals is a common complaint - your situation only confirms the lesson-learned for Newbies BOOK YOUR OWN AIRFARE.

 

My thoughts exactly, Ken. I have read too many threads here about poor connections, members of the same party (booked in different cabins but travelling together) being on different flights, etc. I would never, ever book Carnival air......I like being able to choose my own flights, times, etc.

 

To the OP ~ sorry you had this experience. Good luck with whichever line you choose in the future.

[PaulMedik]

Sounds to me like the airline dropped the ball. Carnival does business with the airline on your behalf, but any time you don't make a connection, it's the airline that has to foot the bill to get you where you're going.

 

As for the grease on the door; ships at sea tend to encounter corrosive minerals and grease keeps them from seizing tight. Whatever cruise line you try next will also grease their doors.

 

I'm glad to read that you enjoyed your cruise. I agree it's a shame that you've been given the run around. You do need to be given a firm time line for when your reimbursement amounts will be finalized and sent to you.

[RAVI360]

I've read that "Carnival will get you to the next port if you miss sailing using Airfare purchased thru Carnival, but I've never seen it in their "legal" documents, and I'm still not a believer.

 

Carnival's unrealistic scheduling of connections and destination arrivals is a common complaint - your situation only confirms the lesson-learned for Newbies BOOK YOUR OWN AIRFARE. Obviously, the other lesson-learned is PURCHASE CRUISE/AIRFARE PROTECTION INSURANCE.

 

KEN

 

AMEN..............i always do ...direct flights...at least for my piece of mine..

[Razorbakfan]

I feel for your situation. I would be most upset about losing a portion of the cruise vacation experience.

 

Keep on Carnival. Keep ringing their bell and climbing the leadership chain until you are satisfied. If you have a local television consumer affairs person who chases down resolution for news stories, use them!

 

In the future consider doing what I do. I am a control freak, I travel several weeks out of each month. I book my own travel regardless of where I am going. In the event I am going on a cruise, we arrive in port a day prior to the cruise sailing. That way if my original flight is delayed or cancelled, I have many other options left to get to the port with plenty of time to spare.

 

I know not everyone can do this, but it is worth the time, hotel expense and related meal cost in exchange for peace of mind.

 

Good luck, and I hope you give Carnival another chance...in 10 cruises we have had our share of "WTH's?" but in the grand scheme of things they come out being one of the best in the business.

[G'ma]

Whoo. What a mess.

 

Another really good reason to never, ever plan to fly on the same day the ship leaves port. Always go down a day early......

[tess2cruz]

I am curious why anyone uses the Air & Sea program? Isn't the air way more expensive that way? Even if you go a day ahead and have to pay for a hotel, doesn't seem worth the stress to fly day of. I have also heard enough complaints about it on these boards to know not to use it.

[DGP1111]

Carnival's unrealistic scheduling of connections and destination arrivals is a common complaint . . .

 

My thoughts exactly, Ken. I have read too many threads here about poor connections . . .

 

Ditto that! I used it once, and never again. Live and learn.

[DandytheCop]

I purchased my crusie and air from Carnival. They told me they had 2 options the Air and sail which they said was more expensive or they could do an internet search for me. Their interent search came out better than what I could find. I actually saved money ($375/pp) because they checked airfare from 4 different airports. I am flying out the day before my cruise and got the times that I wanted. The price I got from united air was more expensive then what carnival got for me.

 

Guess I got lucky.

[vacruizer]

I'm confused. Shouldn't you be working with your travel insurance for reimbursement of hotels/incidentals due to flight delays and not Carnival itself? I know when we were delayed a few years agon and could not get a flight out until next day I had to work directly with the travel insurance company for hotel reimbursement.:confused:

 

It's a rumor that Carnival is responsible when you book air through them and I hate to see the stories when things go wrong. :( Carnival simply functions as a travel agent who books the air for you. I would definitely let someone know of the poor customer service you received from them as well as the crummy flights they booked you on in the first place. But I'm still not sure why Carnival owes you for flight problems? That were out of their control? If anything, it's the airline that owes you. But like I said before, a quick claim with your travel insurance will pay the incidentals like hotel, cabs, meals, clothes, toiletries, etc. Mine paid within about a three weeks of my claim.

 

Not sure what to tell you about the grease - I think I would have just chalked it up to an "oops" type thing and not sure I ever would have thought to try and get Carnival to pay for that. Life happens, things get on your clothes, sometimes clothes are ruined.

Good luck on your next cruise. After one cruise air experience and one close call even though I was flying the day before, we've now started booking air ourselves the morning of the day before the cruise. It's sad but you can no longer count on making the ship same day or even flying the night before.

[phtormey]

You are all so right- not using the air and sea dept is a BIG lesson learned. Flying in the day before is essential, especially for people like us who live at the far end of the airline "spokes" (and always have connections). Even with all the flight trouble, though, we would have considered this cruise line again (indeed we were even in talks with our booking rep about another cruise) had they been reasonable about these reimbursements. I told them I would even take it in the form of onboard credit, which would have actually cost them much less, but despite what their torrent of emails says, with us they hardly seem interested in repeat business.

[GottaLuvCruising]

I'm confused. Shouldn't you be working with your travel insurance for reimbursement of hotels/incidentals due to flight delays and not Carnival itself? I know when we were delayed a few years agon and could not get a flight out until next day I had to work directly with the travel insurance company for hotel reimbursement.:confused:

 

Every travel insurance policy I've seen will cover delays (often only $500 worth) ONLY if scheduled arrival is at least four hours (and usually six hours) prior to ship sailing time. So many people are unaware both of the low coverage amount and the time requirement. For same day flights, coverage is often worthless. These folks incurred problems because Carnival's air / sea did not book them on a an appropriate itinerary (and things went downhill from there). It's unlikely that travel insurance will be of any assistance and certainly would not cover all of their expenses. I think the OP needs to be very aggressive in demanding reimbursement from Carnival.

 

Next time, fly down one day early...

[beach410]

What an awful, terrible experience. While I would never on my own purchase airfare thru Carnival, I guess I have just always heard about the nightmares involved, and always thought I would rather control this aspect myself. But for those who put their faith in Carnival, they are repsonsible for delivering and if they fail, they are responsible for the consequences, the OP shouldnt need insurance for the horrible mistakes made by Carnival. NOt only was their vacation delayed, they had to incurr expenses that they should not have had to and which I believe is Carnival's duty to cover. I dont understand why they cant get this aspect of their business right. I will not however, take the OP's advice and not sail with Carnival, I have enjoyed every cruise thoroughly, but I certainly will only book my cruise with them and never my air or hotel.

[kyrisong1]

I am so sorry you had such a horrible time, I'd be so upset.

I've learned just reading info here to NEVER book air through a cruiseline, I always find my own, it's so much less expensive and I get connections and timelines I'm comfortable with.

Atlanta can be done in 40 minutes because I've done it, however you really need to know that airport to navigate in that timeline,but that said, the airlines have to cooperate by being on time, and that seems to be a big crapshoot with the odds wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy in favor of the airlines lately.

I go a day or two ahead and plan to see the sights of the city I sail out of. It's my comfort zone.

Hope they do offer some compensation for you, I believe that they need to revamp their reservations for air, it doesn't seem to be a positive experience for many.

Carole