Never Cruising Carnival Again - PLEASE read and give me a chance !

[TrevyMcShaw]

If actual damages were incurred, they have just cause for suit. The proof, however, is always in the pudding. That's why they need to come up with actual receipts for the amount of damage. If they can provide concrete proof of money out of pocket due to Carnival's negligence, they should be reimbursed. No, I'm not suggesting that they sue for anything frivilous such as pain and suffering...just for actual expenses.

 

I had to do this exact same thing with Delta.

[RaceMedic]

We STILL laugh at the fact that we were prepared to loose may ONE piece of luggage.

 

1/2 of my clothes were in my wife's and vise versa.

1/2 of my son's clothes were in my daughter's lugage and vise versa.

 

NEVER did we think we would loose it all.

 

I have heard HORROR stories where people don't see their luggage for 4 - 5 days of being on a cruise.

 

Part of our problem was that we DID have insurance and knew clothing would be covered but we were at sea so were limited to what we could buy.

[LemurCat]

Carnival should do the right thing when they have done the wrong thing...

 

 

Hold up here ... we don't *KNOW* who should be doing the right thing. What TA, in their proper mind, would book those flights? Until the OP clarifies if the TA booked this for them through Carnival, no one can go saying who should be doing what.

[kelz66]

It was a total package price .... paid the deposit about 10 months before the trip ... balance 30 days prior ... flight confirmed on Carnival's website 2 weeks prior.

 

Once it was booked there wasn't much more for out TA to do.

 

PLEASE let me be clear ... we have used this TA before and will use them again ... they are GREAT.

 

The TA should of advised you about the flight times and the risks.

 

Did the TA confirm the flight times or did you do all of it on carnivals site?

 

A TA's job is to take care of all of that for you.....not sure why they are blameless in it all?

:confused:

[Lady_Jag]

Wow! That's all I can say, other than I am very sorry to hear about Carnival's lousy customer service. I think your letters were professional and reasonable, and deserve more than a "go away, kid, you're bothering me!" response. :mad:

 

Honestly, I have no idea what I would do in a similar situation, regarding both the cruise and the letters from CCL. You would think that if the situation couldn't be resolved while ON BOARD, that the very least Carnival could do would be to offer you some sort of compensation. After all, they seem proud of their "vacation guarantee." The very least they could do would be offer you a free upgrade and/or some onboard credit for your next cruise.

 

Not that you even ASKED for compensation, which is very admirable in this I-Want-Something-For-Nothing world.

 

Anyway, perhaps your next response should be something like "I will continue to share my horrible experience with anyone who will listen, and no, you will NOT have the opportunity to welcome me back unless you agree to welcome me back at Carnival's expense."

 

Maybe no one at CCL will try to make it right until you actually demand that they make it right. Right? At this point, it's worth a shot. What are they going to do - tell you they're not going to respond anymore? Oh wait...:rolleyes:

[umwife11]

It was a total package price .... paid the deposit about 10 months before the trip ... balance 30 days prior ... flight confirmed on Carnival's website 2 weeks prior.

 

Once it was booked there wasn't much more for out TA to do.

 

PLEASE let me be clear ... we have used this TA before and will use them again ... they are GREAT.

 

That's the part where I respectfully disagree--but I'm biased being related to and having worked for a pretty kick-butt TA in my past ;)

 

Either way--I hope they or someone at Carnival is able to get something resolved for you. Your TA's biggest weapon now may be threatening to pull her group from that upcoming CCL cruise; that might get someone's attention, but I have no idea how feasible that is.

 

But I know for example, that's what's helped my mother get somewhere when she's had issues in the past. There are a few airlines and cruise lines she will no longer work with because of horrible customer service issues in the past; some have tried to fight to get her business back, others have just written her and her clientele off. C'est la vie.

 

Good luck and I hope the experience doesn't turn you off cruising forever...it's still one of the best vacation experiences :)

[RaceMedic]

CARNIVAL booked the flights for us and it was ALL confirmed on their site ... whether my TA checked it or not ... not sure .... they feel bad for what has happened and that is why they have offered us our next booking at their cost but they also feel Carnival has dropped the ball on taking caring of a customer.

 

Again .... CARNIVAL assured me it was not a problem on 2 different occasions so I don't THINK I brought my concern to my TA's attention.

 

We have not travelled very much at all and again .... TRUSTED Carnival to take care of their customer.

 

A LOT of lessons learned.

[Pegs222]

Folks .....

 

First THANK-YOU for commenting about my personal info being on the letters ... STUPID me ... didn't even think of that.

 

For those who MAY want to read my story ... feel free to.

 

The purpose of this post is for new cruisers to learn from our mistake ... that is all.

 

ALL I AM SAYING IS THIS .... I trusted Carnival to take care of a first time, inexperienced cruiser.

 

We feel that they did not ... could have made some simple gestures to keep us as a future client and it simply appears that THEY DON'T CARE.

 

Here are my letters …..

 

http://www.racemedical.com/Letter-1.pdf

http://www.racemedical.com/Letter-2.pdf

http://www.racemedical.com/Letter-3.pdf

http://www.racemedical.com/Letter-4.pdf

 

Letter 1 & 3 are from myself …. Letter 2 & 4 are their response.

 

Dave

 

I honestly do not see why you are so upset. Carnival told you they are not responsible for the airlines. You knew when the ship was going to leave and you knew when your flight was going to get there. You do not need to be a past cruiser to wonder if you are going to have enough time to get to the ship. You could have come in the day before.

 

They apologized to you; what more could you expect once you are back home? You could have rented a tux. Why do you think they should have given you one?

 

You did not purchase the insurance. There is only so much they could have done for you.

 

This is a prime reason to purchase the insurance and either book your own flights or have the cruise line book it a day early.

[kelz66]

CARNIVAL booked the flights for us and it was ALL confirmed on their site ... whether my TA checked it or not ... not sure .... they feel bad for what has happened and that is why they have offered us our next booking at their cost but they also feel Carnival has dropped the ball on taking caring of a customer.

 

Again .... CARNIVAL assured me it was not a problem on 2 different occasions so I don't THINK I brought my concern to my TA's attention.

 

We have not travelled very much at all and again .... TRUSTED Carnival to take care of their customer.

 

A LOT of lessons learned.

 

Did you deal directly with Carnival for booking the cruise and your flights or did your TA deal with them?

 

:confused::confused::confused:

[LemurCat]

CARNIVAL booked the flights for us and it was ALL confirmed on their site ... whether my TA checked it or not ... not sure .... they feel bad for what has happened and that is why they have offered us our next booking at their cost but they also feel Carnival has dropped the ball on taking caring of a customer.

 

Again .... CARNIVAL assured me it was not a problem on 2 different occasions so I don't THINK I brought my concern to my TA's attention.

 

We have not travelled very much at all and again .... TRUSTED Carnival to take care of their customer.

 

A LOT of lessons learned.

 

So ... if your TA didn't book the cruise and didn't make a commission off of the cruise ... why are you involving them after the fact? I don't understand that. They have no legal responsibility to you and in fact could be harming your relationship with Carnival.

 

Yeah, I agree you got the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Your instincts warned you, you were assured things would be okay and they didn't turn out that way. But I don't see how getting a TA who didn't have the booking after the fact is helpful to your cause. I think sending a certified letter to the address listed earlier is one of the best things you can do, as well as trusting your instincts in the future when it comes to these things.

[RaceMedic]

We WILL cruise again ....

 

First letter did not demand compensation and I tried to ( and believe I did ) write professionally, respectfully, but firm on how we were upset.

 

It was THEIR customer service rep that told me in a phone conversation to DEMAND compensation, which I did in my 2nd letter ( Letter #3).

[Wennfred]

The links worked for me and I only read the first letter. Lessons learned, always fly in a day before cruise date, more so if coming from Canada.

 

You had it right when you had concerns about flying in at 2pm of the day of, but right there you should of taken action. If Carnival wouldn't change the flight I would of Canceled the Fly-aweigh and booked it yourself.

 

Again, this could of happened on any Cruiseline. Lessons Learned.

 

 

 

Fred

[Pegs222]

CARNIVAL booked the flights for us and it was ALL confirmed on their site ... whether my TA checked it or not ... not sure .... they feel bad for what has happened and that is why they have offered us our next booking at their cost but they also feel Carnival has dropped the ball on taking caring of a customer.

 

Again .... CARNIVAL assured me it was not a problem on 2 different occasions so I don't THINK I brought my concern to my TA's attention.

 

We have not travelled very much at all and again .... TRUSTED Carnival to take care of their customer.

 

A LOT of lessons learned.

 

 

You talked to Carnival even though you have a TA? They will not talk to you if you have a TA. Once you book with a TA, Carnival will not talk to you, only your TA.

[Vanessa L]

My original response still stands, IF you had found this board as easily BEFORE the fact, rather than AFTER, you would know something everyone here already knows:

 

1. Carnival customer service sucks. Always has, always will. Doesn't keep me from sailing them. I love their prices and I go into it knowing that if anything goes wrong, I am SOL.

2. Never, ever, ever, ever, book your air through Carnival. Their itineraries suck and as you've seen, they don't give one rat's iota of care if it mucks up your cruise (see #1).

 

I hate that you had to learn this lesson the hard way, but the information is here for the taking for anyone that chooses to find it prior to cruising.

[RaceMedic]

My TA is staying involved because they are a family run business and have ALWAYS valued return customers ... and referrals ... gee something Carnival can learn from. :)

 

I don't think they have an obligation to stay involved but value me as a client ... gee another lesson for Carnival. :)

 

Sorry ... finally some sarcasm coming out !

[pearlandmom]

I am just stunned at the ridiculously negative responses to the OP by people who obviously either didn't read all the letters or didn't read all the information the OP provided in the rest of this thread. :rolleyes:

 

Racemedic, I'm sorry this happened to you and your family. "Carnival" is a company and like any other company, it is only as good as the employees who work for it. The employees you dealt with all through this ordeal dropped the ball. Keep fighting until you find the employee at Carnival who will make this right - even if you have to go all the way to the top!

[Wennfred]

Lessons Learned number 2

 

Fire that T/A, Your T/A should of known that a 2pm arrival was cutting it way to close even with flying with Canada Air.

 

 

The blame game falls on your T/A for lack of knowledge of what could and always happens when you fly in on the day of.

 

 

 

Fred

[twoputt.plusone]

Once it was booked there wasn't much more for out TA to do.

 

Not so but since this was your first cruise, you'd have no way of knowing that. I had our cruiseline flights changed twice last year.

 

2P.P1

[Nunu]

So the OP being an inexperienced cruiser is being slammed for trusting the cruise line to look after his needs as well as being unaware of this board and knowing to fly in a day early. Amazing.

[sailor44]

Lessons Learned number 2

 

Fire that T/A, Your T/A should of known that a 2pm arrival was cutting it way to close even with flying with Canada Air.

 

 

The blame game falls on your T/A for lack of knowledge of what could and always happens when you fly in on the day of.

 

 

 

Fred

 

I am even surprised that anyone at Carnival even spoke to you about your flights prior to the cruise.

 

Their policy is that if you book with a TA, you have to have the TA deal with Carnival on your behalf.

 

Carnival usually asks this as a first question when you call and refers you to your TA.

[Ephraim]

Commendable by your agent.

 

I wonder if maybe things might have changed if you had asked them to do the Vacation Guarantee... somehow having to refund all your money and fly you back from the next port seems a lot more expensive than lending you some formal wear.

[gracie65]

You talked to Carnival even though you have a TA? They will not talk to you if you have a TA. Once you book with a TA, Carnival will not talk to you, only your TA.

 

This is what I was thinking as well. I've always read here that if you booked with TA you can't deal with Carnival.

Pegs222: If you read back through the posts the OP does say he had insurance. That too is part of the problem in that Carnival is not sending him a letter saying his bags were delayed so he can file the claim. I'm sure that was missed has fast as this thread has gone.

[Wennfred]

I am just stunned at the ridiculously negative responses to the OP by people who obviously either didn't read all the letters or didn't read all the information the OP provided in the rest of this thread. :rolleyes:

 

Racemedic, I'm sorry this happened to you and your family. "Carnival" is a company and like any other company, it is only as good as the employees who work for it. The employees you dealt with all through this ordeal dropped the ball. Keep fighting until you find the employee at Carnival who will make this right - even if you have to go all the way to the top!

 

My PDF reader works fine and I read the first page. Since he booked with a clueless T/A, it was the T/A that should of informed their Customer about the possibility of missing their cruise. Their T/A should of taken Action and have assisted with changing their flight.

 

How many times have we read on here about flying with Air Canada and the many delays and layovers they have had causing many Canadians their flights. Many Stories and from other canadians I have met onboard.

 

 

 

Fred

[RaceMedic]

Need to go off to work tonight so I can not answer any more questions promptly ... Iwill check again from work tonight.

 

THANK-YOU for ALL the feedback ... Positive and Negative :confused:

 

Dave

[Lady_Jag]

I honestly do not see why you are so upset. Carnival told you they are not responsible for the airlines. You knew when the ship was going to leave and you knew when your flight was going to get there. You do not need to be a past cruiser to wonder if you are going to have enough time to get to the ship. You could have come in the day before.

 

They apologized to you; what more could you expect once you are back home? You could have rented a tux. Why do you think they should have given you one?

 

You did not purchase the insurance. There is only so much they could have done for you.

 

This is a prime reason to purchase the insurance and either book your own flights or have the cruise line book it a day early.

 

Now see, this is the prime reason why we have so much lousy customer service these days.

(Sorry to quote YOUR post Pegs, but it was the latest one, and this post is growing exponentially.)

 

Anyway, my point is that we just sit back and accept lousy customer service, even to the point of blaming the customer for a company's shortcomings!

 

"Oh! I'm sorry you were dissatisfied with the fact that we booked your flight so close to the departure time, but it's your own &$^% fault for allowing us to book your flight and not holding our hands and telling us specifically at what time you need to be there to get to the ship and which keys to press to enter that info."

 

Uh-uh. "Sorry, now leave us alone" just doesn't cut it. Consumers NEED to do as Racemedic did and call people out on this sub-par service. If more consumers stopped just accepting lousy service as the norm, then more companies would start stepping up to make sure they deliver acceptable service. By just taking it and saying "well, it's your fault for not booking your flight yourself/buying insurance/fixing the situation on your own/flying the plane/taking a cab/whatEVER" we are simply enabling this scenario.