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

[sundercruiser]

The problem I have is that he says he has a TA, but says he talked to Carnival. That is something that is a big No No. They will not talk to you. Does he have a TA or not. I still think we have not heard the whole story.

 

OP says he talked to Carnival about his concerns about the airflight arrangements, despite (I guess) having booked his cruise through a TA. So what? He called Carnival to ask them a question, they answered. As a first-time cruiser and not a CC member at the time, presumably he didn't know the arcane rules about whether Carnival will talk to you about your stuff if you're using a TA. You have a cruise with Carnival, you call up and talk to Carnival. Seems reasonable to me. If Carnival doesn't want to talk to you because you booked with a TA, THEN CARNIVAL SHOULDN'T TALK TO YOU! It's up to Carnival to enforce their own rules, isn't it?

[megr1125]

TO the OP...

 

very sorry about your experience....leaves me wondering as i prepare for my 1st CCL cruise....(but i've had isssues with RCCL too!)

 

Well written letters, and CCL is demonstrating lousy customer service....

 

hope it all works out for you.....i would continue to push through the TA as well as on your own...

 

and to the cheerleaders and bashers, sheesh.....can't ANYONE believe that ANY COMPANY can screw up without dismissing a person's experience as impossible??? There are other companies to which I am loyal-travel providers, grocers, cleaning supply makers and pop tart bakers...and when THEY manufacture, sell or promote something that is a piece of crap, I am going to tell them!

[RaceMedic]

OP says he talked to Carnival about his concerns about the airflight arrangements, despite (I guess) having booked his cruise through a TA. So what? He called Carnival to ask them a question, they answered. As a first-time cruiser and not a CC member at the time, presumably he didn't know the arcane rules about whether Carnival will talk to you about your stuff if you're using a TA. You have a cruise with Carnival, you call up and talk to Carnival. Seems reasonable to me. If Carnival doesn't want to talk to you because you booked with a TA, THEN CARNIVAL SHOULDN'T TALK TO YOU! It's up to Carnival to enforce their own rules, isn't it?

 

THANK-YOU Sundercruiser ......

 

I am not sure why Pegg continues to attack me but I can take it ... and YES .... you do have the FULL story !!!

[HawaiiFiveOh]

Until I found this website, I did not know that you couldn't talk to Carnival directly if you had a TA. In fact, I did not know this until this month.

 

OMG This is so frustrating.

 

I wish I was like Pegs and know EVERYTHING there is to know and to know ALL the questions to ask about Everything. Seems to me that he saw something that didn't look right and called the people that he thought would be the appropriate people to ask those questions of. Wow who would have thought that those assumptions were wrong?

 

Next time I have a question I will be sure to come here and ask everyone, who should I direct those questions to? Maybe since "Some" people have all the answers they will direct me to the correct channel. Oh..but then again, if I ask those questions here, am I going to get the correct answer or better yet, get nasty responses on how I should search a forum before asking those questions?

 

Gonna just shut up for now.

[Nunu]

Until I found this website, I did not know that you couldn't talk to Carnival directly if you had a TA. In fact, I did not know this until this month.

 

OMG This is so frustrating.

 

I wish I was like Pegs and know EVERYTHING there is to know and to know ALL the questions to ask about Everything. Seems to me that he saw something that didn't look right and called the people that he thought would be the appropriate people to ask those questions of. Wow who would have thought that those assumptions were wrong?

 

Next time I have a question I will be sure to come here and ask everyone, who should I direct those questions to? Maybe since "Some" people have all the answers they will direct me to the correct channel. Oh..but then again, if I ask those questions here, am I going to get the correct answer or better yet, get nasty responses on how I should search a forum before asking those questions?

 

Gonna just shut up for now.

 

Do you do dictation?

[HawaiiFiveOh]

Do you do dictation?

 

No, but I can type really fast with a small amount of typos :p

 

Oh and VERY organized too. :D

[sundercruiser]

YES .... you do have the FULL story !!!

 

Just wondering, since you're responding to a later post and might not have seen my earlier query -- did Carnival suggest you pay the deviation fee and schedule a flight the day before the cruise either of the times you called them with your concerns about your flight arrangements? If, as I suspect, they didn't, then I really feel they screwed up and led a first-time cruiser into a real trap of their own devising.

[Nunu]

No, but I can type really fast with a small amount of typos :p

 

Oh and VERY organized too. :D

 

Are you opposed to drinking on the job?

[groverrh]

The problem I have is that he says he has a TA, but says he talked to Carnival. That is something that is a big No No. They will not talk to you. Does he have a TA or not. I still think we have not heard the whole story.

 

I did say I felt bad for the OP that he missed the ship. He has insurance, what more can Carnival do. They apparently have given him a discount on the next cruise.

 

Well, first of all you are ASSUMING you haven't heard the whole story. And because he does something he isn't supposed to do (talk to Carnival about the problem) you don't think Carnival did anything wrong?

 

Sometimes TAs, especially the small agencies, give their clients the agency information so the client can handle problems that come up outside business hours. They aren't supposed to, but they are trying to help their client. Sometimes the Carnival rep on the phone forgets to ask if the client has a TA. And the client isn't supposed to be responsible for knowing they can't talk to Carnival directly. The OP, I believe, simply called to express concern about a flight arriving so close to the ship and the rep shot off a quick, dismissive, answer without asking about the client's booking number or if he had a TA. Yes, that is an assumption, but it is one I have seen happen in the past.

 

He didn't miss the ship, his luggage did. All it would have taken was a free Tux rental and there would be no problem now. Carnival HAS NOT given him a discount on his next cruise, his TA has offered a discount out of his commission. The OP didn't ask Carnival for the price of clothing because he knew his insurance would cover it. All he really wanted on the ship was something appropriate to wear to formal night.

 

You are making a lot of errors in your assumptions of what the OP said. Some of them clearly stated by him in previous posts. Should we assume that you have an agenda here? Or should we give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you just didn't read the posts completely?

[newcatintown]

Now that this has been brought to John's attention, you can bet that Carnival is aware of the crappy way this has been handled and that many are now aware of how badly they treated a passenger. Maybe they'll print up a bunch of tux vouchers for future use.:p

[calgarygary]

This is such a difficult thread to read - it really can raise the blood pressure so I hope the OP is keeping up to date on the medication.

 

First, I truely hope the mods keep this thread alive - it is a great educational thread that deserves not to be closed and hopefully never yanked.

 

Second, I do not understand how so many were so quick to jump all over the OP but it was so refreshing for a few to actually come back and apologize for being quick to judge when the links were not working.

 

Third, the OP was not seeking the world but as this mess drags on, I think the OP has every right to demand Carnival to step up and make a proper restitution.

 

I have occasionally posted about the customer service that I experienced on Celebrity and will do so again. Having done some research, I did know to arrange my own flights a day early for a cruise out of San Juan. Unfortunately, our connecting flight first had a mechanical issue and then 1" of snow shut down DFW so we were stranded at the airport overnight. AA for the most part provided a text book example of bad customer service. Jump forward 1 day - we arrive onboard missing one piece of luggage, unshowered, wearing the same clothes from 36 hours earlier. EEWWW! We had been told to take the form re. the luggage to the concierge so when doing so, advised him that there would be a number of late arrivals and missing luggage because of DFW. He provided us clean shirts, toiletry kits, and laundry coupons. Celebrity had no involvement with our travel plans but they took ownership of their customer. Carnival could learn from their service model and not follow that of AA.

[Mo61]

I don't doubt that you had a bad experience, and I'm personally surprised by Carnival's responses. But while I'm certainly not as experienced as some on here, I've been on two Carnival cruises, and am about to go on my third, and have never had any problems of any kind. I have found their Customer Service to be excellent (for me, at least). My next cruise in June is the first time I will have used their Fly Aweigh program, but I am really impressed with the flight plan so far. Sure, we're leaving Dallas very early in the morning, but that's ok. We arrive in Vancouver 5 hours before the ship leaves. That should be plenty of time to get off and make it through U.S. Direct. If our luggage doesn't make it to the ship, then Alaska Air has bigger problems than Sarah Palin (bless her heart). We have a two hour layover in Seattle to change planes, but SeaTac isn't that big that we can't make it, even if delayed. Coming home is about the same....seems to be well planned and timed. But you never know, I may be on here in late June with my own horror story. But for now, I find Carnival very competent, accomodating, and RaceMedic had a personally bad experience all around.

[Fazzdaan]

The OP didn't ask Carnival for the price of clothing because he knew his insurance would cover it. All he really wanted on the ship was something appropriate to wear to formal night.

 

Did I miss something, specifically that the OP had insurance?

 

Edited: Never mind, I found that in letter #3.

[7toEleven]

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.

 

I'm sure I read that Carnival booked the flight. That goes way back to the beginning of this thread. That is one of the issues, they booked the flight and right from the beginning it was too close to the ships departure, which the OP tried to get corrected from the beginning. OP-Good luck with this, you have a very legitimate complaint. Enjoy your next cruise!

[HawaiiFiveOh]

Are you opposed to drinking on the job?

 

Depends on the time of day. Umm don't look now, but we are highjacking a thread.

 

To the OP, I do hope that your issues get resolved. Although at this point the only issue would be a 20% discount on a future cruise, correct? Since they can no longer do anything about the Tux rental, it seems like a discount can be the only compensation. Good luck.

[Chat Noir]

You have valid complaints, my opinion.

 

We've had our own poor Carnival experience (Alaska) followed by poor customer service. We never, ever book Carnival now unless it is an exceptional bargain, and don't purchase excursions, goodies, or extras onboard.

 

I have steered at least 7 different people away from booking Carnival in Alaska that I know of for certain. May not make a difference to Carnival, but sure makes me feel better. :)

 

I do like Princess, have had nothing but great experience with them, but it does bug me that they are under the Carnival Corportation umbrella!

[7toEleven]

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.

 

 

REALLY!! You don't see why he is upset?? I don't see why you can't see why he is upset!! Incredible!

[7toEleven]

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.

 

So.......................you are saying he isn't telling the truth???

[Nunu]

REALLY!! You don't see why he is upset?? I don't see why you can't see why he is upset!! Incredible!

 

That's nothing one of the earlier posters said I don't know why you are upset and then admitted they didn't bother reading the letters!

[chadinennistx]

I feel that my assessment of his situation was relevant because now that I have read his letters and responses I'll restate my original point. What makes him think this is just a Carnival problem?

 

Had he been a more informed/experienced traveler he would have known better than to let any cruise line book him that close to ship departure. Why wasn't he traveling with his meds? Are you sure that all other cruise lines would have offered him a tux??? (I didn't even know there was such a thing) And how did his 2nd formal night go after his luggage arrived. Gee, I'm sorry that he was humiliated to shake hands with the Captain in blue jeans. And why didn't he take them up on the offer to change planes and get there ontime?

 

 

 

I read the letters, and If there is such a thing as a tux voucher then he and his son should have been offerred them by the purser's desk. But my point still stands, this isn't a problem that is exclusive to Carnival.

 

And as it turns out he's not so outraged that he wouldn't accept a 20% discount on his next Carnival cruise to make up for having to shaking hands with the Captain while wearing blue jeans.

this post and your first post are so incredible it makes you shake your head and say "*****."//good luck OP and hope you have a better experience with another cruiseline.

[megr1125]

Are you opposed to drinking on the job?

 

well, i for one am not! sometimes drinking at work helps!:p (i used to work for a CPA firm...we had wine and cheese every month....even during tax season......;):eek:

 

i'm good at crunching numbers.....i have a blender....

 

and i can cook....AND bake!

[Nunu]

this post and your first post are so incredible it makes you shake your head and say "*****"

 

Shame on him for being a first time traveller!

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

Hey Dave, I am really sorry that you had a terrible terrible first time experience and hope that this will pass. I am also glad that you got a free vacation out of it from those clueless T/A that you are working with, hopefully you can get it right the next time.

 

 

Fred

 

 

Clueless TA? Come on Fred are you for real? Yeah maybe they could have warned him those flight times were cutting it close but CARNIVAL is the one that booked the flights. CARNIVAL on two different occasions told him not to worry about those flight times. CARNIVAL is the one that did NOT follow up getting their luggage to the first port. CARNIVAL is the one that offered them no assistance on board with anything.

 

Put the pom poms away and put yourself in their position. CARNIVAL as much as I enjoy their cruises totally dropped the ball and frankly in an age of non existent customer service it does not shock me at all.

[7toEleven]

Excuse me but you do not have to be a cheerleader or a rocket scientist to get the fact that you know when you flights leave and when your ship leaves. You do not have to be on this board to figure that out either. I would think when someone spends the amount of money that they do on a vacation they would make sure they understood just what is going on.

 

But Pegs222, he did try remember. He called Carnival about this very issue, and was assured all was good, not to worry.

[above sea level cruiser]

Did any part of the cruise prove to be enjoyable? The ports, the ship? The service? The entertainment? The food? The bedding? The cabin? People you met? Anything?

 

Dan

 

 

Not meeting you would be my bet.:mad: