Read the reviews below to see the experience other people have had when dealing with customer service from Carnival Cruises.
HI,
I am a travel agent with cruise brothers, and today I spoke to Samuel Garriga, to help me fix 2 bookings, I wanted to say how wonderful he was, even thou this call took along time, he was so friendly and helpful, and I just want to let you all know, what a wonderful worker you have in him.
Helen Elkins
Don't cruise anymore I would find a better way to travel because once you pay you are at the mercy of companies that are not fully regulated and subjected to any laws because even thought they are in the US and publically traded they make it so difficult unless they are in the news to get and fair treatment. Be careful when you book you do lose your rights as an American. I've cruised 5 different cruise lines and about 14 cruises. It the maritime rules. For all intents and purposes these companies would bankrupt but since there salary costs are so low via tips and treating employees like 3rd world employess which they are they save 35% of costs due to no to low salaries. There food costs at less than 19% ( fact ) so gas and maintance costs are 30% so they are 60-70% pure profit. And if they by fuel futures and the cost in the future is low they can lock in even lower prices. All this is facts I have learned by talking to Sr staff on cruises. So remember they treat and pay employees like crap / food costs are low because of bulk and overseas purchases and fuel costs and be limited based on futures options. And they are no fully regulated by anyone but themselves. This is why they can build newer and bigger ships ever year but claim they hardly make any money its at like a perimid scheme, where are the class action lawyers!!
My cruise to Europe this year for 12 days is $3,200 for my room another cruise 2 weeks prior is $1,200 less than my room. The only difference is the stop we have 2 in Ireland and the other has 2 in Norway. Why such a price difference? Don't speculate because my ship has plenty of rooms available in my category so please. I need facts
Let me start by saying we have enjoyed the last three cruise we took as while as our family and friends we have going on this cruise in May for my husbands 40th birthday but after the way the associate I speak with today about the price I saw on your website about past guest VIFT member offers that dropped from $439.. Per person to $289 Per person when asking Joe the supervisor if we qualify for the discount and advised him your website states ( If our price drops your price drops guarantee we are not asking for money back even if you can give us on board credit because we spend over $1000 in alcohol and gambling and gifts and Joe laugh and was very rude with me advised me I should have knew what we were booking and he can not help me. His customer service is very unprofessional and would not allow me to get a word in edge wise. I advised him if that is the way a supervisor treats his customers that pay his salary than I will have my daughter choose another ship to have her wedding on in July and I will advised my family and friends that have booked this ship with us in May for my husbands 40th birthday how he spoke with me and we will take out business elsewhere. I advised him with all the trouble carnival has had lately they would bend over back forward to accommodate the customer they have going and not running again he laughed and stated no one has go hurt by the problem they have had with the three ships and they have not lost any customer as of yet and I advised him after this cruise they will and we have 8 cabins booked. He replied we have been in business for 40 years and the few people you have in your group will not be enough to hurt us. I advised him it will because I to work for a large corporate office and any one of our associate to our customers like you have spoken to me we would not have a business. I advised him to have a nice day.
One Dissatisfied lost customers.
The first night on board we noticed black curled human hair all over our pillows and toilet.
Secondly, we had a balcony cabin which had a very serious problem. The balcony was useless for any enjoyment because the ceiling leaked white marine paint and rust constantly. This substance rained on us and our clothing ruining them.
Thirdly, upon our return to Victoria B.C.,we were further traumatized by a hazardous and terrifying trip by ship tender. The tender had 22 passengers and lost its way in the dark. Waves were crashing into the tender and at one point the crew thought the engine was in trouble and picked up the floorboard to check it. Passengers called 911 to request emergency help people were panicking , thinking we would founder on the rocks and drown, and the crew did not give us any information on the status of the tender nor reassure us that they were in control of the situation. They had lost there way and we spent one and a half hours in the dark buffeted by strong wind and heavy waves searching for the proper dock before I had to intervene and show them the location of fisherman's wharf where we landed. Lucky im from Victoria and knew the area. That port was cancelled for the rest of the carnival spirit ship because the water was to rough. I will never go on a carnival rust bucket again. They did offer me a $100 credit of my next cruse. Ya right!!!
They said if I say anything that there lawyers would be in contact with me.
I will never book another cruise with Carnival ever! Had the worst experience with customer service. We flew have way down the country and were told our cruise was canceled. Called in to see what our options were and the people were not helpful at all. The one guy told us to change our flight to LA to get on another ship then after we did he said the room had been taken. When we asked so now what we have flights to LA. He said he didn't know what to say. How helpful! Plus he was trying to charge us more to go on a 4 day cruise to chilly ports, nothing like the carribean cruise we were suppose to be on. I was on the phone for over 3 hours mostly waiting for this guy for nothing! In the middle of the airport. So big mess, more stress than being home. I still can't believe how Carnival treats their customers. Thanks for nothing Carnival!!!!
We booked a cruise with carnival of Feb. 11
We drove to Galveston, rented a hotel room bought food. We did not get a call until Sunday morning stating that our cruise was cancelled. We were told that we would get a 25% discount and will not get reimbursed on what we spent. We booked as a xmas present for our children. We paid 1400 with taxes because it was in feb. I tried to tell them that I did not cancel the cruise,they canceled on me. Now I have to tell two boys that they are not going on a cruise because we can not afford to pay extra for the same cruise that we booked in feb. we have 21 days cruised with carnival they really care about there customers.
I just got back from the Carnival Imagination tour to Nassau, Bahamas. I went with my Mom and seven girlfriends, and we had a fantabulous time!! I have to suspect that a lot of these posters are snobby nit-pickers. The ship was gorgeous, the service was amazing, the food was delicious and available 24 hours a day. Every question answered promptly. It was my first cruise, and I am not wealthy, so it was a thrill just to be able to go. I was delighted with every aspect, no complaints at all.
Just two weeks ago, I went on the Carnival Inspiration 4D Baja Mexico cruise spanning Thanksgiving with my parents and my grand-aunt. Our experience was subpar due to an amalgamation of reasons, and I sent this review to the Carnival executive office for future improvement, but received no response for the entire week, so have no choice but to start seeking other venues to voice my dissatisfaction.
This was our family's first time on Carnival Cruises, but we have been on your sister company Princess to Alaska and Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas, so have experience to contrast against. Traveling is one of my life passions and I do so fairly extensively (about 3 times internationally a year) and hope to sustain a recent tradition of cruising annually since my mother has especially loved cruise experiences.
For a Thanksgiving cruise that came at a premium for (and I even booked a suite for my parents - we were in V25 & M219), I expected all the services promised to us delivered, but they were not. One of my parent's key fascinations with cruises stems from the variety of nightly productions and comedy shows on board, and on this specific cruise, the Fiesta Latina show was cancelled Tuesday night with nothing to replace it, and then again Wednesday night, with "Showtime" to replace it. Unfortunately, that same "Showtime" was repeated Thursday night, leaving no real value-add.
This was a key letdown for us because in our minds, the 4 value foundations of a cruise are the floating hotel, the food, the service, the entertainment, and that last two were significantly lacking. We were never told what these "circumstances beyond our control was" and I feel that a great company has a contingency plan especially on such a big holiday cruise. Even having 2 separate, less glamorous shows instead of one cancelled and another repeat would have been a huge boon, and we had never experienced such low quality on Royal or Princess.
My next 2 issues deal with safety & hygiene on-board the ship. First, I recognize that Carnival is a family-oriented cruise, but better emphasis needs to be placed on parents to take care of the children or more attentiveness from staff members need be exercised. My aunt of age 77 was knocked over by 2 youngsters on the Lido deck the first day. Fortunately, she was fine, but had she suffered an injury, Carnival would have a potential general liability claim on their hands. I am an actuary in an insurance company, so I know this risk is simply too significant to ignore. Next, I noticed that virtually nobody on Carnival uses the hand sanitizer before meals. When we were on Royal & especially Princess, there was only 1 entrance to the buffet lines, always with a staff member there to request customers to use the sanitizer. Perhaps this is why Carnival is often on the news concerning norovirus outbreaks, as recently as May of this year. The fix in adopting models that have worked on other sister lines should not be onerous, so I strongly encourage this change on Carnival.
Service in some areas need improvement, and 3 small illustrations can highlight this well. First, when I was in line at the Fun Shops, I overheard a lady asking one of the staff members about their work schedules and environment, and she immediately groused about how they got no time off between cruises, how she worked 7 days a week with low pay, that as soon as one group disembarked, another boarded. Corporations have to maximize profit, but they can also do so in a way that their employees do not feel unsatisfied, and it was disconcerting to hear such an experience as a customer.
My time at the craps table in the Monte Carlo Casino was unsettling as well, because the young lady working my side was most inexperienced, and I caught her twice distributing incorrect winnings to me, and fear that I may have missed more. I recognize that being a craps dealer is not easy and I probably make more complex bets than many people, but the training needs to improve and again, I did not experience this at all on Royal or Princess. Finally, and perhaps this is due to over-heightened expectations, I expected a suite booking to come with more amenities. For examples, in other lines, VIP access comes with access to private clubs, private pools (which would've been tremendous given the number of kids in the Lido ones), fresh flowers, and more attentive service, but all my parents received were priority embarkation and de-embarkation, 35 more square footage of space, and a 30 square foot balcony for nearly double the price. I simply cannot find a compelling reason for clients to book in a Carnival suite, which is ironic because the high-end market when treated properly tends to be most high-margin as well, so a few extra courtesies could go a long way.
I want to highlight the positives as well on the cruise, so that Carnival can continue to improve its strengths. The mini golf facilities and waterworks available are great for kids and grown ups alike, since even my parents enjoyed trying the variety of entertainment on board. Food is wonderfully crafted, although the soups were consistently too salty. Our rooms were well-serviced and the dining staff top-notch in professionalism and courtesy. The many lounges, bars, galleries provided the multifarious environments we had come to expect on cruises. Shore excursions went smoothly and we enjoyed a fun time on them.
So, what is the consequence of all this? Well, we will not be using Carnival's services again and unless Carnival addresses this issue for us, will try to let the world know of our experience so that future customers know what to avoid.
Reported loss of prosthetic eye during cruise. Continous calls to guest services and trips in person. Took 2 days to get an actual report written. It stated not reported for 2 days. I will only mention brief encounters with ill prepared guest services to handle. Told they would type the report then forward. Never received, went down to get, was told it was delivered and slipped under door...never saw. Said will print new copy, copy(?) in envelope with name & cabin was brought out front in under 1 minute--my assumption it never was delivered to the cabin...what do you think? Tried on several computers--work and personal to reach the email given in the letter received from carnival about the "claim"""lost item""". which was received after I responded yes I had purchased the insurance. In the middle of this a "guest service person" called me down saying we found your "eye". When I looked, I was dumbfounded and said "IS THIS SOME KIND OF A SICK JOKE?" It was a broken plastic eyeball from a doll, stuffed animal, or whatever with plastic prongs in the back. I showed my picture from the Captains dinner with "eye" and my face now. Big difference, the cost for a new prothesis is considerable and now I am trying to get results. I won't even go into the cabin service...which started out great and then went down hill. Also pair of prescription sunglasses missing from room. So intent on loss of prosthetic eye, didn't get to that claim. First cruise, probably last.
Carnival Valor - sailing NOV05 -10 2012.
I want to express my gratitude to NATHALIA in guest services, the hairdryer in the room broke. I informed my cabin stewart nothing was done to replace it there were no spare ones. I called the spa and they told me it would cost$35.00. I went to guest services and NATHALIA provided me with her personal hairdryer. She fixed the problem and I can't believe Carnival do not have back up portables.
IDA CAIRNEY CABIN 2223
Our 7-day Carnival Cruise on the Pride was cancelled on Sunday 10/28/12 @ 3:00 after thay had everyone board the ship. This was after the entire world was alerted to the fact that there was no east coast water travel due to Hurricane "Sandy". We were travelling with a party of 17. Not one of us was ever notified by bemergency phone contact, or txt, even though Carnival insists on requiring these contact #'s. After arriving in our dirty, half-clean suites, with dirty rags all about our rooms, & unpacked in suites that were NOTHING like the pictures Carnival represented, an announcement was made, by the cruise director, NOT the Captain Alessabdri Galatto, half-jokingly that we were to leave the ship ASAP, & the cruise was cancelled. We ALL thought it was a joke. Then we realized Carnival never intended to sail the ship. The captain, & officers were never seen. Only attendants seen throughout the ship were the housekeeping people. We finally got our bags @ 6:00. No food, or drinks, not even water were ever available to anyone. There were 3 diabetics,& 1 asthmatic in our group. After we begged for something to eat, or drink, we were then told to go to an above floor & they would get some sandwiches for us. NEVER did anyone check on us, or anyone else we spoke to. We were just treated like cattle!!! All of usw have traveled on many cruises. Carnival should be ashamed for the way they treated all 2200 customers. 2 weddings were to take place on the ship on Sunday, & both brides were in their gowns, waiting to get marries with families & friends there...can't even imagine how they felt. Where was our beloved captain alessandro galotto??? Obviously he & his beloved officers were off ship, somewhere safe. Once Carnival told us to board ship, & we set foot on the ship, we became their responsability!!! What a joke. Oh, but they're going to refund our cruise, + 25% off on a future cruise. Are they kidding??? What a joke!!! 100% off & we would have to seriously consider going. 25% off is an insult for the way they treated their supposed 2200 guests. We purchased trip insurance so we get the same refund everyone else gets, less the $218.00 for the insurance. Oh yes, & what about all the passengers who arrived via air, how do you think they were able to get home when all airports on east coast were closing? Carnival didn't care? Oh yes, the Pride was a joke. Carnival absolutely misrepresented the rooms. No hangers, or robes, old TV's, very small deck on the VIP suites, & we never could find the closets we were told we had. All Carnival had to do is cancel the cruise prior to Sunday. Instead alessandro galotto left 2200 people to be attended to by a few hundred service employees who abviously had NO idea what they were to do, but they did try to keep insisting we get off the ship without our bags. When we all called Carnival on Monday 10/29 Carnival customer service was shoked that we were all on the ship. They were all told the Pride cancelled the cruise, but were never told we all boarded. alessandro galotto just wasn't there!!! All we expected is a little service, some food, & drink (water), white we waited 4 hours to leave the ship!!!
Just got off of the Carnival Sensation we stayed on the Riviera Deck room #R-100 it was infested with Bed Bugs! We went to guest services they would not accommodate us to another room. There was blood spots on the mattress and sheets they never changed them or anything. Guest services were horrible!
Went to medical to treat the bits we had they didnt want to help us!
CARNIVAL CRUISES SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN!! They do not care about their passengers at ALL!!
Have just returned home from Med. cruise on board Carnival Breeze - left Barcelona 19 Sept. Well what a big disappointment this cruise was. See I have cruised with them before - 4 times on beautiful ships such as the Carnival Liberty, Splendour etc. This new ship was awful. Firstly we were in a cabin no. 8473 - twin beds, I had 6 inches between the end of the bed and the cabin wall. I had to squeeze past this numerous times a day - you try lifting a 20kg suitcase up and over the bed to the other side. Ridiculous.
There were no proper shows to go to in the evenings. What they did have was for teenyboppers - and I didn't see any. The food in the Blush Dining Room was second rate - it was lukewarm, dry and pathetic choice.
The films they showed included "Grease" - 40 years old!! No coffee/tea making facilities in cabin also no pens or writing pads and you now pay for room service. Also there were lots of now rich Russians on board who got drunk in the evenings would go to the Casino and yell and scream as they grouped around pokie machines - no one ever told them to behave as there are other customers present as well. I realise Carnival needs their "dirty" money-but consideration for others must take priority. Would I cruise with them again - NO.
I sailed on the Imagination on 9-10-12 thru 9-14-12. I have sailed with Carnival before and I will admit this is the 1st time I had no rest, bad/rude service, the food was not good and they even served me dinner with a bug in it, I was horrified. I don't get many vacations and this one was totally ruined. Customer Service must have become a thing of the past since my last Carnival cruise which was a dud also. I just want to talk to someone in person or on the phone, because this experience is unacceptable.
I was on Carnival Legend carribbean cruises on 16-23 Sept 2012.
I find it absurd that wine and food introduction was a way to make money and also a way of introducing a customer to fine wines but unfortunately it can only be available at the steakhouse !!!!
Why cant it be introduce or served at the Main Dining or be bought at the speciality store . FRETZER carbernet from California is the product that I am was in love with !!!
I also would like to comment and hope this kind of service does not happen again as the cocktail waitress said she could not get me Frosters beer and her comment that she went to 3 counters and non was available but I unfortunately got the beer ...to my surprise she lied on top of that I finished my lunch and my drink was not served yet. I sincerely hope Carnival will improve their service to providing products and this waitress does not do this kind of service again by lying !!!! For improvement of training of service waitress/waiter of Carnival should they encounter a client that wants certain wine/drinks be trained to approach their Matrie instead of the customer has to request it from the Head Matrie or Assistant Matrie.
I would like to give my sincere compliments to the steakhouse waitresses /speciality store for their good service and that should be the way to impress customers with GOOD SERVICE and make the customer HAPPY ENJOYABLE CRUISE by providing excellent service and all their way to get what the customer wants/needs!!!!! Thanks for hearing me out.
On August 25, 2012, I went on the Carnival Dream with my family and about sixty other people from my church. Embarking on a seven day cruise for my 40th birthday celebration, celebrating my MBA and most important being a two year breast cancer survivor! I thought this was gong to the the best trip ever; NOT! The Dream was a nightmare! The cabins were not cleaned tilll late in the evening, the cabins had a horrible smell and when we told the maintenance persons he said he didn't smell anything but everyone on the 7th floor did. Come to find out someone's toilet was stopped up! They turned the air off at night so my daughter woke up with a nose bleed! This was the worst trip ever! Thanks Carnival Dream for making my celebration into a Nightmare!
My husband and I went on Imagination Sept.3-Sept.7() I would like to stay we was VERY disappointed with Carnival. The food was not good.. only one night at seated dining was my food hot. one of the main server could not speak English so when I did ask for something I would have to ask two times... Safety issue with our room was that our intercom did not WORK! If there was a safety issue like the boat on fire or anything else we would not have known anything @ all... When was not notified when we could get off the boat in Mexico.. which we almost missed our excursion time because we was in line to get of the boat and one of the workers told us to find something to do for 30 mins very rudely because it wasn't time to get off the boat... well come to find out they didn't announce it or they did and we was in our room where the intercom did not WORK! Our room attendant was hard to fond when we need something.. I have been on many cruises before and this was by far the worst week my husband and I had on a cruise ( OUR FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY TRIP) Our Memory of our 1st year anniversary... not so good.... just thought I would let Carnival know how upset we were... I would like a responds on why our service was the way it was... I felt as if I was on a low end economy cruise but not a economy price....
Just returned from a Carnival Miracle Cruise to Bahamas. The cruise was wonderful but was tainted by the treatment we got from excursion mgr Myron. I paid close to $3000 for an excursion to Atlantis. It was for Dolphin Interaction and Aquaventure. We were told there was 30% chance of rain. Well, it turned out to be a tropical storm. We did the dolphin interaction in a hard rain with thunder and lightning. Then they closed the park. We were refunded less than $20 a person.I am sure Carnival was aware of storm. They told us slight rain and had us sign saying we were aware of it.We did not mind rain but did not expect park to shut down. Now they are saying we did dolphin interaction and still should be charged for that. Park is only worth and I was refunded less than $20?? If you pick Aquaventure separate it is $125.00? A bunch of word playing.
If i was warned park would shut down and it would possibly be lightning, I would have cancelled. I would like half of money refunded. Visa is fighting for me right now. Here I had a great cruise and because of this and that nasty excursion mgr Myron, I will not do another carnival cruise.
A very disappointed grandmother.
We went on ATV trail to Jade cavern and the cave on Tuesday, June 5th. We were picked up from Carnival Paradise at 12:30 We were the couple that lost a tire, switched out the ATV and then broke the wheel rod. Got another vehicle that was really slow. We came in last. Also a couple ran into the trees in front of us. It took 3 people to get them out.
I brought the Video and the van was waiting on me so you did it hurriedly and missed some of it. We didn't get the cave diving, etc. Please get it to me, either facebook, youtube or mail. My address is: Dorothy Pratt 1106 Groves Drive Rockledge, FL 32955. My phone is 321-636-0379. I paid for something I didn't get.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
It's been almost 2 weeks and I haven't hear from anybody.
I had almost EXACTLY the same experience as Lori below...went to look up my cruise online and found out it had been canceled due to non-payment. They emailed me (I never got it). It is ridiculous that email is their form of "warning", despite having phone numbers. Prior to booking, any time I had accessed their website, a salesperson named "John" would call my house the same night, without fail. This happened over a dozen times. Yet, when I am in danger of losing my booking, somehow they can't find the time to contact me. This is TERRIBLE customer service, and unfortunately for Carnival, they have lost my business. Perhaps they don't care...that's how it seems anyway
