Carnival Cruises Customer Service Complaints - page 2

Carnival Cruise Lines has always been my favorite cruise line to travel with. Their care and concern has always been very good until this year. My family made a tradition every year since about 3-4 years ago to meet somewhere, we usually take up to about 15-20 guests and most of the time always some that have never been before for future potential cruisers. In the year 2012 May, we took my parents on the Fascination out from Jax, Fl.

we were so impressed we couldnt wait until this year. We didn't the same treatment as last year and this was about our 7th cruise. I had an accident on May 29th. No fault of my own but of the staff of the Fascination of neglect. I wound up in the Bahamian Hospital costing us $2500. before we could leave the hospital. Was taken back aboard ship and I spent the rest of the cruise in bed in the bottom of a ship and couldn't get around except for a wheelchair, they we had to beg for and had to pay $50. for on board. My young granddaughters 12, & 8 were terrified. It was their very first cruise and I so wanted them to have the time of their lives. The service was NOT great, rude staff members (with the exception of the guest services) they were very nice to us. I sent an email to guest services a few months back I was promised that they would reply back to me with 7 - 10 days. Up until this day. NO RESPONSE as was promised. I am not asking to sue the cruise lines ( I know that I can) because of the negligence of the staff. I just want to be compensated for pain and suffering and losing a vacation my family and I wasted our money on at no fault of our own. I have asked for the CEO's name and address and also the captain of this ship. I save from year to year a little money out of the mere earnings from a job. I am 61 years old, my husband is 63. We are at this time of our life ready to retire and maybe do a little more cruising. Right now I would never recommend to anyone to take Carnival. Not because I think the cruiseline is bad. Just didn't take care of me personally nor my family. I don't treat my guests that visit me like this. I was truly let down. Since my injuries were extensive and I will never over them (I had whiplash, a concussion on my head the size of a football & bleeding on the skull, injuries of the back, side and both arms and could not walk for days, my plans will be to hire an attorney to seek compensation. I don't want to get rich, just wanted to be treated as a guest you would care about. I am ready to present to the courts witnesses who will testify (one a retired OSHAA expert from the Coast Guard) in whom I fell in front of, a wife of a Judge from Fernadina Beach, Fl., and others will tell you that with the seriousness of these injuries, I had to wait 20 minutes emergency response time from EMT and was snatched up with no C-Spine control nor placed on a backboard to prevent further injuries but merely put in a wheelchair from the Lido Deck and taken to the infirmary. I just want to know that someone from your Cruise line cared about me and my family. I do expect to receive some kind of reply soon or I shall go ahead and instruct my attorney to proceed further. I would like to send this in a letter form, certified to the CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. Would you please do not ignore this one like the previous request that I never got a reply back. My name is Peggy S. Gordon.

this phone number is not for carnival.

Carnival Cruise over Easter 2013 exhibited a video to an audience with a substantial number of children and teenagers that was totally inappropriate. It exhibited a prominant actress/songer in a bondage portrayal, scantily clad, and chained to a bed. When I tried to discuss with Cruise personnel who were responsible, they ignored my requests to even discuss it with them. I would not recommend a Carnival Cruise for anyone taking children and teenagers given there total lack of understanding of appropriate material.

I booked a cruise in april along with my brother and his wife ,Do to an emergency with my mother being hospitalised and we were told she might not make it we had to cancel morning of our cruise.We contacted carnival and they said sorry for your misfortune but we cannot give you a credit or anything.I did speak to guest services and she told me thats why they have travel insurance.I told her she could see it was a few hours before cruise and it was so upseting but our mother was more important then the cruise.And i hoped they would reconsider there decision.they sent email sorry but no.I even sent a doctors note from her doctors.I will think twice before i go back on carnival.
So Disapointed

We took our third cruise in April on Elation. The first two cruises were fabulous, no complaints whatsoever. If I had no other cruises to compare this one to I might have good things to say but it did not compare in any way. The staff was not fun like the other two. They were very pushy with the drink orders. Perhaps the fact that it was spring break and many families were on the ship, they knew they would not make the gratuities typically earned on other cruises. If we ordered a drink, they would not leave us alone until they sold us another one. While I appreciate good service, they almost acted pissed if we didn't constantly order one. It was annoying because we couldn't even relax on the lido deck. The music was horrible the entire trip. When I am cruising I want to hear Jimmy Buffet, Carribean music, some kind of ocean/beach music. Everyone around the pool was commenting on this. I felt like we were listening to the weather channel with all the oldies. At dinner we were assigned a table of six in the walkway of all the tables of ten. While the staff was friendly when we saw them, most of the time being in their walkway, they just sort of forgot about us and just kept circling around us. Of course the menu was the same as on the other ships, but the quality of the food could not even compare. The last complaint was the casino. On the other trips, the machines were so much fun to play. Obviously these machines had been completely turned off to make up for the gratuities lost on drinks. All guests in the casino were making remarks about this. Before we left I called several times to see if I could use a credit which had been on my online statement for several months. When I booked an excursion, I was told the $47 credit could not be used but instead would be put on my sail and sign card when I got there. I was told the same thing when I paid for an upgrade. Strangely when I got to guest services, the credit had disappeared when it had been there for months. It was a small amount but it was obviously mine and I just lost it. No one could explain this. I will definitely take another cruise with Carnival because we love this type of travel. But they really need to improve many aspects of the Elation.

My cruise was book September 2012 to Europe, price went down recently in April 2013, customer services refused to adjust price since they said coding is not early savers. Customer services stated she could not find reduced price on their website then later on stated this is for new booking customer, not for already booked customer, they refused to give me early savers price protection. They also stated cancellation charge is $800 which they never told us before. Never booked Carnival cruise

I have been cruising for the last 30 years and have travelled on most of the larger established lines. My family has chosen Carnival as our primary line for the last 15-20 years. That being said, in recent years the commitment to excellence and customer service has truly fallen short in recent years. It has been disheartening, we keep hoping Carnival will turn it around but if we have one more difficult experience...

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.

We just got home for our cruise on the Magic from Galveston Texas. This is my third cruise and my second on Carnival. I planned this cruise around my 35th wedding. I have been trying to get my husband to take a cruise with me and he said book it.

The balcony suite was great as was the housekeeping staff. The food and service in the dining room was below par. They forgot my husband's order twice. The food was bland and tastless. We had better food at the pizza area and lido deck than we did in the dining room. The other thing was when you were by the pool and wanted a drink the staff would act like they did not here you.

You might be thinking that I am just an Okie and do not know about good food or how food should be prepared. My husband and I raised our children in California and have eaten at some of best resturants.

I chose the Magic because it was going to Belize. My mother-in-law said it had the most beautiful beaches, better tha Hawaii. After a day in Mahogany Bay we received a letter from the Captain telling us to stay in the port area because of terrorist and it was not safe to go to the other side of the island where the best beaches were.

This cruise was to make my husband want to go on cruises with me. They succeeded in making him not want to go on another cruise.The only thing that could have gone wrong was to have a fire like the Triumph.

I would give this cruise a 5 for the room and housekeeping, they were great. This rest was a flop. This was to be a special trip for us.

We talked to several people on board and they said the same thing about the food. After all the touble with the other ships I would have thought you would have step up your game with the Magic to keep people happy. I was wrong.

I have been on 4 Carnival cruises. I will never travel on their ships again. I have been on the Dream twice and the Legend once. What's up Carnival??? I've had one cruise without some kind of incident going on. Good Luck. I'm DONE.

Carnival Valor - Food in all dining rooms was horrible. McDonald's would have been a step up.

Disembarking process was laborious and took hours. This had not been the case on prior cruises.

It appears that Carnival has downgraded quality of their cruises significantly. I understand cost saving measures for profitability but not at cost of losing customers. In the past the service, staff and food have been excellent.

I have been trying to email my information for my flight to carnival so i can get a refund and the email address giving to me three times has be wrong

Carnival has very bad cutomer service.
What happened was the customer service person share with my wife and I that if we allowed them to include our flight in with the cruise package it would include the flight, Hotel, and overnight stay and transportation to the port and back from the port to the airport. After agreeing to it and we paid our monies, and when I was able to print out boarding passes I discovered the return transporation was not included as the customer service perosn had stayed on the phone.
I then called them and all I was told was they could not help me. I asked to speak to manager and I was told I could not speak to a manager. May I ask why I cannot speak to a manager

signed very upset. Will not traval with Carnival again

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.

Carnival Dream
Health - On board doctor is not competent. Went to a walk-in clinic at a CVS in Orlando the day we disembarked and received much better care and it cost less. The nurse practitioner changed the medicine that the Carnival doctor prescribed for an infection. The doctor and staff do not follow US HIPAA laws. They openly discussed all information in front of crew members and other guests. They allowed me to video record a consultation of another passenger. The Carnival doctor is licensed in Texas but went to medical school in Mexico.
No one uses hand sanitizers anywhere, especially before buffet lines.
Safety - Dirty, drunk, old men continually harassed my wife to the point where I never left her alone. When we brought this to the attention of the Hotel Director of the ship, his response was to call security. I asked a security officer how they can be contacted in case of an emergency, since not one phone has a security button and was told to call guest services and guest services will contact security. In order to contact guest services on any phone, one must get through the maze of automated menu prompts. Also the balconies on the Dream are not secure. I could open the dividers between balconies with a toenail clipper which gave me access to every balcony on my deck on my side of the ship. I even made a video demonstrating how easy it is. Always lock your door to the balcony.
There is a lot more that went wrong but I don't have the time to write a book.

We took a cruise on Jan.27th on the Breeze. It is a very
nice and clean ship. However, the service is terrible on deck. We had to find a server to ever get a drink, then it took forever. The service in the dining room was very slow.The food in the dining room was not as good as on deck. We always had very good shows, now it is only singing, etc. However, the singers are good, but definately not a broadway show. The cleaning people were always in the way. The cabin steward was very good. This is our fourth cruise on Carnival. It will be our last.

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.

I have sailed on Carnival three times, in 1999, 2005, and in October of 2012. My, my how things have changed:( NEVER AGAIN. Prices are beyond OUTRAGEOUS on drinks, $14.00????? For something with virtually nothing in it but mixer????$16.00 for a Crown and coke? $20.00 for a bingo card to play one game? SERIOUSLY? No more midnight buffets, except for one night, a "deck Party" that lasted for exactly 30 minutes with absolutely the worst Mexican food I've ever tasted. Food has always been subpar on Carnival, but it was even worse this time. Couldn't find a waiter to bring you one of the overpriced drinks when you decided to indulge and run up your tab. Sub-par entertainment all the way around, except for the comedy club, the comic (whose name unfortunately I don't remember) was funny. The only thing good was the dining room service and the cabin stewards, they were wonderful.

Constant GOUGING for photos; I got SOOOOO sick of someone begging to take my picture. The mani/pedi I got was awful in the spa, not to mention overpriced again. The pedicure actually HURT.

In addition; such short times in port! We stopped in Progreso and Cozumel, and only had from 9:00-3:30 to spend in port. WHY? What happened to the 10:00 p.m. returns? All in all, a very lousy experience, and I will NOT take another trip with Carnival.

On October 25, 2012 I sailed with my family on what was my very first cruise, staying in Room U227 on Carnival Sensation. I am 59 years old so this was a very special trip for me, which I planned and looked forward to for five months. Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy came along and ruined the entire trip. I really don't mean to complain, but I am angry because I feel that Carnival should have cancelled this trip. Instead, we continued to sail smack in the middle of the hurricane. I even upgraded my room to a balcony and couldn't even go out on the balcony because of the hurricane! My family and I were so sick from the turbulent seas that there is no way we enjoyed this cruise, and of course we didn't make it to the Bahamas, which I was also looking forward to. We ended up in Key West, a place where I have been numerous times. I don't know if I will be able to afford another cruise in the near future, but just wanted you all to know how disappointed my family and I were. I give credit to Carnival's staff, who tried to make the best of a very bad situation, while dealing with a lot of sick and very upset cruisers.



Michele Sloan