What is Wrong With Carnival Cruise Lines?

Many of you have probably seen the news about the problems with the Carnival Triumph. I know that things like this could happen to any cruise line and this may just be an isolated indecent but my last cruise on Carnival showed, to me anyway, that they seem to have put maintenance and upkeep on the back burner.

In a nutshell, the windows were all so dirty you could barely see out of them. The carpeting on our floor was disgusting. There was a soft spot in the floor that I am certain was close to breaking. The laundry room on our floor had three dryers and none of them worked, but they did take my money. To top it off, the excursion we went on was nothing like it was described.

There was also a problem in the dining room. Parts of it seemed much hotter than the rest and there was a terrible smell coming from the area set up for drinks. The smell lasted the entire trip and we happened to be in the dining room around the third day when workers were, in my opinion, trying to track down the smell. Eventually one pointed to the ceiling as if to suggest that something died up there.

Dirty carpets near our cabin

I sent them a long letter detailing many of the problems that Rose and I encountered on their ship. I also included pictures of the windows and carpet. I wrote this letter in a very friendly manner, hoping to get a response from them. I thought the least they could do was give us a discount on a future cruise. What I got was a somewhat disappointing. The following email was dated September 24, 2012:

Dear Charles,
Thank you for contacting us following your recent cruise on the Carnival Destiny.

Keeping customers happy is at the heart of our business. A cruise is meant to be an escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life: a time to feel pampered, to enjoy fabulous food and great entertainment, to lie in the sun without a care in the world.

I am very sorry to hear this wasn’t the case on your cruise. You have my sincere apology for the overall lack of cleanliness you’ve described.

We regret to learn of your overall disappointment with your shore excursion in Jamaica. Although we research and select the best tour operators available at each port of call, there are those rare times when the tour may not be exactly what you envisioned. We apologize the tour did not meet with your expectations and have taken the liberty of forwarding your comments to those that can make a change.

We appreciate your having taken the time to send us your additional detailed comments. As part of our ongoing process to improve our product, your feedback has been shared with the relevant department managers for their disposition.

Please don’t let what happened this time around tarnish your entire opinion of us. We hope you’ll reconsider your position in the future. We’d love to welcome you back.

Sincerely,

Andrea Reyes
Guest Care Specialist
Carnival Cruise Lines | 3655 NW 87th Avenue | Miami, FL 33178 |
800-929-6400
iCare@carnival.com

The letter seemed to leave it open that someone else would contact me. Nobody ever did. I will say that we did have fun on the cruise. All of the people who work on the ship were very friendly and helpful. I also don’t think that experience would have kept us from booking another Carnival Cruise. We would have just made sure it was on a newer ship. It is the lack of caring that bothers me more. If someone would have just made the slightest effort to show us that they really cared, that would have made a difference. Now I think Carnival is about to reap what they sow.

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