Steve Lekhy

Age: 50
Occupation: Professional
Number of Cruises: 5
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Valor
Sailing Date: December 19th, 2004
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

This was a family cruise with 7 cabins, 4 outside staterooms and 3 inside staterooms on the Carnival Valor’s 7day inauguration cruise to Eastern Caribbean. We were all excited, a new ship and it was the first time Carnival had offered a 7-day Xmas cruise from Miami.

Getting aboard wasn’t a problem except for long lines and 5 ships ready to sail that day.

The first day we were trying to get ready for the formal dinner in the Washington Room and had some clothes that needed ironing. There was no answer from our steward and I saw another steward and asked him if we can get an iron from somewhere and he told me to go to the laundry room. We went to the first laundry room and the iron wasn’t working and there was water everywhere. I stopped another steward and told him the iron wasn’t working and he shrugged his shoulder and told me to call for help by using the phone and walked away…call whom? There were no phone numbers listed on the wall near the telephone. Kept on walking to the rear of the ship and found another laundry room, the iron wasn’t working. I ended up one floor up where I found the iron working.

Our outside stateroom was towards the front and on the 2nd day, we were in the cabin and the whole ceiling and the walls began to shake for about 5 minutes. Next thing we had the ships Engineer and crew checking our cabin and the cabin next to us. They evacuated the other cabin and for 4 days from 8AM –4PM there was banging, crew speaking loudly in Italian. I told the Engineer this is a problem and that we are not in the cabin all the time but it is annoying with banging and loud voices. He told me to see the Purser and was cordial and cold.

The first port Nassau, was okay weather was rough but uneventful.

The cruise form Nassau to St. Thomas was rough seas and rain. I found out later that a Captain from another ship, not Carnival went to another island to avoid the weather and the passengers had a great time.

We had booked the “The best of St. Thomas” excursion which included shopping at the end of the tour. By the time the tour completed we had 45 minutes to shop since all the stores were closing, I think it was around 5 or 6PM. The best way to see St. Thomas is take a Taxi, which costs $3.00 and you can go where you want. The excursion was a rip off.

Next stop St. Maarten, we took a taxi to the French St. Martin for $4.00 per person. The taxi driver stopped and showed us points of interest and we also made a deal with him to pick us up and take us back to the ship. We were able to shop at St. Maarten and bought the items, which we missed in St. Thomas.

My wife and I went to the Purser’s office to make a formal complaint but the Purser’s assistant who could not understand English and anything you said to her, she gave you a big smile. I told the assistant I had a list of complaints and would like to see the Purser, she was reluctant and I told her I wasn’t going to move from there until I saw him so she said the Purser will be able to see us in the afternoon. My wife and I saw the Purser with all the complaints. He was English, very understanding and said that the only thing he could do was a 15% discount on our next trip with Carnival and he apologized and told us he will speak to our steward. I told him that consolidated sellers can get you more than 15% off from a cruise. He said that he would speak to their office in Miami and get back to us.

The Carnival cruise personnel were rude, didn’t care how the passengers felt and I only saw our steward 3 times after repeated paging. Since we were going to stay in Miami for several more day and Carnival was offering laundry service for $15.00. We gave a bag of clothes to be cleaned and were going to be delivered the next day. Our steward & his assistant showed up the next day with a bunch of clothes in a bag all mixed together with clothes from other cabins. He apologized and that somehow the clothes got mixed and if we would be so kind as to separate our clothes from a pile of mixed clothes. I was furious so I started to separate my whites which were all a shade of blue because the idiot had washed the colors and whites together.

I called the Purser’s office and complained and told someone that I wanted to include this on the list of complaints since the Purser hadn’t called us.

The last evening at the formal dinner, a bottle of wine appeared mysteriously, compliments from the Purser’s office as if this would pay for all the clothes they messed up. There were other problems but making the story short, the only enjoyable part of the trip was the family, which had gathered in Miami form all parts of the world, entertainment on ship and the experience in the Washington dining room.

I have complained and corresponded with their Head Office in Miami. The only letter I got was a 15% discount and was addressed to my 17-year-old daughter instead of my wife or me. I will NEVER cruise on a Carnival ship!