I haven't been on Carnival, but figured I'd add my point of view.
From what you stated, it did seem like a letter to Carnival was appropriate. However, since no formal complaint was made on the ship, I'm not sure if anything will result from it.
On the upside, I can tell by your profile signature that you have had several Carnival cruises, and from what I understand this was the first one that didn't fully meet your expectations, so that's pretty good.
I hope this doesn't prevent you from cruising with Carnival in the future, as it seems you really like them, going by your profile signature.
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2007 - Majesty of the Seas
2009 - Enchantment of the Seas
2010 - Freedom of the Seas
I have never found Carnival to be a "Party Ship". You can find a party anywhere you want. I think the party ship, with the louder crowd are not limited to one cruise line. I think the duration has more to do with it. Carnival offers a lot of 3, 4 and 5 day cruises. IMHO those short cruises attract those who party.
I would and do have a very hard time with loud noise at night. I would have to get security to the cabin, if the noise was that loud. Let's face it, it probably would not be the first time these people have gotten a complaint.
On our way home from our recent road trip, we had a hard time finding a room in Reno. We were booking months in advance, and no room were to be found. Finally got one, a very nice room. It was a tower room away from the main Pepper Mill Casino. Great room, but very noisy. It was hot August nights in Reno, and I think every Car buff was racing right outside our window.
Next morning when asked how our stay was, I told the young lady I would not stay in one of those room, during Hot August Nights for free in the future. Told here about the noisy. When we got our bill it was cut in half.
Originally posted by gdjoslin:
I have never found Carnival to be a "Party Ship". You can find a party anywhere you want. I think the party ship, with the louder crowd are not limited to one cruise line. I think the duration has more to do with it. Carnival offers a lot of 3, 4 and 5 day cruises. IMHO those short cruises attract those who party.
I would and do have a very hard time with loud noise at night. I would have to get security to the cabin, if the noise was that loud. Let's face it, it probably would not be the first time these people have gotten a complaint.
On our way home from our recent road trip, we had a hard time finding a room in Reno. We were booking months in advance, and no room were to be found. Finally got one, a very nice room. It was a tower room away from the main Pepper Mill Casino. Great room, but very noisy. It was hot August nights in Reno, and I think every Car buff was racing right outside our window.
Next morning when asked how our stay was, I told the young lady I would not stay in one of those room, during Hot August Nights for free in the future. Told here about the noisy. When we got our bill it was cut in half.
Hubby was just at the Peppermill in Reno the last week of July.
He looked onstage in the casino and there was Michael. (a friend of ours that is a solo promenade entertainer on Carnival)
Yes a small world. We were there on Aug 3rd. I really was not complaining about the Pepppermill, it is a very nice place. A wish the lido decks had a buffett like they have , the prime-rib and shrimp were to die for.
They certainly can not control all the hot rods racing down the streets (not on their property at night.
Well here's an update for you...I decided to book another cruise on the Carnival Fascination just to prove a point. I cannot believe the not-so-great experience will be repeated.
My dad really likes to sail out of Jacksonville because it's only about an hour away from home, so I decided to bite the bullet and give it another try.
And for good measure, I booked the Blogger's cruise in February 2011 for myself and my daughter-in-law.
Now I'm happy -- 2 cruises booked. My cruise face is back on!
I think I may have posted this before, but something about cruising from JAX is always a little off for me from a crew perspective. Could just be coincidence. The last cruise was on the Fascination and two issues come to mind, both of which were fixed by day two. First the bartender lady (I won't mention names) was slightly rude to my friends. Then I always meet the host/hostess in the casino as I am a long time member of their player's club. She was nowhere to be found.
Well the bartender lady warmed up immensely after I introduced my self to her. Turned out she knew many of my past bartenders. She finally would smile at us and converse, not so much with the other patrons.
The assistant casino manager whom I'd met during the safety drill overheard me agreeing to someone in our group about the hostess being the worst ever on night two. He came up to me and apologized and asked me to be patient with her for some reason. Well, she magically appeared, apologized, and offered me a drink. Then she kept the drinks coming the rest of the cruise and even stood behind me massaging my shoulders and cheering me on during the slot tournament. And she came up to me and said she had pulled my member history commenting on how many cruises I'd been on and how long I'd been a member. Magically again, She said I had money waiting at the cage because I didn't cash out my points on the previous cruise. She also gave me another new cap and a polo shirt.
I guess my point is; sometimes if you do complain a little (even though mine was indirect) they will fix the situation. They would rather know on a crew level than fear a comment on the card or an official complaint.
They are only human and may be having an off day themselves. I too am apprehensive to complain in the dining room. Out of all these years I've only had one issue and it was with a rude waiter. This was back when you handed out the tips in envelopes the last night. I think he got the point when his envelope had a $5 in it and the Bus Boy's (they called them that back then) had a $50. He also got a negative comment, as it wasn't an isolated incident possibly excused by having an off day. It went on all week. I think I was the only one that tipped him anything as the rest of the table didn't even show up the last night.
Mary, keep the faith the rude ones won't last very long.
Dwayne... Yes, I am a firm believer in cutting some slack for the "off days". The crew is only human and I realize its not possible to be in a great mood all the time. We had a bar server gal that was obviously not feeling 100% and it showed. The first couples of days she was in discomfort and was not performing well. She apologized and I told her to not worry about it. She felt better the last half of the cruise and her service was great. Its the ones that are consistently bad or rude that won't last long.
Hope you have a better cruise this time Mary!
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================================================== ========== Carnival Cruise Lines:
Fantasy 90, Celebration 95, Victory 05, Conquest 05, Spirit 6/06, Freedom 6/08, Holiday 7/08, Victory 6/09, Valor 9/09, Dream 6/10, Splendor 8/10,Conquest 8/11,Magic 11/11,Triumph 4/12,Spirit 7/12,Freedom 11/12, Triumph 2/13 - The fire cruise
NCL Dream October 2006, RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
This does indeed happen on other cruise lines and I'm so sorry it had to happen on your cruise, Mary. I know you love to cruise and so do I. I did not write a letter to corporate about my not so good experience, however, I did blast it on the comment card. One of the representatives from the line called me and I informed him that I would not be returning to their line again. There are far too many other fantastic lines out there, Carnival being one of them. I have always enjoyed my cruises on Carnival and would sail with them anytime. Yes, you can run into crew members having an off day, but to be yelled at is not acceptable. I was not only yelled at by the waiter, but by the maitre d', so that's when I decided that it was not worth my money to go back to that line.
, the prime-rib and shrimp were to die for. 
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