In researching the CDC website regarding the sickness that went through our ship, I find that the ship (Carnival Liberty) had been inspected in March of this year. Several of the CDC violations were pertaining to food handling and Carnival received multiple items with the following CDC Recommended Action “Ensure that food is protected from contamination by storing the food: (1) In a clean, dry location; (2) Where it is not exposed to splash, dust, or other contamination; and (3) At least 15 centimeters (6 inches) above the deck”. I was surprised to find multiple food handling violations. The full report is located at: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/Forms/InspectionDetailReport.aspx?Inspection=10717744.
The CDC website also indicates that almost 7% of the passengers became sick on the Carnival Liberty and that 5% of the crew became sick (sail date 4/18/09). It is still undetermined whether the sickness was Norovirus. Full CDC details are found at: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2009/april25cliberty.htm. While I understand that sicknesses can happen anywhere and are more likely to travel quickly through a ship; I decided to write Carnival to see if they would offer some sort of concession for my lost days. I felt asking for a concession was fair and reasonable because the ship did not change their food handling practices until Friday and people had started getting sick on Wednesday. I really felt that had the Carnival Liberty limited passenger's ability to handle food at the buffet line starting Wednesday or Thursday, maybe the percentage of sick crew and passengers could have been reduced.
I wrote Carnival Customer Support and copied their executives. I explained that people had become sick on our ship and was disappointed that more had not been done to limit passenger exposure. I explained that I had two upcoming cruises booked with Carnival and was in hopes they would offer some type of refund or concession for my lost vacation time due to becoming ill on the Carnival Liberty. I did not have any expectation of receiving a free cruise, refund or anything elaborate or cost prohibitive for their company. I'd have been more than happy with some small token of their appreciation for my continued business. That could have been a complimentary excursion, a small discount on an unbooked future cruise, an upgrade on an unbooked future cruise (either of which would have generated more revenue for Carnival). I'd honestly have been happy with just about anything. Hey they could have sent me a stuffed Fun Ship Freddie.
Carnival responded with a standardized-looking email response basically saying they were sorry I got sick, tough luck, and that they weren't going to do anything for me - OH – and they hoped to see me on a future cruise. Really? Because that wasn't the impression I got from the rest of their email. Their email really left me feeling like they were telling me to go to hell. On top of that – Carnival didn't even understand what I was saying in my email. Carnival's email said they were sorry I was upset to have been quarantined in my cabin while I was sick. I think quarantining sick passengers was the smartest thing Carnival did when the outbreak occurred.
Again, I wrote to Carnival and copied their executives saying that I felt they misunderstood my first email and again I impressed on them that I would like some sort of concession for my inconvenience and to retain my future business. Concessions really should be offered to everyone that took sick during the cruise, even if it is a small token on Carnival's part. But Carnival's stock is down 50% from its previous high and maybe they feel concessions are too expensive. My thought is that if they were to offer an upgrade or concession toward a future cruise in situations like this, they would increase their revenue, resulting in higher stock prices and better returns for their stockholders. Rather, than realizing the opportunity to offer a small concession which would result in additional bookings from me, they again wrote me, “It was disappointing for us to learn of your continued disappointment with your Carnival cruise vacation as providing a quality cruise experience is our top priority. Therefore, it is regrettable that you met with such frustration in the course of your cruise holiday. While we understand your position, no compensation will be granted in this instance.” Carnival Cruiselines. It is saddens me that Carnival could not offer anything more than a generic email written from an “internet specialist” in letting me know they would do nothing. Had they done anything, and I mean anything more than a generic email, I'd be booking another cruise with them for January 2010 on the new Carnival Dream. I don't know now – I'm beginning to think I'm best booking my next cruise with Norwegian or Royal Caribbean.
Am I overreacting? I don't know – post here and let me know. But I'm going to think twice about booking again with Carnival Cruiselines and I recommend you do the same.
Robert
Brentwood, Tennessee
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