BOB DICKINSON, CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES Ruined our 20th Anniversary, horrible food, limited entertainment, etc. MIAMI Florida

As for the dirty water... well if you understand on thing carnival recycles there water with there own filtration system in the engine room...... It may be brown but its still safe to drink... I work for a company for sterilzes waste water..... the browness can also be caused by the pipes if they are copper

By the way VALERIE,

Just going back and rereading many of the post, many of them are stating that they too have had terrible times on the boat and the rest pretty much state; Yes, Carnival is a cheap party boat but was fun for them because they were young and crazy at that time and were looking for a party time. Not many stated it was excellent. And the few that did were not as defensive as you.

I AM ALMOST SURE YOU YOURSELF ARE A EMPLOYEE OF CARNIVAL CRUISES POSING AS A PAST CUSTOMER. ITS HARD TO BELIEV THAT SOMEONE WOULD PLEAD SO HARD ABOUT A COMPANY THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.

D@M, YOU SOUND WAY TO DEFFENSIVE. As though you have something personal to loose if she "Doesn't" choose to stop sharing her experience... almost like YOU YOURSELF are possibly one of these same Carnival Cruise lackeys she's been referring to from the boat huh. hhmmm (hands on chin)

hahahah... you think your slick but I can see right through it. I bet your a poser trying to act like a satisfied customer. Only you screwed up because you completely went over board with all the pleading to stop the bashing. You need to tell your sorry employer to give this woman back her money along side with a free trip to this "Miracle" boat you speak of. Is that the boat you work on, or is it the Holiday that your on?

Then you need to tell them that instead of posing as "Happy Customers" they need to read the rest of the nasty headlining experiences others have wrote about them who are still awaiting a resolution..

I will never use this Cruise line with my clients, which means they have lost many thousands. Oh well.

WOW. It is unfortunate that you had such a terrible vacation. You need to move on and let go of the anger. You are free to book with another cruise line next time. Sounds like you should. Please remember tht NOT all carnival ships are in such bad shape. Perhaps that ship should retire.

Our family of 4 experienced the trip of a lifetime on the brand new Miracle. I researched the web thouroughly and also listened to "word of mouth". We plan to book again next year.

You feel carnival has not been "fair" to you. In fairness, there are employees on other ships that are not deserving of "unfairness" by you when you paint the whole cruise line with a general "broad brush" that you have painted them with by trashing their employer in all of your posts. Referring to the employees "english" is down right hostile. One can only imagine what your behaviour was like when raising your concerns while on the ship.

Please take a look at all of your posts. Don't be so judgemental of ALL carnival ships as "dumps". Perhaps it would be more appropriate here, in this forum, for you to say that that ONE ship was bad. I think you need to take a step back and stop generalizing.

I am giving you some free legal advice... you are bordering on slander. Some of us have had a great vacation. Is it not a possibility that your vacation was an isolated event? Stop referring to all Carnival experiences as a mistake in the waiting please. It's not fair. Be the bigger person and refer only to YOUR vacation on THAT ship on THAT day THAT year.

i had a expirence like this but had but charge on credit card the desputed the charge after writing to prez of carnivale... had $500.00 charged to credit card. cruise line would not credit it back.. they were rude also...good luck

My wife and I have had 4 previous Carnival cruises and have never experienced a single difficulty on any of them. We have been on the Alaska cruise and 3 to the Carribean. I do agree that Carnival is not the most elegant line around but for the price we paid we had a very good time and excellent service. The windows get salty daily but they do clean them with long hoses. The food was tasty and quite adequate. We are preparing for our 5th cruise with Carnival this coming November.

After reading all the opinions about this boat/cruise I have cancelled my cruise with them in favor of a larger ship with a better track record. For a company that big, to charge that much money, then tell you to "they consider the matter closed" is to me, unaccepatable.The matter will remain open so long as this site is up and running and consumers like us have the opportunity not to repeat the same mistakes. Keep fighting the good fight.

Carl

Dorothy I am sorry to hear about all of your heartache with this ship. I have never gone on that particular ship with Carnival, however I have gone on several cruises with them. It was the "party" ship and I was younger and enjoyed that type of thing mainly the alcohol. I got married on a cruise ship, but it was on the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas, and it lived up to every word of that name.

I have to admit that it is a much more mature crowd than that of Carnival but the ship is gorgeous, the rooms and carpets are clean and smell nice, the shows are great, and the food is not only hot but also delicious. We had dinner with the Captain and we had a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries sent to our room every night. The staff was very gracious and made every attempt to keep us happy. I still have people talking about my wedding. How great the food was, how pretty the ship was and how nice our room was. We spent $2000, close to your amount and we were simply in the lap of luxury. We had the grand suite and believe me it WAS "SWEET". I belive this was a non smoking ship so there were no butts either. Just a suggestion for your 21st anniversary take a Royal Caribbean cruise you will be elated at the service you receive.

Dorothy, if you are dealing with a big business, anyone that you speak to, their name is open game-
It is not private and they should not have a problem giving it to you unless they have something to hide or just want to ignore the issue at hand- Unless there is some court litigation, a name should be easy to obtain! Ask for her boss!!!!!

I just wanted to assure that it doesn't matter that you never went to the Pursers Desk beacuse we did and it did not change the outcome one bit. Carnival goes around taking peoples money and doesn't care one bit about the consumer. It is all about their pocket book. I think we should all do our best to let people know what Carnival is all about!! The almighty Dollar and the fact that they get ours and don't care how we are treated in the process and they constantly refuse to do the right thing.

I am truly sorry for your experience.
It is sad but true. Carnival is an aweful ship. I use to be the head chef many years ago and they are not known for their romantic getaways,
But there is NO EXCUSE, for what they slack on.
Dirty rooms, bad customer service and trust me when I say, bad food!!!
Ships to always consider for you in the future?
Norweigen and CC
Amazing ships.
File small claims.

I have been on 5 cruises and 4 of them have been on Carnival. I had a good time on Carnival. However, I have never been impressed with Carnival. The food is always bland. The food they put out on the buffet doesn't even match. There is polenta with pizza etc. The food is very pretty on the midnight buffet but no matter what you eat it all tastes the same. The dessert table is pretty and elegant but there again unflavorful. It is not what I expected either. It is however a fun ship and to the frequent cruiser a value ship. I have went on Royal Caribean's Mariner of the seas and the rooms were wonderful to say the least. Try Royal Carribean next time it was much better. Good luck with your endeavors. Bon Voyage.

I have cruised on Carnival in the past and loved every second of it. The Carnival line targets young couples, families with teens and young children, and the young at heart. The atmosphere on a Carnival ship is very relaxed and yes, maybe a little bit like a 24/7 party. That's why I enjoyed it so much. If that sounds like fun to you and you are on a budget then Carnival is the perfect line for you.

If that doesn't sound like fun then here is a little advice on how to find a ship for you (I do believe there is a cruise out there for everyone)

Step 1 - Decide what you are looking for in your cruise and list them in order of importance (ie- atmosphere, cost, destination, amenities, activities, food quality, service, etc)

Step 2 - Research, research, research. Before going to a travel agent or a cruise lines website to book your cruise buy a recent cruise guide book. "Unofficial Guides" are wonderful, they aren't full of information from just the cruise lines, they have a lot of things that you might not find elsewhere. Try "The Unofficial Guide to Cruises" published by Frommers, I have found that it provides tons of useful information.

Step 3 - Now that you have your priorities, and you've done your research pick a few cruises and/or cruise lines that you are interested in

Step 4 - Find several reliable, reputable, reasonable travel agents (check with the Better Business Bureau and Rip off Report to see if there is anything you should be aware of). Ask the agents to price your vacation and see who is able to find you a better deal on the trip you picked out, you wouldn't by a car from the first dealer you went to, why would you do that with your vacation???

Step 5 - Take your trip and have a blast!!!


To summarize it's all about the research, the more you know the less likely you are to be disappointed. I know that Carnival Cruises aren't for everyone, but I love them, and I hope this helps at least one person find the cruise that is right for them. Good to all the cruisers out there; past, present. and future.

As a Travel Agent Professional I would have never recommended this ship for an anniversary.

You could have spent the same amount of money for a great room, on a more adult ship, Costa or Princess for instance, even if you had to go to another city, it wouldn't have cost much more and you could have had a way better experience.

So, your Travel Agent should have recommended a better cruise line.

Unless she's new in the business, she new this is an older ship and is not all that great, so she is to blame as well.

Unless, you insisted on going on this ship.

Next time, go with a newer, better, bigger ship.

As a Travel Agent Professional I would have never recommended this ship for an anniversary.

You could have spent the same amount of money for a great room, on a more adult ship, Costa or Princess for instance, even if you had to go to another city, it wouldn't have cost much more and you could have had a way better experience.

So, your Travel Agent should have recommended a better cruise line.

Unless she's new in the business, she new this is an older ship and is not all that great, so she is to blame as well.

Unless, you insisted on going on this ship.

Next time, go with a newer, better, bigger ship.

As a Travel Agent Professional I would have never recommended this ship for an anniversary.

You could have spent the same amount of money for a great room, on a more adult ship, Costa or Princess for instance, even if you had to go to another city, it wouldn't have cost much more and you could have had a way better experience.

So, your Travel Agent should have recommended a better cruise line.

Unless she's new in the business, she new this is an older ship and is not all that great, so she is to blame as well.

Unless, you insisted on going on this ship.

Next time, go with a newer, better, bigger ship.

Why didn't you get off at the first port and they would have refunded your entire cruise?? If you were that unhappy why did you stay?? I cruise with carnival at least once a year and have never been disappointed at all. It is the Fun Ship and all of the entertainment is Fun for someone even the hairy chest contest.

Booking the best room on a pig boat means you'll be the top pig. Had you have read reports and other trip comments so easily attained on the internet, then you would have known better. I have done Carnival 4 times, and have always recieved a wonderful value. I have not cruised on that ship, because I know it to be a pig boat.

You would have been better off doing a better ship with an ocean view for 10 days for the same price!

You screwed up! You should however get a 50& discount on a future cruise for the dirty room. You should have asked the purser to your room and video'd the whole meeting.

Thank you Paul for your suggestion. That is a very good idea about filing a nuisance suit - I will look into it. The travel agency did show us brochures and photos - needless to say, the ship looked nothing like what they showed. Even on our local television station they showed advertisments and it looked wonderful. Once again, thanks for the suggestion!

If you got back $1400, it wouldn't be such a bad deal, either for them or for you. Since others are buying the exact same thing for $179.

Name your local travel agent in the suit. That way, somebody will be sure to show up in court if it gets that far. In addition, that idiot put you on that dreadful boat in the first place. The travel agent should pay.

I suspect this would be handled as a nuisance suit. And, settled for the difference between what you paid, and what everybody else pays.

In the future, look at video of the boat and the accommodations before you buy. They may describe it as the love boat, but in reality it may turn out to be a ship of fools.

If you would have read my full report, you would see we did not pay $179.00 per person, but over $1,600.00 for our 4 day cruise. We thought we were going first class - not lower than third class! We were told information about the cruise and the ship that was totally inaccurate such as how wonderful the accomodations were, how clean and updated the ship was, how great the food was, etc. Needless to say, they were all lies as far as we are concerned - it was the cruise from H---. We did find out that Carnival Cruise Lines is a cheap, filthy cruise line; however, we found that out too late. If you are looking for a cheap cruise and don't care about anything else, than the Holiday is the ship for you. If you want a first class vacation and expect the food to be edible and the environment clean, than choose another cruise line. We learned our lesson too late, but it will never be repeated and I just want to warn others about the conditions on the ship and how Carnival Cruise Lines treats their customers.

Last week I returned from this very cruise aboard the Holiday...This was my 4th cruise with Carnival, and my first on the Holiday. Im sorry to hear that your experience was so bad. I can relate as each cruise I have taken with Carnival has been less than luxurious. HOWEVER, I continue to go because my wife & I decided to look at it as VERY VERY CHEAP travel to a warm destination. There is nothing luxurious about a cruise on Carnival, and one should realize that when booking. Also, I did notice that at least 50% of those on board were Alabama residents who obviously took advantage of the $179 price for the cruise to do the same. Considering a 4 day vacation without the cost of airfare, includes a cabin, and food, and most importantly transportation to a WARM climate in the middle of winter. It is a good value. Anyone reading this considering a cruise on any line, its pretty much the case of you get what you pay for. I fully expect to get fleeced on gratuities and alcohol and the room to be nothing but mediocre at best when I made the decision to purchase a ticket at $179.00. Those of you who pay $1000 per person, will have the exact same experience as those $179ers on board, except for a few extra square feet on your stateroom.

For the record I have complaint upon complaint from each one of the cruises I have taken with Carnival, and can spend pages listing all my gripes. If its utopia you are looking for aboard Carnival ships, Definitely do not book, but if your expectations are to get what you pay for, and have a pretty good time while soaking in the sun....go for it.

Last week I returned from this very cruise aboard the Holiday...This was my 4th cruise with Carnival, and my first on the Holiday. Im sorry to hear that your experience was so bad. I can relate as each cruise I have taken with Carnival has been less than luxurious. HOWEVER, I continue to go because my wife & I decided to look at it as VERY VERY CHEAP travel to a warm destination. There is nothing luxurious about a cruise on Carnival, and one should realize that when booking. Also, I did notice that at least 50% of those on board were Alabama residents who obviously took advantage of the $179 price for the cruise to do the same. Considering a 4 day vacation without the cost of airfare, includes a cabin, and food, and most importantly transportation to a WARM climate in the middle of winter. It is a good value. Anyone reading this considering a cruise on any line, its pretty much the case of you get what you pay for. I fully expect to get fleeced on gratuities and alcohol and the room to be nothing but mediocre at best when I made the decision to purchase a ticket at $179.00. Those of you who pay $1000 per person, will have the exact same experience as those $179ers on board, except for a few extra square feet on your stateroom.

For the record I have complaint upon complaint from each one of the cruises I have taken with Carnival, and can spend pages listing all my gripes. If its utopia you are looking for aboard Carnival ships, Definitely do not book, but if your expectations are to get what you pay for, and have a pretty good time while soaking in the sun....go for it.

Since I had such a horrible experience with the so called "customer service manager", I found the name of the Carnival Cruise Spokesperson in our local paper and wrote to her to see if I would get a response. Here is my letter below:



January 17, 2005



Jennifer de la Cruz

Carnival Spokesperson

Carnival Cruise Lines

3655 N.W. 87th Avenue

Miami, Florida 33178



Dear Ms. De la Cruz:



Our local paper, The Mobile Register, recently printed an article stating that you are the spokesperson for Carnival Cruise and stated that Carnival Cruise is responding to customer complaints well, I have a complaint for you.



Please read the attached letters I have written and the response I received from the so called customer service manager, (I cannot use her name because she has threatened me with legal action if I use her name on ripoff.com). Believe me, her letter does not indicate the tone of voice she used with me or her responses to me.



First, I do not want and will never use the 25% discount she sent. After reading my letters, do you think that I would give Carnival Cruise Lines a dollar more out of my pocket for a cruise??? Absolutely not! As I told your so called customer service manager, I am requesting a refund for the cruise from hell I will not subject myself to another!



I do expect a response from you - not Ms. ________ I want nothing to do with such a rude person! If you cannot handle this, please refer it to the person in authority who can.



Our 20th Anniversary was ruined by Carnival Cruise Lines and if a class action suit from other dissatisfied customers (and I have quite a long list) is what it will take to get my refund, that will be the next step.



Dorothy

Gulf Shores, Alabama



I will give her credit - she did refer my letter to the customer service manager in the office of the president. The letter I received in response basically stated that they consider my file closed and I can take a hike (in simple terms). Here is my response to her letter:



February 17, 2005



Dorothy Georges

Carnival Cruise Lines

3655 N.W. 87th Avenue

Miami, Florida 33178



Re: Carnival Cruise Lines



Ms. Georges:



Your answer is unacceptable, but evidently you feel the matter is closed and I do not. Word of mouth is the best advertising, whether good or bad, and I plan to make sure that everyone I know is aware of how your company and employees treat people and the horrible condition of your ship. I will post your response on my report with ripoff.com and also file a complaint with The Better Business Bureau.



I have made copies of my original letter and distributed it to the individuals I know on the condo boards and to the s****.> Perhaps a class action lawsuit for dissatisfied customers is also in order. Money is spent in good faith and services promised were not delivered.



The City of Mobile built a beautiful new terminal in order to do business with your cruise line and for your company to send a ship in that condition is unacceptable not only to us, but it should be to the City of Mobile as well. You may be fully booked now, but the local people are the ones who will keep the cruise line going in this area and once word of mouth spreads with unacceptable comments, the terminal will be just another empty building in Mobile.



Dorothy

Gulf Shores, Alabama



It is truly sad to see a city go into partnership with a corporation and have that corporation mislead the public as they have done. Mobile, Alabama, has built a beautiful terminal, hired hundreds of local citizens, spent thousands of dollars in advertisements and Carnival Cruise Lines does not care if it succeeds or not. All the conditions on the ship can be fixed and even though it is an old vessel, it could be improved to give people acceptable accommadations. I have talked to so many people who have taken the cruise and they basically have the same feeling I do - what a waste of money and time. It is even refered to as the "redneck riverboat" - what a horrible impression for people to have of a fine city. Shame on them!



TAKE YOUR MONEY AND GO ON ANY OTHER CRUISE SHIP - DO NOT GO ON CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES!!!

Thank you for taking the time to document your trip and experience. I will NEVER use Carnival Cruises for any of my vacations. I would rather go to Vegas, at least I know I will get a hot meal and I'll spend less money.

We did our research on Carnival Cruise "Holiday" before taking the cruise. We knew it was an older ship and was considered a family fun type atmosphere. Since they just opened a terminal in Mobile, Alabama, we thought we were helping our local economy by booking our cruise out of Mobile.



We believe you should spend your money where you live (especially after Hurrican Ivan hit our area) and help keep jobs locally. However, the fact is that we did not get what we were promised (daily entertainment - not hairy chests contests, etc. - nightly shows, wonderful service, good food, etc.). We were told we could order anything from room service for breakfast so we could enjoy our morning privately (I do not consider cold cereal, danish and terrible coffee a "lovely breakfast"), we were told the V6 suite was gorgeous (no so), and so many other things we were led to believe were down right lies!



When you turn on the faucet in the bathroom and have brown, gritty water to brush your teeth in, I think that is a problem!

Sorry to hear that your trip was so bad. My cousin is a travel agent and will only use Carnival Cruise Line when she wants to go on a cruise. I have also been on Carnival and have no problems like you have noted. Also if the ship was that bad you need to contact your local Coast Guard office. my husband inspect ships with them and they have to follow strict guidelines. If these guidelines are not followed they will not be able to sail.

Dear Dorothy,



Sorry to here of your 20th celebration did not go as planned. I can tell you from my past cruising that the Holiday is a small, and older ship.



You will find that CC lines are a family fun ship. I would not even consider going on romantic get-a-way. It would be the same as going to Chucky Cheese on Feb 14th and that would be unheard of.



Take the time to research your vacations, and you will find out CC lines do have better ships.

There is not excuse for filth.and I do wish that they would have offerd you a 2nd cruise on a newer ship EVEN if were on the Rivera deck inner.

I LIVE ON THE COAST IN GULF SHORES, ALABAMA, AND KNOW WHAT SALT DOES TO WINDOWS. THE OUTSIDE IS UNDERSTANDABLE; HOWEVER, THEY WERE MORE THAN JUST SALT COATED - THEY WERE FILTHY - BLACK WITH DIRT. WHAT IS REALLY HARD TO EXPLAIN IS THE GRIME AND DIRT ON THE INSIDE OF THE CABIN. GRANTED, PEOPLE DO LEAVE DOORS OPEN AND THE SALT AIR CIRCULATES. BUT THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLEANING THE INSIDE OF THE CABIN AND THE WINDOWS ARE PART OF THE ROOM. THEY HAD NOT BEEN CLEANED IN AGES, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE ROOM! THE BUTTS IN THE GUTTER OF OUR VERANDA WERE THERE WHEN WE BOARDED THE SHIP AND REMAINED THERE THE ENTIRE TIME - EVEN AFTER NOTIFYING THE STEWARD. THE FIRST PLACE WE WENT TO WAS THE VERANDA AND THERE WERE VERY FEW PEOPLE ON THE SHIP AND NONE STANDING ABOVE ON THE RAILING. WE GOT ON THE SHIP WITH THE FIRST COUPLE PEOPLE AND IT WAS SO CALLED "CLEANED AND READY TO GO". IF IT WAS CLEAN, WHY WAS OUR ROOM FILTHY, WINDOWS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE FILTHY, BUTTS EVERYWHERE, MOLD IN THE SHOWER, ETC.? THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT - CLEANING IS NOT HARD - WATER, SOAP A RAG AND BUCKET ARE ALL YOU NEED!

I don't know were you are from, but that is not dirt on the windows it is salt. The spray from the water and the air is fullof salt. just stand on deck a short time then lick your mouth, salt! Now the buttes and other things in the gutters is from others on board, there are signs all over the ships about useing ashtrays, and not dropping things overbord, "IT IS ILLEGAL"



I HAVE BEEN ON cARNIVAL 11 TIMES. And only one or 2 small proublems.

Finally, after numerous letters and phone calls, I got in touch with the "customer service manager" - yeah, right - who threatened me with legal action if I used her name in this report. It seems they are ready to take credit if something good comes along, but ashamed to have their name associated with their company when they are put on the spot!



All I could get out of "her" repeatedly (God forbid I use her name) was "you didn't tell the purser and give them a chance to make it right; therefore, we cannot and will not do anything for you".



It seems you have to get EVERYTHING in writing (don't forget to ask for your copy so you have proof - pictures you take do not count) and scream bloody murder so everyone pays attention. After you complain constantly and no one cares or does anything about it, what is one more person going to do? If you have a full staff of people and none of them can see how dirty and unsanitary the room is and the food is cold and horrible, what is this one "special person" supposed to do? Will he be the one person on the ship that speaks and understands English? Will he pull the ship over at the nearest dock, clean the room and hire a whole new crew that knows how to cook - and all the additional items that are horrific? They are all clueless to the terrible conditions on their own ship.



For a customer service manager to treat a former (and I do mean former) customer the way I was treated is inexcusable! And then to threaten legal action if her name is used is childish. Since I won't stoop to her level, her name is not in my report and she can rest easy. However, just call and ask for her, (initials P.U. - honestly, those are her initials - I am sure she will not be of any help to you either!



Just remember, if you do sail on this "ship from hell" make sure you get everything in writing because photos are not enough proof for them - they want it written in blood.



I will go out of my way to let people know what they are getting into - spread the word - stay away from Carnival Cruise Lines. Evidently Mr. Dickinson doesn't care how his so called customer service manager treats people either!