Ecstacy dead in the water....

M

mikesteg

Guest
I agree. Figuring 1700 pax at $700 each, the additional 50% is almost $600,000. There were probably more like 2000 on this cruise with the kiddies, but the average fare might be lower because of that. And of course, taxes wouldn't come out of Carnival coffers. On the other hand, if they did a 50% bump on 3 voyages (assuming the current one is also impacted) they might be looking at 2 million bucks. That starts to sound like real money even for a multi-billion dollar corporation.

In terms of "bang for the buck", I'd imagine it is a much safer bet for Carnival to buy how every many 30 second commericials that could get them. Lord knows they love commercials! And they certainly wouldn't want to set a precedent of 100% refund for future problems, let alone all the people that don't buy travel insurance and expect a full refund already. =huh
 
M

mikesteg

Guest
Erinm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> The other thing I don't understand is why they
> couldn't just get everyone together and say
> "here's the problem, here's what we're trying to
> do to fix it."

No doubt. This is where the captain should be earning his keep. That is essentially a management position... it isn't like he has to decide what supplies to bring on board or to barter good to bring back to the homeland. They really should have been doing videos at least each day with the captain explaining what was going on. Basic customer management... (most) customers will be happy and assume you're doing the right thing as long as they know you are doing *something*.
 
F

Fullspeedahead

Guest
They did have a meeting with the Capt in the Blue Saphire Lounge. It was originally scheduled somewhere else, but due to the large turn out, it had to be moved to the Blue Saphire.
 
M

mikesteg

Guest
Whoa! Looks like this thread was dead in the water! ;)

Anybody heard anything about the young lady? No news is good news I presume...
 
T

twobit383

Guest
Ok, I posted the consumer affairs link, and I know there are people who complain just to complain. I am not one of those. I felt that Carnival really treated their passengers wrong, and good organizations would have turned this situation around to a positive. Instead they kept us in the dark and tried to give us less of a refund (25%) by porting in Progresso (rather than Cozumel or Calica). And yes they made a ton of extra money because of the Casino not closing, and having 2000+ people drinking because of nothing else to do. Those extra days at sea were more profitable. So instead of doing the right thing, they try to get out of the 50% refund. They could have acted better.

Please notice that this is one of the only ways for customers to express their displeasure. The web allows people to read about the positives and negatives of cruise companies. If you go to the consumer affairs link, you will notice of all the cruise ships, Carnival has a HUGE list of complaints. While these stories are not "real data" and anecdotal, doesn't this many complains say anything???? If I knew about all these complaints ahead of time, I would not have traveled with Carnival.
 
K

KcFanNindy

Guest
I just got off the phone with my Carnival Agent she stated that the repairs have been made and if anyone had contacted the cruise relations department, that they are offering additional compensation above and beyond what was previously offered to those guest who experienced the problems.

So for those folks who encountered the problem get a hold of them and get yours!

will let you know on my trip goes when i sail on 03/31/05.
 
C

curejunkie

Guest
Well in reply to the note about Carnival giving more compensation above and beyond what they originally offerred...I just got off the phone with them.

There is nothing extra. Just the %50 refund and %25 off a future cruise. That's all they told me.

And I thought I was gonna respect Carnival after all! :) HA!

cp
 
M

mikesteg

Guest
twobit383 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Please notice that this is one of the only ways
> for customers to express their displeasure. The
> web allows people to read about the positives and
> negatives of cruise companies.

I agree, but I think that sites like Cruise Addicts, Cruise Critics, and epinions are much more useful since they have reviews rather than strictly complaints.

> If you go to the
> consumer affairs link, you will notice of all the
> cruise ships, Carnival has a HUGE list of
> complaints. While these stories are not "real
> data" and anecdotal, doesn't this many complains
> say anything???? If I knew about all these
> complaints ahead of time, I would not have
> traveled with Carnival.
>

It is interesting that Carnival has a much higher number of complaints, but the overall number is miniscule. Carnival has rougly 25 ships x 2000 pax x 52 weeks --> 2.6 million pax per year. I would guess the average capacity is higher, and like with Ecstasy some ships do more like 75 cruises per year. Even if you are very conservative, that site covers several years so it only records *maybe* 1 complaint per 100,000 cruisers. Of course we know there are many more complaints, so all that really tells me is that the site is meaningless in terms of *my* chance of having a bad cruise.

I wouldn't plan a wedding on ship after reading that site, but I never would have done that anyway. :)
 
T

tnelson01192002

Guest
Well, we survived!! All seemed fine with the ship. We left and returned on time. Any questions, let me know. Cozumel was great, with no rain!! We did the catamaran, snorkel and beach trip. It was a blast!! Man, now I have to get back to 3 meals a day, though. I may starve.... well, think I'm starving.

Thanks for all comments and replies!

Teresa
 
C

coffeecups

Guest
75% refund or credit is great. When the Holiday grounded in 2002, we had the water turned offseveral times (for a few hours), had to wait in line for the tender for about 4 hours in the 98+ degrees heat and sunshine, and other things. We landed up with a 50% discount (only because too many people complained and threatened class action). So 75% for NOT losing electricity or water and NOT having to hold it in until you can use the toilet or to even take a shower or having to smell waste matter is much more compensation than for those on the pre-Thanksgiving cruise in 2002.

If anyone doesn't want the 75%credit or refund, could you please get it for me?? You'll have my heartfelt thanks, a postcard from my cruise and I'll drink a few in toast to you? lol


A cruise on Carnival is still better than driving a few hundred miles for vacation!!

coffeecups
 
D

djbalch

Guest
Hey, this is Darryl, from the "booze" cruise. I am glad you checked on that, I didn't think they would do any more compensation than they already have. Someone made a good comment to me the other day, check your bill to find out what exactly was 1/2 of what you paid, then add the 2 port charges that we were charged prior to boarding. I am going to check mine tomorrow and contact them with the difference they still owe us. I am sure they won't bother doing it on their own.
 
S

Schooner

Guest
Been reading through the posts on this topic and just wanted to say a couple things. Alot of you seem surprised that the next group of people onboard were not told about the propulsion problems from a week before..........Of course they won't tell you. They will take the chance with it rather than letting you worry about it the whole cruise. Obviously the ship they took their chances and lost. Buy I guarantee you it was discussed with head office before the next departure and they would of told them to continue. This is not uncommon. These ships ships have little problems all the time that could potentially leave a ship dead in the water or some other breakdown. They will push it till it breaks or damn close to it. The way they look at it is it would cost much more to take the ship out of service for a week to repair it then to take their chances with it. I don't know maybe that ship didn't need to be taken out of service , maybe it just would of been a really expensive complicated fix. Here is a good example of not wanting to take the ship out of service..........Alaska 2003, an RCCL ship was on their way back to Vancouver in rough seas. They got a distress call from a sinking fishing boat. They went as fast as they could and rescued the fisherman but in the process the 15-20 foot seas at that speed damaged the propellers pod. The damage was not even noticed till 3 days later in Juneau, when she leaked oil into Juneau harbor. She ran on one engine after that for a bit, but the next people onboard had no idea of the problem. We even though we may have to drydock. Well it's been almost 2 years since that happened and it is still not fixed properly. They are waiting till the next scheduled drydock to fix it. (2006) For the last 2 years they have been putting divers (contractors) in the water to patch it up and keep it running close to normal. For the millions they are spending on this temporary patch work a few times a year it is still cheaper than drydock. Bottom line.......never be surprised with what you don't know about the ships.....there is so much you are not told!
 
C

curejunkie

Guest
Hey Darryl! How goes it! Its your fellow "No-Where-Cruiser" Christina (of Chris and Harry fame!).

What did you say about extra compensation? Because I called (twice in fact) and they told me there was no extra compensation above the %50 refund and %25 toward a future cruise. Unless you are including - like what you said - what you spent ALTOGETHER on the boat...I wouldn't think they'd do that though. Our whole bill was nothing but alcohol - not to mention the $80 we gambled away in cash...might as well have just taken the cash and threw it overboard - we sucked at the casino!

Anyway - hope we see some money soon!!!! I keep calling - well Harry keeps calling really - because now they are saying 2-3 weeks instead of the original "within 2 weeks" that was typed on - what - our 12th letter that we got on that boat!

I heard the next cruise actually got to Cozumel. Good for them - I'm happy for them - doesn't make me feel any better about my trip though - spent mostly in a drunken stupor!!! I don't think I've drank that much alcohol in YEARS!!! And about every day too - reminded me of college! And the Risky Business Motto: What the **** :)
 
C

coffeecups

Guest
I guess all corporations are like what Schooner described above. Bad news or bad anything can do much more harm to a company than four times any good news. One of the worst recepients of bad news would be a restuarant. I know of a restuarant (through a relative) that was closed (and could not be reopened) because a disgruntled employee made public the (lie) statement that there was a mouse in the food (or something like that). This is really true.

Most corporations work with blinders. Full speed ahead, don't worry about things happening because we can pass the financial burden on to the customer. Just keep the GOOD PUBLIC IMAGE. (notice I said corporations).

Anyway, I am not complaining, just putting my 2 cents of lifetime experience into words. Still gonna cruise in June.


SCOONER, have you ever thought about telling us about your experiences of working on a cruise ship, or even maybe wriitng a book?? Let's face it, most of us never see or hear about what goes on behind the scenes on a cruise ship. My only knowledge comes from a close relative of mine once working in the corporate headquarters for --- Queen.

coffeecups
 
S

Schooner

Guest
Coffee cups-----A book??? Interesting idea. There is so much I could tell after 4 years. I know I won't just sit down and write a big paragraph on here about my experiances......people don't wanna know my life story on ships. But I do see myself contributing to any questions that I know something about. There is so much I can say!!!
 
S

Schooner

Guest
Another point to that..........I know that if I did write something it wouldn't be all about praising the industry. It would be telling all the dirt, and letting the passenger in on the real deal! Once again, there is so much I could say........I should keep a journal this time.........2 more weeks!!!!!
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
Has anyone noticed that a Celebrity ship had to cancel an upcoming cruise to Hawaii because of mechanical problems? I thought this only happens to Carnival ships.
 
C

coffeecups

Guest
Hi Cruzman,

Great piece of news for loyal carnival addicts. Perhaps we should make a whole seperate thread about the Celebrity ship problem--unless we get in trouble with John.


coffeecups


OUCH OUCH!!!!

Just read the celebrity forum where the Infinitty is cancelling one of its upcoming cruises. The passengers WILL GET A FULL REFUND AND A 100% CREDIT FOR A FUTURE CRUISE. Wow. what an investment!!! If Celebrity sailed out of new orleans during the summer, I would have to really consider going their way.
 
C

Coppertone Girl

Guest
Yeah well if you don't get to sail then you get a 100 refund...
am I lost?
 
L

lizardstew

Guest
I think what Coffeecups is saying is that they are giving a full refund PLUS a 100% credit towards a future cruise...so a free cruise for later.
 


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