Carnival Cruise Lines - Bad Food

I found human hair on a breakfast item after taking 2 bites. I contacted the head of buffet. This gentleman took the tray from the buffet table and did nothing to correct this situation concerning my welfare. So, I reported the incident to the guest services who scribbled my information down on a piece of scratch paper, and no report was made nor was any contact made throughout the day concerning this until after dinner.

After we finished dinner, we got up to leave and were confronted by the head of the food department who began to make a scene in this main dining room in front of other customers eating dinner. He not only tried to insult me but insulted the whole food staff including himself for doing this. This was a private matter and the lack of professionalism on their part had a lot to be desired.

Once again, I went to Guest Services and was asked to wait for the Ship's food supervisor. When speaking with The Ship's food supervisor concerning this second matter, he gave me the same excuse of "when this sort of thing happened before" attitude. He also kept apologizing and was almost laughing in my face concerning this and made me feel like my concerns for myself and the safety of the other passengers had no bearing on the entire situation,

I'm filing a complaint from the last cruise on 8/20-8/27. This was a cruise that I booked for 3. And my sister booked another 2. We were meeting in New Orleans for travel to Key West, Fremont, and Nassau. The trip was aboard the Triumph. We booked 2 rooms and 5 people were traveling. I had taken my daughter and granddaughter, flying from San Diego, CA to New Orleans. This was their first cruise. I wanted it to be special, so that all our family could take a cruise in 2012. This was an introduction.

My sister and niece flew from MA to catch the cruise in New Orleans. Once on board, we stood in line for dinner times. We had late but wanted flex time. After standing in line for an hour, we were told everything was filled, even early dinner hour and flex would need to be waiting list. We were told we would be added. We were never contacted. I love the dinners and always raved to my daughter about the food. So, this was what I was looking forward to. Well, each night became more and more of a disappointment. I remember the great service and the relationship with our waiters. This was not the case.

We were seated at a booth for 5 people. They had to add a chair upstairs. I was still okay, but the food was lacking. The menu looked great. When short ribs were ordered, we received pot roast. I sent it back because it was pot roast. We just asked for a different entree. The melting cake was cooked the first night. But every other night, it was undercooked and we returned it 3 times. We stopped asking for dessert. My daughter was so unhappy. I explained that we had never had these problems. I did not understand. The food and service were lacking. And the room service was ordered but never came twice.

It only seemed to get worse. Weather had taken a turn. It rained. Still, I did not mind. I tried to remain positive explaining this is an adventure. The problem was, the ship was leaking from floor to floor. Buckets were placed everywhere. The smell of sewage was everywhere. I have no idea why. It was pretty bad, sick smell that we could not escape. We ran into friends in Florida that were on Freedom Carnival Cruise. They had the same dates, but were going ports we had traveled. So, this was their first cruise as well. We later learned that their ship stated on track.

When we were in port in Florida and the ship was leaving port, everyone was in an uproar. We did not know what was going on. We had not been to our room yet. We then found a letter advising we were going to another Port Cozumel and Progeso. We did not want to go to Cozumel, especially Progreso. I understand weather and keeping safe. The problem is, I did not want to go back to Cozumel and never to Progreso. We had gone to Cozumel on a previous cruise. We also live on the border of Mexico. We have grown up traveling to Mexico. That was the safest place right now. Even the Mexican president assured us it was safe. The only condition my daughter had for a cruise was not to travel to Mexico.

I had paid for a cruise to the Bahamas. I called Carnival while in route to Mexico and advised we had a problem. I advised the ship as well. Progreso is not the best port nor that safe. A few years back, a gun fight had opened up and we were caught in crossfire. Your cruise director has warning to stay in recommended areas. Needless to say, I was not putting my family in harm's way. We stayed on board and only walked off the gangplank to look at the water closer. My granddaughter stayed on board. We could see the fire. It turns out they were burning marijuana. We could see this and it frightened my granddaughter.

I would have paid less money for a Mexican cruise. So, my issue is the money spent. We had to cancel our excursions in the Bahamas. The used internet minutes charged over $150 to change airline flights etc. My travel insurance only covered hotels and food for an additional 4 days. My sister had to stay in New Orleans because flights were canceled. I'm requesting reimbursement of $1500 for the difference in ports if I booked this trip or 3 vouchers for another cruise of equal cost. I do not know why there were so many problems with the cruise itself.

I also went to the recommended shopping store Diamonds International. I bought a Movado watch. I had to contact the store because the warranty card was invalid and not honored. So, I filed a dispute with the store. Movado does not honor warranty unless signed by authorized dealer. They need to ensure that the stores recommended are selling authentic merchandise. So, needless to say, my hope is that this is not the normal experience. I know you are the fun ship. My hope is that I can win back my family and all go on another cruise in 2012.

I just got back from the Carnival Miracle, Sept. 2011. The food was consistent and terrible. We couldn't believe what they were serving. The quality of food was so poor. The bacon was like the microwave kind but greasy. We all broke out and had a hard time digesting the food. Also, Carnival claims on "earn 1500 points gambling, drinks on us". Lie. We earned the points only to find out it was only valid at the tables. The sign didn't say it. So to get a free drink, I have to gamble.

I cruised with Carnival for the third time on Carnival Freedom August 2011, and it will be my last cruise with Carnival. The food was really bad this time - the worst. People like a nice juicy steak, fish, chicken. They seemed to try and make everything so fancy that it just tasted bad. Over 80% of adults suffer from some form of lactose intolerance and yet there was no Lactaid or soy milk on board. I was told there would be soy milk but there was not.

The dining room people were great, but the portions they gave were really small. I expect to get enough when I eat. It's embarrassing to have to ask for a second helping. Room service's menu is a joke - only continental breakfasts and sandwiches. As expensive as a cruise is, I should be able to order whatever I want.

My wife and I were very disappointed with our recent experience on the Fantasy. The Celebration dining room service was deplorable. We had main seating, and we did not receive a wine list, or had our orders were not taken for nearly 40 minutes, each night. Our waiter, Eric, was aloof and indifferent. We did not receive our desserts until the dining room was empty, and the late sitting passengers were arriving. Two nights we were not even given a dessert menu.

We were in a group of 26 passengers, yet we were not seated together. In fact, some people sharing cabins were placed at different tables. The head waiter (from Turkey) was more concerned about the tips wait staff would receive, rather than arranging the tables to suit our party (His comment, when asked to accommodate our party, was "tonight is tip night, we must have 8 paying passengers at each table").

Cakes given to party members for anniversaries and birthdays were inedible. They were stale, and appeared to have been frozen. The public bathrooms smelled of raw sewage. The cabin bathrooms were mildewed. Our cabin steward, Vaz, barely made his presence known, and seemed indifferent to our requests. One of the photographers (from Croatia) was very rude, and was indifferent to our questions regarding reprints. At no time did any crew member even offer a simple greeting (i.e. Good Morning, etc.).

The breakfast food in the Windows by the Sea was extremely greasy and was obviously not made onboard. This was my wife's third cruise, and my second, on board the Fantasy. Each time we have been increasingly disappointed with the experience. My wife has previously sailed on the Imagination, and was completely satisfied with that experience. We are seasoned "cruisers" and we will not sail on the Fantasy again, nor will we recommend it to anyone.