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Carnival Cruise Lines

Poor Treatment of Disabled Customers

Carnival Cruise Lines • Bad Food • Billing Errors • Cancellation Policies • Children's Programs • Crime on Board • Crime in Port • Damaged Luggage • Disabled Passengers • Medical Care • Missed Ports • Overbooking • Poor Service • Safety Issues • Wedding Services • "Branded" by Carnival News • Carnival Cruise Lines to Refund $40 Million in Fuel Surcharges • Illness Strikes Carnival Ships Cruise Notes • Medical Care Spotty • Health Care Guidelines • Consumer Fact Sheet

Angela of River Grove IL (7/24/02): On March 16th, I sent the following letter to Carnival Cruise: "To Whom It May Concern: I am writing in reference to the poor service I received onboard the Holiday which embarked on Monday, March 4, 2002 out of Mobile, Al. I have been on a few Carnival Cruises in the past and the service has always been wonderful but I feel Carnival completely dropped the ball on this vacation.

Let me start out with the embarking process ... My boyfriend is handicapped so we arrived at the port early so that we could take our time and also avoid the long lines. We arrived at the port and were told to line our cars up and take our luggage out and the porters would then take our luggage. We took our luggage out of the vehicle and no one came over to help us, I then left him standing along side of the tent and proceeded to go park my car. I arrived into a gravel pit that they considered a parking lot and was advised that they did not have any handicap parking. I then had to run back to where my boyfriend was standing and fight through a crowd of people to get the porters to take my luggage.

We got into line to check in and I noticed that the line was going very slow, so I asked a female carnival representative if there was anywhere for us to sit or if she could perhaps get my boyfriend through the security checkpoint sooner. Just then another person came up to ask her a question and she bolted off, leaving us standing there. I then went up to another gentleman asked him to help us - he was very nice and helped us get through the security checkpoint.

I then went up to get our cabin assignment and was informed that since we did not have a cabin assigned, we would have to wait for a carnival rep to finish with a couple clients and then we would get our cabin assignment. After waiting approx 30 minutes - she was finally able to help us. We were assigned to cabin M2 on the ship and were informed that we were upgraded. Well if this was an upgraded cabin, I would hate to see what the others looked like.

We arrived into the cabin and there was a musty-moldy order in that part of the hallway. Our closet door was broken and every time the ship hit a wave, the closet door would slam against the desk. I turned on the water in the sink and brown water came out for the first five minutes.

Also, to top it off - we had duct tape sealing a crack in the bathroom. Our porthole was so dirty that we kept the curtains closed the whole time because it was disgusting. Our toilets were out twice on the 5 day cruise - once for a whole 24 hrs - I have been on cruises before and I do know that occasionally the toilet system goes down but this was in my opinion unsanitary.

Let's move on to the shore excursions portion of the cruise. We were told that if we did not purchase a Carnival excursion and would like to embark to Playa del Carmen before 10:00 am than we would need to meet in the Americana Lounge and someone would take us to Deck 3. We wanted to be out on the island early so we were down promptly at 8 am to go to Playa del Carmen. We were then informed that the passengers that purchased shore excursions were getting on the boats first and then we were going to be moving out. Needless to say, it was 10-1030am before we arrived to Playa del Carmen because we had to wait for the others to get top priority. I think that this is very greedy on Carnival's part to give higher priority to the guests who paid more money for their overpriced shore excursions and treat the guests who did not purchase shore excursions as inferior.

Also, when we boarded the tender to Playa del Carmen, my boyfriend and I took a seat up front as possible so that he would be able to get off the tender with no problem due to his disability. There was also a lady with a wheelchair who stayed up front so that she could get off first as well. Once we arrived to Playa - we were told all the passengers were boarding off the top of the tender. I would think that Carnival would advise that anyone with a disability to please go to the top of the ship so that you can get off especially when my boyfriend has problems climbing stairs.

Finally, the disembarkation process was a complete joke. We were told that we were running behind schedule because their was some fog the night before. This was not a problem because I understand that Carnival cannot control the weather. However, once I was back from breakfast, I figured I would go and lay down in my cabin a little longer since the ship would not be at port until 11am. I was laying down when my cabin steward busted into the room and told me that he already cleaned the room for the next people. I apologized and he just ran out of there screaming about how he cleaned the room. I thought that this was completely out of line and felt like we were being pushed out the door after he received his tip.

The cruise director advised all special needs people to be down on Deck 3 for disembarkation. On the morning of our cruise, we went down to Deck 3 and were told that the Cruise Director doesn't know what he is talking about and we need to go sit in the Main Lobby. We went up to the Main Lobby and waited for 3 hours to disembark off the cruise ship. The cruise director kept coming on the intercom and advising us that is was only going to be a few more minutes every 20 minutes. At 12pm he advised that the ship was clear so all the handicapped passengers moved down to deck 3. About 20 minutes later, the cruise director came back on and advised that the ship was not clear and he didn't know how long it was going to be. So now there are approx 10-15 handicap people along with their helpers sitting in the small confined areas of Deck 3. My boyfriend has now been standing for two hours with his bad leg when they finally cleared the ship.

The gangplanks for Deck 3 were not even wide enough to fit wheelchairs so these people had to lift the people in wheelchairs which in my opinion was dangerous.

We then go into the tent and retrieve our luggage which they still were unloading at 230 pm. I then leave my boyfriend by the curb and run to get my car to pick him up because there is no way that he will be able to walk to the parking lot and carry luggage. I get in my car and there is a long line of cars waiting to pick up passengers. I go around all of them and proceed to get yelled at by the parking attendant. I proceed to tell him that my boyfriend is handicapped and I need to pick him up. He tells me he doesn't care and that I need to wait in line with everyone else. I asked him if the disabled get any sort of priority and he said "no-every one is trying to get out of here so you will need to wait in line with the rest of the cars."

Finally when I'm at the point of tears, a customs official comes over and convinces the guy to let me through. I have been on quite a few Carnival Cruises and have recommended them to anyone who will listen but after this experience, I will NEVER go on a Carnival Cruise again. I just wanted to take my boyfriend on vacation for our one year anniversary. He was not too keen on going on a cruise but I convinced him by telling him how wonderful it is and how much he is going to like it. After this experience, I am completely embarrassed for even recommending this vacation.

I usually take 2-3 vacations per year, but Carnival will not be one of my picks in the future. Also, I recommend that you adjust some of your policies for Handicapped individuals because in my opinion, you did not provide adequate accommodations for the handicap which is against the law. " Approx 3 weeks later, I received a letter in the mail advising me that "In regards to Carnival being handicap accessible, we adhere to all of the standards of the country where the ships are registered." This came with a voucher for 10% off my next cruise. I dont think that this is adequate compensation for the situation that occurred and I also believe that Carnival misrepresents accessibility for the handicap.

Eric of Redington Beach FL (7/12/02):
My wife and I boarded the Jubilee in Tampa Florida for a 5 day cruise...our first issue. Our main bag never arrived, we just got it back after 3 weeks. Carnival had the bag delivered and we had to pay the 50 bucks COD.

More important, we boarded and the room smelled like a sewer ... really bad. We were told all other rooms were booked. We were going to leave the ship but were told they could fix it. It was methane gas! We have letters from the Carnival Pursers office confirming this.

They did not fix it, we slept on the deck one night. One day it was so bad we had to leave our door open. We could not believe the corporate office's total disregard for our safety and that of the other tourists. Carnivals official response -- they gave us 50 dollars on board to buy replacement clothes and a 15% discount on our next methane cruise.

Patricia of Troy NY (10/31/03):
We took a cruise for our 40th anniversary. My bed vibrated whenever we were moving or the engines were running. I was constantly sick to my stomach. We never took a cruise befor so I did not think this was unusual. The food was 3rd rate. The shuffleboard equipment was chipped and to get to the court you had to climb stairs. Not handicapped friendly.

I am handicapped and was forced to climb down 4 flights of stairs to get off the ship for the excursions we had signed up for. I told the man in charge I could not do stairs and he told me "there aren't many, you can make it." I don't think 4 flights counts as not too many.

On the offshore excursions we were to have an hour and half free time, instead we were taken to a jewlery factory where we were to spend 30 minutes. The bus was there over an hour. Only 2 people on the bus made a purchase. The ship supplied a catalog of all the jewlery, sold it aboard ship and promoted it at gatherings.

Also our swimming pool was not filled with water the first 2 1/2 days. There was water in the hot tub but water was not put in the pool until they used it to play a game. I called Carnival. Their response was we could have 10% off another cruise. I will never forget our 40th anniversary cruise - THE CRUISE FROM HELL,

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