The DeBorde family of Galveston, Texas had high hopes for their first-ever cruise vacation – a four-day sailing on the Carnival Ecstasy from their hometown to Mexico. According to the DeBordes the cruise didn’t live up to what was promised in Carnival’s brochure or website and they wanted the line to own up to its “Vacation Guarantee” so they could get off the ship and get their money back. There was just one big problem – they didn’t tell Carnival they wanted to leave.
Finding the perfect getaway
The DeBordes have been through a lot as their 10-year-old son has endured a chronic health condition that has required over thirty-five surgeries in his short life. Kristi DeBorde told me that she promised her son when he was healthy enough to travel the family would go away on a special vacation. When the doctors finally gave the go ahead for the family to travel she scoured the Internet for two months searching for the perfect getaway within their budget.
The family decided on a cruise aboard the Carnival Ecstasy from Galveston since it offered everything they wanted in a vacation including a children’s area with many activities to suit their son. The DeBordes had never been on a cruise and Kristi wasn’t completely sure if it was the best option for her son. Before booking she called Carnival for reassurance to confirm that all the activities listed in the brochure and online would be onboard during the cruise, she was told yes. She was sold and booked the cruise.
This is not like the brochure!
When the family boarded the Ecstasy they were not happy because the virtual tour on Carnival’s website did not match the actual ship. “The queen bed that was promised by phone from the Carnival representative was actually two twin beds pushed together, our window was cloudy, dirty, and could hardly see out of it,” said Kristi DeBorde.
She complained that the food was “horrendous” and was upset that the laser tag that was on the Camp Carnival children’s program was cancelled and that there was only coloring and finger-painting. Additionally, there was no basketball court on the Ecstasy as depicted on the website and the miniature golf course was impossible to use because it was too windy. The aforementioned activities were important to DeBorde’s son because he is not allowed to swim since he has a stomach catheter. On the second day of the cruise she says her son wanted to go to the 12-14 year old room to play X-Box, however, he wasn’t allowed because he was only 10.
By this time Kristi DeBorde had had enough and went to Guest Services after noticing Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee. The guarantee states if a guest isn’t completely satisfied with their cruise experience Carnival will refund the unused portion of the cruise fare and pay for the flight back to the embarkation port. There was one stipulation – a guest must notify onboard managers before arrival of the first non-U.S. port of call. Since the following day the ship was docking in Cozumel the family met the criteria.
Kristi DeBorde says she was in tears when speaking with personnel at Guest Services and stated that she wanted to go home. The crew member told her that the hotel director would call her in the morning. The following day when the ship docked in Mexico there was no call. Upset, DeBorde returned to Guest Services only to be told that Camp Carnival was going to have a party for her son. She advised them that this was not good enough and demanded to speak with a manager. Later in the evening, while the ship was headed back to Galveston, the hotel director called the family and invited them to come to his office.
Since Kristi DeBorde believed Carnival’s website was full of “false advertising” the hotel director went over the website with her. In regards to her complaint that the pictures did not match the ship he told her that the online pictures were just general photos and that information about the Ecstasy wasn’t up to date in regards to basketball court. He tried to reassure DeBorde that the dining and other activities onboard for her son would be better. Still, she was not satisfied, and the hotel director typed a letter with a reference number and advised DeBorde to call Carnival headquarters in Miami when the family returned home.
When the DeBordes returned home they immediately called Carnival to vent their complaints. A guest relations supervisor stated it wasn’t the line’s fault because her son couldn’t find something to do and that food complaints were subjective. When she asked why she wasn’t allowed to use Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee the supervisor told her since she didn’t specifically state “I want to disembark the ship” she did not qualify. “I am not sure how they could misunderstand what it was I wanted as I was crying and telling them we wanted to go home,” said DeBorde.
After getting nowhere with Carnival, the DeBordes contacted Consumer Traveler for help.
Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee
In an industry that sells fun, sun, fine dining, and adventure, glossy brochures and spiffy websites can raise some very high expectations. Clearly, the DeBordes cruise to Mexico didn’t live up to what they expected from Carnival’s website. Were their expectations reasonable? Could Carnival have done more?
I contacted Carnival to get their side of the story and spoke with Carnival spokesperson, Vance Gulliksen. While researching the family’s complaint Gulliksen told me the DeBordes complaints and meetings with ship personnel were logged through a tracking system that is tied to guest relations. The report confirmed Kristi DeBordes account regarding food and activities, but she never requested to leave the ship in Cozumel. “On Carnival ships, if you invoke the Vacation Guarantee, you are absolutely allowed to do so and disembark the ship and get a partial refund as long as you follow the parameters,” said Gulliksen.
Cruising isn’t for everyone
Kristi DeBorde is very disappointed in Carnival’s stance. “I would have gone to Disney World had I known the only thing for my son to do was watch a couple of 200-pound women dirty dancing on each other or watch other sweaty people get belligerently drunk for 4 days. There are many different ways I could have spent our $1,600,” she said.
While I sympathize with the DeBordes all of this could have been prevented if they had consulted with a knowledgeable travel agent, especially since it was their first cruise. An agent would have briefed them on what cruising is really like from accommodations (all cruise ship staterooms have convertible beds) to amenities, facilities, and clientele to make sure it met their requirements. Most importantly for the DeBordes, a travel agent would have gone to bat for them when they weren’t happy with their cruise and would have told them to invoke Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee.
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Time out Anita. How more specific does she have to get beyond “I want to go home”?
This sounds like a case to me where the on-board managers kept promising her enough and delaying long enough so she didn’t get off and they didn’t have to pay her.
Furthermore, if they don’t offer it they shouldn’t advertise it. That means no pictures of a Queen bed when all they do is push two twins together (as opposed to a zip-link bed that hotels use that allow a bed to be a two twins or a king) and make them up as two twins. If you show a basketball court, you should have one. Finger painting and coloring is not a childrens program.
Sounds to me like Carnival played fast and loose with their descriptions and failed to deliver what they promised.
Also sounds like to me that she would have been better contacting someone else for assistance. You failed to be any sort of advocate at all (except for the cruise line). A customer shouldn’t need a TA to get someone to deliver on what they were paid to do. Maybe it would be better to let someone else on the staff handle these from now on. I think you’ve had one too many free cruises to assist customer with cruiseline issues.
I have to agree with John, Anita. I think you focused on how a travel agent might have helped her but I think this woman did her research properly. Yes, an agent would have known about the bedding situation, BUT she didn’t just book this off the Carnival website. She called them…spoke to an actual Carnival agent to verify the information that was important to her. She was obviously someone who didn’t know much about cruising and the agent she spoke to should have been more specific and forthcoming. It sounds like this agent was told to just focus on getting the sale, rather than making the client happy.
And as for telling them she wanted to disembark, how is “I want to go home” any different? Semantics? Come on…most people don’t understand the industry terms…so she didn’t actually use the word “disembark.” Are you kidding me? this woman was obviously distressed and had good reasons to be unhappy. I would think they would have been glad to send her home so that she wouldn’t tell everyone on the ship about her experience. Carnival should refund her money and not give her a “voucher” for future use since if I were her, I’d never want to go back on one of their ships again.
While I sympathise with the family, it sounds like they did not use a reputable travel agent and made “budget” rather than “quality” the most important factor. When people buy on the Internet rather than using a good travel agent, this is unfortunately what happens. Hopefully Carnival will help them, because it sounds like they have no advocate.
@ the other John….I agree that “I wanna leave” is pretty clear and I bet that CCL did what they could to delay and appease. Airfare for at least three from Cozumel would be more than the $1600 cruise.
But, Anita makes good points. A trusted professional could have helped here and set the expectations. I have turned down three bookings this week for a weekend group outing I have because the clients were too far away and the travel time would impede their enjoyment. I prefer to lose the booking than to have someone come away with a bad taste. As Anita said, a professional would be able to let them know the Fantasy is one of the oldest ships in the fleet. Certainly Carnival is not going to tell them that without a fight.
As for the photos–have you ever gone to any restaurant and had your food presented like it was shown on a menu?
Yes, perhaps Anita could have flexed some more muscle to get something back for the clients–and I do think that Carnival owes them something. After all the laser tag is an issue, the window is an issue, and certainly their lack of response is an issue.
Time out John!
Your comments are unfair. As a travel professional for over 35 years, we are the best resource for guests who are first time passengers.
1. If she had been my client, the first thing I would have told her is that Ecstasy is one of the oldest ships in the fleet, and does not have all the bells and whistles that the newer ships offer.
2. If she had done a little more research or used a travel agent we would have told her that staterooms are twin bedded that convert to a queen bed. If the question is asked “does it have a queen bed?” – it does, and yes it should be addressed as twins that convert, but again, a professional travel agent would have conquered the subject.
3. Reasonable expectations are required of every passenger who sails, regardless of cruise line. That is why many travel professionals will shy away from these lower end priced products because the liability we face with passengers such as the DeBordes, who are new to cruising. Websites are selling tools, creating a desire to step aboard – not the end all educational tool.
4. Last but not least, it doesn’t cost you anymore to use a TA. But what you gain from our experience will educate you so you can make a well informed decision. Just like purchasing a car, you don’t assume that it will have the beverage cooler in the dashboard unless a qualified sales person specifically state that it is part of the equipment package. While you can’t test drive a cruise ship, we have and can help our clients make those important decisions.
5. Cruise Lines are not in the habit of giving back money especially in today’s cruise ship pricing structures. I believe in that very long “terms and conditions” contracts that all passengers must sign, there is a disclaimer that “shipboard activities are subject to change.” So Anita presented a very balanced report of the he said/she said situation. Last but not least, the traveling public can be very emotional, so the passengers “I want to go home” plea, may not has been as “verbal” as she thinks. A piece of paper, simply stating we want to disembark as per your vacation guarantee” presented to guest relations (and get a copy of it) would have made the point much clearer.
John, when someone travels as a consumer, they are not without responsibility. I am sorry that the family did not have the dream vacation that they had envisioned, but part of the formula was missing. As the statement goes about travel agents – ” our experience is priceless.”
About the beds I agree with Anita, all cruise ships use the push together beds. I’ve been on Carnival and the beds are more than pushed together, it’s not like you fall through the crack. I’m inclined to agree that “I want to go home” should be interpreted as “I want to disembark” and I think it sounds like they were given the run around long enough to avoid Carnival having to pay for last minute one way fares.
It is true that Carnival’s cuisine is not five star, but you’re not paying five star prices. On my Carnival cruise, I’d have to say the omelette bar was the best cuisine on the ship, everything else was ordinary, but nourishing. For the price I couldn’t have expected more.
Even without a travel agent, if a trip is important to you, you need to do thorough research. A cursory reading of the blogs on http://www.cruisecritic.com or http://www.cruisemates.com would have revealed that a four day cruise on a mass market line is a booze cruise. Further, Carnival has not yet shed its early image as a cruise line for party goers. Disney cruise lines, or a combo of Disney World and one of their ships would have been a much better choice for this family.
I do get a little tired of people who won’t do some basic research then complain that their vacation turns out exactly how everyone on the blogs said it would.
To John and Jen…..let’s look at a few things here. Other than the food issue, it seems as if Carnival did deliver on what they promised. If you look at cabin descriptions, on all cruise lines, it states either 2 twin or 1 queen. On different cruise dates, the bed configuration is different, so yes, to get a queen, you’re going to push 2 twins together to get 1 bed.
Basketball? In looking at the pictures of the Ecstasy that Carnival has online, I don’t see any basketball court displayed. Where did she the idea that the Ecstasy specifically have a basketball court?
Miniture golf…..it’s the cruise lines fault that the time they were sailing was windy, therefore rendering the mini-golf course unusable? C’mon, use some common sense.
And she complains that her 10 year old son was turned away from the 12-14 year old playroom? Why? He is 10 years old! The playroom with the video games was designated for minimum age of 12. He was 2 years too young. Why should Carnival have made an exception for him?
I’m having to agree with Anita and Suzanne here. The client didn’t truly know what she was booking, and went for cheap, instead of quality.
I sympathize with Kristi. I have been on the Ecstasy out of Galveston and it is little more than a “party hearty” ship with lots of booze. Our food was good and the dining experience was excellent, but everything else was a big disappointment.
Anita’s not a consumer advocate, nor does she pretend to be one. If they wanted someone to throw some light on their plight and expose it to people, she’s the go-to. If you’re looking for an ombudsman, you need to look elsewhere.
That being said, I put blame for this squarely on Ms. DeBorde. You need to do your homework, and if someone honestly believes that means talking to a company’s employee (the PVP she spoke with) and looking over their marketing materials (the Carnival website), she’s already failed. You’ve got Carnival’s side of the story–Now it’s time to look for impartial folks and their take on a Carnival cruise experience. Even if you don’t go looking for impartial perspectives, talking to an agent is fine, as long as you understand that there may be some bias.
Next, the handling of the interaction with Guest Services and the Hotel Director leave a lot of information out. The initial contact was undoubtedly logged, but what sort of followup was there on her part? She seems to have been aware of the guarantee at this point, and realized that she could exercise it, if she so chose. If she was truly interested in using the guarantee and getting off the ship in Cozumel and having Carnival fly them back home, why did she passively wait for the Hotel Director to contact her? Did she honestly think that once she was on her way home, she could somehow get Carnival to honor the guarantee? Even if they did, the guarantee states they’ll get a refund for “unused nights,” of which there would be none once they pull back into Galveston. Simply saying “I want to go home,” is not the same thing as saying, “I want to invoke my rights under the Carnival Vacation Guarantee.”
I’d be interested in knowing what the DeBordes did during the day in Cozumel. Did they get off the ship and wander around, did they putter about the ship, or did they spend the day camped out at Guest Services, working on getting Carnival to own up to their responsibility under the guarantee. I suspect the answer is somewhere between one and two. Given a situation, the staff can and will summon management to handle things immediately. In this case, with something as time-sensitive as packing up and getting off the ship before it leaves port, I think most reasonable people would take responsibility for their vacation and not simply leave it to others.
On a recent Celebrity cruise, we had made prior arrangements through Access Services to have a ship phone available to us because of my stepdaughter’s allergies. When that phone wasn’t there, and we were told they simply don’t give them out, we didn’t passively wait for someone to get in touch–We were proactive in managing the issue, ensuring a speedy resolution.
While I sympathize with the DeBordes and the struggles they’ve endured with their son’s condition, this doesn’t give them a pass on responsibility. A good agent will act as an advocate, but even relying on an agent doesn’t relieve them of the responsibility.
Jen and John,
You missed the point; having a travel agent means you have an advocate. 75% of the people who buy on the Internet OVERPAY, and 99% buy the wrong insurance. Travel agents get calls all the time from people who got shafted buying things on the Internet. Of course no one at the cruise line is going to tell you what’s wrong with their cruises because they are paid to sell one product, just like the airlines. If you call Continental, they aren’t going to tell you that you can possibly get better flights and times on American. Travel agents sell ALL cruise lines and can tell you the differences as well as hopefully meeting your expectations. If you want the bargain basement price, you have to make concessions and deal with the crowd that books those lines, which is especially true of the shorter cruises. I don’t get the complaint about the zipper mattresses and can only imagine that nothing would make this customer happy, because she appears to have champagne taste on a beer budget.
Hello Everyone,
When I write a column like this I am telling a story of both sides.
I’ve heard of people using Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee and being able to get off and receive a refund with no problem. Could Carnival have handled this better? Yes. But, in all fairness to them they aren’t in the business of mind reading so it seems things weren’t very well communicated onboard the ship on both sides.
Now, without getting into specifics, there is more to this story. To put it delicately there was a lot of stress with one family member. I got a taste of the ’stress’ in a few e-mails that to put it mildly were uncalled for and not suitable for publication. When that happened the light bulb went on.
Simply put, had the family gone to a travel agent I really think they would have ended up in Disney World, where I truly believe they would have been better off.
Best,
Anita
I don’t know…crying and moaning that you want to go home…. I don’t think that is the same as saying “I want to cancel the rest of my trip and go home per your policy”. I bet cruise staff hear some form of “I want off the ship” a surprising number of times each cruise. Just think about all the people hungover, seasick, mad at their traveling companions, kids mad at parents, etc. Should Carnival get them all off the ship upon hearing I-wish-I-was-home, when the next day the same person is having a great time again?
Ginny lets just say that you and I disagree on certain things.
1. I would agree that she probably should have used a TA to make their decision and choose the best option for her family but they didn’t. You are correct that TA’s know the various products better than most cruisers and can guide someone’s decision making. I also agree that TA can keep you from making dumb decisions that cost you money and that in some, but not all cases, it won’t cost you more (some TAs have followed the airlines with booking fees etc).
2. I don’t agree with Anita’s stance that because they used Carnival’s marketing materials and believed them but didn’t use a TA that Carnival doesn’t have the majority of the responsibility for failing to provide the experience advertised on their website. The traveler did research and took resonable steps to verify information. They have very valid complaints about activities / facilities that Carnival advertised but didn’t provide.
3. Expectations – You’ll notice that I didn’t address the food, which stinks on Carnival, but isn’t really outlined on their site and subjective. However, she can reasonable expect that the activities / facilities listed on the website and she verified over the phone would be available. They weren’t. In the case of basketball, they hadn’t even built the facility so there’s no way that they could have provided it and an “act of god” kept it from happening. Also, two twin beds pushed together but made up as twins does not equate to a queen.
4. Conflict of interest. Anita has a huge conflict of interest and it showed in this case. I don’t know how a cruise line could be more in the wrong than in this case. They clearly did not provide nor had any intention of providing things listed as being on that ship and verified with Carnival prior to travel. Anita routinely excepts gifts / free travel from various cruise lines (Carnival being one). Her reporting on this story shows that she can’t / won’t be a consumer advocate. That’s fine. She can continue to report on the industry. Just don’t pretend to take on the role. There are others on the staff that will.
Anita, sounds like another one of those “let’s see if we can vacation for free” types. Goes on vacation, complains the whole time, then demands a refund. I remember a story on one professional complainer who repeatedly got discounts for future cruises by complaining, until the cruise line woke up to what he was doing and declined to do business with him ever again.
Hello John,
I’ve never had a conflict of interest covering consumer pieces in the cruise industry. To say that I am not a consumer advocate because I go on press trips is truly unfair.
What you should be asking yourself is why aren’t there more cruise ombudsmans out there. There’s clearly a need for it.
Best,
Anita
Cruising isn’t for everyone is correct and Mrs. DeBorde should have done a little more homework. Most all advertising for any product uses stage props in their photos. Cruise websites are probably more realistic than the norm in the ad world. I’m sorry for her situation, but I don’t think the cruise ship was/is her problem.
Although the Ecstasy is an older ship it has just been updated and the crew is the best in the Carnival fleet having again won the ‘Eagle Award’.
Anita, if there were “issues” created by a member of DeBorde’s party, you should have mentioned that up front. As written, your article makes Carnival appear the bad guy and DeBorde a hapless victim. Based on your response to comments, it appears that the truth, as usual, is somewhere in between.
I understand the importance of using a TA for a complex trip or doing something/going somewhere you’ve never been, but some of the posters here seem to be more interested in saying how wonderful they are than actually responding to the issue you presented. My last interaction with a TA was dreadful. The lack of knowledge of the so-called Australian travel “expert,” someone with more than 20 years’ experience, would have created major problems if not for the intervention of locals. Everything she touched was screwed up; everything I did myself online was fine. Go figure!
Hi Paulette,
The issues were in the e-mails to me, not what happened onboard the ship. They were left out for editorial reasons because they were, in short, profane.
The DeBordes contacted a bunch of other journalists regarding the cruise, but no one else wanted to take the issue to Carnival. I did and I wrote about in hopes others will learn from it.
Best,
Anita
Anita:
Thanks for taking the time to let your readers know “the rest of the story,” as well as taking the time to try to help the DeBordes. David vs. Goliath does make for an interesting narrative, but David isn’t always innocent and Goliath isn’t always the bully.
One thing that I would like to bring up is that while travel agents are an invaluable resource, some are not good people, and will not always act in their customers’ best interests. People need to do THEIR OWN research too, and that means more than just talking to an employee, looking at the company’s web site, or even talking to a travel agent.
What would we think of someone who bought a car solely on the basis of looking at the manufacturer’s web site and talking to someone at the car dealer? Even if that dealer represented four different manufacturers, would we still say that person did their homework? In many ways, a vacation represents an even bigger investment. For many of us, our leisure time is something even more valuable than money, and a cruise vacation represents a tremendous investment of that valuable resource.
Boy, I hope this person doesn’t go to fast food restaraunts!! I can here it now “Hey, this hamburger doesn’t look like the one in the picture!!” or, to a movie “I want my money back, the movie wasn’t very good and the trailer said it would be!”
I have to agree that they should have used a TA (and no, I am NOT an agent but I know a good one that *I* use) and saved themselves a LOT of headaches. In fact, my agent told me that if they paid $1600 for 2 adults and 1 child they paid WAY too much for just an outside cabin (with a dirty window!?! They should have said something about it, we did and the next day they were out cleaning everyone’s windows on our side of the ship!). My agent told me that SHE could have booked 2+1 for anywhere from $950 to $1400 (and yes, that’s with taxes and port charges – just depends on WHEN you go).
In any case, it sounds like the staff on board tried to accomodate her son very well (even throwing him a party? wow!) and I know from experience that the 2-11 crowd (Camp Carnival) has MUCH more to do than just finger paints and crayons… give me a break…
My agent also said that she hardly EVER will put a brand new cruiser onto a ’short’ trip because the service is worse, the food is worse and the ships are old… But if they insist, she tells them all that and warns them ahead of time that this is not ‘typical’ of a GOOD cruise…
Also, I wonder what kind of beds they have at home, I have found Carnivals (new) beds to be VERY comfortable! As to the food, if you want better quality, eat in the dining room, not from a buffet!
One can easily sympathize or empathize with the DeBordes given the health condition of their son and etc. but they should have used a professional travel agent in a traditional brick & mortar travel agency in her area. If they did, I am positive that they won’t have been on that cruise based upon the benefits of using a traditional brick & mortar local travel agent.
Also, searches on the Internet should have come back that a lot of Carnival cruises are booze cruises, party ships and etc. I typed ‘problems with carnival cruises’ in Google and it generated 237,000 links\hits\replies. I am sure that not all 237,000 replies are strictly relaated to Carnival but just clicking the links on the first page and reading the pages should have raised red flags for most people.
While DeBordes needs to take responsibility for not using a professional travel agent from a local brick & mortar travel agency, Carnvial isn’t innocent and they need to take responsibility for their actions. The informaiton (i.e. basketball court)about the cruise ship was not up to date. Misinformation from the Canrival agent. Also, there should be a disclaimer on their website stating the pictures on their website are general photos and do not reflect the actual cruise ship, rooms and etc.
I think that travel providers do a very bad job in providing accurate information to the consumers, disclosing information and etc. Last week, one of the three hotels that I stayed at was going through renovations. If it was disclosed on their website, I would have stay at another hotel. Another hotel, the concierge lounge was closed…again, it wasn’t disclosed on their website and I would have stay at another hotel.
The more I read about cruises, the more they sound like the equivalent of vacationing in a mine field. “Don’t trust the company info.” “You didn’t read XXX blog–well, shame on you, everyone knows you have to read it.” “If you had used a travel agent, you would have known.” A longtime reader of this site, I’m starting to wonder if TAs are paying you a kickback. Having recently used a TA for a vacation to the Caribbean, I have to say that she added nothing to the experience. After we booked the trip, she preferred to do most communication via snail mail(!). And on any questions I did have about availability of specific amenities on site, airline baggage rules, TSA security (after the Detroit xmas incident), potential ramifications of the Haiti earthquake and relief efforts, she was completely clueless. She said she had stayed in the room type we booked; and while it was ok, it was definitely the most “tired” part of the resort. While I had heard good things about her office, I would not recommend them myself. Finding and vetting a TA is at least as time consuming and difficult as booking the vacation itself!
I enjoy reading these educational articles. Thanks Anita for sharing your knowledge and expertise! Best part of these articles is the range of comments. I agree with several, but especially with Ginny Gordon’s thoughtful comments. Regarding the DeBorde family, they had a “special need”, that needed a “special approach”. That didn’t happen. As pointed out, their homework should have started with using a travel agent and a venting process. Because not all travel agents are the same….Dah! Also, there are Professional/ Certified Home Based Travel Agents to consider. The internet can be a great research tool …..got to ask, do you believe everything you read? In today’s world, traveling is like minefield you want to cross. Do you go alone or do you find the best expert possible? How luckily do you feel? A true Professional Travel Agent works as a consultant with their clients to insure that not only their needs are met, but they have a vacation full of precious memories. This includes insuring that their vacation package is the best value at the lowest price. Regarding Carnival, I’ve run out of space!
I completely agree with the first John. The cruise people dragged their feet to avoid paying. Anita did nothing to help these people if that was supposed to be her purpose. Carnival was big time wrong. Mom did her homework and everyone else passed the buck.
Gee thanks Carol. Maybe I should write puff pieces about the cruise industry instead.
Best
Anita
The more I read this website, the less likely I am ever to book a cruise. I have no doubt that this family had unrealistic expectations. I have no doubt that if they had used a travel agent they would have ended up at Disney World (where they may also have had a bad experience and may have then yelled profanities at their travel agent). But the idea that one needs a travel agent to protect you from cruise ship marketing materials and the fact that Carnival did not exercise its customer out based on a technicality based on words is just two more strikes against what I read as the sleaziest vacation option out there. This family accidentally took a booze cruise and it never occurred to the crew to try and cater to their un-booze cruise needs, like maybe letting the kid play x-box, since their laser tag was not available. This family was never going to be happy, but really Carnival didn’t even try, so the least they could do is acknowledge that and either send them home when they had the opportunity or refund them.
The tough luck attitude of cruise passengers is the number one reason why I’d never ever put my vacation time in the hands of the cruise lines.
What’s the point in writing 1000+ word columns like this when the gist of it always is “it’s their fault, they should’ve used a travel agent”? I’m sorry, but it’s a tired, overused formula.
I just “unapproved” (yes, censored) a couple of comments that I feel were crossing the line and getting abusive and personal. Let’s try to stick to the problem that the DeBordes faced. Calling each other names and questioning their motives serves no purpose.
On with the constructive comments. Should the DeBordes have used a travel agent? (Maybe? Probably?) Did they clearly state they wanted off the ship? (Maybe they thought so, then again maybe not.) There are lots of comments here that are thoughtful and raise excellent questions.
Now back to shoveling out the 20 inches of snow covering my Virginia steps and sidewalk. And it’s still snowing.
I’ll bite. Whether she clearly stated she wanted off the ship is debatable. In print, “I want to go home” sounds like the whine of a complainer, not a person who is trying to get results, so a person in the customer service business may very well not interpret that remark correctly. However, she WAS promised a call from the manager that never happened. It is my belief that everything that went wrong from there could have been stopped if the manager had simply followed through on that phone called she was promised – assuming Mrs. DeBorde was willing to be reasonable. Based on Anita’s follow-up postings, I wonder about that. But we’ll never know, since the manager did NOT make that call she was promised.
I keep reading so many of these, “A Travel Agent would have solved all of your problems,” answers.
Fact is, if Carnival is allowing people to book from the website, then they and they alone have the responsibility to tell such well-known facts such as a queen bed is really two twin beds pushed together. And they should reveal a true profile of their customers, that is, how many parents with children go aboard the Ecstasy from Galveston. A party-hearty ship is not suitable for a child with a medical condition.
I think it is fairly obvious that the DeBorde family had a rather limited budget. They wanted a special experience for a chronically sick kid. So the wisdom here is to blame them for not using a travel agent. OMG. How often do travel agents turn the victim into the accused? Why bother with this column when the TA’s defend the cruise companies, the source of their paychecks.
I’m with the folks that the “you should have used a travel agent” advice often dispensed here is really beside the point, often useless, and doesn’t address the particular issue at hand. Finding a good travel agent is a difficult and error-prone process. I haven’t had one yet do a thing for me I could not have done myself. I had one that did a worse job.
Really, the only issue here is that the traveler claimed they stated they wanted to get off the ship and go home (and, by implication, invoking the guarantee.) Carnival states they did not invoke the guarantee. The specific complaints (food, activities, etc.), are beside the point, as they are either subjective or Carnival’s tush is well covered there by the cruise contract. (except maybe the basketball court… if it ain’t there, that’s a problem)
There are problems on both sides here. The traveler should have followed up before going ashore on Cozumel, since the guarantee is useless once the ship leaves Cozumel. Carnival should have made the promised phone call before the port visit.
On a single-port cruise (Galveston -> Coz -> Galveston,) what can the staff possibly do after leaving Coz? You aren’t getting a refund because you didn’t like the food, nor should you. It isn’t promised, and is unlikely to be given.
I think, in the end, there will be plenty of blame to go around. It appears like the pax was hysterical, and in such cases, any customer service rep goes into “nod politely and get the customer calmed down mode”. Is this the right thing to do? No. But, if you are sobbing, getting your specific request across is quite difficult, and it isn’t going to encourage the rep to go out of their way to do anything.
Oh, and for the folks that talked about the return airfare being more than the cruse… Carnival’s guarantee includes return airfare, gratis. It actually is a pretty good deal. It does mean, however, you’ll be stuck in the home port until your flight home though, unless you make other arrangements.
@ summerbl4ck: It is hard to find a good travel agent. In the 20+ years that I have been traveling for business, I have been only able to find one good travel agent that I could recommend to friends, family and business associates.
@SirWired: I agree with you that finding a good travel agent is a difficult and error-prone process. There are some good travel agents that are on this forum and I wish that one or two of them were located in the PHX area.