Worst cruise ever!!!
Carnival Venezia Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
5 Night Canada & New England (New York Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 14, 2023
Ship: Carnival Venezia
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 8405
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 10 months ago
Review summary
This is the worst cruise we have ever been on. We were not even greeted by the Carnival employees when we first boarded the ship. On every other cruise we have been on your family was greeted and welcomed aboard the ship. You had to wait in long lines at the elevators because no one knew you had to push the button for each member in your party. We had to carry our heavy luggage up the stairs due to the lines at the elevator. The food was awful. We spent more time in the bathroom due to upset stomachs from the food. We sat down for our dinner the first night and my husband tried asking questions about the menu. We felt rushed and our questions were not welcomed. The first meal delivered tasted awful. My husbands steak tasted like metal. We were told the food the first night was the best and wouldn't get any better. Well that didn't leave us with a good feeling. My husband requested a second meal option which was worse than the first. When we talked to our server about that he explained to us that we could request an additional meal but we would be charged?? We have never experienced that on any other cruise we have been on. We were also told we could order one of the better meals but of course there would be a charge??? How does Carnival think that is acceptable?? This was a nickel and dime cruise. Carnival tried to get more money out of us for everything. There are not many activities offered and a lot of them had an additional charge. The disembarkation process was so messy. On other cruises you leave your luggage outside your room after 10 or 11 and the cruise employees move them while most people are sleeping. During this cruise you were asked to leave it outside your room between 8-10. While we were on our way to the evening (9:30) show we saw everyone's luggage in the hallways, near elevators and throughout the entire cruise. It was so messy. The worst part of this cruise was trying to talk with guest services. We had a very minor problem on a Disney cruise several years ago. It wasn't even a problem with the cruise but their employees went out of their way to correct the problem. We received a bag of candy, popcorn and assorted treats. We also received a really nice apology letter on our bed that same day. The problem with Disney was so minor but the PROBLEMS with Carnival were many and major. Instead of anyone assisting us we were left feeling like we were bothering the associates and the problem was passed on from one employee to another. We spoke with guest services and the associate was so unpleasant. We requested a number to call and instead of having our problem resolved right there we were denied a number to call. We were finally given a number by a different associate but it was only the 1-800-carnival number. We spent time on our vacation calling that number and explaining everything to be told guest services should have assisted us. We were also told they couldn't do anything on their end because we were still on the cruise. We were given an email to send out complaint. We spent more time sending all our information to that email to receive an auto response. That email stated it would take up to 45 days to receive a response back. We are now home and even after calling and emailing Carnival we have still not heard back from anyone. I am not sure how that is considered good customer service.Embarkation
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Food and Dining
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Ship tip
Stay away from this cruise. Carnival needs to train their employees on proper customer service. We had to wait 3 hours in NYC getting onto the ship. We were hoping things would improve after boarding but that didn't happen. There is not much to do unless you want to be drunk the whole cruise. If you paid the ridiculous price for the unlimited drink option then I guess you would want to drink so you can forget this cruise. The staff was not helpful or polite. On every other cruise we have been on most of the staff always greets you and will talk with you. We decided to get off the ship when we reached the first port. We had a great day walking around and made sure we were back early enough to board the boat. Well, Carnival had more problems with getting people on the boat and ended up waiting again. We were told by the port authorities that Carnival was experiencing a problem with their boarding so we sat down for a bit. No one was moving for at least 30 minutes. We finally got back into line and waited more than an hour to get back on board. The port authorities were awesome. They walked around apologizing and offering help to everyone. When we got back on board we went to guest service to talk about our bill and the women was so unpleasant. She did not want to talk with us. We did ask about the delay and she didn't apologize. Instead she blamed the port authorities. The family next to us was complaining about their cruise and asked for a number to call. We requested that number too but were denied the information. The other agent finally gave us a number but it was just the 1-800-carnival general number. We have an international calling plan on our cell phone so decided to spend time on our vacation calling that number. The only way to get to a live person was to request booking a future cruise. I explained the situation to the representative on the phone. She did apologize but explained that they couldn't do anything on their end because we were still on the cruise. She explained that I would need to speak with someone at guest services on the ship but I had already explained to her that experience. She gave us an email to send our complaint to. I did send them an email as soon as we got off the phone. We received a auto response that stated it would take up to 45 days to get a response back!!!! Wow!! How does Carnival feel that is acceptable customer service????