ellen

STAY AWAY FROM CARNIVAL CRUISES

I just recently came back from a trip aboard Carnival Triumph
The child care for 9+ is a joke. When a problem arose on the ship ,
getting any help finding my son who went missing from their care for
over an hour was any parents NIGHTMARE - there was no help
Trying to talk to their Corp HQ in Miami was a JOKE - - I might as
well have talked to the TOADS in my garden.
THEY NEED A SERIOUS ATTITUDE OVERHAUL
TAKE YOUR KIDS SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU CAN BE SURE OF THE SAME LEVEL OF
CARE YOU WOULD GIVE

DON'T EXPECT ANY ACTION ON ANY PROBLEMS YOU MIGHT HAVE IF YOU
ULTIMATELY DECIDE TO GO ON CARNIVAL

THIS IS NOT SOUR GRAPES - - ALL THE AMENTIES WERE FINE - - - THEY
SHOWED AN UTTER DISREGARD FOR ASSISTING IN THIS CHILD SAFETY MATTER
WHILE ON BOARD THE SHIP AND SINCE.

sven

What a panic! I hope he was alright. But why go on vacation with your kids if someone else is going to babysit them?

ellen

Never planned to have him babysat all the time - -

he looked at the Events planned for the first day at the Camp and wanted to participate in it - so I dropped him off at 9:30 and planned to pick him up at 11:30 - - except he wasn' t there - -

and the Carnival staff had NO CLUE where he was - -

and never lifted a FINGER to help me find him for over an hour and a half......

suffice it to say he never went back to the Day Camp program as there was NO CONSTANT SUPERVISION OF THE CHILDREN - -
CARNIVAL's program during the Day for 9+ yr olds ALLOWS THEM TO SIGN THEMSELVES IN & OUT AT WILL - - -

I Don't know about you or where you live - - - but in my State and others I have lived in -- - if a Caregiver leaves a child this age unsupervised it is a CRIMINAL OFFENSE -

so realizing the full import of that, he never went back to the Day camp program - -

if you wouldn't expect a 9 year old to be dropped off in a small city with no map, no instructions, etc.... - don't plan to take CARNIVAL cruises with you 9+ and expect any constant child supervision - - or help in case of a problem -- - it wasn't there

P.S. I have been trying since Sept 1 through letters, faxes and emails to get an answer form Carnival on : (a) the sageness of this Program; (b) why they ignored my specific instructions (c) why the Camp Director on board refused to talk to me about this while on the ship - - no luck, I KEEP GETTING THE RUNAROUND - the Execs who run the business in Miami have built a impermeable barrier to hearing Customer Complaints - - - -

the Guest Relations people don't address your issues - - someone hands them a policy statement and they parrot it back to you -- - pretty useless to us as Consumers....

SO LESSONS LEARNED HERE:

IF you plan to go on Carnival and anything happens to you, your family or your possessions - - FORGET IT ....

THIS IS THE CLASSIC CAVEAT EMPTOR & LAW OF THE SEAS situation - -

>>>> YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN -
DURING & AFTER >>>>>>

>>> AND CARNIVAL CORP USES MARITIME LAW & ADMIN TO AVOID ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS OR LACK THEREOF
.....UNDERSTAND YOU ESSENTIALLY HAVE NO RIGHTS / NO RECOURSE WHEN YOU SAIL THE SEA ...

ONCE THEY HAVE YOUR $$$ THEY COULD CARE LESS WHETHER YOU ARE SATISIFED OR NOT...........

.......Makes me wonder if those lifeboat drills would play themselves out

noname

I might make one suggestion. Talk to a lawyer. If Carnival did actually breach some law, then you maybe able to take some action. Or if you have a legitimate case, they may well start talking and answer your attorney's questions, rather than yours. It is easy for big companies to ignore you, but they can not ignore a potential lawsuit.

I don't want to start a discussion on whether lawyers are good or bad, but maybe by talking with one, 1. you may get some answers, 2. you may get some piece of mind, and 3. you may help to avoid this happening to some one else.

Helen

I agree, we were not pleased that a nine year old could leave the camp. My daughter and granddaughter were on Carnival this summer. We had heard so much about the activity center and my granddaughter was very excited about it. When we found out that she could leave on her own, we said forget it. We were not comfortable knowing that she could leave and who are all these folks working on the cruise line? Don't let me give you negative feelings regarding the cruise line. It was very nice, just disappointed that she couldn't participate and that we would feel comforable about it. We were definately not trying to drop her off to get rid of her. Just my opinion as a grandma.

AJ

I have never been on a Carnival cruise, and our two cruises on the Big Red Boat were very nice, although the kids didn't participate in the kids programs.

Having traveled with my kids for years, I have one comment to make on "Kids Programs". They has never been a kids program that matches the expectations of their brochures. Be it all-inclusive hotel, Club Med, hotel with babysitters and nannies - never have I felt comfortable leaving my child for more than a short period of time.

At Club Med Eleuthera one year, a ten year old boy was lost for nearly the entire day, and the parents had a similar experience trying to get help from the management. An expensive babysitter arranged by our big hotel (I think it was $50 for the evening) was sound asleep when we got back to our rooms, and our 3 year old was wide awake watching TV. The hotel manager couldn't understand our concern. At another all-inclusive resort, there were over 50 young children and two staff in a "tennis lesson". Each child ran to the net to hit a ball probably twice in the hour long "lesson", then spent the rest of the time bored sitting on the hot court. This was their version of a youth tennis program.

I know that I expect highly attentive child care. And more than that, I expect that my children are not going to be just watched, they are going to be stimulated with interesting activities.

So a word of advice. Take along your own nanny. Or, expect that you will spend most of the time with your kids. Or, make your expectations clearly known to a caregiver in advance, and keep checking up on them.

Melinda

One place I highly recommend for 3 to 8 yr olds is in Las Vegas at the MGM. They have wonderful SAFE play room and no one can get at your child and the security is wonderful plus my 4 yr old begs to go back. They are open till midnight and the same women are always there. We pick him up exhausted from playing. This is the only place in our travels that I ever would use.

Helen

I agree, MGM, had a wonderful activity center. Very safe, kids had activities all the time they were there. My granddaughter just loved it and didn't want to leave. You can only leave them for a few hours which in my opinion is a good idea. Would highly recommend it.

anna

How very sad that children ages 3-8 would be left til midnight in a playroom while parents gamble.

Melinda

How sad that my child goes to an area where he can run and play basketball and air hockey while I have a nice sit down romantic dinner with my husband (I don't gamble...never even a lottery ticket)? Some people might be on a totally different time zone as so many tourists at the MGM are from other countries which a midnight closing would work for them. Yes, I pity my four year old having been out to see Hoover Dam and taking the helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and going to see the white tigers and doing the theme parks and playing golf with his Dad and spending hours swimming in the wonderful river pools at the hotel and riding the trolley down to see the volcano erupt and the fountain show at the Bellagio. It is a pity that his stay at home mom has to leave him in a room full of kids to play so that she can have a few hours to nuture her 15 yr marriage a little. Please don' t be so judgemental I am only trying to offer a little peace of mind spot for all those families that frequent Las Vegas.

Brooke

Wow! I think Anna was one of those like 500 people that were fighting in the message about why people should leave their children at home while they went on vacation. In fact, I think she was the one that brought the crying screaming baby to the romatic restaurant that ruined everyone elses evening.

anna

Most of those other activities sound like wonderful things for parents to do with their kids, and leaving a kid with a babysitter for a few hours in the early evening while parents go to dinner is one thing, but after 9 PM, 3-8 year-old kids need to be in bed. I suspect that most of the kids in the playroom after that hour were dumped there so parents could gamble. I guess that's better than leaving them to wander the halls unsupervised, which I understand many people also do. Our children have always travelled with us, and always to age-appropriate attractions from which they were promptly removed if they created a disturbance. And they've always been in bed at a decent hour (otherwise the disturbances just get worse the next day--most of the crying whining kids that the "leave your kid at home contingent" is complaining about got that way because they have not had enough sleep.) If I ever took my kids to Vegas, we would be spending our days together doing all that fun stuff and then by 10 PM (they are 11, 13, and 16) we would be back in our rooms with the little ones falling asleep. To each his own, but little ones should be in bed at that hour.

ilisa

Anna, did it every occur to you that there are other things to do in Las Vegas besides gamble. Perhaps, while in Vegas, parents put their children with a babysitter to take the rare opportunity to see a show - an event where young children definitely should not be. Really, you shouldn't try be the arbiter of all children and parents' schedules and activities.

Helen

Everyone has a right to their opinion, just don't cram it down my throat when you don't agree with me. If you don't want to take them, leave them home. Just trying to help the ones that do!!!Everyone circumstances are different!!!

anna

Geez you people are touchy.

Dee

Just more of the same defensive parents who think its ok to bring kids everywhere. I agree kids need to be in bed at a decent hour. I cannot believe how much child-rearing has changed in only one generation. And all you have to do is listen to the news or read a paper for that fact to be affirmed. By the way, I have a friend who is travel agent and says that Carnival is the owrst liner by far. I would just stay away in general.

Helen

I think we are missing the point here. My granddaughter was always in bed, with us in the room by 8:00 p.m. I think the issue here is whether the activity center is safe for 9 year olds and older. The activity center was supposed to be a place where the kids could have fun, make things, learn,play, and have a good time as well as the parents on the cruise. This was not a means for us to get rid of the child so we could be without them