Did the cruise line make the right call? As always, you can tell me what you think (and vote on it).
Here’s the setup: Marylou Weiner and her two sisters sailed to the Bahamas on the Carnival Sensation last February.
“As we settled in for the night there was constant stomping from above,” she says. “We inquired as to what was going on we were told that the Carnival’s Circle C Youth Activity room was the space above our cabin, E64. They were having a Wii competition that was scheduled until 1 a.m. and could not be changed.”
Seriously? A Wii competition that ended at 1 a.m.?
(I’m not sure who’s more deserving of a public spanking — Weiner’s travel agent for sticking her in E64, or Carnival for holding a Wii tournament. Take your pick.)
Can it get any worse? Like you have to ask.
We were also told that the next night would not be as noisy. There were no alternative cabins available because we were told, “the ship doesn’t sail unless it is full.”
If we wanted an upgrade we would have to pay an additional fee.
The next day we were offered another cabin on the same deck — E 144. However, that room seemed to have a constant hum and vibration and an intermittent banging. We decided to stay in 64.
Unfortunately, the next night was a repeat of the previous night and the stomping did not stop until 12:45 a.m.
Bad enough for you yet? Hang on.
On Saturday night, they turned the volume up to “11.”
The commotion was far worse than the previous nights together with the addition of loud music and drums pounding.
This continued until 1 a.m., with no abatement.
Needless to say, Weiner is disappointed.
This trip was a gift from my sister and my self for our “baby” sister’s 60th birthday. We made our choice in good faith for a pleasant voyage.
On an interesting note, our TV in-room channel mentioned that, “Carnival’s highest concern is the well being of our passengers.”
She assumed her request for a 30 percent refund of her $1,000 cruise fare would be honored. Carnival, she says, has no business selling a cabin under its youth activity center.
Carnival said “no.”
I contacted the cruise line on her behalf. If her story is true, then Carnival gave her a room in which she couldn’t get any sleep, and then offered her a replacement room that was equally noisy. Her only alternative was to pay more money for an “upgraded” cabin.
Carnival doesn’t see it that way. Here’s how it responded to my inquiry.
As you are aware, Ms. Weiner claimed that her cabin was noisy in the evenings as the teen program activities took place one deck above her cabin.
She reported the noise to our guest services desk on the first night of the three-day cruise and within the hour, an alternate cabin was offered.
Ms. Weiner declined to move to the alternate stateroom as she stated, there was vibration in these accommodations.
Ms. Weiner remained in her original stateroom for the first two nights of the cruise and on the last day, another cabin was offered but she declined this offer because she indicated she did not want to move on the last day of the cruise.
Carnival certainly has the right to say “no” to Weiner. And to be fair, noise on a ship is not that unusual. I’ve stayed in really nice cabins that started humming and vibrating when the engines kicked in (try staying lower aft if you want to experience that).
But some noise is preventable. Who should have a cabin below the youth activity center? The correct answer is: no one.
