Cruise Guests Horrified by Filthy Cabin and Applaud the Fast Response
Not every cruise is perfect, but first impressions are everything.
For one pair of seasoned cruisers, their first experience on Carnival Cruise Line was less than ideal when they entered an unexpectedly filthy cabin. That being said, the way the cruise line handled the situation left the passengers impressed.
In the initial Facebook post, the guests shared multiple photos of the dirty conditions, accompanied by a short novel of grievances after boarding the 88,500 gross ton Carnival Miracle.
“We always said Carnival probably wasn’t for us — and sadly, our first ever Carnival cruise is proving us absolutely right,” the post begins, outlining the horrible experience.
The pair then went on to explain how they were aware of the ‘ghastly’ decor on the ship and even expected it to be busy, but were shocked by how dirty it was.
This was not the first thing to go wrong, as the embarkation process in Lisbon took three hours, and there was no communication or apology from Carnival about the delay.
The current itinerary Carnival Miracle is on is a 7-night one-way cruise that departed on May 11 from Lisbon, making stops in La Coruna and Bilbao in Spain, as well as Medoc and Paris, France, before arriving in Dover, England, on May 18.
When the passengers arrived at cabin 5165, they opened the door only to find that the clean room they were expecting was anything but that.
“Pubic hairs on the bedside table, what looks like semen stains on the luggage mat, mould and bacteria in the soap dish, food smudged into the plug socket, sticky and stained surfaces, and what appears to be urine and faeces under the toilet seat,” the guests shared in their post.
They did point out that Carnival Miracle did just come off of an extensive drydock in Cádiz, and they simply could not understand where the cruise line actually made improvements.
Not only was it recent, but this cruise was the very first one since the updates were completed, primarily having been focused on the vessel’s common areas.
In their 100 cruises, these guests had never experienced a ship that was so run down and were just hoping to make it through their cruise without any issues.
The Update & Apology Issued by Carnival
The Facebook post sharing the story has hundreds of comments, and the overall feedback was mixed.
Most people said that rather than post online, the passengers should speak to the appropriate crew members to resolve the situation.
In a lengthy update from these guests, they said that they were grateful for the support but were appalled by how many people thought the story was fake. However, they took the advice of fellow cruisers and reached out to the crew for help.
“Yesterday, the Housekeeping Manager, Guest Services Manager, and Hotel Director all came to inspect the cabin themselves,” they shared in the update, adding, “they took full ownership and acknowledged that what we experienced was a severe failing on their part, and must never happen again.”
After assessing the room, the crew promised to improve their internal protocols to ensure nothing like this happened again.
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This follow-up post also mentioned the professionalism of the hotel director Duncan, who, in his 40 years of working on cruises, said he had never seen a cabin so dirty.
The passengers have since been moved to a nicer (aka cleaner) stateroom and have received a full refund for the cruise.
Rather than being upset, these first time Carnival cruisers were thrilled with the way the cruise line handeded the situation, saying, “We appreciate Carnival’s honesty and accountability in this situation.”
With multiple crew members agreeing that the state of the cabin was unacceptable, it is clear that there will be a plan in place to prevent this in the future.
While these passengers’ experience with Carnival Cruise Line got off to a rocky start, they are looking forward to enjoying the rest of their cruise and are grateful the situation was solved so quickly.
Cruise Guests Horrified by Filthy Cabin and Applaud the Fast Response