Carnival Cruise Line begs passengers for help on key problem

Cruise line passengers, at least some of them, seem to take a perverse joy in being miserable. They tell other passengers and low-level workers about their problems, but never actually speak to the right people.

Maybe they have a real problem, or perhaps they just got served a cold meal or a tough piece of steak. You see these passengers on every cruise.

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They're eager to tell you about how standards have gone down, and how miserable they are, but it's never really clear why they're so incensed. In some cases, of course, it's unrealistic expectations where the cruise the passenger booked would never live up to what's in their head.

Some people, of course, just have a glass half empty view of the world. Nothing would make them happy except sharing how miserable they are.

In most cases, however, people have reasonable gripes, but they're handling them wrong. That's something Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald addressed in a recent Facebook post.

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Carnival begs passengers to share

Heald shared that many people complain to him after their cruise, when he can no longer help.

"I read comments where people tell me what was wrong with the cruise. I get that, it’s my job to listen and I want people to tell me these things because as someone once said 'a complaint is a gift' and it is," he shared. 

The problem is that just complaining to Heald is not enough.

"However, what drives me absolutely stark raving bonkers is when every day, and yes it is every day, that when I investigate with the ship and follow up with a guest comment the Hotel Director/Guest Services Manager/Dinning Room Manager/Luigi the Plumber write back to me and say 'Ummmm, there are no reports here from the guest. We checked with the cabin attendant/waiter/guest services care report/security chief/ and nothing was reported, nothing was said.”

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Heald also shared that the shipboard management want to hear these complaints because that's the only way they can solve problems.

"And that’s it you see, they want to help and it drives them bonkers as well to see these emails from me and yet the guest is now at home in Cleveland, Ohio and there is sod all they can do to help them now," he added.

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Carnival can fix your problems

Heald shared two examples just from the past week where someone has written to him once home and who never mentioned it all on the ship:

• “What has happened to the warm chocolate melting cake on the Carnival Sunshine. I ordered it every night and it was overcooked each time. Your chef needs to go back to cooking school.”

"He ordered this every night, didn’t like it each time but said nothing to the waiter who would have told the chef (who is a wonderful chap I know well) and I know for certain would have made sure he the guest would have had a melting cake cooked to his liking," Heald wrote.

• "Every night the person on the balcony directly below us on deck 8 was smoking. This woman can kill herself, but why should I not be able to use my balcony because of her. Smokers are disgusting people and her disregard for me and others on balconies near hers proves my point. The crew did nothing to stop her.”

"This is a very important one. The crew didn’t do anything to stop her because they didn’t know. Having checked with the ship there were no reports made by this guest or indeed any guests from cabins around the area," the brand ambassador shared. "If this lady or anyone is caught smoking in the cabin or on the balcony there would be serious consequences for them. It is forbidden for very important safety reasons as well as the discomfort it gives those around you."

He also noted that in an 8-day cruise no reports of someone smoking in that area were filed. He begged passengers to report problems during their cruise, not after it ends.

"I get that some people do not like confrontation. But please, don’t be worried, the crew are there for you. That’s why our crew are the best in the industry because they truly do care, they want to exceed your expectations," he posted.

Problems can't be fixed if they're not known.

"If you see something you do not like, say something. I am not trying to get everyone to find something wrong, but if something really is troubling you, please give the crew a chance to make it right. So the message here is 'if you see something, say something,'" Heald added. 

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