Stay away from Carnival Cruise Lines

Stay away from Carnival

With the scare of swine flu passing we learn that this is more like an ordinary flu season. However, the fear about going to Mexico had many cruise ships heading south of the border changing direction. While many cruise lines offered customers various credits and coupons for changing the itinerary on them, the Carnival Splendor took a hard line.

Because of my background as a business coach, I have seen what works and doesn’t work when working with the public. Giving away a desert at a restaurant for slow service, or bringing the wrong dish to the table, will make a customer feel valued. That customer will likely forgive the error and come back again.

Making the customer feel like they are nothing more than a part of a cattle call is a poor approach to continued business and good will. Apparently that is the approach that Carnival Cruise Lines prefers. While they guarantee satisfaction, it requires that you get off the ship at the first NON-U.S. port of call and can get a refund of your unused cruise fare. When the ship headed for Mexico, and then turned around due to the swine flu scare, they never hit a non-U.S. port of call. They returned to Long Beach before going up to San Francisco.

They traded warmth and sun for cold and rain. And offered the passengers NOTHING but a poorly worded apology: “We apologize that we were not able to provide the itinerary that people anticipated.” They might as well of added, “And if you don’t like it, tough luck.”

If this is the kind of cruise line you would like to give your money to, that’s your business. I for one would never take a Carnival cruise based on this business approach.

(Information obtained from an article in the Los Angeles Times, “Swine flu sank Mexico cruise” by David Lazarus in the Business Section, Sunday, May 10, 2009)
Rennie