Carnival Cruise LineReviews of carnival.com

A friend and I attempted to go on her first cruise but unfortunately her documents for entry on the cruise were not accepted. We were told this was a possibility at the first line but I was told to check in anyway because the next line could approve her document. The issue is they knew at the first line it wouldn’t be approved, as per the manager at the second area, and the rep asked me check in anyways and she knew. That’s what’s scammy to me. I had travel insurance and could have at least gotten half my money back. Because I was checked in I got zero dollars. Carnival has no need to scam customers.

Booked a cruise to join college friends for a reunion. Paid entire balance but unfortunately unexpectedly got diagnosed with serious illness (cancer) a month prior to cruise date and had to undergo major surgery which requires at least 4 weeks recovery period. Called Carnival to cancel and was informed that due to late cancellation and because I did not secure booking with insurance, I can get refunded 25% of amount paid. I explained my situation offering to provide medical documentations but got a reply that their decision stands and by policy, I am being “penalized” for late cancellation - not a tinge of consideration nor empathy. I am a physician who is also in people service profession and such response to me not only showed disregard for an individual’s personal struggles, but a customer service policy that lack individualism and personal connections to its consumers. Will not recommend this company to colleagues, friends and family members.

I don’t know what has happened to Carnival Guest Care/Customer Service, but it’s gone from stellar to stinky. I’ve been traveling with Carnival since 2005 and spent a lot of money over the years. I’ve spent the last 4 days speaking to numerous people at Customer Service/Guest Care and the casino (I’ve lost a lot at the casino, but still love it) trying to get an exception to one of Carnival’s rules. The experience has been hideous with the exception of Joshua with casino services (so nice and helpful) and Giovanni (professional, knowledgeable, and tries everything to resolve). I’ve been transferred to the wrong offices so many times (back and forth between customer service and casino when I asked for manager), given bad information, and worst of all lied to. On February 18th, when I asked to be transferred to the manager, the woman struggled for 5-10 minutes to transfer me and made constant noises like she was extremely constipated or having a medical emergency. After I got transferred to a manager (supposedly), I was told that the system couldn’t be changed for my request, but they made a note to my booking and would send me an email of what was noted on the booking. When I didn’t get the email, I called Guest Care Services again, got transferred to the casino incorrectly, then got transferred to Guest Administration, who finally transferred me to the Resolution Team. I found out that no conversations were documented for February 18th. I wonder why? After 4 days of frustration, the answer was no exceptions. Emailing icare (maybe rename iCare_if_its_Easy.com) is equally pathetic. I started an inquiry on September 30th (INQU-SS-PA-12042025-1001 and Question Ref 250930-002116, in case anyone from Carnival actually cares). After asking for a response on 12/2, 12/4, 1/9, 1/21, and 2/5, I finally got an answer of just NO. After I accidentally deleted the no answer, I asked for it to be resent on 2/8 and of course nothing. No apology or explanation why Carnival was so unresponsive. I hope that Carnival actually starts listening to the service provided by their employees. Maybe the employees just need additional training (like hearing their own conversations). I would hope the constipated woman would be embarrassed if she heard it. Also, I think Carnival needs to realize that rules applied to customer complaints don’t always fit 100% of the time in order to be fair to customers. There are the old saying that there are always exceptions to the rules. This should especially be considered for long time loyal customers. I can only hope that someone at Carnival steps in to do the right and fair thing for me. I also hope that calling Customer Service becomes a pleasure like it used to be. Norbert Juelich

Unacceptable Experience – Formal Complaint This was my first time sailing with Carnival, and unfortunately, it will most likely be my last unless this situation is meaningfully addressed. Embarkation Experience Let me begin with embarkation, which was completely unacceptable. On Saturday, we received a text message instructing us to book transportation two hours earlier than our scheduled arrival time due to construction in Miami. We complied and booked transportation that could not be canceled. Then, 30 minutes before our transportation was scheduled to arrive, we received another text advising us to arrive two hours later than our scheduled time. Again, we were unable to cancel or adjust our transportation. When we arrived at the port, there were already approximately 200 people waiting. We stood in line for six hours with: Zero communication or updates Only one bathroom stall each for men and women No water available Children crying and screaming The port bridge closed, preventing anyone from leaving By the end of those six hours, there were approximately 6,000 people waiting outside for the doors to open. When the doors finally opened, only one employee came out, and whatever organized process was supposed to take place completely collapsed. The situation turned into a free-for-all, with people pushing, cutting, and shoving to get inside. There was no crowd control and no communication whatsoever. Onboard Experience & Network Failure Once onboard, we assumed the worst was behind us. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The Wi‑Fi and onboard network were completely down. Nothing was functioning properly—transactions had to be written by hand, and lines for everything were extremely long. My wife and I assumed the ship would not leave port until the network issues were resolved. That assumption was incorrect. The ship departed in the middle of the night, causing us to miss sail-away entirely. On Monday morning, we expected systems to be operational. They were not. The ship had left port with the network still down. This was especially problematic because my wife needed Wi‑Fi to work on Monday, which became impossible. Lines for drinks and services remained excessive because nothing was functioning electronically. The network did not come back online until approximately 5:00 PM Monday afternoon. During this entire period, updates were provided maybe every two hours, but they contained no meaningful information or transparency. As an IT Manager, I can confidently say that if I had handled a system outage with this level of communication and contingency planning, I would no longer have a job. Additional Issues Even after the network was restored, the issues continued: A sewage smell persisted for the first two days, including inside our stateroom Elevators were consistently dirty and unpleasant Service was subpar across the ship, with the sole exception of our room attendant Constant nickel-and-diming for services added to the frustration

The only positive point is the staff do the best they can. The cabin and balcony which I had was satisfactory, nothing more. These are the only good points I can think of. FOOD; terrible quality, never hot, had long queues all the time, lucky to get a seat to sit and eat. No choice for dining, have to use buffet for breakfast and lunch.. This is the only ship I have been on where the dining room was not open for breakfast. Even to BUY a coffee it could be a 10 to 15 queue. PUBLIC AREAS: Always very noisy and rowdy, no quieter areas to sit at all, and I looked. DECOR; Can't believe they paid someone to do it. The most tacky, unpleasant space to be in. Obvious from the first step on to the boat. INTERNET: Could not get on the hub internet, so then you have to pay, convenient.

Carnival cruise line insurance company that handles when you canceled Aon travel. But having been dionoused with cancer is not good enough for them to get our money back. The name of the insurance company is Aon travel insurance company terrible. So we did all the paperwork they asked them they wrote back and said that having cancer is not good enough for canceling the trip.REALLY !so don't book with them my brother had the platinum card and I was gold. This is the way they treat customers They have a paper sing by the Dr. Not good enough.

If I could give a negative carnival magic would get that. Evan in guest service is very disrespectful and is giving carnival and bad name for sure he needs fired. Room 7307 is a grand suite not suited for a dog to stay in!!! Worst customer service ever they don’t care about you or their customers. Carnival has forgotten you are only in business because of customers. This ship and employees would be the worst we have ever met!! I would not recommend taking a cruise on this ship at all.

We are currently on the Carnival Vista from February 7th to 15th in cabin 2297, and we’ve had serious water damage for days. The carpet has been soaked, and despite multiple requests, guest services have done nothing but vacuum and blow air three to five times a day. We were only offered a steak dinner—no real resolution or proper accommodation. Even more concerning is the mold or mildew risk, since we’re breathing this in. No one seems to care—they just want to clean for the next guests. If you’re booking this cruise, avoid room 2297 and its adjoining cabin. The HVAC issue wasn’t properly fixed, and water from that hallway is seeping into both rooms. This has made our trip stressful and disappointing.