Balcony blues on the Carnival Legend

[OceanAngel]

Jenn and David Ware, of Las Vegas, were looking forward to sailing to the Caribbean in their top-category suite aboard the Carnival Legend. The Wares are veteran cruisers  in fact, they take cruises every year  and they spent a lot of time poring over the ship's deck plans to find the perfect cabin. After consulting with their travel agent and with a Carnival Cruise Lines representative, they booked a "Category 11" suite. On paper and on Carnival's Web site, Cabin 4226 seemed ideal: It had a big balcony and was located near the back of the ship next to the largest suites, which meant more privacy. Or so the Wares thought.

Private oasis ... not!

Once they got on board, the Wares discovered their suite's balcony wasn't the secluded oasis promised in the brochure. "We get to our cabin, open the curtains, look out the window and see this stairwell right in front of our bedroom window," says Jenn Ware. The Wares were upset and immediately went to the purser's desk to see if they could move to another suite.

Unfortunately, the ship was sold out. The Wares learned that their balcony suite on the Main Deck was one of two on the ship that has stairs for the crew off the balcony. The other cabin, Cabin 4235, is directly opposite the Wares on the starboard side of the vessel. In fact, crew-access stairways like this can be found outside similar suites on all of Carnival's Spirit-class vessels: Carnival Spirit, Carnival Pride, Carnival Legend and Carnival Miracle.

While still at the purser's desk, the Wares contacted their travel agent, who immediately contacted Carnival. The Carnival representative on the phone told the Wares' travel agent that the cabin did not have a stairwell. Clearly, the Wares were getting nowhere. Still upset, the Wares considered gathering their luggage and leaving the ship, but they decided to stay because they had spent so much time planning the vacation and were really looking forward to it.

When the Wares returned home, they again contacted Carnival about the problem. Carnival offered them a complimentary bottle of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries for their next cruise. The Wares felt this wasn't enough.

"We are not asking for, nor are we expecting that the entire cost of the cruise be refunded to us," says Jenn Ware. But since they had booked a top-category suite at a hefty price, the Wares felt they were entitled to something more than a tasty treat. Moreover, the Wares say they were misled by the brochure and deck plans  as, indeed, were their travel agent and Carnival's own agents.

Carnival speaks

So, why wasn't the stairway depicted in Carnival's brochure and on its Web site? I contacted Carnival on the Wares' behalf to see what could be done. Carnival's guest relations department agreed to take another look at the Wares' file. Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen says, "After reviewing the situation, guest relations has extended an onboard credit of $200 per person for the couple's upcoming cruise as a gesture of good will."

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According to Gulliksen, guest relations also contacted the department in charge of producing Carnival's collateral materials and discussed the depictions of the aft-balcony staterooms on all Spirit-class vessels as they appear in Carnival's publicity materials. They are now in the process of working out a solution.

I commend Carnival for taking a proactive approach to this issue and for their gesture of good will toward the Wares.

Cruise clues: avoiding cabin surprises

Advertisements for vacation cruises are covered with appealing images of couples lounging on their private balconies, staring out at sparkling waters and clear, blue skies. The one thing that isn't all that clear are the deck plans. In fact, decoding deck plans isn't as simple as you might think.

The Wares and their travel agent did the right thing by going over the ship's deck plans and checking with the cruise line directly. Most of the time, this level of care will prevent cabin trouble, but not always. Here's what you need to do.

See exactly where your proposed cabin is located in relation to noisy common areas. Check not only on your own deck, but on the decks directly above and below.

Check for any unmarked white or gray spaces nearby; these often represent a housekeeping closet or room-service station that may house noisy carts and ice machines. Indeed, the Wares' deck plan had a telltale sign: Cabin 4226 is shown next to a large unmarked white area, which we now know to be an adjacent crew-access area with a stairwell entrance via their deck.

If you find problems with your cabin, deal with the issue as soon as possible.

With the exception of the balcony problem, the Wares had a great cruise aboard the Carnival Legend. The couple is very happy with Carnival's goodwill gesture of a $400 cruise credit, and they are currently planning their next Carnival cruise for 2008. I wish them a bon voyage!

[hazelson]

We were above the teen club on the Conquest - the brochures just showed one of those vast "white spaces" underneath us - it was miserably noisy.

[Joanandjoe]

We learned the lesson of checking deck plans on our first cruise, to Alaska in 1998, on the old Noordam. We booked a category H stateroom that was on a low deck (supposedly less likely to result in seasickness) near the rear of the ship, with an extra large configuration on the deck plan. We were upgraded to a category D because the line messed up our dinner reservation for early dining, even though we had booked more than a year in advance. Our of curiousity, we went to the cabin we had booked, and were lucky enough to go into the room (because the steward was cleaning it). The engine noise was unbearable! Our originally booked room would have ruined our cruise.

Now we avoid anything at the rear of the ship, and anything directly under or over noisy areas or white areas on the deck plan. In particular, since we're earlybirds, we avoid being near the show lounge, casino, and bars. If possible, we book a cabin on a deck that has another passenger deck both above and below our deck.

[TheSkipper]

Thanks for the post. I have a large group going on the Spirit in January. Don't think anyone has booked a suite, but will pass your post on to the TA for this trip.

[Gregswife]

We will be directly below the pool area on our upcoming Conquest cruise. I noticed this after our cabins had already been booked and called our rep at Carnival. She assured me that she has been in that exact area on the same ship and she did not hear noise from the Lido deck. I find it hard to believe that we will not be bothered by this. I don't mind the noise when we are sitting out on our balcony, that is to be expected, but I am more concerned about being disturbed during the night. I had hoped we could move down a deck, but in looking at the deck plans, I realized that those are suites. We are traveling with friends and this will be their 2nd cruise, but first on Carnival so I am hoping that we will not be having sleepless nights.

[elfed]

Very interesting post. We travelled on the "Ship of Urns" two years ago out of New York.We had a midship balcony and were pleased with it's location.Too bad about the view of the stairwell-I would have reacted exactly as you did with a couple of choice swear words thrown in!!! Glad it was compensated to everyone's satisfaction.

Regards,

James.

[JohnG]

Anyone who hasn't been on Legend may not understand the "Ship of Urns". The urns are everywhere in the decor, and in every size, from the railings in passageways to large public areas.

[teacp]

Cheryl,

We were right below the pool and Lido in January on the Triumph and never heard a thing. You figure by the time you get back to your room for the evening the pool is closed. One night we were getting ready for bed and we heard some chairs scraping for about five minutes and I am sure it was the crew cleaning up but other than that we didn't hear a thing.

[Gregswife]

Thanks Maria, I hope that is the case for us also. We normally don't stay out really late - usually back in the cabin by 10:00 at the latest, so not sure what goes on during the late hours. When we first started cruising, Greg and the boys would go to the mdnight buffets, and way back then, they were served on the Lido deck, plus there was bands playing and dancing going on until all hours of the night. I went to a midnight buffet the first night of our first cruise and discovered that BBQ at midnight was not conducent to a good night's sleep. Anyway, as you were in the same area of a Carnival ship, my mind is resting a bit easier...