Spirit Hawaii 10/8

[Terri]

Just got back from this cruise.....getting on the ship and getting off the ship were both nightmares!!!!!! Security checks at ports was very disorganized and slow..on
Maui, I stood in line in the hot sun for over 2 hours waiting in line to return to the ship. Service, both cabin and dining room, was barely adequate. My husband thought Carnival might be using the Spirit as a "training ship" and that most of the staff were new..if so, we paid a high price for the service. I felt that the staff had no motivation to go out of their way because the gratitudes were automatically charged to your onboard charges. This was our 8th cruise but our first on Carnival. I have previously been happy with the services received and have felt pampered and catered to...I certainly did not feel this way on the Spirit....On the positive side, the food was very good and the alternative dining was great though expensive..The entertainment was very good especially the singer, Christopher Alan Graves who has a great voice. There was no information available on the ports we visited and the shore excursions were very overpriced....on the ship, you would have no idea that this was a Hawaii cruise! All in all, I was very disappointed with this cruise. I would like to complain to Carnival but I doubt I would get any satisfaction..This was not good value for money spent. I would be interested in hearing the opinions of others from the cruise and any ideas on complaining to Carnival...Another thing I didn't mention....the Captain's welcoming party was a complete joke!!!! It was so crowded that you couldn't even move let alone get a drink and I newer did see the Captain!

YOUR STATEMENT "I felt that the staff had no motivation to go out of their way because the gratitudes were automatically charged to your onboard charges."
DID YOU OPT FOR THIS ARE WAS IT REQUIRED?
I HAVE BEEN HEARING THAT THE AUTOMATED GRATITUDES WERE AVAILABLE, BUT MOST CRUISERS USE THE GUIDE AS A GUIDE AND NOT A REQUIREMENT.
Thanks

Jerry H
Charleston, SC

Sorry to hear you had bad service. We too were on the Hawaii Spirit Oct. 8th cruise and had fabulous service. This was our 11th cruise 10th with Carnival and felt it was a vacation of a lifetime. We plan on going again perhaps in 2003. Just goes to show you how ones persons opinion is different from the others.

I agree with security that it was way tighter on the ship than any airport, but we only waited about 1 hr to reboard the ship in Maui. I felt the security was worth the safety and made the most out of a bad situation. This was not Carnival's fault as it was security from the islands before we boarded the ship at any given time.

[margie]

Getting off was what kind of nightmare? Getting on board on 10/20 was a nightmare for us boarding passengers. We did not get to board until 930 PM.
Left the harbor at 330 AM, we were suppose to leave at 9 PM.