• Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines

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Overview

Carnival Cruise Lines has a rating of 1.7 stars from 224 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Carnival Cruise Lines most frequently mention customer service, cruise line, and guest services problems. Carnival Cruise Lines ranks 67th among Cruises sites.

  • Service
    117
  • Value
    112
  • Shipping
    53
  • Returns
    58
  • Quality
    97
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 8.7%
Positive
2
Neutral
2
Negative
19
51
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How would you rate Carnival Cruise Lines?
Top Positive Review

“Refund for fund”

Dekendrick J.
2/18/24

Hi my name Dekendrick Johnson I was supposed to sail ship Valor February 29 out of New Orleans booking Z0H4M8 I'm having to cancel the trip due to my wife passing away January 1,2024 to a heart attack.I was texting to see if I could get a full refund.

Top Critical Review

“Cant contact the Cruise care dept post cruise”

Rita P.
3/20/24

I returned from a cruise on the carnival valor on March 19,2024 and was shocked at the charges they put on my debit card. I put $500 cash against my charges while onboard and it is not reflected. I have been trying to contact customer care since I returmed home to no avail. Its amazing how easy it is to contact them before sailing but impossible to contact them post cruise. I am trying to get an itemized statement of my charges and an adjustment for the cash I paid that does not show.

Reviews (224)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (58) carnival cruise (50) cruise line (56) guest services (19) drink package (12)
Thumbnail of user dekendrickj
New York
1 review
0 helpful votes
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February 18th, 2024
Verified purchase

Hi my name Dekendrick Johnson I was supposed to sail ship Valor February 29 out of New Orleans booking Z0H4M8 I'm having to cancel the trip due to my wife passing away January 1,2024 to a heart attack.I was texting to see if I could get a full refund.

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Value
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Thumbnail of user iluminados
Louisiana
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 10th, 2022
Verified purchase

The only think I'm unhappy it was the parking lot at new Orleans. We paid $ 150.00 to park it in a yard the 7 days, then we have to walk with the luggage to the entry. Like 6 blocks we walk plus the change the place we suppose to go cause the hurricane. We understand that but we have some tickets excursion to did on bahamas so I hope they give us a good credit for the next year trip and some discount

Tip for consumers:
Well a good credit for the next trip and fix that about the parking for the people are leaving on the boat

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Thumbnail of user danteu
Ohio
21 reviews
35 helpful votes
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November 10th, 2015

My first cruise experience and it was delightful. Carnival Cruise Lines certainly came through on this one. Even though the weather was far less than great, the service and the food were better than I had predicted. At the low price of this cruise I would have spent more on a basic hotel room and would have to have settled for overpriced dining. Instead I was on a 3 year old (Carnival Breeze) cruise ship with a staff that did nothing but keep our best interest and cater to every need... Will definitely be doing, another very soon.

Thumbnail of user vickik248
Florida
1 review
1 helpful vote
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December 16th, 2022

Worst cruise ever. Our Carnival Horizon balcony was covered in black mold all around its door and window. (Husband is a microbiologist) Crew admitted the same. Couldnt relax on balcony. Husband and I were ill 5 days out of the 8 day trip. Cruise line showed no concern. Never again will I cruise on Carnival.

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Thumbnail of user williama112
Sweden
1 review
3 helpful votes
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April 14th, 2017

I haven't been on many cruises (like Coleen F.) and don't have the opportunity to compare Carnival with other cruise lines. But I must say that Carnival is a really good company! Their prices are reasonable and the service is great.

Value
Thumbnail of user michaeld102
Texas
6 reviews
7 helpful votes
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October 29th, 2014

Choosing to cruise Carnival was probably the best decision my wife could have made. We have been on several other cruises and enjoyed them, but we recently booked directly through carnival and it was the smoothest, easiest experience we've had planning a vacation. We booked last minute due to a change of plans and made out like bandits. Cheap prices, AMAZING room, and lots of excursions. I will book through Carnival again, 100%.

Thumbnail of user enociet1
Pennsylvania
1 review
1 helpful vote
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November 25th, 2023

Myself and My husband has been cruising every year since 2010. It's always been my gift to him so it was understood that I book and pay. Now this year my cruise was set for 11/27/23 however my husband just started a new job in another state so I asked can I do a name change or just go on the cruise alone and they said no because it was under my husbands promotion… so I was told all I could do was cancel and lose out on the money I paid…. So carnival allows me to book for he and I, cancel for he and I, but I can't go on the cruise that I booked, I just lose my money. I'm very disappointed in carnival… I'm thinking about changing cruise lines all together! I'm very hurt by this

Tip for consumers:
Carnival don’t ask many questions when you spending your money but when somethings comes up on your end…. It’s 21 questions

Products used:
None

Thumbnail of user stephaniej981
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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November 6th, 2021

All I want to do is search for the cruise that my cousin booked. Without the pin and password, it seems impossible to select and search for your particular cruise. Simple questions, like what is included in the cheers package? How much does it costs? What is involved in the various on ship activities. There is no general search button, and returning to enter a new google query for each detail is crazy. Think "user friendly" and please improve the details available to potential buyers.

Thumbnail of user charlesp55
New York
3 reviews
6 helpful votes
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February 7th, 2016

We were refused handicapped assistance. I, then my wife the following day, pushing me in wheelchair was injured in port. We were refused wheelchair assistance despite it being the law. The port area far overcrowded caused my wife to be trampled twice resulting in her requiring major surgery. Her not being from this country USA we will have been separated about 7 months total. I am not now able to fly. There is limited security and children running wild and out of control. Ours being a Christmas cruise we had a hung over crew for the one week cruise to hell.

Thumbnail of user pissedo165
Florida
1 review
8 helpful votes
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August 14th, 2023

Hated the all black cruise. Carnival did not tell me when I booked that it was an all black cruise. I am white and felt white racism. They are loud, unruly. Half naked black butts shaking all over deck. No where to find a peaceful rest. Guest services told me to go to library. I do not advise going. This is the worst group of people to put on a cruise. They fight constantly, extremely loud and arrogant.

Thumbnail of user ashleyk643
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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October 16th, 2022
Verified purchase

You look at the cost of booking a cruise seems really cheap and the more you book the bigger of a discount you get in your room however they asked for a credit card on file your card is going to be charged double or triple of what you paid for the cruise in total. Waiting in long lines just to get a pizza. The buffets back in the day let's say 10 years ago were open 24 hours. Not anymore. Just a couple of hours a day then closed! I actually lost weight on this past cruise. My family including relatives which was about 25 of us agreed to never do a cruise again. Half of us got covid and one of the babies got foot mouth infection. Forget taking your litter that are in a diaper on there because they are NOT allowed in the pool with a diaper. You're welcome

Thumbnail of user maurisal
Arkansas
5 reviews
6 helpful votes
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December 18th, 2014

Carnival and Carnival.com making booking a cruise super easy. The website is easy to navigate and discover options. You can even find discounts you didn't know about. Customer service is excellent! Carnival has always gone above and beyond to ensure our cruise was fun and memorable. We have cruised 7 times on Carnival and cannot wait to go again! Onboard, Carnival is a wonderland to be explored. Service is amazing and friendly! Carnival offers the cruiser the opportunity to have an action packed cruise or a relaxing do nothing cruise. Great for families!

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Thumbnail of user savannaha47
Virginia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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January 16th, 2023

I really don't know what there excuse is for their main form of booking cruises to be PAINFUL to use. That's marketing 101? Not sure how they are still in business with their awful website tbh. You should fix it.

Thumbnail of user ariellaf3
New York
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 31st, 2022

First cruise and I'm highly dissatisfied. Food was cold, bed bugs were found in multiple rooms, half the ship ended up with Covid, not sanitary, and instead of charging me $150 for something I purchased they charged me $220.

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Thumbnail of user susang100
Arizona
24 reviews
26 helpful votes
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May 25th, 2016

The workers seemed rude, and unfriendly. My mother passed away on cruise, they had nothing for us. No reimbursements, I just felt that we should have been treated with more compassion. This is extreme, but even without her passing, I felt lack of respect.

Thumbnail of user kirstyh44
Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
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November 5th, 2022

After travelling on many other cruise lines, 8 of us decided to do the 2022 Melbourne cup cruise. What a disappointment that was, our first day we leave and they run out of many beer choices. The bar service was ridiculous, waiting in line for 20minutes every time you went to bar, the staff were nice but just not enough of them. Everything you did on this ship you waited in line, more staff required. Also not a lot of entertainment or things to do. We go cruising so we can put our mobile phones away, you need it for everything from booking to reading menus. I felt for the elderly on this cruise. Splendour ship so hard to navigate around also. Never again carnival

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Thumbnail of user jacks1900
New Jersey
1 review
1 helpful vote
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December 20th, 2022

My recent bad experience with Carnival started even before I boarded the cruise. I was part of a big group of family members and had to board 2 hours after my family because they checked-in online earlier than me. If Carnival had communicated that the earlier you check in dictates the time slot you are provided then I would have checked-in earlier or at the same time as my family members. After trying to talk to their customer service multiple times they pretty much said "tough luck". I have two younger kids and the fact that they didnt seem to care tells a lot about how they look at customer experience. I even paid $150 for their "Faster to the Fun" package which made no difference in my boarding time. I'd rather give my money to another cruise line that believes in better customer service.

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Thumbnail of user dunmire12
Pennsylvania
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 15th, 2023

As many have said, this is the "walmart" of cruises. Very, very outdated! The room was always so hot and when I asked for a fan, I was told I could only get one if I had a medical condition. The drink stations were always broken...good luck getting a full cup of ice and water! The buffet was basic at best. Always the same and very few options. In order to get to Half Moon Cay, you have to stand in a line for over an hour to get a "shuttle pass". Then, you have to wait for your group to be called. My group was called at 11 and we had to get in line to return by 2. The food on the island was inedible. The teeny, tiny pool was always too packed to enter. The shows were so boring I never made it through a full one.

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Value
Thumbnail of user jons914
Oregon
1 review
1 helpful vote
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August 30th, 2022
Verified purchase

We purchased this cruise prior to Covid it was cancelled and rebooked multiple times ( understandable given the Covid restrictions). Finally we were able to get a cruise date then my wife became ill and unable to travel. I moved the booking ahead yet again. What I didn't know was the price had increased and there was an additional payment due of $140. Doesn't seem like much considering we already had $2500 into the original booking. Carnival then cancelled the cruise for non payment and penalized me $ 500.
We have sailed with Carnival in the past and have had a great time, this however was disappointing.
II would like to receive a full refund considering the circumstances( we could have just cancelled during the Covid crisis and did not). I have made multiple calls and still only have a portion of what I spent returned to my account. This is not good customer service or retention policy.

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Thumbnail of user christinab1419
Texas
1 review
1 helpful vote
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May 17th, 2023

May 8th I was so excited for my first ever Carnival Cruise with my mom who lives in Florida and me in Texas! I booked through Cruise it, They mentioned my mom bringing her birth certificate cause she lived in Florida, however Not MINE! This was a Mother's Day gift to my mom all on ME,Get ri Galveston first thing they do is take our bags (The Porter's) mind you I tripped... Going through the Security, passed the drug dog just to be turned down. Talking about heartbreaking! Unfortunately my birth Certificate was at home.I live by myself if I would a known of course I would a bought...but not to even be credited for another trip is horrible! I was so excited and to make it worse our clothes are still not here and it's a process

Thumbnail of user dianah1003
Florida
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
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August 8th, 2023
Verified purchase

We purchased the excursion to Costa Maya beach party and all we got was a stench of rotten seaweed. We could hardly breathe from the stench. We had to hurry and go back. The beaches were covered in nasty seaweed. Carnival knew that and still sold the excursion.

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Thumbnail of user karenc725
Illinois
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 23rd, 2019

I was almost ready to go on my cruise to Cozumel and yucatan. When I got a text from my sister-in-law saying my brother was in the final stages of his cancer and the Dr. Said we needed to get there as soon as we could. Called Carnival to see if I could get a later date under these circumstances and was told that Yes they would put the 161.04 on another cruise for me and my sister. I paid 1213.04.and only getting 161.04. My brother is dying and he can go anytime. I wasn't asking for my money back just a later date.

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Thumbnail of user haek4
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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July 25th, 2022
Verified purchase

I don't have a original paper for citizenship. I apply passport 2 months ago. So I have a copy of citizenship. But they not accepted.
Me and my husband drove 8 hr.
Can I get full refund or another cruse?
When I have a phone with carnival. She told me bring the copy of citizenship.
Thank you my booking #B2R1S8

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Thumbnail of user mireyaf8
California
1 review
2 helpful votes
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August 3rd, 2022

I don't give this cruise a star at all it was the worse experience of my life my family and I did not like it they did not treat us at all friendly! They literally ruined our experience while my little niece left crying because they treated her so bad in the kid area I am very heart broken they always treated us so good when ever we went but now they dissapointed my family and I are we will never be riding with them again, do not recommend this place.

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Thumbnail of user willi94
Florida
1 review
0 helpful votes
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March 23rd, 2023

A friend and I and both of our mothers went on this cruise, and when both of our mothers were alone at the bar, one of the bartenders kept hitting on her and she told him to stop multiple times, so he cut her off and refused to give her anything else and the staff did nothing about it, overall awful experience just because of the staff they are not to be trusted the same guy thinking that our moms were wasted, came back to the room at four in the morning but they were awake and ran off like a little $#*! he was playing to sexually assault them $#*! that cruise.

Tip for consumers:
Go Caribbean not carnival

Products used:
None way over priced

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