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As avid cruisers, we have sailed multiple times for the past decade aboard Carnival cruise ships.
Over the years, the company’s understanding and accommodations of our needs have been an inconsistent blend of hits and misses.
That was the case until last year.
Our 2011 Mediterranean cruise aboard the Magic exposed serious flaws in crew training and special needs accommodations that left quite a bitter taste in our mouths enough to prevent us from booking our next ‘annual’ Carnival cruise for years to come.
Looking back and analyzing what went wrong, I realize the issues we encountered could have easily been prevented by marketing and staff training fine-tuning.
I am hopeful that Carnival, as well as other cruise companies, will implement these minimal changes to help autistic travelers plan and enjoy their vacations better.
Issue: No embarkation assistance after notifying the cruise line.
Trouble started the moment we arrived at the Barcelona pier at 10 AM and asked for the special-needs assistance desk.
No one had a clue! We asked several people who were wearing Carnival and port badges but got varied and inconclusive answers like, “I need to go ask a colleague/supervisor [they never returned],” to, “I just started working here, and I’m not sure [?] ”
As usual, I called months in advance Carnival main’s office in Miami to let them know that we would be traveling with our special-needs son, and that we needed assistance.
On past cruises, a cruise employee would guide us through the embarkation process and onto the ship as soon as possible; however, this clearly was not going to be the case this time.
Luckily, for us, most passengers had not yet arrived, and the regular counters were relatively empty.
So, without many issues, we sat through a very short line and got all the formalities over rather fast. While at the counter, a guy who introduced himself as Carmelo apologized and kept saying he does not know how this happened.
Solution: Better training for boarding staff
Although Carnival is newer in the European market compared to its competitors, the Magic is not their first ship to offer Mediterranean cruising so these ‘kinks’ cannot be considered simple first-time mistakes.
Having sailed this route from Barcelona for over two months now, the embarkation process issues should have been smoothed out already.
The fact that several employees we approached, still had no idea what to do shows an apparent lack of suitable training and understanding the needs of disabled passengers.olution:Better training for boarding staff
Issue:Trapped in the entrance to the port and almost run over.
In Livorno, we booked the ship’s tour to Pisa that included climbing the old Leaning Tower.
We notified our guide both verbally and in writing of our intention to meet with friends and return on our own to the ship, leaving the tour early.
Problems arose upon returning to the port. Our friends’ car was stopped at the gate, even after we showed the guard our ship badges. The guard’s explanation was that while rented cars and taxis were permitted to enter; civilian cars and pedestrians were not. I asked the guard to contact the ship and mentioned my son’s special needs, but he proceeded to ignore me.
We were told our only option was to wait for ‘the bus with the Carnival logo’ to pick us up when it stops at the gate on its way back to the ship.
Fifteen minutes of standing in the sweltering Tuscan sun drove my son to the brink of desperation, and he darted in front of the bus that appeared.
However, that bus did not stop and almost ran him over. The guard had forgotten to mention the significant fact that while all buses were marked with the Carnival logo -only specific shuttle buses would stop at the gate.
After witnessing the dangerous bus scene and my son sobbing uncontrollably, a fellow guard took pity on us and offered us a ride to the ship in her personal vehicle.
Back on the ship when I spoke to the head of shore excursions’ desk who admitted his office was aware of the port’s ‘regulations and expressed his ‘surprise’ as to why our tour guide ‘forgot’ to inform us of the fact we would not be able to return to the ship on foot.
Solution: Improve communication with passengers and local port authority officials.
When the shore excursion desk is aware of certain port regulations – clear written, and oral notices should be provided to all passengers.
Furthermore, Carnival should either have a crew member at the gate or a phone line connection to the gate to provide the passengers (especially those with special needs) with any necessary assistance.
Issue: Wafer thin walls that made the cabin noisy 24/7.
When we booked the cabins, the ship was still being built, so finding quiet cabins-especially inside connecting ones, was not the easiest task.
We finally settled (with the help of a trained Carnival vacation planner) on cabins in the mid-ship 6373 and 6375 which, unfortunately, are located on top of the casino.
The cabin walls aboard the Magic are exceptionally thin, to the point that if you lean on them when sitting on the tiny stool provided you can feel it temporarily bending.
I did suspect that we would hear some ringing from winning slot machines based on my previous travels aboard other Carnival vessels; however, no one prepared me for loud announcements- two every hour-all-night long!
Needless to say, for the nine-day cruise, our night’s routine included a set of ear plugs and sleeping pills.
Solution: Mark quiet rooms on ship’s plan.
Carnival should devise a system of marking the quieter cabins on their vessels’ plans akin to the way wheelchair accessible cabins are marked.
This way noise sensitive and autistic passengers will be able to select more suitable cabins according to their particular disability.
Have you ever encountered problems on your cruise-how did you try to resolve them?
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Carnival Cruise Line and International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) (IGT) have partnered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IGT Wheel of Fortune® slot machines, featured aboard all Carnival ships and in casinos worldwide.
The World’s Most Popular Cruise Line® and the world’s leading end-to-end gaming company will reward players with free cruises and a variety of exciting giveaways throughout 2016. The brands are also partnering with the most successful syndicated game show in television history, Wheel of Fortune, on a first-ever Carnival Cruise Line-themed week featuring an exciting viewer sweepstakes.
Carnival Cruise Line and IGT
During 2016, Carnival and IGT’s partner casinos will give away hundreds of free cruises on the Carnival Magic. The winners will participate in the onboard Spin N Sail slot tournament featuring the IGT Wheel of Fortune slot machines exclusively during an eight-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Magic from Port Canaveral, Fla., in November 2016. The $200,000 prize pool, provided by IGT, includes a $100,000 grand prize to be taken home by one lucky winner. IGT customers across the U.S. and Canada will host qualifying events where winning players are awarded a free cruise for two and an entry into the grand finale $200,000 tournament.
“Wheel of Fortune slots and Carnival cruises are synonymous with fun and excitement, so IGT’s partnership with Carnival Cruise Line provides the ideal way to celebrate 20 years of Wheel of Fortune slots,” said Victor Duarte, IGT global chief product officer, gaming.“We appreciate the continued partnership between Carnival Cruise Line and IGT. Featuring Wheel of Fortune slots on all 24 Carnival cruise ships gives the games great exposure to millions of people, and has played a valuable role in helping IGT’s Wheel of Fortune slots become the most popular casino slot brand of all time.”
“We’re delighted to team up with IGT to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the wildly popular Wheel of Fortune slot machines and provide consumers with a number of fantastic prizes, including the opportunity to win $100,000 in the Spin N Sail tournament,” said Mike Hunssinger Turek, vice president of casino commercial operations for Carnival Cruise Line. “We’re also excited to offer a variety of special Wheel of Fortune-themed activities on board and be a part of Spin & Sail Week on this iconic show,” he added.
Introduced in 1996, the Wheel of Fortune slot machines have become a player favorite in shipboard casinos, including all 24 Carnival Cruise Line vessels, as well as in casinos on land. IGT has placed more than 200 versions of Wheel of Fortune slots in casinos around the world, and the game has awarded more than $3 billion in jackpots and minted more than 1,000 millionaires. Players enjoy how Wheel of Fortune slots capture the spirit and creativity of the popular television game show produced by Sony Pictures.
Throughout 2016, Carnival will also host a number of Wheel of Fortune-themed events across the fleet that will include special branded items and on-board activities and games every sailing, including the popular Wheel of Fortune scratch-off game where guests can win up to $30,000. Additionally, each sailing will feature a Wheel of Fortune prize wheel offering a wide range of prizes, everything from Carnival logo items and Casino Cash to entry into the $200,000 Spin N Sail slot tournament.
Wheel of Fortune
The 20th anniversary Wheel of Fortune slot festivities will also include a “Spin & Sail Week” with five Carnival Cruise Line-themed shows airing this spring on the iconic game show that inspired the slot machine. “Spin & Sail Week” airing March 21-25, 2016, will feature a custom, tropical-themed set with high-definition Carnival ship images and footage. Contestants will be able to win Carnival cruises to a variety of exotic destinations including the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska.
In preparation for the broadcast, Pat Sajak, Vanna White and the Wheel of Fortune crew went on location to shoot customized segments aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship.
Carnival Slot Machine
The “Wheel of Fortune Spin & Sail Sweepstakes,” will encourage viewers to watch “Spin & Sail Week” on Wheel of Fortune and enter each night’s bonus puzzle solution at www.wheeloffortune.com. Twenty winning entries will be selected, and the grand prize will be an eight-day Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Magic to be taken in November 2016 with a guaranteed spot in the Spin N Sail $200,000 slot tournament.
Slot Machines On Carnival Magic Slots
For additional information and reservations on Carnival’s cruise offerings, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.