The DeBorde family of Galveston, Texas had high hopes for their first-ever cruise vacation – a four-day sailing on the Carnival Ecstasy from their hometown to Mexico. According to the DeBordes the cruise didn’t live up to what was promised in Carnival’s brochure or website and they wanted the line to own up to its “Vacation Guarantee” so they could get off the ship and get their money back. There was just one big problem – they didn’t tell Carnival they wanted to leave.

Finding the perfect getaway

The DeBordes have been through a lot as their 10-year-old son has endured a chronic health condition that has required over thirty-five surgeries in his short life. Kristi DeBorde told me that she promised her son when he was healthy enough to travel the family would go away on a special vacation. When the doctors finally gave the go ahead for the family to travel she scoured the Internet for two months searching for the perfect getaway within their budget.

The family decided on a cruise aboard the Carnival Ecstasy from Galveston since it offered everything they wanted in a vacation including a children’s area with many activities to suit their son. The DeBordes had never been on a cruise and Kristi wasn’t completely sure if it was the best option for her son. Before booking she called Carnival for reassurance to confirm that all the activities listed in the brochure and online would be onboard during the cruise, she was told yes. She was sold and booked the cruise.

This is not like the brochure!

When the family boarded the Ecstasy they were not happy because the virtual tour on Carnival’s website did not match the actual ship. “The queen bed that was promised by phone from the Carnival representative was actually two twin beds pushed together, our window was cloudy, dirty, and could hardly see out of it,” said Kristi DeBorde.

She complained that the food was “horrendous” and was upset that the laser tag that was on the Camp Carnival children’s program was cancelled and that there was only coloring and finger-painting. Additionally, there was no basketball court on the Ecstasy as depicted on the website and the miniature golf course was impossible to use because it was too windy. The aforementioned activities were important to DeBorde’s son because he is not allowed to swim since he has a stomach catheter. On the second day of the cruise she says her son wanted to go to the 12-14 year old room to play X-Box, however, he wasn’t allowed because he was only 10.

By this time Kristi DeBorde had had enough and went to Guest Services after noticing Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee. The guarantee states if a guest isn’t completely satisfied with their cruise experience Carnival will refund the unused portion of the cruise fare and pay for the flight back to the embarkation port. There was one stipulation – a guest must notify onboard managers before arrival of the first non-U.S. port of call. Since the following day the ship was docking in Cozumel the family met the criteria.

Kristi DeBorde says she was in tears when speaking with personnel at Guest Services and stated that she wanted to go home. The crew member told her that the hotel director would call her in the morning. The following day when the ship docked in Mexico there was no call. Upset, DeBorde returned to Guest Services only to be told that Camp Carnival was going to have a party for her son. She advised them that this was not good enough and demanded to speak with a manager. Later in the evening, while the ship was headed back to Galveston, the hotel director called the family and invited them to come to his office.

Since Kristi DeBorde believed Carnival’s website was full of “false advertising” the hotel director went over the website with her. In regards to her complaint that the pictures did not match the ship he told her that the online pictures were just general photos and that information about the Ecstasy wasn’t up to date in regards to basketball court. He tried to reassure DeBorde that the dining and other activities onboard for her son would be better. Still, she was not satisfied, and the hotel director typed a letter with a reference number and advised DeBorde to call Carnival headquarters in Miami when the family returned home.

When the DeBordes returned home they immediately called Carnival to vent their complaints. A guest relations supervisor stated it wasn’t the line’s fault because her son couldn’t find something to do and that food complaints were subjective. When she asked why she wasn’t allowed to use Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee the supervisor told her since she didn’t specifically state “I want to disembark the ship” she did not qualify. “I am not sure how they could misunderstand what it was I wanted as I was crying and telling them we wanted to go home,” said DeBorde.

After getting nowhere with Carnival, the DeBordes contacted Consumer Traveler for help.

Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee

In an industry that sells fun, sun, fine dining, and adventure, glossy brochures and spiffy websites can raise some very high expectations. Clearly, the DeBordes cruise to Mexico didn’t live up to what they expected from Carnival’s website. Were their expectations reasonable? Could Carnival have done more?

I contacted Carnival to get their side of the story and spoke with Carnival spokesperson, Vance Gulliksen. While researching the family’s complaint Gulliksen told me the DeBordes complaints and meetings with ship personnel were logged through a tracking system that is tied to guest relations. The report confirmed Kristi DeBordes account regarding food and activities, but she never requested to leave the ship in Cozumel. “On Carnival ships, if you invoke the Vacation Guarantee, you are absolutely allowed to do so and disembark the ship and get a partial refund as long as you follow the parameters,” said Gulliksen.

Cruising isn’t for everyone

Kristi DeBorde is very disappointed in Carnival’s stance. “I would have gone to Disney World had I known the only thing for my son to do was watch a couple of 200-pound women dirty dancing on each other or watch other sweaty people get belligerently drunk for 4 days. There are many different ways I could have spent our $1,600,” she said.

While I sympathize with the DeBordes all of this could have been prevented if they had consulted with a knowledgeable travel agent, especially since it was their first cruise. An agent would have briefed them on what cruising is really like from accommodations (all cruise ship staterooms have convertible beds) to amenities, facilities, and clientele to make sure it met their requirements. Most importantly for the DeBordes, a travel agent would have gone to bat for them when they weren’t happy with their cruise and would have told them to invoke Carnival’s Vacation Guarantee.

Cruise industry publication, Seatrade Insider, is reporting that the Port of Galveston is rebounding from Hurricane Ike faster than expected. Seatrade Insider says the port exceeded the projected revenues for the month of December by $300,000, with revenues of $2 million. As a result, revenues for 2008 totaled $20.8 million — only $500,000 short of 2007’s record revenues.

Rapid recovery decisions in the wake of Hurricane Ike by the Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves was the key to recovery. Just seven weeks after the hurricane devistated the area, Cruise Terminal 1 reopened and the Carnival Ecstasy and Carnival Conquest were able to resume their previous schedules. Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas resumed operations in December.

A Galveston official stated that there are still “significant infrastructure challenges” to overcome, but the quick return to profitability will certainly help move along the work needed to get the port back to pre-Ike conditions.

Real bad news for those that drove their cars to Galveston for the September 7th sailing of the Carnival Conquest and the September 11 sailing of the Carnival Ecstasy.  According to the Galveston Daily News all the cars that were parked at the port are ruined. ”Cars left in port parking lots by cruise ship passengers are most likely a total loss,” said city spokesperson Alicia Cahill.

According to the paper the cruise terminal was flooded with 2 to 3 feet of water, and the wall next to the water was torn down. As ExpertCruiser reported earlier cruise ships scheduled to return to port Sunday and Monday were diverted to New Orleans.

Know someone that parked a car in Galveston? Tell us your story here.

With the devastation in Galveston following Hurricane Ike, Carnival Cruise Lines has opted to cancel the September 14 sailing of the Carnival Conquest and the September 15 sailing of the Carnival Ecstasy.

Carnival has been closely monitoring the situation in Galveston and said it did not have a lot of information about the status of the shipping channel, cruise terminal or the port access infrastructure. Carnival says that local communication has been very challenging and there are restrictions against incoming traffic into the Galveston area.

“We do not expect the Port of Galveston to be open on Monday and there is tremendous uncertainty about when the port will be available to us next week. Due to this situation, we will now cancel the following cruises:

Carnival Conquest September 14, 2008 departure that was re-scheduled to a 6 day cruise departing on Monday, September 15.

Carnival Ecstasy September 15, 2008 departure

Guests will receive a full refund of cruise fare and we will process these refunds within three weeks.”

Meanwhile, the Carnival Ecstasy, which left Galveston on Thursday, will disembark passengers in New Orleans on Tuesday. Likewise the Carnival Conquest will disembark passengers in New Orleans pm Monday. However, guests of both ships can opt to remain on board and sail back to Galveston with the ships. However, Carnival said it is uncertain about when the Port of Galveston will re-open.

Stay tuned for more information.