While cruises aren’t the aspect of the travel industry that I cover most (I prefer airlines and hotels), I still find it interesting to see how different travel brands respond to online criticism. Along those lines, the world’s largest cruise line has just banned a couple for five years, and the logic is pretty questionable…
In this post:
Carnival bans cruise influencers for five years
Jay Cannon and Daniel Wailing are what you might call cruise influencers. They run a print magazine about cruising (Sail Away Magazine), and also have a YouTube channel about cruising. However, their ability to cover the industry has changed in recent weeks, when they received a letter banning them from Carnival.
Keep in mind that Carnival is the world’s largest cruise line, and the parent company has a total of eight cruise brands, including Cunard, Holland America, P&O Cruises, and more. The letter they received was from a guest relations manager from P&O Cruises, interestingly. Here’s the content of the note:
Following a review of your recent interactions with us, we believe that you have both clearly demonstrated that we cannot offer the holiday that you are looking for. It is thus no longer appropriate for you to travel with us, or any of the Carnival group brands. This includes Cunard, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises.
I am sorry to have to convey this decision to you. Please note that this letter represents our final decision on this matter, and you will therefore not be permitted to travel with us for a period of 5 years, after which we may review. Please note that no further correspondence on this matter will be entered into.
If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can see their 30+ minute analysis of the ban below.
This letter came shortly after they published their review of the Carnival Miracle, which they “hated.” In fairness, it sounded pretty bad — there was a three hour queue to get on the ship, and then when they got to their room, it was filthy, with pubic hair on the counter.
However, the service recovery was very good — they were then upgraded to a suite, and even got their whole cruise comped. Still, they were pretty down on the experience. For example, here’s a small part of what they said about the ship’s design:
“In all the ships we’ve ever sailed on, we have never encountered anything quite like this. And honestly, it’s weirdly impressive. The sheer effort and thought that must’ve gone into making this the most hideous ship we’ve ever set foot on, is remarkable.”
It’s odd how the ban letter comes from someone at P&O Cruises, as they reviewed one of those ships about a year ago, and it was a negative review, but not as negative as the Carnival Miracle review.
This is a bizarre reaction from Carnival
One interesting angle here is that these guys seem to sort of straddle the line between customers and influencers in terms of how they interact with cruise lines. For example, last year they got married onboard a Holland America ship (owned by Carnival), and the cruise line comped their wedding, given their influence in the industry.
Similarly, when they had a bad start to their recent Carnival cruise, their cruise ended up being comped, and they were upgraded to a suite. I can’t say so with certainty, but I’d suspect it’s because they were “known” influencers to the cruise line.
So my guess is that Carnival was basically fed up with their negativity, and no longer wanted to have anything to do with them, given all they had done for the couple. That being said:
- It’s one thing if Carnival made the decision to no longer partner with them in any way, but to ban them as paying customers seems unreasonable
- People can disagree on whether their negativity toward some aspects of the cruise line are unfair, but the cruise line has a lot to learn, if people are walking into a room at the start of their cruise, and it’s dirty
- It seems disingenuous for Carnival to argue that “we cannot offer the holiday that you are looking for,” when they’ve raved about some ships and experiences, like the Holland America cruise on which they got married
Anyway, I don’t think this is a great look for Carnival, and I wonder how high up this decision was made. It feels to me like some mid-level manager decided they were fed up with the pair, and instructed someone else to make the rash decision of banning them, without really thinking it through.
Bottom line
Carnival has banned a couple who are cruise influencers, claiming that the company “cannot offer the holiday that [they] are looking for.” This seems like a pretty extreme approach for a cruise line to take, given that until recently, the company partnered with them in many ways.
I can understand not wanting to make any exceptions or comps for this couple, but banning them from all eight cruise lines the company owns, even if they’re paying like any other guests? Wow…
What do you make of this cruise banning?
Carnival did themselves a huge favor by banning these salami smokers.
I'm sure they "raved" about HA because they got a free wedding out of it.
I detest influencers under any circumstances so I applaud this move.
short & simple:
Influencers are NEVER good if they say anything negative!
To me, i can’t stand them and most of all their personal opinions about a product.
Especially mind blowing to me, is the MASS of those cheapos trying to travel the globe for free, but at an unbelievable price to a certain product or company.
Let them all PAY full price and then find out, how they REALLY rate...
short & simple:
Influencers are NEVER good if they say anything negative!
To me, i can’t stand them and most of all their personal opinions about a product.
Especially mind blowing to me, is the MASS of those cheapos trying to travel the globe for free, but at an unbelievable price to a certain product or company.
Let them all PAY full price and then find out, how they REALLY rate a product or service!
To me, ANY influencer who want VIP status or free stuff because of what they do (sounds like the old days of being a member in German parliament = getting Lufthansa Senator Status Star GOLD for free) or don’t do and try to convince others of BELIEVING, what they saw and experienced.
Typically the REAL truth is far from what is shown, but again a FREE treat is a free treat !
NEVER BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU! ;-) lame but true.
Carnival Corp. (if it was really made in an appropriate department) is absolutely RIGHT in my eyes!
Complain, … but do it with decency! (if it’s appropriate to complain) … BUT, NOT in public!
I cannot speak for any cruise line in Europe.Here in the states, Carnival Cruise Lines is the Spirit Aliens of cruise lines.
We took a recent Princess cruise from Sidney to Vancouver and spent three hours in various lines on embarking. Very disappointing.
When someone is looking for a good experience and the cruise line's answer is that they cannot offer it, that's pretty bad. They are effectively saying that all the criticism was deserved.
I hate influencers. They try and hold companies hostage to get free perks for not giving negative reviews. That is pure blackmail. On the other hand, I am not a fan of Carnival. That is my opinion. I also hate creamed corn. Everyone has their likes and dislikes. It sounds like Carnival attempted to make it right. What else can they do? If they had just said "suck it up" then they would deserve the...
I hate influencers. They try and hold companies hostage to get free perks for not giving negative reviews. That is pure blackmail. On the other hand, I am not a fan of Carnival. That is my opinion. I also hate creamed corn. Everyone has their likes and dislikes. It sounds like Carnival attempted to make it right. What else can they do? If they had just said "suck it up" then they would deserve the worse review. But someone made a mistake (it happens) and they tried to fix it. I would give them the benefit of the doubt out of fairness and not rate them on that. As much as I hate to admit it, I have to be on Carnival's side.
Just an observation as an aside from the ban, it does seem like the cruise lines are in general better about service recovery than the big hotel chains and the airlines these days. This reminded me of the Med cruise I took with family last year, family friends of my parents also tagged along and upgraded to a fancy suite on the front of the ship. That was the start of their problems and they...
Just an observation as an aside from the ban, it does seem like the cruise lines are in general better about service recovery than the big hotel chains and the airlines these days. This reminded me of the Med cruise I took with family last year, family friends of my parents also tagged along and upgraded to a fancy suite on the front of the ship. That was the start of their problems and they had numerous issues with the suite, up to and including sewage water coming out the shower faucet.
Due to all the issues, they got a dinner in the private paid-for dining room (only one party allowed to dine at a time) and were allowed to invite the rest of us to join them, plus they were given a future cruise with the line as compensation.
I applaud Carnival for banning these "influenzas", you can never satisfy serial complainers no matter what you do. Carnival was nice enough to put them in a suite and comp their cruise but that's apparently not enough.
They have nothing to complain about now!
I agree with some of the comments here about these two getting the boot from Carnival for five years. Yes, we may not know the whole story but just reading Ben’s post, he already listed twice how they complain and complain. This reminded me of a previous story on Loyalty Lobby about a couple being banned from Hilton hotel stays for life IIRC. Hilton corporate had enough of their complaints. According to Hilton, they always...
I agree with some of the comments here about these two getting the boot from Carnival for five years. Yes, we may not know the whole story but just reading Ben’s post, he already listed twice how they complain and complain. This reminded me of a previous story on Loyalty Lobby about a couple being banned from Hilton hotel stays for life IIRC. Hilton corporate had enough of their complaints. According to Hilton, they always used points for their stays which were purchased during the Hilton point promotions and complained on numerous stays and always got comped or given some type of freebies. I think Hilton even listed the number of their complaints. Hilton was so funny with the ban which they wrote something along the lines of due to your so many complaints we feel that we would not be able to provide you with excellent guest service so it is like an ‘us not you’ issue, haha. Keep trying to game the hotels/airlines/cruises and they will eventually catch on to your game.
Sounds like they were a pain and constantly needing to be comped. Not worth what they cost so they cut their losses, literally.
Hilton does it. Casinos do it. Lots of Mom & Pop restaurants do it. It makes business sense.
If you give someone too many feebies and get too little in return, then it's time to cut bait.
I imagine the letter came from P&O because that's the corporation's main brand in the UK.
Now if only a few airline alliances would ban Nonstop Dan for the same thing.
He’s never satisfied, and thinks every seat is awwwwful. He and Awwwskar fly openly as influencers, and Dan nitpicks every little piece of the abowwwminable service and hard product.
He always seems constipated to me.
I suspect these two are doing these to make these cabin worst that it seems. I demand carnival to do a DNA test on that pubic hair on the counter.
Why wouldn't they ban them. I mean these parasites (influencers) make their living using their content to extort the cruise lines. Just ban them, they'll find a new gig lol
"considering they were paying customers"
In reality, they weren't. Carnival was comping them constantly, so they weren't in fact paying anything and getting free upgrades.
So in fact these "influencers" had become grifters by trading trivial bad reviews into free cruises and upgrades. They assumed if the negative reviews continued, so would the comps and now Carnival has simply called them out on it.
People in the online world forget that being a...
"considering they were paying customers"
In reality, they weren't. Carnival was comping them constantly, so they weren't in fact paying anything and getting free upgrades.
So in fact these "influencers" had become grifters by trading trivial bad reviews into free cruises and upgrades. They assumed if the negative reviews continued, so would the comps and now Carnival has simply called them out on it.
People in the online world forget that being a critic goes both ways.
Platinum Carnival cruiser here and maybe it's due to my age, but I sailed for the first time on the Miracle in January and it is my favorite Carnival ship! I love the quirkiness -- the giant Frankenstein in the two-story dance club, Gatsby's Garden, the layout that doesn't require going up or down a floor to avoid a dining room. In contrast, I sailed on the Jubilee last month, newest/biggest, and absolutely abhorred it....
Platinum Carnival cruiser here and maybe it's due to my age, but I sailed for the first time on the Miracle in January and it is my favorite Carnival ship! I love the quirkiness -- the giant Frankenstein in the two-story dance club, Gatsby's Garden, the layout that doesn't require going up or down a floor to avoid a dining room. In contrast, I sailed on the Jubilee last month, newest/biggest, and absolutely abhorred it. Maybe it's a case of reaching the age of "you kids, get off my lawn!" but newer doesn't always equal better. Having the food so separated between floors, no dedicated dance club (converting the daytime comedy club to a tiny dance floor by moving all the chairs), tiny cabins, tiny, non-a/c elevators, no library/board game room (such a small place to be eliminated in favor of new places to drink), etc., just made me long for the O.G. Celebration and Inspiration. Ah, Ye Good Olde Days.
So this couple had a lousy experience on the Miracle. It happens. Not the experience I had, but I believe they were honest about what they went through and respect their right to express their displeasure with how things played out their week. What I don't get is why any cruiser would be banned for any period of time for posting a negative review. They aren't Carnival employees. If they were getting influencer comps, pull the comps.
I feel like there's more to this story OR somebody went rogue in making this decision and writing them the letter. Has Heald responded to this yet?
Game over. Influencers are reaching their expiration date with many folks. Created content is just not that interesting anymore. I'm certain those that enjoy traveling with thousands of people won't miss these two.
Getting eye balls is much easier if you present something in a very negative light. A video of a person assaulting a gate agent for being denied boarding due to being drunk will get magnitudes and magnitudes of greater views than a video of 200 people just simply boarding. So naturally "influencers" will be negative because they need views. Companies are getting wise to it and just saying no.
There has to be more to this story, probably got too annoying with complaints and requests for free stuff. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Good for Carnival for banning them.
This kind of letter should probably be written by the corporate general counsel. That aside, I think it illustrates the problem with half or more of the personalities who review airlines, hotels, and cruises. Especially on YouTube. There's no much editorial independence when they're getting comped. I also imagine the cruise company (or airline/hotel) thinks by comping something or doing a service recovery that the matter is, in fact, resolved and won't be disclosed. Hence...
This kind of letter should probably be written by the corporate general counsel. That aside, I think it illustrates the problem with half or more of the personalities who review airlines, hotels, and cruises. Especially on YouTube. There's no much editorial independence when they're getting comped. I also imagine the cruise company (or airline/hotel) thinks by comping something or doing a service recovery that the matter is, in fact, resolved and won't be disclosed. Hence why some resorts make guests sign a non-disclosure agreement when accepting a service recovery.
Cruises sound awful to me, stuck on the same thing every day and they wont even let you take alcohol on board so they can try to flog their own overpriced stuff, but the thing that remains is that 1 - complaining about stuff gets more hits than good reviews, and 2 - if every cruise theyve taken is actually awful then theyre going to be bad reviews.
Which one is the main point in this instance.
Actually, many cruise lines do allow one to bring alcohol aboard. TPG has an article on it. https://thepointsguy.com/cruise/cruise-ship-bring-your-own-alcohol-rules/
But, yes, they try to get you to spend on board.
“Influencers” are trash. Seems more like they complained on a semi-regular basis with the expectation of being treated like queens with comped cruises and being doted on due to their “influence” and the cruise line decided enough is enough. All businesses should ban these types of ppl.
I still see John and Seb extortion still roam free.
Until they ban those lobby people, I still think the industry sucks up to influencer's.
I think everybody is wrong here:
- these influencers get all their cruises comped, yet they have very negative reviews
- the cruise line could let them onboard, yet no longer comp their cruises
I think you are all wrong here:
- these influencers get all their cruises comped, yet they have very negative reviews
> What's to see if your reviews are all corrupted by freebies that normal people wouldn't get.
- the cruise line could let them onboard, yet no longer comp their cruises
> They never had to comp them from the beginning. Again the expected entitlement for being an influencer. That's exactly the reason why they got banned.
Just like you do not fly on Spirit or Frontier, don’t sail on Carnival.
Perhaps they should ask Josh Cahill for advice
My guess is that they were “serial complainers” meaning they were trying to get something comp’d at every turn. Sometimes it’s good business to fire customers if it becomes clear that the upside to keeping them is virtually nonexistent.
I’m not an avid cruiser. I don’t dislike them but I simply don’t care. However, Carnical has some nice brands and they have some garbage brands. And they aren’t shy about making the cheaper brands attract lower class people. But Carnival doesn’t like being called out. Which is fine. Especially since most Carnival ships (the actual brand) are garbage barges anyway but their passengers do t care - they just want free food and to...
I’m not an avid cruiser. I don’t dislike them but I simply don’t care. However, Carnical has some nice brands and they have some garbage brands. And they aren’t shy about making the cheaper brands attract lower class people. But Carnival doesn’t like being called out. Which is fine. Especially since most Carnival ships (the actual brand) are garbage barges anyway but their passengers do t care - they just want free food and to treat employees horribly.
Influencers need to go away and it seems Carnival is tired of trying to make these two happy after having done so much for them. Albeit to rectify shitty experiences. Plus, these two dudes KEPT coming back as if they just wanted to continually provide negative publicity. I’m 100% Team Carnival on this. I don’t care for most Carnival brands or the company but their justified in this.
Just sailed on Carnival Miracle and got off the cruise June 8 in London and while I have extensively sailed Carnival over the last several years the Carnival Miracle was by far the worst Carnival Cruise ship around. The water as mentioned was yellow, we met our cabin steward on day 6 of a 9 night cruise, the dining room service and food was awful, and the staff just seemed plain miserable. But we also...
Just sailed on Carnival Miracle and got off the cruise June 8 in London and while I have extensively sailed Carnival over the last several years the Carnival Miracle was by far the worst Carnival Cruise ship around. The water as mentioned was yellow, we met our cabin steward on day 6 of a 9 night cruise, the dining room service and food was awful, and the staff just seemed plain miserable. But we also had an issue on board and are seriously considering whether to cruise with Carnival. My 7 year old niece was celebrating her birthday and we had to pay for a cake which is usual but the issue was when they served the cake, it was a red velvet cake that had globs of mold growing inside. Huge globs of mold shows that there food safety standards were not up to par which fits in with his review of how filthy his cabin was. Our cabin wasn't dirty like his but still the fact that a cake can be served with huge clumps of mold growing in it tells me that food safety is not the highest priority on the Carnival Miracle. I have also cruised on NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America and prefer Carnival in general to Princess as the food is far worse on Princess.
Also, while my sample size is only 1 when we embarked on the NCL Getaway from Lisbon 2 years ago the embarkation was just as much of a nightmare as he described for this sailing taking close to 3 hours in the baking sun. While our embarkation at Dover on this sailing of the Carnival Miracle took less than 20 minutes from the Uber to the atrium of the ship.
I want to congratulate you on the grossest travel story I've read in some time, including Gary's diarrhea-thons. Sorry you had to live through it.
Granted my sample size is also low, but I thought the food was great on Princess. My family sailed on Coral Princess up to Alaska in 2019. Maybe things went downhill way downhill after COVID I guess but it's hard to believe they could fall that far. We usually had the same waiter every meal in the grand dining room, and he took great care of my mom with regards to her food allergies.
Carnival Miracle definitely sounds like a ship to avoid though, yeesh.
JC1 - I was on the same cruise as you on the Carnival Miracle and it is an aging ship and the decor is just weird and slightly disturbing. Cleanliness of the cabin and ship was fine, but the food was certainly lacking. We did not encounter moldy food, but definitely had issues where food was coming to the end of its use by date. Service was by far our biggest issue and considering the...
JC1 - I was on the same cruise as you on the Carnival Miracle and it is an aging ship and the decor is just weird and slightly disturbing. Cleanliness of the cabin and ship was fine, but the food was certainly lacking. We did not encounter moldy food, but definitely had issues where food was coming to the end of its use by date. Service was by far our biggest issue and considering the ship was just at 50% capacity, can't imagine what it would have been like at 100%. No need to sail on the Miracle again unless there is a miraculous transformation.
You are banned from the Carnival Miracle for a period of five years. This decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered on this subject.
Oh no! Anyway…
The more influencer leeches banned, the better
i agree!
… pay for what you get and THEN try to let the people know, what you REALLY experienced, like any other full paying guest! No matter if at a Hotel, Airline, Restaurant, Cruiseline, Train or any other Service company!
Influencers are like bugs! Seems like the majority on this post see it the same way?!
BRAVO!