Even loyal cruise fans know that not every sailing goes to plan.
In fact, the most loyal cruise guests have often cruises so many times with a cruise line that they’re bound to have had the occasional bad experience.

So it’s no surprise that a group of Carnival cruise fans who are members of the VIFP loyalty program have some crazy stories to tell about their worst cruises.
Remember though that these are the loyal Carnival fans – so the cruise line must be doing enough right that these stories don’t put them off!
1. Racism from other passengers
One passenger explained how they’d experienced racism on their Carnival cruise – and that’s no doubt one of the worst experiences anyone could have onboard.
They clarified that it was racism from other passengers that spoiled their cruise, not from the crew or anything like that – which is still bad enough. To have other cruise passengers mistreating you because of your race must be horrendous.

Just to make it even worse, the person who claimed to be a victim of racism then had to argue with someone on Facebook who claimed it wasn’t racism after all – and that claims of racism are thrown around too often!
Carnival is a diverse cruise line that welcomes passengers from a lot of backgrounds and I believe that most have a great time without being the victim of racism, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen for this passenger.
2. Being exposed by automatic toilet doors!
Something completely different now, and a recurring complaint related to the public bathrooms on the newest ships in the fleet (Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, Carnival Jubilee).

The problem with the public bathrooms on these ships is that the doors use automatic locks… and not everyone can figure out exactly how they work!
The result is a number of people who’ve ended up getting ‘exposed’ as someone else opens the door, leading to some embarrassing situations!
A lot of people who’ve been caught have now decided they’d rather trek all the way back to their cabin even when they’re enjoying the entertainment, just to avoid the risk of having the door open on them.
Surely bathroom doors shouldn’t be this complicated?
3. Injuries
Some of the worst stories are related to injuries suffered onboard.


There are lots of different stories that people have shared, including being injured by a waiter dropping a tray onto their hand, or falling down the stairs when wearing high heels (even when not drunk).
Accidents do happen on cruises, especially when you’re around a lot of guests who might be enjoying a drink or two. Make sure you’re careful, because the medical costs onboard can be quite high!
4. Hookups gone wrong!
A couple of passengers have talked about how their cruise took a wrong turn when ‘interacting’ with other guests.

This passenger spoke about how they thought they were having a successful cruise romance until they discovered that the guy was married and that they were not swingers – the wife was less than pleased to discover what had been going on!
Suggested read: The Secret Meaning Of An Upside Down Pineapple
Carnival is a great cruise line for singles who want to meet new people either for short-term fun or long-term romance, but try to make sure you’re flirting with someone who is definitely unattached!

5. Passenger complaints about a disabled child
Carnival has a great reputation for welcoming all guests and accommodating those who have particular needs or disabilities.
It’s a shame that not all Carnival guests are quite as welcoming…

Imagine feeling so offended by a child being overwhelmed that you moan to other passengers and try to say they shouldn’t be allowed onboard!
Are cruises only for those without disabilities now? An awful experience for this passenger and I’m glad they stood up to the person complaining.

6. Hitting the drink package limit too early
If you buy the drinks package on a Carnival cruise, you can enjoy as many drinks as you like without paying for them individually.
Well, maybe not as many as you like…

There’s a limit of 15 alcoholic drinks per day, which for most people is not going to cause them any problems. 15 is quite a lot! But this passenger claimed that it spoiled their cruise because they were getting cut off by 7 pm on every day of their cruise.
Maybe pace things a little more during the day?
Suggested read: 19 Carnival Drink Package Tips

7. The Triumph fire cruise
It’s over 10 years since the Carnival Triumph’s famed ‘Poop cruise‘ and yet it’s still one of the most talked about topics when someone asks about the worst cruise ever.
It’s understandable though – it was hardly a pleasant experience.
If you don’t know about the poop cruise, what happened was the Carnival Triumph suffered an engine room fire in 2013 which took out the power, including the air conditioning. It also affected the plumbing.
This meant that the ship was stranded without propulsion, and with no working toilet system. As you can imagine, the conditions soon became unsanitary for everyone onboard.
Carnival made good by refunding everyone, paying $500 in compensation as well as offering another free cruise, but those who were onboard describe it as hell. Still, many people knew it was a one-off and have since sailed with Carnival again!
8. Hurricanes and storms
Lots of people blame hurricanes and storms for their worse cruises.

It’s understandable – you can’t control the weather, but it can completely spoil all the plans you had for a nice relaxing sailing.

Even if you don’t get rough waters, it can mean that your itinerary is completely changed at the last minute, and you might not even get to visit any ports – it could be a cruise that just has to dodge storms at sea.
Many of the people who’ve complained about stormy cruises rant about losing money, so make sure you’ve got suitable cruise travel insurance with missed port cover, especially if you’re taking a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season.
Suggested read: Here’s What Happens If There’s A Hurricane On Your Cruise
9. Party neighbours
One of the best bits of advice I always give when choosing a cabin is to make sure you’ve got other cabins directly above and below you, and on either side.
That’s because normally that will mean less noise – but not always…

There are noisy parts of the ship such as crew work areas, the pool deck or the bars, and that sound can carry through the walls or floor. But you really shouldn’t be dealing with neighbouring passengers causing a disturbance too.
If you’re having to call security every night, then security aren’t doing their job properly. Thankfully these types of story are rare!

Suggested read: The 8 Most Infuriating Cruise Habits (According to Fellow Passengers)
10. Stabilizer failures
A few people have mentioned their worst cruise experiences being when ship stabilizers failed – and it’s happened more than once.
Notable incidents have occured on several ships including Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Liberty, with the video above apparently on Carnival Legend.
It can be scary – so I can totally understand why some people would rank this as their worst experience. But it’s not like a ship is suddenly going to tip over.
I do love that the people in the restaurant thought that moving from one side of the ship to the other would help. Trust me, the weight of the people onboard a cruise ship is pretty negligible compared to the weight of the ship itself!
11. Sickness!
There’s nothing worse than getting so excited for a cruise (or indeed any type of holiday) only to lose some of it to sickness.

Lots of people have blamed the issues in 2020 for their worst cruises, but there are plenty of people who get sick on cruises at regular times too.
It’s not helped by unhygienic passengers who can’t even be bothered to wash their hands properly, or sneeze into their elbow. Basic rules!

Again, you might be able to get some money back if you’re sick on a cruise and quarantined in your cabin. Hopefully, it never happens for you but there’s always the possibility.
Suggested read: Cruise Ship Norovirus Statistics & How To Avoid Sickness
12. Breakups at sea
A breakup on holiday is awful. But it’s even worse on a cruise because you’ve no way of easily escaping each other!

Cruise breakups can happen, and there were a few people in the Carnival group who told similar stories.

Whether that’s because arguments can become fueled by booze, or just the nature of being on a ship and feeling like you can’t escape each other. Or maybe someone had a wandering eye, seeing all the people by the pool…
If you’re lucky, you might be able to pay for an additional cabin if you’re already onboard and explain your situation, but many cruises will sail sold out so if you do break up, you might be stuck together. Try to stay on each other’s good side!
13. Random food sharer
Whether or not this is worthy of being the “worst cruise ever”, I don’t know. But it’s definitely weird and a bit gross.

Having random people steal food from your plate is NOT common on cruises, don’t worry!

It’s not clear whether it was a child stealing food, or a grown woman, but either way it’s something that you should nip in the bud. Tell them no, and then feel free to go grab a new plate.
Chalk it up to a weird random experience, and try not to let it spoil your mood!
14. Accidentally flashing the crew
Are you the kind of person who lets embarrassing moments live on long in your memory?

The fact that this cruise passenger still tells the story as their worst cruise experience ever shows that it’s stuck with them – and maybe it has stuck with the crew member too!

Embarrassing moments can happen anywhere but don’t worry – you won’t typically find the crew in your cabin doing cleaning so the chances of you experiencing something like this are slim to none.
15. When EVERYTHING goes wrong!
This poor passenger!

When something goes wrong on any type of holiday, it can then feel like everything is going wrong. But I think for this passenger it really was. This isn’t a negative attitude – that’s a seriously long list of unfortunate occurrences.
It seems like they still were able to enjoy their honeymoon cruise thanks to their friends, but trust me – most cruises aren’t the catalogue of horrors that this person experienced!

16. When the cruise ends
The most common comment on that Facebook group about the worst cruise experience was that the cruise ended – and I think that shows that even bad moments can’t put off loyal cruise fans.
Plenty of people joked about how they were forced to get off the ship at the end of their itinerary and how it was unfair that they were surprised by this ‘debarkation day’ that crew were talking about.

But the fact that so many people made similar comments show that people really do enjoy being loyal to Carnival because of the great times they have onboard.
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Final word
Carnival is not a cruise line for everyone. It has a lively party atmosphere, it’s very bold and loud at times (especially during deck parties), and it’s very much aimed at the American market.
But if you’re the kind of person who would fit in on a Carnival ship, there’s a good chance you may want to stay loyal – even though it’s clear that bad things do sometimes happen.
That’s the same on any cruise line though. In fact, I know there are some cruise lines where bad experiences might be more common!
Just know that most people on a Carnival cruise – or any cruise – have an amazing time, and roll with the punches if something does go wrong. It shouldn’t spoil your cruise, and if it does, there’s always the next one!
Carnival’s brand ambassador John Heald gets hundreds of messages every day. Many of them are complaints and not all of them are sensible. So if you want a laugh, read The Craziest Complaints From Carnival Cruise Guests next!
NEW DEALS JUST RELEASED!
See the latest Carnival cruise offers…
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- Overheard: The Worst Complaints At Guest Services On A Cruise
- Best & Worst Carnival Cruise Ships (Ranked By Reviews)

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
I have been on most every cruise line sailing and some that are now defunct..i have enjoyed most all of them, never sailed Carnival till this year due to all the vibes going around about how bad it was…I must say our cCruise on the mardi Gras was one of the best ever..Food was terrific, Crew very great and the entire cruise was a pleasure..We are not youngsters..We are in our late 70’s and 80’s… Don’t believe everything you hear….Would highly recommend Carnival.. Our first sailing was in 1980 on the old SS France which became Norwegins Norway…It was great and we sailed on it several times…