Carnival Cruise Line has responded after a passenger said 'families are being let down' by the lack of a mobile phone ban in particular areas of its ships.
A subsidiary of the world's largest cruise line Carnival Corporation & plc, Carnival Cruise Line entertains millions of holidaygoers every single year through its fleet of 27 ships.
And with 40,000 staff and revenue of $21,000,000,000, it is safe to say it is a big operation.
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But the cruise line has been forced to respond to one complaint after a family holidayed with the cruise line aboard its Carnival Dream ship.
'Bring in a phone ban'
The cruise passenger emailed Carnival's Brand Ambassador, John Heald, with scathing criticism of other passengers and their attitudes in particular parts of the ship.
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Their problem? They thought they were better than others not allowing their children to have technology at the dinner table in the dining areas of the cruise ship.
Heald shared the email on his Facebook page, where he regularly interacts with the Carnival community.
"My children are ages seven, 11 and 15. We are a good Christian family," they said, with Heald anonymising the email.
"We do not allow them to take their phones or tablets to the dining room for any meal. We have the same rule at home. We do not buy the internet package so no one uses them to call or text.
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"There is a no technology rule when we cruise together. I am horrified that we seem to be the only family on the Carnival Dream who have this rule. We are there to spend time together."
They continued: "In my eye Carnival should enforce a no phones and no tablets at the dinner table at least. Carnival should set a precedent that would set Carnival apart from other cruise lines. Seeing families all on their phones at dinner is appalling.
"My children have been raised correctly. They never ask for their phones or tablets on a cruise. I make sure I’m not on my phone in front of them too. It’s so important for children to communicate verbally, learn eye-contact and feel like they’re listened too. Carnival is letting families down by allowing this."
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Carnival's response
For Heald, the issue relied at the doorstep of individuals, not him or Carnival as a whole for allowing technology while dining.
"Thank you and I do hope you are had a wonderful cruise," Heald said.
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"Parenting is never easy and with respect it is also a personal thing and not for us as a cruise line to decide if children should be allowed to use their electronics in the dinning room.
"I know as a parent myself it is hard to take a child’s smartphone especially once they get used to having it all the time. I know that personally and having tried to shove that genie back in its bottle and slammed the barn door behind that bolting horse.
"For some parents it is easier to get a child to eat a plate full of kale.
"I wonder then what your thoughts are on this? iPhones and iPads I think remain generationally divisive."
Carnival community reacts
It is safe to say those responding to Heald's post were very much not on the side of the complainant.
"I am really not sure about how not using technology at a dinner table makes you a good Christian," one person wrote.
A second said: "Parenting is a personal matter. It is a safe bet the original complainant would not want to be told how to raise her kids so she should give the same consideration to other parents."
And a third added: "Where do these post really come from? Phones at the table is us sharing photos from the day with each other, looking at activities together, kids checking out kids clubs and choosing events to go to.
"This is our time to connect with each other. How we do that is no one else's business. Tell the judgmental person to stay home."
Topics: Cruise Ship, Food And Drink, Holiday, Phones, Technology, Travel, US News, World News, Parenting
Tom Earnshaw