Worst vacation EVER?

Did you ever have a horrible vacation?

Carnival situation got me thinking...

I don't think I ever had a disaster of a vacation, but my last night at Disney was really brutal - kids got stomach virus and puked in park....but nothing horrible.

what about you?

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Honeymoon at Sandals Antigua.

Get there and we were upgraded to the new Mediterranean Tower. We had reserved an oceanfront room and wanted that instead of the tower which was a long way from the beach and the main pool. After a long hike, the beachfront room was disgusting, old, smelled like old lady perfume and was worse than the cheapest motel room out there.
Luggage never got delivered.
After an hour waiting for the luggage, we hiked back to the front desk to get switched to the upgraded room and were told we couldn't they gave the room away. We are hot, tired, cranky. My DH is arguing with them and no budging. Finally I sit down and cry out of frustration. Sales Manager sees me, talks with me and lo and behold, an even more upgraded room magically appears.
(BTW, our luggage is still sitting in the lobby)
Ok.
Now it's on to 7 days of fun.....not.
It's Travel Agent tour time, so some of the restaurants are closed to PAYING guests, the PAYING guests are ignored while the TA's get all the attention.
Since the Med Tower is so new, there is a Canadian radio station broadcasting live from the pool area. Cool, but they sucked so much electricity for their equipment that the power goes out a lot, especially at night when it gets really dark.

Mosquitos at night. Big ones.

Hey, it's also Sandals Promo Wedding week, so again a restaurant is closed to host the wedding, we can't walk down the main walkway because that's where the wedding is.
Whatever.

Sand fleas on the beach. No romantic beachside dining for us when we heard that, and saw everyone's red bumpy legs.

Bar service at the pool suc ks so bad that a guy jumps behind the bar to make drinks. Forgot to tell you that there were 4 bartenders behind the bar. Yep, doing absolutely nothing.
Activites director would take a pool float and create a "floating bar" with a drink of the day just to keep us happy.
4PM became "mimosas in the pool" time.

Jellyfish in the water. No signs either.
Got stung really bad on both legs. The cheap vodka helped with the burn.

We made the best of it, made some good friends for the week.

Once we got home and told our TA about this, she yelled at us for not calling her right away to get moved to another resort.
Lesson well learned.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

I've traveled a decent amount and I can't think of any vacations that I would consider disasterous. I've been on vacations where I didn't particularly enjoy the place we traveled to (I'm not a huge fan of Jamaica or Cozumel) but I still had a nice time overall.

I honestly can't even imagine being on a vacation and something like the Carnival ship situation happening

Message edited 2/15/2013 9:04:26 AM.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Never had a total disaster, but I did get food poisoning while on vacation in Arizona. It was so bad I had to go to the ER and we were on an Indian reservation so the hospital was far and not the greatest. We had hiking plans in the Grand Canyon that we had to alter significantly as a result so that was probably the worst thing for me.

Worst vacation EVER?

A few friends and I took a trip to Cancun a few years ago. Hotel was nice until one of them used the bathroom and there was water flooding the entire room.

They rectified the situation quickly and moved us. Thank God.

Other than that, knock on wood, I've never had any bad vacations.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Hmmm no vacation has ever been really terrible for us through and through.

Once when we went to Disney the hotel offered us heavily discounted tickets. We just had to go to a short 30 minute presentation where we got free lunch. It was a time share... of course, but we were thinking of getting one anyway so we were down for it. THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. I swear I thought my DH was going to punch the woman in the mouth. We said we were just browsing for the future (and the cheap tickets) and couldn't afford it right now as we were saving up for our wedding (we had just gotten engaged two weeks prior). The woman started berating my DH telling him if he couldn't provide me with the small cost of a timeshare how could he provide me with the wedding of my dreams, a house, pay for kids college. It was insane. DH was screaming at her by the end of the "presentation." I was ready to jump in because I am not one "to be provided for" and tucked away, but DH HAD it. I don't think I've ever seen him so insulted in the almost decade we've been together. And it really was a shame because the properties were beautiful and it was a good deal and we probably would've gone home and talked to my BIL/SIL about it and gone in on it with them! Well not after that meeting.

Another time we went to Dorney Park for the weekend with my brother and sister and our two little cousins who were 5 and 6 at the time. We decided to book a hotel, sight unseen, on Priceline since it was super cheap and it really didn't matter to us where we stayed. We just wanted to go to Dorney Park. The hotel was awful. It was a Holiday Inn but the crappiest one I've ever seen in my entire life. It was dingy and dirty and small. My little brother (who was about 16 at the time) found a bunch of pot in the ice bucket in our room. Ya know what though, we had a good laugh about it and we had a great time at the parks.

Thank goodness we've never had a really terrible vacation from start to finish.

Message edited 2/15/2013 10:12:08 AM.

Worst vacation EVER?

When I was 16, I went to Spain to help babysit for my dad's boss's kids.

The first few days were ok, we were in a nice hotel in Madrid but, then we went to the Costa del Sol.

We were staying in condos that weren't entirely finished. They didn't have airconditioning in them and it was hot. They didn't have screens in the windows so we all got eaten alive by mosquitoes (unfortunately the two kids got it the worst).

My dad put the wrong gas in the rental car and had to walk back a few miles in the heat from the gas station (before the days of cell phones).

My dad's boss' wife locked herself out and the place didn't have a spare key so she climbed across a neighboring balcony to get into her unit.

I flooded the unit trying to take a shower.

We tried to go to Gibraltar and my dad forgot our passports.

I really have no urge to go back to Spain after that trip. It really doesn't appeal to me at all.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

I thought my trip to India was pretty terrible.

Turkey wasn't horrible but I was completely underwhelmed.

Message edited 2/15/2013 11:52:48 AM.

Worst vacation EVER?

I've never had a disaster of a vacation, but I can honestly say I thoroughly couldn't stand Mexico (cancan in particular). Beautiful hotel though. If it was picked up and placed anywhere else but Mexico, I would have been happy. Very shady area... I mean if the staff at the hotel has to warn us about corrupt police and how to NOT do what they say, them its really just not somewhere where I'd ever want to vacation.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

We've been very lucky. I can only think of 2 hotels that were very expensive and very crappy to be honest. One in Goa, India and the other in Nevis. ..bad service, unimpressive rooms, etc..Our vacations have never been ruined because of this though.

Worst vacation EVER?

The only thing that comes to mind is going to California with my family when I was probably around 12. 6 of us piled in my grandfather's 80-something Crown Victoria. He refused to put on the A/C and it was nearly 100 degrees as we headed to Yosemite. It was sheer torture.

Otherwise, I've had some great trips! Even my HM cruise when I was visiting the Baths in Virgin Gorda and I fell into a cactus. It was seriously the best trip ever in spite of that lol.

Worst vacation EVER?

I never had an vacations that were as bad as those poor people on the carnival ship but I had a few memorable ones...

In my early twenties a few couples went down to cancun. It turns out our travel agent never sent in our reservation and the hotel was booked. We got there Friday night and the main offices were closed on the weekend (this was before emails and cell phones) so we had no where to sleep. They let us use the facilities until we got a room on Monday but we had to sleep on the beach lol.

Same group of friends (we didn't have much vacation luck) went upstate for something and we checked into our hotel/motel and there was a dead mouse in the couch. We left there and our car broke down and we had to wait for a tow truck. The tow truck dropped us off at another motel so we could get some sleep and it was like the Bates Motel. We had to wipe away the cobwebs to get into the room and it was dirty. We slept with all our clothes on ontop of towels we brought on the bed. It was gross and we still laugh at that motel.

Again same group, we went white water rafting and I got tossed out of the boat, broke my nose and passed out lol. They all had a great time, me not so much.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Posted by BunnyWife

Posted by ElizaRags35


Otherwise, I've had some great trips! Even my HM cruise when I was visiting the Baths in Virgin Gorda and I fell into a cactus. It was seriously the best trip ever in spite of that lol.

I'm sorry but ! Was it like a cartoon? Did you have spikes sticking out of your butt?

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

My worst vacation was about 9yrs ago. I was going to Cali with my brother to visit some family. It was a beautiful day out, we were so excited. We weren't leaving til about 6pm so I went to work. Halfway through the day I was called into my boss' office where myself (and 4 others) were laid off.
Awesome. So now I'm all sad but READY for a vacation. We get to the airport and all of a sudden the weather turned to shit. It was like a hurricane. Crazy winds, flooding rains and lightening. They kept delaying our flight.
It was summer and I was wearing these linen Capri pants with a drawstring top. I went to sit down at one point (it was already like 10pm) and the drawstring snapped. Just broke. I had no other clothes with me (I had checked my suitcase) so I had to walk around holding up my pants cause they were so big. We FINALLY were given the OK to fly. We were assured that all luggage will be on the flight with us, no worries. I couldn't wait to get my bags do I could put on better pants.
We land...no luggage. Literally everyone got their luggage except me and my brother. We were the only 2 standing at the carousel waiting for luggage that clearly wasn't coming. I put in a claim for lost luggage. My cousin picked us up and brought us back to her house where inhad to wear her clothes. I was promised my luggage would be there in the next day. Next day comes...nothing. I had to go out and by a whole bunch of new clothes so I had something to wear.
I finally got my luggage back the night before we were leaving to come home
Our flight was delayed again cause NY was having more shit weather. And when we landed, reality set in and i realized I had no job

It was a thrilling 5 days away

Worst vacation EVER?

We made the best of it but when we took our dog down to Key West. We drove down, with him on my lap the whole time. He got some kind of anxiety attack and was panting so we were freaking out the whole way.

We get to the room, set him up and leave. Down the block we hear crying and howling. . .he was FLIPPING OUT. We didn't want to get kicked out so we had to take him EVERYWHERE with us. We tried to sneak out at night, tire him out at the dog park - NOTHING worked. . .he would cry every time we left.
The good news is we found some AMAZING restaurants that let him in and we found some great beaches and parks that were dog friendly.
The bad news was we had to order take out from our regular restaurants (it was our third trip there) and we couldn't visit some of our favorite places.
Oh! and we decided to board him . . . we called every single boarding place. . . .turns out it was some dog grooming championship? and every single place was CLOSED and the vet's that offered boarding were packed because of it - what kind of luck is that!!

Oh well, we learned our lesson! No matter how much we would love to bring him everywhere - he is a homebody LOL

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

My honeymoon at Sandals Royal Bahamian was pretty bad.

The resort boasts 8 full service restaurants, but all 8 arent open every day so the choices were few and (for dinner) mostly outdoor buffets covered with flies. None of the food was good, except for at the hibachi restaurant, and I didn't eat much because of the flies.

Service was slow and often non existent at restaurants and bars. I am admittedly a picky eater and my special requests were either wrong or ignored.

Not enough alcohol in the mixed drinks and nothing but Bahamian beer.

The nightlife was laughable. I played BINGO for lack of anything anything better to do.

People hoarded rafts in the pool as if they owned them.

Our room, which was upgraded, was in poor condition. The paint was chipping, the TV only worked sometimes and the couch smelled. We were told there were no other rooms.

The whole place seemed badly in need of renovation and was kind of sad looking.

This was 11 years ago. I hope conditions have improved, but I will never, ever go back.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Last year we went to Myrtle Beach and DH and I got either food poisoning or a stomach bug. We were sick as dogs for more then half the trip. And as if that wasn't bad enough, my in laws were 5 minutes from us and didn't even take the kids for a few hours. My kids were stuck entertaining themselves in our timeshare unit because dh and I could barely leave the bathroom.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Went to Miami Beach January of 2003 to meet up with a "friend." The first day/night was great but day 2 he had to leave the country (dont ask for the story ) and i was left in south beach alone. The rest of day 2 was great. Night 2 SB got hit with coldest weather in decades. Hotel had no heat. Wasnt the cleanest either. Day 3 raining and 40 degrees. I only had shorts. Had to buy new clothes. Day 4 Freezing and came down with fever. Day 5 Sick and Cold. Day 6 went home freezing and still sick...

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Part of our honeymoon. We went to Hawaii and spent time in three different hotels on multiple islands. We stayed at the Four Seasons in Maui and I cannot recommend it at all.
1. They lost our luggage for 8 hours - we had wanted to go swimming but obviously could not.
2. The mattress had springs popping out of it. We asked to change rooms and they insisted they had nothing available for the rest of our 5 days there.
3. They served raw meatballs.
4. They served raw tuna (not supposed to be sushi either).
5. The room smelled like gasoline. it was horrible.

They tried to make up for everything by giving us chocolates - they were filled with wasabi. Seriously, they were supposed to be gourmet but they were vile.

The service and hotel staff were heinous. No one once said sorry. No one came to our room to check the bed even though we asked. We called the TA we made the reservations with who basically said deal with it. It was $$$$ and frankly we will never stay at another four seasons resort again. I have nothing good to say about this hotel at all. Don't waste your money there.

Thankfully the rest of our HM was outstanding and the other hotels we stayed at/experiences we had far outweighed the miserable time we had at the Four Seasons.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Oh wait, I've got another one. I was in South Beach with my friends or a bachelorette party. We called 3 cabs to come pick us up to take us to the male review. I was the last one out and accidentally got into the third cab, even though my friends had apparently decided we would all squeeze into two. So I was riding by myself. The first cab got ahead of us and my can and the other one got kind of lost. They pulled up next to each other after the toll on the highway. Someone came flying out of the toll booth and rammed my car going full speed. I was really drunk at the time and refused to go to the hospital. When I woke up in the morning I couldn't move! I had to fly home in agony and was layed up or a week. I still have serious back problems from that accident.

Worst vacation EVER?

Nothing that ruined the whole vacation, more like snafus along the way.
1. In Hawaii at the Sheraton in Kauai, we were rudely woken up at 4 am by roosters crowing and construction. Stormed down to the front desk and had our room changed. Last day, open the shower curtain to a huge cockroach!

2. When we were in Greece for our honeymoon, apparently Olympic airline cancelled our connecting flight to Mykonos and travelocity never told us (though they claimed they did). We had to fight with them to put us up in a hotel in Athens. It was the scariest place ever. Even the guy at the desk told us not to leave the hotel at night. The door on our "balcony" was broken, I didn't sleep at all that night. And we had to layout the money for the resort we were late to.

3. Our stay in Jamaica was eh. We weren't impressed with the resort and were woken up every morning at 6 am by the music in the kitchen (we were above the kitchen and realized on our last day that there were speakers in the ceiling). We called the front desk everyday and were told they fixed it, only to hear it the next morning. When we tried to get a discount when we checked out, we were told we should have spoken with a manager. However every morning we called, we were told the manager wasn't in yet.

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

The NCL cruise in Hawaii (our honeymoon)

It was bad...NOTHING like those poor people on the Carnival this week...so I even feel silly writing about it but ill just say - i wrote a long letter of all that went wrong and suc.ked about the cruise and the ports .that they gave me credit for us to go on another cruise...

So we did a yr later from a different port..it was better but def not even half as good as other lines I was on!

So... I will never travel NCL again

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Posted by ElizaRags35

Posted by BunnyWife

Posted by ElizaRags35


Otherwise, I've had some great trips! Even my HM cruise when I was visiting the Baths in Virgin Gorda and I fell into a cactus. It was seriously the best trip ever in spite of that lol.

I'm sorry but ! Was it like a cartoon? Did you have spikes sticking out of your butt?

We were making our way up the trail from Devils Bay Beach and I lost my footing, tripped and out of instinct, put my arms out to brace for landing. I had sooo many spikes coming out of my hands and arms. My hands swelled to the point I couldn't close them. It was a good thing the ship couldn't dock in Puerto Rico the next day because I was so doped up on Benadryl from the infirmary that I slept almost the entire day. Still, it was the best trip I had ever been on!

Re: Worst vacation EVER?

Ive never really had a bad vacation but Ive had some interesting experiences.

In 2008 I went to VA/DC with XH & 3 of my friends. When it was time to go we turned in our rental car & headed to the airport. We had like a 430 flight. Then the flight was delayed 20 mins... then another 30. Then another 30... and so on. Somewhere around 930 we find out our plane never left JFK. So after 6hrs in an airport with our rental car returned we walked outside figuring well take the first shuttle we see to an area hotel. We ended up at the Hyatt which was a nicer Hyatt. We got a few looks trapsing in in shorts & flip flops. We had to put 5 of us in one rather small room. My friend slept in a tent he made for himself on the floor & the 2 couples shared twin beds. We never had dinner. The only option as told to us by the front desk was pizza hut delivery which took forever. The next day wewere ssupposed to have an 1130 flight... which got delayed. Finally we get on the plane. I crack open my book & get comfy... just as the stewardess comes down the aisles telling us if we take off now we'll end up in a holding pattern in JFK so instead were going to get off the plane & wait a while in the airport & reboard when its all clear. to add to the fun my friend calls his mom to share the story. She says "Eh dont rush home you're probably gonna get laid off when you get back..." ( they worked together at the time). We ended up getting back just about 24 hours late. It was still a great time & made for a good story.

Message edited 2/17/2013 1:14:56 PM.