Just back - more and more issues on cruise

As I posted on here I had horrendous problems pre cruise with my booking and as a result I was to get OBC of $150 - guess what - not given - instead it was $50 - not a big deal, I was all set to just forget about it- at least I was on my cruise and could forget about all the booking issues and mistakes - but then:-

Day 1 went to my time dining to be told we were not allowed in!! as we had a diner reservation elsewhere- we did not - I have never even logged into that part of the site - no biggy - went to buffet- not what I planned but hey were are still on the cruise so we just go with the flow!

On return to cabin we had invioce for not turning up at chops - our booking showed that we had times in MTD every night - off to customer services - bill removed after having to argue (for 30 mins)and prove that my booking stuff shows mtd every night- with pre booked times

Day 2- Arrived at MTD - guess what we should not be there I argued and showed him my stuff which showed mtd reservations- we were fitted in at the back table ( had to go at a different time so we now missed the show) - no intro from any wait staff and I had to have steak as I had not been able to pre order the day before (diet needs) - but it was a nice steak so no worries and I was able to order meal for the next day.

Back to cabin and an invoice for not turning up at chefs table- back to customer services - they were not buying that I hadn't booked said we would need to pay - I said no way and asked for a print out of our invoice - guess what I had also been billed for spa - that day - I again said I have not been in the spa and in fact I do not even know where it is!! - The girl ROLLED HER EYES - YES ROLLED HER EYES AT ME!! -My husband had to go and get the spa girl (who was lovely and very apologetic) to prove she had not seen me ever!! oh and I have Lupus and i am on meds which mean I cannot have any spa treatments - The girls says we have to come back to sort it out in the morning as she cannot remove items form invoices.

Day 3 customer services (for 40 mins). It will be passed up-line and they are now looking into the situation and will get back to us later

Turn up at MTD - yip you get the picture - shouldn't be there - they say they can fit us in at the back again -we refuse to take the back table again and request proper wait staff - they obliged and what a difference - except one problem the make shift staff the day before had given me the wrong menu to order todays food from - so my food could not be made so it was a plain steak again.

We go back to our cabin early and I am very tied as santorini had taken a lot out of me. I just got to sleep when our phone goes - why are we not at chefs table! WHAT YOU ARE JOKING!!!- now awake within the 2hr window (I always sleep ofF my chemo meds - I start to be sick)- I had had enough-Back to customer services again

- This time I got a fantastic girl - Adriana- who sorted it all out - apparently someone else had been assigned our room before us and they had booked all these meals and spas ect - If it were not for her I was almost about to give up and leave the cruise at the next port.

Now my OBC has not been sorted out - but she tried. I am now awaiting a call back from the customer relations to try and get it back -

I also sent my daughters dress to dry cleaning that came back with a note saying they didn't want to clean it due to potential problems with material - good they didn't just go ahead - bad I was still charged - back to customer services to alter invoice again - by now I was looking for Jeremy Beddle! (uk folk will get the picture)

I have decided after all the issues over the 2 months leading up to the cruise and the issues on the cruise - It takes too much effort to cruise luckily we had a relaxing week on land in a lovely tuscan villa to enjoy after the cruise.

What a disaster! I'm not familiar with your pre-cruise problems, but this was frustrating just for me to read! I would have lost my temper.

You are WAAAYYY more patient than me. After the third incident I would be making a scene big enough to get someone...anyone...on that ship with enough "starch in their shorts" to get to the bottom of things.

I can understand a mistake...from time to time...but I have no time for what appears to be incompetence, inattention to details and inability to recognize that a customer obviously has a significant problem.

You would think that a corporation, regardless of industry, that touts delivering a stellar customer experience would make the effort to have at least some of their best employees involved in customer service.

I am reading more and more about how folks are being charged for things that someone formerly in their cabin had booked. I have friends who got a visit from the upgrade fairy when a JS opened up. They had been booked in a balcony cabin. They had booked several dining experiences, but they were showing up to each restaurant only to be told they did not have a reservation. Their cabin number was not showing up.

It seems that the line must book things connected to cabin, and not necessarily the actual reservation. Changes do not seem to follow the booking. They seem to stay with the cabin. Not a good policy at all.

It seems like someone could have looked at the passenger manifest and then looked at the names for the bookings and figured that out on the first night.

I would have been livid at someone rolling their eyes at me.

Thank goodness I have never had terrible problems like that on a cruise.

I am so sorry you did.

Please do not give up on cruising. They are not all completely draining.

What ship is this? I think I missed seeing which ship you were on.

Wow, sorry for all your hassles on a cruise for relaxation.:rolleyes: Geez.......you had every reason to be miffed.

Royal Caribbean is getting ridiculous with their customer service - I would have flipped with everything you had to deal with. We experienced the same type of thing on our last cruise: "come back in the morning, can't help now" over and over, couldn't get issues resolved. Issue after issue, nothing huge, but just constant annoyances every way you turned. It was insane. We/ve decided to take a bit of a break from cruising...

What ship is this? I think I missed seeing which ship you were on.

 

Wow, sorry for all your hassles on a cruise for relaxation.:rolleyes: Geez.......you had every reason to be miffed.

It was Rhapsody of the Seas 12 july sailing.

What made everything worse was the week before the cruise my younger daughter injured her knee and was in hospital for 5 days (things had snowballed as while in e&a they had detected a potential heart issue so she was put into the cardiac ward as a result thankfully all heart tests came back fine but she will still need to be monitored annually from now on), we didn't get the go ahead to travel until Thursday and we were flying to Rome on the Friday night so we had had a manic time getting packed to go.

And I was already really stressed out with the potential heart issues - this probably added to me not being able to handle all the on ship problems. By the time Adriana got involved I was almost standing in tears at the customer service desk.

The truly sad part in all this is that RCCL apparently doesn't give a rat's err...south end when heading due north...about retaining customers. They are focused on new customers. Any repeat business is just gravy.

If they really cared, they would actually fix the web site...hire train and inform quality customer service people in every area...empower the onboard staff with the authority to resolve problems (and the tools necessary) and actually do something for a customer when RCCL is completely responsible for the problems experience.

Just my opinion...

I am confused. To reserve any dining or spa, RCI charges ahead of time online. Is there a way to reserve without prior payment?

And if pmt was already received, then how can they invoice for it?

Yikes. Sounds like your trip was cursed.

I am confused. To reserve any dining or spa, RCI charges ahead of time online. Is there a way to reserve without prior payment?...

The concierge can make various reservations for full suite guests without prior payment.

So sorry for your horrible experience.

Just wondering...how long before your sailing did you book? I don't understand how something like this could happen.

Very sad that you had to go through all of this...

More patient than I would of been..

Just wondering...how long before your sailing did you book? I don't understand how something like this could happen.

We were booked in a different cabin but we were moved from it (all part of the before traveling issues we had) We then got a cabin I didn't want so up graded to 2 different cabins this last move was done in on the 6 April.

Summary of before cruise issues

1.bumped from cabin- no reason ever given

2. bad new cabin so we upgraded and split into 2 cabins got - new invoice - went to pay balance 1month later and they wanted a £200 more per cabin than on invoice - 2 hrs of call to sort- had to email someone high up (thanks for the email address I found on here who sorted it.

3. then they lost my OBC $900 that I had bought while booked in the 1st cabin and tried to say I hadn't any!! I had to get bank statements and email copies to get my OBC back

All this took hrs of calls to the UK Guatemala call center at great expense to sort out this was to be covered by the OBC compensation of $150 of which I only got $50 (that doesn't even cover the call costs)

Truly the vacation from hell. I hope if you try again you have a great cruise to make up for the disaster you endured.

 

had to email someone high up (thanks for the email address I found on here who sorted it.

 

 

 

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Very sad ending. I would suggest you use the same email and send all this new info that you have included in your post, including the name of the nice lady at gs who tried to help.

I would also include a copy/answer of the first email you sent, just stick to the facts.

I think you will find out that they do care and will help.

I wonder what happened to the people who made the reservations at the SR's when they went to eat?

If I'd experienced half of the inexplicable runaround pre-cruise, then the constant customer DISservice, complete with indifferent attitudes and apparent lack of willingness to make things right onboard until you found ONE solitary competent crew member, I would never set foot on any Royal Caribbean ship again.

Kudos to the OP for not going postal on Guest Services. I don't think I could have shown such restraint.

Thanks to all the new bureaucracy involving reservations and packages and prepaid everything else, coupled with RCCL's legendarily lousy website, etc., cruising has gained the ability to quickly turn into the vacation from hell.

Hey, maybe that could be Royal's new marketing slogan:

Royal Caribbean: Our ships sail you to your final frontier -- HELL.

I'm so sorry you had to experience all of that stress over and over again. I would have been livid. You need a vacation now but DON'T TAKE A CRUISE!

Your experience reminds me of a book I used to read to my daughter, Grover's Bad Awful Day. Seemed like everything that could go wrong with the little blue guy did.

Wishing you problem free cruises from now on and good luck with your health.

I think, since they put so much paper in your room, if you book reservations ahead of the cruise they should put a card in your room the night before reminding you that you are reserved in a specialty restaurant. They invite you to art actions, jewelry sales, bingo, shopping talks, and other special things. Why not a little reminder card? That way you could more easily remember your reservation or contest it if you didn't make it.

They'd likely only need this for reservations that were made before the cruise. It's more likely that you'd remember it if you made the reservation while on the cruise and less likely that it would get made by accident like in your case.

I can almost understand the frustration of the customer service persons. I can't understand them being condescending or rude to you. That is never OK.

Tom

Thanks for posting....your episode can be a learning tool for all of us cruisers.

I'm sorry for your frustrations both pre cruise health and on ship mix ups.

Had you not been in a cabin previously assigned to someone else you might have had a smooth sailing. Unfortunately our computer age lifestyle bites us as it did you on the ship.

We have been through similar mix ups when upgraded but because we cruise so often we were able to take it in stride and had insight into why the computer was messing with us.

At the Front Desk there are a variety of skill levels from new to old hands...some do not have the same authority as others. I'm glad that you found Adriana. Again, due to our background we know to seek the Adrianas first and thus have stress free cruises and have a very positive opinion of Royal Caribbean's Guest Relations.

Your Tuscan villa sounds wonderful and wish you could tell us more of it even though this is a cruise site.

Wishing for you good health and a wonderful cruise next time.

Loyalty should be a two way street. I admire your patience.

Regardless if you have MTD reservation or not, they shouldn't turn you away. That's the point of MTD. You may have to wait if you don't want a reservation, but they shouldn't send you to the Windjammer.

Thanks for posting....your episode can be a learning tool for all of us cruisers.

 

I'm sorry for your frustrations both pre cruise health and on ship mix ups.

 

Had you not been in a cabin previously assigned to someone else you might have had a smooth sailing. Unfortunately our computer age lifestyle bites us as it did you on the ship.

 

We have been through similar mix ups when upgraded but because we cruise so often we were able to take it in stride and had insight into why the computer was messing with us.

 

At the Front Desk there are a variety of skill levels from new to old hands...some do not have the same authority as others. I'm glad that you found Adriana. Again, due to our background we know to seek the Adrianas first and thus have stress free cruises and have a very positive opinion of Royal Caribbean's Guest Relations.

 

Your Tuscan villa sounds wonderful and wish you could tell us more of it even though this is a cruise site.

 

Wishing for you good health and a wonderful cruise next time.

Think the fact that you are Pinnacle might have something to do with the response you get?

My point is that NOBODY, it does not matter if it is their first cruise or 100th cruise, should have to deal with incompetence.

I'm sorry, but your story sounds like a bad made for TV movie! You had more than enough patience with them... thank goodness for the one person you found who was able to sort it (or most of it) out for you!

I too have Lupus and R.A., so I know how easily your energy gets zapped. So sad you had to expend so much of it on negotiating with customer relations!

I totally understand how you feel about cruising now -- definitely left a bad taste for you. But your story is not usually the norm, for what its worth!

Ann