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Buying FCC Terrible Customer Service.


dstables
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We were just on the Royal last week and I filled out my form for Future Cruises Credits and dropped the form in the box for the FCC Consultant. After 3 days of dropping off my form and not receiving confirmation of the purchase I went down to the FCC consultant office to see what had happened to them. We are Canadians and always buy Canadian FCC. We have an American credit card that we use for our on board account. On the form it asks you if you want to use your credit card on file, the one that is being used for your on board account. I wrote on my form no and listed my Canadian Credit card number on it for them to charge. I had done this 2 years ago while on the Royal with no problems. Well after waiting 2 hours to see the FCC consultant and telling him that I had left my form in his box 3 days ago but haven’t received any confirmation of the purchase he picks up my form that was sitting on his desk and said that he could not process my purchase without seeing my credit card and was not processing the payment. I asked him if he was going to let me know this and he said no. That there was fine print at the bottom of the page that states he must see the he card. I said fair enough but at the very least he should have let me know this. That I would have left the ship thinking I had purchased some FCC’s and I hadn’t. I asked him why there wasn’t a better option for Canadians to purchase FCC without having to wait hours to see him. He had no answer for me and felt very justify in just ignoring my application for FCC. TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

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We left the Royal on Feb 28th. The FCC consultant just boarded on the 18th. While not as complex an issue as yours we still had poor service. Agree with the other poster, you should write to Princess in CA.

 

In my opinion the FCC does not have long enough hours, and should have hours when the ship is in port. Lots and lots of passengers are on board while the ship is in port, especially in the Caribbean.

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I asked him why there wasn’t a better option for Canadians to purchase FCC without having to wait hours to see him.

We've always had the same issue, having to show the credit card to be charged.

We see the consultant early in the cruise before the crowds form later on.

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It has been my experience that the Future Cruise Consultants think they are doing us a REAL BIG FAVOR. 'Customer Service' never enters their mind.

 

You should see some of the onboard Captain's Circle hosts they have.

On our Nov 2016 LA-Hawaii-South Pacific 28-day cruise, the onboard CC hostess was so bad, they let

her off the ship in Papeete and for the rest of the cruise the FCC filled in for her.

 

Fred

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It has been my experience that the Future Cruise Consultants think they are doing us a REAL BIG FAVOR. 'Customer Service' never enters their mind.

Leave Princess and go to NCL, have never had a FCC on them that wasn't really great.

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Best way to buy your future cruise credit is to do it my way.

I open the browser on my phone for princess@sea while waiting to disembark. Click the number of credits and for whom and within 2 minutes got an email from princess corporate with our credits. The charge then shows up on the credit card given to them previously.

Easy, no form just a couple of clicks.

Edited by Optotronics
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Best way to buy your future cruise credit is to do it my way.

I open the browser on my phone for princess@sea why waiting to disembark. Click the number of credits and for whom and within 2 minutes got an email from princess corporate with our credits. The charge then shows up on the credit card given to them previously.

Easy, no form just a couple of clicks.

 

Never dawned on me to do it that way.

 

Thanks!

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Best way to buy your future cruise credit is to do it my way.

I open the browser on my phone for princess@sea why waiting to disembark. Click the number of credits and for whom and within 2 minutes got an email from princess corporate with our credits. The charge then shows up on the credit card given to them previously.

Easy, no form just a couple of clicks.

 

Agreed. I don't understand why anyone would wait hours to talk to a person. But maybe that necessary because the OP were getting a FCC in Canadian dollars and didn't want it charged to his/her American credit card?

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Best way to buy your future cruise credit is to do it my way.

I open the browser on my phone for princess@sea while waiting to disembark. Click the number of credits and for whom and within 2 minutes got an email from princess corporate with our credits. The charge then shows up on the credit card given to them previously.

Easy, no form just a couple of clicks.

This is a great way to purchase FCCs if you want them changed to your credit card on file. But when you have an American credit card on file and your are purchasing Canadian FCC’s you can’t use this method nor can you just put your form in the box. You are forced to wait in line and speak to the consultant. I suggested to him that Princess needs to come up with a better option for people using a different credit card than standing in line. When I was waiting there was 5 other Canadians waiting to do the same thing as me so this problem is common.

But what upset me the most was that the consultant was not going to process the application and just ignore it. If I hadn’t been checking my email for the confirmation of the purchase I would have left the ship thinking I had purchased them!

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Best way to buy your future cruise credit is to do it my way.

I open the browser on my phone for princess@sea while waiting to disembark. Click the number of credits and for whom and within 2 minutes got an email from princess corporate with our credits. The charge then shows up on the credit card given to them previously.

Easy, no form just a couple of clicks.

We did this and it took a number of days for the transaction to show up. So I wonder what is different. We were on the Royal in late Feb.

 

Also, the OP didn't want the FCC to be charged on the same card they had on file for the cruise, so this option doesn't really work for them.

 

I admit, that booking it through the app should result in a quick feedback (Like you got.) I thought that we'd see that, but didn't. And FWIW, it wasn't that it was sea days that delayed the posting. I talked with the rep and said the app is a bit strange and that's why it takes a bit of time. Strange that your results were different than ours. On a good note, it all worked out for us. It didn't sound like it would have worked for the OP if they didn't check things out.

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This is a great way to purchase FCCs if you want them changed to your credit card on file. But when you have an American credit card on file and your are purchasing Canadian FCC’s you can’t use this method nor can you just put your form in the box. You are forced to wait in line and speak to the consultant. I suggested to him that Princess needs to come up with a better option for people using a different credit card than standing in line. When I was waiting there was 5 other Canadians waiting to do the same thing as me so this problem is common.

But what upset me the most was that the consultant was not going to process the application and just ignore it. If I hadn’t been checking my email for the confirmation of the purchase I would have left the ship thinking I had purchased them!��

Is a cruise credit bought on a USA card not valid for a cruise that originates in Canada? I thought the FCC we buy on a USA card is good for cruising on princess from any port, is that not true?

If anything I would think that if the ship is in the USA and a cruise credit is bought on a foreign back account that you would not only be charged the $100 equivalent in CND dollars but also a fee from the bank for converting the USA charge into CND.

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We did this and it took a number of days for the transaction to show up. So I wonder what is different. We were on the Royal in late Feb.

 

Also, the OP didn't want the FCC to be charged on the same card they had on file for the cruise, so this option doesn't really work for them.

 

I admit, that booking it through the app should result in a quick feedback (Like you got.) I thought that we'd see that, but didn't. And FWIW, it wasn't that it was sea days that delayed the posting. I talked with the rep and said the app is a bit strange and that's why it takes a bit of time. Strange that your results were different than ours. On a good note, it all worked out for us. It didn't sound like it would have worked for the OP if they didn't check things out.

The charge didn't show on our CC account until a couple days later, but we received email from princess with FCC numbers within minutes.

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I was on the Feb 28th myself. I also don't want any additional charges on my cc that I have registered, but rather a different one. I did this last November on the Regal after waiting for the host. I was thinking of writing my cc number on the form, but decided against it, I did not know that they had to see the card anyway. As I was sitting there waiting, someone needed their form out of the box and the CC host, opened the door to the box, to find it overflowing with forms. I know they are there to "help" you book your next cruise, but with the number of people waiting, It's hard to understand why they would require you to wait for people who want to book, but have no idea what they want. Just to show my card, and add the numbers to my account took less than two minutes, while I waited long enough, maybe 20 minutes. After I was done, he said the email was sent off with the information. I waited, waited, watched, nothing, then my hubby said he got an email from Princess....showing HIS FCC, not mine. I checked my personalizer, and I am credited with it, and my CC is credited, but I got no email regarding it.

 

It seems that Princess is pushing people to purchase the FCC's, but don't have the man or woman power to answer questions or input credit card information into the computer. If I happen to pass by the office, when it's open usually there are people standing waiting their turn. Maybe we should contact the CC people to tell them they need more staff on board to take care of us in a timely manner.

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Best way to buy your future cruise credit is to do it my way.

I open the browser on my phone for princess@sea while waiting to disembark. Click the number of credits and for whom and within 2 minutes got an email from princess corporate with our credits. The charge then shows up on the credit card given to them previously.

Easy, no form just a couple of clicks.

 

Yep! This is the best way to buy FCC. Last two itinerary I have done it this way. Click, click, done. Immediate results, no real person or paper necessary.

 

All that said. There are many people that like to talk to a person, shake a hand, smile, discuss, verify, ect. For these folks Princess often falls short providing courteous, available, in transit services for.

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I was on the Feb 28th myself. I also don't want any additional charges on my cc that I have registered, but rather a different one. I did this last November on the Regal after waiting for the host. I was thinking of writing my cc number on the form, but decided against it, I did not know that they had to see the card anyway. As I was sitting there waiting, someone needed their form out of the box and the CC host, opened the door to the box, to find it overflowing with forms. I know they are there to "help" you book your next cruise, but with the number of people waiting, It's hard to understand why they would require you to wait for people who want to book, but have no idea what they want. Just to show my card, and add the numbers to my account took less than two minutes, while I waited long enough, maybe 20 minutes. After I was done, he said the email was sent off with the information. I waited, waited, watched, nothing, then my hubby said he got an email from Princess....showing HIS FCC, not mine. I checked my personalizer, and I am credited with it, and my CC is credited, but I got no email regarding it.

 

It seems that Princess is pushing people to purchase the FCC's, but don't have the man or woman power to answer questions or input credit card information into the computer. If I happen to pass by the office, when it's open usually there are people standing waiting their turn. Maybe we should contact the CC people to tell them they need more staff on board to take care of us in a timely manner.

 

LOL! That was me in the office! I had put it in about 8pm the night before and it was already 3:30pm and buddy had not opened the mailbox as yet. What was worse is that he looked through two stacks of about 100 sheets it, another stack of about 50, couldn't find mine, then went to the box! And we still had another full sea day to go! It took three of us sorting through the new pile before we found it. After that, three minutes and I was gone.

I wanted our FCCs in CDN dollars on my Canadian credit card, as opposed to the US dollar card we use for our onboard account, so you have to "visit". Also, I wait to put it in toward the end of the cruise so that I get the "full" two years out of them.

They definitely need at least another person, or at least part-time help to do the data entry. There was a gal giving people forms to fill out if they came by but that doesn't help if they don't get entered. I had been chatting with our Most Travelled and she said don't get off the ship without that email or you are out of luck!

Both hosts need to be in their offices longer hours. Waiting for the CC rep took even longer. I saw her to get the gold pins for my Mom and our friends as they had earned them on the first leg of our back to back. I was told that new Golds and Rubies have to go get these; they are no longer put in your mailbox with a welcome letter to the new letter. How are they supposed to know? That makes no sense. Not impressed.

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Is a cruise credit bought on a USA card not valid for a cruise that originates in Canada? I thought the FCC we buy on a USA card is good for cruising on princess from any port, is that not true?

It's not where the cruise originates.

It's whether you want to book in US or Cdn dollars.

You have to use a FCC of the same currency as your booking.

Sometimes it's advantageous for a Canadian to book in USD.

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Is a cruise credit bought on a USA card not valid for a cruise that originates in Canada? I thought the FCC we buy on a USA card is good for cruising on princess from any port, is that not true?

If anything I would think that if the ship is in the USA and a cruise credit is bought on a foreign back account that you would not only be charged the $100 equivalent in CND dollars but also a fee from the bank for converting the USA charge into CND.

I usually book my cruises in Canadian Funds so I want my FCCs in Canadian funds. It would make no sense to purchase Canadian FCC on my American Credit card as I would lose in the exchange rate.

And yes your FCCs are good to use this on any Princess cruise. You just need to have purchased them in the currency you book your cruise in.

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I question about someone having to see your card first. I’ve been on some BVE’s where I filled out the form & left it in the box & never had any problems. I think that issue is a reason to contact Princess Corporate.

Tom😎

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LOL! That was me in the office! I had put it in about 8pm the night before and it was already 3:30pm and buddy had not opened the mailbox as yet. What was worse is that he looked through two stacks of about 100 sheets it, another stack of about 50, couldn't find mine, then went to the box! And we still had another full sea day to go! It took three of us sorting through the new pile before we found it. After that, three minutes and I was gone.

 

I wanted our FCCs in CDN dollars on my Canadian credit card, as opposed to the US dollar card we use for our onboard account, so you have to "visit". Also, I wait to put it in toward the end of the cruise so that I get the "full" two years out of them.

They definitely need at least another person, or at least part-time help to do the data entry. There was a gal giving people forms to fill out if they came by but that doesn't help if they don't get entered. I had been chatting with our Most Travelled and she said don't get off the ship without that email or you are out of luck!

Both hosts need to be in their offices longer hours. Waiting for the CC rep took even longer. I saw her to get the gold pins for my Mom and our friends as they had earned them on the first leg of our back to back. I was told that new Golds and Rubies have to go get these; they are no longer put in your mailbox with a welcome letter to the new letter. How are they supposed to know? That makes no sense. Not impressed.

 

LOL, it might very well have been you, while I was waiting, but someone else was in the actual office, (I think). It just floored me to see that many papers in that box. How can they actually credit people with the FCC's along with the number of people visiting the office. Like I said, I think I waited like 20 minutes, which wasn't bad, I have heard of people actually waiting the entire time the office was open....like a doctors office.....

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It has been my experience that the Future Cruise Consultants think they are doing us a REAL BIG FAVOR. 'Customer Service' never enters their mind.

Does anyone know what other duties the Captain Circle Host and Future Cruise Consultant have on the ship, that they can only be in their office 2-3 hrs a day???? What are they doing the other 10-12 hrs?? :confused:

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Does anyone know what other duties the Captain Circle Host and Future Cruise Consultant have on the ship, that they can only be in their office 2-3 hrs a day???? What are they doing the other 10-12 hrs?? :confused:

 

That's what I've always wondered!

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Does anyone know what other duties the Captain Circle Host and Future Cruise Consultant have on the ship, that they can only be in their office 2-3 hrs a day???? What are they doing the other 10-12 hrs?? :confused:

 

That's what I've always wondered!

 

Planning the multi day Captains Circle parties? :confused:

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