poor RCCl customer service

I had a frustrating situation happen last night & the RCCl customer service reps would not help me in the least. I have a cruise booked on the Oasis in Jan - it is for an educational conference & so I booked through the conference. I had recently booked all the shows & my excursions through RCClL directly. I am still a few weeks away from final payment.

Last night I received an e-mail from RCCL stating that due to the cancellation of my reservation, all the shows I had booked had been cancelled. There was nothing about the shore excursions being cancelled even though those had been paid in full. As the agency in charge of the conference was on the east coast, they were closed - so I left them a message & called RCCL directly. They refused to tell me if my reservation was cancelled because I was told they can only speak to the travel agency - not directly to me. OK but I said I know I did not cancel the reservation & I had not heard anything from the agency - that they had cancelled the reservation.

The rep would not help at all & said "I cannot talk to you -you should have just booked directly with us" to which I answered " but it says on your website " we encourage the use of travel agents" I did not even get a chance to finish & she keeps saying I can't tell you -call your travel agent. Ok - so I asked to speak to a supervisor - but the rep says - she's just going to tell you the same thing (which I know) but I just wanted to see if maybe they were having computer issues or something. So after a long wait the Supervisor gets on the line & is SUPER RUDE. She does not even let me ask my questions & says "so you want me to call the travel agency? No I say because I know they are closed - but next thing I know I am on hold & she says it is because she was calling the travel agency & since they are closed I need to just call them in the morning. I started to say -but I was trying to tell you I have already left a message with them because THEY ARE CLOSED - when you just cut me off. So I say why did you do this? She snickers & I say this is terrible customer service & just hang up.

Today I call my agency & my TA tells me that she did not cancel the reservation & it must be an error on RCCL's end - which it turns out it was. However everything has to be re-booked & I have to re-pay for the things I previously paid for but "I should get a refund for the original payments on my credit card" I hope this is the case.

I am just frustrated/mad that RCCL would not in anyway help me last night -they would not tell me if I still had a reservation or if it was cancelled, who may have cancelled it or if they were having any computer issues. They just cut me off and today when it turns out they are at fault - no apology -Nothing.

Oh well, Rant over -but I feel the reps were just going through the motions or following some protocol & never even tried to help and I was just a bother to them. It has changed the way I feel about this company.

Unfortunately that is RCI's policy. The reps will not talk to you or give you any info if you booked through a TA. They did absolutely nothing wrong.

The RCI reps can't give you any information because it's not your reservation. Once it's in the TA's hands it becomes their reservation.

That is what happens when you go though a TA. They are the ONLY ones that can check your booking and makes changes.

Perhaps you need to fire your TA :eek:

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Next time use a RC certified vacation planner.:rolleyes:

That is what happens when you go though a TA. They are the ONLY ones that can check your booking and makes changes.

 

Perhaps you need to fire your TA :eek:

 

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There ya go.......that's a great idea......RCCL had a computer issue....but let's

fire the TA......wow :rolleyes:

OP...as mentioned....RCCL was 100% correct what they were telling you.....and your side of the story is they weren't being nice about it....which of course is not

the way to handle it...we weren't there to see what your attitude was ,but their's appears to be inappropriate......glad you got it resolved......keep that in mind in the future when booking....no cruise line will discuss a booking with you that was made with a TA

I'm sorry this happened and I'm sure it will all work out. I know you had to book throught the TA because of the conference and I'm sorry. But, this is the way it is. After this conference, when you are just traveling for pleasure, book through RC so you can be in charge of the reservation.

It seems they were abrupt with you and maybe rude, I am sorry for that, don't let that put you off RC. Many people have said the service on the ships is 100 times better than the service in the office. Have a great cruise despite the problems! :)

I am one that always books directly with RCI so as to always retain ownership of my booking...but according to your post you booked as part of a conference group so you may not have had that choice...Sorry you had the unfortunate experience to speak to a less than friendly CSR but they were giving you the basics of their policy...Best of luck and I'm sure once onboard this pre-cruise problem won't matter...just enjoy your cruise.

I have had to cancel excursions and RCCL canceled two of my excursions and I can at least reassure you, you will get your money back and it takes about 3 business days. I've never had any problems with refunds.

Hope that helps regarding the refund issue, anyway.

Unfortunately that is RCI's policy. The reps will not talk to you or give you any info if you booked through a TA. They did absolutely nothing wrong.

They did nothing wrong? If the OP's story is correct...they did everything wrong as far as customer service. It could have been handled better. Yes, once booked with a TA they need to deal with the TA. But being rude to a customer is certainly not "doing absolutely nothing wrong". Peoples expectations are so low they except rudeness as customer "service"?

But being rude to a customer is certainly not "doing absolutely nothing wrong". Peoples expectations are so low they except rudeness as customer "service"?

That's the problem, by using a TA you cease to be the customer though. You are the TA's customer and problem if things go wrong.

RCI have paid good money to get rid of the problems associated with your booking and the cost of putting things right in the form of 15 - 20% of the booking value to the TA.

I'm not saying this should manifest itself in rudeness though obviously, but equally you can't expect the RCI red carpet to be rolled out now if you have a problem.

There are three sides to every story - we will never hear Royals, but I would have to say that it sounds like the OP might have been a bit pushy. Honestly, she has stated that she knows that the TA owns the reservation and that she acknowledged that to the rep. Why did she keep pushing? Maybe the CSR got frustrated after saying the same thing over and over again? JMT - this is one of those situations that I wouldn't even have bothered to call Royal.

To the OP-

I understand that that it was frustrating that Rccl wouldn't confirm that your reservation was still intact when you called in, but since you booked with the TA for the conference, you had to contact the TA for that information.

However, if the Rccl reps were as rude as you've described, then there is a training issue that needs to brought to their attention, and I'd be calling to see if those calls had been taped for quality assurance as that doesn't sound like the quality product they usually strive to deliver. A good customer service rep needs to keep their patience as they are asked the same question for the 1,000th time that day and be able to calmly explain why they can't answer what seems to be a simple question (do I still have a reservation?) when a TA is involved.

Hope your conference and cruise are both great.

I would address the rudeness issue with another supervisor and your travel agent. This isn't the type of service that RCCI wants you to experience. At least they'd have a record of your complaint and if the call was recorder they can use it to retrain their employees. Chances are if they were rude to you it may not have been the first time.

[QUOTE=crookedhalo;40346357]There are three sides to every story - we will never hear Royals, but I would have to say that it sounds like the OP might have been a bit pushy. Honestly, she has stated that she knows that the TA owns the reservation and that she acknowledged that to the rep. Why did she keep pushing? Maybe the CSR got frustrated after saying the same thing over and over again? JMT - this is one of those situations that I wouldn't even have bothered to call Royal.

Exactly! You couldn't have waited until the next morning to get it straightened out. You wanted it resolved right then and there- even though the rep told you there was nothing she could do.

I think people forget that the reps are people too.

they did nothing wrong? If the op's story is correct...they did everything wrong as far as customer service. It could have been handled better. Yes, once booked with a ta they need to deal with the ta. But being rude to a customer is certainly not "doing absolutely nothing wrong". Peoples expectations are so low they except rudeness as customer "service"?

like!!!

They did nothing wrong? If the OP's story is correct...they did everything wrong as far as customer service. It could have been handled better. Yes, once booked with a TA they need to deal with the TA. But being rude to a customer is certainly not "doing absolutely nothing wrong". Peoples expectations are so low they except rudeness as customer "service"?

Agreed. Booked through a TA or not, they can at least tell the customer whether or not their reservation was canceled. I can understand not being able to change anything, but the op was just asking a yes or no question. The attitude didn't help.

Recently had a major misunderstanding between RCL and a TA. RCL would not talk to me, but agreed to a conference call with TA involved, which was set up quickly.

RCL rep was firm, very professional, respectful, knew her stuff, and really showed how inept the TA was in handling a complicated booking for a large party. She explained the situation which the TA could not.

There are times to use TA's and times when it makes sense to book directly with the cruise line.

Two points to be made.

1. If using a TA use a good sized established agency. They can serve you well and provide some good benefits. You want them accessable to you 24/7. For a large group they can do a lot of coordinating and earn their fare.

For individual cruises for a couple, going with a guaranteed class of accomodations, last minute cruises, etc. working with the cruise line can make good sense.

2. If you ever have a cruise cancelled on you. Insist on full refunds and credits be sent to you as soon as possible. Do not attempt to apply fares paid to another cruise. If you want to book another cruise immediately, handle it as a separate new booking, including a new fresh downpayment.

This is where I got into a large misunderstanding - and the TA was not effective in communicating the new fares and the application of the fares already paid.

Lessons learned. There are many good TA's - use one that is a fully staffed on going business. The TA who is more "part time" may not serve you well in complicated situations. Pretty obvious, but we do dumb things some time. I should note that this particaular TA handled a few cruises for us previously with no issues. When "stuff" hit the fan, that was the situation where the TA fell very short on delivery of good service.

Unfortunately that is RCI's policy. The reps will not talk to you or give you any info if you booked through a TA. They did absolutely nothing wrong.

It is not their fault. as you have to deal with your TA if you have one. It is the reason we only deal with RCCL now. we get better customer service now. The same thing happened to us. the TA was responsible for it as they were supposed to pay the the cruise money and didn't.

Agreed. Booked through a TA or not, they can at least tell the customer whether or not their reservation was canceled. I can understand not being able to change anything, but the op was just asking a yes or no question. The attitude didn't help.

No they can't

OP, I agree with the others who say there was nothing the cruiseline could do that night to help you. You booked through a travel agent. while Royal Caribbean was open, your travel agent was not. You knew you needed to speak to your agent, but, unable to do so, you called the cruiseline. I might have tried that too, but you and I both knew what the answer would be. Accurate so far? It appears things went awry when you continued to push rather than gracious accepting the facts. Of course, it does not justify rudeness, the otherwise the events in question were predictable given your behavior.

And the next day the travel agent blamed the cruiseline? That certainly may be true, but how do we really know? Blaming the cruiseline is the easiest thing for any TA to do. And it is safe, because the TA knows that unless the TA allows a conference call, you cannot call the cruisline to get the other side of the story. for example, if a TA dis not transfer a payment or complete paperwork on time, a block of rooms might be cancelled; do you think evey TA is going to tell you that? In this case,imagine the conference is not selling too well and the $ was not there to pay the conference fees; telling you might result in a loss of a much needed participant. That is a hypothectical, as we often do not know what happened. I am just saying that truth might scare away customers.

I had a frustrating situation happen last night & the RCCl customer service reps would not help me in the least. I have a cruise booked on the Oasis in Jan - it is for an educational conference & so I booked through the conference. I had recently booked all the shows & my excursions through RCClL directly. I am still a few weeks away from final payment.

 

Last night I received an e-mail from RCCL stating that due to the cancellation of my reservation, all the shows I had booked had been cancelled. There was nothing about the shore excursions being cancelled even though those had been paid in full. As the agency in charge of the conference was on the east coast, they were closed - so I left them a message & called RCCL directly. They refused to tell me if my reservation was cancelled because I was told they can only speak to the travel agency - not directly to me. OK but I said I know I did not cancel the reservation & I had not heard anything from the agency - that they had cancelled the reservation.

 

The rep would not help at all & said "I cannot talk to you -you should have just booked directly with us" to which I answered " but it says on your website " we encourage the use of travel agents" I did not even get a chance to finish & she keeps saying I can't tell you -call your travel agent. Ok - so I asked to speak to a supervisor - but the rep says - she's just going to tell you the same thing (which I know) but I just wanted to see if maybe they were having computer issues or something. So after a long wait the Supervisor gets on the line & is SUPER RUDE. She does not even let me ask my questions & says "so you want me to call the travel agency? No I say because I know they are closed - but next thing I know I am on hold & she says it is because she was calling the travel agency & since they are closed I need to just call them in the morning. I started to say -but I was trying to tell you I have already left a message with them because THEY ARE CLOSED - when you just cut me off. So I say why did you do this? She snickers & I say this is terrible customer service & just hang up.

 

Today I call my agency & my TA tells me that she did not cancel the reservation & it must be an error on RCCL's end - which it turns out it was. However everything has to be re-booked & I have to re-pay for the things I previously paid for but "I should get a refund for the original payments on my credit card" I hope this is the case.

 

I am just frustrated/mad that RCCL would not in anyway help me last night -they would not tell me if I still had a reservation or if it was cancelled, who may have cancelled it or if they were having any computer issues. They just cut me off and today when it turns out they are at fault - no apology -Nothing.

 

Oh well, Rant over -but I feel the reps were just going through the motions or following some protocol & never even tried to help and I was just a bother to them. It has changed the way I feel about this company.

That is one of the down falls of booking with a TA.. I had an issue there a few weeks ago and the reps sternly told me I had to talk to my TA.. I just said sure, emailed my ta and she took care of it when she got in..

In the case of the OP, this was a cruise that she probably HAD to book through the TA who was responsible for the conference. So in this case it is understandable that she booked the way she did.

But in terms of RCCL, their policy is that if it is a TA booked cruise, they cannot talk with you. Imagine the issues that would occur if you called RCCL and made even the smallest of changes that the TA was never notified about. It could cause lots of issues.

My biggest issue was how they treated me on the phone. The supervisor put me on hold without asking or telling me she was doing so & then almost laughing when I got upset after she said she was "calling the TA". I understand they probably get tired of saying the same thing over & over "you need to talk to your TA", but I have never had an issue like this. I had no idea they could not speak to me to even tell me if the cruise was cancelled or who did it. The e-mail of the cancellation came from RCCL - not the TA, so when the TA was closed, it made sense to me to call RCCL with a simple question.