Jancruz Posted February 19, 2012 #1 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Can you give me your wish list for customer service in Miami..what is it that they lack? Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitraveler Posted February 19, 2012 #2 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Knowledge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 19, 2012 #3 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Consistency in their answers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredFL Posted February 19, 2012 #4 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Jan, since we have an excellent travel agent (your daughter) we don't really deal with customer service. But if it is in their area I would like to see earlier info to the passengers regarding port changes or times, excursions available or any other updates and details. I know some decisions need to be made close to sailing but nowadays with the need to book flights and excursions, etc. early I would like to have more detailed info earlier. To not know the excursions available until final payment in some instances makes it hard to decide on ship's or private tours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightMedic555 Posted February 19, 2012 #5 Share Posted February 19, 2012 We are considering the Miami to South America cruise in January 2013. In order to do this I would like an extension post cruise in Peru. No excursions are yet available and the website says not for 150 days out. That is too late to make business plans, consideration for use of mies for business class flights, etc. It looks like I will have to choose another cruise line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted February 19, 2012 #6 Share Posted February 19, 2012 We are considering the Miami to South America cruise in January 2013. In order to do this I would like an extension post cruise in Peru. No excursions are yet available and the website says not for 150 days out. That is too late to make business plans, consideration for use of mies for business class flights, etc. It looks like I will have to choose another cruise line. The excursions to which the website is referring are the ones available during the cruise. Oceania usually offers pre-and post- hotel packages which may include a simple city tour in the city of the hotel, but they rearely offer post- cruise land excursions. In fact, I just looked up the Miami to Lima cruise on Jan 5, 2013, and it states flatly that no land packages are available for this cruise. Pre- and post- hotel arrangements will be posted in about 60 days. But, I can tell you that the hotel packages are generally much more expensive than booking same on your own, and are usually only attractive to people who shy away from booking their own. For example, they charge for the package by the person rather than by the room, yet the room is usually the single greatest component. Join the roll call for that cruise and work with other, similar-minded folks to book private excursions, and you will have a better experience at a lower cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorich Posted February 19, 2012 #7 Share Posted February 19, 2012 The excursions to which the website is referring are the ones available during the cruise. Oceania usually offers pre-and post- hotel packages which may include a simple city tour in the city of the hotel, but they rearely offer post- cruise land excursions. In fact, I just looked up the Miami to Lima cruise on Jan 5, 2013, and it states flatly that no land packages are available for this cruise. Pre- and post- hotel arrangements will be posted in about 60 days. But, I can tell you that the hotel packages are generally much more expensive than booking same on your own, and are usually only attractive to people who shy away from booking their own. For example, they charge for the package by the person rather than by the room, yet the room is usually the single greatest component. Join the roll call for that cruise and work with other, similar-minded folks to book private excursions, and you will have a better experience at a lower cost. I wish they would have actioned my TA's pre-cruise request to put diet tonic water in my fridge. They didn't & those on the ship professed no knowledge of the request & didn't have any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldleop Posted February 21, 2012 #8 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Can you give me your wish list for customer service in Miami..what is it that they lack?Jancruz1 Who needs Customer Service when they have your Rickey Cruz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john2003 Posted February 22, 2012 #9 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I am wondering what you plan to do with this info. Hopefully some data to discuss with FDR. Anyway here is my input, based on several miscues for our fall TA on the Marina. 1. Ensure the staff have the necessary training. For example, the didn't know when the OBC for Club members cuts in. Initially said 6th cruise but did go away to recheck and came back with the correct answer, so in this case escalation worked. 2. Reengineer the relationship between the staff on the phones and the rest of the operation. Two examples of how broken it is: i) I had made a dining reservation that I wanted to change. Can't do it on the website. Called and changed it, no problem. When we boarded I found it had not been changed. To me a serious issue but one that frankly, no one cared to follow up on. ii) Long thread on CC about the Marina docking in Bermuda. Everytime someone phoned they were reassured that it was Hamilton, despite the port authority showing it as the Dockyard. This went on for weeks. Ultimately I got an agent to understand that even their shore excursions indicated the Dockyard. Total breakdown of communications AND a lack of interest in active listening. Final frustration when they agreed it was the Dockyard I suggested that the itinerary on the website might be changed. I was told this couldn't be done. Hard to grasp. Note it was important to us as we were being met at the dock!! I was almost divorced as I spent so much time on this! 3. Implement an effective email tracking system. I emailed with a suggestion. No response. Called on another topic and mentioned that I had not had a response to an email. The agent was excellent as she gave me her email address and requested that I resend the email to her, which I did. Second email went in the same black hole as the first. If they don't want to resource email contacts, they should say so on the web and request phone calls instead. Good luck with this. I really like Oceania but I have to say they don't seem to have culture of continuous improvement in the customer contact area. This even extends to the onboard aspect. An example, on the TA I asked the front desk if the top deck forward lights could be turned off at some point to open up night sky viewing. Eventually the concierge reported back that they were unable to turn the lights off. On other cruise lines this has been to norm, even to the point of one cruise having a lecturer on star gazing, who gave night sessions with a laser pointer. A wonderful experience away from light pollution and when in the southern hemisphere a different sky. My problem with the response was that it was dismissive. To say in effect that there is no light switch is hard to believe. What they meant was that they were unwilling to entertain the request. Perhaps with good reason for example, our insurers won't permit it or we have looked at this and have decided it is too dangerous etc. There are lots of reasons not to do it that while disappointing, I could accept. But no switch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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