Azura Customer Service

[Mark-Sheffield]

We have been on the Azura twice, most recently Jan 2015 and on both times, we found the staff team on customer service to be surly and just unhelpful. On our last cruise we had quite a few little minor issues, which did not get resolved and they dragged on for days and even a meeting with the manager did not resolve the problems. In the end out of frustration I emailed the CEO in Southampton with a list of compliants whilst on board the ship. By the following afternoon the Azura Hotel Director had become involved and did sort the issues out straight away.

 

My point was that it should have been resolved without resorting to emailing the CEO.

 

Just wondered what other cruisers experience of customer service was on Azura ?

Edited June 21, 2015 by Mark-Sheffield

[tartanexile81]

We also had a bad experience. My mum died when I was on a cruise on Azura three years ago. I cannot tell you how upset I was when the reception staff told me I needed to buy an internet package so I could make arrangements to get home and left me in the middle of reception sobbing. All they cared about was that I should give them my passport and tell them when I'd be leaving the ship. I won't go into all the other things they said / did but at such difficult time I could not believe how unhelpful they were.

 

I took it up with P&O Southampton when I got back and I have to say even then I got a totally unsatisfactory response and no recognition of the distress this treatment had caused me.

 

I contacted Southampton about something much less important recently and got a lovely response so hopefully things are improving on that score but can't say for Azura.

[Mark-Sheffield]

That must have been so distressing, I cannot believe that "so called customer service" can be so callous and have no compassion for your sad news.

 

We saw the reaction of the customer service team when somebody was difficult with them when we was near the service desk, they had no professionalism and giggled like school boys and their attitude to customers was sarcastic.

 

Well my email to the CEO also had a good response in that the staff was all going to have "extra training".

 

We have sailed with Royal Caribbean and the response with their customer service was totally different.

[HomelessBear]

We also had a bad experience. My mum died when I was on a cruise on Azura three years ago. I cannot tell you how upset I was when the reception staff told me I needed to buy an internet package so I could make arrangements to get home and left me in the middle of reception sobbing. All they cared about was that I should give them my passport and tell them when I'd be leaving the ship. I won't go into all the other things they said / did but at such difficult time I could not believe how unhelpful they were.

 

I took it up with P&O Southampton when I got back and I have to say even then I got a totally unsatisfactory response and no recognition of the distress this treatment had caused me.

 

I contacted Southampton about something much less important recently and got a lovely response so hopefully things are improving on that score but can't say for Azura.

 

My goodness, so sorry to hear this distressing situation. If I'd have been on your cruise and seen you sobbing in reception, I certainly would have gone over to you to see if I could help.

Its worrying to hear that staff can be so cold, unfeeling and uncaring. It's not just on cruises though this can happen, it happens in other areas of life too.

 

Hopefully as you say, things are improving, but it's not good as I'm sure you'll always remember this awful experience (just as I do with an uncaring doctor when my mum passed away).

Hope you enjoy your future cruises.

[kruzseeka]

So sorry to hear of your experience. How distressing for you and compounded by a very poor attitude from the very people you would have hoped would have helped and supported you. These members of staff are 'The Face' of P&O as far as many passengers are concerned. I would have thought that sensitive and sympathetic treatment of passengers (even if insincere! :rolleyes: ) would be the order of the day.

 

Provided passengers approach staff in a respectful way, I think it's not only reasonable but a requirement that their response should be empathetic, polite and helpful.

[AchileLauro]

Not on Azura but on Oceana a few years ago and to a lesser extent on Ventura slightly more recently we have been very disappointed with a couple of staff on what is now called reception. Frankly their knowledge of the ship was poor to abysmal and their attitude was most unhelpful.

 

 

The worst response and couldn't care less attitude was displayed when my wife and I took a white towel to reception that had just been freshly laundered and placed in our bathroom by the cabin steward. I had just opened up the clean towel to use when I spotted a large area of human excrement "baked" on to the corner of the towel, certainly not a pleasant experience and it made my stomach turn especially as there had been a small outbreak of norovirus on the ship. Horrified as we were we didn't want to make a great fuss but thought it necessary to report it to the hotel manager or whatever title the purser now goes under.

We tried to be as discreet as possible and just say " look you have a problem in the laundry that you need to sort out". We weren't trying to get anyone in trouble (or angling for compensation as some might be inclined to do), but just make sure that the problem however unpleasant was simply resolved so that it didn't happen again. The receptionist that we spoke simply said words to the effect of "So what it happens now and again" and walked away. :mad:

 

Having sailed more than once or twice with P&O over the years we had usually found reception staff to be quite helpful and always very polite and professional on the odd occasions that we had approached them for assistance. However in recent years our experiences have been very different and some serious staff training and readjustments of attitude are definitely called for.

[Mark-Sheffield]

With my expereince, we did end up meeting the hotel director and he was very helpful and like i said he sorted things out. He did say that he was disapointed with the response from his staff and he was taking further action after investigating our issues.

 

What our point was that on a ship of the size of the Azura, problems will occur, that's a given. Its how those problems are resolved that is a sign of good customer service.

[tartanexile81]

Not on Azura but on Oceana a few years ago and to a lesser extent on Ventura slightly more recently we have been very disappointed with a couple of staff on what is now called reception. Frankly their knowledge of the ship was poor to abysmal and their attitude was most unhelpful.

 

Our issue on Ventura was exactly about Reception staff not being knowlegeable enough about the ship / loyalty tiers and P&O's booking terms and conditions. In the letter we got from Southampton three years ago it also said a training issue and been raised so obviously the same standard letter as others have received. However the recent issue was dealt with on a much more individual basis and the person who PHONED me (no impersonal letter!) had my letter in front of them and responded to each point in it