Very Poor Customer Service

[sheilsy4949]

Thought I would just post a thread detailing aspects of my ongoing complaint with RCI which remains unresolved;

 

Booked a Mediterranean Cruise with RCI on 26th December 2014, shortly after booking a promotion campaign on TV announced 'Free Drinks Packages' for any RCI Cruise booked before 31st Jan 2015, I contacted RCI to ask them if I qualified for the promotion, they were unable to give an affirmative answer, and advised they would call me back (If I did not qualify, my logic was I would simply cancel my initial booking and rebook, thereby qualifying) time past and still nobody called me back, my wife spoke via 'Facebook' with an RCI rep who advised they would look into it and get back to us, surprise surprise, nobody called back, called 'Customer Relations AGAIN! advised to speak to purser onboard ship at Customer Services Desk, which we did, Purser politely listened, apologised for any inconvenience we may have suffered, took our boarding cards, and applied two 'Standard Drinks Packages' and advised that gratuities would also be paid....... Result you may think..... READ ON.................

 

Shortly after being issued with the Drinks Package, we used them for the first time, whilst at the bar I noticed the ship had a 'Premium Drinks Package' available, so I enquired with the promotion team, and upgraded my Standard Package to a 'Premium Package', thereafter the cruise was great....... however on the morning of disembarkation we received our ship board account, to find we had been charged $294 for one standard package and $399 for one premium package, unfortunately we had no time to sufficiently query this as we had to disembark.

 

A few days after arriving home, I contacted RCI customer service's to query my account, and after numerous emails between the ship and customer services, and numerous phone calls between RCI and myself (where invariably) I was left holding for ages, and made promises of return calls which never happened, I was told that RCI had a signed invoice from me for $294 for one standard package and $399 for one premium package, which i categorically did not order, I simply upgraded my standard package..... why would we purchase another two 'Drinks Packages'??

 

This matter remains unresolved and begs the following questions:

 

I did not request 1 standard or 1 premium package from the promotion representative onboard ship, if this had been the case why did the seller simply add a sticker on top of the SS sticker already on my boarding pass? I gave her ONE boarding pass to upgrade, so why would she charge me for 1 standard package, and one premium package!!

 

Prior to upgrading my Standard Package, I purchased drinks on deck nine, which will be recorded upon the ships documentation, which is documentary evidence that I had the Standard Package, and raises the legitimacy of the ‘Alleged Receipt’ why would I purchase another two drinks packages!!

 

Throughout my discussions with Customer Services, they refer to the ‘Ships Logs’ inferring that detailed records are kept, if that is the case I would like to see the time on the receipt and the time of my initial purchase with the Standard Package, which will clearly evidence that I purchased drinks with a Standards Drinks Package BEFORE upgrading, which then raises the question why would I then purchase another Standard and Premium Package!!

 

also....

 

If I had been given a definitive answer back in January 2015 that my booking DID not qualify for the ‘Promotional Offer’ why did I simply not cancel my booking, and rebook? Thereby qualifying without question for the promotion.

 

Why was I not advised of the cost of ‘Drinks Packages’ by the Customer Service Representative on board the ship, if it was not added without charge?

 

Why was I not asked to sign an invoice (As ordinarily EVERY chargeable transaction on-board ship generates an invoice which invariably provides RCI with proof of consent to such charge). Such an invoice was signed and agreed by myself when I upgraded one of the accounts to the ‘Premium drinks package’.

 

Why was I informed that any gratuities due would also be taken off the account? (This is not standard with ANY drinks package).

 

 

BEWARE, once they have secured your booking and took your money, they are not interested................

[stlouistravelers]

Had it been me, I would have denied the charges on my credit card when I got back and let the process work.

[dacsmom]

You join CC only to post about this experience? That won't get you a lot of sympathy here. Many promotions are for new bookings only, so you probably would not have been able to take advantage of the promotion.

 

You wait until onboard to question your perks? Why didn't you look at your cruise planner before the cruise and see if you had the package or not?

 

You wait until you are leaving the ship to check your onboard account? You could have checked every day and noticed there was a problem.

 

I would dispute this with your credit card company. Let them handle it.

[TBone2K]

We have too many one post wonders on this board where the person complains and doesn't come back. So sheilsy4949, are you still there? I'm sure there are some who could give you helpful advice, and even more likely many more who will gladly tell you what you did wrong without offering anything helpful.

[andrea2609]

life's too short to read such a long post

 

 

Italian Cruiser

 

Inviato dal mio iPad utilizzando Tapatalk

[Merion_Mom]

Thought I would just post a thread detailing aspects of my ongoing complaint with RCI which remains unresolved;

 

Booked a Mediterranean Cruise with RCI on 26th December 2014, shortly after booking a promotion campaign on TV announced 'Free Drinks Packages' for any RCI Cruise booked before 31st Jan 2015, I contacted RCI to ask them if I qualified for the promotion, they were unable to give an affirmative answer, and advised they would call me back (If I did not qualify, my logic was I would simply cancel my initial booking and rebook, thereby qualifying) time past and still nobody called me back, my wife spoke via 'Facebook' with an RCI rep who advised they would look into it and get back to us, surprise surprise, nobody called back, called 'Customer Relations AGAIN! advised to speak to purser onboard ship at Customer Services Desk, which we did, Purser politely listened, apologised for any inconvenience we may have suffered, took our boarding cards, and applied two 'Standard Drinks Packages' and advised that gratuities would also be paid....... Result you may think..... READ ON.................

 

Shortly after being issued with the Drinks Package, we used them for the first time, whilst at the bar I noticed the ship had a 'Premium Drinks Package' available, so I enquired with the promotion team, and upgraded my Standard Package to a 'Premium Package', thereafter the cruise was great....... however on the morning of disembarkation we received our ship board account, to find we had been charged $294 for one standard package and $399 for one premium package, unfortunately we had no time to sufficiently query this as we had to disembark.

 

A few days after arriving home, I contacted RCI customer service's to query my account, and after numerous emails between the ship and customer services, and numerous phone calls between RCI and myself (where invariably) I was left holding for ages, and made promises of return calls which never happened, I was told that RCI had a signed invoice from me for $294 for one standard package and $399 for one premium package, which i categorically did not order, I simply upgraded my standard package..... why would we purchase another two 'Drinks Packages'??

 

This matter remains unresolved and begs the following questions:

 

I did not request 1 standard or 1 premium package from the promotion representative onboard ship, if this had been the case why did the seller simply add a sticker on top of the SS sticker already on my boarding pass? I gave her ONE boarding pass to upgrade, so why would she charge me for 1 standard package, and one premium package!!

 

Prior to upgrading my Standard Package, I purchased drinks on deck nine, which will be recorded upon the ships documentation, which is documentary evidence that I had the Standard Package, and raises the legitimacy of the ‘Alleged Receipt’ why would I purchase another two drinks packages!!

 

Throughout my discussions with Customer Services, they refer to the ‘Ships Logs’ inferring that detailed records are kept, if that is the case I would like to see the time on the receipt and the time of my initial purchase with the Standard Package, which will clearly evidence that I purchased drinks with a Standards Drinks Package BEFORE upgrading, which then raises the question why would I then purchase another Standard and Premium Package!!

 

also....

 

If I had been given a definitive answer back in January 2015 that my booking DID not qualify for the ‘Promotional Offer’ why did I simply not cancel my booking, and rebook? Thereby qualifying without question for the promotion.

 

Why was I not advised of the cost of ‘Drinks Packages’ by the Customer Service Representative on board the ship, if it was not added without charge?

 

Why was I not asked to sign an invoice (As ordinarily EVERY chargeable transaction on-board ship generates an invoice which invariably provides RCI with proof of consent to such charge). Such an invoice was signed and agreed by myself when I upgraded one of the accounts to the ‘Premium drinks package’.

 

Why was I informed that any gratuities due would also be taken off the account? (This is not standard with ANY drinks package).

 

 

BEWARE, once they have secured your booking and took your money, they are not interested................

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you are in the U.K., because I do not believe that that drink package promotion was offered in the U.S. So if you ARE in North America, then you were not eligible for the promotion. And if you ARE in the U.K., then you lose your deposit if you "just cancel and rebook".

 

SOMETHING is not adding up here.

 

And there is no such thing as a "standard" drink package. They are: Select, Premium and Ultimate.

 

Things that make you go hhhhhmmmmmm...............

Edited July 6, 2015 by Merion_Mom

[orville99]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that you are in the U.K., because I do not believe that that drink package promotion was offered in the U.S. So if you ARE in North America, then you were not eligible for the promotion. And if you ARE in the U.K., then you lose your deposit if you "just cancel and rebook".

 

SOMETHING is not adding up here.

 

And there is no such thing as a "standard" drink package. They are: Select, Premium and Ultimate.

 

Things that make you go hhhhhmmmmmm...............

 

Judging by the use of particular words like "whilst" and spelling of words like realised with an "s" where a U.S. writer would have used a "z", I believe you're spot on that the OP is from Europe, most likely from the U.K.

[Langley Cruisers]

life's too short to read such a long post

 

Bwahahaha!!! *sniffle*

 

Judging by the use of particular words like "whilst".... OP is from Europe, most likely from the U.K.

 

My guess as well, plus I think we may "know" this person already. Call it... "a hunch" - badoom chee!

.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

How were the drinks?

[Big_G]

Royal has Facebook reps?

[alexkrn46]

1.always settle the bill on the ship. 2. Check the invoice prior to boarding.

[Langley Cruisers]

Royal has Facebook reps?

 

People who reply on their behalf, supposedly. RCI's FB page makes me cringe - more complainers there than, well... here! LOL :p;):D

[Big_G]

RCI's FB page makes me cringe - more complainers there than, well... here! LOL :p;):D

 

How is that possible? :eek:

[chrisb74]

Wow. I really can't believe the cruise critic "community" has done nothing but attack the OP in the replies so far.

 

The complaint seems entirely valid and seems entirely typical of a corporate culture of ignoring the problem until it goes away.

 

As for those saying the poster wasn't 'entitled' to the free packages - WHY NOT? As they said, they had plenty of time to cancel and rebook to get it so logically it would have been easier to just get royal to amend their booking.

 

Have some sympathy and stop blaming the poster. We are a CUSTOMER and a GUEST - is it too much to expect Royal to give timely and accurate answers instead of tossing the problem back to the customer?

[kwbound]

Wow. I really can't believe the cruise critic "community" has done nothing but attack the OP in the replies so far.

 

The complaint seems entirely valid and seems entirely typical of a corporate culture of ignoring the problem until it goes away.

 

As for those saying the poster wasn't 'entitled' to the free packages - WHY NOT? As they said, they had plenty of time to cancel and rebook to get it so logically it would have been easier to just get royal to amend their booking.

 

Have some sympathy and stop blaming the poster. We are a CUSTOMER and a GUEST - is it too much to expect Royal to give timely and accurate answers instead of tossing the problem back to the customer?

 

Well said.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Wow. I really can't believe the cruise critic "community" has done nothing but attack the OP in the replies so far.

 

The complaint seems entirely valid and seems entirely typical of a corporate culture of ignoring the problem until it goes away.

 

As for those saying the poster wasn't 'entitled' to the free packages - WHY NOT? As they said, they had plenty of time to cancel and rebook to get it so logically it would have been easier to just get royal to amend their booking.

 

Have some sympathy and stop blaming the poster. We are a CUSTOMER and a GUEST - is it too much to expect Royal to give timely and accurate answers instead of tossing the problem back to the customer?

Are we reading the same thread? Yes, there have been some "attacks":rolleyes: on the OP. But there was also a very (possibly) helpful post from Merion_Mom that could explain why the OP wasn't entitled to the free package.

 

There were two posts before hers that suggested disputing with the CC company.

 

What else would you like the community to say? That the OP is right (despite we only have her version of what happened with her built in bias)?

[cruisenfever]

......however on the morning of disembarkation we received our ship board account, to find we had been charged $294 for one standard package and $399 for one premium package, unfortunately we had no time to sufficiently query this as we had to disembark.

You never once, during your entire cruise asked for a copy of your bill? :eek: Had you done so, you could have cleared this up with the generous staff member that gave you the drink packages.

Edited July 7, 2015 by cruisenfever

[Sascol]

Why is it so unreasonable for someone to join CC just to make their 1st post a complaint? Isn't that partly the purpose these forums serve? Those throwing darts need to reel it back and chill.

[AtlantaAlly]

You never once, during your entire cruise asked for a copy of your bill? :eek: Had you done so, you could have cleared this up with the generous staff member that gave you the drink packages.

 

We didn't check our bill until the last night... it's not entirely unreasonable to wait that long, especially when you haven't charged anything (or so you think) to the account.

[garycarla]

You never once, during your entire cruise asked for a copy of your bill? :eek: Had you done so, you could have cleared this up with the generous staff member that gave you the drink packages.

 

 

We ALWAYS get a copy of the bill during the cruise to uncover any surprises. If we did something like an "upgrade" or change, we would surely get a copy.

 

I tried to figure it out, but were you charged for 2 total drink packages for your cabin, or 4 total drink packages? I assume there were two people in your booking.

[orville99]

Wow. I really can't believe the cruise critic "community" has done nothing but attack the OP in the replies so far.

 

 

 

The complaint seems entirely valid and seems entirely typical of a corporate culture of ignoring the problem until it goes away.

 

 

 

As for those saying the poster wasn't 'entitled' to the free packages - WHY NOT? As they said, they had plenty of time to cancel and rebook to get it so logically it would have been easier to just get royal to amend their booking.

 

 

 

Have some sympathy and stop blaming the poster. We are a CUSTOMER and a GUEST - is it too much to expect Royal to give timely and accurate answers instead of tossing the problem back to the customer?

 

 

Two points: 1) If the OP was a brit, then their country rules won't let you cancel and rebook without losing your deposit, and 2) the promotion was only for new bookings, and the OP booked prior to the announcement of the promo. Unlike the U.S. (at least with the BOGO sales) new bookings only is very tightly followed in the U.K. IMO, the cruise line gave accurate ansers, the OP just didn't like them and ranted here. BTW, she hasn't been back to support her contentions.

[lucymorgan]

wow. I really can't believe the cruise critic "community" has done nothing but attack the op in the replies so far.

 

The complaint seems entirely valid and seems entirely typical of a corporate culture of ignoring the problem until it goes away.

 

As for those saying the poster wasn't 'entitled' to the free packages - why not? As they said, they had plenty of time to cancel and rebook to get it so logically it would have been easier to just get royal to amend their booking.

 

Have some sympathy and stop blaming the poster. We are a customer and a guest - is it too much to expect royal to give timely and accurate answers instead of tossing the problem back to the customer?

 

+1!

[WpgCruise]

Why is it so unreasonable for someone to join CC just to make their 1st post a complaint? Isn't that partly the purpose these forums serve? Those throwing darts need to reel it back and chill.

 

I don't think it is unreasonable for a poster, first time or not, to post a complaint, seek guidance, ask for suggestions on how to solve a problem or tap the knowledge base of the Community for ideas. To me, that is the purpose of this Forum

 

I do think it unreasonable for a poster, first time or not, to provide anything other than the full story. In this example the poster has posted a set of circumstances, some have offered suggestions for solution, but as or even more importantly others have asked for more detail.

 

The reason for the asking of more detail is because they think they may not have all the facts with which to base a decision and from there offer advice.

 

The process need not be adversarial, simply honest.

 

I understand some of the responses may appear blunt, some really should be ignored (as stated, they are just throwing darts) but if the thread O.P. would just answer the questions asked about the issue it would sure help in resolving the problem.

 

Now why RCI won't respond......................well that's another whole other conversation.

Edited July 7, 2015 by WpgCruise

[tinkertwo]

sounds a bit like the drink fiasco that is going on now. the customer service I am getting with this new package is horrid, I finally canceled our drink packages today. tired of getting 12 different answers.

[stlouistravelers]

Why is it so unreasonable for someone to join CC just to make their 1st post a complaint? Isn't that partly the purpose these forums serve? Those throwing darts need to reel it back and chill.

 

I couldn't agree more. Honestly, I come here to get answers to questions and to see what kind of issues members have come across that may affect me on my cruise. I look at my bill on the last day and if I can fix the issue, if not then I handle it when I get back.