OH.MY.GOSH. Carnival Customer service is AWFUL!

[momof4girls]

All I'm trying to do is upgrade from my Ocean View to a Cove Balcony on my Sept cruise, and not only can I not understand the man on the phone, but he is telling me I can't upgrade my room. He says I'd have to cancel my current booking, pay the fees, and then make a new booking. How is that possible? For my May cruise I upgraded and just paid the difference.

 

Is it possible to call back and get someone else? When I called to upgrade my room on the May cruise, I had THE nicest lady that was soooooo wonderful. Wish I could have her over and over!

 

I booked my Sept cruise with a PVP but I have no contact info for her, and she hasn't contacted me since booking.

[NMIGAL]

Hang up and call back!

[AndyT3]

I would, for sure, try calling back and working with someone else.

[mzloolue]

The PVP's contact information should be on the confirnation e-mail.

 

And yes, you can excuse yourself on the phone and call back later.

 

Good luck!

[elainmir]

yes hang up and call again!!

[momof4girls]

Thank you, guys! I thought that surely the rules had not changed in the last couple days???:confused::rolleyes: It took me FOREVER just to explain to him what I wanted to do. He was trying to collect a deposit on me for a second room in a cove balcony. :mad:

 

On the plus side, I found a year old voice mail from my PVP on my phone. I think I'll go that route!:cool:

[AndyT3]

Thank you, guys! I thought that surely the rules had not changed in the last couple days???:confused::rolleyes: It took me FOREVER just to explain to him what I wanted to do. He was trying to collect a deposit on me for a second room in a cove balcony. :mad:

 

On the plus side, I found a year old voice mail from my PVP on my phone. I think I'll go that route!:cool:

 

It's worth a shot to try to reach out to the PVP. However, it can be a shot in the dark. I called my PVP a few days ago, and have yet to hear back.

[momof4girls]

It's worth a shot to try to reach out to the PVP. However, it can be a shot in the dark. I called my PVP a few days ago, and have yet to hear back.

 

I agree. And since I feel like I have a clock ticking on getting this cove, I may have to use carnival customer service again.:eek:

[AndyT3]

I agree. And since I feel like I have a clock ticking on getting this cove, I may have to use carnival customer service again.:eek:

 

Either way, best of luck! Hopefully you get a competent rep the next time you call.

[Purvis1231]

The general customer service reps have always been nice to me but I have noticed they do not understand all the policies and procedures. So a PVP is always the best choice. Good luck!

[momof4girls]

I was worried I would forget and my booking (where I "saved" the room) would expire, so I called back customer service. I was praying I would get the same rep, and I did not! I got a wonderful lady that knew exactly what to do. The phone call took less than five minutes! Phew!

 

Now to experience this Cove Balcony that everyone always talks about...I figured this would be a good cruise to try it out with since it was less than $100 for the four of us.

Edited March 4, 2016 by momof4girls

[AndyT3]

I was worried I would forget and my booking (where I "saved" the room) would expire, so I called back customer service. I was praying I would get the same rep, and I did not! I got a wonderful lady that knew exactly what to do. The phone call took less than five minutes! Phew!

 

Now to experience this Cove Balcony that everyone always talks about...I figured this would be a good cruise to try it out with since it was less than $100 for the four of us.

 

Good to hear you had better luck this time!

[skye02]

ITA, I have the best PVP, but she can't work 24 hrs a day. The other evening, my daughter asked if she could take a friend along on our May cruise. I thought it was a simple question, I just wanted to know how much the total costs would be so I could tell the other mother. I actually stayed on the phone for 34 minutes, listening to the customer service lady say "ok, ok" about 1000 times. I think she was trying to talk me out of taking an extra kid because she said that the 2 15 yr old girls would want to run wild on the ship! Uhmmmm, no.

 

Anyway, after all that time, she gave me 3 prices and then said she just didn't know and to call my my PvP the next day!

[Podna's]

I was worried I would forget and my booking (where I "saved" the room) would expire, so I called back customer service. I was praying I would get the same rep, and I did not! I got a wonderful lady that knew exactly what to do. The phone call took less than five minutes! Phew!

 

Now to experience this Cove Balcony that everyone always talks about...I figured this would be a good cruise to try it out with since it was less than $100 for the four of us.

 

 

Glad you got a person that knew the rules. This is why I'd never start a thread here with "oh my gosh Carnival customer service is awful". They do have a few bad apples but most are more than helpful.

[StolidCruiser]

Glad you got a person that knew the rules. This is why I'd never start a thread here with "oh my gosh Carnival customer service is awful". They do have a few bad apples but most are more than helpful.

 

Without threads like this, Cruise Critic would be pretty boring.

[GroovyGreg101]

HAHA... At 7:07pm Carnival had awful customer service. At 7:40pm you talked to a wonderful lady who took care of everything in less than 5 minutes. So when will you start the new thread titled "Carnival has a wonderful lady working for them that takes care of everything in less than 5 minutes"? Glad they took care of you though!

[Podna's]

Without threads like this, Cruise Critic would be pretty boring.

 

 

Can't argue with that. [emoji4]

[momof4girls]

OK. So I started a thread in the "heat of the moment". Thank goodness that's never happened before! :rolleyes: Yes. I would agree that not EVERY single rep is as clueless as the first one I called. And I apologize for all the other reps that DO know the rules, as obviously I was not talking about them. I could start the same thread about Mediacom reps, except for that one time when I called and got someone who knew what they were talking about.

 

I was just "venting". I kind of think of CC as a place where "friends with cruising in common" can come together and vent about whatever they'd like and not be judged on it.

[mzloolue]

OK. So I started a thread in the "heat of the moment". Thank goodness that's never happened before! :rolleyes: Yes. I would agree that not EVERY single rep is as clueless as the first one I called. And I apologize for all the other reps that DO know the rules, as obviously I was not talking about them. I could start the same thread about Mediacom reps, except for that one time when I called and got someone who knew what they were talking about.

 

I was just "venting". I kind of think of CC as a place where "friends with cruising in common" can come together and vent about whatever they'd like and not be judged on it.

 

Actually, it doesn't really matter if there are knowledgable phone reps somewhere else when one is trying to talk to someone who just isn't trained.

 

Attitude is everything, but it sure helps if the person has actually had sufficient training, ya know?

[lizardhowson]

Glad you got a person that knew the rules. This is why I'd never start a thread here with "oh my gosh Carnival customer service is awful". They do have a few bad apples but most are more than helpful.

 

Honestly, I fail to see the logic in starting a thread here about this at all. Since thread starter just made recent changes to another cruise, the logical thing to do is hang up and call back to get someone else. Certainly it should not be necessary to have a bunch of strangers tell thread starter to call back.

 

In today's world where much of the telephone support is outsourced to 3rd world countries, getting someone who is undertrained or has language barriers is not unusual. Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, just call back until you get a representative you can communicate with.

 

I can't even count the number of times I have been directed to a representative who was reading out of a notebook because they knew less about the topic than the customers who were calling in.

Edited March 5, 2016 by lizardhowson

[fuddrules]

It takes about 10 seconds, tops, to figure out if the CSR knows what they're talking about.

 

Most do, a few don't. When you get the ones that don't, tell them thanks, hang up and call again.

 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

Edited March 5, 2016 by fuddrules

[cruizinisthebest]

It takes about 10 seconds, tops, to figure out if the CSR knows what they're talking about.

 

Most do, a few don't. When you get the ones that don't, tell them thanks, hang up and call again.

 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

 

I agree. Don't know why this had to be advised. Who hasn't called a place where the rep was hard to understand and didn't know sh--. Happened to me just last night with Amazon. Just say thank you, hang up, call right back.

 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Carnival's customer service is not horrible. OP just got a bad rep.

[Pesh]

I agree. Don't know why this had to be advised. Who hasn't called a place where the rep was hard to understand and didn't know sh--. Happened to me just last night with Amazon. Just say thank you, hang up, call right back.

 

 

 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Carnival's customer service is not horrible. OP just got a bad rep.

 

 

Yes, but it can frustrating, especially when you're trying to give them more money (OP wanting to upgrade) and they're giving you a hard time. I'm sure OP knew she should call someone else but just needed to vent [emoji4]

[mzlinda]

 

 

 

I was just "venting". I kind of think of CC as a place where "friends with cruising in common" can come together and vent about whatever they'd like and not be judged on it.

 

 

Ha ha....a place where friends with cruising in common can come together and vent about whatever they'd like without being judged?!

 

Glad it all worked out for you. And yes, I agree that it's frustrating to call multiple times and get different answers.

[mykindaparty]

To op I am glad things worked out for you and your family. To all the nay sayers haven't yall heard of the old saying " if you can't say something nice, then don't say nothing at all." If you don't like a thread then move on to another one and quit meaning cc bullies!!!!