Celebrity and cruise critic member relations

[Mynki]

Hello again.

 

Some time ago Celebrity Cruises had an employee posting on this forum in an official capacity to help with members questions.

To be brutally open and honest it appeared to be a waste of resource because few questions were answered and when they were it was often a case of that person simply copying and pasting information straight from the Celebrity website and so was of little value as the forum member should arguable have looked there in the first place. 

However... Azamara have a lady called Bonnie posting on the Azamara forum of Cruise Critic where she engages the AZ passengers in a very helpful and professional manner. A good example of her in action can be found on this thread :-

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2659859-fao-bonnie-azamazing-evening-philippines-cruise-4th-oct-2019/

So my question to you is, if Azamara are brave enough to take on a group of faceless keyboard warriors, are you guys at Celebrity? I certainly wouldn't expect any individuals tasked with such a challenge to answer queries regarding individual complaints as you have other channels for this purpose. But I believe that direct communication with some of your most loyal customers on the world's largest and most active forum would be a good PR move and helpful to the Cruise Critic community. 

 

Yes it's a large community and thus there are a few bad apples who will possibly try and disrupt the conversation, but I strongly believe an intelligent, dynamic and driven individual prepared to engage this community in a helpful and proactive manner could be a real asset to you. 

Will you consider following Azamara and have a Celebrity presence on this board to assist with queries from the Celebrity community? 

 

 

[AdGuyMG]

On 7/26/2019 at 6:02 AM, Mynki said:

.. Azamara have a lady called Bonnie posting on the Azamara forum of Cruise Critic where she engages the AZ passengers in a very helpful and professional manner. A good example of her in action can be found on this thread :-

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2659859-fao-bonnie-azamazing-evening-philippines-cruise-4th-oct-2019/

So my question to you is, if Azamara are brave enough to take on a group of faceless keyboard warriors, are you guys at Celebrity?

 

I believe that direct communication with some of your most loyal customers on the world's largest and most active forum would be a good PR move and helpful to the Cruise Critic community. 

 

 

I don't think it's a matter of brave. It's more a matter of resources. 

 

Azamara has 3 ships with a weekly capacity of about 1950 passengers / 101,000 Annual

 

The 1% - 2% sliver that Cruise Critic attracts =  About 25 people per week / 1300 Annual

Easy enough for your friend Bonnie to stay on top of.

 

Celebrity has 12 ships with a weekly capacity of 28,000 passengers / 1.4 Million Annual

The 1% - 2% sliver that Cruise Critic attracts =  About 3000 people per week / 150,000 Annual

Bonnie would be overwhelmed.

 

Celebrity already has a system set up at CelebrityOneTouch@celebrity.com

 

What you are suggesting would require an additional, dedicated non-revenue producing department to take on the faceless Cruise Critic keyboard warriors.

 

 

[bEwAbG]

Celebrity had such a person until a few years ago.  Someone who actually answered questions and engaged with posters.  The person behind that account posted under a different handle to say they'd been let go in a reorganization of the department under new leadership. 

 

The account still exists and will post every so often, but nothing more than "please contact us" or cut & paste info from the website.  They went quiet after being constantly criticized for pasting inaccurate info that didn't address the topic at hand.

 

I agree that it was very useful to have a person who was actively engaged and able to provide info when there were questions the regular posters couldn't answer.

Edited July 27, 2019 by bEwAbG

[mayleeman]

Additional passengers=additional revenue=additional resources available for discretionary staff

[ghstudio]

17 hours ago, mayleeman said:

Additional passengers=additional revenue=additional resources available for discretionary staff

 

Internet social media interaction is not discretionary in today's world.....especially for a company trying to attract the very users of social media....It's a requirement for a successful company. Similarly an easy to use, always available web site with accurate and complete information is critical.

 

Question for Lisa: Are you planning to increase your focus and participation on social media and the accuracy and usability of  your web site to better reach your customers and target audience?

[CocoCronut]

The Celebrity Cruises twitter account is pretty good at responding - that might allow avenue for discussion...

just a thought 

[Lisa Lutoff-Perlo]

Hello!

I have been thrilled with the incredible response to this chat! Each question is individually answered and addressed. Thanks and have a great rest of your day!

[Presto2]

Does this mean that someone will talk to us? Some of us do not do Facebook or Twitter and would feel valued if Celebrity spoke to us on this forum.

I am confused

[ghstudio]

sounds like it's a once and done event.  Hope I'm wrong....a celebrity participant from onetouch (where they can actually help) would be a terrific addition to cruise critic.  

[Mynki]

1 hour ago, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said:

Hello!

I have been thrilled with the incredible response to this chat! Each question is individually answered and addressed. Thanks and have a great rest of your day!

 

 

You didn't read and understand the opening post then. It was in reference to the Celebrity sub forum on here and how Azamara are beating Celebrity in the social media comms department. :) 

[Lisa Lutoff-Perlo]

Hello again, 

We have an entire OneTouch team dedicated to answering guest questions and taking feedback.  They are an incredible group of individuals and I'm sure many of you have had the good fortune to speak with one of them. I will pass along your comment and see if we might have someone available to engage with CC. 

In addition, I was happy to be here on CC today and answer your questions directly.  It was another great opportunity to connect directly with all of you.  

Thank you again! 

[Mynki]

21 hours ago, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said:

Hello again, 

We have an entire OneTouch team dedicated to answering guest questions and taking feedback.  They are an incredible group of individuals and I'm sure many of you have had the good fortune to speak with one of them. I will pass along your comment and see if we might have someone available to engage with CC. 

In addition, I was happy to be here on CC today and answer your questions directly.  It was another great opportunity to connect directly with all of you.  

Thank you again! 

 

Thanks for your reply it is appreciated.

Perhaps if a member of your One Touch team could read the Azamara subforum on here they'll get a feel for how the sister line uses social media to reach out to it's customer base through Cruise Critic. Perhaps your employee could even contact Bonnie directly for feedback to see if you think it is a viable idea and how best to implement it. 

Cruise Critic may have a few keyboard warriors but it also has a large number of experienced cruisers with a positive attitude who are pragmatic, forward thinking and would love the opportunity to engage Celebrity cruises to better their experience. It would be great if you gave the idea a chance. I'm sure the CC management team would welcome the idea too. 

Thanks for your time yesterday. 

 

P.S Until your post I'd not heard of One Touch. Is this available to those of us in the United Kingdom? 

Edited August 13, 2019 by Mynki

[warmwinds]

Yes, what is One Touch and how do we contact them?  Is there a phone number?  (what is it?)...a link on the website?  (what is it?)...please let those of us who are not as internet savvy as some know how to reach them.  Thank you.