Cunard website/VP problems(Merged threads)

[mcloaked]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

How odd. When I marked homework,  alpha α was definitely the best mark. What letter of the Greek alphabet is used for an excellent final version?

 

Marking homework has a different history for the marks tokens than the development of computer software.  Usually for software after 'beta' it is often the released version at some numerical numbering scheme - so say the software is called "DoodahSoft" - the alpha of a new version might be DoodahSoft-1.2-alpha-1, and then if a few bugs are fixed but there are still lots of problems then the next version might be DoodahSoft-1.2-alpha-2, and when most of the bugs are fixed someone may decide it is stable enough to become a beta so DoodahSoft-1.2-beta-1 and so on until the developers feel it is working well enough to release - though it is possible that a 'release candidate' might be released for soak testing called, say, DoodahSoft-1.2-rc1 - and if problems are found then they will fix the problems and release DoodahSoft-1.2-rc2 - and then if that shows no problems when people test it a lot the same version could be released as DoodahSoft-1.2 (simply dropping the -rc suffix) - which will then get used for real, and in time people may want new features or some security vulnerability is found that need patching - and the next series of development will begin following the same path as 1.2, to become DoodahSoft-1.3-alpha-1 and so on.   Sometimes a release candidate isn't produced but if so then the extensive testing before release is likely to be less reliable.  

If the development is limited to small numbers of developers and there is a pressure of time then the whole process might be hurried along with a much reduced level of testing and fixing before release - and in that case there is a much higher likelihood that when it is released with limited checking that the users will hit more serious problems.  In the case of say an Android system for phones extensive testing is done before a new version hits the big user base.....   for other systems that are made available before a lot of testing has been done the users will have a lot of problems with it but it is much cheaper to develop!

Edited January 12, 2020 by mcloaked
Small improved wording

[Docker123]

I made very strong comments in the never ending cruise survey.

 

It asks about pre-cruise communications. Said the VP situation is a fiasco that should never have been inflicted on their paying customers.

 

Also said the general website is pretty, but a nightmare to navigate. 
 

Perhaps this is one avenue to get some real feedback to them.

 

I also said that their survey reads more like marketing push than a real satisfaction survey (30+ years experience in survey design).

Edited January 16, 2020 by Docker123

[davyjones]

The web site (as seen in the UK) has had a minor improvement.  Instead of 'Apologies...' about not being able to change the bed config or the dining table size these options are now working.  One's Loyalty Tier also appears that I think was not shown before in the new site.  Amongst the many things still missing is your cabin number.  I also note that although booked in Britannia Club the web site states Main Dining Room for dining.

[alc13]

3 hours ago, davyjones said:

The web site (as seen in the UK) has had a minor improvement.  Instead of 'Apologies...' about not being able to change the bed config or the dining table size these options are now working.  One's Loyalty Tier also appears that I think was not shown before in the new site.  Amongst the many things still missing is your cabin number.  I also note that although booked in Britannia Club the web site states Main Dining Room for dining.

Lucky you.  The US site is still a mess.  Another quibble - no indication of formal nights, when or how many.  (I called Cunard Customer Service to find out, and the representative could only guess [which, for that matter, I could, too]).

 

On a perhaps related note, 2 of the stops on our upcoming cruise appear to have no excursions available.  Is that odd?  We sail in a bit less than 3 months.

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, alc13 said:

Lucky you.  The US site is still a mess.  Another quibble - no indication of formal nights, when or how many.  (I called Cunard Customer Service to find out, and the representative could only guess [which, for that matter, I could, too]).

 

On a perhaps related note, 2 of the stops on our upcoming cruise appear to have no excursions available.  Is that odd?  We sail in a bit less than 3 months.

 

Dress code and theme schedules for most of 2020 are now available as of a few days ago. See post #4 in the sticky Updated dress code/theme schedules 2020 for the links to the latest schedules.

 

It does sound odd to me that two of your upcoming ports of call have no excursions listed. Which ports are they?

[alc13]

Thank you, Bluemarble, for the dress code update!

 

The ports without excursions (so far) are Miyazaki and Jeju Island; the cruise is Q012, around Southern Japan.  We generally strike out on our own, but Miyazaki is one where we'd like the option of an excursion.

Edited January 18, 2020 by alc13

[castlewood]

Sorry, I know this has been discussed already, but . . . 

 

I work in publishing, specifically conceptualizing, developing, and maintaining online educational sites for students. I and my entire team would lose our jobs if we ever allowed the launch of the mess that is the "booked guest" portal, let alone the difficult-to-navigate and utterly non-intuitive main site. I received an email in November with a link to the "fabulous"  new Booked Guest portal  (I have a cruise booked for April), and was really shocked  at how poorly it functioned. And ever since, on those rare occasions that I can actually access the site, it shows ports with no excursions, excursions with no descriptions, no cabin number, incorrect restaurant, etc., etc. In all these months, there has not been any substantial consistent improvement that I can discern.

 

Does anyone know if  Cunard (or Carnival) has thought to bring on  team of crack software engineers and CSS experts to make the site work as intended?  Shouldn't take more than a week. And it shouldn't cost more than one or two Grill fares.  I can recommend several excellent people if Cunard is interested.  

[Ray66]

2 minutes ago, castlewood said:

no cabin number, incorrect restaurant,

 

Same here.

 

3 minutes ago, castlewood said:

Does anyone know if  Cunard (or Carnival)

 

I think Carnival must have something to do with the new website and personaliser as over on the P&O forum they are having the same problems.

[Canuker]

There is a serious disconnect between Cunard's standards within its now-notorious website and Cunard's standards on board ship. I can't believe they have much to do with each other. I sincerely hope they don't.
My cruise's offered excursions just showed up on the website and I lost track of the number of howlers and errors - weak or no information, wrong dates, terrible navigation, one port of call omitted entirely.
One has to believe that both the Cunard and Carnival brass are aware of it - but it is allowed to persist. The value of the brand must suffer as a result.
If I had never cruised with Cunard before, I would have serious doubts about booking with them.

Good to know you have a path to the solution, 'castlewood'

What can we deduce from Ray66's comment that similar issues exist at the P&O website?

[Underwatr]

48 minutes ago, Ray66 said:

 

I think Carnival must have something to do with the new website and personaliser as over on the P&O forum they are having the same problems.

 

I think that speaks to the shared IT services between Cunard and P&O more than anything Carnival-wide. HAL and Princess (to name two) don't seem to have these issues.

[oskidunker]

I am booking private excursions. Gave up..

[lissie]

1 hour ago, Underwatr said:

 

I think that speaks to the shared IT services between Cunard and P&O more than anything Carnival-wide. HAL and Princess (to name two) don't seem to have these issues.

 

And yet they are all Carnival brands - and all seem to be running a similar public-facing websites with different branding skins on each. 

[lissie]

1 hour ago, Canuker said:

If I had never cruised with Cunard before, I would have serious doubts about booking with them.

 

I've never cruised at all - and I must admit I'm taking copies of correspondence to proove my OBC as I have no faith in their backend databases. 

 

I too work in the website space and would be mortified if one of my websites worked as badly as the VP portal.  I wouldn't be offering to fix it - because the fact that its not fixed tells me that a) management doesn't care and b) management has no concept about sales and pre-sales customer experience management - which is a big concern for the future of the  company frankly 

[Canuker]

Amen, lissie.

[castlewood]

Jeju Island is like a Korean Bermuda, and it's the main destination for Korean newlyweds.. Lots of young couples walking around wearing identical outfits. An interesting place to visit there is the bonsai forest, a really unusual botanical garden.

[david,Mississauga]

12 hours ago, lissie said:

I've never cruised at all - and I must admit I'm taking copies of correspondence to proove my OBC as I have no faith in their backend databases. 

 

I too work in the website space and would be mortified if one of my websites worked as badly as the VP portal.  I wouldn't be offering to fix it - because the fact that its not fixed tells me that a) management doesn't care and b) management has no concept about sales and pre-sales customer experience management - which is a big concern for the future of the  company frankly 

 

Even before this latest mess there could be issues with OBC. It's a good thing I bring written proof of the OBC. On one occasion it took the California office seven nights to give us what we were promised - and that was on a seven-night crossing.

 

A few weeks ago I sent an e-mail to Cunard suggesting if they couldn't find some competent IT people they should go back to the previous VP which worked fine. No reply was received, but of course none was expected.

 

My travel agent contacted Cunard and got some of the VP sorted.  It is still early for us, but I pity those who are sailing in the near future.

[Underwatr]

Always bring written proof of OBC.

 

Mine took about a week to clear up because it was over Christmas, but thankfully it was a 12-night cruise.

[newjoisey]

The only issue we have had is logging on ,after a few tries i am in and everything works just fine.

[alc13]

No such luck here.  No stateroom number, no World Club status, wrong dining room, no dress code info.  No excursions for one of the ports, or maybe it's too late to book excursions for that one port... the message changes back and forth.  Really surprising in this day and age to see such inadequate programming.

 

No OBC showing up anywhere, either, although I don't really know where it would show up as this is the first time we've had any.   We booked this time through a TA.  We're taking the invoice with us in case there is no other record if it.

 

 

[bluemarble]

Looks like I need to get with it and book another Cunard voyage so I can see for myself what the new Voyage Personaliser / My Cunard site looks like. Just so you know alc13, OBC never showed up anywhere in the old Voyage Personaliser either.

[alc13]

Ah, thanks Bluemarble for the OBC info.  (Iowa! - eye of the political storm here in the US now...)

 

I liked the old VP; even though there wasn't much to do there it was fun to visit while anticipating the cruise.  

[Clagmeister]

I had problems last week with VP rejecting my attempts to add pre cruise info. Thankfully it did settle down. I can see anything about room numbers ( I have that on my invoice) or OBC (that is on my original invoice too. I am surprised not to have received a final cruise invoice yet having settled the account a week ago. I don't think Cunard was that tardy on my previous two cruises.

[Host Hattie]

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

Looks like I need to get with it and book another Cunard voyage so I can see for myself what the new Voyage Personaliser / My Cunard site looks like. Just so you know alc13, OBC never showed up anywhere in the old Voyage Personaliser either.

 

Me too, I'm feeling very left out !

[oskidunker]

My military credit showed up on the booking my travel agent sent me. 

[Underwatr]

4 hours ago, alc13 said:

No OBC showing up anywhere, either, although I don't really know where it would show up as this is the first time we've had any. 

OBC hasn't shown online in my experience with Cunard (going on 10 years).