Hold Times

[Tarheeler]

I've been on hold now for 4 hours 15 minutes.  Yes, I am patient.. sort of!  I know that you may get quicker response first thing in the morning or very late at night.  But I needed to get a resolution and thought I'd try... I am still on hold.  I know they're busy , but really?  over 4 hours?

[bikerunner]

I was on hold with my cc company for 3 one day, almost all are so far behind 4 does seem long but I’m working now on support side for telehealth n some of my calls with people have taken over n hour.  

[jelayne]

I hope after all that time you reach some one that can assist you.  I called a large bank/credit card company yesterday- recording said there was a approximate 22 minute wait time- I hung up after 2 hours.  

[Fouremco]

I just wish that all companies that have a history of long holds would switch to the modern day phone technology that enables the caller to leave their phone number and receive a call back from the company. It may not result in talking to a representative any sooner, but you don't lose your place in line and it works so much better that waiting on hold.

[Lady Arwen]

I always call Celebrity early Sunday mornings and never wait.

[cruisinsusin]

I have had a 12 minute wait in the middle of the day ( was totally surprised that it was that short) but have had > an hour first thing in the morning- so it seems to be random. They have not made it easy for the reps to take care of many of the repricing concerns so each call can take a very long time. 

[tkline]

Earlier in the day we called and only waited about 5 minutes, but we needed to call back and now I've been on hold for 1 hour and 4 minutes so far. We just got our FCC yesterday so I guess a lot of other people are getting it too and trying to use it up. They made it that you have to call to use your credit instead of letting you add it online the easy way...

[John182]

30 minutes so far to the UK number (which is a premium rate charge number)  and no indication of position in queue. Not having any indication of queue position or wait time is not acceptable when I am paying for this.

[yorky]

I would not wait that length of time full stop.

[Cruise a holic]

14 hours ago, Tarheeler said:

I've been on hold now for 4 hours 15 minutes.  Yes, I am patient.. sort of!  I know that you may get quicker response first thing in the morning or very late at night.  But I needed to get a resolution and thought I'd try... I am still on hold.  I know they're busy , but really?  over 4 hours?

Best to call early in the morning-  about 7 AM or before.  They answer, however the people on the front line seem to be from another country and aren't empowered to do much- simple things but if a complicated situation, they call a manager and you wait again- sometimes a very long time to have a true response or resolution.  

 

The phone service is horrible.  With Delta for example, they give you an option to have a call back.  Celebrity should do the same.

[Nachosdelux]

1 hour ago, John182 said:

30 minutes so far to the UK number (which is a premium rate charge number)  and no indication of position in queue. Not having any indication of queue position or wait time is not acceptable when I am paying for this.

 

perhaps you should consider Skype.  almost free.

[John182]

24 minutes ago, Nachosdelux said:

perhaps you should consider Skype.  almost free.

I think we have different Skype call packages over here unfortunately. It would not be worth my while buying a Skype package since I use WhatsApp for all my internet calling. Anyway I think Skype will still charge over and above 'norma'l calls for access to this Celebrity number.

 

Thank you very much though for taking the time to make this suggestion. Much appreciated.

 

Oh and I gave up after 40 minutes. I hope that people are being nice to the agents when they do get through. None of this is their fault and they must be concerned about their jobs as well.

[Bo1953]

54 minutes ago, John182 said:

I think we have different Skype call packages over here unfortunately. It would not be worth my while buying a Skype package since I use WhatsApp for all my internet calling. Anyway I think Skype will still charge over and above 'norma'l calls for access to this Celebrity number.

 

Thank you very much though for taking the time to make this suggestion. Much appreciated.

 

Oh and I gave up after 40 minutes. I hope that people are being nice to the agents when they do get through. None of this is their fault and they must be concerned about their jobs as well.

WhatsApp, is that at no charge for you to make the call from the UK?

 

bon voyage

[John182]

11 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

WhatsApp, is that at no charge for you to make the call from the UK?

 

I just use WhatsApp to talk to other WhatsApp user over wifi or via my mobile phone data package. As long as I don't exceed my data allowance then all calls to fellow users are free anywhere in the world. I do not use it to call non WhatsApp users. I don't know whether that is chargeable.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, Tarheeler said:

I've been on hold now for 4 hours 15 minutes.  Yes, I am patient.. sort of!  I know that you may get quicker response first thing in the morning or very late at night.  But I needed to get a resolution and thought I'd try... I am still on hold.  I know they're busy , but really?  over 4 hours?

They are betting that you are on a cell phone and that they can outlast your battery!😀

[Tarheeler]

Update:  I finally got through at 4 hours 45 minutes.  Had another issue this morning, so called at 8 AM and was on hold for an hour.  A few days ago, I called at 8 AM and got through in 5 minutes. 

[ritraveler]

I have been trying to change a reservation to get a lower price due to the flash sale.. have been on hold for hours... my husband told me to click on CHAT ... a very prompt reply and they did the change in 5 minutes... I hate when he’s right 🙄

[Bo1953]

6 minutes ago, ritraveler said:

I have been trying to change a reservation to get a lower price due to the flash sale.. have been on hold for hours... my husband told me to click on CHAT ... a very prompt reply and they did the change in 5 minutes... I hate when he’s right 🙄

LOL, a man after my own heart!

 

Congrats and bon voyage

[fizzy1]

30 minutes so far to the UK number (which is a premium rate charge number)  and no indication of position in queue. Not having any indication of queue position or wait time is not acceptable when I am paying for this.

Had to phone BA about 11 months ago as they are doing our flights and car hire package for our Dec cruise on Reflection , hopefully, haha !! Couldn’t book exactly what we wanted on line and got an amazing deal . Phone call cost us £50 ! Hey ho !!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mike981]

Besides the volume of calls, I wonder if this problem is exasperated by people working from home? I've seen amazing call centers where there are big screens with the number of calls on hold, longest person on hold, length of current call and so on. If they are working from home, they probably don't have the same accountability.

That said, a lot of business's were not good before the current situation.

[Tigrou]

9 hours ago, John182 said:

30 minutes so far to the UK number (which is a premium rate charge number)  and no indication of position in queue. Not having any indication of queue position or wait time is not acceptable when I am paying for this.

 

Could be worth checking for an 0800 or local number instead.  I've often found the website saynoto0870 dot com useful for finding alternatives to premium rate numbers.

  

[DrKoob]

Every time I read one of these threads I wonder why everyone does this. Why are you not using a TA? They work for free so why not use them. Then you make one call to that person and they get to sit on hold, not you. They deal with the cruise lines, the airlines, the hotels. BTW: I am talking about a TA that you know and trust, not an online or discount store agent that you may never be able to reach again.

 

If anything this crisis in travel has taught me, using a TA is the smart way to go. 

Edited May 29, 2020 by DrKoob

[TeaBag]

On 5/29/2020 at 10:58 AM, ritraveler said:

I have been trying to change a reservation to get a lower price due to the flash sale.. have been on hold for hours... my husband told me to click on CHAT ... a very prompt reply and they did the change in 5 minutes... I hate when he’s right 🙄

Don't knock it, you've got a good man!

[HappyCamper49]

On 5/28/2020 at 5:41 PM, Tarheeler said:

I've been on hold now for 4 hours 15 minutes.  Yes, I am patient.. sort of!  I know that you may get quicker response first thing in the morning or very late at night.  But I needed to get a resolution and thought I'd try... I am still on hold.  I know they're busy , but really?  over 4 hours?

On Memorial Day, I called to transfer my Celebrity Silhouette 9/19/20 cruise out of Southampton, UK to next year, 9/18/2021.  I only had to hold perhaps 5 minutes.  Guess I was lucky!

[davekathy]

16 hours ago, HappyCamper49 said:

On Memorial Day, I called to transfer my Celebrity Silhouette 9/19/20 cruise out of Southampton, UK to next year, 9/18/2021.  I only had to hold perhaps 5 minutes.  Guess I was lucky!

My experiences have been longer hold wait times with the TA I used than calling the Captains Club directly myself.