Satisfaction with NCL Cruise Consultants

[Trimone]

This week I think you will find the majority of PCC are absent,  due to being on NCL Jade updating them on procedures 

[bostonphil]

I tried to respond to this discussion but I must have done something wrong. it did not take and now my post has disappeared.  My response was really long as well.

 

I am going to see if this response gets submitted before I try again.

[bostonphil]

NCL is going to try to assign you a PCC.  NCL will then want you to call the PCC directly. They do not want you to call the general number. NCL will contact the PCC if guests call the general number rather than the PCC and have the PCC call the guest and let them know that they should call him or her.

 

My first PCC was terrible and i had no interest in sailing NCL again somewhat because of the PCC.  I did not want to deal with him again.  But that PCC left and I was assigned to a new PCC. He was better. He was friendly and helpful. I have booked 5 more cruises over a period of 5 or 6 years through him.

 

But he now has dedicated guests and he does not seem to need me as much. There have been times when he did not call me back or respond to an email. There have been times when he was short with me.

 

However, I remain satisfied and I booked a cruise for August 2022 through him.  I booked the cruise about two or three months ago and have not spoken with him since. I have had no need to.

 

On Friday he called m to check and see if I needed anything. He does that now and then.

 

That is how the call began but he seemed to be angry and he almost seemed to be yelling at me. He kept reminding me that if I needed anything, I needed to call him.

 

Well that is not always accurate. There are dedicated numbers for all  kinds of reasons. I take the $50 shore excursion amenity and there is a number for me to call to book my shore excursion. There are Guest Relations numbers for before and after the cruise and it goes on and on and on.

 

I was not prepared for this phone call. I am a non confrontive person and I just said ok and ok. This was 4:30 pm yesterday.

 

I was left very uncomfortable and remain so.

 

Next week I am going to call him back to add my gratuities and insurance but I am going to want further information about this phone call.

 

It could be that NCL came down on him because his guests were calling the general number too often instead of him. Maybe he was calling his guests to remind them that they had to call him and not the general number but he was angry and did not realize how he was coming across.

----------------------------------------------------------

 

However, My last cruise was September 2019 to the Baltic. I took a terrible fall coming back onto the ship from a shore excursion which was the fault of NCL. There were many witnesses and I assume there were cameras. However not much damage was done and I was able to go on my next day's shore excursion. . When I returned from the cruise, I contacted Guest Services After Cruise and wrote about what had happened. I expected them to offer me something when and if I booked another cruise. Instead I got an email that they sent my claim onto their claim department and I should hear from the claim departments soon.

 

I never heard from the claim department and then we went into all the problems with COVID.

 

Last month, I contacted the Claims Department and gave them my claim reference number. I told them I had booked another cruise and gave them my reservation number. I asked if they could give me something toward this next cruise because of the laxity of NCL resulting in my fall.

 

I got an email back offering their support, glad that I was doing well , good wishes towards my next cruise and nothing more. I was very surprised when I got nothing towards my next cruise.

 

So maybe my PCC was contacted by the claims department and told that I need to call him about my claim and not them. I do not know what happened. But the phone call at 4:30 pm yesterday has put a bad taste in my mouth.

 

 

[complawyer]

no, you need to contact an atty. my wife slipped on a wet floor on the epic. while i dont recall the name of the counsel, they are a major maritime litigation firm out of miami. they are the ones who represented the grandfather against royal carribbean when his granddaughter fellfrom an open window.

 

i  know his name was mark weiner,

[bostonphil]

4 hours ago, complawyer said:

no, you need to contact an atty. my wife slipped on a wet floor on the epic. while i dont recall the name of the counsel, they are a major maritime litigation firm out of miami. they are the ones who represented the grandfather against royal carribbean when his granddaughter fellfrom an open window.

 

i  know his name was mark weiner,

Thank you for the information. 

 

I do not believe that I was injured badly enough to require an attorney.

 

The situation with the grandfather and Royal Caribbean was horribly sad. 

[RumRunner2021]

10 hours ago, bostonphil said:

NCL is going to try to assign you a PCC.  NCL will then want you to call the PCC directly. They do not want you to call the general number. NCL will contact the PCC if guests call the general number rather than the PCC and have the PCC call the guest and let them know that they should call him or her.

The bolded part is not true in my experience.  On the rare occasions that I need to talk to an actual person, I just call the reservations main number, skip the option to be connected to PCC, and talk to an actual reservations agent.  Those folks are more helpful than any PCC I've ever had.  Nobody has ever told me that I need to talk to my PCC.  Why do you even answer the phone when your PCC calls?

[bostonphil]

7 hours ago, RumRunner2021 said:

The bolded part is not true in my experience.  On the rare occasions that I need to talk to an actual person, I just call the reservations main number, skip the option to be connected to PCC, and talk to an actual reservations agent.  Those folks are more helpful than any PCC I've ever had.  Nobody has ever told me that I need to talk to my PCC.  Why do you even answer the phone when your PCC calls?

Sometimes in order to get an amenity or upgrade, you have to speak to a. PCC  or at least I am under that impression.

 

I am or was glad to hear from my PCC. That is why I answered the phone.  Maybe I was just tired and misunderstood the way that he was speaking to me.  Sometimes we take things wrong.

 

So you make a reservation the reservation agent and do you get amenities, etc? What happens if you have to call back about something.

[Cb2534]

Since my original post I have given up on my PCC altogether (continued issues with no response to my polite inquiries).     I just go directly to customer service via chat now.   They have been very helpful.  The one time they tried to direct me back to her I just indicated that I have been unsatisfied.   I recently backed out of a September 2021 cruise the day before final payment.  Now I have to book 2 cruises by the end of December or lose 4 cruise next certificates so back to the drawing board.   ( I miss my TA who retired).  Thanks for all of your input.  I won't be utilizing an NCL PCC moving forward unless the company implements better quality controls over these employees.    

[bostonphil]

Well, I spoke to my PCC today and it was very pleasant and productive.  

On 8/7/2021 at 2:50 PM, bostonphil said:

NCL is going to try to assign you a PCC.  NCL will then want you to call the PCC directly. They do not want you to call the general number. NCL will contact the PCC if guests call the general number rather than the PCC and have the PCC call the guest and let them know that they should call him or her.

 

My first PCC was terrible and i had no interest in sailing NCL again somewhat because of the PCC.  I did not want to deal with him again.  But that PCC left and I was assigned to a new PCC. He was better. He was friendly and helpful. I have booked 5 more cruises over a period of 5 or 6 years through him.

 

But he now has dedicated guests and he does not seem to need me as much. There have been times when he did not call me back or respond to an email. There have been times when he was short with me.

 

However, I remain satisfied and I booked a cruise for August 2022 through him.  I booked the cruise about two or three months ago and have not spoken with him since. I have had no need to.

 

On Friday he called m to check and see if I needed anything. He does that now and then.

 

That is how the call began but he seemed to be angry and he almost seemed to be yelling at me. He kept reminding me that if I needed anything, I needed to call him.

 

Well that is not always accurate. There are dedicated numbers for all  kinds of reasons. I take the $50 shore excursion amenity and there is a number for me to call to book my shore excursion. There are Guest Relations numbers for before and after the cruise and it goes on and on and on.

 

I was not prepared for this phone call. I am a non confrontive person and I just said ok and ok. This was 4:30 pm yesterday.

 

I was left very uncomfortable and remain so.

 

Next week I am going to call him back to add my gratuities and insurance but I am going to want further information about this phone call.

 

It could be that NCL came down on him because his guests were calling the general number too often instead of him. Maybe he was calling his guests to remind them that they had to call him and not the general number but he was angry and did not realize how he was coming across.

----------------------------------------------------------

 

However, My last cruise was September 2019 to the Baltic. I took a terrible fall coming back onto the ship from a shore excursion which was the fault of NCL. There were many witnesses and I assume there were cameras. However not much damage was done and I was able to go on my next day's shore excursion. . When I returned from the cruise, I contacted Guest Services After Cruise and wrote about what had happened. I expected them to offer me something when and if I booked another cruise. Instead I got an email that they sent my claim onto their claim department and I should hear from the claim departments soon.

 

I never heard from the claim department and then we went into all the problems with COVID.

 

Last month, I contacted the Claims Department and gave them my claim reference number. I told them I had booked another cruise and gave them my reservation number. I asked if they could give me something toward this next cruise because of the laxity of NCL resulting in my fall.

 

I got an email back offering their support, glad that I was doing well , good wishes towards my next cruise and nothing more. I was very surprised when I got nothing towards my next cruise.

 

So maybe my PCC was contacted by the claims department and told that I need to call him about my claim and not them. I do not know what happened. But the phone call at 4:30 pm yesterday has put a bad taste in my mouth.

 

 

I could not edit my above post so I am updating. 

 

Had a very pleasant conversation today with my PCC. I feel so much better

 

I asked him about the call on Friday and he did not recall how I heard it. I may have just been tired.

 

But he did state that NCL would prefer that guests call their PCC directly with any questions or other needs. He said that if I call the general number, they will transfer me to him or let him know that I need assistance.

 

Going back to my very first PCC about 10 years ago. This was my first cruise and I was sailing alone. He booked me into a good cruise but then never again had anything to do with me. I would never ever hear from him again. Being my first cruise, I had a lot of questions. He never returned a phone call or email.  I was never going to sail NCL again but then as I have said, he left and I was assigned to my present PCC who has been very helpful.

 

I gave the first PCC a terrible evaluation after the cruise but never heard back from NCL. I did not know that you could ask for another PCC.

 

Anyway, I am most happy with this second PCC and I have booked my sixth cruise through him.

 

 

 

 

[RumRunner2021]

21 minutes ago, bostonphil said:

But he did state that NCL would prefer that guests call their PCC directly with any questions or other needs.

I really don't care what NCL prefers.  Their reservations agents are consistently great and their PCCs are all over the map.

[complawyer]

if by chance you are able to book through casinos at sea, they do a much better job (i just discovered this) on a reservation. i have been using a cruise consultant (who shall remain nameless) for about the past 4 years.

 

i wanted to check if i was getting all the benefits to which we were entitled, so i called casinos at sea (i previously booked all my ncl cruises through them)

 

i have 3 cruises currently booked and the person i spoke with has somehow managed to save me a cumulative $7,000 using all prior cruise credits, promos etc. 

 

while i totally respect the work done on my behalf by the consultant, from now on, im strictly going back to casinos at sea

[bostonphil]

On 8/11/2021 at 4:54 PM, complawyer said:

if by chance you are able to book through casinos at sea, they do a much better job (i just discovered this) on a reservation. i have been using a cruise consultant (who shall remain nameless) for about the past 4 years.

 

i wanted to check if i was getting all the benefits to which we were entitled, so i called casinos at sea (i previously booked all my ncl cruises through them)

 

i have 3 cruises currently booked and the person i spoke with has somehow managed to save me a cumulative $7,000 using all prior cruise credits, promos etc. 

 

while i totally respect the work done on my behalf by the consultant, from now on, im strictly going back to casinos at sea

So is Casinos at Sea a travel service? I will take a look at their website.  

 

 

[bostonphil]

On 8/11/2021 at 4:54 PM, complawyer said:

if by chance you are able to book through casinos at sea, they do a much better job (i just discovered this) on a reservation. i have been using a cruise consultant (who shall remain nameless) for about the past 4 years.

 

i wanted to check if i was getting all the benefits to which we were entitled, so i called casinos at sea (i previously booked all my ncl cruises through them)

 

i have 3 cruises currently booked and the person i spoke with has somehow managed to save me a cumulative $7,000 using all prior cruise credits, promos etc. 

 

while i totally respect the work done on my behalf by the consultant, from now on, im strictly going back to casinos at sea

I tried to find a website for casinos at sea but could not. What is their website?

[complawyer]

im not sure there is a web site, we belong to cesar's entertainment and get the casinos at sea thru them. i believe you have to be a member of the slot club to qualify. the phone number however is 877 742 9521.

 

good luck

[Red-Sol]

8 hours ago, bostonphil said:

I tried to find a website for casinos at sea but could not. What is their website?

Casinos at Sea (CAS) is actually a part of NCL and not a separate entity. Here's some info:

 

Casino Cruise | Casinos at Sea Games & Entertainment | Norwegian Cruise Line (ncl.com)

[UKstages]

casinos at sea handles all land-based casino NCL cruise certificates... that is to say, certificates for "free" NCL cruises awarded by land-based casinos at distribution events. (you pay port fees and taxes and applicable gratuities).  they also can book offers for qualified players generated in house by NCL.

 

you go to the casino and pick up your certificate, then call casinos at sea to redeem. they have different toll free numbers for each brand of land-based casino that distributes these certificates. the CAS reps are located in either miami or phoenix. in my experience, the miami reps are old guard, somewhat jaded and cynical and less helpful. the phoenix reps seem more customer-focused.

 

YMMMV.

[CruizinKittie40]

I absolutely adore my consultant and he has helped me get the best deal possible

[ziggyuk]

Anyone with a bad PCC, request a new one, don't live with it.

 

My PCC is amazing & so glad he was assigned to me. I requested a PPC after several bad phone experiences, each thing you call in you explain the problem and hope you have someone who can help, if they don't resolve it you start over on the next call.

 

I can call or email my PCC, he knows me and my trips and answers my questions right away.

[Brookie1975]

What kind of perks can you get using a PCC? 

[complawyer]

using a pcc you only get the perks offered to any person sailing. in all the years i have used my consultant, ive never gotten anything extra. i usually have to confirm with her the perks offered.

 

im not trying to knock her, we've had a very good working relationship over  the past few years, but i just discovered i can get so much more with a casino at sea rep

[Traveller20074]

I've tried Cruise consultants 3 times. I gave up they never call back

[complawyer]

2 hours ago, Traveller20074 said:

I've tried Cruise consultants 3 times. I gave up they never call back

that specific problem, ive never had. my consultant always called me back within a few hrs.

[bostonphil]

On 8/13/2021 at 11:20 PM, UKstages said:

casinos at sea handles all land-based casino NCL cruise certificates... that is to say, certificates for "free" NCL cruises awarded by land-based casinos at distribution events. (you pay port fees and taxes and applicable gratuities).  they also can book offers for qualified players generated in house by NCL.

 

you go to the casino and pick up your certificate, then call casinos at sea to redeem. they have different toll free numbers for each brand of land-based casino that distributes these certificates. the CAS reps are located in either miami or phoenix. in my experience, the miami reps are old guard, somewhat jaded and cynical and less helpful. the phoenix reps seem more customer-focused.

 

YMMMV.

Casinos at Sea are probably for heavy players, right? They probably are not interested in small timers like me

[UKstages]

8 hours ago, bostonphil said:

Casinos at Sea are probably for heavy players, right? They probably are not interested in small timers like me

 

not necessarily. depends on what you mean by "small timer." do you put a twenty in a machine once during the cruise? (in which case, no, they're probably not very interested in you.) or do you come prepared to lose three or four hundred dollars in the casino during the cruise? (in which case, yes, they may be interested in you.... but not very interested.) 

 

factors that determine casino comps:

 

• number of hours/days played

• average bet size

• average daily theoretical loss

 

there are reports on various threads of people getting $50 or $100 price reductions for very modest play in the casino on previous cruises. the best thing to do is call CAS to price or re-price your itinerary. if they can't do anything, they will tell you. you have nothing to lose (pun intended) and you might get a slight break on the cruise fare.

[vswan]

I just had a good experience with my PCC. I had received the most recent latitude offer with up to 4 times the points. Already had a cruise booked which was on the list. I just sent an email to my PCC and asked if there was anyway to add this to my current reservation. Got an email back that I was already receiving double points, but that he switched it to the triple point offer. While he was at it he said that the price had reduced so he repriced downward $65. Not a lot, but every bit helps and he did this without being prompted. This was before final payment was due on the cruise.