Customer Service wait times!!

[bdstickks0944]

On 7/25/2022 at 4:12 AM, dasmith21 said:

Ive currently been on hold with Celebrity Customer Service for just about an hour now. For me, i think this is appalling. I have a genuine question to ask and called just after 9am. 

Is this something others are finding when trying to contact CS. I'm calling from the UK.

Don’t book direct with the cruise line. Book with a ta, and they can make all the calls for you. 

[LGW59]

On 7/25/2022 at 8:19 AM, doktor71 said:

I have been told my someone in the know the following: They layoff or let go seasoned workers during Covid.  They now are hiring green horns with no experience and very little training.  When anyone calls often the new hire does no know answer so then you go on hold until the new hire can find a supervisor who may or may not know the correct answer.  I am cruising with a group of 13 over NYE  and one of are group has spent over five hours trying  to sort out dinner reservations with still no resolution.  I was told the best thing is to be accept the situation and be nice to the Celebrity rep no matter how stressed you are.

Or do it when you get on board

 

[mari10]

Good not believe my luck this afternoon , my call was answered in less than two minutes and had a very knowledgeable agent handle and resolve my issues.  I usually call first thing in the morning or later in the evening but today I tried @ noon.  Hopefully things are improving! 

[LMaxwell]

Long waits, incorrect or incomplete answers, poor follow through and not empowered to resolve even minor issues. Many companies customer service departments have become experiences in frustration.  Excellent service and short wait times seems to be the exception, in many places these days, and no longer considered "normal" 

[emmas gran]

Unfortunately in UK we cannot upgrade things online, the X website wants to charge the full amount for Premium Drink package even though we in RS for B2B. Something like £76 per person per day is what it just offered me!

I don't want to upgrade was just checking it is still the same.

Edited July 27, 2022 by emmas gran

[doktor71]

7 hours ago, mari10 said:

Good not believe my luck this afternoon , my call was answered in less than two minutes and had a very knowledgeable agent handle and resolve my issues.  I usually call first thing in the morning or later in the evening but today I tried @ noon.  Hopefully things are improving! 

I had the same experience yesterday afternoon.  I had an excursion question which could have been easily resolved on their site if the description where more complete.  Unfortunately the customer service rep also could not answer and had me email ShoreX.  

[Bo1953]

Yes, I have a gripe that my email from last week about my sailing in Sept 2023 has not been responded to yet... LOL

 

Oh well, guess I will have to wait a bit longer to see if they do respond, if not I will come back and let everyone know for sure...

 

bon voyage

[jgmorgan]

My experience yesterday was quite good.  The call was answered almost immediately (after the automated selections) and the representative was very efficient at processing my upgrade requests.  This has not always been the case and some previous calls have resulted in very long wait times like others have experienced.

 

It would be great if all of the problems frequently reported on these forums, like wait times, inconsistent (or wrong) answers, difficulties in elevating matters to representatives empowered to resolve issues, etc. could be eliminated. However, I am sure that staffing issues, including compensation levels for customer representatives, staff retention and training, seemingly widespread labor shortages, and other issues make it unlikely that the problems customers are having will go away soon.

 

And, the recent industry-wide, pandemic induced, financial losses in the the cruise industry have made new investment in operating capacity difficult I'm sure.  RCCI is a profit-making concern that is operated for the ultimate benefit of its owners.  That requires management to strike the right balance among factors including pricing, operating expense, capital investment and future return on investment for stockholders.  

 

So, the question is this:  How much more, if any, would you be willing to pay for your cruise if you were guaranteed easy access to customer service representatives who could quickly and effectively resolve any requests? 

[Oceangoer2]

1 minute ago, jgmorgan said:

My experience yesterday was quite good.  The call was answered almost immediately (after the automated selections) and the representative was very efficient at processing my upgrade requests.  This has not always been the case and some previous calls have resulted in very long wait times like others have experienced.

 

It would be great if all of the problems frequently reported on these forums, like wait times, inconsistent (or wrong) answers, difficulties in elevating matters to representatives empowered to resolve issues, etc. could be eliminated. However, I am sure that staffing issues, including compensation levels for customer representatives, staff retention and training, seemingly widespread labor shortages, and other issues make it unlikely that the problems customers are having will go away soon.

 

And, the recent industry-wide, pandemic induced, financial losses in the the cruise industry have made new investment in operating capacity difficult I'm sure.  RCCI is a profit-making concern that is operated for the ultimate benefit of its owners.  That requires management to strike the right balance among factors including pricing, operating expense, capital investment and future return on investment for stockholders.  

 

So, the question is this:  How much more, if any, would you be willing to pay for your cruise if you were guaranteed easy access to customer service representatives who could quickly and effectively resolve any requests? 

Your question would be a good 'poll' to run.....but I think it's not $$ value.  Every customer expects a fair and timely response to their questions, no matter their nature or how much they've paid for their upcoming experience.  Calls IMO have increased dramatically over time as cruisers increasingly research and book themselves, not using TA's, which inevitably results in communicating with X for those answers not available on their website and they can't resolve themselves.  And the wheel goes round and round...LOL.  And.....I agree with your economic observations...a company MUST watch the bottom line and I suppose we have to realize there won't be a ship to sail on if they don't.  So end result in this case has been offshore CS;  from what I'm reading here the situation is improving re newbies' training kicking in.

[LGW59]

22 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Your question would be a good 'poll' to run.....but I think it's not $$ value.  Every customer expects a fair and timely response to their questions, no matter their nature or how much they've paid for their upcoming experience.  Calls IMO have increased dramatically over time as cruisers increasingly research and book themselves, not using TA's, which inevitably results in communicating with X for those answers not available on their website and they can't resolve themselves.  And the wheel goes round and round...LOL.  And.....I agree with your economic observations...a company MUST watch the bottom line and I suppose we have to realize there won't be a ship to sail on if they don't.  So end result in this case has been offshore CS;  from what I'm reading here the situation is improving re newbies' training kicking in.

$$$ value, perceived or real, is different for everyone.  IMO it took 2 years to get into this mess, not just speaking of cruising of course, but it is taking time to get out of it.  Much more than companies would like and that customers would like.  In my experience though, there is light showing through at the end of the tunnel.  I call it pandemic patience.

[AndyCapn]

7 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

 Calls IMO have increased dramatically over time as cruisers increasingly research and book themselves, not using TA's, which inevitably results in communicating with X for those answers not available on their website and they can't resolve themselves.  And the wheel goes round and round...LOL.

This is exactly what happened at my call centre. Management thought that by moving everything online, people would be able to find their answers easily. Instead, it just became easier for people to find our contact information. LOL. Our call volume tripled over five years.

[eroller]

Calling any call center customer service department these days is an exercise in futility.   Banks, credit cards, airlines, etc.  Celebrity is no exception.  I try to avoid calling any call center at all costs, but sometimes you have no choice.  As others have mentioned many companies lost a huge knowledge base during the pandemic, added with the Great Resignation which leaves a lot of companies in a compromised position regarding staffing. 

 

I recently booked a Celebrity cruise as cruise-only, so nothing included.  I wanted to add a drink and wifi package which of course is offered online, but I'm Elite status and if I want the Elite discount I'm forced to ring the call center.  It took two calls, being placed on hold on both calls an absurdly long time, but I finally got it accomplished.  This seemed like an incredibly simple transaction but apparently not.  Booking the actual cruise was far easier.  Hopefully this will be my only call to Celebrity customer non-service. 

[bdstickks0944]

13 hours ago, eroller said:

Calling any call center customer service department these days is an exercise in futility.   Banks, credit cards, airlines, etc.  Celebrity is no exception.  I try to avoid calling any call center at all costs, but sometimes you have no choice.  As others have mentioned many companies lost a huge knowledge base during the pandemic, added with the Great Resignation which leaves a lot of companies in a compromised position regarding staffing. 

 

I recently booked a Celebrity cruise as cruise-only, so nothing included.  I wanted to add a drink and wifi package which of course is offered online, but I'm Elite status and if I want the Elite discount I'm forced to ring the call center.  It took two calls, being placed on hold on both calls an absurdly long time, but I finally got it accomplished.  This seemed like an incredibly simple transaction but apparently not.  Booking the actual cruise was far easier.  Hopefully this will be my only call to Celebrity customer non-service. 

If you would’ve booked your cruise through a travel agent and you wouldn’t have to call their customer service at all elite or not eliteIf you would’ve booked your cruise through a travel agent and you wouldn’t have to call their customer service at all elite or not elite

[LGW59]

13 hours ago, eroller said:

Calling any call center customer service department these days is an exercise in futility.   Banks, credit cards, airlines, etc.  Celebrity is no exception.  I try to avoid calling any call center at all costs, but sometimes you have no choice.  As others have mentioned many companies lost a huge knowledge base during the pandemic, added with the Great Resignation which leaves a lot of companies in a compromised position regarding staffing. 

 

I recently booked a Celebrity cruise as cruise-only, so nothing included.  I wanted to add a drink and wifi package which of course is offered online, but I'm Elite status and if I want the Elite discount I'm forced to ring the call center.  It took two calls, being placed on hold on both calls an absurdly long time, but I finally got it accomplished.  This seemed like an incredibly simple transaction but apparently not.  Booking the actual cruise was far easier.  Hopefully this will be my only call to Celebrity customer non-service. 

Could of been taken care of on board the ship.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

First time I had a problem yesterday calling the Retreat for service on our December cruise. We are in a higher end suite and my calls usually go through within a few minutes. Yesterday, I was bounced to the reservation line every time I tried to call. Finally sent an email to someone who helped me with this issue in the past.  Hopefully he will be able to help.

[Nyhawkeye]

A while back I received a letter from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service which indicated that there was a tax issue that needed to be resolved and that I should call ASAP.  Tried a few times and just got a message that they were too busy to even put me on hold and was immediately disconnected.  Guess it wasn't that important!

 

Maybe just lucky but I have noticed that the wait times  have improved at Celebrity.  I normally call 1st thing in the morning and on the last call got right through to a representative.  They were able to help me but spent a lot of time reading pre-written scripts about upgrades, etc...and always seem to need to go on hold several times to accomplish any request.  A waste of time.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Nyhawkeye

[hawkesbaynz]

Thought I need to change an Alaskan/West Coast B2B cruise Sept 2023 as family commitments. Thought I may change it to a Far East cruise cruise in November. We had cancelled that previously due to thje pandemic.

 

The website yesterday had good prices. However  cabins were not available on any of the sailings?? Icalled and held on for 20 minutes but advised to leave my number and email address........ not heard a thing.

 

Today the website briefly gave me prices and cabins but at £2000 more for an Aqua! The website has since gone down for all the Solstice sailings. Am currently holding on to discuss to see if this was an error. TAs still have original rates. At those prices I will be on Seabourne.

[PinkSandGirl]

I had to call last night and waited 2 hours.  2 hours.   I've waited a long time before but 2 hours has been the longest.   Ridiculous.   

 

I have to make final payment and the website shows an error (everyone in my party has tried on different devices) so we have to call in to make the payments.  That right there are tons of calls that don't need to be going into the call center for something that should be able to be taken care of online.  

 

My advice, be prepared to wait but hope for the best.  😅

🍹

Edited July 28, 2022 by PinkSandGirl

[Oldsweets]

We called yesterday and after an hour and half had to give up.  Called carnival last night and only had a 10 minute wait and called carnival again this morning and the wait was under 3 minutes.  Called MSC last week because it’s IT is horrible but only had about a 6 minute wait to talk with an agent.  So clearly celebrity us lagging behind some other cruise lines.  Going to try celebrity again today and hope for the best.  Oh, and yes we do indeed cruise that much that we would need to speak to 3 different cruise lines in the same week.  

[hawkesbaynz]

Took 50 minutes but managed to get through to the philipino call centre. The IT system was down so she could not give me a price😬. Asked me to call tomorrow. After discussion she will email me with the price..............

 

I get the impression from my last few call to Celebrity that the telesales folk have a tenous grasp of the system. I started asking about the premium upgrade with the Elite benefit but realised she knew less than me so gave up. 

[Denny01]

I use a professional Travel Advisor, not a Booking Agent, and let them do the waiting.

 

den

[doktor71]

On 7/27/2022 at 8:34 AM, Bo1953 said:

Yes, I have a gripe that my email from last week about my sailing in Sept 2023 has not been responded to yet... LOL

 

Oh well, guess I will have to wait a bit longer to see if they do respond, if not I will come back and let everyone know for sure...

 

bon voyage

 

46 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I use a professional Travel Advisor, not a Booking Agent, and let them do the waiting.

 

den

Have you heard from your email, curious I am still waiting on an answer?

[eroller]

3 hours ago, bdstickks0944 said:

If you would’ve booked your cruise through a travel agent and you wouldn’t have to call their customer service at all elite or not eliteIf you would’ve booked your cruise through a travel agent and you wouldn’t have to call their customer service at all elite or not elite

i did book through a travel agent, but I don’t expect them to call to book my onboard packages.  

[eroller]

2 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Could of been taken care of on board the ship.

Yes at a higher cost.  You receive a discount for booking in advance then the Elite discount on top of that.  

[Denny01]

16 minutes ago, eroller said:

i did book through a travel agent, but I don’t expect them to call to book my onboard packages.  

Why not? That’s what they do…..unless you have some on-line or other monster TA which is really a Booking Agent and after your booked, you are, as you are doing, on your own.

 

My Travel Agent/Advisor provides All kinds of service and is quite happy to do it to keep their customers happy and give recommendations.

 

And do it usually a better way than I would, And get the right answers by knowing who to actually ask.

 

den

Edited July 28, 2022 by Denny01