Voyage Sales Onboard

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

OK it could be considered as a loyalty "perk" but from a business perspective that is illogical. Those at that level will book anyway, one way or another, whereas Cunard need to try and retain those who are just starting out on their Cunard journey.

Aren’t all loyalty perks probably illogical on that ground?

[david63]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Aren’t all loyalty perks probably illogical on that ground?

Not necessarily. Most loyalty perks are either a discount off something which will be built into the price somewhere or an invitation to something or other which again will be built in.

 

This "perk" cannot be built in price-wise and could result in loosing business. For example somebody on their first Cunard cruise wants to book another one whilst onboard but cannot get an appointment so they become disillusioned with the Cunard product and go elsewhere.

[Megabear2]

21 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I do hope, for your husband’s sake, that they do a better job of handling disembarkation than they did a fortnight ago.

Well apart from the port services manager telling my husband he was going to call the bomb squad to his car, thankfully all went well!!

 

 

[exlondoner]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Well apart from the port services manager telling my husband he was going to call the bomb squad to his car, thankfully all went well!!

 

 

I assume your husband managed to convince him the car wasn’t a danger. 😀 Why did he think it was? Glad there were no major delays. 

[Wordzz]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

The perk aspect can easily be resolved by giving you the same deal that is available onboard to any bookings made within, say, 14 days of disembarking.

It's not the same, though. It isn't only the extra OBC etc., nice though that is. It's also the knowledge of the salesperson (usually!), and the flexibility to adapt as you proceed through the booking process. And yes, there is something of value (for us) in getting to know them a bit and vice versa.

Incidentally, on QV during the World Cruise earlier this year we visited the Voyage Sales office multiple times, and never had a problem making an appointment; there was also a voicemail option if the phone wasn't answered, and they did call back. The only time it went 'wrong' was when we made an appointment through the Purser's Desk, which wasn't forwarded to the Voyage Sales office.

So maybe it was a one-off on QA?

[Megabear2]

21 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I assume your husband managed to convince him the car wasn’t a danger. 😀 Why did he think it was? Glad there were no major delays. 

I personally drive a very old automatic Ford Focus which belonged to my father.  As my husband is having a very bad fibromyalgiia day he brought it to collect me in.  He was directed into the pick up lane even though he expressed belief I might be delayed.  Being very crowded and knowing I'd be looking for his car he hobbled (literally) over to the arrivals hall to see if there was any sign of me.  After 10 minutes he heard my car's registration and description being called so returned to the car as quickly as he could where upon arrival he encountered a man with a mirror on a stick looking underneath the car. He was then told they were about to notify the.bomb squad of a possible threat and he was lucky they hadn't already been called.  Apparently was quite threatening.  At this point my husband said ratter than discussing all this wouldn't it be better to let him just go to the short stay car park as they could clearly see he was no threat to any just a man who was very slow as he was having difficulties walking today.  Further discussion and he was allowed to drive off. I arrived just as he disappeared out of the pull in with no idea what was happening.  A lady from Intercruises had witnessed all this and said I should call.him to come back.  

 

Whilst I was waiting his return she told me what had happened and how cross she was at mentioning bombs in the port which she felt was totally unwarranted.  Knowing my husband driven to the short stay I asked if there was ANPR in case a fee was due whereupon she took my registration number and said she would check.  Guess who she had to check with ... yep Mr going to call.the bomb squad.

 

After 10.minutes of trying to get back into the loading bays she did manage to get us into an expedited lane and I ended up driving us back.

 

If my husband wasn't so upset I'd have to laugh.

 

 

Edited June 7 by Megabear2

[Red Ray]

22 hours ago, NE John said:

And you join the good company of a female captain on QA and female CEO of Cunard…

They'll be wanting the vote next.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I personally drive a very old automatic Ford Focus which belonged to my father.  As my husband is having a very bad fibromyalgiia day he brought it to collect me in.  He was directed into the pick up lane even though he expressed belief I might be delayed.  Being very crowded and knowing I'd be looking for his car he hobbled (literally) over to the arrivals hall to see if there was any sign of me.  After 10 minutes he heard my car's registration and description being called so returned to the car as quickly as he could where upon arrival he encountered a man with a mirror on a stick looking underneath the car. He was then told they were about to notify the.bomb squad of a possible threat and he was lucky they hadn't already been called.  Apparently was quite threatening.  At this point my husband said ratter than discussing all this wouldn't it be better to let him just go to the short stay car park as they could clearly see he was no threat to any just a man who was very slow as he was having difficulties walking today.  Further discussion and he was allowed to drive off. I arrived just as he disappeared out of the pull in with no idea what was happening.  A lady from Intercruises had witnessed all this and said I should call.him to come back.  

 

Whilst I was Watford his return she told me what had happened and how cross she was at mentioning bombs in the port which she felt was totally unwarranted.  Knowing my husband driven to the short stay I asked if there was ANPR in case a fee was due whereupon she took my registration number and said she would check.  Guess who she had to check with ... yep Mr going to call.the bomb squad.

 

After 10.minutes of trying to get back into the loading bays she did manage to get us into an expedited lane and I ended up driving us back.

 

If my husband wasn't so upset I'd have to laugh.

 

 

Your poor husband. When we disembarked, we had to wait a long time for our taxi to appear (my fault), and, the whole time we were waiting, about half an hour,  there was an empty car parked there with hazard lights on. Nobody seemed remotely interested. 

[david,Mississauga]

Prior to the pandemic I never had to make an appointment for the Voyage Sales office.  People simply went there and took a seat and waited their turn or came back when the staff weren't busy.  It was mentioned that Diamond level members could make an appointment. We reached that level only four trips ago so have not been booking an appointment until recently.

 

We purchase future cruise deposits more than we make an actual booking.  We have had between $300 and $800 in OBC so that is worth booking these. I realise that is the same for making a booking on-board. 

[Megabear2]

Update on this issue.  At 7.30am there were three people waiting yesterday for the office to open.  One gentleman appeared and was dealing with things.  As I was number four I hung around but by 8.00am be was only on number 2 in the queue.  Disembarkation then started and deck 2 was by then very crowded so hanging around didn't seem too wise so I left and waited in the Queens Room for my colour to be called.

 

Unfortunately I therefore did not get to make my two bookings and am now debating whether to go ahead as both are now over £1,000 more than they were when I was first onboard. 

[S1971]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Update on this issue.  At 7.30am there were three people waiting yesterday for the office to open.  One gentleman appeared and was dealing with things.  As I was number four I hung around but by 8.00am be was only on number 2 in the queue.  Disembarkation then started and deck 2 was by then very crowded so hanging around didn't seem too wise so I left and waited in the Queens Room for my colour to be called.

 

Unfortunately I therefore did not get to make my two bookings and am now debating whether to go ahead as both are now over £1,000 more than they were when I was first onboard. 

 

I guess the only way is to contact them and explain your difficulties in making contact whilst onboard and see what they say, if they accept that you made every effort whilst onboard to book future sailings they may honour the discounts, if not then it's their loss.

[Victoria2]

15 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

I guess the only way is to contact them and explain your difficulties in making contact whilst onboard and see what they say, if they accept that you made every effort whilst onboard to book future sailings they may honour the discounts, if not then it's their loss.

Pink pigs and flying spring to mind! 😃

[Megabear2]

22 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

I guess the only way is to contact them and explain your difficulties in making contact whilst onboard and see what they say, if they accept that you made every effort whilst onboard to book future sailings they may honour the discounts, if not then it's their loss.

Not worth the bother I'm afraid.  I have however received a survey today so have commented on my disappointment. 

[david63]

13 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Not worth the bother I'm afraid.  I have however received a survey today so have commented on my disappointment. 

And that will probably fall on "deaf ears"

[S1971]

52 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Not worth the bother I'm afraid.  I have however received a survey today so have commented on my disappointment. 

 

Well if that's what Cunard thinks of their customers, then I'd walk away.

[Victoria2]

7 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

Well if that's what Cunard thinks of their customers, then I'd walk away.

We haven't had a survey for years and anything relevant to say has been made to appropriate departments either on board or once at home.

I'm not sure how many Cunard cruises you have taken, but our holidays do not rest on trivial extras such as passenger surveys.

I'm sure I'm not alone here.

[Megabear2]

25 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

We haven't had a survey for years and anything relevant to say has been made to appropriate departments either on board or once at home.

I'm not sure how many Cunard cruises you have taken, but our holidays do not rest on trivial extras such as passenger surveys.

I'm sure I'm not alone here.

A survey is surely a good way for the company to garner their newer customers' feedback?  If I am sent one I consider it a courtesy to fill it in despite my not being a new customer. This one in particular was very relevant being a new ship and it asked questions about service levels, disembarkation in ports and other important areas, some of which clearly need improvement.

 

You may consider a survey trivial but many will welcome the opportunity to offer their opinion.  

Edited June 8 by Megabear2

[Winifred 22]

25 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

We haven't had a survey for years and anything relevant to say has been made to appropriate departments either on board or once at home.

I'm not sure how many Cunard cruises you have taken, but our holidays do not rest on trivial extras such as passenger surveys.

I'm sure I'm not alone here.

I have never received one and don’t have any real feedback that I could usefully put in one. Sure service was slower and on QM2 but I still got to see the shows and enjoyed my meals from a table set up that suited me. I am sure the waiters were new and everyone has to start somewhere. 

[david63]

The problem with the Carnival type of survey is that they are looking for trends, preferably good ones. If two passengers complain about something - that is not a problem. If 50 complain then we might have to keep an eye on it. If 200 complain then Huston we have a problem!

Edited June 8 by david63

[Winifred 22]

40 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

Well if that's what Cunard thinks of their customers, then I'd walk away.

Their argument could be you had 14 days to book an appointment so why make concessions.  I wonder many serious Cunard customers would walk away ? Not many. If there is something I definitely want to book I make sure I get an appointment and that is without playing the Priority card and getting a priority booking slot. 

[ShipboardSteve]

At the end of the day what would lead to change in management direction is whether bookings continue to fill the available cabins, or not. Feedback questionnaires may lead to small changes if they are read - but the primary drive is bookings and revenue streams.

[Victoria2]

15 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

A survey is surely a good way for the company to garner their newer customers' feedback?  If I am sent one I consider it a courtesy to fill it in despite my not being a new customer. This one in particular was very relevant being a new ship and it asked questions about service levels, disembarkation in ports and other important areas, some of which clearly need improvement.

 

You may consider a survey trivial but many will welcome the opportunity to offer their opinion.  

I do apologise.

Trivial was a word used in the spur of the moment to someone who seems to take any opportunity to nit pick at Cunard.

 

To us, it's trivial as we've not had one for many years but make sure anything of relevance [hopefully] reaches the ears of those who can escalate our comments upwards which to my mind, is better than any survey.

 

To even begin to contemplate 'walking away' from a cruise line due to the lack of a customer survey is to me, laughable.

 

One comment I made was quite relevant. I will see if it has been acted upon on our next cruise.

 

 

 

 

[Victoria2]

19 minutes ago, david63 said:

The problem with the Carnival type of survey is that they are looking for trends, preferably good ones. If two passengers complain about something - that is not a problem. If 50 complain then we might have to keep an eye on it. If 200 complain then Huston we have a problem!

Hmm, like the lifts??😁

[Victoria2]

26 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

A survey is surely a good way for the company to garner their newer customers' feedback?  If I am sent one I consider it a courtesy to fill it in despite my not being a new customer. This one in particular was very relevant being a new ship and it asked questions about service levels, disembarkation in ports and other important areas, some of which clearly need improvement.

 

You may consider a survey trivial but many will welcome the opportunity to offer their opinion.  

Oh I would definitely fill one in but as to whether my form filling would be of use, the jury is out on that.

 

Regarding areas which need improvement, I made my thoughts clear onboard.

[NE John]

@Megabear2 You got lucky on the tangents taken from your original post and question. At least it didn’t turn into an argument over “gravy vs sauce”…