MY Customer Service issue

[CruiseMob]

A couple weeks back there was a very active discussion regarding the 'new' alcohol policy that Celebrity had publicized. Actually it wasn't a 'new' policy per se, they alway prohibited 'BYOB', but, this new information said they were now going to actually enforce the policy a bit more stringently. Look at the uproar that ensued over that! ... :D

Oh I saw the uproar over the alcohol policy! :D I had a similar reaction - wondering why everyone was upset. Although I was a bit entertained with the rationalizations and methods for breaking the rules. I also don't quite get the reactions over missed ports... hmmm I see a trend of me not understanding... maybe the problem is me. :p I'm going to have to work on that...

[C 2 C]

I also don't quite get the reactions over missed ports...

I think there is a significant difference in the reaction if a person is on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise and misses the port they have been dreaming of.

For frequent cruisers a port is an opportunity to get a deck chair.

I remember the time I was told that ships in the Caribbean don't go to different ports. The ship just circles an island and in the morning they change the sign.

If you cruise to see a glacier, the ship has to show the glacier... now for the other stops, the fridge magnets should be available in the gift shop. If I paid to go to Istanbul I would be upset if I went to Croatia instead. I guess it really depends on whether you will have an opportunity or the desire to go again.

[Tuna]

"Ok, brace yourself. Here I go, the 'celebrity loyalist' now ready to slam Celebrity!"

"So, apparently things are changing, and not for the better"

"Needless to say, even though I may, up to this point, be a "loyalist", I might take a close look at the last line of her email when it is time to book our next cruise"

 

"I'm not really upset by the policy............ I simply wanted to point this out for informational purposes, to other cruisers. Take it for what you want, and use the information or not."

 

So, which is it?

[tbelian]

"So, which is it?

 

Its the part that you edited out:

 

I'm going on my cruise, paying what I expected to pay, and will enjoy every minute of it.

[Tuna]

cool...it wasn't clear from your previous posts whether you were actually slamming celebrity or not.

[Drew B]

It would never occur to me to even try to use a coupon or a discount for a sailing to which it didn't apply. What made people try to use them in the first place (at which time, X let it slide)?

[lumpkin]

New to Captains Club, (I think my first response was lost..)...I have my numbers, how do I get coupons? Also, what is cruisingpower, and what does it mean to register coupons there?

Thanks.

[tbelian]

It would never occur to me to even try to use a coupon or a discount for a sailing to which it didn't apply. What made people try to use them in the first place (at which time, X let it slide)?

 

oh good grief, does that mean you always use a turn signal to change lanes, and never speed? (ok, well maybe it does).

 

To some extent, thank the 'wealth' of information right here on good ol cc.com... because it was here I discovered 'just send the coupon in anyway, they will probably accept it', and I read that about 5 cruises ago, right here on the forum.

[lysolqn]

Good question - why would someone try to use a coupon that didn't apply?

 

In our case, the Captain's Club newsletter containing the coupon being offered for our sailing arrived just three days after we had booked and gave our deposit. The coupon clearly stated it applied to new reservations only, however, I don't think it was unreasonable to think that a three-day-old reservation was, in fact, a new one. Clearly Celebrity thought otherwise.

 

In another instance, I received an e-mail from X containing a birthday coupon for use on our next cruise. That e-mail arrived about a week after we had already booked our next cruise but I called my TA anyway. She called X and they accepted the coupon. However, when final payment was due, X added the value of the coupon back to our balance due saying it was a mistake and they shouldn't have accepted it in the first place.

 

I don't fault X for sticking to the rules, but in the area of customer relations sometimes it doesn't hurt to think out of the box, especially with respect to loyal customers!

[Drew B]

oh good grief, does that mean you always use a turn signal to change lanes, and never speed? (ok, well maybe it does).

 

To some extent, thank the 'wealth' of information right here on good ol cc.com... because it was here I discovered 'just send the coupon in anyway, they will probably accept it', and I read that about 5 cruises ago, right here on the forum.

 

I do always use my turn signal to change lanes, and I get really upset with people who don't... I do speed, but not TOO excessively.:rolleyes:

 

 

I don't say what I said out from some position of "moral superiority" - I literally would never think to do something like that because I would just assume it wouldn't work. I pretty much NEVER hear about a company giving away MORE than they promise... Given that, I think I'd be happy I'd snuck it through in the past and that I was getting $50 rather than upset about not getting it this time. HOWEVER, I think the bigger part of the problem here is how unpleasant and inconsistent it is to try dealing with the folks in Customer Service...

[CruiseMob]

I think there is a significant difference in the reaction if a person is on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise and misses the port they have been dreaming of.

For frequent cruisers a port is an opportunity to get a deck chair.

I remember the time I was told that ships in the Caribbean don't go to different ports. The ship just circles an island and in the morning they change the sign.

If you cruise to see a glacier, the ship has to show the glacier... now for the other stops, the fridge magnets should be available in the gift shop. If I paid to go to Istanbul I would be upset if I went to Croatia instead. I guess it really depends on whether you will have an opportunity or the desire to go again.

 

I do understand the disappointment, its just some of the reactions I don't quite get. We have an upcoming "once-in-a-lifetime" Hawaiian cruise coming up where they cancelled Kauai. This was one of our most anticipated ports - and we're all very disappointed. But, stuff happens - sometimes they have to make changes. What I don't understand is when I read what appear to be over the top entitlement reactions. I'm sure they don't intentionally miss ports just to make everyone angry - I'm sure they'd much rather just do the port, but that's not always possible. The poor girl who called from Celebrity to tell us of the change in itinerary was so tentative and nervous - I'm sure she was expecting some backlash and had been receiving it from others. I felt bad for her! As for the $50 dollar OBC - well it's a drop in the bucket, but it was a gesture from them that I don't feel they were obligated to do, and so I appreciate it as such: a gesture.

 

Funny note: Son speculated the Jurassic park dinosaurs had gotten lose on the island and that's why they cancelled the port. :D

[tbelian]

I think the bigger part of the problem here is how unpleasant and inconsistent it is to try dealing with the folks in Customer Service...

 

This is the real beef, and is the place where the focus needs to be. Let me type it slowly,

 

"I don't care about the coupon. I care that they seem to be changing things around"

 

I had a phone call from Someone at Celebrity yesterday (Corporate Guest Relations), and after a bit of back and forth, he finally acknowledged that there has been a change in management that is having an impact on whether or not coupons that used to be accepted are no longer being accepted.

[CruiseMob]

I had a phone call from Someone at Celebrity yesterday (Corporate Guest Relations), and after a bit of back and forth, he finally acknowledged that there has been a change in management that is having an impact on whether or not coupons that used to be accepted are no longer being accepted.

Hopefully the "good news" (if there is any) will be that maybe with the management change some consistancy will be interjected. I mean, if all the policies are consistently applied, at least we'll know what to expect and it will be consistent across the board, eliminating some of the frustrations and difficulties.