RCL customer service

[dfishner]

Was trying to book an 8 day cruise for Nov-Dec 08 for either the Radiance or Jewel. RCCL website only went up to March 2008 so I called Crown and Anchor to ask when the dates would be posted. I was surprized by her short reply which was "I don't know" Not even say to me let me find out when the dates will be on our website. I would not say she was rude just not very helpful.

 

What I found interesting was I was looking at the Miracle as well and asked for some information on CCL website. A couple of days later I received a call from Carnival from a very nice woman who spent some time with me on the phone being very informative on what I was looking for and how she can help me even told me about some great cabins with large balconies on the Miracle. She even found my past cruise which was long ago which would qualify me for their past passenger rate. When we ended our call I was impressed with her helpfulness and willingness to put the extra effort in.

 

Not sure how serious I am about the Miracle since I really like the RCL product, but it did make me think when I hung up with the C&A rep that I was not worth her effort to even find out a little more information then just "I don't know.. By December 07 I would of been of 4 cruises with RCL and felt I was treated better by the agent on CCL where I took only 1 cruise. Somehow I feel the roles were reversed.

[we b cruzin]

Sorry to hear that you had negative customer service from RCCL. DH and I had been planning our Nov. 08 cruise for about six month now. We have been working with RCCL and soon as the dates/prices came out for 2008, (I think it was Wednesday evening, 4/11) - we were called by RCCL. We booked our Nov. 2 cruise on 4/12, even got the cabin we wanted. We have only cruised on Disney, loved it!! So this is a new experience for us.

[elleluv]

Sorry you had a bad experience....

 

"Seasonal Carribean" itineraries are scheduled to be released the week of April 23.

[B-52]

When you call customer by phone, 24/7, WHO do you thing you are talking to, and WHERE do you think they are?

If you don't like person, hang up and call again.

(not just RCCL, but just about ANY company.)

I personally know someone who works as a agent for a MAJOR resort company, with quite a few years in already. Considered middle management. She works when ever she decides to log in on her computer, usually in her PJ's, at the kitchen table, after the kids go to school, or at 3 in the morning if she feels like it.

[Albert Ross]

The OP did not call RCL customer service - they called C&A who is a separate company who manage the loyalty scheme - it is quite possible that these people did not know the sailing dates.

[wakelover]

The OP did not call RCL customer service - they called C&A who is a separate company who manage the loyalty scheme - it is quite possible that these people did not know the sailing dates.

Even still...they are there to be helpful:) and are associated with RCI

[Cruising89143]

The person that called you from Carnival was a PVP(Personal Vacation Planner) which is their job to help you book or discuss a cruise. You called the C&A department at RCI. They do not take bookings. Yes it would have been nice if she had directed you to the correct department but again Crown and Anchor was the wrong department to contact for this information.

[dfishner]

The person that called you from Carnival was a PVP(Personal Vacation Planner) which is their job to help you book or discuss a cruise. You called the C&A department at RCI. They do not take bookings. Yes it would have been nice if she had directed you to the correct department but again Crown and Anchor was the wrong department to contact for this information.

I was not asking for a booking I was asking when the dates for November and December on radiance or Jewel would become available. It was a very simple question she could of told me she did not have the information availabe to her and to please call the reservation department. I do look at the C&A as being part of RCL and they have been very helpful in the past. As one of the other posters stated I could of hung up and called again. This has no bearing on my future bookings since I am a fan of RCL. I just think she could of been more helpful that's all.

[FlyingPhotog]

She may have just been having "one of those days." I know I as well as dozens of us and surely hundreds of others have been calling over the last week to ask when schedules are opening. I've worked in customer service so I know what it can be like to answer the same question repeatedly. I'm not condoning her shortness with you, but we're all human. ;)

[Cruising89143]

I was not asking for a booking I was asking when the dates for November and December on radiance or Jewel would become available. It was a very simple question she could of told me she did not have the information availabe to her and to please call the reservation department. I do look at the C&A as being part of RCL and they have been very helpful in the past. As one of the other posters stated I could of hung up and called again. This has no bearing on my future bookings since I am a fan of RCL. I just think she could of been more helpful that's all.

 

And if you had read my response I did say that it would have been nice for her to have directed you to the correct department.:rolleyes:

[shipknotshore]

Just thought I'd jump in here and say "HI" to Dale.

 

Don't give up on RCI because of one person who had a bad attitude....we would miss you. My DIL called C&A two weeks ago and talked to a rude person also, she called back later and got things straightened out. It makes you wonder how much training some people get....or don't get.:p

[rcclfanatic]

I have found RCL's customer service to be severely lacking recently. I have had issues on the phone, in emails and even with reps on my last cruise. I have become so fed up with them I booked my next cruise this July with Carnival. I am planning another cruise in February and depending on the service on my next cruise I may be going with Carnival again and not RCL. I think RCL's ships are much better but I refuse to give my money to a company that does not treat their guest properly.

[isujim]

Come on folks.............never work for a large corporation?

 

I worked for the largest radio company in the United States.......I can promise you not every employee was nice or customer service geared.

 

I am NOT excusing bad customer service..........but am smart enough to know the more employees you have, it can certainly happen.

 

My TA once had to hang up and call RC 4 times before she found someone that appeared to know what they were talking about........instead of getting upset we just kinda smiled and understood it can happen with a larger corporation.

 

The expectations you go in with has a lot to do with how you handle the final results you get on the phone...........

 

Again not condoning by any means incompetent customer services reps.......I've just learned that if you are large enough.......it can happen.

[emdia43]

It's funny but part of the reason I go back to Royal is that I have not had one bad experience with them. I have had more than a couple of churlish CVL people to deal with on the phone,just too pushy for words,I figure they train them all to be the same, and one person from CVL who was downright rude to me when I called the technical dept because I couldn't get some booking info to go into their system, which put me RIGHT off sailing with them. First impressions are so important. Some people just dont seem capable of having a smile in their voice.

[Cruising89143]

It's funny but part of the reason I go back to Royal is that I have not had one bad experience with them. I have had more than a couple of churlish CVL people to deal with on the phone,just too pushy for words,I figure they train them all to be the same, and one person from CVL who was downright rude to me when I called the technical dept because I couldn't get some booking info to go into their system, which put me RIGHT off sailing with them. First impressions are so important. Some people just dont seem capable of having a smile in their voice.

 

 

What or who is CVL?????

[isujim]

What or who is CVL?????

 

Gordon I'm guessing Carnival??:confused:

[Cruising89143]

Gordon I'm guessing Carnival??:confused:

 

 

I guess that does make sense.:)

[Ocean Boy]

She may have just been having "one of those days." I know I as well as dozens of us and surely hundreds of others have been calling over the last week to ask when schedules are opening. I've worked in customer service so I know what it can be like to answer the same question repeatedly. I'm not condoning her shortness with you, but we're all human. ;)

My employees have "one of those days" they won't have many more days working for me.

[emdia43]

CVL- that would be Carnival.

I see it abbreviated that way all the time on the CVL board.:)

[crb04]

After our first cruise, I called RCI customer service (not C &A) to book another. Had this experience:

 

Me: "Hi, I like to find out if certain cabins are available for an upcoming cruise I'd like to book." (btw, sail date was several months away).

 

Rep: "What cabins numbers and sailing date?"

 

Me: (Gave her this info).

 

Rep: "NO, they're not." CLICK.

 

Me: "Hello...hello?...helllooo?" OMG, she HUNG up on me!

 

Was kind of amusing, it was so unbelievable. Booked the next day with a TA for that trip--who reserved us in the cabins I'd initially requested when I'd called RCI (yes, they actually WERE available).

 

Anyway, booked directly through RCI for our upcoming Monarch trip, and they couldn't have been more helpful. Very friendly and pleasant every time I've called. As others have mentioned, rudeness is not acceptable in CS employees, but would be surprised if it never occurred, especially in a company as large as this one. Hope you give it another shot, and have a better experience...:)

[katiel53]

I guess I don't see any reason for a rep to be rude. I was a manager in a call center and we listened in on calls and any rude rep was taken out and had a good talking to.

 

I do call C&A and have had nothing but helpful reps. An example, my TA was to have made arrangements to change us from Mariner in 1/08 to Radiance. I thought all was well until my sister found the deposit from the Mariner credited to her credit card, but no charge for the Radiance. I checked my cc and it was the same. I checked my dad's and it was the same also. I tried to call the agent, who was at a "seminar at sea." I couldn't contact her and was afraid our reservations would cancel.

 

I called C&A and explained and I know they aren't supposed to help when you have a TA, but had she not, we would have no reservations as they would have cancelled. We were so fortunate to have someone who cared working for us. I sent my TA an email telling her what we had to do, and she never even had the decency to acknowledge that something went wrong. She is sure she is right.

 

So, I don't believe I will use this agent again. I think I will stick to RCI. At least if something comes up, I can call anytime. So please, give them another chance.

 

 

katie

[MikeDMess]

I too find RCCL customer service to be lousy. On our recent cruise we realized 4 days before sailing that our tickets never arrived. Called our TA who told us to go online to print our tickets. Called RCCL to ask if it was the Seapass that needed printing. The woman was quite rude and told me she could not answer anything regarding my reservation since I have a TA. I explained that I only needed to know if the SeaPass was the only item I needed to print and bring to the dock. She insisted on not telling me. I hung up and called back. This time I got a really polite gentleman who answered my simple question telling me I only needed to print the SeaPass.

At the dock we then had check in problems but thats another post.

 

Overall I find RCCL cusotmer service to be inconsistant.

[Aquahound]

I've never had a problem with C&A reps. But, RCI Customer Service has gone downhill, in my opinion.

 

I am now less than three weeks away from a cruise on the Explorer and still don't have my docs. I called CS and they told me I set it up to have the docs waiting at the counter. First, this obviously is not true or I would not have been concerned about my missing docs. Second, I just wouldn't do that.

 

CS then told me that I would have to carry all my luggage up to the counter, put the luggage tags on from in the docs and give them to a porter. No matter how many ways I tried explaining that it is not possible to take your luggage up to the counter, she just wouldn't listen. Like what happened to crb04, she said other calls were waiting and hung up on me! I was never able to get her name.

[emdia43]

As long as you enter all your information online you can embark without actually having the paper docs. That happens quite a bit.

Luggage labels- you get some from the porters at the dock and write your cabin number on them.

[Ocean Boy]

For our last cruise aboard Adventure I called CS just to make sure my TA had made the final payment. The rep said she could not tell me anything and that I had to call my TA. I then said that my TA could say anything that she wanted to. It wouldn't mean that the payment was actually made. I got no where with that rep so I hung up, called again, and got the answer that I needed. It was yes.

 

It really annoyed me that a rep could not understand why I needed the verification from RCI. It was simple common sense. I also understand the rules about using a TA and booking directly through RCI. However, I also know who is paying the bills and what name is on the credit card. And the reps should show some sort of respect for that.