Times Change

[MollyBrown]

Did anyone see the full page ad in this Sunday's New York Times for QM2?

 

I don't recall ever seeing ads for QE2 anywhere, at least not before last year.

 

However, although they are advertising this spring's sailings, Carnival does not seem to be sure about some ammenities on QM2, and therefore some reservations can't be booked, at least not from the US office. One might be better off sticking with booking at the UK office if one doesn't want the runaround.

[cruisr]

Hi,

What do you mean when you state that "Carnival does not seem to be sure of some amenities on QM2" Does that mean that you called Carnival to ask about the QM2? If you call CUnard reservations they could better answer your questions and as the brochures are out and many people booked for 05 (including me) I'm not sure what you mean. Additionally, if you book thru the UK office you will pay in GBP which for US travelers would add a lot to the price as our USD does not have much buying power against the Pound Sterling.

Just a little confused about what you meant.

Bon voyage

[transat_jon]

In my experience you can never get through to the Cunard UK office, even to make a booking! Because of this, and often cost too, I neary always end up book through the US office. I have found in the past that you do end up talking to people that seem to have no info about the ships; this is just part of the call centre culture that we must all live with.

[Gary B]

Yes, I can also confirm that it almost impossible to get through to the Cunard customer service or to book. I have had many times trying for DAYS!!! You dial in and do the usual "push 1 for X", "push 2 for Y" and then at the end you get a message saying "we are busy, your call is important, please try again later".. and hangs up. I once counted 8 tries in one day and only got through by dialing at 9am sharp on a Saturday ....

[Ken_W]

it will be interesting to see what develops as the Cunard call center moved from Florida to California as of September 30th, and it seems a lot of the Cunard reps did not make the move with them - including Ms. Marcia Burdick, one of my favorite customer service reps ever.

 

What I've been told is that Cunard has now been folded in with the P&O/Princess reservation system; how true that is I do not know!

 

But I've yet to find a passenger line whose shoreside operation doesn't resemble the plot of a comic operetta, and I've taken the attitude that the frustration of the shoreside group is the price you must pay for getting on board!

[BrianBoru]

I've tried to call the new reservations center perhaps 10 times during the past two weeks with no luck. I've emailed twice and received immediate automated replies that my message has been forwarded to this or that representatve; neither this nor that representative has contacted me to date.

 

My questions aren't urgent (yet) so I'm not panicing, and friends tell my my experience isn't typical. Still, I miss Marica, my "personal cruise vacation consultant."

 

Chris

[cruisr]

Hi,

Just a suggestion, why not go to a good local travel agent and work with them. They may actually know the answers to your questions and not have to call CA.

Also, the res system is still the old Cunard res sytem. They should be on the Princess system in the next few months.

Bon voyage

[transat_jon]

I do most of my booking through agents anyway as you can usually get another 10% off the prices with a bit of luck.

 

The main reason I would call Cunard is to get cruise and availabilty info. However...you can never get through!

 

It also makes you wonder though, what would you do if there is a problem with your booking and you need to get in touch with the cruise line in an emergency? With Cunard, you can't! Is there any excuse for such consistently lacking customer service?

[MollyBrown]

It is amazing to be that US Cunard/Carnival will spend all this money to put a huge full page ad in the New York Times, but when people try to make a reservation, they can't!

 

Do they want passengers or not? I can't imagine they have so many people trying to reserve that they're now picking and choosing who they want to accept first. Perhaps they think the New York Times ad will induce celebrities and other high profile types to come aboard; and of course the many corporate employees and professionals who read the Times. I hope they don't forget about us, the faithful Cunarders.