cindymouse42 Posted June 25, 2008 #26 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I would agree that RCC does have terrible customer service. We have sailed on Carnival with no problems and have had very helpful, happy customer service. When we booked our cruise with RCC we used a TA as this was our first overseas cruise and wanted to make sure we did everything right. I had been searching for a cruise with certain ports and RCC fit the bill. This is avery expensive cruise also. I went to the TA's office and booked and paid the deposit. When I got home I checked my email and there was something from RCC with special cruise incentives. I called my TA right away - she contacted RCC and than called me and said they would not offer us the special. She told me to try if I wanted. I did call, I asked RCC if I cancell and re-book will I get the special? NO, there is NOTHING they could or would do. I wrote a letter, no respone, faxed my letter, no respone. The special was for onboard ship credits of $100pp. Nothing too awesome, but when you are spending over $6000.00 for a cruise I think they could have honored this. RCC could have at least responded to my letter. We have not even taken the cruise and I am worried about the service I will receive once onboard. I work in customer service and we answer every letter and phone call. I understand RCC is in the business for profit, but $200 in onboard credits - what would have really costs them? I do not pick my cruise by the ship but by the destinations, I sure hope I can find a different cruise line to take me to my next destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMBOY Posted June 25, 2008 #27 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I guess the feeling is no different then buying a pair shoes at full price and then finding them on sale for 50% the following week plus it makes it worst when they don't that fit right or looks as good as they were in the store. It is buyers remorse or just bad lucky. Some stores will protect the price and some won't, but there's a big different in cost between a pair of shoes and a cruise and with high oil prices cruise line are in no mood to refund fully paid passengers. I call understand the OP disappointment, but RCCL didn't do anything wrong nor should they be required to refund any money once final payment is received. All cruise line hold firm on that otherwise they would lose a lot of money. That's why cruise line give deals after final payment. Folks...you really have to do your homework and reseach first "before" you book a cruise. I always do that! When I find a price I feel good about and fits my budget I book it and try not to look back. Of course that's hard. You always have to be careful reading these reviews on cruisecritic as no two people feel the same about any ship or cruiseline. They are subjective and not always accruate and unverified. Again, I can understand the OP disappointment, but I have to side with RCCL on this one. Please go and have great time and lets us know how the cruise was. I leave next month of the Vision of the Seas. Can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark_K Posted June 25, 2008 #28 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I think the OP and cindymouse42 are saying 'poor customer service' when what they really mean is non-consumer friendly pricing policies. The only thing poor about the service they're getting is the answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising89143 Posted June 25, 2008 #29 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I would agree that RCC does have terrible customer service. We have sailed on Carnival with no problems and have had very helpful, happy customer service. When we booked our cruise with RCC we used a TA as this was our first overseas cruise and wanted to make sure we did everything right. I had been searching for a cruise with certain ports and RCC fit the bill. This is avery expensive cruise also. I went to the TA's office and booked and paid the deposit. When I got home I checked my email and there was something from RCC with special cruise incentives. I called my TA right away - she contacted RCC and than called me and said they would not offer us the special. She told me to try if I wanted. I did call, I asked RCC if I cancell and re-book will I get the special? NO, there is NOTHING they could or would do. I wrote a letter, no respone, faxed my letter, no respone. The special was for onboard ship credits of $100pp. Nothing too awesome, but when you are spending over $6000.00 for a cruise I think they could have honored this. RCC could have at least responded to my letter. We have not even taken the cruise and I am worried about the service I will receive once onboard. I work in customer service and we answer every letter and phone call. I understand RCC is in the business for profit, but $200 in onboard credits - what would have really costs them? I do not pick my cruise by the ship but by the destinations, I sure hope I can find a different cruise line to take me to my next destination. If you were eligible for the on board credit then RCI would have given it to you. Also, your TA should know that since you did not book direct through the cruise line that they will not discuss your booking with you. Your TA should have been able to give you the reason for not receiving the OBC and if they didn't have the answer then they did not follow through on your behalf. Sounds like you are pointing the finger at the wrong group. Start with your TA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john & Gerrie nj Posted June 25, 2008 #30 Share Posted June 25, 2008 You might as well cancel, your mind is made up you won't have a good time. Take your loss and do something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amybear912 Posted June 25, 2008 #31 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I am not embaressed at all about my posting. RCCL has messed up everything with this trip. I do understand that the sale was only for new bookings, but just like any store price adjustments can be made. The cabin was in the same catagory. This was the first sale on our date. I do understand that a cruise line wants to fill up their cabins. Just like an airline you can cancel and rebbok with a penalty. RCCL however, had a 50% penalty. I do know that sometimes last minute travelers can get a bargain. RCCL also did not honor our dining request on this upcoming cruise. The answer we were given was we had to take care of this on our first day. We booked this trip 8 months ago, and I don't see why they could honor our request. Our confiramtion shows what we asked for, but our tickets are different. I just feel that RCCL could have changed that ahead of time, so we did not have to spend our first day delaing with this matter. As for the bad reviews they are on the CC website under member reviews. The latest was posted today. 1. Not all cruises go on sale... some never decrease in price and in fact, only go up... If yours happened to go on sale close to sailing, it's probably because they still had cabins to sell... You're not entitled to a discount that is advertised for new bookings only... period... 2. The 50% penalty indicates to me that you are close enough to sailing where that part of the contract kicks in... this shouldn't be a surprise to you nor should you expect them to break the contract for you... again, you are not a special case here... and if it were done for you, then it would have to be done for everyone from now on... not a good business move... 3. As for your dining request... just because you asked for a certain seating does not mean you are guaranteed that seating... even if you did book out your cruise 8 months ahead of time... it's quite possible that the seating you chose was already booked up - even 8 months out... and if that's the case, then yes, you are welcome to see the head waiter upon boarding to see if something else can be arranged... perhaps you will get lucky and someone cancelled and now there is an opening in your preferred seating time... but this is how EVERYONE must handle this situation when their desired seating is not granted at the time of booking... I don't know why you think you are being treated badly... you really aren't... it sounds to me like you just aren't getting your way so you want to blame the cruiseline for ruining everything... Is this your first cruise???? These are just things that happen... consider it a lesson learned and try not to get yourself all worked up over it... it could happen on any other line... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindymouse42 Posted June 26, 2008 #32 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I beleive not responding to two letters from a paying customer is bad customer service. Also, being rude on the phone is poor customer service regardless of who booked the cruise. This cruise was literally booked hours after receiving the RCC email about their special. As I stated I work in customer service and so far I have not received such from RCC. Just because I may have not have received an answer to my liking does not mean that I do not know what customer service is. I have not made up my mind about having poor service on my cruise . We will go on our cruise with an open mind and will be giving all staff on board a chance. We are not that narrow minded. Also, I am not saying that this is how all RCC customer service is like, it is my experience. And my experince thus far has been a rude customer service operator and no responses to my letters, regardless of the answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amybear912 Posted June 26, 2008 #33 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I beleive not responding to two letters from a paying customer is bad customer service. Also, being rude on the phone is poor customer service regardless of who booked the cruise. This cruise was literally booked hours after receiving the RCC email about their special. As I stated I work in customer service and so far I have not received such from RCC. Just because I may have not have received an answer to my liking does not mean that I do not know what customer service is. I have not made up my mind about having poor service on my cruise . We will go on our cruise with an open mind and will be giving all staff on board a chance. We are not that narrow minded. Also, I am not saying that this is how all RCC customer service is like, it is my experience. And my experince thus far has been a rude customer service operator and no responses to my letters, regardless of the answer! Your problem is your TA... once you book with a TA, RC will only deal with them with regards to your booking... Something doesn't ring right here... OBC for $100pp???? I've never heard of RC offering an OBC on a per person basis... per cabin is usually how they do it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindymouse42 Posted June 26, 2008 #34 Share Posted June 26, 2008 When we first booked we had two cabins. What does it matter anyway? RCC still should have answered my letters AND there is NO excuse for someone's rude behavior no matter who booked the cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzy77 Posted June 26, 2008 #35 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I think that it is a shame RCCL is getting such bad publicity here. From my experience I can only say I have had great service from them. Our cruise was reduced in cost and once I noticed it I called and they reduced the price for me. One Day Sales however are a different thing. They always specify that it is for new bookings only. We all know that we pay different prices for a cruise, depending on when you book and how the cruise is selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amybear912 Posted June 26, 2008 #36 Share Posted June 26, 2008 When we first booked we had two cabins. What does it matter anyway? RCC still should have answered my letters AND there is NO excuse for someone's rude behavior no matter who booked the cruise! How long ago did you write?? Define 'rude'.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise-Nut Posted June 26, 2008 #37 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Have you noticed that all the people that think that RCCL is so "BAD" have posted less than 30 times. These are the people that have no clue about how the system works and want things their way. RCCL has always given me wonderful customer service and that is why I am a Diamond Member on my way working towards the Diamond +. They will need to just go to another cruiselines that they think will give them "better" service and a 50% discount. Keep dreaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whyrlygig Posted June 26, 2008 #38 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Since when does not bending the rules your way = to poor customer service? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCMtnBoys Posted June 26, 2008 #39 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I do understand that the sale was only for new bookings... If I have a sailing booked and then come across a special for my sailing that says "for new bookings only" my logic tells me I'M NOT ELIGIBLE. Not only did you not get the sale price posted yesterday, but you wasted the reps time trying when the restrictions were clearly defined. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollandA Posted June 26, 2008 #40 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Your problem is your TA... once you book with a TA, RC will only deal with them with regards to your booking... Yep, which is precisely why I will not use a TA when booking a cruise in the future. We used one to plan our cruise on the Mariner in 2004, and when Hurricane Frances hit and we had to cancel (there was no way we could make the sailing in time since they moved the Mariner down to Miami), it took us nearly five months to receive our refund. The problem was that the RCCL agent assigned to our case refused to return our TA's calls and pretty much told us "too bad." The RCCL agent refused to talk to me because she said she had to handle things through my TA (which I politely informed her that actually returning my TA's phone calls would be a GREAT first step towards "handling things"). I pretty much made up my mind to bother her (the RCCL agent) every day to let her know I wasn't going away (I guess she recognized my phone number because she never answered the phone, so I left her a VM every day). Finally, one day she was apparently out of the office and someone else answered her phone. The person asked me if they could help me and I relayed the situation. Turns out the person answering the phone was her supervisor. I told the supervisor that it was getting ridiculous that I still had no refund nearly five months after the cruise (even though I followed all instructions on the RCCL website to properly cancel), and that I was beginning to think I needed to get an attorney involved. BINGO! MAGIC WORD! The supervisor told me "that will not be necessary, and I apologize." I had my money back within a week of that call. So, yeah, there are some bad RCCL customer service agents out there, even though most of them are quite helpful. Unfortunately, you never hear about the good ones, just situations like mine above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue L Posted June 26, 2008 #41 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Yep, which is precisely why I will not use a TA when booking a cruise in the future. We used one to plan our cruise on the Mariner in 2004, and when Hurricane Frances hit and we had to cancel (there was no way we could make the sailing in time since they moved the Mariner down to Miami), it took us nearly five months to receive our refund. The problem was that the RCCL agent assigned to our case refused to return our TA's calls and pretty much told us "too bad." The RCCL agent refused to talk to me because she said she had to handle things through my TA (which I politely informed her that actually returning my TA's phone calls would be a GREAT first step towards "handling things"). I pretty much made up my mind to bother her (the RCCL agent) every day to let her know I wasn't going away (I guess she recognized my phone number because she never answered the phone, so I left her a VM every day). Finally, one day she was apparently out of the office and someone else answered her phone. The person asked me if they could help me and I relayed the situation. Turns out the person answering the phone was her supervisor. I told the supervisor that it was getting ridiculous that I still had no refund nearly five months after the cruise (even though I followed all instructions on the RCCL website to properly cancel), and that I was beginning to think I needed to get an attorney involved. BINGO! MAGIC WORD! The supervisor told me "that will not be necessary, and I apologize." I had my money back within a week of that call. So, yeah, there are some bad RCCL customer service agents out there, even though most of them are quite helpful. Unfortunately, you never hear about the good ones, just situations like mine above. Sorry but how do you blame the TA and not use them anymore when it was the RCL rep who was the problem? Why are you blaming the TA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G'ma Posted June 26, 2008 #42 Share Posted June 26, 2008 RCCL had a one day sale yesterday. We are sailing on the spledor of the Seas this summer. Our cabin was reduced by 50%. We had held a new cabin in the same catagory. After speaking to numerous people at RCCL we were told they could not do anything for us. The sale was for new bookings only. If we cancelled our original reservation we would loose 50%. After reading the horrible reviews about this ship, I am totally disgusted by RCCL. I sailed on Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and RCCL before. I have never experienced anything like this. Given the economy they should be bending over backwards. Has anyone else experienced poor customer service from RCCL? Any suggestions where to take this to? Thanks I'm having difficulty relating your experience to "poor customer service". The sale was clearly for new bookings only. It had nothing to do with your particular reservation. That is not an unusual circumstance at all...most sales are for new reservations and cannot be applied to those already existing. If you can still see the info on the sale, if you read the terms...there will be verbiage to that effect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelJ Posted June 26, 2008 #43 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I am not embaressed at all about my posting. RCCL has messed up everything with this trip. I do understand that the sale was only for new bookings, but just like any store price adjustments can be made. The cabin was in the same catagory. This was the first sale on our date. I do understand that a cruise line wants to fill up their cabins. Just like an airline you can cancel and rebbok with a penalty. RCCL however, had a 50% penalty. I do know that sometimes last minute travelers can get a bargain. RCCL also did not honor our dining request on this upcoming cruise. The answer we were given was we had to take care of this on our first day. We booked this trip 8 months ago, and I don't see why they could honor our request. Our confiramtion shows what we asked for, but our tickets are different. I just feel that RCCL could have changed that ahead of time, so we did not have to spend our first day delaing with this matter. As for the bad reviews they are on the CC website under member reviews. The latest was posted today. How has RCCL "messed up everything" with your trip? Is it because they won't give you a price drop that you're clearly not entitled to? Your only issue is getting your dining time changed, which in all likelihood won't be a problem once you're onboard. And we don't even know if RCCL messed that up or whether your preferred dining time was even available when you booked. Dining times can be requested but are not guaranteed. How do you define "everything"? As far as I can see, nothing is messed up except your perception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollandA Posted June 26, 2008 #44 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Sorry but how do you blame the TA and not use them anymore when it was the RCL rep who was the problem? Why are you blaming the TA? Oh, I'm not blaming my TA (sorry if that sounded like I was). She did everything she could, and only gave me the RCCL agent's number as a last resort after she'd had months and months of getting nowhere, and thought that maybe if she (the RCCL agent) started getting pressure from me, we'd finally get somewhere. My decision not to use a TA is mostly because it's a hassle to not deal directly with RCCL if something like this happens. That, plus my TA (who was a family friend) is no longer working (she retired shortly after our cruise - we joked with her that our situation drove her to quit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue L Posted June 26, 2008 #45 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Oh, I'm not blaming my TA (sorry if that sounded like I was). She did everything she could, and only gave me the RCCL agent's number as a last resort after she'd had months and months of getting nowhere, and thought that maybe if she (the RCCL agent) started getting pressure from me, we'd finally get somewhere. My decision not to use a TA is mostly because it's a hassle to not deal directly with RCCL if something like this happens. That, plus my TA (who was a family friend) is no longer working (she retired shortly after our cruise - we joked with her that our situation drove her to quit). It did sound like you were blaming the TA, sorry for misunderstanding you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkwolfe Posted June 26, 2008 #46 Share Posted June 26, 2008 :eek: Bzzzt. :eek: Not poor customer service. If you want to get a better rate on your cruise, watch RCCL's website for NON-sale price drops. They do happen sometimes. Of course if the cruise is popular, they won't drop at all and will likely rise a good deal. Our booking for Serenade is nearly doubled in price since we booked it. But we book ridiculously long term. That cruise was booked over a year ago. The later you book, the less likely that RCCL can fulfill your requests. Your approach here is kinda like going to the grocery store and wanting the Saturday sale price for the lettuce you bought on Thursday. Try that in the real world and you'll get laughed at. About the only way you could get the sale price that was offerred would be to book a new one at that sale price and cancel the previous booking. Mildly risky as far as cabin choices are concerned, but doable if you feel the need. Best of luck gaining new experience and understanding of how economics and fine print both work.:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockee4055 Posted June 26, 2008 #47 Share Posted June 26, 2008 RCCL had a one day sale yesterday. We are sailing on the spledor of the Seas this summer. Our cabin was reduced by 50%. We had held a new cabin in the same catagory. After speaking to numerous people at RCCL we were told they could not do anything for us. The sale was for new bookings only. If we cancelled our original reservation we would loose 50%. After reading the horrible reviews about this ship, I am totally disgusted by RCCL. I sailed on Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and RCCL before. I have never experienced anything like this. Given the economy they should be bending over backwards. Has anyone else experienced poor customer service from RCCL? Any suggestions where to take this to? Thanks JMHO - they are suffering from the downturn in the economy too. Why should they "bend over backwards" for anyone when they're trying to make money themselves. I'm missing why this is poor customer service. Most of those type of deals are to try to fill the ships on a lower category cabin at a reduced rate. I'm still missing it, feel free to enlighten me............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollandA Posted June 26, 2008 #48 Share Posted June 26, 2008 It did sound like you were blaming the TA, sorry for misunderstanding you. No apology necessary. I'm sorry for confusing you. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelJ Posted June 26, 2008 #49 Share Posted June 26, 2008 :eek: Bzzzt. :eek: Not poor customer service. If you want to get a better rate on your cruise, watch RCCL's website for NON-sale price drops. They do happen sometimes. Of course if the cruise is popular, they won't drop at all and will likely rise a good deal. Our booking for Serenade is nearly doubled in price since we booked it. But we book ridiculously long term. That cruise was booked over a year ago. The later you book, the less likely that RCCL can fulfill your requests. Your approach here is kinda like going to the grocery store and wanting the Saturday sale price for the lettuce you bought on Thursday. Try that in the real world and you'll get laughed at. About the only way you could get the sale price that was offerred would be to book a new one at that sale price and cancel the previous booking. Mildly risky as far as cabin choices are concerned, but doable if you feel the need. Best of luck gaining new experience and understanding of how economics and fine print both work.:rolleyes: Actually, this can't be done with the sale prices. Your name and booking are in the system, and you cannot cancel and rebook to get the sale price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllieInMD Posted June 26, 2008 #50 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I think in the fine print at the bottom of the new bookings flyers it says you can't do that - they won't allow you to cancel an existing and rebook at the sale price. About the only way you could get the sale price that was offerred would be to book a new one at that sale price and cancel the previous booking. Mildly risky as far as cabin choices are concerned, but doable if you feel the need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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