Irritated w/ Celebrity's customer service

[wannuhcruise]

Ugh, this is a mess. Not a huge mess, but a mess. About a month ago the price of our cruise went down so I contacted our TA. She contacted Celebrity and got all (4) of us upgraded in addition to getting some $$ back. Well, 3 of the four of us got refunds (I didn't), but in addition they canceled some other stuff we paid for and didn't refund us for that. Their accounting department can't figure it out. Our TA has been in contact w/ them daily. She has proof of everything we paid. It seems as though Celebrity doesn't want to 'fess up that they screwed up and doesn't seem to want to make it right all too quickly. At least when I go check on our reservations, we're still assigned to our suites and our luggage tags are correct. How long do I let her fight this for us? Essentially, we're still about even (or possibly ahead) once all the money stuff gets straightened out and we do still have our suites instead of CC. But the fact that they won't acknowledge that they screwed up and don't seem to be trying to make it right really makes me angry. I feel horrible for the TA because she's already losing some commission because of the price drop/refund and now she's working so hard to get them to fix everything when she didn't mess it up to begin with.

 

OK, just had to vent. Thanks for "listening." Grrr...

[dwjoe]

My sympathies. I would be inclined to let the TA fight this for you. If you call Celebrity direct, you may find yourself in the middle of a dispute between them and the TA, without firsthand knowledge of the facts indicating whose fault it is (might be a combination of Celebrity and TA's fault). Good luck!

[wannuhcruise]

Oh, I am definitely staying out of this one!

[texancruzer]

Hmmmm kind of reminds me of a situation I had back when I was still using a TA. Don't anymore - do my own.

 

On our cruise out of San Juan we originally booked cruise air. Paid a custom air fee so we could choose the exact flights/times we wanted.

 

Well long story short - it got all messed up.

 

First the airline changed the flight times (put us in at midnight :eek: ) Then we we paid a change fee to fix that problem only it still wasnt right. Ended up that when all the documents were reviewed, the TA had actually only done half of the change (altho she insisted she had done it correctly). RCI would not fix the problem or refund the fees. We ended up cancelling the cruise air and booking our own - with the flights/times we wanted for less than their airfare to begin with.

 

This was a TA I had used quite a bit previously. She just really dropped the ball on this one. Not to offend, but check everything carefully.

[Eleris]

I think you may be putting the blame in the wrong place. I did 10+ cruises using a TA (same one each time) had a problem on every trip. Wrong cabin request, wrong dates, forgot to book, wrong name spelling.

 

Stopped using a TA and have done at least 4+ cruises a year directly with X and guess what ZERO mistakes. When the price drops I call the 800 number and the credit is back on my credit card with 5 business days or less and the confirmation of the new price is in my email inbox within 5 minutes.

 

If you are going to use a TA then get one that is compentent and not your pal. I am sure you like the person you are dealing with but I was once in your situation and really liked my TA but just couldn't take their dropping the ball and fixing things before they got too confusing. Just my honest opinion. Good luck.

[Host Anne]

I'm guessing you have your credit card statements that shows everything you've paid. It should match your confirmations you received from your TA. Any adjustments/changes to should have been reflected on your credit card as well (if the cancelled items were things you paid for). Be sure you have all your documents and payment copies pulled together....just in case you do need to get involved.

 

Good luck....I hope it all works out for you and that you have a great cruise!

[wannuhcruise]

I'm guessing you have your credit card statements that shows everything you've paid. It should match your confirmations you received from your TA. Any adjustments/changes to should have been reflected on your credit card as well (if the cancelled items were things you paid for). Be sure you have all your documents and payment copies pulled together....just in case you do need to get involved.

 

Good luck....I hope it all works out for you and that you have a great cruise!

 

Yes, we do have all of the paperwork from the TA that reflects everything. That's why I'm certain she's not a fault. She came very highly recommended from people I trust and I trust that she'll get it sorted out.

 

Thanks.

[PENGUIN67]

With 13 cruises under our belts, I must say that dealing with Celebrity's Customer Relations is like dealing with a brick wall. We had sufficient detailed concerns with the Dec 2008 Panama Canal trip that I wrote directly to their President, who turfed it to some lackey. She said my concerns would be relayed to the appropriate managers, but did nothing in terms of my gentle suggestion of some financial conisderation on our upcoming May 2009 Baltic cruise.

[G'ma]

Have your Travel Agent set up a 3-way call----you join the conversation. Make sure you have all documentation in front of you.

 

You could be getting info from the agent that isn't 100% correct...or to her advantage.....or you might be getting shafted by Celebrity.

 

There's one way to find out.....get them both on the line and don't hang up until the issue is resolved to your satisfaction.

[John's Girl]

We, too, have had poor dealings with Celebrity Customer Service, including Captain's Club customer service. They seem unwilling to make any concessions, even when their stance makes absolutely no logical sense. In fact, I find their responses to be condescending and make me feel worse rather than better.

 

We hit this full on when we were stranded on our way to a Mediterranean cruise. We were in Sicily, no one spoke good English, when we called Celebrity to help us (we bought cruise insurance and made our flights with them as well) they told us that since where we were was not one of the ports they use, they couldn't help us at all to find us a hotel, etc. We were standing in an airport on a pay phone. They were in FL in front of a computer. Give me 5 minutes on Google and I could have found something, but they refused to even extend themselves that far and try to help.

 

We, too, sent a letter to the President. They did send us an offer of a small amount of cruise credit, but gave us very little time to use them before they expired. If Celebrity really wants to be the "class" of the cruise lines they really should overhaul their customer "service" philosophy.

[ccletzgo]

Yes, we do have all of the paperwork from the TA that reflects everything. That's why I'm certain she's not a fault. She came very highly recommended from people I trust and I trust that she'll get it sorted out.

 

Thanks.

 

were all your charges on your credit card statement by RCCL? or the TA agency?

 

I am assuming by purchases you mean extras like shore excursions, or spa treatments?

If you purchased any of these things you would also have email confirmations from Celebrity.

[cvaty]

More appropritate service would be advisable, especailly dealing with their passanger.

[TRadle]

Contest the charges on your CC with the documentation of the cancellations then rebook the things that were cancelled.

[woodofpine]

You seem to have fallen into X ''weakest link" its booking-accounting department. They seem to be responsible for a lot of X cruiser's ire even where the on ship hotel service is superior. Keep at them using the suggestions given.

 

My 'introduction' to X (first X cruise) was having booked a veranda and quad across the hall for my family (quad for kids). I was present during my TA's booking explaining the necessary cabin arrangment. The M ships on several deck have verandas on each side of the ship with one 'layer' of insides between. One would assume the booking staff would know which passageway the inside is accessed from... wrong. Arriving onboard, the children were booked in a totally different passageway a considerable distance away. The veranda on the opposite side of the ship was across from their cabin. Onboard management were determined not to lift a finger to try to fix the problem. My, wasn't I impressed. :( All they needed to do was approach the opposite veranda and propose a swap. Their repreated response, "Sorry can't help you (go away)" This was the supposed high service line... :rolleyes: in resolving a problem wholly created by them.

 

I ended up making the swap on my own (fortunately the other cabin was amenable) but it was akward and uncomfortable approaching these unknown passengers. But I resolved it and it involved changing key card accounts at the pursers desk (that seemed rather put out by needing to cooperate to fix their mistake). This took a couple hours since the other pax had begun unpacking and embarkation day is slow at the pursers desk. When I suggested that this other cabin be given some sort of modest credit for their snarled embarkation afternoon... X staff were mighty cheesy and uncooperative.

 

As you can see, it still colors my opinion of the line (first impressions).

 

Good luck.