Are there actually people at Oceania assigned to the phones?

[mdmourges]

I give them an F for phone support. It always takes at least 15 minutes to get someone to answer. And this is because I can't sign up for the drink package on line. This is the second issue I have had with my upcoming cruise with Oceania and their support. Not good.

 

Mark

[hypercafe]

The answer is NO, I have the same problem. I tried to switch my booking to a TA however I missed the deadline so I must use Oceania. After spending much time on hold I just gave up. If I can't do it online I will just wait to get to the ship. It cost me lots of dollars to not go to a TA, Oceania was very strict that it was too late, OK, you saved the TA commission, so now do the job. It will be the last time I am in this boat!!

[mdmourges]

Hyper, I had the same exact problem. Signed up the day after Christmas with Oceania because I couldn't get in touch with my Canadian TA (Boxing Day), asked if I could transfer the reservation next day, the answer was yes. Next day they said sure you can but your TA will not get a commission. Total BS but whatever. They need to work on this.

 

Mark

[dundeene]

With the two new large ships, the two smaller R ship and now Insignia coming back to the line, I assume call volume is at an all time high. I also read that January is the busiest month for booking and servicing cruises.

Suddenly that 2014 cruise you booked long ago seems right around the corner!

Management does a great job of handling life onboard. I am certain they are already trying to recruit and train more phone agents.

 

I do use a TA and let her take care of everything for us.

[hypercafe]

With the two new large ships, the two smaller R ship and now Insignia coming back to the line, I assume call volume is at an all time high. I also read that January is the busiest month for booking and servicing cruises.

Suddenly that 2014 cruise you booked long ago seems right around the corner!

Management does a great job of handling life onboard. I am certain they are already trying to recruit and train more phone agents.

 

I do use a TA and let her take care of everything for us.

 

Since you "Do use a TA", how do you know how well Oceania answers the phone? When I booked and planned a trip in 2013 there was no problem. Now there is a problem for my 2014 trip. I feel they have cut back.

[ginabab]

Hi

I agree calling Oceania not fun

It does take what seems like forever

[neepawa]

My TA found a great deal on Celebrity that I booked yesterday. I was on hold for over 25 minutes today for a question that could only be answered by a Celebrity staff member. It appears that all cruise lines are having a problem with phone support.

Cheers,

Don

[orchestrapal]

My TA found a great deal on Celebrity that I booked yesterday. I was on hold for over 25 minutes today for a question that could only be answered by a Celebrity staff member. It appears that all cruise lines are having a problem with phone support.

Cheers,

Don

 

Sorry you had that problem but this is about Oceania and it's not alright for such a high class operation to have people waiting on hold for long periods of time.

FDR where are you?

[Noxequifans]

Not excusing slow answers but January to March is the cruise industry wave season. In the past this season offered good bargains. Times have changed a bit, but many cruisers are used to booking in this period. Also, the very cold weather in a good part of the US may have prompted more bookings (and calls to O).

[Pan Am Girl]

Dunno, but I called Princess Cruise Lines yesterday to verify my Future Cruise Deposit record, and they answered the phone and subsequently my question in less than a minute. Additionally, the rep, very politely, told me how I could find it on the website. The way it should be. Just saying.

[suec12]

Well if they don't want to staff up the call centers, then they should at least have an online payment option for final payment -DUH! It does irk me to be on hold 15 minutes waiting to pass over thousands of dollars or loose my reservation. I think all the RCCL brands have this option.

[Noxequifans]

I'd like to share my experience from the corporate world. My company used to totally emphasize prompt answering when customers called. I was part of a study where we purposely delayed answering a bit and then polled customers for their reaction. The result was that customers did not mind a reasonable wait as long as they reached someone who would handled their request.

 

That said, 15 minutes does seem excessive. Perhaps a recorded announcement advising of the wait time would be good for O to consider.

[suec12]

I just realized that I can do online final payment - not sure why the email they keep prompting me with tells me to call! But I still agree, the call centers wait times are bad! esp. for a high end company.

[Hawaiidan]

I give them an F for phone support. It always takes at least 15 minutes to get someone to answer. And this is because I can't sign up for the drink package on line. This is the second issue I have had with my upcoming cruise with Oceania and their support. Not good.

 

Mark

 

Word I get from "sources" is that the new management is cutting staff in administration.... even travel agents are up-set. They no longer see a rep for 6 months.... Mis -management at the top.

[funny26]

Word I get from "sources" is that the new management is cutting staff in administration.... even travel agents are up-set. They no longer see a rep for 6 months.... Mis -management at the top.

Totally agree with this new mis-management which also includes cost cutting by the company and increased costs to the customers in subtle little areas that they hope won't be noticed And Dan, it is a fact that they have cut 2 President positions with Kamlani now President of 3 companies!! Guess that if a President can do the work of 3 people, it's not too much to ask everyone to do 3 times the work and that means that wait times for telephone support will naturally be 3 times longer as while they expect their employees to do their work in 1/3 of the time in order to do the work of 3 and not have to be paid for overtime which would end up mitigating the cost savings of 2/3's of the people. The people calling will not work to cut their phone calls to 1/3rd of the time thus the long waits.

 

Sounds to me like a perfect win lose situation.

[Travelcat2]

Totally agree with this new mis-management which also includes cost cutting by the company and increased costs to the customers in subtle little areas that they hope won't be noticed And Dan, it is a fact that they have cut 2 President positions with Kamlani now President of 3 companies!! Guess that if a President can do the work of 3 people, it's not too much to ask everyone to do 3 times the work and that means that wait times for telephone support will naturally be 3 times longer as while they expect their employees to do their work in 1/3 of the time in order to do the work of 3 and not have to be paid for overtime which would end up mitigating the cost savings of 2/3's of the people. The people calling will not work to cut their phone calls to 1/3rd of the time thus the long waits.

 

Sounds to me like a perfect win lose situation.

 

I must be missing something..... what is the third company (already counted Regent and Oceania)???

[treasure4two]

The few time I have called in(I have a TA). it was around 10 AM and had harly any wait.

[funny26]

i must be missing something..... What is the third company (already counted regent and oceania)???

 

pch

[Travelcat2]

Do you really think that three president's are needed for the job? Mr. Kamlani has so many people under him that it seems reasonable that he can (and has) run Regent, Oceania and PCH. Mr. Del Rio is also in charge of Regent, Oceania and PCH.

 

While I do see issues in some areas -- particularly communication between the officers onboard the ships and the home office (as well as customer service staff giving incorrect answers and long wait times), this is fixable. I would love to see an email Customer Service Department. Having both questions and responses in writing could help in the training process as well as with wait times. When I email most companies, the turnaround time is between 24 and 36 hours. Sometimes we need to get used to being patient -- especially when some of our questions could be about a cruise that is several months away.

 

Another effective way of handling customer calls is done by Comcast (our internet service, telephone and cable television provider). They allow you to leave your telephone number on a recorder. The recorder tells you the approximate time your call will be returned. Note: Comcast has over 22 million customers nationwide.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Travelcat2

[funny26]

Do you really think that three president's are needed for the job? Mr. Kamlani has so many people under him that it seems reasonable that he can (and has) run Regent, Oceania and PCH. Mr. Del Rio is also in charge of Regent, Oceania and PCH.

 

Yes I do. If you want to continue with the two different brands, they each need their own senior management group. Can you imagine how difficult it is for one person to keep track of all of the nuances of each brand? One of the reasons there have been so many more complaints recently and why so many things seem to be run in the same or similar ways. And FDR has only the title of Chairman of the Board of PCH. That does not make him also in charge of Regent and Oceania

 

While I do see issues in some areas -- particularly communication between the officers onboard the ships and the home office (as well as customer service staff giving incorrect answers and long wait times), this is fixable. I would love to see an email Customer Service Department. Having both questions and responses in writing could help in the training process as well as with wait times. When I email most companies, the turnaround time is between 24 and 36 hours. Sometimes we need to get used to being patient -- especially when some of our questions could be about a cruise that is several months away.

 

Regarding fixable, anything is fixable, with all of the recent cutbacks as well as price increases, really doubt the communications issues have any type of priority or thoughts of being fixed. After all, fixing means adding people and it appears they are going in the opposite direction. Yes, people need to be patient for things that aren't needed immediately but, having to contact the companies during the work day when people are supposed to be working for their company and not hanging on the phone with personal calls for long periods of time. The e-mail suggestion would be good except for the inadequate training of the current staff and the likelihood of incorrect answers with only another e-mail trying to get a correct answer. Talking can lead to the answerer learning the correct answer and/or escalating the question while on the phone. This doesn't happen with e-mail.

 

Another effective way of handling customer calls is done by Comcast (our internet service, telephone and cable television provider). They allow you to leave your telephone number on a recorder. The recorder tells you the approximate time your call will be returned. Note: Comcast has over 22 million customers nationwide.

 

Comcast has one of the worst reputations for poor customer service. The callback system might be nice but, for people at work, they cannot sit in their office waiting for a phone call at the whim of the company and likely many missed callbacks to people working. Would probably work for retired people.

 

Agree many of my comments are negative but, your continual blaming of anyone except the cruise line is very tiresome. Hope you get taken care of as am sure you have been promised.

[Travelcat2]

Comcast has one of the worst reputations for poor customer service. The callback system might be nice but, for people at work, they cannot sit in their office waiting for a phone call at the whim of the company and likely many missed callbacks to people working. Would probably work for retired people.

 

Agree many of my comments are negative but, your continual blaming of anyone except the cruise line is very tiresome. Hope you get taken care of as am sure you have been promised.

 

I am not a Comcast cheerleader, simply suggesting another way of doing things. The call-back is an option -- you can stay on the line if you wish. And, when they say they will call you back in 30 - 45 minutes, they definitely do call back.

 

What does "Hope you get taken care of as am sure you have been promised mean"? Very odd comment.

 

Didn't I just say that Oceania has communication difficulties and I don't like included excursions on Regent? Perhaps that was another thread. I call it like I see it. In 2012 I spent months blasting Regent. How soon posters forget. I'm curious whether you have cruised Regent or Oceania yet or if you have something booked. Your posts are interesting but I can't tell if you are speaking from experience with a particular line (Regent or Oceania).

Edited February 2, 2014 by Travelcat2

[titong]

Comcast has one of the worst reputations for poor customer service. The callback system might be nice but, for people at work, they cannot sit in their office waiting for a phone call at the whim of the company and likely many missed callbacks to people working. Would probably work for retired people.

 

Agree many of my comments are negative but, your continual blaming of anyone except the cruise line is very tiresome. Hope you get taken care of as am sure you have been promised.

 

As an unfortunate Comcast customer, I take issue with your comment: "Comcast has one of the worst reputations for poor customer service." They have the WORST customer service of any company, I have ever dealt with!

[Travelcat2]

As an unfortunate Comcast customer, I take issue with your comment: "Comcast has one of the worst reputations for poor customer service." They have the WORST customer service of any company, I have ever dealt with!

 

I know that Comcast is off topic....... but, the customer service in my area is excellent. Perhaps it has to do with living in a fairly small city (100,000). While I dislike the fact that they have a monopoly on cable television in my area, but, I give them credit when credit is due. I brought them up simply because they have a call-in system that works and is efficient. It would be nice if Regent had something that worked as well.

[YoHoHo]

I give them an F for phone support. It always takes at least 15 minutes to get someone to answer. And this is because I can't sign up for the drink package on line. This is the second issue I have had with my upcoming cruise with Oceania and their support. Not good.

 

Mark

Not to excuse or rationalize the time you spent on the phone but just want to say there is no need. You can buy it on-board almost as easily, or perhaps even easier considering your phone experience. Just make sure to do it straight away as it is only available for sale the first few days (apparently time varies slightly)

Edited February 2, 2014 by YoHoHo

[RachelG]

I too tried calling to pre purchase the drinks package. Got put on hold 20 min and gave up. I was able to purchase on board the first day, so not an issue with that.

 

But they should have their phone adequately manned. In my office we use a call back option if the person does not want to wait on the phone queue, and it has worked very well.