waited 45 minutes to talk to Celebity

[travel1]

I had to make a change and get some info on an reservation. I waited 45 minutes

on the phone. I had to make the change before 3PM yesterday. Awful service !!

Travel 1

[daisy-mae]

Is there any chance the delay is due to the bad weather slamming the east coast?

 

With all of the flight cancellations, there are probably thousands of passengers scrambling to make alternate arrangements for cruises departing this weekend. I would be inclined to cut Celebrity a little slack...

[kennetro]

I had exactly the same experience two weeks ago! I called about a glitch in our Galapagos reservation, & held for a solid 45 minutes, only to be told, "I'm sorry Sir, I can't help you with that. You need to call our 'Galapagos' Customer Service number!" I was LIVID! I thanked her for taking 45 minutes out of my life & suggested that they might consider PUBLISHING the fact that there is a separate customer service number for Galapagos cruises!! Celebrity, you can do better!

[DebbieMacG]

We've had trouble getting through to Captains club in the UK, 20 mins 40 mins and 1hr 15 waits and not spoken to them yet :( so it's not just a problem in one country!

[dkjretired]

Is there any chance the delay is due to the bad weather slamming the east coast?

 

With all of the flight cancellations, there are probably thousands of passengers scrambling to make alternate arrangements for cruises departing this weekend. I would be inclined to cut Celebrity a little slack...

 

The call center is not on the east coast however it's location in Wichita, Kansas has been getting hit pretty hard with storms also.

[oztravellerleeds]

The Celebrity e mail contact system is just as bad, it says they will respond within 2 to 3 days I have been waiting 13 so far without response.

 

But got the answer to my question by posting on Cruise Critic, response time about 5 mins.

 

Celebrity should be ashamed of their customer service.

[johhnnyt]

http://www.weather.com/travel/winter-most-flights-cancelled-25-years-20140214

 

Unless its an emergency I wouldn't be contacting Celebrity (or any other cruise line) for at least 4-5 days till they have stranded passengers who are coming/going taken care of.

 

The floods in the UK I'm sure have caused similar problems over there. Please try and give some consideration for people who REALLY need to get through right now, and hold off calling about things that can be dealt with later

[daisy-mae]

The call center is not on the east coast however it's location in Wichita, Kansas has been getting hit pretty hard with storms also.

 

I'm not sure the call center location would be a factor. I was referring to the great majority of cruises (Celebrity and others) leaving from east coast ports, and the problems accessing these ports because most of the airports have been severely affected -- including many airports further west, because of the domino effect.

[Tucker in Texas]

I needed to cancel a cruise a month ago. Same story, l-o-n-g waits on hold. I had to give up a couple of times. I let the person know how unhappy I was and from her reply, I don't think I was the first one. She said something about it being "wave season" which causes a lot of back-ups along with their wonderful 1-2-3 promotion. I am familiar with wave season, I'm sure they are as it happens every year so why don't they shift help around to cover the increase in bookings?

 

Last night I was on hold for 30 minutes to book a cruise. I conveyed my unhappiness again. Told her I knew it wasn't her fault but she needed to let management know that these holds are unacceptable. Told her (liar, liar, pants on fire) that I spent my hold time looking at other cruise lines with the same itinerary at the same price and was ready to "jump ship" if I had found one before she came on.

 

So, I think this is an ongoing problem. I will say that the person I finally talked to gave me the impression she was a Nancy New Hire so maybe they are hiring more people. She definitely needed to be prompted on certain things like paying for the booking since it was past final due time among other things.

 

Tucker in Texas

[C-Dragons]

The call center is not on the east coast however it's location in Wichita, Kansas has been getting hit pretty hard with storms also.

 

Yes, the recent storms are causing problems and many agents couldn't get to work at the Call center.

Imagine being short staffed... with all that is going on these days. :eek:

I would hope that anyone who has to call would keep these circumstances in mind, and be kind.

[Cthy651]

I feel your frustrations, I have had the same problem - holding on the phone with a message your call will be answered in 13 min - 35 min later finally hang up - sent numerous emails never to receive a response. My incidents happened 3 to 6 weeks, ago, finally gave up and called my travel agent - she also had a very frustrating experience.

All I can say is "SHAME ON YOU CELEBRITY AND YOUR POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE":mad:

[luv2trvlnow]

Anybody having long waits the last couple of days cannot put the blame on the call center in Wichita. I live in Tulsa and the weather hasn't been bad since Tuesday. In fact it was in the 50's yesterday and the 60's today in Wichita. It is even warmer here. They should be in the 50's and 60's all week. So that is not the excuse.

I had long waits the 2 times I called early in January. It seems to be an ongoing problem. I also booked a repositioning cruise with Carnival (I know-but great ports and was only $399 for 8 days and 5 new ports) during the same week I booked my Celebrity cruise. I did not have a long wait there. So far have not been impressed with the service when calling Celebrity.

Sharon

[Dick in Falls Church]

Well, I tried to book a cruise on the web site the other day. After going through all the steps, I got bounced with a comment that my requested dinner time was not available. Called the 800 number, had to wait about 3-4 minutes, and booked. Neither early or late seatings were available, only select (had to pay the gratuities, not a big deal unless one has a lot of OBC).

And this for a trip 7 months out.

 

Queiried Stockholder Relations about using Stockholder OBC in specific circumstances, and got a reply the next day.

 

Maybe I just live right, or am blessed, but really can't complain.

[smtcan]

I called this afternoon. The message said that the wait would be 36 minutes (very precise) and would I prefer a call back. I wasn't going to wait, so I arranged a call back for 3 pm, not really expecting to get it. At 3:05 the phone rang and it was a Celebrity rep. I was quite impressed, even though I didn't get the answer I was hoping for. I would certainly try the call back option again, rather than waiting. Even with speaker phone on it is tying up the line for an extended time.

 

Sheila

[DebbieMacG]

http://www.weather.com/travel/winter-most-flights-cancelled-25-years-20140214

 

Unless its an emergency I wouldn't be contacting Celebrity (or any other cruise line) for at least 4-5 days till they have stranded passengers who are coming/going taken care of.

 

The floods in the UK I'm sure have caused similar problems over there. Please try and give some consideration for people who REALLY need to get through right now, and hold off calling about things that can be dealt with later

 

Not all of the UK is flooded :eek: I can assure you that's not a factor here they are based no where near the coastal flooding.

[Jamaica_Bride919]

I've called them three times over the last week and a half (because their web site is constantly under maintenance & not working well) I haven't been on hold more than 5-6 minutes any of the three times I've called & their staff is extremely friendly and knowledgable! I've booked 8 days to Alaska in May, all our shore excursions, dining reservations and spa services on the phone without one problem or being left on hold even with all the weather issues!

Good job Celebrity! xoxo

[riclop]

Its all about the weather.

[mira577]

I, too, called yesterday with a question and had a 48 minute wait time. I did not wait, but I can imagine the weather is problematic! That is my hope, otherwise Celebrity needs to address the customer service via phone problem!

 

Amanda

[mira577]

I, too, called yesterday with a question and had a 48 minute wait time. I did not wait, but I can imagine the weather is problematic! That is my hope, otherwise Celebrity needs to address the customer service via phone problem!

 

Amanda

[HI75msp]

Think that is normal procedure. I booked through AAA and we waited about 30 minutes before anyone answered the phone. I Celebrity is just short staffed and very busy

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[sunluva7]

That's where booking with a TA has it's advantages. Depending on the request or change you want made, a TA can do it at the agent website without having to contact them by phone. If phone contact was needed, an agent might have better results with the agent dedicated lines.

[chief190]

I understand all the very good reasons why the call centers could be ovrwhelemed with calls at any one time as in the past my normal wait time is less than 5 minutes. I don't blame them for under staffing etc. I think it is an abnormal situation no one could have forseen. What I don't understand is a phone system that has several major flaws Number 1 does not accurately track number of calls ahead of you so you can decide to wait or not. number 2 yesterday when holding after 30 minutes on hold the phone rang once and hung up on me. number 3 they have a system that will call you back why cant it not call back until there is someone to help you. I tried it and it called me back in 10 seconds and then i was back on hold. there are some basic improvements that would make me feel better about the long wait and maybe a explanation instead of just a statement that there are longer than normal wait times due to high volume of calls. just my opinion but it would at least not make you as frustrated.:rolleyes:

[Pugwash123]

Phoned Celebrity UK call centre this morning to upgrade drinks package. Call answered immediately and dealt with efficiently. Checked the Celebrity website to find my cruise details had been updated correctly and I received an email from my TA with an updated invoice within the hour. Perhaps Sunday is a good day to contact Celebrity in the UK.

[uktog]

Phoned Celebrity UK call centre this morning to upgrade drinks package. Call answered immediately and dealt with efficiently. Checked the Celebrity website to find my cruise details had been updated correctly and I received an email from my TA with an updated invoice within the hour. Perhaps Sunday is a good day to contact Celebrity in the UK.

 

Useful to know - how much are they charging per day for an upgrade in £ - I know its $11.50 per person at present if I wait until on the ship

[jgreenwo17]

I have called X about 3 times in the last month. Everytime the hold time has been pretty long. (Sometimes pushing 30 minutes or longer). My hunch is they are cutting costs in the cusromer service dept and it will continue to be a problem until corporate decides to put more resources in their customer service dept.

 

I have sailed with HAL,Princess, and Carnival and have dealt with their respective customer service depts and have not had to wait so long.

 

X, you need to improve in this dept.