Letter to Goldstein about RCCL refusing to discuss TA bookings

[Ocean Boy]

(I am the OP)

 

The point of my thread is not about who is responsible, pointing fingers, what my TA said afterwards, who screwed up, how it can be solved onboard, what compensation I could or should receive, etc.

 

The point is that RCCL should change its policies so that we can avoid getting into this situation in the first place.

 

The blame game gets played a lot around here. Good for you bringing your message back to the point.

[Paulette3028]

(I am the OP)

 

The point of my thread is not about who is responsible, pointing fingers, what my TA said afterwards, who screwed up, how it can be solved onboard, what compensation I could or should receive, etc.

 

The point is that RCCL should change its policies so that we can avoid getting into this situation in the first place.

 

The best way to avoid problems is very open and straight forward communication between myself and the TA. I am going on our 17th cruise, only 1 was booked directly with Royal (it was extremely last minute) and 1 (our first) was booked with a TA, but not by me.....friends of ours who we handling all the arrangements with the TA did it all for us (we were newbies).

 

NEVER was there a lack of communication between what we were getting from the TA on our cruise or from Royal -- irregardless of what we saw listed in our reservation. And viola....all was there.

 

When someone says to me -- "they sent the info to XXXXX", then they need to also send me a copy of what they sent. In todays world of email....being copied is easy, very easy. It avoids an entire mess!

 

I don't know if the policy will change....but changing the policy won't change much, it will start the finger pointing earlier.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Paulette3028

[Starry Eyes]

Good point and that is the reason we book direct.

 

So do we. We like to control our bookings and do not like having middle man, as the odds of miscommunication or blame-game rise as more people are added to the mix.

Still, if someone else has wonderful agent who adds value and perks, great.

[Ocean Boy]

 

I don't know if the policy will change....but changing the policy won't change much, it will start the finger pointing earlier.

 

And if starting the finger pointing earlier gets things fixed BEFORE I start my vacation then it's all good.:)

Edited February 4, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[Desert Cruizers]

On a Coastal cruise a year ago, I had a situation where the cruise lines, not RCCL, moved me out of a mid ship cabin to foward. Had I contacted the cruise lines I feel I would have gotten an excuse and take it or leave it. I had booked thru our local TA who was notified of the move, she was on the phone ASAP to tell them I was to be moved back immediately to the original room. This was done. The only way I knew about the move, all within 15 min of our TA calling the lines, I had gone in to check my bookings and noticed a differant cabin #.

I called our TA who told me what happened so went back to check my Reserv and saw my original room posted so called her back to let her know. We use her for all our cruises because I know she is watching out for us and will make things right. I can book our cruises and never worry. BTW I can reach her on weekends because she monitors all emails and anyone of her associates will step up if she is out of the office.

[cruzeluvr]

OK folks ....

 

. . . (note: it's RCI. Has been for years.) . . .

 

RCI (Royal Caribbean International) is owned by RCCL (Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.) which is why many posters used them interchangeably

[Little Buddy's Mom]

BTW I can reach her on weekends because she monitors all emails and anyone of her associates will step up if she is out of the office.

 

Seems to me, your travel agent is only doing her job. Question is, does she give you any SBC, prepaid tips, or other perks, to show she appreciates your business? ;).

 

If not, you might as well book directly with the cruiseline and cut out the middleman.

 

My agent seems to be available 24/7. I don't know when she sleeps. :) She also gives me 10% sbc, on the amount she earns commission on.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Little Buddy's Mom

[leinhto]

The OP has a great point. The issue is peace of mind for the customer in the end. Finding out a screw up occurred in your reservation while you are miles at sea is not pleasant, regardless of who is to blame.

 

Most customers will never find out who really is to blame anyway. It could be the TA or RCI, and the percentage of blame is likely 50/50.

 

I would venture to say this, a cruise doc from RCI spelling out benefits has far more weight at sea (some thought I would say in court) than a TA document. This is about the experience at sea not after the cruise is over. Who cares after that, you either had a good cruise or not.

 

So wanting to get a confirmation from the ultimate provider of the service before boarding totally makes sense. This is a request for transparency not a gripe.

 

I get you OP.:cool:

[Desert Cruizers]

Yes our TA gives us perks when we cruise.

[griffy116]

We get perks (including OBC) from our TA who is available weekends and after hours too. When we book, he meticulously goes over the details. When I booked during the BOGO promotion, I thought I got more credit than what I did. When he went over the details, I asked and he explained that I couldn't combine, blah, blah, blah. He ALWAYS sends a new invoice on any changes I make, always give a breakdown of everything and is very careful to follow-up in WRITING. In the past, he's even called us back and said that after running a few scenarios, he discovered that we could get two cabins cheaper than the ones we had requested he booked and asked if we wanted to consider this option. He's advised me a cruise I picked, last minute that he didn't think I was going to be happy with the ship because he knew my tastes and preferences. We insisted and he was right. We didn't like the ship, but it served its purpose as a way to get away for a much needed breather for a few days. You have to have a TA that knows you, knows your preferences and why you have these preferences and most of all...one you trust to take good care of you and make you a repeat customer. Royal Caribbean folks are there to book a cruise. Nothing more, nothing less.

[denamo]

It surely makes sense to know what you are getting in the way of OBC's or things that are complimentary from you TA, before you get on board and then check that they are there upon checkin. You have time before leaving port (at least can do it if in the US) to reach your TA.

 

When cruising out on a Saturday or Sunday, many TA's are not working and unavailable.

 

Agree with OP. Once on board. Would be most advantageous to have access to information before being on board.

 

We've had something of this variety happen with promised TA perks but not appearing (or disappearing ;)) once on board. I will say, the gal we dealt with at customer service went above and beyond. She dialed our TA on the ship's phone and let us speak to our TA directly. Now that's a WOW! Guess we are one of the fortunate to get this kind of customer service.

[Desert Cruizers]

I truely believe, the end result is what we all are happy with when we book a cruise & where we feel we have received the best service. Granted some have had bad dealings with TA's which is sad, but as long as we are happy with the results then if we can come home saying that was an enjoyable and rewarding trip, that is the important thing.

[phade]

The OP has a great point. The issue is peace of mind for the customer in the end. Finding out a screw up occurred in your reservation while you are miles at sea is not pleasant, regardless of who is to blame.

 

Most customers will never find out who really is to blame anyway. It could be the TA or RCI, and the percentage of blame is likely 50/50.

 

I would venture to say this, a cruise doc from RCI spelling out benefits has far more weight at sea (some thought I would say in court) than a TA document. This is about the experience at sea not after the cruise is over. Who cares after that, you either had a good cruise or not.

 

So wanting to get a confirmation from the ultimate provider of the service before boarding totally makes sense. This is a request for transparency not a gripe.

 

I get you OP.:cool:

 

I concur.

 

At the end of the day, this isn't about simply pointing fingers as to who owns what problem. RCI/RCCL and the TA mutually benefit when the client has a quality experience; likewise they mutually suffer when the client has a poor experience. Other cruise lines appear to offer this transparency to aid in providing a quality experience.

 

RCI/RCCL likely has a giant Risk Management department. I have to assume they've weighed the reputational risk for this issue and things like the "my cruise" error with price changes during online payment. I'm obviously not involved, but in my opinion I believe this is not something that will be changed becuase it's not enough of a factor to steer business away with any tangible effect (in their assessment).

 

From a tech perspective, I do not believe this would be a complicated project. Whether they are using Agile or waterfall methodology, this is about as basic of a project as possible. Basic queries and feeds can source this info.

 

That tells me that RCI/RCCL REALLY thinks low of this particular issue/impact on clients, or they really devalue clients.

 

If anything, they probably believe they come out ahead on this financially, and the noise created isn't worth the fix.

[Silverloc]

Something no one that I have seen say yet, TA's are in a contract with RC, that contract has things that go both ways. I imagine the policy set by RC concerning what information they can and can not divulge is based on that contract. It boils down to a issue of legal liability.

[phoenix1181]

Is my TA the only one that provides an Amenity confirmation?

[LMaxwell]

Whatever the policy is that prevents a guest from easily receiving an invoice of amenities it is a stupid policy and only ticks people off and makes things needlessly complex. Why do they design a policy that makes it hard to do business with?

[Cuizer2]

Is my TA the only one that provides an Amenity confirmation?

 

No, mine does also.

[caribill]

I disagree with the OP.

The Problem is between the TA and the OP. The cruise line is really not involved here at all.

 

As far as I understand the OP wants a confirmation from the cruise line for stuff they were promised by the TA. It is not up to the cruiseline to provide this to the customer. If I want confirmation of such things I Need to ask my TA about it and it´s up to the TA to provide it, maybe even ask the cruiseline for proof to Forward to me. In any case this Needs to be done by the TA not me and not the cruiseline.

 

 

[/url]

 

As others have pointed out, sometimes the TA's requersts to the cruiseline get lost in the shuffle.

 

I see nothing wrong with asking RCI (and RCI responding) to confirm that what the TA said would be there is attached to the booking. If not, then the TA can be contacted by the OP to follow up on this.

[Little Buddy's Mom]

Another problem, could be the cutoff date to get the shipboard credit or other perks applied.

 

One time, I didn't get my shipboard credit and I just contacted my agent, on return. She told me she had missed the cutoff date and just sent me a check. No problem.

 

Seems like the OP could have done the same thing.

[leinhto]

Another problem' date=' could be the cutoff date to get the shipboard credit or other perks applied.

 

One time, I didn't get my shipboard credit and I just contacted my agent, on return. She told me she had missed the cutoff date and just sent me a check. No problem.

 

Seems like the OP could have done the same thing.[/quote']

Would be nice if the customer knew about the cutoff too.

[cheers55]

We get perks (including OBC) from our TA who is available weekends and after hours too. When we book, he meticulously goes over the details. When I booked during the BOGO promotion, I thought I got more credit than what I did. When he went over the details, I asked and he explained that I couldn't combine, blah, blah, blah. He ALWAYS sends a new invoice on any changes I make, always give a breakdown of everything and is very careful to follow-up in WRITING. In the past, he's even called us back and said that after running a few scenarios, he discovered that we could get two cabins cheaper than the ones we had requested he booked and asked if we wanted to consider this option. He's advised me a cruise I picked, last minute that he didn't think I was going to be happy with the ship because he knew my tastes and preferences. We insisted and he was right. We didn't like the ship, but it served its purpose as a way to get away for a much needed breather for a few days. You have to have a TA that knows you, knows your preferences and why you have these preferences and most of all...one you trust to take good care of you and make you a repeat customer. Royal Caribbean folks are there to book a cruise. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

 

I see some advantages with a TA. However, in 16 cruises with RCLI it has been very simple to handle ourselves and cut out the middle man/women.

 

 

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[Big_G]

Is my TA the only one that provides an Amenity confirmation?

 

 

Mine did too but Royal had no record of one that was on the TA's confirmation. That's why it would be nice to see it on the Royal invoice.

 

 

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[ccletzgo]

Hate to be blunt but the letter was a waste of time. NO cruise line is going to cross the LEGAL line between agent and guest. In fact, NO travel vendor will. Its illegal and unethical.

[lewinr]

Hate the be blunt but you're wrong. People already pointed out in this thread that a number of other cruise lines provide exactly the functionality on their websites which I'm asking about. (Ability to see benefits provided by TAs.)

[Big_G]

Hate to be blunt but the letter was a waste of time. NO cruise line is going to cross the LEGAL line between agent and guest. In fact, NO travel vendor will. Its illegal and unethical.

 

 

Maybe if you could quote the law or explain how putting TA perks onto the invoice is ILLEGAL in a non-blunt way, someone would take your comment seriously.

 

 

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