Great Cruise, Poor Customer Service

[cruisinfanatic]

why would you have a cash account and no cash in your pocket?

[TC1957]

I would never expect someone in customer service on the ship to really resolve any problem...and have never encountered anyone, in person, who has had a problem resolved onboard. Granted, my anecdotal sample size is limited to discovering those people during casual conversations...such as comparing cruise lines or asking someone on the first RCI cruise what they have found/experienced.

 

I know for certain the two issues we had (one minor, one significant) were not resolved while on the ship...and the significant one took months to resolve after we got off. I honestly thought I was going to have to seek assistance from an attorney.

 

It really seems like customer service takes the approach that you are basically at their mercy. You cannot leave without incurring HUGE expenses. What are you going to do...other than possibly pitching a fit and getting rude. They will just tune you out when that happens.

 

Once you have paid, there is no incentive for them to do anything for you. The focus of mass market lines is landing new customers. Keeping existing customers is gravy.

[TC1957]

why would you have a cash account and no cash in your pocket?

 

Uhh...because they planned to pay it off with a credit card.

 

And that is a good idea for those that want to use a debit card. Set up a cash account and pay it off on the last day. That would eliminate the possibility of them hitting it for a lot more than you spend.

Edited August 5, 2016 by TC1957

[ColoradoGurl]

I think they ask questions about celebrating an occasion for marketing purposes. They want to keep track of the reasons people book their cruises; who they travel with, their demographic data, and if celebrations are dictating the choice of cruises.

 

We've gotten a slice of cake with a candle and a happy birthday song in the dining room on my daughters birthday once. It was spontaneous and a nice gesture, but I doubt they do anything that costs extra money.

 

 

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Edited August 5, 2016 by ColoradoGurl

[Shih-tzu]

When ever I'm un the US and purchase anything it's in USD. In turn my card charges me a certain exchange rate. Only hear of this happening on ships....which shouldn't be done in my opinion. My CC has a good exchange rate even better than if I go to a bank and purchase USD (cash). You can almost bet the cruise companies are making $$$$

 

Both HAL and Carnival charged me in USD

Edited August 5, 2016 by Shih-tzu

[linkerbink]

I recall a number of years ago we received a bottle of wine in our cabin, "To:" someone we didn't know "From:" a travel agent we didn't use. We told our cabin attendant and he delivered it to the proper cabin. Is it possible that your gift was mis-delivered and the recipients didn't bother to have it corrected?

[squadron]

Unfortunately, the billing thing is fairly common, so much so that it seems to be planned. Easy way for the cruise line to make a few more bucks.

 

I would contact port cruise support and try to get a refund: (800) 256-6649.

 

I check the Cdn/Am exchange rate daily and yes there were a few days that it was $1.44 for I AM dollar. There is a credit card for Canadians that doesn't charge a service fee just the exchange rate- the old Sears card that is now Scotia I think. You must remember to check the right box to get your account charged in Cdn dollars.

[shutterbug63]

The food, drinks, service, and boat were spectacular! The weather sucked, and we still had a great time and can't wait to do it again. We did have two issues related to the business and customer service side of things, and I'm curious if anyone else has experienced similar.

 

 

My son & I have sailed Royal several times and have had excellent service every time EXCEPT on Radiance..and it was the same itinerary you did. We had several issues this past May with customer service on that ship and a lack of communication among the staff. Seems like not much has changed since we sailed.

[IsanTom]

Hope your Honeymoon was wonderful!

[F27TW]

Maybe your surprise was supposed to be a cake like this delivered to you in the dining room?

 

 

They'll also sing Happy "whatever" to you.

 

 

Classy! I hope they didn't put themselves out too much with that one !

 

Golly .. a free square of jello-tiramisu .. WITH a candle and birthday fortune ... and who says RC is cutting back ??!

Edited August 6, 2016 by F27TW

[c@nadian]

Possibly the "Surprise" that he "already got" was his Sea Pass bill. :)

 

 

Hahaha. Yes, I will admit it was a surprise.

 

When ever I'm un the US and purchase anything it's in USD. In turn my card charges me a certain exchange rate. Only hear of this happening on ships....which shouldn't be done in my opinion. My CC has a good exchange rate even better than if I go to a bank and purchase USD (cash). You can almost bet the cruise companies are making $$$$

 

 

Yup, I believe I mentioned the cruise being about $0.11/dollar higher than my card.

 

 

I understand the frustration of both these incidents, which basically boil down to "why imply you're doing something that you're not going to do".

 

The exchange rate issue is maddening because you have to specifically designate what currency you want to be charged in. They could very easily just default to the currency of your card, but instead they ASK you what you want and then fail to deliver. Chalking the discrepancy up to a simple mistake seems naïve given how regularly it happens.

 

I wouldn't have even given the exchange rate much thought if I hadn't been given the choice. Someone else mentioned that I would have to select the correct option, and I did. Even got someone else to re-read over the photocopies of the paper work that I kept to make sure we didn't mis-understand the form!

 

Hope your Honeymoon was wonderful!

 

It absolutely was, thank you! :)

[Paulxyz2004]

You probably have realized By now, RCI is simply doing nothing for celebrations, mentioned or not. Afterall if they wanted to do anything for Birthdays they wouldn´t een have to ask, as they have our Birthdates on file anyway.

The most they ever did was a cake at dinner with a candle and singing waiters. These days it´s simply one of the deserts with a candle.

 

As for the Exchange rate issue I have my own theory on this.

I do not think their System is set up to make their own conversion the Default Option. From my Experience the Default is to use whatever currency the booking was made in. Whenever I use a US TA and pay my cruise in USD it never failed to have my onboard charges made in USD, even in cases when I not checked anything on the setsail pass at all. Note I´ve never had a credit Card with US currency.

When I make bookings in other currencies it´s sort of a hit or miss if they get it right in the first attempt. However it was never more than one trip to GR to get it resolved.

[Surfguyxxx]

Classy! I hope they didn't put themselves out too much with that one !

 

Golly .. a free square of jello-tiramisu .. WITH a candle and birthday fortune ... and who says RC is cutting back ??!

 

Now that was funny; no disrespect of course, but funny none the less!!!:D

[Truluv]

Thanks for posting, by the way. This has been educational for me. I just got back from a trip to Ireland, and was asked every time I charged something if I wanted charges put on my card in EU or USD. I went with USD. (I had one credit card with me that didn't charge any foreign transaction fees (Barclay), but it was convenient to keep track of my total spending by using USD.) I didn't think about bank exchange rate vs. store/hotel exchange rate at the time, but I definitely will for my next trip!

Edited August 6, 2016 by Truluv

[Ontario Cruiser]

Get a USD credit card from your bank and use it. That is what we do. OntarioCruiser

[bayportkat]

I would definitely check with your travel agent, especially if they are a friend. It is possible that they set something up for you, at a cost to them, that you did not receive. I would just mention it causally, sit you mentioned earlier it was a family friend- just that you noticed it on the paperwork and didn't receive anything so they can arrange to receive their money back if the did in fact book something.

 

Glad you had a nice trip!

[griffy116]

Our TA has surprises us with either wine or cupcakes. He called after one of our cruises to make sure we got the surprise. He said that he now asks because he found out that some of his other clients hadn't received the surprise that HE PAID FOR. Since it was a surprise, they weren't looking for anything and it would just have gone unnoticed. I would check with your Travel Agent. I think they probably failed to deliver something he/she paid for. Once when I mentioned the red velvet cupcakes were the best, there was a long silence and he said that was not what he ordered and paid for. My first call would be the Travel Agent. Too late now for you to get the surprise, but the TA needs to know he paid for something YOU didn't get.

[FM]

Several reasons why a Canadian may prefer charges in USD ... a US dollar credit card which you can pay off in USD (we, like many others, load up on US currency for our holidays when the exchange rate is favourable), much better currency exchange rate on credit card or banks vs the cruise line ... even a credit card that offers a $0 dollar foreign transaction fee . I had a similar problem on at least one of our previous cruises which was resolved when I approached Guest Services. How is it that cruise lines can keep track of every purchase you can make (even overcharge you on something you didn't order/use) but can't keep track of something so simple as to which dollar currency you want charges to be in ...

 

I remember back in the day when TA's had arranged bottles of wine or champagne or flowers for special occasions or OBC on top of what the Travel Agency would offer for just booking a cruise with them. Not anymore ... I still recall our 10th Anniversary cruise where there was nothing at all from the TA ... what a disappointment from all the perks we had received on previous cruises.

 

If you mention to your dining room server that you are celebrating an anniversary, birthday etc., then they usually arrange something "celebratory" - a gussied up piece of cake/dessert, singing etc. But since desserts are not extra-charge on a cruise then ... lol. But at least there is some form of acknowledgment of your special occasion.

 

We've been on cruises where our dining room server was aware that we were celebrating a special occasion and helped us celebrate it because it had been noted on our cruise booking. With the advent of anytime dining though, there is no or little chance that you will establish the same type of relationship with your dining room service team. I just don't know - next year will be our first experience with anytime dining and our first time with RCL.

 

It's unfortunate that there was no acknowledgement of your honeymoon aboard the cruise. It's not the gift (if any) that counts ... but the thought. On our honeymoon cruise with Princess oh so long ago, there were activities and greet & meets for any honeymooners aboard the cruise ... it was so much fun and we had such a great time ...

 

Anyways, congrats on your wedding and best wishes for a great future :) !!

[CapeGal]

Hi and welcome to the world of cruising. As for the celebration "acknowledgement", it usually means a piece of celebration cake after dinner or something like that. If you wanted something else, usually you would pay for it in advance and the date you want it in your room. YOU are in control of the request. One time I received a piece of cake for my birthday, they sang happy birthday to me and then brought me the whole cake my husband had purchased! We had cake for a week! :D

Thank you! We can't wait for our second!!! Why else would they give me the option? Everything purchased on the cruise was in USD, and they asked which currency I wanted charged to my card. I wouldn't expect a store anywhere in the state to charge me CAD just because I am Canadian, I expect them to charge me the same as everyone else.

 

 

 

That's understandable, until they say that we'd already received it. I have seen other mentions online of cake, wine, flowers, a party one night for honeymooners, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

What does the honeymoon celebrade - *date* on the itinerary mean then? And why did they both tell us there would be a surprise, and then say we had already received it?

[c@nadian]

Get a USD credit card from your bank and use it. That is what we do. OntarioCruiser

 

I shouldn't have to go through that extra step. I authorized charges in USD, and they charged CAD.

[Langley Cruisers]

I shouldn't have to go through that extra step. I authorized charges in USD, and they charged CAD.

 

Agreed. Like I said earlier in this thread, this sometimes happens, and I'm sorry this has left a bad taste in your mouth for a first timer on Royal. :(

[KiwiGal117]

Thanks for posting about this though - and for all the responses. I had checked the box for USD on my upcoming cruise but I'm going to change it to a cash account. I have the Marriott Visa and it doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee. Same with Amazon visa apparently.

 

 

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[dannyboy312]

That is really sad. But unless you had a travel agent that arranged something special for your honeymoon celebration that you didn't receive; the cruise line ignores that little celebration box and doesn't usually provide or take note of anything.

 

I would be ticked about the deceptive comments by guest services as well. I think they sometimes feel that if they can placate you, you will be off the ship before you have a chance to get their names or complain.

 

Annoyances. Glad that you enjoyed the cruise. Other Canadians say that they set up a cash account at check in, and then pay it off in cash or with a credit card at the end of the cruise to ensure that it is charged correctly. It seems to be a common *issue* by or with royal Caribbean.

 

Agreed. Typically a travel agent will arrange for and pay for things like cupcakes, wine, chocolate covered strawberries etc. The cruise lines are all about pinching pennies, there's no way they're going to give anything away for free. I also would be annoyed by the guest services comment. Sounds like they said "I can't tell you, it's a surprise", just to get you away from the desk.

[F27TW]

Hi and welcome to the world of cruising. As for the celebration "acknowledgement", it usually means a piece of celebration cake after dinner or something like that. If you wanted something else, usually you would pay for it in advance and the date you want it in your room. YOU are in control of the request. One time I received a piece of cake for my birthday, they sang happy birthday to me and then brought me the whole cake my husband had purchased! We had cake for a week! :D

 

 

Gahhhh ... girl your print is HUGE .. tone dat down a little ok ? ;)

[grandmarnnurse]

I cruised on the Indy 2 years ago and it was mentioned on itinerary that we were celebrating a birthday and an anniversary. They even asked what night we would like to celebrate it and have RCCL recognize it. Not one thing was done, either.

 

 

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