Silver Spirit Nightmare. Do they care?

[UKCruiseJeff]

It gets even better. I’ve just emailed the person that I spoke to in the Miami office to ask where there any updates and my email failed to deliver because I’ve been blocked by the recipient.

 

Six star luxury Cruise Line.

 

I don’t think so.

 

Hi Dave .....

 

Sometimes these things are simply internet mail router things and aren't always personal. But with a heap of respect you are trying to communicate with the Miami office when they do clearly have proved that they do not have much to offer you by way of fair resolution when you should really consider moving on to sending crisp business like letters to the UK and offering litigation - which is where your contract is.

 

Thanks for your kind and appreciated earlier comments. Always happy to offer sympathy and practical help. In any event best wishes and good luck.

[Daveywavey70]

I Tried to contact her because in her email to me she said that she would take it to upper management and I was asking her if there were any developments before I take it further.

 

The email has come back specifically telling me that I have been blocked by the user.

 

Crisp business like letter it is then.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I Tried to contact her because in her email to me she said that she would take it to upper management and I was asking her if there were any developments before I take it further.

 

The email has come back specifically telling me that I have been blocked by the user.

 

Crisp business like letter it is then.

 

 

Dave,

 

Think of it this way. Keep your blocking letter. It has just improved your outcome. You have no idea how much that will increase both your odds and your settlement in the event you need to progress your claim. Judges do not like that sort of thing and in the UK punish businesses for that behaviour. To be honest I am sorry you are in this situation but if you manage this well you should get a very large chunk of cash back.

 

As I said fwiw I'm really happy to offer any help you believe me capable of. I have bags of both personal and professional experience in this area ......;)

[Daveywavey70]

Thanks Jeff,

I guess I’m just being an optimist and hoping that this has just all been an oversight on SS behalf and they will at some point take this seriously so I thought I’d give them yet another chance.

 

It’s becoming more and more obvious that they absolutely couldn’t care less.

 

I feel so sorry for anyone else in this awful situation.

 

I’ve now forwarded the blocked email to Peter Shanks and offered him the opportunity to comment on the matter.

 

737swapilot i’m Sorry to hear about your ac problem. Our suite was really cold all week despite turning the ac up. We just thought it was crap ac, didn’t realise that was broken too.

[Daveywavey70]

Great news. I’ve just found out that because I paid for the holiday with my MasterCard it’s covered under section 75 of the Consumer Credit act so my bank have passed it onto their disputes team. Maybe they’ll take that seriously.

 

I Don’t know if there is anything similar in the U.S. but UK & EU travellers are certainly covered.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Great news. I’ve just found out that because I paid for the holiday with my MasterCard it’s covered under section 75 of the Consumer Credit act so my bank have passed it onto their disputes team. Maybe they’ll take that seriously.

 

I Don’t know if there is anything similar in the U.S. but UK & EU travellers are certainly covered.

 

Dave,

 

They have neither Section 75 protection (or anything remotely like it) nor any of the unfair contract terms in consumer contracts protection (which you have yet to explore?) or any - including relatively pain-free access to courts - or the other stuff we have to protect us. I promise you that you have a relatively simple path to "get this sorted" if you need to. Keep it simple, and determined and go for it.

 

May I extend a genuine welcome to you to join us on the Cooler. I loved your pictures of your cruise partner and yourself and felt a desire to have been with you and drink with you both on your piccy site and you'd be welcome to join us in the discussions of the square root of b+gger all on the Cooler. :):):)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks Jeff,

I guess I’m just being an optimist and hoping that this has just all been an oversight on SS behalf and they will at some point take this seriously so I thought I’d give them yet another chance.

 

It’s becoming more and more obvious that they absolutely couldn’t care less.

 

I feel so sorry for anyone else in this awful situation.

 

I’ve now forwarded the blocked email to Peter Shanks and offered him the opportunity to comment on the matter.

 

737swapilot i’m Sorry to hear about your ac problem. Our suite was really cold all week despite turning the ac up. We just thought it was crap ac, didn’t realise that was broken too.

 

In the end optimism makes way for fact-based realism. :)

[Capri73]

Great news. I’ve just found out that because I paid for the holiday with my MasterCard it’s covered under section 75 of the Consumer Credit act so my bank have passed it onto their disputes team. Maybe they’ll take that seriously.

 

I Don’t know if there is anything similar in the U.S. but UK & EU travellers are certainly covered.

So happy for you hope you get what you deserve.My agent is still working on ours. So far not even a reply from SS.

[UKCruiseJeff]

So happy for you hope you get what you deserve.My agent is still working on ours. So far not even a reply from SS.

 

 

Good luck.

[Daveywavey70]

So happy for you hope you get what you deserve.My agent is still working on ours. So far not even a reply from SS.

I' m so sorry to hear that Capri. I Hope that they start taking peoples complaints seriously and you too get what you deserve.

[Tothesunset]

If it's any help, we had an issue on a cruise about 4 years ago which prompted me to write to SS head office in Fort Lauderdale. I sent it recorded delivery although that only tells you that it has arrived in the country (yes, I know I should have Fedexed it!).

 

Heard nothing from the US but eventually the UK office sent me an offer of a substantial cruise credit. I know you don't wish to sail with SS again but the point is that it seemed that the UK office dealt with the matter, not the US head office.

 

I suspect that your dealing with Miami is being bounced across to London. Whatever, I assume you booked through the SS agent in London so, as Jeff has repeated, it is they who will be the defendant to your plaintiff.

 

(As an aside, a couple we met on that cruise had the exact same issue that we had. They were from California and complained to the US office who offered the cruise credit BUT they did so much more quickly but at a lower amount of credit - our friends accepted. It later annoyed them that we had got a better deal. Was that because SS UK know that the law favours the consumer here? Dunno.)

[737swapilot]

The Miami office responded today with the original offer they gave everyone.

Time to take this to Facebook

[dolllover]

You can also report them to the Better Buisness Bureau . We’ve had good luck getting issues resolved with that .

[737swapilot]

You can also report them to the Better Buisness Bureau . We’ve had good luck getting issues resolved with that .

I just can’t believe that for a ultra luxury cruise line this is how they treat guests.

[Daveywavey70]

The Miami office responded today with the original offer they gave everyone.

Time to take this to Facebook

 

I’m really sorry to hear that 737swapilot. What an absolute shambles this company is.

 

I emailed Peter Shanks today and he has responded saying he’ll look into it and get back to me tomorrow.

 

I’ve also reported it to the BBC’s Watchdog programme that we have over here. I’m not going to be fobbed off by them any more. I’m so appalled that Guest relations have blocked my email.

[737swapilot]

I’m really sorry to hear that 737swapilot. What an absolute shambles this company is.

 

I emailed Peter Shanks today and he has responded saying he’ll look into it and get back to me tomorrow.

 

I’ve also reported it to the BBC’s Watchdog programme that we have over here. I’m not going to be fobbed off by them any more. I’m so appalled that Guest relations have blocked my email.

 

By the time I’m through with them I’ll be on the same block list as you :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Dave, well done you and Peter for responding so promptly. It is what one should expect from a decent senior exec.

 

What will possibly happen next is that Peter might delegate this down the line to someone else to handle the detail. If this happens, I suggest that you accept that but explain to both Peter and the person handling it that due to the unacceptable handling so far, that you will go back to Peter to inform him of either your satisfaction or disatisfaction with how this issue has been handled and concluded from this point forward to ensure that everyone understands exactly where they stand and why. That will provide maximum encouragement for the issue to be handled equitably and professionally to all involved.

[hypercafe]

I have been reading the back and forth here. I believe SS has offered a 25% future cruise credit to all however the op and others believe they deserve more due to the shape of their cabin. I have to say that I believe a future cruise credit is a poor replacement for a refund, my position is I paid cash for the trip, if I didn't get what I should of I expect cash back. Beyond that this referb of the Spirit was no secret, was this trip priced rather low? What do you expect from SS, what's your price?. I would never ask such personal questions however you have made this very public and as I see it you ate the food, drank the drinks, saw the shows, got the transportation and had a room.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[UKCruiseJeff]

hypercafe

 

With the greatest respect, although Americans and British speak roughly the same language, when it comes to consumer protection and expectations we have two completely different cultures. Therefore, discussing expectations for two vastly different cultural and legal frameworks will really not end up in any sort of common ground and will in my view simply end with the thread being closed and deleted due to us not avoiding perfectly avoidable heated arguments. It might be in SS's best interests that threads of this type are closed but I do not think it good for their customers.

 

As a statement of fact disputes of this type in the UK often end up with damages and reimbursements in the UK of more than 100% of the original vacation cost. I brought a case to our High Court some time back and received considerably more than 100%. It has become a legal precedent and is often quoted. You may think that unfair but I would much prefer the environment we have in which providers of services take care to provide what they promise or put it right promptly and fairly when they fail.

[Observer]

What an absolute shambles this company is.

 

Others -- including some who have taken many holidays with Silversea during the past decade when you have apparently been entirely without a vacation -- have a different perspective on the company.

 

For obvious reasons, Silversea is not engaging such complaints in public. In fact, as I understand it, they were proactive in offering all guests on that cruise a 25% discount on a future cruise.

 

I have no reason -- repeat: no reason -- to doubt the OP's reports (though the increasing passion of the posts does give one pause.)

 

Nonetheless, I have had enough experience in such matters to know that there are generally two sides to every story, that initial reports may be exaggerated or partial, that the customer is not always right, etc.

 

It's not clear to me that social media are an appropriate forum for continued bashing of a company -- especially when one can do so in the near-certain knowledge that the company will not respond online.

 

If one believes one has a cause of action, perhaps it would be more productive to bring it in a venue where disputes are heard in a fair way.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Observer,

 

The reason why people take to social media in these types of situation is most regularly when they have failed to gain an acceptable level of engagement in any other way. It is too often a final resort. The reason why this thread was started was because the poster was not dealt with in a way that he felt respected him. People can read the account and decide. On another thread he posted glowingly about some aspects of the cruise and in my mind he therefore seems balanced and fair.

 

In this situation presumably SS offered passengers 25% off of future cruises having received complaints from some passengers rather than as you suggest "pro-actively" implying before any complaints were received. That seems more likely to me and does not seem in my use of the word to be "pro-active" except to those that hadn't complained presumably because they did not have the same problems. Those people simply received a generous discount for which perhaps they were not "entitled" to.

 

All organisations are aware of social media and if they choose not to engage then that is their choice, a choice I believe to be misguided. Social media will make and break companies. They decide not to engage knowing that they are failing to fight their corner. That should not be the reason why people that have failed to engage should feel unable to voice their experiences.

 

In my view the most important thing a company can do for their long-term health is to treat their customers fairly and gain a reputation for doing so. If they do not do this and their reputation suffers because their customers (a) resort to social media seeking publicity and help and then (b) the company refuses to engage in the way that Mark Conroy did so well then that is a choice for them and they do so knowing the consequences.

 

We do not tell customers who post glowingly about the product to desist and it is therefore unfair to tell customers to shut up simply because they wish to share their negative experiences and I do not think we should presume that most people reading what is posted are unable to make up their own minds.

[Tothesunset]

If SS offered the 25% future cruise allowance automatically is that not admission in itself that they realise their product was defective? And is it also not a completely useless recompense to the OP who states his intention not to sail with SS again? It strikes me that if you paid for 10 gallons of petrol but only received 5 it would not be unreasonable to expect the cost of 5 gallons to be refunded. In the OP's opinion he has been short-sold on this cruise and wants, quite reasonably, to be compensated for the shortfall.

 

I'm usually fairly unmoved by whinging and complaining on here since the moans are often petty and overwrought, some even pompous and clearly just the writer's way of trying to appear discerning and self-important. Yet this strikes me as different. I would posit that, assuming the accuracy of the OP's assertions, the complaints are valid and the defect in the product materially affected the OP's enjoyment of the holiday. That is not a small matter - it is the crux of the matter because he bought a product specifically marketed as providing the very highest standards of comfort and refinement.

 

If a company wishes to avoid adverse publicity on a social medium then it must provide what it promises or deal promptly and efficiently to the satisfaction of the customer should the product be defective. I'm sure that specious or malicious complaints are easily recognised as such.

[Observer]

Observer,

 

The reason why people take to social media in these types of situation is most regularly when they have failed to gain an acceptable level of engagement in any other way. It is too often a final resort. The reason why this thread was started was because the poster was not dealt with in a way that he felt respected him.

 

I really do not want to come off as a Silversea apologist. I love the product, but (as in any love affair) I am aware that the beloved may have blemishes. Heaven knows, I have had my issues with Silversea -- as I have with each of the luxury lines.

 

Is it reasonable to believe that a post-cruise complaint will have been dealt with within ten days? I believe that is the time between the end of the inaugural Spirit cruise and the launch of this thread. I would think that one would allow more than ten days before moving to the "final resort" of social media.

[drron29]

Although the US has poor consumer protection some major US companies have much better consumer policies.Less than 2 weeks ago I stayed at a Sheraton hotel and there were issues.I ate their food,had my bed for the night but as soon as I mentioned the problems the stay was comped.No arguments.No cost to me.

Maybe Europe needs better consumer laws because European companies are different?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Onserver,

 

He was made precise promises of calls several times and each time they were not made. He wrote and he was ignored.

 

For what it's worth, if this were to go to court in the UK in my opinion the killer question will hinge on a simple few questions.

 

1. Does a project of this complexity always finish completely exactly on time or would a well managed company who genuinely cares for it’s customers’ well-being reasonably expect there to be teething problems and should they therefore make realistic contingency plans just in case.

 

2. If so, how many suites did SS keep free in order to move people affected by teething problems.

 

To me SS’s defence of itself hinges on that question, and then how it managed the inevitable fallout. What it seems to me that they have done is concluded that they needn’t bother to make reasonable contingency plans and then when customers complained tried to fob, them off. That may not be what has happened but that is how at the moment it appears to me.

 

I think that if it transpires that SS fully booked the whole ship to 100% capacity, and then failed to adequately try and put things right with customers, then a UK judge would “punish” them.