Royal Caribbean customer service non existent

[AnnaNicole]

4 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

EDIT:I keep forgetting that the OP did get $200 OBC in addition to a refund. So I guess a reasonable effort was made.   Maybe it's slightly good customer service.

 

IMO, RCI should price protect the existing customer (when they charter the ship) on another ship sailing during the same week.     What good is a $200 OBC if your cruise fare is significantly higher?     

 

Many people book cruises far out so they can lock in a good fare.   

 

Many people cannot take vacation at will.   They are locked into certain dates.

 

Many people cannot afford to pay more than their original fare.

 

It seems to me, the OP only wanted the upgrade to JS because their original OV Balcony was not available.   RCI offered a downgrade to a Boadwalk balcony.    So - it is ok for RCI to charge the same or more and downgrade the inconvenienced customer, but it is not ok for the inconvenienced customer to ask for a one category upgrade?   Or to be waitlisted on the original OV balcony room.

 

I understand ships get chartered.    I have been on at least 25 cruises.   Good customer service = customer feels acknowledge, effort is made to restore the customer to their original standing, and both parties feel good about outcome.     Giving a refund is the very bare minimum in these situations.  

 

If I make advanced reservations for something and that product becomes unavailable (cruise, hotel, rental car, etc), I would not expect to be the person to bear the additional cost when it was through no fault of my own.

 

I have been upgraded in hotels and on car rentals when my original reserved selection became unavailable.   It is not uncommon in the hospitality industry to accommodate displaced customers by giving upgrades when corporate changes are made and the original reserved product is no longer available.    It is called good will.

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by AnnaNicole

[HBE4]

@AnnaNicole

 

Thank you for the post above. With so many "The Customer is Always Wrong" posts, I was beginning to think I was being an unreasonable hard-a**. I've lost count of the number of times I've had rental cars upgraded free of charge - sometimes several levels - since the one I reserved was not available

 

People seem to have lost sight of the fact that while Royal is in business to make as much money as possible, it's business is hospitality where excellent customer service is paramount.  People are committing thousands of dollars, not returning a $20 toaster to Wal-mart.

 

Also lost is the fact the ship is not being charted. It's being used as a floating hotel during the Super Bowl. As Super Bowl cities are selected 5 years in advance, the "cruise" should have never been put up for sale to the general public.

[HBE4]

Going on a tangent......but how many cruises per year are cancelled due to charters?

 

Maybe cruise lines should make their itineraries available to charter customers first for a few months before releasing the to the general public?   Just a thought

[Clarea]

8 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

Going on a tangent......but how many cruises per year are cancelled due to charters?

 ...

 

For Royal, I'd say around 3 or 4 per year.

[HBE4]

23 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

For Royal, I'd say around 3 or 4 per year.

 

Thanks.

 

Doesn't seem like a large number.

[lazydayz]

25 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Thanks.

 

Doesn't seem like a large number.

 

While I agree it is not a large number, it is significant when it happens to you.  And there are other reasons they cancel cruises. 

 

Our cruise was cancelled not because of a charter, but because Royal wanted to do some maintenance on the ship before its transatlantic voyage.  We received much the same offer as the OP, some price protected cruises, and $200 OBC if we rebooked.  Luckily, one of the price protected cruises worked for us. 

 

OP, sorry this happened to you.  Hope it works out.  

[sparks1093]

3 hours ago, HBE4 said:

@AnnaNicole

 

Thank you for the post above. With so many "The Customer is Always Wrong" posts, I was beginning to think I was being an unreasonable hard-a**. I've lost count of the number of times I've had rental cars upgraded free of charge - sometimes several levels - since the one I reserved was not available

 

People seem to have lost sight of the fact that while Royal is in business to make as much money as possible, it's business is hospitality where excellent customer service is paramount.  People are committing thousands of dollars, not returning a $20 toaster to Wal-mart.

 

Also lost is the fact the ship is not being charted. It's being used as a floating hotel during the Super Bowl. As Super Bowl cities are selected 5 years in advance, the "cruise" should have never been put up for sale to the general public.

I re-read the OP and they were offered several sailings, even one of the Symphony. The only problem was it wasn't the cabin category that they wanted. Of course Royal is in the business of making money. And people aren't committing thousands of dollars, at worst they are putting down a deposit that is non-refundable. I find Royal's offer to be fair, even though it didn't work out for the OP. And while the Super Bowl city may be known how long did it take for Royal to get the necessary permissions to do what they are doing? It may not be a charter but I'd guess they'll make more than they would with a charter. 

[springfire]

On 3/28/2019 at 1:36 PM, cruisegal2013 said:

  So how did you reach corporate?  I was on the same ship as the OP that got chartered.  I went on there website but I haven't heard back.  On their Facebook page, all I got was a sorry and hope you have a dream vacation on your next cruise.  

 

21 hours ago, Paulette3028 said:

Michael Bayley, President.....mbayley@rccl.com

Vicki Freed, Sr. VP of Sales and Service......vfreed@rccl.com

General Corporate Communications..... CorporateCommunications@rccl.com

 

You asked for how to reach corporate....here it is.   I don't share these lightly, and you still may not get the satisfaction you want....but you may feel better about it.  

I sent an email to Michael Bayley, he responded back to me on my issue and he had Laly Yera-Rodriguez handle my problem and everything was resolved in one day.  

[Iamcruzin]

 

5 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

 

Also lost is the fact the ship is not being charted. It's being used as a floating hotel during the Super Bowl. As Super Bowl cities are selected 5 years in advance, the "cruise" should have never been put up for sale to the general public.

This entire time I was thinking the same thing but I thought I was crazy for thinking that way.  I was also wondering if they offer meals in the price like they would for a cruise or do they charge a separate fee as if you were staying in a hotel?

[Iamcruzin]

8 hours ago, AnnaNicole said:

 

IMO, RCI should price protect the existing customer (when they charter the ship) on another ship sailing during the same week.     What good is a $200 OBC if your cruise fare is significantly higher?     

 

 

Thank you. But there are some here who find that acceptable which is why RC can do what they do. 

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Thank you. But there are some here who find that acceptable which is why RC can do what they do. 

 

I guess some customers are more discerning than others when it comes to committing several thousand dollars for a cruise.

 

If my cruise was cancelled due to a charter and Royal did not provide an acceptable, price-protected alternative,  I would take the full refund and shop other cruise lines. I'm not saying I'd give up on Royal for the rest of my life as I like their product. But that's not because of the loyalty points. Why would I be loyal to Royal if they are not going to be loyal to the customer?

 

Like you, I'm loyal to my wallet.

Edited March 30, 2019 by HBE4

[123funcruiser]

While everybody touts the ships are Floating Hotels for the super bowl. Is this just a rumor on the Internet or is there any evidence for this? Where can I book a room on the ship?

 

Next Question, some are now saying RCI decided to make more Money By selling the Rooms as Hotel Rooms. Is it RCI selling those Rooms or is this actually a matter of a charter and someone chartered the ship from RCI and now sells the Rooms?

 

 

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Thank you. But there are some here who find that acceptable which is why RC can do what they do. 

It is entirely within their discretion what they offer customers under such circumstances and how far they will go to try to keep the customer's goodwill. What they offered is in keeping with what I've seen other cruise lines offer under similar circumstances.

5 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

I guess some customers are more discerning than others when it comes to committing several thousand dollars for a cruise.

 

If my cruise was cancelled due to a charter and Royal did not provide an acceptable, price-protected alternative,  I would take the full refund and shop other cruise lines. I'm not saying I'd give up on Royal for the rest of my life as I like their product. But that's not because of the loyalty points. Why would I be loyal to Royal if they are not going to be loyal to the customer?

 

Like you, I'm loyal to my wallet.

I am also loyal to my wallet and would shop other lines in a heart beat if what Royal offered didn't meet our needs, but I wouldn't be angry for what happened. Disappointed, certainly. And I will point out yet again that the passenger isn't "committing thousands". When I booked my cruise with Carnival last week the deposit was $100 and until final payment date that is all that is committed. Up until then I can cancel and all that I lose is $100. (I also note that we don't book for the ship, we book the itinerary, so not sailing on a particular ship isn't a deal breaker for us at all, we'd gladly sail on another.)

Edited March 30, 2019 by sparks1093

[Paulette3028]

3 hours ago, 123funcruiser said:

While everybody touts the ships are Floating Hotels for the super bowl. Is this just a rumor on the Internet or is there any evidence for this? Where can I book a room on the ship?

 

Next Question, some are now saying RCI decided to make more Money By selling the Rooms as Hotel Rooms. Is it RCI selling those Rooms or is this actually a matter of a charter and someone chartered the ship from RCI and now sells the Rooms?

 

 

This is pure speculation on my part....but my response is based on what happened several years ago when the SuperBowl was in Jacksonville.   At the time I had a client in my consulting business that sold the uniforms to the cruise industry.  They found out that the NFL had 'chartered' quite a few cruise ships to be used by them as hotels sitting in port for the weekend of the game.  How the NFL 'sold the cabins' or gave away the cabins for use, was unknown.  The cruise line (it wasn't only Royal in that circumstance, either) was not acting as a 'hotel' for public reservations.

[Paulette3028]

15 hours ago, HBE4 said:

@AnnaNicole

 

Thank you for the post above. With so many "The Customer is Always Wrong" posts, I was beginning to think I was being an unreasonable hard-a**. I've lost count of the number of times I've had rental cars upgraded free of charge - sometimes several levels - since the one I reserved was not available

 

People seem to have lost sight of the fact that while Royal is in business to make as much money as possible, it's business is hospitality where excellent customer service is paramount.  People are committing thousands of dollars, not returning a $20 toaster to Wal-mart.

 

Also lost is the fact the ship is not being charted. It's being used as a floating hotel during the Super Bowl. As Super Bowl cities are selected 5 years in advance, the "cruise" should have never been put up for sale to the general public.

I function in a customer service role in business.....and I have to say our society has adopted a philosophy of 'The customer is always right' and that is wrong.  Neither is the customer always right NOR are they always wrong.  But the customer when things go awry, ONLY want what is in their best interest and NEVER want to look at it from the other side.  Royal is in business to make money and their product does a darn good job doing it for them.  Having said that....they do strive to resolve situations in the best possible way for both sides.  Royal looks at how they handle a situation as being good most cruiser situations - that is their goal.  Will they be able to make everyone totally satisfied --- NO; unless of course they say YES to every demand that a cruiser makes and that isn't fair either.  

 

And YES, I have been in the situation where a cruise was cancelled and turned into a charter and Royal worked with us, to make us as happy as possible and they did not lose a booking, NOR my future bookings.

[cruisegal2013]

On 3/28/2019 at 11:57 PM, Paulette3028 said:

Michael Bayley, President.....mbayley@rccl.com

Vicki Freed, Sr. VP of Sales and Service......vfreed@rccl.com

General Corporate Communications..... CorporateCommunications@rccl.com

 

You asked for how to reach corporate....here it is.   I don't share these lightly, and you still may not get the satisfaction you want....but you may feel better about it.  

thank you for the info

[not-enough-cruising]

2 hours ago, Paulette3028 said:

This is pure speculation on my part....but my response is based on what happened several years ago when the SuperBowl was in Jacksonville.   At the time I had a client in my consulting business that sold the uniforms to the cruise industry.  They found out that the NFL had 'chartered' quite a few cruise ships to be used by them as hotels sitting in port for the weekend of the game.  How the NFL 'sold the cabins' or gave away the cabins for use, was unknown.  The cruise line (it wasn't only Royal in that circumstance, either) was not acting as a 'hotel' for public reservations.

That was because Jacksonville was woefully deficient in hotel rooms. This is not the case in Miami. The Symphony is not being used as a floating hotel for the Super Bowl. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by not-enough-cruising

[Joebucks]

On 3/29/2019 at 8:55 AM, SRF said:

 

Quoting a poster in another thread:

 

Many people cannot distinguish between poor customer service and just not getting what they WANT.

 

My first thought too. More often than not, when you hear about "poor customer service", it means "I didn't like this policy, and I should have special treatment because of X".

 

They were refunded all of their money and given a $200 credit. $200 is a lot of money for a company to give for following what's in their own contract. Imagine running a corporation and that is a not a good solution for a customer. Do you just give away $600? Does everyone on the boat get that? Good luck with that.

 

Of course, RC is a bunch of terrible jerks. Go onto where the grass is greener. Where you won't have a future cruise chartered, and if you do, they will give you anything you want for free.

[AnnaNicole]

11 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

My first thought too. More often than not, when you hear about "poor customer service", it means "I didn't like this policy, and I should have special treatment because of X".

 

They were refunded all of their money and given a $200 credit. $200 is a lot of money for a company to give for following what's in their own contract. Imagine running a corporation and that is a not a good solution for a customer. Do you just give away $600? Does everyone on the boat get that? Good luck with that.

 

Of course, RC is a bunch of terrible jerks. Go onto where the grass is greener. Where you won't have a future cruise chartered, and if you do, they will give you anything you want for free.

The entity chartering the ship pays for the $200 OBC.  They absorb the costs of displacement of reserved passengers, not RCI.     

 

I have owned several businesses.   The business/client relationship is mutually beneficial.   If I displaced a client, I would not expect a client to bear the cost in making themselves whole.    Unfortunately,  cruise fares increased from the time of her original booking.  As was stated by the OP, the $200 credit was insufficient to mitigate the resulting higher fare.    That is why she is so upset about the situation.  All she wanted was her original cabin category at the original booking price.   It was unavailable.   RCI offered to downgrade her and she asked for an upgrade.   They should have waitlisted or upgraded her.   She is right to take the refund and go elsewhere.   

 

When an airline bumps you, they give you an incentive and re-book you on another flight at no cost to you.  If they make changes to your original flight itinerary that affect you, they will re-book you at no cost to you.   They do not charge for the higher fare.   You are price protected.

 

Nobody called RCI jerks.  Nobody said the customer is always right.   It is not what you do, it is how you handle it.   

[Iamcruzin]

36 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

My first thought too. More often than not, when you hear about "poor customer service", it means "I didn't like this policy, and I should have special treatment because of X".

 

They were refunded all of their money and given a $200 credit. $200 is a lot of money for a company to give for following what's in their own contract. Imagine running a corporation and that is a not a good solution for a customer. Do you just give away $600? Does everyone on the boat get that? Good luck with that.

 

Of course, RC is a bunch of terrible jerks. Go onto where the grass is greener. Where you won't have a future cruise chartered, and if you do, they will give you anything you want for free.

Customer service is probably a poor choice of words. Customer Satisfaction is probably a better choice. This is a hospitality business where customer satisfaction is the key factor in being successful. If the customer isn't made to feel whole again it doesn't matter how much credit you throw at them. OBC isn't always the answer especially if it's going to cost you a substantial bit more in the long run. It's better to just get your refund and move on.

[Joebucks]

20 minutes ago, AnnaNicole said:

The entity chartering the ship pays for the $200 OBC.  They absorb the costs of displacement of reserved passengers, not RCI.     

 

I have owned several businesses.   The business/client relationship is mutually beneficial.   If I displaced a client, I would not expect a client to bear the cost in making themselves whole.    Unfortunately,  cruise fares increased from the time of her original booking.  As was stated by the OP, the $200 credit was insufficient to mitigate the resulting higher fare.    That is why she is so upset about the situation.  All she wanted was her original cabin category at the original booking price.   It was unavailable.   RCI offered to downgrade her and she asked for an upgrade.   They should have waitlisted or upgraded her.   She is right to take the refund and go elsewhere.   

 

When an airline bumps you, they give you an incentive and re-book you on another flight at no cost to you.  If they make changes to your original flight itinerary that affect you, they will re-book you at no cost to you.   They do not charge for the higher fare.   You are price protected.

 

Nobody called RCI jerks.  Nobody said the customer is always right.   It is not what you do, it is how you handle it.   

 

Lots of these things sound reasonable and noble on paper. However, you can't give into every demand, and you will never make everyone happy. You're comparing so many different things here. Like the airlines. They often displace what, 1 customer because they took a calculated risk to sell 5 more tickets. Far different than displacing hundreds if not thousands of cruisers and finding them a new cruise. Reread the facts. She was offered the original cabin category at the original price. There were other ships available, same price, same time, overall a similar experience. The customer demanded a specific boat, specific room, specific time or a future cruise at a $600 discount.

 

I don't completely feel RC is 100% in the right on this one, but at some point, the complaining becomes excessive. They might as well not even be in the chartering business if they're going to give away the farm to everyone displaced. When you run a big business, you have to make tough calls that won't always please everyone. For how many people would it really be the end of the world for if they had to change a cruise a year in the future? For every time you say "just make this exception" know that there's 1000 more similar cases of why someone NEEDS something.

[123funcruiser]

30 minutes ago, AnnaNicole said:

 

 

When an airline bumps you, they give you an incentive and re-book you on another flight at no cost to you.  If they make changes to your original flight itinerary that affect you, they will re-book you at no cost to you.   They do not charge for the higher fare.   You are price protected.

 

 

The difference between Airline and cruiseline is, Airline tickets usually have to be Paid in full at the time of booking and many / most of them are non-refundable at the time of booking. WIth a cruiseline you just pay a deposit and you can cancel up until final payment date. So the passenger doesn´t fully commit their Money until close to the saildate. 

More important than this however - it´s all in the contract. Airlines don´t do all this at no cost due to their great customer Service. It´s in their contract, so they have to. (Disclaimer I haven´t checked every Airline in the world) Cruiselines however have it in their contract that they can cancel, change the itinerary….. Nothing About compensation.

[SRF]

22 hours ago, HBE4 said:

@AnnaNicoleAlso lost is the fact the ship is not being charted. It's being used as a floating hotel during the Super Bowl. As Super Bowl cities are selected 5 years in advance, the "cruise" should have never been put up for sale to the general public.

 

 

 

That is still a charter.

 

Just not moving.

 

But likely, the city figured out that it did not have enough hotel rooms and decided to use this method.

 

I don't know if they actually did it in Rio for the Olympics, but it was being planned to do so.

[SRF]

19 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I re-read the OP and they were offered several sailings, even one of the Symphony. The only problem was it wasn't the cabin category that they wanted. Of course Royal is in the business of making money. And people aren't committing thousands of dollars, at worst they are putting down a deposit that is non-refundable. I find Royal's offer to be fair, even though it didn't work out for the OP. And while the Super Bowl city may be known how long did it take for Royal to get the necessary permissions to do what they are doing? It may not be a charter but I'd guess they'll make more than they would with a charter. 

 

The other issue is, around the same time frame, the other ships have been taking bookings.

 

It it not like there is a spare ship.  So a certain category of cabin may be sold out on the other ships, sailing around the same time.

[SRF]

2 hours ago, 123funcruiser said:

 

The difference between Airline and cruiseline is, Airline tickets usually have to be Paid in full at the time of booking and many / most of them are non-refundable at the time of booking. WIth a cruiseline you just pay a deposit and you can cancel up until final payment date. So the passenger doesn´t fully commit their Money until close to the saildate. 

More important than this however - it´s all in the contract. Airlines don´t do all this at no cost due to their great customer Service. It´s in their contract, so they have to. (Disclaimer I haven´t checked every Airline in the world) Cruiselines however have it in their contract that they can cancel, change the itinerary….. Nothing About compensation.

 

In many cases, the airlines are complying with the laws of their country, or the laws of the country they are operating in, or international agreements.