Celebrity Terrible Customer Service

[jkgourmet]

43 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Exactly.

 

Some lines put their stockholders first, others care about their customers. But the funny thing is that things are related: more unhappy customers will inevitably lead to unhappy stockholders. Some companies get it, other don't.

 

The history of the stock prices for RCCL (owner of Celebrity, Azamara and Royal Caribbean) indicate that stockholders should be pretty happy right now.  I guess the unhappy customers aren't hitting the bottom line. . .

 

Of course, Carnival Corp - considered by many to be the 'bottom of the barrel' of the mass market cruise lines, is showing record profits and happier stockholders. 

 

We all get that you're unhappy, and we all understand that you feel cheated.  You're certainly entitled to feel that way.  We are equally entitled to look at the cold, hard facts of your "terrible customer service" and feel that you a) reported the situation inaccurately by jumping the gun before proper resolution.

 

 

Edited April 6, 2019 by jkgourmet

[wwcruisers]

44 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Exactly.

 

Some lines put their stockholders first, others care about their customers. But the funny thing is that things are related: more unhappy customers will inevitably lead to unhappy stockholders. Some companies get it, other don't.

 

ALL publicly traded companies put their shareholders first. Some are just a bit more up-front about it.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

We've sailed many times on Princess (Elite), HAL (3 Star Mariners) and Celebrity (Elite) and I would say that Celebrity is #1, followed by HAL #2  and Princess #3.  I have not and have no desire to cruise with Cunard.  Really, none of these cruiselines is considered "premium".  They are mainstream lines and don't pretend to be otherwise.  It's all in the perception of the individual cruiser.  You feel you had a bad experience with Celebrity, so it becomes your least favourite.  Until something happens with a different cruiseline, then they will drop to the bottom and on and on.  No cruiseline is perfect, so I wish you happy cruising in the future.

 

You obviously had more cruises than us, so your experience might be more relevant. 

 

I would still consider them in a different category than Carnival or RCI. While they are all mainstream mass market, some would still consider them premium - see this ratings site.

 

We didn't really have a bad experience in our past sailings with Celebrity. I still consider them comparable to Princess and HAL. I just was not impressed with the food in the MDR (specialty restaurants were excellent), and was annoyed by the low quality and high price of the internet, compared to HAL and especially Princess. Obviously something like Internet might not even be a factor for most people - same way as quality and pricing of the alcohol is not a factor for us. 

 

Here is my review of the Equinox. Definitely not terrible, we just liked the Prncess better.

 

1 hour ago, yorky said:

I would say Cunard are bordering premium at standard class but at Queens grill level do hit premium. It is however a very different product to the other two. Very British, formal, high tea, Ballroom dancing, lectures. No what many want these days in the age of dressing down but there are still enough people wanting to stick with those cruising traditions.

 

100% agree. It was a bit too formal for us, but we did like the Afternoon teas, ballroom dancing, masquerade ball etc. It is very different and unique.

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, bEwAbG said:

The reaction received is based on the assertion that this rep did this purposely and maliciously.  No one "tried to remove perks worth $1000" intentionally, which practically everyone who responded has said repeatedly.  That's an over-the-top accusation that is unfair.  Your complaint would be more valid if after you contacted Celebrity, they refused to correct the error.  But they didn't do that and they corrected the error and you're still mad.

 

Also, just because you haven't seen this price drop method happen with other cruise lines doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I got a steal on a suite on HAL earlier this year because I waited until after final payment and could see the price going down $100-$150 week after week beyond the initial price drop.  Final price was about $2,500 less than what I would have paid for the same room right before final payment.

 

Maybe I was not clear enough, so lets try one more time.

 

During the first call between my TA and the rep, the rep offered to "upgrade" from veranda to concierge, saying that concierge has a bigger room and a bigger veranda, and at the same time said that the upgrade comes with no perks. It took some time for my TA to convince the rep to leave the perks after the upgrade.

 

This is not related to the mistake that made later by removing the perks.

 

So once again, 3 different and separate issues:

 

1. The perks removed from the account few hours after the first call.

2. Misinformation about the upgrade, claiming the concierge has larger size and larger balcony.

3. The rep offered an "upgrade" worth around $50 per person while at the same time, tried to remove perks worth over $1,000.

 

So yes, they did try to remove the perks during the phone call. The later mistake was probably not intentional, but yes, I still consider it a terrible customer service.

 

Doesn't mean I will not enjoy the cruise.

[varoo]

This is probably the best example I have ever seen of the old expression "Making a mountain out of a molehill."

  

They are the types of minor mishaps that any good travel agent (or for those not using a travel agent, the cruise line rep) should have easily resolved.

                      

[bEwAbG]

The biggest mistake I see is that your TA allowed you to listen in on the call.

 

X only tried to "remove perks during the phone call" in the context of making a change you were not automatically entitled to get, at which point you could have said, "ok, thanks for checking" and been done with it.  Instead, the agent was able to override what the system was telling her.  Most would consider that going above and beyond.  It is not unusual for the perks to go away when you make a change, depending on whatever promotion is currently in effect versus what you originally booked under.  At the end of the day, you got your upgrade + got to keep everything you originally booked, so I'm not sure why this is still such a sore subject.

[Tourist1292]

After all, instead of starting a thread to complain here, just one phone call to the TA and let her do the job. OP claims to let the professional do the work while it appeared to be the opposite. If the TA let OP participate in the conversation, it does not sound very professional.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, bEwAbG said:

The biggest mistake I see is that your TA allowed you to listen in on the call.

 

X only tried to "remove perks during the phone call" in the context of making a change you were not automatically entitled to get, at which point you could have said, "ok, thanks for checking" and been done with it.  Instead, the agent was able to override what the system was telling her.  Most would consider that going above and beyond.  It is not unusual for the perks to go away when you make a change, depending on whatever promotion is currently in effect versus what you originally booked under.  At the end of the day, you got your upgrade + got to keep everything you originally booked, so I'm not sure why this is still such a sore subject.

 

She put me on the call during the final stages of the call, to confirm that what X are offering is acceptable. Otherwise she had to call me to confirm and then call them again.

 

Sorry for not considering a $50 upgrade "going above and beyond", after we paid over $9,200 CAD for the cruise, but as many posters on this forum mentioned, going from veranda to concierge is not really an upgrade, and hardly worth more than $100 per cabin.

[DaCruiseBug]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

She put me on the call during the final stages of the call, to confirm that what X are offering is acceptable. Otherwise she had to call me to confirm and then call them again.

 

Sorry for not considering a $50 upgrade "going above and beyond", after we paid over $9,200 CAD for the cruise, but as many posters on this forum mentioned, going from veranda to concierge is not really an upgrade, and hardly worth more than $100 per cabin.

 

Maybe i'm naive but how in the world did you pay $9,200 for a veranda cabin? We're on the Summit in a few weeks and our Aqua class was under $3,000 for a 7 day sailing. You could have sailed on the MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club for 1/2 that amount. Even the Haven on NCL is cheaper. Just wondering...

[yorky]

I think the thing that’s shocked me most on the thread is the compo given by Princess for the cancelled cruise. Ok everyone seems to be looking for  compensation these days but what was given seems to be actually too generous and I would say pretty rare. I would not be comparing any other offer against that.

[villauk]

4 minutes ago, yorky said:

I think the thing that’s shocked me most on the thread is the compo given by Princess for the cancelled cruise. Ok everyone seems to be looking for  compensation these days but what was given seems to be actually too generous and I would say pretty rare. I would not be comparing any other offer against that.

 

 

Princess do offer very favourable incentives for moving if they need your cabin. Read some of the posts over on that board. They also offer very reasonable upgrade offers just before a cruise; last year, we were offered a low priced upgrade from an inside to an oceanview for approximately $75 total (can’t remember exactly) on an Alaskan 10 night cruise. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take it because it was the kids’ cabin, across the hall from our balcony, and we wanted them opposite us.

[ak1004]

6 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Maybe i'm naive but how in the world did you pay $9,200 for a veranda cabin? We're on the Summit in a few weeks and our Aqua class was under $3,000 for a 7 day sailing. You could have sailed on the MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club for 1/2 that amount. Even the Haven on NCL is cheaper. Just wondering...

 

It is Canadian dollars, for 12 nights cruise in Europe, 3 people including 3 perks. Where was your 7 days sailing? Was it per person or total? USD or CAD? Plus don't compare Summit and Reflection in terms of pricing.

 

Princess was a similar price for a similar cruise.

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, yorky said:

I think the thing that’s shocked me most on the thread is the compo given by Princess for the cancelled cruise. Ok everyone seems to be looking for  compensation these days but what was given seems to be actually too generous and I would say pretty rare. I would not be comparing any other offer against that.

 

I agree that it was rare, but it's about the principle. And I will remember it for a very long time, and yes, I will compare it to the $3,000 drop on X and what kind of compensation I was offered from X.

 

This is why if I will have two comparable options at similar prices, I will always prefer Princess over X. Of course the fact that we actually liked Princess better also helps.

[ak1004]

7 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Maybe i'm naive but how in the world did you pay $9,200 for a veranda cabin? We're on the Summit in a few weeks and our Aqua class was under $3,000 for a 7 day sailing. You could have sailed on the MSC Seaside in the Yacht Club for 1/2 that amount. Even the Haven on NCL is cheaper. Just wondering...

 

Well, just checked Summit sailings. They sail to Bermuda (which is typically cheaper than European cruises), and the cheapest I found was May 5 sailing - around $2,000 CAD per person for Aqua class, with no perks. May 19 is around $2,600 CAD,  July 7 is $3,200 CAD, July 14 $3,000 CAD. I'm talking about per person prices. So compared to those prices, $3,050 CAD for European cruise which is almost double longer, and on a newer ship, doesn't sound too expensive. Am I missing something? 

[hcat]

Perhaps the  ongoing discussion  can  continue  on one of the several existing  pricing and comparison threads..  It appears that the customer  service issue is now  resolved,  

 

. The thread title  is no longer  the issue  that is being discussed. There are several  current thread options available or someone can start a new comparison thread. 

[yorky]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

I agree that it was rare, but it's about the principle. And I will remember it for a very long time, and yes, I will compare it to the $3,000 drop on X and what kind of compensation I was offered from X.

 

This is why if I will have two comparable options at similar prices, I will always prefer Princess over X. Of course the fact that we actually liked Princess better also helps.

Sorry I just don’t think you can compare. One was the fault of Princess because they oversold the cruise. The second one was no fault of Celebrity, you did what we did and booked early, you win some, you lose some. They actually had no obligation to give you anything. Sorry but that’s the big difference for me, it’s a gamble we take, if the cruise had gone up in price would you phone Celebrity offering to refund them a percentage of the difference ?

[bEwAbG]

17 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Sorry for not considering a $50 upgrade "going above and beyond", after we paid over $9,200 CAD for the cruise, but as many posters on this forum mentioned, going from veranda to concierge is not really an upgrade, and hardly worth more than $100 per cabin.

 

Because your expectations of the outcome were unreasonable.  It wasn't a given that you'd even get the upgrade you got.  Expecting something beyond what they offered is your misplaced sense of entitlement kicking in.  If you didn't want to pay $9,200 CAD, you should have cancelled before the final payment was due.

 

Outside of the Princess situation (which is one they created) what consideration have you received from other cruise lines after final payment in the recent past?

[yorky]

1 hour ago, yorky said:

Sorry I just don’t think you can compare. One was the fault of Princess because they oversold the cruise. The second one was no fault of Celebrity, you did what we did and booked early, you win some, you lose some. They actually had no obligation to give you anything. Sorry but that’s the big difference for me, it’s a gamble we take, if the cruise had gone up in price would you phone Celebrity offering to refund them a percentage of the difference ? My cruise is £800 more than the price we paid last September, i’m refunding Celebrity none of that.

 

[ak1004]

53 minutes ago, yorky said:

Sorry I just don’t think you can compare. One was the fault of Princess because they oversold the cruise. The second one was no fault of Celebrity, you did what we did and booked early, you win some, you lose some. They actually had no obligation to give you anything. Sorry but that’s the big difference for me, it’s a gamble we take, if the cruise had gone up in price would you phone Celebrity offering to refund them a percentage of the difference ?

 

Yes it was Princess fault. But they had absolutely no obligation to offer such generous compensation. They could offer few hundred dollars future credit, and most people would gladly take it. So yes, it's matter of caring about your customers and going above and beyond even if you don't have to do it.

 

4 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

 

Because your expectations of the outcome were unreasonable.  It wasn't a given that you'd even get the upgrade you got.  Expecting something beyond what they offered is your misplaced sense of entitlement kicking in.  If you didn't want to pay $9,200 CAD, you should have cancelled before the final payment was due.

 

Outside of the Princess situation (which is one they created) what consideration have you received from other cruise lines after final payment in the recent past?

 

You still don't get it. My major complaint was about the misinformation the rep provided, the perks she tried to remove and the mistake they made after the call was over. Yes, I'm not happy about the price drop, but I knew this is the risk I'm taking.

 

As for other lines - as I mentioned, I had never experienced a price drop of such magnitude, maybe couple hundred bucks. So cannot really say what other lines would do.

 

It is pretty amazing to read some of the responses. No matter if you call it terrible customer service. IT glitch, small mistake, the fact is that Celebrity screw up. And yet, some poster somehow find it to be my TA fault.

 

Congratulations to Celebrity for creating such loyal and fanatic customer base! It takes a genius marketing to do it while offering a pretty mediocre product. But then again, some posters admitted they sailed on Celebrity only, so they wouldn't really know any better.

[yorky]

5 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes it was Princess fault. But they had absolutely no obligation to offer such generous compensation. They could offer few hundred dollars future credit, and most people would gladly take it. So yes, it's matter of caring about your customers and going above and beyond even if you don't have to do it.

 

 

You still don't get it. My major complaint was about the misinformation the rep provided, the perks she tried to remove and the mistake they made after the call was over. Yes, I'm not happy about the price drop, but I knew this is the risk I'm taking.

 

As for other lines - as I mentioned, I had never experienced a price drop of such magnitude, maybe couple hundred bucks. So cannot really say what other lines would do.

 

It is pretty amazing to read some of the responses. No matter if you call it terrible customer service. IT glitch, small mistake, the fact is that Celebrity screw up. And yet, some poster somehow find it to be my TA fault.

 

Congratulations to Celebrity for creating such loyal and fanatic customer base! It takes a genius marketing to do it while offering a pretty mediocre product. But then again, some posters admitted they sailed on Celebrity only, so they wouldn't really know any better.

You know what, you feel badly done by, it does not really matter what anyone else says you are still going to feel the same way regardless. We’ve sailed on seven cruise lines and feel Celebrity offers the best mix of value and quality for us. I honestly think most replies have been balanced when emotion is taken out of the equation. Anyway enjoy the cruise, even if it’s your last with Celebrity.

[DaCruiseBug]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, just checked Summit sailings. They sail to Bermuda (which is typically cheaper than European cruises), and the cheapest I found was May 5 sailing - around $2,000 CAD per person for Aqua class, with no perks. May 19 is around $2,600 CAD,  July 7 is $3,200 CAD, July 14 $3,000 CAD. I'm talking about per person prices. So compared to those prices, $3,050 CAD for European cruise which is almost double longer, and on a newer ship, doesn't sound too expensive. Am I missing something? 

 

The Summit sails to the Caribbean and Bermuda. Celebrity often has sales where the 3rd passenger in a stateroom is either free or 50% off.

 

It seems like you weren't ok with the price to begin with since you keep throwing out there the cost of your cruise. Outside of maiden voyages, sailings over holidays, or special events sailings...you'll find that a vast majority of sailings have price drops after final payment is due. A little research on your part would have saved you thousands of dollars apparently. Don't blame Celebrity for this. 

[Luvcrusn]

It's clear from reading these boards that OP has posted displeasure with X on multiple threads stemming from the after final payment price drop and it's subsequent handling by X. I think to argue feelings is pointless. Everyone is entitled to their own. Trying to convince someone to feel differently than they do seems pointless. ak1004 is unhappy with certain behaviors by X. Right or wrong, those feelings won't be changed by anyone here, and so far anyone expressing different feelings has had them disputed. I think that pretty much sums it up.

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

The Summit sails to the Caribbean and Bermuda. Celebrity often has sales where the 3rd passenger in a stateroom is either free or 50% off.

 

It seems like you weren't ok with the price to begin with since you keep throwing out there the cost of your cruise. Outside of maiden voyages, sailings over holidays, or special events sailings...you'll find that a vast majority of sailings have price drops after final payment is due. A little research on your part would have saved you thousands of dollars apparently. Don't blame Celebrity for this. 

 

I was simply replying to someone who asked me about the price and compared it to his Summit cruise.

 

Was I happy with my original price? it's irrelevant. At the time of our booking, this was the best option available among the options we checked. We cannot wait too long with the booking, and I knew that the price can go both ways. In our previous cruises the prices usually went up after we booked, so you lose some you win some. I also knew that I cannot wait too long with flight booking.

 

As I mentioned several times, my main complaint was about how Celebrity handled the situation. But somehow it turned out that it's my agent fault.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’m so glad this was fixed! Enjoy your cruise!

[mayleeman]

53 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

But somehow it turned out that it's my agent's fault.

I will say I am impressed by your sticking to your guns, but one thing still puzzles me: how did your agent not catch the fact that your concierge cabin was highly unlikely to be larger than your original? I have made bookings myself and subsequent cabin changes several times, and I always check deck maps and diagrams for location and relative size. When I have been talking with a rep, I look up the new one right there. Most TA web sites also show all types of additional info on cabins.

 

What did the rep say that caused both of you to accept it without looking it up? And one thing you didn't say yet--how much larger did she claim it would be? Did she use sq feet or percentages, or just say it was larger? Was there a minimum size difference that you would have accepted? Finally, how did you learn the truth, and did you complain up the chain of supervisors?

 

Maybe fleshing out these details would explain why you think she deliberately lied?