Marella Cancellations - Customer Service up to scratch?

[Brummijam]

post 558
 

Im sick of reading all these posts by new/prospective Marella cruisers who have never posted on our site until Discovery's engine problems and Coronovirus started.😳😳
 

 

Whatever you may think this is a Public forum and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

You keep defending TUI but you are in the minority, Most of the posters on these boards  are either owed money or have lost deposits to TUI who are breaking the law by not refunding within seven days of cancellation. What possible positives can you find.?

 

 

[Vitalsign]

The law is actually 14 days so get your facts right I am sick of every time I post you have some clever dick answer

Im leaving now til this is all over and then perhaps I won't hear from you again

And hopefully you'll cruise with another line in the future

Edited April 22, 2020 by Vitalsign

[Brummijam]

53 minutes ago, Vitalsign said:

The law is actually 14 days so get your facts right I am sick of every time I post you have some clever dick answer

Im leaving now til this is all over and then perhaps I won't hear from you again

And hopefully you'll cruise with another line in the future

Clever dick answers= Anything that you don’t agree with.

Goodbye.👋🏻

Edited April 22, 2020 by Brummijam

[Scot born]

16 hours ago, Brummijam said:

post 558
 

Im sick of reading all these posts by new/prospective Marella cruisers who have never posted on our site until Discovery's engine problems and Coronovirus started.😳😳
 

 

Whatever you may think this is a Public forum and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

You keep defending TUI but you are in the minority, Most of the posters on these boards  are either owed money or have lost deposits to TUI who are breaking the law by not refunding within seven days of cancellation. What possible positives can you find.?

 

 

I have kept out of this argument until now. Yes I am owed money as we were due to cruise on he 30th of May I have not called TUI for a substantial amount of refund as I am respecting their advice. I think we have forgot why this happened and we should find the positives in that we will live another day to cruise maybe not this year but in the future. All keep safe and well. 🙏

[nancyneptune]

Tui could have handled this much better. They are receiving so much bad publicity for the way they are dealing with refunds.

 

There was no need for them to close all their shops.  Anyone who has visited a Tui shop will have seen that all the desks are metres away from each other so social distancing wouldn't have been a problem if they followed the rules. They could have closed the doors and the staff could have answered the telephones and dealt with customer enquiries regarding re-booking, new bookings  and refunds.

After all shop assistants in supermarkets and some other stores are still working as are refuse collectors, postmen, bus drivers, delivery drivers, firefighters, police officers, some teachers, cleaners and of course care workers, pharmacists and NHS staff.

All working in far more risky conditions than Tui staff would be  in a shop with closed doors.

 

It was convenient for Tui to furlough their staff and let the taxpayer pay their salaries and also a good excuse to delay paying the refunds that customers are entitled to by law.

 

 

[howmuch!]

I think the crux of the problem is communication - or in Tui's case the lack of any.

 

Many people have reported their departure date has passed without any contact from Tui regarding their holiday being cancelled.

 

The fact that Tui have changed position a number of times regarding refunds, re-booking holidays, and now refund credits with possibly 20% discount, has added an extra layer of confusion for customers, on top of the situation they already had. With no shops and a skeleton staff working from home, contacting them has been the biggest issue for most customers.

 

Covid 19 was not of their making, but the way its being dealt with, has lead customers to think that their sole intention is to avoid refunding cash, even if that is not the case, due to their inability to communicate effectively.

 

The statements Tui have made regarding working through refunds/refund credits in date order doesn't appear to hold water from what customers are reporting, so for many less fortunate people who have no work, or have been furloughed, cash refunds are needed urgently, and are virtually unobtainable.

 

Many of us are fortunate not to be in that position, but the way Tui have handled the situation is dreadful.

 

This is just my opinion, I am not trying to be controversial, so feel free to agree or disagree

 

 

[Scot born]

It was not TUI's decision to close their shops it was the government as holidays/cruises  were non essential. So therefore TUI's hands were tied. (Yes they could communicate better but with having to reshape the way the business worked would have put more pressure on them)

There is a lot of companies out there that will never recover from what is happening just now. 

 

There is a lot of people that is no longer with us that should be. 

 

I am no defending TUI or any other company. 

 

As I have said I am owed a considerable amount for my cancelled cruise at the end of May and I have a holiday booked for August(full deposit paid) still to pay the balance middle of May. ??????(and they still want it)

What I am trying to say is there is always two sides to a story and not everyone sees the full picture.

every one stay safe and hopefully this will just be a bad memory and will be sailing on the high seas again. 

 

[kyleshawney]

 

Absolutely, one million percent agree with howmuch!

[nancyneptune]

1 hour ago, Scot born said:

It was not TUI's decision to close their shops it was the government as holidays/cruises  were non essential. So therefore TUI's hands were tied. (Yes they could communicate better but with having to reshape the way the business worked would have put more pressure on them)

There is a lot of companies out there that will never recover from what is happening just now. 

 

There is a lot of people that is no longer with us that should be. 

 

I am no defending TUI or any other company. 

 

As I have said I am owed a considerable amount for my cancelled cruise at the end of May and I have a holiday booked for August(full deposit paid) still to pay the balance middle of May. ??????(and they still want it)

What I am trying to say is there is always two sides to a story and not everyone sees the full picture.

every one stay safe and hopefully this will just be a bad memory and will be sailing on the high seas again. 

 

 

 

Please read Jim the Scots's post further back on 20th April re. Tui's conditions of closing the shops.

 

My elderly brother sat in a Tui shop on March 18th and watched a staff member input his bank details on her computer for a refund back to his bank account even though he had originally paid his cruise in full with his credit card. He was told then that the refund would be in his account within the week.

36 days later no refund, no communication whatsoever. 

 

Some people have had refunds back to their credit cards since then although they applied for their refunds at a later date.

 

It's Tui's lack of consistency and lack of communication that is testing people's patience to the limit.

[Pensioncruiser]

1 hour ago, nancyneptune said:

bank details on her computer for a refund back to his bank account

That's our experience four weeks ago. They have sent us an email with the amount but still not in the bank😕

[Pensioncruiser]

3 hours ago, Scot born said:

I have a holiday booked for August(full deposit paid)

Hi SB we cancelled ours when we hit the 70 day limit, and they have written 😳 to me informing me they would not take the full deposit of £500 and would refund £100 when I don't know and its not a voucher offer 🤔

[Brummijam]

Should I accept a holiday company or airline voucher? Do I have to?

The vouchers and ‘refund credit notes’ being issued to holidaymakers in place of cash refunds for cancelled package holidays may not be financially protected by Atol.

New Which? research has found many of the UK’s biggest holiday companies are now issuing vouchers and credit notes rather than cash refunds for cancelled package holidays. These credit notes can be used to re-book a holiday, or in some cases exchanged for a cash refund at some future date.

Abta claims the ‘refund credit notes’ it has advised members to issue are financially protected by Atol. That’s the government scheme which guarantees package holiday customers get their money back if the firm goes bust between the holiday being booked and taking place.

However, the CAA, which operates the Atol scheme, wouldn’t confirm to Which? that these ‘refund credit notes’ were financially protected. That could mean that customers who accept one from their holiday provider may not get their money back if the provider subsequently goes bust.

 

From Which magazine.

[Jayneykul]

We were supposed to sail in March on Explorer. We received an email for the refund 5 weeks later still waiting! There are lots of comments on the situation in the newspapers running stories about it. It seems most TUI staff have been furloughed so they don’t have enough staff left to cope. Well that’s fine and dandy isn’t it have the Government pay your staff salary, get a loan from Germany and hold onto your customers money! We have booked with Celebrity for December (fingers crossed) sunset verandah balcony on the Edge, premium drinks package, gratuities, internet plus we get a lot of loyalty incentives. Cost with the flight and transfers £1200 pp same ish cruise on Explorer 2 £1706! People will not forget how they have been treated! 

[Pensioncruiser]

Hope you manage to get away think a good proportion of the Tui regulars will be switching. 

[kyleshawney]

2 hours ago, Jayneykul said:

We were supposed to sail in March on Explorer. We received an email for the refund 5 weeks later still waiting! There are lots of comments on the situation in the newspapers running stories about it. It seems most TUI staff have been furloughed so they don’t have enough staff left to cope. Well that’s fine and dandy isn’t it have the Government pay your staff salary, get a loan from Germany and hold onto your customers money! We have booked with Celebrity for December (fingers crossed) sunset verandah balcony on the Edge, premium drinks package, gratuities, internet plus we get a lot of loyalty incentives. Cost with the flight and transfers £1200 pp same ish cruise on Explorer 2 £1706! People will not forget how they have been treated! 

 

Well done guys, good for you. Hope you have a stunning holiday and never, (as will we) never, book anything with TUI or any of their associated companies ever again.

[kyleshawney]

Here is an excerpt of a communication between a Marella customer and Gwyn Topham of the Guardian newspaper addressed to TUI of their recent Tui experience.

 

“22^nd April 2020

RE: Marella Booking for June sailing

You have repeatedly asked me in three separate emails, to go online to my online booking account and amend my booking. This FUNCTION in not working properly for MARELLA CRUISES, and has not for several weeks now!   So to conform I have (as there is no other clarifying advice ANYWHERE of what to do when your Marella online amendment system is not functioning properly) reluctantly tried to call (as specifically directed on my booking page) on multiple occasions on multiple published telephone numbers with sadly no answer .......... ever.   Over this past weekend Saturday (18th) and Sunday (19th) all calls were eventually after several interventions and prompts diverted to a message informing whoever called that it was now out of hours, the company was closed and that the caller should call back during opening hours of Mon to Fri 09:00 to 19:00, Sat 09 to 18:00, and Sun 09: to 17:00. ALL THESE CALLS WERE MADE AROUND MIDDAY ON BOTH DAYS.   Called again around 13:00, on Monday 19th & after persevering for 2 hours and 17 minutes, listing to continuous messages of how wonderful "TUI" is in looking after the customer, the call was eventually answered by a member of a call centre in South Africa. A polite lady by the name of Samantha, listened to my issue and after around 5/6 minutes of trying to clarify that it was not possible to simply go online and amend a booking. She then agreed to go online with me and together walk me through the procedure of doing an online amendment (jointly on my online account), to also discover that it did not work.   After several unsuccessful attempts she apologised and said she would need to seek help/advice and asked me to “bare-with-her” & proceeded to put me on hold.   I listened to recorded music while waiting for her to return.   After around 6/7 min wait the music stopped (expecting her return) however.... there was just silence........ I continued to wait as I had already invested approaching 3 hours by now in this call.   The silence continued for around another 8/9 minutes when inexplicably the call was terminated by the call centre.   You cannot imagine my utter frustration at this point ……….   To compound the insult there was no return call from Samantha who at that stage fully understood the problem, clearly my situation of being an elderly customer in a vulnerable category, my polite patients & total helpless frustration, and ….. HAD ALL MY RECONFIRMED DETAILS INCLUDING MY PHONE NUMBER.   Then the crowning glory came 10 minutes later when I received an automated telephone call from TUI asking me to rate the service I just had received.   The ULTIMATE INSULT?   This all coming from the world’s number one integrated tourism group operating in around 180 destinations worldwide, consequently with vast amounts of technical resources at their disposal, to at least deliver reasonable levels of service, notwithstanding that its now months after covid19’s first appearance and further in receipt of an initial €1.6 billion repayable loan from commercial and state owned banks which has been guaranteed by the German government. ……… with Marella consisting of only 5 or 6 functioning ships   Crossing the “T’s”, dotting the “I’s” & putting “U” in the middle ………… “

 

[nancyneptune]

Tui's South African call centre staff are notoriously bad for customer service. Having dealt with them in the past I found them severely lacking in knowledge, and downright rude at times.  When they don't know how to deal with a query they will cut you off.

 

Tui have said they are working round the clock to process refunds.

No they are not. They are working 9 am till 7 pm. Monday to Friday and reduced hours at the weekend.

 

They say they are  " Dealing with 170, 000 bookings. That is 500, 000 customers "

No they are not dealing with 500. 000 customers.

They are dealing with the lead passengers only.

 

They would not have had so many customers to deal with now if they had dealt with them from the beginning instead of thinking of ways to delay refunds and offer credit notes instead.

 

They say they are dealing with refunds in date order. 

No they are not as some people who were promised refunds within a week in March are still waiting while others who were due to travel in April have had refunds. 

 

They seldom reply to emails and on the rare occasions they do all you get is a generic email in return. I doubt if they even bother to properly read the emails they receive. 

 

My brother still waiting for his refund since March 18th and concerned that Tui are holding his current account details on their system when they should have paid the refund back to the credit card he paid with.

 

I have a cruise booked for later in the year, have decided to lose my deposit if it is cancelled, and it almost certainly will be cancelled. Much rather lose the deposit than go through the process of trying to obtain a refund from Tui.  Who knows how many times they will change the goal posts in the next few months. 

 

People will remember for a long time the way Tui have treated their long time loyal customers. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jayneykul]

After our experience on Discovery 2 last September we only booked this 1 as we were offered a £350 voucher as a peace offering 🥴. Once we get our money back we will probably turn our back on Marella 

[Pensioncruiser]

2 hours ago, Jayneykul said:

After our experience on Discovery 2 last September

That's interesting we were on D2 last September, with soot on balcony problems and other things. Sounds like we have a lot in common. 🙄

[tidespring]

Refunds are happening. See my comment on Tui Coronavirus thread. Thanks.

 

[kyleshawney]

"tidespring", if you are a customer who has physically got your refund in actual cash, that's awesome for you, well done, we are jealous.

There are lots of paper credit notes and their ilk being issued with varying degrees of conditions attached by many travel organisations, which may or may not prove acceptable to customers.

 

However as the print/tv media are consistently reporting none of us have seen any actual concrete evidence to understand "refunds are happening" (suggesting the CASH refund taps have now opened) in any way, to the contrary in fact, communication with TUI specifically, is getting worse.

 

We have however unfortunately seen a lot of TUI & others (paid or incentivised) supporters on various online sites trying to steer the critical narrative away into a false positive for their own personal agenda.

 

It is understood some prominent investigative journalists are currently working on the plethora of "fake news" propagators out there, across various industries with the culprits, quite rightly, to be publicly exposed and hopefully in some extreme cases if possible fined or prosecuted.

 

 

[tidespring]

It was not my intention to make anyone jealous, just to inform. I am not a vendor of fake news, and I certainly will not be posting my bank statement online. Why do you have to post in such a provocative way?

[Bertie Doe]

2 hours ago, tidespring said:

Refunds are happening. See my comment on Tui Coronavirus thread. Thanks.

 

Just read your post in Marella Cruises Coronavirus thread. You referred to your holiday in Madeira. Was this package holiday booked through a Travel Agent? A TA for example, holds the cash on your behalf and are forced to refund to you - in the event of cancellation. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[tidespring]

It was booked direct with Tui online.

[Bertie Doe]

34 minutes ago, tidespring said:

It was booked direct with Tui online.

 

Ah thanks Tidespring, that does look encouraging. Their Ts&Cs does state "refund" or "alternative cruise". Problem (one) is we've set our hearts on 1/08/2020 EX 2 Iceland/Norway. We had an email today reminding us that balance due in a week.

Problem (two) is Marella are not doing Norway after 2020 because their (older) ships can't meet Norway's strict sulphur fuel emissions. Hmm, pay the balance or lose deposit and book Norway thru a competitor, decisions, decisions 🤨