RCCL customer service sucks! So far I am NOT IMPRESSED!!!!!

[cruisin from florida]

Wasn't meant to be.

 

Wishing the OP a wonderful vacation!

 

Tracy

This online communication stuff - we really need tones of voice sometimes! :-)

 

I wish them the same!

 

:-)

[Lewdog]

You know what, at this point cancel, write it up as a lesson learned. It's obvious nothing would make you happy. So don't waster anymote time on it.

[Firefighterhoop]

First of all - DO NOT - Call customer service, they can not help you, they will say that they can, but they can not. You need to talk to the air department. Just find out your flight schedule, and ask to have it Emailed to you. BOOM - problem solved.

 

Then, all you need to do is bring up your set sail pass, and print it out, call RCCL RESERVATIONS and have them fax or email a copy of your reservation. You will have all the information that you will need, without having to worry about it anymore.

 

HOWEVER - I will tell you this, if you are coming from the opposite ends of the globe, you will have to wait for her (Or she for you) to board the ship. The entire stateroom MUST be together to check in.

 

Scott

[Baltorep]

FYI

 

All excursion information and prices are also available on line at the RCI website. Hope things get worked out. If I remember correctly you can even book them prior to leaving once you are able to set up your Set Sail account online.

[nrdsb4]

I hope you got the persons who delt with you in customer service name ....When you get on board, when its not crowded go to the purcers office, it they can't satisfy you or just brush you off..I would go way above their head...keep climbing the ladder with this complaint...this is not what RCI wants to do-drive away customers. If you don't get satisfaction...switch over to ships run by Carnival (Princess, Holland America). Be firm and don't raise your voice but be persistant! Good Luck!

 

What can the purser do for her? He has nothing to do with customer service in Miami, document delivery, etc. His role is to help her with onboard issues, isn't it? Maybe you are suggesting he can just do something to make her happy while onboard, such as a gift or credit? Just wondering.

[ACCagent]

First of all - DO NOT - Call customer service, they can not help you, they will say that they can, but they can not. You need to talk to the air department. Just find out your flight schedule, and ask to have it Emailed to you. BOOM - problem solved.

 

Then, all you need to do is bring up your set sail pass, and print it out, call RCCL RESERVATIONS and have them fax or email a copy of your reservation. You will have all the information that you will need, without having to worry about it anymore.

 

HOWEVER - I will tell you this, if you are coming from the opposite ends of the globe, you will have to wait for her (Or she for you) to board the ship. The entire stateroom MUST be together to check in.

 

Scott

 

This is NOT correct information. You do not have to check in at the same time on Royal Caribbean. I have many clients that travel separately and check in at different times. Even my family has and have never had any problem with doing so.

[Loliznel]

You know what, at this point cancel, write it up as a lesson learned. It's obvious nothing would make you happy. So don't waster anymote time on it.

 

"Its obvious nothing would make me happy"? That's a crazy statement to make. I'm not asking for much, just information on where to show up for the cruise. And if I cancel now we would lose the deposit, so that would make absolutely no sense at all.

[Retired not Expired]

This is NOT correct information. You do not have to check in at the same time on Royal Caribbean. I have many clients that travel separately and check in at different times. Even my family has and have never had any problem with doing so.

 

I've heard others say this too. When you print out the Set Sail Pass, it states all parties on the pass and in the cabin must be present together at check in. Maybe this is why the OP can not do the Set Sail and it tells them to call in? Anyone?

[Loliznel]

So, I finally got a hold of someone at Royal Caribbean and explained that I could not do the Set Sail thing online, I keep getting the message,This Reservation has multiple Air Cities and cannot be modified through this system. Please contact our customer service number to make any changes to this Reservation.

So after waiting about a half hour this time, I got a CSR who said, "Well, I don't know what is wrong because when I put the information in, I am able to get right to the next page." I explained that I have tried to input the information several times on different computers - have cleaned out my cache, etc. and still keep getting that message. She said that the best she could tell me was to contact the "Documentation Department" on Monday. This is the same "Documentation Department" that we have talked to before and who assured us that my information would be here by last Tuesday! She then transferred me to another "Department" that "should be able to help" and I was put on hold with the same opening message that you get when you call the regular 800 number. The next person was basically clueless as well and could not help me.

The e-documentation that was supposed to be emailed to me yesterday is still not here too.

 

I think I will take that "chill pill" now. Thank you very much.

[nrdsb4]

The e-documentation that was supposed to be emailed to me yesterday is still not here too.

 

 

Don't forget to check your spam folder - I have had some very important e-mail dumped into my spam folder before.

 

I hope everything works out. I'd be pretty frazzled myself in your shoes.

[wrp96]

To the OP, I'm sorry this is happening to you. This happened to me last year, except that I couldn't even get my flight information. And the Setsail pass wasn't even in use yet, so wasn't an option for me either. The cruise itself ended up being absolutely amazing!

 

My suggestion is wait until 9am Eastern time tomorrow morning, which is when many of the managers on duty. Most of the people on duty on nights and weekends are low-level employees Call the main number, when the first CSR answers don't even bother to talk to them. Tell them that you want to speak to a supervisor and be firm about it. If they ask why, tell them you are tired of getting passed around and need somebody to help you. When you call, set aside several hours (I know you've already done that already), have a writing pad and pen in front of you. When the first person picks up, write down their name, document who they transfer to, what is said, etc. Have ready an email address, a phone number, and a fax number so they can fax stuff to you if need be. If they say they are going to call you back, ask why you can't hold. If they say it will be awhile, ask for a direct number where you can call them back directly so you don't have to explain again (yes, they have direct phone numbers).

 

Now, to calm you down, what you can do is request pier pickup of documents. This way even if you can't printoff the SetSail Pass, then you will have documents waiting for you. You can pick up luggage tags at the pier - print off luggage tags and take them with you.

 

When you get home, write a letter (yes a letter, not a phone call or an email) detailing whom you talked to and when, and I do mean every single phone call. Be polite but express your frustration. Most people don't bother to do this when they have a problem, so RCI may not know exactly how bad some of these agents are.

[designermillion]

For the most part, we have had great experiences with Royal Caribbean on their ships, but I can't say the same about their customer service. While on the Monarch in 2002, my (now) husband & I heard an announcement on board about future bookings. It said something like, get $250 in on board credits for future bookings, if you book it before you leave the ship. We had already decided we were going on a cruise for our honeymoon, but decided to go ahead & take advantage of the offer & get the credit. We went to the reservation desk on board, and the woman we spoke with said they hadn't released the dates yet, but all we had to do was call customer service when they were released, and mention what had taken place & we'd get the credits. Well.. when the dates were finally released, we called to make the reservation & they gave us a hard time about getting the credits. They had to contact that woman on board the ship, who in turn told them she didn't know anything about it. This took about a week. Naturally in the end, we never received anything. After that we also never received another Crown & Anchor Magazine either. They blamed this on the fact that we'd moved & they had two different addresses in the system, yet we have changed the address with them numerous times. To this day, we still have never received C&A magazine.

 

The 2nd issues happened recently. We booked a cruise on the NOS for May 6th. Last week we were surfing the RC website, and found that the Mariner had a similar cruise for $1200 less with the balcony stateroom guarantee. We decided to change our booking. Well later that evening, my husband decide he didn't like the itinerary, because we lost one port & it was going to Cococay vs. Nassau, so I got back online & found the EOS leaving the same day with the original itinerary. I called RC back & was given a hard time about changing again. There was about a $100 difference in the price, so I didn't see what the big deal was. I spoke to a woman in customer service, who then after asking for ALL of my info, said I had to talk to someone in the resolution dept. That woman started off the conversation by saying very sternly "WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH A LARGE CREDIT GOING BACK TO YOUR CREDIT CARD?" I explained to her what we had done & what we wanted to do. She said something like "I'll make the change, but we won't do it again" in a snotty tone. I thought to myself regardless of whether I spend $3500 or $2200, I am still paying them money for a vacation & they should do what the heck I want! We got our cabin assignment the next day, and big surprise, they gave us one of the sh*ttiest locations on the ship. It was the very first cabin, on the right side of the ship in the front. When we decided to try the stateroom guarantee, everyone assured us that we'd get a great room & they'd never been dissappointed. We thought we'd give it a whirl, never thinking we'd get what we got.

 

The next day I emailed Crown & Anchor & told them I had heard such wonderful things about the stateroom guarantee booking, that we decided to give it a try, but ended up with a room that we were not happy with. I also told them I tend to get very sea sick, and didn't want this to spoil our trip. We have been 100% satisfied with RC & didn't want that to change. A few days later a loyalty agent called & left us a voicemail at home, saying they'd be happy to change our cabin location. I called today & spoke with the nicest woman, who made the change with no questions asked. She also told me that she would re-order the last issue of C&A magazine & have it sent to us asap.

 

I believe it's sort of hit & miss when you call any customer service. Sometimes just by the way they answer the phone, you know whether it will be a good or bad experience. From now on, if I get even the slightest inclination that it's going to be bad, I'll hang up before they're done talking!

[Bebet]

You both can register separately. My Mom and my three sisters shared two rooms, all four came from different places. They only had two sets of documents between the four of them. They each used the shared booking number to print our sail passes. Each of you needs one, it makes boarding easier. The process to do the sail pass can be confusing for two people. I had my own room so it wasn't a big deal for me but I'm the one that did the sail pass for three of the others, you just have to make sure your working the information under your name. Use the booking number that is in the front of the documents your sister has.

[rcicruiser]

Passenger in the same cabin always get one booklet unless the clients ask when the booking is made for separate documents. That has been their policy for a long time now.

[Firefighterhoop]

This is NOT correct information. You do not have to check in at the same time on Royal Caribbean. I have many clients that travel separately and check in at different times. Even my family has and have never had any problem with doing so.

 

Out of Galveston on 10/30/05, We had two Rooms, and one person had to come in on a different flight due to a scheduling conflict, the person in the same room had to wait until everyone in the stateroom was present to board.

 

Check your facts.

Scott

[katya7719]

I may not have all of the facts and/or backstory. I tried to absorb as much of it as possible ;-). However, one thing did strike me. What has your sister been told by RC? Has she received any kind of verification via email, telephone or snail mail? I was curious if possibly whomever booked the cruise, it might be possible that RC will only deal with them because they are the ones that made/secured the reservation.

I don't think all hope is lost :-)! If nothing else, if you can get just your flight information, you can probably contact the airline and verify your reservation, and they can issue you an e-ticket. I do know that RC generally books their flights pretty close to the sailing date, but they should have done it by now.

You still won't have any physical documentation in your hands until you get to the airport, but if they can confirm your reservation, I would think that it is there. It's unnerving to have so little documentation, but I really do think it will be okay.

I hope that in the end, you can definitely shake this bad booking experience and enjoy your wonderful cruise! You deserve it!

[margaritasalt]

Anyone else notice that she has yet to report calling the Custom Air desk? If she had, she would have her air information by now.

[Firefighterhoop]

A few other people, plus myself, have given her that advice to call the air sea department and work around there...

The weekends are a bad time to call, usually only one agent overwhelmed, unwilling to help.. But weekdays it is staffed pretty full, so it is easy to talk to someone to get to the bottom of the problem.

Scott

[OPSoccermom]

[quote name='Firefighterhoop']Out of Galveston on 10/30/05, We had two Rooms, and one person had to come in on a different flight due to a scheduling conflict, the person in the same room had to wait until everyone in the stateroom was present to board.

Check your facts.
Scott[/QUOTE]
Agree with Firefighter - Last March on Mariner, we had four families, all from different places, cruising together with various teens/college students from each family sharing cabins. We had separate docs. No one sharing a room was allowed to board until the other person in the cabin was present.

[Loliznel]

First, just to clarify things:
Yes, my sister did make the original reservation under her name (we were both on the phone when we made the reservation, but she was listed as "Guest 1"). We gave the CSR the contact information for BOTH of us and explained that we were both coming from different cities - which should have been obvious because we were getting air travel from two different places. BUT as I pointed out earlier, even SHE had not gotten any documentation HERSELF, until she had called Royal Caribbean several times and spent several hours on the phone. Then when she did finally get a portion of it, it was not a complete package - she did not have any air information in it.

I, on the other hand, had not gotten ANY information. Zippo! Nada! Even after multiple assurances from Royal Caribbean that the Cruise document package was "in the mail" and being shipped to MY address!

So just to give an update, when I last posted, it was Sunday and I was still awaiting my edocumentation email.
Well, FINALLY it arrived!!! I opened it up at work - it was a pdf file - and there were 16 pages of information on it. It was GREAT! My flight information, which documents I would need, luggage information, and the FIRST official mention of what the SetSail pass was. I was relieved and I felt that well, at least if I have this and can somehow get the SetSail pass fixed, it should be o.k. Well, I can't print up personal information at work, and since this was 16 pages, I just closed it and saved the email with the intent of printing it up at home.
Well, when I got home, imagine my surprise when the link no longer worked! I just could not understand it. I called RCCL again and the woman said she did not know why the link did not work and I would have to call the documentation department on Monday.
Called the documentation department on Monday. And, at this point, this whole process is becoming comical! It is like something out of a Bill Murray movie. But, and I kid you not, the CSR said, [B]"Oh, someone should have told you that when you open up the edocuments, you can ONLY do it ONE TIME! After[/B] [B]that you can not open it up again. So you should print it all up the first time."[/B] Can you believe that?! :eek: There was absolutely no mention of this in the email! Nor did the CSR mention that when she sent it to me. So once again, I had nothing. But worse than that, they would not be able to just send me the email again. It would need to be "re-issued"! A freakin' email! And that involved another laborious process.
So, long story short: it is now Wednesday, the cruise is Sunday, I am supposed to be getting the Cruise Documents via UPS today. If it doesn't come today, I am to call a "special number" at RCCL and go from there.
One good thing. I WAS able to print up my SetSail pass for myself and my sister and we confirmed our flights, and from what you guys are telling me that is really all I need. Thank God for this board because all of the information that has been helpful I learned from here.
I will keep you posted.

[cruizinmimi]

[B]Lozinel[/B] I've been reading this thread and I'm glad to hear you finally got to print the SetSail and get your air ressies. I'm sorry you've had to go through all of this, but you are right, you've gotten great info from the boards and you've learned alot.

I wish you and your sister a safe and wonderful cruise. Relax, pack and don't forget your SetSail info and all the other documentation you've printed out along with your passport or birth certificate, and don't forget your money. Have a drink, put on that cruise music and get packing.....Girl, you're going on a cruise:D

Linda

[Loliznel]

[quote name='cruizinmimi'][B]Lozinel[/B] I've been reading this thread and I'm glad to hear you finally got to print the SetSail and get your air ressies. I'm sorry you've had to go through all of this, but you are right, you've gotten great info from the boards and you've learned alot.

I wish you and your sister a safe and wonderful cruise. Relax, pack and don't forget your SetSail info and all the other documentation you've printed out along with your passport or birth certificate, and don't forget your money. Have a drink, put on that cruise music and get packing.....Girl, you're going on a cruise:D

Linda[/quote]

HAHA. Wouldn't that be funny if I forget the SetSail pass after all of this? Or my passport or something? Awful.:D

[megessey]

I'm glad everything was taken care of, but this just whole situation kept me thinking..... this is all high class problems...... in the future, remember this is the "small stuff", annoying as it is to deal with customer service over and over, its just not worth the anxiety..... its still just high class problems, girl.....;)


Have a good time!

[wrp96]

Lolizinel, I'm glad things have worked out for you. Leave all the frustrations behind when you get to the ship and have a great time.

I still recommend writing a polite letter detailing your frustrations when you get back from your cruise. As I said, I think a lot of people get so frustrated they don't bother to write and let them know.

[LindaandJeff]

About a month ago I started a similar thread and everyone empathized and told me to calm down...and you know what they were right! I eventually got all of my information and the people on the ship were wonderful! They made me forget all about the people on the 800 line. I was similarly frustrated thinking something was going to go terribly wrong with my vacation...but it didn't. All of my excursions were there. The flowers were in my room to greet us. Champagne and strawberries all arrived in time for sail away. Everything that no one could help me with on the phone fell into place. I did what people on this board told me to do...print the set sail pass, if the other person has already done it and it has your name on it ---no problem. Embarkation was a breeze! By the way, I did eventually talk to someone on the 800 line who was wonderful and helpful and all the things you would expect. But I was terribly frustrated at first. You will have a great time, once you are on board! Have a wonderful vacation!