More stellar X customer service- drink package purchase issue

[the_dylaness]

I received a call from my TA today (4 days before sailing...) which is unusual. When I answered she informed me that she'd just been contacted by Celebrity and I owed $282, payable immediately (well by EOB), or my reservation would be cancelled.

 

Huh?

 

Turns out that back in December when I was doing a lot of cruise planning on the X website (shore excursions, drink package upgrades, etc), one of the transactions had an error on Celebrity's end and I was inadvertently refunded twice.  (I purchased the drink packages on a credit card and later called to get a refund and use OBC instead.)  I had several cancellations/refunds from Celebrity around this time frame and never noticed the double refund, especially since they were not 2 x 282--- there was one refund of 282, and two each of 141.

 

So, I owe X the money; that is understandable.

 

What is NOT ok is calling at lunchtime 4 days prior to sailing, demanding nearly 300 immediately. How was this not noticed 3 months ago? I am glad I was able to answer the phone but due to the nature of my job I often cannot take any calls during working hours and could well have missed this.

 

This is getting to be a pattern with X... some big drama right before or at sailing. In June it was an issue when we boarded; our rooms had been changed, and suddenly we were still in our original selected rooms and instead of next door, our kids and nanny were far forward, 3 floors away.  Neither room was actually fully "prepped" for them and we spent several hours dealing with Guest Relations about the issue until finally we made an executive decision to simply move into the room that was originally assigned and let them figure it out.  

 

The cruise before that, a few days prior to sailing they notified us that the rooms we'd chosen (next door to our kids and nanny) were "no longer available" and had been assigned to other guests.  It was a Thanksgiving sailing so I guess sold out or nearly so. Again, several hours (more of my TAs time than mine but still, lots of phone calls and emails) to find an acceptable solution.  They had a really hard time understanding our request to be next door (or really, really close) to our kids and nanny. At one point they offered the kids and nanny a Sky Suite which sounds amazing but really we just wanted our regular old balcony rooms and I really don't think my kids would have appreciated Luminae.  Eventually it was sorted and we were assigned great rooms on deck 11 in a similar location (near the aft stairwell) to our prior deck 6 rooms so I was happy with the outcome but so much drama again, right before sailing.

 

After paying my TA I called Celebrity to give feedback about how this was handled and was told they could not accept my feedback and I could only communicate through my TA.  (Who had no hand in the purchase nor refund of the beverage package.)

 

[SPacificbound]

Stuff happens, it's taken care of now, don't let it take any more of your time.

[zitsky]

I had a cruise canceled due to a Celebrity mistake.  I also had to rebook excursions.  But I don’t think we can say that nothing is allowed to happen 72 hours before a cruise.  Your problem was solved so I would enjoy your cruise.

[Alakegirl]

1 hour ago, the_dylaness said:

I received a call from my TA today (4 days before sailing...) which is unusual. When I answered she informed me that she'd just been contacted by Celebrity and I owed $282, payable immediately (well by EOB), or my reservation would be cancelled.

 

Huh?

 

Turns out that back in December when I was doing a lot of cruise planning on the X website (shore excursions, drink package upgrades, etc), one of the transactions had an error on Celebrity's end and I was inadvertently refunded twice.  (I purchased the drink packages on a credit card and later called to get a refund and use OBC instead.)  I had several cancellations/refunds from Celebrity around this time frame and never noticed the double refund, especially since they were not 2 x 282--- there was one refund of 282, and two each of 141.

 

So, I owe X the money; that is understandable.

 

 

So, you lost track of your transactions,, yes?
 

there would have been no problem if you had done things right?

[the_dylaness]

8 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

So, you lost track of your transactions,, yes?
 

there would have been no problem if you had done things right?

 

It's not my job to correctly ensure that Celebrity has not over-refunded me.

[odyssyus]

9 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

So, you lost track of your transactions,, yes?
 

there would have been no problem if you had done things right?

Perhaps a nanny to watch over the transactions...

Edited March 24, 2023 by odyssyus

[Mark_T]

22 minutes ago, the_dylaness said:

 

It's not my job to correctly ensure that Celebrity has not over-refunded me.

That is true, but after previous shuffling of purchases resulted in a refund getting lost in the system, I do take the time to make sure that all my expected transactions online balance correctly against my credit card.

 

I don't depend on them to get the charges or the refunds right, and that avoids the situation you found yourself in...

[the_dylaness]

Makes sense- although with X refunding things somewhere between 24 hours and 8 weeks, that would be quite a full time job I think 🙂

[zitsky]

30 minutes ago, the_dylaness said:

 

It's not my job to correctly ensure that Celebrity has not over-refunded me.

 

I’m trying to parse that double negative.  I’d say it is our job whether it is an overcharge or an undeserved refund.  If you are not charged for your glass of wine at a restaurant at home, do you say something?
 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Human error (on the part of both parties) often results in pre cruise drama across all cruise lines, I’m afraid. Before I retired I would have likely missed a phone call like that as well. Glad you didn’t!  Not sure I’d waste time making phone calls to give feedback regarding the timing though. The random agent who takes the call will follow a “disgruntled caller” script (assuming they talk to you instead of your TA). What you could do if this is really stuck in your craw is have your TA do a three way call with you on the line so you can have your say. Otherwise, you can just look at it as a cruise that was meant to be (because you got the call) and be glad it’s all figured out instead of cancelled. 

[hcat]

Wow.. we thought there would be more support for fellow cruisers rather than defense of X  which lately  causes alot of " agita". 

 

  On EDGE  before Covid, Fine Cut specialty  changed the time of our longstanding pre-paid res to 8:30 from 6 pm..  No notice was sent. We found out the day before when we went to confirm.  We were told it would be better for us,.NOT REALLY! They apparently moved us to accomodate a suite guest..The officious rude maitre d at first refused to refund our acct when we cancelled implying we were at fault! So we just stood there until he  reluctantly agreed...He was unsuited to the job!

 

That was happening quite a bit on that cruise..at Fine Cut and EDEN, where they split family groups into two diff time slots etc,,  Seems always  said it was for the benefit  of the cruisers..NOT!   Hopefully...things are improving....

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, hcat said:

Wow.. we thought there would be more support for fellow cruisers rather than defense of X  which lately  causes alot of " agita". 

 

  On EDGE  before Covid, Fine Cut specialty  changed the time of our longstanding pre-paid res to 8:30 from 6 pm..  No notice was sent. We found out the day before when we went to confirm.  We were told it would be better for us,.NOT REALLY! They apparently moved us to accomodate a suite guest..The officious rude maitre d at first refused to refund our acct when we cancelled implying we were at fault! So we just stood there until he  reluctantly agreed...He was unsuited to the job!

 

That was happening quite a bit on that cruise..at Fine Cut and EDEN, where they split family groups into two diff time slots etc,,  Seems always  said it was for the benefit  of the cruisers..NOT!   Hopefully...things are improving....

 

Agree. I tend to put customer service pre cruise in a separate category from customer service once on the ship. Both can certainly be lacking at any given time but we rarely hear about all the satisfied customers who’ve had issues handled perfectly. It’s why Human Resources can make or break the face of a company. I’m glad you held your ground with Fine Cut as they were clearly in the wrong!  We had something similar happen on Solstice and the host acted like we were at fault. We weren’t. He didn’t represent Celebrity well that day. I think corporate really does care about such things but they are so far removed from the weeds of individual cruiser experiences that it feels like they don’t care. I bet you if they knew about OP’s personal dealings with customer service they would agree that things could have been handled better. 

[odyssyus]

21 minutes ago, hcat said:

Wow.. we thought there would be more support for fellow cruisers rather than defense of X  which lately  causes alot of " agita". 

 

 

I don't think they're not supporting the cruiser.  I think they're simply calling for a level of personal responsibility that seems to be lacking.  We'll never really know what the true story is, and without knowing it, how can you fault X?

[tony s]

12 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

I received a call from my TA today (4 days before sailing...) which is unusual. When I answered she informed me that she'd just been contacted by Celebrity and I owed $282, payable immediately (well by EOB), or my reservation would be cancelled.

 

Huh?

 

Turns out that back in December when I was doing a lot of cruise planning on the X website (shore excursions, drink package upgrades, etc), one of the transactions had an error on Celebrity's end and I was inadvertently refunded twice.  (I purchased the drink packages on a credit card and later called to get a refund and use OBC instead.)  I had several cancellations/refunds from Celebrity around this time frame and never noticed the double refund, especially since they were not 2 x 282--- there was one refund of 282, and two each of 141.

 

So, I owe X the money; that is understandable.

 

What is NOT ok is calling at lunchtime 4 days prior to sailing, demanding nearly 300 immediately. How was this not noticed 3 months ago? I am glad I was able to answer the phone but due to the nature of my job I often cannot take any calls during working hours and could well have missed this.

 

This is getting to be a pattern with X... some big drama right before or at sailing. In June it was an issue when we boarded; our rooms had been changed, and suddenly we were still in our original selected rooms and instead of next door, our kids and nanny were far forward, 3 floors away.  Neither room was actually fully "prepped" for them and we spent several hours dealing with Guest Relations about the issue until finally we made an executive decision to simply move into the room that was originally assigned and let them figure it out.  

 

The cruise before that, a few days prior to sailing they notified us that the rooms we'd chosen (next door to our kids and nanny) were "no longer available" and had been assigned to other guests.  It was a Thanksgiving sailing so I guess sold out or nearly so. Again, several hours (more of my TAs time than mine but still, lots of phone calls and emails) to find an acceptable solution.  They had a really hard time understanding our request to be next door (or really, really close) to our kids and nanny. At one point they offered the kids and nanny a Sky Suite which sounds amazing but really we just wanted our regular old balcony rooms and I really don't think my kids would have appreciated Luminae.  Eventually it was sorted and we were assigned great rooms on deck 11 in a similar location (near the aft stairwell) to our prior deck 6 rooms so I was happy with the outcome but so much drama again, right before sailing.

 

After paying my TA I called Celebrity to give feedback about how this was handled and was told they could not accept my feedback and I could only communicate through my TA.  (Who had no hand in the purchase nor refund of the beverage package.)

 

Have TA do a three way call with their business development manager from Celebrity or lay into her how it was handled. If either refuse to do righ, take your business somewhere else

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Wow.. we thought there would be more support for fellow cruisers rather than defense of X  which lately  causes alot of " agita". 

 

  On EDGE  before Covid, Fine Cut specialty  changed the time of our longstanding pre-paid res to 8:30 from 6 pm..  No notice was sent. We found out the day before when we went to confirm.  We were told it would be better for us,.NOT REALLY! They apparently moved us to accomodate a suite guest..The officious rude maitre d at first refused to refund our acct when we cancelled implying we were at fault! So we just stood there until he  reluctantly agreed...He was unsuited to the job!

 

That was happening quite a bit on that cruise..at Fine Cut and EDEN, where they split family groups into two diff time slots etc,,  Seems always  said it was for the benefit  of the cruisers..NOT!   Hopefully...things are improving....

 

Complaining about poor service is reasonable.  Who said it was not?

 

If Celebrity refunded you $2,000 instead of $200, what would you do?  I hope you keep the extra money since it was Celebrity’s mistake?  I wouldn’t suggest returning it because that would make me a shill for Celebrity.  

[the_dylaness]

I like to think I would have noticed a $2k refund on my credit card but <$300, especially given the probably 2 dozen transactions I'd had with Celebrity in the weeks surrounding it, didn't really register.

 

To be clear, I don't disagree that I owed Celebrity the money (at least as far as I can tell, I'm not a forensic accountant.) I don't mind paying them back. I do mind the circumstances under which the refund was requested... >3 months after the erroneous refund was made I get a call demanding the money now or they'll cancel our two rooms for five people? Seriously?

[cruisestitch]

So you are mad that your travel agent called you at lunchtime?  That’s not Celebrity’s fault, is it?

[the_dylaness]

Just now, cruisestitch said:

So you are mad that your travel agent called you at lunchtime?  That’s not Celebrity’s fault, is it?

 

Not the issue at all.

I am upset that I was given very short notice to pay up or have our cruise (4 days out) cancelled.

[Alakegirl]

Something isn’t right here. If you owe them money for a shore excursion or a drink package, they would have just cancelled that.  Did you owe money on a cruise fare?  The TA should have recognized that.  And even if you did offer one of the fares, why would they threaten to cancel the other one? I think it’s time for a new TA

[Arizona Wildcat]

12 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

 

It's not my job to correctly ensure that Celebrity has not over-refunded me.

Actually it is your job to verify your statements as correct.   Would you have noticed if they charged you twice? 

When you booked, cancelled and then rebooked did it not seem a good idea at the time to check your account?

Chill and enjoy your cruise.  You had a few hundred of their money for a while.  

Also remember if you use a TA everything must go through your TA.  

[Arizona Wildcat]

10 minutes ago, Alakegirl said:

Something isn’t right here. If you owe them money for a shore excursion or a drink package, they would have just cancelled that.  Did you owe money on a cruise fare?  The TA should have recognized that.  And even if you did offer one of the fares, why would they threaten to cancel the other one? I think it’s time for a new TA

The OP said he had some "two dozen transactions " with Celebrity.  And that he would have noticed a larger amount.

Anyone had a cruise with two dozen transactions with Celebrity?

Seems not the TAs fault, but rather a bit of chaos from the beginning.

If he didn't notice a $300+/- error in his statement why such a big deal paying it?

I have gone to checkin and been told I owed $$ regarding a MoveUp.  Had a choice pay it or not cruise.

[cruisestitch]

I would wonder if the TA knew for some time that money was owed on the fare.

 

If it was owed on a short excursion, it seems like Celebrity would’ve just cancelled the excursion not the entire reservation.

 

I think the TA might have made a mistake and was trying to blame Celebrity.

[the_dylaness]

2 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

Something isn’t right here. If you owe them money for a shore excursion or a drink package, they would have just cancelled that.  Did you owe money on a cruise fare?  The TA should have recognized that.  And even if you did offer one of the fares, why would they threaten to cancel the other one? I think it’s time for a new TA

 

I agree something isn't right here, but no, I owed no money for the fare (paid in full already) and the exact amount requested was the cost of 2 beverage package upgrades.

[the_dylaness]

2 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Actually it is your job to verify your statements as correct.   Would you have noticed if they charged you twice? 

When you booked, cancelled and then rebooked did it not seem a good idea at the time to check your account?

Chill and enjoy your cruise.  You had a few hundred of their money for a while.  

Also remember if you use a TA everything must go through your TA.  

 

I likely would not have noticed if they had overcharged me, to be honest. (Maybe they have, I frankly have no idea). Again, with probably 2 dozen transactions and verrrry slow refunds from X, they make it quite difficult to track charges and refunds.  It's not as if this is the only thing happening in my life, you know?

[the_dylaness]

2 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

The OP said he had some "two dozen transactions " with Celebrity.  And that he would have noticed a larger amount.

Anyone had a cruise with two dozen transactions with Celebrity?

Seems not the TAs fault, but rather a bit of chaos from the beginning.

If he didn't notice a $300+/- error in his statement why such a big deal paying it?

I have gone to checkin and been told I owed $$ regarding a MoveUp.  Had a choice pay it or not cruise.

 

Not a big deal to pay- as far as I can best tell I owed the money. (I think?)

 

What was a big deal is that I was notified four days before sailing that I had to pay up in the next few hours for a charge I didn't know I owed (and was hard to verify at the moment.)