Not So Great Frist Impression

[Moochi]

DH and I booked our very first VV cruise, with a TA we met on a previous cruise trip.

 

A few days after booking, we tried to log into our accounts to book excursions and bar tabs. We found that neither of us could access our accounts. Upon log in, there's an error message says "Aw Dang". No sailor's name were displayed, and no booking was linked. We tried the normal self diagnosis, such as clearing cache and cookies, changing browsers, using different divices, connecting to different internet providers, couldn't solve the problem.

 

I tried to chat with VV customer service online, but it was out of their business hours. The chatting robot told me that a case has been created and someone will get back me within 72 hours. DH called them the next day during business hours, and was told something similar - a case was crated and someone will reach out in 48 hours. 

 

A week passed and no one contacted either of us. 

 

DH called again, and mentioned that he was not contacted within their promised time frame. He was told the case was escalated and someone will reach out in 48 hours. 

 

More than 48 hours passed and no one contacted him.

 

I decided to chat online again and see what happens. After the 54-minute long chat, here's what I got. A note has been made in the system to link DH and I's cases, and they are in high priority. The cases have been sent to a supervisor. Someone has been working on our cases and will reach out soon. 

 

More than a week passed and no one contacted either of us.

 

DH and I were no very happy. We want our accounts to be fixes so we can give VV our money. And we want to know why they don't contact us. DH called and insisted to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor says, someone from IT is looking into the issue. He doubts it can be resolved in 48 hours, and thinks it will take about a week for someone to reach back to us. The issue was not resolved but the conversation was more helpful and honest than previous ones. 

 

During the waiting, we searched for online posts about the same issue. Tried the fixes but nothing worked. 

 

A week passed, no one from VV contacted us. We were still waiting patiently because of what the supervisor said. It has been more than a month since we had the account issues.

 

When we were going to call VV again, our TA checked on us to offer promotions on friends and family bookings. My husband mentioned that we were very disappointed in VV at that point. We will determine if we talking our friends into sailing with us when the issue is resolved, and how it's resolved. Our TA told us he will get involved and he did. He was responsive and kept us updated. A few days later, the issue was resolved. We don't know what strings he has pulled, DH received two phone calls from VV to check on status, and then both accounts were fixed.

 

We are so glad to have a great TA, but still disappointed in VV. Such a trendy company doesn't have good IT department and customer service?

[jon81uk]

If you book with a TA it is often best to go back to them in the first place.

[drewdawg199]

If you had your own VV account and then booked through a TA, it's possible a second account was created for you using the same email address. When that happens, their system can't handle it and requires some backend IT adjustments to resolve.  But like others said, if you book through a TA, your first and only call should be to your TA do have it sorted out.

[cantgetin]

I'll third the idea of always contacting the TA.  The other thing I've found it that the system periodically craps out (for lack of a better word).  I worked thru this issue once with someone from VV's IT department and learned how to "fix" it myself.  It had something to do with the on line computer account and the app not talking to each other.

The best thing I found was to let the TA deal with anything that is basic customer service related.  If it is a computer problem, hit the phone prompt for IT--they were pretty decent in my situation.  The regular shoreside guest service people have improved over the last 18 months, but still leave a lot to be desired and seem to always need to contact a supervisor!

 

[CineGraphic]

Glad they fixed things, but in the future, save yourself from the stress and let your TA earn his/her money. Virgin pays the highest commissions in the biz, make them earn it.

[cantgetin]

I keep hearing this, but based on the figures I've seen, I'm not sure that it is accurate.  There is no question that VV pays the highest base commissions--the level an agent starts with on their first sale of a cruise.  Other lines have a sliding scale after that based on how much an agent sells, and an agent who works hard can make the level that VV starts at or a bit higher percentage.  I don't know if VV increases commissions from that already high starting percentage or if that is "THE" rate across the board.  I'm also aware that their top selling agents get invited to special cruise events with the top brass in the company for a combination of work and fun.  Bottom line, I'm not an agent and there is no reason for me to care what they make.  My agent gives the best service I've seen in 30 years--lots of little things!

[CineGraphic]

43 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

I keep hearing this, but based on the figures I've seen, I'm not sure that it is accurate.

 

VV also pays agents commission on pre-cruise expenditures.....bar tabs, excursions. I don't believe any other line does this. Maybe a TA can chime in and confirm what my TA told me.

[cantgetin]

I heard that as well.  But they can't be selling too many bar tabs with $600 included!

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by cantgetin

[-The-True-North-]

I 100% agree with the OP. VV desperately needs to fix their Customer Service experience. Especially with people trying to make the switch. My wife and I were super excited to switch to this cruiseline from our usual one, and the experience so far has been... 😬.

 

So far, They have said to bad and screwed me out of additional loot because THEY were to too slow to switch our TA. Even though all the information was provided by email and a phone call.

 

We have also been waiting on them to provide us with a perk that we are owed. Something that doesn't actually COST them anything. 

 

They are shooting themselves in the foot, and we haven't even stepped on the boat yet.

[CineGraphic]

2 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

They are shooting themselves in the foot, and we haven't even stepped on the boat yet.

 

Many of us have felt this way at times, but thankfully, the on-board experience has more than made up for the frustration stemming from land-based support. It's been getting better, and then sometimes, there's a giant leap backwards, but keep the faith, it's worth it in the end. The crew is phenomenal.

[CastleCritic]

26 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Many of us have felt this way at times, but thankfully, the on-board experience has more than made up for the frustration stemming from land-based support. It's been getting better, and then sometimes, there's a giant leap backwards, but keep the faith, it's worth it in the end. The crew is phenomenal.

sadly that has been my experience so far as well.

 

Booked my cruise last week, then called them for airfare, which has always worked well when Ive called for airfare for my river cruises (AMAWaterways).  First didn't get a call back trying to get a quote through the online chat system (didnt get a human but the system obviously didn't find anyone to look at the "ticket" it opened). Second called and the agent didn't have the greatest grasp of English, and it took me about 10min into the conversation to figure out that she hadn't(and couldn't) quoted me the airfare I had asked for (I asked for premium economy to have some chance to sleep on the way over, they only do bare economy) AND that the airfare therefore was actually MORE than I could get just doing it myself by quite a lot.

[CineGraphic]

18 minutes ago, CastleCritic said:

AND that the airfare therefore was actually MORE than I could get just doing it myself by quite a lot.

 

Virgin doesn't have the buying power that Carnival has.

I can't even begin to imagine how many seats they must book every single day for both crew and passengers for Carnival, HAL, Princess, Cunard, etc...

 

Who knows what the future will bring, but I've never minded booking flights and hotel stays. In fact, I like the challenge of finding the best deals.

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by CineGraphic

[CastleCritic]

8 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Virgin doesn't have the buying power that Carnival has.

I can't even begin to imagine how many seats they must book every single day for both crew and passengers for Carnival, HAL, Princess, Cunard, etc...

 

Who knows what the future will bring, but I've never minded booking flights and hotel stays. In fact, I like the challenge of finding the best deals.

 

oh Im a flight nerd, Ive been looking at combinations for a trip to Egypt that I cant even yet book for about 2 months.  I booked my own flight to Athens for the VV cruise about 30min later directly from AA I already knew the price and the options.  And my pre/post hotels shortly after that.

 

But if the cruise line (or whatever) has the ability to get me an acceptable flight at a price that is less than what I can do, Im all for that.

Edited June 21, 2023 by CastleCritic

[-The-True-North-]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Many of us have felt this way at times, but thankfully, the on-board experience has more than made up for the frustration stemming from land-based support. It's been getting better, and then sometimes, there's a giant leap backwards, but keep the faith, it's worth it in the end. The crew is phenomenal.

For sure. And thankfully we are enjoying reading these Forums because there are so much helpful and caring members.

 

But imagine for the people that don't know that pre board service is shot, and on board is steller. VV is literally setting themselves up for failure.

 

I hope VV reads these boards and makes changes quick.

[cantgetin]

The flights than VV has quoted me have always been more expensive than what I could get on my own. I don't bother with them any more!

We've encountered some pretty good shoreside phone people, but overall they are awful.  Even the "good" ones usually have to put me on hold and talk to a supervisor.  Getting someone who can deal with an issue the first time is something of a miracle.  And yes, it is a really bad first impression when booking!

[CineGraphic]

13 hours ago, CastleCritic said:

But if the cruise line (or whatever) has the ability to get me an acceptable flight at a price that is less than what I can do, Im all for that.

 

At this point, I don't see it happening.

They don't have the numbers to generate a big enough discount from the airlines to cover the labor cost involved. Their phone reps seem to be having enough trouble dealing with cruise bookings. I don't want them anywhere near my airline bookings.

[cantgetin]

3 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

At this point, I don't see it happening.

They don't have the numbers to generate a big enough discount from the airlines to cover the labor cost involved. Their phone reps seem to be having enough trouble dealing with cruise bookings. I don't want them anywhere near my airline bookings.

What initially surprised me was that they didn't have a connection or discount with Virgin Air.  It made sense when I learned that they were totally separate companies.  I don't even ask about their air connections any more--when I did, nothing they could offer made sense, and I fully agree that I wouldn't want to have to work thru them for any problems with air.

[_tacocat_]

44 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

I wouldn't want to have to work thru them for any problems with air

i had always heard if you booked your air through the cruise line and something happened, they'd either get you on a different flight that would get you there in time for departure or get you to the cruise in progress if things went totally awry. 

 

i've read horror story after horror story over the past year or so from people who had booked air via the cruise line (mostly NCL).  you're forced to take whatever flights they give you, which seem to be all day-of arrivals, or you have to pay a bunch extra to get there the day before.  there have obviously been a ton of delays or cancellations over the last year, and the cruise line basically have told these people to go pound sand and "hope you have good travel insurance!" vs. rebooking them.

 

i have top status with my preferred airline, so i will 100% of the time book my own air, solely so i can be in control of my own destiny with scheduling and have first crack at rerouting/rebooking if things go wrong.

[CineGraphic]

15 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

i had always heard if you booked your air through the cruise line and something happened, they'd either get you on a different flight that would get you there in time for departure or get you to the cruise in progress if things went totally awry

 

It's not that simple. A Princess loyalist is currently dealing with a flight cancellation 44 days before sailing. It ends up that the Princess EZ-Air program (there's nothing easy about them) will only re-book her with the same airline, with no regard to lengthy lay-overs, or late arrival times.

 

The only advantage with booking via EZ-Air is the discounted business class seats on international flights. I rarely saw any deals in their domestic coach offerings. Most of the time I checked, I could get a better rate on my own.

[cantgetin]

We've gotten better prices thru Princess EZ Air  than I could get on my own and they treated us well the one time a flight we were scheduled on was canceled.  However, when using them, you are no longer able to deal with any airline directly--everything needs to go thru EZ Air, and their bottom line concern is not you.  Also, much like VV customer service, a great deal can depend on who picks up the phone.  We have no plans to cruise Princess in the future, but it would have to be a really good deal for me to choose to go thru a third party rather than booking with an airline.  Flights are too full and too much happens these days.  They do SAY that they will get you to the port on time or to the ship in progress, but those can be "pie crust promises" depending on your cruise and exactly what happens.  

For instance, we always come in a day ahead.  They didn't promise they'd get you there to enjoy a good sleep in your hotel, only that you'd get to the ship before "all aboard" time.  That can mean that your comfortable hotel in the port city just became a cot in an airport...but you made it to the ship.  It can mean that there are no flights available to get you there.  And it definitely means that they don't give a flying fig about your comfort or convenience if they need to completely rebook you.

In fairness, I've had things happen on flights I've booked.  For instance, I selected a specific Delta flight so we could leave after school/work (no one would have to miss a day) and be at the port city late in the evening.  They changed the flight and wanted us to do out the day before....we ended up negotiating for a noon flight the same day...but by the time you allow for getting to the airport, etc. we just skipped school/work that day.  So much for great planning.

[Gretchendz]

On 6/20/2023 at 1:27 AM, CineGraphic said:

 

VV also pays agents commission on pre-cruise expenditures.....bar tabs, excursions. I don't believe any other line does this. Maybe a TA can chime in and confirm what my TA told me.

 

I'm a TA. I second what everyone said about calling the TA and having us go through the time and frustration of getting it fixed for you is what we do. It's part of the job--and sometimes we have access to systems where we can fix it ourselves, depending on the issue and cruise line.

 

Re VV's commissions, they are fairly good as there are fewer items excluded from commissions. I'm not sure they are the "best in the business" but they are certainly better than many. Of course, if they are very glitchy and I spend more time fixing their glitches, is it really better? Not per hour 🙂

 

Other cruise lines are starting to move in the direction of paying on additional items and that's a good thing. But it's not just out of the goodness of their hearts,  the cruise lines know it is cheaper to pay us commissions than hire and train more staff.

 

*Don't get me started on the endless hours on hold during the Pandemic getting clients refunds they were not legally entitled to because they had not bought insurance...but that's another story 🙂

The point is we are there to try to reduce your pain points. We stay on hold so you don't have to 🙂

[cantgetin]

4 hours ago, Gretchendz said:

 

I'm a TA. I second what everyone said about calling the TA and having us go through the time and frustration of getting it fixed for you is what we do. It's part of the job--and sometimes we have access to systems where we can fix it ourselves, depending on the issue and cruise line.

 

Re VV's commissions, they are fairly good as there are fewer items excluded from commissions. I'm not sure they are the "best in the business" but they are certainly better than many. Of course, if they are very glitchy and I spend more time fixing their glitches, is it really better? Not per hour 🙂

 

Other cruise lines are starting to move in the direction of paying on additional items and that's a good thing. But it's not just out of the goodness of their hearts,  the cruise lines know it is cheaper to pay us commissions than hire and train more staff.

 

*Don't get me started on the endless hours on hold during the Pandemic getting clients refunds they were not legally entitled to because they had not bought insurance...but that's another story 🙂

The point is we are there to try to reduce your pain points. We stay on hold so you don't have to 🙂

A good travel agent is worth his/her weight in gold.  A not so good one is just a pain.  I've worked with both sorts over the years.  When you find a good one, stick with him/her.

[Rogueperson]

This happened to me too.  I didn't have my TA take care of it because it was an IT issue on their end, and I suspect my TA is not as technically savvy as I.  This is also my first Virgin Cruise.

 

Nonetheless, it took probably 3 weeks for them to fix it with multiple calls to them.  They were a little slow because they would take a couple days, then say create the account again.  When i told them I couldn't, they said they'll get back to me and back and forth until it was finally fixed.  They did send me multiple "how did we do" where i gave them a 1 saying issue is still not resolved.

 

Unfortunately, cruise lines having horrid IT is not new to me, so this wasn't very annoying as my cruise isn't until next year.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Rogueperson

[Moochi]

On 6/20/2023 at 1:27 AM, CineGraphic said:

 

VV also pays agents commission on pre-cruise expenditures.....bar tabs, excursions. I don't believe any other line does this. Maybe a TA can chime in and confirm what my TA told me.

I’m happy to see the cruise line taking care of the TAs. I did check with my TA if it makes difference when I book add-on through him or online. He says it doesn’t make difference but sent me his affiliate link anyways just to make sure. 

[cantgetin]

5 hours ago, Moochi said:

I’m happy to see the cruise line taking care of the TAs. I did check with my TA if it makes difference when I book add-on through him or online. He says it doesn’t make difference but sent me his affiliate link anyways just to make sure. 

Correct--if they have credit for the booking, they are supposed to automatically get credit for any add ons you book.