Not So Great Frist Impression

[CruisingWalter]

On 6/19/2023 at 3:04 PM, Moochi said:

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?

 

Your TA should have addressed this issue with the First Mates or whatever it is they call their support team. The app can be wonky but it usually sorts itself out after a few days or the TA can usually get someone to look into the issue quickly. In terms of paying VV, your TA can do that as well on your behalf.  

[CruisingWalter]

On 6/19/2023 at 7:20 PM, CineGraphic said:

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

 

I've heard the same. Disney is apparently another really good one as well. I was talking to one TA on a cruise and they said "if I could only sell VV and Disney Cruises I would be all set."  🙂  

[cantgetin]

The difference is that on Disney, the shoreside customer service people are not supposed to talk to you even to answer a basic question--they are supposed to refer you to your TA.  That said, I have gotten some to answer questions.

[-The-True-North-]

I always like to give credit where it's due.

 

Today, we heard back and got the perk we were waiting for. It did take multiple calls and emails follow ups, but I am happy to report that while our first impressions started off rocky, Virgin Voyages held up to the expectations and level of service they should be known for.

[Moochi]

On 6/24/2023 at 1:41 PM, cantgetin said:

The difference is that on Disney, the shoreside customer service people are not supposed to talk to you even to answer a basic question--they are supposed to refer you to your TA.  That said, I have gotten some to answer questions.

Really? I sailed DCL only pre pandemic, and our TA was absolutely useless. The only reason we used a TA was for the little bit of extra OBC. 

[cantgetin]

2 minutes ago, Moochi said:

Really? I sailed DCL only pre pandemic, and our TA was absolutely useless. The only reason we used a TA was for the little bit of extra OBC. 

There are great TAs and not nearly as good TAs.  I won't deal with a TA that hasn't cruised the line I'm interested in and preferably the ship I'm interested in, the more recently the better.  I won't deal with a huge firm--I want to know the name of my TA and when they do a great job for me, they'll get my repeat business.  I'm pretty well versed with cruising.  We are just under 50 cruises over the last 28 years and have done at least 6 lines.  We've found that our preferences have changed over the years.  For instance, when my daughter was 7-college, we did a.lot of DCL.  Now, I won't book DCL--too expensive and too many kids.  And all our favorite crew members have moved on.  We joke that VV is our "new favorite."  

If your TA isn't giving you the service that you want or need, find a different TA.  I have one who is so service oriented that I haven't seen anything like it since the days 25 years ago when you picked up a packet with everything you needed at an office.  My TA has me send her my flight numbers and hotel info, then loads everything into an app...so one place, at my fingertips, I have the schedule for each day, phone numbers, addresses, notification of flight changes, etc. and I can access it from my computer or phone.  She tracks when my 180 day in advance payment is due to be sure it is paid 2 weeks before that, and tracks fare changes on my cruises so we can grab any new bargains that might come out,  We've saved twice on VV.  Once it was "only" $130, the other time it was almost $400 + $600 in bar tab!

 

[Gretchendz]

This is the way.

 

Many of us nowadays pay for a software package service so we can put everything into one itinerary for our clients. Client can view it on any device, and can download and print a .pdf or view on line as they prefer.  We print and mail them to our less technical clients.  One nice feature is that if the flights are input and there are delays client gets automatic updates too.

 

Bottom line, look for a TA who has a good customer management system as they can set the automatic reminders@cantgetin mentions.

[-The-True-North-]

On 6/22/2023 at 5:24 PM, 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. 

Really wish we could at least mention the names of TAs if we can't say the business name.  Your TA seems like a beauty.

[cantgetin]

5 hours ago, Gretchendz said:

This is the way.

 

Many of us nowadays pay for a software package service so we can put everything into one itinerary for our clients. Client can view it on any device, and can download and print a .pdf or view on line as they prefer.  We print and mail them to our less technical clients.  One nice feature is that if the flights are input and there are delays client gets automatic updates too.

Bottom line, look for a TA who has a good customer management system as they can set the automatic reminders@cantgetin mentions.

Exactly this...but it did drive me crazy when my flight was changed by just a few minutes several times and I kept getting notifications.  It was interesting because we were flying to Miami from different "home" cities, so there were flights for each of us on the app.  I do wish it could be set up so if the flight time changed less than 5 minutes, they wouldn't send a notification!  i think what really bugged me was that each time I had to open the app and log in, only to see that my flight was 3 minutes later, then 2 minutes earlier, etc.

But yes, it was wonderful to have everything in one easy place, even though  hyper me printed out confirmations as well.  The one I would strongly suggest printing out is anything you need to show to a taxi driver in a country where English isn't the first language.  This was great to have for the taxi from the terminal to our hotel in Barcelona.

My TA is wonderful.....I had to bother her tonight because VV sent an email saying "You made a change to your reservation,"  Well, I hadn't, and I didn't see anything on their email that was any different.  TA confirmed that many clients got these today and she doesn't know why, but she looked at my reservation and assured that there were no changes.

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by cantgetin

[happy cruzer]

We got the change message too.  No changes made, what the heck is up?

 

Thanks for posting about getting the assurance that many got that message.

[Gretchendz]

9 hours ago, cantgetin said:

  I do wish it could be set up so if the flight time changed less than 5 minutes, they wouldn't send a notification!  i think what really bugged me was that each time I had to open the app and log in, only to see that my flight was 3 minutes later, then 2 minutes earlier, etc.

 

 

 

 

So true...actually the system I use is always looking for suggestions for improvement...I will put that into the "suggestion box."

[Cloud9 Bob]

13 hours ago, cantgetin said:

My TA is wonderful.....I had to bother her tonight because VV sent an email saying "You made a change to your reservation,"  Well, I hadn't, and I didn't see anything on their email that was any different.  TA confirmed that many clients got these today and she doesn't know why, but she looked at my reservation and assured that there were no changes.

 

I have never used a TA to book a cruise. I have always been in the camp that I wanted complete "control". The older I get, the more I have been thinking about trying one, but I'm afraid to just pick one randomly. Then there's also the aspect of compatability with my expectations and personality. Your post regarding questions to ask is very helpful and I will do that. Maybe the gmail TA fairy will visit me? I too wish we could talk about agents here. CC won't even let us message privately. It's all good though. I have learned a lot in my time here and recently especially from you Catgetin. 😁

[cantgetin]

5 minutes ago, Cloud9 Bob said:

I have never used a TA to book a cruise. I have always been in the camp that I wanted complete "control". The older I get, the more I have been thinking about trying one, but I'm afraid to just pick one randomly. Then there's also the aspect of compatability with my expectations and personality. Your post regarding questions to ask is very helpful and I will do that. Maybe the gmail TA fairy will visit me? I too wish we could talk about agents here. CC won't even let us message privately. It's all good though. I have learned a lot in my time here and recently especially from you Catgetin. 😁

You are very kind, thank you.  I wish I could send you the name of my agent, but CC is very strict about that, and there is no way. 

 
I started using a TA when I was a very busy business owner.  This was a zillion years ago when they had offices and you went in.  When that agent/agency no longer existed, I tried a few on line, and found one that was quite good.  I used primarily one agent at what was an office of many although I never met her in person. I did meet the owner of the agency later on a cruise.   Covid changed all that, but I then found a really great person/agency.  We "met" on line, but then as a fluke, I was making a trip to her location, so we had lunch together, and later met on a VV cruise.  Her service is excellent, and we had a really good personality mesh.  That may sound odd, but we are both "numbers people" and I don't have to explain things to her.  

Tootles,

cantgetin

[katie8203]

We had a similar issue when we first booked our cruise. My TA tried a fix that didn't work, so I called VV customer service myself and I guess got lucky to get a human and someone to help me fix it that same day over the phone. All good now.

My only question is why you let more than a week go by without checking on it. There's no way I'd have let a week go by with no answers before escalating things. Hope everything gets situated for you and you can have a good cruise! Our first one is in less than a month, I'm excited.