HAL not returning phone calls.

[sseibert3]

Hi Ruth C - 

 

Thank you for your comment.  

 

Before I joined this group yesterday, I had been lurking here for a few days.  And Yes, I have found many useful nuggets on this forum, and lots of information too.  Reading posts on this Forum did answer the important questions I had.

 

I think the poor phone service drove me to you all.

 

I am accustomed to having my phone calls answered and messages returned. 

 

Scott  

[RuthC]

14 minutes ago, sseibert3 said:

Reading posts on this Forum did answer the important questions I had.

Glad to read that! There truly is so much knowledge here. 
I hope everything works out, and you enjoy your cruise thoroughly. 

[Haljo1935]

42 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Princess has an office in Fort Lauderdale at the intersection of SE 17th Street & Eisenhower Blvd. I don't know what they do there, but the mirror glass on the building is the Princess head logo.

 

I think most of HAL's PCCs work virtual office. The phone caller ID will say 206 area code regardless of where they are located.

No doubt there are many more remote workers and no secret they utilize offshore call centers, even though the area codes show 206.

Princess calls always come from a 661 area code. I thought it was Long Beach, but Princess CA office is showing as Santa Clara. Not looking at a map and not an expert on So Cal geography, I don't know how close those cities are.

Regardless, I would not like to see either HAL or Princess lose an office without expansion to offset it. Given the current state of affairs and recent restructure, I don't think that's likely.

[sseibert3]

It might be that Carnival is trying to squeeze costs out of the process.  "Many times one does not know what one might have until it is lost."  In this case,  Inability to respond to customer's phone requests in a timely manner and lost customers/profits.   My guess is that management is aware of the problem and they are waiting to see how it impacts their bottom line.  It does cost money to pay for competent customer service personnel - but what is the actual load?  Squeeze until it hurts.

 

That might be why I have not received those calls. 

 

In my case we may jump ship.......

 

Anyway,  Thanks all for your comments.  We might meet sometime on the poop deck.😊

 

Scott

[WannaSea]

I am one of those lucky people who got a good PCC on the first try. She works in the Seattle office with regular office hours in the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood. In March I unexpectedly drove by the HAL offices there while on a non-cruise trip so yes they really exist. (No, I didn't go in to see who was there.) Our communication has worked well so far. I send her an early morning workday email outlining my request, she sends a reply suggesting a time she can call me (within a couple of hours usually) and I confirm. Then we have a productive phone conversation and don't waste a lot of time. 

[Haljo1935]

18 minutes ago, WannaSea said:

I am one of those lucky people who got a good PCC on the first try. She works in the Seattle office with regular office hours in the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood. In March I unexpectedly drove by the HAL offices there while on a non-cruise trip so yes they really exist. (No, I didn't go in to see who was there.) Our communication has worked well so far. I send her an early morning workday email outlining my request, she sends a reply suggesting a time she can call me (within a couple of hours usually) and I confirm. Then we have a productive phone conversation and don't waste a lot of time. 

Nice to hear a good experience and relationship working ss it should 🤗

[*Miss G*]

2 hours ago, FlorenceItaly said:

CA office?  My PCC always calls me from a Seattle prefix, 206.

 

2 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Seattle is home for HAL on the West Coast.  I’ve never heard of a California office.

 

There is an office in Santa Clarita, California.  Perhaps it is in reference to the Holland America Group, as they all have a presence there.

 

 

8 hours ago, sseibert3 said:

 

 

I am hopeful that the Alaska cruise will be good and boost our feeling about HAL.

 

Disillusioned - 

 

Scott

 

 

 

Your post reminds me of last year when I was going through the same pre-cruise frustration for our first Princess cruise.  😅

 

I hope you keep your booking and have a wonderful time and we can welcome you to HAL!  I understand how you are feeling (believe me, I get it) but don’t let this rough start dissuade you from experiencing what Holland America does best.  Please do use the contact numbers and instruction which @Copper10-8 provided in the 2nd post.  Hoping your problem is resolved sooner than later.

Edited June 29, 2023 by *Miss G*

[Haljo1935]

11 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

 

There is an office in Santa Clarita, California.  Perhaps it is in reference to the Holland America Group, as they all have a presence there.

 

 

 

Your post reminds me of last year when I was going through the same pre-cruise frustration for our first Princess cruise.  😅

 

I hope you keep your booking and have a wonderful time and we can welcome you to HAL!  I understand how you are feeling (believe me, I get it) but don’t let this rough start dissuade you from experiencing what Holland America does best.  Please do use the contact numbers and instruction which @Copper10-8 provided in the 2nd post.  Hoping your problem is resolved sooner than later.

Agree and hope you'll be part of the HAL family @sseibert3.

[YourWorldWithBill]

13 hours ago, WannaSea said:

I am one of those lucky people who got a good PCC on the first try. She works in the Seattle office with regular office hours in the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood. In March I unexpectedly drove by the HAL offices there while on a non-cruise trip so yes they really exist. (No, I didn't go in to see who was there.) Our communication has worked well so far. I send her an early morning workday email outlining my request, she sends a reply suggesting a time she can call me (within a couple of hours usually) and I confirm. Then we have a productive phone conversation and don't waste a lot of time. 

Very encouraging! To follow up on my comments about trying to get a new PCC: today (after two weeks and three calls) I got an email from a supervisor telling me who my PCC has been (I knew, thank you) and asking at least what I need. I'll reply, but I'll have to be very careful; I don't want to be clearly critical of my current PCC, who I never talk with, but after seeing many comments such as yours, it would be nice to have someone responsive. 

Do you use TA, or only book through the PCC?

[sseibert3]

We booked HAL direct.  Our original PCC has left the company.  Our new PCC has not called us yet. 

 

I have no more questions to ask.  Am interested to see how long it will be until someone returns my calls.

 

We depart Houston tomorrow via Alaska Air at 9am.  Staying at the Mayflower downtown,  and spending the day visiting tourist places in Seattle.  We lived in Gig Harbor for many years so we are pretty familiar with the Seattle sights.  Will try for lunch at a small French Restaurant near Pikes Place and probably visit the Museum of POP Culture as well as walking Pikes Place and get some fresh donuts around the corner. 

 

We are quite excited about this trip and looking forward to getting on board and settling in.

 

Scott

[erdufylla]

Something I noticed today when my PCC called me back is that on my AT&T phone, calls from HAL are marked as “Spam Risk.” If I hadn’t recognized the number, I wouldn’t have answered the call. I mention this only to suggest the small possibility that maybe some of these calls are being returned, and they’re either being blocked or unintentionally ignored because they look like spam calls?

[AV8rix]

13 hours ago, WannaSea said:

I am one of those lucky people who got a good PCC on the first try. She works in the Seattle office with regular office hours in the Queen Anne Hill neighborhood. In March I unexpectedly drove by the HAL offices there while on a non-cruise trip so yes they really exist. (No, I didn't go in to see who was there.) Our communication has worked well so far. I send her an early morning workday email outlining my request, she sends a reply suggesting a time she can call me (within a couple of hours usually) and I confirm. Then we have a productive phone conversation and don't waste a lot of time. 

Gotta say that my experience has been the same.  I've had the same PCC for 13 years!  I put a call in and he ALWAYS returns my call within an hour or two -- and I know that he's SLAMMED since the covid shakeup, when so many were laid off or quit.

[WannaSea]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Very encouraging! To follow up on my comments about trying to get a new PCC: today (after two weeks and three calls) I got an email from a supervisor telling me who my PCC has been (I knew, thank you) and asking at least what I need. I'll reply, but I'll have to be very careful; I don't want to be clearly critical of my current PCC, who I never talk with, but after seeing many comments such as yours, it would be nice to have someone responsive. 

Do you use TA, or only book through the PCC?

I have used TA and PCC. I think if I was having a lot of trouble with PCC I'd transfer the booking to a TA if possible.

[horseymike]

I called yesterday evening at 8:15 pm eastern time and spoke to a very pleasant and helpful young lady in the Philippines. I did have to wait on hold for about 15 minutes,  she was able to 

address the issue I had to my satisfaction. As far as waiting for ANYONE to call you back these days good luck 🍀 with that . I am not just talking about cruise lines .

[Guest ldtr]

20 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Seattle is home for HAL on the West Coast.  I’ve never heard of a California office.

Princess HQ is in Santa Clarita.  Maybe they has shared some functions.

[Haljo1935]

8 hours ago, AV8rix said:

Gotta say that my experience has been the same.  I've had the same PCC for 13 years!  I put a call in and he ALWAYS returns my call within an hour or two -- and I know that he's SLAMMED since the covid shakeup, when so many were laid off or quit.

Genuinely happy for you, genuinely envious as well 🤭

[tuolumne couple]

On 6/28/2023 at 11:54 AM, sseibert3 said:

I think after we return from this Alaska trip I will cancel our cruises and find another cruise line that can answer phones and questions.

Ironically enough, I cruise to forget about phone calls and questions. But if I do need to ask one, I usually stay on hold until I get a live person, as others have said. Or you can ask your questions here on this board. A million people are here to help you. Good luck and happy cruising. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by tuolumne couple

[Copper10-8]

9 hours ago, ldtr said:

Princess HQ is in Santa Clarita.  Maybe they has shared some functions.

 

Affirmative! I've actually been to that Princess Santa Clarita Office to speak to/have a subsequent lunch with, the then No. 3 person in HAL corporate security. He has since been promoted to the No. 2 position after the No. 1 guy, a retired FBI special agent in charge who worked in the Seattle HAL HQ, retired again, this time permanently, and the No. 2 guy, who lead Princess corporate security from Santa Clarita, became the No. 1 guy.

 

So, HAL does have a small presence in the City of Santa Clarita (not to be mistaken with Santa Clara in Northern Calif), located approx. 30 miles northwest of downtown L.A., and not far from the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park, which is located in Valencia, a bit more to the northwest of Santa Clarita (for those who have been there and had the pleasure of having that sinking feeling in their stomachs while riding the Colossus roller coaster!) 🙃

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Copper10-8

[Haljo1935]

So very likely the calls I have received from Princess 661 area code did indeed come from the Santa Clarita office.

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

So very likely the calls I have received from Princess 661 area code did indeed come from the Santa Clarita office.

 

More than likely, yes. Here's the 661 area code map. Santa Clarita would be to the southwest of Lancaster within the red portion map. It is still located in/part of Los Angeles County

 

[sseibert3]

Follow - up -Update - 

Got through first call with a brief time on hold.  🙂

Great Agent.  Answered many questions.

Back on board in Jan '24.

[Haljo1935]

11 minutes ago, sseibert3 said:

Follow - up -Update - 

Got through first call with a brief time on hold.  🙂

Great Agent.  Answered many questions.

Back on board in Jan '24.

Good news on all accounts!

[alwaysfrantic]

I have (sort of) a PCC.  I had emailed several times with questions about a certain sailing.  Crickets.  No response.  I booked with a travel agent and several weeks later got a response from the PCC.  She said my emails had gone to her spam folder and she booked the cruise if asked about without ever speaking to me.  
 

After a few days or a week of not paying for it dropped off. 

[OlsSalt]

OP: Is there a local travel agent, or agency where you can transfer your HAL reservations which can give your more direct control? Something like a auto club membership agency or the storefront travel agencies that do still exist. They often add some extra perks, and I have never heard it is more expensive to use one.  Some of the larger cruise retailers are even less.  

 

"Covid" really undermined a lot of what used to be normal and easy. I suspect they lost a lot of PCC talent during that long awful lockdown period and it is hard to slip right back into where they left off.  Our PCC retired during that time.

 

We now end up at Indian call centers today when working with FlightEase.  And on a prior cruise as well - we started getting different answers every time we called. Growing pains for sure.  Please do take advantage of asking your general questions here - we have sailed HAL for about 15 years and I still learn new things from this forum. 

 

Another tip is to explore the HalFacts website run by one of the long-time members here - where others post cabin photos, deck plans, menus, even dining room table number maps. Helps you get a feel for your ship, before you even board and stick the key card in your cabin door. 

[Bxc53]

To the OP: Very glad you finally got through to a good PCC!  That said, if you feel the need in the future, your coming cruises could be transferred to an outside TA.
 

The forum discourages naming, but we have used one associated with a big box store that has great hot dogs 😉. They booked  our last several cruises and we had great service, easy communications and there were always additional perks..

Just another option.

Enjoy Alaska!

 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Bxc53