RCI ''Customer Service''

[parddr]

Ummm....are you okay? This and your post above it actually have kind of a creepy tone to them....like dripping with sarcasm and angry to a stranger posting on an internet forum...:confused:

 

I'm actually fine. I find it hard to believe that someone can actually cry over towel animals, chocolate and midnight buffets. Bugs, yes. The other NO. In the best hotels you can come across a bug now and then.

[kaida72]

Okay we are about to board the ship and they pull us aside. I think they were in the process of creating the Sea Passes for us. We get to the "Special Guest Relations" desk and the lady says "hi you've been brought to my attention due to the $800 you owe." I said, " Huh? I have the full invoice where we paid in full at date of booking."

 

They said we only paid $454 per person for the Oceanview stateroom. I said no we paid $599 per person here is our invoice with taxes and excursions already paid for as well. Where is the $800 coming from? M'am you need to call your travel agent we can't tell you. What? I don't understand why you could ask for $800 more and not tell us why, let me call my TA now. Hello TA, RCI wants $800 more. TA - WHAT? you paid in full. Let me call them.

 

TA called us back to say RCI wouldn't tell her and she had to escalate. I asked Anne from RCI if we dont' pay and dont cruise do we get the $1400 back? Anne said no.

 

Anne walked away after entering my credit card for $400 and my BF's for $400 saying the computer wa having an issue. During that time and most likely with our screen still up 6 RCI employees came to the computer to use it and three walked away after writing something down. Citibank called to inform us that $193.94 was charged on my BF's card the next morning while we were sound asleep on the ship. No one else had access to his card so we asked how? They said it was manually keyed and forced through a register. Since his card was still with him and the name of the store was one from the ship we figured it had to be one of those six RCI folks with access to the computer while it was frozen - Citibank will actually check it out but for us the suspicion is already in our heads. It Citibank comes back and says it wasn't an RCI employee - I will update my postings. I would not wish to blame them if it was indeed someone else like a guest (although how would they have even got the CC# and expiration would be beyond us).

 

We did pay the $800, did get the Seapass and did get on the ship after bypassing the cool photos we could no longer partake in. We found out the Thursday of our return that the TA had to escalate to upper management before they told her that the 55+ was checked. Which was an accident because our invoice does show 25-45 for each of us and I personally entered our passport/DOB information. So there was no "fraud" on our part like RCI told her there was.

 

I have an invoice to prove it. At most we got a $150 discount incorrectly. We are honest people and would have no problem paying $150 - $300 due to the mistake. But $800? Perhaps it has something to due with the poor earnings in the last three quarters and a low stock price but like I said we would have probably spent it onboard but with happy faces.

 

Hopefully I've said this before - the ship was clean, and our Stateroom attendant Wendy was FANTASTIC. She was so, so busy and yet always had this radiant smile and "welcome home" attitude for everyone not just us. We scrapped the recommended tip and added what we could in addition to thank her. The rock climbing was fun too. So by no means am I slamming the ship or crew - the diligence of the food areas in keeping clean with such constant action was also impressive. Although the lack of general smiles and hellos was prevelant in many cases it isn't like we wanted royal treatment just a hello we when we said it. Mostly corporate who put them in a horrible position by not allowing them to be straight with us by just not telling us it was a wrong discount.

 

You also cannot tell me in this day and age that their computers are not set-up to spit out such enomalies - prior to sailing. I mean if 55+ was checked but our DOB is in the '70s and '80s their computers don't put us on some report? I just walked away with an impression that we were not in the age group they cater too or even want to and they saw an opportunity to extort and additional $500 from us.

[madforcruising]

Now there we have the mystery solved, though some already suspected it to be either residency/senior rate while not being eligible for it.

 

kaida,

it has nothing to do with a bad economy. You booked under a senior rate you weren´t eligible for and yes their computer system does not cross check DOB´s and rates. Your cruise documents should have had a note telling you that a senior rate was booked and you will have to prove it at check-in. And no they didn´t just saw an opportunity to get more money from you. The mistake was not made by them, but by whoever checked the 55+.

[teajak]

This all goes back to your TA. A good TA would have known that was a senior rate. Even as a passenger I would have seen this on the RCI web site, also as someone else stated your documents would have been stamped that you needed proof of age when you check in. Since this was your first cruise you had no way of knowing a lot of these things but your TA has no excuse.

[Sue L]

This all goes back to your TA. A good TA would have known that was a senior rate. Even as a passenger I would have seen this on the RCI web site, also as someone else stated your documents would have been stamped that you needed proof of age when you check in. Since this was your first cruise you had no way of knowing a lot of these things but your TA has no excuse.

 

 

right on the top of the confirmation it say restrictions: resident or senior etc for what kind of discount is applied to the booking,

[kaida72]

We've definetely learned a lesson. Our invoice doesn't have a stamp about the restriction. I did go back and look at it when our TA told us about the 55+ item and it is at the very top of the invoice in 10pt font. Unfortunately when i first looked at the invoice I was just a happy go lucky person getting ready for my first cruise so all I looked at was the $0 amount paid and that our information was correct.

 

I hope everyone (loyal to royal) understands we dont dispute what we owed (up to $300) just the extra money they wanted ($500) and the fact they just wouldn't tell us why. If they had said "we are sorry to say your TA applied for an incorrect discount and you owe us the difference" - it would have been a better experience to us. Mostly I post to warn other first timers of the ins/outs of the system.

 

Thanks Teajak for your helpful comments!

[buckanear]

I take great offense to anyone claiming that a port agent steals a credit card number.

 

Firstly, when the credit card is scanned, it immediately turns all numbers except the last four into astrix.

 

Secondly, the agents that work at the pier live in the immediate area, they don't go on the ship, so if it was forced through in a ship store, then it wasn't someone in the terminal area.

 

Of course your TA is defending herself. She booked you on a rate that got you a discount so that you'd book and you had to pay the price. It's a common tactic to get a lower fare and it's rarely an accident. That's why they're cracking down on it. I'm sure someone here can provide a link to a reporting agency for bad TA's. A good rule of thumb is if someone is offering a cruise price that is lower than what you can book yourself online, you need to ask why as many cruiselines, RCCL included, don't allow TA's to take a cut in commission to reduce fares.

[madforcruising]

We've definetely learned a lesson. Our invoice doesn't have a stamp about the restriction. I did go back and look at it when our TA told us about the 55+ item and it is at the very top of the invoice in 10pt font. Unfortunately when i first looked at the invoice I was just a happy go lucky person getting ready for my first cruise so all I looked at was the $0 amount paid and that our information was correct.

 

I hope everyone (loyal to royal) understands we dont dispute what we owed (up to $300) just the extra money they wanted ($500) and the fact they just wouldn't tell us why. If they had said "we are sorry to say your TA applied for an incorrect discount and you owe us the difference" - it would have been a better experience to us. Mostly I post to warn other first timers of the ins/outs of the system.

 

Thanks Teajak for your helpful comments!

 

Sorry but I don´t understand the owing of $300 but not owing $500 at all:confused::confused:

Am I the only one being confused?

[emspilot]

"I take great offense to anyone claiming that a port agent steals a credit card number."

 

 

While I am just reading all of this for the learning experience of it........I have seen so many news stories about employees in all walks of life getting their credit card "double scanned" while it is out of their sight, even for an instant. Are you saying that port agents aren't human? Of course, there is the possibility that the OP had her card swiped twice, or that someone was able to get her numbers off of the "frozen computer." There are thousands of different computers out there....we have no way of knowing if her credit card numbers xxx'd out except for the last 4. All she is saying is that it is possible. She never said that IT DID happen. Plus she said that when she gets more info, she'll post it.

 

But if it comes out that it came from a dock-side computer, and it was later while they were sleeping, then what? Something happened with additional charges, and if they didn't use the card again, there there is hanky-panky going on, and the likely persons are those around the dock-side computers. You may take great offense about it, but they are all human....anything can happen.

[kaida72]

Of course you might take offense if you yourself are an honest, hard working pier agent. But like I said I am waiting for Citibank to let us know during their fraud process. They didn't scan the card they typed it in the walked away from the computer saying the computer had issues. If we find it wasn't an employee then I WILL repost to let everyone know the verdict. It is just the only time he pulled out the card the entire trip - it is our back-up card. He had the card with him the whole time and it was never out of his site except that 10 minutes when the agent had it, and I am comfortable saying that Anne was careful with the card while she had it - just not with the other employees who came up to the computer when it was frozen during the process.

 

but you raised another question did our TA get commission from RCI? I know the amount we gave her for the booking was given over to RCI.

[unklez]

Sounds like the TA made a mistake here. Sorry that it happened to you but I hope you enjoyed your cruise regardless.

[Rala]

Sorry but I don´t understand the owing of $300 but not owing $500 at all:confused::confused:

Am I the only one being confused?

 

I seem to remember that if you are booked under a discount that you are not eligible for, that you have to pay the difference between what you paid and whatever the most recent rate for the category of cabin you booked is. If Kaida paid $1400 pp and the going rate went up to $1800 pp in the interim then that accounts for the $800 extra.

 

Sue L... is this assumption correct or am I all wet?? (It wouldn't be the first time, BTW!!!)

cruiseloverandagent...any thoughts on this theory from your experience?

[xcomet]

Below is the letter I wrote to RCI regarding our experience on the Liberty of the Seas this past April.

The Liberty is a great ship and we had a great vacation, however, we had some serious concerns that I felt needed to be shared with the company.

Royal Caribbean really did not care at all!

This makes me sad because we have had some great cruise vacations on RC, but I am very hesitant to go on RC again due to their total lack of customer service.

I wasn't looking for anything but a sincere apology and they were completely unapologetic and uncaring. That fact has made my decision to post this easy!

 

 

Dear Royal Caribbean Customer Service,

I have spoken with your customer service department today, but I wanted to make sure that you have my concerns in writing. Having previously sailed on the Mariner we thought that the larger ship would be better for the kids. We were wrong. The problems began at the port where we were accosted by luggage handlers who were in our face and asking for tips! When we finally got to our room and began unpacking there was trash and food in our drawers, along with dirt, crumbs and grime on our balcony! Our poor room attendant was very nice and accommodating, however he was also very overwhelmed! He only ended up leaving towel animals in our room on 3 nights. On the first night we killed a cockroach in the hallway. We reported this to one of the attendants in the hallway. Throughout the week the cutbacks that you have made, and referred to in our phone call, were VERY apparent. The biggest one being no hand sanitizer anywhere! With the threat of flu and norovirus, how could you not have hand sanitizer? On the Mariner it was everywhere, and appreciated. There were also no more chocolates on our pillows, or turn down service, no midnight buffet and the service has really slacked off. While there are a lot of planned activities for small children, there is a lack of activities for the teens. Many times they would go to the teen area only to find it empty, not even any staff there.

The waiters and assistant waiters were also totally overwhelmed. They tried their best, but could not keep up. One night our waitress even told my husband that he could only have 1 meal. My husband's favorite part of our vacation is the food. He looked forward to this the most. When questioned, she did give in and bring him what he was entitled to. She was very nice and we enjoyed her, but again, she was overwhelmed. To top off our dining experience - my niece, who has a life threatening nut allergy was served a brownie full of nuts on the last night! This could have been fatal for her! The fact that she had to go through that terrifying experience is unacceptable! And, to end off our week there were cockroaches in our son's room - 9607! When I went to Guest Services the woman was completely unalarmed and not helpful or even apologetic. She looked at me and said "I'll tell Maintenance. You can call Customer Service when you get home." Not only is this disgusting, but it is also a HUGE inconvenience for us. Upon arriving home we had to leave all of our luggage out on the deck and go through each piece of clothing for 4 people individually and then carry each batch of clothing directly to the wash. If any cockroaches have made it into our home we will have to have our house exterminated at an expense to us. So, not only is it gross, it's a really big hassle! For the amount of money we paid I would think that our vacation would have turned out better than it did!

We have loved Royal Caribbean in the past. There were many really great things about our vacation - Flowrider, Rock Wall, Room Service, Kid's Pool, our Bar Waiter, Shows, Cruise Director, the Spa - but, unfortunately, along with the lack of good customer service, there were some serious issues that overshadowed our experience that are making us seriously consider another cruise line for our next vacation.

Hi,

I too was on the Liberty Spring break, We had some concerns and observations of poor customer service and a general decline of RCCL as well,. Compaints similar to yours and some other things, which are not acceptable for the price you pay on the LIberty!! Some of the comments people leave in response on this board can unsympathetic . I believe you should at least get what you pay for, some of the comments lead me to believe that some folks on this site, imply the consumer should be thankful for what they get!

Which is not the case!

just curious, what date did you cruise?

[buckanear]

Rala, I can't comment on that. Here is what the terms of services say about special pricing online though

"Proof of eligibility required. If eligibility cannot be validated, you will be charged the standard rate or denied boarding." That means the rate without price drops, which is the highest rate.

 

emspilot, I'm not saying that they aren't human, I am saying that Kaida told us in previous posts that the fraudulent charges came from a ship store company. The agents working dock side don't go on the ship. At all. If the charges came from onboard the ship, it was someone on the ship.

 

Again, when the credit card is put in the system, even manually entering it in, it goes to asterix so it is highly improbably that someone got it from there, at least without standing there writing it down while in front of you because the information would quickly go away. Not that it can't happen, just highly improbably. I am very interested in seeing what citibank finds out.

 

And yes Kaida, the TA got commission from RCI

[patsfanwend]

Hi,

I too was on the Liberty Spring break, We had some concerns and observations of poor customer service and a general decline of RCCL as well,. Compaints similar to yours and some other things, which are not acceptable for the price you pay on the LIberty!! Some of the comments people leave in response on this board can unsympathetic . I believe you should at least get what you pay for, some of the comments lead me to believe that some folks on this site, imply the consumer should be thankful for what they get!

Which is not the case!

just curious, what date did you cruise?

 

We cruised 4/18 - 4/25. As I've said before I only informed RCI customer service because of the total list of things and would only have complained about the cockroaches otherwise. Even the nut allergy was my sister in law's to complain about. This total list just shows the examples of the cutbacks that show. That's all. People can say whatever they want and make personal attacks if they want to.

I've traveled throughout the world and know that the comments I made are relevant to a hospitality company.

Thanks!:rolleyes:

[bplazo]

I'm sorry you had so many issues that bothered you.

 

As far as the cockroaches go....maybe next time you should take the carcass to the head housekeeper and demand fumigation.

 

It's funny, the first time my family saw a cockroach in Hawaii......we were startled at first....but then we all had to get a good look at it. We have video of our kids checking it out! LOL It really didn't bother us. Now, if they were all over the place....like at a motel that I stayed at about a month ago, then I would worry. The cockroaches were ALL over the place outside. My son....25 years old was picking them up and throwing them at all of us. (Yes, a very immature act for his age, but it was quite funny. :D )

 

Hopefully you can forget the issues, and have better times on your future cruises. :)

 

 

Your story brings back memories of growing up in Okinawa and having large cockroaches running around our house. My brother would chase them with the raid can and my sister and I would chase them will rolled up newspapers. It was our late night entertainment.

[kaida72]

Actually of the 6 people who used the port computer 4 of them were actually on the ship working the guest relations desk. So it is still possible that one of those 4 took the credit card information and used it onboard.

 

And that is helpful info cruiseloveragent that our TA got commission from RCI - I've been trying to tell my BF that somewhere along the line it was her fault and fishy on her part (I am just upset that Royal penalized us and not her, and the fact that we were treated like criminals at the desk - like we deliberately falsified our ages and should have known we were caught and therefore didn't need to be told why the $800).

 

Our TA kept saying how she didn't get commission from us because we were special - special idiots I think :0) Can I ask another question? did she get commission at the original booking or would have benefited by the additional $800 we paid Royal?

[teajak]

Actually of the 6 people who used the port computer 4 of them were actually on the ship working the guest relations desk. So it is still possible that one of those 4 took the credit card information and used it onboard.

 

And that is helpful info cruiseloveragent that our TA got commission from RCI - I've been trying to tell my BF that somewhere along the line it was her fault and fishy on her part (I am just upset that Royal penalized us and not her, and the fact that we were treated like criminals at the desk - like we deliberately falsified our ages and should have known we were caught and therefore didn't need to be told why the $800).

 

Our TA kept saying how she didn't get commission from us because we were special - special idiots I think :0) Can I ask another question? did she get commission at the original booking or would have benefited by the additional $800 we paid Royal?

A very good question about commission on the full payment, maybe an honest TA will answer for us. Keep after your BF to make your TA admit her mistakes. You don't get a good rate for being special although I am sure you are. I would call whoever is in charge of that office and make them aware of what she is doing. Although I agree you happened to get a grouchy, not nice agent, there is no way RCI could make your TA responsible for the payment.I am sure your CC company will work with you. Good luck.

[brodel]

... Keep after your BF to make your TA admit her mistakes.

 

Hey, that's me!

I didn't say that it wasn't the TA that made the mistake, but RCIs handling of the mistake is my point of concern.

 

 

 

.... Although I agree you happened to get a grouchy, not nice agent, there is no way RCI could make your TA responsible for the payment.

Well they shouldn't be bugging us about it since the issue is either with the TA or RCI's inability to fix the situation and / or prevent it from happening in the first place. For me, it's a lesson learned for our next cruise(s), and it just narrows down the next search for a cruise since I'll never step on another RCI owned ship.

 

They can keep the money they effectively stole, but they've lost much more in return since anyone I know that mentions going on a cruise will get a rundown on how they may be treated. I'm quite sick of telling this story and harping on this issue, but I'll tell it over and over again to make sure no one I know gives money to this group of thugs.

[aloha43]

Your story brings back memories of growing up in Okinawa and having large cockroaches running around our house. My brother would chase them with the raid can and my sister and I would chase them will rolled up newspapers. It was our late night entertainment.

 

 

LOL! That's funny!:D

 

I guess we aren't the only ones that made the best out of it, and just had fun with them! :D

[teajak]

Hey, that's me!

I didn't say that it wasn't the TA that made the mistake, but RCIs handling of the mistake is my point of concern.

 

 

 

 

Well they shouldn't be bugging us about it since the issue is either with the TA or RCI's inability to fix the situation and / or prevent it from happening in the first place. For me, it's a lesson learned for our next cruise(s), and it just narrows down the next search for a cruise since I'll never step on another RCI owned ship.

 

They can keep the money they effectively stole, but they've lost much more in return since anyone I know that mentions going on a cruise will get a rundown on how they may be treated. I'm quite sick of telling this story and harping on this issue, but I'll tell it over and over again to make sure no one I know gives money to this group of thugs.

Sorry you are so upset.Most of us have tried to explain, again good luck.

[brodel]

Yeah, I've read the thread. I understand the situation and how it happened. I'll probably try another cruise at some point with the lessons I've learned. It won't be for a while though since this experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

[Texaspepper]

Yeah, I've read the thread. I understand the situation and how it happened. I'll probably try another cruise at some point with the lessons I've learned. It won't be for a while though since this experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Try Scope . .just kidding:). . .Hey, don't give up cruising over this one post. . .Look. . .wife and I were on the RCL Voyager Of The Seas 15 Day Barcelona to Galveston, TX. Booked an inside room. .room had a engine or boiler rumble noise. Went to Guest Services and next day a very helpful GS Agent moved us to a balcony room on deck 6 plus sent a porter to move every thing on hanger and suit cases -NO upgrade fee what so ever, just a great GS Agent. On our next Voyager OTS Feb 1, 2009 out of Galveston, the same GS Agent, Anita saw us and called us by name. . .next day sent a bottle of wine to our stateroom welcoming us back on board. Good Customer Service!

[uksimonusa]

Yeah, I've read the thread. I understand the situation and how it happened. I'll probably try another cruise at some point with the lessons I've learned. It won't be for a while though since this experience left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

 

How would you react, if you were selling a product and somebody tried to frauduantly pay less for the product than they should, this is what you were doing, trying to get a rate that you were not entitled to and save yourself $800. If I was the cruiseline, I would have been very unhappy with you and do as they did, demand the money that had been stolen from them, and to which they were entitled.

 

Now if the fraud was commited by you or by your travel agent only you will know, if the fraud was commited by the TA then only they will know if it was intentional or not.

[madforcruising]

They can keep the money they effectively stole, .

 

 

Nobody stole money from you (I´m not talking about the fraudulent CC charge here). They simply charged you what you owed. It´s not the cruise lines fault your TA gave you a quote for a rate you were not eligible for. This would have happened to you with any other cruise line as well.