RCI ''Customer Service''

[RetireeWannabee]

Absolutely there are companies and individuals that I will never do business with again.

 

The penalty part sucks rocks and I would continue to badger the TA on that.

 

What I still don't understand, tho, is the whole "we can't tell you" thing. Does that mean "We know, but refuse to say?" or "We have no idea"???

 

cuz, come on, you want another pile of cash out of me, you'd better tell me what for!

 

Anyway, sorry for a less than spectacular experience. Next time will be better! And, yeah, I would bet that you will forever more check every piece of paper very carefully. No more surprise bill at embarkation!

[bplazo]

Demean another person for doing their job - cruiseloveragent. In fact, we didn't yell, make a scene or call the agents any names whatsoever. I hope that puts your mind at ease that the person at the counter did not feel our wrath. Because they didn't. Maybe that is why they felt it was okay to be curt to us - we were too nice, although upset about it - we knew she was doing her job. I came from a credit card co. and learned it is never right to treat people that way. Sorry it has happened to you. Our take was to go, try to have fun, and come back and find out what happened. We treated everyone we delt with, with the respect another human being deserved. Our beef is that we weren't given the same in tone or attitude in return. It had to be obvious to them we were confused. Information would have solved a lot.

 

Oh, by the way - I am not using either again. In my eyes the TA is just as culpable and I won't be recommending her services to anyone. We are in the middle and have learned a lot! One of which is we should have received more paperwork, luggage tags, etc. that we never got. We got one invoice showing we paid with our correct ages and that is it.

 

Anyway I hope we have saved others who even with what they thought was the best research possible can still learn something and prevent the issue on their part, the TAs part and Royal's.

 

(no one seemed upset about the bugs I saw on their pastries - what's up with that? :)

 

Bugs do not bother me, just adds a little extra flavor!

[Merion_Mom]

Demean another person for doing their job - cruiseloveragent. In fact, we didn't yell, make a scene or call the agents any names whatsoever. I hope that puts your mind at ease that the person at the counter did not feel our wrath. Because they didn't. Maybe that is why they felt it was okay to be curt to us - we were too nice, although upset about it - we knew she was doing her job. I came from a credit card co. and learned it is never right to treat people that way. Sorry it has happened to you. Our take was to go, try to have fun, and come back and find out what happened. We treated everyone we delt with, with the respect another human being deserved. Our beef is that we weren't given the same in tone or attitude in return. It had to be obvious to them we were confused. Information would have solved a lot.

 

Oh, by the way - I am not using either again. In my eyes the TA is just as culpable and I won't be recommending her services to anyone. We are in the middle and have learned a lot! One of which is we should have received more paperwork, luggage tags, etc. that we never got. We got one invoice showing we paid with our correct ages and that is it.

 

Anyway I hope we have saved others who even with what they thought was the best research possible can still learn something and prevent the issue on their part, the TAs part and Royal's.

 

(no one seemed upset about the bugs I saw on their pastries - what's up with that? :)

 

Are you saying that you never got "documents" from your TA? A booklet with information about the cruise, and a cruise "ticket" (which is actually unnecessary), and luggage tags, and excursion info, and a Gifts and Gear brochure?

[Rala]

Kaida...are you sure you did not get electronic documents on your computer which can be printed out? Not all docs are sent through the us postal service depending on the agency you use to book. However, considering the business practices of your TA, maybe he/she doesn't bother to send documents either as well as doing fraudulent bookings.

[Garyorient]

You are right the $800 wasn't extra but $500 of that was; we acknowledge we owed up to $300, which is what we would have paid on the date of booking in addition had the discount not been taken.

 

Ah, but would you?

If your TA had been honest, you might have been pragmatic and taken the view that you will search around to see if you could get a better deal.

 

To me, (and I can only reiterate from my previous post), your TA has behaved totally reprehensibly and it is they, not you who owe the entire $800, since they coerced you into booking a cruise at a price that did not in fact exist.

[kaida72]

Are you saying that you never got "documents" from your TA? A booklet with information about the cruise, and a cruise "ticket" (which is actually unnecessary), and luggage tags, and excursion info, and a Gifts and Gear brochure?

 

No we never got any of that. If the bus driver/porters at the parking lot didn't have extra luggage tags I'm not sure what we would have done there. We got one invoice with our correct ages, saying paid.

 

When it is all said and done I wished I'd booked it myself for the $1561.22 (I've gone online since this happened and looked at what the early booking prices are to confirm what she quoted us without the "special" discount)rather than end up paying $2181.22. The irony is I refused to go with another cruise line that had a teacher discount b/c I am not actively teaching and because I really, really wanted to try Royal. Sigh.

 

Any way live and learn. Hope we've helped others.

 

P.s. cruiseloveragent - I've said this a lot - we are mad at Royal b/c they wouldn't tell us why the $800. You can't just ask your consumer for more money and not say why. Even if it is justified on their part. The lady just stuck her hand out and demanded the money or we didn't board. I've also said that we didn't yell or demean the agent although she was polite it was barely so and we didn't hold her accountable for that barely customer friendly attitude. We simply paid and got on the ship. The whole trip the crew was lackluster and mostly bland except Wendy our Stateroom attendant, which by the way we tipped big (bye bye more spending money).

[relaxandenjoy]

Just a note for the OP to tell you I completely understand where you're coming from. Sometimes it's the cumulation of unfortunate events that is the issue. We cruise RCCL every year and wouldn't go any other way.

 

However, a few years ago I was that "black cloud" customer on Jewel. All of the things that happened to me were kind of flukes. (The previous guest had thrown up in my room, my key card stopped working more than 5 times, I ran into one very rude Future Booking Agetn, etc.) I was certainly hoping for some sympathy or apology from RCCL on my return. (Never really got any.) It doesn't mean I won't cruise RCCL again, or that the ship or cruise line is bad. Everyone else in my group had a great experience. It just means I was the unlucky one that week.

[kaida72]

Our receipt just said "money owed". It is nice to know that if we had made a scene we might have gotten an answer but I don't treat people that way. Which is actually frustrating! We wanted to be good people and not belittle the poor older woman doing her job. Of course it would have been nice to be rewarded with an answer when we asked; it just didn't work that way. (So what I'm saying is we were very quiet, confused and respectful people.)

 

I really, really do not think that people who behave inhumanly to others (i.e. screaming and making a scene) should get their way. It should be the other way around; of course some company policies lend themselves to putting the customer rep in that situation (like credit card over the limit fees :) - I had many customers yell at me about that when I worked in that industry.)

[Snoofer]

PATSFANWEND...........I would just like to give you my 100% support of everything you said.

 

No one should judge you about what was upsetting to you on the cruise vacation you spent your hard earned money to take. Even IF any issue was not important (which it was important) RCCL should have given you a totally apology for not being satisfactory to your expectations. A cruise is all about YOU - and not the cruise line. However, nowadays, the cruise is becoming all about THEM - the cruise line and they are losing sight of their most important asset - YOU the customer! They have no regard for customer service anymore!!!!! Not sure they ever did. It's just becoming more and more apparent as time goes on.

 

I've sent them many letters in the past about their rapid decline in service and food quality. These are the major reasons most people go on a cruise to begin with. To have their attitude toward us, their customers, decline to such insignificance is really insulting. They have a totally bad attitude and I suspect it starts with Management.

 

I sometimes wonder if there is anything RCCL would do that would cause some of the die hard loyalsts to say "enough". Probably not.

 

Personally, I don't enjoy spending money on a trip of any kind and then being treated so rudely. I won't spend my money to be mistreated.

RCCL does not have any customer service, really. That is the one thing that would NOT cost them ANY money -- just present a nice attitude to thier paying customers! But it doesn't seem that they are even willing to do that. Cruise passengers are what keeps them in business - but they fail to recognize that simple fact. Extremely bad decisions are being made at RCCL.

 

RCCL - has declined hugely in all areas. It isn't worth any amount of money no matter how "cheap" to go on vacation and be treated as if you are a nobody. That is not what a vacation is about and that is just WRONG!

 

I finally got tired of writing RCCL letters - I actually thought they CARED about improving, etc. Then I realized it was only about a bottom line for them which I suspect is getting worse and worse all the time. I finally decided that there ARE other options out there and I won't give RCCL any more of my money.

 

PATSFANWEND - you are completely RIGHT to feel exactly as you do!

[patsfanwend]

Thank you Snoofer! :)