Why complain but not to the person who can remedy situation?

[andeesue]

Just back from a fabulous holiday cruise which I'll do a review when I'm settled. After reading an earlier report with countless complaints, I wanted to ask, "Did you report these concerns to the proper authorities?"

In many cases, people will have issues in their cabins and instead of calling the front desk to report it, they just tell other passengers. "My tub ran brown water this morning" or "There's a nasty smell", etc... I've found that help will be on the way if they know of the problem. Of course, sometimes situations can be taken care of easily, and some aren't, but if they don't know, how can they do anything about it?

[PaulaS8071]

Agreed!
We were on the Westerdam, 12/4 sailing. SA suite. Numerous times our toilet wouldn't flush. But as soon as we called the Neptune, they called housekeeping. Bam! It was there, within say an hour. Aggravating? Yes, but can we complain? No. They took care of business.
P.

[RMLincoln]

And the front desk isn't the only recourse. There's also the Hotel Manager's office. m--

[sail7seas]

I've been saying this for years.

I don't understand people who suffer in silence on a ship and don't tell anyone who can help what their problem is. How can it be fixed if you don't request repair?

Why wait until the end of the cruise and tell your displeasure in Comment Sheets when you never sought help the whole cruise? Isn't the goal to have the best cruise possible? :confused:

To suffer on the ship, say nothing and then come here to rip them apart is just plain wrong IMO


I don't mean to imply I have any clue who has made valid complaints and request for repairs and have no interest in knowing. Just expressing an opinion of something I'm sure happens,,,,,, at least occassionally.

On the other hand, I'll be first in line supporting those who tried in vain to get repairs or have an unpleasant circumstance corrected and could not accomplish that. That is just as wrong IMO....
maybe even a smidgeon worse. :eek:

[Himself]

It is a lot easier to complain to others rather than going to someone who can fix the problem

[SwissMyst]

Just back from a fabulous holiday cruise which I'll do a review when I'm settled. After reading an earlier report with countless complaints, I wanted to ask, "Did you report these concerns to the proper authorities?"

In many cases, people will have issues in their cabins and instead of calling the front desk to report it, they just tell other passengers. "My tub ran brown water this morning" or "There's a nasty smell", etc... I've found that help will be on the way if they know of the problem. Of course, sometimes situations can be taken care of easily, and some aren't, but if they don't know, how can they do anything about it?

Good question. You state the obvious answer in the question you asked. Yes, the hospitality industry makes money making people happy and solving issues up front .. when they can. And making people happy, even if they cannot. It seems the best question to ask when not getting good answers from the "Front Desk" is who else can I talk to about this? And not leave until you get an a name and an appointment.

[F5Loar]

I think it's silly too. Your steak is not to your liking so you don't eat it and then compain here the meat was too rare/overcooked/tough. Why not complain right then and then come back and tell us how they got it right the 2nd time and how much you enjoyed it.
Complaints come in all areas. Some you really can't do anything about so you do vent it off here. One comes to mind to me is the Daily paper posted the hours of breakfast in MDR. We get there 15 min. before that time and they said they closed 15 mins. ago.
Hard to fix that. So you complain to the front desk and ask to see the person that prints the Daily and tell them they should check with MDR before pubishing hours for 2000 people when only one person changes it.

[TheCalicoCat]

Some people like to be miserable!
Some people don't want to "cause" a problem.
Some people assume that they already know the answer. "Can you fix my toilet?" "NO" so why ask...
Some people are embarrassed to ask questions - or embarrassed that others in their party asked.
Some people don't want to wait in line to ask the question.
Some people assume a run around.
Some people like the anonymity associated with complaining on the net - or with a very casual acquaintance on the ship.
Misery loves company & some hope that they will hear, "My toilet is broken too. Poor us."
Some people might not know how it is supposed to work & will feel like an idiot if they can't make it work & break it or are too embarrassed to ask for help.

[kazu]

Just back from a fabulous holiday cruise which I'll do a review when I'm settled. After reading an earlier report with countless complaints, I wanted to ask, "Did you report these concerns to the proper authorities?"

In many cases, people will have issues in their cabins and instead of calling the front desk to report it, they just tell other passengers. "My tub ran brown water this morning" or "There's a nasty smell", etc... I've found that help will be on the way if they know of the problem. Of course, sometimes situations can be taken care of easily, and some aren't, but if they don't know, how can they do anything about it?

I don't get it either :eek: On my cruises in recent memory, there has even been a comment card in the room asking if we have any issues or suggestions to please complete it early and submit it.

No cruise is absolutely perfect - but any issues I have had - I have addressed and they have always been taken care of in a more than satisfactory manner.

I think some people like complaining.

You can't fix a problem if you don't know about it:confused:

[Math Guy]

When considering the number of passengers aboard a cruise ship, some with issues that one could consider trivial, is it possible that the front desk or housekeeping could get swamped with complaints some of which could not even be addressed during a cruise ?

The very essence of ship-board life probably increases the possibilities of encountering a major or minor problem. Vacuum toilets, rough seas, missed ports, port delays, tendering, new crew members, supply snafus, etc. would all be compounding circumstances that one would not normally encounter on a land-based holiday.

[iancal]

Ask for a Supervisor, and if you do not get satisfaction keep going until you reach the top.

And keep a written record of who you spoke to, when, and what, if any, actions they committed to on your behalf.

[powderhorn]

Ask for a Supervisor, and if you do not get satisfaction keep going until you reach the top.

And keep a written record of who you spoke to, when, and what, if any, actions they committed to on your behalf.

I've complained to HAL for a couple of things. One was handled very well, the other was a question/request left unanswered.

I find complaining aggravating but agree that if something is wrong, then let them know about it, but I don't have the energy to pursue it that vigorously...if they don't pick up the ball once some level of management has been informed, then it is duly noted and factored into my future decisions as to where I will spend my money.

[iancal]

That is what we do if we have an issue with any company.

Fortunately, we have never felt the need to complain to management on any cruise line about anything on a ship

Not sure if we have been fortunate or if we are too easy going. About the only thing that would bother us is physical issues such as HVAC, plumbing, mold, etc with our cabin. We research the lines and specific ships and have never had this situations. Like you, we keep track of what we dislike and make our future decisions accordingly. Voting with your feet can be very effective-especially if one feels that the survey forms are used more often to generate warm feelings with customers than they are to identify positives and negatives.

[CowPrincess]

Just back from a fabulous holiday cruise which I'll do a review when I'm settled. After reading an earlier report with countless complaints, I wanted to ask, "Did you report these concerns to the proper authorities?"

In many cases, people will have issues in their cabins and instead of calling the front desk to report it, they just tell other passengers. "My tub ran brown water this morning" or "There's a nasty smell", etc... I've found that help will be on the way if they know of the problem. Of course, sometimes situations can be taken care of easily, and some aren't, but if they don't know, how can they do anything about it?

Not everyone knows how things "should" be. I can see some of my friends getting onboard a ship without a clue about how to get problems resolved. I can see them saying something to the cabin steward like "How can we get the cabin A/C colder?" and the steward points out the control, and that is the END of it.... and those people come home complaining that their cabin was WAY too hot because their A/C didn't work for most of the cruise.

IMHO the cabin stewards are the first line of contact, and if they are not good cabin stewards, some issues for some people will not get resolved.

On one cruise I asked the cabin steward to get the bathroom fan fixed, and he looked at me and said "It works fine, it is just quiet because we had too many complaints about the noise" :rolleyes:

If I'd been new to cruising, I'd have probably taken him at his word. And yes, I would have complained about the poor ventilation and humidity in my cabin when I got back onshore.