Seabourn uk office

Am I the only person that finds if you write to the Seabourn uk office with a query you never get a reply.

John

John,

Me too.

Also never believe them if they say -'will phone you back'

Bit drippy!

Kind regards

Tony

No, you are not. I sent a referral coupon to someone in the UK prompted by a request on that thread. The coupon was received, and at the appropriate time submitted, along with check for final payment, to the SB UK office. Check cashed, but no indication of referral coupon received. The lady in question emailed. And waited. And waited. And emailed again. And waited And waited. And called. No call back. And emailed. And finally, after two weeks, received an email acknowledging receipt of the coupon. But (initially) no posting of the credit to her account.I am having similar problems obtaining the reciprocal credit here in the U.S. At first--this is really strange--I was told that the UK seabounite's booking number did not exist. We have now established that it does, but not yet, in the U.S., that the coupon has been received by Seabourn in the U.K. In defense of the "system", I can only say that there appears to be only one overworked lady assigned to this operation at Blue Lagoon. Still, it would appear that if a credit appears overe there, QED, it should appear over here in the donor's account. Short answer, you are not alone.

Am I the only person that finds if you write to the Seabourn uk office with a query you never get a reply.

 

 

John

Just as bad if you phone them direct. On two cruises, my wife has phoned them to check the number of Formal Nights, and they have given her the wrong information. Once they told her there would be less formal nights than there was and the second time, they told her there would be more than there was in reality. Not too bad for me as it is just a matter of a shirt, but my wife was not too happy about having one dress less and then one long dress too many to cart around the world.

Neil

It's timely that you should post. After my (now deleted?) thread on here a little while ago I though I'd take the advice and encouragement from those kind enough to respond, throw caution to the wind and contact Seabourn last night with a view to booking Odyssey over Christmas and the New Year.

Having sent my request via the Seabourn website where I was promised contact the next day I heard nothing apart from an automated email from someone called Alex at Avoya Travel, I presume a travel agent, in the USA.

It would seem the UK arm of Seabourn are nowhere to be found. When we cruised out of Southampton a couple of weeks ago I could have sworn I saw a Seabourn logo on the side of a building alongside P&O?

Seabourn's registered office is in London and they christened Sojourn in London recently so I assumed they were British based. clearly I was mistaken.

We have a bit of a bum deal in the UK when it comes to non UK native cruise companies. Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor loyalty programme doesn't allow UK residents to access their account in the same way US customers can and so it seems to be the norm. Maybe we don't form a large enough market share yet to warrant full representation.

There are enough people advertising cruises in the UK media at the moment so presumably someone sets sail. A gap in the market for someone if they want to retain existing customers and poach a few new ones?

Ah well. I'll keep you all informed if we do push the go cruising button :)

Henry.

Seabourn do not have a seperate office in the Uk but as part of Carnival use the offices of P&O at Southampton. This seems ok if you are trying to book a cruise but if you need anything else is terrible. A couple of years ago when I had a problem, I had the name of the Customer support manager but whenever you phoned all you got was the inevitable voice mail and it seemed as she only worked a couple of days a week as was always told she is out of the office today .:eek:

Seabourn do not have a seperate office in the Uk but as part of Carnival use the offices of P&O at Southampton. This seems ok if you are trying to book a cruise but if you need anything else is terrible. A couple of years ago when I had a problem, I had the name of the Customer support manager but whenever you phoned all you got was the inevitable voice mail and it seemed as she only worked a couple of days a week as was always told she is out of the office today .:eek:

I booked my forthcoming September Spirit cruise direct with Seabourn UK, ok service, but as others have said, any questions/queries go unanswered following on from the booking.

I sent in a referal coupon with my final payment & although I received a receipt for the money, there was no mention of the coupon. Does anyone know if these coupons are acknowledged or does the credit just appear on your onboard account?

To be honest, I'm more worried for the cc member who refered me as she gave it to me in good faith & I really dont want her to miss out - but after reading Writer100's account of his problems I'm thinking maybe I should contact the US office to see if it was passed on? Anyone have any experience in this department - both of us are UK based by the way.

The best way to book a cruise on a Seabourn ship is to use a travel agent that is experienced with Seabourn.You will get a much better price and good advise about the product.

Booking directly with the company will cost more and will sometimes involve varying degrees of success.

The best way to book a cruise on a Seabourn ship is to use a travel agent that is experienced with Seabourn.You will get a much better price and good advise about the product.

Booking directly with the company will cost more and will sometimes involve varying degrees of success.

I have to agree that it is easier and almost certainly cheaper to go through a cruise agent - they do different discounts and offers on the Seabourn cruises; lots at present. Worth checking up on them all. And they will deal with Seabourn UK if necessary.

We have found the UK office useless, and they are definitely just part of the Carnival UK operation.

I booked my forthcoming September Spirit cruise direct with Seabourn UK, ok service, but as others have said, any questions/queries go unanswered following on from the booking.

I sent in a referal coupon with my final payment & although I received a receipt for the money, there was no mention of the coupon. Does anyone know if these coupons are acknowledged or does the credit just appear on your onboard account?

To be honest, I'm more worried for the cc member who refered me as she gave it to me in good faith & I really dont want her to miss out - but after reading Writer100's account of his problems I'm thinking maybe I should contact the US office to see if it was passed on? Anyone have any experience in this department - both of us are UK based by the way.

Yes, do contact the U.S., where you can get a helpful woman who will do her best to straighten out this Orwellian mess. The UK recipient of my coupon received an email confirmation from Seabourn UK of receipt of both final payment and referral coupon on August 4, which also included the note that posting to her account should occur within 7 days. On August 25--21 days later--there is no record in the U.S. computers of any credit posted to this lady's account. (And of course, no corresponding credit in mine.)The missing credit to her account is more urgent, as she sails on September 11th. Seabourn at Blue Lagoon have promised to email both the UK office and the UK coupon recipient. I'll keep you posted--no dreadful pun intended--on developments. If any.

Yes, do contact the U.S., where you can get a helpful woman who will do her best to straighten out this Orwellian mess. The UK recipient of my coupon received an email confirmation from Seabourn UK of receipt of both final payment and referral coupon on August 4, which also included the note that posting to her account should occur within 7 days. On August 25--21 days later--there is no record in the U.S. computers of any credit posted to this lady's account. (And of course, no corresponding credit in mine.)The missing credit to her account is more urgent, as she sails on September 11th. Seabourn at Blue Lagoon have promised to email both the UK office and the UK coupon recipient. I'll keep you posted--no dreadful pun intended--on developments. If any.

Thank you for this. I sail on 25th September, so I'll best get in contact today to start the ball rolling.

Just to say also, I love your postings, always informative, entertaining & a very good read!

Having just rung the UK office again (4th time today as 3 previous attempts resulted in me being on hold for 20 minutes so I eventually gave up), my OBC (confirmed in writing by them) has gone missing again!! I sent them another scanned copy of the voucher (the 4th time I have done so) and now have a promised return e-mail to tell me what is going on.

My frustration is due to me having e-mails from them confirming receipt of voucher, confirming credit will be applied, confirming all is ok and then suddenly they've never heard of me or my voucher!!

But for anyone from the UK planning to call them now, expect a really long wait for your call to be answered and then to be told that the entire Coupon Department - or whatever they call themselves - has gone to lunch!!!

It's a real shame when the ship based staff do such a great job. The ground staff need to at least equal their waterlogged cousins and it shouldn't be hard. They are working in the same time zone, have perfect IT connections and equipment and can call on the help of others if need be.

I would imagine you end up feeling a bit cheap having to chase up vouchers and so on for what is supposed to be a glamorous and hassle free vacation.

I got an email from Blue Lagoon last night to say they had passed on my enquiry to the UK.

The best company who's UK branch we've had contact with was Celebrity. We nearly went with them rather than RCCL in July and they were really great. Always got back quickly, nothing was too much trouble and so on so it can work well.

Henry

It's a real shame when the ship based staff do such a great job. The ground staff need to at least equal their waterlogged cousins and it shouldn't be hard. They are working in the same time zone, have perfect IT connections and equipment and can call on the help of others if need be.

 

I would imagine you end up feeling a bit cheap having to chase up vouchers and so on for what is supposed to be a glamorous and hassle free vacation.

 

I got an email from Blue Lagoon last night to say they had passed on my enquiry to the UK.

 

The best company who's UK branch we've had contact with was Celebrity. We nearly went with them rather than RCCL in July and they were really great. Always got back quickly, nothing was too much trouble and so on so it can work well.

 

Henry

The experience has certainly not left me feeling cheap Henry - $400 is certainly not going to make any difference to my holiday, in fact I dont know what I will spend it on other than a couple of spa treatments & I'll leave the rest to the crew fund plus some I'm sure.

It's rather more that a CC member has taken the time & trouble to send me a voucher & I want her to get her reward & I happen to think that if a company offers such an incentive it should make all efforts to ensure those who respond are justly rewarded in turn.

I was probably in the wrong in not using a TA, mia culpa, but circumstances at the time dictated a quick clean phone call & job done; but life is a learning curve & maybe next time I'll use one who can do the footwork for me.

Still looking forward to the experience though, & meeting all the nice folks who are on our roll call - roll on 25th September!

>"I would imagine you end up feeling a bit cheap having to chase up vouchers and so on for what is supposed to be a glamorous and hassle free vacation."

If you don't get an answer, just take your paperwork to the Purser when you board. Et Voila!

>"I would imagine you end up feeling a bit cheap having to chase up vouchers and so on for what is supposed to be a glamorous and hassle free vacation."

 

If you don't get an answer, just take your paperwork to the Purser when you board. Et Voila!

No, Jane that won't work. The computers have to show the credit received and posted. And received with final payment, prior to sailing. The problem inherent to all the issues cited above is that there is no computer verification. Or at least not a constant one, as odd as that seems. And if it doesn't show up on the main office (Blue Lagoon) records, it apparently doesn't exist. I will say that the people I've spoken with at SB Ft. Lauderdale grasp the problem, are courteous and responsive. But they can't do anything without confirmation of the facts from the UK office.However, an email from them (presumably) carries more weight than one from a passenger, so perhaps they will break the logjam. Surely, as was said earlier, part of the pleasure of the cruise is the expectation, the anticipation. And that is easily deflated by the kinds of dreadful service experiences outlined above.

As to the trivial nature of the coupon's value, it ain't so trivial to those of us who live in an unheated garret and pound away at an ancient Royal typewriter, err, primitive Mac.

soc1965, thank you for the bouquet. Kind words from that wonderful island are rare; I am still bruised from my exchanges with marianh.

Thanks for the clarification. I had a similar problem and it was fixed straight-away.

Jane (typing with my new MacBookPro with wireless <g>)

Having just rung the UK office again (4th time today as 3 previous attempts resulted in me being on hold for 20 minutes so I eventually gave up), my OBC (confirmed in writing by them) has gone missing again!! I sent them another scanned copy of the voucher (the 4th time I have done so) and now have a promised return e-mail to tell me what is going on.

 

My frustration is due to me having e-mails from them confirming receipt of voucher, confirming credit will be applied, confirming all is ok and then suddenly they've never heard of me or my voucher!!

 

But for anyone from the UK planning to call them now, expect a really long wait for your call to be answered and then to be told that the entire Coupon Department - or whatever they call themselves - has gone to lunch!!!

Took Writer100's advice yesterday & sent an e-mail to the Florida office via the Seabourn website. I used the drop down box department choice 'Guest Services' Lo & behold received a reply overnight that my coupon was received, sent to them & applicable credits applied. UK should have relayed this information(!)

E mail back was from a lovely lady named Adriana - seabournclub@seaborn.com - may I suggest that you send a pdf scanned copy of the missing voucher to this address with an explanation of your problem & I feel sure after the quick reply I received, they should be able to sort it out.

If the standard of the US service I received is reflective of the service on board ship, then I'm even more excited about my trip! It's just a shame the UK office lets the side down for us this side of the pond.

Writer100 - don't take your 'bashing' to heart, we can be a bit competitive with our 'wordsmithing' over here!

Good has triumphed over evil. Just received word that in the case outlined above--credit vanished, booking number unknown--order has (finally) been restored. Mostly, I suspect, because the swiftly responsive people at the Seabourn Club in FLL sent an email kick to their associates in the UK. In any case, the lady there has received her credit, as have I.

I would have thought that Mrs Conover beeing British might have whipped

Seabourn Uk in to shape- no such luck.

The best service we have had is from Regent Uk followed by Seabourn USA.

Kind regards,

Tony

Took Writer100's advice yesterday & sent an e-mail to the Florida office via the Seabourn website. I used the drop down box department choice 'Guest Services' Lo & behold received a reply overnight that my coupon was received, sent to them & applicable credits applied. UK should have relayed this information(!)

E mail back was from a lovely lady named Adriana - seabournclub@seaborn.com - may I suggest that you send a pdf scanned copy of the missing voucher to this address with an explanation of your problem & I feel sure after the quick reply I received, they should be able to sort it out.

If the standard of the US service I received is reflective of the service on board ship, then I'm even more excited about my trip! It's just a shame the UK office lets the side down for us this side of the pond.

Writer100 - don't take your 'bashing' to heart, we can be a bit competitive with our 'wordsmithing' over here!

Very good advice! Just want to let you know that you miss typed the Seabourn Club email address: seabournclub@seabourn.com

Have a nice weekend all!

Marja

A quick update.

Despite numerous attempts by me to contact Seabourn with a view to cruising with them over Christmas we have not received any contact. The website promises next day contact. This is not the case.

I followed up the website enquiry with an email to Seabourn Miami and the auto sent American travel agent email. No reply at all from the travel agent, a confirmation from Miami that they do have a UK office and a promise they would make contact.

No such contact has been made in spite of my providing email and direct telephone, (my prefered choice), contact details. Contrast this with Royal Caribbean who we contacted today via email, there followed a number of phone calls and emails and we booked a couple of cabins for my Brother, his family and my mum in October.

I find it difficult to see how a company who puts so little effort in their sales, (the one area where businesses historically punch above their weight), can deliver the level of service we would hope for on board. We are going to cast our net a little wider than Seabourn & Odyssey.

My thoughts after spending a bit of time on here are that your fellow guests on a Seabourn cruise are what makes it special. The crew are wonderful but some people think spread a little too thin at times on the larger ships. The fabric of the vessel isn't a Seabourner's main focus to the point where they are happy to turn the odd blind eye and indeed actively seek out the smaller, older ships. You don't want to be overly sensitive to a bit of vibration every now and again though ;)

I still have a hankering for something a bit more boutique and personal than Royal Caribbean and oddly enough the money side of things, the one potential stumbling block, isn't that big an issue when you compare the likes of Seabourn to premium cabins on the mainstream larger ships.

For me though I need to know there is a good safety net to provide information and support in the planning stages thus ensuring we get things right. I also need to know there is someone there should something go wrong. Seabourn does not have that in the UK.

The information gleaned on here from you guys has been invaluable and I thank you for it.

Keep smiling and I will pop back every now and again to say hello.

Henry :)

Hi Henry,

I would contact one of the smaller Travel agents that specialise in Premium cruise lines. I have found them to be very helpful. They also give a discount on the seabourn web price. Like you say there is not much price differential.

Linda

Henry - Regarding your quick update: I totally agree with Linda. Find a good travel agent in the UK.

By the way, I've contacted the UK office a couple of times by email and received answers the same day. To them I would like to say: Keep up the good work!

Marja

AbleSeamanH - I agree that Seabourn UK is useless, and can only reiterate what Marja has said, and I have said before, use a cruise agent who will deal with them, and give you a much better price.

Look under Seabourn on the internet and you will find several who will serve - note some give a larger discount than others, or have better deals for certain cruises, so shop around! Also lots of adverts in the press - at least in The Times - at present.