Terrible customer service

[ahottoddie]

We had hoped to go on the Splendour of the Seas out of Venice to the Greek Islands last week, but the volcano took care of that! The cancellation of our "dream vacation" was made that much worse by Royal Caribbean's refusal to offer even a credit for another cruise to a part of the world that we could actually get to until we had already booked something else and it was too late (it took a whole week for them to offer even this, and was good only though this week) as our scheduled vacation time was running out and we were determined not sit around wasting what time we had waiting for them to do the right thing!!!

 

Obviously Royal Caribbean is only concerned about getting and keeping our hard earned and saved $$$...Well as far as we are concerned that is the last of our money Royal caribbean will ever see!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[newbiecruiser09]

I'm sorry for your experience but do you really expect them to refund your money or allow you to book something else? As I understand it, the ships sailed as usual and folks who were able to make it to the ports sailed too. I'm sure there have been many times when folks from Europe can't make sailings out of the US due to weather delays, airline strikes, missed connections, other acts of G-d, you name it. If the cruiselines started refunding for these types of situations, everyone would do it and lots of money would be lost, costs would rise, etc etc. They have policies and sometimes things just happen. I'm sorry you did not get to go on your cruise and hope you had a great vacation whereever you ended up.

[cruisinfanatic]

We had hoped to go on the Splendour of the Seas out of Venice to the Greek Islands last week, but the volcano took care of that! The cancellation of our "dream vacation" was made that much worse by Royal Caribbean's refusal to offer even a credit for another cruise to a part of the world that we could actually get to until we had already booked something else and it was too late (it took a whole week for them to offer even this, and was good only though this week) as our scheduled vacation time was running out and we were determined not sit around wasting what time we had waiting for them to do the right thing!!!

 

Obviously Royal Caribbean is only concerned about getting and keeping our hard earned and saved $$$...Well as far as we are concerned that is the last of our money Royal caribbean will ever see!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

It's up to you to get to the ship. Why blame the cruiseline for the problem?

If you bought Royal's insurance, you could have canceled for any reason up to the day of the cruise and gotten a 75 % credit toward another cruise within a year. And that's if the reason was not covered. Chances are this would have been. Don't blame the cruiseline because YOU didn't cover the bases.

[phoenix1181]

Why should RCCL do anything? It's not their fault and they shouldn't be expected to refund or otherwise compensate anyone who wasn't able to reach the ship. I'm sure you've read it many times but, that's what trip insurance is for.........................

[TBSCruiser]

We had hoped to go on the Splendour of the Seas out of Venice to the Greek Islands last week, but the volcano took care of that! The cancellation of our "dream vacation" was made that much worse by Royal Caribbean's refusal to offer even a credit for another cruise to a part of the world that we could actually get to until we had already booked something else and it was too late (it took a whole week for them to offer even this, and was good only though this week) as our scheduled vacation time was running out and we were determined not sit around wasting what time we had waiting for them to do the right thing!!!

 

Obviously Royal Caribbean is only concerned about getting and keeping our hard earned and saved $$$...Well as far as we are concerned that is the last of our money Royal caribbean will ever see!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

 

I was there too, did you have insurance? My trip was fully refunded ( already approved) and will see the monies within 4-6 weeks. No offense but if you were not insured why should they give you your trip back? The ship was there waiting for you...it is not their fault you were not on it. This was an extradinary situation and exactly why travel insurance was created to take care of the unexpected. I have several friends who were also traveling in Europe at the same time and EVERY policy is paying off (even one who said "act of god") as they were able to go through the trip interruption clause.

[lady_cruiser]

I was there too, did you have insurance? My trip was fully refunded ( already approved) and will see the monies within 4-6 weeks. No offense but if you were not insured why should they give you your trip back? The ship was there waiting for you...it is not their fault you were not on it. This was an extradinary situation and exactly why travel insurance was created to take care of the unexpected. I have several friends who were also traveling in Europe at the same time and EVERY policy is paying off (even one who said "act of god") as they were able to go through the trip interruption clause.

 

Well said, Thank You.

[ahottoddie]

No, I did not expect a refund...yes we did have fun in the Bahamas anyway...and yes we were insured, so am not so worried that we will never see that $$$ again...

 

What I did expect - and would have appreciated at the time - is to let us have a room on one of their ships sailing in the Caribbean this last week...rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure for less than what funds they already have of ours (rooms that went empty, by the way) at no loss to them, so that we could actually get something for our money. As they told us last week, the only reason they did not offer us a credit for future sailing is because we did not book our air through them, and since this cruise was just part of an 18 day trip, that option didn't work for us...Anyone who booked their air through Royal Caribbean was readily given a credit...

 

Overall this is just poor customer service...Every other vendor we dealt with (airlines, hotels, private tours) have all already very thoughtfully offered either a full refund or waived any obligatory cancellation fees...This is very good customer service!

[uksimonusa]

No, I did not expect a refund...yes we did have fun in the Bahamas anyway...and yes we were insured, so am not so worried that we will never see that $$$ again...

 

What I did expect - and would have appreciated at the time - is to let us have a room on one of their ships sailing in the Caribbean this last week...rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure for less than what funds they already have of ours (rooms that went empty, by the way) at no loss to them, so that we could actually get something for our money. As they told us last week, the only reason they did not offer us a credit for future sailing is because we did not book our air through them, and since this cruise was just part of an 18 day trip, that option didn't work for us...Anyone who booked their air through Royal Caribbean was readily given a credit...

 

Overall this is just poor customer service...Every other vendor we dealt with (airlines, hotels, private tours) have all already very thoughtfully offered either a full refund or waived any obligatory cancellation fees...This is very good customer service!

 

So you were insured, youare getting your money back, why did you not just book another cruise??:confused:

[Sue L]

No, I did not expect a refund...yes we did have fun in the Bahamas anyway...and yes we were insured, so am not so worried that we will never see that $$$ again...

 

What I did expect - and would have appreciated at the time - is to let us have a room on one of their ships sailing in the Caribbean this last week...rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure for less than what funds they already have of ours (rooms that went empty, by the way) at no loss to them, so that we could actually get something for our money. As they told us last week, the only reason they did not offer us a credit for future sailing is because we did not book our air through them, and since this cruise was just part of an 18 day trip, that option didn't work for us...Anyone who booked their air through Royal Caribbean was readily given a credit...

 

Overall this is just poor customer service...Every other vendor we dealt with (airlines, hotels, private tours) have all already very thoughtfully offered either a full refund or waived any obligatory cancellation fees...This is very good customer service!

 

So you expected RCCL to give you another cabin on a different ship AND get your money back from the insurance? Sorry but don't see what you are upset about if you were insured.

[cruisinfanatic]

 

Overall this is just poor customer service...Every other vendor we dealt with (airlines, hotels, private tours) have all already very thoughtfully offered either a full refund or waived any obligatory cancellation fees...This is very good customer service!

Basically you didn't get the answer you wanted, so it's poor customer service. I got it.

[Robb]

Did you have insurance...............after my heart attack 8 years ago I never book a trip without it.

[ryano]

rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure !

 

the ships manifest is due to Homeland Security 72 hours before embarkation............they cant offer cabins up until the day they sail that I know of

 

no cruiseline works the way you think its suppose to in this situation. It isnt RC's fault here. This stuff happens when you dont purchase your airline through them

 

be glad you are insured and just book another cruise.:)

[crcossel]

As a business owner it drives me crazy that in this day and age people define "customer service" as "give me what I want even if its not what I paid for".

 

My question is why didn't you just book another cruise that you said there was sailings on and then get your money from the insurance?

[willysgrandma]

 

What I did expect - and would have appreciated at the time - is to let us have a room on one of their ships sailing in the Caribbean this last week...rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure for less than what funds they already have of ours (rooms that went empty, by the way) at no loss to them, so that we could actually get something for our money. As they told us last week, the only reason they did not offer us a credit for future sailing is because we did not book our air through them, and since this cruise was just part of an 18 day trip, that option didn't work for us...Anyone who booked their air through Royal Caribbean was readily given a credit...

 

Overall this is just poor customer service...Every other vendor we dealt with (airlines, hotels, private tours) have all already very thoughtfully offered either a full refund or waived any obligatory cancellation fees...This is very good customer service!

 

I am still confused as to what your complaint is. Is it that you did not want to purchase the new cruise - you wanted them to transfer the funds you paid already for the cruise you would get the refund for to another cruise? If that is what you are asking for, that just is not the way this works.

 

You need to submit an insurance claim with proof that you were unable to get to the ship port, just like anyone else that couldn't make it does. Then you get reimbursed. If you had enough time, (more than 72 hours before the other cruise) you could have simply purchased the other cruise - one way or the other, you will be getting your money back for the cruise you couldn't take.

 

That is what I am getting from what you are saying - if I am incorrect, please be more specific about what you are asking for.

[JLC@SD]

No, I did not expect a refund...yes we did have fun in the Bahamas anyway...and yes we were insured, so am not so worried that we will never see that $$$ again...

 

What I did expect - and would have appreciated at the time - is to let us have a room on one of their ships sailing in the Caribbean this last week...rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure for less than what funds they already have of ours (rooms that went empty, by the way) at no loss to them, so that we could actually get something for our money!

 

I am sure they would have given you one of the Caribbean cabins.....if you paid for it......with the future insurance proceeds you were going to receive.

 

Why should RCL provide the funds from the lost cruise (which paid for the lost cruise)........when insurance was going to repay you for it.

[ebk2795]

So you were insured, youare getting your money back, why did you not just book another cruise??:confused:

 

I think I understand what the OP is trying to say. If they booked a replacement cruise outright, they would have been out the original cruise fare (until the insurance paid them) AND the fare for the second cruise. That's a lot of money to put out at once. The OP just wanted to go on a cruise, and was asking RCCL to let them switch to a cruise to which they could get. I don't think the OP would expect to get the insurance money AND a replacement cruise.

 

Eileen

[cruisinfanatic]

the ships manifest is due to Homeland Security 72 hours before embarkation............they cant offer cabins up until the day they sail that I know of

 

no cruiseline works the way you think its suppose to in this situation. It isnt RC's fault here. This stuff happens when you dont purchase your airline through them

 

be glad you are insured and just book another cruise.:)

wrong.

You can book a cruise the day before it sails

[wg6530]

I think I understand what the OP is trying to say. If they booked a replacement cruise outright, they would have been out the original cruise fare (until the insurance paid them) AND the fare for the second cruise. That's a lot of money to put out at once. The OP just wanted to go on a cruise, and was asking RCCL to let them switch to a cruise to which they could get. I don't think the OP would expect to get the insurance money AND a replacement cruise.

 

Eileen

I don't think they were looking to double dip either. Still it may not just be cash flow because they booked a trip to the Bahamas. So they were still out-of-pocket fot two trips until the insurance payment.

[hazence]

Not everyone affected by the Ash crisis has had 20 cruises or is an experienced traveler.

 

As discussed on another thread, if you book a package in Europe...UNDER EU law...that company had responsibilities to its stranded customer...including lodging, meals, etc. RCCL may yet be accountable to some of its "dumpees" over there.

 

One issue I see on all these complaint threads is that although Goldstein said in his Blog that his mangers were working "seamlessly" and they were conferencing calling every morning....there was no plan in place, much confusion and just plain ineptitude during this Ash crisis.

 

That seems to be a persistent problem with RCCL customer service....ASh Cloud or no.

 

On the Vision,for example, one price was quoted one day for staying on the Ship...but after accepting, RCCL customers were told the price was much more the next day. That is gouging in an emergency situation. It's also complete lack of professionalism.

 

Simply telling YOUR customer who has booked his vacation entirely through RCCL...that they are "on their own"..."contact your airline." etc...is not ANY kind of adequate customer service. When you return something to a store that took your money...do you want to be told "Call the manufacturer. You are on your own."

 

RCCL could have put in place a bank of phone lines....special representatives...information desks...to help stranded customers make plans.You all do realize that in some places hotel rooms were impossible to get...huge crowds were sleeping for days in airports..trains and hire cars were booked days out.

 

This was an emergency.

 

I wonder if RCCL could have ridden the storm into New Orleans during Katrina...1f they would have dumped their passengers in a hurricane and said "You are on your own. See YA!"

 

Insurance isn't up front money. It's not THERE in your pocket when you most need it. Think of the out-of-pocket costs to these customers. Even if RCCL had no obligation to pay (though that may not be the case under European law) AT THE LEAST...they might have provided a life-line of information and advice.

 

RCCL seems to have a huge problem with customer service across the Board. We read every day here how answers are different from one agent to the next. If you are the lucky one who doesn't get stuck with a toilet that doesn't work for 4 days on a 7 days cruise...or find blood on your sheets...or fecal matter for days smeared in a public bath...then the attitude here is...you don't care how lacking customer service is to your fellow cruisers.

 

If so, then by tolerating poor RCCL customer service...you're allowing cruising with them to be a lottery....some win, some lose big time.

 

Maybe someday soon...it will be you with a drill going all night above your cabin.

 

This is not just about refunds, etc...it's about a level of professionalism that should be EXPECTED from RCCL. One hand often doesn't seem to know what the other is doing.

 

In my opinion, what makes a good airline..is not the flights through clear, cloudless skies...it's how things are handled in the white knuckle moments.

Same for cruiselines.

[Captain Jake]

I think I understand what the OP is trying to say. If they booked a replacement cruise outright, they would have been out the original cruise fare (until the insurance paid them) AND the fare for the second cruise. That's a lot of money to put out at once. The OP just wanted to go on a cruise, and was asking RCCL to let them switch to a cruise to which they could get. I don't think the OP would expect to get the insurance money AND a replacement cruise.

 

Eileen

 

exactly true.I feel sorry for those who slammed the OP.They must live sad lives .While RCCL was under no obligation to do anything ,they were clearly in the minority in how they handled the unusual situation.I enjoy cruising but this reaction is typical in the cruise industry.There are other ways to travel that offer friendlier customer service and offer the same value for the buck.We have a trip planned to Arizona for two weeks this fall and there are good values in nice places including Grand Canyon and Sedona and at cost below balcony rooms including meals and rental car.I'll continue cruising but the customer service is lacking compared to other industries

:cj

[BroncosFan2010]

Sorry for your experience. Seems to be a lot of that going around lately.

[galavant3]

No, I did not expect a refund...yes we did have fun in the Bahamas anyway...and yes we were insured, so am not so worried that we will never see that $$$ again...

 

What I did expect - and would have appreciated at the time - is to let us have a room on one of their ships sailing in the Caribbean this last week...rooms which they were offering for sale up until the day of departure for less than what funds they already have of ours (rooms that went empty, by the way) at no loss to them, so that we could actually get something for our money. As they told us last week, the only reason they did not offer us a credit for future sailing is because we did not book our air through them, and since this cruise was just part of an 18 day trip, that option didn't work for us...Anyone who booked their air through Royal Caribbean was readily given a credit...

 

Overall this is just poor customer service...Every other vendor we dealt with (airlines, hotels, private tours) have all already very thoughtfully offered either a full refund or waived any obligatory cancellation fees...This is very good customer service!

 

I feel just awful that this happened to so many people. I think you are very fortunate that you had insurance and will recoup any loss...so many did not. Did the other vendors realize that you had travel insurance when they refunded your money?

 

I understand that you wanted the replacement cruise but I think it would difficult to allow you to cruise "on credit" while you were waiting for the insurance reimbursement. On the one hand, it seems reasonable. However, I don't think any cruise line can permit people to cruise on the "promise to pay".

 

I am also confused as to why you would expect a future cruise credit and insurance reimbursement. I don't know that anyone received both, nor should they expect to.

 

This has been a learning experience for everyone. I know as soon as it happened I checked my policy and was relieved to see that I would have been covered. I also read the policy very carefully (for the first time!)

 

Kudos to you for making the most of your time off and having fun in the Bahamas!

[waterbug123]

there was no plan in place, much confusion and just plain ineptitude during this Ash crisis.

 

That seems to be a persistent problem with RCCL customer service....ASh Cloud or no.......RCCL could have put in place a bank of phone lines....special representatives...information desks...to help stranded customers make plans.You all do realize that in some places hotel rooms were impossible to get...huge crowds were sleeping for days in airports..trains and hire cars were booked days out.......Insurance isn't up front money. It's not THERE in your pocket when you most need it. Think of the out-of-pocket costs to these customers.

 

Phone lines, representatives and info desks....exactly who would RC have staffing these? Given the number of people they would have had to deal with, it seems they would have had to pull people from other jobs and give them a crash course in training, that under the circumstances, probably would have been inadequate and thus not very helpful.

 

Impossible-to-get-hotel-rooms....if individual passengers couldn't get them, what was RC supposed to do?

 

As for insurance money not being immediately in your pocket, anyone traveling internationally should plan to have additional resources for unexpected out-of-pocket expenses. They should also know that if they have to make a claim against their trip insurance that the money will not be immediately available. That it's not immediate is hardly an excuse for why another party (RC) should be helping financially.

 

Frankly, I am tired of hearing about how RCI (or the other cruiselines, or the airlines, or whoever) should have had back up plans in place to be ready to deal with the situation. Well here's a novel idea: why don't the PASSENGERS have a back up plan? Something like, "Gee, we are traveling internationally, it's costing a lot, maybe we should get trip insurance. Maybe we should make sure our cell phone will work in the countries of embarkation/debarkation. Maybe we should have available credit on a credit card in case we have unexpected expenses. After all, there could be delays. One of us might get sick and not be able to return home immediately. There could be a terrorist attack. There could be an airline strike. There could be a weather issue, or an earthquake, or some other act of God."

Maybe then we would not hear all of the "and there we were with no money and no hotel and no way to call anyone and the cruiseline didn't do anything to help us" complaints.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

RCCL is starting to realize (although probably too late) that it acted improperly, at least as far as European Union law is concerned, and is starting to send out apology letters to European customers.

 

EU customers who are filing complaints for reimbursement with RCCL Europe or their EU travel agencies are getting reimbursed, no problem (at least that is the case here in Spain -- I cannot speak for other locations).

 

What some of you folks should try to understand, and I think this has been clarified on some of the other threads where I have participated avidly in order to explain the European point of view and practice, is that many of the comments that usually come from the American side of the pond, such as "what do you expect, you didn't purchase insurance, so you gambled and lost", "you're out of luck, it was not RCCL's problem", etc., etc., etc., do not apply here in Europe because there is ample legal protection afforded to us in the European Union which makes purchasing travel insurance mostly unnecessary except for the case of medical coverage when we visit countries such as the United States.

 

The cruiselines that refused to honor EU laws during the volcanic ash crisis are starting to realize that they acted improperly and illegally and are starting to rectify.

 

Hope we never have to deal with a volcano or any other major problem again -----

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Captain Jake]

 

Frankly, I am tired of hearing about how RCI (or the other cruiselines, or the airlines, or whoever) should have had back up plans in place to be ready to deal with the situation. Well here's a novel idea: why don't the PASSENGERS have a back up plan? Something like, "Gee, we are traveling internationally, it's costing a lot, maybe we should get trip insurance. Maybe we should make sure our cell phone will work in the countries of embarkation/debarkation. Maybe we should have available credit on a credit card in case we have unexpected expenses. After all, there could be delays. One of us might get sick and not be able to return home immediately. There could be a terrorist attack. There could be an airline strike. There could be a weather issue, or an earthquake, or some other act of God."

Maybe then we would not hear all of the "and there we were with no money and no hotel and no way to call anyone and the cruiseline didn't do anything to help us" complaints.

 

In ways you are right,but if other industries were as inept during an emergency as RCCL what good would it be to have a backup plan?????

The fact that RCCL is famous for their poor customer service and inability to handle emergencies is a good reason to have one.Thank God that most other business's handled the situation properly.Imagine if other companies were as inept as RCCL.We should all be thankful that a cruise line was the biggest offender in all this

:cj