46 minutes to pick up a phone

[Pappion]

Went online and saw an aft balcony had opened up. Called to change our reservation and was on hold 46 minutes. By the time they answered the balcony was gone. Do they only have one operator at NCL? :confused:

 

Yes I know any cruise is better than no cruise, but that was frustrating.

[mpk218]

I hate to say it , but you should have hung up and called back..

Keep an eye out, it may happen again.. ;)

[Pappion]

I'm tempted to reserve the room and then call in afterward if I see one again.

[rochelle_s]

Went online and saw an aft balcony had opened up. Called to change our reservation and was on hold 46 minutes. By the time they answered the balcony was gone. Do they only have one operator at NCL? :confused:

 

Yes I know any cruise is better than no cruise, but that was frustrating.

 

I can certainly appreciate your frustration.

 

Spent just over two hours on the phone yesterday waiting to speak with someone through the casino department...never did get through to anyone before giving up. They need to have more people dedicated to their phone lines. There should also be a limit to how much of the repetitive advertising a caller on hold must listen too. They should run their 'ads' through no more than three times and then convert to some pleasant music or anything interesting. Listening to something over and over has a negative effect and just adds to the frustration and irritation of being on hold so long.

 

Rochelle

[kcwingwalker]

Went online and saw an aft balcony had opened up. Called to change our reservation and was on hold 46 minutes. By the time they answered the balcony was gone. Do they only have one operator at NCL? :confused:

 

Yes I know any cruise is better than no cruise, but that was frustrating.

 

Sorry you lost out and appreciate your frustration.

 

You could email or write a letter to corporate headquarters, perhaps they might do something to help you. It's worth a try because it does help sometimes to be a "squeaky wheel"

[jaja]

I can certainly appreciate your frustration.

 

Spent just over two hours on the phone yesterday waiting to speak with someone through the casino department...never did get through to anyone before giving up. They need to have more people dedicated to their phone lines. There should also be a limit to how much of the repetitive advertising a caller on hold must listen too. They should run their 'ads' through no more than three times and then convert to some pleasant music or anything interesting. Listening to something over and over has a negative effect and just adds to the frustration and irritation of being on hold so long.

 

Rochelle

 

LIKE !!!!:D

 

I hate calling CAS...besides the long wait and the annoying endless recorded ads - I am getting very tired of getting incorrect or conflicting info....

[www3traveler]

If you made your call yesterday, Norwegian was dealing with major changes to The Getaway's Maiden Crossing in January. The date of the crossing was moved up a day, picking up passengers in Rotterdam before Southampton was canceled and the cruise will end in New York City not in Miami. You can imagine what kind of a mess all that made.

[Pappion]

Funny you mentioned CAS, they're probably why I was on hold so long, because my reservation is through them.

[Always Cruising]

Always a looong wait on hold w/ CAS - the "regular" CAS line is approx 30 minute hold time, but God forbid one has to speak with "Miami" CAS - at least one hour on hold if not two. But "Miami" is the only office that can answer a lot of the questions we have - especially with the new CAS program.

[rochelle_s]

If you made your call yesterday, Norwegian was dealing with major changes to The Getaway's Maiden Crossing in January. The date of the crossing was moved up a day, picking up passengers in Rotterdam before Southampton was canceled and the cruise will end in New York City not in Miami. You can imagine what kind of a mess all that made.

 

If the company is having some type of issue that will cause higher than normal call volumes then bring in additional staff to handle the increase. Pay a few employees a little overtime to help alleviate the overload on the phone department. Add a message into the system that states there is a very high number of callers and asking that those that can call back another day please do so. Stop the annoying message saying someone will be with me shortly when there is no chance that 'shortly' will ever happen!!

 

The key in business is to keep your customers happy. My call was not for something immediate but I was sticking it out due to the amount of time I already had invested in being on hold. I was frustrated and I can well imagine those effected by the changes even more so. By your account NCL knew they had a problem and did not deal with it as effectively as possible. That should not happen. A little customer care can go a very long way.

 

Rochelle

[cherylroslyn]

Always a looong wait on hold w/ CAS - the "regular" CAS line is approx 30 minute hold time, but God forbid one has to speak with "Miami" CAS - at least one hour on hold if not two. But "Miami" is the only office that can answer a lot of the questions we have - especially with the new CAS program.

I really think launching this new CAS program at a time where the company is in the middle of launching their two newest builds was a major mistake.....

 

 

They have lost a lot of their base.... You can see the frustration on cruisecritic every day.

 

I do not like this new program at all....some of the "improvements" has simply served to alienate some very high leven casino players.....but the way they launched it without any warning with such a small look back period, is really perplexing. The hours on hold and the mis-information is simp-ly the icing on the cake.

 

You can't t take a high roller who is used to getting comped balconies or suites and tell him that you are getting nothing because your last cruise on NCL was 14 months ago... We don't care that you spent 10,000 in the casino on that cruise....we wiped out your points at some arbitrary date and now you are the same as the person who brings $50.00 on the cruise to gamble the whole week.

 

That player is going to go to a different cruiseline....it is that simple.

[Pappion]

I decided to check again after posting here, and voila! The room was available again. I held it, and called in. 32 minutes and $300 later we are now in 10668. I'm told the aft balconies are worth it. Plus, booking through CAS instead of Harrah's we get the drink cards. I think I'm going to surprise DH and not tell him until we get there.

[confused123]

I decided to check again after posting here, and voila! The room was available again. I held it, and called in. 32 minutes and $300 later we are now in 10668. I'm told the aft balconies are worth it. Plus, booking through CAS instead of Harrah's we get the drink cards. I think I'm going to surprise DH and not tell him until we get there.

 

Yay for happy endings!!!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[satchiesmom]

Really dumb question from and NCL newbie, but what is CAS?

[confused123]

Really dumb question from and NCL newbie, but what is CAS?

 

Casino at Sea.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[kcwingwalker]

Really dumb question from and NCL newbie, but what is CAS?

 

CAS means Casinos at Sea see http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/casinos-at-sea/overview

 

Not a dumb question, I had to look it up the first time I saw it.

[Moxie86]

OP, I'm glad you were finally able to get the balcony you wanted!!

 

I was originally experiencing frustration with our "cruise consultant" but then I randly dialed another extension today and got a very nice lady, who listened to my frustrations. She sweetened the deal greatly, and now I couldn't be more happy with their amount of customer service!

[Always Cruising]

Congrats to Pappilon on the upgrade - I'm sailing aft for the first time in September...and looking forward to it. To Rochelle....the wait time for CAS isn't new - it's been ongoing since January of this year (if not before - that's the first time I've booked since 1999)...so it's not a temporary thing where they can call in stopgap people. They just don't seem to care a lot about the people booking thru CAS. I booked a suite 9 months out and wasn't able to take advantage of the onboard credit of $300 - because I upgraded (for almost $5000!) from my casino offer. But with all of this said, I'm sailing my 4th time in 6 months....loving the crew and staff...and the convenience of the NYC port. Just wishing the CAS program were a little more user friendly.

[garycarla]

If the company is having some type of issue that will cause higher than normal call volumes then bring in additional staff to handle the increase. Pay a few employees a little overtime to help alleviate the overload on the phone department. Add a message into the system that states there is a very high number of callers and asking that those that can call back another day please do so. ..

 

I have run a few call centers in my past life. It is not that easy to just "find" extra staff when things hit the fan. Sure, there are some things you can do to spread the load, but only so much. You need trained employees, phone systems, computers, etc etc.

 

All three times I tried today I did get a message saying they had heavy volume and wait time would be longer than normal.

[Pappion]

I understand call centers can get busy, I was just really frustrated that the cabin I wanted was snatched up while I waited. It worked out though. And to think, I started booking this trip happy with a balcony guarantee. Some people are never content (ha ha). Although from what I gather this has an extra large balcony so I think I'm done upgrading.

 

As far as CAS goes I asked about our status and points rolling over from our January cruise and was told we are both lucky and that our points will transfer but we have to ask. (It was the same freakin ship I hope they would have a record of it.) Too bad I didn't write down how many points we had after the last cruise so I will have no clue if its accurate or not. Oh well. Cabin I want, drink cards, and away from gloomy ol' Michigan for a week. I'll survive.:p

[Twelvevman]

I understand call centers can get busy, I was just really frustrated that the cabin I wanted was snatched up while I waited. It worked out though. And to think, I started booking this trip happy with a balcony guarantee. Some people are never content (ha ha). Although from what I gather this has an extra large balcony so I think I'm done upgrading.

 

As far as CAS goes I asked about our status and points rolling over from our January cruise and was told we are both lucky and that our points will transfer but we have to ask. (It was the same freakin ship I hope they would have a record of it.) Too bad I didn't write down how many points we had after the last cruise so I will have no clue if its accurate or not. Oh well. Cabin I want, drink cards, and away from gloomy ol' Michigan for a week. I'll survive.:p

 

 

Done upgrading? Come on. For my next cruise I started out in an Ocean View with the free upgrade to a hulled BD balcony. I am now booked into an aft Penthouse and hoping to be able to jump up to a 2 bedroom if the price becomes right. :D

[hpecorari]

I hate to say it , but you should have hung up and called back..

Keep an eye out, it may happen again.. ;)

 

Nope, does not work. It just takes them FOREVER to answer the phone unless you call first thing in the morning. Now, mind you, I'm talking about CAS. I know this because as I was on hold with my house phone I also called back with my cell phone. They answered my house phone in 42 min. and I was still on hold with my call phone.

 

I never heard of a company that makes people wait sooooooo long to spend their money, crazy!

 

Harriet

[lettienets]

If the company is having some type of issue that will cause higher than normal call volumes then bring in additional staff to handle the increase. .........

Hi Rochelle, how are you doing, planning another cruise. Maybe the phone lines are also busy changing dates for those booked on the Jade that got cancelled due to the ship charter to the Sochi Olympics. I was looking at booking the 21 day one too in late Jan. Now it is Jan 8 or Mar+....Haven't decided, may do a Costa Canary Is one instead. Sure enjoyed the Jade one in Feb this year. lettienets

[rochelle_s]

Hi Rochelle, how are you doing, planning another cruise. Maybe the phone lines are also busy changing dates for those booked on the Jade that got cancelled due to the ship charter to the Sochi Olympics. I was looking at booking the 21 day one too in late Jan. Now it is Jan 8 or Mar+....Haven't decided, may do a Costa Canary Is one instead. Sure enjoyed the Jade one in Feb this year. lettienets

 

Hi there..

 

We too very much enjoyed the Jade, it was a fabulous holiday. We are just doing a short 11 day cruise in the fall to the Caribbean on the Sun. I love Europe but my mom would like to go back to the Caribbean so off we go. This should be a more fun and relaxing cruise. Not as much of the history that I love but I am sure we will have a good time.

 

I feel bad for the people impacted by the cancelled cruises. From a business standpoint it makes sense though as it seemed like they were having difficulty filling the ship last year. Political unrest and a struggling economy will do that. I hope the cruise line does its best to makes it up to those people affected.

 

When you select a cruise will you be hoping to combine it with a transatlantic one again?

 

Rochelle

[franksandy]

LOL....I had to laugh at these posting...in the 80 and 90's when I was a Travel Agent...people asked what I do....I said I wait on hold all day...it was nothing to have to wait a hour or more for any cruise line or airline to answer the phone...I would make calls from home early morning to call the Florida as the wait was usually quicker early in the morning.