Just off Freedom May 10 - 17th, Diamond and probably our last RCCL cruise.

[ryano]

Is this the same hotel director that told Robyn that they got rid of the cushions fleet wide and then the ship docked at a port next to Navigator and, what do you know, the loungers on the balconies had cushions?

 

Yes I do believe so. And most certainly the same Hotel Director that said Dynamic Dining was DEFINITELY coming to Freedom during her dry dock. :rolleyes:

[John&LaLa]

I don't expect anything I write here to be taken as gospel any more than I would give that level of credence to anyone here that I don't know. Feel free to disregard anything I write on these boards if you feel I post unhelpful information.

 

If you want you can read post #39 on this thread. It is a recent one that I can still remember.....

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2206241&page=2

 

never said i did not value your opinion, i just was taken aback by your snarly comment. BTW, your reference points out what i said, in my opinion. the poster you refer to has a total of 80 posts, and as another poster mentioned most are just feel good fluff. in my opinion, tRoyal does not have the manpower or desire to monitor the thousands of threads out here in CC world. but like i said, that is just my opinion. safe travels

[Ocean Boy]

never said i did not value your opinion, i just was taken aback by your snarly comment. BTW, your reference points out what i said, in my opinion. the poster you refer to has a total of 80 posts, and as another poster mentioned most are just feel good fluff. in my opinion, tRoyal does not have the manpower or desire to monitor the thousands of threads out here in CC world. but like i said, that is just my opinion. safe travels

 

That's funny as that was how I took your comment. I guess sometimes we just misinterpret the intent of what is written around here. Safe travels to you also.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Ocean Boy

[John&LaLa]

That's funny as that was how I took your comment. I guess sometimes we just misinterpret the intent of what is written around here. Safe travels to you also.

 

I blame it on smartphone. ;)

[alfaeric]

So what SHOULD they have written? What answer in a letter would have made you feel better?

 

Especially if you belive that nobody got the feedback that the letter says it will do- which implies that nothing they say will get done.

 

Noting that, what could they have written?

 

And I'm not saying that as if there's nothing that could be done, I'm asking WHAT SHOULD THEY HAVE WRITTEN? What response to the letter would be correct?

 

I'm still wondering what the reply should have looked like which would have satisfied the intent of sending a letter in the first place.

 

Not replying seems to be a worse option. So what could an official at Royal Caribbean written to make one satisfied?

 

What would satisfy the needs?

[John&LaLa]

I'm still wondering what the reply should have looked like which would have satisfied the intent of sending a letter in the first place.

 

Not replying seems to be a worse option. So what could an official at Royal Caribbean written to make one satisfied?

 

What would satisfy the needs?

 

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one

[lv2bcruzin]

It seems many are surprised at the difference in service between cruises on the same ship. For those of you who have done B2Bs you can probably attest to the difference in many things from the first to the second cruise and so on. I know we can. Pax are different, service can be different, experience can be different. On our last B2B it seemed the entire staff was different. It appeared the only exception was the Diamond Lounge concierge. That was the same person. All the bars had different bartenders, the servers in the specialty restaurants had many new faces along with staff pool side and in the promenade.

Edited May 27, 2015 by lv2bcruzin

[Creepella]

I'm still wondering what the reply should have looked like which would have satisfied the intent of sending a letter in the first place.

 

Not replying seems to be a worse option. So what could an official at Royal Caribbean written to make one satisfied?

 

What would satisfy the needs?

 

If it had been my letter, I would have been satisfied with an acknowledgement that there is a problem (We are sorry that our cutbacks in staffing affected your cruise experience negatively) and an outline of concrete steps (We are in the process of hiring more bar staff) that would be taken to rectify it.

[Ocean Boy]

If it had been my letter, I would have been satisfied with an acknowledgement that there is a problem (We are sorry that our cutbacks in staffing affected your cruise experience negatively) and an outline of concrete steps (We are in the process of hiring more bar staff) that would be taken to rectify it.

 

Unless, of course, they have no plans to hire more staff. At least the response was not patronizing. RCI admitted that they have raised prices and acknowledged the OP's concerns. Maybe RCI is presently not sure what steps, if any, they are going to take. I think their response was much better than either not responding at all or promising a solution that they have no intention of implementing.

[Creepella]

Unless, of course, they have no plans to hire more staff. At least the response was not patronizing. RCI admitted that they have raised prices and acknowledged the OP's concerns. Maybe RCI is presently not sure what steps, if any, they are going to take. I think their response was much better than either not responding at all or promising a solution that they have no intention of implementing.

 

Yes, but what would make me happy would be them implementing that plan. ;)

[John&LaLa]

It seems many are surprised at the difference in service between cruises on the same ship. For those of you who have done B2Bs you can probably attest to the difference in many things from the first to the second cruise and so on. I know we can. Pax are different, service can be different, experience can be different. On our last B2B it seemed the entire staff was different. It appeared the only exception was the Diamond Lounge concierge. That was the same person. All the bars had different bartenders, the servers in the specialty restaurants had many new faces along with staff pool side and in the promenade.

 

I have not experienced that much staff reassignment. My wife will do B2B2B and I will join for third week. She often introduces me to the staff she has gotten to know on the first two weeks. Mainly bartenders and casino dealers. :p

[TC1957]

I'm still wondering what the reply should have looked like which would have satisfied the intent of sending a letter in the first place.

 

Not replying seems to be a worse option. So what could an official at Royal Caribbean written to make one satisfied?

 

What would satisfy the needs?

 

Man..you will not let that go will you.

 

The first issue seems to be our different definitions of a form letter. To you that means EVERYONE that complains gets the same letter. In both of the very large companies I have worked that is not the definition we used. Maybe a template letter with canned comments would be more accurate in your world.

 

Keep in mind, I never said only 1% of Senior Management was seeing the letters. I said that about 1% of passengers take the time to actually write in about their complaints. There is a HUGE difference in the two. I also said that, in my opinion, nothing that could have been written would satisfy the OP as they apparently have already decided to leave for another line. You MAY be correct in that no reply would have been worse. Many complainers (especially those that have decided to leave) would not notice if no reply was sent or would chalk it up as more evidence "they don't care and I am right to leave."

 

I have managed customer service (but never will again...it's a no win situation far too often). We had templates that the letter clearly mirrors.

 

The first paragraph states; "Mr. Bayley received your email and asked me to respond on his behalf." This is probably true because the VP over customer services email on our web site was actually directed to the CS reps on a rotating basis. While his "inbox" was hit, he NEVER saw the actual email. However, the instruction were for the department to reply to the customer. Technically correct but very similar to the first sentence on every response we sent...and you always thank the customer. Even if you don't really mean it, many will think you do and that is a plus.

 

The next two paragraphs appear to directly address the complaints. I say appear because we had a program that required the reps to log the complaints with important details (size of order, nature of complaint(s), repeat customer, etc.). If a customer complained about X and Y...the system generated letter plugged in paragraphs A and B that gave the company talking points on both complaints. In this example the customer complained about bar service so the typical company spin "...the interaction between our staff and guests is an important part of the overall cruise experience. Every employee is expected to offer a high level of service...". That sounds like a canned response.

 

My position is that in the VAST majority of cases, there is no way to satisfy an unhappy customer. Even if the situation is conducive to offering something of value (say OBC, a future discount, etc.) the unhappy customer rarely feels it is sufficient. That doesn't mean you don't make a half-hearted attempt.

 

Lastly, in my experience the supervisor (manager) of customer service usually looks for trends in the complaints...be it a pricing, attitude of sales staff, on-time delivery, geographic, etc.). If something sticks out they try to address it. If they do not get the desired results they get their superior involved. If it remains a problem it moves up the ladder again. The result is that a small percentage of complaints are seen by anyone that could be considered management. A small percentage of those are seen by senior management. So, if even 10% of customers complain you might have 5% of those complaints reach management...and maybe 5% of those get to the next level.

[alfaeric]

Man..you will not let that go will you.

 

The first issue seems to be our different definitions of a form letter. To you that means EVERYONE that complains gets the same letter. In both of the very large companies I have worked that is not the definition we used. Maybe a template letter with canned comments would be more accurate in your world.

 

Keep in mind, I never said only 1% of Senior Management was seeing the letters. I said that about 1% of passengers take the time to actually write in about their complaints. There is a HUGE difference in the two. I also said that, in my opinion, nothing that could have been written would satisfy the OP as they apparently have already decided to leave for another line. You MAY be correct in that no reply would have been worse. Many complainers (especially those that have decided to leave) would not notice if no reply was sent or would chalk it up as more evidence "they don't care and I am right to leave."

 

I have managed customer service (but never will again...it's a no win situation far too often). We had templates that the letter clearly mirrors.

 

The first paragraph states; "Mr. Bayley received your email and asked me to respond on his behalf." This is probably true because the VP over customer services email on our web site was actually directed to the CS reps on a rotating basis. While his "inbox" was hit, he NEVER saw the actual email. However, the instruction were for the department to reply to the customer. Technically correct but very similar to the first sentence on every response we sent...and you always thank the customer. Even if you don't really mean it, many will think you do and that is a plus.

 

The next two paragraphs appear to directly address the complaints. I say appear because we had a program that required the reps to log the complaints with important details (size of order, nature of complaint(s), repeat customer, etc.). If a customer complained about X and Y...the system generated letter plugged in paragraphs A and B that gave the company talking points on both complaints. In this example the customer complained about bar service so the typical company spin "...the interaction between our staff and guests is an important part of the overall cruise experience. Every employee is expected to offer a high level of service...". That sounds like a canned response.

 

My position is that in the VAST majority of cases, there is no way to satisfy an unhappy customer. Even if the situation is conducive to offering something of value (say OBC, a future discount, etc.) the unhappy customer rarely feels it is sufficient. That doesn't mean you don't make a half-hearted attempt.

 

Lastly, in my experience the supervisor (manager) of customer service usually looks for trends in the complaints...be it a pricing, attitude of sales staff, on-time delivery, geographic, etc.). If something sticks out they try to address it. If they do not get the desired results they get their superior involved. If it remains a problem it moves up the ladder again. The result is that a small percentage of complaints are seen by anyone that could be considered management. A small percentage of those are seen by senior management. So, if even 10% of customers complain you might have 5% of those complaints reach management...and maybe 5% of those get to the next level.

 

Nope, I wont.

 

Why? Because you still don't tell me what you want to read.

 

I stand corrected about the 1% part, but other than that, you point out why the reply wasn't good.

 

That's not what I'm asking. What would make a good reply?

 

From your experience in customer service, it seems as if you could write the letter that would satisfy you. What would it say?

 

Nice to see an explanation why you see it as a canned response, and why you think the writer didn't see the complaint. We can agree to disagree on that- but that's not what I'm asking.

 

Pretend you are the customer service manager for a complaint about service and the cost of drinks. Write the appropriate reply. From your apparent background, that should be an easy reply.

[lv2bcruzin]

I have not experienced that much staff reassignment. My wife will do B2B2B and I will join for third week. She often introduces me to the staff she has gotten to know on the first two weeks. Mainly bartenders and casino dealers. :p

As always with cruising... YMMV

[TC1957]

Nope, I wont.

 

Why? Because you still don't tell me what you want to read.

 

I stand corrected about the 1% part, but other than that, you point out why the reply wasn't good.

 

That's not what I'm asking. What would make a good reply?

 

From your experience in customer service, it seems as if you could write the letter that would satisfy you. What would it say?

 

Nice to see an explanation why you see it as a canned response, and why you think the writer didn't see the complaint. We can agree to disagree on that- but that's not what I'm asking.

 

Pretend you are the customer service manager for a complaint about service and the cost of drinks. Write the appropriate reply. From your apparent background, that should be an easy reply.

 

 

DUDE...COMPREHEND WHAT YOU READ!!!

 

A reply can be good and be a canned reply.

 

Why is that so hard for you to understand?

 

 

I am not going to take the time to make up a response that serves no purpose. I think the letter is canned...a cookie cutter response...form letter...whatever you want to call it...and well written. The fact that you do not understand that is your problem.

[ryano]

 

 

DUDE...COMPREHEND WHAT YOU READ!!!

 

A reply can be good and be a canned reply.

 

Why is that so hard for you to understand?

 

 

I am not going to take the time to make up a response that serves no purpose. I think the letter is canned...a cookie cutter response...form letter...whatever you want to call it...and well written. The fact that you do not understand that is your problem.

 

FWIW, I agree 100%

[lv2bcruzin]

Very dramatic in here.... I think everyone needs to book a cruise! :D

[Big_G]

Man..you will not let that go will you.

 

 

Alfaeric is posing a legitimate question and I'm also curious as to what the OP would find as a satisfactory response. Your responses don't seem to address that question. I was kind of surprised that an acknowledgement and apology was dismissed as, 'they don't care.' :confused:

 

As for the your above comment, pot calling kettle maybe? :D

Edited May 27, 2015 by Big_G

[John&LaLa]

Very dramatic in here.... I think everyone needs to book a cruise! :D

 

Freedom in 28 days

[7leagueboots]

[quote name='spammie']These are just some of my thoughts and opinions and yours might differ. We just got home last night from the May 10th - 17th Western cruise on Freedom. Freedom has always been our favorite RCCL ship and holds a lot of wonderful, lifelong memories for us.

First the new cruise terminal is wonderful. From curbside to being handed a glass of champagne (Mother's Day and only for the women guests) took a total of 30 minutes. It's always nice to step back onto a ship that you are familiar with.

There were LOTS of children on this sailing. I was surprised as I thought they would still be in school. I remember in the past having lots of bar servers trying to sell you drinks at the pool and outside the Windjammer. None were to be seen. On sea days there were only one or two walking the decks asking people if they wanted bar service. We made our way to the Sky Bar for our first official "we are on vacation" drink. There was only one bartender and he was so painfully slow, uninterested in being there and non-friendly. You certainly didn't get the "lets get this party started" vibe.

Uninterested, slow and non-friendly is how I would say most of the bartenders were. I get a sense that the drink packages are cutting into the bartenders serving the drinks because I rarely saw anyone handing them cash money like we always do and have seen a lot of guests do in the past. My husband only drinks Black Russians. Last cruise this drink including gratuity was under $7, this cruise with the added gratuity and price increase was almost $13. We bought four drinks the entire cruise and used the Diamond Coupons in the evening, the Diamond Lounge, my wine I brought on board and some rum runners.

The friendly, outgoing vibe across the ship seems to have disappeared. The crew members don't go out of their way to say hi and when you go to ask anyone anything it seems to be a bother for them to assist you.

We have never had a bad cruise but this certainly was not a favorite. We will most likely stick to Celebrity when their ships are in the caribbean and for our other cruises we are going to investigate other cruise lines. I would rate this cruise a 5 out of 10.

Disembarking the ship was fast but once in the terminal it took 40 minutes to get through immigration.[/QUOTE]

Sorry about your cruise. I have heard similar suggestions that the drink packages are not a favorite among the bartenders.

[nimbex1970]

[quote name='trev71']When you say this, It was not true for the Adventure last week and I had no problem finding a server to order a drink and no I never had the drink package either. I did notice the prices of drinks have skyrocketed . They did have some drinks from the 8$ menu which good and reasonably priced[/QUOTE]


So strange how different experiences are:eek: I sailed the Adventure May9th and bar service on the outside decks was non-existent with the exception of the white party. We had rain for the sail away, so can't comment on that.

I had the drink package, had phenomenal service at the casino, the main bar on deck four with servers. On the main pool deck, I had excellent service when my butt went to the pool bar myself, but barely waited and had good service... "hello Carol, molson?" So I can't really complain, but I didn't like the change in retrieving my own alcohol:D.

[alfaeric]

[quote name='TC1957'][COLOR="Green"][/COLOR]


DUDE...COMPREHEND WHAT YOU READ!!!

[COLOR="Blue"][SIZE="3"][B]A reply can be good and be a canned reply. [/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[B][COLOR="Red"][SIZE="7"]Why is that so hard for you to understand?[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]


I am not going to take the time to make up a response that serves no purpose. I think the letter is canned...a cookie cutter response...form letter...whatever you want to call it...and well written. [B][U]The fact that you do not understand that is your problem.[/U][/B][/QUOTE]

Geez, all I'm asking is what the letter should have in it for it to make you satisfied. That's it. I'm not the one with a comprehension problem, I must point out. I'm not asking to debate the letter that was sent by RCCL.

Your posts tell me that you are not satisfied with the reply, nor is the original poster. What should the letter say to make you happy.

Why is that question so hard to answer?

The OP says that they don't care- so I wonder what can be written that it would not make them think that they don't care.

I'm not debating the reply, I'm ASKING what you want the reply to be.

It's quite interesting that a customer service manager can't put together a simple letter that would make themselves happy. Seems such an easy thing to do for a professional like yourself. That, and you seem to get upset easy at a simple request. Interesting reply from customer service, I must say.

[TC1957]

[quote name='alfaeric']Geez, all I'm asking is what the letter should have in it for it to make you satisfied. That's it. I'm not the one with a comprehension problem, I must point out. I'm not asking to debate the letter that was sent by RCCL.

Your posts tell me that you are not satisfied with the reply, nor is the original poster. What should the letter say to make you happy.

Why is that question so hard to answer?

The OP says that they don't care- so I wonder what can be written that it would not make them think that they don't care.

I'm not debating the reply, I'm ASKING what you want the reply to be.

It's quite interesting that a customer service manager can't put together a simple letter that would make themselves happy. Seems such an easy thing to do for a professional like yourself. That, and you seem to get upset easy at a simple request. Interesting reply from customer service, I must say.[/QUOTE]

I tell you what. You go back and find in any of my post in this thread where I said I was unhappy on not satisfied with the letter and I will consider your request.

I did say I thought the letter was a form letter (canned response if you like that better) and I said that [B]IF[/B] it were me and [B]IF[/B] I had already decided to change cruise lines there is nothing they could say that would make me change my mind. I think I even said that when a customer feels the way the OP does (or appears to given his comments) there really is no incentive for the company to do more than make a token effort. Rarely have I come across anyone who has written a complaint letter and receive a response that satisfies them and turns an issue around after the fact. It can be easy to save a customer while the problem is occurring, but after the fact...not so much.

That is not the same as being dissatisfied. I freely admit that I am not like some on here that have an almost orgasmic reaction to anything said by RCI. I also absolutely believe that RCI was in a no-win situation related to the letter. No response would be viewed as uncaring and any response, short of offering real changes in a specific time frame, comes across just like the letter did for me. Nothing more than company speak, shot off by a first line rep with a fancy sounding title so people think someone who actually has influence is addressing their concerns in a hope that maybe it will be seen as real concern and the writer might change their mind and purchase another cruise when they "cool off".

I rarely (read that as two times in my entire life) have written a letter of complaint after the fact. I will address it at the time and do not hesitate to move up the food change if I think I am being stonewalled. I also am not opposed to making a scene with other customers present...that is an extremely effective way to get them to really listen and try to make things right.

[alfaeric]

[quote name='TC1957']Let's all admit that the response received was really just a form letter. I could have written it myself. We can also admit that they will do very little (if anything) as a result of getting the letter...because there is nothing that can be done. I would even be willing to bet a meaningful sum of money that [B]NOBODY[/B] other than the staff person that wrote the response even know the letter exist.
[/quote]

By saying it's a form letter, and that nobody other than the staff person who wrote the response even know's the letter exists- how did you intend for readers to see that as a positive response to the letter?

The start says that the letter is dismissive, since it's a form letter, the end says that nobody is reading it. Put together, that sure *seems* like it's a negative response.

That's how I'm reading it.

In the middle, you also point out that you could write it. And that you think nothing will be done.

Put those middle parts in, seems to make it more negative (note- when you wrote this reply- there was no reference to you being in customer service- so the implication was that anyone could write this).

The OP says that the reply is blowing them off.

I'm tyring to figure out what can be written so that a customer like that isn't feeling like they are being blown off via a form letter that nobody else is going to read.

That's it.

This isn't a personal challenge. No need to raise your voice via all caps or telling me off. Edited May 28, 2015 by alfaeric