Terrible customer service with RCL when booking first cruise

[Paul65]

I was prepared for the differences between RCI and Disney. I was actually looking forward to trying something new but this issue really burned them for me - all over a deposit issue that could have been easily corrected. It wasn't like they weren't getting the same amount at the final payment date

 

That seems to be what makes it a "terrible" customer service experience - your assumption that this deposit issue could have been easily corrected. It definitely sounds like a glitch in their reservation system that allowed you to book in the first place with a reduced deposit, but that doesn't mean that it's necessarily easy for the customer service employees to override the reservation system and let your reduced deposit stand.

 

It sounds like you got some people who were trying to help you out, but they were not able to do what you thought should be easy.

 

I do think it's a negative with RCI that their IT systems can be rather glitchy, but it doesn't sound like the customer service was rude or anything like that. They just weren't able the resolve it for you the way you wanted it resolved.

 

It also could have been resolved earlier on your end. It wasn't like you weren't going to have to pay the other $250 eventually, anyway.

[Paul65]

By the way, in the end, the person was trying to do what she could to help you out, and was going to attach a note to your reservation to try to make sure the revenue department didn't cancel it. The question of when you were going to send the rest in, which appears to have been your "last straw" was probably just so that she could be specific in the note that she attached.

[cheezwiz]

Don't knock the OP for posting about this. RCCL ought to be embarrassed about these continuing customer service foul-ups. Sure, experienced RCCL cruisers are familiar with the issues and in general know how to work through them to get to a vacation they find satisfactory, but that doesn't mean Royal shouldn't be called out on these shortcomings.

 

I went through the same deposit malarkey the last couple of days, as did another family member. In the end, after a couple of calls to C&A each, we both wound up with our answers. However, the answers were the complete opposite of each other. I was told to pay more, he was told not to worry about it. I forked over the extra $, he didn't. We just transferred both bookings to our favorite TA to take it from here.

 

I find RCCL gives me a satisfactory cruise; nothing to rant about (yet) but nothing to rave about either (unlike in the past.) I can deal with the speedbumps and potholes along the way and still enjoy myself. However, if as a brand new prospective customer I'd had the OP's experience, I'd probably look elsewhere.

Edited March 10, 2016 by cheezwiz

[BILL-WI]

i just had a really bad customer service experience with RCL that totally made me rethink cruising with them....

 

To the OP...

 

Before you jump ship (pun intended)

 

If you booked a few nights ago when the new itineraries (winter 2017/18) were first released there were a couple of issues with the web site. (nothing unusual for us Royal regulars)

1. On many cabins there was a possible pricing error/good deal that was correct about 18 hours later. If you booked one of those cabins, you got a very SWEET deal. The price is now about $1000.00 HIGHER for the same cabin, so check your price before you cancel.

2. I do understand your frustration, as a frequent cruiser I know it goes with the territory with ALL cruise lines (at one time or another), but I would gladly pay and extra $250.00 deposit to save $1,000 REAL dollars.

3. So check your price before you jump.

 

Hope this helps you!:):)

 

BILL

[cheezwiz]

BILL-WI

Good advice and nicely put!

[Hotel CA]

I am sorry you have run into the RCCL Propeller (website-- is invisible until you walk into it!) RCCL has a good product and runs a smart cruise but unlike Disney, it has virtually no customer facing IT capability-- their internal systems are bereft of any real functionality.

 

If this were a competition for excellence online-- RCCL would be bankrupt but fortunately it is much more than that.

 

You may want to take some previous advice and use a Travel Agent who knows the ins and outs and quirkiness of RCCL and give the product a shot-- you may end up being very surprised that such an inept online entity can pull off such a great and complicated event like a cruise-- but really they can and often do.

 

I hope you give RCCL a shot-- you may well be pleasantly surprised (although not by the technical capabilities of their IT department and systems group)

Edited March 10, 2016 by Hotel CA

[TeeRick]

If this helps, in my experience the reduced deposit frequently shows up on my cruise reservation as money owed - typically stays that way until final payment. I have learned to live with this and it has never been an issue. To get around this web site glitch the more knowledgeable customer service staff know how to deal with it and they just add a note to the reservation. That is what they suggested to the OP. I have never lost a cruise reservation doing this. I always have them email me a copy for my records.

[Biker19]

So, whats' worse: RCI's IT system that allows glitches like this or RCI's system not allowing front line reps to fix this to the customer's satisfaction?

[cheezwiz]

So, whats' worse: RCI's IT system that allows glitches like this or RCI's system not allowing front line reps to fix this to the customer's satisfaction?

 

I think not allowing the reps to fix it looks worse - it really gives a bad impression, especially when they have to valiantly attempt to explain it away to a customer who knows they're being fed hogwash.

 

However, there may be internal control issues involved. Sometimes IT systems are quite clumsy about what levels of authority they allow, so there's not much middle ground between "no power at all" and "free to give away the store." I don't know if this is the case, but based on my career experience, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

ETA: I also think it's an "expectations issue." Most of us are not all that surprised at "computer problems" of whatever sort. But we expect & are pretty much used to calling an 800 number and having someone say, "Oh yes, I see that...I'll take care of it." It's when the answer is something other than that you see people get really annoyed.

Edited March 10, 2016 by cheezwiz

[nelblu]

i just had a really bad customer service experience with RCL that totally made me rethink cruising with them.

I am a long time DCL cruiser - platinum level - but with the recent high prices, I decided to look at other cruise lines. I've been checking out RCL and their recent schedule and decided to try them out.

 

Last night I booked a cruise for Feb 2018 (kinda of a planner ). I went thru the entire booking process and paid the deposit. It displayed a deposit of $250 so that is what I paid. I received an email a little bit later to create an account to manage the reservation. I set that all up. Once I logged in , I noticed that it said I still owed $250. I thought maybe what I had just paid hadn't posted to their system yet. They did have a promotion that ended yesterday that offered 1/2 deposit on some cruises. My cruise didn't indicate if it was in the promotion or not but since it came up wth the 250 deposit I figured it was.

 

I logged in this morning to see if it was displaying correctly. It still showed I owed the 250. I called RCL and explained the issue. He said that apparently my cruise didn't fall under the promotion. I'm like then why did the website offer the 250 deposit. He acted it was my fault and said if I didn't want the cruise to auto cancel then I needed to pay the rest. I asked to speak to his supervisor

 

I waited about 10 minutes and I talked to another person and explained the situation. She said that my cruise apparently didn't fall under the promotion. I'm like then why was I offered the 1/2 deposit. I would not have arbitrarily decided to pay 1/2 if I knew it was 500. I asked if there was any way to honor what their own site provided. She took my email and said she could see what she could do but no promises.

 

Couple hours later I received an email from her, the revenue team could not add the promotion back on my cruise since it ended last night (reason I booked). Only thing she could do was place a note on my account to not cancel and hope the payment team didn't cancel due to deposit not fully paid. Then she wanted to know when I was sending the 250. I'm like when final payment is due. That one question sealed the deal of not keeping this reservation. The entire phone call was about that issue so why ask when it's the reason I called in the first place.

 

This whole CS experience left a really bitter taste in my mouth. I told her that I was a long time cruiser on another line but we wanted to give RCL a try. This was not a good first impression. We decided to just cancel the cruise instead of dealing with the hassle. If this was the level of customer service we received on the phone, hate to see what we get on the ship.

 

Did you get an e-mail/invoice from the agent confirming all of the details. Sometimes, what you see on the account is the normal deposit requirements. This happens to me and I ignore what is on my account, as I have proof of all of the cruise details.

[BecciBoo]

Might just be a matter of inexperience with this line.

 

I always get the half price deposit on every booking and I have had over 20!

 

If you book the cruise with just one person, adding your significant other later you don't need $500 deposit. I wait until I am ready to send another payment to add my DH, usually in a couple months. And I have alerted reps to that fact, they know all about it.

 

As Merion's Mom said, some of the phone reps are not as knowledgeable as others, but I don't let things like that bother me. If you got a confirmation sheet email, it should be your proof of booking and show the promotional half deposit. Did you check that?

 

You should come here to ask before you deal with them anyway...educate yourself:) I just can't afford Disney prices...just checked on a Caribbean cruise whose inside price is twice what we paid for our hump balcony coming up...just can't do it. I could've gotten a suite on RCCL for that price.

 

Sorry you didn't hang in there and go, I'm sure you'd be pleasantly surprised once on the ship.:D

 

HA...you beat me to it Nelbu

Edited March 10, 2016 by BecciBoo

[yuvraj]

I had a few problems when I booked direct and online. Lesson learnt. Use a travel agent in future as I have done in the past.

 

Customer service regarding booking is not a reflection of the experience on the cruise ship itself. On the whole it is very good and the reason why I have sailed with them regularly over 30 yrs.

 

I would also say that the embarkation process is usually well managed compared to other cruise lines I have sailed with. It does depend on the port. Most of my sailings have been from Europe.

[jagsfan]

Funny thing, it's been a standing joke among some of us who also cruise on Princess that if you can past the sometimes awful customer service and phone reps you will have a wonderful cruise. It's not an RCCL problem, it's any large call center.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[blackshirt]

To the OP...

 

Before you jump ship (pun intended)

 

 

Unfortunately, I think your advice is too late. In the last paragraph of the OP's post, he noted "We decided to just cancel the cruise instead of dealing with the hassle.", the "we" being he and the last phone rep he was talking to.

 

The sad thing is had he checked on Cruise Critic first, he'd have found he could have ignored that notice about needing additional deposit and would not have needed to call.

 

If he does go back and finds out he had one of those sweet deals, he'll be an even more unhappy camper :)

Edited March 10, 2016 by blackshirt

[TigerLady]

Try going through a travel agent who will work with rci so you don't have to deal with them.

 

And by using a TA, you lose all control of your reservation. I'll continue to book my own. I am sorry you got a bad customer service agent, who didn't do his job as required. However, those are a dime a dozen. They are at every cruise line, or retail business. Good luck finding a cruise you will be happy with.. In the end, that is all that matters.

[RosebudA]

We too had this exact same problem. I called to confirm, after double checking that the sale we'd repriced our cruise had half price deposit, and the person on the phone said not to worry about it. My husband panicked and paid the difference which was $500 for us since we're a cabin of four. I was only partially annoyed with him for not listening to me, since we'd be paying it anyway, but I get it leaving a bad taste in your mouth. This is our first cruise with RCI, we've sailed DCL and NCL before, and we've never had a problem with booking on line. We're looking at it as a glitch and fully intend to enjoy our time on Freedom this summer. A day on a cruise is better than a day at work!

[Cuizer2]

Many of us booked cruises online two nights ago and found that the website only asked for half the usual deposit.

 

I called up today and "topped up" the deposit.

 

To me, it was no big deal.

 

I would rather pay a standard deposit than lose my VERY advantageous cruise fare.

 

As you yourself said, Kymgfan717, you would have to pay the amount ultimately anyway.

 

I just don't see what the big fuss is.

 

While I agree with everything you said, the fuss is the poor customer service.

[ken_nyc]

When I booked my Harmony cruise we only had to pay half deposit $250, but when I logged in and looked at my cruises it showed it is suppose to be $500 so I called and the CSR told me that it doesn't get reflected in your cruises. The same type of thing happened with Dynamic Dinning which was eliminated on the Harmony and was changed to MTD, it still shows under my cruise but they had to manually add it at the end of th DD info.

[Cuizer2]

I am sorry you have run into the RCCL Propeller (website-- is invisible until you walk into it!) RCCL has a good product and runs a smart cruise but unlike Disney, it has virtually no customer facing IT capability-- their internal systems are bereft of any real functionality.

 

If this were a competition for excellence online-- RCCL would be bankrupt but fortunately it is much more than that.

 

You may want to take some previous advice and use a Travel Agent who knows the ins and outs and quirkiness of RCCL and give the product a shot-- you may end up being very surprised that such an inept online entity can pull off such a great and complicated event like a cruise-- but really they can and often do.

 

I hope you give RCCL a shot-- you may well be pleasantly surprised (although not by the technical capabilities of their IT department and systems group)

 

I have to agree with your post. Unlike the OP I am an experienced Royal Caribbean cruiser. I'm D+. Also, unlike the the OP I use a travel agent, so I do not deal with Royal Caribbean's customer disservice.

 

However, Royal Caribbean has also rubbed me the wrong way with some of the games it is pulling. For example increasing the price 45% then have a 30% off sale. Quote me a price of about $3,900 on the website (I had the print out when I booked on the ship), then book me for $4,900 on the ship. This I was assured was the best deal I could get. After the two week cruise I called my travel agent and got the $3,900 price that was still showing on the website.

 

So my next cruise with Royal Caribbean will be my last for awhile while I check out some of the other lines. My next two cruises are with NCL and Princess (both of which I have cruises on before). After than most likely I'll book with NCL again or with HAL.

 

Will I come back to Royal Caribbean in the future? Yes, but now seems like a good time to see what the other cruise lines are up to.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Cuizer2

[Cuizer2]

So, whats' worse: RCI's IT system that allows glitches like this or RCI's system not allowing front line reps to fix this to the customer's satisfaction?

 

That which is in red is far worse. Making a mistake is one thing. Not allowing anyone to fix that mistake is much worse.

[Cuizer2]

Might just be a matter of inexperience with this line.

 

I always get the half price deposit on every booking and I have had over 20!

 

If you book the cruise with just one person, adding your significant other later you don't need $500 deposit. I wait until I am ready to send another payment to add my DH, usually in a couple months. And I have alerted reps to that fact, they know all about it.

 

As Merion's Mom said, some of the phone reps are not as knowledgeable as others, but I don't let things like that bother me. If you got a confirmation sheet email, it should be your proof of booking and show the promotional half deposit. Did you check that?

 

You should come here to ask before you deal with them anyway...educate yourself:) I just can't afford Disney prices...just checked on a Caribbean cruise whose inside price is twice what we paid for our hump balcony coming up...just can't do it. I could've gotten a suite on RCCL for that price.

 

Sorry you didn't hang in there and go, I'm sure you'd be pleasantly surprised once on the ship.:D

 

HA...you beat me to it Nelbu

 

You are admitting that Royal Caribbean makes mistakes and then suggesting the customer should educate themselves so that they learn how to get around Royal Caribbean's mistakes.

 

Well, why doesn't Royal Caribbean fix the issue and stop making the mistakes in the first place, or if a mistake is made, own up to it and give the customer service reps the tools they need to fix the mistake.

 

It is extremely poor customer service to expect the customer to fix your mistakes.

[Cuizer2]

And by using a TA, you lose all control of your reservation.

 

That is not true at all. I use a TA and I still have total control of my reservation. If I want something changed my TA takes care of it for me and sends me the proof that it was taken care of. Meanwhile I don't have to sit on hold or argue with customer service reps who have never set foot on a ship, don't know the difference between muster and mustard and don't know how to do their job, or are not given the tools to do their job.

[BecciBoo]

Thank God for that Ignore button:cool:

[cheezwiz]

You should come here to ask before you deal with them anyway...educate yourself:)

 

This raises some obvious questions:

 

WHAT should someone come here to ask? "I want to book a cruise on Royal Caribbean, so what screw-ups should I expect?"

 

Why should a global company with 2015 net income of $665 million expect its customers to rely on a completely unrelated message board to act as its help desk?

 

"Educate yourself" is simply blaming the customer for Royal's problems, when the fact is that Royal needs to address its IT & CS issues.

[Big_G]

But if the OP had just said to himself, ok, my booking wasn't eligible for half-price deposits, I'll pay the whole thing, there would have been no need for ongoing CSR involvement. It would have been over.

 

I'm with you on this one. I guess I'm a little too laid back to get in a pissing contest over a 50 percent deposit. It's a deposit. I also understand why Royal or any other line wouldn't bestow upon their front line people the authority to make changes like that. They're not hiring rocket surgeons. :eek: