Unable to get thru to CELEBRITY…….

[upwarduk]

21 hours ago, matthewarkin said:

I have a cruise on Friday and still no e-docs...

Contact via Social Media.  Very quick replies in UK.

[matthewarkin]

1 hour ago, upwarduk said:

Contact via Social Media.  Very quick replies in UK.

I finally got through today, apparently they were missing an email address on file so they couldn't send them... All sorted out, now time to get packing

[DiamondDiva]

Last 2 days I have tried two different numbers I have used before.  More than an hour wait each time and then disconnected. Going to try others noted here tomorrow. 

 

Does anyone know if there is a certain number to use if this is in regard to a "booked on board" cruise?

Thanks for any help.

[AidenL]

I emailed Celebrity 3 weeks ago, still no reply.

[AidenL]

8 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Contact via Social Media.  Very quick replies in UK.

I have had no response on Twitter, over a week now.

[gobblegobbletilluwobble]

I called Captain's Club Assistance number yesterday afternoon at 2:57 pm Pacific time. The hold time was exactly one hour.

[Want2Cruise 701]

Celebrity has outsourced the call center reps to the Caribbean. If you call in the evening, you can hear the tree frogs in the background 😂. I’m being totally serious when I say this. I thought when I spoke to two different people I could hear that distinct sound, and when I asked one person where she was located, she told me the Caribbean. I didn’t ask where though. 
 

Definitely cost saving measures there. Whether they are having difficulties finding help here who knows 🤷‍♀️.  
 

My biggest issue with this was that they were very inexperienced with the brand and policies. I was told that I was losing my OBB OBC because I was changing my reservation. They also didn’t know that the OBC increases or decreases depending on length of sailing and cabin type. I was also told that I couldn’t have the new price or cabin I put on a courtesy hold applied to my reservation because it currently wasn’t in inventory. 
 

Hopefully things will improve in time. I miss when the Captains Club could actually help you with your reservation and not just general questions like nowadays. Now the captains club transfers you to a regular person. It’s been a few years since they we’re actually able to do this. I always knew their names too. I remember Amanda at the captains club used to be super helpful with any of my reservation needs. 

[Oceangoer2]

It seems generally calling the CS number results in long wait times.  It helps to have a designated planner.  We communicate via email and always answers within the day, settles my query and/or applies price deductions/cabin changes, etc.  She MAY work from home as my email responses are generally after 9-10pm.  Very very busy and knowledgeable lady.  If I'm requesting a specific cabin change, I put it on hold, she transfers the cabin to me and removes the hold.

[thon]

I just called Captains Club and got through in minutes - called about 9:15 a.m. EST. While she wasn’t able to get me a reduction on my March 2022 cruise fare (as I already had a bunch of reductions and the 20% would have resulted in a slightly higher fare) she was able to save my in-laws a total of $252 CDN on their fare.

Edited September 22, 2021 by thon

[DiamondDiva]

Finally got thru just now.  Unfortunately no Lift and Shift available.  Oh, well.

 

[brownc424]

2 hours ago, DiamondDiva said:

Finally got thru just now.  Unfortunately no Lift and Shift available.  Oh, well.

 

How long were you on hold for? I'm still waiting, 2 hours and counting.

[Guppy99]

On 9/16/2021 at 6:16 PM, molemaui said:

I also am having difficulty getting through to Celebrity unless I'm booking a new reservation or did not use a travel agent. For those of you who say I should ask my TA for the answers-it seems like a waste of time for me especially when one question/answear may lead to another. Also, my TA was on hold for almost an hour straightening out issues with my reservation. I prefer to handle detail oriented questions on my own. 

 

I understand everyone is short handed but it would be nice if the regular Celebrity reps you can get in touch with immediately would answer your questions. It's like you're being punished for using a travel agent. 

 

A little frustrated. Thankful for a speakerphone. 

Just wait until you get someone!  It's a toss-up whether you'll get someone who even knows what you're talking about and is able to help..... but they will be very pleasant about it.

[Hlitner]

When I see threads like this (and they exist on many cruise line sites) my first thought is that it is just one more reason why folks should consider using a decent discount cruise or travel agency/agent.  We book many cruises (with multiple cruise lines) and never sit on hold with a cruise line because we simply do not deal with the cruise lines.  We simply call or send an e-mail to our cruise agent (we use several) and let him/her deal with the cruise lines.   Not only do we always save money by using agencies but it really makes life easier.  

 

Hank

[brownc424]

Update: I sat on hold for 2 hours and 20 minutes, only to have the rep immediately hang up on me.

[davekathy]

2 minutes ago, brownc424 said:

Update: I sat on hold for 2 hours and 20 minutes, only to have the rep immediately hang up on me.

Must have been Ernestein. 😂

[Fouremco]

2 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Must have been Ernestein. 😂

Lily will be so happy that you remember her! 

[thon]

As I said in post #59 above I got through to Captain’s Club almost immediately and spoke to a very pleasant woman who did all she could to help me.  Sad to see so many others are not having the same experience.

[Hlitner]

Lousy customer service and long hold times seem to be the new norm for much of the travel industry.  We have used 3 different cruise agencies for many years (we generally go with the one that has the best offer on a particular cruise) but one of those agencies has also gotten on my %$$^* list because they send all calls to voice mail and are very slow to return calls...if at all.  So now, we are down to two "favored" cruise agencies both of whom have always had good customer service.   

 

As bad as the cruise lines are with phone customer service the airlines are much worse.  Pity the poor person that really needs to get through to an airline.  Our last call to Delta got us a call back in about 6 hours!  AA was just slightly better.  But at least these airlines have a call back system which works.  One wonders why the cruise lines do not also implement an automated call back...but I guess that is 21st century technology and the cruise lines are generally 20-40 years behind the tech curve.

 

Hank

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Lousy customer service and long hold times seem to be the new norm for much of the travel industry.  We have used 3 different cruise agencies for many years (we generally go with the one that has the best offer on a particular cruise) but one of those agencies has also gotten on my %$$^* list because they send all calls to voice mail and are very slow to return calls...if at all.  So now, we are down to two "favored" cruise agencies both of whom have always had good customer service.   

 

As bad as the cruise lines are with phone customer service the airlines are much worse.  Pity the poor person that really needs to get through to an airline.  Our last call to Delta got us a call back in about 6 hours!  AA was just slightly better.  But at least these airlines have a call back system which works.  One wonders why the cruise lines do not also implement an automated call back...but I guess that is 21st century technology and the cruise lines are generally 20-40 years behind the tech curve.

 

Hank

Pandemic has caused many many changes in customer service industry.  My favorite local and mom/pop owned restaurant that I have gone to several times per week, for several years, are having a very difficult time staffing up.  They are paying a very competitive wage, offer benefits etc, just having a hard time filling positions.  I was there on Tuesday and OMG one guy at the bar who ordered his dinner, that took 15 minutes longer than he felt it should have,  totally berated a new barback/server, (she was a young lady just about my daughters age) it was disgusting.  I told him I would gladly pay his bill if he apologized to her and then left.  Was the service slow, yes it is, but very new for them these past 18 months.  Does not bother me at all, really first world problems. These are NOT normal times, businesses are struggling and doing the best they can under the circumstances.  If I have to wait on hold for two hours (FYI I never have) to book a luxurious cruise.... well you know the rest of the story.  Find a real problem.

[drakes2]

12 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Pandemic has caused many many changes in customer service industry.  My favorite local and mom/pop owned restaurant that I have gone to several times per week, for several years, are having a very difficult time staffing up.  They are paying a very competitive wage, offer benefits etc, just having a hard time filling positions.  I was there on Tuesday and OMG one guy at the bar who ordered his dinner, that took 15 minutes longer than he felt it should have,  totally berated a new barback/server, (she was a young lady just about my daughters age) it was disgusting.  I told him I would gladly pay his bill if he apologized to her and then left.  Was the service slow, yes it is, but very new for them these past 18 months.  Does not bother me at all, really first world problems. These are NOT normal times, businesses are struggling and doing the best they can under the circumstances.  If I have to wait on hold for two hours (FYI I never have) to book a luxurious cruise.... well you know the rest of the story.  Find a real problem.

I called Tuesday evening and got through immediately.  I think it was the Caribbean  not sure but agent was very knowledgeable and polite. Happy with the service.  

[bikerunner]

13 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Pandemic has caused many many changes in customer service industry.  My favorite local and mom/pop owned restaurant that I have gone to several times per week, for several years, are having a very difficult time staffing up.  They are paying a very competitive wage, offer benefits etc, just having a hard time filling positions.  I was there on Tuesday and OMG one guy at the bar who ordered his dinner, that took 15 minutes longer than he felt it should have,  totally berated a new barback/server, (she was a young lady just about my daughters age) it was disgusting.  I told him I would gladly pay his bill if he apologized to her and then left.  Was the service slow, yes it is, but very new for them these past 18 months.  Does not bother me at all, really first world problems. These are NOT normal times, businesses are struggling and doing the best they can under the circumstances.  If I have to wait on hold for two hours (FYI I never have) to book a luxurious cruise.... well you know the rest of the story.  Find a real problem.

Completely agree on all points here, many restaurants by me are shortening hours, closed extra days just cant hire anyone and they are paying very competitive wages, my friend who lives in texas just took a side job for cashiering in a bbq restaurant for 30 dollars an hour.  

 

I use my 2 rotating Travel Agents i have know for years and let them deal with the stuff.  Only thing I book is Airlines.  When I have called Celebrity never been on hold longer than 15 minutes, this was primetime during this sale, midday etc.   

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Pandemic has caused many many changes in customer service industry.  My favorite local and mom/pop owned restaurant that I have gone to several times per week, for several years, are having a very difficult time staffing up.  They are paying a very competitive wage, offer benefits etc, just having a hard time filling positions.  I was there on Tuesday and OMG one guy at the bar who ordered his dinner, that took 15 minutes longer than he felt it should have,  totally berated a new barback/server, (she was a young lady just about my daughters age) it was disgusting.  I told him I would gladly pay his bill if he apologized to her and then left.  Was the service slow, yes it is, but very new for them these past 18 months.  Does not bother me at all, really first world problems. These are NOT normal times, businesses are struggling and doing the best they can under the circumstances.  If I have to wait on hold for two hours (FYI I never have) to book a luxurious cruise.... well you know the rest of the story.  Find a real problem.

For us it is no problem since we stopped dealing with Celebrity about 3 years ago when we thought the line had deteriorated (in terms of quality) at the same time they were implementing major price increases.    But while I have little respect for rude customers (like what you experienced) that does not mean I am going to accept lousy customer service.  My time is also worth something and if the cruise lines do not have enough folks to staff the phones then a "call back" system is the answer.  One lesson from business school is that customer service will usually evolve to meet expectations or a business will ultimately suffer.  If folks lower their expectations and accept multi hour hold times then that is likely what they are going to get for the future.  

 

You brought up restaurants and that is a problem just about everywhere.  Our answer (and some friends said they felt the same way) is to simply avoid restaurants that cannot cope with the current situation.  If that means going out less frequently then so be it.  On the other hand when we have been out to dine and the service is good we have been very generous with our tips and thanks.  And I should mention that on our recent Seabourn Ovation cruise the crew/staff was absolutely amazing!  It was a perfect situation where both the passenger and crew really wanted to be on that ship at that time...and it showed.  Every passenger we met were over the top friendly and happy as was the crew.  We have had nothing but the most positive experiences with our travel during COVID.

 

Hank

 

 

[gobblegobbletilluwobble]

My experience with airlines customer service was much worse than the cruise lines. A few weeks ago, I called Deta and after holding for almost 7 hours, I hung up. The next day I tried to message them, finally I was able to chat with someone after waiting for about 4.5 hours. Having said that, Delta might have hired more reps since. When I contacted Delta again via messaging a few days ago, the wait was about 45 minutes.

Edited September 24, 2021 by EmQ-CA

[drakes2]

1 minute ago, EmQ-CA said:

My experience with airlines customer service was much worse than the cruise lines. A few weeks ago, I called Deta and after holding for almost 7 hours, I hang up. The next day I tried to message them, finally I was able to chat with someone after waiting for about 4.5 hours. Having said that, Delta might have hired more reps since. When I contacted Delta again via messaging a few days ago, the wait was about 45 minutes.

My experience with West Jet my preferred airline was great. I scheduled a call back for a specific date and time. The agent was very efficient and gave me 25 minutes of his time answering all my questions fully. 

[Oceangoer2]

11 hours ago, drakes2 said:

My experience with West Jet my preferred airline was great. I scheduled a call back for a specific date and time. The agent was very efficient and gave me 25 minutes of his time answering all my questions fully. 

Only booked with them once.  Tried to contact CS and was given a 7 day call back time.  I missed the call and then was given another 5 day wait time.  Eventually spoke with them and agent couldn't answer my question re booking in Europe.  Have a credit now with them...not sure when I'll be able to use it.  No issues booking with Air Canada.