Is it because of staff shortages or is Royal's customer service always like this?

[Gregoryfo]

We have been cruising a time or two most years for the past 15 plus years.  We have been lucky that I have never needed to contact customer service after a cruise.  We booked a Royal cruise on 9/6/2021 for a sailing this past June.  The cruise was ok, or at least nothing worth complaining about.  However, when we returned we did not get the double points that was on the website when we booked.  A couple of things about our booking.  We did not change rooms, we did not do Royal up, we did not touch the reservations in any way, the reservation was completely paid off on 9/18/21.  A few weeks after we returned I emailed guest relations with the following thinking it would be a quick fix:

 

I recently returned on a Bermuda cruise.  The reservations # was XXXXXXXX.  When I booked it said I would receive double c&a points but only single points were rewarded, can you look into this for us?

 

I got an immediate canned response about future cruise credits, which I am sure it a large part of their email load right now.  After two weeks of hearing nothing else I did a follow up email.  A couple of weeks later sent an additional follow up email.  Couple of weeks go by and another additional follow up with the executive offices cced on the email (mbayley@rccl.com).

 

On August 11, almost two months after my cruise I got the following response:

 

"Hello Gregory,

Thank you for contacting Royal Caribbean International. We apologize for the extended delay in our response. We have been experiencing a higher than usual volume of correspondence which has resulted in increased turnaround time for replies.

We are pleased you chose to sail with us and participate in our Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program. We have reviewed your most recent sailing onboard Enchantment of the Seas, reservation number XXXXX, and determined that it does not qualify for double points, which applies to bookings made before September 30, 2021, or when you purchase a suite. We are very sorry for any disappointment this may cause.

As a reminder, you can earn one Cruise Point for every cruise night you sail with us, and double the points when you purchase a suite. For instance, if you complete a 7-night cruise, you'll earn 7 Cruise Points, and when you purchase a suite, you'll earn 14 Cruise Points. Further terms and conditions apply. Points are not recorded or applied until after you complete your sailing. For example, if you are graduating from Gold to Platinum tier level on your current sailing, you will not receive Platinum level benefits until your next sailing. For a complete list of the membership levels and benefits of the Crown and Anchor Society, please visit https://www.royalcaribbean.com/crown-anchor-society. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out.

We appreciate you taking the time to follow up with us and look forward to having you onboard one of our ships again soon. In the meantime, please stay healthy and safe.

Best regards,

Sentia Dorsey
Royal Guest Experience Management  

 

I responded that the cruise was booked on September 6 2021 on the 11th and got the same canned response.  After two months of waiting it is apparent to me that Ms. Dorsey did not even bother to look at the booking.  To me, this is unacceptable.  Part of this post is obviously a rant, but honest question, has Royal customer service always been this poor and I have just been lucky to not have to deal with them?  Are the other lines equally as poor?

[Jerseygirl1416]

Why don’t you call the Crown and Anchor customer service number? I’ve always had good service from them and if you call as soon as they open usually no wait time.

[Biker19]

35 minutes ago, Gregoryfo said:

Part of this post is obviously a rant, but honest question, has Royal customer service always been this poor and I have just been lucky to not have to deal with them? 

Not this bad, but maybe - a lot of it depends on the particular issue. Don't ask the regular RCI staff to fix a C&A issue.

[firefly333]

45 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Why don’t you call the Crown and Anchor customer service number? I’ve always had good service from them and if you call as soon as they open usually no wait time.

This is what I'd have done, contact C&A by phone.

[Travel R]

I emailed RCI about two months before my cruise. After a week of no response, I called them - and although part of the answer was incorrect, I did get a hold of them.

 

I had then emailed them again on a minor issue the following week.  It is a month after I have arrived back from the cruise, but still have not received an answer.

 

Calling is your best option.

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Why don’t you call the Crown and Anchor customer service number? I’ve always had good service from them and if you call as soon as they open usually no wait time.

Travel SOLO and in past a Call Fixed missing points. Then times I'll just Email them, though never been in hurry they are even slower to respond but they do

[BecciBoo]

1 hour ago, Gregoryfo said:

We have been cruising a time or two most years for the past 15 plus years.  We have been lucky that I have never needed to contact customer service after a cruise.  We booked a Royal cruise on 9/6/2021 for a sailing this past June.  The cruise was ok, or at least nothing worth complaining about.  However, when we returned we did not get the double points that was on the website when we booked.  A couple of things about our booking.  We did not change rooms, we did not do Royal up, we did not touch the reservations in any way, the reservation was completely paid off on 9/18/21.  A few weeks after we returned I emailed guest relations with the following thinking it would be a quick fix:

 

I recently returned on a Bermuda cruise.  The reservations # was XXXXXXXX.  When I booked it said I would receive double c&a points but only single points were rewarded, can you look into this for us?

 

I got an immediate canned response about future cruise credits, which I am sure it a large part of their email load right now.  After two weeks of hearing nothing else I did a follow up email.  A couple of weeks later sent an additional follow up email.  Couple of weeks go by and another additional follow up with the executive offices cced on the email (mbayley@rccl.com).

 

On August 11, almost two months after my cruise I got the following response:

 

"Hello Gregory,

Thank you for contacting Royal Caribbean International. We apologize for the extended delay in our response. We have been experiencing a higher than usual volume of correspondence which has resulted in increased turnaround time for replies.

We are pleased you chose to sail with us and participate in our Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program. We have reviewed your most recent sailing onboard Enchantment of the Seas, reservation number XXXXX, and determined that it does not qualify for double points, which applies to bookings made before September 30, 2021, or when you purchase a suite. We are very sorry for any disappointment this may cause.

As a reminder, you can earn one Cruise Point for every cruise night you sail with us, and double the points when you purchase a suite. For instance, if you complete a 7-night cruise, you'll earn 7 Cruise Points, and when you purchase a suite, you'll earn 14 Cruise Points. Further terms and conditions apply. Points are not recorded or applied until after you complete your sailing. For example, if you are graduating from Gold to Platinum tier level on your current sailing, you will not receive Platinum level benefits until your next sailing. For a complete list of the membership levels and benefits of the Crown and Anchor Society, please visit https://www.royalcaribbean.com/crown-anchor-society. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out.

We appreciate you taking the time to follow up with us and look forward to having you onboard one of our ships again soon. In the meantime, please stay healthy and safe.

Best regards,

Sentia Dorsey
Royal Guest Experience Management  

 

I responded that the cruise was booked on September 6 2021 on the 11th and got the same canned response.  After two months of waiting it is apparent to me that Ms. Dorsey did not even bother to look at the booking.  To me, this is unacceptable.  Part of this post is obviously a rant, but honest question, has Royal customer service always been this poor and I have just been lucky to not have to deal with them?  Are the other lines equally as poor?

Send a copy of your email and this post on CC to this person, you'll get a response within 48 hrs.  She is my go to at RCCL and I have always gotten a prompt response and good results:

Aurora "Laly" Yera-Rodriguez
Director, Guest Relations & Shared Services
Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, & Royal Caribbean International
954-628-9313
ext. 19313
ayera-rodriguez@rccl.com

 

 

[orville99]

All of the advice is sound providing the OP had cruised RCL in the past and had an existing C&A account. The little gotcha in the Double Points promo was that you had to be C&A Gold status (at east one qualifying RCL cruise and an existing C&A account#) in order to qualify.

[BecciBoo]

Why would they even be monitoring points if they were not C&A members????

[bigmoose7563]

IMO if you want something done by any customer service rep you better provide all specific information in order to help out said cs rep.

While giving a reservation number should be enough, you are asking them to find all the other info from there.

I bet if your initial email provided book date, sail date, room cat and each individual C&A number you more than likely would of got your desired result.

I only say this as someone who also had to request my double points get added on after it did not happen automatically. 

[HicksRA]

I don’t understand the statement in the response “or when you purchase a suite”???  
I got 4 ppn on several suite bookings. 
 

As above, the only way to clear this up is to get someone on the phone at the C&A desk. 

[Anton]

43 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

I don’t understand the statement in the response “or when you purchase a suite”???  
I got 4 ppn on several suite bookings. 
 

As above, the only way to clear this up is to get someone on the phone at the C&A desk. 

Yeah, nowhere in the terms and conditions for the double points promo did it say suites were excluded.  The only exclusion was for cruises from China.  I sailed in suites five times in the past year and got double points every time.

[DCPIV]

I agree that calling C&A is the best option.  They can pull up the reservation while you're on the phone, and you can get it resolved.  Be advised that it usually takes a couple weeks to add the points.

 

If you didn't attach your guest copy invoice to the initial email or your reply, it would be a good idea to do so to provide all relevant information.

[orville99]

2 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

Why would they even be monitoring points if they were not C&A members????

Maybe someone was debating trying RCL, and the promo enticed them to do so.

[BecciBoo]

15 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Maybe someone was debating trying RCL, and the promo enticed them to do so.

He already said he was a frequent RCL cruiser.

[smokeybandit]

Email is probably the least effective way to interact with customer service.

[firefly333]

Sometimes you have to go back and explain it to them.

 

Once I applied for obc for owning ccl stock, ccl cruise. They actually emailed me back because I owned more than 100 shares I wasnt eligible. My pvp called and got it fixed. That anything 100 or over is ok. Sometimes they are pushing answers out and brain not engaged. 

[orville99]

5 hours ago, Gregoryfo said:

We have been cruising a time or two most years for the past 15 plus years.  We have been lucky that I have never needed to contact customer service after a cruise. 

 

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

He already said he was a frequent RCL cruiser.

Not really. All he said was that he cruised a few times a year pre shutdown, not that any of those cruises were on RCL. We started cruising in 1981,  cruised 2-3 times a year, and didn’t set foot on an RCL ship until 2010. We had 3-4. RCL cruises under our belts before we finally applied for our C&A account numbers. Besides, I never questioned his cruise activity but was only pointing out the gotcha in the fine print on RCLs DP promo. 

[Gregoryfo]

Thanks for the sage advice all!  I will give the C&A department a call to hopefully get it straightened out.  We got back from the cruise and I was swamped with work so I thought, mistakenly, that email would be the quicker fix.  Now I know better.  

 

Orville:  We have two kids in school and we both work for the schools so it is hard to be loyal to any one cruise line. When we find a good itinerary on a date that works we book it, regardless on the line.  This has ended up with us having mid level status on Carnival, Royal, NCL, and MSC.  Therefore, from what I understand we should be eligible for the double points promotion.  I am sure others though thought they were getting double and did not for the reason you pointed out.