The Die is Cast, I crossed the Rubicon...

[C 2 C]

After my latest "discussion' with Celebrity customer service and "Loyalty" Department. I have taken the plunge. I wanted to cruise B2B on Constellation Nov. 6 from NJ to Florida and continue from the 16th to the 26th. Celebrity had a senior citizen special on certain OV cabins. I attempted to switch an earlier booking(s) to the new sailing and another future cruise and keep the credit. One booking was completed and I was kicked "upstairs" for further clarification on the second booking. After half an hour of discussion and holds, Celebrity decided it would not transfer the credit. I therefore cancelled my South American cruise in March. The next morning I get an email that my recently booked Galaxy May 3rd cruise was cancelled including all deviated flight arrangements!! The first Captain's Club agent I called in a panic said that she would rebook it but the price was now higher.... after counting to 20 I asked to speak to a supervisor who rebooked.. the cabin was still available.. I spent another 45 minutes rebooking our flights. Today I wanted justice... I told Customer Service about my ordeals and asked, for reciprocal loylaty for having reached 60 cruises, I would like to be upgraded one extra category on the Constellation Nov 16th sailing from cat 7 to 5 (which had no Sr discount). They said no. I cancelled our B2B booking and will now cruise to Florida on Constellation, get off and board Emerald Princess instead.

I know that Princess customer service is no better. I know I will now have to submit to personal choice dining, and a more flagrant interpretation of the "dress code". But, I will finally hear some new jokes, be able to see a different show and see movies that were filmed this decade:rolleyes:.

It's been three years since I last cruised with Princess. I'm looking forward to posting a comparison.

[Drew B]

Good for you. I hope you told the Customer Service person that you were switching to a Princess cruise. Perhaps in a nice letter to the head of customer service (cc'ing the CEO, of course).

 

There is enough competition out there that NO company should take loyalty for granted. As long as they continue to please their customers, they won't have anything to worry about. If they jerk their customers around as they did you, there SHOULD be consequences...

[warmwinds]

I didn't know Celebrity sailed down the Rubicon...(ducking)...no really, I would have cancelled BOTH cruises and told them WHY (not that they would care).

 

But on second thought...if you had to choose between a crappy cruise and great CS or a great cruise with crappy CS, which would you choose? I just can't understand why they can't do well at both.

[Host Anne]

Ahhhh....bad customer service. I hate that it is soooo prevelant today in EVERYTHING. I could write pages but I'm not certain what really makes a difference anymore.

 

I will share with you a shockingly GOOD experience (sorry, not cruise related, forgive me) I had with customer service yesterday. I ordered products we needed at the office (I initially ordered the incorrect item number and called to arrange a return and re-order the correct item). The company shipped the initial order to our office in Ohio per my order info. The CSR on the phone gave me specific instructions on returning the incorrect item and she placed the new order with the correct item number for me on the phone.

 

When our Ohio office didn't receive the new shipment, I called the company to check the status of the order. To my surprise, while they were checking on it UPS delivered the new order to my office - in FLORIDA! I called them back to explain the order arrived but they shipped it to the wrong address. They immediately provided their UPS information and paid to have it re-shipped to the Ohio office where the product was needed. It was quick and easy - and exactly what customer service should be. I spoke to one person who had the immediate authority to right a wrong that the company rep made when she placed the new order.

 

I was stunned. It is so unusual to get good customer service these days. It truly concerns me for our future. As our manufacturing base continues to leave US shores, we are increasingly a country dependent on service industries. That makes me worried.

 

Arno ~ I hope you are still sailing with us on Constellation. And I understand why you did what you did.

[Andy]

After my latest "discussion' with Celebrity customer service and "Loyalty" Department. I have taken the plunge. I wanted to cruise B2B on Constellation Nov. 6 from NJ to Florida and continue from the 16th to the 26th. Celebrity had a senior citizen special on certain OV cabins. I attempted to switch an earlier booking(s) to the new sailing and another future cruise and keep the credit. One booking was completed and I was kicked "upstairs" for further clarification on the second booking. After half an hour of discussion and holds, Celebrity decided it would not transfer the credit. I therefore cancelled my South American cruise in March. The next morning I get an email that my recently booked Galaxy May 3rd cruise was cancelled including all deviated flight arrangements!! The first Captain's Club agent I called in a panic said that she would rebook it but the price was now higher.... after counting to 20 I asked to speak to a supervisor who rebooked.. the cabin was still available.. I spent another 45 minutes rebooking our flights. Today I wanted justice... I told Customer Service about my ordeals and asked, for reciprocal loylaty for having reached 60 cruises, I would like to be upgraded one extra category on the Constellation Nov 16th sailing from cat 7 to 5 (which had no Sr discount). They said no. I cancelled our B2B booking and will now cruise to Florida on Constellation, get off and board Emerald Princess instead.

I know that Princess customer service is no better. I know I will now have to submit to personal choice dining, and a more flagrant interpretation of the "dress code". But, I will finally hear some new jokes, be able to see a different show and see movies that were filmed this decade:rolleyes:.

It's been three years since I last cruised with Princess. I'm looking forward to posting a comparison.

 

Hi Arno !

 

Wow, what a post. I was getting annoyed just READING it !!! It sounds like you really went though a frustrating experience today. My biggest disappointment was .... had everything worked out favorably, we would have sailed together on Constellation on the 16th. Now, you will be getting off Constellation as I am getting onboard.

 

I totally cannot blame you for your decision. It seems Celebrity's Customer service continues to go from bad to worse, and they should be ashamed of themselves for making a huge mess of your booking, and then for failing to accomodate one of their most loyal passengers, **especially** a customer with 60 Cruises on Celebrity !!! As you know, this has been strong bone of contention with me for a while now. It seems whenever I call these days, the answer is often negative and unaccomodating. This is very discouraging to us. For a company that does things so wonderful at sea, it is amazing how they often do not get it right from shoreside.

 

As we all know, a good way to show Celebrity that you are unhappy, is to take your business elsewhere. The big question is, will they care ? Who knows. Personally, I think you should send a letter to Mr. Hanrahan, along with a copy of your Princess booking. Perhaps it will bring some satisfaction. I surely hope so.

 

At any rate, I am glad you booked on Emerald Princess. Emerald is a brand new ship with a wonderful itinerary. If I were to book on another line, Emerald Princess will likely be my next Non-Celebrity Cruise. If they keep treating their customers like you were treated, I suppose it wont be long before I will be sailing on Princess too.

[Alaskan Traveler]

After my latest "discussion' with Celebrity customer service and "Loyalty" Department. I have taken the plunge. I wanted to cruise B2B on Constellation Nov. 6 from NJ to Florida and continue from the 16th to the 26th. Celebrity had a senior citizen special on certain OV cabins. I attempted to switch an earlier booking(s) to the new sailing and another future cruise and keep the credit. One booking was completed and I was kicked "upstairs" for further clarification on the second booking. After half an hour of discussion and holds, Celebrity decided it would not transfer the credit. I therefore cancelled my South American cruise in March. The next morning I get an email that my recently booked Galaxy May 3rd cruise was cancelled including all deviated flight arrangements!! The first Captain's Club agent I called in a panic said that she would rebook it but the price was now higher.... after counting to 20 I asked to speak to a supervisor who rebooked.. the cabin was still available.. I spent another 45 minutes rebooking our flights. Today I wanted justice... I told Customer Service about my ordeals and asked, for reciprocal loylaty for having reached 60 cruises, I would like to be upgraded one extra category on the Constellation Nov 16th sailing from cat 7 to 5 (which had no Sr discount). They said no. I cancelled our B2B booking and will now cruise to Florida on Constellation, get off and board Emerald Princess instead.

I know that Princess customer service is no better. I know I will now have to submit to personal choice dining, and a more flagrant interpretation of the "dress code". But, I will finally hear some new jokes, be able to see a different show and see movies that were filmed this decade:rolleyes:.

It's been three years since I last cruised with Princess. I'm looking forward to posting a comparison.

 

Hi C 2 C,

 

I don't blame you one bit for being upset with Celebrity. As one poster said I would have cancelled both cruises. One thing that you have to admit is that Celebrity customer service does not really care how many cruises a very good customer has taken with their cruise line. One would think that any company, in any business, would bend over backwards to treat all customers happy, let alone their best customers. BTW, you do not have to submit to personal choice dining as Princess offers both regular first and second seating dining and the personal choice, which I think is the best of both worlds for the cruiser. I can not wait to hear your comparison because in reading your posts, I can tell that you are going with an open mind. Have a great cruiise.

 

I also have a story about customer service. Last year when I was renting a car in Skagway and was talking to the agent and asked how it was going, she replied that the season had just started and all of the cars must be shipped in by ferry. The week before the ferry had an accident coming to Skagway and there were not enough cars on hand when customers arrived. One party was driving to a small town in Alaska and the car rental agency charted a plane and at their expense flew the passengers to their destination. Now this was clearly not the car rental agency's fault and they could have easily said too bad, but they stood up and went the extra mile. Many companies to care about good customer service and feel that it is a critical part of business.

 

Host Andy, Thanks for your on target post!

[C 2 C]

The big question is, will they care ?

 

Hi Andy:

I'm sure my cabin space will be filled. The implication however is long term. Once a person strays from dedication to one line, all bookings come into question. A small token of goodwill would have kept me on Celebrity.

If the Princess experience is positive, trading a new ship environment and fresh entertainment for the Celebrity level of food and service, we suddenly have a whole fleet to examine.

We have Platinum level on Princess. I should be able to post my experience while on board.

[C 2 C]

 

Arno ~ I hope you are still sailing with us on Constellation. And I understand why you did what you did.

 

The balcony we have booked has gone up so much, I would not think of changing... yet ;)

[excitedofharpenden]

Arno, I'm sorry to read about this debacle. I would have been livid if it had happened to me. You may have been angry on the 'phone, but your post seems pretty level headed to me. Good for you and I hope you enjoy Princess and look forward to a comparison.

 

Phil

 

PS You know half the trouble don't you? You cruise so often you just increase the odds ten fold of a botch up;)

[C 2 C]

Phil

 

PS You know half the trouble don't you? You cruise so often you just increase the odds ten fold of a botch up;)

 

Life's rough when the only complaint is too much of a good thing...:D

[Host Anne]

Arno ~ so glad to hear you are still planning on sailing with us on Connie. :)

[hajekfam]

Our travel agent tried for 3-4 months to get us the new lower price on our back to back and remove the air from the second cruise as we had no need for it. (We originally took only the ORD to VCE flight and passed on the FLL to ORD flight - when we got the first price reduction, they tacked back on the the FLL to ORD flight).

They said they couldn't do it because the price we had was with an air special attached (we had Celebrity air). When I went on Celebrity's website, I could see the price drop for the cruise portion, but the air portion for our cabin category for both cruises was still the same. Other categories higher than ours had the air promotion. For our category, the difference between the cruise with and without air was still the same as when we originally booked so we did not have an air promotion. She even tried to get it fixed with the Celebrity rep at the seminar onboard the Galaxy - still no change. Finally, after about 3-4 months of trying, she was finally able to talk to someone who understood what she was saying and we not only got the price dropped, the return air removed, but also got a senior discount.

[CatServants]

I'm sorry you had so much difficulty. Customer service seems to be sliding downhill in all industries - the very fact that so many people can remember incidents of good customer service as special is an indicator. But with a wonderful outlook like yours, you're going to have a wonderful time!

 

Happy cruising!

 

Denise

[jmps]

This is a good example of why using a GOOD travel agent instead of direct booking is better. The TA will work for you trying to get what is fair. I book a lot of travel directly but use a TA for cruises for this reason.

[beatlejuice]

I just want to share something that has happened recently. My husband and I are booked on the Galaxy for a 14 day med cruise in October. My brother and his lady friend were also going along with us.They had a superior balcony cabin which my brother wanted to give to me when a business situation prevented him from making final payment on the 17th. Celebrity wouldn't allow it unless we paid the increase of $1500. My Ta tried everything on our behalf to no avail. I , too am a past passenger. I'm sure we will have a wonderful cruise , but I won't forget this when it comes to booking another cruise with celebrity.

 

Sandy

[caviargal]

C 2 C, what a lousy way to repay loyalty! Really, these cruise lines need to reevaluate the constant attention to attracting new business and pay attention to those that are loyal patrons.

 

BTW, I read this post because I thought you were talking about Rubicon, the wine, one of my very favorites!

 

Can't wait to read your thoughts on the Emerald.:)

[C 2 C]

 

BTW, I read this post because I thought you were talking about Rubicon, the wine, one of my very favorites!

 

Can't wait to read your thoughts on the Emerald.:)

 

After I posted this I wondered how many people even know what I meant by The Die being cast and the Rubicon... too much old stuff in the brain.

 

I feel like I've crossed over to "the Dark Side".. or am I finally seeing the light...?

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

I just want to share something that has happened recently. My husband and I are booked on the Galaxy for a 14 day med cruise in October. My brother and his lady friend were also going along with us.They had a superior balcony cabin which my brother wanted to give to me when a business situation prevented him from making final payment on the 17th. Celebrity wouldn't allow it unless we paid the increase of $1500. My Ta tried everything on our behalf to no avail. I , too am a past passenger. I'm sure we will have a wonderful cruise , but I won't forget this when it comes to booking another cruise with celebrity.

 

Sandy

 

Sandy, I guess I don't understand what happened. Did you BOTH have balcony staterooms of the same class booked ? If not, why would you expect NOT to pay additional for a higher level of stateroom? I'm not sure I understand your brother wanting "give" it to you. Could you clarify so we can better understand?

[warmwinds]

I read it to mean that the brother booked the higher level balcony cabin when the price was lower, since booking the price went up.

 

They wouldn't just let them change the names on the cabin from the brother's name to their name without paying the increase that had happened in the meantime.

 

I guess you could argue both sides, but I agree that it stinks that they were going to make him pay the higher price.

[Drew B]

One thing I've learned with Celebrity customer service:

 

If you don't get the answer you want, don't fight them. They won't change. Instead, say "thank you", hang up, and call right back. You will get a different person. If that person still gives you a "no", do it again. Eventually, with luck, you will get somebody who wants to help. Instead of "no", you'll get "let me see what I can do". That person is going to do everything they can to help you. Stick with that one and be as nice as you can to him/her. At the end of the day, you may still end up with a "no", but at least you'll know that he/she tried. Sometimes, though, by going the extra mile, they'll come back with a "yes".

 

Obviously, the customer shouldn't have to jump through these hoops and I don't know if it would help in your case, but sometimes it does work.

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

I read it to mean that the brother booked the higher level balcony cabin when the price was lower, since booking the price went up.

 

They wouldn't just let them change the names on the cabin from the brother's name to their name without paying the increase that had happened in the meantime.

 

I guess you could argue both sides, but I agree that it stinks that they were going to make him pay the higher price.

 

 

I guess I don't understand why she didn't book the higher level, lower price stateroom at the time her brother booked, if they were traveling together as she stated. It just sounds to me that she expects to get a higher level stateroom for the same price as the lower level one, but maybe I'm not seeing all the information. I can understand trying to get the best price you can, I try to do that every time and usually get a good deal.

 

"but I agree that it stinks that they were going to make him pay the higher price"

It didn't sound like they were making HIM pay anything additional (he cancelled the cruise) SHE would have had to pay more for an upgraded stateroom, which does not sound out of line.

 

Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe some of the information is missing.

[Linda-E]

Hi Arno,

 

I hope you enjoy the Emerald Princess. After a very disappointing South America cruise on Millennium in January 2006, we cruised South America and Antarctica on Golden Princess in January 2007. We were very pleasantly surprised - the food was excellent and the service was as good as Celebrity used to be! As a result, we cancelled our Australia booking on Mercury and went with a longer cruise on the Sapphire Princess.

 

Please post when you return - I'm curious to see how you think X and Princess compare.

 

See you aboard Solstice.

[beatlejuice]

We booked at the same time,through the same travel agent. I booked an inside and he booked a balcony. We just wanted to change names and pay the price quoted at booking. Unfortunately, the fare went up and celebrity wouldn't honor the original fare. My brother just wanted to let me have his better cabin. Needless to say, I kept my inside.

[donnaw]

After my latest "discussion' with Celebrity customer service and "Loyalty" Department. I have taken the plunge. I wanted to cruise B2B on Constellation Nov. 6 from NJ to Florida and continue from the 16th to the 26th. Celebrity had a senior citizen special on certain OV cabins. I attempted to switch an earlier booking(s) to the new sailing and another future cruise and keep the credit. One booking was completed and I was kicked "upstairs" for further clarification on the second booking. After half an hour of discussion and holds, Celebrity decided it would not transfer the credit. I therefore cancelled my South American cruise in March. The next morning I get an email that my recently booked Galaxy May 3rd cruise was cancelled including all deviated flight arrangements!! The first Captain's Club agent I called in a panic said that she would rebook it but the price was now higher.... after counting to 20 I asked to speak to a supervisor who rebooked.. the cabin was still available.. I spent another 45 minutes rebooking our flights. Today I wanted justice... I told Customer Service about my ordeals and asked, for reciprocal loylaty for having reached 60 cruises, I would like to be upgraded one extra category on the Constellation Nov 16th sailing from cat 7 to 5 (which had no Sr discount). They said no. I cancelled our B2B booking and will now cruise to Florida on Constellation, get off and board Emerald Princess instead.

I know that Princess customer service is no better. I know I will now have to submit to personal choice dining, and a more flagrant interpretation of the "dress code". But, I will finally hear some new jokes, be able to see a different show and see movies that were filmed this decade:rolleyes:.

It's been three years since I last cruised with Princess. I'm looking forward to posting a comparison.

 

Arno, Seems X is P's best sales agent right now! As to PC dining. The best work around is to book early enough and take traditional. Second is scheduling table and time with the dining room.

 

I am in the process of recording the mess of the last week in a letter to be sent to the powers that be at the request of our very irritated travel agent so my question is would you mind your situation or a reference to this thread on CC being mentioned in it?

 

Will look forward to your observations on Emerald Princess since I'm going to have to get past my Sun class preference at some point.

[C 2 C]

I am in the process of recording the mess of the last week in a letter to be sent to the powers that be at the request of our very irritated travel agent so my question is would you mind your situation or a reference to this thread on CC being mentioned in it?

 

Not at all. Give em hell. And I have a link in my signature to a review of Emerald Princess