RCCL Comes Through

[Ronrocks!]

seems that if you attempt to handle issues with service in a calm and respectful manner things get resolved better than if you are rude and beligerant...glad RC made it right for you

 

I agree.....I am only rude and beligerant towards family members..;) Even then it wasn't until after I got the bill for the Seapass account. I was more beligerant than rude...:o

[Jimmers]

Glad everything worked out for you. Your post did make me smile when I recalled a rather long thread here a couple of weeks ago ridiculing those who write directly to the CEOs (namely Mr. Fain I believe) at RCI instead of having their complaint resolved at a lower level.

 

If I understand your post correctly you wrote letters to customer service, Mr. Fain, and Mr Goldstein and received replies from all offices. Goes to show you that writing to the top isn't as ridiculous as some think.

[SherriZ366]

seems that if you attempt to handle issues with service in a calm and respectful manner things get resolved better than if you are rude and beligerant...glad RC made it right for you

your letter is a great example of this.

[Ronrocks!]

Glad everything worked out for you. Your post did make me smile when I recalled a rather long thread here a couple of weeks ago ridiculing those who write directly to the CEOs (namely Mr. Fain I believe) at RCI instead of having their complaint resolved at a lower level.

 

If I understand your post correctly you wrote letters to customer service, Mr. Fain, and Mr Goldstein and received replies from all offices. Goes to show you that writing to the top isn't as ridiculous as some think.

 

That would be correct. I sent out 3 e-mails, and recieved 2 phone calls. One from Mr Fain's office and the other from Mr. Goldstien's office. Both were very pleasant people.

[uksimonusa]

I'd also suggest an offering of computers that would allow customers to do this without charging them access to use the computer -- thereby eliminating the "if I use the LA, I won't be charged this fee" thinking.

 

 

:)

 

You can already access the RCI site from onboard without charge, so there's no fee for booking yourself when on board, they would just need to allow the OBC when booked from a computer on board

[powelweb]

This is certainly a doable item. Each cruise ship will essentially have their own internal subnet (much like a company's intranet), so you could develop an application that would hook into the overall company's web site and allow passengers to "self-serve" themselves. As you suggested, this would allow those that don't have questions to quickly book a future trip (or whatever workflow the company desired).

 

I'd also suggest an offering of computers that would allow customers to do this without charging them access to use the computer -- thereby eliminating the "if I use the LA, I won't be charged this fee" thinking.

 

Not a bad idea to bring up to the executive management team; especially if the LA problem is more rampant than just a couple of bad apples. Shoot -- it's not a bad idea even if ALL ambassadors were superstars!

 

I'm not going to steal your thunder, but you really should write this up as a business plan and submit it to the company. Go through the executive management channel and the Investor Relations channel. :)

 

The one thing I haven't figured out yet though is how RCCL would prevent all of us cruise fanatics from booking for our friends and families to get them the obc even when they aren't on board.

 

I think the LA will let you book some number of cabins (1 or 2 maybe?) for people not with you while you're on board- not sure if they get the obc though.

 

Maybe they could add a name/cabin number and ship name field for the onboard bookings that could be validated against the manifests.

[SherriZ366]

The one thing I haven't figured out yet though is how RCCL would prevent all of us cruise fanatics from booking for our friends and families to get them the obc even when they aren't on board.

 

I think the LA will let you book some number of cabins (1 or 2 maybe?) for people not with you while you're on board- not sure if they get the obc though.

 

Maybe they could add a name/cabin number and ship name field for the onboard bookings that could be validated against the manifests.

The LA on Enchantment gave me a certificate for DD&SIL allowing them to book a cabin on the same ship as we did. It was good for one month from date of issue.

[critterchick]

We also think Deborah Gorman is one of the best LAs out there, but let's not forget Danney League on Monarch, who could write the manual on how to treat passengers! They finish 1-2 in the "best LA" category every year, it seems. We're quite happy that we'll be seeing Deborah on Mariner in March.

 

OP, nice letter and congratulations on getting some satisfaction from RCI!

[Ronrocks!]

We also think Deborah Gorman is one of the best LAs out there, but let's not forget Danney League on Monarch, who could write the manual on how to treat passengers! They finish 1-2 in the "best LA" category every year, it seems. We're quite happy that we'll be seeing Deborah on Mariner in March.

 

OP, nice letter and congratulations on getting some satisfaction from RCI!

 

Well, I'll say one thing about RCCL they may make thier share of mistakes (any of us would with a company this size) but they fall all over themselves trying to make it right. I just got yet ANOTHER phone call from another office. I think this guy was with the NEXT CRUISE program. He left me a message and asked for me to call him back so we could "discuss ways to make it better". Can't wait to see what he offers me...If this keeps up I'll be the next captain of the Mariner! Kidding... I want nothing else from RCCL. They made good on thier mistake. All I wanted if what I would have gotten if I booked on the ship..and I got it. RCCL certainly is tops on my list...makes me want to buy stock!

[Ronrocks!]

Hey everyone. That phone call was from an Aaron Laufer?? Anyway, I'm not sure what he does there. Something with shore-side loyalty I think he said. Anyway, he just wanted to make sure I got what I was expecting. I told him all I wanted is what I would have gotten on the ship. He also mentioned i should be getting something for other family members who may want to sail with us. So I am not sure what that is about but hey...

 

He also said he will be meeting with the LA staff from the Mariner next week while they are in port.:eek:

[Salbythec]

I'm not sure who the lady was I delt with. All I know is she had short blonde hair. She wasn't the person I originally had the problem with. However, she did not offer me any solutions or seem too concerned that someone was giving out the wrong information. All is water under the bridge now. RCCL did the right thing as I hear they often do. I will not think twice about sailing with them again.

 

Ron--So happy to hear that you were handled well! I am waiting for them to call me back to see if I will be as happy as you. Hopefully they will do the right thing by us. Maybe we will see you again in Dec. ( and Kathy too!)

[Costafox]

we booked our next cruise whilst on our last cruise on the Voyager - the LA was Vivienne and she was extremely helpful as she had experience of cruising Alaska. However she seemed to be working under extreme pressure trying to deal with all the enquiries - surely RCL should have someone else trained up ready to jump in and assist the LA if they become bogged down with new bookings. It does not seem very good business sense to loose new cruise bookings because the LA does not have enough time to see everyone who wishes to avail themselves of this service.

[Ronrocks!]

Ron--So happy to hear that you were handled well! I am waiting for them to call me back to see if I will be as happy as you. Hopefully they will do the right thing by us. Maybe we will see you again in Dec. ( and Kathy too!)

 

Wow...I can't believe they haven't gotten your issue settled yet. It would seem that sending that many people on the wrong excursion would get someones attention. Well let me know how it works out for you. We wont be able to do this Christmas on a cruise because of work schedules. However, we are looking into the summer and possibly a new years eve cruise. :D

[amybear912]

Ron... I'm really glad that RC took care of you... I like hearing about companies doing the right thing by their customers... Thank you for sharing that bit of good news...

 

It just occurred to me... Technology is a wonderful thing and I keep hearing about people having trouble with LAs and booking with the NextCruise option...

 

How easy it would be for them to set up a kiosk where you could just insert your SeaPass and Voila! You have a NextCruise "credit" booked... It's not like you have to choose a cruise, you are just putting down a deposit for a cruise in the future... Sure would take a load off of all of these overworked LAs... The kiosk could print off your confirmation right there and you would have a booking number...

[SherriZ366]

How easy it would be for them to set up a kiosk where you could just insert your SeaPass and Voila! You have a NextCruise "credit" booked... It's not like you have to choose a cruise, you are just putting down a deposit for a cruise in the future... Sure would take a load off of all of these overworked LAs... The kiosk could print off your confirmation right there and you would have a booking number...

Reall good idea.

[Javadelcamp]

Glad everything worked out for you. Your post did make me smile when I recalled a rather long thread here a couple of weeks ago ridiculing those who write directly to the CEOs (namely Mr. Fain I believe) at RCI instead of having their complaint resolved at a lower level.

 

If I understand your post correctly you wrote letters to customer service, Mr. Fain, and Mr Goldstein and received replies from all offices. Goes to show you that writing to the top isn't as ridiculous as some think.

 

Jimmers,

 

That was my post, and I wasn't ridiculing people. As I said in that post, I needed to get off my chest the fact that it bothers me that so many people bypass the customer service department and go directly to the top. When this happens they often don't get a response as promptly as they like, and blame the company--even if they have bypassed appropriate channels.

 

I am not an unkind person, and stated twice in that post that anyone who wanted to flame me there could. You could have saved the comments that you wrote here for that thread.

 

And Ronrocks!, I am glad to see that you got a positive resolution. We will be on the Mariner in a few months and intend to take advantage of the NextCruise booking system at that time. Hopefully your post will bring about changes with the LAs that will affect many of us down the line.

 

Java