Purser Desk Issues

[kimberly1949]

Has anyone ever had any issues on their cruise and had to go to the purser desk on RCCL? I have only been on CCL and went to the purser desk, only to discover the employees that worked behind the counter were not so friendly. Just wondered if anyone has used the RCCL purser desk and if their issue was resolved?:confused:

[Shelli]

In Oct. 2007 we sailed on Empress of the Seas. Upon arrival in our cabin, we noticed one side light of the vanity was out. We called the purser's desk, and someone was there to fix it within 5 minutes. We had no major issues, but we stopped at the purser's desk several times during the cruise for minor questions and such... each time, everyone we dealt with was polite, helpful, and friendly.

[teese]

On our Jewel cruise last April, we had booked a oceanview for 4 people. The deck plan showed a sofa bed and a pulman. Well lo and behold we go back to our room that night and the pulman is made up but the sofa bed is not. Turns out the room only accomadated 3, the sofa was not a sofa bed even though they booked 4 people in there. So we call guest relations, they had the head of housekeeping there in 5 minutes. All was settled to our satisfaction within 30 mins. Shortly after guest relations called to see if we had been taken care of. They then called the next day to make sure our new arrangements had been satisfactory during the night. I was very impressed with their attentiveness.

[Sue L]

The purser's desk and their response is probably the biggest reason we no longer sail with CCL. We had a couple of issues on our last cruise with them, no a/c and no hot water were top on the list and in my book major problem Instead of doing something they treated us like we were bothering them. It took 3+ days and multiple visits and phone calls to have anything done and it was never fully rectified.

 

On RCCL we had a minor issue we went down and in 5 minutes a repair person was at our cabin taking care of it. That afternoon someone called us to make sure everything was fixed and they sent us a plate of chocolate covered strawberries.

[crusinmama06]

I was seriously impressed with Guest Relations Desk on Freedom of the Seas. I had some problems with a counselor at Adventure Ocean so I stopped by the desk to make arrangements for in cabin sitting. She started to ask me questions, like why I wasn't using AO. I told her what the counselor had done to my youngest (the counselor was new and had NO idea).

 

Well you would have thought that the Guest Relations person was family. She jumped right on the phone and called the head of AO. She stood up for us. She explained the situation and was VERY upset at how we had been treated.

 

She fixed everything and saved the rest of the week for us.

 

And she gave me her card to call her if I had any problems the rest of the cruise. :D

[Happy ks]

We've had a few minor issues and one major issue that took us to the Customer Service desk in the past. I have to say it was a pleasure each time, even the one time I had to go back 3 or 4 times for the same issue. The issue did have to be resolved by our TA and RCI by phone.

 

I think their whole demeanor can change with the attitude of the customer. If you are nice to them, they will return in kind. If you are grumpy and demanding, their response will be fitting to yours. They are human and they are there to help you, every issue you bring to them they have heard a thousand times before.

 

Keep in mind their duties are to keep track of the money spent onboard. They are not the housekeeping, restaurant, bar, excursion desk, maintenance or medical facility. They typically will call those departments on your behalf (or, you could do that for yourself) if they have time and there is not a huge line of customers waiting.

[pjlee3333]

I'm glad to hear these. The staff on the Grandeur has been the same way with us. They've gone out of their way to be as helpful as possible for what we'd consider very minor issues that normally we wouldn't say anything about.

[jdh]

We have always sailed RCCL and have had a few issues but always handled quickly and pleasantly by the purser's staff. Now I am getting concerned because we are booked on CCL Glory in November. A friend suggested we try CCL because the veteran's discount is great so we bit the bullet and booked. Im' getting nervous.....you know, first time leaving "home" (RCCL) and such! Please reassure me!!!

[uksimonusa]

We've had a few minor issues and one major issue that took us to the Customer Service desk in the past. I have to say it was a pleasure each time, even the one time I had to go back 3 or 4 times for the same issue. The issue did have to be resolved by our TA and RCI by phone.

 

I think their whole demeanor can change with the attitude of the customer. If you are nice to them, they will return in kind. If you are grumpy and demanding, their response will be fitting to yours. They are human and they are there to help you, every issue you bring to them they have heard a thousand times before.

 

Keep in mind their duties are to keep track of the money spent onboard. They are not the housekeeping, restaurant, bar, excursion desk, maintenance or medical facility. They typically will call those departments on your behalf (or, you could do that for yourself) if they have time and there is not a huge line of customers waiting.

 

Then why is the Pursers desk, now called the guest services desk?

[judyblu]

We have been on four different RCL ships in the past 12 months. I have only had some minor issues that were taken care of by the staff at Guest Relations. They were all friendly, courteous and helpful. They do whatever they can to correct the problem or notify the staff that can. Guest Relations have always followed up with a phone call to our stateroom to make sure the problem was corrected.

RCL has the best staff in there Guest Relations, IMO.

[Rancher Dave]

We had one person on GOS who was polite but not helpful...not sure what caused the issue Miami or shipboard persons, but it took some effort to get it resolved which it was...just not first stop at Pursers desk resolution like I expected. Didn't ruin our cruise or anything so I really just let it go.

 

On second occassion DD was in line to get change from purser who let adults cut in front of her, basically ignoring her...that was rude but I stayed in the Explorations line and let it go.

 

Other RCCL Purser desk folks on the other ships were friendly, helpful, and fun to chat with.

[GTO-Girl]

We have always sailed RCCL and have had a few issues but always handled quickly and pleasantly by the purser's staff. Now I am getting concerned because we are booked on CCL Glory in November. A friend suggested we try CCL because the veteran's discount is great so we bit the bullet and booked. Im' getting nervous.....you know, first time leaving "home" (RCCL) and such! Please reassure me!!!

 

We have sailed on the Glory twice and did not have any problems whatsoever. We are excited to try our first RCI cruise this April, but I wouldn't worry about booking the Glory.....we had a great time!

 

Happy Sailing

 

Dianne

[Married on Enchantment]

I would say that the majority of times you will get very polite service at the pursers desk. However, i have seen some of the dumbest people ask stupid questions to them. I would imagine that they get those regularly throughout any givin day. I could understand if they do get frustrated from time to time. I really havent had any issues except with the language barrier which can be frustrating, ecspecially if you have a real problem that has already frustrated you.

 

Jarrad

[hooked-on-travel]

On the Rhapsody I had a problem they didn't deal with the first two times I went, but did eventually when the error was on our printed bill the last night. I wish they'd have fixed it either of the two times so I didn't have to wait in the huge line (I picked unbusy times the first two times) the last morning, but it wasn't THAT big of a deal because they did take care of it.

 

Basically, the computer we were using for internet froze up and didn't let us log off, so we reported it. A couple days later I checked with the purser to make sure we got logged off. They said they couldn't check right then (it was kind of late at night), so they wrote down all my information and said they'd take care of it. Then the bill came and had a charge for thousands of dollars on internet time. We did the math and it worked out to about 24 hours, which might make sense that the system would automatically kick you off at that mark b/c at that point there's obviously a problem. Anyway, they removed the charge, no problem. But I had to wait in the long line at the end of the cruise. Oh well.

[kimberly1949]

I have been on 6 carnival cruises and only had issues 2 times. The first time was on the Valor and the staff at the purser's desk were rude and definitely displayed an "I don't care" attitude. We never got the issue resolved. The second time was on Carnival Liberty. We had a balcony cabin on the lido deck and had electrical problems, the lights went on and off about every fifteen minutes for the first TWO days of our cruise. We reported this problem on the first day of the cruise to our room steward, who told us to call housekeeping. We reported it to housekeeping and they told us to report to room steward. We finally went to the pursers desk who told us they would send up an electrician, which they did, TWO DAYS later. We spent two nights with the lights, including balcony lights, going off and on every fifteen minutes. No one ever followed up with us from the pursers desk to see if they problem was resolved. After we got back from the cruise I complained to my pvp, and still, not as much as a single apology. This is why we decided to try Royal Caribbean.

[Happy ks]

Then why is the Pursers desk, now called the guest services desk?

 

It's just like when you stay at a hotel. The guest services desk, customer relations desk, pursers office, whatever it is called... is most visible to the guests. But, if you look on your telephone in your cabin or hotel room, there will be numbers for the restaurants, housekeeping and sometimes maintenance as well as other departments.

 

I worked in a hotel for several years many years ago, but I think they still operate the same way. They will call in your behalf if you have a problem and if they are not overwhelmed at the moment, sometimes you will have to wait. Just imagine they have a line 25 deep at the front desk and you have a problem with the housekeeping departments job, they will not ignore the guests waiting. But their jurisdiction is the money end of the deal, they do not have any management over the other departments.

 

If you really want results with a cabin problem, call the hotel manager instead of the customer service desk. That is the person all hotel departments have to answer to. They are the big cheese that can get the best results.

 

It's like any other business, there are departments. They may all answer to a higher up, but the other deparments don't answer to the accounting department.

[danp]

We were on the Adventure two years ago when I received a message that my Sister who had cancer had taken a turn to the worst.We went to the pursur to see if they could help us out[we were out to sea].

Wellthey couldnt do enough for us they let us go in the back and call home.After talking to my family they advised for us to stay,but after two days I had to go.I asked the pursur if they could help.They took our plane tickets and changed our flight and set up our flight from St Thomas back to San Juan and connected to our flight back to Newark and we were home in seven hours after leaving the ship.

As far as I am concerned they can do nothing wrong.

[RCCL 1]

I am pleased that most everyone that has visited Freedom has had a good experience with the guest relations staff. Yes, they do come under the hotel director's portfolio, but ultimately, it is the master who sets the standard for shipboard operations and crew moral. You will find Capt Erik Tengelsen is one of our most senior and respected masters, and I encourage any of you to take the opportunity to meet him whenever you have the opportunity on your Freedom cruise. I have cruised with Erik since his early days on SS, and make it a point to visit Freedom at least annually. Enjoy your cruises!!