Confessions of a Cruise Purser

[jkeivel11]

I subscribe to Budget Travel magazine and they always have a "Confessions of a..." article, and they're usually pretty interesting. Here's a link for the one on cruise pursers:

 

http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2008/06/03/AR2008060302707.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

Most of this is common knowledge or common sense, but it's still pretty good.

 

Enjoy!

[Blackchips Ahoy]

.......have been mentioned in that article.

 

How about the confession that if your final bill is less than 10 dollars, they will summon you to the pursers office to try and get you to pay cash to settle your bill. They will tell you (in front of a long line of people waiting,) that your credit card won't go through (baloney, Visa black cards always work; ) and that they need cash to settle your account. What they DON'T tell you is the real reason they want the cash instead of the card is because they don't want to be charged a fee by Visa for such a small charge.

 

I can understand them not wanting to be charged a fee for such a small account, but flat out lying to me and embarrassing me in front of a bunch of people is unacceptable.:mad:

 

Not only is that unacceptable, but it is not allowed by Visa's merchant agreement. When I snapped the card out onto the counter and asked to speak to the head purser, miraculously the card suddenly worked again! Go figure! :rolleyes:

[MrEye]

Very cool. Thanks for posting.

[hubofhockey]

It would be nice if they had separate employees handle complaints and regular business. It would make the lines move a lot faster. The same would go for debarkation luggage tags on the last night.

[Cruise, J.D.]

.......have been mentioned in that article.

 

How about the confession that if your final bill is less than 10 dollars, they will summon you to the pursers office to try and get you to pay cash to settle your bill. They will tell you (in front of a long line of people waiting,) that your credit card won't go through (baloney, Visa black cards always work; ) and that they need cash to settle your account. What they DON'T tell you is the real reason they want the cash instead of the card is because they don't want to be charged a fee by Visa for such a small charge.

 

I can understand them not wanting to be charged a fee for such a small account, but flat out lying to me and embarrassing me in front of a bunch of people is unacceptable.:mad:

 

Not only is that unacceptable, but it is not allowed by Visa's merchant agreement. When I snapped the card out onto the counter and asked to speak to the head purser, miraculously the card suddenly worked again! Go figure! :rolleyes:

 

That is what I call pure B.S. customer service. Wasting your time and their time over a measly transaction fee on $10! I'm sure the number of passengers with a S&S bill that low is miniscule.

 

I can see the local gas station doing that, but Carnival? Ridiculous!

[Blackchips Ahoy]

That is what I call pure B.S. customer service. Wasting your time and their time over a measly transaction fee on $10! I'm sure the number of passengers with a S&S bill that low is miniscule.

 

I can see the local gas station doing that, but Carnival? Ridiculous!

 

 

Right on.

 

I was more upset about the fact that they told me that my CC was no good. I could care less about the 6 dollars, it's the point that they lied to me and thought that I was dumb enough to swollow their lies without calling them out.:confused:

 

Beware of the hidden purser's adgenda.:eek:

[Mrs. Connie]

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.