Guest relations

[APM]

I returned from a 3 day Super Bowl cruise on Enchantment. Booked in a 2BR grand suite. Spent over 4 hours of my “vacation” either waiting in line at guest services to resolves issues or waiting for maintenance to resolve room issues (flooded bathroom due to clogged outflow valve..twice). To add insult to injury, all i received from guestvrelations was a very hollow “we are sorry.” Has any one else had a similarly frustrating experience with guest relations, and how did you resolve it?

[twangster]

In September 2018 I sailed Enchantment in an aft JS.  My bathroom drain overflowed sewage into the cabin as I showered.  

I had a very Disenchanting experience dealing with the deck supervisor and Concierge from the Concierge Lounge as a result.  So much so I cancelled 10 cruises.  I will admit that was a bit of an overreaction but she really pissed me off.  

One solution they offered was to move me to a side facing JS that another guest was vacating once we reached Nassau.   It turns out that cabin had the same issue and that guest was so upset they disembarked in Nassau and flew home.  So basically they offered to move me from a cabin with a sewage issue to another cabin with a sewage issue.  Ummm, no thanks.

In the end I got an offer of 20% future cruise credit (FCC).  The kicker is the basis of the FCC is based on some mysterious number they determine the cruise to be worth.  The letter I got It suggested the FCC is based on pre-tax/fee cruise fare yet I didn't get 20% of my pre-tax cruise fare.  I've yet to figure out how they calculate the mythical value that they base the 20% from.  

One lesson I learned - if you reach a resolution on the ship such as moving cabins or accepting an FCC on board, you are done.  The Miami office considers the case closed and that's it.  

I've sailed other Vision class ships including Vision just 5 weeks ago.  That ship was in much better shape.  I believe they have really let Enchantment go.    Unfortunately I'm not surprised at all to hear you also had bathroom drain issues.  While we were in Nassau, Empress pulled up beside us.  You know it's bad when you the smallest ship in the fleet looks a whole lot better compared to the ship you are on.  Oh how I wished I was over on Empress.  

Did you accept any resolution on the ship?  If so, from what I'm told, you will not likely get anywhere.  If not, engage your travel agent to fight this battle.  If you did not book through a travel agent, contact Royal directly.

[APM]

No, I didn't accept any resolution onboard the ship.  Each incident independently was a mere inconvenience, but cumulatively was a significant impact on a short vacation.  This was further compounded by the hollow "we are sorry" to a passenger paying a premium amount.

During embarkation - I had paper and digital set sail passes ready to go. Headed to the suite line for security.  I was told I had to go the EXPEDITED line.  New to me.  I can also see there is nobody in the suite line.  I specifically ask, "is this faster than the suite line" to which I was told YES.  The little old lady couldn't operate her IPAD and it took her over 15 minutes just to scan my brothers passport.  Meanwhile, I get to watch multiple families proceed through the suite line.

Room safe - carried $5K cash on board as I am loyal casino patron.  Keypad doesn't illuminate on the safe.  I assume it is a battery issue and notify the stateroom attendant.  He tells me I have to stay in the room to wait for the safe guy to show up.  I tell him that there is nothing in the safe, it is essentially a piece of furniture, and inquire why do I have to be in the room.  Told it is the policy.  Wait 30 minutes for the safe guy to show up.  He spends 30 minutes working on it. Cant fix it, I need a new safe, I need to wait for him to come back.  Takes 30 mins for him to return and another 30 mins to install new safe.  I was wondering how safe status isn't something housekeeping would check on new embarkation days for full operational status?

Day 2:  I check my RC app and see that I can view all my brothers charges.  Enchantment doesn't show folio via the Television.  Knowing I did the set sail, and since we did Expedited (scoff) embarkation, the cards were never scanned again, the screw up has to be on their end.  I head down to guest services to make sure they have our accounts straight.  45 minute wait in line.  Guest services assures me that the accounts are accurate and that it is just the app that is wrong. 

Day2 PM:  After laying out all day, I prefer a hot bath (why I get a suite) and when I pull the drain plug in the tub, the water comes up from the floor in the bathroom (with all sorts of other stuff), flooding the bathroom as I didn't stay in the bathroom during the process.  Track down my stateroom attendant and tell him the issue.

Day 3 PM:  Same daily routine 9creature of habit) afternoon bath, pull the drain plug, water immediately starts to drain into the bathroom from the floor drain. To avoid the flood, I replace the tub stopper which stops the flood, leaving the tub full.  This was superbowl sunday and the housekeeping staff wasn't on scene for the PM shift yet.  Call the number on the card my attendant left me, try to explain the issue and the person on the other end doesn't speak English enough for me to understand her or enough for her to understand me.  Leave the room and head to the concierge lounge because I don't want to repeat my guest services experience from the previous day.  Explain to the concierge and she assures me she will have someone handle it.

Being a loyal customer, and paying a premium price for a suite, I felt that cumulatively RC fell well short of the level of service one should expect for their vacation dollar.  Hardware issues are going to happen, but the same issue on consecutive days, shows ignorance or lack of training.  My biggest concern was the overall lack of consideration for my time while on vacation, a short vacation at that.  Then to have it compounded with the "so sorry" response.  I replied that if I was late in making my final payment, would they accept an "I am sorry" or if I was late returning to the ship after an inport day, would the captain hold the ship because "I was sorry"?  I think we know that there would be consequences for these failures.  Still waiting to see what their response is.

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

 

[rjac]

1 hour ago, APM said:

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

I would definitely fire off a copy of what happened and didn't happen to the corporate folks in Miami! 

[JLMoran]

37 minutes ago, rjac said:

I would definitely fire off a copy of what happened and didn't happen to the corporate folks in Miami! 

If you booked through a travel agent, give him / her these details and let him / her do the follow up. Will most likely get even better results than emailing them directly, especially if the agent is any kind of big dog with Royal.

[Rose City Cruiser]

Another reason to collect crew member's names and position.  Great employees should be praised and recognized.  Employees who fall short should also be reported.  Either they go through more training or the company should find someone more competent.  I am sure RCL will follow up and find out who failed in this instance.   

[APM]

19 hours ago, rjac said:

I would definitely fire off a copy of what happened and didn't happen to the corporate folks in Miami! 

Sadly, it is corporate Guest Relations who provided such a weak response. I did include Mr Bayleys office on my counter response. With 3 more cruises (17 days booked this year) all i was looking for is maybe a comp specialty dinner. Their response was so inadequate.