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Issue Unresolved - RC Customer Service...Bad


TempoGL

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I had an issue on a recent.  For three nights of the cruise, the air conditioning in our room was not working.  I am someone who can definitely sleep in a warm room, but it was way beyond that.  We tried keeping the door open all night, and my girlfriend even tried sleeping in the Centrum because it was so hot.  The heat was truly stifling and we got terrible sleep for those three nights.  I checked with customer service while on the cruise and they said that they could not do anything about the heat.  Not only did we sleep very poorly for three nights, being tired and drained throughout the day detracted from our enjoyment of activities in the daytime, and we also had no place to rest and recuperate.
 
So sob story out of the way, I emailed Royal Caribbean and I got an automated response, but never heard back.
 
Tried calling them and the wait to talk to a rep was an hour and a half.  After trying several times, I finally got through to someone.  Their best offer was 30% FCC, which I thought was ridiculous.  Firstly, it should be 40% because 40% is about 3/7 (three out of seven nights), and secondly FCC is a joke because I should not have to spend more money with them in order to recoup anything.  It should either be a refund or at least onboard credit.  After politely reiterating this to the CS rep, I was told I would receive a call from a supervisor or manager within a three days.  It's now been six days and nothing. 
 
Well, not entirely nothing because I just got an email from RC, telling me that I was getting an offer of about 15% FCC due to an issue that occurred on my cruise...so after waiting all this time, they tell me I get less compensation.  I assume that email was separate from my phone call log, but this whole thing is a joke.
 
I'm sure other people here have had issues in the past.  Were there any methods that were successful in getting them to do right by their customers?  I did file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau after my unproductive phone call last week, but I'd rather not hold out hope there if I don't have to.
 
TIA
 
 
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On a recent cruise, the other couple we were traveling with did not have AC in their cabin.  They informed cabin stewart and maintenance came right away and fixed it.  

It is always best to address any problems while still on the cruise.  Even if you need to contact several  departments or  bring it up more than once.    Guest services should have contacted maintenance.  But if things are not taken care of right away, or you are told they cannot do anything, be sure to escalate your concerns.  Ask for supervisor.  Not having AC is a big thing!   Sorry this happened to you.

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21 minutes ago, Linda R said:

On a recent cruise, the other couple we were traveling with did not have AC in their cabin.  They informed cabin stewart and maintenance came right away and fixed it.  

It is always best to address any problems while still on the cruise.  Even if you need to contact several  departments or  bring it up more than once.    Guest services should have contacted maintenance.  But if things are not taken care of right away, or you are told they cannot do anything, be sure to escalate your concerns.  Ask for supervisor.  Not having AC is a big thing!   Sorry this happened to you.

I did that, as I mentioned.  Their answer was "we are trying."  They did fix it after a few days (I think nights 3,4,5 were the really hot ones, and 6 and 7 were fine after that).  I didn't want to waste time on board and I erroneously thought that RC would have a customer service department that rivaled most other giant corporations, meaning bad...but not atrocious.  I do have another cruise booked with them (this last one was my second) but honestly if they don't properly address this, I will probably take my business elsewhere in the future.

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He has a team of people who do in fact respond on his behalf. Sorry this happened to you, may I ask what ship? I'm truly curious, we had no hot water for days on the Serenade, a great many of us on deck 7. Maintenance responded numerous times before it was sorted. We were treated to dinner at a specialty restaurant. It was a very nice gesture, but the hot water was priceless. 

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16 minutes ago, Neesa said:

He has a team of people who do in fact respond on his behalf. Sorry this happened to you, may I ask what ship? I'm truly curious, we had no hot water for days on the Serenade, a great many of us on deck 7. Maintenance responded numerous times before it was sorted. We were treated to dinner at a specialty restaurant. It was a very nice gesture, but the hot water was priceless. 

It was on Enchantment of the Seas.  Several (many?) other people on deck 4 where we were had the same issue.  Some of them were having legit tantrums at customer service on board but I kept my cool...sadly I am sure the people that freaked out got taken better care of than I did.

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Curious why you would prefer OBC to FCC.  In either case, you have to be on another cruise to use it.

I hate that this happened to you and certainly wish you luck in resolution.  I sort of think the 30% is a fairly good offer.  As you say 3/7=43%.  But not 100% of all three days were a wash, they were diminished.

Don't take that the wrong way, I'm rooting for you and hope you get more.  Good luck!

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Sorry you had to deal with this. You didn't mention in your post what happened onboard, only what you tried to do after the cruise.

I'm sure you alerted your stateroom attendant, but can you describe what happened onboard to remedy the issue? 

I've had maintenance issues on my cruises, but every time I've had not only the fix happen onboard, but FCC issued while still onboard from the onboard crew.

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8 hours ago, Xaa said:

Curious why you would prefer OBC to FCC.  In either case, you have to be on another cruise to use it.

I hate that this happened to you and certainly wish you luck in resolution.  I sort of think the 30% is a fairly good offer.  As you say 3/7=43%.  But not 100% of all three days were a wash, they were diminished.

Don't take that the wrong way, I'm rooting for you and hope you get more.  Good luck!

The OBC is much better for me since we did already have another cruise booked for April.  The FCC expires in a year and I didn't plan on booking another cruise before then - it's essentially forcing us to book a cruise with them when I had other vacation plans.

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

Sorry you had to deal with this. You didn't mention in your post what happened onboard, only what you tried to do after the cruise.

I'm sure you alerted your stateroom attendant, but can you describe what happened onboard to remedy the issue? 

I've had maintenance issues on my cruises, but every time I've had not only the fix happen onboard, but FCC issued while still onboard from the onboard crew.

I went to the front desk/customer service/whatever and told them about it.  Their response was "we are trying."  I asked for another room and they said none were available.  I asked for a fan and they said they'd try.  We never got one. 

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24 minutes ago, TempoGL said:

The OBC is much better for me since we did already have another cruise booked for April.  The FCC expires in a year and I didn't plan on booking another cruise before then - it's essentially forcing us to book a cruise with them when I had other vacation plans.

Makes complete sense.  I knew I must be missing something.  Good luck!

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26 minutes ago, TempoGL said:

The OBC is much better for me since we did already have another cruise booked for April.  The FCC expires in a year and I didn't plan on booking another cruise before then - it's essentially forcing us to book a cruise with them when I had other vacation plans.

Are you able to apply the FCC to the balance on your cruise you have booked?  If there is a balance I should say….not saying it’s better than the actual refund or OBC, just asking if that’s even an option 

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1 hour ago, TempoGL said:

I went to the front desk/customer service/whatever and told them about it.  Their response was "we are trying."  I asked for another room and they said none were available.  I asked for a fan and they said they'd try.  We never got one. 

Interesting.

Here's what I would have done, although who knows if it would have worked.

First, tell my stateroom attendant. Obviously he/she will just play with controls and likely nothing changes.

He/she calls maintenance.

If/when that doesn't work, ask stateroom attendant to speak with deck manager. This is essentially the person in charge of housekeeping on that deck.

Escalate with that person in terms of getting it fixed. This is almost always the person that hands out the credits as well.

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1 hour ago, Riley said:

If you have not paid the full amount of your next cruise you should be able to apply the FCC. Online in the pay area there is a "have a future cruise credit?" tab where you enter the FCC number.  Good luck!

The final payment date was actually while we were on this one, so I already have paid in full

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Response via the BBB was essentially "here's 1/7th FCC, you can go (bleep) yourself."  I emailed mdayley last night, so maybe one of his people will get back to me with something resembling an appropriate response.  RC is very close to being on my list of businesses that are officially dead to me.

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13 hours ago, Xaa said:

Curious why you would prefer OBC to FCC.  In either case, you have to be on another cruise to use it.

I hate that this happened to you and certainly wish you luck in resolution.  I sort of think the 30% is a fairly good offer.  As you say 3/7=43%.  But not 100% of all three days were a wash, they were diminished.

Don't take that the wrong way, I'm rooting for you and hope you get more.  Good luck!

Many people prefer OBC, because they will go sit In front of a slot in the casino. Move OBC to that machine and immediately cash out go to the cage and you then have the cash in hand right away. 

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I thought it was offered from guest services...maybe I read it to fast. I have had issues before on cruises before, but not sure why they were not moved to another cabin? They have to keep some available for situations of importance like when a pipe brakes and floods a room out or whatever. But I am a jerk, because I would have went downstairs with a blanket and pillow and curled up right there in front of them with the 1 hand Al Bundee thing in the pants. 

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20 minutes ago, RorySC said:

I thought it was offered from guest services...maybe I read it to fast. I have had issues before on cruises before, but not sure why they were not moved to another cabin? They have to keep some available for situations of importance like when a pipe brakes and floods a room out or whatever. But I am a jerk, because I would have went downstairs with a blanket and pillow and curled up right there in front of them with the 1 hand Al Bundee thing in the pants. 

We're two peas in a pod.  I think you and I would get along really well.

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On 1/18/2023 at 8:02 PM, TempoGL said:

Does the CEO actually respond to emails like this?  If so, that's wild and VERY at odds with the rest of their customer service experience!

Let me know if you hear anything.  I just sent an email 2 days ago, I'd love to know if it is being ignored or if I can expect to hear anything.  Good Luck!

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16 hours ago, TempoGL said:

Response via the BBB was essentially "here's 1/7th FCC, you can go (bleep) yourself."  I emailed mdayley last night, so maybe one of his people will get back to me with something resembling an appropriate response.  RC is very close to being on my list of businesses that are officially dead to me.

It's mbayley...

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17 hours ago, fireclan said:

It's mbayley...

Yes, I got it correct but typed it incorrectly, thanks.

 

Mbayley's team told me to go fly a kite.  Facebook did the same.  I know this is a forum likely dedicated to RC fans, but I would say to proceed with caution with this company.  The lesson they are trying to teach here is "be a horrible jerk to poorly paid people from third world countries (the people who work the desk on the ships) because if you wait, we will waste hours of your time and do nothing to help you when you've received a poor product from us."  I say that's the lesson because the people who were losing it while on board were at least regarded seriously, whereas my correspondence after the fact was treated as a joke.

I don't know if any cruise lines would be better, but certainly nobody could have handled this worse. 

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If this had happened at a land hotel, what would you do? Would you attribute the issues to that hotel or the chain? We have had had less than perfect hotel rooms due to bad AC or noisy guests, but we don't blame all hotels or even a single chain. Clearly, you had an unpleasant experience, but a rare one from my experience. I hope your next trip, however you choose to travel, meets your expectations. Also, there is an art to connecting with staff so they seek to help you. I do better when I don't complain and simply say I need help with something.

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I have to say I have had issues and my biggest takeaway is to try to get anything squared away onboard. Even with documentation it is harder to get anything resolved when you come back. So yes, you should have made a bigger stink at guest services. I know the experience has left a bad taste in your mouth, but I have found in the realm of cruise lines Royal will at least try to make it better. 

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33 minutes ago, Pooch said:

Shocked that Bayley’s office blew you off.  Even when it wasn’t RC’s fault (my brother’s weather problem) the person who responded was friendly and helpful.  Went out of her way to make him, and by extension us, feel special.

I think OP didn't get what they wanted, therefore they felt that way. 

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9 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

If this had happened at a land hotel, what would you do? Would you attribute the issues to that hotel or the chain? We have had had less than perfect hotel rooms due to bad AC or noisy guests, but we don't blame all hotels or even a single chain. Clearly, you had an unpleasant experience, but a rare one from my experience. I hope your next trip, however you choose to travel, meets your expectations. Also, there is an art to connecting with staff so they seek to help you. I do better when I don't complain and simply say I need help with something.

My problem is not that the AC went out, it's the atrocious way in which customer service handled it after the fact.  With all due respect, it seems like you missed a lot of what I said.  I explicitly mentioned already that I remained calm with the staff on board, even though I witnessed multiple people with the same problem yelling at (dare I say "berating?") staff.  The staff on board the ship were all very nice and I think they did the best they could.

And if I were at a land hotel, I would inform them that I'd find another room elsewhere and ask (again, politely) that they cancel my reservation.

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6 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I think OP didn't get what they wanted, therefore they felt that way. 

You're talking as though I am asking for the moon.  If you go out to eat in a restaurant and your entree is inedible, would you be OK with the restaurant saying "pay the entire bill this time AND come back to eat another time, and we will comp your dessert on your return visit?"  I highly doubt it.  That's basically what happened here - have things messed up quite a bit, and do nothing about it except say "come back and spend more money with us, and in return, we will graciously give you a small discount." 

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3 hours ago, Pooch said:

Ok so OP, what did you say in your email & what exactly was their response?

Here is what I said in my email:

Quote

Hello Mr. Bayley,

 
I was on the Enchantment of the Seas that left on 12/30/2022.  My booking ID is xxxxxxxx.  We had cabin 4010.
 
I got the attached email today, 11 days after my initial email to Royal Caribbean.  Here is my initial issue as to why I have been trying to get a hold of someone in customer service at Royal Caribbean.

We had an issue on the cruise that I needed to bring to the attention of guest relations.  For three nights of the cruise, the air conditioning in our room was not working.  I am someone who can definitely sleep in a warm room, but it was way beyond that.  We tried keeping the door open all night, and my girlfriend even tried sleeping in the Centrum because it was so hot.  The heat was truly stifling and we got terrible sleep for those three nights.  I checked with customer service while on the cruise and they said that they could not do anything about the heat.  They said they would try and send a fan (and I later learned that they added a note that a fan was sent to our room), but we never got one. I think that we should be compensated for this because not only did we sleep very poorly for three nights, being tired and drained throughout the day detracted from our enjoyment of activities in the daytime, and we also had no place to rest and recuperate.
 
On top of that frustration, dealing with customer service has been ridiculous.  It took 11 days for them to respond to my email, and it's with this generic response that is paired with trifling compensation for our bad experience with sleeping conditions, to say nothing of the time and effort I have since spent trying to get Royal Caribbean to do right by me, which has now been at least a few hours.  I also called customer service (I tried several times because I was frequently quoted wait times of up to 90 minutes) and finally spoke to someone, who after a lot of back-and-forth said that the best that could be done was a 30% Future Cruise Credit.  I was still not pleased with that as I should be given a refund, or at the very least, an onboard credit (we have already paid for another cruise on Grandeur of the Seas that leaves on April 2nd, so onboard credit would have value for us).  I should not have to spend more money to recoup any value from the AC issue.  
 
Also, the figure of 30% is unreasonable as 42% (or 3/7ths) of our trip was significantly negatively impacted so Royal Caribbean should provide a sum of at least that percentage of what was paid.  It's also silly that the 30% was only the "cruise fare" when we paid taxes/fees as well, to say nothing of the drink package and internet (we also tipped everyone extra but I would not expect Royal Caribbean to address that as that was our discretion since the staff was so nice).  None of the amenities can be properly enjoyed when you are completely exhausted.  I was told that a manager/supervisor would call me in "two or three days" last Thursday (1/12) and I still haven't heard back.  The fact that they emailed me an offer of less than what they told me over the phone is almost comical.
 
Several (many?) other people on the 4th deck had AC issues as well. I avoided having a tantrum on board like I saw some other people doing who also had malfunctioning AC. That said, I am sure that they were better taken care of than I was because it's hard to imagine Royal Caribbean coming up with a worse response than this.
 
I would like to add that the staff on board were universally great, and other than the temperature debacle (and the resulting hassle in getting proper resolution), we enjoyed our trip. 
 
Thank you for your time and attention,
TempoGL

Here is what I got in reply:

Quote

Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of Royal Caribbean International.

We appreciate the time you have taken to make us aware of your experience onboard. It is disheartening to hear of the poor experience you’ve had with our staff and customer service. I can ensure you that this was never our intention as we strive in excellent customer service.

Our goal is to provide the best possible cruise vacation and I regret your experience reflects poorly on our commitment to meet your goal.

I have fully reviewed your reservation and while I understand your dissatisfaction with the resolution, we must respectfully decline your request for any additionally compensation.

We hoped to have offered you a more positive experience and the feedback we receive from our customers is one of the best methods of measuring our performance.

We apologize for any disappointment this may have caused.

Mr. TempoGL, thank you for contacting the Executive Office of Royal Caribbean International.

 

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2 hours ago, TempoGL said:

You're talking as though I am asking for the moon.  If you go out to eat in a restaurant and your entree is inedible, would you be OK with the restaurant saying "pay the entire bill this time AND come back to eat another time, and we will comp your dessert on your return visit?"  I highly doubt it.  That's basically what happened here - have things messed up quite a bit, and do nothing about it except say "come back and spend more money with us, and in return, we will graciously give you a small discount." 

No I stand by what I said. Your example doesn't apply. There is no way a restaurant would offer something off a dessert if your meal was inedible. You need to compare apples to apples, not apples to a kumquat. They weren't rude, they just didn't give you want you wanted. I personally thinking 30% was fair. You weren't injured, you weren't sick, it was an issue of comfort. You feel entitled to four days compensation and they said 30 percent was enough. You implied they were the worst.

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2 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

No I stand by what I said. Your example doesn't apply. There is no way a restaurant would offer something off a dessert if your meal was inedible. You need to compare apples to apples, not apples to a kumquat. They weren't rude, they just didn't give you want you wanted. I personally thinking 30% was fair. You weren't injured, you weren't sick, it was an issue of comfort. You feel entitled to four days compensation and they said 30 percent was enough. You implied they were the worst.

Ok, I'll take the other side on this. 

I don't think anyone should pay a penny for a cabin with no AC. 

I think your math for 42% or 3/7ths based on the amount of time it was out is reasonable and accurate. I also don't believe going from 30% to 42% based on that math/time would have been a big stretch for them to make. 

Also, I don't see comparing this to a hotel. If I'm in a hotel and the AC is broken for more then 2 hours, I leave. Try this at see and you drown.

And OBC FCC, BS. You paid them cash and should expect refund in the same.

The only place I side with others is your lack of attitude at the time. Others were causing a scene because it is a big deal. But you gotta do it then and there. You wait, you loose.

I don't and never have understood this Royal Caribbean can do no wrong nonsense. Especially if it's a company you care about, hold them accountable and to a high standard. It's in both parties best interest.

Side note: Quoting Ampurp85 was an accident. By the time I realized I had already typed all this. This was not directed at her, but everyone.

Asking 42% not 30% based on days/math isn't trying to cash in on a problem. 12% more to get this done and dusted was a lost opportunity on Royals part. 

 

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I hate how things went overall for you @TempoGL

I stated early on that I thought 30% was a good offer and I think you would have been better served arguing to have it converted for use on your next cruise than arguing for more compensation.  I understand that it impacted 3 days but you don't sleep 24 hours a day.  Part of your fare is being onboard, eating, moving to next destination.

I also think there is an assumption that the loud complainers received more, but they may not have, they may have received less than this.  I don't think it's known.  I also think you diluted your argument by pushing for the last 12% and bringing up taxes and port fees.  You're not getting port fees back, they were paid on your behalf.

You seem like a good guy trying to do your best. 

I would respond back to the executive request and begrudgingly accept the 30% and plead to be allowed to use it on your next cruise.  Your next cruise is Royal's chance to prove that they can perform and continue to earn your business.

I certainly understand if this next one is the end of the line for you with RCL.  Once bitten, twice shy.

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One more thing I thought of @TempoGL.  With the FCC being an issue and your next cruise already fully paid for, perhaps you use the FCC to upgrade cabin on your upcoming cruise.  If the harm caused was a cabin that was substandard for 42% of your trip, perhaps the remedy can be an upgraded cabin experience on 100% of your next trip.  Just trying to brainstorm.  Not even sure if it would be enough or if it's possible.

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