Thread: Carnival lack of customer service?

I am pulling my hair out!

After 20 cruises+ with every major cruise company, I can't work with Carnival! Cabins booked wrong, now they want a cancellation fee, agent (Internet, my mistake! Lousy Cruises-N-More) only wants to protect his commission and NOT help me, and Carinval is pulling the "talk to your agent" (who is AWFUL) stuff. By the way, NEVER had this problem with ANY of the other cruise lines!

Sad. We went on our first Carnival cruise, and liked it. Even bought a couple of future cruise vouchers. We were originally scared away from their bad , cheap, party kids reputation. Now we will stay away because of lack of customer service????

Heck, I am willing to go, and even want to go... but if administration can't/ won't get it right- what can I do??? I don't want my $$$ back, I just want the right booking.

I am SO frustrated with Carnival. Anyone can help? Please? Suggestions? I would hate to say NEVER USE CARNIVAL, NEVER, EVER BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WORD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS, but that is how I feel right now. Can you imagine boarding a ship feeling that way?

Thanks,
Rita

Originally Posted by johnson6ofus

I am pulling my hair out!

After 20 cruises+ with every major cruise company, I can't work with Carnival! Cabins booked wrong, now they want a cancellation fee, agent (Internet, my mistake! Lousy Cruises-N-More) only wants to protect his commission and NOT help me, and Carinval is pulling the "talk to your agent" (who is AWFUL) stuff. By the way, NEVER had this problem with ANY of the other cruise lines!

Sad. We went on our first Carnival cruise, and liked it. Even bought a couple of future cruise vouchers. We were originally scared away from their bad , cheap, party kids reputation. Now we will stay away because of lack of customer service????

Heck, I am willing to go, and even want to go... but if administration can't/ won't get it right- what can I do??? I don't want my $$$ back, I just want the right booking.

I am SO frustrated with Carnival. Anyone can help? Please? Suggestions? I would hate to say NEVER USE CARNIVAL, NEVER, EVER BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WORD CUSTOMER SERVICE IS, but that is how I feel right now. Can you imagine boarding a ship feeling that way?

Thanks,
Rita

Hi, Rita;

Unfortunately, any cruise line will react in the same fashion as Carnival has. When you book with an agent, be in online or with an agent directly, all the cruise lines are not allowed to provide customer service for you - you must work through your agent. And as you have found out, not all agents are created equal. Most of these online sites deal in quantity and not quality. They want your money, but they don't want to work for it, so their customer service is usually not all that great. As you can tell, it's always best to work with a good reputable agent because they can be worth their weight in gold should you have any problems or need any assistance. Booking with the cruise line is also not a good idea, because if you have any problems, they represent themselves and not you, whereas an agent represents you and has your best interest at heart (or should).

Now with all that said, I don't understand why your agent is not willing to assist you. If it's a simple change in cabins on the same sailing, that's not a big deal - relatively quick and easy even if you book the Early Saver Fare. But if you book the ESF and need to change dates or names, then it becomes a problem.

Here's what I would do; call that online company and demand to speak to a supervisor - don't even bother explaining anything to the sales person. As CLIA pointed out (the association we all belong to), more than 95% of the time when you call the cruise line or an online site, the person you're talking to has never even seen a ship, let alone been on a cruise or to any of the ports. They are 'sales' people working in a call center - that's all they are - and the overwhelming majority of them have worked there less than 6 months. Hopefully, you'll get a supervisor who is better trained and more familiar with how to take care of you. If you still don't get any satisfaction, then demand to speak to their supervisor. If you still can't get any help, then threaten a BBB complaint. Or, if it hasn't been that long since you booked, transfer the booking to another agent who will provide you the customer service you deserve.

But bottom line is that it's not Carnival directly causing the problem as they will always require you work through your agent. So in this case, the problem is with the agent, not with Carnival.

Pete

Watch the fees, they can really hurt. I charge no fees for changes, or cancellation above those imposed by the cruise line. And just like with Pete, you talk to the same person every time, evenings and weekends too.

Reggie

Rita, I wish you luck w/your situation. For cruises, we always book w/TA, did book w/ RCCL directly for one cruise and was so very lucky to have a great rep. who ans. my millions of questions and made few changes w/no problem. I just feel more comfortable and safer using a TA and we have an excellent one who is the cruise expert for the agency.

Be thinking of you.
Debbie

I saw this same post, word for word, elsewhere. It does seem like you are making the rounds without presenting a clear case for anything except it does not sound like Carnival's fault, just that you are demanding that changes be made with no charge to you.

If its your TA's fault and you are booked Early Saver, you need to be demanding they eat the $50 pp fee... but you do need to be dealing with your TA, as this isnt something that Carnival did wrong .. if indeed anyone did wrong.

Originally Posted by flowers

I saw this same post, word for word, elsewhere. It does seem like you are making the rounds without presenting a clear case for anything except it does not sound like Carnival's fault, just that you are demanding that changes be made with no charge to you.

If its your TA's fault and you are booked Early Saver, you need to be demanding they eat the $50 pp fee... but you do need to be dealing with your TA, as this isnt something that Carnival did wrong .. if indeed anyone did wrong.

You are assume that I did not TRY to resolve it. And yes, the problem is also that the credit card charge gets posted as "Carnival Cruise" and not by the agent named, so only "Carnival cruise" can reverse the charge. Seems like this "man in the middle" situation, as pointed out earlier in this thread may in fact help you, or hurt you.

I am no newbie with diamond status on RCCL, past cruiser with Celebrity, Princess, and HAL. "HEADS UP" though, in a forum, IS appropriate if one line differs greatly from "the norm" in policy or procedure.

Hard to look forward to "fun" and get PITA instead. Girls just wanna have fun.

Thanks for others on the advice, and looks like I will just have to see how the nightmare ends. I will keep you posted, and give the appropriate thumbs up and thumbs down as earned by the principals involved.

Rita

PS. You can also see that I have posted on this forum since 12/05 so it's not like I am here just to spread unfounded malicious stuff. Read my previous posts --- I LOVE cruising!

I guess my frustration is that ANY agent that represents ANY product is risking the reputation of the product. That is why some products are marketed "exclusive". It's hard when you feel that someone has you held by the short hairs on the back of your neck. I really felt like no one was "on my side' and the agent only had concerns for a commission, this one time. No one seems interested in building a client base or provide customer service.

I remember reading in the past that people were dissatisfied with that online agency. Personally, I wouldn't deal with an online agency just in case there was a mess up. At least with a brick and mortar place, I could just stomp in if I'm dissatisfied and not getting my calls returned, etc.

I've heard that Princess won't deal directly with you if you had booked thru a TA, so I'm guessing, especially with the posts above verifying it, that it is the situation no matter which cruiseline.

I'm wondering what had happened with the cabins.

Originally Posted by johnson6ofus

You are assume that I did not TRY to resolve it. And yes, the problem is also that the credit card charge gets posted as "Carnival Cruise" and not by the agent named, so only "Carnival cruise" can reverse the charge. !

I did not assume any such thing.. I was saying if there is a problem, what is the problem. You say the booking is WRONG, but have not stated what is wrong with the booking.

Maybe someone here has a suggestion if we knew what the problem was. I was also not suggesting you are a newbie to cruising or to this site ..

Of course we all want nothing but to help you, but we dont know why you want Carnival to reverse a charge or what the charge is for .. at least I dont know.

If the charge is invalid, you could contact your credit card company for instance, but if its a early saver cancellation fee, then it may be valid, your TA just messed up and wouldnt help you now .. so try and talk to someone higher up at the TA.

Its very hard to give advise when we dont know what the charge is for you are upset about or why it was charged .. .or even what you said the TA booked incorrectly.

I am sorry you now are upset with Carnival and just wish to help.

None of the cruise lines will deal with you directly if you booked with an agent. That's why it's so important to find an agent who is sincerely interested in representing you and not just interested in the commission.

And I definitely hear what you're saying about building a client base and providing customer service! That's why it's also important to establish a good working relationship with an agent and stick with them. Yes, you may find a bargain here or a bargain there, but those companies are simply interested in making money and not in providing customer service. They will do what's necessary to 'buy' your business, but once they've got you, service is non-existent.

As for the charges on a credit card, as a consumer you must insist that the charges are made by the cruise line and not the agent. This is very important. You never want an agent directly charging your credit card. This is where major problems can occur because if they charge your card and not send the money to the cruise line, you're left holding the bag with nothing in it. If the agent has the cruise line charge your card and then the agent dies or goes out of business, you're still going on the cruise because the cruise line has your money, not the agent.

And yes, I hear all those people asking the question about why should they book with an agent when they can book directly with the cruise line. It's simple; if you book with the cruise line and you have a problem, who do you think the cruise line is going to support; you or themselves? When you have problems, you have to fight your own battles. An agent represents you and a good agent will bend over backwards to assist you when needed and do what is necessary to help solve any problems. They have contacts you don't have, so it's always best to have someone on your side. When you have problems, they have weapons to fight the battles, so they can be alot more effective than you can.

Hopefully, by escalating your complaint up the ladder at the agency you can get what you're looking for. But let us know if you have any questions, run into roadblocks, or got resolution. We definitely want to hear from you as to what happens.

Pete