Cruise Company Loyalty

[Dancing Queen]

Hi Noddy10
I have no idea who sent the emails but they where all signed of by her.
I think my point is that if a customer sends in a complaint the company no matter how big they are should respond in a correct manner.

I quite agree HaB, I am not one who complains very often but if I do have the need to then nothing annoys me more than to receive a "bog standard" reply, I think any complaint should be dealt with on it's own merit and a "standard" reply is not always the way to do it imo.

[david63]

She was on a cruise we did once where she would talk to you and ask for your input I got the impression when I was chatting to her that the lights were on but nobody was in.

I know for a fact that if you mention a problem to CM then it is actioned. I was talking to her last year and the next day I had an email (and no I had not given her my email address) from a member of P&O's staff addressing the problem.

[haveabeer]

David
Think face to face has always had a better response to a complaint or maybe you have a bit more influence.
Like many people they hide behind a keyboard so as to avoid direct confrontation

[Manoverboard]

HaB ... Hi, sadly I think that your levels of expectation are way too high.

The days of sending / receiving mail to give thanks etc are long gone and Companies will view them as a waste of resource so will get a trainee to deal with such matters.

I shipped a scathing but substantiated letter to CM recently following our NV experiences on Oriana and P&O's responses were very professional whereas your subject matter, to them, may have been viewed as pure routine and nought but a whinge. If I thought for a single moment that CM was responding to passenger's correspondence on a regular basis I would raise it at a Share Holder's meeting as this is NOT what she is paid to do.

It will be no different elsewhere but you will feel better for having jumped ship .... don't worry about it and don't waste your time writing in unless it is a serious issue is my advice

[haveabeer]

Hi MoB
Sorry totally disagree if a customer has a complaint then is should be dealt with.
Whether trival or not, maybe you can accept poor customer service as a sign of the times
I will not accept it and if a few more people stood up and said no then maybe they would listen, but if you accept the changes as a sign of the times
then things will only get worse.
Unlike you i am not as well versed as yourself in putting my case forward, i just tell it as it is, but like you i am a customer and should be treated like one

[Boris+]

We were on a cruise on QV in 2012, with CM and her mother sitting very close to us in the restaurant - she did spend some time looking out of the window at Aurora, but otherwise the last thing she wanted to do wa to discuss cruising, Aurora or P & O. When we berthed in Stavanger we were right next to Aurora (we were one side of the dock and they were on the side closer to the town), same again in Bergen. (I know that there was an inter-ship football match ..won by QV .... but I don't think she was interested).

Oh well - I think that the main thing about loyalty is that people should be loyal to themselves; and so long as passengers put their own wishes first and foremost when booking a cruise I truly hope then that they won't feel that their loyalty has been misplaced.

Hopefully everyone will book and go on cruises in 2013, and even more hopefully everyone who does so won't regret it one iota.

Em

[kaymar]

Sorry, haveabeer, but I tend to agree with Manoverboard.

If I understand you correctly, your complaint is that that cost of your cruise has reduced since you booked it and you want to pay the reduced price. P&O have a pricing structure to deal with this and, whilst it obviously does not please you, I assume that they are just sticking to their rules.

As annoyed as you may be, I would not expect the Chief Executive to intervene personally in such a dispute - as Manoverboard says, she is paid a lot of money to do many things which, in the opinion of the company, are more important. I do agree that there must be a structure in place to deal with your complaint and that you should receive a proper response from the person employed to handle it, but the CEO is not that person in a company the size of P&O.

I have little doubt that yours is one of many such disagreements and that the present fare structure would seem to lend itself to dispute but I think they will have clear guidelines as to how each situation should be dealt with. It would seem that this has led to them losing you as a customer which I expect they regret but until such time as they can identify this as a clear trend, I think it unlikely that they will change their policy.

I would be inclined to follow Manoverboard's suggestion, accept that at the time of booking you were happy with the price, move on and enjoy your cruise.

[noddy10]

If Carol Marlow has been on a cruise in 2012 then it is her choice and her money to take it with whoever she wishes but it does not give me a lot of confidence if she has no confidence in P&O and prefers to travel with Cunard where she was CEO before she came to P&O.

[Princess]

Just had a quick scan through page 1 of this thread and I think (certainly in our case) that the Vantage/Getaway pricing is only part of the problem. People who have cruised with P&O for a number of years are now well aware of this pricing system and although it is extremely annoying it is something you are beginning to expect. We find it is the attitude of P&O over numerous things (including fares) that has made us feel that 'enough is enough'. Unfortunately the attitude of shoreside, which has been a matter of contention for sometime, seems to be creeping on the ships.

[david63]

If Carol Marlow has been on a cruise in 2012 then it is her choice and her money to take it with whoever she wishes but it does not give me a lot of confidence if she has no confidence in P&O and prefers to travel with Cunard where she was CEO before she came to P&O.

I would disagree with that.

If CM is on a P&O ship then she is working and no matter what she would not be able to get away from that, be it crew or passengers. By cruising with another line (Cunard in this case as she probably got "mates rates" ) then she would not be working and could relax and enjoy the cruise the same as any other passenger.

[haveabeer]

If CM wishes not to get involved with customer concerns then she should not invite people to contact her on twitter.
But there is no excuse for customer services to ignore my requests and just send back a email dismissing my complaint even though they accept that the information given to me by there agent was incorrect and further training was being put in place.

[GillD46]

Just had a quick scan through page 1 of this thread and I think (certainly in our case) that the Vantage/Getaway pricing is only part of the problem. People who have cruised with P&O for a number of years are now well aware of this pricing system and although it is extremely annoying it is something you are beginning to expect. We find it is the attitude of P&O over numerous things (including fares) that has made us feel that 'enough is enough'. Unfortunately the attitude of shoreside, which has been a matter of contention for sometime, seems to be creeping on the ships.

This is exactly how we feel.

[Manoverboard]

If CM wishes not to get involved with customer concerns then she should not invite people to contact her on twitter.
But there is no excuse for customer services to ignore my requests and just send back a email dismissing my complaint even though they accept that the information given to me by there agent was incorrect and further training was being put in place.

It is so that she is ' Seen ' to be talking to those who care to believe that she is actually there ... it simply means that somebody from P&O is picking up on the twittering masses.

I could tell you all about how I was cheated out of Ventura's Party Cruise by a lying toe rag or how I was robbed out of £,000s due to Fluid Pricing on Azura or that I possibly got NV because P&O's procedures on Oriana were inadequate but if I did it would be ME who would be the one who would be upset and for what ?

Learn from it but do not allow it to get to you as it isn't worth it because you could become bitter about the injustice of it all and then start to nit pick on your subsequent cruises.

Ok.

Regards MoB

[haveabeer]

MoB
Thanks you are right of course but i have learnt from the experience much to my dismay that i no longer will
book on board or book early something we enjoyed doing as it gave us something to look forward to on these long winter months.
And now will look at all cruise lines and not just the one maybe that's where i went wrong.

[Manoverboard]

HaB ...

You didn't do anything wrong, you were just not quite in tune with the way P&O operate these days ... their loss and it's to their shame that they conspire to lose loyal customers like yourself through making ill thought out short term and knee jerk Management decisions.

Beat them at their own game and book 12 to 14 days for £499 a couple of times and then you, like me, will feel a whole lot better in no time at all

[Dark Knight]

I have no loyalty to any brand, with the possible exception of DC comics, apart from that it is purely the price that dictates my actions when shopping or buying cars etc
specific to cruising, it is Itinerary, itinerary, cabin, price, company , ship, I have seen many moans on this and other forums and apart form the specific ones related to health and safety, I find 99% of them a waste of effort to read as the ultimatley turn uout to be someone moaning coz THEY got it wrong, the main example of this is cruise prices
when we book we pay up and shut up, end of. If the price drops, so what, we were happy on day 1, so why bleat about it on day 35?, if the price of our cruise drops, then next time we wait longer to book ,as it is lesson learnt, it is not PandO 's fault as they are a business not a charity, people should be more savvy and either wait or book up and shut up

sorry to sound harsh but the truth is the truth

[Silver_Shiney]

I have no loyalty to any brand, with the possible exception of DC comics, apart from that it is purely the price that dictates my actions when shopping or buying cars etc

With respect, is that a fair comparison? I'm not aware of any other publisher who produces those comics, so don't DC Comics have a monopoly?

... specific to cruising, it is Itinerary, itinerary, cabin, price, company , ship, I have seen many moans on this and other forums and apart form the specific ones related to health and safety, I find 99% of them a waste of effort to read as the ultimatley turn uout to be someone moaning coz THEY got it wrong, the main example of this is cruise prices
when we book we pay up and shut up, end of. If the price drops, so what, we were happy on day 1, so why bleat about it on day 35?, if the price of our cruise drops, then next time we wait longer to book ,as it is lesson learnt, it is not PandO 's fault as they are a business not a charity, people should be more savvy and either wait or book up and shut up

I totally agree.

[JenniC]

Me too - had this discussion last year as well when someone was bleating on about price drops. P&O are a business and will try and get as much for the product as they can, as will ANY other business and if they don't sell then they reduce prices. Same as seeing a coat in House of Fraser (other stores are available!) and buying it only to find it in a sale two weeks later! You make the decision when to buy (book) - You pays your money and you takes your chance.

[Quizzical Bob]

Me too - had this discussion last year as well when someone was bleating on about price drops. P&O are a business and will try and get as much for the product as they can, as will ANY other business and if they don't sell then they reduce prices. Same as seeing a coat in House of Fraser (other stores are available!) and buying it only to find it in a sale two weeks later! You make the decision when to buy (book) - You pays your money and you takes your chance.

Quite true, but next time you'll modify your buying habit and wait until the price drops.

[david63]

Me too - had this discussion last year as well when someone was bleating on about price drops. P&O are a business and will try and get as much for the product as they can, as will ANY other business and if they don't sell then they reduce prices. Same as seeing a coat in House of Fraser (other stores are available!) and buying it only to find it in a sale two weeks later! You make the decision when to buy (book) - You pays your money and you takes your chance.

Quite true, but next time you'll modify your buying habit and wait until the price drops.

... only to find that they have it in every size except the one that you want

[haveabeer]

Hi DK

My letter of complaint was not regarding the drop in price albeit it was the reason for the initial call to them.
My complaint was about the wrong information given to me by there employee.

I was told and it was recorded that I could re book taking advantage of the new price without any penalties I would be allocated the same grade cabin no mention of increased OBC or upgrade

I was unhappy with the way the complaint was treated not the outcome I been around long enough to understand late deals, but as I tell my kids if you don't ask you don't get I am not one for sitting back and saying nothing maybe if more customers complained then they might just do something about it but if we sit back and take I am sure they will keep on doing it

[JenniC]

Me too - had this discussion last year as well when someone was bleating on about price drops. P&O are a business and will try and get as much for the product as they can, as will ANY other business and if they don't sell then they reduce prices. Same as seeing a coat in House of Fraser (other stores are available!) and buying it only to find it in a sale two weeks later! You make the decision when to buy (book) - You pays your money and you takes your chance.

Quite true, but next time you'll modify your buying habit and wait until the price drops.

... only to find that they have it in every size except the one that you want

Exactly my point... You could take the chance or get what you want - either way YOU make that choice

[Dark Knight]

HAB
my post was not directed at yopu per se, just the general situation of how prices and price reductions are viewed by the customer and used by companies as sales tools
complaint handling is titally different and , ALL complaints should be answered in a timely and well manner fashion and mistakes, if made should be acknowledged and rectified



SS
for clarity , there are many publishes of comics, such as Marvel, Dark Horse etc.....google may help with your education

[tractor boy]

If you are happy with the price when you book, which must be the case as you wouldnt have booked if not, then what does it matter if someone who is willing to wait and chance it being sold out, gets it cheaper. At least by booking early you get the cabin you want and know that you will be going on the holiday you want. I never look at the price after booking a holiday so I dont know if I could have got it cheaper. The on board discount makes P&O the one for us as have heard how pricey the yank ships are for beers etc.

[melsea]

Johnjames

You have hit the nail on the head saying no one is loyal anywhere. All companies from the banks, insurance, supermarkets etc have no loyalty to their companies. I always thought it a sting when we the customers would get money from a ATM that was not your bank and you were charged for it meant you were not loyal, it never occurred to me I was either being loyal or disloyal just me wanting my money from the nearest ATM. It was just another scam to get even more money from you. We always look around for the best deals whether its insurance, buying a new product, and more especially for a cruise. We like cruising but not at just any price it has to be the right price or we don't go. Last year we booked a stay in Turkey for 28 days, only because we had rented out our house for 6 months and made up the time by being away once we got back from our cruises. The price we got with flights and it was an all inclusive at £13 a day each. No the hotel was not the best but it was 2 minutes to the sea front. We are fairly easy to please. My first cruise with P&O was in 2004 and yes there has been a scaling down of things but in general I think they give value for money. It just doesn't feel like we are being loyal it's just at this point in time we like the product for the money we can get. Having said all that with the number of passengers who do return to P&O for whatever reason I do feel that P&O need to update their entertaining of shows and activities during the day as it is getting a little old and tired. Also what does being loyal mean and what do you want from it, I doubt there is a company out there that is loyal to its customers.
I will reserve judgment as we are sailing on Oceana in 16 days times and I'll report back on my findings. It is of course all subjective.

On the subject of price reductions and I know this is not the best example but it's a little bit like when you find something you want to buy and you buy it only for it to be reduced in a sale a few days later which if you thought to wait it would unlikely to have your size. With buying a cruise I know people want a certain cabin on a certain deck and so they buy that product. Whereas we don't mind and go for guarantee, we have even had hotel on arrival when we have done land base holidays. I think with the Vantage fares my understanding is that you have the cabin you want and you choose one of the three benefits. But if they reduce the fare that is not a getaway then you get the difference in OBC. However I wonder how this works when there are fares that are showing both the vantage and the getaway on the same cruise on offer, have vantage fares that are along side getaway fares been reduced from the original price? Has anyone one found this to be the case?