Update: Royal Caribbean hooks it up!

Posted by Noob Master on Oct 17, 2012 in Cruise, Royal Caribbean, Uncategorized | 4 comments

Last week, I wrote about my recent Mediterranean cruise out of Venice on Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas. It was great, except for one minor detail…there was NO wi-fi!

I understand internet on cruise ships is generally spotty AND uber expensive. But a big reason we chose the Splendour of the Seas was for the highly advertised wi-fi. It was a big selling point for me and the mom-in-law, since we both spend a lot of time on the internet for work (maybe too much).

She looks happy.

But, we soon realized there was NO internet AT ALL on the ship. No wi-fi, no ethernet, no dial up…nothing. This was a huge blow, and meant I would have to spend precious time at the ports searching for free wi-fi. Sure, I enjoy chilling at cafes with internet while traveling, but this seriously ate into my limited time at the ports and left less time for venturing off the touristy path. And it was worse for my mom-in-law, who was planning on working remotely from the ship.

Things could be worse, but I would rather be exploring.

I’m not one to complain, but I really don’t like when companies advertise something that they don’t even have, or can’t deliver on. Come to find out, the ship was undergoing a wi-fi “update.” This is something that was planned, and that Royal Caribbean knew about ahead of time. Kick to the groin. They could’ve easily put on their website that the Splendour of the Seas was not going to have internet access for this sailing. But, they didn’t. Fail.

Anyway, when I got back to the States, I contacted customer support through their website. I was gracious and didn’t b@#$% too much. Two weeks later, I received a phone call from a representative.

I was kind of shocked that they even called (I was expecting an email), but the rep was very apologetic and understood my frustration. His offer: a $150 statement credit on my next sailing to cover the internet on that trip. I knew this was his low ball offer, so I didn’t flinch. I then asked him if he thought that was fair, considering that I had to spend time at ports instead of with my wife seeing new parts of the world. I also let him know I wouldn’t have booked the cruise if I knew there wouldn’t be internet at all. Things I’d already said that now just meant, “I’m not accepting your crappy offer.”

I honestly was expecting him to up the statement credit to $200 or something, but he shocked me with his next offer of $400 credit (each) towards our next sailing, AND the $150 statement credit. Boom goes the dynamite.

A much more generous second offer. It goes to show that it NEVER hurts to ask, AND ask again! This definitely helped make up for the lack of internet on the last trip.

If you have an issue where an airline, hotel, or cruise fails to provide a service promised – it’s worth it to let the company know. You don’t have to be an arrshole, but if you’ve spent your hard earned $$$ or miles, you deserve to receive what you paid for.

He was actually grateful that I contacted him, because I was able to give him feedback on the customer support of the Splendour of the Seas staff. And he even admitted to now knowing that they needed to update wi-fi connections in between sailings. Seems obvious to me.

I’m definitely happy that I took the 10 minutes to email in (almost didn’t), because I now have a free cruise (or close to it) for me and the wife.

Thank you Royal Caribbean, for owning the mistake and handling the situation with class! Now we just need to pick out our next cruise. Any ideas?

— Noob Master