Funny cruising complaints revealed
An independent online cruising travel agency has revealed some of the quirkiest complaints it has received from cruise holidaymakers via the site over the last year, including the ‘sea being too loud’ and a ship that refused to wait for a couple in-port who’d decided to take a little longer than planned, and ‘left a note’ explaining their relaxed approach to time-keeping.
All comments were made by bonvoyage.co.uk customers over the past 12 months, relating to a cruise they’d recently ventured on.
1) The first complaint which caught the team’s attention came from a lady who was on a Mediterranean cruise. She complained about the sea being too loud, claiming it had prevented her from having a decent night’s sleep during her holiday on-board. She also suggested that the cabins be “better sound-proofed against the sounds of the sea.”
2) A gentleman on a two-week Caribbean cruise with his wife celebrating their honeymoon complained about the lack of ‘ceremony’ for his newlywed status.
Apparently, he expected the staff on-board to dress their cabin in white, with rose petals strewn everywhere each morning; as well as champagne and strawberries delivered by a private butler each day.
The gentleman admitted that he didn’t request the measures in question, but expected the staff to “know” about their situation and offer special treatment accordingly, at no extra cost.
3) A woman on a cruise departing from Southampton informed the bonvoyage.co.uk team that she had to re-schedule her whole holiday, as she claimed she was not aware of the fact that she was supposed to take her passport with her on the cruise.
She apparently thought she only needed her passport when going on a fly-cruise, and blamed the cruise company for not texting her the day before to remind her to take her passport.
4) A couple on a Mediterranean cruise complained to the bonvoyage.co.uk team about their captain being “rude”, and failing to comply with their plans.
Apparently, the couple had left a note for the Captain in the morning to let him know they would be returning on-board two hours later than the planned departure time due to having “too much to do in-port”, but the Captain departed on-time without waiting for them.
The couple then had to catch the ship at another port the day after, and wanted compensation for their accrued travel costs.
5) A young woman on a Hawaiian cruise told the customer service team that she had heard that Gary Barlow was once on the same cruise she had ventured on, but failed to see him on the ship this time. She demanded a clear explanation as to why he wasn’t on the same cruise again this time.
6) A man who voyaged on a summer cruise around Alaska complained about the weather as it wasn’t as warm as he expected, stating that he expected to be able to “swim in the swimming pool each day” and “get an impressive tan.”
He stated that “all cruises are meant to be hot”, and so he sought compensation for having to buy warmer clothing as he “had only packed minimal clothing for the expected hot weather.”
7) An elderly couple who went on a cruise around France and Spain asked for a refund because the team on board did not provide them with a packed lunch each day after docking in-port, to take with them when leaving the ship. Apparently, this should have been provided, despite no discussion of this as an option ever taking place.
8) A woman on a ‘Celebrity Cruises’ ship asked bonvoyage.co.uk for a full refund in June last year, simply because she didn’t see any celebrities on board. According to her comments, the company was guilty of “false advertising” due to the lack of actual celebrities on the ship.
9) A couple from Yorkshire contacted bonvoyage.co.uk to complain about the kindness of the staff on board a cruise they ventured on in October, explaining that they had to spend “a lot more money than planned in tips” due to the excellent service. The couple were seeking some compensation for the cost of the tips given out.
10) Last but not least, BonVoyage.co.uk was contacted by a woman in January this year who expressed her disappointment with her inside cabin not having a window to the sea.
Furthermore, she expressed her frustration as she claimed ‘nobody’ on board was able to install a window for her so she could enjoy the view, and expected “better service next time.”
Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of bonvoyage.co.uk, spoke about the findings:
“As an online cruising agency, we always try to provide the best customer service possible for our customers; whether it’s regarding their comfort on-board, the information they get before getting on board or all the services and entertainment available on the ship.
“Customer satisfaction is something we hold in high priority, and we of course treat all comments and complaints with the highest level of concern.
“The vast majority of feedback we get from our holidaymakers is hugely positive, usually telling us what a great time they had, but from time to time we come across a few quirky complaints that we can do little to help.
“Whilst we always make sure we go back to every complaint, I’m afraid we can’t be held responsible for the sea being too loud or the lack of celebrities on board; as much as we wish we could put Gary Barlow on every cruise!”
FemaleFirst @FemaleFirst_UK
Tagged in Gary Barlow Travel