Cruises.com.au Blog

In a previous blog I told the story of a Sydneysider who went on an extended Pacific cruise from Sydney to Tahiti/Honolulu but was so disenchanted with many services on the ship that he and his wife jumped ship in Honolulu and flew home at considerable extra expense.

This person failed to get any written answers after writing lengthy letters to the Australian office of this American owned shipping company. In desperation he rang the appropriate department and was given an answer that was not satisfactory as far as he was concerned, basically saying that there would be no compensation and that it was his choice to leave the ship. He told the person at the other end of the phone that he was very unhappy and as a consistent customer to the line, would be making his feelings public to the media. According to this reader, he received a call back from a different person in the company within fifteen minutes, offering him a considerable discount on his next cruise.

Customer service is all important, and in these trying times, if not outstanding, may hurt a shipping line through bad word of mouth.

John Pond
News Editor, Cruise Passenger Magazine