SP
Samantha P

1 reviews | Active since Apr 2015

11 Apr 2023, 23:38

Lack of necessary communication

I booked a cruise with the Online Cruise Department at Flight Centre as this was our first cruise and we were not very knowledgeable regarding the details and wanted some expert advice. This was definitely not what we received. Sharon Viljoen assisted us. Our cruise was to depart on the 20th of March which was the day of the planned National strike and we were already very concerned. In the build-up of this day, and our nervousness to travel or not to and how dangerous it could become, we did not check regarding the Covid regulations for our kids. We took along our Covid vaccination certificates for the adults but as my kids are under 12 and not vaccinated, we really didn’t think much else was needed. After a very strenuous flight and finally getting to the port early as we were concerned about our safety, we were then told that the kids needed a valid Covid test. Fortunately, they were was an onsite testing centre but we had to pay an exorbitant fee but to add to this we had to wait for 3 hours and was the last people to board the ship, enduring the stress for those 3 hours of not knowing if we would get the test results in time and we would miss this trip. When we got back I addressed this with Sharon and she brushes it off with referring to a snippet in the 22page ticket she sent through which refers to the MSC website for Covid details. Why then did I go through Flight Centre and not MSC directly if I wanted to wade through their website for information? I expected personal, helpful information- a consultant to walk me through the process or I could have cut out the middle man and went direct. This was not what I got. I would never trust Flight Centre with any further trips- EVER!

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Replies (2)
Flight Centre South Africa
Flight Centre South Africa's reply12 Apr 2023, 07:33
Official
Dear  Samantha, 

Thank you for providing us with your feedback and we're truly sorry that the feedback provided by Sharon left you feeling this way. We would like to address this matter and our Customer Experience team will reach out to you to further assist. 

~A.C 
Flight Centre South Africa
Flight Centre South Africa's reply14 Apr 2023, 13:28
Official
 Dear Samantha.     We genuinely care about delivering an amazing travel experience and regret that your interaction with our online travel expert Sharon has not been a favourable one and we have failed to deliver the basic service that is a core focus of our business.                   On behalf of Flight Centre Travel Group, please accept our sincere apologies for the frustration you have experienced. Once your concerns were received, we escalated the matter to our suppliers and management for investigation. We would like to respond as follows:        The cruise booking documents, tickets as well as the Flight Centre booking documents all contained the necessary information to inform and give awareness to this Covid requirement. This information was presented to you before, during and after your purchase and agreed upon by signing the electronic agreement.   We have noted your dissatisfaction with how the information was presented to you and we understand the frustration it has caused. However, the onus was always on you as the traveller to ensure that your Cruise preparation was in order.   On behalf of Flight Centre Travel Group, we genuinely regret the frustration caused by this situation.     We trust you will find the above in order. 

~C.M