Arnold spent his twilight years immersed nestled within one of London's most exclusive enclaves, surrounded by grand townhouses that originally commanded up to £3,000…an absolute fortune for a private residence at the turn of the 19th century. Today, the same multi-storey Georgian terraces change hands for £6 million plus. I’m sure Peggy was happy!
Victory had approached Bucentaure's vulnerable stern so closely that the French ensign had literally hung over Victory's deck. Victory's port carronade, loaded with a single 68-pound ball and a keg of 500 musket-balls, fired first and was immediately followed by the entire fifty guns of the port broadside in a rapid ripple. The impact caused Bucentaure to heel in the water from the shock whilst the devastation wrought by scores of cannon-shot and hundreds of musket-balls hurtling down the entire length of her decks summarily killed 365 men and wounded a further 219; twenty of her eighty guns were dismounted and, in an instant, the French flagship was rendered almost impotent and helpless to do anything other than surrender.
Let me start by saying Virgin is my absolute favourite cruise line. I have never had a problem before and have booked two more cruises this year, even persuading my highly skeptical brother to join me on our Comedy Festival cruise this August. Onboard Sailor Services have always been helpful, efficient, and fantastic.
However, it strikes me that offshore Sailor Services are the weakest component of the brand. Too often, they seem overworked or completely ignorant of the basic workings of the cruises they manage. Dealing with them becomes frustrating at best and infuriating at worst.
The worst example to date.....they messed up my referral link for my brother. Customer services admitted fault and offered a "goodwill gesture."
The gesture? Offering to "upgrade" my brother from his current Sea Terrace to a Limited View Sea Terrace... and charging him £250 for the privilege!
Why is this an upgrade? According to them, Virgin is prepared to pay half of a £240 cabin change fee, leaving him to pay £120 (with the rest making up their fictional upgrade cost). No way is this a goodwill gesture. It feels like a shady practice to fill restricted-view cabins that they know they can't shift with only ten days to go.
Needless to say, this has left a very sour taste. I have drafted the following response to send back to them....................
>"Since Virgin Voyages has already admitted fault for the original error, I expect a resolution that corrects this mistake fully without cutting corners. Charging extra money to sit behind a lifeboat is not a resolution it is a penalty for your mistake."
Im not a natural complainer and part of me wonders if I should just let it go and hope the universe rewards me on Scarlet Night instead. But what makes me want to proceed is letting Virgin corporate know that their offshore customer service sucks and is dragging the brand down to NCL levels (god forbid).
What do you think? Should I send the email to corporate escelations or just drop it?