Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Direct Line Cruises, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Direct Line Cruises, Inc.

  330 Motor Parkway, Suite 108 Hauppauge, NY 11788-5117

  
• 

  Direct Line Cruises, Inc.

  330 Motor Parkway Hauppauge, NY 11788

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/26/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I booked a Royal Caribbean Cruise through this agency. I've used this agency for over 20 years so I trusted them when booking. I booked a cruise and requested a room mid ship, quiet location and with bunk beds. My room was under the casino and had no bunk beds, rather it had trundle beds. When the beds pulled out, it was impossible to use the restroom in the middle of the night without waking my children. My wife broke her toe trying to squeeze by in the middle of the night. I specifically requested bunk beds because my cruise last year had them for my children. I immediately called when I was on the ship. Direct Line Cruises failed to take any responsibility, but chose to blame me. I was then told by one representative that the agent that booked my cruise had also messed up booking cruises for other customers. They failed to take any responsibility and told me I would have to deal with the cruise line. They then emailed me stating that they had recorded conversations and refused to do anything. I had many conversations with numerous representatives prior to booking my cruise and I'm quite sure they can cherry pick what ever conversations suite them. I would NEVER have booked this cruise had I known the room had no bunk beds and it would be under the casino. I spent a lot of money on this cruise and had to wake my children up every night to use the rest room. I trusted their agent when booking since I have had such a long history with their agency. They just refused to take responsibility and blamed me instead.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2024

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ********* ******
  
  **************************************
  ******* ********** *********
  ****** ******** ******
  **************************************************** ***
  ********************
  
  Dear *******************.
  
  This is in response to complaint ID# ******** that was forwarded by the Better Business Bureau to ***********************, **** ********* ** ****** **** ******** ***.
  
  Direct Line Cruisesphone records indicate that from January 4, 2024 through January 5, 2024 there were exactly 13 phone calls between **************** (the complainant) and Direct Line Cruises.  Contrary to *** ******* insinuation to the BBB that Direct Line Cruises would cherry-pick whatever conversations suit them, there were no other calls between **************** and Direct Line Cruises booking agent during the inquiry or booking process, and all 13 calls were carefully reviewed for relevant content. 
  
  On January 5, 2024 **************** booked two cabins for the 8/18/2024 sailing of the Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas. After reviewing available stateroom options that would meet *** ******* stated criteria, our Sales Agent suggested two side-by-side cabins located mid ship on deck #3 that were within the clients budget and could accommodate 4 passengers as **************** specified.  Our Agent (******) then advised **************** to look at the ships deck plan online to confirm that the location of the cabins was acceptable, to which he agreed.
  
  During this conversation, **************** and our Agent discussed the fact that the ships conference center was on that deck as well as one level of the dining room toward the rear,and the lower level of the theater toward the front.  **************** did not express concern about the casino being one deck above the cabins. Neither our Agent nor **************** felt that this location would have any issues regarding noise or people traffic. However,contrary to *** ******* stated recollection, the specific bedding configuration for the 3rd and 4th passengers in the cabin (i.e., bunk beds, sleeper sofa, or trundle bed) was never discussed except to confirm that the cabin could accommodate up to four guests.  
  
  In his complaint letter to the BBB, **************** states that he requested a room mid ship, quiet location and with bunk beds.  But, after listening to ALL of the calls between **************** and our office, and reading our booking Agents detailed notes, I can state emphatically that bunk beds were never requested by *************** when he booked the cabins.   
  

  On July ****** (several months after the cruise was booked and paid in full to the cruise line), **************** contacted Direct Line Cruises stating that he was now concerned that his cabin was below the casino and might be noisy at night.  That call was only seven weeks prior to sailing and by this point the ship had no availability that would meet ********** other requested criteria (side-by-side cabins, mid-ship location and price point). Changing the ship and /or sail date was discussed but **************** dismissed that option because the cruise line would have charged him a penalty for cancelling his original confirmed, fully-paid reservation. 
  In his communication to the booking agent, **************** states Hey ****** When I booked my cruise the only things I needed [italics added] when we spoke was that the rooms be midship next to one another and quiet because I have small children, and he then expressed concern about the noise from the casino (one deck above) possibly keeping his children awake.  However, here again, there is no mention of bunk beds being among the things he claims in his letter to the BBB to have originally discussed with the booking agent.     
  
  **************** then called from the ship on August 18, 2024 upset over the specific bedding configuration in the cabin.  As he was told by the Booking Agent, the cabin accommodated four guests, but **************** apparently assumed there would be bunk beds in the cabin, because, as he stated in his complaint letter to the BBB, my cruise last year had them for my children.  But, Direct Line Cruises Agent at no time during the inquiry and booking process said there would be bunk beds in the cabin nor did **************** even tell the booking agent that he would have preferred a cabin with bunk beds when he booked the cruise.
  
  **************** further claims in his letter to the BBB that, because the cabin didnt have bunk beds, his wife broke her toe (for which we can only assume that the cruise line and / or travel insurance company would have a record of her onboard treatment).  He then asserts in his letter that he was told by one representative that the agent that booked my cruise had also messed up booking cruises for other customers.  Here again, there is no record of any such conversation taking place between **************** and any of Direct Line Cruisesrepresentatives, and we would certainly be aware if our booking agent (******)had a record of client complaints (which she doesnt).  Perhaps **************** would like to identify the representative who allegedly told him that ****** messed up bookings for other customers.                  
  
  **************** stated in his letter that when he spoke with us at that time Direct Line Cruises failed to take any responsibility. But, in reality, the Direct Line Cruises Agent did the only thing possible. She advised
  **************** to speak with ************** aboard the ship to see if any other cabins became available due to last minute cancellations. Our Sales Agent could not do any more at this point because on the day of
  sailing travel agencies do not have access to cabin information, cannot make any changes in a clients accommodations,and cannot contact ship personnel directly. **************** did contact ************** as our Agent suggested but we surmise that not even they could accommodate him on the day of sailing.
  
  Please note that *** ******* complaint letter to the BBB does not claim that the stateroom was substantially noisier than in other places of public accommodation, nor does he even acknowledge discussing the exact location of the cabin with our Agent (despite telephone recordings of that conversation). So, the entire essence of *** ******* complaint letter to the BBB is that our Agent did not book him into a stateroom with bunk beds and she should have somehow known that he would have preferred them (despite him never stating any preference of bedding configuration until it was too late to do anything about it).
  
  As previously stated, the information we are providing in this reply to ********** complaint is documented in our call recording system and in detailed Agent notes at the time of the booking. This written and recorded documentation will be provided to the BBB at your request.
  
  As *************** states, he is a long-time client of Direct Line Cruises and we deeply regret to hear that this cruise fell short of his expectations.  Direct Line Cruises strives to ensure that all our customers have an enjoyable travel experience by clarifying what they are shopping for and by responding with the best options within their budget. We believe our Agent carried through with this.
  

  Sincerely,

  ***************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/09/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  Directline Cruises has failed to provide any of the conversations when requested citing privacy laws. I had discussed this cruise with numerous representatives prior to January 2024. I was discussing which of the cruises would be the best. Directline Cruises only mentions recordings since January 2024 but there were many calls prior to January 2024. I've used this company for many years and had no reason to not trust them. When looking at the room position, I had no reason to look at the entire ships deck plan in regards to what was above or below our room, believing the agent would have known from the many discussions and having small children. I had no idea the casino was above our room. I did have a bunk bed conversation with a representative because last year I cruised and had a room with bunkbeds, A bunkbed request was made after numerous discussions for many, many months. It wasn't until going on the computer weeks before my vacation with my children showing them the ship layout that I saw the casino was above our room. I was told.."it's not really directly above your room, your room is kind of below where the casino starts. It wasn't until I entered the room that I saw that there were no bunk beds. I called Directline Cruises immediately to discuss this and I was told that they were terribly sorry and that this shouldn't have happened. I had about 2-3 conversations with representatives while I was on the ship. There were also a few conversations where I was disconnected due to reception issues. Maybe Directline Cruises can share all of those recordings which will show exactly what was said.  I was personally told that my representative had had issues with other client's bookings. As far as my wife breaking her toe, unfortunately the only thing to do with a broken toe is to tape it. My wife didn't want to spend hours dealing with a cruise doctor on vacation just to tape her toe, so she taped her herself. My wife was getting ice to ice her foot. It's disgusting that now Directline Cruises is questioning that as well. It's apparent that they take no responsibility and would rather blame a customer who has used their services for well over 20 years.  While I was on the ship I was told to discuss my issues directly with the cruise line who had nothing to do with booking my vacation. I would like copies of all the recordings I had with the numerous agents from approximately November 2023 until August 29th, 2024. When calling their agency, the agent who actually booked my cruise wasn't always available, so there were conversations with many other agents. I was left on my own with this issue and fed nothing but excuses after spending thousands of dollars. 

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************