He is certainly a good man to have when there is trouble, and when someone needs to put in place, there is no doubt that he is authoritarian enough for that. But he is a bit too authoritarian and brusque when it comes to general customer contact.
I am not writing this to criticize, but to give you professional feedback on the customer experience. When a fragile, elderly woman speaks out about this, there are certainly more people who have had the same experiences, and I felt a bit threatened by the comments I received. It is completely unnecessary.
3) Finally, there is a point that is even harder to make, and I hope by all means that it is kept confidential between the customer service representative and me, because I do not want to offend him. It concerns the head porter on the boat, who has been working all these years (~15). He is a very capable and skilled guy, there is no doubt about that. There is often a lot of pressure and stress with the queuing system and other things. So this is not a criticism of his professional qualities. It is about something else - there are sometimes quite inappropriate comments, and he loves to talk to all the customers. For me, this drives the customers away a little. I often take a book with me on these trips. He always comes up and grabs it out of my hands to see what I am reading. He has made comments about me "having read the same book for 2 years" and the like, often so that others can hear. I have told him several times that I often do not read that much at home, that I often only read when I am out on trips and traveling, because I am very busy at home. It's probably just a jargon he has, and I can take a joke. But it goes a little over the line sometimes, and feels a little... pushy and unnecessary.
Often there is inappropriate intrusion, conversations and comments with customers, it feels like they are being bothered a bit. Again, this is very difficult to bring up, as he means well, and tries to create some life among the customers. Some may find it pleasant. But I think most customers just want to travel on a crossing, calmly, in their own company with themselves and their company, without any interference from staff. On (another related ship line that's now closed) it was like that, you were allowed to sit in peace, and it was a quiet and pleasant trip that you could enjoy without fear of interference and being pressured into conversation by staff. Most people take such a trip as a little mini-vacation, a breather from everyday life. Then you would like to relax and enjoy the trip in peace.
But he is extremely capable, knowledgeable and skilled. It is possible that it will be very difficult to find someone who can fill his shoes when the time comes, just for having written that. And, a little friendly conversation is perfectly fine. He is welcome to ask what I am reading, and chat a bit about different topics, that is certainly okay. But then without making embarrassing comments like I read slowly and the like, and without taking up too much time.
One person I can brag about uninhibitedly is the woman who works behind the counter. Pleasant, friendly, helpful, fast and efficient. And talks in a normal tone, low-pitched, not pressing.
I hope again that this is addressed in the best sense, and do not want to be offensive. It is very difficult to write such an email. But I felt it was right now. It is almost so that I do not want to travel again, as there will be problems with booking, threatening comments, hustle and chaos.
I wish you a nice summer, and thank you for the probably between 50-100 trips I have been on.
Yours sincerely.