Should I expect a reply after emailing a complaint??

Hi Guys,

I submitted a complaint regarding the way my reservation - and more specificially, my request to pay for an upgrade was handled by NCL in Australia.

Should I expect a response?

Yes, I think you should. We complained about the way our call was handled by NCL UK and received a reply in about a week.

Hi Guys,

 

I submitted a complaint regarding the way my reservation - and more specificially, my request to pay for an upgrade was handled by NCL in Australia.

Should I expect a response?

Yes, you should expect a response.

The response may take 3 - 4 weeks, while they research and validate your claim.

If your request to pay for an upgrade AFTER FINAL PAYMENT was denied, that's because of the nature of Final Payment on cruise lines. Upgrades MAY be granted, but one is not 'entitled' to purchase one.

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It was after final payment - perhaps thats why it was handled so badly, But still if there are cabins avialable - you would think that they would want to take my money??

Hi Guys,

 

I submitted a complaint regarding the way my reservation - and more specificially, my request to pay for an upgrade was handled by NCL in Australia.

Should I expect a response?

It depends on many things. Many many factors. You should of course always get a response, but sometimes a company may look at the issue and realize there is nothing to gain by responding since what the customer wants is not what the company is going to do.

Without knowing ALL the facts, we are just guessing.

It was after final payment - perhaps thats why it was handled so badly, But still if there are cabins avialable - you would think that they would want to take my money??

Not always. In taking your money for the reduced-rate new cabin, they still have to turn around & expend the same amount of energy to now resell your cheaper (presumably) old cabin.

As an example:

You buy an inside for $1,000 at a time when balconies are $1,500.

after final payment, the balcony becomes $ 1,100 and the insides drop to $600 (-$400 each).

You offer to pay an extra $100 and take the balcony.

But what's happened, is that you now open-up an Inside which is worth $400 less than the inside that you committed to on final payment day.

So yes, they'd have $100 extra...IF they can't sell that cheaper balcony to somebody else. The problem is that they probably can - they're generally pretty good at capacity management.

Stephen

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Yes. It will take a while. I had a small issue on our April cruise, and sent an email when we got home. Not a complaint, just bringing it to their attention. I received a reply this morning.

Not necessarily? I filed a complaint after my January cruise (it was my first time ever cruising), and I never heard back. Now, I feel its been far too long to follow-up on it, but I wish I remembered to do so.

I was definitely disheartened about it, but plan on giving NCL another shot before giving up completely.

Thankfully the rest of the cruise went swimmingly, so I could overlook something minor.

It depends on many things. Many many factors. You should of course always get a response, but sometimes a company may look at the issue and realize there is nothing to gain by responding since what the customer wants is not what the company is going to do.

 

Without knowing ALL the facts, we are just guessing.

"You should of course always get a response". This is a true statement, however, most companies now are too selective as to what, unfortunately, they will respond to. And, if they do, it may take many days, or weeks.

Be persistent!!

We're sorry to hear that and would like to assist you! Please email us the details at socialmedia@ncl.com. Thank you!

Hi Guys,

 

I submitted a complaint regarding the way my reservation - and more specificially, my request to pay for an upgrade was handled by NCL in Australia.

Should I expect a response?

Is there something you would like them to do?

It depends. Did you simply complain or did you ask for help with an issue you had. Simple complaints may or may not get a response. Questions or requests for assistance with an issue most of the time will get a response.

Hi Guys,

 

I submitted a complaint regarding the way my reservation - and more specificially, my request to pay for an upgrade was handled by NCL in Australia.

Should I expect a response?

I think it really depends on the situation.

Was your complaint based on the the request being handled badly (IOW...in contradiction to stated company policy/guidelines)

OR

Is the complaint based on the fact that you are unhappy with the result? (Remember: Not getting what you want doesn't automatically mean the service was bad...sometimes the answer really is "no").

We're sorry to hear that and would like to assist you! Please email us the details at socialmedia@ncl.com. Thank you!

Now that's good customer service

I don't think the nature of the complaint should matter at all.

Even if it's just 'I thought the sea would be pink. WHY WASN'T IT PINK?!', good customer service would mean that you'd get a reply back saying that we're sorry for your disappointment and hope that you choose to sail with us again.

I'm sure NCL endeavour to answer every email complaint or compliment sent to them, and that chasing for a reply after a couple of weeks is reasonable.

I don't think the nature of the complaint should matter at all.

 

Even if it's just 'I thought the sea would be pink. WHY WASN'T IT PINK?!', good customer service would mean that you'd get a reply back saying that we're sorry for your disappointment and hope that you choose to sail with us again.

 

I'm sure NCL endeavour to answer every email complaint or compliment sent to them, and that chasing for a reply after a couple of weeks is reasonable.

You have the best answer. The sharks are already circling the OP ready to attack with one almost accusing the OP of trying to get something.

Good customer service is able to handle every situation and complaint. I knew someone that worked at the NCL complaint line (not sure if they still have one). But his job was to field calls from people that had complaints about their cruise. The stories he would tell me ranged from legitimate to insanely petty. One woman wanted a full refund on her cruise because her travel agent said a cruise would be a good way for singles to have a good time. But she never met anyone on the cruise and demanded a refund.

To the OP: NCL will definitely respond to your complaint and probably thank you for bringing it to their attention.

Keep us posted ;)

The compaint letter is often bad...simply due to the fact that its existence puts us into the "Why wasn't this taken care of while onboard" zone.

That aside:

Did your summer getaway hit a snag? You might be tempted to fire off a complaint letter, but travel columnist Christopher Elliott says you’re more likely to get the result you want if you don’t make one of these five common complaint letter mistakes:

1. “The Squeaky Wheel.” If your letter starts out “I’ve called a dozen times” and goes on for pages, the company will simply brand you an annoyance, keep your name on file, and ignore your complaint.
   
2. Another complaint mistake: “The Special Circumstances” letter. Elliott says the person who sends this kind of letter wants the company’s sympathy: They lost their job, a relative died, their pet got sick, or they’re on a fixed income. He says you’ll get better results if you tell a travel company less about you, and more about your horrible flight or hotel stay so they know how they can improve – and how they can help you.
   
3. The next kind of complaint letter mistake: “The Name-Dropper,” where the sender cc’s everyone, including the company CEO, the CFO, the VP, and the Better Business Bureau. This “carpet-bombing” approach actually hurts your chances of getting your problem resolved and paints you as a whiner. Instead, direct your complaint to the appropriate customer service manager.
   
4. Another type of complaint letter to avoid: “The Laundry List” of problems, from a poor dinner seating, to a noisy room, or rain. Complaining about everything makes you look petty, and makes it hard for a company to help you. Instead, stick to one problem and suggest how they might fix it.
   
5. The final complaint letter mistake includes “A Break-Up” line like “I’ll never do business with your company again!” or “I’m gonna sue!” Elliott says these kinds of letters get you nowhere. After all, if you announce that you won’t be back, why should they to respond? If you threaten to sue, your letter will end up in the company’s legal department for months – unanswered. The fix: Tell the company how disappointed you are and that you’re looking for a reason to do business with them again. Turning a negative into a positive gives the company the incentive to make things right.
   

Hi NCL - I have emailed that email address on 30 July. I was asking on here how long a response should take - I would have thought a couple of days, but perhaps my expectations are incorrect.

My email was more expressing my disappointment with how my reservation was handled. All I want to do is pay for an upgrade on my upcoming cruise - however even though I can see that cabins are available have been told that they are not??

So even after NCL requested that I email them with my concerns -

3 weeks later they still havent replied. Not sure why they request you to email them if they are still not going to reply.

My complaint wasnt regarding something that happened on board, infact I havent cruised yet, it was to do with the way my reservation was handled.

Anyway - Im not going to let in ruin my cruise, its just dissapointing that it wasnt responded to.

Just curious wand want to clarify. You used the email address that NCL provided in this thread and they still did not respond to you? Did you mention you were Pete69 from cruise Critic and that you were asked to contact via socialmedia@ncl.com?

If so, that is really strange. As a thought, were you checking your junk folder? I check mine regularly and often find things I did not consider junk. Hopefully you will hear from them soon.

Rochelle

So even after NCL requested that I email them with my concerns -

3 weeks later they still havent replied. Not sure why they request you to email them if they are still not going to reply.

My complaint wasnt regarding something that happened on board, infact I havent cruised yet, it was to do with the way my reservation was handled.

 

Anyway - Im not going to let in ruin my cruise, its just dissapointing that it wasnt responded to.

In answer to the highlighted text...its called corporate damage control. The Social Media Department is NOT Guest Services. They (Social Media) watch over sites like this one and Facebook. When people start complaining in public, they pop in, deliver the standard "email us" message, and they disappear. Thinking they are being taken care of, the complainer stops complaining and the thread dies and is soon forgotten.

If they were interested in resolving issues, they do it right here on the thread where they could explain what happened, what should have happened, and what is being done to fix the issue...that way if it happens in the future, people know what to do to get taken care of.

As to the response...Did you directly ask for a reply in your initial letter? (As in, "I'm asking that you repond to this letter in writing within 10 days..." type of asking) One of the biggest issue with complain letters is that people don't ask for the response. If you don't ask for the response, the company treats it as an FYI letter...they read it, file it, and move on.

I did ask directly for a response - i must admist that I didnt place a timeframe on it, as I assumed within a week or 2 would be standard.

Ohwell - I guess its time to move on, it seems that NCL has.

I sent NCL an email but didn't specially ask for a response, even though it was a complaint. I resent it as a "second request" and it was answered promptly with a phone call.

I'd send another email/letter.

I wrote a letter (postal) to Norwegian in late June and received a response from them this morning.

So even after NCL requested that I email them with my concerns -

3 weeks later they still havent replied. Not sure why they request you to email them if they are still not going to reply.

My complaint wasnt regarding something that happened on board, infact I havent cruised yet, it was to do with the way my reservation was handled.

 

Anyway - Im not going to let in ruin my cruise, its just dissapointing that it wasnt responded to.

Good luck. You will find that NCL does many things well but customer service is not one of them.