Shame of Norwegian

Really bad publicity for Norwegian Cruise,

This was on channel 7 news in New York today. These people were booked on a cruise vacation (6 people) when hurricane Sandy hit and totally destroyed their home and all its contents. Their cruise was to begin just 6 later. They survived Sandy only with the cloths on their back.

Tried numerous phone calls and emails to re-book the cruise for a later date. No one ever contacted them from Norwegian Cruise Line and refused to discuss the matter. Besides losing their home they were out over $4,000.

Channel 7 news stepped in and got Royal Caribbean to give these people a free 7 day cruise to Bermuda for not 6 but 8 people.

Shame on you Norwegian

that's why we get insurance!

I don't understand. Norwegian did nothing to violate their contract. These people wanted to not go on their cruise which would have screwed Norwegian by leaving them with empty cabins.

Why not just submit a claim and let their travel insurance serve its purpose? You either cover unforeseen circumstances with insurance or you assume ALL the risk yourself.

I lost my business, house and 2 vehicles in Sandy, some want you to know where i am coming from.

As horrible as this situation is, this is what insurance is for. No one cancels for something good happening, when someone cancels or can not make it on the cruise It is from something bad. Where do you make the cutoff for the cruise line allowing you to cancel at, is say death of a child or parent reasonable for them to allow you to cancel, what about the person who falls and breaks their leg?

It sounds horrible but this is why you should buy insurance, for the things that happen that you don't expect.

Sure it would have been good public relations and nice for them to do but unfortunately it sets a precident.

And again this is coming from someone who suffered terribly from the storm.

that's why we get insurance!

Yup! As cold hearted as it seems, it's business. Very sorry they lost so much to Sandy but they didn't have to lose their cruise. They made a choice & it bit them in the a$$............... It was their choice, not NCL's!

In addition to my last post, we were also planning on booking 2 cruises as we had 3 cruise rewards that were expiring this year. NCL was nice enough to extend them out to 2015 since we were so devestated by the storm and can not really afford to cruise right now.

We booked a European cruise for December 2014 with 2 of them and will use the other one sometime in the near future probably for a 2015 cruise.

One last thing, this angers me so much, this is such a problem in this country, the sense of entitlement. I am not going to follow the rules or common sense and then I am going to cry foul and feel I am owed when things go bad. And the fact that they were given a cruise only perpetuates this mindset.

that's why we get insurance!

exactly.

medical emergencies

home emergencies

are all covered..among other things and that is the purpose of insurance, especially important when cruising during hurricaine season and remember hurricaines not only affect where you are goin to but where you are coming from..as in superstorm sandy!

while we survived with just a power outage and no damage and I know many people who did lose lots and lots....it is still no excuse....if you travel..buy insurance

it goes something like this

1. research your trip

2. book your cruise

3. buy your insurance within 14 days of initial deposit

4. enjoy your cruise..and if something happens that is a covered reason...then cancel your cruise and be guaranteed no issues with getting a refund..because you bought insurance.

nice that RCCL found a way to capitalize on this issue...

pieshops,

I am very sorry about losses with Superstorm Sandy.

However, I have a different question about this story and that is the timing of it. Why is this story coming out Now, when Norwegian's newest ship is due to sail from Southampton, United Kingdom to New York city in just a few hours.

Really bad publicity for Norwegian Cruise,

This was on channel 7 news in New York today. These people were booked on a cruise vacation (6 people) when hurricane Sandy hit and totally destroyed their home and all its contents. Their cruise was to begin just 6 later. They survived Sandy only with the cloths on their back.

Tried numerous phone calls and emails to re-book the cruise for a later date. No one ever contacted them from Norwegian Cruise Line and refused to discuss the matter. Besides losing their home they were out over $4,000.

Channel 7 news stepped in and got Royal Caribbean to give these people a free 7 day cruise to Bermuda for not 6 but 8 people.

Shame on you Norwegian

I saw this and totally agree with you. Of course, get ready to hear from all the CCers who will say the family should have bought insurance and I agree with them, too, but Jeeze Louise, the family lost EVERYTHING. Even Kevin Sheehan failed to respond. Royal Caribbean went waaaaaay up in my eyes for their compassion. Going from the JEWEL to the EXPLORER of the SEAS ain't too shabby, LOL. Bravo to RCCL!:cool:

Well Bob from NJ -- Welcome to NCL boards. Royal and Celebrity have enjoyed your company for a while, now we get the privilege.!!!!

Do you know if Royal paid for the advertisement, or was this a free one from the media.

I don't think NCL did anything wrong, but Royal seized an opportunity for some publicity and it seems to have worked.

I'm sure this did not happen to just this one family. Is rccl going to give free cruises to everyone who had to cancel their cruise and didn't get any money back due to horrible circumstances??

We lost use of our timeshare due to Hurricane Hugo and had major damage to our home.

The timeshare company would not let us defer.

Did I like it? NO! But it was a loss due to nature and we had no insurance.

Luckily we did have insurance for our house. Charleston and area built back better than ever. There is hope.

And a reason for insurance!

Do any of you realize that Kevin Sheehan also lost his home to Superstorm Sandy??

I think that this is more of a story of RCCL doing something extraordinarily kind than of NCL doing anything wrong. From a business sense, it seems like while it was obviously very nice for this family, RCCL has now set the precedent for people to say "They gave that family a vacation but won't do xxxx for me, a paying customer". I bet their customer service queues are all backed up right now!

I'll still sail on NCL, and we're not loyal; we've only just now booked our first NCL cruise.

Do any of you realize that Kevin Sheehan also lost his home to Superstorm Sandy??

No, I didn't.

I saw this and totally agree with you. Of course, get ready to hear from all the CCers who will say the family should have bought insurance and I agree with them, too, but Jeeze Louise, the family lost EVERYTHING. Even Kevin Sheehan failed to respond. Royal Caribbean went waaaaaay up in my eyes for their compassion. Going from the JEWEL to the EXPLORER of the SEAS ain't too shabby, LOL. Bravo to RCCL!:cool:

Anyone from NCL could have responded, but the bottom line is Trip Insurance. You have to plan for the unexpected. Cruise lines are under no obligation to offer passengers anything if they cannot make the cruise. I feel for everyone that lost so much during Sandy, Irene and all the storms in the last few years. Rebuilding your lives must be so difficult.

Do any of you realize that Kevin Sheehan also lost his home to Superstorm Sandy??

and he can afford to rent a condo at the trump tower until his home is rebuilt.

please dont compare a millionaire to a man on the street.

and I am sure he hired people to get his family settled until his home is rebuilt...doubt he hauled out the ruined basement carpeting himself.

I was SO angry when I saw the news tonight (and I'm a big channel 7 fan - I think Nina's going to get a piece of my mind). The report was very slanted against NCL. First of all there was no mention of insurance. That's just wrong. What's worse is Royal just set a precedent that could potentially screw them. I know it sounds like Royal did a wonderful thing and Norwegian was simply horrible. But business IS business. If Norwegian allowed all the people affected cancel, they could lose a lot of business. Bottom line is they are a for-profit company. And when you make exceptions for one, you have to make them for all.

I hope Royal is prepared to give lots of people free cruises based on that. Or at least field a LOT of phone calls with "what about me".

While I can sympathize with the people who lost everything and understand they couldn't go, if you're going to spend that much on a vacation, spend the 10% more on insurance for the piece of mind. I'm really tired of people not taking responsibility for their own issues.

one last thing, this angers me so much, this is such a problem in this country, the sense of entitlement. I am not going to follow the rules or common sense and then i am going to cry foul and feel i am owed when things go bad. And the fact that they were given a cruise only perpetuates this mindset.

exactly!!!!!!!!!

and he can afford to rent a condo at the trump tower until his home is rebuilt.

 

please dont compare a millionaire to a man on the street.

 

and I am sure he hired people to get his family settled until his home is rebuilt...doubt he hauled out the ruined basement carpeting himself.

Interesting comments, but do you know the financial situation of the 8 people who were treated to a cruise by RCCL ?

They could be in any range of financial condition, so it is not proper to try to disparage Sheehan because he has been successful.

Face it ----- RCCL siezed an opportunity for some publicity. I am not saying that what they did was bad or good, but it is publicity and probably free.

The OP's reason for posting this is not clear.

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I saw this and totally agree with you. Of course, get ready to hear from all the CCers who will say the family should have bought insurance and I agree with them, too, but Jeeze Louise, the family lost EVERYTHING. Even Kevin Sheehan failed to respond. Royal Caribbean went waaaaaay up in my eyes for their compassion. Going from the JEWEL to the EXPLORER of the SEAS ain't too shabby, LOL. Bravo to RCCL!:cool:

What you all are over-looking, how many other families were booked on the same cruise, or one within a month of that cruise, who may have lost everything. You can't, as a business, do something for one family, and nothing for the others. I think NCL did the right thing....maybe now all those on NCL, Disney, Holland America, Carnival and Princess who were unable to cruise because of Sandy, should go to Channel 7, and have them arrange a free cruise with RCCL. They have set a precedent now. How many of them do you think will get a free cruise?

No. Shame on the people who didn't buy cruise insurance and expected a company to treat them as if they HAD purchased insurance. Same as shame on them for not having flood insurance if they opted to not have it.

Quit complaining, buck up and go forward. The world doesn't owe people just because they are stupid.

No. Shame on the people who didn't buy cruise insurance and expected a company to treat them as if they HAD purchased insurance. Same as shame on them for not having flood insurance if they opted to not have it.

Quit complaining, buck up and go forward. The world doesn't owe people just because they are stupid.

Awesome, love the last sentence.

Interesting comments, but do you know the financial situation of the 8 people who were treated to a cruise by RCCL ?

 

They could be in any range of financial condition, so it is not proper to try to disparage Sheehan because he has been successful.

 

Face it ----- RCCL siezed an opportunity for some publicity. I am not saying that what they did was bad or good, but it is publicity and probably free.

 

 

The OP's reason for posting this is not clear.

.

I wonder if those folks understand that they'll need to pay income tax on the RCCL trip that they've,....errrrr, ummm,....'won' by complaining a lot about how life isn't fair and NCL is crummy.

Really bad publicity for Norwegian Cruise,

This was on channel 7 news in New York today. These people were booked on a cruise vacation (6 people) when hurricane Sandy hit and totally destroyed their home and all its contents. Their cruise was to begin just 6 later. They survived Sandy only with the cloths on their back.

Tried numerous phone calls and emails to re-book the cruise for a later date. No one ever contacted them from Norwegian Cruise Line and refused to discuss the matter. Besides losing their home they were out over $4,000.

Channel 7 news stepped in and got Royal Caribbean to give these people a free 7 day cruise to Bermuda for not 6 but 8 people.

Shame on you Norwegian

Insurance.

Enough said.