xriva

Thanks EmmaCat - that is absolutely ridiculous! I just went to their website and see that they have balconies available for 3 people. I called them at noon and they told me that the only option was for booking another single inside room at $1400 for the one person and keeping 2 people in the existing room. Looks like another call tonight. I'm losing faith in this company.

I think your only hope is to get moved to another room, without it being a cancel/rebook. You’re past final payment (as others mentioned), so the usual cancel/rebook method won’t work due to penalties involved.

There are a couple of issues - one is that sometimes, a “move” is actually a “cancel/rebook” under the covers, and if you’re outside penalty dates, it doesn’t matter. Mostly. We learned this when we changed rooms and lost our double Latitudes points because we were beyond the 9-month limit (or whatever it was.)

The other is lifeboat capacity which is fixed. We were told by our PCC to always book everyone that could possibly be in the room immediately because of that issue. I’m sorry yours didn’t know that.

I would call and ask to be moved to another cabin with more lifeboat capacity without penalty, and see if they will do that.

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I think that's the nature of a website that provides consumer reviews, no? If I'm shopping for a new car and am considering a Dodge, I don't want a bunch of cheerleaders giving me the rah-rah high-five with a fist-pump when I ask a question on a Dodge forum. I want real opinions from real people, both good and bad. Sure, some people nitpick and are negative no matter what the situation, but if you're taking the time to read a website called "cruise CRITIC" you are hopefully wise enough to be able to sort through opinions and identify isolated incidents vs widespread issues and then take those into consideration before making a decision.

This is not the review section. There are hundreds of reviews in the review section. If I wanted to know what people thought about a specific ship, I would look at reviews, not discussions.

This is the discussion section. To follow your example, if someone said, “I’m thinking of buying a 2018 Dodge”, being told how the 1940s Dodges had more powerful engines is completely useless information. It is unlikely they will decide to find a 1940s Dodge instead.

Just announcing, “I’m not buying a Dodge because the 1940s Dodges were better” is not helpful, it’s just complaining.

It is Cruise Critic and it’s all opinions. However, the question I was addressing was, “Why do people react violently to unsolicited negative opinions?”

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Quite interesting, isn't it? People get mad because you are unhappy with a corporation. They act as though they personally have some sort of stake in the company, and your comments will cause them harm. What a nice position for a cruise line to be in. Customers with complete blind loyalty who will hand over their money regardless of how they are treated. It's that mindset that allowed us to get to where we are today with the degradation of service/quality and the nickle and diming.

What is the actual point of posting unsolicited negative opinions? It’s one thing to answer another person’s question, but just posting opinions doesn’t really add to the conversation.

Invariably, it’s “NCL blah, blah, blah, I’m so unhappy, it wasn’t like this in 1643, and now I’m only sailing [OtherLine].”

Why not go to the [OtherLine] board and post how happy you are, and what things you enjoy? Then you should be in a group of likeminded people.

I don’t think it’s blind loyalty. Posting negative opinions about something that is a substantial investment for a lot of people is almost always going to cause pushback. I don’t want to know that something to which I’ve committed a bunch of money is going to suck. You’re raining on their parade.

You also have new people here who don’t know what is was like on the Norway and probably don’t care. Their first cruise is what sets their baseline - not something that happened thirty or forty years ago.

I didn’t find CC until after my first cruise and I’m glad, because the ceaseless whining would probably have kept me off a ship. I like cruising. I am willing to pay what NCL charges for what they provide, but I review the T&Cs every time.

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this might be due to the captain, but i miss the noon captain briefing. the captain will make an announcement with the ship position, heading, speed, location, eta to next port, etc.

I think it is due to the Captain. Some are cruise line ambassadors and some are just boat drivers.

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Steak in the MDR at lunch on embarkation day

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If you start to feel queasy, go out to an open deck, get some fresh air, and look at the horizon. My brother-in-law’s advice - he’s a tugboat Captain.

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Expensive - $118.00 for the bottle - mixers and garnish! So can promise this - if we have any left at the end of the cruise it will be coming home with me :cool:

Isn’t it priced by the shot? That explains the amount. I thought it was the same in hotels.

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I need a drink after this thread. Where do I show my ID?

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Could someone stop the turntable? I think we have a broken record.

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Nope.

 

We were left in Miami by U.S. Air while our luggage flew without us to Canada.

If your luggage went to Canada without you, that would be a reason to leave your passport in the outside pocket, so it could get through customs.

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They don’t have much of a choice when this is a package deal.

Sunwing is popular with Canadians looking to go south, but they have a horrible reputation when dealing with problems on trips, especially at all inclusive resorts. There were reports of a group of Sunwing customers missing a ship and being flown as a group to the first port, from what I read it looks like they handled it in a reasonable way.

If I were the OP, I would be in touch with Sunwing to see if there was an earlier flight I could take and pay for a hotel overnight. Consider it the cost of insurance to enjoy the trip!

 

 

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If you purchase your air through Norwegian, you can pay a supplement and fly in early.

If it’s a package that saves lots of money, sometimes you get what you pay for.

If an airline is “popular” and has a “horrible reputation”, it must be remarkably cheap.

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This has been beaten to death on the Norwegian board and even though the couple admitted they screwed up, Norwegian refunded their cruise fare and is giving them another cruise.

So, expect all the whiners to come out of the woodwork now.

For the record, most of the people the couple encountered were not Norwegian employees, they work for the port. So, Norwegian is apologizing for the actions of a bunch of people that don’t work for them.

NEVER LEAVE YOUR PASSPORT OR YOUR MEDICATIONS IN CHECKED BAGGAGE. These people had cruised before - they should have known the drill.

I’m sorry to hear about your experience - didn’t you have trip insurance? That should have made refunds easy, although it doesn’t help with the stress of an illness or the missed vacation.

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There's no Haven private lounge w free drinks?

There are no free drinks anywhere, not even in the Haven.

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It seems that was a really bad example. :confused:

 

 

 

Our (Dutch) Advertisment Board or whatever it's called in English says "Free must literally mean free", except for the fact that you may have to pay postage to claim it, a phonecall, similar costs. Handling fee is not allowed. I thought such rules were pretty normal around the world, and I especially was expecting US laws to be even more strict.

If you have to pay postage, it wasn’t free - it’s a matter of degrees.

With hotels, you may also have “resort fees” - I’ve been amazed to find some crappy hotels were actually resorts!

That said, the gratuities on the various packages are at least charges for items you have chosen to use. Resort fees are for weight rooms, swimming pools, saunas and other items I will never use, especially on an overnight stay.

Also, I think people in the US are used to posted prices not being the final price because of our sales tax. With VAT in other countries, something that is ten euro is ten euro. (The first time I bought a CD in London, I was very confused to get a ten pound note back from a twenty. I would have handed the clerk a ten, but assumed that wasn’t enough.) Almost everywhere in the US, something that is ten dollars is slightly more than ten dollars.

I do think it’s slightly misleading to say “free” and then charge a service fee, especially since the fee is based on a random daily number that can be raised at any time that very few people actually pay.

I’m happy for the people who can pay less than twenty dollars a day for a package that has a list price of ninety, but the UBP makes no financial sense for me. I don’t even drink enough to cover the gratuities. So, we do dining or WiFi.

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I think there is a huge difference between “we screwed up, is there anything you can do for us?” and “we may have screwed up but you owe us, and we’re going to the press.”

There are too many “you owe us” people.

I misplaced my passport. The weather was bad. My original ports were hit by hurricanes. We missed Great Stirrup Cay. They won’t let my inside-cabin friends into the Haven with me.

So, why did “I misplaced my passport” win the lottery?

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NCL did three major things wrong as far as I can see. First was a lack of compassion for a couple who have made a mistake under chaotic circumstances. Even if you can’t solve the problem, how you deal with someone can significantly improve a very bad experience. Second, they apparently let them believe the problem would be resolved and had them sitting there for hours without communicating with them. Third, at least according to the story, a drivers license would have been acceptable according to ncl’s own policies, but no one raised that possibility with them. These were major customer service failures on the part of the ncl staff.

How many of those people were actually NCL staff? Most of the workers at a port are employed by the port and contracted to work ship arrivals and departures.

Daughter who dumped her elderly parents and ran? Not NCL.

Passengers who forgot their passports? Not NCL.

Porter who collected suitcases? Not NCL.

Security who wanted to see passports? Not NCL.

I have traveled with my eighty-plus year old mother, and I would never let her travel alone. She almost packed her passport once and the only thing that prevented this same thing happening to her is that my wife and I asked about it. That’s how this problem is solved. Not with refunds and free cruises.

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However, by caving into the complainers, Norwegian now opened itself up to all the whiners who know they did something stupid - in the original article, the gentleman admitted his mistake - and still expect to not suffer the consequences.

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I am sorry that most people who are posting did not read the article or did not comprehend what they read.

 

The passport was in an outer pocket of the suitcase for easy access. They were NOT inside the suitcase. What transpired at the port should not have happened. Furthermore, the mistakes made by NCL continued to worsen. Why did customer service give them incorrect information, causing them continued stress and lack of support.

Go back and read!!! Reading comprehension 101.

Exactly. So anyone with a functioning brain would have taken it out before handing the suitcase over to a porter. If the porter grabbed it, said, “Excuse me!” and taken it out.

If they were “easily accessible” but not accessed, how is that anyone’s fault but the owner of the suitcase?

Stop reaching for reasons to blame big bad companies just because some people don’t think clearly.

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That's short-sighted.

 

NCL did not do the right thing here, from either a Customer Service or even a Business POV.

 

Here's why: there are a lot more people who will read that article than read the defence by the shill acounts on here.

 

That'll cost NCLH future business.

 

NCLH had the opportunity to avoid this article... and did not: as a shareholder, I'm unimpressed.

 

 

 

It's like the response to United's regional carrier dragging that doctor off the plane.

 

The negative publicity cost the CEO of United the Chairmanship of the company.

 

I doubt he still thinks he made the right call on the policies in place and in how he handled the fallout.

The couple ADMITTED they shouldn’t have put their passports in their suitcases. They were not dragged off the ship, so someone else could have their cabin. They had not met the published, known, well-documented, government-enforced criteria for boarding a ship. That is a huge difference with this and United.

This won’t cost Norwegian future business for long. People who want to cruise will cruise.

Carnival had a number of incidents a few years ago that affected thousands of people, not just one elderly couple, and their numbers didn’t suffer in the long run.

This was a “reporter” with nothing else to write about who does very poor research, and decided to claim the company was at fault to gain sympathy for a couple who made a bad mistake.

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Yes. Smoking is allowed in the defined smoking areas only.

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As an aside, you will likely get an upgrade bidding option directly from NCL, even if you use a TA.

 

.

This assumes the TA is in the upgrade program. Some of the big box store TAs are not. In that case, you will not get a chance to bid.

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On Norwegian, there are life jackets in the room, but you’re told at muster that you can go to your muster station without a life jacket in an emergency (if you’re not in your room) and they will have extras there. I’ve never understood why they have 2x the life jackets. Keeping them where the staff could hand them out at the muster station seems more reasonable - especially since you never try them on at muster drill.

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IConcierge recognizes when it is connected to one of the ships’ WiFi networks and will let you register then. So, once onboard, connect to the ship’s WiFi and then launch the app. I think (from memory) it asks for name, cabin and birthdate and then you can see your charges and make reservations.

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Well, you're entitled to your opinion. But the thread didn't start out that way, or even mention the DSC. I wasn't the one to bring it up. Furthermore, that "this is just another thread about x,y or z." to you is brand new to me as a first time NCL cruiser. You might keep that in mind when answering new people's honest questions.

As time went on, it became apparent the DSC was your real issue, especially when you claimed it wasn’t in the cruise contract.

The interminable DSC threads may be new to you, but all you have to do is search, and you can find many kindred spirits whining about their money not being spent their way, and cruel corporate taking their money away, and never rewarding the crew.

If you board your ship, and there is no crew to be found, they were underpaid. Otherwise, they are paid enough to accept the job. So, relax.

Pay the service charge. Tip the really good staff. Have a drink.

If you want truly all-inclusive, book the cruise in the U.K. (I think). Try a more upscale cruise line. Go on a river cruise. Otherwise, there is no such thing as an all-inclusive cruise.

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You're absolutely right. Auto tipping (R/C, Princess, Carnival, etc) and Norwegian's DSC are different. Way different. My reference to auto tipping was related to my prior experiences on other major brands. There is actually a considerable body of evidence where the DSC goes - but for my purpose, all I was saying is that it does not go to my steward or table waitress in the same fashion as auto tipping does on other lines.

At this point, this is just another “I don’t want to pay the DSC” conspiracy theory thread.

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