Panama Canal - March 16-31

I’m sorry this happened. I would be irate.

 

 

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Yes, very strange to see more than one thread on the same topic such as tipping, DSC etc etc etc.

and I have always thought about those as well. there is only so much that can be or needs to be said before it is liking kicking the dead horse. I guess some people thrive in reading one negative on top of another. I don't happen to be one of them and I think it is a total waste. Yes, I do not have to read them over and over; normally I do not I might add.

and I believe she knows this, seeing I was just on that thread and noticed she has been responding on the topic quite a bit before she started this post: very interesting to say the least.:confused::confused:

 

If you are so observant maybe you noticed her asking plenty of questions before her trip. From what I could gather she is fairly new to cruising and was expecting an exciting, fun trip.

 

What they apparently got was not that. There are several bidding posts that pop up yet we have a 199 page thread that covers that. Do you reply to those one off posters asking about bidding the same question about going to the 199 page thread?

The walking track which was used by many every day was closed at least 1/4 to 1/2 the whole trip and to do the work

Thanks for posting this, on other posts, they made it seem like everything was closed for the entire cruise.

 

Hopefully, things will work out to your satisfaction.

If you are so observant maybe you noticed her asking plenty of questions before her trip. From what I could gather she is fairly new to cruising and was expecting an exciting, fun trip.

 

What they apparently got was not that. There are several bidding posts that pop up yet we have a 199 page thread that covers that. Do you reply to those one off posters asking about bidding the same question about going to the 199 page thread?

Thanks -- yes, it was our first cruise - a once in a lifetime "bucket list" trip. Planned it for over a year and we were very excited.

 

Oh well, me posting my personal experience has given them something to complain about ;)

Sorry to hear about the work in progress, but thanks for the report.

Thanks for posting this, on other posts, they made it seem like everything was closed for the entire cruise.

 

Hopefully, things will work out to your satisfaction.

I think they meant that 1/4 to 1/2 of the walking track was closed at all times. It was different sections as they worked their way around.

 

The bars and restaurants on deck 12 were closed the entire cruise.

What happened on your cruise should have never happened. The passengers deserve more than the 25%.

I think they meant that 1/4 to 1/2 of the walking track was closed at all times. It was different sections as they worked their way around.

 

The bars and restaurants on deck 12 were closed the entire cruise.

No, it clearly said that the walking track was closed at least 1/4 to 1/2 the whole trip.

OP, I'm so sorry you went through this and hope they give you more compensation soon.

 

OFF topic with this question for sure, but it has been mentioned a few times in this thread...what makes the Panama Canal trip such a great trip? I'm not sure I see the appeal....what am I missing?

Honestly, the reviews on the full canal transit were split, with people who enjoy science and technical things absolutely loving the canal, and others finding its charms wore off after an hour (this was for an excursion on a smaller ship offered through our cruise since my ship only did a partial transit). We did the 10 day roundtrip on Princess, and it was a wonderful trip. The city of Cartagena is absolutely gorgeous, and the Canal was interesting for me, and fascinating for my husband (who is more into technology than I am), Aruba was very pretty and the Grand Cayman Island are very nice (our cruise went to Jamaica instead, which I also like but I know not everyone's favorite). This was among my favorite cruises, since there were a lot of interesting ports - not just the Canal, since personally I loved Cartagena and it's a very beautiful city. The 10 day roundtrip was perfect, since we didn't have to do a long flight across the country with our two year old, and I'm less interested in the Mexican ports than the Eastern ones (although I would have liked to see Nicaragua since I've never been there). It's definitely worth considering if you live close to Florida since it's a lot of interesting ports.

The bars and restaurants on deck 12 were closed the entire cruise.

 

 

The construction noise, dust, fumes on your cruise is inexcusable. Was it Las Ramblas and Champs Bar on 12 that were closed? What about Le Bistro, Cagney’s, Teppanyaki, Sushi Bar - were they impacted by the noise at night?

 

The video of empty tables at the Great Outdoors with deafening noise from Deck 12 above made me think the interior of the ship must have been packed - particularly the buffet and Sports Bar.

 

 

 

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A few times finding a place to sit with a plate of food was a challenge. Once I was so tired of walking around I just threw the full plate away at clean up stand. Told crew I was sorry but no place to sit! Only place to eat was the main dining room with the same lunch menu for days they were open. I think it was sea days. Port days only garden ccsgr

yes garden cafe very crowded. Only choice on port days for lunch. I threw food away when I could not find a seat. Ate a lot of BLT sandwiches thru room service and paid extra charge.

The cafe was indoors some, back deck was dirty, stuff flying in air, and very noisy from sanding machines. Out front near pool are was strong fumes and chemicals spilled on decks open for walking across. Avoided at all cost. Would take elevator down under if I needed to go from forward to aft.

A few times finding a place to sit with a plate of food was a challenge. Once I was so tired of walking around I just threw the full plate away at clean up stand.

 

 

Was Moderno open for lunch on your cruise?

 

 

 

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and I have always thought about those as well. there is only so much that can be or needs to be said before it is liking kicking the dead horse. I guess some people thrive in reading one negative on top of another. I don't happen to be one of them and I think it is a total waste. Yes, I do not have to read them over and over; normally I do not I might add.

 

I think that it is very important to keep talking about this issue. This is a forum for people to share information and enable cruisers to make informed decisions about the cruiselines they choose to sail on. I am continuing to learn about the dangerous and unhealthy conditions that existed on the floating construction zone. I find this appalling. To date, this cruise line has failed to adequately address this issue for the passengers. I am using all of the information to make an informed decision about where I choose to spend my future vacation dollars. I have had great experiences aboard NCL to date, but if my upcoming three cruises were not within penalty period, the information shared here coupled with NCL's inadequate response to date would cause me to cancel all three cruises and reschedule on different cruise lines. I just have a lot of concerns about what is and isn't important to the people that operate this cruise line. It appears to me that bottom line corporate profit was more important than passenger safety and health and that gives me some concern.

Edited April 5, 2018 by blcruising

I think that it is very important to keep talking about this issue. This is a forum for people to share information and enable cruisers to make informed decisions about the cruiselines they choose to sail on. I am continuing to learn about the dangerous and unhealthy conditions that existed on the floating construction zone. I find this appalling. To date, this cruise line has failed to adequately address this issue for the passengers. I am using all of the information to make an informed decision about where I choose to spend my future vacation dollars. I have had great experiences aboard NCL to date, but if my upcoming three cruises were not within penalty period, the information shared here coupled with NCL's inadequate response to date would cause me to cancel all three cruises and reschedule on different cruise lines. I just have a lot of concerns about what is and isn't important to the people that operate this cruise line. It appears to me that bottom line corporate profit was more important than passenger safety and health and that gives me some concern.

 

Agreed. I saw a you-tube blog that provided some good answers as to why NCL would do this. Primary was the pressure to meet analysts' (wall street) projections which effects the interest rate on borrowing funds for new ships, With all the new ships on order and the price tags, you can understand why someone at the top is trying hard to maintain the bottom line. If they actually treat the passengers as they should the decisions can be torn apart. I don't know how anyone with knowledge of ship operations and safety protocol would consider what they did. Let alone how the insurance company will deal with the situation. I suspect there is a huge class action suit pending for all the medical problems that are being discussed.

I have seen a lot of the photos that have been posted on social media and I have to say nothing short of a full refund of my fare would satisfy me. NCL really did a great disservice to the passengers on that ship. I really got ticked off just looking at the photos and I didn’t have to deal with the smell or the noise. Whoever was responsible for that fiasco should be fired.

 

I wonder how many foreign nationals were on that cruise and had the added expense of airfare to fly across the Atlantic or Pacific? Those poor folks get to go home with a 25% cruise credit. That’s shameful on the part of NCL.

 

This incident will soon be forgotten like most other negative events that occur on cruise ships so I doubt it will affect NCL’s bottom line.

I think that it is very important to keep talking about this issue. This is a forum for people to share information and enable cruisers to make informed decisions about the cruiselines they choose to sail on. I am continuing to learn about the dangerous and unhealthy conditions that existed on the floating construction zone. I find this appalling. To date, this cruise line has failed to adequately address this issue for the passengers. I am using all of the information to make an informed decision about where I choose to spend my future vacation dollars. I have had great experiences aboard NCL to date, but if my upcoming three cruises were not within penalty period, the information shared here coupled with NCL's inadequate response to date would cause me to cancel all three cruises and reschedule on different cruise lines. I just have a lot of concerns about what is and isn't important to the people that operate this cruise line. It appears to me that bottom line corporate profit was more important than passenger safety and health and that gives me some concern.

For sure, time to cut losses, reschedule

No, it clearly said that the walking track was closed at least 1/4 to 1/2 the whole trip.

 

I was on this cruise - the walking track was completely open for the first day or two of the cruise, and the final day of the cruise. All the rest of the time, whole sections (about 1/4 up to 1/2 of the entire deck 6) were being worked on and were inaccessible, which meant most of the time people paced back and forth on one section and couldn't walk all the way around. The only other deck which would have been an alternative walking/jogging track is Deck 12, which was also being worked on throughout the cruise - there was never one day when you could walk all the way around Deck 12.

Distress steadily built over the cruise - a notable low point on a sea day was to have the door leading to a number of muster stations locked and pallets and heavy equipment blocking the decks, meaning that the practice drill was a complete farce, as it would be impossible to copy the practice drill in an emergency.

Good points - we loved the ports visited on this trip, enjoyed the Panama Canal, thought the food was good and entertainment was okay. Compared to our one previous cruise with Celebrity, I was disappointed that windows weren't cleaned, particularly as going through the Panama Canal would have been better with a clearer view. On the first days felt really happy with most things - there was a good atmosphere and the other passengers seemed friendly and a great crowd. However, we didn't receive any notification of work being done on Norwegian Sun and paid full price, so the closed Ramblas, Champs Bar, closed decks and noisy, smelly work was a horrible surprise. We were determined to stay positive, but no information was ever given on where work was being done, so it was hard to avoid. We would move from the pool deck because of the overpoweringly strong chemical smell from the decking paints, to find that noisy sanding/drilling/hammering and fine sanded paint particles would cover us in a different area.What made it worse was the NCL line, which was 'nothing to do with us, it's head office'. I'd always believed the Captain controlled the ship, but he made it clear he would do nothing. Our only recourse was to complain at Guest Services, who gave us complaint reference numbers, which NCL have since said are invalid and we need to submit new complaints. NCL came across as a faceless, heartless corporation and I don't want to put my safety and happiness on holiday in their hands again, which is why the 25% credit off a future cruise isn't sufficient.

I was on this cruise - the walking track was completely open for the first day or two of the cruise, and the final day of the cruise. All the rest of the time, whole sections (about 1/4 up to 1/2 of the entire deck 6) were being worked on and were inaccessible, which meant most of the time people paced back and forth on one section and couldn't walk all the way around.

 

....I don't want to put my safety and happiness on holiday in their hands again, which is why the 25% credit off a future cruise isn't sufficient.

Looks like there are two sides to a story; the way the other poster saw it and the way you saw it.

 

Hopefully you will find another cruise line that will live up to your expectations.