Norwegian cancels cruise at only hours notice

Booked Norwegian Star - Los Angeles to Vancouver - 6th Feb 2010 - 5 days, 4 nights. Being in UK, we flew to Los Angeles on 28th January, drove thru' California to Las Vegas, returning to board the ship on 6th Feb.

On the morning of 6th Feb, with shuttle from car hire to the cruise terminal booked, after breakfast at the hotel, we saw the hotel computer was available and checked e-mail ... to find a message from the travel agent that the cruise was cancelled on 3rd February!

Phone calls to NCL gave only a recorded message!

Tickets home were in Vancouver ... so returning to UK was both difficult and expensive!

We learn that the ship was chartered out ... BUT NCL did the pre-sailing registration, ticketing, luggage labels etc., on their web site, and the pre-sailing procedures were exactly as we had completed on three previous NCL cruises ...

E-mails to NCL both in London and Miami received no acknowlegment or reply. BE WARNED that NCL would appear to have no concern or consideration for its clients. Their behaviour may well be within the terms and conditions of the small print ... but the ethics of a company who cancels a cruise with little or no notice is indeed questionable!

SHAME on you NCL!

Who did you pay? NCL? Nope.

take it up with the company that you did business with. THEY cancelled the cruise, not NCL.

Sorry but NCL did not cancel the cruise. The Canadian company that chartered the ship canceled the crusie. Get uspet with them and your TA.

Booked Norwegian Star - Los Angeles to Vancouver - 6th Feb 2010 - 5 days, 4 nights. Being in UK, we flew to Los Angeles on 28th January, drove thru' California to Las Vegas, returning to board the ship on 6th Feb.

On the morning of 6th Feb, with shuttle from car hire to the cruise terminal booked, after breakfast at the hotel, we saw the hotel computer was available and checked e-mail ... to find a message from the travel agent that the cruise was cancelled on 3rd February!

Phone calls to NCL gave only a recorded message!

Tickets home were in Vancouver ... so returning to UK was both difficult and expensive!

We learn that the ship was chartered out ... BUT NCL did the pre-sailing registration, ticketing, luggage labels etc., on their web site, and the pre-sailing procedures were exactly as we had completed on three previous NCL cruises ...

E-mails to NCL both in London and Miami received no acknowlegment or reply. BE WARNED that NCL would appear to have no concern or consideration for its clients. Their behaviour may well be within the terms and conditions of the small print ... but the ethics of a company who cancels a cruise with little or no notice is indeed questionable!

SHAME on you NCL!

If you have been reading CC you would have known this information beforehand!

Also-NCL has 0 responsibility over this. Newwest is to blame. It was their bad marketing from the beginning.

NCL was left holding an empty bag as well. Blame Newwest.

We learn that the ship was chartered out ... BUT NCL did the pre-sailing registration, ticketing, luggage labels etc., on their web site, and the pre-sailing procedures were exactly as we had completed on three previous NCL cruises ...

E-mails to NCL both in London and Miami received no acknowlegment or reply. BE WARNED that NCL would appear to have no concern or consideration for its clients. Their behaviour may well be within the terms and conditions of the small print ... but the ethics of a company who cancels a cruise with little or no notice is indeed questionable!

SHAME on you NCL!

I empathize with your situation but the blame belongs with the charter company Newwest and not NCL. NCL gave them the ship and did the check-in process as they do any other cruise trip. Newwest pulled the carpet out from under the program and it is their fault you didn't sail. NCL still had the ship where it was supposed to be and ready to go but Newwest chose not to sail. Don't fault NCL for the charter company's issues.

Booked Norwegian Star - Los Angeles to Vancouver - 6th Feb 2010 - 5 days, 4 nights. Being in UK, we flew to Los Angeles on 28th January, drove thru' California to Las Vegas, returning to board the ship on 6th Feb.

On the morning of 6th Feb, with shuttle from car hire to the cruise terminal booked, after breakfast at the hotel, we saw the hotel computer was available and checked e-mail ... to find a message from the travel agent that the cruise was cancelled on 3rd February!

Phone calls to NCL gave only a recorded message!

Tickets home were in Vancouver ... so returning to UK was both difficult and expensive!

We learn that the ship was chartered out ... BUT NCL did the pre-sailing registration, ticketing, luggage labels etc., on their web site, and the pre-sailing procedures were exactly as we had completed on three previous NCL cruises ...

E-mails to NCL both in London and Miami received no acknowlegment or reply. BE WARNED that NCL would appear to have no concern or consideration for its clients. Their behaviour may well be within the terms and conditions of the small print ... but the ethics of a company who cancels a cruise with little or no notice is indeed questionable!

SHAME on you NCL!

you have recieved wrong information. This had nothing to do with NCL, it was the Canadian company that did this..

Nita

I think NCL has a share in this debacle. This thing should have been finallized months ago, but apparently both sides were holding on for the possible hail mary rather than cancel the voyage in a timely manner.

I think NCL has a share in this debacle. This thing should have been finallized months ago, but apparently both sides were holding on for the possible hail mary rather than cancel the voyage in a timely manner.

I don't see how... :confused:

I can enter into a contract with NCL to book 1 cabin for a particular sailing. I could, at the last minute, back out and not go on the cruise. The cabin would be empty during that sailing. That would, in no way, be NCL's fault.

What happened to the Star is the same thing...just on a bigger scale.

Instead of booking one cabin, they booked the entire ship. Instead of booking for 1 cruise, they booked for the entire month. Then they backed out at the last minute.

Obviously, there will be financial costs/penalties involved and that is all outlined in the contract between NCL and NewWest.

But to think NCL is responsible is just wrong.

I don't see how... :confused:

 

 

I can enter into a contract with NCL to book 1 cabin for a particular sailing. I could, at the last minute, back out and not go on the cruise. The cabin would be empty during that sailing. That would, in no way, be NCL's fault.

 

 

What happened to the Star is the same thing...just on a bigger scale.

 

Instead of booking one cabin, they booked the entire ship. Instead of booking for 1 cruise, they booked for the entire month. Then they backed out at the last minute.

 

Obviously, there will be financial costs/penalties involved and that is all outlined in the contract between NCL and NewWest.

 

 

But to think NCL is responsible is just wrong.

I was thinking about the same thing and trying to figure out how NCL could be at fault on this one? Maybe a decision could have been made a little sooner but that had nothing to do with NCL.

Nita

I'm confused...

NewWest booked the entire ship for a month...every cabin on every date?

And they backed out?

So...the ships sailed empty?

Sorry for sounding...dumb...but I'm not connecting the dots.

I'm confused...

 

NewWest booked the entire ship for a month...every cabin on every date?

And they backed out?

So...the ships sailed empty?

 

Sorry for sounding...dumb...but I'm not connecting the dots.

I think NCL just rescheduled some work (drydock) for the Star and are doing that in lieu of the major booking cancellation by New West.

I'm confused...

 

NewWest booked the entire ship for a month...every cabin on every date?

And they backed out?

So...the ships sailed empty?

 

Sorry for sounding...dumb...but I'm not connecting the dots.

Your quote above sums it up rather well I believe! New West booked the Star for an entire month and then, at the last moment, made the call to cancel their end of the contract. Obviously there were serious financial consequences for New West, BUT there would have been MORE if they had gone ahead with the whole deal and only a partially booked Star. NCL would not have entered into this contract if it was not financially lucrative for them, but I also do not believe they can be held in any way liable for the cancelled cruises.

I'm confused...

 

NewWest booked the entire ship for a month...every cabin on every date?

And they backed out?

So...the ships sailed empty?

 

Sorry for sounding...dumb...but I'm not connecting the dots.

True. They booked the ship as a floating hotel for the Olympics in Vancouver, and the bookings were less than they anticipated, so they backed out of the contract. The cancellation left NCL without any recourse. Too late to sell cruises for the time slots. I am sure the short cruise from LA to Vancouver and the return trip to LA were also part of the contract with NewWest. NewWest is responsible for the entire package, and NCL had no alternative but to figure what to do with the dead time. The fact that they found available drydock time in Victoria may muddy the water in some minds, but had the drydock availability been elsewhere it would be easier to understand why they sailed empty.

I applaud NCL for their quick reaction in scheduling the drydock and taking advantage of what would otherwise be lost time for the Star.

Booked Norwegian Star - Los Angeles to Vancouver - 6th Feb 2010 - 5 days, 4 nights. Being in UK, we flew to Los Angeles on 28th January, drove thru' California to Las Vegas, returning to board the ship on 6th Feb.

On the morning of 6th Feb, with shuttle from car hire to the cruise terminal booked, after breakfast at the hotel, we saw the hotel computer was available and checked e-mail ... to find a message from the travel agent that the cruise was cancelled on 3rd February!

Phone calls to NCL gave only a recorded message!

Tickets home were in Vancouver ... so returning to UK was both difficult and expensive!

We learn that the ship was chartered out ... BUT NCL did the pre-sailing registration, ticketing, luggage labels etc., on their web site, and the pre-sailing procedures were exactly as we had completed on three previous NCL cruises ...

E-mails to NCL both in London and Miami received no acknowlegment or reply. BE WARNED that NCL would appear to have no concern or consideration for its clients. Their behaviour may well be within the terms and conditions of the small print ... but the ethics of a company who cancels a cruise with little or no notice is indeed questionable!

SHAME on you NCL!

I am sorry your vacation was ruined! This sounds absolutely terrible. I would also say I am sorry for some of the rudeness of some of the people responding to your dilemma. While it may or may not be NCL's fault, it's no reason to treat a complete stranger so rude without knowing all the details.

Who did you book this cruise through?

I ask this because, as you can read in these posts, another organization who booked the entire ship is probably to blame. There are three possible organizations to blame.

1) Your travel agent (they should have called you but not being in your home county may have contributed to the lack of communication)

2) NewWest who chartered the ship (they left NCL out to dry when their charter plans fell through)

3) NCL (am I curious that you were able to utilize the pre-sail registration. Contact NCL Customer Service and see if they can be of any assistance)

Again, what a terrible story! I hope you salvaged some of your vacation expereince and good luck to you getting your money back and other compensation that may be due to you.

Completely agree with all other posts here: This is not a NCL issue.. Up until they received notice from the charter company they were going full steam ahead preparing the ship for a 28 day charter. For the OP, who ever you booked this through is responsible to make contact with you to notify you of the change in plans, not NCL. In your case, travel internationally made a difference and keep in mind NCL did not know until well after you left the UK. You were already in route to the states...Sorry this happened to you but the blame needs to be directed to the charter company, not NCL.

Swed

 

I know you and Down-Under have disagreements on other boards but the post he called out was in my opinion, extremely rude and has no place in this thread. Heck, it even set me off seeing a new CC member get treatment like that.

 

I'm good with you though! ;)

Thanks !! Are you thawing out up there ?

When I see consistently negative posts, I think agitator. Also, I take a dim view of those who enter their first post to totally blast any cruise line with incorrect information. Of those, I think Troll. Just me !!!

Anyway, we have a wind chill factor here of 82 degrees today. :)

Keep the frozen chicken coming. I will probably get chastised by DU for off topic posting.:D

Swed

 

I know you and Down-Under have disagreements on other boards but the post he called out was in my opinion, extremely rude and has no place in this thread. Heck, it even set me off seeing a new CC member get treatment like that.

 

I'm good with you though! ;)

I think there is in fact a place for it. I never call anyone out here even if I really feel I should. I think everyone welcomes "new members" with open arms. Many take the time to answer questions that have been addressed over and over but new information for those that just joined. Almost everyone here takes the time to help make "new members" cruises special and help them solve any problems that pop up.

On the other hand there are those (real or not) that are not really new members but rather stop by for what I call a drive by shotting. We see them every week on all the cruise line threads. The sole purpose of the one and only post they produce is to try and damage the cruise line. I think that is far more rude then calling some of those posters out.

Had the OP come here to share the very unfortunate situation they encountered and asked what they could do about it rather then just use the board to incorrectly defame NCL the reactions from all of us would be different.

I'm confused...

 

NewWest booked the entire ship for a month...every cabin on every date?

And they backed out?

So...the ships sailed empty?

 

Sorry for sounding...dumb...but I'm not connecting the dots.

Ship was never to sail but was tied up at the dock for the month as a floating hotel dry dock repairs were already scheduled to be done in Canada during this time

I think everyone welcomes "new members" with open arms.

That's what I do just before I squeeze the life out of 'em with my scrawny little pythons ;)

BUT NCL did the pre-sailing registration, ticketing, luggage labels etc., on their web site, and the pre-sailing procedures were exactly as we had completed on three previous NCL cruises ...

It was probably in the contract between NCL & Newwest that NCL do that. Yes, it would've been best if everyone had been notified earlier, but it was still Newwest who cancelled the cruise

It was probably in the contract between NCL & Newwest that NCL do that. Yes, it would've been best if everyone had been notified earlier, but it was still Newwest who cancelled the cruise

I was on the Star 1/30 - 2/6 and the news broke the second or third day of my cruise. I think there was some doubt that the contract would be upheld ahead of that, but NCL couldn't take any action until it was official. Given the short notice they had, they did a yeoman's job getting people notified and making arrangements for the dead time.

Many people were inconvenienced, but that is something NewWest will have to deal with. I think NCL did the best they could under the circumstances.

I think there is in fact a place for it. I never call anyone out here even if I really feel I should. I think everyone welcomes "new members" with open arms. Many take the time to answer questions that have been addressed over and over but new information for those that just joined. Almost everyone here takes the time to help make "new members" cruises special and help them solve any problems that pop up.

On the other hand there are those (real or not) that are not really new members but rather stop by for what I call a drive by shotting. We see them every week on all the cruise line threads. The sole purpose of the one and only post they produce is to try and damage the cruise line. I think that is far more rude then calling some of those posters out.

Had the OP come here to share the very unfortunate situation they encountered and asked what they could do about it rather then just use the board to incorrectly defame NCL the reactions from all of us would be different.

Very well put!

Many people were inconvenienced, but that is something NewWest will have to deal with. I think NCL did the best they could under the circumstances.

Agreed-I considered part of my post should included something like "who knows Newwest officially cancelled', but having no idea at all myself-I decided against it. Sounds to me like the Feb 3 date the OP got from their TA sounds pretty accurate

That's what I do just before I squeeze the life out of 'em with my scrawny little pythons ;)

Monte pythons ??? You are on top of your game today !!!:D

I bet you thought this one would sail, also.