Norwegian - My Big Fat Customer Service Fail!

[DetecDIVA]

I am aware of how opinions on this board always contrast and differentiate, but am surprised how aggressive a lot of these responses seem. I have read a lot of negatives for their customer service over the years, also some positive, but a lot of people on here feel certain practices such as charging cancel fees when people want to pay for an upgrade, auto charging grats, or not being given options on full reroutes are predatory. I am glad many of you have had better experiences than I. As many of you so politely pointed out, this is totally my first Cruise Critic posting, as I am more of a land traveler and write tons for Trip Advisor and travel blogs. I often use your opinions and posts when researching potential sailings for people and always suggest clients check out Cruise Critic to meet people who will be sailing on the same ship/date. Just because I have never posted on this specific board, does not mean my input is not valid. And as for the comment about shame on me for not sailing with them, most cruise lines ask agents to do their training before sailing. Not mandatory, but preferred. I have sailed with Cunard, Princess, Celebrity, Holland, RCCL and Carnival and this was going to be my first NCL sailing. I hadn't sailed with them earlier because I hadn't heard the best of things, but as I mentioned before knew of their announced changes and improvements, had decent feedback from a number of clients I sent on their Bermuda cruises and wanted to experience it. I was in keeping with their formula by training first and then sailing and apologize if this seems like sacrilege to you.

 

The point of my message was supposed to be they led me to believe they were going to help me and have given me no customer service since. I have worked with a lot of great companies that when things go wrong, someone is willing to help talk clients or agents through it. Even if the response isn't an ideal one, someone is available to go over options and answer questions. On this day, NCL did not do that. I understand certain desks being closed on weekends, but generally if this is the case, authorization is given for someone to talk to you. Nobody should ever be left without anyone to talk to because a specific desk is closed. I try to do a lot in my business to advocate for client rights and keeping the travel business one of service, my complaint here is lack of communication. Totally aware of hurricane season, totally aware of policy (as much as its a poor one in comparison to many I have worked with in past) - still they told me to do one thing and then I followed all procedures and was surprised by the response, or lack thereof. When a cruise line, tour company or airline either a) answers questions immediately and/or b) allows a client choices in tough situations (i.e full or partial refund, option to rebook with or without fee, etc...) that is good customer service. When someone is told they can't be helped at the time, soandso will help you in the morning it should be ok and then they get no help or response, it is poor customer service. That is the point and the title of this e-mail.

[crusinmama06]

SHE is a TA! It is her JOB to know these things. And as a member of that profession, I am offended that she is saying that she DIDN'T KNOW. :eek: It is our job to advise our clients of their options when problems like this arise. We are suppose to be the ones on the front lines - being the go between when things like this come up.

 

If you refuse to step onboard - even on a PLANE - you forfeit your money as a NO SHOW.

 

This is truly scary that she advises clients. :eek:

[nikimouse]

why am i the only person defending the OP? :confused::confused:

 

didnt mean to flame anyone, i just had a similar expirience (sort of), but had the option of a refund or to change the date, if i was told the options were to either board the ship or go home with no refund , fair enough , but the op wasnt given any and was palmed off. whatever way you look at it, it shows ncl dont go out of their way to help anyone, and booking her on another cruise wouldnt have been too much trouble for another cruiseline. do you people hate travel agents or something ? lol

[crusinmama06]

do you people hate travel agents or something ? lol

 

Quite the opposite, I can't hate what I am. ;)

 

And on the flip side. My daughter was medevacced off of a Disney cruise ship on the next to the last day (she was 8 months old at the time). My cruise INSURANCE paid for that cruise. Disney offered NOTHING for that. So although you say that DCL has wonderful customer service - we lost 2 days of a Disney cruise and paid a lot of money out of pocket for hotel, airfare, onboard medical expenses before we ever made it back home (Thank God for credit cards). And DCL never refunded a dime of that cruise.

[nikimouse]

Wow you people are harsh.

 

OP I get your frustration. When things like this happen I feel that NCL or any cruise line should have their people not the port people available to answer questions. Had just ONE person said that you would be forfeiting your money I'm sure your decision making would have been different. Instead you were greeted with essentially a "flapping of the hand" "don't bother me" attitude and for that there is no excuse.

 

As for customer service sadly these days it appears to be a dying thing. I've left three messages for a company asking for a receipt of a credit card charge and heard nothing back. Next message will be that I am calling the CC company and disputing the charge. I know that will get the fire lit under them but I shouldn't have to resort to that. Just as you shouldn't have had to email over and over again or wait on hold for 30 minutes to get nowhere.

 

exactly!!! omg i work in customer services, i wont say which company, but i do go out of my way to help people, and sadly alot of my co workers really couldnt give a rats ass about customers or their job.

[Got2Cruise]

Oh, I think she knew the rules, but thought she was special because she is a certified NCL specialist. :rolleyes:

 

Ohhhhh where do I begin. As a NCL Certified Freestyle Specialist, can I just say, you should KNOW BETTER. :eek:

 

You were traveling during prime hurricane season...on a CRUISE SHIP...and you refused to board! :eek: Do you see that contract that we ask our clients to sign on behalf of us/NCL (and every other cruise line) Ever read one?

 

We all had an inkling you would be going somewhere else. The other cruise before you went somewhere else. So for my sailing, I "planned for the worst, hoped for the best". We kept joking on our CC roll call that although we were going to "Bermuda" we knew that we could end up anywhere from Disney to CANADA.

 

So...my question...if I knew this, why didn't you?

[LadyShiva]

why am i the only person defending the OP? :confused::confused:

 

didnt mean to flame anyone, i just had a similar expirience (sort of), but had the option of a refund or to change the date, if i was told the options were to either board the ship or go home with no refund , fair enough , but the op wasnt given any and was palmed off. whatever way you look at it, it shows ncl dont go out of their way to help anyone, and booking her on another cruise wouldnt have been too much trouble for another cruiseline. do you people hate travel agents or something ? lol

 

 

You're confusing your situation with the OP's very different situation and scolding your new friends.

 

Nikimouse, you were denied boarding because of health issues. OP refused to board. As a (trained by NCL) travel agent, she knows the repercussions of her choice.

[nikimouse]

Quite the opposite, I can't hate what I am. ;)

 

And on the flip side. My daughter was medevacced off of a Disney cruise ship on the next to the last day (she was 8 months old at the time). My cruise INSURANCE paid for that cruise. Disney offered NOTHING for that. So although you say that DCL has wonderful customer service - we lost 2 days of a Disney cruise and paid a lot of money out of pocket for hotel, airfare, onboard medical expenses before we ever made it back home (Thank God for credit cards). And DCL never refunded a dime of that cruise.

 

 

im sorry disney didnt help you ! i was crying my eyes out and they felt sorry for me ,so i thought disney were great, but then it was my first ever trip to florida and i thought everyone i met was great! i was very impressed with just about everything, not just the cruise, i love america.

i didnt even have insurance and didnt know what to do so if they said no boarding and no refund id be camping out in the terminal lol

ps. you have the best job, im so jealous

[crusinmama06]

im sorry disney didnt help you !

ps. you have the best job, im so jealous

 

It's ok, I was prepared with insurance. And we went right back to sail with DCL when that same 8 month old turned 4 years old to celebrate her. ;) I didn't come to CC and complain about DCL.

 

I will be getting onboard NCL Gem this weekend. Ophelia is heading right for Bermuda. So I am FULLY PREPARED to go to Bermuda, Bahamas OR Canada. Either way, we are on a ship. These hurricanes don't pop up overnight. If the clients can't turn to the travel professional to remain calm in these circumstances, then what are we there for?

[nikimouse]

You're confusing your situation with the OP's very different situation and scolding your new friends.

 

Nikimouse, you were denied boarding because of health issues. OP refused to board. As a (trained by NCL) travel agent, she knows the repercussions of her choice.

 

yes i know my situation was different, and dont mean to scold anyone. im a big softy, and i sympathise with the op, and kinda feel someone should stick up for her . if i was in that situation, i would have asked if i could have been booked on a later cruise, and if they could confirm that it was ok to do this without penalty. I still think they should have made it clear what the options were, and also responded to emails and calls promptly. its called good customer service! plus im a sucker for a sob story.

[cruiser1955a]

You are a travel agent. Surely you knew there was a major hurricane heading toward Bermuda several days before depature. Why on earth wouldn't you have made the necessary enquiries on Friday, instead of Sunday. You should absolutely know better ! I could understand if you were an inexperienced traveler.

 

Honestly, they are running a business ! You can't expect them refund money, or re-book at the last minute. They'd be out of business in no time.

 

You made the last minute decision not to board, assuming that you'd get a possitive reply on Monday. What you got was spelled out in your contract with NCL. You didn't do your homework.

 

If you had booked a client on this cruise, wouldn't you have been calling NCL on Friday to find out what affect the hurricane might have on your client's cruise, or what their policy is for changing/cancelling due to hurricane ? That's what a good travel agent would have been doing.

 

I am sorry for sounding so mean, I really am, but YOU ARE A TRAVEL AGENT, not an inexperienced traveler. You are coming across as an ELITIST.

 

CrusinMama is right.....you should know better.

[JMHAM1]

Here is my $ 0.02 for what it is worth.....

 

As a travel professional, you should be aware that a change to the ports could happen during the hurricane season. Second, if you had to be in Bermuda for a meeting the you really should have just traveled there directly by plane and saved the cruise for another time.

 

Now for NCL.....To me, you cannot correct any problem unless the problem is known. They should have had NCL reps available at the port to give out information and options. I know from the boards that NCL has done their best to make the customers happy when ships were recently rerouted. I'm sorry you had a bad experience coupled with the fact that you are a travel professional. It seems to me that perhaps your attitude or your level of frustration prevented NCL from making you happy on any level....just sayin'

 

I had a similar experience on CCL after cruising with them 15 times. I got no response to repeated calls and letters. I will most likely never sail with them again over it.

[swedish weave]

Here is my $ 0.02 for what it is worth.....

 

As a travel professional, you should be aware that a change to the ports could happen during the hurricane season. Second, if you had to be in Bermuda for a meeting the you really should have just traveled there directly by plane and saved the cruise for another time.

 

Now for NCL.....To me, you cannot correct any problem unless the problem is known. They should have had NCL reps available at the port to give out information and options. I know from the boards that NCL has done their best to make the customers happy when ships were recently rerouted. I'm sorry you had a bad experience coupled with the fact that you are a travel professional. It seems to me that perhaps your attitude or your level of frustration prevented NCL from making you happy on any level....just sayin'

 

I had a similar experience on CCL after cruising with them 15 times. I got no response to repeated calls and letters. I will most likely never sail with them again over it.

 

I like your approach to problems. Fretting and stewing over a perceived maltreatment is futile. I just walk away and don't go back unless I see something I consider lucrative enough for me to try that line again.

[hpecorari]

Since it seems that there are so many TA's here......

I have a question, if I may?

 

There have been times I book directly with the cruise company. There are times I book with an TA. Most, but not all, of my cruises leave on a Saturday or a Sunday.

 

My question is if something would go wrong and I or anyone else reading this would need to get in touch with their TA because of a problem, since most cruise lines direct you back to your TA, what do we do when/if the office is closed at the time we need them?

 

Maybe I should read the fine print in my TA contracts because maybe it tells me there.....? But thought I'd save my eyesight and ask here.

 

Thanks!

 

Harriet

[happy cruzer]

I agree with the posts that say the OP should have known better.

 

If her client was booked on this cruise and the OP believed the different info given as a clients TA, that client would have been very angry at the OP's performance as a TA. Experience teaches that often the service providers rep is not totally clued in to last minute changes and info. Hopefully a TA would know how to find out the facts.

 

Also the OP's comments about insurance seems a little strange. Seems like she would know the policies that cover the details that she may be concerned about.

[DetecDIVA]

This has nothing to do with entitlement. I have never once in my career gone to a hotel/airport/cruise ship and demanded anything or made a huge scene when I didn't get what I want. I would never dream of talking down to business partners when I am there on their good graces. I don't expect upgrades, discounts or special treatment when I travel, but I always expect some level of customer service.

 

In the past I have written a lot of posts on TripAdvisor and blogs talking about the current lack of customer service and decline of passenger rights. This is my first time discussing a cruise line, but in the past I have advocated for free internet in luxury hotels (mid-range and budget hotels often include it, but many 5 stars charge unbelievable fees on top of high room rates), to keep change fees for flights reasonable, not to have backscatter x-rays, getting back to customer service where you talk to someone instead of sending e-mails to outer space, and to keep hotel rates refundable. Many sale fares you see online these days are no better than past sales a few years ago, just more tiers of restrictions to make it look that way. The travel industry used to be more fair and customer oriented. I think it can and should go back to being that way and try to help the cause. Just because I find certain things to be shady practices and speak up about them does not mean I don't know or understand my industry and its practices. I just know it was and could be better and hate when people get screwed for little to no reason. I know of many instances when cruise lines offer options in cases of full reroutings. The most recent being on Carnival in 2009. Princess and Cunard had also helped clients of mine in years before that. A lot of people hear full rerouting and are fine with it, it is great that some kind of vacation is still available for them in that time frame. But many may not be happy with the changes and have some flexibility and these people should not be totally out of luck and forced to take something they don't want. Its a change of product, not everyone may want that product. I have been through this a few times with clients and never had been told they can't answer questions at that time, wait for help and then got no help. I am very thorough in my business practices, but also know that peoples time and money are valuable and when something happens its my job to help out and make sure all their questions are answered and options explored.

 

I know all of you on here are cruising experts, but don't any of you miss things like meals on airplanes, being able to change a hotel room well in advance without penalty and being given some kind of choice or recompense when put in a tough spot? I do and am just sick or practices like this across the board. Again my issue with NCL is strictly one of lack of communication and response, not policy, but since many of you are reiterating policy over and over again how can you not miss when policy and service were usually in your favor?

[swedish weave]

Since it seems that there are so many TA's here......

I have a question, if I may?

 

There have been times I book directly with the cruise company. There are times I book with an TA. Most, but not all, of my cruises leave on a Saturday or a Sunday.

 

My question is if something would go wrong and I or anyone else reading this would need to get in touch with their TA because of a problem, since most cruise lines direct you back to your TA, what do we do when/if the office is closed at the time we need them?

 

Maybe I should read the fine print in my TA contracts because maybe it tells me there.....? But thought I'd save my eyesight and ask here.

 

Thanks!

 

Harriet

 

If you don't have a 24/7 phone number for your TA, you are out of luck. I don't know of any cruise line that will override the TA's ownership of your booking.

[cruiser1955a]

Since it seems that there are so many TA's here......

I have a question, if I may

 

My question is if something would go wrong and I or anyone else reading this would need to get in touch with their TA because of a problem, since most cruise lines direct you back to your TA, what do we do when/if the office is closed at the time we need them?

 

Thanks!

 

Harriet

 

It's a valid question. I don't know the answer, and the OP doesn't know the answer. But, if you are cruising into an area where there's a hurricane (and they don't appear over-night), you call your TA on Friday. A good TA should be calling you on Friday, if not sooner, to let you know that they've contacted the cruise line and asked all of the appropriate questions. That's what good customer service is.

[inq]

I love these boards! I get great information and have enjoyed reading about others experiences and opinions both good and bad. I very rarely post, but I can't hold back on this one.

 

I have had both good and bad experiences with NCL's Customer Service. This is a very difficult economy for both the cruise industry and for consumers. Sometimes consumers expect too much, sometimes they are justified in their expectations. Either way, they deserve to be treated with respect, kindness and attention.

 

The same should go for these boards. You dont have to agree, but please be nice. We are all just trying to share our experiences/opinions. No need for nasty... Just my opinion.

[Crissy699]

Did you ever try this with an airline? "No, I'm not flying today, give me a refund!". I'm certain they'd give it to you. Not! 3 posts and we're suppose to sympathize and feel sorry for you? Not!

If they cant deliver you where they said they would, YES they WILL refund your money if you choose not to take the re-route. Happens all the time. It's happened to me. Stranded in LA on an original trip to Vegas, they couldnt get me to Vegas for another 14 hours, so I said "No thanks, I'll drive and get there in 3"...they said OK, we'll give you this ticket, but if you dont want to wait, you will get a refund. And I did.

 

NCL should have let OP move the res to the other week. Would have been a win-win for everyone, in my opinion.

[hpecorari]

I did a disney cruise and was DENIED BOARDING ! stupidly confessed that we had all been vomiting the day befor but added we are all fine now, next thing i know we cant cruise!!! , they wont get any help from NCL or any sympathy from cruise critic it seems :(

 

OMG, I always smile when I fill out that form, thinking: "Yea, right, like people are gonna say their sick knowing they won't be able to cruise".

 

I wonder how many people actually DON'T tell the truth!

 

Harriet

[crusinmama06]

My question is if something would go wrong and I or anyone else reading this would need to get in touch with their TA because of a problem, since most cruise lines direct you back to your TA, what do we do when/if the office is closed at the time we need them

 

Yes. That's why more and more offices are open on a weekend or have another number for emergencies because obviously travel emergencies are not 9-5 problems.

 

You would have to discuss with your TA their hours and find one that has the hours you need.

[DetecDIVA]

Harriet - my situation had nothing to do with cruise policy over booking through travel agents. If you booked through an agent and end up having a similar situation, as long as your agent is available to talk to you on weekends, they should be able to talk to the cruise line the weekend you sail if you need it.

 

My reservation was booked through a travel agent desk that works specifically with travel agents on bookings for their personal use, not for their clients. This desk is apparently closed on weekends. Generally, if one desk is closed another desk has the option to make decisions on a reservation but I was told I could ONLY talk to that desk and they were the only ones that could help me with this. Your agent would book you through general reservations which is open on weekends.

 

Its always good to have an agent on your side. My situation should not at all influence your booking as they are totally different departments.

[DetecDIVA]

And just for the record, I followed the hurricane path every day. Checked the NCL site and my individual reservation on Thursday, Friday AND Saturday in case I needed to make a change. In addition, I checked the website the day of the sailing before driving to the terminal, which usually has a small notification pop up on the front page if there are changes. The change was not announced until you entered the terminal for check in. If it had been announced beforehand, I would have talked to them beforehand. The cruise line still has the right to reroute - a lot of people there need a vacation. But if people are totally unhappy with the new product their should be options and at the very least in situations like this where there are bound to be a lot of disappointed people a rep should be there to answer questions and/or ANYONE should be able to get answers over the phone, not just people booked through specific desks.

[crusinmama06]

I don't expect upgrades, discounts or special treatment when I travel

 

My reservation was booked through a travel agent desk that works specifically with travel agents on bookings for their personal use, not for their clients.

 

So you booked a TA rate???? I thought you don't expect discounts for your travel? Which is it?

 

And I notice you aren't answering ANY of my specific questions. There was a travel advisory and warnings on the book NCL site. I guess you didn't think to log in and check them? I guess that was NCL's fault as well? We were talking about them on the NCL TA forum. I didn't see you there. ;)