NCL Customer Service

[fshagan]

Three sides to every story: http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/215900/8/Cruise-line-responds-after-couple-left-in-Colombia

 

"But in an NCL statement, the cruise line says the Colemans had a chance to call their son: "Prior to disembarking the vessel, the ship's Guest Service personnel assisted Mr. and Mrs. Coleman with packing their belongings and making arrangements for their transfer to the hospital. At that time, the couple were given the option to contact their family via phone before disembarking, but chose not to."

 

The news story clears up one mystery to me ... why the OP was calling NCL after his mother called him. The news story says that his mother did not know where they were located, so she was evidently confused. The son in turn called NCL to try to find out where they let his parents off the ship, but could not get information from them.

 

So the chain of events is that the son receives a call from a confused and scared elder, and he tries to help from the vantage point of being so far away. He is totally in the dark, and his mother is not able to help him with her location, and NCL won't provide any information.

 

That makes his position and concern so much clearer to me now. It may be that his parents are usually 100% competent, and do well in daily life, etc. But the stress or the illness may have produced a kind of temporary diminished capacity, and all the OP knew was that his elderly parents were somewhere after being let off the ship. And no one could tell him where.

 

I'm not sure there's a solution to this one; anyone who has dealt with an elderly family member that is sometimes lucid and sometimes confused knows that many of them are fiercely independent, and refuse help, and then get into real trouble. No one else can help you deal with it, and until they are unable to care for themselves (i.e., unless they are wallowing in filth) you cannot intervene against their wishes.

[English_in_Spain]

It looks to me that NCL followed the normal procedure in the circumstances. They did what most cruise lines do.

 

On one of our cruises (not HAL or NCL) my DH had to be evacuated in Italy due to a medical emergency (suspected heart attack) which was considered non-treatable on-board.

 

The ship's crew helped me pack. We were evacuated in one of the ship's lifeboats and taken ashore in Amalfi to an awaiting ambulance. The ambulance then took us to the local hospital.

 

After that the ship's port agent took over all arrangements.

 

Luckily, it turned out to be a false alarm and not a heart attack.

 

Once a ship has decided they cannot treat you on-board they will arrange for you to be taken ashore. After that the ship and cruise line has no further obligation.

 

The moral of the story is do not cruise anywhere you would feel uncomfortable if you had to be put ashore in an emergency and then travel home by another means.

[sparks1093]

Also, everyone baseing their agreement on the poster to some guy who claims he works for NCL,

 

Actually James does work for NCL. He is a long time poster on this board and many have followed his career as he's moved up the shipboard ladder and there are many that have had the pleasure of sailing with him.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hi KK - Thanks for sharing the story - I cannot imagine being left in Columbia - yikes - just going shopping there was an adventure I would rather not re-live!! The thing is these folks are only in their 70's - I guess the older we get the younger that seems. With that, just because they are older why can't they handle it? They have lived longer - they should be able to handle anything....I would be furious with my parents!!!

 

Happy Sails!!

 

Although DH was not close to his parents -- we did have a situation with them many, many years ago. We recognized that DH's father was having memory problems -- but DH's mother said that he was just getting slow and she could handle it. Well -- she didn't. He took the car one evening to go and get something to eat. She went to bed. He got lost and a river boat captain found him sitting on the edge of the river bank with the car half in the water at 2 AM. That's when the police sat down with her, took the car keys away from both of them, notified the state to cancel both their driving licenses. She just stared at the police and said she could handle the situation and didn't need help from anyone. Total nightmare.

 

[njhorseman]

Actually James does work for NCL. He is a long time poster on this board and many have followed his career as he's moved up the shipboard ladder and there are many that have had the pleasure of sailing with him.

 

The poster "NCL", who provided NCL's official response to the media, isn't James. He/she is a member of NCL's public relations staff. James posts under "ohioNCLcruiser". James did post on the this thread, but it was prior to NCL's posting of their official press release.

 

Cruise Critic management long ago verified that "NCL" is indeed an official spokeperson for the cruise line.

[Wayfairers]

Sad situation. No one other than the couple and NCL will ever know the real story.

 

It is easy to confuse some people (regardless of age) in an emergency, especially when away from familiar surroundings. It is possible that NCL followed the normal procedure for this situation, but the wife didn't even hear the questions and information provided when she answered due to stress.

 

Sounds like the port agent repeatably attempted to help (if NCL is telling the truth). but, unlike a family member, the agent probably didn't have the authority to take over for the couple making sure the proper phone calls and decisions were made.

 

Maybe the cruise lines should start making every passenger sign a release form for the port agent to take over as necessary in a medical situation???? That would start more lawsuits than it would prevent. I'm not sure I would trust an unknown person to make those decisions for me. There is no good solution to this situation.

[sparks1093]

The poster "NCL", who provided NCL's official response to the media, isn't James. He/she is a member of NCL's public relations staff. James posts under "ohioNCLcruiser". James did post on the this thread, but it was prior to NCL's posting of their official press release.

 

Cruise Critic management long ago verified that "NCL" is indeed an official spokeperson for the cruise line.

 

James posted at #25 and #30 and I am pretty sure that someone else said something about believing James because he works for NCL and that was the exchange I thought Anjjmum was referring to, but suppose they could have been referring to NCL's post instead.

[OceanDreaming2]

Actually James does work for NCL. He is a long time poster on this board and many have followed his career as he's moved up the shipboard ladder and there are many that have had the pleasure of sailing with him.

 

James is a former NCL employee.

[sparks1093]

James is a former NCL employee.

 

Missed that news, thanks Mary!

[jdvmd]

I first heard about this story on the NCL board on Cruise Critic. The son posted it there first. He has come back several times to provide information. Also as people on CC asked more questions, more information came to light -- the parents were the ones who turned down calling the son from the ship. NCL did offer.

[Viesczy]

Honestly, NCL did what they were required to do. They got the folks to where they folks could be assisted, that's all they could & should do. NCL isn't the POA, so they're not going to be making critical decisions.

 

The situation is up to the folks in question, I mean they are adults and should take ownership of the situation during and after the event. The "woe is me" mindset is offensive in this case becasue the bottom line is that he's home & fine, the hard lesson realized is to make better decisions while the situation is happening.

 

Derek

[woodofpine]

This reminds me of people I've counseled that are somewhat dysfunctional. I'm pretty confident NCL and its agent document their activity thoroughly and can back up their rendition of events in a situation like this - its a common occurance.

 

This points to the difficulties an international vacation carrier faces when dealing with a highly senior citizen loaded customer base. Then it faces loud unobjective family; children that still accept an elderly parents person's perceptions as gospel - and get emotionally passionate aggressive about... what? The fact they weren't there to protect the alternatively unimpeachable but apparently incapable or incapacitated parents... In the end, the couple received appropriate medical care in Columbia and returned home without incident.

 

No wonder the line pulls its wagons in a circle...

[spacewoman]

I hope the post reiterating the son's statement that Mom said she didn't know where she was puts everything in perspective for those on the board who criticized the man. How awful to be here in the states and you have not one clue where your parents are. She could have been so worried about her husband that she wasn't thinking clearly. My other inkling is that, when NCL asked to make a phone call for her, she didn't hear them properly and thought they said something else. I notice more and more people who really need a hearing aid try to fumble through life "thinking" they heard someone correctly. My DH's best friend is a perfect example of it - he's almost deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other. The hearing aid is on his dresser, not in his ear. You say something to him and he gives you an answer that does not even come close to what you said to him. He's only 60 by the way, so hearing loss does not necessarily happen in "old age" as everyone thinks.

 

As others have said we're all fiercely independent and want no one to ever take that away from us. We're not in an elderly persons shoes right now so we may not understand that.

 

My grandmother used to play games with us with what I called "crying Wolf." I'd come home from work and hear "I don't feel good." I used to load her up in the car and drag her to the ER and be told nothing was wrong. The one time I thought she was lying again, she had a temp of 102 (as I found out later). I brought her out to my SUV and as she tried to go up the little step stool I put on the ground to make it easier for her to get in she fell backwards on top of me. I am very strong for a female and had all I could do to bear hug her and drag her back into the house as it was freezing outside. From then on I called the ambulance but she still played the cat and mouse game. I can't tell you how many times we scolded her for wasting the time of so many people who could be helping someone really sick. Then----- when she was really in need of an ambulance she never called me. I get home from work. She's speaking fine but I happen to notice part of her face is drooping. I don't let on that something is going on but call an ambulance for her. Turns out she had an aneurysm that, instead of bursting, leaked and was giving her signs of a stroke.:eek:

 

So I think at this point he needs to be cut some slack as he has absolutely no control of his parents unless he can prove in court that they are unable to take care of themselves. I'm sure he posted here completely distraught over the situation and, when you are distraught, you are at your wits end.

 

Kathy

[darrengs]

So obviously the OP was not a troll, and from what I have read his concern and response seems reasonable based on what he and his parents were going through. If my Mother called me because she was in a foreign country and did not know exactly where due to a language barrier. I think I would react the same way the OP did. I would call the cruise line and expect them to tell me exactly what clinic she was taken to. If they first told me that my parents were still on the ship and when pressured didn't have an immediate answer, I would pursue any means to get answers and help my parents. I would keep contacting the cruise line looking for answers, call the State Department, call the news, heck even post on Cruisecritic looking for advice and answers. In fact the OPs response sounds like perfect response and exactly how people should react to this situation. After reading the news story I am so happy that the Coleman's are home safe and recovering.

 

From the news story: "The Colemans say they'd like an apology from NCL, but NCL officials say the Colemans never showed any dissatisfaction with their care."

 

Really?? Doesn't the fact they would like an apology show dissatisfaction?

[lvz2cruz]

I will share some experiences I have had with NCL and you can guess their honesty level:

 

1) We sailed Majesty to Bermuda. We were to leave St. Georges early in the morning because of high winds. We got up and went on deck to watch sailaway. The ropes were pulled in and the tug started escorting us--then we stopped and the ropes were retied. The tug left the area.

It was announced later we could not sail due to high winds. We were allowed to leave the ship for about an hour and they attempted sailaway every couple hours, allowing us again to leave short periods between attempts. We ended up being stuck there the whole day. NCL claimed we could not get out because of a tugboat strike--remember we had seen one there the first try. A crew member who I guess was not a happy NCL worker told people around the pool deck they needed to have two tugs but tried to save money and use one. The shops in town said there was not a tug strike. Lie number 1.

 

2) Second NCL cruise--you pick up your disembarkation tags at the front desk at 7 a.m. the last sea day. Who wants to get up to get tags then? I went to get ours because we needed off early. (You choose your time and color). The guest relations person sent us 3 different places before finally putting them out where the daily said they would be himself. He had been working on them as he directed us various places! Not a huge whopper but here is what really annoyed me: Our color was called and we were in line. There was a family behind us with perhaps one of their mothers. She had a later color tag but wanted to go with them so they could stay together. She explained this to person in officer stripes who told her that her luggage would not be out there yet and customs would arrest her if she went before her color. I have always heard no one gets off the ship till all luggage is sorted. Customs arrest her for getting off before color is called REALLY????

 

3) I cancelled a cruise I had planned and was told my money would be refunded to my cc in about a week. It did not hit my next statement or the next. I called and was told I had to request refund in writing and given fax number. Three faxes were claimed unreceived though machine showed being transmitted. Then I was told refund had been made a few days after cancelling. I obviously did not need to send all those faxes. They insisted money had been credited though my cc did not have record. It turns out they credited someone else's account. I was told they could not credit mine until other person agreed to have money reversed and then they could give it to me. Why should I lose over their mistake???? I finally got my money 4-5 months and many many many calls later.

 

I have a hard time believing NCL. They will say anything to cover their behind and honesty is not a virtue in their treatment of customers.

[mpk218]

Missed that news, thanks Mary!

 

 

I too Sparks .... " I recently left Norwegian and work for a different company now." ;)

[cdnsteelman]

I'm not going to comment on any of the details except to say two things:

 

1. To the OP, I'm glad your folks are back home safe and sound.

 

2. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY NCL is ever out of touch with any of its ships for any amount of time save for a total failure of the ship's communication system. If passengers can pick up a phone in a stateroom at any time and call anywhere in the world from anywhere in the world or access the net 24-7-365 in port or at sea, you know the ship's crew can. The assertion that ships are out of communication in normal operating conditions is, frankly, laughable.

 

Why is it that common sense is sometimes so often uncommon?

 

csm

[computerworks]

(sanity check....)

 

I am guessing that this thread (all above this post) was MOVED from the HAL subforum to NCL subforum, due to the topic.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes it was.

[umpy10]

I tend to believe NCL on this one. Unless the Port Agent is totally lying it sounds like the cruiseline was looking after them sufficiently and the couple probably shouldn't have been traveling alone to begin with. She should have been on the phone with her son at her own initiative and not now be complaining NCL didn't call him. Sounds like the son and an attorney are writing her story for her.

 

 

Try reading the son's thread, there is far more NOT being said by NCL.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1501350

 

What truly amazes me is how someone can form an opinion on only half the facts. I understand that some of you are NCL Rah Rah types , I may be the same, and I`ll probably will get called an NCL basher ( I`m Not).

Just try reading what really happened. The son had no reason to lie as some folks on that thread accused him of , and this story now bears fruit of his honesty.

Would any of you prefer salt with your crow.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

[CruisinMaterial]

All, below is our response. We sent this to media outlets who inquired about the situation today. Also, our customer relations team did speak with the OP (the couple's son) today.

Best,

Norwegian Cruise Line Public Relations

 

On Wednesday, October 12, Mr. Coleman was medically disembarked from Norwegian Star while the ship was in Cartagena, Colombia as he needed shoreside medical attention. He was accompanied by his wife.

 

Prior to disembarking the vessel, the ship’s Guest Service personnel assisted Mr. and Mrs. Coleman with packing their belongings and making arrangements for their transfer to the hospital. At that time, the couple were given the option to contact their family via phone before disembarking, but chose not to. Since the guests had travel insurance, they were also provided with the relevant contact information for emergency assistance through the travel insurance company.

 

Norwegian Cruise Line’s port agent in Colombia assisted the guests and accompanied them to the hospital, ensuring that all necessary paperwork there was accurately completed so that Mr. Coleman could receive the care he needed.

 

The port agent provided his contact information to the guests and offered to assist them in purchasing toiletries and/or clothing, but the guests declined the offer. Mrs. Coleman was offered assistance with a hotel room, but she declined and chose to stay in the hospital.

 

On both Thursday and Friday, Norwegian’s port agent visited the couple in the hospital in the morning and the afternoon. The port agent also assisted the couple in obtaining plane tickets for their return to Tampa.

 

On Saturday, Norwegian’s port agent visited the couple at 2 p.m. to again tend to their needs. At no time during their stay in Colombia did the couple express any dissatisfaction with how the situation had been handled. To the contrary, the port agent advised that the couple were so appreciative of the efforts on their behalf they wanted to send an email thanking them.

 

On Sunday, Norwegian’s port agent assisted the couple with transportation to the airport for their flight to Tampa which arrived later that day.

 

I missed this but thank you to NCL for taking the time to post a clarification here. Lots of people love spreading misinformation here and it's refreshing to have a clarification from the source. Great work NCL! :)

[CruisinMaterial]

James is a former NCL employee.

 

That is sad news... miss his reports on here! :(

[DinaS]

From the news story: "The Colemans say they'd like an apology from NCL, but NCL officials say the Colemans never showed any dissatisfaction with their care."

 

Really?? Doesn't the fact they would like an apology show dissatisfaction?

 

The fact that they would like an apology now doesn't surprise me. It's likely they have been talking to their son, and he is now influencing them and convincing them that NCL did something wrong.

 

When I go on a cruise, if *I* purchase travel insurance for medical expenses, it isn't up to the cruise line to call the company if *I* need to use the insurance. It is up to ME - the person who BOUGHT the insurance.

 

If the passengers are able to call their family (or emergency contact) back home (or were offered the chance to), why on earth would NCL call the family if the passengers didn't want to?

 

NCL did what they were supposed to do. People have to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for themselves. If YOU buy travel insurance, and YOU need to use it, then YOU have to call the insurance company. It doesn't matter WHO they bought the insurance through, the passengers are still the ones who have to call.

 

Sheesh. Enough already.

[camz]

Not calling anyone a liar here, however, to say why would the son lie. Well maybe for money or other perks from NCL. People lie all the time for monetary gain. However, give the circumstances, I do not feel the passengers are lying. The perception maybe a little varied since apparently this was a bit of a traumatic situation for the elderly woman being in a foreign port with a sick husband. She should have called her son, herself immediately. The son is evidently very upset about the whole ordeal. Unfortunate for all parties. However, you can't just blame NCL here. Just saying...........

[grammax3]

Has anyone ever thought about H I P A rules. The insured probably had to call the insurance carrier. If the parents were so fragile, why didn't the son travel with them. I see many people on all cruiselines that should have a younger person with them, yet they travel alone/couple.