UPSET - Pearl Cancels On Me Again Due To Charter!

[Eeyoregon]

Who books non-refundable airfare eleven months in advance?

 

Um, who doesn't? I had my non-refundable air purchased 10 months prior to my Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean. Royal canceled my cruise and moved the ship to China. Because I was not interested in the replacement cruise, they paid all of the fees associated with canceling/changing my airfare along with my friends.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Eeyoregon

[MsSage]

We had the same thing happen to us. After almost an hour of wait time we were offered a whopping twentyfive dollars more since it happened twice in a row. They were also giving us the same price as if we booked it today,no deals or upgrades at all.

We are thinking about the March 16 sailing, but now don't know what to do in Jan. It's very inconvenient

Has anyone had any luck trying to deal with the horrible customer service?

[QuiGonJohn]

Um, who doesn't? I had my non-refundable air purchased 10 months prior to my Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean. Royal canceled my cruise and moved the ship to China. Because I was not interested in the replacement cruise, they paid all of the fees associated with canceling/changing my airfare along with my friends.

As they should have, as NCL should do as well. You booked the cruise, made your flight reservations in good faith and would have followed through, save for NCL reneging on their end of the deal and cancelling the cruise. They ought to be liable for the flight reservations you made, based on taking the cruise you booked. Glad that RCCL took care of you like that.

Edited March 10, 2014 by QuiGonJohn

[Cubechick]

We had the same thing happen to us. After almost an hour of wait time we were offered a whopping twentyfive dollars more since it happened twice in a row. They were also giving us the same price as if we booked it today,no deals or upgrades at all.

We are thinking about the March 16 sailing, but now don't know what to do in Jan. It's very inconvenient

Has anyone had any luck trying to deal with the horrible customer service?

 

The 40-minute hold time aside, the customer service rep I dealt with was very good and very professional.

[Demonyte]

You booked the cruise, made your flight reservations in good faith and would have followed through, save for NCL reneging on their end of the deal and cancelling the cruise. They ought to be liable for the flight reservations you made, based on taking the cruise you booked.

 

They will if you have booked your flights through them. Unless you have, your contract with cruise line is only about the cruise and booking third party flights is your own risk - to which you can prepare with proper insurance.

[rvsullivan]

They will if you have booked your flights through them. Unless you have, your contract with cruise line is only about the cruise and booking third party flights is your own risk - to which you can prepare with proper insurance.

 

Trying to get some to accept responsibility for their choices is difficult. Book with the cruise line or take out travel insurance is the correct thing to do. Those that don't self insure.

[QuiGonJohn]

FYI, I'm not in this situation. I am not on a cancelled cruise. And for my Sept Alaska NCL cruise I booked the cruise separate from the airfare and based on a lot of recommendations, I have gotten travel insurance from the Trip Insurance Store.

 

None of this changes the fact that whether legally obligated or not, IMHO, NCL should reimburse anyone affected, who does not have travel insurance, since they choose to cancel these cruises in favor of what must be very lucrative charters. Obligated or not, it is the right thing to do.

[sun~]

personally I hope those chartered cruises TANK and NCL learns an expensive lesson !!!

 

I cant imagine that there are enough people who want to take a music cruise to fill an entire ship each week for 2 months straight !!

 

Charter cruises make way more $$$$$$ than regular cruises. Cruise lines will favour charter cruises any day of the week. The reason? The charter books the ship, the cabins are paid for - no discounting, no obc, no shuffling people around. The charters charge a premium and cruisers will pay it.

 

I go on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise every year, I am booked for October on the Sun, then in January on th NA on HAL. These cruises book 100% full nearly one year in advance. Yes, they can book music cruises for two months solid. Caymo, Kid Rock, Country Music, Malt Shop Memories, Moody Blues, KISS, Live LOUD are only a few of the music cruises that are for 2014/2015. Don't forget RSVP, Olivia and nude cruises that are non music cruises. There are so many others I can't even list them.

 

I don't know if some folks realize, but on these types of charters onboard sales are crazy. Do you know that on the Blues cruise the liquor sales are higher in ONE DAY compared to one week on a snooze cruise?

 

So many folks on these boards pride themselves in not paying a cent while on board. Guess what? Due to the money that is made on a charter, the cruise line will bump a snooze cruise. Most folks on charters never take a regular cruise and happily buy photos, drinks, excursions, speciality meals etc. They spend $$$$!

[Twiz]

Charter cruises make way more $$$$$$ than regular cruises. Cruise lines will favour charter cruises any day of the week. The reason? The charter books the ship, the cabins are paid for - no discounting, no obc, no shuffling people around. The charters charge a premium and cruisers will pay it.

 

I go on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise every year, I am booked for October on the Sun, then in January on th NA on HAL. These cruises book 100% full nearly one year in advance. Yes, they can book music cruises for two months solid. Caymo, Kid Rock, Country Music, Malt Shop Memories, Moody Blues, KISS, Live LOUD are only a few of the music cruises that are for 2014/2015. Don't forget RSVP, Olivia and nude cruises that are non music cruises. There are so many others I can't even list them.

 

I don't know if some folks realize, but on these types of charters onboard sales are crazy. Do you know that on the Blues cruise the liquor sales are higher in ONE DAY compared to one week on a snooze cruise?

 

So many folks on these boards pride themselves in not paying a cent while on board. Guess what? Due to the money that is made on a charter, the cruise line will bump a snooze cruise. Most folks on charters never take a regular cruise and happily buy photos, drinks, excursions, speciality meals etc. They spend $$$$!

 

Thanks for that info, I would have never imagained ...it still stinks !!!

[Canuckland 1910]

If that's the case why doesn't NCL go into the charter business exclusively?

[che5904]

it still stinks !!!

 

Well I don't think you would get many posters that would disagree with your there. It sure does.

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Um, who doesn't? I had my non-refundable air purchased 10 months prior to my Mediterranean cruise on Royal Caribbean. Royal canceled my cruise and moved the ship to China. Because I was not interested in the replacement cruise, they paid all of the fees associated with canceling/changing my airfare along with my friends.

 

Are you still out for the September 6th sailing of the Getaway?

[rigs32]

Live Loud actually wasn't a charter. It was an NCl experiment to host a music cruise. It took a couple days, but most normal passengers got into the idea of it.

[sun~]

Live Loud actually wasn't a charter. It was an NCl experiment to host a music cruise. It took a couple days, but most normal passengers got into the idea of it.

 

This is how some have started, as group cruises part if a regular cruise. Sixthman has it's hands in a lot of pies! No doubt they are looking for more to charter. Were you on that cruise? I wonder what it was like?

[European_CruiseGirl]

It's Tueday afternoon now and almost end of office hours here in Europe.

 

NCL EU has not yet informed me about my NCL Pearl Feb 2015 cruise cancellation. Of course via cruisecritic I already know this but would be nice to get the official cancellation information also. I'll keep on waiting. Really strange that NCL US sent out e-mails already on Friday and we are still waiting. EU passengers are IMO also more likely to buy (nonrefundable) flights very well in advance for a Caribbean cruise so I would assume it would be important for us to receive this info asap.

 

Well, one more reason to book with NCL US and not NCL EU. :D

 

Ps. does anyone know if we can use our cruise reward vouchers if we make a reservation via US (either NCL or agent)? The reward vouchers are in euro currency (because our original cruise was once booked in euro and not $). :confused:

Edited March 11, 2014 by European_CruiseGirl

[BabsinTX]

airisfox: Thanks for this. After I posted yesterday, I realized I had the CEO's last name wrong. I mailed a letter to him today, but will email it, too. Here's what I sent him:

 

Re: Cancellation of January 2015 10-Day Eastern and 11-Day Southern Caribbean Cruises

 

Dear Mr. Sheehan:

 

My husband and I sailed on the Epic’s seven day Eastern Caribbean cruise this past December, and enjoyed the Eastern Caribbean islands so much that we rushed home to book our 35th anniversary cruise: the 21 day combined Eastern and Southern Caribbean cruises on January 12 through February 2, 2015, aboard the Pearl.

 

We have now been told that those trips have been cancelled, with the Pearl being chartered for some other purpose and travelling on some other itinerary.

 

We enjoy sailing on Norwegian, and until now have not really considered booking trips on other cruise lines. But we find it disconcerting that Norwegian would advertise a uniquely interesting combined cruise, accept reservations, and then cancel in favor of a special-interest group.

 

I am sad to say that we will spend our anniversary with Princess Cruise Lines aboard the Grand Princess. We sincerely hope that in the future you refrain from advertising cruises to the public until you are certain that they will actually take place. Thank you for your time and attention.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

(signature with Latitudes #)

 

Our cruise history:

2/02/2015--Grand Princess—Hawaii (mini-suite; replaces NCL Pearl—Eastern & Southern Caribbean)

5/13/2014--NCL Sun--Pacific Coastal with (aft mini-suite)

4/28/2014--NCL Sun--Panama Canal (aft mini-suite)

12/2013--NCL Epic--Eastern Caribbean (aft balcony)

5/2013--NCL Sun--Alaska B2B with (aft balcony)

5/2013--NCL Sun--Pacific Coastal (aft mini-suite)

10/2009--NCL Star--Mexican Riviera (balcony)

11/2008--NCL Star--Mexican Riviera (balcony)

12/2004--NCL Sea--Western Caribbean (oceanview)

I wanted him to know we have a history with NCL.

 

Recently I saw a quote from Sheehan saying that NCL had received only two complaints about smoke on the Epic (due to the openness of the casino). But I've read lots of complaints here on Cruise Critic, so what we say here in the boards must not be read by NCL, or they don't care unless they get DIRECT feedback through corporate channels.

 

So, write him a letter and/or email him. Let's make his day, or at least give him something to think about!

 

FOLLOWUP: I snail mailed my letter, then emailed it on Sunday 3/9. Yesterday I received a call from NCL corporate. The woman expressed concern about the situation; we talked for about 20 minutes. She asked if I had booked anything else yet; I said my TA was checking with NCL about a suite on the Dawn to Bermuda in October 2015. She said to have my TA call her after the new cruise was booked, and she would give me the price I would have paid if I had booked it on 12/23/13, the day I booked the doomed Pearl cruise. I haven't heard back yet, but hope to hear something today.

 

Among the things I told the NCL lady:

 

1. Another ship needs to be assigned to the 10-day Eastern and 11-day Southern Caribbean routes. Pronto. STAT. Now.

 

2. The Pearl should be doing a common route, such as 7-day Western or Eastern Caribbean, so passengers will have alternates to move to if their Pearl cruise is cancelled.

 

3. Although not everyone will write letters to NCL, a lot of folks are REALLY mad about this cancellation. She started talking about how most cruise lines do charters, so I told her I know NCL owns SixthMan, which makes this a very different situation from a one-time Super Bowl charter, for instance. I'm OK with NCL making money on music charters, but I don't want them to screw up my cruises.

 

4. I mentioned, as in the letter above, my concerns that feedback from Cruise Critic doesn't seem to percolate up to management (example about smoke on the Epic). She said that NCL does review feedback on our boards. Hmmm.

 

If you want to let NCL know your feelings on these cancellations and suggestions for improvements, email Mr. Sheehan at KSHEEHAN @ ncl dot com or send him a snail letter at

 

Mr. Kevin Sheehan

President & CEO

Norwegian Cruise Line

7665 Corporate Center Drive

Miami, Florida 33126

 

Also, I had $70 OBC on my Pearl reservation, and my TA got it transferred to my new booking on the Dawn. Plus I received $50 OBC because of the Pearl cancellation. If you had a suite booked on the cancelled Pearl cruise, you should receive $100 OBC rather than $50. I have the Amenity Confirmation in my hot little hand--a small but important victory. :o

[Demonyte]

Ps. does anyone know if we can use our cruise reward vouchers if we make a reservation via US (either NCL or agent)? The reward vouchers are in euro currency (because our original cruise was once booked in euro and not $). :confused:

 

I've been told few times by NCL staff that it wouldn't be possible to use FCRs between offices (I haven't tried since we've booked all our cruises through US) but one UK poster here told that they have had done it successfully (used FCR originally written in GBP to book a cruise through US office in USD).

Edited March 11, 2014 by Demonyte

[CruisinMaterial]

Sixthman isn't the only music folks to charter the Pearl. I knew a few weeks back the Pearl was going to be chartered at the end of January by a different company (Whet Travel). The contract hadn't been signed at the time for the charter but the ship was announced and the date of late January 2015. :cool:

 

I figured if they were taking out the Pearl again and they usually do 3-4 day cruises then the Pearl was doomed to have a few more cruises cancelled because they wouldn't choose a ship for such a short length of time and pay for it to sit in Miami doing nothing for the rest of the charter time!

 

The Pearl has become known as the charter ship. For the long haul cruises, people may want to consider going on NCLs older ships (Sun) for the experience.

[Demonyte]

The Pearl has become known as the charter ship. For the long haul cruises, people may want to consider going on NCLs older ships (Sun) for the experience.

 

That is the problem that most here have - Sun will move to Tampa and will be doing 7-night cruises starting from October 2014. There is no alternative for Pearl on Southern Caribbean cruises next winter.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Demonyte

[rigs32]

I was on Live Loud. It was much calmer than the rock boat, but more fun than a typical cruise for me.

[roquejo]

This also happened to me, I booked NCL Sun for Alaska Sept 2014 and it got cancelled, the letter I go is exactly the same format which was posted.

 

I decided to get the $50 OBC and moved to another date

[QuiGonJohn]

This also happened to me, I booked NCL Sun for Alaska Sept 2014 and it got cancelled, the letter I go is exactly the same format which was posted.

 

I decided to get the $50 OBC and moved to another date

Whoa, exactly which cruise? I am on the Sun, Alaska in Sept. 2014.

[Linds1341]

I really want to book the Pearl for Feb/15 but I am so afraid that this same thing will happen. It really is hard to plan so far ahead which most people have to do with their jobs than have it cancel. I was hoping that NCL would only allow it to be chartered on specific weeks and work with that so that canceling for others wouldnt happen. We did the SUN this year and were so excited to hear that the Pearl would be doing the run next year....we didnt care for the Sun much but loved the cruise itself ...

 

GUESS IT ALREADY HAPPENED !!!

 

The Pearl is chartered for all of January and February, as well as for much of October and November, each year. The Sky may also be chartered here and there. If you want an idea of when NOT to book on those ships, check Sixthman.net. Then again, you can book early expecting the cancelation and get some free OBC...

 

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[Twiz]

The Pearl is chartered for all of January and February, as well as for much of October and November, each year. The Sky may also be chartered here and there. If you want an idea of when NOT to book on those ships, check Sixthman.net. Then again, you can book early expecting the cancelation and get some free OBC...

 

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I guess NCL wont be getting any bookings from us next year there is nothing else that appeals to us.

Feb is the only month that works for my DH to get an extended amount of time off from work since we like to add 4/5 days prior.

[Linds1341]

personally I hope those chartered cruises TANK and NCL learns an expensive lesson !!!

 

I cant imagine that there are enough people who want to take a music cruise to fill an entire ship each week for 2 months straight !!

 

A lot of people can't imagine taking a regular cruise. I've been on one of the charters for two years in a row, and they're wonderful. This last year, our cruise was half-charter, half-regular, so I finally got an idea of what you guys get with a non-music cruise. It seemed painfully cheesy to me. We had shows with world-class, Grammy-winning musicians, and we got to meet (and play music after hours with) artists that we've been listening avidly to for years. The regular cruisers had a "white hot party" attended by about 20 people, a magician, and a few Broadway-type shows. Instead of the normal sail-away party with the Macarena and bad line dancing, the regular cruisers got a Grammy award-winning bluegrass/country band playing a concert for everyone on the pool deck. I didn't really hear anybody complain.

 

While it seems like poor customer service to advertise and book for a cruise that will likely get chartered the following year, this event was pretty predictable for customers who do some research, especially on the boards. It looks like NCL is trying to run all the music charters back-to-back, which would cut down on "random cancelations", and they've sent the notices out as soon as they were able to confirm the charters for next year (which was as soon as they saw the numbers from the charters that just finished running this year). It also sounds like the early bookers got a discounted rate on the cruise to begin with, along with some OBC when they later have to rebook.

 

It does suck to get canceled, but it doesn't follow that the music cruises should "tank".

 

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