Norwegian: Gives Military Discount and Cancels! (Reveiw of Horrible Customer Service)

[maywell]

She was able to show her documents to the port people:

Being able to produce the documents was not the problem. The problem was that — unbeknownst to the OP — those documents did not accurately reflect the current situation as far as NCL was concerned.

Reread all of they're posts and then ask yourself some questions :1)"If the cell phone(s) were off as in sim card out, how did they show the email reservations to port officials? And the importantly 2) How last-minute was the trip that the supposed cancellation email, which usually takes less 24 hours didn't get to them in time?" Which leads to question number 3) why would anyone get on a plane / wait at an airport at the same time while payment for cruise trip is still processing and could be rejected without warning?

 

Again, not saying NCL shouldn't be off the hook for the bad customer service but there like common sense issues on the OP's end that makes for a double-take. Especially when doesn't live near the port of where cruise is taking off from and is traveling some 4+ number of hours to get there (internationally, no less)

 

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[OSULabRat]

OP, have you checked your spam folder in your email account? Sometimes, the cruise emails get routed there. Also check your trash folder to see if an email was accidentally deleted without you or another family member noticing.

 

I'm not saying that NCL didn't screw this up, because they obviously bungled helping you find out what was going on when you were at the port. That said, the cancellation may not have been an intentional act by someone at NCL. Sometimes, all the data systems don't sync up immediately, so if the ship sold out right before you booked, one system may have allowed the booking even though the ship was sold out, and then automatically cancelled the cruise when the system "realized" that the ship was overbooked. If I were in your shoes, I would keep asking NCL for an explanation of what happened, since you (hopefully) kept your confirmation emails and a screenshot of your bank account showing the charge and then the refund.

 

I just read through this while thread out of curiosity. I managed to refrain from posting... Until I read this (I'll leave out the derogatory adjectives) post.

 

So, because in your opinion it may not have been an "Intentional" act, it's somehow ok? I would argue, if this situation where bookings sometimes "dissappear" continues to repeat itself (which anecdotal evidence suggests is true), then the act of refusing to identify and rectify the issue by NCL is absolutely an "intentional" act that will be guaranteed to effect future customers and business. The simple fact that there in no one in Hawaii on embarkation day who can actually address these issues Which They Apparently Know Exist is probably the worst part of this scenario.

 

And please stop with the "spam folder" stuff. Really. OP got the first emails, she shouldn't have to scour the depths of her email folders for another one that only you say exists. If they are sending the potentially most important email (cancellation) from an email address that has the potential to be flagged as spam, Shame On Them. Another theoretical bad business practice (if your assumption is indeed true).

 

Don't start a post with "I'm not saying NCL didn't screw this up" and then list all of the reasons why you think they didn't screw it up. Just be honest, you just can't believe NCL could possibly have made a mistake like this.

 

 

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[OSULabRat]

And I left out what I actually wanted to say, which is sorry that happened to you OP, but it sounds like you handled it very well and set a great example for your children. Well done.

 

It also sounds like you are going to let NCL know how you feel about the situation in the only real way they will ever understand, by speaking with your money and never sailing with them in the future. If they treat enough people on this manner, eventually they will feel it on the bottom line.

Edited March 3, 2015 by OSULabRat

[hawkeyetlse]

Honestly this thread is enough to make me not want to sail NCL. Not because of what happened to the OP, though that is bad. More because of the reactions of people trying to say the customer didn't do enough, listing all the (completely unreasonable) things they "should have" done.

What exactly is on this list of completely unreasonable things? Does logging on to MyNCL while you are waiting in an airport for 3 hours or staying in a hotel with wifi represent an unreasonable effort to you? :confused:

[carribeansol]

So many things could have happened and could have been done differently.

 

Let me tell you about my experience a few weeks ago.....

 

I booked the Epic for March 15th in Febuary. I paid through an large online travel agent because they had a group price that was $800 difference between NCL and them. Yes....this is true. I am loyal to my NCL personel cruise consultant but went to this site because I just didn't have the money without using a creit card and I did not want to have a bill. So I started looking at other lines through that site.

 

Anyway....We booked the Epic, I charged it to my NCL Master Card (for the points then plan to pay off a few days later). I recieved my confirmation from the TA and my booking number from NCL. I logged on to my NCL account to see if my room was assigned and it was. A week later I went to pay off the credit card and there was no charge from the TA. I figured it was just a timing thing and went back on the NCL account to make sure everything was fine and began the online check in. Everything was fine. Two days later went back to master card to pay and still no charge. It is now about 9 days since I booked. I call the TA to make sure everything is ok. She says yes no problem. I asked her to check the payment becuase my credit card has a zero balance. She calls NCL and sure enough....the card was declined but no one ever notified us or the TA. When the TA asked about our booking she was told it was canceled but I had already done online check in so I knew it had not been. Long story short....NCL told her the charge was approved while their system was down and because a weekend was involved there was a delay getting all the information out to the TA and Myself. I was lucky I caught it because I could have ended up in this situation.

 

My point is....The OP could have been caught it this situation because it was only happened a few weeks ago and with their sailing just a few days later they had the unfortunate ordeal of having this come to light at the port.

 

I am not saying NCL handled their situation at the port the right way, just merely pointing out that NCL did have issues with credit card payment processing a few weeks ago.

 

FYI....my card was declined because the cost of the cruise was $36 more than my credit card limit, which I did not realize when I paid. One more thing to clarify...yes I said I did not want to put money on my credit card. You can't pay by check or cash so I put in on my credit card for the points then pay it off right away.

[thistimeplease]

And I left out what I actually wanted to say, which is sorry that happened to you OP, but it sounds like you handled it very well and set a great example for your children. Well done.

 

It also sounds like you are going to let NCL know how you feel about the situation in the only real way they will ever understand, by speaking with your money and never sailing with them in the future. If they treat enough people on this manner, eventually they will feel it on the bottom line.

 

Finally a voice of reason. Definitely need a like button here.

[mickeysgal]

Well I know we'll all be looking at our reservations more closely now. :eek:

 

We all seem to have ample empathy for this family and their situation but remember there are always three sides to a story...he said, she said, and the truth somewhere in the middle.:cool:

[Aug4Oct3]

This is probably my biggest fear. My husband is active duty and we live overseas (Tokyo) so we will be arriving in the middle of the night the day of departure. As a first time cruiser I am worried that I won't have the correct information filled in or there will be some mistake with something and I will have no way to contact anyone to clarify the information as our Japanese cell phones will NOT work in the USA. (Only on wifi). As of last night we do have a confirmed reservation with NCL, but this makes me want to call daily until we are boarding the plane to make sure nothing changes!

[KeithJenner]

This is probably my biggest fear. My husband is active duty and we live overseas (Tokyo) so we will be arriving in the middle of the night the day of departure. As a first time cruiser I am worried that I won't have the correct information filled in or there will be some mistake with something and I will have no way to contact anyone to clarify the information as our Japanese cell phones will NOT work in the USA. (Only on wifi). As of last night we do have a confirmed reservation with NCL, but this makes me want to call daily until we are boarding the plane to make sure nothing changes!

 

 

Have you checked in online and printed your documents from there?

 

Nothing is guaranteed, but I've not heard of anyone having trouble when they have done this.

 

Remember, millions of people cruise each year with no problems.

 

Having said that, I always check my travel plans (flights, hotels etc) before leaving. Just the same one of us always has to just double check we've got the passports on the way to the airport, despite us knowing for a fact that we packed them.

[hawkeyetlse]

As of last night we do have a confirmed reservation with NCL, but this makes me want to call daily until we are boarding the plane to make sure nothing changes!

Do your on-line check-in and print out your e-docs. That's all you need to do, and you still have plenty of time to do it. Nothing unreasonable. No printer? No problem, just save a copy of your e-docs on a mobile device. No mobile device? No problem, you are still checked-in, which puts you one small but essential step ahead of the OP in this thread.

 

If you want, go on-line one more time shortly before you leave home to see if there are any last-minute notifications (there most likely won't be). Easy, right? :)

Edited March 4, 2015 by hawkeyetlse

[maywell]

Do your on-line check-in and print out your e-docs. That's all you need to do, and you still have plenty of time to do it. Nothing unreasonable. No printer? No problem, just save a copy of your e-docs on a mobile device. No mobile device? No problem, you are still checked-in, which puts you one small but essential step ahead of the OP in this thread.

 

If you want, go on-line one more time shortly before you leave home to see if there are any last-minute notifications (there most likely won't be). Easy, right? :)

 

Don't forget to bring the ID documents ( passport, birth certificates, etc) that you used to fill out the Edocs with!! It easy to forget that sometimes when you're in rush or preoccupied with other things getting to the port.

 

And if you order anything for your room such as wine package, Onboard credit, shore excursions, etc; bring a copy of the receipt(s) just in case you have to go to Customer Service Desk - it makes it super easy to prove your case when they claim its not in their computer systems (it happen on both my trips already. Yes, I know, I have bad luck; that why I'm overly prepared when it comes to stuff like this. Its a evolving process in getting things go right for oneself...:p)

[welove2cruise*]

I too am sorry for all that the OP went through and glad it sounds like they ended up having a nice vacation in Hawaii regardless.

 

I just wanted to offer my advice regarding rechecking bookings. We have flown overseas with Delta for two of the four trips we have taken there. The last time was this past September. I booked flights in January (multi-city flying first to Amsterdam, then to Paris and then to Venice for the cruise). Our flights were changed (along with our seats) three times in the following 8 months. I discovered the changes myself every time with no email notification from Delta. The one change they made had us getting in to a city with a connecting flight out of another city. The first time we flew with Delta we had the same situation with flights and seats being changed so I had actually put a note on my calendar to log in every month to verify my flight information. Very glad I did as it was imperative to find these issues as quickly as possible to get seat assignments that we wanted.

 

I also happened to discover just two weeks ago that my NCL Epic Iberian Peninsula cruise that was scheduled for 10/11 had completely vanished from the NCL website. It took about a week to get everything figured out (I alerted my TA who had no knowledge there was any problem with my sailing) and it ended up (after much confusion about our cruise being canceled and/or itinerary changed) that our cruise was postponed to a week later as they needed an extra week in dry dock. I was happy I had not booked my air yet but did have to change hotel reservations. I believe I was actually the one who alerted the other members in the roll call for our sailing about this change. Unfortunately some were not so lucky and were unable to switch to the new date.

 

Long story short... I will continue to check and recheck my reservations up until the time of the trip. I much prefer to be ahead of the situation.

[rvsullivan]

OP has been gone from this site since Mar 2. Doubt she will be back. We will never know the details.

[AF-1]

I too am sorry for all that the OP went through and glad it sounds like they ended up having a nice vacation in Hawaii regardless.

 

I just wanted to offer my advice regarding rechecking bookings. We have flown overseas with Delta for two of the four trips we have taken there. The last time was this past September. I booked flights in January (multi-city flying first to Amsterdam, then to Paris and then to Venice for the cruise). Our flights were changed (along with our seats) three times in the following 8 months. I discovered the changes myself every time with no email notification from Delta. The one change they made had us getting in to a city with a connecting flight out of another city. The first time we flew with Delta we had the same situation with flights and seats being changed so I had actually put a note on my calendar to log in every month to verify my flight information. Very glad I did as it was imperative to find these issues as quickly as possible to get seat assignments that we wanted.

 

I also happened to discover just two weeks ago that my NCL Epic Iberian Peninsula cruise that was scheduled for 10/11 had completely vanished from the NCL website. It took about a week to get everything figured out (I alerted my TA who had no knowledge there was any problem with my sailing) and it ended up (after much confusion about our cruise being canceled and/or itinerary changed) that our cruise was postponed to a week later as they needed an extra week in dry dock. I was happy I had not booked my air yet but did have to change hotel reservations. I believe I was actually the one who alerted the other members in the roll call for our sailing about this change. Unfortunately some were not so lucky and were unable to switch to the new date.

 

Long story short... I will continue to check and recheck my reservations up until the time of the trip. I much prefer to be ahead of the situation.

*** agree with you 100%; if you don't check your reservations at least once a week; then its our fault if we get screwed;

Delta has changed my flight to Venice in May no less than 5 times; last time I spoke with the agent she said she has no clue as to what the company does with the schedules. No email or nothing; when I log on I see red marks next to my reservation stating changes; thats the only notice I get

Edited March 11, 2015 by AF-1

[NLH Arizona]

*** agree with you 100%; if you don't check your reservations at least once a week; then its our fault if we get screwed;

Delta has changed my flight to Venice in May no less than 5 times; last time I spoke with the agent she said she has no clue as to what the company does with the schedules. No email or nothing; when I log on I see red marks next to my reservation stating changes; thats the only notice I get

I make all my reservations way far out knowing that routes, times, planes, etc. change, but I've always gotten an email from Delta alerting me to changes. Edited March 11, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[mom1980]

Okay, so it's been a bit (over a year!) and still, reading through all of these comments makes me a bit irate. My frustration and anger kept me from responding earlier. I understand everyone saying that it's only one side of the story. Yep you're right, and I would be thinking the same thing, but I will also say I didn't know the other side of the story either. Feeling like we had done everything we could in the situation only to have it not help us at all is really frustrating.

 

In the end NCL took fault for the issue. They stated that the reservation "auto-cancelled" and there was a "glitch" hence why we were not notified of the cancellation. After not accepting their original offer of $200 onboard credit to use within 12 months, we were eventually reimbursed for some of our incurred expenses (extra cab rides and some unsavory hotels due to lack of options). Of course, none of this truly makes up for the way we were dealt with/treated at the port or the fact that it is so poorly organized with no one available to handle these issues when needed. There should always be customer service available for this very reason. I'm not sure if it is still this way, but we will not be using NCL to find out. This was what I was really fighting for, not the money. I wanted them to acknowledge the poor organization and fix it in some way. Not sure if I succeeded, but I did try.

 

I wish I could respond to each person and explain a little better to each comment, but I really have no time to do that. I will just say, we did what we could with the budget we were on and the situation we were in. The vacation was tentatively planned for several months, but sometimes all you can do is tentatively plan until the time comes and that is what we did. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Hawaii despite the not-so-good start and in the end I believe it was actually better that we didn't take the cruise. It gave us time to really explore the island and Pearl Harbor. I know we will always remember this vacation, the bad of course, but the good definitely stands out more.

 

I wish everyone great luck in their cruising and hope that no one else has to deal with a similar situation.