Platinum Member with Bed Bugs on Epic 3/15/15

[goldesq]

Perhaps you would be better suited sailing on a luxury line like Oceania or Regent.

 

why? Because they expect not to have bed bugs in their room? why is that a luxury request? its a most basic expectation not to have bugs in your room.

[goldesq]

OMG! No widely travelled person should ever post that they got bitten by bed bugs, because most widely travelled people know to check the bed prior to sleeping in it. That is the first thing I do when I get to the cabin or hotel room or bedroom in a rented house.

 

To prevent bringing bedbugs home, follow these quick and easy tips:

 

1.Place your luggage on the luggage rack, not the floor or the bed. If bedbugs are in the room, the bugs can crawl into luggage placed on the bed or floor.

 

2.Pull back the sheets and check the mattress for signs of bedbugs. Look for:

• Specks of blood.• Exoskeletons (shed outer skeletons).• Tiny blackish spots.

 

3.Check the box spring, headboard, couch, and any other upholstered furniture for signs of bedbugs.

 

4.If you see any sign of bedbugs, immediately grab your belongings and ask for another room. The new room should not be next door or immediately above or below the infested room. Bedbugs might be in these rooms, too.

 

One of the worst thing to do is place luggage on a luggage rack initially. The bugs hide in the straps wrapped around the metal stand. Best to place luggage in the bathtub until the room is checked.

[luvtheships]

I really don't care how the op perceives himself or his wife

 

His cruise was ruined

 

His steward was not top notch

 

The medical clinic said he had bed bug bites

 

He did not board the ship with the bites

 

He travels frequently.... Which means he is well aware that his complaint is not trivial

 

His wife sounds difficult but whatever

 

Bottom line

 

It would have been no big deal to totally refund his cruise fare and maybe even 25% off future cruise

 

His complaints were more than legitimate regardless of how he stated them in print or how much cc members like to rip apart other posters

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited March 24, 2015 by luvtheships

[jackg962]

I am still trying to understand a member since 2007 and only one post

[luvtheships]

I am still trying to understand a member since 2007 and only one post

 

Maybe he just gathered info for himself perhaps?

 

If so, then Instead of questioning why no posts maybe its better to say this guy really had a problem and is letting us know about it

 

Otoh if he is a troll it's easily found out as he posted date of cruise and cabin number and should he be lying then whatever action cc or Ncl takes is another matter

 

He could have made it all up but I doubt that and

 

I'm the biggest skeptic around but I believe this guy

 

 

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Edited March 24, 2015 by luvtheships

[goldesq]

Briefly, everyone reacts differently to bed bugs. My experience.....

 

I was at a very popular resort on Disney property 2 months ago. The first night I saw a bed bug on the bed. For me, the experience and bites that later appeared traumatized me. I am not exaggerating...it was traumatizing but everyone is different.

 

We tried to resolve it with the hotel and the company that created the package (air and hotel) and could not and still have not. We also lost a vacation day and a night's sleep as I sat up all night on the desk (its almost funny looking back at this now).

 

We were able to change hotels the next morning. The rate at the new hotel was triple the price per night (we already paid for the package including hotel nights). That being said, I truly was traumatized, did cry my eyes out and was up all night feeling totally freaked out. I expected some compensation (especially after changing hotels and being required to have all my clothing and luggage cleaned by the new hotel thus losing a day at the Parks).

 

I tried to deal with the aspect of compensation when I got home as I did not want the rest of my vacation ruined dealing with it when I was there.

 

I did have pictures of my bites and have pictures of the the bug that was on the bed. The housekeeping manager even collected that bug to show the hotel manager. Still, they later claimed it was a centipede and have reports to prove it. Right.

 

Anyway, there are times when I insist that its the principle and want to pursue what's right to no end but in this instance, I really want to forget the whole thing. To me, it really was that awful. I know a lot of this doesnt relate to the OPs direct experience but even now, 2 plus months after my bed bug experience, I still feel disgusted by it. It doesnt 'leave' you so easily.

[DMH15]

Bedbugs does not have to do with cleanliness. The best hotels in the world can have them. They are carried in on clothing and luggage.

 

It seems to me NCL worked with you to give you an alternative.

 

You wrote a poor letter. There is a good book called SHOCKED, APPALLED & DISMAYED. It teaches you to wrap a complaint inside two compliments. And "pick your battles". Too many complaints makes you seem nitpicky and you lose credibility.

 

Still, I am sorry this happened to you. I can only imagine it would be stressful.

Edited March 24, 2015 by DMH15

[candygirl27540]

I really don't care how the op perceives himself or his wife

 

His cruise was ruined

 

His steward was not top notch

 

The medical clinic said he had bed bug bites

 

He did not board the ship with the bites

 

He travels frequently.... Which means he is well aware that his complaint is not trivial

 

 

His wife sounds difficult but whatever

 

Bottom line

 

It would have been no big deal to totally refund his cruise fare and maybe even 25% off future cruise

 

His complaints were more than legitimate regardless of how he stated them in print or how much cc members like to rip apart other posters

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sorry, you need to read his "letter" again. The medical center did not say he had bedbug bites,they neither confirmed nor denied that fact.They were examined and given anti itch cream. He claims that a "pest" person( did not say Officer) shined a UV light on their LEGS and said it was bed bugs! That is ridiculous. In fact the whole posting is pretty ridiculous! I too call BS !

 

BTW the OP was here earlier, but declined to comment on this thread. If it were me I would be clarifying the many points ( good or bad ) brought up in this thread.

[staceyv64]

Having lived thru an infestation myself (no idea where they came from, but I was not on the Epic recently :D) I have to agree with a previous post that the experience is traumatizing. My house has been clean for 5 months, but I still have nightmares. The thought of these little suckers crawling on me and biting me while I slept had me so skeeved out.

 

There is no way you can have an enjoyable and relaxing vacation knowing that there are bed bugs in your room. For those who don't know, they usually hide during the day and bite at night because they are attracted to the carbon dioxide you breath out when you sleep. They bite in a line, not because there are an army of them....it could be just one looking for a good blood source...biting as he goes.

 

Another previous posted said to put the suitcases in the tub....that is exactly what you should do, along with not putting your clothes in drawers or closets. Tough to do on vacation, but just some precautions to take. And do not put the suitcase under the bed if at all possible. Bring big hefty bags to place the suitcase in so the bugs can't make a home. They usually stay close to the bed since that is where the blood source will be.

 

I agree that The OP's post was a bit much. Bed bugs are everywhere and he is just lucky it didn't happen sooner. If it happened to me, I would expect to be comped as well. It's not a vacation if you have to sleep with 1 eye open!

[perditax]

For those of us who are travel newbies: when you guys talk about putting luggage in the tub, not using drawers, etc ... Do you mean for the whole trip?

[Cuizer2]

I am still trying to understand a member since 2007 and only one post

 

Posts in the floataway lounge do not count toward your total posts.

 

Nonetheless, what difference does it make how many posts he has or how often he posts?

[Cuizer2]

For those of us who are travel newbies: when you guys talk about putting luggage in the tub, not using drawers, etc ... Do you mean for the whole trip?

 

No, just until you verify that there are no bed bugs.

[elruth]

I still am trying to figure out how he can be a Platinum Latitudes member yet this is the first cruise his wife has been on? Does this mean he has taken many NCL cruises in the past? Who cares and what is the relevance of being a Marriott Platinum member?

[luvtheships]

I still am trying to figure out how he can be a Platinum Latitudes member yet this is the first cruise his wife has been on? Does this mean he has taken many NCL cruises in the past? Who cares and what is the relevance of being a Marriott Platinum member?

 

It probably means they :

 

Recently married

 

Or

 

He has been cruising for many years

 

Either

 

With his family starting when he was a kid

 

Or

 

As an adult either solo.

 

Or

 

With friends and family

 

Or

 

With a previous spouse or significant other

 

Heck I used to take big trips 3 times a year from age 16 to 30 .

 

 

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Edited March 24, 2015 by luvtheships

[chengkp75]

Here's my take. He says that the wife noticed a bite after a nap on embarkation day, before the ship had sailed. According to the CDC, bed bug bites inject a anesthetic into the bite, so you are not aware of the bite, and they are usually not noticed until the welt starts to appear, which is usually one to three days after the bite, and can take up to 14 days to appear. I think that if these were bed bugs (and shining a black light on their legs would only indicate that they had not washed after the bed bugs), then they were bitten somewhere prior to boarding the ship.

[vicocala]

Don't trust the CDC if that is what they said. They are flat out wrong. I have only had bedbugs once, while in college but it all happened in one night.

[newmexicoNita]

Bedbugs does not have to do with cleanliness. The best hotels in the world can have them. They are carried in on clothing and luggage.

 

It seems to me NCL worked with you to give you an alternative.

 

You wrote a poor letter. There is a good book called SHOCKED, APPALLED & DISMAYED. It teaches you to wrap a complaint inside two compliments. And "pick your battles". Too many complaints makes you seem nitpicky and you lose credibility.

 

Still, I am sorry this happened to you. I can only imagine it would be stressful.

 

Thanks for pointing out how to write a decent letter. We learned this in Psych class almost 60 years ago. Not about the letter, but the same principle; always sandwich a negative between 2 positives. Too many people get wo wound up in gripping, they forget to praise where praise is due.

[chengkp75]

Here's my take. He says that the wife noticed a bite after a nap on embarkation day, before the ship had sailed. According to the CDC, bed bug bites inject a anesthetic into the bite, so you are not aware of the bite, and they are usually not noticed until the welt starts to appear, which is usually one to three days after the bite, and can take up to 14 days to appear. I think that if these were bed bugs (and shining a black light on their legs would only indicate that they had not washed after the bed bugs), then they were bitten somewhere prior to boarding the ship.

 

Don't trust the CDC if that is what they said. They are flat out wrong. I have only had bedbugs once, while in college but it all happened in one night.

 

Please note the red highlights in my post above. I did say, and the CDC says, that it can be only one day, or it can be up to 14 days. What I am questioning is the statement that the woman felt the bites after a couple of hours napping.

 

If you don't believe the CDC's physicians (maybe a government conspiracy), how about the American Academy of Dermatologists, who say virtually the same thing? Even Orkin says the same thing.

[newmexicoNita]

I wanted you to know about the issues I had aboard the Epic this past week related to customer service specially around bed bugs. I sent this letter to NCL both to the socialmedia and Andrew Stuart email address directly. I will let you know what I hear from them.

 

 

 

To whom it may concern:

 

I want to advise you of my concerns and issues that I had aboard the Norwegian Epic out of Miami on March 15-March 22nd 2015. This is in relations to bed bugs in our cabin. As a Latitudes Platinum member and my first cruise for my wife we were excited to be aboard this ship and cruise. Our reservation number is XXXXXXXX. We were assigned a Mini Suite, Cabin category MX Cabin number 8052.

 

When we got aboard on March 15th and in our room we noticed a large stain, roughly 3 inches in diameter, on our Duvet Cover. We contacted our Housekeeper, Carol, which she promptly changed it. My wife is very clean conscious and she did not feel that the room was clean at all. She could tell it was very dusty and it bothered her nose and allergies. She had to clean and wipe some of the stains off the counter. Before we left Miami on Sunday the 15th she took a nap in the bed. She noticed that she got bitten by what she thought at the time was a mosquito or some other bug in the port.

 

On the next morning, Monday March 16, which was a sea day. She noticed she had a couple of more bites on her skin. I did not have any bite marks yet. She did notice on the top sheet, 3 small blood stains on my side of the bed. I immediately went down to Guest Relations and wanted to speak to someone about the cleanliness of our room. The Guest Relations person stated to me that the supervisor for deck 8 would meet me at our room. I met him at my cabin and showed him the blood on the sheet, and stated to him that the room never felt clean or smelt clean. I stated to him about the Duvet Cover on our bed from yesterday as well. He got Carol to thoroughly clean our room, and it appeared to be better.

 

On Tuesday morning the 17th, I woke up around 8am and had 3 bite marks on both of my legs. As you can imagine I was not happy about the situation. I immediately went down to Guest Relations again and stated to them I wanted to speak to the Hotel Director and stated we had bed bugs. They would not get them, but stated to me they would contact the supervisor and pest control. Guest Relations asked if we wanted to go the Medical Center. I met the same 8th floor supervisor and stated to him that we have bed bugs. After I met him, my wife and I went to the Medical Center, and they looked at our bites with no conclusion but gave us some anti-bite cream.

 

We went back to our cabin, and met with Carol, the 8th floor supervisor, and the Sr Pest Control. They had room turned upside down, and stated to us there were signs of bed bugs in our room. The pest control guy used a UV light on our legs and said yes they were bed bug bites. They were going to call Guest Relations and get us another room. I asked about our clothes, and the pest control guy said all of it should go to laundry. I should not have to ask about our clothes at all. During this time we had to separate our dry cleaning and regular clothes into 2 separate piles. I had to send all of our shoes, and suitcases because we did not know where they could be, and I am not taking them home or to our next room.

 

 

Once we separated our clothes, count them, and fill out our laundry sheets we had to finish packing the little stuff we still had. At this time we were only wearing the clothes on our back. A Guest Services Supervisor came down and just literally gave us our keys for our new room, which was another Mini-Suite. They stated they could not give us an upgrade to anything, as they did not have anything else to give us. I tried to ask her about compensation and she would not even talk about it. We went to the other Mini-Suite at 8055, and we had issues with this room as well. It was very noisy, and had lots of vibrations in the floor. The sink was chipped in two places and was completely unacceptable. My wife would never be able to sleep in such a noisy room. How hard is it to replace a sink?

 

We both went back down to Guest Relations and demanded to speak to the Hotel Director. We talked to Bon Villauz, General Manager Front Desk. I stated to her the entire situation from once we got on board to now. I stated to her no one has ever wanted to talk about compensation, or make us happy. I stated to her that in over 1,500 nights in hotel rooms in my life I have never had bed bugs. I am lifetime Platinum with Marriott, and I am only 38 years old. I have been to over 40+ countries around the world. I made the comment, if I was on land I my entire stay would be free. She said what if there was no other rooms at that hotel. At that point in my head I thought this is basically a prison because I am trapped and have to live with whatever she decides to give me. I stated to her that no one wants to talk about compensation either, and she states she has to contact the main office about it. She is not even empowered to do anything either, which is completely unacceptable.

 

Bon said there was no other rooms in my category or higher available. The only thing that was available was a balcony room or an interior room. I said we would look at it, and she took us to room 12009, which is a large balcony category B6. This balcony was not open to the entire outside, and was basically an exterior window. We went to it and said it appeared to be cleaner than the other room and we had no choice to take it. We went by the original room that she gave us to change which was 8055 and showed her the issues.

 

She stated that she would help us with our stuff to move, and that she would get us our keys. She helped us move our stuff and we were tired and hungry at this time. We went upstairs and had some lunch, and went downstairs to get our keys. At this time it was almost 2pm, completely exhausted, and lost our entire sea day for rest and relaxation. We have been dealing with this since 8am-2pm. We did not get our clothes back until around 5pm from laundry.

 

We heard from Bon the next day about our “compensation”. She stated to us we would get a $50 credit for each of us for the small room, and a 25% off a future cruise. I laughed inside and told her that is completely unacceptable. I could never see myself taking NCL ever again, especially after all of this. I do not even think my wife would ever cruise again after this ordeal. She stated that she would get back to me. I heard from her 2 days later and she said she would give me a total of $500 in credit. This is from the initial 50 per person for the “downgrade” and 200 per person for the issue. We were tired of dealing with this and just took it. We wanted to get off the ship at our first stop in Jamaica and go home but how could we?

 

My wife had emotional distress during the entire cruise and had a hard time sleeping the rest of the cruise. She thought there were bugs crawling on her and since this is her first cruise she stated to me it would be very difficult for her to try it again.

 

I want you to know what we lost and what you have lost. We lost 1 full sea day, downgrade of our cabin, emotional distress from my wife. You have lost a Platinum member. I feel like your company and everyone that we were dealing with did not care and want to take care of US the customer. I feel like customer service is not number 1 at your company.

 

This does not include any of the other issues related to this ship, including way to many people, people fighting over chairs on the pool deck and at the buffet, lots of stress on board, no free deck chairs on the pool deck. We could never enjoy the pool deck on the sea days. Everyone we talked to onboard seemed to have issues with this ship and the stress they were under as well.

 

I expect some kind of additional compensation, and some additional resolution with this matter.

 

I will be posting this letter on Cruise Critic.

 

I am a bit confused: what does being platinum have to do with bed bugs? Does this mean, because we are, we stand a better chance of getting a cabin with bed bugs? As for your not being satisfied with the compensation offered so you will most likely never cruise NCL again, you just lost all chances of getting anything more. Many of us, who have worked in a management positiion have learned the minute you say, "I probably won't use your company again" you can expect nothing. What the company wants to hear is, I love your product, but have had a bad experience, give me a reason to continue being loyal to you.

 

May I also add, I think NCL did the best they could for you. Bed bugs have little to do with cleanliness. If you have never had them in all your travels, consider yourself very lucky.

 

I am glad you posted this on CC, but wonder, if you have cruised so often, why would this be your first posting on CC? How about your positive experiences in the cruise world?

[newmexicoNita]

I would have literally been crying. As someone that is terrified of bugs, I would have been a total nervous wreck for the rest of the entire cruise. No one wants to pay to go on vacation to a room with bugs in it! I would have wanted either a same category room that was to my standards or a COMPLETE refund, I understand where this cruiser is coming from. It is unacceptable for a room to have bed bugs in it!!!! There should be inspections after every sail in each room. I AM TOTALLY FREAKED OUT NOW, I sail on the Epic this coming weekend!! For those of you asking what kind of compensation is wanted... I answer a FULL REFUND!!! This is just disgusting and they actually bit them also! I would have died. TERRIBLE!!!

 

You can't be serious?

[newmexicoNita]

I really don't care how the op perceives himself or his wife

 

His cruise was ruined

 

His steward was not top notch

 

The medical clinic said he had bed bug bites

 

He did not board the ship with the bites

 

He travels frequently.... Which means he is well aware that his complaint is not trivial

 

His wife sounds difficult but whatever

 

Bottom line

 

It would have been no big deal to totally refund his cruise fare and maybe even 25% off future cruise

 

His complaints were more than legitimate regardless of how he stated them in print or how much cc members like to rip apart other posters

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I will say it again, like I did to another poster; you can not be serious!!! In fact you went even further, you think he deserves both a full refund and a discount. OMG!!!

 

Ok, he may or may not have gotten biten by bb, let's give him the benefit of the doubt, but the cruise line offered him some compensation, did everything they could be find him a satisfactory cabin, laundered all his belongings and he said he missed a day at sea, that was for relaxing. You think he should get a total refund. Golly, maybe I can find something on my next cruise to warrent a refund like I saw 2 spiders in the shower or I have some strange looking bites, a couple of them on my foot. Geeze!!!!!

 

We found what appeared to be bed bugs in our hotel room a few years ago. We did change hotels the next morning after informing the management why we were moving. We didn't expect any compensation even if we were unable to sleep the rest of the night. When i hear people say, there entire vacation was spoiled because of this it amazed me. Too many people expect why too much and haven't learned to get over things. If there hadn't been another cabin available that would have been a totally different game. They were even offered a similar cabin but it wasn't to thier liking.

Edited March 24, 2015 by newmexicoNita

[Medtech2]

Briefly, everyone reacts differently to bed bugs. My experience.....

 

I was at a very popular resort on Disney property 2 months ago. The first night I saw a bed bug on the bed. For me, the experience and bites that later appeared traumatized me. I am not exaggerating...it was traumatizing but everyone is different.

 

We tried to resolve it with the hotel and the company that created the package (air and hotel) and could not and still have not. We also lost a vacation day and a night's sleep as I sat up all night on the desk (its almost funny looking back at this now).

 

We were able to change hotels the next morning. The rate at the new hotel was triple the price per night (we already paid for the package including hotel nights). That being said, I truly was traumatized, did cry my eyes out and was up all night feeling totally freaked out. I expected some compensation (especially after changing hotels and being required to have all my clothing and luggage cleaned by the new hotel thus losing a day at the Parks).

 

I tried to deal with the aspect of compensation when I got home as I did not want the rest of my vacation ruined dealing with it when I was there.

 

I did have pictures of my bites and have pictures of the the bug that was on the bed. The housekeeping manager even collected that bug to show the hotel manager. Still, they later claimed it was a centipede and have reports to prove it. Right.

 

Anyway, there are times when I insist that its the principle and want to pursue what's right to no end but in this instance, I really want to forget the whole thing. To me, it really was that awful. I know a lot of this doesnt relate to the OPs direct experience but even now, 2 plus months after my bed bug experience, I still feel disgusted by it. It doesnt 'leave' you so easily.

It sounds like only you were bitten. How did this occur if you were on the desk all night? Where did your family spend that night?

 

The fact that only you got one bite and WDW says it was a centipede makes a lot of sense. Florida is tropical and has many types of centipedes. Their bites can be horrible!

 

Please put your mind at ease because it probably was a centipede. And you got upgraded to a better resort so THAT was your compensation.

 

You still could have visited the parks while your things were treated.

[Solararc]

 

 

*Living large one week at a time*

[jusstice]

Please note the red highlights in my post above. I did say, and the CDC says, that it can be only one day, or it can be up to 14 days. What I am questioning is the statement that the woman felt the bites after a couple of hours napping.

 

If you don't believe the CDC's physicians (maybe a government conspiracy), how about the American Academy of Dermatologists, who say virtually the same thing? Even Orkin says the same thing.

 

I have to agree. I had had the misfortune of running into these creatures twice in my life.

 

I happen to be very allergic to bed bugs and react very badly. I have had to go to the ER both times as the bites swelled up to orange-grapefruit sized welts that were sizzling to the touch. However, both times, I didn't feel the bites show up until almost a day later.

 

These sound like OP had either flea bites, mosquito bites, or bites they had picked up before the cruise.

 

In any event, I look for bedbugs whenever I go somewhere. However, I don't let it freak me out to the point I cant enjoy life.

[debsjc]

Just on case people aren't aware you can also pick up beg bugs on aircraft. Some airline now do regular inspections with sniffer dogs, that have been trained to detect the bed bugs.

 

I have to say whilst I don't rate the OP's letter, I do think the offer made to them by NCL was a little low.