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

[sprint180]

The bed bugs would have totally grossed me out and if you took them home, that is thousands $ to take care. I would not have been able to sleep either after that. ( I also would have left the chipped sink out of it as that makes you sound picky and takes away from the real issue.)

Good luck although I don't think you'll get much else since you accepted what they already offered. Let us know.

Edited March 26, 2015 by sprint180

[FreestyleNovice]

I may regret voicing my view here later, but I will do so anyway and run the risk of being flamed.

 

I agree with the opinions that suggest the OP might have written a different letter with a different tone and with far less information. Were his expectations unreasonable? Maybe or maybe not. It depends on who you ask. I know that had this happened to me, my letter would have been very different. But I am not the OP.

 

Aside from the particular issue at hand, I am disappointed that judgements and name calling continue in posts. No one here but the poster knows about his wife. To repeatedly label her a "drama queen" is discourteous. Then, there are the assumptions and assertions about the character of the OP. Sheesh.

 

When forum threads degenerate like this, I find myself wanting to completely disengage. I can certainly do that and someone may well invite me to do so. My expectations are probably too high to think that we can have a genuine online cruising community here free of snarking and the like. Sadly, this is often what happens in online communities when people can be anonymous and post away impulsively.

 

Sigh.

 

But, to be honest; the person at NCL who will be handling this complaint and perhaps (or hopefully) will Google his or her way to this thread will have a laugh and a good day. To that person at NCL; I salute you. :D

[Sparkygirl]

Remember the old adage "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar" and stay on topic. That is what I hope others remember when trying to get help from others in any situation.

 

 

Soft skills are called for in situations like this, starting when we first board the cruise and meet the crew. The crew are human beings with names use their names. Kindness and gratitude go along way toward improving relationships. A credit of any sort is not required to be given it is a gesture toward rectifying the situation, moving rooms is another gesture toward rectifying the situation. It's a would you rather scenario...sleep with bed bugs or have a chipped sink. Only the individual can decide which option they would rather. Recognize their are limitations in what can and can not be done and that communication between ship and Miami is an expected delay of 24 hours possibly more if the issue occurs over a weekend.

 

 

 

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[cruizinrican]

Ok, not going to lie, we board the Epic this Sunday and we have cabin 8050 (the cabin directly next to said bedbug cabin 8052) and I am more than a little freaked out. I no longer want to stay in this cabin, or even any cabin near this said infected cabin. Cruises are suppose to be relaxing, not give you anxiety attacks. I plan on calling NCL to see about an upgraded, even if I have to pay for it. I'm sorry but I can't think of anything much worse than bedbugs. Never experienced them and don't want to on my cruise either. Bugs of any kind are scary to me and I sure don't plan on sharing my cabin w these little boogers now. :(

Edited March 26, 2015 by cruizinrican

[din2play2]

Ok, not going to lie, we board the Epic this Sunday and we have cabin 8050 (the cabin directly next to said bedbug cabin 8052) and I am more than a little freaked out. I no longer want to stay in this cabin, or even any cabin near this said infected cabin. Cruises are suppose to be relaxing, not give you anxiety attacks. I plan on calling NCL to see about an upgraded, even if I have to pay for it. I'm sorry but I can't think of anything much worse than bedbugs. Never experienced them and don't want to on my cruise either. Bugs of any kind are scary to me and I sure don't plan on sharing my cabin w these little boogers now. :(

 

Watch this clip & follow it, (thats what I plan on doing next month) then relax and have a GREAT time!!!

 

Bed Bugs

[negn]

Sorry your cruise was ruined but NCL probably had no dea there were bed bugs. A few years back, prior to our cruise, we stayed at nice hotel in Fort Lauderdale I awoke to bed bugs. Got the room for free after letting mgt know. Went on with cruise and 2 days later I was a mess. Went down to medical center and was given injection of benadryl and they were quir]te concerned that it was from the ship Reassured them it happened prior to boarding. Did not let this ruin my cruise,though

[hpecorari]

Sorry your cruise was ruined but NCL probably had no dea there were bed bugs. A few years back, prior to our cruise, we stayed at nice hotel in Fort Lauderdale I awoke to bed bugs. Got the room for free after letting mgt know. Went on with cruise and 2 days later I was a mess. Went down to medical center and was given injection of benadryl and they were quir]te concerned that it was from the ship Reassured them it happened prior to boarding. Did not let this ruin my cruise,though

 

Wondering if maybe you brought them from your hotel onto the ship?

 

Harriet

[punkincc]

Ok, not going to lie, we board the Epic this Sunday and we have cabin 8050 (the cabin directly next to said bedbug cabin 8052) and I am more than a little freaked out. I no longer want to stay in this cabin, or even any cabin near this said infected cabin. Cruises are suppose to be relaxing, not give you anxiety attacks. I plan on calling NCL to see about an upgraded, even if I have to pay for it. I'm sorry but I can't think of anything much worse than bedbugs. Never experienced them and don't want to on my cruise either. Bugs of any kind are scary to me and I sure don't plan on sharing my cabin w these little boogers now. :(

 

Don't let this ruin your cruise. The odds are, many of us have probably slept in blissfull ignorance in cabins or hotel rooms that were previously infested with bed bugs at some point. They are a fact of life. No one knows how often this happens on a ship. You can change your cabin if you want, but still no guarantees.

 

I would just do as others have said. Check the mattress seams, etc. when you first board. If they are there, you will see them. Odds are you will see nothing, because they are not there.

[Brandywine_101]

I find it humorous how many people have a problem with the OP mentioning he is Platinum. It's completely relevant in the context of the letter, and it's letting NCL know that he is a valued repeat passenger and most likely a future passenger. It absolutely could make a difference in the outcome of this claim. I see nothing wrong with it.

 

It's also humorous how many NCL cheerleaders do their best to rip apart anyone that dares say a negative word about their precious cruise line. Back off people. He is not talking about your mother but a large company. Don't take it all so personal.

 

The OP has every right to be pissed off. I certainly would be. Unlike a hotel you can't exactly check out and move to another properly if you're dissatisfied. If a couple of those bed bugs end up in your luggage and you take them home, you're screwed. I don't wish that on anyone. I think I would have insisted on new luggage, or some kind of deep cleaning of the bags before I took them home. As for service recovery, NCL should refund the OP the actual difference between his cabin and the lower priced cabin based on the rate code he booked, and also provide an additional credit for the inconvenience. What the additional credit should be is subjective, but should be substantial enough to cover the stress and inconvenience of the situation. Lastly some small tokens go a long way when it comes to service recovery. These may or may not have happened as the OP may have chosen not to include them in his letter. I'm talking about a personal follow-up from the Hotel Director, perhaps some VIP treatment like some champagne and complimentary restaurant reservations, a visit to the Bridge, and perhaps VIP seating at SpiegelTent. All these things cost very little to the cruise line but go a long way with service recovery.

I couldn't agree with you more. Especially about the "small things that go a long way".

[Brandywine_101]

Because they already know it when they look at the passenger file, so mentioning just sets a bad tone. They can see your past cruises, your status level, your booked cruises, your on board spendings, your open cruise rewards and everything else so that they can judge how important a customer might be.

I wasn't going to get into the whole "platinum status" conversation because, well... yeah, it's a matter of opinion that's not worth debating. But I will anyway... lol. I say that while the OP comes across like an entitled snob (he may not be), he absolutely should be treated with a little deference as a valued, long-term customer. His happiness - and subsequently any review he gives on social media, DOES and SHOULD matter to the cruise line. Word of mouth goes a long way. The lines can advertise as many "deals" as they want. But if it gets out that their cruise ships are "infested" (even if it was really only a few isolated cases) with bed bugs, they're done for.

 

Ask the owner of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas. Sure, they're still open for business, but the type of customers they pull are those looking for a very low-budget stay and are, I guess, willing to risk a bed bug infestation. I myself have never stayed there, but if asked what I think of it, the first thing I'll say is "I hear they have a terrible bed bug problem". And that my friend is the power of hear-say! No way would I stay there to dis-prove this rumor, because as we know, if you get bed bugs in your home, you may as well throw out all your belongs and burn your house; they are almost impossible to get rid of. So regardless how the Strat got it's rep, I won't ever stay there. Again, that is the power of the "word of mouth". The final point is, hotels and cruise lines thrive on their reputations. So a platinum member who legitimately has a gripe is either a dangerous enemy or a powerful friend. Imagine if he had been aptly compensated - the first time around, his word of mouth would be something like: "I had an issue - YIKES, bed bugs, but they handled the issue promptly, changed my room, laundered my clothes and really made me feel as if they cared about the situation. Oh and they had the room(s) in question fumigated." Now, wouldn't that review be good for NCL's business instead of the above revivew the OP posted? Already people who are scheduled on that same cruise ship are saying things like "oh no". Word of mouth dude - powerful. And as someone said - it would have cost the cruise line almost nothing.

[Brandywine_101]

We've been on several cruises and never seen a bug.

HILARIOUS!! And gross! Ugh...

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

This bed bug thing makes me nervous. Not so much for my next cruise, but for our upcoming trip traveling around Ireland and the UK. Only because this will be the first time we are traveling hotel to hotel almost every night for two weeks. So, I decided to search what to look for and how to prevent getting them. Then I read that bed bugs can get to any luggage in an airplane luggage compartment. I had never thought of this before. All of the luggage on top of other luggage down below, dark down there, makes sense. I guess there is no way to prevent that.

[SissasMomE]

This bed bug thing makes me nervous. Not so much for my next cruise, but for our upcoming trip traveling around Ireland and the UK. Only because this will be the first time we are traveling hotel to hotel almost every night for two weeks. So, I decided to search what to look for and how to prevent getting them. Then I read that bed bugs can get to any luggage in an airplane luggage compartment. I had never thought of this before. All of the luggage on top of other luggage down below, dark down there, makes sense. I guess there is no way to prevent that.

 

I think the hard shelled luggage may help with this.

[luvtheships]

I have even heard if people putting their luggage in plastic bags although this lends itself to travel complications

 

This is also what some do when they get home. The luggage doesn't enter the house unless its in a garbage bag so luggage never touches carpet bedding. Furniture.

 

 

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[luvtheships]

I think the hard shelled luggage may help with this.

 

I'm thinking about buying plastic luggage next time myself

 

 

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[sfaaa]

Ok, not going to lie, we board the Epic this Sunday and we have cabin 8050 (the cabin directly next to said bedbug cabin 8052) and I am more than a little freaked out. I no longer want to stay in this cabin, or even any cabin near this said infected cabin. Cruises are suppose to be relaxing, not give you anxiety attacks. I plan on calling NCL to see about an upgraded, even if I have to pay for it. I'm sorry but I can't think of anything much worse than bedbugs. Never experienced them and don't want to on my cruise either. Bugs of any kind are scary to me and I sure don't plan on sharing my cabin w these little boogers now. :(

 

You should be proactive and call NCL now to demand a free cruise or at least specify the upgraded cabin better doesn't come with a chipped sink.

[Solararc]

You should be proactive and call NCL now to demand a free cruise or at least specify the upgraded cabin better doesn't come with a chipped sink.

 

 

Buhahahahahahahaha

 

 

*Living large one week at a time*

[S&S Cruisers 1983]

I think the hard shelled luggage may help with this.

 

I have even heard if people putting their luggage in plastic bags although this lends itself to travel complications

 

This is also what some do when they get home. The luggage doesn't enter the house unless its in a garbage bag so luggage never touches carpet bedding. Furniture.

 

 

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These are good ideas. Thanks!

[cruizinrican]

You should be proactive and call NCL now to demand a free cruise or at least specify the upgraded cabin better doesn't come with a chipped sink.

 

Oh thank God you responded with such a helpful tip. I'll be sure to get right on that. Thanks 😒

[SissasMomE]

I'm thinking about buying plastic luggage next time myself

 

 

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Me too. We are due for new luggage anyway.

[negn]

Wondering if maybe you brought them from your hotel onto the ship?

 

Harriet

 

Bites can take a day to show up. I threw away anything that was in contact with the bed and never put my luggage on the bed.

[SuchAVirgo]

This is disgusting. If it was any one of you, you would be equally upset. Vacations are time to relax not deal with this. His wife DOES deserve to be treated like a diva on vacation. It was probably not that they didn't offer more, maybe because they weren't more sympathetic to the situation.

 

 

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[Solararc]

[emoji480]

 

 

*Living large one week at a time*

[cruisequeen4ever]

I can't believe how many people have attacked the poor OP! A state bedbug expert gave a presentation at my workplace. He said it costs thousands of dollars for the average house to be treated for bedbugs! The $500 compensation doesn't go far with that! Bedbugs are very hearty, and just moving to another room won't guarantee the OP and his wife won't bring them home inadvertently. I'd be livid if I found bedbugs! They need to be taken seriously.

[punkincc]

I can't believe how many people have attacked the poor OP! A state bedbug expert gave a presentation at my workplace. He said it costs thousands of dollars for the average house to be treated for bedbugs! The $500 compensation doesn't go far with that! Bedbugs are very hearty, and just moving to another room won't guarantee the OP and his wife won't bring them home inadvertently. I'd be livid if I found bedbugs! They need to be taken seriously.

 

Why would you be livid? They are a fact of life. No one is to blame.

 

The bed bugs get to hotels and cruise ships because people carry them in. I think most every traveller takes bedbugs very seriously, and believe me the hotels and cruise ships do as well. Have you considered the expense hotels and cruise ships must have for periodic fumigations every time someone brings them in? Probably many thousands per year for just one hotel. Now multiply that times all locations.

 

Maybe they should seek some compensation from us;).