Cancelled 2016 cruise and NCL response

[www3traveler]

YES, Norwegian reads social media and responses. Yesterday Norwegian posted on CC about The Star's upcoming Transatlantic Crossing since Her Panama Cruise had been canceled.

 

I would very little faith in a PCC who works in Call Center who knows where: India, Panama, Arizona, Milton-Freewater, Oregon. They are only as good as the information they are given which good be very old or they are not very well trained.

[missintuitive]

So you canceled a cruise that is at least 8 months away because of some garbage you read on a message board. You probably made NCL very happy because now they will sell that cabin at a higher price to someone who understands the value.

 

The problem with the many many responses on CC thought is that the vast majority of those negative responses are by the same 15 - 20 people. NCL, and all cruise lines closely monitor CC. They are aware of the comments and who posts them and they disregard the vocal but very small minority of posters who constantly complain about any and everything.

.

 

 

You missed the OP's point entirely. He, personally, does not agree with NCLs recent practices. Had it not been for cc, we as customers, would not have known about the changes bc of NCLs lack of communication. He has every right to withdraw his business from ncl. They asked him why and he told the truth.

 

Also, everyone knows that the upsell fairy exists bc ncl does not sell all of its suites on every cruise and offers them at a discounted rate to others who have already booked. This could ultimately cost ncl money. If it didn't I'm sure he wouldn't have received the call back.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[watchdiva]

TrumpyNor IIRC Cary was your HD on the Pearl. He's very proactive and interested in feedback. He's one of the best HD's we've sailed with!

[ColinIllinois]

<snip>

The problem with the many many responses on CC thought is that the vast majority of those negative responses are by the same 15 - 20 people. NCL, and all cruise lines closely monitor CC. They are aware of the comments and who posts them and they disregard the vocal but very small minority of posters who constantly complain about any and everything.

 

You can rest assured that the CC responses on CC are considered, but at the same time you can be sure that source of the comments are also considered and most of the negative comments that are voiced dozens of times in a thread by the same poster are totally disregarded.

 

Exactly right. Heck, even the NCL forum posters get sick and tired of the same old group of people who strive to get the last word on the same topic in MANY threads. I can't imagine NCL management would pay too much credence to their opinions.

[NLH Arizona]

I would guess that a very small percentage of NCL guests are CC members - a very, very small percentage. So my answer to the question of whether the NCL executives read and care about what is posted on these forums is a big resounding NO. The recent thread which was highly critical of the introduction of room service charges was enormously popular and I think reached or exceeded 2,000 posts. I believe the introduction of room service charges is now fleet wide. Despite the threats and screams of protest, NCL did what they wanted to do. At some point in time the loss of revenue from the free beverage and dining packages had to be offset and the room service charge and increase in gratuities were put in place to do just that. If anything I've learned in life is that you don't get sometching for nothing, especially in commerce.

 

Express your concerns and criticize the cruise line about matters of fares, service and charges but realize one thing - the only people reading it are your fellow CC members.

I do believe that NCL reads Cruise Critic. But when you think about it, when your "loyal" customers are always saying that they will leave the cruise line, calls them evil, calls them unethical, saying they are doing things illegally, etc. just because they don't like a change......does anyone really think that NCL takes this too seriously, especially when the same "loyal" customers are back the next time there is a change complaining. Makes you go hmmmmm, doesn't it. Edited April 18, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[pieshops]

My question for the OP is this: As someone who is staying in the Haven, what changes affected you that made you cancel? What poor communications did you personally have with NCL?

 

We are also staying in the Haven on our upcoming cruise and I can not find any changes that will affect us?

 

Would love to know.

[TowerOrchard]

The problem with the many many responses on CC thought is that the vast majority of those negative responses are by the same 15 - 20 people. NCL, and all cruise lines closely monitor CC. They are aware of the comments and who posts them and they disregard the vocal but very small minority of posters who constantly complain about any and everything.

THIS!!!! NCL should (and does) monitor what the general feelings are about changes they are implementing. But those grossly inflated threads that have the same people saying the same things over and over and over again still don't add up to a significant dissatisfaction in NCL's overall customer base. If I was NCL, I'd be happy that a tiny group of malcontents decided to take their business elsewhere, but unfortunately, these folks keep sailing NCL and keep complaining about it.

[DMH15]

My question for the OP is this: As someone who is staying in the Haven, what changes affected you that made you cancel? What poor communications did you personally have with NCL?

 

 

 

We are also staying in the Haven on our upcoming cruise and I can not find any changes that will affect us?

 

 

 

Would love to know.

 

 

 

I just got off the Jewel last week in a penthouse suite.

 

I had expected negativity on the ship due to recent developments. There wad none. Everyone was happy as could be!

 

You are correct. As a suite passenge we do not see many of these changes.

 

At my age, I realize many things change. Mant of these changes are optional choices.

 

I am booked for another NCL suite. If it is as great as the last cruise there will be more.

[bangzoom6877]

I'm sure they read CC because they actually reply to some of the threads here! Perhaps they take down people's names and CC user names at M&G gatherings for their own research purposes, such as looking up people's posts and seeing if they've "threatened" to leave NCL due to changes, but ended up booking and taking more cruises after that date anyway. I'm sure they take CC into consideration, but that they also take certain things here with a grain of salt.

 

My belief is that the passengers onboard and their spending trends play more of a role in policies being instituted. For example, the recent room service delivery fee on the BA and GA which was a complete surprise to passengers on those cruises...they didn't find out about this delivery fee "test" until they boarded the ship. I'm sure many were outraged that they couldn't get coffee and a muffin delivered to their cabin in the morning without paying a fee of either $4.95 or $7.95 depending on the ship. And I'm sure many passengers complained about this in particular. I'm certainly no expert, but I'd imagine that breakfast is the busiest and most popular time for room service so that people could at least have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning as they get ready. So I'm sure most of the complaints about the charge for room service were related to breakfast, and that's most likely why they now state that coffee and pastries in the morning do not incur a delivery fee. Even though there were so many negative comments about the room service fee, I truly think it was more the passengers during those two weeks that influenced NCL not to charge for continental breakfast items. Or a combination of that and also the fact that Carnival now has enhance RS menu items for a fee but still has the old RS menu in place, all items still available complimentary. Cruise lines are very competitive with each other and surely watch each other's trends.

 

The powers that be at NCL know that plenty of idol threats are made on social media, and that so many people will say they're never cruising with them again but that will not be the case. They also know that CC is a very small percentage of their cruise passengers.

Edited April 18, 2015 by bangzoom6877

[ColinIllinois]

<snip> I'm sure they read CC because they actually reply to some of the threads here! Perhaps they take down people's names and CC user names at M&G gatherings for their own research purposes, such as looking up people's posts and seeing if they've "threatened" to leave NCL due to changes, but ended up booking and taking more cruises after that date anyway.

 

 

LOL........no.

[TrumpyNor]

TrumpyNor IIRC Cary was your HD on the Pearl. He's very proactive and interested in feedback. He's one of the best HD's we've sailed with!

 

Yes, I just did some "research" on my own, and his full name is Cary Tumecamo. He was excellent!

[oreilln]

Coming from across the pond, its clear the very negative reaction on cruisecritic is making quite an impact. All the new charges, and the reaction on cruisecritic is featured in todays Telegraph newspaper in the UK. So good to know its getting noticed!

[TrumpyNor]

Coming from across the pond, its clear the very negative reaction on cruisecritic is making quite an impact. All the new charges, and the reaction on cruisecritic is featured in todays Telegraph newspaper in the UK. So good to know its getting noticed!

 

Link please! I just tried to do a search myself on telegraph.co.uk, but didn't find anything about it....

Edited April 18, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[Casino Comp Chick]

So you canceled a cruise that is at least 8 months away because of some garbage you read on a message board. You probably made NCL very happy because now they will sell that cabin at a higher price to someone who understands the value.

 

The problem with the many many responses on CC thought is that the vast majority of those negative responses are by the same 15 - 20 people. NCL, and all cruise lines closely monitor CC. They are aware of the comments and who posts them and they disregard the vocal but very small minority of posters who constantly complain about any and everything.

 

You can rest assured that the CC responses on CC are considered, but at the same time you can be sure that source of the comments are also considered and most of the negative comments that are voiced dozens of times in a thread by the same poster are totally disregarded.

 

First off I love NCL and I recommend them every chance I get. Yes I was annoyed about the room service charge for 2 reasons, 1 being the fact that the NY ship was charging more and 2 I didn't think I should have to pay over 9 bucks for coffee. As soon as they retracted the coffee I never made another peep about the subject. Don't mess with my morning coffee lol. I go back and forth between Haven/Non Haven rooms so it would have affected me on some cruises. When they were changing the DSC they informed everyone in a timely manner and they did not do the same for the room service charge, I thought that was uncalled for. I bet a majority of the people felt the same so yes they came to vent. This site is called Cruise "CRITIC" for a reason.

[swedish weave]

I agree - and the Hotel Director of course said the same thing at the M&G. But that he in addition arranged the official follow-up meeting on the last day of the cruise, was a "first" for me - I found that brilliant....! :)

 

On my recent NCL cruise, someone asked why bridge tours were not being offered.

 

An officer replied "Cruise Critic people write too much."

 

We may see a return of bridge tours for CC groups, but I wouldn't count on it.

[TrumpyNor]

On my recent NCL cruise, someone asked why bridge tours were not being offered.

 

An officer replied "Cruise Critic people write too much."

 

We may see a return of bridge tours for CC groups, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

It all depends on the captain, that has been the situation in the past and it is still the situation today. Some of them like to "Show off" the bridge (knowing that most passengers really appreciate a bridge tour), and some of them wants the bridge to be "off-limits" for whatever reason... Some captains are more "people-persons" than the rest, I have been on cruises where you could bump in to the captain all over the ship all day long (and he would often stop to chat with passengers), and I have been on cruises where the only time I actually saw the captain was at the Latitude "get-together" and the cocktailparty. ;)

Edited April 18, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[swedish weave]

It all depends on the captain, that has been the situation in the past and it is still the situation today. Some of them like to "Show off" the bridge (knowing that most passengers really appreciate a bridge tour), and some of them wants the bridge to be "off-limits" for whatever reason... Some captains are more "people-persons" than the rest, I have been on cruises where you could bump in to the captain all over the ship all day long (and he would often stop to chat with passengers), and I have been on cruises where the only time I actually saw the captain was at the Latitude "get-together" and the cocktailparty. ;)

 

The cruise I referred to was with a captain who was known for offering bridge tours. The officer who made the comment told me the change came from the Miami office.

 

It seems that Miami saw something being given free that they could sell.

[maywell]

Originally Posted by bangzoom6877 View Post

<snip> I'm sure they read CC because they actually reply to some of the threads here! Perhaps they take down people's names and CC user names at M&G gatherings for their own research purposes, such as looking up people's posts and seeing if they've "threatened" to leave NCL due to changes, but ended up booking and taking more cruises after that date anyway.

 

LOL........no.

 

I honestly don't remember if the NCL CC M&G sign-in sheet asked for a person's username and cabin # - because that would explain NCL's stances last year with the VIP program and this year with all the changes. Um, that is food for thought; I wonder if they link that information with one's Latitude membership?

[dexddd]

It all depends on the captain, that has been the situation in the past and it is still the situation today. Some of them like to "Show off" the bridge (knowing that most passengers really appreciate a bridge tour), and some of them wants the bridge to be "off-limits" for whatever reason... Some captains are more "people-persons" than the rest, I have been on cruises where you could bump in to the captain all over the ship all day long (and he would often stop to chat with passengers), and I have been on cruises where the only time I actually saw the captain was at the Latitude "get-together" and the cocktailparty. ;)

 

That seems to how it has been for us - depended on the captain. We've had times when we got it as part of the M&G and then again as part of being in a suite. But SWeave does have a point that maybe Miami is dictating things now.

 

Out experience on BA last March with Capt. Evans Hoyt there were no bridge tours for M&G or suite. He also didn't show up at the M&G which is a first for all the ones I've been to. Not a big deal, just different. It is just interesting to see for some of them their previous jobs and how much they really enjoyed what they were doing.

 

The M&G was also the lamest I've been to. Prem led it with a few crew members, they gave their name, he asked if any questions, they answered 3 and cut it off and high tailed it out of there. Usually the folks stick around a bit and "mingle". Mking and Football parent were there - maybe they have a different perspective or feeling. I would have skipped it and gone to the Platinum tour that they had scheduled for the exact same time if I had known it would be so lame.

[mking8288]

We're on the GEM and the entire CC Meet & Greet group was invited to a bridge tour and the schedule did NOT conflict with other concurrent events, Jenny Lim - HD was among those on the ship. Paid behind-the-scene tour was available (don't recall specifics with Platinum tours) then too (and, charging less for it.)

 

No BA bridge tour offered in 2014 either and for BA 2015 - the onboard liaison scheduled CC's Meet & Greet to conflict (not on purpose, right ... as I would like to believe) with the Platinum abbreviated (shortened with 3 areas only) BTS tour that start 30 minutes earlier - consistently as I learned since. And, of course, the paid BTS (extended or full length) tour was offered later in the week - and despite being a full ship, wasn't soldout & still being advertised the day before by the CD as part of PA speech piped all over the ship. **There wasn't even an Officer's Dinner offered (listed in the daily but blank for details - Day 1) for the usual dozen lucky pax from the drawing as it's often done.

 

Dexddd -captured my thoughts exactly, it was meow like, WTH - I went with minimal expectations already, DW did feel like go & wisely so, had more fun in the casino (but lost a few) & joined me for a very late breakfast in O'Sheehan afterward. It has to be shortest M&G I ever attended (which I wrote in the review) Actually, the Latitude reception for Silver/Gold/Platinum members later in the week was equally disappointing - not a big deal & didn't ruined our cruise.

 

It wouldn't surprise me that the instructions came out of MIA, why make it free for CC when it can be sold to the public for a fee. Besides, it's not in the cruise contract nor included in the fares paid. :D

 

What I do know is that, as one of the tens of thousands of (senior/veteran) reviewer for TripAdvisors, both front desk "employees" & often the manager on duty at many of the better hotels we've visited on land (as repeats) are very appreciative & do recognize that as FT'ers, we played an important role in spreading the words, and, even if it's a minor housekeeping issues, strive to get it done right & matters resolved. And, you know what, they respond often in a public way on their forum & write back, do the followup calls & emails personally - lines like NCL, of course, have their own mindset and feel that they can do whatever. And, that is that - not going to debate about it. Going slightly off-topic, United Airlines, once known as one of the best with its 'Fly the Friendly Skies" tagline are now ranked bottom among (legacy) US carriers in customer (dis)satisfactions - and despite our FF lifetime status since the early 1980's, we haven't flown them in 18 months because we choose to give our business to another carrier - heck with their perks, and for anyone who fly a bit, you'll know the deals for 2015. :rolleyes:

 

If all of these changes are good for business & to Wall Street, good for NCL and FDR & team's calculations are spot-on, but if not - time will tell & it will not take a decade for the impacts to be measured & felt. Meanwhile, with Wall Street's 1 day big drop yesterday - CCL is still doing better, along with its outlook, than NCLH - and the competition got more newer ships coming along to do milky runs. I am sure MIA HQ people are watching closely, as they should. The world isn't just black-n-white but rather, shades of grey as well.

Edited April 18, 2015 by mking8288

[fshagan]

While I don't work for NCL, I do monitor social media for my company (along with several other employees; I handle Facebook and our company forums, while others handle Twitter and other social media).

 

We note what people say on social media, but it has much less impact on our organization than a support ticket, phone call, email or letter. The purported "power" of social media does come into play when a customer has a specific complaint and posts it on Facebook. I then spring into action and ... issue a support ticket so it can get fixed.

 

If the customer issued the support ticket themselves it would get fixed faster, because it would be in the queue at the time they posted on Facebook. Instead, we play the social media relay game and I enter the ticket on their behalf.

 

Like most companies, NCL has customer satisfaction surveys going back years. They are statistically significant, scientific measures of customer satisfaction. Organic social media comments are self-selected and not a scientific barometer of customer satisfaction. They are compared to the known statistics to decide what kind of weight to give them.

 

The OP provided excellent information to NCL beyond post counts. A customer cancelling a cruise and leaving comments that they just didn't want to risk spending the money on their first NCL cruise because of the way the new charges were handled with current customers may have more impact than the entirety of the CC posts. (BTW - if I don't have the OP's exact reason listed there it's not intentional, and I mean no disrespect to the OP at all; I'm using an example to make my point).

 

About the company responding on forums: This is almost always a bad idea unless done by a very skilled CEO or perhaps someone at the VP level. I have very specific guidelines as to what I can and can not say, and can only post in response to our company-sponsored Facebook Groups. The reason is the parsing you see done in these threads. So you only see what a company's attorneys and marketing people have sanctioned to be said.

[Loucat]

First off I applaud you for the decision you made. It could not have been an easy one especially if you have enjoyed the product and the company in the past.

 

Personally I would not put much credence in what the PCC told you. He is likely more interested in his commission than in the company itself, its reputation or its customer satisfaction. I think you should follow up your cancellation with an email or letter to someone much higher up the food chain than the PCC and hopefully into the ear of someone who will listen and if need be follow up with the powers that be.

 

As you mentioned you are a suite customer, and so a level of customer that any cruise line would want to appeal to. When they lose a customer like you they should sit up and listen.

 

 

Rochelle

I appreciate your response (and all others). This was not an easy decision and I like your idea to follow up with a letter.

Maybe it was this on PCC who thinks NCL does not consider CC comments (recent trends are way more than comments). He claimed he is a previous captain and has worked for many cruise lines.

I still do not think this was the smartest thing to indicate any line does not pay attention to cc members, especially when there are thousands reading these posts.

[Loucat]

My question for the OP is this: As someone who is staying in the Haven, what changes affected you that made you cancel? What poor communications did you personally have with NCL?

 

We are also staying in the Haven on our upcoming cruise and I can not find any changes that will affect us?

 

Would love to know.

 

Good question! First I have an issue with finding out significant changes on cc rather than on the NCL site.

I also have a problem playing with "tests" on 2 ships charging 2 different prices for room service. Then within a few weeks, the "test" goes fleet-wide.

I have a problem that when you book a cruise under certain circumstances, they change the rules and do not grandfather changes for those already booked.

Do I care about room service? No as we do not use it.

Charges do not apply to suites or the Haven, but 2016 is a way off. I prefer to watch what else they come out with.

 

What I do care about is a line that seems to be finding new ways to make money and what are they doing to improve the cruise experience for passengers?

It is the buisness practices I do not like and I would rather spend my cruise money on another line.

So, it is a lack of trust in the company that caused me to cancel.

[CasinoCruzGirl]

I would guess that a very small percentage of NCL guests are CC members - a very, very small percentage. So my answer to the question of whether the NCL executives read and care about what is posted on these forums is a big resounding NO. The recent thread which was highly critical of the introduction of room service charges was enormously popular and I think reached or exceeded 2,000 posts. I believe the introduction of room service charges is now fleet wide. Despite the threats and screams of protest, NCL did what they wanted to do. At some point in time the loss of revenue from the free beverage and dining packages had to be offset and the room service charge and increase in gratuities were put in place to do just that. If anything I've learned in life is that you don't get sometching for nothing, especially in commerce.

 

Express your concerns and criticize the cruise line about matters of fares, service and charges but realize one thing - the only people reading it are your fellow CC members.

 

 

If they don't listen or care about cc why do they post here. Why do they have meet and greets attended by their staff? I beg to differ you are incorrect.

[CruisingCutie87]

As a CC newbie, I can vouch for the immediate turn up of Cruise Critic in search engines! A short one and a half months ago I was asked to join my cousin on a cruise and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. A quick google search of NCL Getaway brought me here; Cruise Critic has been a wealth of info (sometimes so much info it's overwhelming!) to a fresh cruiser like myself.

 

On the topic of if the cruise lines are "listening" to these posts, they would be stupid if they weren't. Looking to research about my cruise, I read many reviews (good, bad and the ugly) that has made an impression on me. I have opinions and expectations of my ship that I learned here. NCL and all cruiselines should listen to the people who are directly impacting their business.

 

I have been pretty quiet on here, not posting often and mostly digesting all the bits of info I can get for my upcoming first cruise. But you can guarantee- people are listening, your opinions and reviews matter. Just like me, there are plenty of other "ghost" users on here listening and taking your advice. NCL probably amongst them.