Frustration with Cruise Rewards and new Deposit Rules.....

[DocJekl]

Sorry for my sucky first post. It seems like it's not uncommon to be lied to or misled by an uninformed (or deceitful) CruiseNext sales rep. That's what lead me to visit this forum.

 

[RANT MODE ON]

In July 2017 we took an Alaskan cruise on the Pearl, and loved it. When meeting with the CruiseNext rep we first wanted to see if they offered cruises that we'd be interested in taking, and then we'd feel better about buying the deposits. We were shown some Caribbean and mediterranean cruises that interested us - a couple of those were 5-day cruises that we liked as being more in our price range. So we bought two deposits. But we were NEVER told during the sale meeting that the cruise must be 6 days or longer. They should have said, "this cruise I'm showing you is not valid for CruiseNext" and instead they let us make the assumptions.

 

And it's our fault for not reading the fine print and just trusting them. The typical used car salesman technique is to promise one thing verbally and then hand over a paper to sign with different terms, and we fell for it. When buying a car, I'm at the dealership all day negotiating and I avoid falling into these traps, but I let my guard down since the price was not as big.

 

So, two years later, after paying off the Alaskan Cruise ($10,000 after airfare and excursions on a fixed retirement income), we booked our next cruise last week through our travel agent - a 5-day Caribbean cruise. We prefaced this with 5-day stay in Orlando prior to departure (we had a 4-night pre-paid hotel for $299), and we paid for airfare already. We had Universal Season passes from a previous trip that expire 2-days after the ship sails, so this trip was our last chance to use the passes - it all came together perfectly.

 

Until Monday when we went to apply our CruiseNext deposit, but we were denied due to the rules. But this was the FIRST TIME WE HAD EVER HEARD OF THE 6 DAY RULE. I could pass a lie detector test about that statement. We can't change our flight without big penalties and we're stuck with these dates. The only > 6-day cruise out of Orlando in October is the first weekend when we can't travel, so our choices were limited.

 

NCL simply won't budge. I honestly don't feel like NCL care if they retain customers or not - it's a 30-60 minute wait on hold to speak to someone, so they won't even hire enough people to field calls. We've spoken to 4 different people at reservations and cruiseNext, over 3.5 hours of phone calls since yesterday, with none even being willing to comp us one visit to the spa or a box of chocolate to say "we're sorry". 

 

We can only afford one more cruise in the next 2 years when our CruiseNext expires (July 2021), so we'll have to look for a DoubleUp promotion to use both certificates at the same time if we book another in 12-18 months (or sell the certificates if it doesn't work out later). I'm so pissed right now that my preference would be to never cruise with NCL again.

 

If the situation changes I'll update this. [/Rant MODE OFF]

[Wedgie23]

2 hours ago, DocJekl said:

so we'll have to look for a DoubleUp promotion to use both certificates at the same time if we book another in 12-18 months (or sell the certificates if it doesn't work out later)

If it's any consolation the doubleup 'promotion' has become a main stay on 6+ day cruises, balcony and above booked at least 6 months in advance from what I was told. When I spoke to the rep when we bought them I was hesitant to purchase two without having solid dates down but he said double up has become such a hit and money maker for repeat customers no one is even hinting at it going back to 'select bookings'. Of course this involves trusting the same people who misled you but when I went to book my next cruise I had no problem using 2 though I didn't see anywhere it listing that sailing as a select booking for double up. 

 

I too almost missed the part about 6 day bookings because I was more concerned with the 'double up' limitations I had read about. Luckily the rep on the Escape stopped me as soon as I was talking about a shorter cruise to point the rule out. He knew that meant I'd be buying 2 less but he cared more about customer satisfaction than he did making the sale it's a shame your rep didn't. 

[xcell]

Sorry about your frustrations with the FCC but I think that's one of the best values out there.

 

Where else can you get $1000 for $500?  I know Haven deposits are high (though I have not booked a Haven directly) and it hurts to give someone that amount upfront but if you are planning to take a cruise, I doubt you can get much return on investments leaving it in the bank.

 

But to be fair, it's a lot of money, so if you can't afford to shell it out, then I wouldn't.

[browniegirl]

11 hours ago, DocJekl said:

 

We had a very similar thing happen.  On our fall cruise in 2016, we were PROMISED and the cruise next person swore we could use our 4 cruise next certs they sold us to book a suite or haven as the total deposit...… we were doubtful with him but he went on and on and said we would use them totally and not have to pay on top of it.  So..... get  back and about a month or two later I started looking into a future booking and was told by my pcc that this is indeed not the case, I can apply up to 2 at certain times (now more) but I had to also pay the huge extra amount, usually about $1500 Canadian on top of that to book a suite or haven to hold it.

Yes, 

Quote

 

 

 

 

Sorry for my sucky first post. It seems like it's not uncommon to be lied to or misled by an uninformed (or deceitful) CruiseNext sales rep. That's what lead me to visit this forum.

 

[RANT MODE ON]

In July 2017 we took an Alaskan cruise on the Pearl, and loved it. When meeting with the CruiseNext rep we first wanted to see if they offered cruises that we'd be interested in taking, and then we'd feel better about buying the deposits. We were shown some Caribbean and mediterranean cruises that interested us - a couple of those were 5-day cruises that we liked as being more in our price range. So we bought two deposits. But we were NEVER told during the sale meeting that the cruise must be 6 days or longer. They should have said, "this cruise I'm showing you is not valid for CruiseNext" and instead they let us make the assumptions.

 

And it's our fault for not reading the fine print and just trusting them. The typical used car salesman technique is to promise one thing verbally and then hand over a paper to sign with different terms, and we fell for it. When buying a car, I'm at the dealership all day negotiating and I avoid falling into these traps, but I let my guard down since the price was not as big.

 

So, two years later, after paying off the Alaskan Cruise ($10,000 after airfare and excursions on a fixed retirement income), we booked our next cruise last week through our travel agent - a 5-day Caribbean cruise. We prefaced this with 5-day stay in Orlando prior to departure (we had a 4-night pre-paid hotel for $299), and we paid for airfare already. We had Universal Season passes from a previous trip that expire 2-days after the ship sails, so this trip was our last chance to use the passes - it all came together perfectly.

 

Until Monday when we went to apply our CruiseNext deposit, but we were denied due to the rules. But this was the FIRST TIME WE HAD EVER HEARD OF THE 6 DAY RULE. I could pass a lie detector test about that statement. We can't change our flight without big penalties and we're stuck with these dates. The only > 6-day cruise out of Orlando in October is the first weekend when we can't travel, so our choices were limited.

 

NCL simply won't budge. I honestly don't feel like NCL care if they retain customers or not - it's a 30-60 minute wait on hold to speak to someone, so they won't even hire enough people to field calls. We've spoken to 4 different people at reservations and cruiseNext, over 3.5 hours of phone calls since yesterday, with none even being willing to comp us one visit to the spa or a box of chocolate to say "we're sorry". 

 

We can only afford one more cruise in the next 2 years when our CruiseNext expires (July 2021), so we'll have to look for a DoubleUp promotion to use both certificates at the same time if we book another in 12-18 months (or sell the certificates if it doesn't work out later). I'm so pissed right now that my preference would be to never cruise with NCL again.

 

If the situation changes I'll update this. [/Rant MODE OFF]

 

We had a very similar thing happen.  On our fall cruise in 2016, we were PROMISED and the cruise next person swore we could use our 4 cruise next certs they sold us to book a suite or haven as the total deposit...… we were doubtful with him but he went on and on and said we would use them totally and not have to pay on top of it.  So..... get  back and about a month or two later I started looking into a future booking and was told by my pcc that this is indeed not the case, I can apply up to 2 at certain times (now more) but I had to also pay the huge extra amount, usually about $1500 Canadian on top of that to book a suite or haven to hold it.

 

I was totally choked that we had been lied to.... wish I had of tried to book one right there on the ship lol.... but that is what I get for trusting a cruise next salesperson!!!

 

I have 4 cert's to still use.  Have applied 2 against a 2021 cruise (they expire Oct 2020 but I rec'd an extension) and will use the other 2 if I get a chance.

 

Kinda crappy of them I think.....but they made the sale.

 

Leah

[don't-use-real-name]

The application of the Next Cruise Certificates applied on Suite-Haven bookings have or had different restrictions.

 

Damn I hate to say it but YMMV - Please do read the FINE PRINT avoid the verbal sales talk twisting your arm.

 

As each cruise day slips away the rules restrictions are being modified to be easier to implement.

The Program is a good one both for the customer (guest) and NCL.

 

The OBC given if not used to purchase the program - dining - shore excursions - gifts - trinkets etc.

is a great way to offset that ugly misunderstood DSC bug. DSC - Daily Service Charge

 

[jvsnana]

On 5/2/2017 at 9:33 AM, browniegirl said:

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your responses and info!

 

Yes, I do have 3.5 years left to book and use them and will try and get a two cruise cert. promo for sure. It was just a double whammy for me really being told sorry, you can only use 1 and maybe 2 for certain promos (after being told something different) and then being told by pcc one week that the suite deposits were $500 and then two weeks later that the suite deposits were $1500 (not just haven, but all suites also). So it was a little bit of a disappointing hit, that's all.

 

It just means putting out a lot of money out front - I priced out a 5 day pacific coastal cruise which was fairly reasonably priced in a suite but the deposit was $1500 US (over $2000 CAN) which was almost half of the entire cost of the cruise and the cruise is over two years out and only 5 days long.... and the cruise reward did put a small dent in it but still, I just cant afford to put that much into a deposit. So me personally, cannot justify putting that much money down for a cruise that isn't for two years....just a personal thing.

 

Will keep an eye out on promos etc.

 

Leah

Leah,

I see that you are looking at a 5 day cruise.  Just so you know, the Cruise Next Certificates can only be used on 6 days or longer cruises. 😥

From NCL: Cruise Reward, CruiseNext, and CruiseNext Haven are valid for sailings 6 nights or longer sailings.

 

FWIW, my TA has been able to add 2 certs each for 2 of our last minute cruises. One was booked 6 days before sailing and the other was 11 days before sailing ☺️

[mugtech]

4 hours ago, xcell said:

Sorry about your frustrations with the FCC but I think that's one of the best values out there.

 

Where else can you get $1000 for $500?  I know Haven deposits are high (though I have not booked a Haven directly) and it hurts to give someone that amount upfront but if you are planning to take a cruise, I doubt you can get much return on investments leaving it in the bank.

 

But to be fair, it's a lot of money, so if you can't afford to shell it out, then I wouldn't.

In addition they can easily be resold for cost if you Don't use them.

[DocJekl]

4 hours ago, mugtech said:

In addition they can easily be resold for cost if you Don't use them.

 

Thanks.

 

Since the deposits hold the room with no additional cash up front, but also count as a $250 partial payment when they only cost $125 (after you used your OBC), does that mean they're only worth the actual cost of $125, or are they worth closer to face value (but maybe not the total face value)?

 

Not sure that we'll sell though, even though we can't use any on this 5 day Caribbean cruise. My wife is leaning towards using the two certificates on a double up promotion cruise (6-day, 6 month in advance, balcony) for one last NCL cruise before they expire in 2 years, and then wants to try another cruise line - she's been on Holland America in the Mediterranean and liked it.

 

ADDITIONAL INFO I LEFT OUT - my travel agent had told me that when she booked the cruise last Friday (with deposit due Monday) that she was told we COULD USE the CruiseNext certificates at the time of booking. But then on Monday when reservations tried to apply the certificate on Monday the NCL rep could not understand why it wasn't working. Two different RESERVATIONS AGENTS DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE 6-DAY RULE, which lead us to book our flights around this cruise instead of an eligible cruise.

 

IF reservations had told us at the time of booking on Friday that we could NOT use the CN certificates on the 5-day, we could have changed to a 7-day cruise out of Miami that same weekend, and adjusted our flights for the longer cruise to arrive a day earlier and a day later.

 

Instead we got locked into the flights that would prevent us from changing to a longer cruise from Miami. We'd have to pay $200 pp to change our flights.

[mugtech]

4 hours ago, DocJekl said:

 

Thanks.

 

Since the deposits hold the room with no additional cash up front, but also count as a $250 partial payment when they only cost $125 (after you used your OBC), does that mean they're only worth the actual cost of $125, or are they worth closer to face value (but maybe not the total face value)?

 

 

They are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them.  If you sell them for more than $125 each then you will have reportable long term capital gains to be reported on your income tax returns.

[FLAHAM]

The TV channel on the ship with the CruiseNext supervisor endlessly replays his or her pitch and very clearly includes all the restrictions on the use of certificates. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by FLAHAM

[DocJekl]

15 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

The TV channel on the ship with the CruiseNext supervisor endlessly replays his or her pitch and very clearly includes all the restrictions on the use of certificates. 

 

On our 7-day Alaska cruise we did not turn on the TV once.

 

We also didn't spend any time inside our room except to sleep at night, and once we napped in the middle of the 5th day after 4 days of exhausting shore excursions (including that AM). We didn't get a balcony (too cold) so the room had no real appeal, and when we were on the ship and not eating or watching a show we practically lived in the thermal spa.

[Newleno]

On 4/28/2017 at 2:20 PM, NCLfamily said:

It's not great that the sales staff misinformed you. I would say it's more a case of them not knowing the answer and guessing rather than flat out lying.

 

As others have said, you have 4 years to use them or someone will buy them from you. I've seen them for sale on here.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

So they perhaps did not lie but gave false information that was to the detriment of the buyer

[Newleno]

On 5/3/2017 at 7:09 PM, gerry1.10 said:

It amazes how many people misunderstand the Cruise Next program. Many a times I have personally witnessed how a fellow cruiser misunderstands the Cruise Next staff's explanation of how the program works. Sometimes people want to hear what they want to hear without paying attention to what is explained to them. It has ALWAYS been the following:

 

Can buy up to 4 Certificates per Cabin at basically 1/2 price.

To be used within the 4 next years from purchase date.

Can only apply ONE Certificate per booking/cabin for 6 day+ long cruises. There are promotions from time to time whereby you can apply 2 Certificates on SELECTED sailings. Again this only under a promotion for specific sailings

Generally the Cruise Next Cert is to be used as a deposit for your ONE cabin unless it is for a high end Cabin like the Haven, Penthouse etc whereby you must deposit an additional amount to secure the Cabin.

 

My point is not to jump to conclusion that it is the staff who misinforms you on purpose to make a sale. It is possible but unlikely, It is great program if you are a regular NCL cruiser.

 

Also the details of the program is listed in writing. If you misunderstood the program don't always blame the staff!

 

Happy Sailings!

gerry1.10:):)

If so many people (the commoners) misunderstand something perhaps the program/verbiage/marketing  needs to be changed

[browniegirl]

On 6/20/2019 at 4:47 AM, Newleno said:

If so many people (the commoners) misunderstand something perhaps the program/verbiage/marketing  needs to be changed

I agree.  We would never have bought 4 of the type we did if they couldn't hold a suite or haven without further deposit.  We explicitly asked that and she said yes.  So we bought them.  Of course now, I see that this isn't the case and the deposit on top is huge and that there are other types we could have bought apparently.  Oh well, live and learn.  I booked  mini-suite and will see how that goes!!!

 

Leah

[deliver42]

I've found through trial and error, if the Cruise next people's lips are moving, they are lying about something. All they want is to get credit for the sale, and don't care what they tell you. I cancelled two cruise with them, and rebooked myself on the website.

[AmyJA]

Benn there...done that....but all over the phone.

 

Who did I buy the certs from...someone on here.  But he called the CN peeps and my TA called the CN peeps.  Sure...no problem.....nope couldn't use them on the curse that I had booked.

 

Oh well, made lemonade and used them on another one.

Edited July 11, 2019 by AmyJA

[don't-use-real-name]

8 hours ago, browniegirl said:

I agree.  We would never have bought 4 of the type we did if they couldn't hold a suite or haven without further deposit.  We explicitly asked that and she said yes.  So we bought them.  Of course now, I see that this isn't the case and the deposit on top is huge and that there are other types we could have bought apparently.  Oh well, live and learn.  I booked  mini-suite and will see how that goes!!!

 

Leah

 

That mini-suite is not a real full (Haven) suite so those NCCs that you have bought can be

used as a partial or down payment. Mini-suite is a deluxe balcony and 2 of those NCCs

can be applied in booking that category of cabin.

The remaining 2 you can offer them here at CC or barter/sale on eBay.

Have friends relatives other interested parties transfer the NCCs to them to travel with you at a discount.

 

[Budget Queen]

On 5/4/2017 at 3:54 PM, cruzsnooze said:

browniegirl said:

 

........and he goes on to tell me that they are basically doing me a favour taking over $2000 from me now for a late 2018 cruise because prices will surely go up and I will have saved SOOOO much money by booking now........

 

 

 

Has anyone else experienced this at all?

 

Leah

I started to book a suite yesterday and the deposit came to 55% of the cruise price so I didn't book. I got a call from NCL asking me to finish the booking and I told them I didn't feel the deposit was reasonable for a cruise in 2019. I went and booked the same Mexican itinerary on Princess with a normal deposit.

I don't get it???   What difference does it make?   You still have to pay for the cruise.     

[browniegirl]

7 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

I don't get it???   What difference does it make?   You still have to pay for the cruise.     

Yes you do, but not everyone has the money up front.  I book and then save for it.

 

Not rich....

[Budget Queen]

4 hours ago, AmyJA said:

Benn there...done that....but all over the phone.

 

Who did I buy the certs from...someone on here.  But he called the CN peeps and my TA called the CN peeps.  Sure...no problem.....nope couldn't use them on the curse that I had booked.

 

Oh well, made lemonade and used them on another one.

So  what are the details?    What was the reason,  you were denied?   

[browniegirl]

33 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

That mini-suite is not a real full (Haven) suite so those NCCs that you have bought can be

used as a partial or down payment. Mini-suite is a deluxe balcony and 2 of those NCCs

can be applied in booking that category of cabin.

The remaining 2 you can offer them here at CC or barter/sale on eBay.

Have friends relatives other interested parties transfer the NCCs to them to travel with you at a discount.

 

Yes, I totally understand.  I was able to use my cruise next certs for a minisuite and below as full deposit but not higher.  That is fine.  I'll slum it hahaha.