Appalling customer "service": Cancellation of Alaskan cruise, September 2018

[BostonGal35]

i personally would never give anyone that much money that far in advance unless required to do so. why let them earn the interest? we usually pay in full on day 92 or 93 (a few days buffer to ensure it goes thru with no computer glitches).

[jinteso]

i personally would never give anyone that much money that far in advance unless required to do so. why let them earn the interest? we usually pay in full on day 92 or 93 (a few days buffer to ensure it goes thru with no computer glitches).

 

What type of interest are you getting? I currently only get a quarter of 1%. So on a $50,000 balance, I get about $10 per month. Not enough to worry about. I would be interested to find out where I could earn more.

[pieshops]

What type of interest are you getting? I currently only get a quarter of 1%. So on a $50,000 balance, I get about $10 per month. Not enough to worry about. I would be interested to find out where I could earn more.

they said let THEM meaning NCL earn interest on the money and even a quarter of 1% of what they get on bookings is a decent chunk of change.

[kfnesq]

There are definitely Alaska cruises available in September 2018--we have one booked on the Bliss currently. I get the disappointment but there are certainly plenty of options available, it seems to me.

[mugtech]

What type of interest are you getting? I currently only get a quarter of 1%. So on a $50,000 balance, I get about $10 per month. Not enough to worry about. I would be interested to find out where I could earn more.

My bank gives me 1% on my savings account, but 1.75% the first three months. For 18 months one could get a cd of more than 2%. Not a lot of money in any one year, but over a life time we are talking thousands of dollars, same as using credit cards with rewards.

[Wildcatllamas]

I'm not sure what gave the OP that no cruises were available on NCL for Alaska beyond May 2018. Back in January I booked the Pacific Coastal Oct 1, 2018 on the Pearl. It's first leg on it's repo from Alaska. Just checked and there are options all through the month of September for Alaska. I can understand on getting excited and maybe paying everything ahead of time so it is all done. But it isn't like NCL said they were keeping the money. And the airfare option isn't bad at all. I just had to reschedule my Southwest air due to having to cancel my cruise to Cuba. There was no change fee and my new destination for my next cruise was cheaper so I now have a credit. Air hasn't been released for September on the major carriers like United, American and Delta. Won't be until about 350 days prior to departure. Southwest and Frontier usually aren't until about 6 - 8 month out.

[Sotermarler]

No matter what the contract says, it's always disappointing when it happens. It happened to me on my second ever cruise and it left a bad taste in my mouth until I rebooked something else. Unfortunately they are not going to budge on their offerings so it's best to book something else and move on.

I feel for you OP!

 

 

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[ray98]

Ehhhh......I understand being disappointed but we are talking about a run of the mill cruise 15 months out. They gave plenty of notice and offered to help cover any expenses. That is far from 'appalling customer service' in my book when they could simply just cancel it.

[DeeV66]

I'm not sure what gave the OP that no cruises were available on NCL for Alaska beyond May 2018. Back in January I booked the Pacific Coastal Oct 1, 2018 on the Pearl. It's first leg on it's repo from Alaska. Just checked and there are options all through the month of September for Alaska. I can understand on getting excited and maybe paying everything ahead of time so it is all done. But it isn't like NCL said they were keeping the money. And the airfare option isn't bad at all. I just had to reschedule my Southwest air due to having to cancel my cruise to Cuba. There was no change fee and my new destination for my next cruise was cheaper so I now have a credit. Air hasn't been released for September on the major carriers like United, American and Delta. Won't be until about 350 days prior to departure. Southwest and Frontier usually aren't until about 6 - 8 month out.

 

I meant similar cruises to the one we were booked on, i.e. 10+days

[DeeV66]

"Total Posts by DeeV66: 1"

 

Hello, and welcome to CruiseCritic. You'll fit right in, we get quite a few posts like yours:

 

1) Someone neglects to read or understand the terms and conditions that they agreed to, or doesn't understand how cruise bookings work.

2) Something happens that they then perceive as an injustice (The price drops, the line makes changes, etc...)

3) They come to CruiseCritic, go to the trouble of making an account, and post one angry and ill-informed diatribe.

4) They then disappear from CruiseCritic, probably never even bothering to read the helpful comments.

 

OP, if you are reading this... I feel for you, I really do. It happened to my in-laws and they reacted the same way as you did. Think of it this way: Usually, up to final payment date, you and your cruise line can cancel your cruise and get a full refund. If you made a work-scheduling error, you could cancel without owing the line anything. So it only seems fair that the cruise line gets to do the same.

 

The line owes you nothing except your money back. The fact that they are prepared to go to such extraordinary lengths to appease you is, in fact, an example of exemplary customer service.

 

Your story about the positive customer experience you had from your line (but didn't understand/enjoy) is, in fact, a recommendation for them.

 

Take the refund, put a deposit on another cruise/line, use the rest of the money for something more timely, and pay off the balance when the final payment date comes. Try and put this behind you, and please have a wonderful vacation.

 

 

Just to put your mind at ease that I did, in fact read the responses… I believe that the condescending / patronizing tone way in which many people responded, is probably to blame for people leaving the forum, after a single post.

 

I did indeed not read the terms and conditions, and I have no intention to do so now. (Life is too short) I would assume that the terms included something about the liner not being responsible, should a cruise be cancelled – but I would assume that the clause would be come into play when something unforeseen happened to the ship, which necessitated emergency maintenance, e.g. a rogue wave – this is after all, only reasonable. I did NOT anticipate that it could be used to cancel a cruise after bookings were already accepted, for no apparent reason… To me, this is an indication of very poor planning, which I find unacceptable for people who are in the business of doing just that.

 

 

As far as the customer service is concerned: When I experience exemplary customer service, I feel listened to by an empathetic person, and that the person attempted to resolve the issue to both parties’ satisfaction. This was not the case here.

 

 

I do realize that there are many Alaskan cruises available, offered by various Cruise Lines, but I really liked the itinerary of this one, and I have been unable to source a similar one after May 2018 – most of the available cruises seem to be 7 nights only. Since I am only going to do this particular cruise once, I do not want to settle for anything less. I guess if an alternative was available, it would not have been such a big deal.

 

 

I disagree that a passenger and a cruise liner has an equal right to cancel a cruise, if only due to the number of parties affected. And I should not have to pay more for the same category cabin, same itinerary (when available on a replacement cruise, as it is in this case) if the cancellation was no fault of mine. It is by no means “generous” to offer $50 compensation, when the only available replacement cruise would cost me $600-1000 more, and the “generous” offer of “up to $300” for flight changes does not mean a thing, since not a single passenger on that cruise could have booked a flight so far ahead of the time.

[samshltn]

I would suggest that the fact that so

many people responded

to help you understand your position might be an indicator that your cruise line might not be in the wrong. No-one here (most of us seasoned cruisers) is defending your cruise line...

 

You seem to be proud of the fact that you didn't understand what you were booking, stating that you

 

did indeed not read the terms and conditions, and I have no intention to do so now.

 

The thing is: If you don't read and understand what you're agreeing to when you hand over your money, you're in no position to

assume

anything at all about what you think you're going to get.

 

You say that you

disagree that a passenger and a cruise liner has an equal right to cancel a cruise...

 

In fact, if you admit that you haven't read the contract you've agreed to, you're not really in a position to disagree with what it says, or what rights it does or doesn't give you.

 

I think we all agree with you on one thing though:

Life is too short

to spend regretting your mistakes. PLEASE try to learn from this, move on and - most importantly - enjoy your cruise.

[ColinIllinois]

Good post, Sam.

[Budget Queen]

Good grief. This cruise is over a year away, and the cruise line certainly has given you more than enough time of notice. The Jewel is replacing the Sun, wasn't the Jewel available for around the same timeframe that you booked?

 

Something just sounds skewed? You have plenty of time to replace this cruise. You haven't booked any flights or hotels yet since it's so early? And flights aren't available . You are getting a full refund (have no clue why you paid in full?)

 

Move forward and make another cruise plan, you have plenty of time.

[Budget Queen]

 

that the terms included something about the liner not being responsible, should a cruise be cancelled – but I would assume that the clause would be come into play when something unforeseen happened to the ship, which necessitated emergency maintenance, e.g. a rogue wave – this is after all, only reasonable. I did NOT anticipate that it could be used to cancel a cruise after bookings were already accepted, for no apparent reason… To me, this is an indication of very poor planning, which I find unacceptable for people who are in the business of doing just that.

 

 

As far as the customer service is concerned: When I experience exemplary customer service, I feel listened to by an empathetic person, and that the person attempted to resolve the issue to both parties’ satisfaction. This was not the case here.

 

 

 

 

 

You have some naive thinking involved with the claim, that NCL is just canceling this cruise- for something to do, and no reason. Certainly there is a reason- you really think they want to go to all this extra work with the cancellation which is going to take up many expenditure hours?

[Cat4158]

Hi...I'm sorry you have been disappointed about your cruise. The same thing happened with us earlier this year and we too were shocked by the coldness of NCLs approach. I'm sorry also that so many others respond with such scorn to your disappointment. I really hope you find something else to replace your plans. Humanity still exists in this world...but sadly sometimes we need to look deep to find it.

[SeaShark]

Hi...I'm sorry you have been disappointed about your cruise. The same thing happened with us earlier this year and we too were shocked by the coldness of NCLs approach. I'm sorry also that so many others respond with such scorn to your disappointment. I really hope you find something else to replace your plans. Humanity still exists in this world...but sadly sometimes we need to look deep to find it.

 

Wow...when you put it that way, I have to wonder if some people would be better served by seeking a support group instead of a discussion forum. :rolleyes: It seems to be a real shock to some people when the world doesn't just drop in line and feel the same way that they do.

 

FWIW...when you plead your case in public, and the public rejects your position, perhaps that should be a sign that you need to re-examine your initial position.

[DMH15]

I was a self-proclaimed NCL cheerleader for a long time. But recent developments have me not so loyal. I will still consider NCL but my loyalty match and MSC's YC marketing have me itching to try it.

 

This year I cruised on the Epic in the DOS, a ship I thought I would never cruise on, since I was averse to the idea of megaships. However, the Epic Haven was outstanding.

 

What led me to the Epic was the cancellation of my Jade cruise out of Houston, as NCL pulled out of that port. Next, our replacement cruise of Jade out of Tampa was chartered by Sixthman.

 

Both times we were offered repacement cruises with OBC and price-protection. That element of price-protection seems to be missing from the OP's letter... a subtle, yet significant omission.

 

Had we been faced to rebook at current published fares it would have cost us wuite a bit more. As it was we received $200 in OBC but our costs wre minimal with our original port, as we had planned to drive to Houston, stay with friends and park our care there.

 

It is never fun to have a cruise cancelled, but after all was said and done we cannot imagine having a better time than on the Epic. Third time, for us, was the charm.

 

 

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[Cat4158]

So nice that someone can find a way to reply in a way that doesn't sound aggressive but still makes the point..