Norwegian Sun

[luvcruzing]

It is in the news because the mainstream media have to embellish and sensationalize fake news to get viewers.,,,,,,,,One thread takes about a “mutiny” when 100 of the 2200 passengers onboard showed up to a Captain Q&A. A whopping 4% turnout if you want real statistics.

 

Seriously? The only reason only 100 people showed up is because they didn’t have access to the PA system to spread the word.

[pokerpro5]

These unfortunate Sun passengers have taken one for the team. Their misery may prevent this from happening on future cruises. IMHO there is a consistent pattern with NCL the last few years. FDR originally wanted to get $40 from each passenger. Then that was not enough. Cut backs everywhere and increased fees and doubling and even tripling Haven prices. So far the customers have not pushed back. With what they have gotten away with during the past 3 years why would anyone think doing a dry dock at sea would offend passengers? They even have made it difficult to remove auto gratuities and charge gratuities on cover charges. You can keep disregarding and taking your customers for granted but eventually they went too far. This Sun incident really gives you a peak into the mindset at corporate NCL these days. They really thought this would not be any problem or inconvenience for its customers. IMHO it just shows how out of touch they are. They probably have rationalized they have taken so much away from their customers over the last 3 years, what's a little dry dock at sea going to do?

Time will tell.

 

Great post.

 

I, too, have grown very tired of FDR's nickel-and-diming ways and complete disrespect for his customers.

 

It's extremely reprehensible that they did voluntary construction on this cruise, simply because they didn't want to give up 2 weeks worth of cruise revenue from the Sun.

 

Offering 25% off on a future cruise as compensation is also a huge slap in the face to cruisers. NCL still makes plenty of money on those bookings, so their "compensation" is actually just making them further profit.

 

I may be looking for a different line very soon.

 

It's one thing when the ship has an unforseeable disaster, but this one was PLANNED, and NCL's flippant response to unhappy customers speaks volumes.

[newmexicoNita]

Agreed. Kevin Sheehan came across as more approachable, unlike DelF*** o (what DH and I call him). It's one thing to make the shareholders happy and save money, but when it affects your paying customers like it did on the Sun-and now the bad press they've received will more than likely hurt the business.

everyone keeps raving about Sheehan. He was at the top when we had our only truly less than acceptable cruse and it was right after dry dock. When we returned home we wrote a letter, or I should say Hubby did. Never did he or anyone else respond. The same when my luggage was so damaged we had to toss it; Letter sent, no response. So let's not be so quick to think it is only our present leader. :o

[dexddd]

I have a few simple questions/comments to note or ask, and, aren't some of the observed activities during this 2 week cruise in potential violations and non-compliance with SOLAS ??

 

If some of these were land-based constructions, it would raise all sorts of red flags with EPA, OSHA and public health, and fire safety & building codes ... think for a moment. The fact is that these happened at sea and international water; and, NCL feel that they can get away with it - and, brush it off with their usual taglines. Sorry, it doesn't fly at all.

 

If in my earlier days doing the Joint Commission surprised/unannounced inspections (those in the field, you know what I am referring to) - the Environments of Care summary & findings, would, NOT be a pretty one. Feel free to flame and start waiving - I don't respond and getting on my IGNORE list is free.

 

Uh oh MKing. You are one of those folks my DW doesn't like to see at work. If we ever run into you on a ship again I won't tell her.

[swatkins56]

Can someone tell me what FDR stands for? I keep thinking of the president. Thanks, Sheryl

[Sam Ting]

I haven’t read the whole thread but did the cruise line at least give them their money back and offer to pay the medical bills to those whom were affected? If so, not sure what else they expect.....

[SeaShark]

I haven’t read the whole thread but did the cruise line at least give them their money back and offer to pay the medical bills to those whom were affected? If so, not sure what else they expect.....

 

 

Pay their medical bills? Do you have any idea how many people had to be hospitalized as a result of this cruise??

[xriva]

Can someone tell me what FDR stands for? I keep thinking of the president. Thanks, Sheryl

 

 

 

Frank Del Rio, the head of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (Norwegian, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas)

 

 

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[swatkins56]

I haven’t read the whole thread but did the cruise line at least give them their money back and offer to pay the medical bills to those whom were affected? If so, not sure what else they expect.....

 

All that they have offered to date is 25% off a FUTURE cruise if taken in the next year. I'm sure if there are medical bills, there will be lawyers involved.

[littlelulu01]

This would never have happened under Kevin Sheehan's watch.

 

 

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Idk how accurate this is. Under Sheehan Ncl had a pretty bad reputation regarding what they did for passengers when things went wrong. This initially carried over to Del Rio - remember the mass redeployment? but then I saw a major improvement and Ncl was in line with other cruise lines with how they treated passengers when ships chartered or things went wrong.

 

people don’t pay much attention to a company track record when planning a dream vacation unless it’s widely publicized and well known. Just like they don’t pay much attention to their cruise contract. They just assume they have the same rights as say you have with the Airlines. It’s not until something bad happens that they realize.

 

When others try and discuss any issues on a forum such as this the threads get muddled with a bunch of irrelevant posts going off track resulting in relevant discussion buried under claims of fake news or downplay of a serious problem.

 

I think Ncl delivers an overall quality product. Some aspects of how they conduct business are baffling though. This Sun construction at sea being a glaring example. I’m sure some on that sailing were not that inconvenienced. potentially passengers who didn’t use public decks, dining venues under construction and had staterooms far away from the chemicals and construction zones. 25% for them would likely be welcomed. Others seem to have been terribly affected with no reprieve even in their staterooms. For them 25% is laughable. I’m guessing Ncl would be willing to compensate them individually. But from a pr standpoint, the 25% overall discount looks pretty bad.

 

Same goes for the $25/$50 obc they now offer for charters and canceled sailings. People thought the $50/$100 was a slap in the face. Nothing screams idk about your business more than a $25 obc for an I’m sorry your vacation got screwed. Deciding to increase fees or cruise pricing is one thing and all lines do that- it’s expected. A public perception of Maximizing profits off of issues that seriously affect passengers like this construction cruise is altogether different and looks really bad.

 

Stuff like $25 credit for canceling sailings and the 25% credit for the sun construction cruise eventually gives a line a bad reputation and scares off customers. Some things Ncl customer service does is just awesome yet gets overshadowed with stuff like this. Idk what they have going on with their pr department and the powers that make decisions to go ahead with this level of construction on a revenue sailing or deciding to reduce obc to $25 for canceling a sailing. These departments need a little tweaking. I do know firsthand that some of their land based staff are empowered to make things right and are able to keep customers happy, me included, even when things go wrong.

[luvcruzing]

I haven’t read the whole thread but did the cruise line at least give them their money back and offer to pay the medical bills to those whom were affected? If so, not sure what else they expect.....

 

No.

[Sam Ting]

Pay their medical bills? Do you have any idea how many people had to be hospitalized as a result of this cruise??

No. How many?

[The Fun Researcher]

If what you say is true, then we will see NCL's bookings, revenues, and profits drop as they release their financials each quarter. We will all be able to plainly see just how much damage this will do to their bottom line.

 

OTOH, on the off-chance that this doesn't affect their bottom line, we'll have to come back and admit that these folks don't have as much power and influence as they think they do.

 

One way or the other, we will see. The numbers don't lie.

 

Not pointing this directly at you, but since you mentioned it, I could care less how this affects NCL's stock or profits. This has to do with how NCL is treating their customers and their mentality towards them. This is keeping me away for sure.

 

Dan

[swatkins56]

By the time this hits the bottom line, it will be lost in the data. Some executive will think of some new program that will "fix" everything.

 

NCL already has a name awareness problem. When I say we're cruising with them, very few of my friends recognize the name. No doubt this incident will increase the name awareness - but not in the way they would want it to be.

 

Interesting thread here at a Cruise Law blog: http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2018/04/articles/passenger-rights/norwegian-sun-ncls-panama-canal-fiasco-cruise/

 

I wonder if NCL has people scouring these blogs to see what the sentiment is.

[SeaShark]

Not pointing this directly at you, but since you mentioned it, I could care less how this affects NCL's stock or profits. This has to do with how NCL is treating their customers and their mentality towards them. This is keeping me away for sure.

 

Dan

 

Well, it isn't about caring about NCL's stock or profits...those items are just factual indicators of the success of the "I'm never sailing NCL" grandstanding that seems to be gripping a lot of people.

 

We'll see if all those people really do cause a loss in NCL's business or if it is just a lot of hot air.

 

 

The thing I think is funny is the people who want to publicly declare that they won't sail on NCL, yet they still want to spend their time on an NCL forum. If I really wasn't going to sail on a line, I wouldn't bother hanging out on their forum either.

[SeaShark]

By the time this hits the bottom line, it will be lost in the data. Some executive will think of some new program that will "fix" everything.

 

NCL already has a name awareness problem. When I say we're cruising with them, very few of my friends recognize the name. No doubt this incident will increase the name awareness - but not in the way they would want it to be.

 

Interesting thread here at a Cruise Law blog: http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2018/04/articles/passenger-rights/norwegian-sun-ncls-panama-canal-fiasco-cruise/

 

I wonder if NCL has people scouring these blogs to see what the sentiment is.

 

Hmmmmm. That is an interesting way of saying that none of this is going to affect NCL's business. If a new program "fixes" everything, then there really isn't that big an issue to start with.

 

But we will see...the numbers don't lie, the numbers don't excuse, the numbers don't obfuscate.

 

 

That blog post sure is interesting. Written my a maritime attorney who specializes in representing people harmed by cruise lines. Do you think he is just going to have this one blog post, or do you think he will actually take on NCL on behalf of all of those people who were harmed? It will be telling to watch and see what he really does.

[swatkins56]

Well, it isn't about caring about NCL's stock or profits...those items are just factual indicators of the success of the "I'm never sailing NCL" grandstanding that seems to be gripping a lot of people.

 

We'll see if all those people really do cause a loss in NCL's business or if it is just a lot of hot air.

 

 

The thing I think is funny is the people who want to publicly declare that they won't sail on NCL, yet they still want to spend their time on an NCL forum. If I really wasn't going to sail on a line, I wouldn't bother hanging out on their forum either.

 

We are booked on the Norwegian Jewel next month for our 40th wedding anniversary. (Ironically, the rare 9-day cruise was originally scheduled for the Sun, but switched to Jewel when the Sun was deployed to the Caribbean.) I'm not very concerned about the same thing happening. The Jewel is a newer ship, and I don't think NCL would try this on an Alaskan run.

 

This cruise will put me over the Latitudes threshold to silver, and for that reason we'll probably stick with NCL - but with our eyes open. Next year my mom and I are bringing my brother and his wife on their first-ever cruise and I planned to book the Pearl. The Pearl is a bit old, but not as old as the Sun and the dates we have planned are well into the Alaska season, so I'm not too worried.

 

But I will have my travel agent check in with NCL on a regular basis to make sure no undue amount of construction will be underway.

 

Sheryl

[xriva]

By the time this hits the bottom line, it will be lost in the data. Some executive will think of some new program that will "fix" everything.

 

NCL already has a name awareness problem. When I say we're cruising with them, very few of my friends recognize the name. No doubt this incident will increase the name awareness - but not in the way they would want it to be.

 

Interesting thread here at a Cruise Law blog: http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2018/04/articles/passenger-rights/norwegian-sun-ncls-panama-canal-fiasco-cruise/

 

I wonder if NCL has people scouring these blogs to see what the sentiment is.

 

 

I think Norwegian may look at CruiseCritic (since their survey asks if you know about it), but I doubt they care about Cruise Law. I’ve never understood why he is chasing an industry whose contracts all have clauses preventing class action suits. I guess there aren’t enough ambulances in Florida.

 

Every time a cruise line does something stupid, the haters scream about the demise of the line, the people who don’t sail scream “now, I never will - for sure”, and the fans leap to the line’s defense.

 

In a week, this will be over. It always is.

 

People were never going to sail Costa after Concordia. People were never going to sail Carnival after the stranded ship had supplies dropped from the Navy - and the “poop ship” was after that. People were never going to sail Norwegian after the Star had propulsion problems.

 

If you go far enough back, I’m sure nobody was going to sail the White Star Line after Titanic, but they lasted long enough to merge with Cunard.

 

If you have a product at a price point people consider affordable, and it provides services they want, the occasional hiccup, no matter how grievous to those involved, will pass rather quickly.

 

 

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[roger001]

I'm an NCL cheerleader usually. However, had I been on this Sun PC cruise, I would want a full refund and an additional 25% given me for the mess and aggravation they created. They should be ashamed of themselves having done this, especially on a PC cruise.

[SeaShark]

We are booked on the Norwegian Jewel next month for our 40th wedding anniversary. (Ironically, the rare 9-day cruise was originally scheduled for the Sun, but switched to Jewel when the Sun was deployed to the Caribbean.) I'm not very concerned about the same thing happening. The Jewel is a newer ship, and I don't think NCL would try this on an Alaskan run.

 

This cruise will put me over the Latitudes threshold to silver, and for that reason we'll probably stick with NCL - but with our eyes open. Next year my mom and I are bringing my brother and his wife on their first-ever cruise and I planned to book the Pearl. The Pearl is a bit old, but not as old as the Sun and the dates we have planned are well into the Alaska season, so I'm not too worried.

 

But I will have my travel agent check in with NCL on a regular basis to make sure no undue amount of construction will be underway.

 

Sheryl

The good news for you is that the Pearl is newer than the Jewel.

[nednrom]

I tend to agree with Xriva. I understand and empathize with those who were on the Sun -- it must have been truly an unbearable situation. This is the 5th thread on Cruise Critic and Norwegian has posted one empty apology response so far. NCL isn't the only cruiseline that has done this, they all do it in varying degrees. I.m just not sure what this thread is trying to accomplish at this point other than publish links to news media and complain - clearly CC members cannot help those on the ship monetarily or otherwise - furthermore, NCL will always have plenty of passengers. I do hope NCL responds soon, you all do deserve better compensation.

[Tommy3putts]

Well I think these types of threads do have a purpose. Particularly for those of us who have not sailed on NCL yet. In the interest of full disclosure I am primarily a fan of Royal Caribbean and celebrity cruises. A lot of posters in those forums have cruised on NCL and have good things to say about their experiences.

 

I have a cruise booked for February 2019 on the Bliss. I’ve been mostly lurking here to try to get a lot of information about NCL. I doubt this incident on the Sun will cause us to cancel the booking, but it does give me second thoughts about whether or not NCL will be a viable regular option for us.

[newmexicoNita]

Well, it isn't about caring about NCL's stock or profits...those items are just factual indicators of the success of the "I'm never sailing NCL" grandstanding that seems to be gripping a lot of people.

 

We'll see if all those people really do cause a loss in NCL's business or if it is just a lot of hot air.

 

 

The thing I think is funny is the people who want to publicly declare that they won't sail on NCL, yet they still want to spend their time on an NCL forum. If I really wasn't going to sail on a line, I wouldn't bother hanging out on their forum either.

very good observation and what do you want to bet, the majority of those saying they will never sail NCL again are not regular supporters anyway.

This doesn't make what happened right. Yes, it seems the cruisers had a reason or several reasons to be upset, but I have talked to 2 TA now and neither got horrible reports back from their clients and yes, both had clients on the cruise. they said the complaints they got were pretty mild.

 

I will also add, like all horror stories this too will pass. I just hope next time NCL does renovations they plan it out a little better. :(

[newmexicoNita]

I think Norwegian may look at CruiseCritic (since their survey asks if you know about it), but I doubt they care about Cruise Law. I’ve never understood why he is chasing an industry whose contracts all have clauses preventing class action suits. I guess there aren’t enough ambulances in Florida.

 

Every time a cruise line does something stupid, the haters scream about the demise of the line, the people who don’t sail scream “now, I never will - for sure”, and the fans leap to the line’s defense.

 

In a week, this will be over. It always is.

 

People were never going to sail Costa after Concordia. People were never going to sail Carnival after the stranded ship had supplies dropped from the Navy - and the “poop ship” was after that. People were never going to sail Norwegian after the Star had propulsion problems.

 

If you go far enough back, I’m sure nobody was going to sail the White Star Line after Titanic, but they lasted long enough to merge with Cunard.

 

If you have a product at a price point people consider affordable, and it provides services they want, the occasional hiccup, no matter how grievous to those involved, will pass rather quickly.

 

 

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they certainly do read CC. And they weigh the comments pretty heavily.

[NLH Arizona]

I just hope next time NCL does renovations they plan it out a little better. :(

Nita, this may be the best thing that comes from this situation.