Over sold and unprofessional NCL Bliss sorry long report

[Newleno]

2 minutes ago, PinoyCruiser said:

There is almost always a food cart in the parking area, and just across from the terminal and down a bit there is a restaurant.  Just mentioning, because of how often you said food was not available to buy.

 

I hope every understands that some people are not as mobile as others, also you have 30 year olds on cruises and people in their 80's on cruises.  So if you are in your 80's and a walker you are not going to go out walking in the hot sun looking for a food cart.

[PinoyCruiser]

4 minutes ago, Newleno said:

I hope every understands that some people are not as mobile as others, also you have 30 year olds on cruises and people in their 80's on cruises.  So if you are in your 80's and a walker you are not going to go out walking in the hot sun looking for a food cart.

Oh, I understand... but what is expected here?  NCL should pass out food to everyone out in the terminal?  NCL should sell food there?  You aren’t checked in or onboard yet.  Hungry?  Eat.  The terminal is not a restaurant.

 

[Newleno]

1 minute ago, PinoyCruiser said:

Oh, I understand... but what is expected here?  NCL should pass out food to everyone out in the terminal?  NCL should sell food there?  You aren’t checked in or onboard yet.  Hungry?  Eat.  The terminal is not a restaurant.

 

Yeah but if they had the room for her like they did for everyone else then she could have ate on board, it was not her fault that no room was available.  

[PTC DAWG]

I guess this tells me that cruises occasionally are overbooked...just another reason to get the room I want upfront.

 

Too bad this was a bad start to a nice vacation...

[Newleno]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I guess this tells me that cruises occasionally are overbooked...just another reason to get the room I want upfront.

 

Too bad this was a bad start to a nice vacation...

True that works for you and that is great, but for me I have to always get a deal so I cant pick a room, i have to sailaway or gty, or I have to wait for a deal, or last minute.  I am a budget traveler.  Now if a person has the means or is wealthy I think that is great that they can do that, but that strategy of picking your room wont work for me.  Our last 10 day cruise was $1200 for both of us, total. That included the cruise fare, taxes, and gratuities.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, Newleno said:

True that works for you and that is great, but for me I have to always get a deal so I cant pick a room, i have to sailaway or gty, or I have to wait for a deal, or last minute.  I am a budget traveler.  Now if a person has the means or is wealthy I think that is great that they can do that, but that strategy of picking your room wont work for me.  Our last 10 day cruise was $1200 for both of us, total. That included the cruise fare, taxes, and gratuities.

I think it was the last minute booking that through this off..I could be wrong.  I see no real issue with booking a Sailaway or Getaway just a bit earlier than a day or two before sailing.  No matter the line.  

 

But yeah, I prefer to pick my room.   Far from wealthy...

Edited February 28, 2019 by PTC DAWG

[RedwingHockeyFan]

I feel bad for anyone that has bad experiences or feels that they were treated poorly.  I just think that blaming a whole group because of a few bad people and just giving up on the whole cruise line isn't the answer.  You can have a bad experience with any cruise line, and you may slowly just removing cruising from your life all together.

[vacation1996]

8 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

I'm not sure if you're referring to the coordination of a hotel or flight home, but NCL would have been totally responsible for any of your travel expenses to and from your home. There's zero chance they wouldn't have reimbursed you.

No coordination or reimbursement from NCL... I would be own my own for coordinating and paying lucky it didn't come to that .

They just wanted to make sure at 4pm if no cabin I was leaving the terminal and to prepare for that.

[vacation1996]

5 hours ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

I feel bad for anyone that has bad experiences or feels that they were treated poorly.  I just think that blaming a whole group because of a few bad people and just giving up on the whole cruise line isn't the answer.  You can have a bad experience with any cruise line, and you may slowly just removing cruising from your life all together.

 

I love cruising too much to remove and have a few more upcoming just not with NCL and  no last minute guarantee  cabins.

 

It is a beautiful ship and I did enjoy.

[esm54687]

9 hours ago, Dr. Jack Daniels said:

The message I get from your post is don't complain about NCL or you will be not be believed.

Complain all you want, but like I said earlier..... there's 3 sides to every story and if you're starting the thread as "a warning to new and seasoned cruisers" then as a person you're directly talking to and warning me.... I believe I have the right to ask what exactly you're warning me about. 

[vacation1996]

8 hours ago, Mike_DeA said:

Did you consider staying in Florida for at least a few days if you couldn't board?  You would have rather flown back to the Canadian winter than enjoy a bit of warm weather?  And there are dozens of cruises out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale every week , some of which you could have looked into booking last minute, even if they were shortish cruises. 

 

I'm sorry for the stressful few hours you endured, and glad that things turned out well in the end. 

I was looking at all options knowing that if no cabin was found I did have a flight booked for Saturday February 2nd  late afternoon 🙂 Had a few scenarios that were in the budget but after talking to my husband it was decided it would be better to go home and try again at a later date. The whole point of me going solo was to recharge I have done long and short cruises to get away from the Canadian cold and it was extremely  cold week.

 

 

 

 

[bkrickles1]

47 minutes ago, vacation1996 said:

No coordination or reimbursement from NCL... I would be own my own for coordinating and paying lucky it didn't come to that .

They just wanted to make sure at 4pm if no cabin I was leaving the terminal and to prepare for that.

Well, you're 100% wrong. They may not have said it, but NCL would have had to pay your travel expenses if they sold you a cruise and didn't have a cabin for you. They would have had a legal responsibility. 

[vacation1996]

6 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I think it was the last minute booking that through this off..I could be wrong.  I see no real issue with booking a Sailaway or Getaway just a bit earlier than a day or two before sailing.  No matter the line.  

 

But yeah, I prefer to pick my room.   Far from wealthy...

It was last minute usually plan well in advance much needed recharge on short notice 🙂 

I was actually  shocked after security changes  and knowing they send all upcoming sailing documents to the terminal that the booking went through and confirmed.

 

I also far from wealthy but in comfortable place to be able to enjoy holidays as needed.

Thank you PTC DAWG

[vacation1996]

10 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

Well, you're 100% wrong. They may not have said it, but NCL would have had to pay your travel expenses if they sold you a cruise and didn't have a cabin for you. They would have had a legal responsibility. 

You are right bkrickles1

 

At the time that is what port and ship staff were saying.Clearly they did not know there responsibilities .

I did ask to speak to NCL Corporate numerous times  they said they would only bring them in on the discussion if there was no cabin at the closing of embarkment.

 

I had all the terms and conditions downloaded and was reading each segment in case we went down that road .

 

It was very frustrating how the whole situation was handled and how they said the follow up in a week or so after the cruise I have heard nothing hence why I waited a month to post.

 

 

 

[emm126]

23 hours ago, vacation1996 said:

 To Vacation1996- very sorry this happened to you, what  a stressful way to start your vacation. I am glad you enjoyed the Bliss, she is a beautiful ship. Most cruise lines overbook each sailing by a couple of cabins, I am pretty sure that's why all do guarantee cabins. ( which means they are indeed guaranteeing you a cabin) they are hoping to fill the ship still  with last minute cancellations. However most cruise lines will call you a day or so prior and offer you different alternatives and compensation. I do agree with stuff happens in travel and you are right it is how it is handled. NCL and their representatives did not handle your situation well. Good luck in your future travels, just wanted you to know that overbooking a cruise is a common practice and not limited to NCL.

 

XTUALL

[KeithJenner]

I think that if this sort of thing was happening regularly then it would be coming up on these boards fairly regularly, especially if people were actually refused

boarding.

 

Over the years there have been a few such reports on here, but very few. My conclusion, which may be wrong, is that this is a fairly rare occurrence, and people should be able to travel to their cruise with confidence that a situation like this is unlikely to happen to them, even if it is a late booking. I would suggest that the OP was very unlucky.

 

Having said that, one constant in such reports is that if something does go wrong then the support that they receive from the port staff is seriously lacking. Of course there are many sides to every story and it is likely that tempers are frayed, but the reports of lack of communication etc from

those staff do seem to ring true.

 

So, this sort of thing seems to be rare, but if it does happen then you may find that the staff you are dealing with aren’t very helpful or understanding.

[thetaro]

18 hours ago, Dr. Jack Daniels said:

The message I get from your post is don't complain about NCL or you will be not be believed.

 

well, I tend to take complaints less seriously when "no food" is part of it. 

 

I got stranded in the (airport/terminal/plane/ship/car/train/line) for hours with No Food!!!! That kind of complaints I hear too often and it is almost always overdramatic.

 

Not to mention "Bad Attitude" is a one-side of story. The ship officer did show up to help and she eventually got a room. People need to understand that most low-level employees are not responsible for some stupid mistake that someone else made and they don't get paid enough to know everything. Venting your frustration on someone who is trying to help you are not doing yourself any flavor.

 

I don't think it's NCL's intention to oversell the cruise last minute. It's probably some system bugs that allow last-minute gty cabin booking through different channels. I am usually a little forgiving when I am on vacation and it's easy to overlook the effort of some employees who try to fix problems that they didn't make. I would be grateful to get on the ship to enjoy my vacation and file a complaint to the corporation later after I get back home.

 

Btw, those CAP lock kinda give me a bad impression of OP.

Edited March 1, 2019 by thetaro

[Cafedumonde]

What would have annoyed me the most is that apparently the cruise was not overbooked.   So why did they torture you and say it was?  Very unprofessional. 

[mugtech]

A few years ago we benefited from the overbooking of a Gem cruise to NE and Canada.  They knew it early enough to contact me about 6 weeks before the cruise.  If I would give up my cabin I was offered all of my money back plus over $1,000 In future cruise credits, the base price for our inside cabin.  Myself and at least 3 others I know of got and took advantage of the deal.  Since we take a bus to NYC and I had not yet purchased the tickets we had nothing invested.  Funny thing we just took the NE Canada cruise last year on the Royal Caribbean Anthem OTS for a few days more and a few dollars more.

[pete_coach]

On 2/27/2019 at 7:37 PM, FranknBeans said:

1st off its a ship not a boat. I've never ever seen unprofessional staff on NCL  in 30 plus cruises.

 

Also there is a large possibility the staff that was rude might have been employed by  terminal staff who happen to handle other cruise lines as well.

 

 

Typical NCL apologist response. Ship, not a boat...really? Is that the best you got??

Why do you doubt the persons story? NCL is totally to blame for the situation that occurred . The persons working in the terminal have NCL apparel on and therefore, NCL employees and represent NCL.

[momofmab]

I think this is more than your typical "Sh!& Happens" when you travel experience.

 

OP flew in from another country with documents that had a guaranteed room, with instructions from the cruise line to arrive at noon (OP was a little earlier than that but acknowledged that he/she would have wait until noon).

 

Upon arrival OP was told that (1) booked a crew cabin (2) the ship was overbooked (3) they were hoping for a no-show so they could get him/her on board.  After those very stress-causing remarks, OP was then made to wait for 3-4 hours, not knowing if he/she would even get on board.

 

I'd say that those things are cause for a considerable amount of distress!  Not knowing if you're going to have to find a very expensive last minute flight back to Canada.  I don't know how anyone could expect the OP to calmly sit for all that time and plan an alternative vacation somewhere in Florida (which OP may not be at all familiar with) to take the place of this potentially failed cruise - and OP would have to have a lot of room on a credit card somewhere to pay for all these changes while they wait for reimbursement from the cruise line.

 

Clearly NCL could have handled this a lot better.  If this is what happens with all last minute bookings then they need to effectively communicate it to passengers.  Maybe it's not a big deal for someone who lives near the cruise port, but it is a big deal for someone flying in from another country.

 

For those who need the warnings spelled out:

1.  NCL overbooks cruises (not a big deal if you choose your cabin upfront)

2.  Last minute bookings may result in your having to wait for a long period to board, while they find a cabin for you.

3.  You might not get the original guaranteed cabin class.

4.  There is no food and water at this port.

Edited March 1, 2019 by momofmab

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, pete_coach said:

Typical NCL apologist response. Ship, not a boat...really? Is that the best you got??

Why do you doubt the persons story? NCL is totally to blame for the situation that occurred . The persons working in the terminal have NCL apparel on and therefore, NCL employees and represent NCL.

They are employees of the port wearing the NCL logo one day, another line the next.

[graphicguy]

OP...sorry to hear this happened.  On the flip side, sounds like you had a great cruise.

 

I’ve sailed quite a bit.  Have sailed NCL, but Carnival, Royal, Celebrity and Holland.

 

I’ve heard of this happening (can’t remember the actual cruise it happened on, but it’s extremely RARE that a cruise is oversold).  Since it’s so rare, the process in handling it seems to be non-existent.  Thus, your situation.  

 

Not sure how it happened, but sounds to me like someone, somewhere, forgot to put your data into the “system” and they were left scrambling to see if they could get you a cabin.  I do think the situation was exacerbated by you booking “last minute” to cruise.  Getting final counts for thousands of passengers I’m sure is tricky, even when they have a lot of time to make the counts (which they didn’t in this case).

 

As far as food is concerned, I’m not one to look for food as soon as I board.  I do have breakfast at my hotel, the day of the cruise.  One thing I MUST HAVE is coffee.  Starbucks and a bagel is ordinarily the breakfast of choice.  Even if I expect to be on board by 1:00 or later, food isn’t my first inkling when I board (partially because I know all too well the mad dash to the buffet upon boarding by the throngs who’ve boarded.  I wait for the frenzy to die down.

 

I do like a person who decides one day to take a cruise, and is on the ship 48-72-96 yours later.  That’s spontaneity and decisiveness.  But, with that comes some risk, as you found out.  

 

Again, glad you had a good cruise.  

[lakelivin2]

"Watching various cruises/flights for that week I was able to confirm both the day before.

Booked local and Flying direct from Toronto to Miami  and  booked  cruise direct with NCL - didn't know you could book so close more on that later."

 

I guess it was booked about 24 hours before.  

[vacation1996]

1 hour ago, momofmab said:

I think this is more than your typical "Sh!& Happens" when you travel experience.

 

OP flew in from another country with documents that had a guaranteed room, with instructions from the cruise line to arrive at noon (OP was a little earlier than that but acknowledged that he/she would have wait until noon).

 

Upon arrival OP was told that (1) booked a crew cabin (2) the ship was overbooked (3) they were hoping for a no-show so they could get him/her on board.  After those very stress-causing remarks, OP was then made to wait for 3-4 hours, not knowing if he/she would even get on board.

 

I'd say that those things are cause for a considerable amount of distress!  Not knowing if you're going to have to find a very expensive last minute flight back to Canada.  I don't know how anyone could expect the OP to calmly sit for all that time and plan an alternative vacation somewhere in Florida (which OP may not be at all familiar with) to take the place of this potentially failed cruise - and OP would have to have a lot of room on a credit card somewhere to pay for all these changes while they wait for reimbursement from the cruise line.

 

Clearly NCL could have handled this a lot better.  If this is what happens with all last minute bookings then they need to effectively communicate it to passengers.  Maybe it's not a big deal for someone who lives near the cruise port, but it is a big deal for someone flying in from another country.

 

For those who need the warnings spelled out:

1.  NCL overbooks cruises (not a big deal if you choose your cabin upfront)

2.  Last minute bookings may result in your having to wait for a long period to board, while they find a cabin for you.

3.  You might not get the original guaranteed cabin class.

4.  There is no food and water at this port.

Your summary of what happen is amazing THANK YOU!!!!!!!