Customer Service On Norwegian

[2fromTampa]

I have never posted before, but have used these boards for the last 15 years for research, and thank you all for your helpful posts.

 

We cruised the Western Caribbean aboard the Norwegian Dawn over Thanksgiving.  It was our 4th cruise on Norwegian and 11th cruise overall. We were an extended family of 11 and would consider ourselves "low maintenance", only expecting ice and clean towels from our cabin attendant. One of our party did not meet their cabin attendant until the third day of the cruise, and another tracked down the service cart to help himself to ice every day - a self-serve cruise, that's a first! The kids were disappointed that there were no towel animals, but adults would have been happy with clean towels.

 

Unfortunately, we were disappointed in this cruise over and over again. There were problems at the port, resulting in over 2-1/2 hours wain in the hot sun - not Norwegian's fault, but no communications at all from Norwegian. A text, email, or simply an employee walking the blocks-long line letting passengers know what was happening should have been standard procedure. Half of our rooms had inoperable safes, which seemed to be a problem throughout the ship. Customer service basically said they didn't have any replacements, not even saying "sorry".

 

Once on board, we waited in the customer service line repeatedly over the next three days trying to straighten out our drink package. Even though we had a receipt, we were told that our package was cancelled and that we were unable to reinstate. Apparently on-board staff could not access records, but had to get information from the home office in Miami, which was closed on the weekend. The gentleman at the Excursion desk was from China and could not understand our request to have our entire party on the same excursion. He told us he didn't have time to assist us.

 

We dined in several different venues throughout the cruise, and the food was on par with hospital food. It was the first cruise that I actually lost weight!

That said, the cruise wasn't all bad. We all agreed that the shows on the Dawn were the best cruise ship entertainment we had ever seen. The excursions were also very good, especially the Amazing Secret River in Cancun/Cozumel.

 

When we returned from the cruise, we tried to contact Norwegian to straighten out the charges for the tips on the drink package that we never got - only to be told that you can NOT call customer service, you can only request a call back on line. I wonder what older people with no computer skills do?

 

Needless to say, we will not be choosing to sail on Norwegian again any time soon. I find it very sad that customer service continues to decline on the middle-range cruise lines, and will stick to Wind Star and Celebrity in the future.

[NLH Arizona]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Both ice and towel animals are by request.  Did you ask your Cabin Steward or call housekeeping to request these items or did you leave a note for the Cabin Steward requesting these items?  If you never got your towels replace with clean one, this is unacceptable and you should have asked to speak with the Housekeeping Manager.  If you didn't see your Cabin Steward, did you call housekeeping and tell them that you haven't seen him/her and that you would like to speak to him/her.  Sometimes I don't see my Cabin Steward for a few days, because I seem to be out and about when they come by.

 

Not having a safe is not acceptable and if guest services didn't send up maintenance, NCL is totally wrong.

 

Did you ask to speak to someone else at the excursion desk?  If they said no, did you go to Guest Services and explain your issue?  I have a real hard time understanding some accents, so I feel your pain on this one.

 

Food is subjective, what you call hospital food, could be perfectly acceptable to others.  I personally haven't found any food on their ships that I would consider as bad as hospital food.  BTW, I usually always lose weight on my cruises; not because the food is bad, but because I usually don't snack between meals while cruising, which I do at home.

 

I would email Guests Relations After Your Cruise and ask your questions = https://www.ncl.com/case-submission.  

 

BTW, don't worry about us older people, you'd be surprised what computer skills we have.

Edited December 7, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[Oakman58]

Oh man, I'm sorry you had such a terrible experience.  Your post reinforces my thought that NCL has cut back on service and amenities to the point that it is no longer a cruise line worth booking.  My cruise on the Breakaway last September was well below par.  I have one more cruise in January on the Epic and it will probably be my last with NCL.

[shof515]

10 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

Not having a safe is not acceptable and if guest services didn't send up maintenance, NCL is totally wrong.

 

i was on the norwegian dawn  November 2 sailing. my cabin had a safe. The hotel director in one of his talks said the ship was in the process of changing out the safes to a new company and that is why some rooms have it and some dont.

[smithop]

Congrats on only one post/gripe in 15 years on here.  Hope you find a cruise line that wont disappoint  in the future.

[ColeThornton]

14 minutes ago, smithop said:

Congrats on only one post/gripe in 15 years on here.  Hope you find a cruise line that wont disappoint  in the future.

 

 

2019 - 2012 = 15?  🙂

[Oakman58]

9 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

2019 - 2012 = 15?  🙂

 

So he joined in 2012, that doesn't mean he wasn't a lurker for 10 years prior.  I joined in 2011 but I've been reading these forums since 2006.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Oakman58

[Oakman58]

39 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

i was on the norwegian dawn  November 2 sailing. my cabin had a safe. The hotel director in one of his talks said the ship was in the process of changing out the safes to a new company and that is why some rooms have it and some dont.

 

That would suck not having a safe.

[NLH Arizona]

3 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

That would suck not having a safe.

I agree.

[ColeThornton]

14 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

So he joined in 2012, that doesn't mean he wasn't a lurker for 10 years prior.  I joined in 2011 but I've been reading these forums since 2006.

 

 

Actually the OP said 15 years in his post so basically I'm an idiot and my joking around failed.  lol

Edited December 7, 2019 by ColeThornton

[dexddd]

See this theme more and more with service issues.  All done for your convenience, of course.

[2fromTampa]

Thank you all for your responses. Our first Norwegian cruise was in 2005 when customer service was a priority.  We have been blessed to have been on many great cruises, but were just so shocked that customer service showed no inclination to help us when we very politely and patiently requested assistance on these key issues. For some reason we were surprised that a travel company could not answer shipboard questions on the weekend. I sincerely wish that you have a better experience on all your travels. 

[david_sobe]

What Arizona posted is correct.  There have been many changes lately with NCL.  Ice and towel animals are now by request only.  No need to hunt down anyone just request it.

 

Not meeting your room steward until the 3rd day is not unusual at all.  They work on their own schedules and sometimes you miss each other.  

[erdoran]

No excuse about drink pkg!

[warburg]

Thanks for the information, Everyone. This thread has been educational for me. My husband and I took our first NCL cruise  on the Dawn 15 years ago. It was magic. All the art on the ship was real.from Van Gogh to Andy Warhol. The ship was gorgeous, the food was excellent, and customer service was impeccable. It was such a special experience that we booked the same cruise for the next year. In all, we sailed NCL five times, ending up Latitudes Gold. 

 

It has been about ten years since our last NCL cruise, and I am rather concerned about I read here, I am also glad to have a head's up about is happening to NCL. We are booked on the Joy in The Haven, November 7, 2020, for a seven day cruise. A significant date is in the middle of the voyage and that is why I chose it. It is also Miami/MIami, a definite plus for us. We live 25 minutes from the pier. Customer service seems to a problem now. That is worrisome. Unworkable safes is inexcusable. The Purser should provide a safe alternative. That happened to us once. Our valuables were protected, although getting them wasn't very convenient. I haven't read Joy reviews yet. That's next, and I will return here frequently. We also sail Oceania and Regent,  also NCL products, but their dates were not exact. At first, I was sorry this  cruise was so short. Now, not so much.

Mary

[FLAHAM]

I guess i do not fully understand OP's drink package problem.  At the pier outside the ship, did the person who gave them their ID cardd refuse to stamp them with the package over OP's protest?

[tallnthensome]

Explain what happened with the drink package. Did you not have a copy of your booking showing you had a drink package? Why was it cancelled?

 

what was the issues with the excursion? Was it almost sold out? Not enough tickets left for the amount in your party for a particular tour? What? 

[Sotermarler]

Honestly, the home office in Miami should be open to support customer service 24/7. Lots of cruises start over the weekend, and to hear you have to wait until Monday to resolve service issues is poor customer service.

[bonvoyagie]

One should always try to resolve any service issues while onboard - not wait until the cruise is over and then try to get to the folks a corporate. This holds true for all cruise lines not just NCL.

[erdoran]

OP seems to have tried, at least for booze package, with no success.  

Read original post.

[tallnthensome]

4 minutes ago, erdoran said:

OP seems to have tried, at least for booze package, with no success.  

Read original post.

I read and reread the post. What do you mean “tried” ? Your reply doesn’t clear up anything. Did they have the drink promo? Did they buy the package at full price? Which package? What? Why was it cancelled?

[erdoran]

11 hours ago, 2fromTampa said:

I have never posted before, but have used these boards for the last 15 years for research, and thank you all for your helpful posts.

 

We cruised the Western Caribbean aboard the Norwegian Dawn over Thanksgiving.  It was our 4th cruise on Norwegian and 11th cruise overall. We were an extended family of 11 and would consider ourselves "low maintenance", only expecting ice and clean towels from our cabin attendant. One of our party did not meet their cabin attendant until the third day of the cruise, and another tracked down the service cart to help himself to ice every day - a self-serve cruise, that's a first! The kids were disappointed that there were no towel animals, but adults would have been happy with clean towels.

 

Unfortunately, we were disappointed in this cruise over and over again. There were problems at the port, resulting in over 2-1/2 hours wain in the hot sun - not Norwegian's fault, but no communications at all from Norwegian. A text, email, or simply an employee walking the blocks-long line letting passengers know what was happening should have been standard procedure. Half of our rooms had inoperable safes, which seemed to be a problem throughout the ship. Customer service basically said they didn't have any replacements, not even saying "sorry".

 

Once on board, we waited in the customer service line repeatedly over the next three days trying to straighten out our drink package. Even though we had a receipt, we were told that our package was cancelled and that we were unable to reinstate. Apparently on-board staff could not access records, but had to get information from the home office in Miami, which was closed on the weekend. The gentleman at the Excursion desk was from China and could not understand our request to have our entire party on the same excursion. He told us he didn't have time to assist us.

 

We dined in several different venues throughout the cruise, and the food was on par with hospital food. It was the first cruise that I actually lost weight!

That said, the cruise wasn't all bad. We all agreed that the shows on the Dawn were the best cruise ship entertainment we had ever seen. The excursions were also very good, especially the Amazing Secret River in Cancun/Cozumel.

 

When we returned from the cruise, we tried to contact Norwegian to straighten out the charges for the tips on the drink package that we never got - only to be told that you can NOT call customer service, you can only request a call back on line. I wonder what older people with no computer skills do?

 

Needless to say, we will not be choosing to sail on Norwegian again any time soon. I find it very sad that customer service continues to decline on the middle-range cruise lines, and will stick to Wind Star and Celebrity in the future.

My iPad won’t let me color the section but it’s bolded. 

[tallnthensome]

26 minutes ago, erdoran said:

My iPad won’t let me color the section but it’s bolded. 

You’re not helping by simply highlighting what the OP said, we can read. If you can answer which drink package? Who had it. What was the problem the first three days. How was it paid for? Was it the promo? Why did they say it was cancelled? If you can’t, please stop telling people to reread what the OP posted. It doesn’t give enough information. Let them explain further .... Same with the excursion issue .... what happened? Explain ...

Edited December 8, 2019 by tallnthensome

[FLAHAM]

I repeat, did OP attempt to correct the drink package issue on shore when handed ID cards without the package listed?

[PortFees45]

There are no original Van Goghs on the Dawn