NCL Suspends Operations for 30 days - BREAKING

[poffles]

3 hours ago, esm54687 said:

https://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence

 

Half way down it specifically says about previously cancelled cruises. 

 

Not sure if this helps 

 

Delete ...

 

Someone already said all I said and I see above (as I thought) that the information came from a TA.

Edited March 16, 2020 by poffles

[sfaaa]

2 hours ago, nolegal22 said:

Screen shot these types of sentiments too, friends.... truer words have never been spoken. “That’s their job” has been an excuse for a multitude of sins in our history. 

Until they are proven guilty, you don't have a case.

[nolegal22]

Wrong. Sometimes that’s how you make a case. Keep taking those screen shots, folks. 

[Tpratt]

2 hours ago, Love2cruise77 said:

 

This was emailed to the TA's.  Copied and pasted directly from that FAQ.

Funny, when I go to the posted link this is what I see. Even tried in another browser in case cookies were causing an issue:

Does this policy apply retroactively to previously booked sailings?

Yes. The policy applies to existing and active bookings for sailings from March 10, 2020 through September 30, 2020.

Does this policy apply retroactively to previously canceled bookings?

No. The policy does not apply to bookings canceled prior to March 10, 2020.

 

Like I mentioned before, all this deals with the Peace of Mind cancellation policy and not the new one. Also the date I am seeing on the page in 3/11/2020.

 

Are you and other seeing something different? 

 

[luv2kroooz]

You guys are tripping up over two different policies. You are both correctly citing policies that were enacted by NCL.

[fshagan]

On 3/13/2020 at 10:07 PM, YVRBassElectric said:

the only mention of alcohol and Covid I have seen is for hand sanitizer. Where did you here about drinking alcohol being a problem? 

 

It's in one of the CDC web pages, but I can't find it now. There are a few hundred pages now. Alcohol weakens the immune system and makes you more susceptible to certain viruses and diseases, including pneumonia and "Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome" (ARDS) which is what most people with Covid-19 are dying from. This snippet is from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4590612/:

 

In addition to pneumonia, alcohol consumption has been linked to pulmonary diseases, including tuberculosis, respiratory syncytial virus, and ARDS. Alcohol disrupts ciliary function in the upper airways, impairs the function of immune cells (i.e., alveolar macrophages and neutrophils), and weakens the barrier function of the epithelia in the lower airways (see the article by Simet and Sisson). Often, the alcohol-provoked lung damage goes undetected until a second insult, such as a respiratory infection, leads to more severe lung diseases than those seen in nondrinkers.

 

"Binge drinking" like we do on cruise ships affects our immune system; a little alcohol sends the immune system into overdrive, but then it gets "swamped" by the amount of alcohol and is compromised.

[Beer Belly]

Whenever I had an injury, momma always used alcohol😋

[wvacations]

I was on B2B cruises on NCL Star, Buenos Aires to Port Canaveral.  We were forced to disembark the ship in Santiago,Chile on March 14th. No assistance provide on board with travel arrangements. We were never even notified of the cancellation. We found out from other passengers. By the the time we heard, we waited in line at guest services for 1 and 1/2 hours only to be told they were holding a meeting in a conference room on deck 12. When we arrived to the room that was big enough for about 60 people there were about 200 people lining up and trying to use the 8 computers they had set up. All outside lines of the ship (we were willing to pay NCL their 5.99 per minute to get travel arrangements) were busy. They offered 30 minutes of internet for free. Problem was we were at sea and everyone was using the internet, so it became unusable. I was able to connect with ATT digital at sea (i am T-Mobile so I'm going to be charged about $9.99 a minute) so I was able to call my bother to book flights out of Chile for us.

 

To add insult to injury NCL was not willing to even provide us transportation to the airport unless we paid $65 per person.

 

Obviously I don't want a future cruise credit. We won't sail with them again. They told me today I have to wait until March 23rd to file for a refund and then they will take up to 90 days to issue it. That is not acceptable to me so I contacted my credit card company which happens to be Bank of American NCL branded credit card. The 60 days from billing statement  dispute requirement does not apply to cruises. You must dispute within 60 days of when the cruise should have taken place.

 

For those that used the NCL credit card for the 3/14/2020 cruise, you have until 5/13/2020 to dispute the charge.

 

I'll give NCL a chance to refund the money but I will not wait 90 days from March 23rd. I will be initiating a charge back on 5/12/2020. I will dispute the $130 extortion fee to take us to airport as soon as it post to the card.

 

I doubt anyone has any chance of recovering short notice international flights cost from NCL. 

[kkggmm]

On 3/15/2020 at 3:50 AM, knight2096 said:

 

One of the NCL reps I talked to yesterday said that they had just got news at around 9:30 ish that the people who cancelled under the original peace of mind March 10th refund offer would be transitioned into the March 13th refund offer. The rep seemed very sure and positive of the situation and assured me that the transition would happen. Again the rep said that it had just been passed down to them from the higher ups. I decided to call back just to double check and was told the opposite, so now I had two different answers. I tried one more time and the third rep said they had not heard anything either way. So who knows. Hopefully NCL does the right thing. In the long run it would be in their favor and would make sense to keep their long term customers happy. Thanks for the update and I hope your travel agent's impressions are right. It would be good news for many.

I had my travel agent call for me and they told her no I cant get a refund if I used the 48 hour peace of mind policy. They also informed her that I would only get 100% FCC not the 125 and 150% others are getting. Then to make all of this just great my agent said that dont be surprised if they file bankruptcy in the future and all the FCC will go away. Lets hope not!!!  

[nolegal22]

9 minutes ago, kkggmm said:

I had my travel agent call for me and they told her no I cant get a refund if I used the 48 hour peace of mind policy. They also informed her that I would only get 100% FCC not the 125 and 150% others are getting. Then to make all of this just great my agent said that dont be surprised if they file bankruptcy in the future and all the FCC will go away. Lets hope not!!!  

Was your cruise officially cancelled by NCL?

[kkggmm]

1 minute ago, nolegal22 said:

Was your cruise officially cancelled by NCL?

Yes, I was supposed to go out on the 15th of March. I canceled the 11th because thats when the state department said not to cruise. They still said I couldn't get money back. I really want to cruise and would gladly take the FCC but I really think they might go bankrupt and we will never see the FCC.  I hate to be doom and gloom and I hope that I am wrong. 

[poffles]

3 minutes ago, kkggmm said:

Yes, I was supposed to go out on the 15th of March. I canceled the 11th because thats when the state department said not to cruise. They still said I couldn't get money back. I really want to cruise and would gladly take the FCC but I really think they might go bankrupt and we will never see the FCC.  I hate to be doom and gloom and I hope that I am wrong. 

Ditto .. and I hope you are wrong too.  I cancelled on the 10th for the 15th cruise.   

 

A voucher is only worth anything if and when it is redeemed.

 

[nolegal22]

Thank you for the info. I know you love your travel agent but recognize that the information is trickling down very slowly. Even to the TAs, maybe especially to the TAs. Remember they were the ones instructed to keep selling despite the well known COVID threat... even on the front end, the TAs were being laid out to do the wrong thing when NCL was fully aware that it was the wrong thing. 
 

Don’t give up. NCL ultimately delayed in making a decision so they could leave the people they depend on feeling helpless, contemplating their next move. They asked us to fly/travel against federal and state regulation.
 

Meanwhile, all other reputable cruise lines have changed their policies to do the right thing and have grandfathered those who cancelled under POM (In order to be compliant with state and federal governmental mandates) for cancelled cruises  to avail themselves of the polices offered to those who cancelled just hours later.... 

 

Or those who showed up regardless To take their cancelled cruise.... which is a different story for a different day....

Edited March 18, 2020 by nolegal22

[poffles]

3 minutes ago, nolegal22 said:

Thank you for the info. I know you love your travel agent but recognize that the information is trickling down very slowly. Even to the TAs, maybe especially to the TAs. Remember they were the ones instructed to keep selling despite the well known COVID threat... even on the front end, the TAs were being laid out to do the wrong thing when NCL was fully aware that it was the wrong thing. 
 

Don’t give up. NCL ultimately delayed in making a decision so they could leave the people they depend on feeling helpless, contemplating their next move. They asked us to fly/travel against federal and state regulation. Meanwhile, all other reputable cruise lines have changed their policies to do the right thing and have grandfathered those who cancelled under POM (In order to be compliant with state and federal governmental mandates) for cancelled cruises and allowed them to avail themselves of the polices offered to those who cancelled just hours later.... 

I thought only Princess did the grandfathering.  Are there others doing that now too?

 

[nolegal22]

Take this information for what it is worth.... because obviously part of the strategy employed by NCL is to leave the TAs with different info so that when the info is trickled down to us lowly customers, it is largely inconsistent and we are left confused and sharing largely different information:
 

My TA suggested that Princess is NOT alone and for cancelled cruises, the cruise lines he works with are allowing those who had only one choice: To avail themselves  of the March 10  POM policy .... OR..... travel despite department of state and CDD regulations and “wait and see/risk infection” policies...

to avail themselves of the updated policies. 

Especially for those of us in that March 14-15 “sour spot,“  who were given no choice but do what NCL should have done and cancelled to prevent leaving its customers stranded, infected, or any other number of sins....

 

Should NCL be allowed to say “GOTCHA!” on the night before/day of the cruises departure date? Don’t think so...the info was already out there and the CDD and Dept of State were advising ALL Americans not to cruise....

 

NCL still had not publicly provided notice on its website or personally to cruise goers on the night before the 3-14 cruise. Shameful. 
Leaving thousands in limbo.... good luck with the GOTCHA argument. 

Edited March 18, 2020 by nolegal22

[poffles]

30 minutes ago, nolegal22 said:

Take this information for what it is worth.... because obviously part of the strategy employed by NCL is to leave the TAs with different info so that when the info is trickled down to us lowly customers, it is largely inconsistent and we are left confused and sharing largely different information:
 

My TA suggested that Princess is NOT alone and for cancelled cruises, the cruise lines he works with are allowing those who had only one choice: To avail themselves  of the March 10  POM policy .... OR..... travel despite department of state and CDD regulations and “wait and see/risk infection” policies...

to avail themselves of the updated policies. 

Especially for those of us in that March 14-15 “sour spot,“  who were given no choice but do what NCL should have done and cancelled to prevent leaving its customers stranded, infected, or any other number of sins....

 

Should NCL be allowed to say “GOTCHA!” on the night before/day of the cruises departure date? Don’t think so...the info was already out there and the CDD and Dept of State were advising ALL Americans not to cruise....

 

NCL still had not publicly provided notice on its website or personally to cruise goers on the night before the 3-14 cruise. Shameful. 
Leaving thousands in limbo.... good luck with the GOTCHA argument. 

 

I would be very curious to know what others aside from Princess that are expanding their date back a bit.  I just read Celebrity again and they specifically say they will not do this in their FAQ and what I had read on RCL they were drawing hard line too so wonder which lines other than Princess are doing different, maybe Carnival since they own Princess.

 

So hard to know the reality of everything.

Edited March 18, 2020 by poffles

[mkdreams]

1 hour ago, nolegal22 said:

Take this information for what it is worth.... because obviously part of the strategy employed by NCL is to leave the TAs with different info so that when the info is trickled down to us lowly customers, it is largely inconsistent and we are left confused and sharing largely different information:
 

My TA suggested that Princess is NOT alone and for cancelled cruises, the cruise lines he works with are allowing those who had only one choice: To avail themselves  of the March 10  POM policy .... OR..... travel despite department of state and CDD regulations and “wait and see/risk infection” policies...

to avail themselves of the updated policies. 

Especially for those of us in that March 14-15 “sour spot,“  who were given no choice but do what NCL should have done and cancelled to prevent leaving its customers stranded, infected, or any other number of sins....

 

Should NCL be allowed to say “GOTCHA!” on the night before/day of the cruises departure date? Don’t think so...the info was already out there and the CDD and Dept of State were advising ALL Americans not to cruise....

 

NCL still had not publicly provided notice on its website or personally to cruise goers on the night before the 3-14 cruise. Shameful. 
Leaving thousands in limbo.... good luck with the GOTCHA argument. 

100 percent agree the whole thing is shameful, what NCL did was and is wrong. In the end NCL will be the ones that lose. They are gaining a big reputation for scamming their customers. Everyone needs to keep fighting this and do not give up. NCL is wrong and needs to do the right thing.

[mugtech]

On 3/16/2020 at 10:29 PM, wvacations said:

I was on B2B cruises on NCL Star, Buenos Aires to Port Canaveral.  We were forced to disembark the ship in Santiago,Chile on March 14th. No assistance provide on board with travel arrangements. We were never even notified of the cancellation. We found out from other passengers. By the the time we heard, we waited in line at guest services for 1 and 1/2 hours only to be told they were holding a meeting in a conference room on deck 12. When we arrived to the room that was big enough for about 60 people there were about 200 people lining up and trying to use the 8 computers they had set up. All outside lines of the ship (we were willing to pay NCL their 5.99 per minute to get travel arrangements) were busy. They offered 30 minutes of internet for free. Problem was we were at sea and everyone was using the internet, so it became unusable. I was able to connect with ATT digital at sea (i am T-Mobile so I'm going to be charged about $9.99 a minute) so I was able to call my bother to book flights out of Chile for us.

 

To add insult to injury NCL was not willing to even provide us transportation to the airport unless we paid $65 per person.

 

Obviously I don't want a future cruise credit. We won't sail with them again. They told me today I have to wait until March 23rd to file for a refund and then they will take up to 90 days to issue it. That is not acceptable to me so I contacted my credit card company which happens to be Bank of American NCL branded credit card. The 60 days from billing statement  dispute requirement does not apply to cruises. You must dispute within 60 days of when the cruise should have taken place.

 

For those that used the NCL credit card for the 3/14/2020 cruise, you have until 5/13/2020 to dispute the charge.

 

I'll give NCL a chance to refund the money but I will not wait 90 days from March 23rd. I will be initiating a charge back on 5/12/2020. I will dispute the $130 extortion fee to take us to airport as soon as it post to the card.

 

I doubt anyone has any chance of recovering short notice international flights cost from NCL. 

WOW another reason not to book the Star.  Expect nothing from NCL except emails asking you to book future cruises.

[JamieLogical]

What's this about 150% FCC? I had only heard we are getting 125% for canceled cruises?

[poffles]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

What's this about 150% FCC? I had only heard we are getting 125% for canceled cruises?

Would apply for your first sailing...

Guests who are booked on voyages with embarkation dates from March 13 to March 17, 2020 are asked to contact their travel professional or contact us for more information.
Guests will receive a 150% refund of the fare paid in the form of a future cruise credit, which can be applied toward any cruise through December 31, 2022.

[ISLABONITA]

Hello folks I have been following this thread and have new news that a travel agent has posted on FB  if you do a search for Eric Kirchberg under Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Latitudes Members you will see  an updated policy that will probably be posted on their  (NCL) website very soon.

Here are some of the highlights ...

 

Q: What is the process for canceling?
A: Those interested in canceling under the Peace of Mind policy, can cancel on BookNCL via Norwegian Central or through your GDS and the FCC will be applied to the guests' profile in 7 business days. All bookings cancelled inside final payment through BookNCL or GDS will default to the Peace of Mind FCC. If the booking is outside final payment, refunds will work as usual.

If there is an exception where your clients want to cancel and receive a refund with penalties applied, this needs to be canceled by contacting us via phone at 1-800-327-7030.

For a limited time, we are allowing guests booked to sail from April 12 through May 31, 2020, the ability to utilize our Peace of Mind policy in addition to receiving a 20% discount for new bookings that embark from July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022.

This incentive is for active bookings sailing from April 12 through May 31, 2020 – in addition to those who have already selected to cancel via our Peace of Mind policy. New reservations must be made after the FCC is applied to the guest profile and by April 10, 2020.

As an added thank you to our travel partners, we are extending a 5% bonus commission for these new bookings (which will be automatically applied to the new reservation by no later than April 17, 2020).

Edited March 19, 2020 by ISLABONITA

[knight2096]

On 3/17/2020 at 8:37 PM, kkggmm said:

Yes, I was supposed to go out on the 15th of March. I canceled the 11th because thats when the state department said not to cruise. They still said I couldn't get money back. I really want to cruise and would gladly take the FCC but I really think they might go bankrupt and we will never see the FCC.  I hate to be doom and gloom and I hope that I am wrong. 

Exactly I agree 100 percent!

Edited March 19, 2020 by knight2096

[ISLABONITA]

Updated May 20, 2020    Your safety is our #1 priority—both on and off our ships. Due to the current global environment, we are extending the suspension of all sailings across our fleet through July 31, 2020.