NCL Name Change

[Gatorzzzz]

NCL does not mean Norwegian Cruise Line, it really stands for No Care Line 
 

I am scheduled to sail Sunday out of NYC, with my NCL air leaving Ft. Myers Sunday morning at 7:10 arriving in NY just before 10:00, plenty of time to get to the pier. I live about 3 miles from the Ft. Myers airport. Very convenient!

 

Hey, has anyone heard about this weather event called Hurricane Ian?  It has caused the closure of the Ft. Myers airport; although it is scheduled to reopen Wednesday.  No problem, airport is open. Well only sort of. Upon reopening the earliest permitted departure is 8:30. 
 

I chatted with Delta and the flight is still scheduled, even though under current FAA guidelines it cannot depart.

 

So, wanting to be proactive, I called NCL. They don’t care. They won’t even consider a Plan B. If the flight is canceled any time after Thursday morning I am at the mercy of the airline.  They won’t book me on an alternative flight, won’t reschedule me out of an alternate airport. Won’t do anything.

The first person who didn’t help me cut me off instead of sending me to the resolution desk. 

 

I called back and got moved up to the resolution desk. No help. The don’t have authority to resolve anything. I was on the phone so long it died on me.

 

This will be my last NCL cruise. 
 

 

[shof515]

this is what happens when you book airfare with NCL. this is why you should always book your own airfare

[opshannon]

The person above meant to start their reply (and you can tell it was cut off because there isn't a capital letter at the beginning of the sentence): I'm so sorry to hear about this. I hope you made it through the storm okay. And I hope this gets resolved. I understand your frustration with NCL, this is what happens...

[Gatorzzzz]

31 minutes ago, opshannon said:

…I hope you made it through the storm okay….

Yes, we did. Six family members. Everyone’s okay. Thank you for asking. 
 

We bought a generator and portable ice machine (we had seven bags in our chest freezer) after Irma so we were prepared. After we got our power back I was able to loan my generator to a friend who just got power restored yesterday. 

[MoCruiseFan]

So you did not get insurance for a cruise during hurricane season and you want NCL to make up for that poor decision.  OK thanks!

[bortman23]

2 hours ago, Gatorzzzz said:

NCL does not mean Norwegian Cruise Line, it really stands for No Care Line 
 

I am scheduled to sail Sunday out of NYC, with my NCL air leaving Ft. Myers Sunday morning at 7:10 arriving in NY just before 10:00, plenty of time to get to the pier. I live about 3 miles from the Ft. Myers airport. Very convenient!

 

Hey, has anyone heard about this weather event called Hurricane Ian?  It has caused the closure of the Ft. Myers airport; although it is scheduled to reopen Wednesday.  No problem, airport is open. Well only sort of. Upon reopening the earliest permitted departure is 8:30. 
 

I chatted with Delta and the flight is still scheduled, even though under current FAA guidelines it cannot depart.

 

So, wanting to be proactive, I called NCL. They don’t care. They won’t even consider a Plan B. If the flight is canceled any time after Thursday morning I am at the mercy of the airline.  They won’t book me on an alternative flight, won’t reschedule me out of an alternate airport. Won’t do anything.

The first person who didn’t help me cut me off instead of sending me to the resolution desk. 

 

I called back and got moved up to the resolution desk. No help. The don’t have authority to resolve anything. I was on the phone so long it died on me.

 

This will be my last NCL cruise. 
 

 

 

Honestly I don't see this as an NCL issue at this point, if the flight is with Delta this would appear to be their issue and they should be working to fix it. If they cancel the flight or rebook you then NCL would be obligated to step in.

 

[Zippeedee]

I’m so sorry you have to deal with this on top of having your city destroyed. The real moral of this story is never, ever fly in the day of a cruise.
 

We had family members almost miss our cruise from NY due to flight delays from Boston. A 50 minute flight became a nightmare of fog, weather and every other delay reason we’ve all heard.

[complawyer]

the moral is not just never try to fly in the day of the cruise, but never let ncl book your flights.

 

remember if you want something done right....do it yourself.we've taken 3 ncl cruises so far this year athens, alaska and london, and booked round trip airfare on our own. one more to go this year, b2b trieste to rome, and again booked all hotels and airfare on our own. worked out perfect  with absolutely no problems

 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, Gatorzzzz said:

NCL does not mean Norwegian Cruise Line, it really stands for No Care Line 
 

I am scheduled to sail Sunday out of NYC, with my NCL air leaving Ft. Myers Sunday morning at 7:10 arriving in NY just before 10:00, plenty of time to get to the pier. I live about 3 miles from the Ft. Myers airport. Very convenient!

 

Hey, has anyone heard about this weather event called Hurricane Ian?  It has caused the closure of the Ft. Myers airport; although it is scheduled to reopen Wednesday.  No problem, airport is open. Well only sort of. Upon reopening the earliest permitted departure is 8:30. 
 

I chatted with Delta and the flight is still scheduled, even though under current FAA guidelines it cannot depart.

 

So, wanting to be proactive, I called NCL. They don’t care. They won’t even consider a Plan B. If the flight is canceled any time after Thursday morning I am at the mercy of the airline.  They won’t book me on an alternative flight, won’t reschedule me out of an alternate airport. Won’t do anything.

The first person who didn’t help me cut me off instead of sending me to the resolution desk. 

 

I called back and got moved up to the resolution desk. No help. The don’t have authority to resolve anything. I was on the phone so long it died on me.

 

This will be my last NCL cruise. 
 

NCL appears to have fulfilled their commitment. They have you booked on a flight. No,,,, they don't have you booked on a multiple fully refundable, fully changeable flight because that is not what you paid for. You paid for cheap flights and you have cheap, highly restricted flights.  In fact, if the airline's computer system saw you double booked, it would cancel duplicate, overlapping reservations. 

[BirdTravels]

There is nothing stopping the OP from booking their own Plan B tickets. Or even flights out of Miami. And cancel them if the get on their scheduled flights. 

[TrumpyNor]

53 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

There is nothing stopping the OP from booking their own Plan B tickets. Or even flights out of Miami. And cancel them if the get on their scheduled flights. 

I agree 100% with this, and actually had to do that myself last July, when my original flights (booked in advance by myself, not NCL,  almost a year earlier) to get from Norway to Italy for two different cruises were "in danger" of getting cancelled because of a pilot strike, and there were problems finding "substitute" flights. I just had to book whatever I found, at a much higher price than normal due to all the crazy circumstances (cancellations/delays) at the time. And even though these "extra" plane tickets I purchased, were  "economy tickets" that would not be reimbursed if I cancelled them at a later time, that was a better choice than loosing the two cruises that I had paid litterally thousands of dollars for. 

We ended up being able to use our original plane tickets, so at the end we just considered our "lost expenses" for those extra flights to be some kind of "extra insurance costs". Didn't really afford to do it that way, but as the alternative was to loose everything we had paid for those two cruises (total of 17 days, high season, were not exactly "cheap"), there was to me no alternative. 

We have a very good travel insurance, but doesn't cover strikes, so would not have received anything in compensation from them if we didn't get to Italy in time for our cruises....

Edited October 4, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[Gatorzzzz]

4 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

So you did not get insurance for a cruise during hurricane season and you want NCL to make up for that poor decision.  OK thanks!

Why would you assume I did not get insurance?

 

I did get insurance but turns out that hurricane coverage only applies to my house being uninhabited, not the airport being shut down. 

[MoCruiseFan]

4 hours ago, Gatorzzzz said:

Why would you assume I did not get insurance?

 

I did get insurance but turns out that hurricane coverage only applies to my house being uninhabited, not the airport being shut down. 

Oh OK, so you did not read fully what you were buying when you decided which insurance to get.  Still this is all on you.

[Montanagirlalways]

so sorry. hopefully the airport will open sooner

[CruisingWalter]

10 hours ago, Gatorzzzz said:

NCL does not mean Norwegian Cruise Line, it really stands for No Care Line 
 

I am scheduled to sail Sunday out of NYC, with my NCL air leaving Ft. Myers Sunday morning at 7:10 arriving in NY just before 10:00, plenty of time to get to the pier. I live about 3 miles from the Ft. Myers airport. Very convenient!

 

Two things.

1: Never book air travel through the cruise line unless you're cruising one of the deluxe luxury lines like Regent Seven Seas. Always book your own air travel independently whenever possible.

 

2: Always use a travel agent. Then you're not on the phone wasting your time trying to get through to people at NCL. Agents have their own lines with specific agents and will work to get a resolution for you. We've been cruising since 2006 and while we could easily book our own cruises, we never do and are thankful every time something like this comes up. We have had agents spend two days working through resolutions with cruise lines for us. 

 

I hope everything works out for you with this situation. We have thoroughly enjoyed cruising NCL and the other 7 cruise lines we've sailed. 

[MotownVoice]

4 minutes ago, WheresWalter said:

 

2: Always use a travel agent. Then you're not on the phone wasting your time trying to get through to people at NCL.

What horrible advice.   I could say “never use a travel agent”.  That way you’re not wasting you’re  time on the phone with an agency when the Cruiseline could fix a problem faster.  But that would be just as idiotic.   
 

I have used TA’s and they always turned out to be a roadblock between me and resolutions.   But some people like them. God bless em. 
 

“Never” is such a wasted word full of letters.   Think of what else you could do with all those “e”s that would serve mankind better.  

[CruisingWalter]

4 minutes ago, MotownVoice said:

What horrible advice.   I could say “never use a travel agent”.  That way you’re not wasting you’re  time on the phone with an agency when the Cruiseline could fix a problem faster.  But that would be just as idiotic.   
 

I have used TA’s and they always turned out to be a roadblock between me and resolutions.   But some people like them. God bless em. 
 

“Never” is such a wasted word full of letters.   Think of what else you could do with all those “e”s that would serve mankind better.  

 

Travel agents are always the way to go. Getting through to a cruise line can be difficult when things like Hurricanes or Pandemics break through. If your travel agent is a roadblock you used the wrong TA. We've had the same TA since 2006 and they've been amazing. I would never book a cruise with a TA, but if it works for you, keep doing what you're doing.

[Markanddonna]

I believe all cruise air from any cruise line might put you in the OP's current situation. I had that issue during SuperStorm Sandy and RCL Air2Sea would not proactively book me on a flight with open seats that would get me to my destination on time. I doubt any travel agent would have waited on the phone for the 3+ hours I spent. Finally, they let me work directly with the airline and our flight was the last one out of the airport before it closed down.

[graphicguy]

27 minutes ago, WheresWalter said:

 

Travel agents are always the way to go. Getting through to a cruise line can be difficult when things like Hurricanes or Pandemics break through. If your travel agent is a roadblock you used the wrong TA. We've had the same TA since 2006 and they've been amazing. I would never book a cruise with a TA, but if it works for you, keep doing what you're doing.

Yeah…agree.  I’ve relayed this story before, but my TA actually called me at my pre-cruise hotel at 3:00 a.m. to tell me NCL had cancelled my cruise I was supposed to embark on in 7 hours.  NCL should have canceled before I even flew to the port.  But, this was before COVID and they were not very customer focused during those heady times.

 

My TA is the one who spends hours on the phone with NCL (or any cruise line) when things go sideways or need to be changed.  Plus, she gives me some decent discounts. Perks and OBC the PCCs with NCL just can’t match.

 

Personally, I’ve never found an NCL PCC who offered decent service AFTER I had booked.

 

Regarding the OP’s dilemma…..NCL booked the flight.  At that point, the airlines either can or can’t fly out.  But, one thing they can’t do is control the weather.   Home owner’s insurance is not travel insurance.  Those are two very distinct and different types of insurance.  Travel insurance would have covered the OP’s issue (assuming it wasn’t purchased from “Bob’s Bait and Travel Store”). Home owner’s insurance would not.

[Crazy planning mom]

12 hours ago, Gatorzzzz said:

NCL does not mean Norwegian Cruise Line, it really stands for No Care Line 
 

I am scheduled to sail Sunday out of NYC, with my NCL air leaving Ft. Myers Sunday morning at 7:10 arriving in NY just before 10:00, plenty of time to get to the pier. I live about 3 miles from the Ft. Myers airport. Very convenient!

 

Hey, has anyone heard about this weather event called Hurricane Ian?  It has caused the closure of the Ft. Myers airport; although it is scheduled to reopen Wednesday.  No problem, airport is open. Well only sort of. Upon reopening the earliest permitted departure is 8:30. 
 

I chatted with Delta and the flight is still scheduled, even though under current FAA guidelines it cannot depart.

 

So, wanting to be proactive, I called NCL. They don’t care. They won’t even consider a Plan B. If the flight is canceled any time after Thursday morning I am at the mercy of the airline.  They won’t book me on an alternative flight, won’t reschedule me out of an alternate airport. Won’t do anything.

The first person who didn’t help me cut me off instead of sending me to the resolution desk. 

 

I called back and got moved up to the resolution desk. No help. The don’t have authority to resolve anything. I was on the phone so long it died on me.

 

This will be my last NCL cruise. 
 

 

I am sorry about your situation.  Did you call NCL's air department?  That is a different department rather than the regular NCL customer service?  Maybe, they can assist?  If not, do you have the Delta app?  You may be able to change the flight using the app or Delta's website.  

[Homosassa]

OP,

 

Tampa Airport is open.

 

If you want to make your cruise, be proactive.  Delta has multiple flights to NYC airports available.

[Laszlo]

Jet Blue, American and Delta all  have flights leaving Tampa between 7am-7:30am Sunday morning going to LGA. Roundtrip is about $160 pp

 

I suggest you book one of them 

[PATRLR]

12 hours ago, Gatorzzzz said:

This will be my last NCL cruise. 

Sorry to hear of your troubles on top of the difficulties you experienced last week.

 

From everything I've read, be aware that purchasing air from any of the mass market cruise lines would result in the same problem.  The cruise lines are providing you with the cheapest airfare they can find and that is all. 
Just about any problems with the airfare once they've purchased it on your behalf are between you and the airline.

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

 

Personally, I’ve never found an NCL PCC who offered decent service AFTER I had booked.

 

 

Then you should have had our PCC. After final payment we asked him to change our cabin twice. He did it immediately. He also got us a $1200 FCC due to the price drop after final payment. 

 

Friends of ours who have used him for a long time refer to him as the GOAT. We do, too now...

[graphicguy]

9 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Then you should have had our PCC. After final payment we asked him to change our cabin twice. He did it immediately. He also got us a $1200 FCC due to the price drop after final payment. 

 

Friends of ours who have used him for a long time refer to him as the GOAT. We do, too now...

If it works for you, keep your PCC.  You have a good one.

 

My TA does the same.  She lets me know of price changes and/or changes on my cruise itinerary, etc.  If I want to change a cabin or category, I drop her an email and it's taken care of.  She's the one who originally told me about AMEX Platinum perks of OBC, specialty dinner, etc.  NCL PCCs can't even include that in their bookings.  Plus, while my TA can't advertise lower fares than NCL, she always gives me a choice of $$$ knocked off the fare, or OBC that NCL PCCs can't offer (essentially, she's giving up part of her commission).  She kept track of all my FCCs, particularly when all the startup FCCs were floating around, and made sure I get credit for them, and get FCCs when there are pricing drops.  I don't even have to track any of that.

 

She's a good one.

 

I have used a couple of NCL PCCs in the past.  I inquire about a cruise, and they're attentive, until I book.  Then, they disappear.

Edited October 4, 2022 by graphicguy