Thinking of NCL? Look elsewhere!

[MoCruiseFan]

On 1/25/2023 at 12:04 PM, ziggyuk said:

I am amazed there is so little protection in the US, had this been booked in the UK it would be classed as a package under ABTA rules (which NCL are a member) and it would be the providers responsibility from the moment you arrive at the airport.
I fact we are advised to purchase package holidays for the added protection, I always book my own flights but know I forfeit my added ABTA protection by doing this.

In the USA you have choices as to what protection to purchase.  It is up to the buyer to READ what it is he is buying before making a purchase.  .Most adults in the USA actually have the ability to read.  Unfortunately, some choose not to do so and instead make assumptions.

[J_RAD]

On 1/26/2023 at 11:58 AM, Envelope21 said:

First rule of Cruise Critic . . . always blame the OP.

 

100%!  This board absolutely has no shortage of clowns.

 

There are 4 pages of responses here.  So, I'm not even remotely interested in trying to respond to every comment or question; most really aren't worthy of responses.

 

The only thing officially denied as of today is reimbursement from NCL.  The claim filed with AON remains in pending status, more than 30 days later (it has moved from pending to assigned and back at least once). 

 

This should've never needed to go through travel protection/AON and legal action shouldn't need to have been pursed.  As a service company, taking care of it's guests should be a priority and NCL could've done the right thing out of the gate.  They chose not to do so.  Every company makes mistakes and has it's share of flaws.  How they chose to do deal with it is what sets them apart.  NCL is not the kind of company I'll continue to do business with.  

 

So, this thread was not created as a "troll post".  Rather, it was intended as an informational/warning post, particularly for those "doing their homework". 

 

If you want to continue to roll the dice and hope you don't run into issues with them, that's your decision.  As I mentioned to in my original post, it's become increasingly apparent that NCL is a shell of it's former self.  Either way, don't expect a lot of updates or responses from me, this simply is not where I spend my time.

 

BTW, we did book another cruise with Celebrity cruise line this Spring.  We haven't cruised with them previously, but look forward to seeing what they offer.

Edited January 30, 2023 by J_RAD

[New2cruise2022]

There is great value in critical posts such as this. It isn’t necessary to assign blame to anyone (OP, NCL, Insurance company), but it is a great opportunity to examine the challenges that come with travel and the safeguards available. 

 

Cruising is unique to other destination traveling because it is both time sensitive (embarkation) and often includes another step (travel) outside of the control of the cruise company. When you add health to travel and the unpredictable effects of weather, unfortunate situations like this will occur. 
 

This post has brought great hints, tips, and understanding into insurance policy types, buying times, and the claim process. It has also helped others decide if they want to cruise, if they want to cruise at holidays, if they want the cruise line to handle travel arrangements or if they want to handle their own. 
 

I think it is unfair to condemn the OP for his or her actions anymore than it is fair to condemn airlines or cruise lines for these mishaps. It is an anonymous board and representations can be taken at face value but there is only one perspective being representative. There isn’t an NCL rep to explain how it is seen, nor is there a perspective provided in context from the insurance company. 
 

For everyone that had a bad experience, there are just as many (probably more) that speak very fondly of the same sailing because their experience was completely different. 
 

Best of luck to OP in resolution of this issue and in future travels!

[cruiseny4life]

On 1/29/2023 at 8:20 PM, J_RAD said:

100%!  This board absolutely has no shortage of clowns.

Ooooo! Oooooo! That's me, that's me!!!! 🤡

[DCGuy64]

On 1/29/2023 at 10:36 PM, New2cruise2022 said:

There is great value in critical posts such as this. It isn’t necessary to assign blame to anyone (OP, NCL, Insurance company), but it is a great opportunity to examine the challenges that come with travel and the safeguards available. 

 

Cruising is unique to other destination traveling because it is both time sensitive (embarkation) and often includes another step (travel) outside of the control of the cruise company. When you add health to travel and the unpredictable effects of weather, unfortunate situations like this will occur. 
 

This post has brought great hints, tips, and understanding into insurance policy types, buying times, and the claim process. It has also helped others decide if they want to cruise, if they want to cruise at holidays, if they want the cruise line to handle travel arrangements or if they want to handle their own. 
 

I think it is unfair to condemn the OP for his or her actions anymore than it is fair to condemn airlines or cruise lines for these mishaps. It is an anonymous board and representations can be taken at face value but there is only one perspective being representative. There isn’t an NCL rep to explain how it is seen, nor is there a perspective provided in context from the insurance company. 
 

For everyone that had a bad experience, there are just as many (probably more) that speak very fondly of the same sailing because their experience was completely different. 
 

Best of luck to OP in resolution of this issue and in future travels!

Bravo, well said.

[latserrof]

Ditto.

[vacation44]

Ditto

[MoCruiseFan]

On 1/25/2023 at 1:59 AM, J_RAD said:

We used to be a huge fans of NCL, we've sailed with them at least a half dozen other times and wrote glowing reviews. No more and I strongly recommend avoiding travel with NCL! They are a shell of their former selves.

 

We booked a cruise to Hawaii in late Dec 2022.  Our cruise was selected based on sail dates and itinerary. The entire trip, including airfare was booked through NCL; never again.  We began noticing some small issues with NCL shortly after booking in Sept. – it was merely a precursor of things to come. 

 

First, when booking through the cruise line, you must understand they select flights for you - they select provider, time, etc. This may seem like an "easy button" but it's not. Don't do it. You have no real say in the flight selection (airline, schedule, etc.) and are not notified of the details until approximately 60 days prior to sailing. We attempted to add an extra day with hotel to the front-end and tail-end of our itinerary, but NCL told us there was no availability for arrival on the front-end. Well, this is the date that really matters...and a cruise line should know this as well. We always arrive a day prior to our cruise in an attempt to mitigate any potential flight delays (this turned out to be critical in our case). Adding days to the tail-end of a cruise is mostly moot. So, we were stuck with what the cruise line selected -- and what they selected was arrival on the sail date.

 

Next, the package we purchased included beverages and specialty dining. However, when we went to book reservations at the specialty restaurants, we found that all but 2 were closed; not full from reservations - but temporarily closed! We were not told this prior to booking. Shameful NCL.

Then, we noticed the entertainment was incredibly scaled back -- virtually non-existent. Sure, there were a couple crew-based tribute shows but nothing notable; scaled way back. As others have posted, NCL has cut back entertainment staff and overall staffing is clearly an issue.

 

Finally, we went to book excursions, only to find these too were scaled way back. Fine, we're going to "paradise" we'll find other stuff to do. It was around this time we added travel protection through NCL to our trip.

 

Well, turns out we weren't going to paradise at all. ~12 hours prior to flight departure, we received notice from Delta Airlines, the carrier selected by NCL, that our initial departing flight was cancelled due to weather. We immediately contacted both NCL and Delta. Both providers pointed fingers back to the other for resolution while we spent HOURS looking for alternate flights. Unfortunately, due to weather issues across the country, absolutely no flights were available -- including options for connecting through other cities and arriving to alternate ports even several days later. As a result, and again through no fault of own, NCL was not able to fulfill their commitment to get us to our cruise, which departed 12/24 and the booking was cancelled.

 

Now weather issues happen, that's not a fault of Delta or NCL. How they deal with it, however, is absolutely their issue.

As mentioned, travel protection was purchased through NCL who was responsible for all bookings. We asked the full trip, with airfare and all offers purchased, be rebooked at no additional charge to another Hawaii sailing this year or for NCL to refund the full amount of the trip. They’ve declined to do either. Their travel protection is indicating their coverage doesn't begin until guests are on the ship (not stated anywhere).

 

We will not just be walking away from nearly $20K and are taking up formal legal action against the cruise line for non-performance.  Moreover, NCL lost a loyal customer and we will do our best to warn whomever we can away from NCL going forward.

 

There's what's legally required and there's doing the right thing for your guests. NCL is doing neither.

 

So even tough NCL complied fully with all the requirements of the contract that you agreed to (a contract that is very similar to all other cruise lines), you are upset because they will not make exceptions in your case.

See how short and concise my explanation of your issues was as compared to the diatribe you wrote!

[jbcallender]

We had NCL book our air in November, although it was fairly easy, American from San Antonio to LAX and then a NCL charter from LAX to Tahiti.  There was little for them to screw up.  The rub was that NCL couldn't or wouldn't tell me anything about seat selection other than ask me to bid on an upgrade on the charter.  I had to call American and Air Tahiti to find out about seats and select them.  We did not use the NCL air for the return as we couldn't change it to spend a few more days in Honolulu.  Luckily, I had a credit with another airline which made the return flight fairly painless.  That brings up the other issue.  You can't change anything after 75 days,  but in my case, I didn't get flight details until about 40 days out.

 

On our cruise, I will say that the entertainment was excellent, one of the better parts of the cruise.  Staff was excellent, ship - Spirit -  was in great shape.  Food was good, but nothing spectacular.  We were in a suite and I will say that the bedding was outstanding.  The bathroom was outstanding.  

[L1211]

On 1/26/2023 at 3:29 AM, julig22 said:

It appears the story the OP is spinning omits a few details, like they did not buy the insurance that gives FCC, based on the timeline.

One and only 1 post - I smell a troll making up stories...

Omg, OP bough NCL insurance AND NCL flights.   Both SHOULD give you confidence in a very expensive purchase.  Why all the OP blaming???  I too bought NCL insurance at one time that turned out to be worthless for my situation.  Live and learn but it can still suck!!

Edited February 1, 2023 by L1211
Wine

[L1211]

1 hour ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

So even tough NCL complied fully with all the requirements of the contract that you agreed to (a contract that is very similar to all other cruise lines), you are upset because they will not make exceptions in your case.

See how short and concise my explanation of your issues was as compared to the diatribe you wrote!

Why is there no dislike button??! 

[bortman23]

12 minutes ago, L1211 said:

Omg, OP bough NCL insurance AND NCL flights.   Both SHOULD give you confidence in a very expensive purchase.  Why all the OP blaming???  I too bought NCL insurance at one time that turned out to be worthless for my situation.  Live and learn but it can still suck!!

 

Because they didn't read up on the insurance they purchased. Had they, they would have known that it didn't include cancelation insurance. Having "NCL book discounted flights" on your behalf doesn't mean that NCL is now fully in charge of your flights. Had a travel agent booked their flights, the travel agent isn't going to pay for your new flights, or eat the cost etc. The story just highlights the importance of having trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

[L1211]

1 minute ago, bortman23 said:

 

Because they didn't read up on the insurance they purchased. Had they, they would have known that it didn't include cancelation insurance. Having "NCL book discounted flights" on your behalf doesn't mean that NCL is now fully in charge of your flights. Had a travel agent booked their flights, the travel agent isn't going to pay for your new flights, or eat the cost etc. The story just highlights the importance of having trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

Well I too have been there and trusted NCL’s products.  Both with flights that did work out and NCL’s  insurance that did not.  You trust reputable businesses to sell reliable products.  Well, at least I do… Or do business elsewhere as the OP has decided.  It’s easy to throw stones…

[bortman23]

7 minutes ago, L1211 said:

sell reliable products

 

NCL isn't selling the flights, they're just booking them on your behalf, like a travel agent. The airline is selling the flights. Being an informed consumer is very important. I'm not throwing stones, seems the OP is throwing stones when in fact they should have read the information on what they were purchasing. Has it happened to the best of us? Absolutely, to me more than once, I just don't get mad at the company for something I know was my mistake. 

[carohs]

2 hours ago, L1211 said:

Omg, OP bough NCL insurance AND NCL flights.   Both SHOULD give you confidence in a very expensive purchase.  Why all the OP blaming???  I too bought NCL insurance at one time that turned out to be worthless for my situation.  Live and learn but it can still suck!!

Because OP made assumptions instead of reading the terms and conditions. Yeah do we all click accept without reading most of the time? Sure. But we all know T&C are meant to protect the seller more than so than the buyer. When making a $20k purchase maybe don't just assume you know what you are buying. Also, you should always shop for insurance coverage. How many of us just purchase the 1st auto insurance offer without comparing? It really really sucks and I feel for OP. I'm glad they shared so we can learn from this mistake though. 

[DCGuy64]

11 hours ago, bortman23 said:

 

NCL isn't selling the flights, they're just booking them on your behalf, like a travel agent. The airline is selling the flights. Being an informed consumer is very important. I'm not throwing stones, seems the OP is throwing stones when in fact they should have read the information on what they were purchasing. Has it happened to the best of us? Absolutely, to me more than once, I just don't get mad at the company for something I know was my mistake. 

Exactly. There's a saying I've heard many times that goes "poor planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part." In that same vein, I'd say "lack of diligence on your part doesn't constitute malfeasance on my part." That being said, I always *do* try to at least empathize with someone whose travel plans were ruined, even if there's some blame to go around. It still sucks!

9 hours ago, carohs said:

Because OP made assumptions instead of reading the terms and conditions. Yeah do we all click accept without reading most of the time? Sure. But we all know T&C are meant to protect the seller more than so than the buyer. When making a $20k purchase maybe don't just assume you know what you are buying. Also, you should always shop for insurance coverage. How many of us just purchase the 1st auto insurance offer without comparing? It really really sucks and I feel for OP. I'm glad they shared so we can learn from this mistake though. 

I look at this way: the T&C's protect them, and my insurance protects me. Win/win.