Pride of Aloha 6-16

[newmexicoNita]

*****************************************************

FYI.

Just phoned NCL Corporate "Customer Relations Coordinator". Spoke with a CSR named , "Tonya". Do not waste your time. Put it in writing. Other than probale random call monitoring - your call and concerns surrounding a particular cruise sailing date are useless. The CSR is not tracking at all, did not want to hear specific complants, dates, etc. - her only function was to tell me to put it in writing to the corporate office. More of the same........:mad:

And what did you expect? Of course she would suggest you put it in writing. obviously you are expecting something or it appears you want some satisfaction for what seems to have been a truely bad experience; calling and complaining isn't going to do one bit of good. The CSR has absolutely no authority to even respond. I was a guest services manager for a major hotel chain. Luckily we didn't get too many complaints, but we did get some: sometimes it was in reference to a Customer Service rep and sometimes a hotel itself. Other than perhaps apologize for a bad experience we could do nothing without seeing everything in writing. I will add one more thing, if the complaint letters were than about a page long they ended up getting lost in the shuffle. NMnita

[TonyFred]

I would leave the complaint about the mints off of any formal complaint letter.

At best, not getting a goodnight mint is a petty complaint.

Do not misunderstand me...you paid for the entire cruise experience and you deserve what you paid for. But complaining about the mint will only distract from the more serious complaints and issues you encountered.

[Zeno]

*****************************************************

FYI.

Just phoned NCL Corporate "Customer Relations Coordinator". Spoke with a CSR. Do not waste your time. Put it in writing. Other than probale random call monitoring - your call and concerns surrounding a particular cruise sailing date are useless. The CSR is not tracking at all, did not want to hear specific complants, dates, etc. - her only function was to tell me to put it in writing to the corporate office. More of the same........:mad:

 

Oddly enough I have spoken to a CSR in the past. She is very truthful and realistic in her responses. When she does not know something or cannot handle something, she says so. Would you rather she had lied to you ?

Of course, you should put your complaints in writing. The CSRs have no power.

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

I was going to ask for the number to NCLA to complain, but it sounds fruitless. I therefore went ahead and sent the Latitudes customer relations in Coral Gables my 3 page letter. I found the address on the latitudes website. I stapled it so it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle.

 

And yes, complaining about a mint is petty. The point is, it's the small things that often time make a difference. I was merely trying to point out the faults of this cruise globally rather than pinpointing just the major issues.

[BenP]

where on NCL s web site do you find info on each cabin. I need that info soon, Thenks

[newmexicoNita]

I was going to ask for the number to NCLA to complain, but it sounds fruitless. I therefore went ahead and sent the Latitudes customer relations in Coral Gables my 3 page letter. I found the address on the latitudes website. I stapled it so it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle.

 

And yes, complaining about a mint is petty. The point is, it's the small things that often time make a difference. I was merely trying to point out the faults of this cruise globally rather than pinpointing just the major issues.

Actually I think you are wrong about the little things especially when you have major issues. Maybe it is just me, but I don't think little things should make that much difference. We just got back from a short trip to Texas where we stayed at an all suites hotel we have frequented previously. After a day or so we noticed 4 or 5 "little things" that mildly bothered us, partly because we were so tired and it wouldn't take much to get us going. Anyway, there was one major issue: the nightly rate was $15.00 more than what I booked on the net. DH didn't take the piece of paper to registration so didn't know for sure. The last morning he did go to the front desk, showed them the print out and was given the original rate with an apology of sorts. I was going to write a letter to the company, but when I arrived home I realized non of my concerns really made much of a difference nor did it spoil our trip. NMnita

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

I would not say I am "wrong" per se. I would say that it is merely a matter of opinion. I am a very detail oriented person. Sure, mints would not have ruined my trip--had that been the only issue. Even if I didn't get my towels, say, one day out of the trip--I still wouldn't be majorly concerned. The issue was that the problems were quite persistent and often reoccurring. I'm not talking about fifteen dollars either. This trip costed me into the five digits range. There is no way that I should have paid that and received what I did.

[jmrycol]

We were on the POA on the 6-16 trip, and we did get a letter when we checked in, offering a full refund....... but of course that was too late, as we were already there. If you have not called to complain and you were on that cruise, please do so, as they have told us that no one else shared our unhappiness with the cruise. We had the same problems, no service, trouble with the simple things: like no towels. and as for complaining we were just given a card and told to call NCL.

[Shami]

Actually I think you are wrong about the little things especially when you have major issues. Maybe it is just me, but I don't think little things should make that much difference. We just got back from a short trip to Texas where we stayed at an all suites hotel we have frequented previously. After a day or so we noticed 4 or 5 "little things" that mildly bothered us, partly because we were so tired and it wouldn't take much to get us going. Anyway, there was one major issue: the nightly rate was $15.00 more than what I booked on the net. DH didn't take the piece of paper to registration so didn't know for sure. The last morning he did go to the front desk, showed them the print out and was given the original rate with an apology of sorts. I was going to write a letter to the company, but when I arrived home I realized non of my concerns really made much of a difference nor did it spoil our trip. NMnita

 

Why would you even think about writing a letter to the company about that? They made an error and they corrected it immediately upon your request-and apologized. This does not compare with the complaints from the passengers of the POAl. They presented issues to ship personnel and the complaints were then never addressed by NCLA staff. Was your room cleaned daily and your bed made? I bet it was. Were the hotel staff polite to you?

[davidvc04]

As far as I can tell, I was the first to complain about my experience on the PoA. I was on the June 4 cruise. Cruisecritic users jumped on my case and told me essentially that I was dishonest, a rather remarkable insight considering they weren't on the ship. Since then, passengers not just from my cruise but from the two following ones have come here and said the same thing. Fortunately, other users have now backed off and are not accusing these people of lying. What should be apparent to everyone is what Honestguy pointed out. That particular ship has problems and those problems have not been remedied for approximately a month, despite their persistence. Now there's an undercurrent of problems with customer service. I've encountered that, too, but hadn't posted anything about it because it wasn't worth it.

 

But little things or big things, it's all about customer perception and customer happiness. And people are leaving that boat with complaints that range from trivial to extreme. When put all together, it's easy enough to conclude that the Aloha has problems and that it has not addressed them. People are lodging the same service complaints that I experienced two cruises before them. That's inexcusable, and that's something that management is failing to accomplish.

[dwrist]

Since CS is CS, I can reply to that.:) I have not had a problem with them. They are always polite, happy to help, and they answer the phone within 5 minutes, any day of the week. A far as having the passengers respond and call NCL, we have seen posts from less than ten people on three/four cruises complaining. That does not signify "all passengers". Seems some passengers were very pleased with their cruise. :)

[davidvc04]

Since CS is CS, I can reply to that.:) I have not had a problem with them. They are always polite, happy to help, and they answer the phone within 5 minutes, any day of the week. A far as having the passengers respond and call NCL, we have seen posts from less than ten people on three/four cruises complaining. That does not signify "all passengers". Seems some passengers were very pleased with their cruise. :)

So what you're saying is that anybody who had a complaint would have lodged it here. Since they didn't, obviously they were pleased with the experience.

 

Okay, Aristotle, what else do you have for us? :D

 

I look at it like poll sampling. It's a representative sample.

 

One thing you have seen from each OP is that they didn't just experience this themselves, they talked with other pax. who had similar experiences.

[dwrist]

This debate with you is degrading into a name calling situation. I am sorry you have found me a threat. But by the same token, what you say about NCL, is not the same that I have experienced with them. I look at the glass as half full not half empty. I see good not bad in situations. I see good in people not bad. I insist that people take responsbility for themselves and their actions as they walk in this world. Maybe I have rose-colored glasses on and view life through them, but to me life is too short to quibble about little things. Farewell and fair well with NCL.:)

[Host CMLA]

So what you're saying is that anybody who had a complaint would have lodged it here. Since they didn't, obviously they were pleased with the experience.

Cruise Critic members represent a very small percentage of overall cruisers every week. CC members maybe represent one half of one percent so this really isn't the best barometer for how people feel overall. That's just fact. The sampling here is so small, there's no way to tell if it's indicative of how 2000 people felt. I disagree that it's as you said:

I look at it like poll sampling. It's a representative sample.

It's a convenience sample with no scientific validity not a representative sample. I work with market research in my job and conduct and interpret surveys weekly. But it is how you feel and nothing changes that.

One thing you have seen from each OP is that they didn't just experience this themselves, they talked with other pax. who had similar experiences.

Just an observation...every time someone has a bad experience, they make sure to say that everyone they talked to had just as bad an experience. I can't imagine spending my time talking to other cruisers about how unhappy they are. Same with people that say they talked to others about what their cruise cost. When I'm on vacation, I avoid conversations like that. Anyway, just making an observation. I also never see those that had a great time say that everyone they talked to had a great time. So do people only talk to other people when they're unhappy about something?

[davidvc04]

My point is that dwrist's conclusion that as only X amount of people had posted here, obviously some felt the other way because they didn't post here. That's illogical. The conclusion is certainly true, that some people did enjoy it. And we have heard from one or two of them as well. But to arrive at that conclusion by that route doesn't make sense. I think, Cecilia, you and and I are saying the same thing on that point.

 

Of course I know that there's no scientific validity to establish any sort of percentage one way or the other. Still, it's safe to say that only a fraction of the discontented people from those cruises have posted here, just as only a fraction of those who enjoyed it posted here. What we do see are those who sought out a forum and voiced their concerns.

 

I talked with many passengers because I was largely shipbound. Everyone with whom I spoke had a gripe, mostly severe. Was I picking and choosing? Perhaps. If I overheard someone talking about the same matters, then I chimed in. What was alarming was just how many people were complaining. It was rampant. Did I hear anybody talking on ship about how jolly a time they were having? No, quite frankly, I didn't. Doesn't mean they didn't exist. Just means I didn't encounter them.

 

dwrist, sorry if my attempt at humor failed. I was trying to point out a flaw in the logic while taking the edge off. I'll go for different wording and some other smiley next time. :) And no, I don't see you as a threat. How silly. :D

[newmexicoNita]

Actually I think you are wrong about the little things especially when you have major issues. Maybe it is just me, but I don't think little things should make that much difference. We just got back from a short trip to Texas where we stayed at an all suites hotel we have frequented previously. After a day or so we noticed 4 or 5 "little things" that mildly bothered us, partly because we were so tired and it wouldn't take much to get us going. Anyway, there was one major issue: the nightly rate was $15.00 more than what I booked on the net. DH didn't take the piece of paper to registration so didn't know for sure. The last morning he did go to the front desk, showed them the print out and was given the original rate with an apology of sorts. I was going to write a letter to the company, but when I arrived home I realized non of my concerns really made much of a difference nor did it spoil our trip. NMnita

 

Why would you even think about writing a letter to the company about that? They made an error and they corrected it immediately upon your request-and apologized. This does not compare with the complaints from the passengers of the POAl. They presented issues to ship personnel and the complaints were then never addressed by NCLA staff. Was your room cleaned daily and your bed made? I bet it was. Were the hotel staff polite to you?

Read what I said: I never in a million years thought about writing a letter after we got our credit. For heavens sake, I am in business and do make mistakes like everyone else. What I said was, had the problem not been corrected I would have writen a letter; we did have several minor complaints about our stay compared to years past, but they were exactly that: small issues that I wouldn't bother with. As I said before, as long as the price was corrected nothing else made much difference. My point which obviously you did not get was: Lay off the little complaints and inconveniences and consintrate on the major issues. The longer the letter and the more nit picking that takes place the less likely anyone will reach a happy ending to any problem. NMnita

[Poconolady]

Shall we get back on track here? The problems is not whether CC members are a representative sample of the total ship population, the problem is shoddy service and attitude of the Pride of Aloha staff. The one deciding factor that makes this cruise situation unique is the fact the ship sailed "sick" for three consequtive weeks. Little, or shall I say -not enough, was done to curb the outbreak of the illness. Many posters have chronicalled the disgusting conditions that were present, and not taken care of by the staff. This has to be a major contributing factor to the illness being spread around, and to have the doctor send employees back to work while they are sick is totaly irresponsible. No one wants to have their cruise vacation cancelled, but I'm sure that if you polled all of the people who reported to the doctor for the 'flulike symptoms", most would have gladly have stayed off the ship. I will grant that NCLA is in the middle of an impossible situation, but as a responsible corporation, it is their job to guard against their customers getting sick while on their ship.

NCLA and the crew of the Pride of Aloha dropped the ball.

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

One thing I would like to point out, that was in the original review was the fact that literally every person I talked to on the ship was highly dissatisfied with the cruise. After a while I would try to start conversations with patrons on the ship just to ask their opinion. 100% of, say, the 30 people I asked were very unhappy to furious. No one had a slightly positive outlook like, "Oh well the ship is OK, I don't mind the issues..." Most of the responces ranged from things like, "NCL will be hearing from me!" to "this is nothing like my previous cruises..." I would like to point out also that of all of the passengers I surveyed only one person said that this was their first cruise. She said she would never choose cruising again. Everyone else told me that they were on previous cruises. Most added that this was their worst cruise to date.

[Host CMLA]

I will grant that NCLA is in the middle of an impossible situation, but as a responsible corporation, it is their job to guard against their customers getting sick while on their ship.

NCLA and the crew of the Pride of Aloha dropped the ball.

There is absolutely no benefit to NCL or NCLA to not do everything in their power to stop the spread of this virus. And NCL and NCLA can do absolutely positively everything to clean their ship but if the passengers bring on the virus and spread it, NCL and NCLA can't do anything about that. You and others may not think NCL or NCLA did enough because you got sick. But if you'd been one of the ones to not get sick, you'd think they did a good job. I'm not saying you didn't have a bad time. I'm saying that if you think NCL and NCLA sat idly by and did nothing then you're wrong. They might have gone above and beyond and people could still have gotten sick.

[dwrist]

One thing I would like to point out, that was in the original review was the fact that literally every person I talked to on the ship was highly dissatisfied with the cruise. After a while I would try to start conversations with patrons on the ship just to ask their opinion. 100% of, say, the 30 people I asked were very unhappy to furious. No one had a slightly positive outlook like, "Oh well the ship is OK, I don't mind the issues..." Most of the responces ranged from things like, "NCL will be hearing from me!" to "this is nothing like my previous cruises..." I would like to point out also that of all of the passengers I surveyed only one person said that this was their first cruise. She said she would never choose cruising again. Everyone else told me that they were on previous cruises. Most added that this was their worst cruise to date.

 

Literally everyone you talked to? No fun times talking? No talking to staff? No bartenders?

A big 0.015 percent of the people aboard were the ones you talked to, correct? Is that considered a mandate to the viewing public that read this board?

My concern with many of the posts about the problems with POA are the words describing all people, many people, most people on board were disappointed or sick or whatever. Since hearsay is not allowed in a court of law as testimony, I am trying to draw attention to the fact it is still a few people that post here using adjectives that need not be used. Stick to what happen to you not what others onboard said.

[davidvc04]

There is absolutely no benefit to NCL or NCLA to not do everything in their power to stop the spread of this virus. And NCL and NCLA can do absolutely positively everything to clean their ship but if the passengers bring on the virus and spread it, NCL and NCLA can't do anything about that. You and others may not think NCL or NCLA did enough because you got sick. But if you'd been one of the ones to not get sick, you'd think they did a good job. I'm not saying you didn't have a bad time. I'm saying that if you think NCL and NCLA sat idly by and did nothing then you're wrong. They might have gone above and beyond and people could still have gotten sick.

Crew spreads it, too. And from what I saw, no, they were not doing enough. If they had been doing enough, then the spread would have been arrested. If they had been doing enough, they would not have enacted the procedures I saw enacted over the course of our cruise; those procedures would have already been in place.

No offense, Cecilia, but breakfast trays from sick rooms left in the hallway for hours; vomit and fecal stains not removed; cleaning gloves and surgical masks left on top of trash; allowing people to reach beneath the sneeze guard at the buffet for the entire trip; leaving dirty dishes at tables; people without gloves handling food and drinks. These were things we witnessed, not concocted. And that's not the complete list.

Crew reported that their quarters were filthy, too. Crew were quitting.

Did they do something? Yes. Did they do it soon enough? Not in my opinion. Was it enough? Apparently not as the cruise before mine was ill, my cruise was ill, and the two after mine were ill. And we're to think that it's all because people boarded the boat with the illness and then spread it? Or is it more logical that the illness was on the ship and persisted?

How about hand sanitizers that were empty? Or hand sanitizers that didn't work? Or the lack of sanitizers at places like the library and Internet cafe, two very pubilc places where people all touch the same things as a matter of usage? Those are things we witnessed. We also witnessed people being taken off the boat in stretchers.

I've been on two cruises. I got sick on the first. Same thing. I was told by crew not to drink the ship's water and to only use bottled water. I ignored them, I got sick. Did I raise Cain like I am now? No. I didn't know of anyone else sick. The ship was clean. Was it definitively the water? I don't know. But that ship was well run and clean and staffed with helpful service. I chalked it up to bad luck.

This second cruise was totally different and sub-par by any standards.

Norovirus is primarily spread by contaminated food and water. That means food handlers or how passengers are allowed access to food. Secondary contamination from person-to-person is much less common but has been documented. So chances are that it came from the food, especially salad prepared by ill food handlers. And are we to fault passengers for that? Or again, assume that they all brought it onboard? If they all brought it onboard, then other ships in the same harbors as the Aloha should also have had outbreaks as passengers frequent the same restaurants and stores. But that didn't happen. The Aloha was ill and ill for four months. We haven't heard of outbreaks at hotels or resorts. Just the Aloha. No outbreaks on the islands. Just the Aloha.

Sorry for the rant, but what you're claiming just doesn't add up with the facts. Not trying to insult anyone, but this is a conclusion I reach not based on being upset about the experience, but based on a large number of factual observations made over the course of seven days, corroborated by the statements of many other people onboard the ship.

And for the record, yes, everyone to whom I spoke about the service and illness on the ship was extraordinarily upset. I overheard it again and again and I engaged in conversations sometimes with those people. It is relevant because it lends support to what many have said on these boards, and this is not a court of law in which heresay could be stricken.

[Host CMLA]

Sorry for the rant, but what you're claiming just doesn't add up with the facts. Not trying to insult anyone, but this is a conclusion I reach not based on being upset about the experience, but based on a large number of factual observations made over the course of seven days, corroborated by the statements of many other people onboard the ship.

We disagree. You say that you don't think they did enough but you really have no way to know if they were doing everything they could. It doesn't make sense for them to not do everything they could. I'm not saying your account is wrong. I'm saying that it doesn't make sense for NCLA to not do everything they could to stop the spread. I'm not trying to change your opinion. I'm stating my opinion. How would you have felt if no one in your party was sick? I'd bet you'd think NCLA was doing everything they could to control the outbreak. Again...my opinion.

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

The point I was trying to make above was simple. I chose 30 as an approximate--could have been more. BUT, I think it speaks on behalf of the passengers if all of those encountered had bad remarks. A group this size is simply a sampling that represents the whole--there is a theorm in the field of biology that uses an idea similar to this. No disrespect, but you don't understand what we witnessed on board this ship. There were days when you would be standing around waiting in the lines at the Hukilau to obtain food, noticing all the passengers complaining to one another. I don't mean just one or two people--gangs of people. No one was shy about voicing their opinions and complaints of disgust. They were often overheard. I'm ADDITIONALLY saying that people with whom I directly talked to also confirmed by suspicion that the cruise was a total flop. It's one thing if you are in a public area and most people seem happy and joyous to be on vacation (meaning maybe you are the only one not having a good time), but often times in the public areas of the PoA people looked disgusted and burnt out. This instance I mention above was one of many. For further validation, consider any given morning or night outside one of the main dining rooms. People would get into verbal battles with the hostess and complain loudly as they waited their aloted one hour about one aspect of the cruise or another. In fact, it almost became comical after a while...it seemed as though complaining about the cruise was a common ice-breaker. I knew when I was on this cruise, picturing myself writing this review that someone would challenge how most people (yes, I feel I can say most) thoroughly loathed the cruise portion of their vacation. It's true though.

[andrewsjerrypat]

I just booked the Pride of Aloha today for the July 14 sailing from Maui, but am just now reading the reviews.

What has got me worried is the virus (norovirus) you all are talking about. My wife has cancer and is currently on her sixth round of chemo. As you are probably aware, a person's immune system is comrpomised while on chemo. I hadn't heard about any of the outbreaks until I read your posts.

If anyone else is going before we leave, please keep us posted on the health issues an how NCL is addressing them.

Reason we booked so late is that I wasn't sure if my wife was going to be able to go on the trip to Hawaii. We have had our air for a long time, but had waited too late to make hotel reservations as most of the hotels are fully booked or way out of our price range. So when I was browsing the internet today, I saw what I thought was a great deal so I jumped at it. Now I have major apprehensions.

By the way, does anyone know what antibiotic is prescribed for the virus?

Or is it useless since it is a virus and would just have to pass it's course.

Jerry

Oklahoma

[davidvc04]

Or is it useless since it is a virus and would just have to pass it's course.

Jerry

Oklahoma

This is correct. It's a matter of Imodium, liquids, and bed rest.