My NCL Email

I sent an email to Andy Stuart last week and one of his representative's called me at home to reply to my email. In my opinion the phone call was a waste of time. In regards to the room service fee her response was "changes were made and there is no fee from 6am to 10am. I told her that we don't use room service until late at night and now it would cost double. She said we were more than welcome to go to O'Sheehan's to eat. Her response to not being able to take food from O'Sheehan's or the buffet was pretty much the same; changes are being made and we are more than welcome to eat at O'Sheehan's. I knew I was not getting anywhere and I realized that she is just doing her job so I wasn't going to get nasty. She did admit that as a consumer she would not be happy with the changes but I need to look at it from NCL's point of view. (I don't). I mentioned that these changes were made after my final payment and I only found out about them through cruise critic and she really didn't have a reply except repeating about free morning room service and eating in O'Sheehan's.

Well, got my first email response and it was from Social Media. It was nothing more than the automated response that states the policy verbatim of what NCL posted here on CC. I promptly and snarkly replied back that while I understood that they are busy, to send an automated reply simply stating word-for-word the exact policy I had questioned was insulting and communicated that they not only did not read my email, they really didn't care enough about me as a customer to respond in person. I told them that if they thought that little of me as a customer, I would be returning to RCCL immediately after my upcoming cruise. Who, btw, always personally addressed and responded to every email I sent them over the years. If these ignoramouses are going to keep sending auto responses, you'd think they would at least have one up their sleeve that just said something like: "We're sorry that you are not happy with our new policy. While we understand your concerns, our policy is in place for good reason and will continue to hold until further notice." Replying to upset customers who have sent well thought out emails asking and stating valid points by simply restating the very policy your are questioning just further alienates and separates the customer from any loyalty they might still have been harboring. Corporate REALLY needs a new PR department.

It is an excellent introduction but you did not specify the changes and why they affect your enjoyment of cruising.

Thank you for your feedback. Since I am not sure whether your comments are around my email to NCL or CC, I will address both. Please know that I mean no disrespect with either of my replies,

If your question is NCL, I did not feel the need to expand on the changes as I felt that they already know what they have and/or are implementing, therefore my statement to them is a blanket statement regarding the changes. I also would hope that my blanket statement would encourage them to reach out to find out what and how the changes impact me as a value customer. I believe, (right or wrong,) that I would have a better chance of having my statement read if it was one of brevity as our concerns are broad and cover a range of issues.

Having said that, my reasons for not specifying here was not to get into huge debates about our very personal reasons of the impact of the changes. They are not all necessarily financial in nature. I guess I just wanted to keep my narrative non confrontational as my reasons for opposition are not necessarily the experiences or reasons that others may have.

As I stated in my original post, I am more a reader than a poster, nor have I ever really registered my displeasure regarding our families travels.

I coordinate the travel arrangements for all of my immediate and extended family that range at times in numbers from 6 to 60 and ages 6 to 90. This is a huge undertaking and if you can imagine can really be complicated trying to meet the needs and requirements of so many. Many of my travel group are our Elders and we work VERY hard to make sure that they can maintain their independence and have an enjoyable and affordable trip. We are acutely aware that special arrangements can be made, but many of our group enjoy the attention that we afford them and we get pleasure from caring for their needs and like their independence. This has great value to us and not something that you can attach a dollar sign to.

So traveling with such a diverse group is one of the reasons that there are not many of the new changes that do not impact our family, but when asked for specifics, I am more than prepared to offer specifics of where we are now having to modify our traveling and traditions to work within the new guidelines.

While my email represented the voice of one, I represent the voice of about 60 travelers at any given time.

I hope that this gives a little better insight into the message.

I did receive a phone call back from NCL. The person I spoke with did not try to defend the new policies but politely listened. He said that he was writing down my concerns/displeasure and said he does report the comments to his superior. Whether any of this does any good, I do not venture to guess. But he was very sympathetic and did not try to defend the policies.

I did mention the message boards are all "lit up" with very unhappy NCL passengers and he asked me if it was Cruise Critic.:D I told him that I frequent several cruise sites and that all of them are aggravated with NCL.:eek:

Only time will tell if the message gets thru and if they really care about what their loyal passengers want in their cruise experience.

The letter is well-written and well-intentioned; but it would have been more effective had the complains been made more specific. It is good that you had the opportunity to speak in more details with a NCL person.

The letter is well-written and well-intentioned; but it would have been more effective had the complains been made more specific. It is good that you had the opportunity to speak in more details with a NCL person.

Thank you and your feedback is well taken and very valid however, I have not had an opportunity to speak with a representative yet.

I have to ask those of you who are getting the canned responses back from NCL, were your messages equally as vague or more detailed in your specific complaints? If they were more detailed, than I don't think it will make much difference whether I included specifics so you are probably right, it may not garner a response. I can only hope that the company would like to know the real impact of real consumers and not some model on paper of the potential effects.

But again your response is duly noted and if given the opportunity, I will surely give more details into the specifics of the complaint.

Thank you and your feedback is well taken and very valid however, I have not had an opportunity to speak with a representative yet.

 

But again your response is duly noted and if given the opportunity, I will surely give more details into the specifics of the complaint.

Sorry, I thought a previous poster was you.

I just think if we make clear specific complaints they are harder to ignore. And if 100 complain about the "taking food from the buffet" matter; and 15 complain about the menu changes... they will see that one may be serious, and the other - not so much.

I too, received a phone call. However, I was away and they left a voice mail. The caller wanted to clarify the take out policy and thanked me for my input and gave me a phone number to call if I wished to speak to someone. Never addressed several of my questions, but I can't say I expected them to.

I emailed on Saturday. I received a phone call yesterday. We stated that all changes were found out by the posts on Cruise Critic and that Norwegian is their own worse enemy. They told me they do follow the posts. I told them their lack of communication with their passengers and their website is going to do them in.

I mentioned to them that DH and I were appalled with the number of changes one after another. I repeated to them that for every one who posts there are ten who don't but just read. Those ten will tell ten people and so on. People know and are unhappy. I said the ships are full now due to all the promotions. After people sail, it would be interesting to see who rebooks.

Hopefully all the bad press will make Norwegian rethink their last change.

Today is a GOOD DAY to voice your complaints ;)

 

The negative press they are receiving today can't be good. USA Today picked up the story :eek: It's officially gone viral :cool:

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/05/13/norwegian-cruise-food-ban/27034385/

From the USA Today article:

"In explaining the new policy, Norwegian suggested its food could be unsafe to eat outside of a restaurant setting.

 

"We cannot ensure that dishes consumed as 'take away' from the various dining outlets meet the strict health and safety food service standards," Picariello said."

It appears that NCL is now trying to muster as many excuses as they can come up with.

You know, if eating away from the restaurants can be unsafe, makes me wonder how healthy the room service food that sits for an hour before being served might be. :p

Well, got my first email response and it was from Social Media. It was nothing more than the automated response that states the policy verbatim of what NCL posted here on CC. I promptly and snarkly replied back that while I understood that they are busy, to send an automated reply simply stating word-for-word the exact policy I had questioned was insulting and communicated that they not only did not read my email, they really didn't care enough about me as a customer to respond in person. I told them that if they thought that little of me as a customer, I would be returning to RCCL immediately after my upcoming cruise. Who, btw, always personally addressed and responded to every email I sent them over the years. If these ignoramouses are going to keep sending auto responses, you'd think they would at least have one up their sleeve that just said something like: "We're sorry that you are not happy with our new policy. While we understand your concerns, our policy is in place for good reason and will continue to hold until further notice." Replying to upset customers who have sent well thought out emails asking and stating valid points by simply restating the very policy your are questioning just further alienates and separates the customer from any loyalty they might still have been harboring. Corporate REALLY needs a new PR department.

Thanks for sharing. With the recent negative reviews and the complaints on these boards, and now the USA today article, I wonder if Norwegian will continue with the same talking points.

Great letter teeredi2cruise.

My e mail to NCL

My Wife and I have booked a back to back cruise in Jan 2016 on the Jade and we have come to find out that there will now be a service fee for room service as well as passengers will not be allowed to bring food back to their rooms but they can pay $7.95 to have you deliver the food. These were not in affect when we booked.

We have always cruised on RCCL ships and this would be our first cruises on NCL.

The no food taken to your room is a business decision that I feel would be a deal breaker. We like to bring back a slice of pizza etc to our room while we watch movies….we also at times like dessert later at night. We eat our meals at restaurants or the buffet but sure do not want to be prevent from bring a snack back to our room without being accosted by other passengers or staff. Sounds like a lot of stress for being on vacation.

As I booked a product that was available on your web site that did not include the current changes, I would expect the product that I booked to be honoured!

I would like clarity on both the service fee for room service as well as the new policy restricting food in rooms that the passenger carries themselves.

From the USA Today article:

 

It appears that NCL is now trying to muster as many excuses as they can come up with.

 

You know, if eating away from the restaurants can be unsafe, makes me wonder how healthy the room service food that sits for an hour before being served might be. :p

EXACTLY!!! You can't talk out of both sides of your mouth. If food that is taken back to your room is out of their control and they can't guarantee it meets "Strict health standards".... then the very room service they are charging for falls under that SAME loophole. They have no idea how long that food sits before I eat it. It could sit there until the next day for all they know. NCL isn't standing over me and watching how long it takes me to eat my RS sandwich. They don't send staff with a stopwatch and wave a red flag when my RS yogurt goes past the 45 minute mark outside of a frig. ACTUALLY, now that I think about it, perhaps I should be the one concerned, because I have no idea how long my RS order has been sitting out before it gets to me. At least with restaurant food, I am aware of the time lapse between the plate and my mouth. RS could have been sitting on a cart for any length of time. The double talk just goes to further my frustration in making me feel like NCL just thinks of their pax as idiots. They just keep insulting our intelligence and it bites my butt. They need to just grow a pair of cajones and say "we want to bolster our room service sales, so we are eliminating all food from leaving the restaurants". Would we all still be irked to high heaven...yes. But at least I wouldn't be twice as irked because of the lame excuses that do nothing but give me the impression that they see their pax as 2 year old toddlers that need constant supervision....

...I've been responsible for my own fork and knife for over 45 years... I think I've got this one :cool:

I couldn't have said it better.

I couldn't have said it better.

I meant teeredi2cruise's letter to NCL.

This is an email I just sent -

My husband and I have cruised with NCL 3 times, Carnival 3 times and Royal Caribbean 3 times. Our most recent cruise was this past March onboard the Breakaway which we enjoyed immensely. NCL was becoming our favorite line and we have been looking to cruise again this summer with our entire family on the Gem. However, we have become aware of several new policies being implemented that may have us return to other lines. In particular the $7.95 room service fee coinciding with passengers not allowed to bring food back to their rooms. We always bring food back to our room for a variety of reasons. We like to have dessert late at night in our cabin so we bring plates back during the day from the buffet and put them in the fridge to enjoy later. On occasion one of us has not felt well enough to go to a meal so the other would go get a plate and bring it back to our cabin. A few other times we brought snacks back from the buffet during a football game we were watching in our cabin. Sometimes we just have a lazy day and want to stay in our cabin or be out on our balcony. Whatever our reason is, it was a given on any cruise ship that we could bring food back...after all, this is our vacation to enjoy how we want. To have this policy begin very soon after the new room service fee began is devious to say the least. This may not seem like a deal breaker to the powers-that-be at NCL but it is weighing heavily on my mind and will most certainly influence who we cruise with in the future. Please reconsider these new policies and go back to the way it was a few months ago.

I meant teeredi2cruise's letter to NCL.

Thank you keeponcruising. I will update the posting if and when I receive a reply.

This is an email I just sent -

 

My husband and I have cruised with NCL 3 times, Carnival 3 times and Royal Caribbean 3 times. Our most recent cruise was this past March onboard the Breakaway which we enjoyed immensely. NCL was becoming our favorite line and we have been looking to cruise again this summer with our entire family on the Gem. However, we have become aware of several new policies being implemented that may have us return to other lines. In particular the $7.95 room service fee coinciding with passengers not allowed to bring food back to their rooms. We always bring food back to our room for a variety of reasons. We like to have dessert late at night in our cabin so we bring plates back during the day from the buffet and put them in the fridge to enjoy later. On occasion one of us has not felt well enough to go to a meal so the other would go get a plate and bring it back to our cabin. A few other times we brought snacks back from the buffet during a football game we were watching in our cabin. Sometimes we just have a lazy day and want to stay in our cabin or be out on our balcony. Whatever our reason is, it was a given on any cruise ship that we could bring food back...after all, this is our vacation to enjoy how we want. To have this policy begin very soon after the new room service fee began is devious to say the least. This may not seem like a deal breaker to the powers-that-be at NCL but it is weighing heavily on my mind and will most certainly influence who we cruise with in the future. Please reconsider these new policies and go back to the way it was a few months ago.

Double like! Thank you for sharing your letter. You captured quite a few of the reasons that are on our list in favor of in room dining that quite simply take away the enjoyment of how we choose to vacation. However, I don't necessarily feel that we as customers should have to defend and explain our reasons for in room dining as that list could be quite exhaustive. My opposition is that NCL could never capture all of the very private reasons how and why this one of many new policies is effecting the travelers. I acknowledge that for many it could have no impact, that is, until it does.

I sent an email a few days ago. Got a call today from Katherine in the Executive office.

She said they are now reading all emails and the complaints and concerns are being sent to Andy Stuart and Frank DelRio.

I asked about the coincidence of the new room service fee coinciding with the no take out and she basically restated "it's for safety and sanitation".

I reiterated I have a special needs son and sometimes its faster or easier to grab something from the buffet and feed him in the peace and quiet of our cabin while we shower after a long day in port.

She said that exceptions can be made on the ship on a case by case basis- but who wants to deal with trying to get that sorted out during my vacation?

She didn't really have anything new or different than their standard canned response. I also said most are up in arms about the lack of communication from NCL and the lack of updates on the website and by the phone reps. She agreed they are working on that.

I told her I'll see how things shake out on my Bermuda cruise and decide then if I will continue with NCL after that or find a company that values me as more than a school child.

I e-mailed them too late yesterday expressing my viewpoint. I expect to receive a canned response within the next few days. *shrug* They're a business offering a non-essential service on which people spend disposable income... if they make you unhappy, you should let them know.

I sent an email to the Public Relations address last Sunday complaining about the many changes introduced recently and received an email response asking for a phone number to call me. I responded and received a call within an hour and was listened to but effectively told that the changes are now effective and that was that.

I have 2 cruises booked with NCL, one of which is fully paid, if I had known that all these changes were happening then I would not have booked the second cruise.

I highly recommend people put their contact phone numbers in their emails. You should receive a phone call back if you do. I received an auto-response from public relations yesterday that just torqued me off, but today I received a very nice, lengthy and detailed phone call from a very nice lady from the executive offices and resolutions department. Supposedly social media and public relations departments are not allowed to address these issues (hence the auto responses) and they forward your emails to this department. It was a 45 minute conversation, so I will try to condense as much of it as possible here. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with anything written below. I'm just relaying what was spoken to me. What was said may differ from what you personally have experienced on a ship before, I'm just putting out the information I received. So...YMMV:

1. All email complaints (whether sent to public relations, social media or an executive officer) are sent to this department and are read by this department. No email is making it to an executive officer personally. These people read the emails, contact the passengers and the OVERALL feedback from the masses is then sent up the chain.

2. From her 19 years of service in this department, all major changes go through a transition period where mass complaints are sent in, but then people calm down and end up seeing the good of the changes. (my interpretation: they are not at all surprised by the complaints, but expect them to settle down soon).

3. Take away from specialty restaurants has never been an option, so she was confused as to why so many people are complaining about that portion of the policy. The main problem that caused this new policy to go into effect was the buffet. People over pile their plates so they won't have to make a second trip and the food overflows onto the marble floors causing slip and fall hazards or grinds into the carpets causing damage.

4. Proper disposable take away containers is not an option or a potential solution due to the way garbage is disposed of on a ship, it would be too much refuse to handle.

5. Those who have disabilities that require them to eat in their cabin will not be discriminated against. Those people can still have their traveling companions get their food for them. They must be allowed to do so under the disability and discrimination laws that are currently in place.

6. Royal Caribbean will soon be following suit and adding a convenience fee to all of their Room Service orders. Convenience fess are here to stay in the cruise industry.

7. If a child is melting down around you in a restaurant and the parents won't remove the child because they can't take the food with them, the maitre d' will gladly move you to a different table away from the child.

8. When I asked if any word has come down from the executives regarding this policy and if it would change, the answer she stated was that with over 6,000 employees they don't hear back until official changes are ready to be implemented. She could only speak to the current policy as it stands.

9. Everything is subject to change. Every new policy is a work in progress. Del Rio is new to them, too, and they are also getting used to his way of doing things and they, too, are in a growth period.

10. Nothing about this policy is set in stone permanently . Every complaint is being read and filtered through. They cannot personally form opinions regarding those complaints (though she did mention that some people are just being down right nasty in their emails, which is a shame). Their job is to make sure that the executives are getting the overall feedback of the passengers on this policy. If enough people are unhappy about it, who knows, something may change in the near future.

While I am not a frequent poster, I am a lurker mostly around the time of our cruise travels while doing due diligence for our trip. I thank all you all for all of the valuable information and resources that I have gathered here over the years.

 

My recent research led me to write the following email to NCL and I thought I would share with them some of the disappointment that my family and I are feeling regarding the changes and the way that they were handled. We are pretty new to the NCL brand and starting sailing with them as a result of the partnership that they have with Caesar’s Entertainment. We love to travel in general, so some of my observations and concerns of the changes are colored in the lenses of all of the type of vacations that we plan.

My post is not to complain, but just one person who did decide to make contact with the company directly.

 

Thanks for listening…

 

As a recent convert to NCL's cruising product, I am writing to register my concerns with all of the changes and lack of formal notification of the changes that are taking place on you cruise ships. My family and I switched to sailing with your line from others and thought we had found a product that we were happy with and felt had value. We enjoy cruising and the ease and feeling of being on "vacation" when we travel, but it now appears that the product that we bought into is no longer the same product that we once found enticing.

 

While cruising in general is one of our favorite vacation past times, we do enjoy other vacation options. Right now I feel that all of the organizations' changes will be taking the intrinsic ease and enjoyment of our traveling with your brand. It surely feels and appears as though my family and I no longer fit into the demographic of cruisers that you are seeking for the "New" business model and direction that the company is taking. As customers, we like to at least be given the impression of valued guest and customers and not just a margin on your bottom line. While it is true that we are a "Captured Audience", I don't like being treated like a hostage, but a valued guest.

 

I write this note again to register my family’s opposition to the recent changes mostly in direct response to the recent investor’s call where your new CEO stated that he has not had any complaints .Make no mistake that this is indeed a complaint. Not that I believe it will matter, but I hope that he hears this is one direct complaint regarding the changes and I hope that company sees it personally as I was personally offended by the CEO's remarks. Rest assured, my family and I are listening, waiting and learning each and every day with regards to where our next disposable dollar will be spent and whether your brand works with our bottom line.

 

Regards,

This is relatively vague in my opinion and fails to point out exactly the "changes" you are unhappy with and the exact "demographic" you fit that you believe no longer applies to the demographic NCL goes after. After reading it, I knew you were upset but honestly didn't feel that it was communicated clearly what you would like to see changed or what it was that was bothering you

I e-mailed them too late yesterday expressing my viewpoint. I expect to receive a canned response within the next few days. *shrug* They're a business offering a non-essential service on which people spend disposable income... if they make you unhappy, you should let them know.

DW missed a call from someone at NCL. Will call them back tomorrow. I realized after sending that I did not leave a phone #, only my Latitudes #, so it took a modicum of effort to look up our listed phone number.