Norwegian Getaway - April 30th Sailing (aka SS Minnow)

Folks,

I'd really to see your reviews posted for the Norwegian Getaway April 30, 2017 sailing.

It was the worse cruise we have been on. We're have been attempting to get answers on how we can get a full refund it was that bad. I sent a full review to Norwegian Customer Coordinator and was sent back the same scripted line we got on the ship.

My next email is going to Meg Lee - Chief Marketing Officer and SVP

Everyone on the Getaway on that sailing should post a review.

stevedyer201

Okay, I guess this is the part where one of us is obligated to say "Oh man, that sounds terrible...give us details"

There ya go...

:rolleyes:

Folks my review was posted with all the wonderful details. It's a long list so great bedtime reading.

Go to reviews and search for the Norwegian Getaway posted under stevedyer2012

Steve

What not just post a link instead of people having to search for it.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=577679

OR JUST COPY AND PASTE

**please note, not my review **

The cruise was going okay until we attempted to get into the Azores where we didn't dock because we were told the ship couldn't get in because of weather. It was more than likely an electrical issue with the azipods that we found out the ship was having issues before we left Miami (Norwegian employee comments).

We docked in Brest France and were forced to use a gang plank rated for 20 persons and the officers also al least 50 to 100 people at the same time. There were so many people the gang plank was shaking. It was a miracle there wasn't a serious accident. People with disabilities there was very little help from the crew. They were allowing people to go up and down at the same time which made the situation even worse. As the excursions were coming back to the ship it started to pour rain, with only 3 tents, which they only put up when it was pouring 100s if not 1000s of guests were left waiting to board. At 3pm when the captain knew he was going to be late to leave port, they decided to add a second gang plank. They over booked our excursion in Brest and two elderly people were unable to get on the bus (video is available). Were told that the captain didn't know that a gang plank had to be used because the deck he thought we were suppose to debark was too low and had to use the gang plank(s). the line to get back and ship was at least 500 people and the buses returning dropped people off at the front and made to walk to the back.... Unbelievable, again view is available.

Several hours after we left port we were told by the captain that there was electrical issues with the azipods and that we couldn't go at full speed, therefore we would be late getting into Southampton UK. The ship would have to stay in port to repair the issues, this meant we were unable to make the port in Brussels. We landed in Southampton at noon and it took 4 to 5 hours to go through UK immigration. People with disabilities were left to stand without water and chairs. Our family were planning to meet friends we hadn't seen for over 15 years was cancelled. After standing in the immigration line for hours we had enough time to grab a cab to go for dinner and return to the ship. Another horrible day and again total mismanagement by the captain and senior officers.

We bypassed Brussels due to the azipods issues and we refunded a $ 200 credit which oh by the way, had to be spent on the ship, so they really got their money back.. what an insult.

All missed excursions were refunded.

We demanded our money back for the tips and gratuities all most guests. We paid $ 580 CDN dollars before the cruise and got back another on board credit for $ 432 CDN..... insult to injury I say. By doing this, we did give our room steward 100 euros for his great service,

Norwegian nickel and dimed everyone including a .30 (30 cent) tax on every $ 10 you gave them in their slot machines)..... wow do they really need that.

With their Ultimate Drink Package it didn't include speciality coffees or water. Water was $ 129 US for 24 bottle, this forced people to fill their water bottles at the buffet stations which caused huge line up. They also charged an additional 18 % gratuity tax for the Ultimate Drink Package. This brought the price of the UDP to $ 2,500 (yes 2500) for 16 days. No one can drink that must.

We had on and off problems with the toilets, one time we were with a toilet from 6 hours, reported twice to Customer Services. We requested a call back and never heard a word. This was not only our cabin. We heard from multiple people on board who had the same issues but were hidden from the rest of the ship.

Restaurants and entertainment venues were completely booked hours after we boarded and we boarded at noon in Miami.

On the last day the Garden restaurant ran out of coffee cups in the middle of breakfast service with lead to huge lineups on the day everyone was getting off.

My wife and friend wanted to continue on to the Baltics however they wanted to ensure they could book a Russia excursion because of visa issues. Both the Cruise Next and Excursion desk who worked 2 feet from each other couldn't get their act together to coordinate both so Norwegian lost this money and many others.

As you can imagine this caused huge lineups at the Customer Service desk even into the night and the Senior Customer Service Officers were never present at the CS desk to support their staff... working in CS for 37 years all of the officers should be ashamed and fired immediately.

The library was located just next to the Atrium where it soon became the meeting place for the entire boat. There was probably 100 seats for 1000s of guests.

The seats in the theatre all had design issues where a mental bar dug into your back. This was acknowledged by Silas Cook the Cruise Director and said they would look at this issue after it went into port for it's retro fix in two to three years.

In my option, everyone on this ship should have refunded their money or given a full credit for another cruise.

The entertainment was average at best

Overall the captain is responsible for the actions of his crew and both the captain and customer service officer should be disciplined, retrained and perhaps dismissed. Oh and BTW, their was a Norwegian executive was onboard who appear to disappear or get off the ship, therefore this should not be a surprise to Norwegian's higher management.

Norwegian. you should be ashamed at yourselves and our family and I hope many others will find another cruise ship line that values their clients

Thanks for everyone's help, I should have made things easier. :confused:

Folks...

This is the response I got back from NCL on our concerns.

My next email will be going to:

Meg Lee - Chief Marketing Officer and SVL

EMAIL: mlee@ncl

If you care to send your concerns directly to Meg.

NCL response to my concerns.

Dear Mr. Dyer:

Thank you for choosing the Norwegian Getaway for your vacation at sea.

It concerned us to learn of your disappointment with the overall service and lack of consistent attention, provided to you by the onboard staff during your cruise. We make every effort to ensure a positive cruise experience for all our passengers and we regret yours was diminished due to these circumstances. Let me assure you that your experience was unusual and not at all indicative of the level of service provided on a Norwegian Cruise Line voyage.

We sincerely apologize for the change in your scheduled itinerary which caused us to miss our call to Ponta Delgada due to weather and Zeebrugge due to a mechanical problem. We certainly understand the inconvenience this may have caused, as our guests choose a specific itinerary for their enjoyment.

Please note that under the terms and conditions of our Guest Ticket Contract, Norwegian Cruise Line in its sole discretion may cancel, postpone or delay any port of call without prior notification. Rest assured that we always make every effort to adhere to the published schedule; however, this was a situation beyond our control, which necessitated the change.

Our primary objective is to provide our guests with a memorable cruise vacation from beginning to end. We sincerely apologize for any delays you encountered entering and exiting the ship at the various ports visited. Please be certain that we always endeavor to conduct this procedure in an organized and efficient manner. In an effort to prevent this occurrence in the future, a copy of your letter has been forwarded to our Pier Operations department for their review and corrective action, as necessary.

Your comments regarding the problems in your stateroom were read with particular concern. We understand how such a situation could have a negative impact on an otherwise enjoyable cruise vacation. Our goal is to rectify any stateroom problems immediately, so our guests can relax and enjoy their vacation. We are truly sorry that despite the best efforts of our staff and crew, the situation could not be resolved to your satisfaction.

As a gesture of goodwill and appreciation for your understanding, we provided each stateroom with a $100.00 per person onboard credit as well the port charges and taxes were also refunded to your onboard account. Therefore, we are unable to extend any further compensation or credits in this regards and apologize for any dissatisfaction with our offer.

Once again, we would like to thank you for your understanding and hope that you enjoyed other aspects of your overall cruise vacation.

Sincerely,

Jay KalishCoordinatorGuest Relations

Hope Meg Lee can address your concerns.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

There are right ways and wrong ways to handle delays and cancellations​ due to mechanical problems.

Quoting the cruise contract.and telling you, you already got your 100$ OBC? That's the wrong way to handle it.

Shrug/stuff happens- also the wrong way.

Unfortunately, this is exactly how NCL responds when there's a problem with one of their ships.

Many have complained about this particular sailing. It's appalling that NCL is still just responding with contract quotes and banalities.

There is already a thread started a few weeks ago about this cruise ... titled most mishandled cruise ever .... I was on this one as well and I have no plans to email any one .. we had a great time .... do we wish it went better in all the ports except Rotterdam ??? Yes of course we did ...but I was not going to spend my vacation time complaining when there was nothing I can do about it ....unlike many on this ship that acted like the captain purposely did all these things just to irritate his passengers ...and this is why I will never sail a large ship again ....but I have 3 on the Jade in the next 18 months that I am looking forward to !!!!

There was already a long thread with many other negative reviews and discussion of this cruise:

Getaway Transatlantic, Most Mishandled Cruise Ever

However, the OP is the only one who has admitted to removing their tips in order to punish NCL for this. And they still want more, up to a full refund of the whole cruise? :D

We demanded our money back for the tips and gratuities all most guests. We paid $ 580 CDN dollars before the cruise and got back another on board credit for $ 432 CDN..... insult to injury I say. By doing this, we did give our room steward 100 euros for his great service,

Keep in mind that anyone you contact at NCL can easily look up your folio and see that you already gave yourself this extra $480 in compensation while on board. You won't get anything else out of them.

It seems to me that NCL has been more than generous. Weather and mechanical problems happen.

Folks,

 

I'd really to see your reviews posted for the Norwegian Getaway April 30, 2017 sailing.

 

It was the worse cruise we have been on. We're have been attempting to get answers on how we can get a full refund it was that bad. I sent a full review to Norwegian Customer Coordinator and was sent back the same scripted line we got on the ship.

 

My next email is going to Meg Lee - Chief Marketing Officer and SVP

 

Everyone on the Getaway on that sailing should post a review.

 

 

 

 

stevedyer201

Oh,,, this is another thread on weather causing a missed port call (because NCL did not control the weather) and UK Customs not being able to board the ship, so all processing was done upon arrival in the UK (because NCL controls the UK Customs and Immigration process).

Folks,

 

I'd really to see your reviews posted for the Norwegian Getaway April 30, 2017 sailing.

 

It was the worse cruise we have been on. We're have been attempting to get answers on how we can get a full refund it was that bad. I sent a full review to Norwegian Customer Coordinator and was sent back the same scripted line we got on the ship.

 

My next email is going to Meg Lee - Chief Marketing Officer and SVP

 

Everyone on the Getaway on that sailing should post a review.

 

 

 

 

stevedyer201

Okay ,,here is my review .... we loved our angled balcony !!!!! Enjoyed all meals ( sometimes a little too much ) Did the ropes course,rock wall,drop slide ( I am 57 ) ....The mojito bar was great !!!!! hmmm so were all of the bars ... made great use of the ubp !!!! The bar at H2O was nice to have back there ....sitting in the sun with a margarita is not such a bad thing ... oh and we had the spa pass for the cruise ...loved every minute of it ...Staff were always smiling and happy ...won some at the casino !!!!! Missed a couple of ports but life happens and you move on ...except for the cranky pants fellow cruisers it was a good time ... maybe not the horrible review op was hoping for I think ...

In reply to the OP ...I don't see how the UBP gratuity on a 16 day cruise for 2 people is $2,500. Off the top of my head it should have been $ 450.

Wow rescinding the DSC to retaliate , and then patting yourself for tipping your great room steward 100Euros for a 16 day cruise ! SMH

Sent from my iPad using Forums

There is already a thread started a few weeks ago about this cruise ... titled most mishandled cruise ever .... I was on this one as well and I have no plans to email any one .. we had a great time .... do we wish it went better in all the ports except Rotterdam ??? Yes of course we did ...but I was not going to spend my vacation time complaining when there was nothing I can do about it ....unlike many on this ship that acted like the captain purposely did all these things just to irritate his passengers ...and this is why I will never sail a large ship again ....but I have 3 on the Jade in the next 18 months that I am looking forward to !!!!

That sounds reasonable.

In reply to the OP ...I don't see how the UBP gratuity on a 16 day cruise for 2 people is $2,500. Off the top of my head it should have been $ 450.

Mission accomplished (well, not the mission of getting a full refund).

I was on this cruise and had an awesome time. Missed ports and mechanical problems happen.

As the response from NCL mentions - read the contract.

The heading of the contract:

"IMPORTANT NOTICE: Guests are advised to carefully read the terms and conditions of the Guest TicketContract set forth below which affect your legal rights and are binding. The Guest’s attention isspecifically directed to Paragraphs 10 and 14 of the Terms and Conditions of the Guest Ticket Contract.Acceptance or use of this Contract shall constitute the agreement of Guest to these Terms andConditions."

You will find in the contract that the guest is basically entitled to "transportation, full board and ordinary vessel food". We all received those three items mentioned.

OP, you do realize that removing gratuity punishes hard working staff, not the captain or NCL.

I was also on this cruise and while there were some issues to my perspective this cruise was nowhere near as bad as the original poster said. The first week was warm and sunny with clam seas. I watched as the ship tried to dock in Ponta Delgada and with the bow and stern thrusters going on full the ship was still being pushed towards shore. The wind had waves crashing over the breakwater. The port looked tight under good weather conditions and we did not have good conditions. In Brest NCL had gangway on deck 5 and 7. As the tide went out deck 5 dropped below the level of the pier and could not be used leaving a single steep gangway from deck 7. As you can imagine 4000 passengers trying to use one gangway caused a linup. At no time did I ever see more than 20 people on that gangway at any time and I was on the line for over an hour. Once the tide came back in the deck 5 gangway was reopened and the line was cleared in 1/2 hour and we were able to leave on time. Ultimately it was poor port infrastructure and the tides that caused the Brest issues. The propulsion issues heading to Southampton caused us to be 5 hours late arriving. The UK immigration officers were supposed to board in the Azores but since we did not dock they could not preclear us and from what I understood they would not send a team to board the ship in France. When we arrived there were only 4 immigration officers for 4000 passengers that UK Immigration required must be checked. We would have been better off skipping the UK and going to one of the continental ports that were not requiring this type of passport check instead. We did have to skip Zebrugge which was a bummer but we got an overnight in Rotterdam which was a bonus. The complaint about the shows and specialty dining being booked is common for this class of ship. We pre-booked the 2 main stage shows and our specialty dining on my NCL before we left and by checking with the dining desk we were able to change our dining plans mid cruise with little fuss. Overall I thought the food and service were a step up from our previous NCL cruises. The buffet was usually a zoo but I find this to be the case at peak times on almost all ships. This was one of the friendliest and most social group of passengers of any of the cruises I have taken and we had a blast. Ultimately the crew did their best they could with some bad situations they were dealt but much of the issues were beyond their control. Unfortunately any cruise ship with 4000 people will have crowds and uncomfortable bottlenecks. I came away with an overall positive experience and I feel sorry the original poster was effected much more from the issues we experienced. I hope they are able to get some resolution to their liking.

There is already a thread started a few weeks ago about this cruise ... titled most mishandled cruise ever .... I was on this one as well and I have no plans to email any one .. we had a great time .... do we wish it went better in all the ports except Rotterdam ??? Yes of course we did ...but I was not going to spend my vacation time complaining when there was nothing I can do about it ....unlike many on this ship that acted like the captain purposely did all these things just to irritate his passengers ...and this is why I will never sail a large ship again ....but I have 3 on the Jade in the next 18 months that I am looking forward to !!!!

Okay ,,here is my review .... we loved our angled balcony !!!!! Enjoyed all meals ( sometimes a little too much ) Did the ropes course,rock wall,drop slide ( I am 57 ) ....The mojito bar was great !!!!! hmmm so were all of the bars ... made great use of the ubp !!!! The bar at H2O was nice to have back there ....sitting in the sun with a margarita is not such a bad thing ... oh and we had the spa pass for the cruise ...loved every minute of it ...Staff were always smiling and happy ...won some at the casino !!!!! Missed a couple of ports but life happens and you move on ...except for the cranky pants fellow cruisers it was a good time ... maybe not the horrible review op was hoping for I think ...

Thanks for the positive feedback. Things happen but some people let it taint their entire vacation. Happy to hear you were able to make the best of it and enjoy...

BTW, we booked one of those angled balconies on our upcoming Bermuda cruise. Thanks for the positive about it, we're looking forward to it..

We just returned home from this cruise and an awesome stay in Germany.Yes there were issues on the ship with getting into ports,in my own opinion ( and I'm entitled to one) the Captain his Staff and crew did everything they could to make people happy. They Captain and staff were in the Atrium every morning at 10 am every single day to talk to passengers the entire cruise.......The Captain came down on several occasion to take the mic and to answer question( most Captains would not do that)We were in the Atrium very early every day to watch the drama unfold.....and drama it was.One day the Captain came down took the mic and was informing us on the Port Isuues, after he was done my husband < myself an others clapped.......well you would thing we started WW3 some passenger yelled at us for clapping and one called me an Idiot( he was lucky my husband didn't deck him one....( i had to calm him down)

We witness some pretty bad behavior from some guest towards the crew and staff........I wonder how many actually read the cruise contract that we sign before we cruise.Lucky for us we only booked one excursion for London and even with getting of the ship late and Immigration being slow plus an accident on the Motorway delaying our tour in London, we had a great time!

Why would anyone remove the daily service charge is beyond me, we where still served hand and foot every day .......ok just my way at looking at things.......we are on a cruise....16 days of not having to shop for food cook it clean the house etc etc .........I'm on vacation and we are going to enjoy it no matter what.........not wasting my time standing in line complaining to Customer Service ......if anyone booked a tour with NCL you got your money back....if you didn't book with NCL I guess I say good luck.....anyway, I will still cruise with NCL still love NCL and we will write a letter to NCL not to complain but to tell them Thank you! Like I said my opinion !!!!!

Marion Kalio

We just returned home from this cruise and an awesome stay in Germany.Yes there were issues on the ship with getting into ports,in my own opinion ( and I'm entitled to one) the Captain his Staff and crew did everything they could to make people happy. They Captain and staff were in the Atrium every morning at 10 am every single day to talk to passengers the entire cruise.......The Captain came down on several occasion to take the mic and to answer question( most Captains would not do that)We were in the Atrium very early every day to watch the drama unfold.....and drama it was.One day the Captain came down took the mic and was informing us on the Port Isuues, after he was done my husband < myself an others clapped.......well you would thing we started WW3 some passenger yelled at us for clapping and one called me an Idiot( he was lucky my husband didn't deck him one....( i had to calm him down)

We witness some pretty bad behavior from some guest towards the crew and staff........I wonder how many actually read the cruise contract that we sign before we cruise.Lucky for us we only booked one excursion for London and even with getting of the ship late and Immigration being slow plus an accident on the Motorway delaying our tour in London, we had a great time!

Why would anyone remove the daily service charge is beyond me, we where still served hand and foot every day .......ok just my way at looking at things.......we are on a cruise....16 days of not having to shop for food cook it clean the house etc etc .........I'm on vacation and we are going to enjoy it no matter what.........not wasting my time standing in line complaining to Customer Service ......if anyone booked a tour with NCL you got your money back....if you didn't book with NCL I guess I say good luck.....anyway, I will still cruise with NCL still love NCL and we will write a letter to NCL not to complain but to tell them Thank you! Like I said my opinion !!!!!

Marion Kalio

I totally agree with you!!! :)

I was also on this cruise and it was great. Things happen ALL of the time when traveling; in my experience nothing was harmful or life threatening. It was all part of the adventure that travel offers. IMHO, the NCL crew/staff/officers were great.

Thank you for saying what other people on this cruise thought; there is always another opinion/view on situations.

Just because some people didn't get what they thought they are entitled to doesn't make the cruise a bad one. NCL delivered what they contracted to.

I can't believe the bad reviews here; I did not see or have any of the 'bad' things happen. The 'bad' seems to be a perception thing. I did, however, see quite a bit of disrespectful behavior by passengers.

Safe cruising all! :cool:

Okay ,,here is my review .... we loved our angled balcony !!!!! Enjoyed all meals ( sometimes a little too much ) Did the ropes course,rock wall,drop slide ( I am 57 ) ....The mojito bar was great !!!!! hmmm so were all of the bars ... made great use of the ubp !!!! The bar at H2O was nice to have back there ....sitting in the sun with a margarita is not such a bad thing ... oh and we had the spa pass for the cruise ...loved every minute of it ...Staff were always smiling and happy ...won some at the casino !!!!! Missed a couple of ports but life happens and you move on ...except for the cranky pants fellow cruisers it was a good time ... maybe not the horrible review op was hoping for I think ...

Is there a like button?