2boyzmom

Thanks for your detailed review. Did O'Sheehans still offer ice cream milk shakes?

I can see that the Sun doesn't have a lot to offer the kids. I will let you know how the Epic is when I get back!

 

I think I am the more excited about this upcoming Epic cruise than any other! So many choices and staying in the Haven is icing on the cake. Cant wait for your review :)

It looks like most of the action on the Epic is concentrated on just a few decks which is good...

So what happened to the milk shakes at O'Sheehans on the Epic?

Some posts state that the shakes are no longer available at O'Sheehans. Does anyone have an updated menu? NCL menu still shows shakes and malts which are the kids favorites :)

Why not do the Breakaway for Bermuda? I was on this ship in Sept- it is a VERY nice ship that I was impressed with- which I'm usually not. (been on 83 cruises). BUT I don't book my cruises for the ship- always for the itinerary. Depends on you?

 

If you are local- then consider late booking. These cruises have had huge price dumps in this off peak time. I was looking at both ships beginning of January, rates have dropped some on the Gem, not on the Breakaway. In the end- I booked a Carnival Port Canaveral cruise that's rates for 3 of us, was less than a single on the Breakaway. Only reason was for St. Maartin- didn't matter what ship, in our case.

 

We must cruise Easter break due to kids in school. I love Bermuda but not available the week I need.

You can pre-book it.....or let the concierge desk handle it. Your call. Just got off the Epic Transatlantic in 2 BR family suite and it was amazing.

Enjoy!

 

BTW.....I am originally from Northport..

 

John

 

Hope to retire in Williamsburg :)

Do I have to pre-book this if in a Haven Suite or can I have the concierge do it?

Be aware that 7 days vs. 9 days is actually a misnomer.

 

The 7 day cruise is actually 8 days, 7 nights.

 

The 9 day cruise (in 2015) is actually 9 days, 8 nights. (Note that for January 2014, this cruise was 10 days, 9 nights).

 

....So really you're only getting one extra day in 2015 (not two).

 

 

No- it is 9 nights on the Gem 3/28-4/6/15. We cannot do the January 12 day cruise since the kids cannot leave school so we must cruise during Easter Break!

Yup- I think I will book the Gem :) Thanks everyone!!

Well- I am curious to get on the Breakaway but the ports are lousy. Florida and Bahamas don't thrill me. The Gem does not have all the bells and whistles but has St. Thomas, Tortola and St.Martin which we love. What do you think? They both leave from NY and cabins and price are similar....

We were on the Sun this year and have booked the Epic for next Easter. I loved the Sun but unfortunately it did not have enough activities for the kids (it was an 11 day cruise). So- we have gone for the gusto and jumped for the mega ship experience. I am looking forward to some of the neat offerings on this ship like the ice bar and blue man group :)

Ditto! Thank you for the links. I filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General !

Still don't know how to figure this out. Am using a AMEX owned agent in Miami. If any connection would like to know.

 

There is no connection with AM Ex- I just discussed Am Ex because that is how I paid..

I am not here to put anyone or any company down, but I am the first to say, I would never book with an on line TA. I would book with a home based one and do most of the transaction on line, but not strictly one of the On Line only companies. There are inexperienced people in every field and there are those who either make honest errors or are sloppy, but when someone is handling my money I want to have some kind of a personal relationship with that person. Many of these agents are nothing more than order takers.

 

The TA who advocated for me was an another large online agent so I am their forever client from now on! I have been cruising for years and never had a problem before. My TAs have always saved me not hundreds but thousands of dollars on our sailings. Did I learn my lesson about going with a newcomer? yes- I was naïve about paypal and should have thought twice. Its a personal choice but insinuating all online agencies are takers is far from the truth.

I have wonderful news! My old TA (who I should have stuck with in the 1st place) advocated for me with NCL VIPs and took over my reservation and kept the original price! I was so happy to see the amazing customer service I received from this TA along with the ethics and integrity of NCL to stick by their customers:) Thank you NCL !!!!!!!!!!!!

NCL rep. who I spoke to yesterday just called me back. She said she does not have a response yet from "corporate" yet regarding this issue. Well- at least she called back. Hopefully I will have something good to say tomorrow!

[quote name='SissasMomE']He's not out of Florida, is he?[/QUOTE]

Yes indeed-out of Largo

[quote name='rvsullivan']I'm not sure I think some posters including myself are being "mean or harsh" with the OP. NCL and the other lines deal with thousands of TA's from around the world. It's the customers responsibility to vet the TA and make sure of what their getting. For those that post the fact that this TA is listed on NCL's and other cruise lines web sites for TA listings, you'll also note that it says "if you are a TA and want to be on this list, contact us".
The puzzle in this whole case to me is, I must have missed the post where this TA or his company went under? Also, I note that NCL offered on 10/8 to make a direct deal with the OP. It appears this option was not taken. I would think if the OP had paid NCL on 10/8 when they offered none of this would have happened? I would think that in NCL's corporate mind, no payment from 10/8 until the cruise was cancelled would indicate the OP did not want the deal. Am I missing something here?
I hope the OP gets a deal they are happy with, but it seems that NCL already make an offer on 10/8 that wasn't taken?[/QUOTE]

I guess I confused you with all my posts. 10/8- I found out TA went under. I immediately called NCL and found out only half my deposit was applied to my trip. I asked them if I could pay my final payment of xxx$ with them when it is due 1/14. They said yes- "I will put it in my notes regarding the situation" and the final payment was mentioned and clarified 3 times! Well, yesterday, my NCL cruise is no longer on my ncl.com account. I called- they said "corporate" cancelled all cruises affiliated with this TA without notifying anyone. If I choose to rebook tack on another $3000. That's my issue.... The $1000 I lost (half deposit) is no problem thanks to American express. But not honoring our discussion and agreement is a problem to me.

[quote name='cruisecritiquer']I don't recall anyone in this thread blaming NCL. What I recall saying is that it would be prudent of them to remove this dishonest person's name from NCL's website (it's still there) and to allow the OP to book at the rate which would have been in existence on the date of purchasing (rather than asking for a $3,000.00) increase. After all, NCL did say they would accept the funds directly and then after that they cancelled the booking without contacting OP. Not to mention...again...this TA can be found on THEIR website.

Again, it does no good to purposely try to make OP feel worse than they already do. I'm sure this experience has been an eye-opener for many. I have never used a TA but I know there are many who have used a TA for years and years on this board without incident. I don't understand the mentality of those who blame the honest for the actions of the dishonest.[/QUOTE]

Thank you- hope to see you one day at a "meet and greet". No problem- everyone has to feel empowered to put their "2 cents" in - wrong or right.

[quote name='Demonyte']Personally, this is what rubs me the wrong way - just a little, but still. I don't think that the customer being a loyal cruiser or not should have any effect on how this kind of issue is handled - inexperience with a specific cruise line or with cruising in general should be no reason to receive any lesser service in an unfortunate case like this.

There are perks that come with the loyalty but I don't think that the resolution in this kind of issue should be one of them. I too am a Platinum member in Latitudes program but I wouldn't dream of getting any special treatment because of it if my TA had gone belly up.

Also, I don't mean to be rude but loyal and experienced customer should know the risks of dealing with TAs instead of the cruise line directly - playing the loyalty/experience card repeatedly only results in the not-so-nice replies seen in this thread already. (My $0.02)[/QUOTE]

No special requests - just asked them to abide by our discussion and commitment to a price noted on 10/8. Simple as that....Dont worry- the loyalty card wont be discussed if it means nothing :(

I understand the difference between ethical and legal. I work in the legal field. You know...I see that some people are really stuck on legal vs. ethical. Many have an opinion that "legally" they don't have to do this, that or the other. I get NCL cheerleaders. I have never been a fan of pom-poms but I do like NCL's product and I appreciate that usually I can book a wonderful cruise for my family and have it go along without incident.

 

However, while their business is to make money, their business is also to keep customers returning so they can make more money. So...it would behoove them in my humble opinion to consider the implications of their decisions (at times) to only take action in as much as the law requires them to do so.

 

I know there are many times that NCL comes through on here and I am so appreciative of that. However, many more times the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing which just exacerbates an already bad situation.

 

I really do hope it works out!

 

Imagine if all businesses only did what was LEGALLY required of them 100% of the time. I bet proponents of the "they don't have to do that because it's not legally required" crew would change their tunes very quickly. Most people who take this point of view just haven't been legally screwed over yet.

 

Thank you for your opinion. I am a huge advocate for NCL and hope them come through. I would hope that being a loyal cruiser would mean something to them....

I don't think that NCL should be required to offer the fare that the travel agent offered but I do think they should offer the fare that was in effect at that time or the current fair (whichever is less). From what I understand, they advertise this particular agent on NCL's website as being a reputable travel agent. He's still there, in fact (I just checked).

 

I don't see any disclaimer on their website warning people to do their own investigations of these agents although people probably should. I think it's fair to say that if you find a travel agent on there, most people will assume that the agent is someone you can trust. :(

 

Additionally, if they can send out a mass email cancelling everyone on a chartered cruise, they can do the same for those who are bumped off of a cruise because of a untrustworthy agent. Some communication should have taken place before the trip was cancelled. I was just booted off the Pearl and they are giving us 12 days to call in and make changes. They could have given these people some amount of time to contact the cruise line to try to remedy the situation.

 

Required- no- but ethically- yes. They should stand by their discussion with me from 10/8. Do they monitor/tape calls?

Hey folks, this wonderful family was on my cruise in March. They were very active in our roll call, meet and greet and were very fun to cruise with. I have fingers crossed.

 

 

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Donna- thanks for your support. I only saved a few hundred dollars from steering away from my regualr agent. Never again!! Hope Mom is well :)

The problem with that is that NCL has not originally offered that rate, that's probably why you chose to deal with a middle man and not with NCL directly. I do feel for you and hope that you'll get somekind of resolution from NCL but I don't necessarily see why they should honour the fare promised to you by their (now unreliable proven) ex-partner whose intention was to use part of his comission for your payment - however I do feel that they should give you at least their own public fare that was in effect on your booking date.

 

Without looking, I'd guess that there are a lot of rules in NCL's T&C that make their recent actions "by the book" even though the customers are the ones taking the hit here - for example reservations are bound to be cancelled if all the required payments are not paid in time to NCL, etc. :(

 

Here is the problem- I called NCL on 10/8 after receiving an e-mail that there may be a problem with this agent. NCL verified my final payment and said I could pay them directly. I told them to please put that in their notes. Now- boom- they cancel my reservation and refuse to honor the discussion. When I saked if my disucssiin with NCL was in the notes, the agent did not give me an ansewr yesterday. I am not new to cruising and a platinum NCL memebr. I am hoping they will step up and stick by me here- it would mean alot to me and my future cruising with NCL.

How awful. Unfortunately, your story sounds eerily familiar. Just a few weeks back several posters had the same issue with a particular online TA who was playing games with their funds. NCL did step in and make things right once all the facts were known and it was clear what was happening. I am hopeful that your situation is resolved similarly.

 

I'm curious... was your online TA's office in Largo? If so, it's the same TA as the others were having the issue with. If memory serves me correctly, they had all made contact with him via the same website - the one that allows TAs to compete for business. That website has since severed their ties with him. If he is the same one you are in this situation with, I'm very happy to know that NCL has also seen the light, but very sad that these reservations were simply canceled without some notice to the consumers who had booked them.

 

Please keep us all posted as this unfolds. What an awful mess.

 

Yes! That is him. I will look for the posts re:this. Thank you. I will update you once I hear from NCL tomorrow. Wish me luck :)