shannon_m

Shannon, I am sorry you had a bad experience. I am very sorry that some people have treated you so poorly out here on CC. If it's any consolation don't take it personally. I often call people out here for being so rude to others and the latst time I was told to "Simmer down". I just don't get being rude to others.

 

The lady who jumped - none of us no why and how sad for her family.

 

I hope your future cruises are better as well as your experiences out here on CC. In my part of the world I have had my faith renewed in humanity by watching us all come together as Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas. Too bad it often takes a natural disaster for people to band together to help one another.

Thank you for your support. Nice to know not all of humanity is lost.

Ok, so the jumper was the cause.

Does that remove all responsibility from the cruise line to do their best and try to accommodate people, especially with mobility issues.

 

Do the cruise lines not practice for emergency issues ( why the muster drills).

This is not the first time there were delays or last and it was not the first jumper or the last.

NCL was not the cause, but they are supposed to be the solution, or is every emergency supposed to play out as it will.

 

Personally I have never had a bad cruise with NCL, a few unfriendly staff and somehow always at customer service and not during a complaint as I have never complained about anything, but just some routine questions, another drink and I move on, not worth upsetting yourself over minor things.

 

This situation however was not minor and obviously NCL did not handle it well, and I don’t get some people on this forum how they will repeatedly nitpick the OP to find some fault and prove that NCL was faultless in everything even though they were not there and did not experience a thing.

 

I am not that naive to think that any cruise line is completely faultless all the time, and don’t have such loyalty to any.

 

Sorry that the OP had such a bad experience, only she knows how she feels and why she feels she wasn’t treated well, and has every right to choose not to travel with them again.

 

I have yet to have a bad enough experience with any cruise line to stop me from booking a vacation, but I can’t say the same with airlines and there are several that I will never fly with again.

Thank you for your support. It is greatly appreciated.

I was also on the cruise. I felt the Captain did a great job of keeping us notified of everything that was going on, that was until we docked. But, I am sure he was dealing with the Italian Police at that time. I ask what could they have done differently? They did have phones for passengers to use to rebook flights. Unfortunately, they didn’t have 100s of phones. They did offer 15 additional minutes of Internet. I couldn’t find that though on my phone. I honestly think there were 3 things they could have done. Instead of notifying us at 6am, they could have done it earlier so passengers could have rebooked flights. Or they could have given us unlimited WiFi so passengers could rebook. Or they could have done the unthinkable and watched the video and saw that she jumped and wanted to go overboard and just left her there. We all know they weren’t going to leave her there. Is it NCL fault 500 plus missed their flights? No, but the process could have been handled better. I don’t feel anyone should be reimbursed for their cruise or flights from NCL. But, if we can all jump on a class action against the jumper I am in.

Than you for this very valuable information. It's very helpful to know this. I was personally.on the cruise directly after yours and so my perspective on the port side of things would be a little different. Still, I really thank you for your valuable contribution to this thread. I feel sorry for you guys, as I am sure you too had several issues and a sincerely feel for you. It sounds like they could have done a bit more for you guys too that would have helped the situation, and like you said, o e of those things would have been to give you more internet time to reboot your flights. 15 minutes for that amount of people to reschedule would have been almost useless as the server would no doubt have struggled to deal with the demand. Thanks again for your input.

And so the saga continues. Im exhausted and cant be bothered with replying to people who obviously forgot to read what the original topic of this thread was. This thread was opened not so people could provide opinions on their various cruise experience or comment on my disatistfaction. It was opened.so that I could hear from those who were on the same cruise I was and to find out what their post cruise experience has been. So I kindly ask that if this doesn't apply to you, to please refrain from comment as it is not really helpful or useful. Thanks to those of you who replied with genuinely helpful feedback of your experience with this particular cruise.

Yes, just like most ports, you have to pre-book them for your cruise and they will have them at the port for you.

Cool. I've only ever booked assistance and wheelchairs, never a scooter. Didn't realise there were companies that did that.

The do have scooter rental in Venice. Here are just two of the companies: https://www.accessiblevenice.com/hire-and-rental-mobility-solutions-on-cruises-from-venice-port/

 

https://www.mobilityequipmenthiredirect.com/mobility-equipment-hire/c2425-mobility-scooter-hire-in-italy-venice-port/

Thanks for that. I never saw any there. Maybe because its a third party company and not the port of venice itself. It might be something you need to specifically book?

I’ve never been to Venice but I’m wondering if there was an option to rent your own scooters like I have seen at US ports? And if so, do you pick up the scooter at check in or are they on the ship? Your experience and knowledge might help someone else with your level of handicap so just asking if you know of that option there. Pain greatly influences our perceptions. I have chronic thigh pain but luckily do not need a cane. Walking does not make it worse or better for me but I do know at times it is distracting to the point of coloring my whole outlook. While I doubt you’ll get the satisfaction you are seeking writing a letter detailing ways in which the process could be made better might help future guests.

There were no scooters, tbh I've never seen scooters at any port I've been to, but I've never sailed out of the US. There were Wheel chairs available and we had booked assistance, but we were denied both upon arrival. As I have sailed out of Venice before and had no issue, I can only make the assumption that this is an NCL issue and not a port of Venice issue. I loved every second of the experience of sailing out of venice last time and generally love all of my cruises. It's a shame that we had such a bad experience with NCL as they have potential to be great but let themselves down in a few areas. Some things can be overlooked such as the cabin size and quality of the activities, these things would not deter me from sailing with them again as they have great good and greata facilities and most of the on board staff are lovely and super helpful. The poor customer service provided by NCL, their attitude, the8r lack of product knowledge, these are the things that will stop me from going with then again. It's a shame because like I said, most of what they have is great and they cp yuld be one of the best cruise lines if they just lifted their game a little where it counts.

If I can help with any other info, just ask :)

Shannon, what speed was the Star traveling at? What speed would you have recommend that they would have traveled?

TBH I don't recall what speed they were doing but it was incredibly slow. I do know we were basically going the speed of scenic cruising and that every other day we were going at least twice the speed. Apologies, I don't remember how many knots we were doing, it's been a few weeks now.

Shannon - What other cruise line(s) have you sailed? How many times have you cruised? It seems, based on some of your statements, that you are an experienced cruiser. Have you never had a delayed embarkation or debarkation?

Between my mum and myself we have been with Royal Caribbean, Azamara, Carnival, Princess and Superstar. A passenger went overboard on a RC cruise I was due to go on which was delayed, but they handled it effeciantly, looked after their passengers and sped up theorncruise speed to ensure we dis not miss a scheduled port. This was leaving from Australia where the water is much more rough than the mediteranian. The water was like glass going from Venice to Bar (just south of Kotor) and yet the ship moved at a slower than usual pace (every other day we sailed it went much faster, which is how I can assume that it had the ability to do so). We arrived in bar to pick up staff not long after we were scheduled to leave kotor, so I am almost positive that they could have made it on time.

Even if they couldn't get there on time, there was an additional sea day just before we went to Dubrovnik, they could have gone to kotor on that day instead as there were no ships in port in kotor on that day, so there would have been availability if they had just been organised enough to think a few days ahead. It was just disappointing overall compared with the professionalism of other cruise lines.

I’ve never heard of any cruise line refunding passengers for s delayed boarding.

Just saying what I'd like, never said I expected to get it. But truthfully I feel like every passenger on that ship deserves that.

Just curious, what monetaryly are you looking for from NCL for your perceived mistreatment? What if they give you OBC for a future cruise, would you take that cruise?

 

I hope you find a cruise line that will be everything you are looking for.

I'd be happy if I received a partial refund for the 1st day of the cruise I was unable to enjoy and instead spent in a lot of pain. I have been with other companies who I am very happy with, just thought I would give NCL a chance.

OP: Sorry you had such a bad experience. It won't help you at all, but may help other prospective cruisers to know that you experience may have been an exception rather than the rule. I sail with my mom, who needs wheelchair assistance to board.

 

We have sailed with NCL out of Venice, New Orleans (twice), Copenhagen and Miami and have never had an issue with having a wheel chair ready for her when we were ready to board. Of course, none of those sailings were after a debacle like a person jumping overboard.

 

We have been helped on board by an upholster, an engineer, restaurant staff and bar staff: any available staff who isn't occupied with turning the cabins over or serving food during that busy transition time. We have never been allowed to take the wheel chair in ourselves (probably because they have to few and they need to get them back off the boat).

 

As to the beverage package: we always get an amenity invoice which states what packages we have. There was one time when we had an amenity on our invoice that was not provided immediately, but we were able to take our amenity invoice down to guest services and get it corrected right away.

 

Again, I am sorry you had such a rough trip.

The stupid thing was that we were offered a wheelchair once we got on deck...4 hours too late! Also, no one would even help us carry our bags despite booking assistance and being ensured that someone would help us. Thanks for your concern and your feedback, but for us, we will go back to our preferred cruiseline, we are in no hurry to try NCL again, he'll, even passengers who had been with NCL several times before, swore they would never go with them again after this cruise and how the entire situation was handled.

She was no scapegoat. SHE caused the problem and all the ensuing chaos for the passengers and crew. The truth can be rough.

It was a combination of factors that caused the delay. The ship was actually not that late getting back into venice. Police investigations cause a fair delay and the way NCL handled the situation, or didn't handle the situation as the case may be, all were factors in the incident. I think it is a little uprpfessional to lay blame solely on a person who obviously has mental health issues. She may have been an initiating factor, but the ensuing delays could have been managed better by all involved. It was an unfortunate event that was worsened by unprofessionalism. But that is just my opinion :)

I am in the UK Shannon m and it's with The Post Office . I know some people on the ship were worse off than us they had much farther to get home than we did , Canada America etc I think flights to the UK were more frequent than to those places but we had to stay two extra days ourselves .

I posted here as I thought some of the other people affected may post.

 

I am sorry for all the problems you encountered. It's unrealistic to think NCL or any other cruise line are perfect and cruise companies need feedback on their performance , especially where disabled or vulnerable guest are involved.

Take care

Thank you

Lancashire lass

So true. And you are right, no cruise line is perfect, I just expect a company to show some sympathy and at least try and help to make things right. Any other cruiseline would at the very least apologise, NCL chose to do no such thing and worse, they chose to find a scapegoat to blame. In one of the announcements the captain virtually blamed the person who went overboard, which I thought was a bit rough given that the women obviously had problems and needs help. Thanks again for your contribution, I really can't thank you enough.

Sounds like there are issues that should be taken up with the travel agent....drinks, b'day package, no wheelchair

Not really. NCL confirmed that the correct date had been in the system fornthe birthday packaged and that they delivered it on the wrong day. It was in their notes. Additionally, as I said earlier, wheelchairs were available at the port but refused and they agreed to assist in disembarking (reorganised on the ship) and failed to come through. It was also confirmed at check in at the port that we had the drinks package but when we got on the ship they said we didn't have it. NCL basically wanted to blame any third party they could. Unless you were personally on this cruise, it is probably difficult for you to understand what it was like. As I said earlier, EVERYONE was upset, not just us. Other people experienced problems like we did and in some cases, they had more severe issues than we did, including passengers who booked directly with NCL.

What does any of this have to do with the jumper? I'm so confused.

That stuff has nothing to do with the jumper...I was asked what other stuff happened on board, i obliged and answered. What happened at the port terminal has everything to do with the jumper. That and the delays getting on board (some people didn't get on the ship until 10:40pm, missing pout on lunch as none was provided at the terminal and dinner as the restaurants closed early considering what time people began boarding). This missed port is also due to the delays incurred by the jumper, and that missed port should not have happened as the first port was close by and had a late arrival scheduled. The ship could have easily made it to the first port of call if they had not cruised so slowly, and I mean it crawled. Without a doubt, it could have made the port of Kotor, but chose not to spend the extra money on fuel to make it there. Instead they tendered close by to Kotor, just a few hours later, to pick up staff in Bar.

Believe me when I say my mum and I were not the only once very upset by NCL, by the second night, many guests in the atrium had suggested mutiny...They were all THAT angry.

What were your issues onboard the ship?

The first issue was that we had a drinks package bonus when we booked. We confirmed eligibility with NCL prior to departure over the phone and When we checked in at the terminal, it was confirmed that it was on our account, however once on board the ship, we were told that we were ineligible due to the way our travel agent booked it. If we were ineligible the why had 2 different staff confirm we had it. We also had an issue with a birthday package my mum purchased. It was delivered 3 days early and the cake was left on the bed in our cabin after 9pm also 3 days early instead of at the restaurant as requested. There were some other things as well, but these were the main issues. It's just a shame because the cabin staff and restaurant staff are wonderful, but at least half of the people we spoke to at guest services were incompetent, unapologetic and we'll, just miserable.

Thanks for everyones replies. Assistance was requested at the time the cruise was booked and reconfirmed within the week of booking. Wheelchairs were available and lined up against a wall but we were told we were not allowed them. The advise was to find a chair somewhere in another terminal, but we were also told that same person that if we choose to go find a seat somewhere we would forfeit or requested assistance. We were in the assitance area, along with many others who were also mistreated and we were one of the first there as we never revieved an email orntext advising us of the delay. Asfor other things that went wrong during the cruise, we made several visits to guest services, nearly almost every day of the cruise (often at their request) but little was done to address or complaints. We also ensured that or request for assistance during disembarkation would be honoured and were told yes it would, alas, when it come time to help, no one would, until out of complete exhaustion I broke down. The situation was so bad that at one point, another man who had requested assistance, eventually collapsed and cracked his head open! Everyone was treated like cattle rather than a paying guest. I have cruised a fair bit and as i mentioned earlier, have been on a cruise with another company with a very similar situation, they however were very organised and caring and handled it with grace.

The employees at the port are not employed by NCL.

They may not be NCL staff but are enlisted by and represent NCL. They wear NCL uniforms and therefore have been allowed by NCL to represent them. In saying that, this is not the only issue we encountered on this trip, we incurred further issues on board the ship, with mistakes being made by NCL and encountered further issues disembarking the ship by NCL staff. I have also taken cruises with other companies from Venice and encountered no such problems with mobility assistance.

Thanks. I am just so disappointed by the way it was all handled. We were missed treated At The Port before we even left, they refused to give us a wheelchair when we requested one 3 times, we asked for a wheelchair but we made to stand in a mobility assistance area for more than 3 hours. Consequently both my mother and myself suffered immense pain and were very uncomfortable and were provided with no assistance whatsoever. This was before we even boarded the ship when things seem to go from bad to worse.

Reaching out to people who were affected by the 'jumper' on the cruise departing August 19th. Wondering if you have had any success with compensation for mistreatment at the port, missed port of call or anything else?

Having been in an almost identical situation before with another cruise line, I am disgusted by how NCL handled the situation.

Thanks.