foreverinmyheart

18 minutes ago, Mike_DeA said:

Since you didn't know what caused the accident at the time you decided to take a taxi back to the ship, wasn't it your son's reaction that caused you to do that?  I doesn't matter what caused it really, your son wasn't going to be able to get back on the ferry.

Yes, absolutely.  I did not know at the time what the problem was, I was merely saying it just makes it that much worse (if that even is the reason, I probably will never know)

For all I know, the person driving the ferry could have been the same crew member that was left on the dock.   How do any of us know if he had been at a bar getting drunk and that was the reason he almost missed the departure.   I will say honestly that the other crew members were angry at whoever was driving. I saw and heard that myself.  And before you all flip out, I am not saying that's what happened....I am saying anything is possible. 

33 minutes ago, KarlChilders said:

So Forever, did anything you read here (aside from probably making you wish you hadn't asked in the first place) change your mind, help you place in perspective or otherwise change your perception of the events. Or are you still going with never sailing NCL again.  Just wondering.

Thanks for asking.  I can actually see both sides which gives me a better perspective.  I did have an option to wait for another ferry and take that back at no charge but hindsight is 20/20 and we did not even know at that point if there would be a ferry going back and the thought of hundreds of passengers scrambling to get rides back to the ship was going through my mind.  I guess I am more upset about NCL's lack of customer service.  A small gesture (even if it wasn't the $60.00 refund would have gone a long way).  I did not mention this in the original post because it was just here say but another passenger that actually took the alternate ferry back asked one of the crew members how it happened and he replied 'the captain was not paying attention'  which makes it even worse.  If it had been bad weather, an engine malfunction etc, I probably would have chalked it up but it was the captains negligence that caused me to choose another mode of transportation.  Still on the fence about my future with NCL.    I do appreciate everyone's input, it  has been eye opening to say the least! Lol

1 hour ago, Outerdog said:

 

Full refund and future cruise credit in the amount of current cruise fare is probably what most folks would shoot for.

If you really READ my post you would see that is most certainly not the case.  But thanks for your two cents.

33 minutes ago, phillyguy31 said:

Just in case you didn't see this....

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20190826/ncl-ferry-returns-after-hitting-reef

Thank you!  I had not seen this!

19 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

It genuinely is owned by the cruise line. The OP is right about that. Also, I kind of assumed from the lack of urgency to get back, that this was one of the days docked in Bermuda that was NOT the day the ship was leaving, so there was no real risk of missing the ship? Most of the time, ships are docked in Bermuda for three full days. So you are only under the gun to get back to the ship on time that last day. My impression from the OP was that this was one of the earlier days in port.

 

Edit: Yep, just reread the OP and they say "second day in port". So there would definitely have been no urgency to get back to the ship as it would still be docked overnight.

Yes, this is correct.  We were not leaving port until the following day so no risk of missing the ship.  But I appreciate your input.

4 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Personally, I would just drop it.  To ME at least, sixty bucks is not worth the time, effort or angst. 

 

Glad you had a good cruise otherwise.

 

You've also learned if you start a thread with the subject line:  "Am I being unreasonable", the folks here will definitely give you an honest answer.   lol

Exactly!  I seriously wanted honest opinions which I got and most of them were helpful and appreciated - the few snarky comments made  me realize why I seldom post here.  But I appreciate your reply.  Thank you!

Thanks for your input and perspective. 

Let me preface this by saying with all the devastation in the Bahamas - this is really not a big deal at all - I just wanted to get some opinions. 

My family of 4 sailed on the July 14-21 sailing of the Escape.   Overall, the cruise was fantastic.  Great food, loved the ship, my kids loved the sports complex and Bermuda was as Gorgeous as ever.  This was my 12th cruise but my first ever on Norwegian.  On our second day in Bermuda we decided to take the complimentary ferry over to St. George. No problems on the ferry ride over and we enjoyed our day at Clearwater Beach.  The ferry ride back, however, was a different story.  My husband stayed downstairs in the air conditioning.  Myself and my two sons ( ages 13 and 9) stayed upstairs in the fresh air.  As we were pulling away from the dock,  apparently we forgot a crew member (people were yelling from the dock) so they went back and picked him up (no big deal).  About 10 minutes later, as we were sailing through a narrow channel, the crew on board started yelling and running through the boat franticially. This all happened so fast but within a few seconds of the yelling, the ferry slammed into a bunch of large rocks on the side of the channel.  It was a very large jolt causing a few passengers to fall out of their seats on to the floor.  I heard later that a few needed medical treatment (but can't confirm that).  The next few minutes were total chaos - crew members running around, kids crying, passengers upset - there was no communication from the crew as to what happened.  After a few minutes the captain came over the speaker to announce that he had to turn the ferry around and head back to St George to access the damage.  By this time, my 9 year old was petrified.  We arrived in St George and they told us that it would take about 20-30 minutes to check the ferry for damage and if it was fit to sail, they would return to dockyard.  There was no way my son was getting back on the ferry, he was anxiety ridden.  So, we exited the ferry and found a local taxi to drive us (shout out to Janis, a special ed school teacher during the year that drives part time in the summer - she was incredible.  She charged us $60 to go from St George to Dockyard which I thought was very reasonable.)  When we got back to our ship, I immediately went to Guest Relations and let them know what happened.  They had no clue that this accident even  happened, which surprised me because it was a Norwegian owned ferry, I assumed they had called ahead and notified the ship).  I explained my situation and asked to be refunded the $60.00 that I paid for a taxi.  I was told they would contact me in my stateroom.  While I was there, a few other passengers from the ferry were also complaining.  I went on with the rest of my cruise and on the last day I received a letter in my stateroom saying I needed to contact their corporate guest relations office in Miami when I got off the cruise.  There was no phone number, just a website that asked me to submit a claim which I did on the day I got back from the ship (July 21).  I just now heard from them via email (over 6 weeks later) basically stating that they will not refund the $60.00.   Again, in the grand scheme of things, it did not ruin our cruise but did cause some anxiety, especially for my son.  It does, however leave a bad taste in my mouth towards Norwegian.  I feel like they could have done something, even a $25 OBC or a bottle of wine to the stateroom the day that it happened.  If you were me, would you call the corporate number and complain again or just drop it?  It annoys me enough to never sail Norwegian again just because of the lack of customer service.   Thanks for allowing me to rant. 

***edited to ad - Janis was kind enough to give us a hand written receipt so that there was some proof of payment, which we gave to the guest relations desk**

Ship - Explorer of the Seas

Deck - 10

Stateroom # - 1668

Stateroom Category – D1 Superior Oceanview with Balcony

Starboard or Port Side -

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? -No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – Great view, no obstructions

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal-2 chairs and a small table

Was wind a problem? -No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? -

Any specific problems with this cabin? -Toilet was constantly running so was very full by morning, it never over-flowed though

Any other comments? - A bit of a walk to the elevators but very quiet since it was near the end of the hallway