Dumb black eye for NCL Breakaway 10/18

Let me preface the below with I have been on several NCL cruises and for the most part they have all been good. Dollar for dollar I find good value. The food is always good and the service people are usually quite helpful and friendly. Again for the most part I was happy with this last cruise to Bermuda on 10/18, but what follows gave what would have been a great trip a black eye.

On the second night at sea we noticed loud noises with ship movement coming from ceiling, which made it difficult to get goodnights sleep. We contacted the steward during the day and told him about it. He suggested I call guest services as well. So I called. Immediately the person on the phone tried to convince me this was normal when a ship is at sea. I advise her this was not my first cruise and this surely was not normal. She said fine I will tell housekeeping to go see you. Waited around for a few hours and no one showed, so we went to dinner. I figured they would come to the room and leave a note or something. Went to dinner caught the show and got back to our cabin late.

Upon returning to our cabin and seeing that no one had been by I went to down to guest services. I was informed that they had called my room and since I wasn't there nothing had been done. A review of the information showed that they called my cabin almost three hours after my call. I guess I was supposed to skip dinner and wait. I asked that a supervisor meet me right away at my cabin. Within a few minutes a supervisor came to my cabin and acknowledged noise was unusual, but it was late in the evening there was not much that could be done. Another night of poor sleep.

Next day while in port a carpenter came to the room. The ship was not moving so there was nothing he could look at or address. He suggested I call as soon as we set sail again so that it could be examined while the ship was moving and the sound was evident.

As soon as we set sail for home I called guest services. Again the person on the phone tried to tell me it was a normal sound and that there wasn't much that could be done. I demanded that a supervisor come to my cabin. Within a few minutes a supervisor appeared with two carpenters. Carpenters acknowledged it was not a normal sound and stepped out of the cabin with the supervisor. No determination was made or information given. Time passed no one returned I stepped into the hall only to find that both the carpenters and the supervisor had left. I went down to guest services in hopes of speaking to a manager. The person behind the desk tried to help but nothing could be done. He offered to provide another cabin on another deck for sleeping purposes. I declined and asked that the supervisors manager, meet me at my cabin. I was eventually met at my cabin by the same supervisor who had just been there with carpenters but left without resolution. She informed me that it had been determined that there was nothing that could be done. While speaking to her someone from guest services called. The person proceeded to tell me that noises were normal as the ship moves and part of being on a ship. At that point I almost blew a gasket. I had explained the situation over and over again and was being disregarded and ignored. The original supervisors as well as the carpenters acknowledged that the noise was not a normal noise and could see how it was bothersome. Yet the person on the phone would continue to tell me the noise was because the ship was moving. At that point I demanded that manager come to my cabin.

A manager finally arrived and he acknowledged that the noise was not usual. He apologized for the delays and how everything was being handled but there was nothing they could possibly do as it may need to be looked at in port. He did ask if there was anything they could do. I had asked for a pair of earplugs and hoped for the best. At this point I was tired of explaining it over and over and had to rush to dinner in order not to miss the show. Kudos to the staff in the MDR they got us in and out in about 30 mins in time for our show. I gave up on a fix and was just hoping that with the earplugs we could get through the night.

The next day (last day at sea) a couple of carpenters came to the room, while I was at the Spa. Fortunately my girlfriend was in the cabin and she let them in. They fixed the problem within about 15 minutes and the noise was eliminated.

Several restless nights, wasted time waiting around and a ton of aggravation could have easily been resolved, had someone taken the time to listen and care! This is a black eye on what would have been otherwise an overall great cruise. SMH!!

I have filed a complaint with NCL and am waiting to hear back from them.

OP1

what kind of noise was it and what cabin... I can't believe they had you sit there and wait and no one show up or at least Let you know When to meet someone back at your room, But really figuring some one would come with the carpenters So you would feel safe with someone other than the room steward being there when your not. And than to say well here is another room just to sleep in... sure I'll sleep on deck 14 aft while my actual room is on 8 forward..... NOT... Well at least you got one good nights sleep before returning home.. hope they do something for you since it was only a 15 min fix

It was a very loud rattling kind of noise coming from the balcony door area. According to my girlfriend they put several screws in the doorways head jamb and some caulking. End of noise! Fortunately the nights in port were not an issue. What kept getting my goat was the people on the phone telling me it was just the ship moving. It was normal. What if there had been something seriously wrong with the door jamb and it blew off or something? I knew enough that it wasn't but the lack of desire to fix it is really bothersome!

Oh yea I was in a mini suite balcony 9842.

Lol got carried away with details!

Day 12 of my 10 to 15 days business days for NCL to review my complaint. I called NCL and they advised that the case is still under review.

Starting to get a feeling they are just hoping I drop it and go away. - SMH

We were on the BA earlier this year. We had a balcony on the 14 deck. We also heard noises, Shouting & furniture being slide. I also called guest services. They responded quickly. They apologized. Same thing following night. I immediatly called they sent someone to check it out. They reported that it was the smoking area on deck 15. Next day they sent a bottle of wine to our room. I realize they want to fill every bit of space on the ship for rooms. However, they should not put a room under traffic. I go on vacation to rest noise at night (while trying to sleep) should not be "normal"

Let me preface the below with I have been on several NCL cruises and for the most part they have all been good. Dollar for dollar I find good value. The food is always good and the service people are usually quite helpful and friendly. Again for the most part I was happy with this last cruise to Bermuda on 10/18, but what follows gave what would have been a great trip a black eye.

 

On the second night at sea we noticed loud noises with ship movement coming from ceiling, which made it difficult to get goodnights sleep. We contacted the steward during the day and told him about it. He suggested I call guest services as well. So I called. Immediately the person on the phone tried to convince me this was normal when a ship is at sea. I advise her this was not my first cruise and this surely was not normal. She said fine I will tell housekeeping to go see you. Waited around for a few hours and no one showed, so we went to dinner. I figured they would come to the room and leave a note or something. Went to dinner caught the show and got back to our cabin late.

 

Upon returning to our cabin and seeing that no one had been by I went to down to guest services. I was informed that they had called my room and since I wasn't there nothing had been done. A review of the information showed that they called my cabin almost three hours after my call. I guess I was supposed to skip dinner and wait. I asked that a supervisor meet me right away at my cabin. Within a few minutes a supervisor came to my cabin and acknowledged noise was unusual, but it was late in the evening there was not much that could be done. Another night of poor sleep.

Next day while in port a carpenter came to the room. The ship was not moving so there was nothing he could look at or address. He suggested I call as soon as we set sail again so that it could be examined while the ship was moving and the sound was evident.

 

As soon as we set sail for home I called guest services. Again the person on the phone tried to tell me it was a normal sound and that there wasn't much that could be done. I demanded that a supervisor come to my cabin. Within a few minutes a supervisor appeared with two carpenters. Carpenters acknowledged it was not a normal sound and stepped out of the cabin with the supervisor. No determination was made or information given. Time passed no one returned I stepped into the hall only to find that both the carpenters and the supervisor had left. I went down to guest services in hopes of speaking to a manager. The person behind the desk tried to help but nothing could be done. He offered to provide another cabin on another deck for sleeping purposes. I declined and asked that the supervisors manager, meet me at my cabin. I was eventually met at my cabin by the same supervisor who had just been there with carpenters but left without resolution. She informed me that it had been determined that there was nothing that could be done. While speaking to her someone from guest services called. The person proceeded to tell me that noises were normal as the ship moves and part of being on a ship. At that point I almost blew a gasket. I had explained the situation over and over again and was being disregarded and ignored. The original supervisors as well as the carpenters acknowledged that the noise was not a normal noise and could see how it was bothersome. Yet the person on the phone would continue to tell me the noise was because the ship was moving. At that point I demanded that manager come to my cabin.

 

A manager finally arrived and he acknowledged that the noise was not usual. He apologized for the delays and how everything was being handled but there was nothing they could possibly do as it may need to be looked at in port. He did ask if there was anything they could do. I had asked for a pair of earplugs and hoped for the best. At this point I was tired of explaining it over and over and had to rush to dinner in order not to miss the show. Kudos to the staff in the MDR they got us in and out in about 30 mins in time for our show. I gave up on a fix and was just hoping that with the earplugs we could get through the night.

 

The next day (last day at sea) a couple of carpenters came to the room, while I was at the Spa. Fortunately my girlfriend was in the cabin and she let them in. They fixed the problem within about 15 minutes and the noise was eliminated.

 

Several restless nights, wasted time waiting around and a ton of aggravation could have easily been resolved, had someone taken the time to listen and care! This is a black eye on what would have been otherwise an overall great cruise. SMH!!

 

I have filed a complaint with NCL and am waiting to hear back from them.

 

OP1

Don't give up. Keep at it.

Day 12 of my 10 to 15 days business days for NCL to review my complaint. I called NCL and they advised that the case is still under review.

Starting to get a feeling they are just hoping I drop it and go away. - SMH

The saga continues. I called NCL today ( 15th business day) to check on the status of my case. I was advised that a response had been written but it was pending a supervisors approval. Great so I should have that today? No sir not likely. You should have that by Friday maybe. Wait there goes the 15 business days I was originally quoted. Well sir some cases take longer.

Let me remind you the reason I submitted this case is because they took so long to fix a problem that had a quick fix! - Frank Del Rio, you have your work cut out for you!

I would Sun mop your complain by in the trash.You complained, the problem was fixed.end of story. I know and they know what you are thinking.

After accessing the problem and deciding they could m not fix it, they probably talked about it and came up with something that might work.They came and tried it and it did. You were lucky, so there you go.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

I would Sun mop your complain by in the trash.You complained, the problem was fixed.end of story. I know and they know what you are thinking.

 

After accessing the problem and deciding they could m not fix it, they probably talked about it and came up with something that might work.They came and tried it and it did. You were lucky, so there you go.

 

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I was lucky?!?! They ignored the problem for several days and the fix came on the last night of the cruise! So several nights of poor sleep, countless calls and waisted time waiting around for people to show up.

Yep that's lucky.

Interesting thing is that as I did some digging. The old six degrees of separation applies. I will wait to see what their reply is and if not satisfied I will escalate this appropriately.

No I don't let up.

I would Sun mop your complain by in the trash./QUOTE]

 

Say what

On our last trip on the Breakaway we were in a balcony cabin that sounded like they were rolling tables or chairs or luggage over out cabin ceiling. This was odd since there were nothing but cabins above and below us.

The first night we assumed it was just the boarding of passengers and all their luggage being delivered. When this went on through day 2 and 3 we complained to customer service. To make a long story short, it was eventually determined the noise was from the whole line of cabins whose plumbing converged over ours.

Every time a toilet was flushed loud rumbling noises! Their response was its too big of a problem to fix during the cruise! They tried strawberries and a bottle of wine but no real solution. Eventually they moved us to another cabin towards the rear of the ship where the vibration from the nightly deck party shook the room to beyond 2:00 AM

We went for 12 night with little or no sleep and their offer was future credit for a cruise which required us to pay thousands of dollars to use.

The breakaway is a poor designed ship with way too many passengers and we will never book it again. If you are a sound sleeper this would'nt bother you at all. The moral of the story is choose your location wisely and hope everything turns out right.

I really don't know if it was ever fixed but I'm not surprised if it was just ignored.

I was lucky?!?! They ignored the problem for several days and the fix came on the last night of the cruise! So several nights of poor sleep, countless calls and waisted time waiting around for people to show up.

Yep that's lucky.

 

Interesting thing is that as I did some digging. The old six degrees of separation applies. I will wait to see what their reply is and if not satisfied I will escalate this appropriately.

 

No I don't let up.

I had a similar experience on NCL this summer. Customer service has gone way down the tubes on this cruise line. Management honestly doesn't care about their customers once they get your money, and good luck hearing anything back from their corporate office on this...it took 3 follow up emails and probably 6 weeks just to get an apology.

17 Business days and still no word from NCL!! Despite having reviewed an email that I would hear from the with 10 business days!

 

I have filed a complaint with NCL and am waiting to hear back from them.

 

OP1

I was on the same cruise. Had a great time in my nice quiet cabin.

I'm not sure what you are expecting from NCL at this point. They did offer to move you to another cabin and you declined. The ship was in port for 3 days, so it wasn't until the end of the cruise that they were in a position to figure out what was causing your unique problem. Noise at sea IS a common problem. I have never been on a cruise that had perfectly calm seas the entire week. They ultimately fixed the issue during your cruise, something that they typically would have done between cruises. Offering you another cabin was more than reasonable, and you prolonged your agony by deciding not to accept their offer.

Again, not sure what you are expecting from them. Hope your next cruise is quieter.

I would Sun mop your complain by in the trash./QUOTE]

 

Say what

 

Lol -- I was thinking the same thing.

I was on the same cruise. Had a great time in my nice quiet cabin.

 

I'm not sure what you are expecting from NCL at this point. They did offer to move you to another cabin and you declined. The ship was in port for 3 days, so it wasn't until the end of the cruise that they were in a position to figure out what was causing your unique problem. Noise at sea IS a common problem. I have never been on a cruise that had perfectly calm seas the entire week. They ultimately fixed the issue during your cruise, something that they typically would have done between cruises. Offering you another cabin was more than reasonable, and you prolonged your agony by deciding not to accept their offer.

 

Again, not sure what you are expecting from them. Hope your next cruise is quieter.

Maybe he's just wanting someone at NCL to treat him like the negative impact of both the noise and crappy response was real. It's bad enough to have to put up with that much disruptive noise, but the level of service, and lack of respect for the passengers needs is appalling. If you're guests services, and you blow off the guests concerns as if they don't matter, then you aren't doing your job. A sincere apology is in order, if nothing else.

I was on the same cruise. Had a great time in my nice quiet cabin.

 

I'm not sure what you are expecting from NCL at this point. They did offer to move you to another cabin and you declined. The ship was in port for 3 days, so it wasn't until the end of the cruise that they were in a position to figure out what was causing your unique problem. Noise at sea IS a common problem. I have never been on a cruise that had perfectly calm seas the entire week. They ultimately fixed the issue during your cruise, something that they typically would have done between cruises. Offering you another cabin was more than reasonable, and you prolonged your agony by deciding not to accept their offer.

 

Again, not sure what you are expecting from them. Hope your next cruise is quieter.

The OP said they offered another cabin "to sleep in". I wonder if they only had maybe an inside available and he was in a mini suite. It would certainly not be a desirable change, but I think for the sake of sleep I might have gone for it regardless, after negotiating with the Manager for some OBC to make up for the room I paid for but could not use.

A sincere apology is in order, if nothing else.

I would imagine he received one on the ship, and will likely receive another one in their response to his complaint. It strikes me as unreasonable for him to contact NCL multiple times in a 17 day period post cruise expecting an immediate response. They will respond, and he almost certainly won't be happy with the response. They offered him another cabin. Can't expect much more than that.

The ship was in port for 3 days, so it wasn't until the end of the cruise that they were in a position to figure out what was causing your unique problem. Noise at sea IS a common problem. Offering you another cabin was more than reasonable, and you prolonged your agony by deciding not to accept their offer.

Had guest services attended to the problem when I first reported it, it would have been addressed or looked at while out at sea. Instead they chose to try and convince me it was normal. (Not my first cruise)

Offering me an inside cabin in lieu of my Mini-suite balcony was not a fair trade in my opinion unless they would have been willing to refund the difference. Good luck collecting on that!

First and foremost I am expecting a reply and acknowledgement that the situation was handled poorly. Also given the number of sleepless nights as well as time wasted waiting around for people who didn't show up should warrant some kind of restitution.

With those two things I can than determine what value if any NCL places on loyal customers.

Op1

It strikes me as unreasonable for him to contact NCL multiple times in a 17 day period post cruise expecting an immediate response.

I have placed a total of three calls to NCL. The first was to voice the complaint, to which they asked that I file a case.

I then reviewed an email stating to allow be about 10 business days. After those 10 business days and no reply, I placed another call. I was then told that I am to allow 15 business days. The last call came after the 15th day. At which point I was told it might be another 5 days.

So I guess it's unreasonable for me to expect NCL to keep to their word?

Op1

I have placed a total of three calls to NCL. The first was to voice the complaint, to which they asked that I file a case.

I then reviewed an email stating to allow be about 10 business days. After those 10 business days and no reply, I placed another call. I was then told that I am to allow 15 business days. The last call came after the 15th day. At which point I was told it might be another 5 days.

 

So I guess it's unreasonable for me to expect NCL to keep to their word?

 

 

 

Op1

Yeah it is over such a trivial matter.

I know people like you, always in a huff over n next to nothing then prolong the whole thing out, then only get an apology and they think they won. But at what cost to themselves.

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I guess I have different expectations about having a quiet environment in a moving hotel with 2000-4000 people on board. In 30+ cruises I have experienced:

--Booming bass coming from a nightclub below for an entire week.

--Opening and slamming of a crew door adjacent to the cabin for a week.

--Neighbors blasting TV at full volume.

--Neighbors fighting and partying at all hours.

--A Nor’easter storm with 40 foot seas that had every item on a surface sliding around. So we put every item on the floor where everything round rolled around all night. This is on top of every drawer and cabinet self-opening and slamming shut all night long.

--In a hurricane, the balcony door had both an air and a water leak. The door whistled all night long sounding like Zamfir playing heavy metal on his pan flute. In the morning the cabin was flooded.

--On the Dawn, we had this one balcony cabin that had a loud incessant squeak in the wall. The problem was obviously well known as every nook, cranny and divot had previously been ineffectively shimmed by pieces of wood or paper.

--Most recently, we had a daily 7am wakeup call of chairs being dragged across the sundeck above.

Two tips I have to offer:

--Do not go with expectations of a quiet environment. Be prepared. We bring earplugs and have a white-noise sound app on our phone. These are much better investments than the time wasted writing to the cruise line complaining about noise.

--Also, an aft cabin location has both engine vibration noise and white noise from the ship’s wake. These sounds can be loud enough to drown-out all but the loudest annoyances.

I guess the point of service is missing here. Had guest service done what they were supposed to the entire situation would have been resolved in less than 30 minutes. Instead the trivialized my complaint and dragged their feet and what could have been a minor thing was allowed to continue.

Skylock have we met? Didn't think so!

I guess the point of service is missing here. Had guest service done what they were supposed to the entire situation would have been resolved in less than 30 minutes. Instead the trivialized my complaint and dragged their feet and what could have been a minor thing was allowed to continue.

 

Skylock have we met? Didn't think so!

I get it -- you paid a lot of money for a nice vacation, and when a problem came up, you expected to be treated like a valued customer, and weren't. And just because some people aren't bothered by certain things, doesn't mean others can't have a problem with it. I don't like it when I'm at the movies and people are on their phones reading emails and disrupting my experience. Other people seem ok with it -- no idea why. Same with this situation -- I would expect a reasonable level of quiet in a cabin at night, and if staff come and acknowledge that the noise is NOT normal, then I expect it to be addressed as promptly as possible. It sounds like OP did everything possible to deal with it on board, and NCL staff had ample opportunity to attend to it, and didn't.