NCL's Deceptive Letter to Gem Passengers

[sottovoce]

Those side effects often sound worse than the disease they're trying to treat LOL)

I suspect in too many cases they are.;)

 

I think this response may have even topped the karaoke one.

[mbisson]

I think this response may have even topped the karaoke one.

 

Today I'm on a roll and can't be stopped-so don't even try ;)

[defreeze]

Make sure you bring a copy of the contract with you. Your class action lawyer :rolleyes: will love Sec 10 c all in caps that you accepted when you got your edocs.

 

© Guest Waives Right to Class Action Relief: THIS CONTRACT PROVIDES FOR THE EXCLUSIVE RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES THROUGH INDIVIDUAL LEGAL ACTION ON GUEST'S OWN BEHALF INSTEAD OF THROUGH ANY CLASS ACTION. EVEN IF THE APPLICABLE LAW PROVIDES OTHERWISE, GUEST AGREES THAT ANY ARBITRATION OR LAWSUIT AGAINST CARRIER WHATSOEVER SHALL BE LITIGATED BY GUEST INDIVIDUALLY AND NOT AS A MEMBER OF ANY CLASS OR AS PART OF A CLASS ACTION, AND GUEST EXPRESSLY AGREES TO WAIVE ANY LAW ENTITLING GUEST TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.

 

Oh, the fact that it's part of a contract means its enforceable - sorry, I must have missed that lecture in law school.

[newmexicoNita]

Just off the Gem today.

 

As some may have heard, there were engine problems on our sailing resulting in one port (San Juan) being canceled and replaced by a day at sea.

 

NCL delivered a letter to all passengers informing them of the itinerary change and stating that each cabin would receive a $75 onboard credit due to the inconvenience.

 

In fact, upon further questioning of the reception staff, it was learned that the $75 credit was, in reality, a refund of the port taxes for San Juan.

 

So, NCL was only refunding what they were legally required to refund, yet the letter made it seem as if we were being compensated for missing a port.

 

I realize that NCL's passenger contract allows them to skip ports for no reason and with no compensation. But it was deceptive to write a letter like that wrongly suggesting that they WERE compensating us when in fact they were merely refunding our port charges.

 

Lots of people were angry about this - personally, I would have been ok if they just came out and stated that they were refunding the port charges. But the way they did it left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Just a couple of things, we have missed ports in the past and never gotten a refund, so no, not always do you get it and 2-where did you get the idea the $75 was the port charges. I am not going to say this is totally untrue but I am a travel agent and can almost assure you, no port charges are $75.00..Again, I am not going to swear to this. I would like to know how you heard this?

 

We sailed Celebrity a few years ago, missed a port because of weather, never got a blasted thing. We did the same on RCI several years ago, we got 1 hr free cocktails, but only in the casino bar and one other and only bloody Mary

s or rum punch and we missed a port on the Jewel. We did get the port charges back plus an hours total open bar.

Nita

[mbisson]

This is more fun than the tipping threads :D

[newmexicoNita]

The port charge per passenger for Puerto Rico is $20.00 per passenger.

 

Thanks that is more like it..

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

I too was on that cruise . It also left a bad taste in my mouth , not just because of how they handled the San Juan situation , but because of many other issues as well . I think the Gem is just a bad ship . I've been on 7 other cruises , another on NCL , as well as Royal Caribbean , Carnival , and Holland America and this was by far the worst . Some things , like the weather , were beyond NCL's control . There were many other issues , however , that indicate to me that NCL's standards - or at least those on the Gem - are much lower than other cruise lines .

 

There were many firsts regarding service for me . I had a cabin attendent refuse to help put a fold out bed together ,although he did explain that his section stopped 4 doors from my cabin , and my attendent was off duty , and I could call the front desk . He wasn't even nice about it . I also asked for an iron , but never got one , two days in a row . I stopped asking.

 

We had some terrible sevice in the dining rooms , especially on sea days . It was impossible to get to a 7:30 show unless we were seated by 5:30 . The servers were working hard , even clearing their own tables , but had far to many tables to take care of . I think they were understaffed , and it showed . Some seemed very stressed , and several were just plain rude .

 

The food was well below that of other cruise lines I've been on . Ok in the dining room , below average on the buffet .

 

There were 4 or 5 incidents were various staff were rude , more on this one cruise than on all the other cruises I've been on combined . Of course , the majority were fine , some well above average , but even 4 or 5 incidents makes it seem like the whole crew is rude .

 

The way they handled the San Juan incident seemed to rub many people the wrong way . There were about 50 people at one point at the reception desk , all very angry , demanding to talk to someone about it , and it was quite a scene . Rather than calming the situation , the reception people were actually arguing with passangers .. at one point one of the girls slammed a clipboard down on the desk and started yelling at someone ! Very unprofessional in my opinion . Afterwards , we found out NCL was aware of the engine problem before we even set sail from New York , although they presented it as something that happend to come up after we were underway . The captain himself told me they knew before we left , but thought we still might make it on time , however they cancelled all the rest of the ports and rescheduled them after St. Thomas because they weren't so sure . That was the reason for the itinerary changes.

 

One of our party had $20 stolen , he claims he tried to pay for drinks with it , was told he had to use his ships card , and the money was lost in the confusion . The last person to have it was the bartender , who claimed he gave it back . NCL said they have cameras recording such things , but refused to let us see the video .

 

Of course, even a bad cruise is better than no cruise ... and we still had fun , but I won't go Norwegian again .

 

interesting your take on the food, this certainly shows how subjective food is. Your comment about the dining room food being ok but the buffet not so. Almost unamously everyone says the opposite. If there is one thing most agree on it is how great breakfast and lunch is in the buffet. Oh well, everyone to his/her own opinions, that is what makes these boards interesting.

 

Nita

[SeaShark]

Oh, the fact that it's part of a contract means its enforceable - sorry, I must have missed that lecture in law school.

 

That is what happens when you sleep during class :(

 

 

Although you didn't catch that part, maybe you caught the part where once you accept the offered settlement (The $75 OBC), you are considered "whole" in the eyes of the law and the matter is closed.

 

 

You were offered compensation.

 

You accepted it.

 

The issue is closed.

 

 

 

Why all the drama?

[njhorseman]

Sorry, NJ. Didn't mean to confuse you.

 

My experience with pure mathematicians in academia is that they tend to be literalists, ready to jump down a colleague's throat if his/her statement is not literally true. Unfortunately, I also see many of them treating the rest of the world the same way, viewing statements in a black and white mode, either true or not true. This gives them a rather Asberger's syndrome flavor. The rest of the world goes on in its vague, not quite literally correct, but perfectly happy, understandable and communicative mode.

 

Don't get me wrong. I am surrounded by pure mathematicians and love their world, where everything is subject to proof, and proofs are absolute (more or less). It is just that the rest of the world does not function in a world where every sentence is to be interpreted exactly. Since you are a mathematician, I am sure you would understand if I said that the derivative of the sum of two functions equals the sum of the derivatives, and virtually the whole scientific world would agree with the statement. However, if you are a pure mathematician, you would almost certainly disagree, unless the speaker adds "assuming each of the functions is differentiable!"

 

One wonders, if the front desk person who dealt with OP were a mathematician, whether he/she might have said: "The $75 dollars covers port charges, with some excess, unless there are a sufficiently large number of passengers in your cabin, in which case the payment will only partially cover port charges and there will be no excess." At least then OP would have been happy!

 

Bill

 

Bill:

 

When you see me end a post with ;), you can be reasonably certain that my comments were tongue in cheek. The part about my being a mathematician was serious, however...and my education was as what you call a "pure" mathematician, but my career was as an actuary.

[teachc5]

We are on RC and missed a port and didn't get a refund of port taxes. They did walk around with some free rum punch for an hour, but didn't announce it so you had to be there to get it. It wasn't much for people who either don't drink or don't like rum punch. I didn't hear any complaints though.

[Globaliser]

No apology here, and the criticism was warranted. I stand by my original post.

So NCL refunds you the $13.25 of port charges, and then gives you $61.75 extra which was not port charges but could fairly be described as compensation.

 

And you still think it's fair to criticise NCL for being deceptive because "the letter made it seem as if we were being compensated for missing a port"? Just because NCL failed to mention that a small part of the $75 was a refund of port charges?

 

I think mbisson is right: This is more fun than the tipping threads. We can all see where you're coming from.

[defreeze]

Oh, I see - I should believe what random people on this board say about what the port charges are (buttressed by off-the-cuff unverified google research) instead of what I was told, several times, by NCL. The fact is that no one knows the exact amount of the port charges AND taxes for the missed port. I choose to accept what NCL told me.

 

Once again, however, I am accused of having been "proven" wrong by the Borg collective consciousness that rules this board. If I stay too long, I will be assimilated.

[halos]

We're on the same wavelength halos! :D

 

seriously...I find this whole thing ridiculous.

*sigh*

 

I just don't get it......

 

and btw..we seem to be on the same wavelength most of the time. :p

 

Careful, halos, you're starting to sound like me, and you'll hear about it from hamrag.;)

 

who??

 

 

 

Remember when Oprah gave away cars...and the hell she got because the folks couldn't afford to pay the tax on it?? :rolleyes:

 

Anyone ever hear about all the crap HGTV got from people because they'd give away million dollar Dream Homes every year and people were irate...I mean IRATE that they couldn't keep them because they couldn't afford the taxes on them? They could sell the homes, pay the taxes and still come out with 3/4 of a million dollars...just for entering a contest (That they SHOULD have read the rules and regulations for) and they still entered every year and the winners still pissed and moaned about having to pay the taxes....

*shakes head*

 

I think people are freaking INSANE.

even when you give them something, it isn't good enough.

[blindrid]

I shouldn't be "glad" that I got something back. It was my money that I got back. I do not expect compensation for missing a port - I understand that that happens. But don't make it look like a gift, when, in fact, it is money they legally must return to me.

 

I always get a kick out the the viewpoint of "they legally must return to me."

 

Per the Passenger contract, they really don't owe you squat......

[Sooners]

This is more fun than the tipping threads :D

 

Nothing 'fun' about them stinking stiff the crew threads...bad for my health! ;)

[halos]

Oh, I see - I should believe what random people on this board say about what the port charges are (buttressed by off-the-cuff unverified google research) instead of what I was told, several times, by NCL. The fact is that no one knows the exact amount of the port charges AND taxes for the missed port. I choose to accept what NCL told me.

 

Once again, however, I am accused of having been "proven" wrong by the Borg collective consciousness that rules this board. If I stay too long, I will be assimilated.

 

Does it even matter???

The point is this...can't you just be happy with the OBC and forget about it?

Is why you got this, or where it came from that important to you, that you would need to come here and vent about it???

 

Did you even enjoy your cruise?? How was it..did you have fun??

 

Jeeze :rolleyes:

[mbisson]

Nothing 'fun' about them stinking stiff the crew threads...bad for my health! ;)

 

Well, I do enjoy adding folks to my ignore file, so that's sort of fun ;)

 

And people who like to stiff the help are going to do it no matter what anyone says...and some who feel they were screwed by the wording on a refund are going to be that way no matter what is said either

[flashdog_1]

I too was on that cruise.

 

You did not mention what your cabin's compensation was. I'd be interested to know. How many were in your party?

 

I wonder if there has been any discussion of it on their roll call post cruise. Thanks

[halos]

Well, I do enjoy adding folks to my ignore file, so that's sort of fun ;)

 

And people who like to stiff the help are going to do it no matter what anyone says...and some who feel they were screwed by the wording on a refund are going to be that way no matter what is said either

 

Yes, my ignore list is full of whiners and cheapskates.

I've been here long enough to have quite a long list :eek:

[mbisson]

Yes, my ignore list is full of whiners and cheapskates.

I've been here long enough to have quite a long list :eek:

 

I automatically add anyone who advocates removing/reducing the DSC. That's without justified cause of course (and then, since it's my list, I get to decide what's 'justified' ;)). I've built quite a list myself

[BikerAl]

The absolute INSANE thing about this entire thread is that someone got $75 OBC and is upset, and others get in an uproar as well...saying the wording of the refund was misleading.

For goodness sake. Take the OBC and be happy...or go try another line...and when you get absolutely NO compensation for missed ports, then we'll see how important clarity is in regard to wording.

 

:rolleyes:

 

I swear, people will complain about ANYTHING.

 

Amen!

 

Al

[SeaShark]

Oh, I see - I should believe what random people on this board say about what the port charges are (buttressed by off-the-cuff unverified google research) instead of what I was told, several times, by NCL. The fact is that no one knows the exact amount of the port charges AND taxes for the missed port. I choose to accept what NCL told me.

 

Once again, however, I am accused of having been "proven" wrong by the Borg collective consciousness that rules this board. If I stay too long, I will be assimilated.

 

Well...if you are happy to "accept what NCL told you" and you just want to belittle the opinions of those who post here, the question must be asked...

 

 

Just WHY exactly did you even bring this topic here to discuss in the first place? :confused:

 

 

I really see no legitimate reason other than to throw crap around like "deceptive" in an ever increasing case of drama queenitis....:rolleyes:

[scchasgal]

Oh, I see - I should believe what random people on this board say about what the port charges are (buttressed by off-the-cuff unverified google research) instead of what I was told, several times, by NCL. The fact is that no one knows the exact amount of the port charges AND taxes for the missed port. I choose to accept what NCL told me.

 

 

I hope you didn't ask someone as the general 800 number on NCL? That is about as reliable as ....

[Sooners]

I automatically add anyone who advocates removing/reducing the DSC. That's without justified cause of course (and then, since it's my list, I get to decide what's 'justified' ;)). I've built quite a list myself

 

Just curious Monte, what do you do with the folks who quote those in your ignore list? Do they 'automatically' get added for just cause? Just trying to make sure I don't end up in your ignore list. LOL

[mbisson]

Just curious Monte, what do you do with the folks who quote those in your ignore list? Do they 'automatically' get added for just cause? Just trying to make sure I don't end up in your ignore list. LOL

 

Naw-I don't bother with those at all (and it's normally done by people who are trying to tell them they're wrong) LOL

 

(although sometimes I'll talk to someone about it "forgive him Father, he knows not what he does")