Cost Cutting on the Pride of America

[Kapuna]

Regarding the coffee makers , our cabin steward told us that they were removed on the morning of the day that we boarded ( Jan. 9 ).

 

I regret that I have no photos of the aft balcony cabin , but is was just the same as the other balcony cabins that we have seen except that the balcony seemed larger .

 

Enjoy your cruise !

[ieatchickens]

How many postings do we have to witness on the missing choc and coffee makers??? Get over it. As for the situation with the tendering, I would have to have more information than what you are giving. I think there is more to the story than you are giving...

 

Nita

 

WOW! :eek:

 

Has it ever occurred to you that not every cruiser spends 18 hours a day on this board. Some have children, parents, careers, volunteer work or hobbies. It's called a life. If you don't like a topic, just don't post for crying out loud.

[zqvol]

We were on the January 2 - 9 , 2010 cruise of the POA ; this was our third cruise on that ship and we noticed that several features had been eliminated since our previous cruises .

 

For example , the in-cabin coffee makers have been removed from the cabins . A cabin steward on deck 7 told us that the coffee makers were removed just before our cruise from all cabins on that deck except for a few suites . We also noticed that pillow chocolates were no longer left when the beds were made up for the night .

 

Perhaps the most disturbing issue arose during tendering in Kona . At mid-morning there was a general announcement that tendering would be cancelled due to safety concerns resulting from sea conditions . However , passengers booked on NCL shore excursions were quietly told to go to an assembly point and were then taken to the gangplanck and tendered ashore . Passengers who had made their own shore arrangements ( car rentals , independent tours , private outings , etc. ) were not taken ashore . It seems that the potential revenue loss from NCL's shore excursions overshadowded the safety concerns .

 

All passengers were offered a glass of Champagne at dinner as a compensation .

 

Why do people always assume that when something doesn't go their wway or when something changes it is due to cost cutting? If fares were positioned in the market where they need to be for companies to survive then we would not be having these discussions.

[Down-Unders]

How many postings do we have to witness on the missing choc and coffee makers??? Get over it. As for the situation with the tendering, I would have to have more information than what you are giving. I think there is more to the story than you are telling or you know..One thing I have witnessed in my 30 years of cruising, all lines put the safety of the passengers first and I mean ALL lines.

 

We have been on ships where they allow a certain number of passengers to tender, than decide not to do anymore because of weather conditions..It happened to us on HAL and RCI. They took a group to the gangplank, (those with early tender tickets) then within a very short time cancelled all the rest of the tenders..

 

Nita

 

 

 

Never ever ever have we been on a ship when tendering was started then stopped. There is one decision from the Captain either yes or no when tendering, no wishy washy decisions.

 

As for the OP, they are entitled to ask any questions they like on these boards without you using terms like " get over it "

[scchasgal]

Never ever ever have we been on a ship when tendering was started then stopped. There is one decision from the Captain either yes or no when tendering, no wishy washy decisions.

 

As for the OP, they are entitled to ask any questions they like on these boards without you using terms like " get over it "

 

Maybe not to you but it has happened many times. Tendering process can go on for many hours the seas can change at any time. The ship will not send anymore passenger outgoing but will bring back to the ship. Happens at GSC quite a bit.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Never ever ever have we been on a ship when tendering was started then stopped. There is one decision from the Captain either yes or no when tendering, no wishy washy decisions.

 

 

It happens often. Consider yourself lucky.

[newmexicoNita]

WOW! :eek:

 

Has it ever occurred to you that not every cruiser spends 18 hours a day on this board. Some have children, parents, careers, volunteer work or hobbies. It's called a life. If you don't like a topic, just don't post for crying out loud.

 

cool it, I apologized, I was wrong. As for spending 18 hours a day on line, think again? Shall we say about 2 or 3, maybe 4 in bad weather? I have a career, I do probably more volunteer work than most 4 or 5 people together, I have 3 very active hobbies: gardening, bridge and cooking, the gardening and cooking result in my canning almost all our canned goods each year and I belong to 4 different church groups...Now, tell me I have nothing to do but spend time on the computer.. What I don't do, I don't watch TV by the hours, and I don't get enough exercise plus I don't have kids at home anymore, so no, I don't spend time with them except on vacations, holidays and the phone. My parents are no longer living.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Never ever ever have we been on a ship when tendering was started then stopped. There is one decision from the Captain either yes or no when tendering, no wishy washy decisions.

 

As for the OP, they are entitled to ask any questions they like on these boards without you using terms like " get over it "

 

Well it happened on our first RCI cruise and our last HAL cruise..

 

Nita

[CaliforniaDreamer]

It happens often. Consider yourself lucky.

 

Welcome back.

 

I followed your twitters.

 

When are we going to get some details about your latest cruise adventures?

[centsable]

It happens often. Consider yourself lucky.

Hi: Since you work on the ship, can you tell me if cabin 9696, last one on port side has advatanges. ie Larger balcony, quieter, any cons? We are looking for a good cabin.

 

 

Thanks!

[DAGVBSB]

 

Perhaps the most disturbing issue arose during tendering in Kona . At mid-morning there was a general announcement that tendering would be cancelled due to safety concerns resulting from sea conditions . However , passengers booked on NCL shore excursions were quietly told to go to an assembly point and were then taken to the gangplanck and tendered ashore . Passengers who had made their own shore arrangements ( car rentals , independent tours , private outings , etc. ) were not taken ashore . It seems that the potential revenue loss from NCL's shore excursions overshadowded the safety concerns .

 

All passengers were offered a glass of Champagne at dinner as a compensation .

 

Why does this not surprise me? Has NCL found a way to plug up another revenue leak? After booze sales, shore excursions are the next highest resource.

 

Note to self: Do not prepay car rental in Kona in July.

 

Hopefully, this is just a one-time thing. I don't think they could get away with holding passengers hostage to buying their tours for long.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

First of all the coffee maker loss and the chocolate on pillow loss is not big deal to me or my family/group. None of us drink coffee so the coffee maker usually ended up on the top sheves in our cabins anyhow to make room.

 

 

The tender issue is one that just floors me. To risk the safety of those who purcashed shore excursion tickets in order to save a few bucks is just plain wrong. If the seas were too dangerous to tender everybody, then they were too dangerous to tender anybody. It seems NCL once again makes a bonehead decision in favor of turning a profit.... Colin Veitch may be gone, but Andy "make a buck whereever we can" Stuart somehow still has a job and appears up to his greedy tricks.

 

The ship basically screwed both groups. Those not on NCL tours lost deposits and their day at shore. Those on NCL tours were put in danger and if they had cancelled, NCL would have kept their money because it was inside the 24 hour window. NCL also made an additional profit off those who lost their independent shore excursions because many of those people probably spent the afternoon in the bars or around the pool drinking. A financial win for NCL, a financial loss or dangerous situation for ALL the passengers.

 

Trucker: Don't worry about our POA cruise in July.... one of the people I am traveling with is an attorney. I showed him the OP's story and his comment was: "grounds for a class action lawsuit by those who got stuck on the ship." (because even though NCL ruled that the seas were too rough for tendering, they still allowed a select group to take the risk. The opportunity for travel was not denied to all, but only to a select group.) Had NCL shut down all tendering to shore for both their tour groups and their non tour groups, there would be no grounds for compensation for those who lost deposits BUT since some were allowed, it becomes selective and opens the door. My attorney friend says that on cruise, it will be all cancelled to Kona or all ashore to Kona or legal action will follow.

 

So go ahead and book if you want. We are booking rental cars for our group in Kona anyhow.

[salty dingo]

It appears to me that if the conditions are unsafe, they are unsafe for all. Either the safety of the people with NCL excursions was not at risk, and therefore noone's safety was at risk, or the tendering put the NCL excursion passengers at risk.

 

Either way, it was a poor decision by the captain. If the conditions were rough, no one should have been permitted to tender. If they were not too rough to tender, everyone should have been allowed to go ashore.

 

A glass of champagne at dinner is cheesy - I don't think that was necessary for a weather-related event.

[Richie2pies]

Another example of how NCL has gotten sooo hungry for extra dollars.

[sjbdtz]

The tender issue is one that just floors me. To risk the safety of those who purcashed shore excursion tickets in order to save a few bucks is just plain wrong. If the seas were too dangerous to tender everybody, then they were too dangerous to tender anybody. It seems NCL once again makes a bonehead decision in favor of turning a profit.... Colin Veitch may be gone, but Andy "make a buck whereever we can" Stuart somehow still has a job and appears up to his greedy tricks.

 

The ship basically screwed both groups. Those not on NCL tours lost deposits and their day at shore. Those on NCL tours were put in danger and if they had cancelled, NCL would have kept their money because it was inside the 24 hour window. NCL also made an additional profit off those who lost their independent shore excursions because many of those people probably spent the afternoon in the bars or around the pool drinking. A financial win for NCL, a financial loss or dangerous situation for ALL the passengers.

 

Trucker: Don't worry about our POA cruise in July.... one of the people I am traveling with is an attorney. I showed him the OP's story and his comment was: "grounds for a class action lawsuit by those who got stuck on the ship." (because even though NCL ruled that the seas were too rough for tendering, they still allowed a select group to take the risk. The opportunity for travel was not denied to all, but only to a select group.) Had NCL shut down all tendering to shore for both their tour groups and their non tour groups, there would be no grounds for compensation for those who lost deposits BUT since some were allowed, it becomes selective and opens the door. My attorney friend says that on cruise, it will be all cancelled to Kona or all ashore to Kona or legal action will follow.

 

So go ahead and book if you want. We are booking rental cars for our group in Kona anyhow.

 

 

OR, maybe they thought the tendering would be fine, as they were loading the first tenders, and realized as those were tendering ashore, that it was not going to be safe for everyone else?

 

Your attorney friend should go back to law school. There's nothing in any law that says all must be treated equally (see history on racism, misogyny, homophobia).

 

NCL would be entirely within their rights to cancel tendering operations at any time, whether that meant VIPs got ashore, or staff, or ShoreEx patrons....doesn't matter. They have the right to cancel tendering. Period.

[newmexicoNita]

OR, maybe they thought the tendering would be fine, as they were loading the first tenders, and realized as those were tendering ashore, that it was not going to be safe for everyone else?

 

Your attorney friend should go back to law school. There's nothing in any law that says all must be treated equally (see history on racism, misogyny, homophobia).

 

NCL would be entirely within their rights to cancel tendering operations at any time, whether that meant VIPs got ashore, or staff, or ShoreEx patrons....doesn't matter. They have the right to cancel tendering. Period.

 

that is about my guess as well. This is what we have seen happen in the past. They will start allowing the tendering, but when the reports start coming back as to the condiitions it will tendering will be stopped. Those who do not get to go ashore only know what they have seen or heard...Always passengers with ship sponsored tours are taken first..I am just guessing at this.

 

Nita

[Planer's Edge]

Another example of how NCL has gotten sooo hungry for extra dollars.

 

This is tongue in cheek, right. As if all cruise lines are not hungry for extra dollars in this economy.

 

I think there is more to the story than is being told. People with NCL booked excursion are always tendered first. If unsafe conditions arise then tendering is stopped. We have been in a few ports when tendering has stopped after a few boats have already departed. Cayman is a prime example. Kona is notorious for rough tendering.

 

People with NCL excursions are always asked to meet in a central place to be escorted to the tenders. I guess OP took this as being "secreted" off the ship.

 

PE

[newmexicoNita]

This is tongue in cheek' date=' right. As if all cruise lines are not hungry for extra dollars in this economy.

 

I think there is more to the story than is being told. People with NCL booked excursion are always tendered first. If unsafe conditions arise then tendering is stopped. We have been in a few ports when tendering has stopped after a few boats have already departed. Cayman is a prime example. Kona is notorious for rough tendering.

 

People with NCL excursions are always asked to meet in a central place to be escorted to the tenders. I guess OP took this as being "secreted" off the ship.

 

PE[/color']

 

when I memtioned it happening to us, I had forgotten about Cayman, once we could not tender at all, the other time they allowed it for about an hour and then cancelled..yes, that and GSC or private islands period are notorious for needing to cancel tenders. I really think the OP didn't realize this...

 

Nita

[spamwhiches]

Of course anything is possible, however in this instance, based on the description of what happened, I'm inclined to think that it was purely a safety decision made at the time.

 

I can understand the pax frustration and how the optics are bad, but sea conditions can change rapidly, the first tenders might have come back and reported that they felt the tendering was unsafe etc.

 

There's just not enough evidence here to support any claim of skulduggery.

 

Nowhere in the contract can NCL gaurantee you will get to port. I feel bad for those who made advance shore plans. That would be very disappointing.

[pspercy]

an attorney. I showed him the OP's story and his comment was: "grounds for a class action lawsuit by those who got stuck on the ship."

 

Just what we need, right. More lawsuits.

 

Conditions change. In Hawaii the sea is often very calm in the mornings, then the trade winds pick up and things change in a hurry.

 

You might tell the lawyer that so he doesn't waste anyone's time.

[boodawg71]

Just off POA cruise. Coffee pots in room but no chocolate.

[marym933]

Just off POA cruise. Coffee pots in room but no chocolate.

 

Thank you for clearing that up for me. Did you have a good time??

 

This may seem like a silly question, but do you remember what brand of tea bags they have available on board??

[spamwhiches]

Just off POA cruise. Coffee pots in room but no chocolate.

 

 

Hmmm..... Thats a change from what other recent cruisers report. great news for those who were unhappy about their removal. Let's hope they are back to stay.

 

What category room did you have?