NCL Dawn limping from port to port

[Mooder]

It happens on so many threads.... 'we missed Great Stirrup Cay'. .... well, do you think NCL was happy that they sailed there, one of their money-making destinations, and not only couldn't get you onshore to spend money but also had to throw a cocktail party and refund port charges?

 

And anyone who has ever tried to tender at GSC during rough weather would never choose it. One year a storm picked up extremely quickly in the middle of a GSC day and we had to be tendered back to the ship suddenly. Boarding the tender and then transferring to the ship is one of the scariest experiences I have ever had. The crew was amazing and while there were a couple falls, everyone made it back in one piece. I can only imagine the complaints if one of us had been truly injured. It gave me a renewed appreciation for the changes that sometimes have to be made in itineraries.

[Mooder]

I would have replied to this question much sooner if able. I was traveling on the Dawn and purchased Internet time to research the last port of call, and didn't have enough time to read and keep up with this thread.

I will tell you that I wouldn't ever post here what I consider fair compensation. Not after the negativity of many poster that do not agree with my position, and the accusations of multiple accounts being added to enhance a position.

What I am asking for is between me and NCL. I have stated above that it's not about the money, and tried to refuse the $200 obc. I do not except to be fairly (my definition of fair) compensated by NCL and am fully expecting to take my business elsewhere.

I understand many of the points given here, both those that agree and those that disagree with me and even those that bring up entirely different points.

I truly appreciate the insight I am gaining by reading this thread.

 

I appreciate that you at least responded to me - something no one else has done. Good luck on your future vacations!!

[halos]

--it is one of the things that if you are going to cruise you just have to roll wtih.

 

.

 

 

I think that's all most of us are saying.

Understand and accept that, or fly to your destination.

simple. ;)

[CruisinGerman]

Once again, you are comparing missing ports due to weather (outside of the cruise line's control and responsibility) with missing ports due to mechanical failure (perhaps outside of the cruise line's control, albeit debatable because the cruise line knew about the problem for months, but definitely within its responsibility).

 

They are two different situations which lead to very different legal and contractual consequences.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Mooder]

Once again, you are comparing missing ports due to weather (outside of the cruise line's control and responsibility) with missing ports due to mechanical failure (perhaps outside of the cruise line's control, albeit debatable because the cruise line knew about the problem for months, but definitely within its responsibility).

 

They are two different situations which lead to very different legal and contractual consequences.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

 

We're sharing experiences - no law against that, is there? The legal debate is pretty much a dead horse. But go ahead and beat it if you like. I prefer to have a constructive conversation.

[Squidward Q Tentacles]

And anyone who has ever tried to tender at GSC during rough weather would never choose it. One year a storm picked up extremely quickly in the middle of a GSC day and we had to be tendered back to the ship suddenly. Boarding the tender and then transferring to the ship is one of the scariest experiences I have ever had. The crew was amazing and while there were a couple falls, everyone made it back in one piece. I can only imagine the complaints if one of us had been truly injured. It gave me a renewed appreciation for the changes that sometimes have to be made in itineraries.

 

I was very impressed by the deck hands and coxswain on my visit to GSC. The seas were picking up as the last tenders were bringing people back, my wife was getting a little concerned and I told her the waves were not bad, don't worry. It took about 10-15 minutes to get the tender set up to offload passengers because of the rough water.

[Mooder]

I was very impressed by the deck hands and coxswain on my visit to GSC. The seas were picking up as the last tenders were bringing people back, my wife was getting a little concerned and I told her the waves were not bad, don't worry. It took about 10-15 minutes to get the tender set up to offload passengers because of the rough water.

 

They really do take good care of everyone. I wish I knew how to tip them! :)

[yoyocruiser]

Halos--the only issue with your suggestion is that you really can't depend on flying either. Seriously, my daughter had a ticket to fly to South America last week, the reservation was made about six months in advance with much careful planning as she was going to school. The ticket was also very costly--almost $1500. The connecting flight (to the international flight) was cancelled, and so they cancelled out the international flgiht. To go through the details from there is not the point of this. But the first flight was not cancelled due to weather, and I have no idea if it was mechanical--the airlines would not say. But getting her there became a nightmare in travel. You also have to roll with the punches when you fly. . .and by the way--there was NO COMPENSATION or even the slightest concern about the inconvienance that this caused.

 

It is interesting--somehow the airlines have people just feeling lucky if they ever make it where they are going. Cruise lines, by virtue of trying to be more service oriented, seem to really try to compensate and make people happy, thus upping the expectations of more compensation.

[Planer's Edge]

Once again, you are comparing missing ports due to weather (outside of the cruise line's control and responsibility) with missing ports due to mechanical failure (perhaps outside of the cruise line's control, albeit debatable because the cruise line knew about the problem for months, but definitely within its responsibility).

 

They are two different situations which lead to very different legal and contractual consequences.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

 

Untrue!!!!!

 

Yes, they know about engine #4 being unusable due to "head" damage for a number of months. They were sailing just fine with that one engine out. I know first hand because we were on the NY to Miami reposition cruise in October.

 

The failure of engine #3 was what caused the missed ports that are being discussed here. That failure was known prior to sailing this cruise and engineers were brought on board with the hopes of a quick resolution. That did not ahppen and the itinerary was modified. By the end of the cruise the engine was brought back on line and the Dawn is now meeting her planned itineraries.

 

Facts are facts!!

 

PE

[Mooder]

It is interesting--somehow the airlines have people just feeling lucky if they ever make it where they are going. Cruise lines, by virtue of trying to be more service oriented, seem to really try to compensate and make people happy, thus upping the expectations of more compensation.

 

Ironic, huh? It is a balancing act every one of us faces. We love to travel, we plan and invest time, money and emotion into our vacations, but we also must avoid investing too much. A friend of mine planned a trip for his family after losing his mother to a long battle with cancer. Many things went wrong on that trip and for them it was a slap in the face at a time when they were trying to find peace. Many beautiful letters were written to the travel agency who planned the trip (to a resort in Jamaica), explaining the emotional toll the trip took on this family. But, ultimately, they were never going to provide a sufficient refund to make this family happy.

 

Venting here may actually be more helpful for these people than any refund could be.

[mycruises002]

I appreciate that you at least responded to me - something no one else has done. Good luck on your future vacations!!

 

Dear Mooder,

You asked me what I expected, too. I did answer you too, last night see the post #371. mycruises002

[halos]

Halos--the only issue with your suggestion is that you really can't depend on flying either. Seriously, my daughter had a ticket to fly to South America last week, the reservation was made about six months in advance with much careful planning as she was going to school. The ticket was also very costly--almost $1500. The connecting flight (to the international flight) was cancelled, and so they cancelled out the international flgiht. To go through the details from there is not the point of this. But the first flight was not cancelled due to weather, and I have no idea if it was mechanical--the airlines would not say. But getting her there became a nightmare in travel. You also have to roll with the punches when you fly. . .and by the way--there was NO COMPENSATION or even the slightest concern about the inconvienance that this caused.

 

It is interesting--somehow the airlines have people just feeling lucky if they ever make it where they are going. Cruise lines, by virtue of trying to be more service oriented, seem to really try to compensate and make people happy, thus upping the expectations of more compensation.

 

I agree 100%!!

Flying SUCKS.

 

But, because it is so unreliable, we plan accordingly. I have to say that our flights are screwed up at least 50% of the time...I don't freak out anymore...what good does it do?

I know now that I have to always have a plan B in place.

I know I have to give myself a lot of extra time to get to a certain place if I need to be there at a certain time.

Again, this is about knowledge and experience.

 

The longer out you book your flight, the higher the chance of it being switched. For our Dawn cruise, we booked air way in advance (because I found a deal)

Delta changed the dang flight 1/2 dozen times until I was totally screwed....the flight that was supposed to leave Thursday morning at 6am, and arrive in Miami at 11 am.

They changed us until we were leaving at around 10 am with a very long layover and getting to Miami at midnight. (unacceptable)

 

Bottom line was we wound up (after someback and forth with Delta), leaving Maine around 6pm and getting to Miami at midnight....the same horrid arrival time, but less hours spent traveling.

Now, it's winter...we are arriving in Miami (basically) Friday morning (midnight) and our ship sails Friday at 4pm. Too close for comfort.

 

During summer months this would have been less scary, but it was January and (of course) there was a huge storm brewing.

OK...Plans B and C put into place:

We searched on line to have a list of alternate flights and figured the worst case scenerio would be to rent a car and drive as far south as we could to catch a plane in a state where there was no snow.

 

Fortunately, (for us) the mid Atlantic was what was hit bad...we had only 3 inches here...our connecting flight was Atlanta and the weather there was fine. So we made it to Miami wihout a hitch.

The irony is that if Delta had kept my original flight time of 6 am, that flight would indeed have been cancelled...so I actually lucked out.

You have to always be prepared for changes. You never know....

[Mooder]

Dear Mooder,

You asked me what I expected, too. I did answer you too, last night see the post #371. mycruises002

 

I'm sorry, you're right, and I appreciate the response (sometimes this "read next unread post" thing doesn't work right for me when I transition from reading at home to reading at work). Thank you for pointing it out as I never would have seen it.

 

I agree with the poster who said you should include the details of your particular circumstances for NCL. And I wish you the best!

[yoyocruiser]

We were going on the Jewel last January and we took the earlies flight out possible a full day ahead--just as you say!!

 

It's hard sometimes even to keep up. I am very cautious--because I would probably give myself a 50% success rate with airlines also. For my daughter's flight I had her going out early and then having several hours layover at the point of the international departure (figuring if worse came to worse I could drive her to that airport--also if one flight got messed up there were like four more on the same airline that would get her there in time.) What I had not considered (and not sure how I missed this as I am a seasoned flyer) was that if the first flight cancelled they would just cancel out everything instead of trying to get her on the next flight or even giving us a choice (such as driving her there). So the itnernational flight got cancelled out and it was then fully booked--so she had no seat. Stupid--I knew they could do that. But I let my guard down. I had thought that there would be some type of recognition of the international flight she was connecting to--I was very wrong.

 

But even that day with my daughter I was low key, telling her to relax. . .you truly have to just go with it. Or stay home. LOL And in the end she got there and frankly, getting all worked up never really helps. I ran across the entire spectrum of airline assistance--from people really sympathetic and trying to help--to those who seemed to feel I was evil incarnate for daring to think that she should ever manage to get there. :D But if I had mentioned compensation--I would have been laughed out of the airport.

[Dutch Explorers]

Untrue!!!!!

 

Yes' date=' they know about engine #4 being unusable due to "head" damage for a number of months. They were sailing just fine with that one engine out. I know first hand because we were on the NY to Miami reposition cruise in October.[/color']

 

The failure of engine #3 was what caused the missed ports that are being discussed here. That failure was known prior to sailing this cruise and engineers were brought on board with the hopes of a quick resolution. That did not ahppen and the itinerary was modified. By the end of the cruise the engine was brought back on line and the Dawn is now meeting her planned itineraries.

 

Facts are facts!!

 

PE

 

 

In my opinion it is not that black and white.

NCL took a calculated risk with already one engine down. As a result of this any problem with one of the other engine would cause major disruptions.

 

With four operating engines to begin with the chance of this disruption ever happening would be much smaller.

 

But still, any other alternative would have caused even more disruption.

[Planer's Edge]

In my opinion it is not that black and white.

NCL took a calculated risk with already one engine down. As a result of this any problem with one of the other engine would cause major disruptions.

 

With four operating engines to begin with the chance of this disruption ever happening would be much smaller.

 

But still, any other alternative would have caused even more disruption.

Yes, it is that black and white when you consider what I was responding to.

 

If things would be read in context, a lot of the misunderstanding would be alleviated.

 

PE

[Dutch Explorers]

We were going on the Jewel last January and we took the earlies flight out possible a full day ahead--just as you say!!

 

It's hard sometimes even to keep up. I am very cautious--because I would probably give myself a 50% success rate with airlines also. For my daughter's flight I had her going out early and then having several hours layover at the point of the international departure (figuring if worse came to worse I could drive her to that airport--also if one flight got messed up there were like four more on the same airline that would get her there in time.) What I had not considered (and not sure how I missed this as I am a seasoned flyer) was that if the first flight cancelled they would just cancel out everything instead of trying to get her on the next flight or even giving us a choice (such as driving her there). So the itnernational flight got cancelled out and it was then fully booked--so she had no seat. Stupid--I knew they could do that. But I let my guard down. I had thought that there would be some type of recognition of the international flight she was connecting to--I was very wrong.

 

But even that day with my daughter I was low key, telling her to relax. . .you truly have to just go with it. Or stay home. LOL And in the end she got there and frankly, getting all worked up never really helps. I ran across the entire spectrum of airline assistance--from people really sympathetic and trying to help--to those who seemed to feel I was evil incarnate for daring to think that she should ever manage to get there. :D But if I had mentioned compensation--I would have been laughed out of the airport.

 

 

This sound very strange to me. I have worked for more than 10 years in the airline industry and this sounds more like they took advantage of the "ignorance" (no offense intended) of the passenger.

They should book you to the next available flight in order to make the connection. Most probably the international flight was overbooked so they could definitely use the seat.

You would have a very strong case for compensation.

[yoyocruiser]

Well my daughter is young--a college student--so indeed they may have thought it would be easy to to do what they wished--but frankly, that was not my impression. It seemed like it was a computer driven situation. Plane was cancelled, and then everything cancelled, and then they went to the next day and "protected" her status on flights the next day. Seemed very automated. But I have to say that i was pretty stunned--as I have traveled a lot and this was not what I felt would have happened. But the oddest thing is how rude--no let's just say downright mean--some of the people were that I spoke with while trying to straighten it out.

[Dutch Explorers]

I can speak from experience that rudeness never works. I worked at the airport dealing with cancelled flights and the people that stay reasonable an friendly your more likely to go the extra mile for:)

I also worked on 9-11 and I can tell you that even in that situation there were people that were very rude and demanding. Some people will never learn..

[halos]

CCL Splendor skipping Maztlan due to a shooting...the ship will spend two days in Cabo instead.

 

 

 

Let's see how long it takes until another ship skips another port....

[Black Lab]

We will be taking our first cruise on the Dawn and I must say have been left deflated by all the trouble the Dawn seems to be experiencing. It has taken me 35 years to get my husband to go on a cruise and we will be truly upset and dissapointed to find that we missed 3 out of 5 ports of call.

 

I only hope NCL gets their finger out and sorts all the problems before March no amount of compensation could make up for the dissapointment of only seeing a couple of the ports, we can't do anything about the weather and realise this can at any time effect the course of the cruise but NCL knowingly sailed with only 2 engines working and would of known this would of affected the itinery, so in my opinion should of given passengers the choice of continuing or cancelling their cruise.

 

While many of us repeat cruisers may shrug a missed port or two off as " oh well, not a big deal.. so we miss a port or two", we must not forget the first time cruiser who probably saved, and saved, and saved for their very first cruise. We remember how excited we were when we booked our first cruise, and how much we looked forward to our very first cruise. (noooooo..... it was not Noah's Arc.....we are not THAT old)

 

Serious though, if anyone deserves a generous compensation it should be those first time cruisers who feel (justifiably so) they were robbed or short-changed of a cruise/vacation of a lifetime.

 

A cruise lines generous compensation package may very well determine whether or not these first time cruiser become repeat cruisers.

 

Are you listening... NCL et al ????

[leekel619]

We will be taking our first cruise on the Dawn and I must say have been left deflated by all the trouble the Dawn seems to be experiencing. It has taken me 35 years to get my husband to go on a cruise and we will be truly upset and dissapointed to find that we missed 3 out of 5 ports of call.

 

I only hope NCL gets their finger out and sorts all the problems before March no amount of compensation could make up for the dissapointment of only seeing a couple of the ports, we can't do anything about the weather and realise this can at any time effect the course of the cruise but NCL knowingly sailed with only 2 engines working and would of known this would of affected the itinery, so in my opinion should of given passengers the choice of continuing or cancelling their cruise.

 

Please read post #364 and the attachments.

[islndbnd]

For those that have missed ports before, how many, on the same cruise, due to equipment failure, not nature. (We made it to 2 out of the ADVERTISED 5).

 

Could have done a 4 island Eastern Caribbean, that went to St. Thomas and St. Maarten, for more than $300 less than I paid for this cruise.

 

My worst cruise out of 7 by a wide margin. 2 years ago on this same ship was my best cruise ever, (went were they advertised).

 

The ship is in disrepair, from the carpets, to the railings, to the leaks (buckets all over, and I hope that was just condensation) to our ripped deck chair, (took 5 days, 2 calls and a visit to the front desk to get replaced) apparently all the way to the engines, (50% failure rate does not seem like to great a track record). Oh and a fire.

 

Does this start to look like a trend to anyone but me.

 

United Airlines has its share of problems but they do seem to step up when they make mistakes, $200 - $400 voucher if they over book and ask you to take the next flight, pretty good for a 2 or 3 hour delay.

 

Last year United gave 11 other passengers and I a $100 voucher for getting our gate checked carry on 10 min. late.

 

If they miss your luggage on a flight they will put it in a cab and send it to you, the last one was an hour away from the airport, (and the 1 st. time in a year and 75 flights that they lost it).

 

Last month they deposited an extra 9000 miles to my frequent flier account because my flight was delayed, due to weather, and I missed my connecting flight, I only arrived 2 hrs. latter than scheduled to my final destination.

 

United values their customers and is willing to step up and take care of them beyond my expectations, guess what, I choose to fly with them 95% of the time.

 

If we, the cruising public are happy with the kind of service and response that NCL and according to many on this board, "Is what we should expect", then we we will never see it change,

 

Or we could hold them to a higher standard, use these boards to let everyone know how they are doing, so that we can choose to spend our $ with the company's that produce better products and they will all have to step up or be out of business.

[oldguysandgalls]

We like if we may, re-assure you and your husband that missed ports are not the norm on any cruise. Far from it.

 

In all of our cruises (please see below for the ships we sailed/cruised on) we only missed one port and that was Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island, due to weather related conditions.

 

Would we sail on the NCL Dawn despite her recent problems? Definitely! As you can see we are already booked to sail on her on Nov.2nd/2011 on an 11 night cruise out of Miami. That is after her dry dock time, which we believe is in May of this year.

 

Now, we note that you are scheduled to cruise in March? Your concerns are valid and if you are still not comfortable maybe you could re-schedule your cruise for a later date, that is if that is possible for you and your husband?

 

We encourage you to contact NCL or your Travel Agent to see if they can accomodate your request for a later date cruise without incurring any penalties. After all you are not cancelling your cruise, you are simply delaying your cruise date. Hopefully your air arrangements are flexible as well.

 

Good luck, and please try not to worry too much.

 

 

We will be taking our first cruise on the Dawn and I must say have been left deflated by all the trouble the Dawn seems to be experiencing. It has taken me 35 years to get my husband to go on a cruise and we will be truly upset and dissapointed to find that we missed 3 out of 5 ports of call.

 

I only hope NCL gets their finger out and sorts all the problems before March no amount of compensation could make up for the dissapointment of only seeing a couple of the ports, we can't do anything about the weather and realise this can at any time effect the course of the cruise but NCL knowingly sailed with only 2 engines working and would of known this would of affected the itinery, so in my opinion should of given passengers the choice of continuing or cancelling their cruise.

[swedish weave]

I hope I don't rain on anybody's parade, but the Dawn reached both Georgetown and Cozumel on time and is now heading toward Miami. ALSO ON TIME !!