NCL Dawn limping from port to port

[wendanra]

It's a war of words. I don't take things too literal. Maybe the right words would be "constructive criticism". Either way, I thank swedish weave for the informative update about the ship running smoothly, considering I leave on her this Sunday and I've been losing sleep about this. It's time for me to believe that all will go well.

[swedish weave]

It's a war of words. I don't take things too literal. Maybe the right words would be "constructive criticism". Either way, I thank swedish weave for the informative update about the ship running smoothly, considering I leave on her this Sunday and I've been losing sleep about this. It's time for me to believe that all will go well.

 

Wendanra -- I hope you have a wonderful cruise !! If you run into Tek-Tek on the Dawn, say "Hi" from Mom-Dad- and Bro. She is a sweetheart from the Star.

 

Latest info on the Dawn below--- Still on time !!

 

 

Current position of M/S Norwegian Dawn: Roadtown (Tortola)/Brit. Virgin Islands

• Time since arrival 1 hrs 20 min from Samana Bay/Dominican Republic (at 09:30 h local time)
  
• Time until departure 8 hrs 10 min to St. John's (Antigua)/Lesser Antilles (at 19:00 h local time)
  

[darrengs]

As always, it isn't what you say, but how you say it.

 

This is sound advice, and should really be heeded by NCL themselves.

 

When I was on the Dawn this past summer when the engine blew. My problem wasn't the blown engine that caused us to cut our stay in Bermuda short one day, but it was the communication. The communication was slow and when it did come, we were told not to bother asking any questions because nobody on staff would be updated on the situation. The longer people were kept in the dark, the bigger the issue actually became.

 

Instead of ever being told something that even resembled an apology, we were constantly being told it could be worse. I felt then and I feel now that what NCL's customer service needs is an overhaul, because "it isn't what you say, but how you say it", and when you say it.

[leekel619]

I have read this thread (and others) over the past week or so, trying to decide whether I should commit to my planned June 10 Boston to Bermuda cruise. Pay the balance? Cancel? My TA says that NCL told her there will be no construction once the ship leaves drydock ( I discovered the final word on the Norwegian Dawn's dry dock directly from Norwegian Cruise Line. The ship will go into dry dock on May 2nd until May 22nd. I received the 'blanket' statement of "the ship will receive product and hardware upgrades." I was also assured that no further construction or major renovations/modifications are undergone while passengers are onboard their cruise) If I've understood posts on CC correctly this may not be accurate, based on the experience with the Star and that some people posting on roll calls have had their forward cabin assignments changed. Some posters have said that they would not cruise on a ship right out of drydock. What's the consensus? I've never sailed with NCL (only Princess and Disney) so I'm interested in experienced cruisers would do. Thanks.

 

Where did you find that article? I've been looking because the several things I've read said the dry dock is May 1-27. I know this can't be right because I'm on the May 27 Boston to Bermuda!

I just read an article in USA Today with the same 1-27 dates. It also said the new suites/cabins will be available for booking in September and that they'll be doing finish work on them all summer.

That could be one reason why a lot of earlier booked passengers were moved. Some on my roll call were moved from that area under the 58 new cabins.

I can imagine there'll be so much activity on around the clock while its being worked on!! I wish they were doing it at the Boston dry dock so I could go down and see it. I really wanted to see the hull opened up for the new engine. Does anyone know if there's a webcam at the shipyard? Must be...

I've seen a lot of cruise ships in Boston's dry dock over the years.

 

The Dawn is new to our Boston market this season. We're excited to go! Black Falcon has been undergoing extensive remodeling and updates getting ready for the future. Its great. Last year was the best so far for embarkation. I'm sure it will be even better this year.

 

Thank you everyone for all the GREAT posts. But I have such an addiction to read them.........:)

 

BTW: to answer one of your questions for consensus, we've only sailed NCL and we've loved every cruise. Never had a bad vacation. And we've also been on right after dry docks and had no issues. We do our own thing and have the best time and great memories. Its very hard to not smile when I even hear the word "cruise".

[2Snowbirdies]

:mad:

NCL and their broken downn ship Dawn ruined our 1st cruise experience! We were on the Feb.11-Feb.20 2011 cruise with all the technical problems (engine, stabilzers not working, fire on board, leaking ceilings and water buckets and 3 out of 5 destinations cancelled. But worst of all is the way NCL handled everything : PR disaster, flat out lies in a signed letter from the Captain himself, no communication, complete disregard for the safety and satisfaction of passengers. This was a complete ripoff, NCL must of made quite a fuel saving by going half way of planned itinarary and at half speed! They couldn't afford to cancel the cruise so they went ahead with full knowledge of problems (and previous ones also!). The credit offered is a joke! We chose that more expensive 9-day cruise for the ports of call, we didn't get what we paid for and the whole experience was very upsetting. Streching out the overdue overhaul of the Damn , oh, sorry the Dawn to make as much money as possible at the expense of paying customers is an indignation. NCL shows greediness and lack of respect.

What comes around, goes around, and bad publicity goes a long way!

[nausetms]

The quote in parenthesis was not from an article. It is a quote from my TA after her conversation with NCL re: post drydock construction on the Dawn.

[two tone]

You know I would of rather been told about the problem and given the choice of having the cruise cancelled. Myself I would of been okay with having the entire cruise cancelled and re-booking for next year. That would of been less disapointing for me. What I did not appreciate was all of the lying. Apparently, they already had made does changes to the iteneray before we left Miami. This is what got me upset, it's the lies.

[swedish weave]

STILL ON SCHEDULE !!!

 

Current position of M/S Norwegian Dawn: Under way from Roadtown (Tortola) to St. John's (Antigua)

 

Departure was 1 hrs 4 min ago. (at 19:00 h local time)

Arrival will be in 11 hrs 56 min. (at 08:00 h local time)

Traveled distance since Roadtown (Tortola): 10.55 nm (19.55 km)

Remaining distance to St. John's (Antigua): 166.22 nm (307.84 km)

[ATLrita]

19 of us boarded the Dawn when you got off. Our cruise was from 2/20 to 2/25. We managed to have fun because there were 19 of us and we made our own good time but this ship is a hot azz mess.

 

The worst customer service ever. The staff and crew are not friendly at all. They speak little to no English. They cannot tell you where anything is on board...either they don't know or they don't understand what I'm asking them and I do speak English. We were a 5 night and we did not miss any ports, but I was so disgusted with the customer service, or lack there of, I refused to pay their funky azzzz automatic gratuity. I tipped who I chose to tip when they provided good service which was rare.

 

Elena (Maitre'D) from Aqua should be fired on the spot for her bad attitude and poor customer service. All staff on board should go thru extensive CS Training.

 

We had no fires and I saw no leaks, but crew and staff were painting like crazy. Everywhere you looked somone was doing touch up paint. hhhhmm.

 

 

:mad:

NCL and their broken downn ship Dawn ruined our 1st cruise experience! We were on the Feb.11-Feb.20 2011 cruise with all the technical problems (engine, stabilzers not working, fire on board, leaking ceilings and water buckets and 3 out of 5 destinations cancelled. But worst of all is the way NCL handled everything : PR disaster, flat out lies in a signed letter from the Captain himself, no communication, complete disregard for the safety and satisfaction of passengers. This was a complete ripoff, NCL must of made quite a fuel saving by going half way of planned itinarary and at half speed! They couldn't afford to cancel the cruise so they went ahead with full knowledge of problems (and previous ones also!). The credit offered is a joke! We chose that more expensive 9-day cruise for the ports of call, we didn't get what we paid for and the whole experience was very upsetting. Streching out the overdue overhaul of the Damn , oh, sorry the Dawn to make as much money as possible at the expense of paying customers is an indignation. NCL shows greediness and lack of respect.

What comes around, goes around, and bad publicity goes a long way!

[swedish weave]

Dawn is still on schedule !!!!!

 

Current position of M/S Norwegian Dawn: St. John's (Antigua)/Lesser Antilles

 

Time since arrival 3 hrs 42 min from Roadtown (Tortola)/Brit. Virgin Islands (at 08:00 h local time)

Time until departure 5 hrs 18 min to Bridgetown (Barbados)/Lesser Antilles (at 17:00 h local time)

[newmexicoNita]

:mad:

NCL and their broken downn ship Dawn ruined our 1st cruise experience! We were on the Feb.11-Feb.20 2011 cruise with all the technical problems (engine, stabilzers not working, fire on board, leaking ceilings and water buckets and 3 out of 5 destinations cancelled. But worst of all is the way NCL handled everything : PR disaster, flat out lies in a signed letter from the Captain himself, no communication, complete disregard for the safety and satisfaction of passengers. This was a complete ripoff, NCL must of made quite a fuel saving by going half way of planned itinarary and at half speed! They couldn't afford to cancel the cruise so they went ahead with full knowledge of problems (and previous ones also!). The credit offered is a joke! We chose that more expensive 9-day cruise for the ports of call, we didn't get what we paid for and the whole experience was very upsetting. Streching out the overdue overhaul of the Damn , oh, sorry the Dawn to make as much money as possible at the expense of paying customers is an indignation. NCL shows greediness and lack of respect.

What comes around, goes around, and bad publicity goes a long way!

 

 

Could you explain the lies and no regards to your safety. Obviously you don't know too much about cruising, your safety is the cruise lines number one concern, that is why changes. What were you offered or were you given a chance to cancel your cruise because of the known problems? As for cancelling the cruise, think of how many people would scream if that happened? Like any business decision, the cruise lines (not just NCL I will add) have to weight the pros and cons. Let me also add, this engine problem is not only with NCL but other lines as well. Check some of the other forums.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

19 of us boarded the Dawn when you got off. Our cruise was from 2/20 to 2/25. We managed to have fun because there were 19 of us and we made our own good time but this ship is a hot azz mess.

 

The worst customer service ever. The staff and crew are not friendly at all. They speak little to no English. They cannot tell you where anything is on board...either they don't know or they don't understand what I'm asking them and I do speak English. We were a 5 night and we did not miss any ports, but I was so disgusted with the customer service, or lack there of, I refused to pay their funky azzzz automatic gratuity. I tipped who I chose to tip when they provided good service which was rare.

 

Elena (Maitre'D) from Aqua should be fired on the spot for her bad attitude and poor customer service. All staff on board should go thru extensive CS Training.

 

We had no fires and I saw no leaks, but crew and staff were painting like crazy. Everywhere you looked somone was doing touch up paint. hhhhmm.

wow, I bet the crew was not in the best of spirits, with the attitude of so many of you. I would be a little put off as well. I find it interesting, so many of you, who had such an awful time have never posted before. I wonder if you read CC prior to sailing. If you had, you would have known the problems with the engines.

 

Nita

[halos]

The ignore feature is very good for one's blood pressure.

I highly recommend it ;)

[TrudyC]

we celebrated our 35th anniversary on this cruise and I am late posting as we left this ship for Carnival Valor. WE found the cruise director fantastic, he did all he could and more to keep the spirits up. Entertainment was top notch, food in the dining room was slow but good. Staff tried very hard and were always busy, we left our room about 7 AM and often it was unmade til early after noon, and yes we did put the sign up asking for cleaning but they did the best they could short staffed. The railings were even removed on the outer decks, resanded and put back up during the trip, I assume some of this was so they didn't need to be done during dry dock??

 

The missed ports were a huge disappointment!! WE booked this cruise for those ports, we would have booked a different cruise or stayed in Miami if told about the engine troubles. A letter was sent to notify people who booked before Sept but anyone booked later as we did had no idea of engine troubles. We were already at sea when notified we would miss Samana, where we had booked a whale watching tour and the next day at a Cruise Critic get together when my husband asked about the engine that we learned 2 engines were down and speed was impacted. We left this meeting with my husband stating we would not make our southern ports unless the engine was quickly repaired.

 

By using his GPS, he clocked speeds and directions and knew we were re routed before announcement of itinerary change again and cancellation of last 2 ports during the evening show. Then the arrival of a letter saying we were informed and could have gone back ashore and gotten our money back, this is untrue!

 

Then the fire, well every cruise we have been on they always state the worst thing to happen aboard a ship is fire, so with the running crew, the evacuations of many rooms, and panic in the voices of the announcers we were quite unable to sleep, we also are not drinkers so the free booze didn't help the next afternoon.

 

What compensation do I feel we deserve??? Well first of all , the OBC included the rebate of port charges we had already paid for ports we didn't go to, and the actual amount back to us for inconvenience is 10% off a cruise within the next year, taken not just booked, so if you have used your vacation time too bad, you get nothing. I would like closer to 50% off a cruise to be booked within a year but taken with in 2 years. How dd I come up with this?? WEll they saved huge amounts of fuel, we didn't travel as far nor as fast so that savings alone means the ship made money off our troubles even with a small rebate. Also the fact that we would then be saying in spite of bad things happening we are willing to try again for the company to make up for a rough sailing that had so much go wrong.

 

Word of mouth will get to more people than advertising and the fact that so many people ,were unhappy says lots. No one talked of anything else adn the mood of the ship was getting quite down and all the efforts of Matt Baker, the best cruise director ever, couldn't raise the mood for long. So NCL staff, read this and carefully weigh your responses, and I guarantee more letters are being sent to your offices and quick response could make people happier and word of mouth change from negative to potential possitives

[2Snowbirdies]

we celebrated our 35th anniversary on this cruise and I am late posting as we left this ship for Carnival Valor. WE found the cruise director fantastic, he did all he could and more to keep the spirits up. Entertainment was top notch, food in the dining room was slow but good. Staff tried very hard and were always busy, we left our room about 7 AM and often it was unmade til early after noon, and yes we did put the sign up asking for cleaning but they did the best they could short staffed. The railings were even removed on the outer decks, resanded and put back up during the trip, I assume some of this was so they didn't need to be done during dry dock??

 

The missed ports were a huge disappointment!! WE booked this cruise for those ports, we would have booked a different cruise or stayed in Miami if told about the engine troubles. A letter was sent to notify people who booked before Sept but anyone booked later as we did had no idea of engine troubles. We were already at sea when notified we would miss Samana, where we had booked a whale watching tour and the next day at a Cruise Critic get together when my husband asked about the engine that we learned 2 engines were down and speed was impacted. We left this meeting with my husband stating we would not make our southern ports unless the engine was quickly repaired.

 

By using his GPS, he clocked speeds and directions and knew we were re routed before announcement of itinerary change again and cancellation of last 2 ports during the evening show. Then the arrival of a letter saying we were informed and could have gone back ashore and gotten our money back, this is untrue!

 

Then the fire, well every cruise we have been on they always state the worst thing to happen aboard a ship is fire, so with the running crew, the evacuations of many rooms, and panic in the voices of the announcers we were quite unable to sleep, we also are not drinkers so the free booze didn't help the next afternoon.

 

What compensation do I feel we deserve??? Well first of all , the OBC included the rebate of port charges we had already paid for ports we didn't go to, and the actual amount back to us for inconvenience is 10% off a cruise within the next year, taken not just booked, so if you have used your vacation time too bad, you get nothing. I would like closer to 50% off a cruise to be booked within a year but taken with in 2 years. How dd I come up with this?? WEll they saved huge amounts of fuel, we didn't travel as far nor as fast so that savings alone means the ship made money off our troubles even with a small rebate. Also the fact that we would then be saying in spite of bad things happening we are willing to try again for the company to make up for a rough sailing that had so much go wrong.

 

Word of mouth will get to more people than advertising and the fact that so many people ,were unhappy says lots. No one talked of anything else adn the mood of the ship was getting quite down and all the efforts of Matt Baker, the best cruise director ever, couldn't raise the mood for long. So NCL staff, read this and carefully weigh your responses, and I guarantee more letters are being sent to your offices and quick response could make people happier and word of mouth change from negative to potential possitives

 

Well there it is, the facts are accurate and the lies we were talking about are exposed. We might be newbies, but there were many angry and frustrated experienced crusiers (20-25 cruises) on our ship.

And learning by other passengers that people who booked before Sept were notified of problems but anyone that booked later were in the dark.. We were the first on board that Friday Feb. 11 at nonn, no announcement was made prior to to leaving Miami Port (finally sailed 2hrs late). We were already at sea when notified about the engine troubles and the cancelation of Samana. We were never offered the possibility to cancel the cruise!!! and could have gone back ashore (how, by swimming back!!!?) and gotten our money back, this is a flat out lie! This is what was stated in a letter sent to each stateroom and that infuriated passengers.

And cancelling yet again 2 other ports was it for us!

We had booked that cruise specifically for the destinations (Barbados) and therefore paid more to go there on a 9-day cruise.

The mood on ship got awful (4 days at sea, very rough sailing too), as good as cruise director Matt Baker is, when we saw him off stage, even him could not smile....

As for the fire, the whole matter was handled very poorly. As if passengers weren't already on edge, we here the Captain calling orders to emergency crew over general PA, with a nervous tone and calling Code Bravo. Some people were evacuated from their cabins and came down to the Lobby panicked ( some in their PJ's and carrying with life jackets!

and werelaughed and ridiculed by Guest service personel (we were witnesses to the whole scene) who told them it was probably a drill!! Only when many people came down demanding to know what the heck was going on did the Guest Service personnel made a call and finally the Captain had to say it was indeed a real fire and it was now under control.

No communication between levels of personnel.

 

We are outraged at hate the way everything was handled, we felt like we we idiots that could be re-routed just about anywhere at any time (constant change of schedule) and told that every island is the same anyway, it has beaches, blue water, and shopping, and try shut us up with free drinks? serioulsly? We were given a few bucks back, no apologies and the insulting 10% off a next booked cruise within a year....not everybody can afford a cruise/year and 10% is no incentive. And NCL knows it, so they continue to be deceptive and save lots of cash $$$ (with all that fuel economy) I guess they can afford to repair the Dawn now????

 

And we approve this quote : So NCL staff, read this and carefully weigh your responses, and I guarantee more letters are being sent to your offices and quick response could make people happier and word of mouth change from negative to potential possitives

[2Snowbirdies]

We might be newbies to cruise ships (but not newbies to travelling and to boats either) and I'm sorry, but this itinerary change was not due to bad weather or potentially dangerous situation (political, war, whatever) in a port of call. This was no Actof God that just happened! This was not for our safety!

Changes were made because of engine problems (already known by NCL) and to save money (half way, half speed). Even when they announced that the engine(s) had been miraculously repaired, after we had missed our 2 last most southern destinations of course!, the ship still saildes at very low speed, in order not to reach back Miami a day sooner!!!!

 

Let's not talk about passenger safety, I overheard elderly experienced cruisers saying they were so nervous and praying to get back to Miami safely.

That ship was rocking the whole time and not due to choppy sea, even performers on stage in Stardust Theater were sometimes very close to falling.

We owned a boat for many years and been on sail boats, Catamarans, every kind of small boat you can think of and never did we experience so much rocking and general feeling of unstability, well it seems that the stabilizers weren't working either!!!

4 days at sea on a ship with engine problems and fires on board is not my idea of feeling safe.

[LaFinDuMonde]

I'd like to see if anyone took any pictures of some of these "issues" with the Dawn.

 

She's been on schedule since the initial problem was fixed and we haven't heard of any issues on the previous cruise or the current.

 

And Matt Baker was mentioned - 5 cruises on 4 different cruise lines later, he is THE BEST.

[swedish weave]

I believe the following will be important to those who are booked on upcoming cruises on the Dawn. The ship does not appear to be "limping".

 

Current position of M/S Norwegian Dawn: Under way from St. John's (Antigua) to Bridgetown (Barbados)

 

Departure was 6 hrs 23 min ago. (at 17:00 h local time)

Arrival will be in 11 hrs 7 min. (at 10:30 h local time)

Traveled distance since St. John's (Antigua): 106.15 nm (196.59 km)

Remaining distance to Bridgetown (Barbados): 189.16 nm (350.32 km)

[leekel619]

The quote in parenthesis was not from an article. It is a quote from my TA after her conversation with NCL re: post drydock construction on the Dawn.

 

That clears it up! We already know you can't get accurate info from NCL all the time:) We're leaving Boston around 4:00 PM on May 27. So that means the dry dock won't be finishing up that day in Freeport!

Thank you.

[TrudyC]

Matt Baker is in my opinion the very best cruise director, he does a great job and books great entertainment and added so much to our trip. The staff on board was also doing their very best and trying to make the trip very enjoyable, If I were to compare the following week's cruise aboard Carnival Valor there are many things better on the Dawn, but that still doesn't change the facts that we did not get what we bought, which was a southern Caribbean cruise to ports we had not visited and instead got an eastern cruise to ports we have visited several times before.

 

I am not trashing the staff, the facilities nor the food, but we did not get told ahead of time about the engine problems, we were never offered the option of leaving which the letter they sent around said we got. We never got a refund for the fuel saved from the price we paid, and by insisting the 10% off be actually sailed within the year most of us won't be able to use that either. The $200 OBC is just port charges returned for the ports we didn't enter. And for people with more than 2 people/room they lost even there.

 

I could trash everything, and the day after the fire I felt terribly betrayed, with the lack of trust in the words coming from the captain, we all knew the letter was a lie, that the fact of 2 engines being down kept from us, we also doubted his words of the fire being of a minor nature. The room we were in had a crew hall behind it and we heard running feet and equipment being moved for hours after the fire call.

 

NCL should offer a better package, they should extend the discount to cruises booked within a year but taken within 2. They should make a fairer offer, more than 10% as the southern is already higher priced than eastern. They should give offers of upgrades if they don't want to raise the percentage, something to actually make it attractive for the cruising people. Instead every one of those aboard will be sharing the story with the hundreds of people they come in contact with who ask about their trip, you can't pay for that kind of publicity....so Carnival who had lots of other negatives will sound so much better to my friends I relate my trip stories and pictures with.

[tlm]

We never got a refund for the fuel saved from the price we paid, and by insisting the 10% off be actually sailed within the year most of us won't be able to use that either. The $200 OBC is just port charges returned for the ports we didn't enter. And for people with more than 2 people/room they lost even there.

 

 

I was under the impression that the 10% credit was valid for a year. No where in the letter did it indicate that the cruise had to be taken within the year.

Where did you get that information from?

 

Thanks

Toni

[TrudyC]

I went and asked the cruise person who was doing the bookings and promotions, it is good for a year, cruise must be taken with in that time

[Planer's Edge]

Matt Baker is in my opinion the very best cruise director, he does a great job and books great entertainment and added so much to our trip.

 

Just an FYI...the Cruise Director does not book the entertainment. They just manage what corporate sends them.

 

For the naysayers, that is what Matt Baker told me himself. ;)

 

PE

[LaFinDuMonde]

I can understand everyone's frustration. I think just about anyone would have been just as upset about the situation.

 

BUT we also need to take a step back and realize who else this affects:

 

The second an issue comes up on the boat, its the Captains job to take care of the boat (and do what Corporate tells him). Do you really think he has the power to say "No way this boat is going to roll." Then he has to be extremely careful with revealing information to the passengers ("Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm going to upset you now and ruin your vacation") and be as diplomatic as possible.

 

As soon as anything gets informed to the city of people on-board... Backlash is bound to happen almost immediately.

 

Think about the crew members who might have been getting off to fly home at one of the missed ports. Or missed their one day off in how many weeks!? Now they're stuck dealing with an angry mob for something they had no part in creating.

 

How about the entertainers - a lot of them swap in and out at these ports.

 

The cruise director is the arbitrator between the passengers, crew, captain and corporate. They can only do so much... When the big-scary head-honcho's foot their foot down - what are you supposed to do? Defy them?

 

Has anyone considered the Customer Service reps that have been told to say -this much- and nothing else. Oh and they're going to have to work extended hours to answer all the few thousand passengers questions...

 

 

I think the issues should be taken up with the Corporate Offices in Miami and not taken out on the crew for doing their job as best they can in such a terrible situation.

[halos]

we celebrated our 35th anniversary on this cruise and I am late posting as we left this ship for Carnival Valor. WE found the cruise director fantastic, he did all he could and more to keep the spirits up. Entertainment was top notch, food in the dining room was slow but good. Staff tried very hard and were always busy, we left our room about 7 AM and often it was unmade til early after noon, and yes we did put the sign up asking for cleaning but they did the best they could short staffed. The railings were even removed on the outer decks, resanded and put back up during the trip, I assume some of this was so they didn't need to be done during dry dock??

 

The missed ports were a huge disappointment!! WE booked this cruise for those ports, we would have booked a different cruise or stayed in Miami if told about the engine troubles. A letter was sent to notify people who booked before Sept but anyone booked later as we did had no idea of engine troubles. We were already at sea when notified we would miss Samana, where we had booked a whale watching tour and the next day at a Cruise Critic get together when my husband asked about the engine that we learned 2 engines were down and speed was impacted. We left this meeting with my husband stating we would not make our southern ports unless the engine was quickly repaired.

 

By using his GPS, he clocked speeds and directions and knew we were re routed before announcement of itinerary change again and cancellation of last 2 ports during the evening show. Then the arrival of a letter saying we were informed and could have gone back ashore and gotten our money back, this is untrue!

 

Then the fire, well every cruise we have been on they always state the worst thing to happen aboard a ship is fire, so with the running crew, the evacuations of many rooms, and panic in the voices of the announcers we were quite unable to sleep, we also are not drinkers so the free booze didn't help the next afternoon.

 

What compensation do I feel we deserve??? Well first of all , the OBC included the rebate of port charges we had already paid for ports we didn't go to, and the actual amount back to us for inconvenience is 10% off a cruise within the next year, taken not just booked, so if you have used your vacation time too bad, you get nothing. I would like closer to 50% off a cruise to be booked within a year but taken with in 2 years. How dd I come up with this?? WEll they saved huge amounts of fuel, we didn't travel as far nor as fast so that savings alone means the ship made money off our troubles even with a small rebate. Also the fact that we would then be saying in spite of bad things happening we are willing to try again for the company to make up for a rough sailing that had so much go wrong.

 

Word of mouth will get to more people than advertising and the fact that so many people ,were unhappy says lots. No one talked of anything else adn the mood of the ship was getting quite down and all the efforts of Matt Baker, the best cruise director ever, couldn't raise the mood for long. So NCL staff, read this and carefully weigh your responses, and I guarantee more letters are being sent to your offices and quick response could make people happier and word of mouth change from negative to potential possitives

 

I do (I think we all do) understand how disappointed you are but again (and again) you have to know what you are buying. You say you didn't get what you paid for...that's because you don't understand what you bought.

NCL, CCL, RCI...doesn't matter. What you purchase is a CRUISE. Ports are never guaranteed...never promised.

You still got that cruise.

THAT is the reality.

Wishing will not change this reality.

 

I know how fabulous that itinerary was that you booked and I would have been disappointed as well. I do feel for you, but your purchase was your stay on the ship, your meals and your entertainment.

That is what you are paying for when you purchase a cruise.

 

Until everyone gets this, there will always be people who think they deserve more compensation.

 

I do think the lines should come up with some sort of universal compensation though...because each time this happens, passengers receive different compensation...ranging from $25 port fee credit to discounts on future cruises (sometimes 10%, sometimes more)

I think if they just had some sort of formula to come up with a standard compensation package, it would be easier for people to swallow. As it stands now, it's random, so people think they deserve more.