What's Up With NCL!!!!

[logcabin]

Ships with engine problems, cruises cams not working fleet wide, on-line systems not working!!! I'm getting a bit worried! Is this a sign of financial problems? Mis-management? Or just a rough period? Must say that it concerns me, although my cruise is 2 months away. I still am concerned for those leaving sooner. So, whats going on?

[gdries]

First, I agree that conditions sound rough on the Dream right now. First, I suggest that you take the lead and find the Hotel Manager and the Captain and discuss your concerns. Do so in a businesslike and articulate manner. We have sailed on the Dream ourselves with the same team and they are quite responsive.

 

As for the failed engine, if they had waited for the part, likely having to come from Europe your cruise would have been cancelled. In that case people would have likely been even more upset. I honestly believe that if there was a safety issue it would have been addressed immediately.

 

From the fuel consumtion perspective, having spent a few hours in a multi-engine aircraft, there are optimal performance ranges for such things. When you have one fail, you have to run the remaining power plants outside their optimal range. Thus you actually burn considerably more fuel. In addition I am sure the rough seas make it even more difficult. Unfortunately parts do fail and do need to be repaired/replaced.

 

As far as the Star is concerned, first it was due for dry dock, and so in all probability it was maintenance that was scheduled for the dry dock in 3 weeks. The other possibility is that they are having a propulsion pod problem. The Star and the Dawn, unlike their sister ships run on Azipod propulsion systems. All one needs to do is look at Celebrity and their boards to see all the heartache and cancellations that they have caused. It is possible, as I believe they had one last year I believe that the pod may in fact be the issue, which following other cruise lines lawsuits and boards is a manufacturer issue. Granted, a different manufacturer than the Memaid pods used on the Celebrity ships, but the pods seem to have a failure problem in general.

 

This is Drydock season. this is when the cruise lines fix everything for reliable summer seasons. As for the web cams, there are a couple of issues there, first the site has been moved to the new provider and the new booking engine. Likely it is a technical issue and the priority is the booking engine, and then they will look into the web cams. Remember as well, the web cam services and the newspapers are provided by Marine Telecommunications Netwok MTN. They set the prices, they also have to provide a valid feed to NCL.

 

As far as financial issues, if you foolow the food chain of Star all the way up to the parent Star shipping company in Malaysia, it is a very sound company.

 

Thus I sound like a staunch defender of NCL, and in many respects I am. I have sailed them many times and am in general very satisfied. Yes, I too have at one time or another had problems, but they have always fixed them. Lets follow this through for a couple of weeks before we start the conspiracy or bankruptcy theories. The first sign that they were in trouble would be a downgrading of their debt on the public bond markets, and that is not happening. So, please, keep the faith. Work with the crew and they will help you solve the problems.

 

Aloha Hawaii

[jp2001]

I think I read the last post somewhere else...

 

NCL Dawn, December 2003

[zimmerjulie]

gdries,

Well said, and well applied to this original posters statements and questions.

[logcabin]

Thank you, gdries, for your insight. After reading your thorough post, I too agree with most of what you are saying. You seemed to have done your research and are very educated in what you say. Seems as if they are going through a bit of a rain storm. Look already the cruise cams are back up and working again. Havng been burned in the past with things, when I see things that raise "red flags" I tend to worry. However, your post has calmed me. Thank you.