Norwegian Crown Problems

[Mark]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] I just read an article in the Bermuda Royal Gazette that said the NCL Crown cruise was a disaster this week. People were complaining of the shutdowns of electric, air and water on several occasions while in port. In addition, there are a number of passengers quarantined to cabins with apparent food poisoning and there was a problem with diesel fuel fumes in cabins.

Anyone on the Crown want to talk about this?

Go to [url="http://www.theroyalgazette.com"]www.theroyalgazette.com[/url] to read the article if you are interested

[dlb145]

I'm getting very worried. We were on an ill-fated Hawaii cruise in March 2003 on the Wind (our first cruise with Norwegian) and after a letter to NCL, we received a credit towards another cruise if taken within a year. We appreciated NCL's response and because of this credit, we decided to give NCL another try. The only itinerary that interested us was Canada/New England. We are booked for October 5 and have made a "down payment".

It would be a shame to lose out on the credit they have given us, but I am very afraid of another horribly disappointing cruise. We have had great cruises with Holland America and Carnival and now I am wondering if we should cancel this Crown cruise. Even with the credit we will still be paying out a lot of money towards a vacation I am becoming very leery of...Perhaps this credit is not worth using? Is the Crown a really bad ship? Are we just unlucky with NCL?

Any advise? Please....

[DeeMarch]

I'm sorry for all of the people that are having problems aboard this ship. Let's hope that they get it right 8 weeks from now!! We were on Grandeur of the Seas the week following engine problems and we didn't know anything had ever happended.

Denise

11/10/00 Married my best friend aboard
Grandeur of the Seas

Bermuda on the Crown
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[cmitch9999]

Thanks Mark for finding the link for us.
As a future passenger on the Crown I would like to find out what NCL is planning to do about fixing the problems on this voyage as well as the lingering virus issues, and problems on previous cruises. I have faxed to guest relations, and followed up with a certified letter to Colin Veitch by certified mail. (over a week ago) so far no response.
We have 11 of us going to celebrate my Dad's 8oth birthday, have been on NCL 3 cruises in the past. We are 3 weeks away from final payment.
I hope that NCL can convince me that they are really taking care of the problems on the Crown..or this group will be booking elsewhere for this special cruise. (and $11,000+ booking fees to another cruiseline)
Chris Mitchell

16 Voyages completed 1999-2004, 81 wonderful days at sea
dreaming of ....
Norwegian Crown 8/04
Carnival Fascination 11/04

[Mark]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] dlb,

It has been several years since I was on the Crown. Have to say that I really enjoyed my cruise to Bermuda on the Crown. The ship is smaller than most today, designed for ocean cruising so it is comfortable and is designed and built well. However, with any ship it depends on good maintenance to keep it in that condition and the problems that I read about sound like maintnenance issues and a careless crew. So, I can't really say that the Crown is a bad ship! I don't understand how passengers in the article claimed that the crew members had a language problem with the English language? They must be hiring crew from different countries these days than in the past since I did not have this problem.

Write to Colin V. at Norwegian and express your concerns and maybe they will make sure that the problems are fixed. The Royal Gazette is a good source for you to keep up with what is happening in Bermuda...you can bet the story would have never been posted by NCL on their website!

[cmitch9999]

I did phone to NCL customer relations..the woman on the phone said they did get my fax 4/22 (concerning problems on the Crown) and would be responding in 2 weeks. I expressed my concern about the current problems etc. and she said they have been 'resolved' and the passengers on the current Crown voyage have been compensated. Would not share what that compensation was. Said we were still outside of final payment and could cancel our trip if we would like to.
Will be interesting to see what current passengers have to say on return!
Chris Mitchell

16 Voyages completed 1999-2004, 81 wonderful days at sea
dreaming of ....
Norwegian Crown 8/04
Carnival Fascination 11/04

[wendyr20000]

i am going on crown on may 9 to bermuda, i hope all these problems are worked out by then, staying in owners suite, does anybody know what perks you get, also anybody else sailing same date
thanx wendy

[comco]

Wendy,
I'm also on the Crown on May 9. I was beginning to think I was the only passenger! Let's hope for the best. There have been good and reviws about this ship, so who knows.

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5/9/04 Crown to Bermuda!

[wendyr20000]

i just read more bad news about crown cruise coming in port on may 2 , it sounds like they did not have a very good week, i am wondering about trying to cancel , we leave may 9, any advice
wendy

[bigmike7]

Yo-

Well - it seems that the "trash" that we former "Crown" cruisers exposed several weeks ago just will NOT go away - and now is being reported by the media-

When you see the mismanagement - first hand - of this ship from the Captain on down - then these recurring problems start to make some sense-

If you want to get your money back - you may be able to contact NCL before the cruise - address your concerns about the outbreaks of the "Norwalk Virus" and request a full refund (apparently being offered to "Crown" cruisers for the past month)-

What is it going to take to convince you future "Crown" cruisers that you should consider cutting your loses NOW - rather than take your chances later - afterall it is YOUR precious vacation - it is YOUR hard earned money and it is NCL's responsibility to earn YOUR business-

Good luck and God bless-

Happy Cruisin'

Mike

(btw - you can see my "Crown" review over on the "Cruise Review" board)

Fairsea'86-Mexican Riviera
Stardancer'88-Mexican Riviera
Crown Odyssey'00-E. Med
Dream'01-W. Med
Sky'01-Hawaii
Regal'02-Alaska
Norway'02-E. Carib
Norway'03-E. Carib
Elation'03-Panama Canal
Crown'04-Canada/East Coast
Norway "Royal Suite" 07/04/04-CANCELLED!!
"We have never had a BAD cruise - some were just BETTER than others"

[newmexicoNita]

Wendy, as bad as it seems you can't cancel with only a week to go unless you want to loose everything. You can hope for one of two things: either the problems will be eliminated or there will be compensation made for them. For those who are sailing later in the summer one encouraging thing I can offer. Many years ago (about 6) the old Star (not the one NCL has now) was the first ship to sail out of Houston to what was referred to as the Texaribean. the ship had more problems than could even be printed on this thread. Everything from air conditioning to service to whatever. Each week things would get worse. On occassion they had a good week. Anyway to make a long story short by the time we sailed her everything was smooth. The ship was actually a pretty nice lady with nice sized cabins complete with full tubs. the observation bar was lovely, the ship was not crowded due to all the bad publicity. Let's hope those sailing later in the summer have the same good luck. We can only keep our fingers crossed. NMNita

Commodore 1984, Costa 1985, RCL 1987, Chandris 1989, NCL 1989, Commodore, 1991, NCL 1997, Carnival 1997, Carnival 1998,NCL 1998, NCL 1999, RCL 2000, RCL 2000, NCL 2002,NCL 2003, Celebrity 2003, NCL 2004

[Josephine]

JUST CANCELLED THE CROWN CHANGED TO THE DAWN DIFFERENT PORTS BUT FEEL ALOT BETTER AFTER BOOKING IN FEB AND NOT HEARING ANYTHING POSTIVE ABOUT THE CROWN. NOW LOOKING SO FORWARD TO THIS SUMMER 8/15

[cadigangi@aol.com]

I am going on the crown in 3 weeks to Bermuda with my husband and 2 sons. I am so concerned about all the bad press the crown is getting. We sail on May 23rd and don't know what to do? Any advice? We worked really hard to give our sons a nice vacation to remember. I would really appreciate any info I can get. Thanks. [email]cadigangi@aol.com[/email]

[Mark]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] If you have a reputable travel agent, I would contact him or her advise them of your concerns based on the last Crown trip to Bermuda and demand that they investigate and provide you with the facts. Travel Agents have sources of info that we passengers do not have access to...if you don't like the results, have them switch you to another ship or line.

[cruiser12]

Sorry to hear this is happening. We are on the July 11 cruise NY to Bermuda. We were on the Dawn and at different locations were stationed this sanitizing gel. You put your hands under the container/green light comes on out comes the gel hands are sanitized and smell nice to. (Yes there are people who do not wash their hands). I think I must be the extreme I use paper towel/tissue to open all doors etc.and door knobs are the worst offenders of all. I carry my own tissues and anti-bacteria gel everywhere. I do hope NCL fixes all the problems on the Crowm. We were on the NCL Sea to Bermuda and to the Bahamas when she was here,didn't have any problems. Lets hope for the best. We will be talking tonight at what we should do. My husband has M.S. and I have Diabetes. Getting sick when you are well is bad enough.

[helenp2]

First, let me say that I have sailed NCL only 4x. 3 of these were excellent cruises, the other one I would prefer to forget. That being said, I will relay what was told to me by a friend who sailed on the Crown. Much like the Norway, this ship should be TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE. It is too old, not maintained and generally too small for the volume of passengers on board. (Friend had to sit indoors most of the day, as there were too little chaises available for the number of pass). There is a REASON this particular ship is running out of Phila, Balt, etc. NCL knows it can pretty much sell it out in these ports. Not too much competition out of Phila. Ask yourself this, if you had a choice of the Sky, or HAL's Zuiderdam, or Celebrity's Summit, or the same price as the Crown, which 1 would you choose? This is a no brainer. ALWAYS. ALWAYS, ALWAYS choose the newer ships. With the exception of HAL who does an unbelieveable job maintaining and caring for ALL of their ships. And, btw, when one of their ships starts to age, they TAKE IT OUT OF SERVICE. Love to sail out of Phila as it is my home. BUT, I am very careful which ship I book on because of these very same problems experienced by Crown pass last week. Anyway, I leave this Thurs. 5/06 from Phila on the Rotterdam V (HAL'S Flagship)and we can hardly wait.

[SecondMate]

Do y'all think NCL might just be hanging on to the Crown for dear life until the new ships (due in '05 and '06) are done?

We're interested in doing the south American cruise, possibly next year, but I don't think I'm willing to take a chance on the Crown at this point. If it were just a week-long cruise and the price were right, I'd probably go for it, but 15 days is pushing it on a ship that receives such dramatically mixed reviews. I love freestyle but am reluctantly going to see which other lines offer this route...sigh...

[Tomct]

We have been considering a Bermuda cruise next summer, and thought the Crown itinierary out of NYC was better than the Majesty's out of Boston, since it stops in three ports. I realize you can get anywhere from either ship, but have been leaning towards the Crown.

Now I'm getting a little scared, and wonder what others think about a comparison between the two ships, itinierary, and problems. I also do not know much about the Majesty's feautures at this point, but will certainly look into it. I'm not really concerned with the virus problem, I'm assuming that will not be a factor, and it's possibly blown a little out of proportion. I just think about problems with an old car, stuff just happens to it!!

Tom/Connecticut

[smeyer418]

The Crown was built in 1988. Its not like its ancient. I believe that Star brought it back because they were running short of ships and wanted to continue home port cruising which they have expanded more than any other cruise line. The Crown has been successfully used in the US before. Still it is an interim arrangement while other ships are being built. I have said this before, its just not been NCL year. Problems can happen on new ships too(the Celebrity Pod problem as an example). How the cruise line handles problems is as important to me as when they handle things when they go well. So far we have heard from one person who had a great time. I would like to hear from more poeple who were on the ship and exactly what NCL did to compensate them. Thanks all.
PS remember the complaints when the Dawn left NY at 4 instead of at 5? It made the news too but it only seemed that group was complaining. Clearly more people were involved here and I would like to hear from them directly. No one should get sick on a cruise but many people do. The stomack flu was probably brought on board by a passenger who was already sick and didn't want to miss their cruise. I would probably have done the same thing but I hope I wouldn't pass it around. Wash you hands often. Don't rub your nose(I know its hard) and avoid the buffet(IMO)!

[cmitch9999]

NCL has the crown going to Bermuda because it is small enough to fit into the narrow cut to the port at St George... Any of the bigger ships will only be able to dock at the Naval Dockyards on the end of the island- not easy to travel the island without long taxi/bus or ferry rides. In my opinion the itinerary of the Crown is the best of all the ships going to Bermuda - has over nights in all 3 Bermuda ports as well is in St George and Hamilton when they have their street parties. I do agree that NCL has probably put that 'old tub' of a ship in NYC and Philly knowing that the population will keep it filled - they could not get passengers to pay that top dollar for an older boat anywhere else.
Still that is not an excuse for them to neglect routine maintance and I find the long term problems they have been having since the March 7th with Norwalk very UNUSUAL.

I hope NCL is listening..we are going to double book our reservation with another ship as a back up..giving the Crown 3 weeks til our final payment is due to convince me that things will be VERY different before we sail in August.

We would like to sail to Bermuda on the Crown as we have enjoyed our past 3 cruises on NCL very much. (including 2 on Norwegian Sea, a similar sized ship) We also would prefer freestyle-

Lets hope there is a plan in place to revive the Crown and have her shine in time so that all future passengers can have the cruise they have been dreaming of.

Chris Mitchell

16 Voyages completed 1999-2004, 81 wonderful days at sea
dreaming of ....
Norwegian Crown 8/04
Carnival Fascination 11/04

[frankp01]

Having just returned on the Crown, I'd like to offer my insights into some of the comments in this thread:

> there are a number of passengers quarantined to cabins with apparent food poisoning

I believe that this has already been identified as Norovirus, NOT food poisoning. If it had been food poisoning there'd have been no need to quarantine the passengers.

> sound like maintnenance issues and a careless crew

Careless crew, possibly. The ship, given that it's 14 years old, or so, is in very good condition IMO, and (cosmetically, anyway) appears to be well maintained.

> Much like the Norway, this ship should be TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE. It is too old, not maintained and generally too small for the volume of passengers on board.

Actually, I thought the amount of deck space and number of chaise lounges, to be fine for the number of passengers. And our cruise was full, as far as I can tell. The ship *is* relatively small, but that allowed us to dock at St. Georges, which was quite nice. Not everyone wants to cruise on a 2,000 passenger vessel.

> ALWAYS. ALWAYS, ALWAYS choose the newer ships.

That's one opinion. I, personally, prefer some of the older ships with more character and that look like a ship, not a floating mall.

Our trip was exceptional... we enjoyed every minute. The Crown is a lovely ship, and as long as you realize that it's a smaller ship, you'll have a great time. The cabins are very well thought out, with abundant closet space. Granted, a small percentage of people came down with Norovirus, and there was a planned emergency power test while we were in port, but neither had a negative impact on our overall experience. I would not hesitate to sail again (on a Bermuda itinerary) on the Crown.

Phil Frank

[JDMOR]

As a three time cruiser on the CROWN on both Royal Cruise Lines and NCL, I am sorry to hear one of our favorite ships is having problems. But it is getting "old"! These things happen.

NCL is really having a bad time of it with the NORWAY explosion, PRIDE OF AMERICA sinking, STAR cruise cancellations, etc. The major problem is their arrogant, non-responsive customer relations. As a victim of the AMERICA sinking, as well as the STAR cancellation, I can attest to the fact that dealing with their customer relations is much like beating one's head against the wall. I just hope that NCL's management's adversion to good "customer satisfaction" is not the straw that will finally break the company!

Recommend avoiding NCL during this downward spiral period

JDMOR - Beautiful Central Oregon

‘89 STARDANCER (Viking Seranade-Alaska); ‘90 CUNARD PRINCESS (Canary Iles); ‘92 CROWN ODYSSEY (Royal-Scandinavia/Russia); ‘93 SKY PRINCESS (Panama Canal); ‘94 MAASDAM (S. Carib); ‘95 CROWN ODYSSEY (Royal-Brit Isles); ‘95 ZENITH (W.Carib); ‘95 OCEANIC (Big Red Boat-Bahamas); ‘96 REGAL PRINCESS (Alaska); ‘96 WESTERDAM (E. Carib); ‘98 STATENDAM (S. Carib); ‘99 NORWEGIAN WIND (Hawaii); ‘00 NORWEGIAN CROWN (Crown Odyssey-South America); ‘00 NORWEGIAN SKY (Alaska); ‘00 VOYAGER OF THE SEAS (E. Carib); ‘01 PRINCESS JEANNTE (China); ‘01 RADIANCE OF THE SEAS (Hawaii); ‘02 RIVER ODYSSEY (Europe); '02 INFINITY (Hawaii); '03 NORWEGIAN SKY (Panama Canal); '03 MARINER OF THE SEAS (E. Carib); Planned: '04 NCL STAR (Hawaii to Vancouver)(NCL Cancelled);'04 HAL ROTTERDAM (Transatlantic); '04 QUEEN MARY 2 (Canada)

[digitaldan1]

Hi all,

I was on the 4/25 sailing and can pretty much back up what frankp01 says. There was one group of passengers that seems to have been afflicted. NCL went into full virus protection mode once it was apparent there was a problem (servers providing food in the buffets, extra hand washing stations and such).

I did notice a sewage smell one day on deck 4 when I was disembarking the ship. It was bad and if I had experienced it in my cabin would have been understandably upset.

I also ocassionally experienced a whiff of diesel. (brought back memories from my days in the Navy) It wasn't a big deal for me, but it was only momentary. Some of the people who were complaining said they were experiencing it at a much worse level.

I personally had a great time. The food on the ship was the best I've had on an NCL cruise (this was number 4) and I found the crew to be very friendly. I'd happily sail on this ship again myself.

Dan

Norwegian Sea Bahamas 5/12-19/02

Norwegian Sea Canada/New England
5/31-6/08/03

Norwegian Sun Western Caribbean December 7-14, 2003
Norwegian Crown Odyssey Philadelphia - Bermuda cruise
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Norwegian Sun Alaska Inside Passage
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[Host CMLA]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cmitch9999:
Still that is not an excuse for them to neglect routine maintance and I find the long term problems they have been having since the March 7th with Norwalk very UNUSUAL.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I think you're making a blanket statement about something you don't know anything about. Do you really think that NCL is purposefully trying to not maintain their ship because they'd rather have unhappy customers? As for Norwalk, passengers bring it on the ship. Passengers continue to spread it. Passengers are careless. I've read over and over again that NCL is going above and beyond to stop the virus. How do you think it keeps circulating? Passengers, passengers, passengers.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>we are going to double book our reservation with another ship as a back up..giving the Crown 3 weeks til our final payment is due to convince me that things will be VERY different before we sail in August.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If I were you, and I had such strong negative feelings already about the ship, I'd definitely rebook with another ship and stop worrying about the Crown and start looking forward to the other ship. That really may be the best way for you to enjoy your cruise. Just my opinion. Either way, I hope it works out for you.

Cecilia

I can be contacted at [email]ladyndnver@aol.com[/email]

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My Wedding!

[Hobbsey]

Very well said Cecilia.

This one of my most favorite ships, I've cruised her once and toured her twice. She's a beauty.

I do agree that they over fill her and at the height of Bermuda season there can be too many kids.

Smelling sewage while disembarking is normal, they have to off load the garbage and, well, all the waste we cruisers create stinks.

I woldn't go so far as to blame pax for Norwalk, this can come up from below decks as well. The facts about Norwalk are available on line. It is my understanding that it is a common occurrance in dorm rooms, hospitals, nursing homes and hotels...in short, in any kind of dormitory environment. The occurrnace of this affliction is o more prvelant on ships than in other places of close human confinement. With more tonnage and bigger ships we'll keep hearing about in regard to cruises, I'm sure.

1968 Lurline (Matson)
1969 Mariposa (Matson)
1998 Seabreeze (Premier)
1998 Century (Celebrity)
1999 Seabreeze (Premier)
1999 Norwegian Crown (NCL)
1999 Voyager of the Seas (RCL)
2000 Westerdam (HAL)
2000 Carnival Victory (CCL)
2000 Sensation (CCL)
2001 Mercury (Celebrity)
2001 Norwegian Majesty (NCL)
2001 Vision of the Seas (RCL)
2002 Norwegian Wind (NCL)
2004 Maasdam (HAL)