Worst experience of my life!!!!

[che5904]

Why is it anyone's place to give the OP a reality check when obviously she feels this is the worst thing to happen to her. It sounds more like one upsmanship to me, because for all we know, unless we can see the future, this might be the worst day of her life. If a terrible thing happens later, I'm sure the OP will be able to put things into perspective herself, but until then I see no reason to purposely try to make her feel bad because she feels that this is, in her opinion, the worst thing to happen to her in her life.

 

FYI: I did not give, as you call it any "upsmanship", if you read my post it was my take on other posters responses. Hence the words "I think". I also did not say that this wasn't going to be the worst day of the OP's life, hence the reason I stated "probably won't be".

 

So since you chose to quote me, instead of directing this at those who were giving examples of things that the OP may experience to have the "worst experience of her life". I will give my opinion. I think the OP's post was overly dramatic to say the least. On the other hand this information is relatively new to the her and I feel she has every right to be upset and disappointed. But lashing out, blaming and pointing fingers in the wrong direction (at NCL who had no control over this) will get her no where. I am glad she picked herself up by the bootstraps and moved on by making a plan B. I also hope her wedding day is wonderful.

[drhry]

Time to make lemonade out of the lemons.

 

I've been to probably a dozen weddings of various types over the years, some meticulously planned, and others simple get togethers of family and friends. Guess which are the most memorable and least stressful?

 

I would humbly suggest taking a deep breath and thinking hard about what's most important here...your marriage, not your wedding. Events that take months to plan and thousands of dollars to pull off are gone in a matter of hours and reduced to memories. There is plenty of time to celebrate with family and friends. Go get married to your soul mate and enjoy your first cruise as husband and wife. It can be an amazing experience if you have it in the right perspective.

 

Best of luck in whatever you decide!

 

Totally agree.

[azappraiser]

Folks... I don't believe the OP is coming back to this thread or she probably would have had something else to say. She bashed NCL, then ran away. :rolleyes:

[lanceholt]

I imagine she will return with a new thread with the new drama.

[DMH15]

Perhaps this really was the worst experience of her life so far. As anyone who lives life knows, terribly sad things will happen in ALL of our lives at different points.

 

I must be in the minority of women because I absolutely did NOT want a big to do about our wedding. It was very low key. Honestly, I would've been more than content going to a courthouse and doing it but we had a Catholic mass to please my husband's elderly mother who traveled from California to Virginia (where I grew up) to see it. It was actually her first time going outside of California aside from an occasional visit to relatives in Mexico. Definitely NOT what I would've planned if it were all up to me but it was lovely nonetheless and the end result was the same: we're married, which was the entire point. The rest of it is just fanfare.

 

Again, I realize that most women are wedding-obsessed so to a young bride to be (I'm a shriveled up 29 year old almost 5 years into marriage :o) she's likely not exagerratingall that much when she says it was the worst experience of her life - which will at some point be replaced by another event, and then another etc as all of us know.

 

But to compare horror stories and one up each other with personal tragedies... this is not the place.

 

At 29 you are wise beyond your years :)

As well as compassionate.

Well said.

[DMH15]

At 29 you are wise beyond your years :)

As well as compassionate.

Well said.

 

Sorry. Double posted and don't know why.

[TravelDiva88]

You didn't have to cancel your wedding. You didn't have to plan a wedding that would be difficult for people to attend in the first place. You could have continued your plans with your 30 sailing guests. You could have gotten married at the courthouse.

 

 

I think you're being incredibly over-dramatic, especially since you think that having your destination-ish wedding cancelled is worse than having your home ruined by Sandy.

[JGaleCPA]

If, as the title says, having wedding plans not work out is the

 

"Worst experience of my life!!!!"

 

she is very lucky.

[thistimeplease]

I don't see where anyone is telling the OP she shouldn't be disappointed. Of course she's disappointed, anyone with a heart would be. But this is not the cruiselines fault, the OP stated " I then was told that since customs was leaving earlier that I would be able to have a 30 minute reception at most" The cruiseline really has no control over that.

 

OP I do understand your complete disappointment and sorry you had to deal with the wrath of Sandy. But unless I'm terribly missing something I really don't see where NCL has done anything wrong or has taken advantage of you or has given you bad customer service. But I do hope you get whatever money you are entitled to back in quick order so you can go forward with your new plans. Good luck and hope you have a beautiful wedding.

 

I couldn't disagree with you more. NCL advertises these packages so it is up to them to make sure they can follow through on their end. If they can't then they shouldn't offer them. When a venue advertises something and isn't able to follow through that is bad customer service. Don't offer something you can't do. Hopefully the OP has better luck in the future with all the plans.

[sparkey2030]

Folks... I don't believe the OP is coming back to this thread or she probably would have had something else to say. She bashed NCL, then ran away. :rolleyes:

 

I agree, she letting everyone else go at it. :eek:

[Alg63]

I couldn't disagree with you more. NCL advertises these packages so it is up to them to make sure they can follow through on their end. If they can't then they shouldn't offer them. When a venue advertises something and isn't able to follow through that is bad customer service. Don't offer something you can't do. Hopefully the OP has better luck in the future with all the plans.

 

NCL has NO control over decisions made by customs, immigration or the port authority. Which part of this is not being understood? NCL did NOT cancel the wedding!!

[thistimeplease]

NCL has NO control over decisions made by customs, immigration or the port authority. Which part of this is not being understood? NCL did NOT cancel the wedding!!

 

If NCL can not follow through on what they offer then they shouldn't offer it. Not so hard to understand. You offer a product you need to deliver.

[punkincc]

I couldn't disagree with you more. NCL advertises these packages so it is up to them to make sure they can follow through on their end. If they can't then they shouldn't offer them. When a venue advertises something and isn't able to follow through that is bad customer service. Don't offer something you can't do. Hopefully the OP has better luck in the future with all the plans.

 

The OP is the one who chose to hold her wedding on board During the embarkation process with guests who are not cruising and therefore must leave the ship at a time specified by customs, Not NCL. The OP was happy with the arrangements until the time frame for the event was shortened due to events out of NCl's control. At that point, she had the option to work with her event planner to see what could be worked out. She did not choose to do so, apparently. She went into a tizzy and vented here. I have seen no evidence that NCL was not attempting to provide the OP with what she asked for which was a quick wedding and reception in a very narrow time frame.

They did not back out of the contract, she did.

[che5904]

If NCL can not follow through on what they offer then they shouldn't offer it. Not so hard to understand. You offer a product you need to deliver.

 

But do they offer and advertise a 2 hour reception. The OP was still being offered the wedding and a reception. And depending on which thread you look at the reception NCL offered was either 30 or 45 minutes for those not on the ship.

 

It was the OP's choice to cancel the whole thing.

[rvsullivan]

I couldn't disagree with you more. NCL advertises these packages so it is up to them to make sure they can follow through on their end. If they can't then they shouldn't offer them. When a venue advertises something and isn't able to follow through that is bad customer service. Don't offer something you can't do. Hopefully the OP has better luck in the future with all the plans.

 

OP cancelled the cruise, not NCL. NCL was completely ready to meet their agreements according to the OP. Drama, drama and more drama!! Six months or more out from the wedding and she cancels and then generates all of this. She will not come back I think and if anyone follows her posts I bet there is more to come.

[jdvmd]

The OP is the one who chose to hold her wedding on board During the embarkation process with guests who are not cruising and therefore must leave the ship at a time specified by customs, Not NCL. The OP was happy with the arrangements until the time frame for the event was shortened due to events out of NCl's control. At that point, she had the option to work with her event planner to see what could be worked out. She did not choose to do so, apparently. She went into a tizzy and vented here. I have seen no evidence that NCL was not attempting to provide the OP with what she asked for which was a quick wedding and reception in a very narrow time frame.

They did not back out of the contract, she did.

 

Exactly!

[cmh]

I did not get married on a ship, so I do not know all the details or procedures, but the situation doesn't appear hopeless to me.

 

Usually the wedding party gets on board before everybody else. Say you check in early and is the first party onboard at 11 a.m. Unless the custom agents plan to leave at noon, you should have at least a couple hours for ceremony and reception. You said NCL advised you that you only have an hour total for both ceremony and reception. Assuming the custom agents leave right after check in closes at 1 p.m., that must mean your ceremony starts at noon, and your original plan is to have the reception end at 2:30 p.m., 30 minutes before ship sails.

 

In any event, you still have over six months before your wedding, why not ask NCL if you can push up the start time by 1 hour to accommodate the custom agents' schedule? You may have to get on the ship while the crew is still cleaning, and even then you may still get a (slightly) shortened reception, but wouldn't that be preferable to canceling and rebuying everything?

 

My daughter was married on the Sun and honestly it was a bit disorganized and rushed. Looking back she would not have done it. You are put in a seaparte area and allowed to board once the ship is cleared for boarding, however all the people that are standing in line get to board at the same time, so it does take time for all those sailing for the wedding to check in. The bride needs time to dress so I really think it was best that you cancelled and made alternate plans. I believe those in charge of the wedding planning are a separate company and not NCL. I hope you get all your money back.

[KirkNC]

Sorry to hear how things have worked out.

[DMH15]

My daughter was married on the Sun and honestly it was a bit disorganized and rushed. Looking back she would not have done it. You are put in a seaparte area and allowed to board once the ship is cleared for boarding, however all the people that are standing in line get to board at the same time, so it does take time for all those sailing for the wedding to check in. The bride needs time to dress so I really think it was best that you cancelled and made alternate plans. I believe those in charge of the wedding planning are a separate company and not NCL. I hope you get all your money back.

 

Geraldo did not seem to mind waiting to board. He posed for pictures. He attended the wedding but did not sail.

[H&J]

Geraldo Rivera was at the wedding? Did you get an autograph?

[kcwiak]

Not really a tradegy. I'd try to not get worked up into a tizzy. Life's to precious and short for that.

 

Maybe not for you but for others it is. Please try to have some compassion or don't bother responding.

[kcwiak]

I thought Sandy had ruined my year..My house is now gutted and I am displaced..until that is I received a call from NCL. We had planned to get married aboard the Norwegian Gem on June 1st 2013. I had everything printed in boxes labeled wedding. I had invitations, aisle runners, you name it. I even had a beach wish tree. I imprinted Norwegian Gem June 1st Janine and Rob on just about every detail..I NOW HAVE TO BUY ALL NEW STUFF.The first bump in the road came when they switched companies..They switched wedding companies and I was not contacted for months about this. Then On Thanksgiving I received an email stating that they did not want to interrupt my thanksgiving dinner but to call the next day to discuss my wedding plans. I didn't really think twice. I should have...who gets contacted on Thanksgiving. Anyways....I go shopping for black friday and then I give a call back to NCL..... I was planned to have a half hour wedding and have a two hour reception. I had chosen NCL because of the deal, the port it was leaving from, and how nice everyone had been. I then was told that since customs was leaving earlier that I would be able to have a 30 minute reception at most ...and it is possible there would be no reception.... I had 70 non sailing guests coming...30 sailing guess coming, and I was so into the crusie ship wedding and now im embarrised. I had to cancel my wedding. I could not have people come for a half hour....and with a cruiseship wedding myself and my future hubby were getting the best of both worlds. I wanted a destination...he wanted one home. It worked out perfect. I cried and I cried and I cried...until I found a place on Long Island. It is no crusie ship but it will be wonderful for our wedding here. I have yet to receive any timeline on when I will be receiving my money fro the wedding back. I was told they have to talk to the vice president. So not only was I hit by sandy, not only was my wedding canceled, but I also have no idea when I will be receiving the over 2k that I had paid towards my wedding. This is such horrible customer serivce and I feel like I was really taken advantage of. OH YEAH AND I STILL HAVE TO REBUY EVERYTHING I ALREADY PAID FOR BECAUSE THEY DECIDED TO CHANGE THE PORT TIME!!!!!

 

I am so sorry this happened to you! We are doing a 12 yr renewal on our cruise coming up and I decided against using the new or old company that NCL uses as they both stink. My biggest issue was they would not guarantee anything. We decided to use Weddings in the Bahamas and get off the ship in Nassau.

 

I am glad you found another solution. I know it is not what you hoped. I am sorry too about Sandy displacing you. I hope things work out in the end.

[kcwiak]

I honestly feel for the OP. She planned the wedding she dreamed of and expected it to come off as advertised. You can't blame the OP for getting upset. If a cruise line is offering packages like this they need to make people very much aware that things like this can happen. This is not weather related or act of God type of issue, if it was then it is understandable that plans change. Finding fault in the OP for getting upset is crazy. I hope the wedding is beautiful and you enjoy your life together. Life really is too short to stay upset, I hope Norwegian makes good on this soon as the double expense if not something most can afford.

 

Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with NCL per se. The company that NCL uses is the problem. They coordinate everything. Even though they changed companies, everything is run the same so I suspect since the other company had such a bad reputation, this is just the same one wrapped in a new bow. I would be surprised if she gets any money back. They say no refunds, you have to pay everything beforehand and you may not get what you asked for because of the no guarantee.

 

These companies that the cruise lines use are useless.

[Alg63]

If NCL can not follow through on what they offer then they shouldn't offer it. Not so hard to understand. You offer a product you need to deliver.

So NCL should stop offerring weddings "in case" customs or immigration changes their procedures next year / next month?

Maybe we should all stop goingto Work in case we get laid off? Stop going to the doctor because we are going to die anyway. It is called UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCE

[kcwiak]

I don't see where anyone is telling the OP she shouldn't be disappointed. See Post#1 Of course she's disappointed, anyone with a heart would be. But this is not the cruiselines fault, the OP stated " I then was told that since customs was leaving earlier that I would be able to have a 30 minute reception at most" The cruiseline really has no control over that.

 

OP I do understand your complete disappointment and sorry you had to deal with the wrath of Sandy. But unless I'm terribly missing something I really don't see where NCL has done anything wrong or has taken advantage of you or has given you bad customer service. But I do hope you get whatever money you are entitled to back in quick order so you can go forward with your new plans. Good luck and hope you have a beautiful wedding.

 

Several people have been less than supportive as is usual on the boards.