norwegian = worst customer service department ever

[accmiller]

At least now that you have found Cruise Critic you will be well prepared for your next cruise. We're all here to help each other. :)

 

yes but the funny thing is I called in and changed our reservation to add the second room based on reviews on here that said the rooms were a little cramped.

[SissasMomE]

Sorry for you bad experience. While you didn't want your 6 yr old to sleep with your 14 yr old, Why couldn't your 14 year old sleep in the second cabin alone or with one adult. As inconvenient as it was, I don't see anything forcing the 4 of you to sleep together in one cabin.

 

However, I would write to NCL headquarters in Miami, cc'ing socialmedia@ncl.com IMO I don't feel they should've charged you cancellation fees for 3rd and 4th passengers because it doesn't seem to be a true cancellation to me.

 

I can understand why they didn't. I would never put a 14-year old in a cabin alone - especially if it is a girl, and especially if the door is in a private hallway!

Edited May 2, 2014 by SissasMomE

[LrgPizza]

yes but the funny thing is I called in and changed our reservation to add the second room based on reviews on here that said the rooms were a little cramped.

And that was good advice. Certainly the posters here had no way to know you would get a crappy agent. :)

[peg013]

yes but the funny thing is I called in and changed our reservation to add the second room based on reviews on here that said the rooms were a little cramped.

 

Did you followup here with what new accommodations you booked? If you would have said you booked an inside across the hall from a mini suite - I would hope one of us would have questioned whether they really were since most of them are not on the Getaway and Breakaway. (We are fallible too if we missed it.) As I said, I am sorry this happened. I know it had to be very disappointing to discover how far the doors were apart once you boarded.

Edited May 2, 2014 by peg013

[accmiller]

I can understand why they didn't. I would never put a 14-year old in a cabin alone - especially if it is a girl, and especially if the door is in a private hallway!

 

Yes, my wife wasn't even comfortable with the two of them across the hall. That far away and the inside hallway was out of the question. One night I was in casino late and went there instead of waking everybody up. Best night of sleep I had all week. And those inside cabins have absolutely no light. I could have slept until 3:00 in the afternoon it was so dark.

[kylenyc]

I can understand why they didn't. I would never put a 14-year old in a cabin alone - especially if it is a girl, and especially if the door is in a private hallway!

Sorry, you replied before I could edit my response. I agree. Here's what I added after I realized the ages of both children.. I believe it's against policy to have a cabin registered to passengers unless there is at least one 21 years of age and older unless they are in adjoining cabins, which the OP was not. Children must be paired with someone 21 and older.

 

Edit: The PCC should never booked a 6 yr old together with a 14 yr old period. Any person under 21 years of age must be booked with an adult 21 yrs of age or older unless they are in adjoining connected cabins. So they must've paired one adult with one child.

 

[sTRIKETHROUGH]Sorry for you bad experience. While you didn't want your 6 yr old to sleep with your 14 yr old, Why couldn't your 14 year old sleep in the second cabin alone or with one adult. As inconvenient as it was, I don't see anything forcing the 4 of you to sleep together in one cabin.[/sTRIKETHROUGH]

 

However, I would write to NCL headquarters in Miami, cc'ing socialmedia@ncl.com IMO I don't feel they should've charged you cancellation fees because it doesn't seem to be a true cancellation to me. Also the PCC should've given you accurate information. That's their job.

 

Quote: "Note: Two people under the age of 21 may travel together in the same stateroom without someone over the age of 21 in the same stateroom if they purchased the cruise under the family plan and have at least one person who is 21 years or older in the adjoining stateroom. The age limit will be waived for married couples less than 21 years of age provided proof of marriage is presented to an NCL representative at the pier."

Edited May 2, 2014 by kylenyc

[SissasMomE]

Yes, my wife wasn't even comfortable with the two of them across the hall. That far away and the inside hallway was out of the question. One night I was in casino late and went there instead of waking everybody up. Best night of sleep I had all week. And those inside cabins have absolutely no light. I could have slept until 3:00 in the afternoon it was so dark.

 

Ha! A lot of people say it's the best sleep they ever had because it's so dark!

[rochelle_s]

Seeing as you have tried to find some resolution to your concerns through traditional methods you might want to try and contact them through social media. Facebook would be a good place to start. I have heard of others being more successful going that route in order to get some to listen and address their issues.

 

Rochelle

[pokerpro5]

Duplicate post

Edited May 2, 2014 by pokerpro5

[pokerpro5]

The OP asked for adjoining cabins over the telephone. The NCL rep is the one that suggested these to the OP. Was OP to say, "Hang on, let me put you on hold while I pull this up on the internet, just in case you don't know what you're talking about?" Gimme a break.

 

100% THIS ^^^^

 

Lol @ anyone blaming the customer on this one.

 

Now, granted, you should always be leery of what you are promised by customer service reps from any company and double check when possible, but the ultimate responsibility lies with the PAID REP OF NCL who made the mistake.

 

I can confirm that NCL reps are often clueless. Here is my story:

 

I took my first NCL cruise in December 2013. I had been on other lines many times, but never NCL. I wanted to bring my own 12-packs of soda on board. I found their policy to be unclear on the website regarding how much I was allowed to bring. The night before my flight to New Orleans, I called NCL

 

I got an idiot rep telling me, "Each person is entitled to only one carry-on item. If you bring a 12-pack of soda, that's your carry-on." She then suggested that I empty my 12-packs into one gigantic bag, so as to avoid this situation if I wanted to bring more than one. When I mentioned that I already had a laptop to carry on, she said, "Oh, well then you will have to board and then re-board later, and carry the soda on after the laptop is already aboard."

 

What!!?!?!?!

 

She then "checked with a supervisor" and came back insisting that she was correct. I didn't believe any of this, and asked to speak to the supervisor. I was then left on hold for 25 minutes and just hung up

 

I called back and demanded to be connected to the Miami office (the one with actual power) and got a nice supervisor there. She was horrified to hear this story and said they would pull the call and look into it. She said all the info I was given was totally incorrect, and that you can bring all the "carryons" you want.

 

The Miami supervisor called me the next day and told me that they pulled the call, and indeed my description was accurate. Also, she remarked that it was "5 minutes from closing time" at the office I called originally, and that it was likely "someone was tired and just wanted to go home, so they were making things up."

 

They gave me $70 OBC for this mess, and I was happy.

 

Bottom line: There are plenty of idiots working for NCL. However overall the customer service is good, if you speak to someone high enough. Next time take this concern directly to the hotel manager, who I found to be very accessible on board. Don't deal with slugs that answer the phone and make excuses.

 

If you need to settle something when not on board, ask them to transfer you to the Miami office and ask for a supervisor. You will get a lot done.

[Va. Plumber]

100% THIS ^^^^

 

I got an idiot rep telling me, "Each person is entitled to only one carry-on item. If you bring a 12-pack of soda, that's your carry

 

Obviously they had previously worked for an airline

[hpecorari]

We were on the getaway for spring break and what a disaster. We were a family of four and had originally booked one mini-suite. After some more thought we decided that wasn't going to be enough room so we called norwegian and asked to change to two adjoining rooms. No problem. We just needed to pay a cancellation fee and then we could rebook. Huh??? All we wanted to do was add a room. Anyways we went ahead with it and then our consultant told us since we were putting the kids in the other room it would be safer to give them an inside cabin across the hall instead of a balcony. Seemed to make sense to us so we booked and paid the difference. Well when we go on the ship we found out the inside cabin was indeed across the hall but the door to the inside cabin was not. In order to get to that cabin you basically had to walk all the way down the hall, across, and back up the hall on the other side of the ship. For some reason, my wife didn't want our 6 year old that far away from us. So we called guest services. Guess what they didn't care. We were told we agreed to that arrangement and there was nothing they could do. I told them we didn't agree to that at all. They said they would look into. I called the next day and no record of my complaint. What a surprise. They still didn't do anything so we had to cram all four of us into a room that was designed for 3 people. When I got back I sat on hold on their customer service line for 90 minutes and still didn't get a live body. Emailed our cruise consultant twice and nothing. I did log-into the site and was called within 20 minutes by a cruise consultant asking if I needed help booking a cruise. When I told them my problem I never heard from them again.

 

The shame of it all is the getaway was a beautiful boat but ncl's complete lack of customer service for issues has resigned me to never using them again. If anyone every asked me if they should book a cruise with them I will do everything in my power to stop them.

 

I'm sorry that this happened to you on your first cruise. Hopefully, except for the sleeping arraignments you guys had a good family vacation!

 

I am wondering, however, did the NCL agent know the ages of your children? If you had told them there was a 14 year old and a 6 year old they should never have agreed to put the kids in the inside room. An option would have been to put your wife and one child in one room and you and the other child in the other room.....just for night time sleeping.

Hey, at least you'd have two bathrooms to use in the morning and at night. I hope you made the best of a 'not so good' situation.

 

Harriet

[hpecorari]

IMO I don't feel they should've charged you cancellation fees because it doesn't seem to be a true cancellation to me. Also the PCC should've given you accurate information. That's their job.

 

I'm sure they charged the cancellation fees because:

 

1. It was past full payment

and

2. The mini suite was cancelled and two additional rooms were booked.

 

Harriet

[accmiller]

I'm sorry that this happened to you on your first cruise. Hopefully, except for the sleeping arraignments you guys had a good family vacation!

 

I am wondering, however, did the NCL agent know the ages of your children? If you had told them there was a 14 year old and a 6 year old they should never have agreed to put the kids in the inside room. An option would have been to put your wife and one child in one room and you and the other child in the other room.....just for night time sleeping.

Hey, at least you'd have two bathrooms to use in the morning and at night. I hope you made the best of a 'not so good' situation.

 

Harriet

 

they did know and set up the reservation as two reservations. My wife was in one room with one child and I was in the other room with the other child. The rep said "This is how we need to set it up but where everyone sleeps on board isn't our concern."

[time2cruise1]

What a mess. My question what do you want from NCL? The best you can hope for is a future cruise credit and you stated you will never cruise with them again and try and keep others from doing the same. If that is the case what motivation do they have to do anything at all :cool:

[CasinoCruzGirl]

The OP asked for adjoining cabins over the telephone. The NCL rep is the one that suggested these to the OP. Was OP to say, "Hang on, let me put you on hold while I pull this up on the internet, just in case you don't know what you're talking about?" Gimme a break.

 

Totally agree with this

[accmiller]

What a mess. My question what do you want from NCL? The best you can hope for is a future cruise credit and you stated you will never cruise with them again and try and keep others from doing the same. If that is the case what motivation do they have to do anything at all :cool:

 

They should credit the cost of the second room. Why would I accept future credit? They screwed this cruise up. Like I said, we loved the ship. If they showed some competency in handling issues that they created we would gladly book with them again. So far that doesn't seem to be the case though. As things stand now I am very disappointed.

[hpecorari]

They should credit the cost of the second room. Why would I accept future credit? They screwed this cruise up. Like I said, we loved the ship. If they showed some competency in handling issues that they created we would gladly book with them again. So far that doesn't seem to be the case though. As things stand now I am very disappointed.

 

Maybe. But you did use the other room. You had the best nights sleep there. The staff had to clean and make that bed/room.

 

At this point, knowing these threads are being read/monitored by NCL - I must agree with the other OP. Why and for what incentive would NCL have to offer you anything at this point.....knowing full well you're not ever going to cruise with them again and tell others not to.

 

Bottom line.....NCL screwed up.....either because they didn't know the proper ages of your children if you didn't tell them or because they just did. At the end of the day, you had a very nice family vacation, although the sleeping arrangement wasn't as anticipated.

 

Harriet

[SissasMomE]

They should credit the cost of the second room. Why would I accept future credit? They screwed this cruise up. Like I said, we loved the ship. If they showed some competency in handling issues that they created we would gladly book with them again. So far that doesn't seem to be the case though. As things stand now I am very disappointed.

 

Agreed - 100%. They should absolutely refund that money, or credit you.

[welove2cruise*]

I know you have tried to call, but have you sent a letter to NCL? I would try to look up the address for the corporate office and send a letter outlining your situation. I also think you are due some compensation.

[portcbob]

I agree you were very very harshly done by.

I am a NCL fan, however this is disgusting Customer Service to say the least.

You should be compensated accordingly.

 

Hope you find a resolution with NCL and enjoy further cruises with them.

 

Cheers Bob.

[SeaShark]

They should credit the cost of the second room. Why would I accept future credit? They screwed this cruise up. Like I said, we loved the ship. If they showed some competency in handling issues that they created we would gladly book with them again. So far that doesn't seem to be the case though. As things stand now I am very disappointed.

 

I'd have to disagree...there is no "cost of the 2nd room" to refund. The charge was for the PEOPLE, not the room. All four people got to go on the cruise and should have to pay their fare. After all, everybody did eat the food and use the ship's amenities. Plus....even if you didn't use the room, by having it you prevented them from selling it to someone else.

[Love my butler]

We were on the getaway for spring break and what a disaster. We were a family of four and had originally booked one mini-suite. After some more thought we decided that wasn't going to be enough room so we called norwegian and asked to change to two adjoining rooms. No problem. We just needed to pay a cancellation fee and then we could rebook. Huh??? All we wanted to do was add a room. Anyways we went ahead with it and then our consultant told us since we were putting the kids in the other room it would be safer to give them an inside cabin across the hall instead of a balcony. Seemed to make sense to us so we booked and paid the difference. Well when we go on the ship we found out the inside cabin was indeed across the hall but the door to the inside cabin was not. In order to get to that cabin you basically had to walk all the way down the hall, across, and back up the hall on the other side of the ship. For some reason, my wife didn't want our 6 year old that far away from us. So we called guest services. Guess what they didn't care. We were told we agreed to that arrangement and there was nothing they could do. I told them we didn't agree to that at all. They said they would look into. I called the next day and no record of my complaint. What a surprise. They still didn't do anything so we had to cram all four of us into a room that was designed for 3 people. When I got back I sat on hold on their customer service line for 90 minutes and still didn't get a live body. Emailed our cruise consultant twice and nothing. I did log-into the site and was called within 20 minutes by a cruise consultant asking if I needed help booking a cruise. When I told them my problem I never heard from them again.

 

The shame of it all is the getaway was a beautiful boat but ncl's complete lack of customer service for issues has resigned me to never using them again. If anyone every asked me if they should book a cruise with them I will do everything in my power to stop them.

 

NCL plays the game of delay and deny. They make you hold for hours trying to break your will. If you do finally speak to a live person they claim ignorance. Sometimes they will assure you a supervisor will call you back. They never do. You then start all over. NCL hopes you will grow weary of the game and just give up. Most do.

 

To be fair, lots of other companies do the same thing. That doesn't make it right.

[Love my butler]

Per their web site..

 

 

 

It's very clearly defined on the layout which rooms this pertains to.

 

Huh, then I wonder why the NCL agent picked that room for the OP............

[roddy good boy]

I have booked a balcony and an interior cabin across from each other numerous times (so that our children could be next to us) on both Carnival and RCCL. I would never have thought the door across the hall was on another corridor. I agree that the OPs money should be refunded for the interior room. It was recommended by the NCL representative. It was his JOB to know!