All the way from school - Live with us Cruise Bullying

[Cindy]

I'm sorry this happened to you, but a company enforcing their well-publicized policies is not bullying. Unfortunately you made an expensive mistake. While I'm sure you were hoping an exception would be made, for you to expect such is unrealistic. If an exception is going to be made for everyone, then what's the point of having a policy?

 

I have to say that bullying is a very serious matter, and I thought from your title that something horrendous had happened involving a cruise line employee. I don't think an employee doing that which they are required to do for their job is in any way, shape, or form bullying. This was nothing more than an error on your part.

 

If you've cruised with NCL before, which your posts indicate you have, then you must be well aware of the cancellation policies and penalties. In my opinion, you're the one doing the bullying by trying to use social media to force the company to do something that contradicts their published policy. Sorry if that sounds harsh...I'm just weary of people jumping on CC and other outlets slamming a cruise line or cruise employees when the cruise line isn't the one who made a mistake.:(

Edited February 14, 2015 by Cindy

[janpo]

First of all your title makes no sense and your thread has nothing to do with bullying at all.

 

You booked without being absolutely sure of your work schedule and now you're out money because of that.

 

Change your work schedule..not the cruise and you would have saved yourself money.

 

This is not NCL's fault for following their rules. It's yours plain and simple. Own up to it and stop threads with the title that is not true nor makes any sense.

Edited February 14, 2015 by janpo

[waxing witch]

Change your work schedule..not the cruise and you would have saved yourself money.

 

not sure what field the OP works in, but i'd think missing an unscheduled day of work would 'cost' less than just randomly losing $500. OP said they were changing cruise date by one day.

 

plus, like others have said, being subjected to well-publicized rules - even if rather harshly - is not bullying. if you were treated poorly, meaning the CSRs spoke to you inappropriately, then by all means continue looking for someone to talk to. i suggest tweeting @CruiseNorwegian, not bashing them but stating you have a customer service issue. i've had great luck using social media to get company's attention.

[janpo]

Yes it wouod cost less than cancelling the cruise which is why I said to change their work schedule.

[DDD06]

While it certainly appears that NCL hasn't done anything "wrong" here, I believe the answer the OP is looking for is socialmedia@ncl.com.

[DrNora]

Perhaps " cranky NCL reps " " NCL too Rigid and Spoke Harshly"

Would be better titles- I thought this thread was going to have video of roving school -age bullies on spring break or something.

 

Yeesh.

[mjkacmom]

If it makes you feel better, if you would have dropped dead, you still wouldn't get your money back. That shows how set in stone these policies are. There have been stories in the media about terminal illness, death, loss of home or loved ones, etc., and there is no budging. After hearing all of these stories, we always purchase cruise insurance.

[Va. Plumber]

And I bet the OP really thought they were going to get a lot of sympathy on here.

[zqvol]

Reading the title to this thread and then what happened to the OP leaves me wondering.

 

The complaint is that NCL followed their written policies and the OP didn't like it.

 

IMO NCL did nothing wrong, and OP got their feelings hurt for no reason. This is not bullying, this is more like the principal telling you something that you didn't like.

[Clay Clayton]

Tweeting or social media bashing is not what we want. NCL has provided good times in the past. It is about two people who using the shield and size of the company mistreated us...

 

I didn't mean to use Twitter to bash, I meant use it to ask Norwegian for some help. On the airlines it is often the quickest way to get resolution perhaps the same is true?

[david_sobe]

*****insert photo of someone eating popcorn if I was computer smart so this sentence will have to do *****

 

I agree the title is a bit odd. Maybe they were bullied to have a great time i.e. You better get on that water slide or no Cagneys for you tonight!!!!! :eek:

Edited February 14, 2015 by david_sobe

[daffodiliaz]

I hope the OP's work schedule doesn't change again in the next two days--making the original cruise dates possible--if they've already cancelled and received the refund less the $500. If it was $500 I probably would've waited until the very last minute of that $500 cancel time frame and begged my boss for approval (which I would've secured ahead of time, but then I'm just a grunt).

[jacketwatch]

In very short words. We booked and paid for a cruise only to realize two days later we could not travel due to unseen work obligations. Our mistake cost us 500 bucks cancellation fee, that's the amount they kept from us.....and somehow we admit our fault, but in the course of trying to salvage our money and booking a cruise one day later as an alternative, ( just one day difference from the previous one )we found two unsensible people, who invoked the clear policy of cancelling of the company and there was not a possibility of changing. We found them harsh...We knew we were in the lost...and they made us feel worst.

 

That was all, it is simple and insignificant to many, but we felt small and helpless . It would have been nice if somebody of a higher authority in NCL would have heard our pledge.

Wow. You say you spoke to two people so this issue was pushed up the ladder, at least a little.

Did you think that admitting your fault should be enough to recoup your money?

We will never know objectively how you were dealt with by NCL but what is clear is they followed the policy. If you felt "small and helpless" because of this and you found no one to change this to your way of thinking I think you are being very unrealistic and your expectations are as well.

Take this as a lesson and move on.

[happymanitee]

I don't know... I don't think NCL's policy is very clear about early cancellations. Their website says something like canceling between 75-60 days before the cruise results in loss of the deposit. But, what about cancelling 130 days before? I can't find the answer anywhere. I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2016, but I don't know my vacation days yet, so it's possible I would have to cancel. Because of this, I'm just going to wait.

Also, I've never cruised on NCL, but I know changing cruises on Royal is no problem at all. I recently moved my cruise completely..new port, new dates and there was no penalty at all. I even got a refund because my new cruise was cheaper than the old one.

Now, I agree with you all that you have to understand all the terms before booking, but I don't think the OP is being completely unreasonable for asking.

[Cole Thornton]

I don't know... I don't think NCL's policy is very clear about early cancellations. Their website says something like canceling between 75-60 days before the cruise results in loss of the deposit. But, what about cancelling 130 days before? I can't find the answer anywhere. I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2016, but I don't know my vacation days yet, so it's possible I would have to cancel. Because of this, I'm just going to wait.

Also, I've never cruised on NCL, but I know changing cruises on Royal is no problem at all. I recently moved my cruise completely..new port, new dates and there was no penalty at all. I even got a refund because my new cruise was cheaper than the old one.

Now, I agree with you all that you have to understand all the terms before booking, but I don't think the OP is being completely unreasonable for asking.

 

 

Pretty darned clear.

 

http://www.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

[jacketwatch]

I don't know... I don't think NCL's policy is very clear about early cancellations. Their website says something like canceling between 75-60 days before the cruise results in loss of the deposit. But, what about cancelling 130 days before? I can't find the answer anywhere. I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2016, but I don't know my vacation days yet, so it's possible I would have to cancel. Because of this, I'm just going to wait.

Also, I've never cruised on NCL, but I know changing cruises on Royal is no problem at all. I recently moved my cruise completely..new port, new dates and there was no penalty at all. I even got a refund because my new cruise was cheaper than the old one.

Now, I agree with you all that you have to understand all the terms before booking, but I don't think the OP is being completely unreasonable for asking.

I think that asking is fine. It's how you deal with the answer that's in question.

[rvsullivan]

I don't know... I don't think NCL's policy is very clear about early cancellations. Their website says something like canceling between 75-60 days before the cruise results in loss of the deposit. But, what about cancelling 130 days before? I can't find the answer anywhere. I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2016, but I don't know my vacation days yet, so it's possible I would have to cancel. Because of this, I'm just going to wait.

Also, I've never cruised on NCL, but I know changing cruises on Royal is no problem at all. I recently moved my cruise completely..new port, new dates and there was no penalty at all. I even got a refund because my new cruise was cheaper than the old one.

Now, I agree with you all that you have to understand all the terms before booking, but I don't think the OP is being completely unreasonable for asking.

 

You can't find anything about cancelling 130 days before because there is no penalty. In most cases, as you mentioned, the penalty starts at 75 days. Either the OP booked a cruise on very short notice (inside the cancellation period), or, they booked on one of the European sites that does not allow cancellation without forfeiting your deposit. The cost of $500 sounds like a deposit to me.

If you want to book now for 2016 and wait a few months to change/cancel, you can do that without any penalty.

[shapatack0]

Pretty darned clear.

 

http://www.ncl.com/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

 

It's actually not clear at all about what happens when you cancel more than 75 days out. We all know that NCL processes full refunds, but that is not written anywhere on their website that I can find. Why would NCL not just have another line for >75 days, no penalty?

[zacdilone]

I think there are two issues here: 1) the cancellation policy, and 2) the quality of customer service. The first is a frustration, to be sure, but a company enforcing their rules and policies can't be regarded as "bullying." As for the second, if you feel that in the course of rightly enforcing their policy, the customer service agents were mean, rude, nasty, and such, then you should contact a higher up at NCL and let them know. "Inflexible" does not automatically equal "rude," but sometimes they do travel together. Accept the first as a consequence of your mistake, but if you also encountered the second, file a complaint.

[garycarla]

In very short words. We booked and paid for a cruise only to realize two days later we could not travel due to unseen work obligations. Our mistake cost us 500 bucks cancellation fee, that's the amount they kept from us.....and somehow we admit our fault, but in the course of trying to salvage our money and booking a cruise one day later as an alternative, ( just one day difference from the previous one )we found two unsensible people, who invoked the clear policy of cancelling of the company and there was not a possibility of changing. We found them harsh...We knew we were in the lost...and they made us feel worst.

 

That was all, it is simple and insignificant to many, but we felt small and helpless . It would have been nice if somebody of a higher authority in NCL would have heard our pledge.

 

I feel your pain. As said by others:

 

- it is the policy

- it is an expensive mistake

- nobody was bullied

- yea, it sucks, but going up the ladder still meets with the POLICY.

 

I do feel your pain. It happened to me once - booked a trip - but it was the same date as our daughters's graduation. Trip cancelled. Money lost. My fault, not NCLs. I asked for a new booking. They said no. We still cruise with them.

[ColinIllinois]

It's actually not clear at all about what happens when you cancel more than 75 days out. We all know that NCL processes full refunds, but that is not written anywhere on their website that I can find. Why would NCL not just have another line for >75 days, no penalty?

 

 

It's pretty obvious that if you aren't within the days listed then there isn't a penalty. You're looking for what's not there instead of what is there. You're thinking too much. :)

[fshagan]

I have managed customer service reps and before the advent of automatically recorded customer calls we actually thought some of our reps had bad days and were rude.

 

Recording every call stopped that impression. The vast majority of the time the rep is professional. If the rep says something like "No, our policy is that the deposit is forfeited if you cancel" we are told the rep has been extremely rude, cursed at them, refused to apologize and should be fired. Sometimes we find the rep has gone through a horrible experience on their end of the line, including receiving graphic death threats, when the complaint comes in that the rep hung up on them.

 

The challenge for customer service agents is to realize that not everyone is that way and to treat each call as one of the 90% of people who are reasonable and fair even if upset.

 

Policies and pricing are subject to certain laws, and while companies can make exceptions, in the US they cannot have "secret warranties" or have favoritism to any particular group over another in making exceptions or the FTC steps in. It is easier to simply have the policies, and enforce them.

 

In any case, the thread title is way over the top and probably an exercise in trolling by the OP.

[zqvol]

I don't know... I don't think NCL's policy is very clear about early cancellations. Their website says something like canceling between 75-60 days before the cruise results in loss of the deposit. But, what about cancelling 130 days before? I can't find the answer anywhere. I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2016, but I don't know my vacation days yet, so it's possible I would have to cancel. Because of this, I'm just going to wait.

Also, I've never cruised on NCL, but I know changing cruises on Royal is no problem at all. I recently moved my cruise completely..new port, new dates and there was no penalty at all. I even got a refund because my new cruise was cheaper than the old one.

Now, I agree with you all that you have to understand all the terms before booking, but I don't think the OP is being completely unreasonable for asking.

 

 

The policy is very clear. It is easy to read and understand. If you cancel 130 days out there is no penalty. As you get closer to sail date penalties go up. The web site could not make it any clearer. This certainly isn't rocket science.

[Cruisercl]

I don't know... I don't think NCL's policy is very clear about early cancellations. Their website says something like canceling between 75-60 days before the cruise results in loss of the deposit. But, what about cancelling 130 days before? I can't find the answer anywhere. I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2016, but I don't know my vacation days yet, so it's possible I would have to cancel. Because of this, I'm just going to wait.

Also, I've never cruised on NCL, but I know changing cruises on Royal is no problem at all. I recently moved my cruise completely..new port, new dates and there was no penalty at all. I even got a refund because my new cruise was cheaper than the old one.

Now, I agree with you all that you have to understand all the terms before booking, but I don't think the OP is being completely unreasonable for asking.

 

Royal has pretty much the same cancellation policy as NCL; it is on their website. You must have been outside of the cancellation policy days to be able to change your cruise.

You can always ask, but IMO you may not like the answer but that doesn't make it wrong.

Happy cruising all!! :)

Edited February 14, 2015 by Cruisercl

[mikedw]

Being told no because it's against company policy is not bad customer service. You're just upset because you did not get your way.