NCL Jaded: First(/LAST?) time as a Norwegian

[Shawnino]

That's really weird. 21-day all the time?

Part of me is surprised they let you board on the 4th then -- glad they did.

Did you write a review yet? Mine was posted.

 

I am really sorry about your room steward. The two we had were really great and I was glad there was a place in the survey where I could single them out for praise.

 

NCL's reply (or non-reply) will determine whether or not Svetlana and I keep our future bookings. I totally get it if you walk away from NCL. BTW I would love to have your email. Send me a note at hotmail with your address if you wouldn't mind.

[Level six]

That's really weird. 21-day all the time?

Part of me is surprised they let you board on the 4th then -- glad they did.

Did you write a review yet? Mine was posted.

 

I am really sorry about your room steward. The two we had were really great and I was glad there was a place in the survey where I could single them out for praise.

 

NCL's reply (or non-reply) will determine whether or not Svetlana and I keep our future bookings. I totally get it if you walk away from NCL. BTW I would love to have your email. Send me a note at hotmail with your address if you wouldn't mind.

 

Oh man, I would have died if they had not let me board!! I did have all my documentation, but apparently, it doesn't matter much, as in your case.

I did read your review, you were very kind in your review. I am waiting on mine because it is not very good.

I will try to find your email on roll call and send you mine.

[Shawnino]

Waiting to write yours or waiting to see it published?

Got your note.

[Level six]

Waiting to write yours or waiting to see it published?

Got your note.

 

I wrote it, sent it. Woke up the next day after sleeping on it and asked CC not to publish it. Luckily they had not published it yet and they sent it back, so now I am trying to see if I am being as truthful as possible. Maybe after a few weeks, I will just remember the good things about the cruise (like you and all the great people I met) and not feel as HOT about it.

I do try really hard to be objective and fair about things, so?

[keeponcruising]

Just read this......you are not alone Shawnino, except, this passenger and family were left at port!!!

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45783315&posted=1#post45783315

 

I'd be leery of booking a GTY on NCL after hearing about these 2 incidents. Also, seems like they rely on orders from Miami and can never get a hold of them.

[jackson bernard]

25 WORDS OR LESS

NCL clean lost 2nd half of B2B res. Ultimately found, but not ADA room. Full ship. Much talk, no help. Finally $500 in OBC.

 

250,000 WORDS OR MORE

 

IN THE BEGINNING, ALL WAS WELL

 

We booked Feb 14 W/Med. I needed an accessible bathroom, and TA and I were told we could book it BX-GTY and get accessible bathroom. Super!

 

I got more time off work so I added Feb 04 E/Med. Again we were repeatedly assured we could book BX-GTY and get the accessible bathroom. NCL very apologetic they couldn't put us in same cabin both legs but we were OK with that, and bizarrely saved $60 by booking the legs separately. Moving mid cruise was not a huge deal.

 

Our cabin on Feb 4 E/Med met my needs with accessible bathroom. Hurrah! Good start.

 

A RESERVATION LOST

 

Morning of Feb 12 we happened to be sea day chatting with other CCers in the Atrium...were we joining them for the B2B talk in Spinnaker at 2:30? We didn't know there was one. Oh, everyone else got B2B docs in their cabins overnight and notification of meeting. We shuffled over to Guest Services to pick up a copy, and that's when things went sideways.

 

NCL had absolutely no record of our second cruise's reservation (which was actually the first we booked). We simply did not exist on any of their systems for the cruise in two days' time. Did we happen to have any documentation that showed we had booked and paid...?

 

Of course we did! My wife, growing surlier by the minute, brought it from the room: E-docs we printed straight off the NCL website. (Our TA had sent an identical copy.) "This looks to be in order, but there's someone else in that room. And I think we're sailing full. We need to talk to Miami. So, so sorry. Please see us tomorrow. This isn't the first time this has happened. Don't worry, we're sorry."

 

24 HOURS LATER

 

Friday morning before our excursion, the day before the first cruise ends, we went to Guest Services as requested. They had not heard from Miami, and cited the timezone difference. I pointed out that as Miami was six hours behind, this excuse was nonsense. Yes, well, we were to come back in the evening. Only Miami can fix this. They reiterated how sorry they were. I reiterated how I knew it wasn't those particular staffers' fault.

 

12 HOURS LATER

 

Miami found our reservation, and we were getting the room originally assigned... but that wasn't an ADA room, even though one had been requested. I was asked to take a look at it once we moved in and see if I could make it work. If I couldn't, well, the ship was full, so they weren't sure what they could do. Everyone was exceptionally empathetic, but incredibly impotent.

 

What they wouldn't give me, is a card to get back on the ship on turnaround day. Well, they wouldn't give me that until I argued for an hour. Missus and I were going on excursions, and I was in unable to accept "Oh, just come back to the ship after your excursion, everything will be sorted out--just come to Guest Services here on Deck 7". How could I come to Guest Services if I could not be guaranteed reboarding? What of my luggage, where would it stay?

 

This was the only time I put my foot down. And the only time the empathy level dropped below 100% from NCL staff, as we were now making them actually accommodate us. After an hour's discussion, where they said "we know this must be upsetting" 100 times and I said "I know it's not you personally who messed this up" 100 times, we got new cards so we could get back on the ship the following day. At least I was pretty sure the new cards would work. Thankfully, they did.

 

SECOND CRUISE BEGINS

 

Our new cabin was unsatisfactory. I've had my physical condition for 30 years (if you want the freakshow details ask--I'm trying to stay on point) so I can work around most tough spots. I could delicately do most bathroom things (sink, toilet)--what I could not do was get out of the shower standing up. (Getting in was OK. Getting out, with my peculiar state, had to be done on my arse.)

 

A PROPOSAL FROM NCL

 

After the general reservation was miraculously found, the accessibility issue was passed on to the Accessibility Officer, Cholette. Like the regular reservations team, her cheerful empathy was exceeded only by her abject inability to do anything useful.

 

She had one slightly strange idea: there were young lovers in an inside ADA cabin, who "didn't look like they needed it"... whatever that meant. She figured they'd happily upgrade to a balcony if I was willing to move to the Inside. I told her this wasn't on as I'd likely be trading one issue (shower) for another (motion sickness/disorientation... again, if anyone wants to talk medical file, ask).

 

Well then she said not to worry, they'd find some other solution. (If you want to skip the next two sections, they never did, despite professing concern and empathy multiple times daily.)

 

BENCHES

 

I had a suggestion of my own: a long bench, half in the shower, half out, on which I could slide. Over the next two days they sent up several short, inadequate benches. I patiently explained how none worked. On Day Four they finally said they understood and that the Carpenters could build what I needed straight away. Hurrah!

 

I never saw the custom bench.

 

MORE TALK

 

And yet, every day Cholette called and/or tracked me down at dinner to say how sorry she was and that she was "working on it". When I asked her what this work entailed she said she couldn't say.

 

$500 OBC

 

On Day 9 Cholette informed me she was putting $500 OBC in my account as compensation. I thanked her. And I kept slithering out of the shower.

 

"SO OTHER THAN THAT, MRS. LINCOLN,..."

 

To this point I've tried to be as factual as possible. I have detailed the empathy overdrive in which NCL trains their staff, which was starting to grind my gears, but I couldn't bring myself to get angry, as it would feel like swearing at The Smurfs.

 

Moving on, here are my more subjective notes on The Rest of The Cruise. Had it been excellent, I'd put this reservation snafu and poor resolution behind us, but where the rest was a mixed bag, I'm not so sure.

 

In the past, my wife and I have usually done Expedition type soft adventure cruising, so we had never been on NCL before. We are not luxury cruisers. Notes:

 

ITINERARY

 

We chose these itineraries because we thought they were excellent. NCL did an A-minus job delivering the itinerary (one missed port, no make up; a couple port days were un-necessarily short) and we thought that was great.

 

CABINS, EX-MOBILITY ISSUES

 

The first one was fantastic. The second one smelled faintly stale, but was perfectly acceptable. The other people in our party had a cabin with what turned out to be a backed up drain one night and we had to call three times about it, somewhat urgently as water was slowly rising. But they came and fixed it once we explained the rush. Our safe did not work on embarkation. It was fixed within two hours, after a second call. (I missed informal M&G with fellow CCers... sorry.)

 

ROOM STEWARDS

 

Our stewards, Richie and Wilson, were excellent.

 

DINING: FOOD

 

We had the UDP and used it every night.

 

Cagneys and La Cucina were as good as what you'd find on land.

 

Le Bistro was perfectly fine.

 

Moderno was poor the first time. The second time, our party got food poisoning, as did others aboard. There was no third time.

 

Teppanyaki was average minus both in food quality and in the cooking show. If you've never seen it, it might be worth a look. Better to go on land.

 

We heard bad reviews about the sit down Oriental stuff (Jasmine Garden, Shabu Shabu, Sushi) so we didn't go.

 

Breakfast, principally the omelet station, was perfectly fine.

 

We ate lunch in the MDR on some sea days: airline quality food. This pushed us to freshly prepared stuff at the buffet (fine) or the stuff at the Blue Lagoon (mediocre).

 

DINING: SERVICE

 

The wait staff is poorly trained and most wouldn't last a shift at an upscale restaurant on land. But you know what? I don't care. They did their very best to do a good job and cheerfully corrected their errors. They tried so hard--and if that isn't enough for you, you've lost your humanity. It was more than enough for me.

 

One thing that was unacceptable was the brutally slow service at Le Bistro. This wasn't the staff's fault per se: there simply wasn't enough staff. Everyone working there was going all-out, but there wasn't enough ogf them. I know French restaurants offer more languid dining, but three courses simply shouldn't take 2:15-plus unless you want it to. (We didn't.)

 

DISEASE

 

Aside from the pile of us who were sick after Moderno on Monaco night (our whole party, anotherother CCer, others I met), there was also a bronchial infection passing through the ship. I know eight people from 4-5 parties who came down with the bronchial stuff, none in our party.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

We didn't go to many shows but the ones we went to were good--certainly as good or better than what our regional professional theatre mounts.

 

The lounge acts were average-plus to good.

 

ACTIVITIES

 

Sadly these were largely very plebeian, lowest-common-denominator stuff. Bah. Even the things I had some hope for failed to deliver. (The one time I tried Trivia it descended into half the entries beefing over answers and how questions were phrased.) The "port talks" were just a sales pitch for NCL's overpriced excursions. The "art talks" just perpetuated Park West's ongoing art scam.

 

How hard would it have been to bring on a real historian to give real talks about tomorrow's destination? That's what I missed most about the expedition cruising experience.

 

OTHER ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES

 

I used the wheelchair service to travel from my stateroom off and back on the ship. Sometimes the service was fast. Half the time leaving the ship it took more than half an hour. (Not enough bellboys.) Coming back aboard was easy and quick.

 

Toward the end of our first leg we hit a freak snow day in Istanbul. I wanted to rent a wheelchair for the day, and NCL refused to accommodate me. They had chairs, but only rented by-the-cruise and they wanted $260 for the ten days, with three days to go. I only needed it the one day and balked. My offer of $50 for the one day, which I thought was over the odds but I did want the chair, was declined. So was a more carefully whispered offer of $75 cash. This stuck in my craw.

 

Cholette called the night before disembarkation to try to sell me an accessible transfer to the airport. $75pp. We already had one booked and paid for, EUR 20pp. (Not accessible, but no drama... I do walk some.) So, um, thanks I guess, but no thanks. She was surprised we weren't keen to be gouged and told me I really ought to book the transfer. We declined as politely as possible.

 

Ultimately, I just don't know...

 

We have three more cruises already booked with NCL, totalling 56 days over the next two years. Part of me wants to cancel. Part of me says the reservation snafu shouldn't happen again, I'll be better prepared for other nonsense, and I'm running the risk of spiting myself.

 

My wife and I will think about it for a week and decide, but right now I'm inclined to find a line that's more accommodating to guests' needs. There were elements of this cruise that were very good, but the overall taste in my mouth isn't as pleasant as it ought to be after three weeks bouncing around the Med.

 

Opinions?

It's disgusting how you were treated. Cancel the rest of the NCL cruises and try another line. What's that saying...fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...shame on me?

 

Please make sure you tell everyone who will listen exactly what happened. You were lucky you were at least somehow able to use the shower. Can you imagine if that were not the case?

 

Please lit people know, so the same thing won't happen to them.

[Shawnino]

@JB: I do know that adage "fool me once...", but I also know one about not cutting off one's own nose to spite one's face. The lost reservation was inexcusable. I got bad info (multiple times) on the ADA-room via GTY. I had one crushing experience at Moderno. That all sucks.

 

There were other parts of the cruise I quite enjoyed. The itinerary, for instance, had only 5 Sea Days from 21 which is right up my alley. With the exception of Moderno, the food lived up to expectations. The ship was easy to get around.

 

I've written NCL and if NCL chooses to write back, I'm going to keep an open mind and see what they say. A solid explanation of what went wrong, a plan how to never let it happen again, and any additional compensation they may or may not conclude I deserve will be weighed. If it's satisfactory, I'll renew my Norwegian citizenship. If not, I have plenty of other lines to choose from. No rush.

[sjbdtz]

What's that saying...fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...shame on me?

 

.

 

 

 

George W., is that you?

 

 

;)

 

 

.

[Kmcspoon]

I'm so sorry to read about this, Shawnino! This was so stressful. I appreciate your attitude to try to remember the good spots, but I would have a difficult time recovering from this sort of thing.

 

It worries me on a personal level, too, because my family has a b2b2b, and this is our first try with NCL. I have room assignments, but how can I be sure something like this won't happen to us? We have adjoining rooms for very specific reasons, and would not be able to be reshuffled well either.

 

We booked over year ago, got off on the wrong foot with NCL and the cruise consultant assigned, so moved to a travel agent because we liked the itinerary so well.

 

I would say, for your benefit and others, do let NCL know this type of thing can happen. If they have a "leak" in their system somewhere, they need to get it plugged up. Perhaps a poor choice of words, but first that sprang to mind.

 

You have a great way of expressing yourself, and I'm glad you wrote.

 

Take care,

Kmcspoon

[Shawnino]

I am reporting back my reply from NCL.

I will be cancelling my future reservations with NCL.

 

Following is a synopsis of their reply to my letter.

 

It should be noted that they claimed it could take up to 10 business days to reply to my letter; they replied in seven, well within the advertised range. Alas, it dripped with smarminess. Would post; don't know how. That said, I don't think I'll move from writing to complain about the cruise to writing to complain about the tone of the response! I'll just move on.

 

The issues:

 

Issue I raised: Second half of reservation lost.

NCL response: Since they were booked GTY and at different times, the reservations were not and could not be linked. This sometimes happens with GTY reservations. Sometimes, they simply disappear.

My reaction: WOW?! I don't want to slide down a hypothetical rabbit hole here but since the reservations weren't linked, what if I'd just had one reservation, and shown up on sailing day at the pier and there was no room because the other people had checked into it?

 

Issue I raised: No ADA Cabin on second leg.

NCL response: These cannot be booked by GTY. I was offered to move to an Inside Cabin which I declined. I was given $500 OBC for my trouble, which I accepted. The matter is thus closed.

My reaction: Well, if they can't be booked via GTY, both my TA and I were each misled on at least two occasions by NCL reps. Yes, I was offered to move to an Inside ADA Cabin. I could not accept this offer as I'd be trading easy shower access for motion sickness and disorientation. Yes I accepted the $500 OBC from the on-board accessibility co-ordinator, but I didn't realize that would be full and final settlement. I told her I would be writing Guest Services on my return and she encouraged me to do so.

 

Issue I raised: NCL trying to charge the full cruise rate ($260) for one day's wheelchair usage in snowy Istanbul.

NCL response:I should have demanded to speak with a manager. If I had, the wheelchair would have been accorded to me free of charge.

My reaction: My wife did speak with a manager. The manager stood firm. Policy was policy, rental by the cruise only, $260 charge, take it or leave it.

 

Issue I raised: What can be done to avoid such pitfalls in future, specifically the lost reservation?

NCL response:"Please be assured the constructive feedback you have offered has been forwarded to the appropriate management, so they may be aware of your impressions."

My reaction: I'm thinking this might be a GTY-only issue.

 

In hindsight, what would I do differently?

 

If I could go back to the reservation process, I would not have trusted the NCL reps about being able to book easy shower access cabins vis GTY.

 

If I could go back to when I was aboard, the day after the food poisoning at Moderno, instead of going on tour and emptying my stomach all over Provence, I should have stayed in the Atrium and repeatedly voided it on the Guest Services desk.

 

Like a Norwegian.

[Shawnino]

@Kmcspoon: Thanks for your kind words!

[Level six]

i am reporting back my reply from ncl.

I will be cancelling my future reservations with ncl.

 

Following is a synopsis of their reply to my letter.

 

It should be noted that they claimed it could take up to 10 business days to reply to my letter; they replied in seven, well within the advertised range. Alas, it dripped with smarminess. Would post; don't know how. That said, i don't think i'll move from writing to complain about the cruise to writing to complain about the tone of the response! I'll just move on.

 

The issues:

 

Issue i raised: Second half of reservation lost.

Ncl response: Since they were booked gty and at different times, the reservations were not and could not be linked. This sometimes happens with gty reservations. Sometimes, they simply disappear.

My reaction: Wow?! I don't want to slide down a hypothetical rabbit hole here but since the reservations weren't linked, what if i'd just had one reservation, and shown up on sailing day at the pier and there was no room because the other people had checked into it?

 

Issue i raised: No ada cabin on second leg.

Ncl response: These cannot be booked by gty. I was offered to move to an inside cabin which i declined. I was given $500 obc for my trouble, which i accepted. The matter is thus closed.

My reaction: Well, if they can't be booked via gty, both my ta and i were each misled on at least two occasions by ncl reps. Yes, i was offered to move to an inside ada cabin. I could not accept this offer as i'd be trading easy shower access for motion sickness and disorientation. Yes i accepted the $500 obc from the on-board accessibility co-ordinator, but i didn't realize that would be full and final settlement. I told her i would be writing guest services on my return and she encouraged me to do so.

 

Issue i raised: Ncl trying to charge the full cruise rate ($260) for one day's wheelchair usage in snowy istanbul.

Ncl response:i should have demanded to speak with a manager. If i had, the wheelchair would have been accorded to me free of charge.

My reaction: My wife did speak with a manager. The manager stood firm. Policy was policy, rental by the cruise only, $260 charge, take it or leave it.

 

Issue i raised: What can be done to avoid such pitfalls in future, specifically the lost reservation?

Ncl response:"please be assured the constructive feedback you have offered has been forwarded to the appropriate management, so they may be aware of your impressions."

my reaction: I'm thinking this might be a gty-only issue.

 

In hindsight, what would i do differently?

 

If i could go back to the reservation process, i would not have trusted the ncl reps about being able to book easy shower access cabins vis gty.

 

If i could go back to when i was aboard, the day after the food poisoning at moderno, instead of going on tour and emptying my stomach all over provence, i should have stayed in the atrium and repeatedly voided it on the guest services desk.

 

Like a norwegian.

 

 

unbelievable!!!!

[mickeysgal]

I am reporting back my reply from NCL.

I will be cancelling my future reservations with NCL.

 

Following is a synopsis of their reply to my letter.

 

It should be noted that they claimed it could take up to 10 business days to reply to my letter; they replied in seven, well within the advertised range. Alas, it dripped with smarminess. Would post; don't know how. That said, I don't think I'll move from writing to complain about the cruise to writing to complain about the tone of the response! I'll just move on.

 

The issues:

 

Issue I raised: Second half of reservation lost.

NCL response: Since they were booked GTY and at different times, the reservations were not and could not be linked. This sometimes happens with GTY reservations. Sometimes, they simply disappear.

My reaction: WOW?! I don't want to slide down a hypothetical rabbit hole here but since the reservations weren't linked, what if I'd just had one reservation, and shown up on sailing day at the pier and there was no room because the other people had checked into it?

 

Issue I raised: No ADA Cabin on second leg.

NCL response: These cannot be booked by GTY. I was offered to move to an Inside Cabin which I declined. I was given $500 OBC for my trouble, which I accepted. The matter is thus closed.

My reaction: Well, if they can't be booked via GTY, both my TA and I were each misled on at least two occasions by NCL reps. Yes, I was offered to move to an Inside ADA Cabin. I could not accept this offer as I'd be trading easy shower access for motion sickness and disorientation. Yes I accepted the $500 OBC from the on-board accessibility co-ordinator, but I didn't realize that would be full and final settlement. I told her I would be writing Guest Services on my return and she encouraged me to do so.

 

Issue I raised: NCL trying to charge the full cruise rate ($260) for one day's wheelchair usage in snowy Istanbul.

NCL response:I should have demanded to speak with a manager. If I had, the wheelchair would have been accorded to me free of charge.

My reaction: My wife did speak with a manager. The manager stood firm. Policy was policy, rental by the cruise only, $260 charge, take it or leave it.

 

Issue I raised: What can be done to avoid such pitfalls in future, specifically the lost reservation?

NCL response:"Please be assured the constructive feedback you have offered has been forwarded to the appropriate management, so they may be aware of your impressions."

My reaction: I'm thinking this might be a GTY-only issue.

 

In hindsight, what would I do differently?

 

If I could go back to the reservation process, I would not have trusted the NCL reps about being able to book easy shower access cabins vis GTY.

 

If I could go back to when I was aboard, the day after the food poisoning at Moderno, instead of going on tour and emptying my stomach all over Provence, I should have stayed in the Atrium and repeatedly voided it on the Guest Services desk.

 

Like a Norwegian.

 

Reading the bolded one of two ways...

- that sometimes GTY reservations disappear or

- that links between two reservations disappear.

 

I'd really like NCL to clarify this.

 

We have a GTY inside for our kids on our upcoming sailing.

[Shawnino]

unbelievable!!!!

 

Unlucky, but I don't know about unbelievable. I used to have to make Customer Service decisions, and every time it boiled down to the business decision of "How badly do we want to keep this customer happy, and how much damage do we take if we don't?"

 

My wife and I tend to book promotions. We do not gamble in the casino, use the spa or photographers, play bingo, use NCL shore excursions/transfers, nor book the UBP. Modestly in our favour, our entire party did book the UDP, we bought a Viva Vino package along with the occasional mixed drink, paid $100 for Internet, and 6 bag-specials of laundry.

 

Even though I'm in my early 40s, how much am I worth to NCL if we cruise 3-4 weeks/year on that usage pattern for 30-40 years? Somebody looked at the $500 OBC already given and decided that was (more than?) enough as enticement to stay.

 

Further, they probably read my notes and decided that, if they cut me loose, I'm not going to make it my personal mission in life to get people to not cruise NCL. They're right. I've posted my experience here and that's the end of my initiating stuff. If people ask me "Have you ever cruised NCL?", of course I'll tell them what happened, but I won't be stalking the Internet trying to bash NCL.

 

I will move on to other lines. There are plenty! Perhaps NCL views my moving on as a win for them too.

 

L6: Still hoping you'll e-mail me that first draft of your cruise review!

[AngAndBoys]

Man oh man! I would have been completely livid over the whole thing, including the snarky customer service reply. I guess your health issues have taught you how to roll with the punches better than some of us. :D

 

I'm sorry you won't be sailing NCL anymore, mostly because I will miss your posts here. You're funny! I hope that whatever line you try next, it works out a lot better for you.

 

Happy Sails!

[Shawnino]

Reading the bolded one of two ways...

- that sometimes GTY reservations disappear or

- that links between two reservations disappear.

 

I'd really like NCL to clarify this.

 

We have a GTY inside for our kids on our upcoming sailing.

 

@Mickeysgal: I took it to read that sometimes GTY reservations disappear. Here's why:

 

1) They wrote in part: "Your comments regarding the lost reservation was [sic] read with particular concern. Our records indicate that you did in fact have two reservations, however as they were booked under our guarantee program it was not able to be registered as a back to back sailing. "

 

(So that seems to suggest it's not a linkage issue.)

 

2) The clerk I dealt with most on the Guest Services Desk, Mr. Herdenson Martinez, kept telling me "This happens sometimes. Reservations get lost. Do not worry." That exact phrasing, several times.

 

Now...

--I have no evidence to suggest that NCL routinely overbooks.

--I have no idea what happened to the other people booked into our cabin. (I asked. Was told no comment and that was a Confidentiality issue. Fine.)

--I'm not sure why our second reservation was chosen for Musical Chairs: we booked/deposited seven months out and paid in full via TA by Final Payment.

--When we presented our E-Docs, receipts, etc. that the second leg was paid in full, I expected more bewilderment from the desk ("This very rarely happens!"). Nope. Perhaps it really is as Herdenson says: when the ship is full, this can happen frequently enough that it doesn't raise eyebrows.

[Shawnino]

Man oh man! I would have been completely livid over the whole thing, including the snarky customer service reply. I guess your health issues have taught you how to roll with the punches better than some of us. :D

 

I'm sorry you won't be sailing NCL anymore, mostly because I will miss your posts here. You're funny! I hope that whatever line you try next, it works out a lot better for you.

 

Happy Sails!

 

Thanks very much! Happy Sails to you!

 

As I wrote before, in this thread or another I can't recall, I was tempted to dial up some outrage while aboard. I made the conscious decision to try to smile and try to appear as laid-back as possible even though I was pretty upset. I thought trying to be a Nice Guy might mean that, if it was ever a toss-up to give me a room or force me to disembark after the first leg, the powers-that-be might think "He's been so understanding. If we need to bend a rule to keep him aboard, let's bend a rule."

 

What I'm most upset about tonight is that the main purpose of my letter was to ask how we can make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again on a future sailing. Not only did I get no tangible suggestion (such as, "Look, Son--just don't book GTY, m'kay?") I got some boiler-plate mumbo-jumbo about sending my impressions to management.

 

Unacceptable.

 

We've got the five-week Buenos Aires--San Francisco booked for next spring on Sun, and three weeks on Epic Spring 2017. My wife's like "So, we're not going?"

 

I asked her, so if we had a serious issue and we needed NCL's help, do you think we could count on it? "I guess we're not going," she said.

[Level six]

Thanks very much! Happy Sails to you!

 

As I wrote before, in this thread or another I can't recall, I was tempted to dial up some outrage while aboard. I made the conscious decision to try to smile and try to appear as laid-back as possible even though I was pretty upset. I thought trying to be a Nice Guy might mean that, if it was ever a toss-up to give me a room or force me to disembark after the first leg, the powers-that-be might think "He's been so understanding. If we need to bend a rule to keep him aboard, let's bend a rule."

 

What I'm most upset about tonight is that the main purpose of my letter was to ask how we can make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again on a future sailing. Not only did I get no tangible suggestion (such as, "Look, Son--just don't book GTY, m'kay?") I got some boiler-plate mumbo-jumbo about sending my impressions to management.

 

Unacceptable.

 

We've got the five-week Buenos Aires--San Francisco booked for next spring on Sun, and three weeks on Epic Spring 2017. My wife's like "So, we're not going?"

 

I asked her, so if we had a serious issue and we needed NCL's help, do you think we could count on it? "I guess we're not going," she said.

 

I was on this cruise with Shawnino, we met thru CC. When he states he was nice and tried not to get upset, THAT is an understatement. He was a SAINT, to say the least. I think I got more angry about the situation than he did. He was so understanding and patient. He was more than a nice guy. Really, he did not know until the day of the next cruise if he had a cabin. Who could have done that? He was THE perfect passenger, never even lost his smile. As was his charming wife.

When we first heard about the mix up, my husband and I were shocked, What? How can someone have all the valid printed documentation with them, and be told they do not have a reservation? Never in a million years did I think anything like this could happen.

I don't blame you Shawnino for canceling your future cruises, considering the way you were treated then and unfortunately the way you were treated now too. It is definitely an eye opener for me. How do any of us know that when we show up at the port that we will a reservation?

I hope we have the opportunity to cruise together again, it was truly a joy to meet you and your wife.

[Love my butler]

I learned a long time ago to never trust anything an NCL customer service rep tells you. They often are completely wrong. I triple check everything I don't know as a fact and get my answers in writing whenever possible. NCL motto seems to be 'pass the buck'.

[hawkeyetlse]

You cannot attach a wish-list to a GTY booking. NCL reps and TAs will say "yessir yessir" to get your booking, but it seems to me that in most cases they just put your booking through like any other GTY and you get whatever they feel like assigning you. However, once you get your assignment, you can call and remind them of their promises, and they may consider changing your assignment at that point.

 

That is why I asked above how far in advance of your cruises you received your GTY assignments. (I know you don't necessarily "receive" anything from NCL, what I mean is when did your cabin assignments appear in your vacation summary on-line?) That would have been a good time to verify if your special request for an accessible room had been accommodated.

[Shawnino]

I learned a long time ago to never trust anything an NCL customer service rep tells you. They often are completely wrong. I triple check everything I don't know as a fact and get my answers in writing whenever possible. NCL motto seems to be 'pass the buck'.

 

Well I've learned it now, not to trust what NCL reps say. Non-issue in future.

 

Getting stuff in writing is always sage advice. That I could produce my e-docs (printed off ncl.com) and it still took them 36 hours to confirm I had a room, was discouraging.

 

I'm not sure how much getting "yes we've booked you an ADA cabin via GTY" in writing would have helped here. The cruise was full, and for 36 hours I had no room whatsoever. After-the-fact, I expect I would have just gotten the same form letter I got yesterday stating that whoever gave me the written assurance about ADA rooms via GTY was incorrect.

 

Cruises are commodities to passengers. To cruise lines, it is the passengers who are commodities. Just as I'm leaving NCL, I'm sure, somewhere, there's somebody equally disgusted with Celebrity or Princess looking at NCL with fresh, optimistic eyes.

 

From my favourite book, Youth in Revolt:

 

"Now that he's dumped me, I'll never fall in love again. There's no one for me in this world!"

"Of course there is! He's out there, Sonya."

"Well whoever he is, I hope he's not [sleeping with] some other girl right now!"

"He's not. He's likely as sad and lonely as you are."

"Oh gross. I don't want to go out with some creepy loser!"

[Shawnino]

You cannot attach a wish-list to a GTY booking. NCL reps and TAs will say "yessir yessir" to get your booking, but it seems to me that in most cases they just put your booking through like any other GTY and you get whatever they feel like assigning you. However, once you get your assignment, you can call and remind them of their promises, and they may consider changing your assignment at that point.

 

That is why I asked above how far in advance of your cruises you received your GTY assignments. (I know you don't necessarily "receive" anything from NCL, what I mean is when did your cabin assignments appear in your vacation summary on-line?) That would have been a good time to verify if your special request for an accessible room had been accommodated.

 

40 days (-ish) and done-and-done.

I even pulled up a deck plan, saw that neither room appeared to be ADA and called. I was assured the deck plan was not up to date and that the rooms would meet my needs. My TA did same.

 

Indeed, the first room was barrier-free even if it didn't say so. Fair enough. Minor renos happen and the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand did. And I didn't even need the whole nine yards, I just needed easy shower access.

 

The crawling about in the shower, while it was a few annoying minutes daily, paled for me in comparison to the second reservation being out-and-out lost. We were oblivious to that and it only came to our attention because other CCers were making small talk about going to the B2B lecture in Spinnaker. If we weren't in on that chit-chat, we likely would not have had any inkling that our reservation had disappeared. I had researched turnaround day procedures before sailing. We would have packed our bags for the room swap, gone on our turnaround day excursions, and returned to a full ship with maybe two hours to sort stuff.

 

I do wonder what happened to the other booking in our cabin. I hope they got upgraded.

[hawkeyetlse]

I'm not sure how much getting "yes we've booked you an ADA cabin via GTY" in writing would have helped here.

It would have at least told them which call center rep(s) to fire/reprimand/retrain. Although they should have some sort of record of your calls and your TAs calls, so if they really care about improving their service, they have the info.

 

And if the deck plans on the NCL website are out of date, and if the phone reps have access to more recent deck plans (which are actually still wrong, or which the reps are incapable of reading correctly), that is yet another issue brought to light by your experience that NCL needs to address ASAP. This tells me that if I need a particular type of cabin, the deck plan will tell me one thing, the NCL reps may tell me another thing, and until I actually see my room on embarkation day, I have no way of knowing if I've booked a week-long vacation or a week-long nightmare.

[Shawnino]

@Hawkeyetlse: That's fair enough. Reading reports on these boards over the last year, though, this issue does seem to be an epidemic for NCL, where the phone reps are not up to date. Just thinking back over a few other examples (none of which are mine):

 

--Are the wine machines included in UBP?

--What privileges do Suite guests share with Haven passengers, and what's different?

--Can I bring an iron aboard? A curling iron? A... (etc.)?

--Which OBC is refundable, and which is not?

--I was told my promotion was X, but when I print my e-docs, it's Y.

etc.

 

It is a lot to keep straight. Mistakes will occasionally be made. We seem to have a situation now where show reservations are no longer taken on one of the larger ships, and NCL PCCs didn't know about the change.

 

I may have inadvertently complicated matters in re: the cabin. I spent two years assessing accessibility for the government. There are different levels of accessibility. To try to be as co-operative as possible, I always stressed that all I really needed was a either zero-entry shower or a grab bar immediately outside. (If there were levels of rooms, that was "all I needed".) That was always and repeatedly noted. The shower on the second leg might have been assessed as sufficient as there was a grab bar inside the shower. Who knows.

[Budget Queen]

Flame away, but as the caregiver for a wheelchair user. A big mistake was made booking a guarantee cabin. The accessible rooms are in extremely short supply. I'll speculate that there is nothing in writing either, that a guarantee will "guarantee" you an accessible room, no matter what is said to you. Was this in writing?

 

The second issue would be, if you need a wheelchair- it is clearly listed what the fees are and that the cruise line is not in the wheelchair business. It's their prerogative to not make exceptions, even though you think you are entitled to one.

 

Some of these issues maybe were for the priority of the cheapest option- guarantee cabins usually are, and not having a wheelchair for the entire cruise?

 

Thank you for your report, good reminders for others to avoid.