Norwegian: Gives Military Discount and Cancels! (Reveiw of Horrible Customer Service)

[SeaShark]

Actually, I have a copy of an email with attached PDF of a reservation I made in the summer of 2013 that is a cancellation email of a reservation that was not paid in full.

 

OK...but what is the point of mention this? The OP claims they did NOT receive a cancellation. Others here felt that this was because cancellations are not sent when a paid-in-full reservation does not exist. You are now seemingly refuting that.

 

So, if the OP says no cancellation was sent, and you claim that they are, then your two stories are in conflict. You can't both be right.

[janicemarie29]

So they joined cruise critic just to let us know about the incident? No other posts except the 3 on this thread. Email access yet no internet. Hope she posts again.

[kgymn]

Nice theories out there but since this was a last minute cruise, after final payment date, payment has to be made in full at time of booking. There's really no reason to believe it was a hold unless I'm missing something.

 

And as far as the CC declining the purchase, typically the charge will simply not go through in the first place. It doesn't even show as pending, much less have a chance to make it to cleared, which they stated happened before it disappeared entirely.

 

~Katy

[carnivalman]

No, actually it is NOT their job. The shore-side people working on the pier are employees of the PORT, not of the cruise line. Their job is process guests onto the ship as long as that guest holds a valid reservation. They are not there to process your paperwork with the cruise line headquarters.

 

Even if someone in Miami could have been reached, what do you think would have happened? They would have looked in their system, seen that the person on the pier did NOT have a valid reservation, and informed them that they would not be permitted to board.

 

Based on everything I've read, my gut feeling is OP used a TA since internet was not always readily available. If that's the case, any snafus need to be handled by the TA. I had to have the TA change an incorrect middle name they entered into the record. I spoke to the cruiseline who said it had to come from who made the reservation. I presume depending on the TA, your charge hits the TA's account who then pays the cruise line or the TA charges your card directly with the cruiseline.

 

I've been overseas ready to board and someone had a problem. The traveler was told "since you booked your trip with the cruise line, we can handle your problem. If it was with a TA, then you would have to call them to resolve your issue." I don't know what that problem was. Can you see getting your travel agent out of bed at 3am? Won't happen.

 

It's also possible while she had confirmation papers, which print immediately, something happened in the system (nCL or the TA's) to cause the reservation to cancel a short time later and thus, the reason why the credit charge stayed as Pending since NCL never completed processing the reservation which would have moved the charge from Pending to Posted.

[kgymn]

As far as it being the only Hawaiian cruise at the time I fail to see how it is even relevant that NCL wouldn't have been their first choice? NCL offers the ONLY 7 day Hawaii cruise, period. As far as I am aware all others are at least 9 days because of the number of days it takes to cross the pacific just to get here. And if they could only get off enough days for a 7 day cruise, there's just no options but NCL. It's just a fact.

 

~Katy

[Pikaia]

Others here felt that this was because cancellations are not sent when a paid-in-full reservation does not exist. You are now seemingly refuting that.

If you book directly or through a travel agent and then cancel the reservation before final payment, NCL sends you (or your travel agent) confirmation of the cancellation. I have one dated February 13, 2015.

 

The subject line of the email is Guest Cancellation Confirmation for Reservation #________. Attached to the email is a PDF document titled Cancellation Invoice.

 

(I know of this document's existence because my travel insurance company required me to get it from my TA and forward it to them before they would transfer my previously purchased travel insurance policy to a new sailing date.)

Edited March 1, 2015 by Pikaia

[kgymn]

Based on everything I've read, my gut feeling is OP used a TA since internet was not always readily available. If that's the case, any snafus need to be handled by the TA. I had to have the TA change an incorrect middle name they entered into the record. I spoke to the cruiseline who said it had to come from who made the reservation. I presume depending on the TA, your charge hits the TA's account who then pays the cruise line or the TA charges your card directly with the cruiseline.

 

I've been overseas ready to board and someone had a problem. The traveler was told "since you booked your trip with the cruise line, we can handle your problem. If it was with a TA, then you would have to call them to resolve your issue." I don't know what that problem was. Can you see getting your travel agent out of bed at 3am? Won't happen.

 

It's also possible while she had confirmation papers, which print immediately, something happened in the system (nCL or the TA's) to cause the reservation to cancel a short time later and thus, the reason why the credit charge stayed as Pending since NCL never completed processing the reservation which would have moved the charge from Pending to Posted.

 

They could have called to book. Overseas phones don't work in the US so not having a phone to use after landing in Hawaii doesn't mean they don't have one where they live.

And they stated the payment DID post before finally disappearing.

 

~Katy

[carnivalman]

They could have called to book. Overseas phones don't work in the US so not having a phone to use after landing in Hawaii doesn't mean they don't have one where they live.

And they stated the payment DID post before finally disappearing.

 

~Katy

 

Mea culpa on stating the payment didn't post. Sorry.

[missintuitive]

Your advise has to be the worst I have ever seen. You forget, there are things that do not add up as to what really happened. This doesn't mean we do not sympathize with the op, I think most of us do, but to run to social media with everything is one of the things wrong with our country right now. As for the regular news, that would be ok, except unless she has more to go on than what she has told here, it would go onwhere unless the media was hard up for stories and we know lately they have had so many phoney stories they have had to retrract. My guess is they are not about to jump on this one.

 

We will have to agree to disagree. The problem with this country is the lack of empathy. In addition, customer service is damn near dead. Like I said before, my time is a commodity and if I am treated poorly by a company then I will spread the word (and I'm only advocating social media if she has all of her documentation in order). Companies can and do benefit from positive reports on social media but in the case of poor customer service that can and should be highlighted as well. We're both on a form of social media now so its a great learning tool to know that these types of things happen (regardless of the fault its a cautionary tale).

[mickeysgal]

I'm confused as there seems to be the OP's situation and another poster jumping in with their story and churning the waters. I'm still not sure what one has to do with the other.

 

Could it be that there was a pending charge for a hold that expired? What is the payment procedure when a cruise is booked ultra last minute? Thought it was payment in full...immediately. In that case, for four people, that can be a high total amount and can cause a fraud alert on the card...causing suspension of the funds...causing NCL not to get payment...causing a cancellation?

 

 

Some of these responses are very emotional (social media, news networks...really?) and others are trying to gather facts before jumping to a emotional conclusion. It doesn't mean they don't feel empathy for that family.

 

Wish the OP would come back and fill in the gaps.

Edited March 2, 2015 by mickeysgal

[mickeysgal]

We will have to agree to disagree. The problem with this country is the lack of empathy. In addition, customer service is damn near dead. Like I said before, my time is a commodity and if I am treated poorly by a company then I will spread the word (and I'm only advocating social media if she has all of her documentation in order). Companies can and do benefit from positive reports on social media but in the case of poor customer service that can and should be highlighted as well. We're both on a form of social media now so its a great learning tool to know that these types of things happen (regardless of the fault its a cautionary tale).

 

But at this point it is impossible to know whether NCL is at fault. Too many unknowns still.

 

Do you know why it was cancelled?

Do you know who the trip was booked through...a travel agent or directly with NCL?

 

But regardless, it's NCL's fault and their customer service treatment of a customer they never had?

[missintuitive]

But at this point it is impossible to know whether NCL is at fault. Too many unknowns still.

 

Do you know why it was cancelled?

Do you know who the trip was booked through...a travel agent or directly with NCL?

 

But regardless, it's NCL's fault and their customer service treatment of a customer they never had?

 

I only know what she shared on this board. That's all that any of us know. the rest is speculation whether its speculation to believe her or speculation to doubt her. Clearly this person wanted to be a customer because she attempted to book a cruise (by providing payment information that went from "pending" to "charged" to her account the day AFTER the boat sailed). She also showed up at that terminal to take that cruise (and the way things are these days, she wouldn't have been let into the terminal without some type of proof of booking...i.e. the email she had). If the OP's story is true, one thing you can bet on, she will likely remain "a customer they never had" while their competition will likely gain a customer.

 

And with that, I'm done with this convo.

[missintuitive]

But at this point it is impossible to know whether NCL is at fault. Too many unknowns still.

 

Do you know why it was cancelled?

Do you know who the trip was booked through...a travel agent or directly with NCL?

 

But regardless, it's NCL's fault and their customer service treatment of a customer they never had?

 

I only know what she shared on this board. That's all that any of us know. The rest is speculation... whether its speculation to believe her or speculation to doubt her. Clearly this person wanted to be a customer because she attempted to book a cruise (by providing payment information that went from "pending" to "charged" to her account the day AFTER the boat sailed). This the case whether she went through a TA or not. She took time to pursue a cruise with the ncl vs. attempting to cruise with another company. She also showed up at that terminal to take that cruise (and the way things are these days, she wouldn't have been let into the terminal without some type of proof of booking...i.e. the email she had). If the OP's story is true, one thing you can bet on, she will likely remain "a customer they never had" while their competition will likely gain a customer.

 

And with that, I'm done with this convo...I'm off to research my upcoming cruise...

[SeaShark]

If you book directly or through a travel agent and then cancel the reservation before final payment, NCL sends you (or your travel agent) confirmation of the cancellation. I have one dated February 13, 2015.

 

The subject line of the email is Guest Cancellation Confirmation for Reservation #________. Attached to the email is a PDF document titled Cancellation Invoice.

 

(I know of this document's existence because my travel insurance company required me to get it from my TA and forward it to them before they would transfer my previously purchased travel insurance policy to a new sailing date.)

 

While what you claim may be true, it in no way applies here.

 

This cruise was...according to the OP...booked last minute. IOW, this was booked PAST final payment date. When that is the case, full payment must be made with the booking. There is no "cancelling before final payment" in this case.

 

Either a valid paid-in-full reservation was created or it was not. All of the evidence presented by the OP indicates that a valid reservation never existed. You can't cancel a reservation that was never made.

 

Based on the evidence given, it would seem that the TA took the booking and that the booking was rejected (cancelled) upon receipt by NCL. The OP never held a valid booking, and thus was properly turned away at the pier.

 

Sure it sucks, but what do you do? You can't simply expect the pier workers from taking everyone's word for it. That certainly isn't customer service.

[NLH Arizona]

We will have to agree to disagree. The problem with this country is the lack of empathy. In addition, customer service is damn near dead. Like I said before, my time is a commodity and if I am treated poorly by a company then I will spread the word (and I'm only advocating social media if she has all of her documentation in order). Companies can and do benefit from positive reports on social media but in the case of poor customer service that can and should be highlighted as well. We're both on a form of social media now so its a great learning tool to know that these types of things happen (regardless of the fault its a cautionary tale).

So you would blame a company on social media, even though we don't have all the facts. We don't know if it was NCL's fault, the OP's fault, a TA's fault or credit card company's fault.

[realtreebar]

As to the 10 hour flight, could they have came from japan to Hawaii?

[SeaShark]

As to the 10 hour flight, could they have came from japan to Hawaii?

 

Sure, they could have come from Japan, although a typical Toyko-Honolulu flight takes about 8 hours. As was discussed earlier though, WHERE they came from has nothing to do with whether or not they arrived at the pier with a valid, paid-in-full reservation.

[garycarla]

If anyone here KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED, PLEASE SHARE.

 

Please share exactly how it was booked.

Please share how it was cancelled.

Please share how it was handled at the pier, on both the NCL side and the customer side

 

Anyone?

 

Anyone there?

 

Bottom line, too many people are taking sides without knowing what happened. There are good companies, and there are bad companies. There are also customers that know what they are doing and those that do not and those that just try to scam.

 

As great as we all appreciate the military, even they had bad apples. Not saying this person is, but blind faith is dangerous. The poster could be telling us the 100% truth and all the facts. BUT, we do not know.

Edited March 2, 2015 by garycarla

[KeithJenner]

Overseas phones don't work in the US

 

Overseas phones do work in the US.

[maywell]

Overseas phones do work in the US.

 

Just have to call the cell / telephone company of your respective country and tell them that you want them to activate it for international travel then pay the associated charges. Or let them know that you are traveling so they don't assume it was stolen, but do know what the charge by minute rate is before using it. (Had to do with T-mobile since Bahamas nor NCL not is under their rate plan - which is crummy when one thinks about...)

[SissasMomE]

So you would blame a company on social media, even though we don't have all the facts. We don't know if it was NCL's fault, the OP's fault, a TA's fault or credit card company's fault.

 

Not to mention one could be sued - BIG TIME - if it isn't the truth.

[SissasMomE]

I'll add that the pending charge from Norwegian went from pending to posted the next day and stayed on our account for several days before dropping off.

 

I'm sorry, but posted charges to do not "drop off". Pending charges will drop off. A posted charge will not simply disappear. It's either there, or a credit was issued, which will also be there. Once posted, it does not ever just disappear.

[mom1980]

Okay, I'm in a way different time zone than everyone else here and have to sleep. It appears there are a lot of questions. I'll do my best to answer them all as best as I can. If I miss something pertinent and you're genuinely curious, please ask again.

 

I'll begin by saying that upon arrival in Hawai'i we took the sim cards out of our phones to save ourselves insane roaming fees. Yes they do work, but who really wants to pay ridiculous amounts of money to use them. Even the company warned us to make sure we take the sim cards out or not turn the phones on at all if we leave the country. We had wifi at the airport and that is when I received the only two emails I got with any important information in them (I'll get back to this). We were at the airport for about 3 hours using their wifi. I did not miss a cancellation email. We left the airport and did not get into a hotel (with wifi) until it was past the 9 pm deadline (per the phone rep I spoke with) to try to do online registration and therefore I didn't even attempt it. Afterall, we were in Hawai'i, we were sightseeing...

 

I received two important emails from Norwegian. The first being a reservation hold, the second sent immediately afterward was a confirmation. The confirmation email had an attachment which says: PAID by (insert credit card used) # **** on (insert date paid). We were well, well under our credit limit. So no issues there.

 

Additionally, I used the term "dropped off" when I referred to the charge on the credit card. I used the incorrect term. It was refunded. Not sure if it was by Norwegian on their own accord or what, as I did call and tell my credit card company what was going on, so they opened a case on the charge. I assume that because it was taken care of so quickly that Norwegian refunded it.

 

They may not normally email cancellation notices. I'm not sure, but "Jason" did tell me that I should have received a cancellation email immediately when it was cancelled, I was just taking his word for it on that one...additionally, isn't the whole thing non-refundable if I had cancelled it on my own??

 

There was no travel agent involved. I booked on the phone directly with Norwegian's customer service.

 

I did not go into this with a bad attitude toward Norwegian. I would have just preferred to use a cruise line that we were familiar with. I'm sorry if it came off that way. As I said, I had read some bad reviews, but you really never know the circumstances. I however do know my circumstances and know that they really should, if nothing else, have emergency phone numbers that people actually answer on the weekends. After all, many cruises leave on Saturday and Sunday, right?

 

I really am less concerned with the fact that we didn't get on the cruise, and more concerned with the fact that it was handled with such a "meh, what are ya gonna do?" attitude from the employees.

 

As I said I'm sure something happened along the way. I understand stuff happens. However, once again they really should have handled it differently.

[kgymn]

Just have to call the cell / telephone company of your respective country and tell them that you want them to activate it for international travel then pay the associated charges. Or let them know that you are traveling so they don't assume it was stolen, but do know what the charge by minute rate is before using it. (Had to do with T-mobile since Bahamas nor NCL not is under their rate plan - which is crummy when one thinks about...)

 

That's not necessarily true. It depends on what specific phone you have and who your provider is. Certain countries use different technology and their cell signals aren't compatible with US phones. It is also not necessarily going to go the other way, a cell phone based in a foreign country isn't necessarily going to work on US networks. This is something my husband takes into consideration when he gets new phones since he often is in various foreign countries. Typically he just buys a pre-paid cell for the region he is in and has his US phone off.

 

~Katy

[kgymn]

Thanks for the update mom1980! Were you able to at least stay in Oahu and enjoy more time in the islands?

 

~Katy