How not to clean a cruise ship - NORWEGIAN EPIC!

[eroller]

This rather clever YouTube video/poem was recently posted by a past NORWEGIAN EPIC passenger who sailed in February. He was not happy about the cleanliness of his cabin, wrote NCL, and never heard back. So he took matters into his own hands and created this poem/video. It's pretty well done actually, and I have to admit some of the cabin conditions are unacceptable.

 

I have to wonder if having the shower/toilet arrangement in the cabin and not in a separate bathroom is creating extra mold issues on EPIC? This is not the first I've read of mold issues on EPIC.

 

Seems like NCL is getting a LOT of bad publicity as of late. Not a great start for the new management team it would seem.

 

Enjoy the video!

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isL8_zyIkwg&spfreload=10

[Winston Wolf]

I'd be pretty furious too if my cabin looked like that.

[LadySpoilt]

That was "EPIC"!!

Loved it!!

[GrabMyWrist]

Nicely done! He was much nicer about it than I would have been. There's no excuse for that, ever!

[happydayz]

We just booked our first NCL cruise. PLEASE tell me this is an exception, not the rule.

 

I've been a little anxious about our booking with all of the negative threads I've seen over the last week. I decided to overlook the fees and make a conscious effort to enjoy our cruise, but this would be an absolute deal breaker for me!!!

 

We are booked on the Jewel not Epic but if this room was allowed to start looking like this, could it be a problem fleet wide? I'm assuming that if all the rooms were this gross they would be out of business, BUT...you know what happens when you assume.

 

I'm just looking for a little reassurance. :o

[Va. Plumber]

Happyday2: If you go on the cruise thinking everything will be lousy, it probably will be.

 

Don't let the unhappiness of a few people color you perception of the NCL experience. I always take the view that many of the naysayers probably are pretty unhappy about everything, not just cruises.

[LoveyHowell]

Happyday2: If you go on the cruise thinking everything will be lousy, it probably will be.

 

Don't let the unhappiness of a few people color you perception of the NCL experience. I always take the view that many of the naysayers probably are pretty unhappy about everything, not just cruises.

 

Attitude has nothing to do with stained blankets, moldy walls, broken lamps, and hair all over.

[timesurfer7]

OH my. We leave on the Epic in 17 days so I hope that our room is in better shape. And if not, I am not the one that will be cleaning it. They will.

[david_sobe]

Wow. My last cruise I was on the Getaway, I met a nice couple from Louisiana at the spa. We were on the thermal pool together. We made small talk and compared NCL ships we had sailed. This couple had been on the Epic when it first sailed and said they also love the ship. But they said they sailed the Epic just a few months before the Getaway and it was filthy. They said the entire ship was disgusting. And this couple sailed NCL and loved their ships. The filth lately on the Epic is not new. If you read the Epic reviews, it is a common theme of many reviews. Just like the guy in the video, they loved the food, entertainment and staff but found everything filthy.

Many of us have commented on the cutbacks in house keeping and restaurants on NCL ships. This can be the result of those cutbacks. The Hotel Manager should be ashamed to allow a cabin like this and it is good that it was documented.

 

Mr Del Rio, have you not put the cart before the horse in being concerned only about raising fees? Perhaps you can send some more staff to the ships based on those fees.

 

I hope the family rejected the cheap wine, strawberries and free meal. Too many times the cruise line has to deal with petty complaints and people looking for free stuff. To offer such things with a cabin like this is insulting. But the guy in the video does not say they rejected that stuff LOL.

 

There is no excuse for a cabin like that. It shows YEARS of not cleaning properly and short cuts. Its not the workers but the mangers that are to blame. No response from the email is not the best customer service either.

 

Shame on you NCL.

Edited April 2, 2015 by david_sobe

[triptolemus]

Not sure what's worse... the room or the poetry.

[mianmike]

I'm guessing he didn't pay the $29.95 room cleaning fee.

[mking8288]

Thank you for sharing - for a moment - I thought he was this guy in disguise and his presence was still seen/felt on the BA last week.

 

It might not go viral on social media but whose to say - click the LIKE button & shared it, tweeting it out since we have many extended family members & friends that travel & cruise on a regular basis.

 

Thankfully, we had no problems on the BA last week - the molds on the Epic isn't brand new as noted, I pulled our ship's latest public health inspection report just to see & know.

[triptolemus]

I'm guessing he didn't pay the $29.95 room cleaning fee.

 

Well, right?

 

I mean, this is what gets me about the video. Aside from the Vogon-like poetry (some will get the reference, most will not), the video shows us a dirty, filthy ass room. Then it's explained that it can't be the room steward's fault because we're sure he works very hard. Well... obviously not. If it's not the steward's fault, then the next logical step is down that slippery slope of describing how overworked and underpaid the dude is (yes, this steward is a dude... must be)... then it's the supervisor's fault, then management's, then the HD's, skip the Captain (nothing is ever his fault), then Del Rio's fault.

 

You go on vacation (feecation) and this is what you get? Then, collectively, the DSC gets trumpeted almost unilaterally?

 

Maybe we could blame the passenger and hold him responsible like we hold him responsible for the welfare and well-being of the crew? Yeah, OP, it must be YOUR fault the room is filthy. Can't be the steward's... can't be NCL's -- they're never responsible.

 

Yup, one can only conclude that the dirty room is the fault and responsibility of the passenger, using Cruise Critic logic, of course.

Edited April 2, 2015 by triptolemus

[hawkeyetlse]

I hope the family rejected the cheap wine, strawberries and free meal. Too many times the cruise line has to deal with petty complaints and people looking for free stuff. To offer such things with a cabin like this is insulting. But the guy in the video does not say they rejected that stuff LOL.

Do they ask you if you want the wine and strawberries, or do they just have them sent to your room? Anyway, accepting a goodwill gesture onboard doesn't mean you give up the right to make a written complaint after the cruise, and it certainly doesn't give them the right to ignore it!

[GrabMyWrist]

We just booked our first NCL cruise. PLEASE tell me this is an exception, not the rule.

 

I've been a little anxious about our booking with all of the negative threads I've seen over the last week. I decided to overlook the fees and make a conscious effort to enjoy our cruise, but this would be an absolute deal breaker for me!!!

 

We are booked on the Jewel not Epic but if this room was allowed to start looking like this, could it be a problem fleet wide? I'm assuming that if all the rooms were this gross they would be out of business, BUT...you know what happens when you assume.

 

I'm just looking for a little reassurance. :o

 

I've never experienced an issue like this on any NCL cruises to date.

[rochelle_s]

NCL needs to wake up and realize that this is 2015.

 

This customers problem was obviously not addressed properly on board the ship otherwise there would have been no need for the email once they were home. Why would a company choose to ignore a letter of complaint, which I have no doubt was well written and included visual images to verify the complaint? Any business in this day and age should know that you cannot put blinders on when it comes to things like this. If you do not get in front of issues like this then you better be prepared to deal with it when it hits social media. These things can go viral in an instant. This video was posted in the last 24 hours and already has a couple thousand views. How many will it have tomorrow, after the weekend or by the end of the month?

 

A new fee of $7.95 has upset the people here on CC. How do you think folks will feel about filth?

 

Not sure how NCL can get in front of this one but I think it needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

 

I admire the guy for his creativity in getting his voice heard. I hope someone who matters is listening.

 

 

Rochelle

 

update

** In the time it took me to write this it has now had over 4000 views. Good luck with this NCL

Edited April 2, 2015 by rochelle_s
added the update

[debsjc]

That room is a disgrace, and it's shocking that NCL didn't respond to his email... i'm beginning to think I made a mistake booking the Epic.

[hawkeyetlse]

Not sure how NCL can get in front of this one but I think it needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

It's probably too late. The guy in the video is not looking for anything from NCL at this point, so my guess is that the video is staying up… I would be interested to see his letter. I assume he didn't play the "We are never sailing NCL again, Royal Caribbean here we come" card and still expect to get an answer (although they should still have answered, even then).

[bfamily4]

to those seasoned ncl cruisers out there-is this typical of ncl ships or is it rare? we will be on the getaway next yr and hope that it'll be clean, since it will only be 2 yrs old. We are an easy going family but cleanliness (or lack thereof) is enough to ruin a vacation. this is unacceptable!

[david_sobe]

One thing the video does not say but probably happened was NCL staff cleaning the room. I am not making an excuse for NCL. The room speaks for itself and shows how out of the loop the Hotel Director is. No one from management ever does spot inspections or checks in on rooms? Major failure of Hotel Management on the Epic. This may not be "typical" but I am sure there are other rooms that are similar but some people don't complain at all since they stay such a short stay.

 

On the flip side, it is realistic to assume the room was cleaned properly after the complaint. The video never says this. I know it does not make a huge difference but I would have like to have seen the room after the cleaning. I would not want cheap wine and strawberries. I would just want the room cleaned properly.

No excuse for that kind of black mold in a cabin.

Edited April 2, 2015 by david_sobe

[House_Atreides]

What a DISGRACE.

 

Yesterday, I booked a 2016 cruise with HAL, because of all the quick changes and extra costs etc. that come unannounced from NCL....(for example, the room service charge, call it what you want but that is what it is)...gratuities added to this, added to that....the new CEO should be ashamed of himself....having a ship like the EPIC being so filthy dirty....

 

Hopefully my Sun cruise is at the very least, in a clean suite~~~

[bbryan5]

We just booked our first NCL cruise. PLEASE tell me this is an exception, not the rule.

 

I've been a little anxious about our booking with all of the negative threads I've seen over the last week. I decided to overlook the fees and make a conscious effort to enjoy our cruise, but this would be an absolute deal breaker for me!!!

 

We are booked on the Jewel not Epic but if this room was allowed to start looking like this, could it be a problem fleet wide? I'm assuming that if all the rooms were this gross they would be out of business, BUT...you know what happens when you assume.

 

I'm just looking for a little reassurance.

 

Go enjoy your cruise. We've been on 5 NCL cruises and never saw anything like this.

[BusyFLmom]

We were just on the Epic and our room DID NOT look like this!!

[shapatack0]

I wonder if the recent layoffs impacted their ability to answer his email.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

We just booked our first NCL cruise. PLEASE tell me this is an exception, not the rule.

 

I've been a little anxious about our booking with all of the negative threads I've seen over the last week. I decided to overlook the fees and make a conscious effort to enjoy our cruise, but this would be an absolute deal breaker for me!!!

 

We are booked on the Jewel not Epic but if this room was allowed to start looking like this, could it be a problem fleet wide? I'm assuming that if all the rooms were this gross they would be out of business, BUT...you know what happens when you assume.

 

I'm just looking for a little reassurance. :o

 

Rest assured, I have never had an unclean cabin in my 10+ cruises on NCL. If the passenger in question spoke to the hotel director while he was on board the ship, they would have addressed his concerns. On Epic last December, I couldn't get any hot water in my cabin when I first boarded the ship. Within an hour the mechanic came and fixed it. It's what they do.

 

People have been angrier and more upset than I've ever experienced on Cruise Critic. I feel really bad for the new folks like you. It isn't usually this way. I hope you enjoy your cruise.