How not to clean a cruise ship - NORWEGIAN EPIC!

[tumblew467]

when accessing the link to the video this is what you get

 

This video has been removed by the user.

 

Sorry about that.

 

When I saw the video last week there were comments on there that he was considering

an offer made to him by NCl. So maybe he accepted their offer and in return had to take the video down.

[ontheH2O]

The nastiness shown did not build up over nite, these issues took weeks to get this bad! No cruise ship cabin goes weeks with this happening.... Something is VERY suspicious about this whole thing. Never mind this guy already has one viral video with 1.7 Million views..... And he just happened to get this cabin??? I'm just not that gullible, sorry!

 

You've implied, (at least to me), that the cabin occupant wasn't telling the truth.......his story was suspicious and the filth in his cabin did not just suddenly build up.

 

It's great to now read that NCL has compensated him and his family.

 

Calling someone a liar when you don't know the facts, when you weren't even there, is just about as low as you can go.

[dunnlights]

Hello all. Richard Dunn here with an update....

 

Bottom line, they have offered my wife and I a complete do over on the Escape at a time of our choosing over the next 2 years.

 

Now for some more commentary.

 

-I want to first address JVilleGal. I do not take kindly to being called a liar. I too am skeptical about most things, and there were many things you could have said that would have been far less accusing than, "I'm just not that gullible."

 

-I tried to resolve the situation onboard. After they came back to the cabin to "clean" twice, we kept finding more and more things that were dirty. We finally said, that's enough, borrowed some clorox wipes from our friends in the next cabin, and cleaned it ourselves.

 

-We did not sleep on the urine stained sheets. What I showed and stated in my video was that this was the extra blanket. (The one kept in the back of the couch.)

 

-The mold on the walls outside of the shower was from the towel hook. You only have one place to hang your towel, so 99% of the time, that wall was covered by a towel. (No excuse for the inside of the shower.)

 

-The towels were dirty and ripped. End of story.

 

-The broken lamp taped off with electrical tape was shoddy looking.

 

-The left over flip flops and items on the bed stand was just a pure and simple "did not clean those areas."

 

-What I did not get a picture of was the black filth and hair that was between the balcony floor and balcony door. I cleaned that myself on my hands and knees by simply wiping hard with a face cloth.

 

-The hair in the drawers was just a matter of wiping down.

 

I could go on, but what's the sense.

 

Here's what happened AFTER the video went up.....

 

I was contacted by one of NCLs VP for customer service. Understandably she was appalled by the video and was eager to get it removed. We both agreed that when we come to a solution, I would remove the video. I tried all the channels I knew to get a response. It was only after I didn't receive a response that I penned and shot the video.

 

NCL is very adamant that they responded to my email the day after I sent it. They sent it to the email address that was registered to the room and not to me. That being said, we searched and did not find the email. I am not saying they did not send it. I am only saying that we did not receive it.

 

The email contained a very low discount offer. Incredibly low. After speaking with the VP and her staff numerous times over the course of 5 days, we agreed to accept an offer for 2 cruises as a re-do.

 

They are frustrated that I did not receive their original email, and I was frustrated that their offer only was offered because my video had received more than 13,000 views. Together, we agreed to accept, and I IMMEDIATELY removed the video.

 

I applaud NCL for their offer. Do I believe they did it because it was in their best interest? I do. Am I happy with the conversation between the VP, her staff and myself? Yes.

 

End of story.

 

None of us expected this to escalate the way it did. But NCL did the right thing and I am grateful.

 

I will certainly be as vocal about our next experience with them, and I 100% expect that I will be blown away.

[dunnlights]

Hello all. Richard Dunn here with an update....

 

Bottom line, they have offered my wife and I a complete do over on the Escape at a time of our choosing over the next 2 years.

 

Now for some more commentary.

 

-I want to first address JVilleGal. I do not take kindly to being called a liar. I too am skeptical about most things, and there were many things you could have said that would have been far less accusing than, "I'm just not that gullible."

 

-I tried to resolve the situation onboard. After they came back to the cabin to "clean" twice, we kept finding more and more things that were dirty. We finally said, that's enough, borrowed some clorox wipes from our friends in the next cabin, and cleaned it ourselves.

 

-We did not sleep on the urine stained sheets. What I showed and stated in my video was that this was the extra blanket. (The one kept in the back of the couch.)

 

-The mold on the walls outside of the shower was from the towel hook. You only have one place to hang your towel, so 99% of the time, that wall was covered by a towel. (No excuse for the inside of the shower.)

 

-The towels were dirty and ripped. End of story.

 

-The broken lamp taped off with electrical tape was shoddy looking.

 

-The left over flip flops and items on the bed stand was just a pure and simple "did not clean those areas."

 

-What I did not get a picture of was the black filth and hair that was between the balcony floor and balcony door. I cleaned that myself on my hands and knees by simply wiping hard with a face cloth.

 

-The hair in the drawers was just a matter of wiping down.

 

I could go on, but what's the sense.

 

Here's what happened AFTER the video went up.....

 

I was contacted by one of NCLs VP for customer service. Understandably she was appalled by the video and was eager to get it removed. We both agreed that when we come to a solution, I would remove the video. I tried all the channels I knew to get a response. It was only after I didn't receive a response that I penned and shot the video.

 

NCL is very adamant that they responded to my email the day after I sent it. They sent it to the email address that was registered to the room and not to me. That being said, we searched and did not find the email. I am not saying they did not send it. I am only saying that we did not receive it.

 

The email contained a very low discount offer. Incredibly low. After speaking with the VP and her staff numerous times over the course of 5 days, we agreed to accept an offer for 2 cruises as a re-do.

 

They are frustrated that I did not receive their original email, and I was frustrated that their offer only was offered because my video had received more than 13,000 views. Together, we agreed to accept, and I IMMEDIATELY removed the video.

 

I applaud NCL for their offer. Do I believe they did it because it was in their best interest? I do. Am I happy with the conversation between the VP, her staff and myself? Yes.

 

End of story.

 

None of us expected this to escalate the way it did. But NCL did the right thing and I am grateful.

 

I will certainly be as vocal about our next experience with them, and I 100% expect that I will be blown away.

[maywell]

Oh well that ends well. :) Glad, you got it resolved with a happy ending.

[JVilleGal]

I find all of this very interesting indeed and what are the chances that this would happen to the very famous Mr Dunn!

I am sure NCL would have ignored this entire "mess" pun intended had it happened to a mere mortal!

My hat is off to you Mr Dunn and my apologies for my suspicious nature.

 

Still trying to wrap my head around how one cabin could have gotten that nasty over such a long period. That amount of filth did not happen between Mr Dunn and the guest before him!

 

Says a lot about the Management of that ship and possibly cruise ship cleanliness in general. I have never experienced anything like this myself.

 

I apologize Mr Dunn and am officially grossed out!

[Ti2m]

The nastiness shown did not build up over nite, these issues took weeks to get this bad! No cruise ship cabin goes weeks with this happening.... Something is VERY suspicious about this whole thing. Never mind this guy already has one viral video with 1.7 Million views..... And he just happened to get this cabin??? I'm just not that gullible, sorry!

 

 

Are you insinuating that he planted the evidence just to make a video and get a free cruise? I'm just not that gullible, sorry!

 

I just can't understand how someones brand loyalty blinds them to a fault. Even when the evidence shows otherwise.

 

And what does one video have to do with another? So he is a good videographer? What kind of argument is that?

Edited April 15, 2015 by Ti2m

[david_sobe]

To the OP...thanks for the update. When this exploded on Cruise Critic, it really got NCL's attention. Completely unacceptable. No excuse whatsoever.

 

But a few things are missing from your story. When you mentioned this on board, did the staff not clean the cabin to your satisfactory? I don't believe this is ever mentioned. If it has been mentioned, sorry for not seeing it.

 

Having been in your corner the entire time, its a bit disturbing to me that the video became some sort of negotiation for something in the future. Clearly the cabin needed cleaned and you should have been given the VIP treatment the entire cruise. If that did not happen, shame on NCL. Your cabin should have been cleaned or you should have been bumped up while on board. Publishing a video definitely go the attention of NCL. But I put myself in your shoes. If I was this displeased with NCL, I could care less about any discounts on future cruises. The video speaks for itself. It just seems you have compromised yourself in almost blackmailing NCL for a future cruise. Maybe those are strong words but when your complaint turns into wanting something in the future, the credibility declines IMHO. For example, I have complained about things on board (not as serious as yours) and they always want to offer you some bottle of cheap wine or meal somewhere. I decline and just want them to listen to my complaint and take action. End of story. All of your complaints should have been addressed on board. If NCL never responded to your email then they would have to live with the consequences and they would learn a valuable lesson in customer service in addition to cleaning properly. The video would have stayed.

You had me in your corner the entire time until the end, especially since you are world known for clever videos.

Edited April 15, 2015 by david_sobe

[rochelle_s]

Hello all. Richard Dunn here with an update....

 

Bottom line, they have offered my wife and I a complete do over on the Escape at a time of our choosing over the next 2 years.

 

Now for some more commentary.

 

-I want to first address JVilleGal. I do not take kindly to being called a liar. I too am skeptical about most things, and there were many things you could have said that would have been far less accusing than, "I'm just not that gullible."

 

-I tried to resolve the situation onboard. After they came back to the cabin to "clean" twice, we kept finding more and more things that were dirty. We finally said, that's enough, borrowed some clorox wipes from our friends in the next cabin, and cleaned it ourselves.

 

-We did not sleep on the urine stained sheets. What I showed and stated in my video was that this was the extra blanket. (The one kept in the back of the couch.)

 

-The mold on the walls outside of the shower was from the towel hook. You only have one place to hang your towel, so 99% of the time, that wall was covered by a towel. (No excuse for the inside of the shower.)

 

-The towels were dirty and ripped. End of story.

 

-The broken lamp taped off with electrical tape was shoddy looking.

 

-The left over flip flops and items on the bed stand was just a pure and simple "did not clean those areas."

 

-What I did not get a picture of was the black filth and hair that was between the balcony floor and balcony door. I cleaned that myself on my hands and knees by simply wiping hard with a face cloth.

 

-The hair in the drawers was just a matter of wiping down.

 

I could go on, but what's the sense.

 

Here's what happened AFTER the video went up.....

 

I was contacted by one of NCLs VP for customer service. Understandably she was appalled by the video and was eager to get it removed. We both agreed that when we come to a solution, I would remove the video. I tried all the channels I knew to get a response. It was only after I didn't receive a response that I penned and shot the video.

 

NCL is very adamant that they responded to my email the day after I sent it. They sent it to the email address that was registered to the room and not to me. That being said, we searched and did not find the email. I am not saying they did not send it. I am only saying that we did not receive it.

 

The email contained a very low discount offer. Incredibly low. After speaking with the VP and her staff numerous times over the course of 5 days, we agreed to accept an offer for 2 cruises as a re-do.

 

They are frustrated that I did not receive their original email, and I was frustrated that their offer only was offered because my video had received more than 13,000 views. Together, we agreed to accept, and I IMMEDIATELY removed the video.

 

I applaud NCL for their offer. Do I believe they did it because it was in their best interest? I do. Am I happy with the conversation between the VP, her staff and myself? Yes.

 

End of story.

 

None of us expected this to escalate the way it did. But NCL did the right thing and I am grateful.

 

I will certainly be as vocal about our next experience with them, and I 100% expect that I will be blown away.

 

 

 

Thank you for coming and setting the record straight. I am glad you were able to come to a satisfactory resolution with NCL. I hope you have a wonderful time on the Escape in a sparkling clean cabin.

 

 

Rochelle

[Ti2m]

The video speaks for itself. It just seems you have compromised yourself in almost blackmailing NCL for a future cruise. Maybe those are strong words but when your complaint turns into wanting something in the future, the credibility declines IMHO.

 

I see by your signature you are loyal to the NCL brand. I would never call the video "blackmail". I'd call it a last resort. You do realize that mold can be a serious health hazard? He gave NCL several chances to make things right. Like so many complaints that go through Guest Services they chose not fully rectify the situation to the customers satisfaction. Sometimes steak and candy alone is not a proper remedy. We can just hope that hitting them in the purse is a wake up call for the future.

 

We sailed the Epic last year and had no real problems. I will say that the area between the bed and the balcony door was dirty. It is so tight there that the only way I saw the filth was when I dropped my glasses and had to use a flash light.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Ti2m

[david_sobe]

I see by your signature you are loyal to the NCL brand. I would never call the video "blackmail". I'd call it a last resort. You do realize that mold can be a serious health hazard? He gave NCL several chances to make things right. Like so many complaints that go through Guest Services they chose not fully rectify the situation to the customers satisfaction. Sometimes steak and candy alone is not a proper remedy. We can just hope that hitting them in the purse is a wake up call for the future.

 

We sailed the Epic last year and had no real problems. I will say that the area between the bed and the balcony door was dirty. It is so tight there that the only way I saw the filth was when I dropped my glasses and had to use a flash light.

I think you missed the intent of my post. Clearly NCL failed in cleaning and customer service afterwards. What does not make sense to me is negotiating with NCL with removing a video to receive a free cruise. It compromises your position and makes you looks suspect. Let the chips fall where they may. The cabin was unacceptable but it is never mentioned how the situation was corrected and addressed on board.

So to post a video documenting your experience and accept compensation for removing it makes me change my mind on some things. The cruise was over and done. NCL cleaned the room (we can logically assume) and gave him some on board compensation that could not have been enough. His complaints still fell on deaf ears after the cruise. Why keep reliving the situation so much longer after the cruise in wanting a free cruise. Its just something I would not do.

As far as being a NCL cheerleader, I think those that know me on these boards know I am the furthest thing from a NCL cheerleader.

[hawkeyetlse]

The cabin was unacceptable but it is never mentioned how the situation was corrected and addressed on board.

It was mentioned in the video (they met with the hotel director and received wine, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a free specialty dinner) and in the follow-up comments here:

-I tried to resolve the situation onboard. After they came back to the cabin to "clean" twice, we kept finding more and more things that were dirty. We finally said, that's enough, borrowed some clorox wipes from our friends in the next cabin, and cleaned it ourselves.

I agree with everyone else that the state of the room was unacceptable, and the response on board to the state of the room was inadequate. But I did not get the impression that this totally ruined the passenger's cruise. Additional compensation is warranted, but a complete redo on the Escape seems to me well out of proportion to the legitimate complaint.

His complaints still fell on deaf ears after the cruise.

I understood from the video that this was Mr Dunn's major complaint, and that his main motivation for posting the video was to punish NCL for not responding to his post-cruise e-mail. Now it turns out that this is disputed:

NCL is very adamant that they responded to my email the day after I sent it. They sent it to the email address that was registered to the room and not to me. That being said, we searched and did not find the email. I am not saying they did not send it. I am only saying that we did not receive it.

The video should therefore have been taken down in any case, since he states in the video that NCL never sent him a response, and now he is no longer standing by that accusation. He should not have required an additional pay-off to remove that statement. Social media is a great way to get one's voice heard, but one's responsibility to voice the truth is that much greater, too. Or it should be, anyway.

[punkincc]

I think you missed the intent of my post. Clearly NCL failed in cleaning and customer service afterwards. What does not make sense to me is negotiating with NCL with removing a video to receive a free cruise. It compromises your position and makes you looks suspect. Let the chips fall where they may. The cabin was unacceptable but it is never mentioned how the situation was corrected and addressed on board.

So to post a video documenting your experience and accept compensation for removing it makes me change my mind on some things. The cruise was over and done. NCL cleaned the room (we can logically assume) and gave him some on board compensation that could not have been enough. His complaints still fell on deaf ears after the cruise. Why keep reliving the situation so much longer after the cruise in wanting a free cruise. Its just something I would not do.

As far as being a NCL cheerleader, I think those that know me on these boards know I am the furthest thing from a NCL cheerleader.

 

 

Read the OP's follow up post again. He states that they came twice to the cabin to clean but that the OP continued to find issues after they left and finally, as a last resort, they borrowed Clorex wipes from the cabin next door and did a thorough cleaning themselves. If this is the case, it is absolutely unacceptable for NCL to do a half assed clean up with the degree of the problem presented to them.

 

The HD himself should have been there making sure it was done satisfactorily after the apparent failure of the steward to properly maintain the cabin and the failure of the supervisor to oversee the day to day cleaning or even the final clean up after it came to light.

 

So, the OP was made to sleep in a mold contaminated cabin for the entirety of the cruise. And he pretty much had to clean it up himself. Helpfully it was a harmless mold, but if not tested, who knows. Could have been stachybotrys for all we know. Not sure if I were the OP I would have touched it, let alone slept in the cabin for a week breathing in those spores. So, should he be expected to pay full fare for a moldy room?

 

IMO NCL absolutely owes him a new cruise. His situation on board was never rectified.

[Cruise4Real]

The video should therefore have been taken down in any case, since he states in the video that NCL never sent him a response, and now he is no longer standing by that accusation.

 

I wonder why NCL didn't reply to the email address that Dunn used to voice his complaint. (Don't you?!) They could have cc'd (or even bcc'ed, if they wanted to be uber-protective of passengers' privacy) the "email of record" on the reservation, but to not respond directly to the email that sent in the complaint just seems mind-numbingly incompetent.

[punkincc]

I wonder why NCL didn't reply to the email address that Dunn used to voice his complaint. (Don't you?!) They could have cc'd (or even bcc'ed, if they wanted to be uber-protective of passengers' privacy) the "email of record" on the reservation, but to not respond directly to the email that sent in the complaint just seems mind-numbingly incompetent.

 

And that surprises you?

[fshagan]

I wonder why NCL didn't reply to the email address that Dunn used to voice his complaint. (Don't you?!) They could have cc'd (or even bcc'ed, if they wanted to be uber-protective of passengers' privacy) the "email of record" on the reservation, but to not respond directly to the email that sent in the complaint just seems mind-numbingly incompetent.

 

Well, not really. They should ALWAYS respond to the official booking email address and COPY the one that sent the email. That's what my company does, and we often get a response from the official email holder that they never sent the other email. This happens frequently in our business (we deal B2B, so its common for someone at the company to be creative with complaints that the boss doesn't care about).

 

This has all the earmarks of a shakedown to me, but I'll give the OP the benefit of the doubt. He got a free cruise out of it. It just runs against my experience cruising on ANY line.

 

But then, I've never been on a ship where the toilets overflowed in every stateroom, the engines had a fire and we were floating for days without power, or that sank off the coast of a small Italian island. And I know those things happened.

[JVilleGal]

Are you insinuating that he planted the evidence just to make a video and get a free cruise? I'm just not that gullible, sorry!

 

I just can't understand how someones brand loyalty blinds them to a fault. Even when the evidence shows otherwise.

 

And what does one video have to do with another? So he is a good videographer? What kind of argument is that?

 

 

 

I find all of this very interesting indeed and what are the chances that this would happen to the very famous Mr Dunn!

I am sure NCL would have ignored this entire "mess" pun intended had it happened to a mere mortal!

My hat is off to you Mr Dunn and my apologies for my suspicious nature.

 

Still trying to wrap my head around how one cabin could have gotten that nasty over such a long period. That amount of filth did not happen between Mr Dunn and the guest before him!

 

Says a lot about the Management of that ship and possibly cruise ship cleanliness in general. I have never experienced anything like this myself.

 

I apologize Mr Dunn and am officially grossed out!

 

 

Did you fail to read my apology directly above your post?????

[hawkeyetlse]

I wonder why NCL didn't reply to the email address that Dunn used to voice his complaint. (Don't you?!)

I wonder, when he received no response to his e-mail, if he made any effort to resend his message, send to additional people, or follow up with a phone call or with a letter. Because we all know that there can be several explanations for an unanswered e-mail. This would have given NCL a fair chance to respond to his complaints privately. I wonder if he did none of the above and simply decided that NCL was deliberately ignoring his e-mail because he really wanted to be able to accuse them of that in the YouTube video he'd been planning to make ever since he got home. I wonder.

 

I won't go so far as to use the terms "shakedown" or "blackmail", but my appreciation of Mr Dunn's motives when I first saw the video has changed a lot now that I have read his follow-up comments.

[diat68]

We were first on the Epic not long after it was launched. It was a wonderful transatlantic cruise, so much so we took a second cruise which was also good.

The third cruise was a disaster - terrible housekeeping.. sheets had been kept together with pins; one passenger had boiling coffee spilled on him, another severely disabled passenger had his wheelchair stolen at Gatwick, and was asked to pay 300USD for the loan of one on the ship, or to call for wheelchair assistance when he needed to use one! Needless to say he declined, and after much argument was loaned the wheelchair without charge.

One morning on waking found something 'hopping' in the bed, which had also bitten me - caught this in a plastic container, and it was a flee. Took photos, housekeeping came to collect it, but later denied it was flees. We were transferred to another cabin.

Needless to say, no more NCL cruises for us.

[rogue 35]

You guys do realize there is no proof this person claiming to be "from the video" actually is.

[hunterjackson]

Sometimes a company needs a little 'goosing' to go in the right direction. There is no problem with the OP doing what needed to be done.

[Cruise4Real]

I wonder, when he received no response to his e-mail, if he made any effort to resend his message, send to additional people, or follow up with a phone call or with a letter. Because we all know that there can be several explanations for an unanswered e-mail. This would have given NCL a fair chance to respond to his complaints privately. I wonder if he did none of the above and simply decided that NCL was deliberately ignoring his e-mail because he really wanted to be able to accuse them of that in the YouTube video he'd been planning to make ever since he got home. I wonder.

 

I won't go so far as to use the terms "shakedown" or "blackmail", but my appreciation of Mr Dunn's motives when I first saw the video has changed a lot now that I have read his follow-up comments.

 

My sole point is that NCL, if only to avoid the video egg-on-face, should have copied Dunn's email address when they responded to the reservation's email. I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't.

 

Can you?

[Diver2014]

Our stateroom on the Epic was spotless, smelled fresh and was very inviting.

Perhaps it comes down to the room steward not doing their job properly.

The only thing we didn't like was how high the faucet was on the sink. DH almost put his eye out twice on that thing when brushing his teeth. I don't care for those basin sinks but that was the ONLY thing I could find negative. They washed the balcony windows while we were waiting for sailaway and everything else was immaculate. So, it's not EVERY stateroom on Epic. We thought the cleanliness of the entire ship was excellent.

[Mrdodgy]

Our stateroom on the Epic was spotless, smelled fresh and was very inviting.

Perhaps it comes down to the room steward not doing their job properly.

The only thing we didn't like was how high the faucet was on the sink. DH almost put his eye out twice on that thing when brushing his teeth. I don't care for those basin sinks but that was the ONLY thing I could find negative. They washed the balcony windows while we were waiting for sailaway and everything else was immaculate. So, it's not EVERY stateroom on Epic. We thought the cleanliness of the entire ship was excellent.

 

 

Agreed - Our cabin needed a little freshen up and I asked the Hotel Director nicely and guess what it was freshened up. Thats all I wanted.It certainly did warrant a tantrum that Mr Dunn has thrown. I know you might not believe it but mistakes happen some of us are humans Come on OP head above the parapet WHAT did you get or are you now rather ashamed by your idiotic reaction to what was an issue that could be sorted by asking nicely.

 

Thank you Newmexiconita I am heartened that I am not the only one who thinks this person needs to grow up and get out of his short trousers and become a big boy!!!

[FreestyleNovice]

Got off Epic yesterday and had a nice and clean stateroom, ship is in great condition, so no free cruises for me! ;)