Review of NCL Epic 3/29-4/5 Bad Experience with Bed bugs and broken Glass in the bed.

[emcelh]

Is it possible that the bed bugs were brought on from your pre-cruise stay at the Red Roof?

 

That crossed my mind too but they didn't appear until day 4 or 5, which is odd if they were already in the cabin on day 1.

[Cheddarhead Cruiser]

I didn't realize that I could be transfered to Executive offices. I thought it was end all be all left at Guest Relations. I will follow up with them in the next couple of days. Hopefully will get some progress.

 

Did you ask for the Executive Offices or did the operator transfer you to Guest Relations? I'm sorry that your experience with The Executive Offices was so different than ours has been.

 

Just called NCL and did as you suggested. Person I spoke with advised that their department could not help me and the only department that could assist was guest relations.

[SissasMomE]

Sorry you had to go through that. That is a nightmare that no one wants!!

[Diver2014]

Bed bugs, broken glass 'IN' the bed, safe didn't work.....wow, that must have ruined their entire cruise! I doubt NCL even cares that the OP ran to Cruise Critic with blazing fingers to trash the Epic. Any complaints from the other couple thousand passengers on that cruise?

[jackson bernard]

Just called NCL and did as you suggested. Person I spoke with advised that their department could not help me and the only department that could assist was guest relations.

 

 

Looks like you are going to have to use social media to get their attention. Have your kids or grandkids use Twitter and retweet over and over that the ship has bedbugs. Use Instagram. Tell all their friends to retweet. Have them make it a project. Make videos and post them on you tube. Tell everyone on every forum even remotely related your story. Email them non stop. Don't give up! After all them ignoring you is their fault. Social media is your friend.

[Loucat]

This is not the first post on serious housekeeping issues on EPIC. I hope NCL is listening! With so little response from anyone, I doubt that.

Sorry you had these experiences; I would be screaming if I had bugs in the bed!

[norway olin]

Bed bugs, broken glass 'IN' the bed, safe didn't work.....wow, that must have ruined their entire cruise! I doubt NCL even cares that the OP ran to Cruise Critic with blazing fingers to trash the Epic. Any complaints from the other couple thousand passengers on that cruise?

 

I was on that sailing and had a wonderful time. I did not stay in the Red Roof, the safe worked every time, did not experience any bites, nor magically appearing glass shards halfway through the cruise. I guess I was the lucky one out of the 4400 pax on board...

[Kenlorz]

That crossed my mind too but they didn't appear until day 4 or 5, which is odd if they were already in the cabin on day 1.

 

First, OP, I'm sorry about your experiences... no one wants to encounter these types of issues during ANY part of their vacation. My brother is an exterminator by trade, so I have a bit of knowledge on this matter...

 

OP...Don't mean to upset you, but... if the bites appeared on day 4 or 5, that actually tends to strongly suggest that you yourself brought them onto the ship from the Red Roof Inn (not suggesting that it was your fault, just that you were a victim of circumstances). You see, bedbugs stay VERY close to their food source as they don't move very fast. So, if the room or bed was infested before your arrival, you would probably have noticed the signs of them within the first day or so. If they, in fact, took four days to find you, that suggests that they probably hitched a ride in your luggage or clothing and it took that long to truly locate and enjoy their feast.

 

Unfortunately for the next people staying in your cabin (and future guests), it would have REALLY been a good idea for you to communicate to the ship personnel that you were still finding signs of bed bugs. Because, if you did bring them along as souvenirs from RRI, then you most likely did leave a few of them behind in the cabin. They are FANTASTIC EXPERT hiders, so I'm not surprised they went unnoticed by the first examination...especially if they were just a few to start with. This is how infestations begin. They are like fleas, they multiple extremely quickly. Because you did not report that you were still having problems, they unfortunately did not send another pest control crew into your room after you left. Now the critters have ample time to continue to multiply. I'm in no way trying to beat you up over it, just trying to spread the word that it is important to always report a suspicion of bed bugs...even multiple times if necessary... so that rooms don't end up infested and future cruisers aren't affected.

[Single Cruiser]

A few years ago there was a major outbreak of bed bugs in NYC. Bed bugs are not that common in the USA. They traced them back to European visitors where they are fairly common there. Since the Epic spends so much time in Europe, it would be surprising that bed bugs have not entered all cruise ships there.

.

 

In fact the opposite is true, constantly hear bed bugs stories and avoid US cities. Never heard of any issues in Europe!

 

If they entered in Europe then there's been what 20 sets of passengers in that cabin. Bed bugs tend not to miss a feast if one is there!

[punkincc]

I didn't realize that I could be transfered to Executive offices. I thought it was end all be all left at Guest Relations. I will follow up with them in the next couple of days. Hopefully will get some progress.

 

 

You may contact Guest Services if you wish, but what is it that you want from them at this point?

 

You complained of a couple bites on your child. Your cabin was checked for bed bugs and none were found. You were given $100 OBC while on the ship. You left the ship without bringing to their attention that there were possible bites on another person in the cabin. No one was ever examined in the on board clinic for bites that I saw mention of.

 

If you felt there were bedbugs in the cabin, especially after the second person "felt" biting on a subsequent night, you should have immediately asked for a second visit from housekeeping and pest control. So now you are asking NCL to compensate you somehow for something that was never substantiated on the ship? Unless bedbugs were subsequently confirmed in that same cabin by other passengers after you departed, I think NCL will consider that you have already been more than compensated.

[NLH Arizona]

In fact the opposite is true, constantly hear bed bugs stories and avoid US cities. Never heard of any issues in Europe!

 

If they entered in Europe then there's been what 20 sets of passengers in that cabin. Bed bugs tend not to miss a feast if one is there!

As much as we would not like to think, all cities get bed bugs. Here are just two examples:

 

Figures from one London borough show reported bed bug infestations doubling each year from 1995 to 2001. There is also evidence of a previous cycle of bed bug infestations in the U.K. in the mid-1980s. In 2010 alone the increase of infestation in UK was estimated to be around 24%.[

 

 

Housing authorities in Madrid are complaining of “a plague of bedbugs” and called for extra measures to tackle the troublesome parasites. According to pest control experts, the reports of bedbug infestations across Spain have risen by 70 per cent within five years and is now bordering on an “epidemic”.

 

BTW, in the United States, they say that Chicago is the number 1 city for bed bugs.

 

The bad things is, if someone is staying in a hotel or on a cruise ship or on a train or airplane and doesn't realize that they had bed bugs or doesn't report it, they will just transfer them to the next place they are staying at or the next person staying in that room/cabin or the next person sitting in that seat on a train or airplane.

 

I check every bed in every hotel room or cruise ship cabin I stay in, because the one thing I don't want to do, is to bring those little buggers home with me.

[watchdiva]

Sorry Cheddarhead...I wonder if the difference is that you had already cruised and whenever I have spoken to the Executive Offices it has been to address a pre-cruise issue.

[Jerseygirl1416]

OP could the bugs have been sand fleas brought back from the beach in a towel or a beach bag?

[CandiBar]

Just my two cents on bed bugs- I work in the housing industry in Ohio. Bed bugs are a huge issue nowadays! I have had to become a licensed pesticide applicator (something I never wanted to do) because of mounting costs of exterminators for the projects I work for. We are now buying our own products and treating units ourselves.

 

Unfortunately the EPA has outlawed a lot of the chemicals (for our own safety) that were keeping down the population, also the bugs are gaining immunity to the chemicals we CAN use.

 

Bedbugs do not care if you are in a seedy hotel or a fancy suite- they feed on blood which we all have, rich or poor! Best to keep luggage off the floor and check all beds and even upholstered furniture before settling in to your room.

 

I also find that once you think they may be in the room you will "feel" them crawling on you even when there is nothing there. Not saying that is the case here, but the mind is a powerful thing! Hope it wasn't bedbugs, but if it was you would see bites all over your torso- not just feet and ankles.

 

Also, not all people have a reaction to the bites. About 50% of people will get bit and never know it. The other 50% will have itchy red welts...

 

Sorry- I spend a lot of time dealing with these nasty critters so I can't help but go on and on!

[CandiBar]

**i realize you said the bite was under your child's armpit! I said feet and ankles out of habit! Sorry!!**

 

I think you did everything right coming home though! I think that even if it was bed bugs you will be just fine [emoji4]

[Kenlorz]

**i realize you said the bite was under your child's armpit! I said feet and ankles out of habit! Sorry!!**

 

I think you did everything right coming home though! I think that even if it was bed bugs you will be just fine [emoji4]

 

To tag on to your posts.... bed bug bites tend to be clustered in three (often referred to as "Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner").

[Cheddarhead Cruiser]

Well I would like to thank everyone for placing their 2 cents to my post. The information that was given was very educational and I will use it in the future if I ever encounter another issue like this (hopefully it doesn't happen). First off my intention was not to slander NCL and everything that happened in my post did indeed happen. Secondly for the ones that believe I couldn't wait to get off the boat to run right home to post on Cruise Critic, I started working with NCL to make them aware of the situation on 4/6/15 and I posted on Cruise Critic 4/22/15 (Hardly a rush to post). It was only after I felt that I was not getting anywhere with NCL that I resorted to "Social Media". As it turns out I did finally speak with someone at NCL today (after numerous tries over various days) who was willing to help me to achieve a resolution to my problem. I was offered a credit towards a future cruise. It was never my intention to do any of this so I could get a "pound of flesh off NCL". It was more of like I said in my main post as an informational posting to make others aware in hopes that they would not have to go thru what I and my family went thru.

[b_cruise]

I appreciate the post!! Thank you

 

You are not the first in the last few weeks to post bed bugs so I do believe that NCL should be examining every single room as any reputable company would do.

 

Thanks again OP for the post!! I am sorry this happened to you but glad you had some follow-up

[mypleasure]

Another European here that says I have never heard of bed bugs being an issue here in Europe yet my research into hotels in the US for forthcoming trips shows that they seem to be a massive problem in the US hotel industry.

 

Someone got fed a line there and fell for it I think.

[watchdiva]

Glad that you reached an equitable solution Cheddarhead. We all want to be heard and have our concerns acknowledged and addressed.

Edited April 24, 2015 by watchdiva

[mking8288]

To all the Cheddarheads, this is proof to NCL, that, do not ignore or under-estimate the influence & clouds of social media. It might not, alone, made a difference but it managed to get somebody's attention to act upon within that entity - unacceptable for the HQ and/or executive office to ignore the claim.

Edited April 24, 2015 by mking8288