NCL Customer Service?

[tfattz1]

Hello All!

 

I have another cruise on the Gem booked for Florida/Bahamas for June 2016. My husband and I were just looking into what we may want to do in the Florida Port but noticed that only excursions for the Bahamas were listed.

 

I called NCL customer service in the event that perhaps we just waited to long although I found that hard to believe because we don't sail for 9 months. I was surprised by how I spoke to 3 different people and really didn't get any help. CS #1 said "Mam you must be mistaken" My response: "No sir I am looking at your website right now as we speak and only excursions for the Bahamas are currently available for booking" At this point I was transferred to the "Excursions Department" This gentleman explained to me that no excursions will show up to book until 6 months before the cruise. My response, "Ok, just for the Florida ports then? because the Bahamas excursions are showing?" Again, I was told I was mistaken. I again replied "No sir I am looking at your website right now and there are 38 excursions listed all for the Bahamas only" So then they transferred me to a manager. This gentlemen was very nice as were they all and said for me to simply just check back in a few weeks to see if things have been updated."

 

Mind you, they were all kind and courteous but they did not seem to know what was going on. I will take the managers advice and check back in a couple of weeks. I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with NCL CS? Nice people, but need to get all their facts straight. Glad my inquiry wasn't overly important. Honestly if we can't book an excursion in FL we will just stay on the ship :D

[Demonyte]

Mind you, they were all kind and courteous but they did not seem to know what was going on. I will take the managers advice and check back in a couple of weeks. I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with NCL CS? Nice people, but need to get all their facts straight. Glad my inquiry wasn't overly important.

 

Completely normal, also ask three CSRs and get three different answers - often all of them wrong.

 

What comes to excursions, previously those have appeared randomly for prebooking - nine months is still quite far away, so I too would advise to wait and check now and then.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Demonyte

[casofilia]

I am from New Zealand and find it very difficult to get an answer to any questions I send by email. I usually have to send about 4 before I get anything and that is usually a correction but no apology or explanation. :mad:

 

NCL need a few cynics on their staff to look into problems. We are boarding in about 6 hours and the Vacation Summary is showing "Image Coming Soon". There has not been a map yet!!! I have advised them of that a number of times; SILENCE!! :mad:

 

Mike

Pom by Birth; Coin Collecting Retired Kiwi by Choice.

[StolidCruiser]

Agreed - it would seem a challenge for every Customer Service Representative to fully understand the nuances of the product it sells. The consumer often knows more because they have educated themselves a bit on the exact product they want clarification on.

 

Where excursions are concerned, it is perfectly normal for some excursions to appear as available for some ports on your itinerary before others. It has to do with the cycle by which excursions for those ports are finalized. Some appear 9 months (or more) in advance of sailing, others most commonly about 6 months ahead. There is no discernible rhyme or reason to it and it can be challenging to predict.

 

It is disappointing that this very common practice of excursion schedule publication isn't a part of standard customer service training. It would save the hundreds of questions about the topic that appear repetitively across the boards.

[Gershep]

Unfortunately this is normal. I think they hope if you get enough different answers you will just give up. Excursions will show up. NCL makes a lot of money on the Florida excursions.

[SuiteCruiser]

NCL visits Port Canveral once a week, sometimes two. For the odd extended sailings from NY, they may skip a week here and there.

 

Like you, I can't figure out why they could have the Bahamas listed but not the Florida, it doesn't make sense.

 

Likely a web glitch

[StaceyCT]

I was just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with NCL CS? Nice people, but need to get all their facts straight. :D

 

I've had several similar experiences calling NCL.

 

The most recent: in late August, I called NCL to book an inside on the Star (November 2015 sailing). When I stated that I was choosing the UBP as my promo, the agent replied "No, that promo isn't available for insides." I replied that it was, and he kept insisting that it wasn't. We went back and forth a few more times, with him becoming more insistent each time. It only ended when I began to read to him directly from NCL's website - he stopped me halfway through with a brusque "Okay I see it now."

 

I booked the cruise through PL instead and got a much better price in the bargain! And the PL agent knew that the UBP was a choice without me having to tell her.

 

Another example, this one from last spring: two different NCL agents told me that there was an entrance to the Getaway's studio cabin area near the midship port side balcony cabin that I wanted to book. It turned out there wasn't, and my family members ended up having to travel across the ship to visit each others' cabins instead of the walk across the hall that we'd been promised.

 

The future cruise credit that NCL finally offered as compensation for the Getaway screw-up is largely paying for my upcoming trip on the Star. I think I'll enjoy my Star inside cabin and UBP to the max and then avoid NCL altogether when booking future cruises.

[newmexicoNita]

Unfortunately this isn't just with NCL but call centers period. I remember back in my old life (work life that is) working for a major hotel chain, first as a reservations agent and eventually management hearing what agents, both taking reservations and actually working in guest services would tell customers. It was mind boggling. Remember most of these people are simply hourly employees, though trained well, really do not know a lot and really only care about thier pay check. There are exceptions: those are the ones that do move up in the company. I will add, one thing, the hotel call center I retired from is not a budget chain, by anymeans. Then there was a travel agent when I worked a large agency in Southlake Texas. We did have an extensive 4 week training program but I don't think it helped some of the new hires. One evening when there were just 2 of us still working the young lady (I use the word lightly) told a customer, 2 things that blew my mind: 1-that the eastern and southen Caribbean cruises went pretty much the same place, just the eastern left our of Florida and te southern out of the Bahamas. When I asked her about this; she simply said, it didn't really make any difference what we tell them. Then some man came into the offfice one evening(might have been the same day) and explained he and wife had split, were divorcing and had a cruise planned. He wanted to cancel but it was past final payment date. He wondered if he would get any of the money back? her answer, oh the cruise lines are good about working with you in cases like this. Just explain it to our bss tomorrow when he is in and he will take care of it. I will add, she didn't last as a TA

Edited September 18, 2015 by newmexicoNita

[jingle5616]

NCL shoreside customer service at it (UN)finest......:eek:

[fshagan]

I think in the OP's case it isn't bad customer service, but bad website management. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the excursions listed on the website are actually an error, and the CS reps are correct that they should not be there.

 

The fact that they were polite and courteous to the OP, and escalated the issue through three levels, is actually very good customer service. The breakdown is on the corporate / management side.

[M0rrie]

There are currently 22 excursions listed on the NCL site for the Gem visits to Port Canaveral in June 2016.... Easy to find on the website