Getaway Transatlantic, Most Mishandled Cruise Ever

[Saltney]

I emailed a complaint to Guest Relations whilst onboard in reference to Brest and poor handling of Southampton and the skeleton staff on board which to me was critical to the reduced service. I called yesterday and again today to chase the response to the complain where they advised the case had been closed as Guest Services had spoken to me. The words of Guest Services onboard when I asked if they had received my email was "Yes I can confirm we've received your email". Me "Will I be getting a response whilst onboard?" GS "No, you'll have to speak to Guest Relations once off the ship". GS then contact GR and closed the matter saying they had spoken to me. I've worked in a Service based industry and never closed an incident or complaint without first checking with the client. Naturally I raised a further complaint but now NCL have a further 28 days to come back with an excuse. Poor Customer Service experience

[717373]

Yup. Appalling. Disgraceful. Totally unprofessional. (And do you remember the endless sales pitches for future cruise deposits for cheap?) Those were eye rolling moments.

I am in negotiation for another cruise. Can't say anything about it.

I plan to vote with my feet, and go back to Celebrity, Royal Carib. Both have been, in my experience, competent cruise lines...If there is a deal.....Oceania or Azamura.. They are truly amazing.

Cheers

[Blondie008]

I emailed a complaint to Guest Relations whilst onboard in reference to Brest and poor handling of Southampton and the skeleton staff on board which to me was critical to the reduced service. I called yesterday and again today to chase the response to the complain where they advised the case had been closed as Guest Services had spoken to me. The words of Guest Services onboard when I asked if they had received my email was "Yes I can confirm we've received your email". Me "Will I be getting a response whilst onboard?" GS "No, you'll have to speak to Guest Relations once off the ship". GS then contact GR and closed the matter saying they had spoken to me. I've worked in a Service based industry and never closed an incident or complaint without first checking with the client. Naturally I raised a further complaint but now NCL have a further 28 days to come back with an excuse. Poor Customer Service experience

 

 

This was very typical of the experiences I was having with Front Desk GS. Going back and forth - no response.

At no time did I raise my voice, I stood patiently in line - and was polite with my complaints and issues.

They just hit "ignore" and the Management run and hide.

I am also in the 28 day queue. ( as are, I imagine, thousands of us).

In the UK we have slight differences in our contracts - and we also are protected by ABTA - If we are not satisfied with the response to a complaint - then we can take it to ABTA Arbitration. For the breach of safety & security alone - ABTA will for sure have something to say.

[Blondie008]

Yup. Appalling. Disgraceful. Totally unprofessional. (And do you remember the endless sales pitches for future cruise deposits for cheap?) Those were eye rolling moments.

I am in negotiation for another cruise. Can't say anything about it.

I plan to vote with my feet, and go back to Celebrity, Royal Carib. Both have been, in my experience, competent cruise lines...If there is a deal.....Oceania or Azamura.. They are truly amazing.

Cheers

 

I don't know that any line is perfect. We have had a few bad experiences - minor in Celebrity, major in Royal (as in will never ever go back on a Royal ship again). Don't even mention P&O hahahahahahaa...

Was it NCL - or was it the Captain and crew in this case?

My feelings were it was bad management - and yes, combined with instruction from Miami - however, the lack of safety and security - I lay blame on the ships management more so than the line itself.

I love NCL ships. Yes I will return for I have had more good experiences than bad.

I'm just not prepared however to be treated so badly and for no one to answer for incompetence.

I would like to try Azamara one day - don't feel "old enough" just yet. We did Celebrity's TA in 2015 and really did feel as much as we love their service and attention to detail, its not the Celebrity we know of earlier years, and the age group on the TA was REALLY much older than on NCL. It was very zzzzzzzzzzzing ....

BLU was fabulous - but Celebrity's "Persian gardens" don't come close to NCL's Thermal suites, and for us - we like a decent spa - particularly for the TA cruises which we take twice annually.

Such a shame such a large number of domino effect incidents deterred from the overall enjoyment of this cruise - we thought the ground level staff were outstanding, as was the food and entertainment. Lovely people on board - just a great vibe amongst the passengers.

But - it was marred. We shall see. We have more NCL cruises booked which we wont cancel. We would however like appropriate answers and responses to our valid complaints.

Hope you get a satisfactory outcome too!

[Blondie008]

They will give you future cruise credit or total refunds. Recent NCL cruises I was on, due to Azipod issues I was given (all people on the cruise not just me) 20% future cruise credit for two changed ports, next cruise 100% future cruise credit plus $1000 US refundable onboard credit, for missing nearly half the ports, next cruise $500 onboard refundable credit for one changed port only and the Azipod was actually fixed for this cruise. So NCL do give credit towards another cruise. Other cruises I wasn't on got total refunds, plus future cruise credit, onboard credit and free shore excursions. The three cruises I was on were all far superior to the TA we just did.

This cruise it looks like they are giving to people on an individual basis. I met people onboard who had already been given onboard credit above what I received- $100. Some threatened to get their credit card charges reversed if they didn't get compensation. As I didn't complain or ask, just accepted what came my way I got just the $100.

I didn't complain or visit guest services. As you said, life is short and this cruise was 16 days of my life that I definitely won't get back again! Yes I like to look at the positives too, but there were just too many negatives. Hard to look at the glass half full when it's empty. I always remember the first day being told I couldn't go through the first entry as that was for the disabled. I was made to take the second entry which was entering through the ugly, smoky casino. I remember thinking as I coughed and wheezed my way through- 'well I wasn't disabled when I embarked, but my lungs are definitely disabled now.' And that was my introduction to this cruise- hardly impressive! So different to my first cruise on the Pearl 2007 where there were balloons, champagne, staff to welcome you onboard and the wow factor of the atrium. I remember how impressed and excited I felt.

 

Another thing that happened/ laundry ruined one of my dresses and I was asked to fill out a liability form, listing the value etc. I never heard back from them again once I'd filled it out. I'm assuming now this form was to absolve them of liability as they rang my cabin repeatedly, at least five times to ensure I filled the form out.

 

 

Another thing, not so much about our cruise, but I'm pretty sure this is the Captain's first cruise on a mega ship as I can remember at the Q&A on the Spirit last year he said he didn't want to work on the big ships as he prefers smaller. After the Spirit he went to the Gem and this was his first cruise on the Getaway after the Gem.

 

On the sailing after ours a friend of mine was told the Captain thought the ship was too big to take through the Archipelago which was one of the reasons why the Stockholm port was changed. NCL is still selling the Baltics cruise listing Stockholm when the Getaway in all likelihood isn't probably going to go there this season.

I know people are lodging claims as they booked the cruise advertising the Stockholm archipelago, after NCL knew they weren't going there. I'm interested to hear what future cruise credit or compensation they'll get.

 

Interesting factor on the Captain - No experience then of handling this big ship huh?

 

The ABOVE is exactly how I feel. 16 precious days - we worked hard to be able to take that time out. It wasn't NCL's job to suck the life out of any moment of any one of those days.

[abnamro]

Guest service is a joke , you need a lot of patience to get through the concrete wall they use to keep you away.

Problems happen but problems give company's the change to show how good they are , ncl show no quality so far and have no clue or don't care what this will cost them in the future , as long as the shortvision shareholders are happy.

[lylebarb]

Was out with friends tonight and of course we were asked about our TA. My friend went in a Princess cruise a few years ago to Australia. One port was cancelled due to bad weather. Everyone automatically received a 25% refund. THAT is customer service!

[gordoze]

We have just got home from a back to back with NCL Getaway that included this transatlantic crossing. I would like to add my support to the comments made by Conh. Many of you were not present at the time and yes I agree that relaxing at home reading the comments that they might sound trite in comparison to the Titanic etc. But I will say there was indeed pent-up anger on board due to the French port debacle and then Southampton. I witnessed arguments, pushing and grabbing between guests in the line whilst waiting for UK customs. It was getting out of hand and when I and others warned crew they shrugged their shoulders. Their people management was not existent. Silos the cruise director called different cabin numbers to disembark long before others were out of the way. Also there were a lot of guests that didnt adhere to any structure other than there own self interest. Secondly having only one gangway for 4000 people many with mobility issues is pretty poor.

Compare this with NCL's efforts whilst in the Baltic and it was chalk n cheese - multiple entry n exit points, multiple gangways. I believe that the transatlantic was understaffed and under resourced as it was a re-location cruise.

[BC_Eagle_1976]

My wife and I were on this cruise. Frankly I do not know how anyone who was on board can defend NCL. We have been on over 35 cruises and have never complained before but this cruise was a disaster.

 

First of all let's put the weather issue to rest. Only one port (Ponta Delgada) was canceled due to weather. Brest was a ruined port as we spent more time getting on/off the ship then actually in port. I do not care if the port authorities were at fault or not - NCL is responsible for all aspects of the cruise. If the port did not handle the gangways properly our issue is with NCL not the port. You can think of the port authorities as a sub-contractor to NCL. If they screw up NCL is still responsible to the passengers.

 

As for Southampton and Zeebrugee the issue with these ports are directly attributed to the technical/mechanical issues with the propulsion system slowing our speed. Even with the slow line to get off the ship had we arrived anywhere on time most of us could have salvaged some part of our day in Southampton. I had prepaid for a Stonhenge bus tour out of Salisbury but did not get off the ship until it was too late to make even the final bus of the day at 4pm. Zeebrugee, which was the main attraction we selected this cruise (wanted to see Bruges) would have been a better stop than any of the ones we attempted.

 

So to summarize: - Ponta Delgada - canceled due to weather

- Brest - major issues getting on/off the ship (NCL at fault)

- Southampton - total wash out due to late arrival coupled with UK immigration (NCL at fault)

- Zeebrugee - canceled due to propulsion speed issue (NCL at fault)

 

My wife and I were happy to be cruising and did try to make the best of things but the repeated issues and the total lack of customer support left a foul taste. We feel as though NCL made constant excuses for problems and accepted little responsibility even though weather was an issue for only one port.

 

I would like to bring up 2 other issues that I have not seen mentioned yet. First, regarding the line for UK immigration, an NCL published schedule stated that guests on NCL booked tours would be getting off first and then they would call passengers deck by deck. Many of us who had purchased tours for Southampton on our own were concerned that we would be late so we inquired about being able to get in line early to exit the ship. Guest Services was of little help but told us that if we got in line outside the dining room where the immigration was to take place then we would be able to go after the NCL tour guests had completed. Well many of us did just that. My wife and I were one of the first few that started the line at about 10am (about 2.5 hours before we even docked). We waited patiently in line for hours as we watched those that bought NCL tours get through. When the NCL tour guest finished the announcement for deck 14 was issued. We had waited in line for over 4 hours for naught as they did not let us go. Why let us think that we had a chance to get off if there were never any intentions to allow it? By the time we were let though it was too late to visit Stonehenge. We lost our money for the tour (no refunds) and we wasted the day in a line that served no real purpose. If we had known at least we could have enjoyed the day on board (we missed lunch while waiting in line) and gone thru immigration once the line was gone. It seems as if no one in Guest Relations knew how things would work. We were told a story just to get rid of us. The truth is always better.

 

Second, issue i have not heard is regarding a second "mandatory" life drill in Brest. While in line waiting to get off the ship we were told by NCL staff that we had to return by 3:30pm for a mandatory 2nd life drill because we had been at sea for so many days. I specifically questioned about this and was told it was a regulation and that we could not set sail until it happened. But because of all the delays re-boarding the ship the drill did not occur and was never rescheduled. Were we lied to about the drill being mandatory or did we break a regulation? One has to be true. Does anyone on board recall this? I wonder why no one has brought it up.

 

Lastly I personally resent anyone who was not on board making comments (saw drama queen comments more than once) about those passengers who paid good money and did not get what they paid for. My wife and I do not complain about minor issues in hopes of getting some retribution. I do feel it is within my rights to be given some retribution for a service/product that was not delivered. The $100/pp non-refundable OBC is not satisfactory. I have written NCL and they responded that they were sorry but there is nothing more they can do. Actually there is more they can do but they choose not to do anything. Someone mentioned in a prior message that they received some additional OBC beyond what they gave everyone. This would really anger me. If one deserves credit then we all do.

 

I accept and realize that there is little we can do if they refuse to acknowledge their part in a less than adequate cruise. However I have written to the Florida BBB and will be contacting the Florida Attorney General office. I realize this may also be in vain but at least I am taking action and urge others who feel they did not get what they paid for to do the same. And finally I have no further plans to use NCL. My guess is they lost a few other clients as well. I also sold my stock in the company because if this is indicative of how they treat customers it is only a matter of time before it catches up to them and affects the share price.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

That was horrible-I agree. I would be disappointed too. Tender ports seem to be an issue with NCL. I have had two very scary experiences on tenders with NCL. I haven't had trouble tendering with any other cruise line. Yes, other cruise lines have cancelled tendering due to bad weather, but i've not felt unsafe when I did tend with other cruise lines. NCL seems to have problems in this area.

[sailawaynm]

Second, issue i have not heard is regarding a second "mandatory" life drill in Brest. While in line waiting to get off the ship we were told by NCL staff that we had to return by 3:30pm for a mandatory 2nd life drill because we had been at sea for so many days. I specifically questioned about this and was told it was a regulation and that we could not set sail until it happened. But because of all the delays re-boarding the ship the drill did not occur and was never rescheduled. Were we lied to about the drill being mandatory or did we break a regulation? One has to be true. Does anyone on board recall this? I wonder why no one has brought it up.

 

I accept and realize that there is little we can do if they refuse to acknowledge their part in a less than adequate cruise. However I have written to the Florida BBB and will be contacting the Florida Attorney General office. I realize this may also be in vain but at least I am taking action and urge others who feel they did not get what they paid for to do the same. And finally I have no further plans to use NCL. My guess is they lost a few other clients as well. I also sold my stock in the company because if this is indicative of how they treat customers it is only a matter of time before it catches up to them and affects the share price.

 

I remember the mandatory muster drill that was cancelled. It was at the beginning and end of our letter to NCL, along with other safety issues. Such as the safety of getting on and off the ship in Brest. Do you think NCL could have gotten us into life boats within 30 minutes, which is the regulation? I don't think so, considering the mismanaged lines for all the ports. And there was no panic occurring when we arrived in ports, as there would be if we were trying to abandon the ship.

 

I do have a call in to the Coast Guard to see what the regulation really is on how often a muster drill must be done. Based on what I have been able to find, including this Cruise Critic article, it appears we only needed to have the one muster drill, unless we took on more passengers. If I hear back, and learn otherwise, from the Coast Guard I will post their answer.

We have not heard back from NCL yet. I'm sitting tight before doing more until NCL has had a fair opportunity to respond. Our letter was sent directly to the COO. Thank you to an earlier poster for sharing this information.

 

Chief Executive

Norwegian Cruise Line

Andy Stuart

President and Chief Operating Officer

7665 Corporate Center Dr.

Miami, FL 33126

(305)436-4000

astuart@ncl.com

 

Please keep us informed of how you do with your complaints to the Florida BBB and Florida Attorney General's office. Thanks.

 

Stephanie

[bottoms up]

I did complain. We also had water on the floor in our stateroom for 6 days and had to walk over it to get to the washroom. I never heard from Andy Stuart. He obviously does not give a sh.....

 

 

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[Saltney]

who got compensation then?:confused:

[ja2nowak]

who got compensation then?:confused:

 

I was given an extra $150 for my next cruise. But I know two people who were able to get the better part of their cruise refunded. There is no consistency.