Jump to content

Big NCL OOOPS!


mklak5
 Share

Recommended Posts

I find it interesting that some posters took this example of excellent customer service and turned it around into a complaint against corporations. 

The company does not have to honor an incorrect price.  In the USA, there are exceptions for obvious mistakes in pricing, and the companies do not have to honor them under the laws and guidelines set by the FTC. The same is true in the UK.  It really depends on when the company "accepts" the order (that's on their terms, not yours). For online purchases that can be after the advertised item is sold and the credit card charged. The company only has to explain the error and refund the incorrect price. 

I see NCL's  actions toward the OP as in line with great customer service, and only to be praised. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, fshagan said:

I find it interesting that some posters took this example of excellent customer service and turned it around into a complaint against corporations. 

The company does not have to honor an incorrect price.  In the USA, there are exceptions for obvious mistakes in pricing, and the companies do not have to honor them under the laws and guidelines set by the FTC. The same is true in the UK.  It really depends on when the company "accepts" the order (that's on their terms, not yours). For online purchases that can be after the advertised item is sold and the credit card charged. The company only has to explain the error and refund the incorrect price. 

I see NCL's  actions toward the OP as in line with great customer service, and only to be praised. 

I agree, and there are certain posters on here that will take any situation, good or bad, and try to bash the cruise line.  Their motives are very obvious and it gets old.  I wish they would just go back to Carnival.  Congrats to everyone who got a great deal!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a bunch of typical  nay-sayers. Nothing will ever please them even if NCL goes the extra mile. I will never give NCL another dime again if it doesn't yield to what I demand like he/she is a big corporate account. Please. NCL can certainly afford  to get rid of the odd individuals with this kind of unreasonable attitude.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/19/2018 at 8:25 AM, mklak5 said:

I paid $699 PP for the Mini Suite for the 7 night RT West Med Cruise leaving out of Barcelona. my total was $1649 after taxes and fees and I recvd two free at sea (I chose the dining and port credit). I had two CruiseNext Certificates to use- so my balance to pay in January 2020 is $1149. I believe the price listed on the website is now $1699pp for the mini-suite. 

Thanks, so you were able to use 2 cruisenext certificates on 1 cruise? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Newleno said:

Thanks, so you were able to use 2 cruisenext certificates on 1 cruise? 

Yes- you can use 2 CruiseNext Certificates on Balcony category or higher. I had to call to apply them... online it only let me apply one. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/18/2018 at 4:21 PM, CruisingNole said:

 

Oh, I don't question the legality of it one bit. Big corporations are pretty good at making sure their i's are dotted and t's are crossed when it comes to things like that.

Mistakes in advertisements, both in digital and print, are not uncommon. But to charge someone's credit card, provide an invoice, and THEN try to place the burden on the customer because the business made a mistake is a joke.

Could you imagine if a retailer, like Amazon, listed an item for sale on it's website, you purchased it, and then they sent you an email saying "oops, we made a mistake, that $1,000 computer should have been $2,000. You can still have it, but we'll need to charge you another $1,000. Thanks for understanding."

I think it's safe to say that's just a crappy business practice.

 

On 10/19/2018 at 12:19 PM, BalconyGal said:

Oh no.  I hope it's not the same one I was looking at for 2020!

I am not sure- but from what I have gathered- the incorrect price was listed for a couple hours before it was changed. It is now listed correctly on the website. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/20/2018 at 4:47 PM, Newleno said:

Thanks, so you were able to use 2 cruisenext certificates on 1 cruise? 

yes- I had to call to book and have both applied. I believe you have to sail in a Balcony category or higher to apply 2 CruiseNext certificates.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/19/2018 at 12:47 PM, PTC DAWG said:

AT what point do folks obviously realize that the price listed is obviously a mistake?  One Dollar?  A Hundred Dollars? for a week long cruise...

 

Just a question for those saying any price should be honored.  

Good question. I have seen NCL offer some REALLY Good deals! I wish I had time next year to nab one of the Fly for free promos. I sailed Eastern Mediterranean in 2017 for $479pp for an interior 7 night... so the $499pp price listed on the Western Med just seemed like another awesome deal when I booked. in July 2017, I booked a 10 night Canary Island balcony for Jan 2018 for $1299pp... then NCL offered the Distinctive Voyages package- so I re-booked and ended up with pretty much all 5 Free at Sea offers (phone calls, internet, shore excursion credit, ala carte dining package, beverage package, airline credit, AND $100 a pre or post hotel stay. Not to mention $100 OBC from my TA... AND I was able to use 2 CruiseNext Certificates.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/22/2018 at 10:16 AM, mklak5 said:

Good question. I have seen NCL offer some REALLY Good deals! I wish I had time next year to nab one of the Fly for free promos. I sailed Eastern Mediterranean in 2017 for $479pp for an interior 7 night... so the $499pp price listed on the Western Med just seemed like another awesome deal when I booked. in July 2017, I booked a 10 night Canary Island balcony for Jan 2018 for $1299pp... then NCL offered the Distinctive Voyages package- so I re-booked and ended up with pretty much all 5 Free at Sea offers (phone calls, internet, shore excursion credit, ala carte dining package, beverage package, airline credit, AND $100 a pre or post hotel stay. Not to mention $100 OBC from my TA... AND I was able to use 2 CruiseNext Certificates.  

I guess we all have definitions of good deals, we booked an interior 15 day for $529, we dont think it is that great but ok

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only wish the cruise lines would do as some companies do and advertise pricing that is all inclusive. I understand price per person. However, when the advertised price per person is $399 and the out the door price is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 per person, then it rubs people the wrong way. Yes, it is of course legal. But, I don't find this policy to be very customer oriented. Also, the pretty much mandatory gratuities per day per person are not even included in the out the door price. Another erroneous advertising is the free this and free that. Sometimes as many as 6 or 7 free items. But, in most cases none of them are free. When you go in to pick your cabin the price changes if you add any of the "free" items. I would think that the original price of the cabin would not increase when any free item is added. After all the word free indicates no additional funds. Also, even if they were free it is relative to the price that you paid for the cabin. A $100 free on board credit is only that amount if you book a certain cabin or above. Any cabin below that you will receive only a small portion of that credit if anything at all. So, items listed as free are either only partially available or not available at all. Now, I am not out to change the world, the cruise industry, and basically am not complaining about things that I don't have the power to change. However, It would be nice though for the advertising to be 100% honest and not try to bamboozle people into thinking that cruises are some sort of a wondrous bargain.  Now, before I receive a lot of hate mail, be advised that I can afford to cruise and am not looking for a handout. I am simply thinking about the folks that can only afford to cruise if the pricing is reasonable and as such they are not taken advantage of with disingenuous advertising. :classic_cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/17/2018 at 11:26 AM, mklak5 said:

I found a great price on a 7 Night western Med cruise yesterday. Called NCL and booked it over the phone. Received my confirmation pretty much immediately... and then... two hours later I recvd a second confirmation with a significant increase in price. I called NCL- and after being on hold for nearly an hour I was told that "someone" incorrectly listed the cruise price on the website- and that "Revenue" will need to determine if they will honor the original price. I will receive a call within 48-72 hours with the verdict. To be clear- I read online where NCL can change the price if there was an incorrect listing... but what I am most upset about is that NCL did not reach out to me directly by phone or explain the change in the second email confirmation. From doing some quick research- I have learned this is the second time in about a week that this has happened with NCL- the first time was with an Alaskan cruise. If they do not honor the price- I will just cancel the booking, get my CruiseNext Certificates back, and wait for another deal to good to pass up... but in the meantime I am really concerned about how what is going on in their IT department... and even more concerned about them not proactively reaching out to me either through email or by phone before changing the price. 

 

princess wouldnt honor my pricing after i booked either so i know how you feel

free.png

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Floridastorm said:

I only wish the cruise lines would do as some companies do and advertise pricing that is all inclusive. I understand price per person. However, when the advertised price per person is $399 and the out the door price is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 per person, then it rubs people the wrong way. Yes, it is of course legal. But, I don't find this policy to be very customer oriented. Also, the pretty much mandatory gratuities per day per person are not even included in the out the door price. Another erroneous advertising is the free this and free that. Sometimes as many as 6 or 7 free items. But, in most cases none of them are free. When you go in to pick your cabin the price changes if you add any of the "free" items. I would think that the original price of the cabin would not increase when any free item is added. After all the word free indicates no additional funds. Also, even if they were free it is relative to the price that you paid for the cabin. A $100 free on board credit is only that amount if you book a certain cabin or above. Any cabin below that you will receive only a small portion of that credit if anything at all. So, items listed as free are either only partially available or not available at all. Now, I am not out to change the world, the cruise industry, and basically am not complaining about things that I don't have the power to change. However, It would be nice though for the advertising to be 100% honest and not try to bamboozle people into thinking that cruises are some sort of a wondrous bargain.  Now, before I receive a lot of hate mail, be advised that I can afford to cruise and am not looking for a handout. I am simply thinking about the folks that can only afford to cruise if the pricing is reasonable and as such they are not taken advantage of with disingenuous advertising. :classic_cool:

I agree!  I actually did not start cruising until a few years ago because I didn't like being nickel and dimed... but then I realized I was missing out on some great places to visit. I traveled to all-inclusive resorts for 12 years and loved not having to worry about what was "extra".  Just give me the bottom line price and don't try to reel me in with an amazing per person price. But I admit, I am one of the lucky ones: I don't get seasick- so stick me anywhere on the ship and I am fine. I am never in my room... so give me an inside cabin, obstructed view... makes no matter to me. Drinking? two beverages in and I am a mess... so no need for the drink package. For my "free at sea" options I choose the shore excursion credit (and I don't always use it in every port) and the dining package... a whopping $27.40 gratuity tacked on to my cruise. Oh yeah... and I don't gamble... so basically I am the cruise line's worst nightmare! I usually get off the ship paying gratuities... and spend maybe $50 extra. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

princess wouldnt honor my pricing after i booked either so i know how you feel

free.png

Well it looks like the inside was going to cost you $75 in fees not including gratuities (another aprox $56) for a total of $131.  $131 for a 3 night cruise interior seems reasonable to me, I would not pay much more than that, Once paid $250 out the door total for a 7 day balcony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Newleno said:

Well it looks like the inside was going to cost you $75 in fees not including gratuities (another aprox $56) for a total of $131.  $131 for a 3 night cruise interior seems reasonable to me, I would not pay much more than that, Once paid $250 out the door total for a 7 day balcony

Was that on the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria?  Just joking!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

Why do you need cruise lines to spoon feed you? Pull out a calculator and read what's in front of you. It's not that hard and good for your brain.

You missed my point entirely. If you can't respond without a condescending attitude please don't respond at all, OK? I don't need you to reprimand me. For that I had a mother. :classic_sad:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Floridastorm said:

You missed my point entirely. If you can't respond without a condescending attitude please don't respond at all, OK? I don't need you to reprimand me. For that I had a mother. :classic_sad:

I agree with your point entirely.  SFAAA should be reprimanded for that comment, but s/he won't be. 

You see Floridastorm, you suggested that the cruise lines (and therefore NCL) could make an improvement which means you were implying that NCL wasn't perfect.  Saying anything less than glowing about NCL will get you reprimanded from the likes of SFAAA and others.  It's just the way things are around here.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Floridastorm said:

You missed my point entirely. If you can't respond without a condescending attitude please don't respond at all, OK? I don't need you to reprimand me. For that I had a mother. :classic_sad:

I am sorry you were treated this way... i get your point. I like the bottom line- out the door price. It is actually a marketing tool that cruiselines use to get people to spend more... if you don’t see the total at first... you don’t realize how much you are spending. “The drink package was just $59 per day”... “I got off the ship only spending $40!”... nevermind you already prepaid for excursions, dining, etc etc etc.. Bottom line is this- we have all decided to cruise. We know their tactics... and have chosen to just live with it... and pay it... but that doesn’t mean we can’t wish they would change their sales tactics for those of us who just want the bottom line. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had the opposite experience happen when I booked the Alaska trip that my family went on this past summer. The cruise came up at the right price, but when I tried to add the land tour, the price jumped to over $200k! Called and they said that it was wrong but they couldn’t price it correctly right away. By the time they left a message telling me that I could call back and correctly book it, the moment had past and we decided to just do the cruise without the land tour. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Floridastorm said:

I only wish the cruise lines would do as some companies do and advertise pricing that is all inclusive. I understand price per person.

 

Disney quotes the price for all members of your traveling party, including port fees and taxes. It's as close as all inclusive as you get in the cruise industry. The daily gratuities are not included in that price, but everything else is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

Disney quotes the price for all members of your traveling party, including port fees and taxes. It's as close as all inclusive as you get in the cruise industry. The daily gratuities are not included in that price, but everything else is.

Oh yes!  I have seen that!  Now to just work a Disney Cruise into my budget!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, aimish said:

I had the opposite experience happen when I booked the Alaska trip that my family went on this past summer. The cruise came up at the right price, but when I tried to add the land tour, the price jumped to over $200k! Called and they said that it was wrong but they couldn’t price it correctly right away. By the time they left a message telling me that I could call back and correctly book it, the moment had past and we decided to just do the cruise without the land tour. 

yeah... I have seen a lot of comments on message boards about glitches with their website... sounds like an investment in IT is needed at NCL... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...