NCL Does Not Stand Behind Their Excursions

[Tigerjim]

Pisa & Beach

 

 

We booked this excursion with NCL on July 31, 2019 while on a 11-day Greece and Italy cruise on the Jade. My wife and I are in our mid-fifties and we have over 20 cruises in our history. We have booked many excursions with other cruise lines and have never had an issue. This was the first excursion booked through NCL and it will be our last. If something goes wrong on the excursion, NCL doesn't care and will not stand behind what they sell. The One hour they let you stay in Pisa was short but good. The beach part is the worst excursion that my wife and I have every booked. We were brought to a Private beach where you had to have a yearly membership to belong and reserve certain sections on the beach. We were placed in a small section of beach approximately 150 to 200 yards from the water. There were hundreds of empty chairs between us and the ocean so I went to the check in desk to pay for an upgrade and move closer to the beach. I was told that was not possible because I was not a member. We were told when we were placed on the beach that the only restaurant at the club closed in two hours so if we wanted something to eat we needed to order before they closed. I went to order some lunch and found that they only had one person working the counter and the wait was at least two hours long and you had to stand in line and not leave or you would lose your space. A group of about 10 of us decided to leave the beach, walk into town and get some food for lunch. This caused us to lose about an hour of beach time while we did this. They only had one beach bar and none of the bartenders understood English or how to make a frozen drink. You had to point to a picture menu and hope you liked what you were getting. There was no beach service and about 20 people constantly hounding you to buy things from them. This was reported by about a dozen people when we returned to the ship and they did nothing. I was finally told that I would have to take it up with customer relations when I got back to the states. I contacted customer service when I returned to the states and relayed the above information to them. Again, nothing was done. NCL DOES NOT STAND BEHIND WHAT THEY SELL SO BUYER BEWARE!

[bakersdozen12]

So what exactly was there in the description of the excursion that you didn’t receive? Not liking an excursion is not the same as “not standing behind their excursion” (i.e. not giving you what you paid for).

[Outerdog]

NCL stands behind what the sell in my experience. All NCL excursions I have taken have been outstanding. NCL went out of their way to put my wife and I on a substitute adventure when we turned up an hour late on one particular occasion. They didn't have to do that.

 

You may not have been satisfied and some excursions aren't as good as others, but your general statement that they don't stand behind what they sell is not accurate in my experience. 

[FreestyleNovice]

Pisa & Beach
DETAILS
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8 hrs Estimate Duration
   
Family Recommended
Admire Pisa’s famous Field of Miracles where you’ll have time to explore on your own and see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. In Pisa, you’ll have one hour at leisure to take in the sights or shop in the numerous small stores. You’ll then continue to the popular seaside resort area of Viareggio with free time for dining, shopping or enjoying the beach.

The seaside promenade is open to pedestrian traffic only and is lined with elegant shops offering the latest fashions, small boutiques and cafes. Enjoy lunch on your own at one of the resorts, cafes, or restaurants known for fresh seafood. You’ll be taken to a famous beach, where your stay includes use of the changing rooms, the beach, swimming pool, use of a complimentary sun bed and beach umbrella. Umbrellas may be shared among two guests.

Need to Know:
Note: Walking in Pisa and Viareggio is at the guest's discretion and over uneven and cobblestone surfaces with steps. Tour doesn't include lunch or entrance fees. Escort is on the coach to/from Livorno to answer questions. Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, swimwear and a towel should be brought with you. The return drive from Viareggio is approximately 45 minutes.

 

Prices are shown in USD
ADULT FROM:    $ 139 00
CHILD FROM:    $ 109 00

[casofilia]

Never had a problem that hasn't been dealt with back on board having been on an NCL shorex. 

Write a report on what DIFFERED from the written description, which you should attach, hand in to the Shorex desk and, if it is significant, they will partially reimburse you.

It helps if you write a report on all shorex, then they know when small changes are necessary too.

[sassyshar]

When you returned to the ship, who did you speak with?   Did you have the name of the tour guide and bus #?   Had a very disappointing NCL tour in Grenada and spoke to Shore Excursion desk with specifics as to why it wasn't what was expected, spoke calmly and made no demands.  Received half of the price of excursion credited back to my account.  Every experience with NCL will be different.  I hope you get some satisfaction from NCL 

[FreestyleNovice]

Seems the local company providing the tour messed up with informing the beach club to me, that's unfortunate but how large was the tour group that had to stand in line? You took a wonderful cruise to Europe, not getting the right drink would be part of the adventure for me but I can see how small things can turn into the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

[david_sobe]

No offense but this sounds like every cruise ship "beach" excursion I have ever been on.  Do your research.  These resorts allow cruise ship passengers to come but you are not their priority.  For someone that has taken as many cruises as the OP states, I am surprised because everything the OP is venting about is fairly typical.  Yes, some are better than others and some are awful.  The worst beach excursion I have been on in my life (would not really even call it a beach) has hundreds of reviews and has 4.5 stars.  I am baffled and definitely in the minority.  Maybe because I lived on a beach for so long and expect certain things.  EVERY beach excursion I have been on that involves a resort:
1.  Have beach chairs on top of each other

2. Outrageous food prices

3. Have upcharge chairs

4. People sell stuff

5. And yes some of the staff are not really rude but they deal with tourists every day.  They don't think you are special.

 

This is par for the course of every cruise ship beach excursion.  This is why if you like the beach, go away from the tourist traps.  Go to a remote beach with NO chairs or food stands.  None of this has anything to do with NCL or any other cruise ship.  NCL does not control resorts and you must play by their rules.

 

Oh, btw, just like the OP was unhappy with this excursion.  I bet it has good/great reviews from NCL cruisers.  I wont name my worst beach excursion because I don't want to start a fight on this thread LOL.  But I could not believe how many people thought/think it was a good "beach" excursion.  When cruising, roll with the punches at resorts. Demanding Italian bartenders make "American" drinks and speak English LMAO.

Edited August 11, 2019 by david_sobe

[ollienbertsmum]

That Italian bar staff in Italy do not speak English is not, in my opinion a reason to complain.  Nor is the inability to make a frozen drink.  To be honest I live in Europe and I don’t know what a frozen drink is (you make a drink and then you freeze it???).

 

Having not been to Viareggio (and I would like to) I am not sure what lunch options there were.  This would have been my gripe.  The description said that there were cafes and restaurants known for fresh seafood.  Were they closed on the day that the OP visited??

[Son of a son of a ...]

We book all our excursions through NCL.  Sure we overpay, but when an excursion goes south - and we have had only a few that were very poor - the shore excursion desk onboard was very receptive, understanding, and compensatory.  

[tomservo]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

Demanding Italian bartenders make "American" drinks and speak English LMAO

 

Maybe it’s the OP’s first time in Europe? How would he feel about French tourists visiting the US and complaining that American bartenders don’t speak French or know how to make French drinks? Europe gets visitors from all over the world. How many different languages should Italian bartenders know? This is the kind of attitude that gets Americans a bad rap in other countries.  

[fabnfortysomething]

sounds like another reason why I never book ships excursions and do my own research

[hladygirl]

We booked an excursion to DePalm island I Aruba through ncl. We had been there thru ncl once before and had a great time. This time they were having employee appreciation day. A lot was roped off for employees and their families only. Very very crowded. Long lines for food or drinks. When we got back to the ship we nicely explained our displeasure and 50% of the excursion was credited to OBC.

[Peachypooh]

I have been on beach excursions with NCL and those we arranged on our own. Most of the

time with NCL what you describe was pretty typical unfortunately. The attitude most of the time

was that we were a nuisance just because of the sheer

number of people arriving.. Those we arranged on our own where we bought day passes to resorts

that the cruise ships don't frequent we blended in with the others and it was fine. Except for one

miserable time in Curacao( but that resort is now out of business so nobody else will have to

suffer the attitudes, subpar food and gross bathrooms.)

[Bonobochick]

3 hours ago, sassyshar said:

Had a very disappointing NCL tour in Grenada and spoke to Shore Excursion desk with specifics as to why it wasn't what was expected, spoke calmly and made no demands.  Received half of the price of excursion credited back to my account.  Every experience with NCL will be different.  I hope you get some satisfaction from NCL 

 

I did this for a poorly run shore excursion in Ocho Rios. As soon as I got back onboard, I wrote a lengthy letter about the issues and dropped it in the shore excursions desk slot. I got a call from the shore ex manager the next day apologizing and a partial refund. 

[bluesea777]

 

They do NOT do frozen drinks aka frou-frous in Italy!

 

My drink of choice while in Italy is Aperol Spritz, followed by red Italian wine and the some Limoncello or Sambuca!

 

 

[OBSESSIVEWORLDTRAVELER]

I've been on a number of NCL excursions. Most of them I enjoyed. But there was one excursion I believe was for Cozumel where most of us were extremely dissatisfied. The lives of about 150 of us taking the ferry were put in danger. When we were trying to disembark the ferry at the dock the hurricane in the region produced 15 ft waves resulting in the ferry crashing into the dock. Eventually after 50 of us got off and an employee almost getting crushed they decided to use a different dock. So those of us that made it off traveled with all the buses to meet up with the other passengers.  We went on our excursions which we enjoyed. When we returned to our ship and staterooms there was a letter from NCL that they were aware of the safety issue that happened earlier. They refunded us the cost of the excursion. So I'm not surprised you didn't get a refund. Our safety and lives were at risk to get a refund.

Edited August 11, 2019 by OBSESSIVEWORLDTRAVELER