Breakaway to Western Caribbean 9/1 in Haven

[swmichigan cruiser]

6 hours ago, emm126 said:

NCL did put people in harms way but telling them the 9/1 cruise was a go and for them to go to Miami, knowing they did not have authorization to leave the next day. They were hoping they would get it, they did not. They then told their guests to wait it out in the hurricane in Miami until 9/4 when the cruise will now leave. I think that's putting people in unnecessary danger,  if you don't I don't know what to say.

 

To blame the TA community as a whole for 1 or 2 people on here who commented about their agents is laughable IMO, especially since most that posted said they heard from their TA.  My TA is open 6 days a week and has 24 hour service, I am sure they would send me the information IF they receive it from the cruise line. They can't send what they don't have. My agent has always told me to check with the airline, cruise lines, website for the most updated info, well according to those that have posted, NCL website was not updated. I get it you don't like TA's, that's fine but to blame them instead of NCL, the people who are making the decisions and are responsible for getting the information out to their guests just doesn't make sense to me. Saying they get paid (10-15%, maybe) and they should do their job but excuse NCL for not doing their job? again makes no sense to me. 

 

I work in customer service, I am a very right is right and wrong is wrong type of person. I think NCL handled this situation horribly. Obviously you disagree and that's fine. I wish you the best on your future cruises.

 

 

 

 

I agree completely. I probably need to stop reading the posts from some calling all others dumb for cruising during hurricane season. One advantage to cruising during hurricane season is not being on the same ship as these people. 

[cruisetheworld67]

2 hours ago, swmichigan cruiser said:

I agree completely. I probably need to stop reading the posts from some calling all others dumb for cruising during hurricane season. One advantage to cruising during hurricane season is not being on the same ship as these people. 

 

Well....I  wonder how many of those affected and had their cruise cancelled  will continue to tempt fate and book cruises during the 60 days of peak hurricane season ( Aug. 15-Oct.15).  If they do I would call that  DUMB!

 

As  far as not being on the same ship with  "these people,"  well....at least  these people made it onto their  cruise ship and enjoyed their cruise  and did not go thru  cruise nightmare! 🙂

[graphicguy]

16 minutes ago, cruisetheworld67 said:

 

Well....I  wonder how many of those affected and had their cruise cancelled  will continue to tempt fate and book cruises during the 60 days of peak hurricane season ( Aug. 15-Oct.15).  If they do I would call that  DUMB!

 

As  far as not being on the same ship with  "these people,"  well....at least  these people made it onto their  cruise ship and enjoyed their cruise  and did not go thru  cruise nightmare! 🙂

I’m not into name calling.  But, this is like saying someone is stupid to live in the MidWest (as I do) because of tornados.  I should know better.  

 

Hurricanes happen.  I’ve been sailing during what they call “hurricane season” for decades.  This is the first time it affected my cruise.  Pricing reflects the facts that the children are back in school and the family can’t cruise as a result.  It also reflects the fact that most vacation time is taken BEFORE September.

Edited September 3, 2019 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

17 hours ago, mking8288 said:

CG - hello from New England, glad to read that you've in charge for getting home instead of ... sorry to know that you missed the cruise but.  The issues lately has been largely of poor corporate communications, especially when they are confronted with & caught in a crisis mode - the problems aren't necessary that of FDR or Andy S (they own it & the bucks stopped there with them ... in how they manage and how the messages were perceived & read. )  It's a sad & poor reflection, and rooted in the corporate culture in their nearly blind chase for corporate bottomline.  Nobody can control mother nature as we all know, but they are responsible for balancing the rest of the equation - and, (sincerely best efforts) to not leave their passengers in limbo, going above & beyond as they once proudly announce. 

Well put, Henry!  

[graphicguy]

18 hours ago, mafig said:

Graphicguy,

Glad you made it home safely.🙂

 

Can you tell us

 

What, if anything, would YOU have done differently?

 

(I don't know if that's clear or not.  I don't mean You if you were the cruise line, but YOU as YOU.  (e.g. not cruise during hurricane season, cancel at first forecast of hurricane, etc.)

Thanks!

 

Hmmmm....what would I have done differently?

 

Hindsight is always 20-20.  If I had kept to the original plan and flew in the day of the cruise, I would have seen how this whole thing was transpiring with the lack of communications and changes made to the cruise on a daily basis, resulting in all of the confusion.

 

I would have cancelled the cruise (which I did anyway, but not before incurring hotel and flight change fees) and not even flown to Miami.

 

I’ve learned a LOT about even the best cruise insurance and the terms and conditions (more like what they won’t cover).  So, there’s a lesson learned there.  From here on, I’ll just get much cheaper insurance for medical emergencies.

 

I will continue to use my TA.  She was great.  When neither of us could reach NCL, she told me not to worry, because she’d handle it for me, on a Sunday....which the agency had already closed for the Labor Day weekend.

 

I learned what’s important to me.  That is, frequent cruiser status isn’t worth spit when things go sideways.

 

This will give me an opportunity to try different cruise lines that I might not have considered before.

 

Funny (actually more sad than funny), but my friends, surprised seeing me over Labor Day quizzed me.  You guys already know the ordeal.

 

But, it ended up being a 24 hour trip to Miami, where I stayed in a hotel, while eating a sub I got from a Publix, getting a few hours of sleep, and coming home.  Nice vacation.

Edited September 3, 2019 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

16 hours ago, sundarlin9 said:

Are you sure about that?  We are booked on 9/8 and I just want to plan ahead.

Oh...I have absolutely no idea if 9/8 is cancelled.  But, I don’t know when the Breakaway is due back into the Port of Miami.  I know they were sailing for New Orleans last I heard.

[graphicguy]

About TAs....I have a really good one.

 

As soon as NCL informed her, she informed me, within minutes.  Consequently, she made NO COMMISSIONs on my booking, but still gave excellent customer service.  We were actually on the phone with each other at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday trying to make sense out of what was the non-sensical way NCL communicating.  As she said, it’s like they were speaking a foreign language as we were trying to decipher what they were going to do.

 

NCL did indeed inform some about their status.  But, many, many more of us, including the TAs were kept in the dark.

 

 

[Shoppie124]

32 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Oh...I have absolutely no idea if 9/8 is cancelled.  But, I don’t know when the Breakaway is due back into the Port of Miami.  I know they were sailing for New Orleans last I heard.

We are currently in New Orleans.  I understand from the crew they are going back to sea tonight without passengers and will make their way towards Miami for port reopening.

[JustAPilot]

graphicguy nothing you could of done different, you followed NCL's instructions. This wasn't about passenger safety blah blah, this was about Norwegian not wanting to lose millions of dollars on canceling a cruise and pissing off their shareholders. RCL and even Carnival (which is considered bottom barrel) notified their passengers ahead of time. 

[graphicguy]

2 minutes ago, Shoppie124 said:

We are currently in New Orleans.  I understand from the crew they are going back to sea tonight without passengers and will make their way towards Miami for port reopening.

Thanks for the update.  This was probably more stressful for you than it was for my situation.

[Shoppie124]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Thanks for the update.  This was probably more stressful for you than it was for my situation.

NCL did a great job of keeping us busy.  Many are stuck in NOLA tonight because they booked thru NCL.  I booked myself and we will be getting out at 4 pm today.   We learned a very valuable lesson- always book Haven.  Last night the non- haven people had key card problems.  The lines to use the phone were crazy.. not in the Haven.  Once I recoup, I’ll share more. We are all very tired 

[graphicguy]

2 minutes ago, Shoppie124 said:

NCL did a great job of keeping us busy.  Many are stuck in NOLA tonight because they booked thru NCL.  I booked myself and we will be getting out at 4 pm today.   We learned a very valuable lesson- always book Haven.  Last night the non- haven people had key card problems.  The lines to use the phone were crazy.. not in the Haven.  Once I recoup, I’ll share more. We are all very tired 

I’m sure you are exhausted.  Glad to hear you’re on your way home.

 

Would love to hear more.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Just heard from my friend who was on the ship that NCL did a great job and he really had a great vacation and is now exploring New Orleans. They were interviewed by the local news channel when getting off the ship. From his perspective, he didn’t see any outlandish customers while on the ship. 

[honeybear'scruisevacation]

15 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I cant believe people are praising CC for learning of the cancellation yet still blaming NCL.  HELLO!

The reason CC posted the cruise was cancelled was because of someone stating their Travel Agent was notified by NCL the cruise was cancelled.  So it appears NCL did notify people and even TA's the cruise was cancelled. Why everyone did not get this message does need investigated.  However, from the majority of people attacking NCL, they booked with a TA.  I am not sure why frustrations are not turned back on their TA.  If posters on CC posted the cruise was cancelled per their TA, why did their TA not be notified or pass along the information.  The issue that irks me is that so many were venting at long wait times with NCL when their TA was nowhere to be found.  This is their job when they take your money.  

As I mentioned, there were only hours of notification.  The closing of the port was a surprise to everyone.  NCL probably could have done a better job at notification.  But why is no one asking the question that other TA's notified their customers in plenty of time while other TAs took the weekend off with no emergency contacts.  This was a sudden cancellation and it appears way too many want to book with a TA and give their TA a pass at not being on the job on the weekend.  That irks me.  The entire reason CC knew of the cancellation was because of a TA who was on the job and notified their customer.  Yet others want to give them a pass.  Its possible but unlikely that NCL only notified one TA of the cancellation.  Again, we are talking about hours before a cancellation.  Why is no one asking their TA, other TA's got the word to their customers, why not us?  When you book with a TA, all changes to the reservation or cancellations are done NOT through the cruise line.  You cant have it both ways, book with the TA for perks then blame the cruise line for not being notified of changes. Sorry.

 

I did not get any notifications from ncl until after 9am when we were suppose to be at the port from 9am-11am.  I booked directly with ncl.  I knew it was canceled from someone on face book.  I was on the phone with them when the 9pm update came out.  The facebook update said it was canceled and the ncl webpage said to come to port at 9am.  It's easy to judge when you were not in the middle of this mess. I flew to miami and back in less then 24 hours.  About 4 hours of that was on the phone with ncl trying to do the right thing.  If they would have canceled when they knew the port was closed I could have canceled my flight and it wouldnt have cost me a thing. 

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, honeybear'scruisevacation said:

I did not get any notifications from ncl until after 9am when we were suppose to be at the port from 9am-11am.  I booked directly with ncl.  I knew it was canceled from someone on face book.  I was on the phone with them when the 9pm update came out.  The facebook update said it was canceled and the ncl webpage said to come to port at 9am.  It's easy to judge when you were not in the middle of this mess. I flew to miami and back in less then 24 hours.  About 4 hours of that was on the phone with ncl trying to do the right thing.  If they would have canceled when they knew the port was closed I could have canceled my flight and it wouldnt have cost me a thing. 

Yeah...our experiences with NCL mirror each others'. I'm sure there were many more who could tell similar stories.

 

Just spoke to my TA.  She said she was going to try to recoup my out of pocket expenses due to this fiasco and to expect the refund within 7-10 days.  I'm not holding out hope, but I would respect NCL a whole lot more if they did come through and do the right thing.

[Jasonmom]

17 hours ago, blueslily said:

Oh my. How do you kill a thread on here? With the current status of the hurricane and multiple "points" being made on this topic multiple times during the past 48 hours on multiple threads, can threads like these be paused, blocked, stopped, or whatever has to be done? Hopefully all travelers are safe. Lessons learned. Decisions made about future travel. Points taken. Etc. I wonder how many more pages of this redundancy is necessary. 

 

If you don't want to read it, don't.  You got to think today is the day those on the Aug 25th Breakaway are having to get off in New Orleans.  These people will want to vent and tell their stories over the next few days.  i think venting is good and I for one would like to hear their stories.  It might help those of us who may experience something like this in the future.  Like right now I'm wondering how did people find out that they announced the closing of port of Miami hours before NCL cancelled the cruise.  Does anyone know where to find this information?

 

 

13 hours ago, emdia43 said:

You can always skip a thread once you are bored with it, not request it be shut down . This cruise is not finished yet, there will still be lots of questions as to disembarkation, final travel arrangements people are having to make and whether NCL assists them at all. I anticipate that once some of our CC members are home they might also add comments.  

 

 

Agree

 

[Shoppie124]

3 hours ago, Joeghartman said:

Just heard from my friend who was on the ship that NCL did a great job and he really had a great vacation and is now exploring New Orleans. They were interviewed by the local news channel when getting off the ship. From his perspective, he didn’t see any outlandish customers while on the ship. 

He was not the in the atrium when the craziness began.  Things got ugly.  I’m sure it’s on YouTube by now

[graphicguy]

Just saw this posted to Port of Miami's Twitter account....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPT. 3 | Port Users PortMiami is officially open for business.  Passengers please contact the cruise lines for itinerary information https://bddy.me/2Ut0Oz7

[david_sobe]

I want to apologize to some on this thread for coming off insensitive.  It was not my intent but reading back my comments, I could see how some think they were.  Even though Dorian did not come ashore in Florida we suffer from what is called "cabin fever."  We spend days in long lines trying to secure gasoline and food.  We board up our houses then must make decisions if we stay or go.  Then we plot the storm every hour and the 24/7 endless loop of news about possible destruction can take its toll.  In a nutshell, we all go CRAZY. After one week, tomorrow things go back to normal.  The airports opened today and the kids go back to school tomorrow.  All of this stressed combined with drinking rum at night may have made me sound harsh.  I wish everyone the best and lets not forget the tragedy of the Bahamas.  Keep them in your thoughts and please contribute something to their plight.
God Bless

Edited September 3, 2019 by david_sobe

[swmichigan cruiser]

24 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I want to apologize to some on this thread for coming off insensitive.  It was not my intent but reading back my comments, I could see how some think they were.  Even though Dorian did not come ashore in Florida we suffer from what is called "cabin fever."  We spend days in long lines trying to secure gasoline and food.  We board up our houses then must make decisions if we stay or go.  Then we plot the storm every hour and the 24/7 endless loop of news about possible destruction can take its toll.  In a nutshell, we all go CRAZY. After one week, tomorrow things go back to normal.  The airports opened today and the kids go back to school tomorrow.  All of this stressed combined with drinking rum at night may have made me sound harsh.  I wish everyone the best and lets not forget the tragedy of the Bahamas.  Keep them in your thoughts and please contribute something to their plight.
God Bless

Great post. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

[GA Dave]

Just checked CruiseMapper and the Breakaway is already headed down the river to the Gulf.  Since Port of Miami is already open, the folks on the 9/8 cruise should start packing!

[Oakman58]

3 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

Just checked CruiseMapper and the Breakaway is already headed down the river to the Gulf.  Since Port of Miami is already open, the folks on the 9/8 cruise should start packing!

 

We've already started packing.  Since the Breakaway won't have any passengers on her this week I hope the crew gives the ship a deep cleaning.  If I get the cruise crud or norovirus on this cruise, it will be my last cruise.

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I want to apologize to some on this thread for coming off insensitive.  It was not my intent but reading back my comments, I could see how some think they were.  Even though Dorian did not come ashore in Florida we suffer from what is called "cabin fever."  We spend days in long lines trying to secure gasoline and food.  We board up our houses then must make decisions if we stay or go.  Then we plot the storm every hour and the 24/7 endless loop of news about possible destruction can take its toll.  In a nutshell, we all go CRAZY. After one week, tomorrow things go back to normal.  The airports opened today and the kids go back to school tomorrow.  All of this stressed combined with drinking rum at night may have made me sound harsh.  I wish everyone the best and lets not forget the tragedy of the Bahamas.  Keep them in your thoughts and please contribute something to their plight.
God Bless

No harm, no foul!  Appreciate the post.

 

Agree about the Bahamas.  The pics I saw were devastating.

 

BTW....being shut-in, drinking rum isn’t a bad way to pass the time.  I should probably do more of that.

Edited September 3, 2019 by graphicguy

[put me on a ship]

3 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I want to apologize to some on this thread for coming off insensitive.  It was not my intent but reading back my comments, I could see how some think they were.  Even though Dorian did not come ashore in Florida we suffer from what is called "cabin fever."  We spend days in long lines trying to secure gasoline and food.  We board up our houses then must make decisions if we stay or go.  Then we plot the storm every hour and the 24/7 endless loop of news about possible destruction can take its toll.  In a nutshell, we all go CRAZY. After one week, tomorrow things go back to normal.  The airports opened today and the kids go back to school tomorrow.  All of this stressed combined with drinking rum at night may have made me sound harsh.  I wish everyone the best and lets not forget the tragedy of the Bahamas.  Keep them in your thoughts and please contribute something to their plight.
God Bless

Truth. Except tomorrow will be a repeat of today for us, just maybe not as windy. We're close to Port Canaveral. Kids go back to school Friday, I believe.

[graphicguy]

So, my TA, genuinely sorry about how this "non-cruise" turned out, sent me an email today with a 9 Day Cruise out of Copenhagen on the Getaway for about the same as I was going to spend on the Breakaway on 9/1 doing the Western Caribbean.

 

Talk about out of left field, but that's intriguing.  

 

I've sailed the Mediterranean on the MSC Meriviglia and loved it.  Copenhagen isn't even a cruise I've even thought about. 

 

This would also be in the Haven.

 

Opinions?