Shame on NCL

[Njkrewzer]

7 minutes ago, katec6873 said:

We are scheduled to be on the bliss Tomorrow. Have spent a few hours on the phone and totally don’t understand how they can do this. I’m very upset and thinking we might not go even though it was going to be a big trip for us. I’m so sorry you are in the same situation

I agree, I thought that I was missing something  because my thought was theres no way NCL would do something great for most, and sell the rest of us up the river  It just didnt seem like something they would do and it's such bad business. But they did

[Njkrewzer]

29 minutes ago, yankees111 said:

The exact reason why you should have brought trip insurance! Would you be saying NCL is heartless if you had a death in the family and NCL would not refund you? Bottom line is you rolled the dice. That being said there is no reason not to cruise. You cannot live life in a bubble....

You're right, but to be fair I'm not looking for a refund, just the option to reschedule that was afforded to almost everyone, regardless of trip insurance.

[fshagan]

28 minutes ago, yankees111 said:

The exact reason why you should have brought trip insurance! Would you be saying NCL is heartless if you had a death in the family and NCL would not refund you? Bottom line is you rolled the dice. That being said there is no reason not to cruise. You cannot live life in a bubble....

 

I just received my newsletter from Trip Insurance Store and unless you are actually sick medical coverage will not cover you for cancellation. Even if you are in a "high risk group" it probably won't cover you. "Cancel for any reason" coverage may cover you, but check before you cancel.

 

NCL should extend their cancel/rebook coverage in my opinion. But if they don't you have to consider if your fear is worth not taking the trip. If you think you're going to die, then forfeiting the $6,000 is no big deal. I'd do that in a heartbeat. But if you think the amount you paid isn't worth losing, go on the trip and enjoy yourself.

[sail_ORN]

I’m with Njkrewzer on this. No concern at all about catching the virus. But, being quarantined on a ship, basically locked in my cabin,for days unending,  is absolutely not on my bucket list! It might sound okay at first, but seriously? It’s not like you’d be going to the bars or shows or the pool or whatever. You are in your cabin!  Not to mention, a month or more out of work, my BTO would be depleted. I suppose FMLA would protect my job, but still. I’m disappointed in NCL, but not very surprised.

[Cruising since 3]

15 hours ago, Njkrewzer said:

After waiting on the phone for over an hour (understandably, given the circumstances), I was told there is nothing that can be done for my March 8th sailing. For those of you who are applauding NCL for "stepping up" with their March 10th FCC policy, how about stop and think how you would feel if you were one of the thousands of us who leave before then. I have one of two options, lose thousands of dollars, or option #2 take the risk and go on the cruise anyway. Hey NCL, is my family less important than the one that sets sail 48 hours after me? Or are those of us sailing on March 8th somehow magically immune to the coronavirus? The entire industry is actually doing the right thing except for Norwegian. I'm sure I'm not the only one who will never sail with them again if they don't do the right thing here. NCL has done a lot of nickel and diming in the past few years that has left a bad taste in our mouths, but this is really stooping to a whole new level. With the imminent battle facing the cruise industry, can they really afford to alienate loyal customers.

For your March 8th sailing, you would have been less than 48 hours before departure day when this policy was announced on March 6th, so it wouldn't have applied to your cruise anyway.

[Lou33]

53 minutes ago, yankees111 said:

The cruise is still sailing.  OP could stay home and pick up the virus at the local supermarket. you cant live life in a bubble!

 

Did you hear the statements from Mike Pence and top world health experts?  They recommend to "not" go on a cruise, especially if you have health issues or you are elderly, which would include more that 50% of people who go on cruises.

 

You need to go to the supermarket, but you don't need to go on a cruise.  

[Lou33]

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Edited March 7, 2020 by Lou33
double post

[Njkrewzer]

15 minutes ago, Cruising since 3 said:

For your March 8th sailing, you would have been less than 48 hours before departure day when this policy was announced on March 6th, so it wouldn't have applied to your cruise anyway.

No the cruise starts on sail away time so 10am on march 6th is 55 hours

[put me on a ship]

Most, if not all, of the other cruise lines are allowing passengers that are booked this weekend to cancel for a 100% cruise credit. NCL is not. They really did drop the ball on this one. The cruise lines I checked are Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Princess. 

[Cruising since 3]

2 hours ago, Njkrewzer said:

No the cruise starts on sail away time so 10am on march 6th is 55 hours

Incorrect. From NCL’s page on their policy, it states:  Peace of Mind is the company’s new temporary policy that allows new and existing individual and group bookings embarking from March 10, 2020 through and including September 30, 2020 to cancel their booking up until 48 hours from the START OF THEIR VACATION DATE and receive a 100% future cruise credit (FCC). The FCC may be used for sailings that embark on or before December 31, 2022. The new booking must be made within one year of the cancellation date.

 

48 hours before the start of the vacation date, so 00:00:01(or 12:00:01 am)  on departure day is the 48 hour cutoff. 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Cruising since 3
Correct time

[cruisinmeme]

8 minutes ago, Cruising since 3 said:

Incorrect. From NCL’s page on their policy, it states:  Peace of Mind is the company’s new temporary policy that allows new and existing individual and group bookings embarking from March 10, 2020 through and including September 30, 2020 to cancel their booking up until 48 hours from the START OF THEIR VACATION DATE and receive a 100% future cruise credit (FCC). The FCC may be used for sailings that embark on or before December 31, 2022. The new booking must be made within one year of the cancellation date.

 

48 hours before the start of the vacation date, so 00:00:01(or 12:00:01 am)  on departure day is the 48 hour cutoff. 

 

 

 

Let’s split hairs here. I read 48 hours from sailing.  If the news broke at noon in march 6th and the ship sailed in march 8th at 4;00 pm there would be a 4 hour period.  In all seriousness all this BS is none the less.  They plain and simple left out cruising on the 7th and 8th.  In a world that screams discrimination at every corner.....this is it in a nut shell.

fine and dandy NCL knows more than a Vice President making an announcement.  Hope they can pull their tail out their a$$ if anything goes south on these 2 days of sailing.

[LS6Caddy]

21 minutes ago, cruisinmeme said:

 

Let’s split hairs here. I read 48 hours from sailing.  If the news broke at noon in march 6th and the ship sailed in march 8th at 4;00 pm there would be a 4 hour period.  In all seriousness all this BS is none the less.  They plain and simple left out cruising on the 7th and 8th.  In a world that screams discrimination at every corner.....this is it in a nut shell.

fine and dandy NCL knows more than a Vice President making an announcement.  Hope they can pull their tail out their a$$ if anything goes south on these 2 days of sailing.

You have to be realistic here.  Logistically it is going to take some time to set up for the onslaught of calls they are going to be getting for this policy. Additionally, cruises this weekend have already been set in motion. Financially, logistically, and realistically it isn’t feasible for NCL (and the others as they have very similar policies) for them to offer those changes a day or 2 before sailing. 

[emm126]

10 minutes ago, LS6Caddy said:

You have to be realistic here.  Logistically it is going to take some time to set up for the onslaught of calls they are going to be getting for this policy. Additionally, cruises this weekend have already been set in motion. Financially, logistically, and realistically it isn’t feasible for NCL (and the others as they have very similar policies) for them to offer those changes a day or 2 before sailing. 

Most of the other cruise lines new policy went into effect on March 6, so those sailing this weekend were covered. 

[put me on a ship]

18 minutes ago, emm126 said:

Most of the other cruise lines new policy went into effect on March 6, so those sailing this weekend were covered. 

Cruise Critic needs an angry button. Other cruise lines covered this weekend, why not NCL?

[LS6Caddy]

2 hours ago, emm126 said:

Most of the other cruise lines new policy went into effect on March 6, so those sailing this weekend were covered. 

But still required 48 hours prior to sailing. So those sailing today would not have been covered, and those sailing tomorrow would’ve had to act within hours of the announcement to get the FCC. 

[emm126]

35 minutes ago, LS6Caddy said:

But still required 48 hours prior to sailing. So those sailing today would not have been covered, and those sailing tomorrow would’ve had to act within hours of the announcement to get the FCC. 

I think those that wanted to cancel their cruise on 3/8 would have acted within hours. And the 48/72 hour rule is waived for this weekend on some of the cruise lines. 

[lgfromdg]

I feel for the OP. It would have been nice if those couple days were considered in their plan. It’s seems very arbitrary to give people cruising on March 10 or later the ability to cancel and get FCC but not the couple days prior. Since there is a chance of quarantine ( no one can say at this

time that there isn’t)  it seems reasonable that people who work might not want to take the chance. Not every employer would be sympathetic and if you can’t afford to lose your job, canceling and rescheduling might be the most responsible thing to do. People whose cruises just happen to be March 8 & 9

shouldn’t be penalized for making a responsible decision. 
 

I have a cruise on April 23 and am not considering canceling right now. As the date gets closer, I’ll reevaluate. I appreciate having the option of rescheduling; I wish OP had the same choice. 

[Daytonasailor]

18 hours ago, put me on a ship said:

I already stated most trip insurances DO NOT cover this situation, including "cancel for no reason" insurance. Most have a clause excluding epidemics and pandemics. 

 

I'm scheduled to sail this friday.  I think I'll call tuesday and get a FCC. Feel lucky that I fall within the dates. I called my insurance company and told them to cancel my policy for the trip. They said to bad, you must cancel within two weeks of signing up for the policy. It cost $126.50.  So I guess I'm out that. Wait, do you think I can file for trip interruption? They told me to call the home office monday and see if they will do anything for me so I still might have a chance.

[luv2kroooz]

On 3/7/2020 at 1:17 AM, BirdTravels said:

You can still cancel and file an insurance claim. 

Really? Think that through. There is no indication that the poster had insurance. Furthermore, the fact pattern presented wouldn't qualify for anything under my trip cancellation policy. It likely could under the CFAR component, but the post is silent on that issue, too.

 

If your intention is to provide helpful and accurate responses, I'd caution about making recommendations about situations of which you have no direct knowledge. If your intention is something different, then your response makes a lot of sense to me.