Newest Letter re: Escape - January

[AnitaVacation]

So, on top of the letter regarding mandatory masking....now we received a letter saying the entire sports complex will be closed for maintenance during our sailing.

 

Why bother having this sailing??  Just cancel it already...geez.

 

(or perhaps they want more people to cancel so they can cancel this sailing??) 🤔

 

 

[Janicept]

Is the sports complex the gym or more like tennis courts or basketball courts

[AnitaVacation]

16 minutes ago, Janicept said:

Is the sports complex the gym or more like tennis courts or basketball courts

The basketball court, ropes course, etc…the outdoor stuff…

[BULLOCK]

We did the Dec 4 - 11 cruise.   It was closed for the entire cruise as well.   Many of the guests were complaining about the Mini Golf being closed.   On many of the days, a staff member was posted at the foot of the stairs advising us that it was closed for maintenance.   Yet we never saw anyone working in that area.   Most of us cruising thought it may just be a staffing issue to supervise the rope course.   The slides were open, closed  1 day because of high winds.

[TNcruising02]

When are you sailing?  We are on the January 15th cruise.  I received the letter about masks, but nothing about the sports area.

[AnitaVacation]

This is turning into a big sh**show…. 
 

I’ll have to call our guy tomorrow and see what our cancellation options are... pretty sure we’ve got the cancel for any reason on our booking…. But what about the airfare?  Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.  
 

not sure I want to risk getting on a (Covid *cough*) flight to Florida (packed flight for sure, Sunday January 2nd, everyone flying home)… just to get on a ship that we cannot even enjoy because you’re going to close some of the attractions… oh, and that mask thing….

 

not trying to be a Debbie Downer… we were down for still going, even after the mask announcement…. But come on….now your closing stuff?..
 

 

[AnitaVacation]

3 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

When are you sailing?  We are on the January 15th cruise.  I received the letter about masks, but nothing about the sports area.

We’re booked b2b Jan 3 & 8

[TNcruising02]

4 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

We’re booked b2b Jan 3 & 8

 

It seems like they had plenty of time for maintenance when cruises were shut down completely.  If I could cancel for a full cash refund, I would do it.  As of now, I would lose 25% of what I paid and only receive a FCC.  When I booked the cruise, it was specifically because no masks were required.  There are plenty of other ways I can vacation without putting on a mask.  Now I feel like we are stuck with what might be a not so great vacation.  The sports area being shut down is just another nail.

We plan to make the best of it, but things aren't looking good.  We will probably get the sports letter soon for our cruise.

Edited December 21, 2021 by TNcruising02

[susanf31]

Agreed. We are also on the Jan 15 sailing of Escape. We went with NCL because they didn’t require masks. Now they are closing down things when they had almost 1.5 years in cold storage to do maintenance????  Of course it’s a staffing issue.  I’m not even looking forward to our trip anymore.  If we weren’t traveling with others who cannot cancel, we would cancel.

[TNcruising02]

2 minutes ago, susanf31 said:

Agreed. We are also on the Jan 15 sailing of Escape. We went with NCL because they didn’t require masks. Now they are closing down things when they had almost 1.5 years in cold storage to do maintenance????  Of course it’s a staffing issue.  I’m not even looking forward to our trip anymore.  If we weren’t traveling with others who cannot cancel, we would cancel.

We are traveling with other people too.  They booked spa passes, but cancelled those today.  She called and was told that masks will even be required while working out.

Edited December 21, 2021 by TNcruising02

[AnitaVacation]

2 minutes ago, susanf31 said:

Agreed. We are also on the Jan 15 sailing of Escape. We went with NCL because they didn’t require masks. Now they are closing down things when they had almost 1.5 years in cold storage to do maintenance????  Of course it’s a staffing issue.  I’m not even looking forward to our trip anymore.  If we weren’t traveling with others who cannot cancel, we would cancel.

So the next thought that crosses my mind….if it’s a staffing issue, where is the staff? Sick? WTH?

[susanf31]

 

Dear Valued Guests,

Thank you for choosing Norwegian Escape for your vacation at sea.

We continuously aim to offer an enhanced experience for all our guests, and we strive to provide a world-class product consistent throughout our fleet. As part of this commitment, Norwegian Escape Sports Complex, including The Ropes Course and other activities, are undergoing maintenance to better serve our guests, and therefore will be closed during your cruise. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.  

We remain at your service and cannot wait to welcome you aboard for a vacation of a lifetime.

[AnitaVacation]

1 minute ago, susanf31 said:

 

Dear Valued Guests,

Thank you for choosing Norwegian Escape for your vacation at sea.

We continuously aim to offer an enhanced experience for all our guests, and we strive to provide a world-class product consistent throughout our fleet. As part of this commitment, Norwegian Escape Sports Complex, including The Ropes Course and other activities, are undergoing maintenance to better serve our guests, and therefore will be closed during your cruise. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.  

We remain at your service and cannot wait to welcome you aboard for a vacation of a lifetime.

Love the last line….vacation of a lifetime. 
(10 years from now)…. Hey, remember that time we went on that cruise and everybody got Covid!? 😂😂😂

[TNcruising02]

1 minute ago, AnitaVacation said:

Love the last line….vacation of a lifetime. 
(10 years from now)…. Hey, remember that time we went on that cruise and everybody got Covid!? 😂😂😂

Ha!  My interpretation of the true meaning of "vacation of a lifetime" is the cruise where I spent thousands of dollars to go on a ship when everything was shut down and I was masked up.  

[AnitaVacation]

10 minutes ago, susanf31 said:

 

Dear Valued Guests,

Thank you for choosing Norwegian Escape for your vacation at sea.

We continuously aim to offer an enhanced experience for all our guests, and we strive to provide a world-class product consistent throughout our fleet. As part of this commitment, Norwegian Escape Sports Complex, including The Ropes Course and other activities, are undergoing maintenance to better serve our guests, and therefore will be closed during your cruise. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.  

We remain at your service and cannot wait to welcome you aboard for a vacation of a lifetime.

So, you’re on the Jan 15 cruise and you also got this letter?

[Double Jack]

Reason #842 I'm not booking any cruises for the foreseeable future.  If this is the new normal, then my cruising days are over.

 

Too many other options for my vacation dollars.

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, AnitaVacation said:

So, on top of the letter regarding mandatory masking....now we received a letter saying the entire sports complex will be closed for maintenance during our sailing.

 

Why bother having this sailing??  Just cancel it already...geez.

 

(or perhaps they want more people to cancel so they can cancel this sailing??) 🤔

 

 

On the bright side if they cancel it, you get a refund and the world will keep on turning.

[AnitaVacation]

Just now, LGW59 said:

On the bright side if they cancel it, you get a refund and the world will keep on turning.

True…. I wish/hope they do cancel it!  I’m off to bed now, I will pray for a cancellation. 🙏😂

[TNcruising02]

Will NCL let you move a cruise to a later date without penalty?  With my Carnival cruise, I was able to move it without penalty from 2021 to 2022.  I picked out my new date before calling them.  As it appears, NCL has a 25% penalty for cancelling.  But if I wanted to move it, I wonder what they would say.  Has anybody been able to move their cruise without penalty?

[BermudaBound2014]

Rcl implemented new mask mandates yesterday too but it  it sounds like they are offering more flexible cancellations. Maybe ncl will change and become more flexible. 

[lindatraveler]

This our first booking on a NCL cruise.  We have always done RC, but booked with NCL because of the itinerary, fully vax policy and no masks.  Now, at the last minute, masks (can live with that) and then closing the sports complex.  So, we can't really do anything inside, so we were going to be outdoors all the time... and now they close the outside!  What is distressing though is the complete disregard that NCL has for its guests.  When I called, it's as if I know more than the customer service representatives. Plus, they don't care and don't know anything or provide any information to the extent it is concerns me to sail with them.  I also feel like the "closed for maintenance" excuse is in bad faith.  Maintenance schedules for a fleet of ships isn't something you arrange at the last minute, and as someone else commented, they have had plenty of time during the shutdown to do maintenance.  If it is Covid related, just say it.  I know that the cruise lines have lost a lot of money due to Covid, but nickeling and diming the folks who want the industry to survive and not being straight shooters about it, isn't the way to go.  NCL should offer some type of compensation or ability to reschedule.  We have insurance, but it's not the CFAR.  All of this does make you feel like a Debbie Downer.  Just so disappointed with NCL.  Is there anything that we can do? It has changed my view of NCL and my thoughts on ever booking with them.  We were going to book a Holy Land cruise with Oceania, which is part of the NCL family.  Totally rethinking that now.  Just really bummed.  Any ideas to salvage Christmas with the kids?

[LGW59]

19 minutes ago, lindatraveler said:

This our first booking on a NCL cruise.  We have always done RC, but booked with NCL because of the itinerary, fully vax policy and no masks.  Now, at the last minute, masks (can live with that) and then closing the sports complex.  So, we can't really do anything inside, so we were going to be outdoors all the time... and now they close the outside!  What is distressing though is the complete disregard that NCL has for its guests.  When I called, it's as if I know more than the customer service representatives. Plus, they don't care and don't know anything or provide any information to the extent it is concerns me to sail with them.  I also feel like the "closed for maintenance" excuse is in bad faith.  Maintenance schedules for a fleet of ships isn't something you arrange at the last minute, and as someone else commented, they have had plenty of time during the shutdown to do maintenance.  If it is Covid related, just say it.  I know that the cruise lines have lost a lot of money due to Covid, but nickeling and diming the folks who want the industry to survive and not being straight shooters about it, isn't the way to go.  NCL should offer some type of compensation or ability to reschedule.  We have insurance, but it's not the CFAR.  All of this does make you feel like a Debbie Downer.  Just so disappointed with NCL.  Is there anything that we can do? It has changed my view of NCL and my thoughts on ever booking with them.  We were going to book a Holy Land cruise with Oceania, which is part of the NCL family.  Totally rethinking that now.  Just really bummed.  Any ideas to salvage Christmas with the kids?

How old are the kids?

[KeithJenner]

8 hours ago, lindatraveler said:

When I called, it's as if I know more than the customer service representatives.

It is very likely that you do.

[craig01020]

For many people like me, the reason they chose NCL is because of their 100% vaccination policy which allowed no masks required. So much for the CDC guidance that "fully vaccinated people can gather safely without masks"?

 

If I was still outside final payment date, I might consider cancelling. I'm sure it will be fine, just not what was advertised.

[Karaboudjan]

9 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

You really should get all the facts before you try burning people at the stake.  Here are some (probably not all)

1.  Most of us that commented on this thread are willing to sail with masks, even though most of us booked this particular cruise because it was no mask.

2.  The new letter regarding the sports complex was just another slap and (so far) seems that it was closed DEC 4-11, going to be closed Jan 3-8, and also I think someone chimed in for Jan 15. I’m wondering if it is closed right now…I’d bet money it is. The outdoor complex is important to a lot of people, especially during this time.

3. Compensation.  Did someone ask for compensation? I must have missed it.  But, say you purchased a car, and when you were getting ready to pick it up, you got a letter that said ‘sorry, but we had to remove the leather seats and replace them with cloth seats’. And a few days later, another letter that said ‘sorry, but the heat, a/c, sunroof and radio will not be working on this car’.  Tell me that you would not cancel this car or expect compensation….

 

Most people just want what they paid for….what was agreed on the day of booking…for us, that was a mask less cruise on a ship with all the advertised amenities…things change, most of us can be flexible about the masks… but when you start making other changes, we have to reconsider.

 

(still hoping they cancel)

 

I'm sure there is somewhere in your contract that says they cannot guarantee the availability of amenities just like they cannot guarantee port stops.  So unlike your car analogy you agreed to the uncertainty when you purchased.