First and LAST!

[kona_wahine]

I’m so angry at NCL. This is our first and definitely LAST cruise with NCL. We booked thru NCL because we wanted Glacier bay for Alaska. It’s been an excursion nightmare. We have one left that hasn’t been cancelled. 11 days to go and another email that our Ketchikan excursion cancelled. There are NO excursions left. So now we have NOTHING to do there. If I could get my over $4,000 back I’d do it in a heart beat. I’ll NEVER EVER book with NCL again. I honestly don’t even know how I’ll have a good time at this point. I’m just so angry. This is a cruise for our 40th anniversary. In all our other cruises I have NEVER had issue after issue like this. And the calls I’ve made, it’s ridiculous. And 2 I’m STILL waiting on refunds. Who knows, it’s been a couple months on one, and 2 weeks on the other. I really don’t know what you all see in NCL, I have yet to see ANYTHING good. 

[complawyer]

before  you blow a gasket (and i sympathize with your problem),  sometimes the fault lies with the excursion vendors who are independent contractors and thus not the fault of ncl cruise lines. raher than feel you'll have nothing to do, why dont you get off the ship and either walk around the port (something i occasionally enjoy doing, or attempt to get a cab. take the itinerary with  you and let the cab driver know that's what you wish to see.  if you take an independent tour, just make sure you get back to the ship on time.  

 

or look up the roll call for your particular cruise, and see if there are any other cruisers that are willing to join on an independent excursion. if this is your 1st ncl cruise, you may be surprised at the number of people that do "their own thing"

 

while im not an ncl cheerleader,or a pollyana, im sure you can still have a great time .

 

sometimes people cancel so i would also check as soon as i get on board to see if anything opens up. 

it seems strange that there are no excursions left, as most ships are sailing with less capacity. we just got off the jade from athens, and out of a total  of about 3000 potential cruisers, only around 1000 were actually on this ship.

[Oxo]

If your healthy,  your lucky. On our 40th we came down with the Norovirus and were confined in our cabin for 5 days out of a 7 day cruise.

You have an option. Go and enjoy or stay home, enjoy your 40th and go out to dinner.

Happy 40th! Either way.

[tgloersen]

All Alaskin Excurions are touch and go right now, this is not a cruise line deal, all cruiselines are having the same problems.  Its pandemic related.

[complawyer]

by the way, glacier bay is just cruising, and not an actual port stop, so you wont miss anything. go up to an observation deck, or if you booked a cabin with a balcony, get a glass of wine or champagne, sit and relax as  you watch the scenery go by.

 

we were in juneau for our 1st ncl cruise, and we did just walk around the town.  took the skagway railroad excursion, and although the scenery is nice, its just ho-hum. panning for gold is  waste of time. you get a small vial.  unless you tried to book an actual glacier tour, or one with a dog sled, then i can see disappointment if they were canceled   trust me, we've been there/done that, and you can still have a good time.  it'll be even better if you book a haven class cabin and get all the extra perks

[ronheg]

We rented a car.  Great scenery and not too expensive.

[Sailing12Away]

Are you saying that your trip itinerary has changed and you're no longer sailing past the glacier? Or are you just angry because there are no tour companies operating in all of Alaska for all cruise lines, and placing all the venom on NCL?

 

We went to Alaska last year and the purpose of us going was for the scenery. Not for the excursions. Being in nature, seeing the Northern lights, seeing wildlife directly from the ship... 

 

If NCL is unable to offer any excursions, look elsewhere. You are allowed to use private companies, and there seems to be options - so not sure exactly what it is you're upset about or pulling the 'wahhh, I'm never sailing with them again' card over.

 

https://www.viator.com/Ketchikan/d942-ttd

[deliver42]

Alaska tour operators and retail stores are having a very hard time getting enough workers. With a 2 year hiatus from cruises. the regular employees have either found other work at home, or just didn't want the hassle of going back to Alaska. 90%  of the seasonal workers are from out of state, so to blame NCL for this is ridiculous and short sighted..

[Uff da]

13 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

Alaska tour operators and retail stores are having a very hard time getting enough workers. With a 2 year hiatus from cruises. the regular employees have either found other work at home, or just didn't want the hassle of going back to Alaska. 90%  of the seasonal workers are from out of state, so to blame NCL for this is ridiculous and short sighted..

This is also what I have heard. Shops closed, tours cancelled due to worker shortages. I'll make the best of whatever Alaska brings me. It'll be a bummer if all my excursions get cancelled, but I won't blame the cruise line for something out of their control. 

[craig01020]

Maybe you could test positive for covid so you can get a refund?

Edited April 27, 2022 by craig01020

[david_sobe]

Come on people.  We are 2 years into a global pandemic.  The world is upside down with supply chain issues, worker issues, etc.  Its a miracle cruising has resumed and there will be bumps along the way.   Having no excursions available is not the fault of the cruise line.  Good grief, they love to sell those over priced excursions all they can.  If there are none available there must be a good reason.  Just remember you are on a luxury cruise to Alaska, one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Enjoy the scenery and your 40th anniversary.

Don't make this a first world problem.  There are people trapped in quarantined in their cabins who would trade places with you in a second.

[kona_wahine]

it probably wouldn’t bother me so much if I had a refund! But I’m still waiting on the last 2. The first thing that got cancelled they refunded right away. The 2nd thing I just noticed it was gone, so I called them. They still showed it on their computer, I had to tell them it was gone, this was for Victoria. This was probably 2 months ago. They put in for a refund, said it was hung up in the computer. The next thing was for the train which wasn’t their fault, Canada’s deal.  I called and cancelled, but the girl didn’t cancel. A week later I had to call again to cancel it,  and again had to ask about the Victoria excursion refund. I still haven’t got the refund for those two items either. I”m actually listing track of everything they owe me now. I think we are owed for 4 excursions total now. But I had to pay today for yet ANOTHER excursion.

 

  I sure hope the actual cruise goes smoother then the excursion planning has. Up until now it’s always been a favorite part of my trip. And ya, I know things could be worse. But I also have a bad taste with paying $4500 for a trip that is going for less than $2000 now, so ya, that doesn’t really help. Sorry for ranting,  just saw the email and was “what now!!!”. 

[gknep]

There may be independent excursion operators waiting when you get off the ship. I've done a few of those in Skagway on different cruises. If the Mt. Roberts tram is running in Juneau that is a fun thing to do. If the companies can't find the workers I image that they are as frustrated as you are.   When we went last fall I noticed last fall that there were far fewer excursions available than other times we have cruised to Alaska.  We still had an excellent time. 

[julig22]

Are you sure the excursions are full - or are you just not seeing what's available.  If you have an excursion on the books the website will not show anything else for that port if it conflicts.

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

I suggest you do a "mock" booking...but make sure you are NOT logged in so they have no idea it is you. That way you should be able to see all available excursions. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

48 minutes ago, kona_wahine said:

I think we are owed for 4 excursions total now.

Why haven't you just disputed the credit card charges?  That is really easy.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

I’m so angry at NCL. This is our first and definitely LAST cruise with NCL. We booked thru NCL because we wanted Glacier bay for Alaska. It’s been an excursion nightmare. We have one left that hasn’t been cancelled. 11 days to go and another email that our Ketchikan excursion cancelled. There are NO excursions left. So now we have NOTHING to do there. If I could get my over $4,000 back I’d do it in a heart beat. I’ll NEVER EVER book with NCL again. I honestly don’t even know how I’ll have a good time at this point. I’m just so angry. This is a cruise for our 40th anniversary. In all our other cruises I have NEVER had issue after issue like this. And the calls I’ve made, it’s ridiculous. And 2 I’m STILL waiting on refunds. Who knows, it’s been a couple months on one, and 2 weeks on the other. I really don’t know what you all see in NCL, I have yet to see ANYTHING good. 

NCL wants you to be happy. And wants you to be on excursions. The fault is with the local tour providers who over commit on providing tours for the cruise lines.

 

It is not only NCL. It is the same across the cruise industry. We have a Alaskan cruise booked on Royal and one-by-one our shore excursions are being cancelled. Last season, tour operators could not get summer help to operate the tours, the buses, the sites to tour. If you are angry about cancelled tours this season, don't cruise on any line. it is the same. 

[WindinmySails]

"nothing to do there...." Let me help you out, I understand your frustration. My husband and are are going in a few days for the inside passage. We are working on his bucket list, and I don't know how much time we'll have to get it done. 

 We have one excursion that we booked through a private company, for whale watching in Juneau.  The rest, we have planned for other stops, such as Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Icy Strait Point.

You mentioned Ketchikan.  I watched several videos and read up on fun things to do.  The first thing we'll do is grab a map of the historic walking tour..self led.  We plan on going to the Funicular to the Cape Fox Lodge and enjoy the view along with a beverage or a small snack.  From there, we'll walk to City Park to see if there are any flowers in bloom.  It has small streams and lots of trees, something we miss in Colorado.  We will then follow the Creek down, hopefully seeing some salmon, down Married Man's Trail, back to the Bridge and Cruise port.  In the cruise port, there will be many opportunities to sample smoked salmon.

Now, I've never been to Ketchikan, I am just doing this off my research, but that is all part of the adventure of travel.  

Please have a wonderful anniversary. 

[kby1216]

We cruised to Alaska pre pandemic on another line and if I remember correctly in each port there were independent tour companies set up as soon as you step off the ship. We used one of them because the one we wanted was sold out on our ship. Also most of the stops were an easy walk into town with plenty of things to do and see.

[phissy]

2 hours ago, kona_wahine said:

it probably wouldn’t bother me so much if I had a refund! But I’m still waiting on the last 2. The first thing that got cancelled they refunded right away. The 2nd thing I just noticed it was gone, so I called them. They still showed it on their computer, I had to tell them it was gone, this was for Victoria. This was probably 2 months ago. They put in for a refund, said it was hung up in the computer. The next thing was for the train which wasn’t their fault, Canada’s deal.  I called and cancelled, but the girl didn’t cancel. A week later I had to call again to cancel it,  and again had to ask about the Victoria excursion refund. I still haven’t got the refund for those two items either. I”m actually listing track of everything they owe me now. I think we are owed for 4 excursions total now. But I had to pay today for yet ANOTHER excursion.

 

  I sure hope the actual cruise goes smoother then the excursion planning has. Up until now it’s always been a favorite part of my trip. And ya, I know things could be worse. But I also have a bad taste with paying $4500 for a trip that is going for less than $2000 now, so ya, that doesn’t really help. Sorry for ranting,  just saw the email and was “what now!!!”. 

We leave for Glacier Bay / Alaska Saturday.  The Railroad excursion in Ketchikan has been modified as Canada will not allow train to cross border. It is still running as an excursion. Juneau is usually Mendenhall Glacier excursion. We usually buy this one at pier after getting into Juneau. 
As far as the discount you noticed on the cruise fare.

Call NCL and ask for upgrade . Many on our cruise were able to get upgraded from Inside to Balcony or Balcony to Club Balcony for their fares.

Relax…..

We are sailing for our 43 anniversary. We are going to chill and watch this beautiful part of the country go by as we sit on our balcony, sipping wine.

[wacruiselover]

6 minutes ago, phissy said:

We leave for Glacier Bay / Alaska Saturday... We are sailing for our 43 anniversary. We are going to chill and watch this beautiful part of the country go by as we sit on our balcony, sipping wine.

Have a great anniversary celebration. We are on the same sailing and celebrating our 39th.

[phissy]

7 minutes ago, wacruiselover said:

Have a great anniversary celebration. We are on the same sailing and celebrating our 39th.

Thank you so much!     
Happy Anniversary to the both of you.🥂

Not sure if you know about our cruise critic Meet and Greet for this cruise.   It is Sunday, 10:30 - 11:30. Cagney’s , deck 8 Aft.  Ships officers to attend.
Hopefully we will see  you at the M & G on Sunday.

Edited April 28, 2022 by phissy

[drumming cruisers]

Ketchikan is a fantastic port to walk around, so much to see. look at You Tubes. 

And NCL isn't responsible for excursions. Since you booked thru Costco upgrades etc. are done  thru them. NCL can't help you. 

[kona_wahine]

…and the funny thing I booked another excursion for Ketchikan today and it’s already showed as a charge on my credit card. Funny how fast that goes, but it takes 3 months for a refund???? And several calls? 

[Uff da]

19 minutes ago, kona_wahine said:

…and the funny thing I booked another excursion for Ketchikan today and it’s already showed as a charge on my credit card. Funny how fast that goes, but it takes 3 months for a refund???? And several calls? 

Why are you still booking NCL excursions if you are so unhappy with them? Unreal.