Just got canceled

[Paula_MacFan]

We're booked for January 2023 so it hasn't impacted us (yet), but I've read many reports where people with NCL-booked airfare were predominantly the cancelled group.  Also anecdotal reports from TAs that those booked last were first cancelled.  Who knows.....we've already booked independent air arrangements and have 'plan B' hotels booked, so we're going to Hawaii one way or another 🙂

 

[CrazyTrain2]

There are two schools of thought and you are not going to like one of them....

 

1. Choose passengers to cancel with the least loyalty points and favor those with more (Seems reasonable, especially if you have more loyalty points)

 

2.  Chose with the highest loyalty - because they always come back

 

I got screwed by this with Geico.  I was what is called "a lifer". 25+ years with Geico.  I finally repriced they're policy and it was 50% less with another similar quality company.  So Geico lost me as a customer for the rest of my life.  

[mjkacmom]

24 minutes ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

There are two schools of thought and you are not going to like one of them....

 

1. Choose passengers to cancel with the least loyalty points and favor those with more (Seems reasonable, especially if you have more loyalty points)

 

2.  Chose with the highest loyalty - because they always come back

 

I got screwed by this with Geico.  I was what is called "a lifer". 25+ years with Geico.  I finally repriced they're policy and it was 50% less with another similar quality company.  So Geico lost me as a customer for the rest of my life.  

I don’t think that’s a geico issue, I switched my homeowners to geico after having the same insurance company for 20+ years, saved a ton. Switched back to the original company and saved even more. Lesson learned, keep comparing.

[DCGuy64]

50 minutes ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

So Geico lost me as a customer for the rest of my life.  

Until they come back to you and are willing to beat your current company's offer. Like @mjkacmom said, keep comparing.

[cruisequeen4ever]

That’s so messed up to cancel some people so last minute; I’m sorry that happened to you. 😔 NCL should auto cut off bookings when they hit the threshold for current staffing capacity. If needed, they should cancel people with enough advanced notice that they’re not as upset because they have time to choose an alternative. I hope you can find a fun replacement cruise!

[tony s]

We can be flippant but many people scrimped and saved for this trip to have it arbitrarily cancelled for something that should be fixable. If NCL wants to keep a loyal base they should bend over backwards to make it right. This would include abject apologies, upgrade when they can get a cruise and if can book another cruise for same time make aggrieved guest right that could include extra specialty dinners or upgrade drinks package.

[Greenpea2]

7 hours ago, LGW59 said:

So what, the OP's status still means nothing  

I believe she mentioned it because she is a very loyal NCL cruiser. And that status means a lot to her, if not NCL. Or you.

[v3cruiser]

That's quite unnerving to hear. Sorry your booking for the cruise  that will be still sailing was canceled last minute. I would hope NCL improves their policies on this. They clearly see the bookings and know the crew to passenger ratio.  Certainly not cool but its certainly a way to improve bottom line if canceling cruises for those who also booked air. I thought NCL bought airfare blocks from airlines around the time of sail of the cruise, kind of like buying a future in futures trading.

[UKstages]

 

7 hours ago, LGW59 said:

So what, the OP's status still means nothing  

 

in an "oversold" situation, when a hospitality company can't accommodate all booked customers, it is common for those with status (with airlines and hotels, for instance) to be "bumped" or "walked" as a very last resort... regardless of when the booking was made or the price the customer paid.

 

it would be unusual, and a deviation from accepted norms in the hospitality industry, to ignore a customer's status when making a decision such as this.

 

(and, yes, i know the ship is not oversold... but the net effect is the same... NCL apparently can't accommodate all who were booked.)

[hallux]

1 hour ago, tony s said:

many people scrimped and saved for this trip

and are getting every penny back, or should be.

1 hour ago, tony s said:

to have it arbitrarily cancelled for something that should be fixable

You really think the HR team is just sitting on their hands rather than working their tails off to fill positions?  This ship is an especially challenging one to fill positions on because they can't hold job fairs in 10 countries to hire staff, they need to hold job fairs in the US to fill positions on this ship.

[Paula_MacFan]

Just now, hallux said:

This ship is an especially challenging one to fill positions on because they can't hold job fairs in 10 countries to hire staff, they need to hold job fairs in the US to fill positions on this ship.

I've seen online ads for NCL hiring fairs in Kansas City, Alabama, and North Carolina.  I'm sure there are a multitude of others that didn't pop up in my feed.  It appears they are trying to hire from all over the country.  

[hallux]

3 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

I've seen online ads for NCL hiring fairs in Kansas City, Alabama, and North Carolina.  I'm sure there are a multitude of others that didn't pop up in my feed.  It appears they are trying to hire from all over the country.  

I'm sure they are, but it also takes time to onboard people.  Anyone hired at those job fairs could be 30+ days from being able to board the ship and be productive, and crew members are always rotating off the ship as their contracts end.

[scooter6139]

What did they offer the OP for this cancellation?  I haven't seen them back on this thread yet.  I would assume a full refund and either some OBC or FCC to use on a future cruise?

 

 

[jsn55]

11 hours ago, wacamaw said:

I’m so upset.  We are 32 days out from our Hawaii cruise and had flights and all from NCL and they sent email stating due to low staffing they can’t accommodate us on this cruise. We have rebooked same cruise 6 times and now this. I’m a platinum member and just can’t believe they just pick and choose who they can’t accommodate. 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

3 minutes ago, hallux said:

I'm sure they are, but it also takes time to onboard people.  Anyone hired at those job fairs could be 30+ days from being able to board the ship and be productive, and crew members are always rotating off the ship as their contracts end.

Not arguing that point at all.  I know there some way more knowledgeable CCers here who have posted about the entire process since hiring Americans and meeting all the strict requirements takes a much longer time.   

[jsn55]

This is just AWFUL.  I totally empathize with your pain.  They might state that they 'cancel those who booked last' but I can almost guarantee that they cancelled those who paid the least for the cruise.  Absolutely awful, it's only human to think that the last 3 grueling years of constant disappointment are 'over', so this is a horrible shock.  I am so sorry and hope that you'll be able to rebook something in the same timeframe. 

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, jsn55 said:

This is just AWFUL.  I totally empathize with your pain.  They might state that they 'cancel those who booked last' but I can almost guarantee that they cancelled those who paid the least for the cruise.  Absolutely awful, it's only human to think that the last 3 grueling years of constant disappointment are 'over', so this is a horrible shock.  I am so sorry and hope that you'll be able to rebook something in the same timeframe. 

"pain" "awful" "horrible shock".   While I def agree it is disappointing, it's still just a cruise, replaceable at that, it's not a terminal illness diagnosis.

[jsn55]

5 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Not arguing that point at all.  I know there some way more knowledgeable CCers here who have posted about the entire process since hiring Americans and meeting all the strict requirements takes a much longer time.   

Oh, if the ship is staffed only by "Americans", NCL should have been able to predict that they wouldn't be able to fill all the jobs many months ago.  That's a real fail on NCL's part. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

NCL should auto cut off bookings when they hit the threshold for current staffing capacity.

I think the problem is that they don't know what "current staffing capacity" is for any given future cruise.  They know what staff they have on the ship this week.  Next week?  Who knows?

[Phanatic08]

While I sympathize with the OP I wonder what you would do if you trying to run a business that has made no money in 2 years.  This route is NCL’s highest margin route 

they have every incentive to fill this ship and is one of highest demand routes

they have restricted the capacity to 40% to try account for staff shortages but obviously they can’t account for everything   To think a company that is as experienced as NCL

just randomly chooses who to cut really does not make sense. They have their reasons we just don’t understand what they are and probably wouldn’t agree if we did 

 

[hallux]

54 minutes ago, Phanatic08 said:

To think a company that is as experienced as NCL

just randomly chooses who to cut really does not make sense. They have their reasons we just don’t understand what they are and probably wouldn’t agree if we did 

It's a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation. 

 

Darned if you do - Reduce capacity on the sailings, cancelling booked berths to get there, and have the level of service people expect.

 

Darned if you don't - Allow everyone to sail but have reduced quality of service.

 

Either option results in complaints.  Long run, I think complaints about quality of service on the ship(s) might be more damaging to the reputation.  Also consider that the 1,500 people that sail all complaining about quality of service is a worse mark than a couple hundred (both multiplied by how many sailings?) complaining about being cancelled.

Edited August 10, 2022 by hallux

[tetleytea]

Norwegian would have the staffing to continue the sailing if they raised salaries and benefits to the staff--for the cruise that you already paid for.  If I sign a 12-month rental agreement with a tenant for $x per month, and then the real estate market goes up, I am still on the hook for the 12 months.  I don't get to just tear it up and have the tenant re-sign it at a new rate.

 

[hallux]

8 hours ago, tetleytea said:

I don't get to just tear it up and have the tenant re-sign it at a new rate.

You're right, you don't, and the lease ties you to that.

 

In this case, the T&C's of the cruise line, or the guest ticket contract, DO allow NCL to cancel your reservation.

https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/about/terms-and-conditions-ce#!#changes-by-us

 

and before you say it, other lines have similar clauses - 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/cruise-ticket-contract.pdf

https://www.carnival.com/popups/bookingengine/reservation-terms-and-conditions.aspx

https://www.princess.com/legal/passage_contract/pcl.html

 

Real estate, where someone could be left homeless, is VERY different from a vacation.

[phillygwm]

16 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I don’t think that’s a geico issue, I switched my homeowners to geico after having the same insurance company for 20+ years, saved a ton. Switched back to the original company and saved even more. Lesson learned, keep comparing.

Sorry for taking the thread down a rabbit hole but this happens.  Insurance prices don't go down.  The only way to save money is to shop it every 2-3 years.

[phillygwm]

8 hours ago, tetleytea said:

Norwegian would have the staffing to continue the sailing if they raised salaries and benefits to the staff--for the cruise that you already paid for.  If I sign a 12-month rental agreement with a tenant for $x per month, and then the real estate market goes up, I am still on the hook for the 12 months.  I don't get to just tear it up and have the tenant re-sign it at a new rate.

 

So in other words, if they decided to accommodate all passengers at a loss?  Not the most sustainable business model for a company already billions in debt.  They'd be better off cancelling all the Hawaii runs rather than significantly increasing salaries with fares already locked in.