Angle balcony - warning!!!!

[welove2cruise*]

I make a point to book angle balcony cabins so that I have room for a lounge chair. I have an autoimmune disease so as much time away from crowds is important. I booked my cabin 15 months ago, made final payment in September and was researching excursions last week all with correct information on my account.

 

Today I did the online check in and after it was all complete I immediately noticed my room number was wrong??
 

They moved me to a non-angle balcony with no notice, no courtesy call, nothing. We are Sapphire with NCL and have been extremely loyal over the years. Hours on the phone and they say there is nothing they can do. The worst thing is they said they are “reclassifying” the angle cabins to single. I had the same cabin booked next year. 
 

So just a warning to anyone who has booked one of these cabins. 
 

I am so disappointed. This was going to be our first cruise since 2020. 

I am wondering if I can fit one lounge instead of two chairs on a regular balcony. We can leave one chair inside if needed. I am the one out there all the time. My husband likes to watch TV. 

[Two Wheels Only]

Ship?

[norwoodcruisergirl]

What!! My parents are in an angle room for our upcoming cruise… well I hope so at least. 

[hallux]

18 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Ship?

Based on their other thread on this (I guess one wasn't good enough?) - the Escape.

[Greenpea2]

1 hour ago, welove2cruise* said:

I make a point to book angle balcony cabins so that I have room for a lounge chair. I have an autoimmune disease so as much time away from crowds is important. I booked my cabin 15 months ago, made final payment in September and was researching excursions last week all with correct information on my account.

 

Today I did the online check in and after it was all complete I immediately noticed my room number was wrong??
 

They moved me to a non-angle balcony with no notice, no courtesy call, nothing. We are Sapphire with NCL and have been extremely loyal over the years. Hours on the phone and they say there is nothing they can do. The worst thing is they said they are “reclassifying” the angle cabins to single. I had the same cabin booked next year. 
 

So just a warning to anyone who has booked one of these cabins. 
 

I am so disappointed. This was going to be our first cruise since 2020. 

I am wondering if I can fit one lounge instead of two chairs on a regular balcony. We can leave one chair inside if needed. I am the one out there all the time. My husband likes to watch TV. 

That totally stinks! We have an angled cabin booked on the Prima. They better leave that one alone. 😞

[phoenix1181]

1 hour ago, welove2cruise* said:

They moved me to a non-angle balcony with no notice, no courtesy call, nothing. We are Sapphire with NCL and have been extremely loyal over the years. Hours on the phone and they say there is nothing they can do. The worst thing is they said they are “reclassifying” the angle cabins to single. I had the same cabin booked next year. 

Are you saying they're only allowing 1 occupant?  The angle cabin booked on Joy shows capacity of 3.  Can't see them making that kind of a change. 

 

I think you may have received misinformation.

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by phoenix1181
Hit enter in error

[MsTabbyKats]

Reclassifying the angle balconies to single makes no sense.

 

Read the contract.....they can change your cabin .

 

I'm on the Escape in September. ...angle balcony.  So far, no change.

[J0Y0US]

17 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Read the contract.....they can change your cabin .

 

This is never acceptable. Just because its in the contract doesn't mean its right or actual legal either. With this they might be able to get away with it but doesn't make it right.

[Shidah]

Have you thought about booking an aft balcony? They are huge.

[zqvol]

34 minutes ago, J0Y0US said:

 

This is never acceptable. Just because its in the contract doesn't mean its right or actual legal either. With this they might be able to get away with it but doesn't make it right.

It’s perfectly legal 

[kjquilts]

I'm so sorry this happened to you and so close to your cruise date that you have no alternative choices.  My guess is that someone with pull wanted your stateroom on this particular sailing.  No way do I believe that NCL is reclassifying the angled balconies to "single" whatever that may mean.

 

Did you book direct on line or through an NCL PCC or a travel agency?  Is there someone who can go to bat for you?  Your stateroom may be gone but is there a higher category that may have more room that they can upgrade you into?  If they're still processing bids something should be available.  You are a long time CC poster and NCL supporter and I think NCL should make this right for you. 

[J0Y0US]

27 minutes ago, zqvol said:

It’s perfectly legal 

 

Which is why I said they likely could get away with this specifically. Doesn't stop the comment of "its in the cruise contract" from being over used though by many.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, J0Y0US said:

 

This is never acceptable. Just because its in the contract doesn't mean its right or actual legal either. With this they might be able to get away with it but doesn't make it right.

Actually, it does.

[Two Wheels Only]

38 minutes ago, J0Y0US said:

 

Which is why I said they likely could get away with this specifically. Doesn't stop the comment of "its in the cruise contract" from being over used though by many.

 

In this case, the angled balconies and the standard balconies are the same classification. NCL only has to assign another in the same category or higher to be in compliance with the contract. There are a few non-angled balconies that are the same category as standard that will fit a lounger but those are probably unavailable.

 

Unfortunately, it looks as though the balcony category is sold out for the OP's cruise. It is unknown what (if any) could become available via the bid process but at this point, the OP might want to look towards getting a VIBE pass.

 

Another option could be trying to upgrade to a category that has larger than standard balconies. There are some in both the front and rear of the ship.

 

I'm also very particular with stateroom choice so I can understand why the OP is upset. There are a few options to look into but nothing is guaranteed.

[KeithJenner]

This is a problem with angled balconies. They are not in a separate category, which means that they can be a real bargain as you are paying the same price as a standard room, but it also means that NCL could move you to a standard room as in this case.

 

It is a lot harder for NCL to move you from an aft balcony, as an example, but you will very likely be paying quite a premium over a standard room.

 

I think the reclassification excuse was just a way to fob the OP off, so I wouldn’t be particularly worried that this will start happening to everyone, but we should always remember that this is a risk when you go for an angled balcony rather than one in a specific category. It is still relatively rare though.

[CILCIANRQTS]

Hmmmm…

And why would they move someone out of the cabin they have had reserved for a long time?
Only to give it to someone they deemed more “worthy”.

Great way to treat your customers - NOT!!

[paf910]

We sail in 5 days on the Breakaway in an aft angled balcony. It’s our 3rd B2B cruise in an angled balcony. I just double checked that we have the same cabin we booked. No changes. Sorry they changed yours, but I would push for an upgrade

[KeithJenner]

14 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Hmmmm…

And why would they move someone out of the cabin they have had reserved for a long time?
Only to give it to someone they deemed more “worthy”.

Great way to treat your customers - NOT!!

We don’t know why they would. There are plenty of possibilities, but we can only speculate.

 

I don’t think that anyone would argue that it is a good way to treat their customers, but NCL are quite within their rights to move someone to another room within the same category. It does seem to be fairly rare, but that obviously doesn’t help the OP.

 

It is something that is worth knowing when you book an angled balcony though. These things can happen, for whatever reason.

 

If I was the OP I would be on to them to try to get a better room, but the fact that this room was taken from them would suggest that there may not be too many good rooms available.

[david_sobe]

If they re-classified the angled balconies, it means they are charging more for them, no?  Its still wrong if to change someone's reservations if they originally booked it unless there is something we dont know. Sometimes people book handicapped rooms and the cruise line will boot you if a handicapped passenger needs that room.  When the Encore was in the pre-sale stage, I booked deck 17 with the larger balconies.  I noticed when the ship came closer to launch NCL started charging more for the bigger balconies.  They did not boot me from the room or make me pay more.  My reservation stayed the same. NCL honored my selection and price at the time of booking.

Its still early in the morning, maybe I am not understanding this thread correctly 🤪

[welove2cruise*]

9 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

Reclassifying the angle balconies to single makes no sense.

 

Read the contract.....they can change your cabin .

 

I'm on the Escape in September. ...angle balcony.  So far, no change.

They told me it was going fleet wide. It makes no sense to me. 

[welove2cruise*]

9 hours ago, phoenix1181 said:

Are you saying they're only allowing 1 occupant?  The angle cabin booked on Joy shows capacity of 3.  Can't see them making that kind of a change. 

 

I think you may have received misinformation.

 

That is what they are saying. The NCL rep also was mystified at this decision. 

[welove2cruise*]

2 minutes ago, welove2cruise* said:

They told me it was going fleet wide. It makes no sense to me. 

I could understand if they said the cabin had a problem but this was an unfair and unacceptable situation. I have never had my cabin changed like this and I have cruised over 40 times. We are actually Sapphire status with NCL. 

[welove2cruise*]

9 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

If they re-classified the angled balconies, it means they are charging more for them, no?  Its still wrong if to change someone's reservations if they originally booked it unless there is something we dont know. Sometimes people book handicapped rooms and the cruise line will boot you if a handicapped passenger needs that room.  When the Encore was in the pre-sale stage, I booked deck 17 with the larger balconies.  I noticed when the ship came closer to launch NCL started charging more for the bigger balconies.  They did not boot me from the room or make me pay more.  My reservation stayed the same. NCL honored my selection and price at the time of booking.

Its still early in the morning, maybe I am not understanding this thread correctly 🤪

It makes no sense at all. I just don’t understand any of it. I had the same room booked for 2024 and now I’m going to either cancel the cruise altogether or look at large balcony categories. I just don’t want anyone else blindsided like I have been. To be so disappointed a few weeks before going on the trip. 😞 So much for loyalty to NCL. We are Sapphire latitudes members. The thing is I am the one who gets my group organized to cruise. We have 6 cabins of family and friends. My one friend also booked an angle. She was to be a few doors down from us. They did not change her cabin. I kept saying I think they made some mistake. They are saying the ship is full. They moved me from our aft angle cabin near our friends to a forward cabin a deck away. 

[New2cruise2022]

The change in category, if it holds is interesting.

 

The contract terms that no room is guaranteed is very standard legal positioning because it accounts for the unknown. If a room needs to be repaired or remodeled outside of dry dock, these moments are on foreseen and may require relocating someone to accommodate the work that needs to be done. This is an unfortunate situation for any customer because they will

undoubtedly feel helpless. 
 

Could the customer have been displaced to accommodate another customer? Yes. But we will never know. 
Could the customer have been displaced to accommodate a change in cetergory/higher price? Possibly, but it seems more likely that someone would be contacted and at least offered an opportunity to upgrade and pay the difference. 

[New2cruise2022]

5 minutes ago, welove2cruise* said:

It makes no sense at all. I just don’t understand any of it. I had the same room booked for 2024 and now I’m going to either cancel the cruise altogether or look at large balcony categories. I just don’t want anyone else blindsided like I have been. To be so disappointed a few weeks before going on the trip. 😞 So much for loyalty to NCL. We are Sapphire latitudes members. The thing is I am the one who gets my group organized to cruise. We have 6 cabins of family and friends. My one friend also booked an angle. She was to be a few doors down from us. They did not change her cabin. I kept saying I think they made some mistake. They are saying the ship is full. They moved me from our aft angle cabin near our friends to a forward cabin a deck away. 

If you have a medical necessity to be on a balcony with a lounger, wouldn’t your friend be compassionate to your situation and offer the angled balcony room to you? Obviously you wouldn’t want to displace anyone, but I would think your friends would be sensitive to you medical needs. It doesn’t fix everything but it is an option to accommodate a serious medical need.