I couldn’t believe the story about NCL

[Oldsweets]

Always a chance until the dust settles that you are correct and NCL is faultless but currently I am swayed by the work & proof provided by the consumer advocate.   I appreciate her work and look forward to watching this story unfold but until then I will treat it as a “Great case of buyer beware until this is resolved.”

[scooter6139]

24 minutes ago, Love2cruise77 said:

 

I agree, the least they could have done is to give this person FCC for the money paid.

 But they didn't, even after looking into it.  And after all this hoopla, which is what the buyer and "consumer advocate" want.  So far this is all based on what the advocate is putting forth, which is just one side of the story.  Sorry, I just need more.

[davencl]

Beyond the issue of NCL not providing a refund or FCC.

My perspective is: Proof that using Uplift to pay for a vacation is a very bad idea.  A couple of reasons stand out.  1) If paying with a credit card you can always dispute the transaction.  May not have a good outcome still but at least there's an avenue to appeal.   2) Uplift does a minimal cursory credit check.  It's possible if Uplift is the only way to get credit perhaps I can't afford the vacation in the first place.

[julig22]

49 minutes ago, Love2cruise77 said:

 

I agree, the least they could have done is to give this person FCC for the money paid.

If it was an honest mistake or computer glitch (which is how this has been presented), then NCL should immediately reinstate any reservation that is ever cancelled under similar circumstances - I do find it hard to believe that there was no cabin available.  A 24-hr hold, with a warning message, would be reasonable, hard to say if there was any warning given in this instance.

 

However, imagine if the policy was different. Passenger suddenly realizes that they can't go on their upcoming cruise or wants to switch dates.  Hah!! Just add something to the cruise, don't pay and NCL cancels and gives a refund or FCC.  Nice loophole!

Edited March 23, 2023 by julig22

[kessdarln]

4 hours ago, Homosassa said:

How often do we see posts on Cruise Critic where someone is screaming that a cruise line  has "done them wrong" when it often simply boils down to the poster having screwed up their reservations and payments because the poster didn't know what they were doing or were not aware of the available information (rules) about bookings and payment?

 

Is it sad that the cruiser that had her cruise cancelled because procedures in the fine print were not followed?

 

Yes, it is. It is a very expensive lesson.  However, NCL is not at fault and owns no money to the cruiser.

 

This reminds me of the brouhaha several months ago about the "over one hundred" Princess cruisers left on the pier at embarkation because they did not have the required vaccinations to take a trans Atlantic cruise.

 

Real story was that it was an extended family group of thirty seven that ignored the information that was there on the website, the booking confirmations, and the on line check ins that vaccination was required.

 💕💕 I wonder if Travel Insurance will cover this 🙃 Always something someone isn't sharing. 

[luv2kroooz]

For cruisers with an upcoming sailing on NCL, it looks like you can "favorite" anything you might be considering purchasing on their website. There is a little heart icon that you can click and it will add your selection to "FAVORITES" instead of the actual "SHOPPING CART". You can do this with shore ex, gifts, dining, etc. So, if you are just browsing along and see something that sounds good, but you aren't ready to buy, don't add it to your shopping cart. Instead, click the little heart and it will add it to your favorites. Once you make a final decision, you can either make the purchase, remove it from your favorites or just let it sit in there. By the way, I am testing this on a laptop with Microsoft Edge. I imagine the app works in a similar manner.

Edited March 23, 2023 by luv2kroooz

[Brad1185]

Shame on NCL. What a joke of a company. Hope their decision costs them big time in the long run. 

[UKstages]

9 minutes ago, luv2kroooz said:

I am testing this on a laptop with Microsoft Edge. I imagine the app works in a similar manner.

 

my goodness, i wouldn't imagine that at all.

 

the app is, to be polite, wonky. it does not mirror website functionality completely. key functions are missing or regularly misbehave. for some functions, it just opens up a browser window on your phone and sends you to the website. the chief purpose of the app is to be a seaside companion for "just in time" information. it falls down on the job when asked to serve as a sales tool. yes, you can "favorite" items in the app. the real question here is how the app treats items like air transfers that you've expressed an interest in and how it handles items that have been placed in your cart.

 

when all is said and done with this sad saga, it will probably point to an app glitch or known defect within the app or an intentional feature that does not work as designed.

[pc_load_letter]

3 hours ago, davencl said:

In my case there is NO way they can recall email's from me.  My local email program downloads the email then deletes it from the server.   No way for any system to recall from me.

 

Sure, some on using pop or imap and downloading those messages off the server with a client, piece of cake. But AOL is largely a web based email.

[tonit964]

2 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

For cruisers with an upcoming sailing on NCL, it looks like you can "favorite" anything you might be considering purchasing on their website. There is a little heart icon that you can click and it will add your selection to "FAVORITES" instead of the actual "SHOPPING CART". You can do this with shore ex, gifts, dining, etc. So, if you are just browsing along and see something that sounds good, but you aren't ready to buy, don't add it to your shopping cart. Instead, click the little heart and it will add it to your favorites. Once you make a final decision, you can either make the purchase, remove it from your favorites or just let it sit in there. By the way, I am testing this on a laptop with Microsoft Edge. I imagine the app works in a similar manner.

Thanks for that info.

I had a bunch of excursions in my favorites but I removed them today just in case anything weird happened with that. Such a shame to have to stress about your cruise being canceled if you do anything online yourself.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I'm not normally a nervous type, but this report has me a bit concerned.  I have a cruise coming up in a couple of weeks and have not yet paid the DSC (I'll save $4 pp per day to pay in advance).  Should I call NCL to make the payment instead of paying it online?

[Oldsweets]

I would do whatever gives you peace of mind.  Some think that this story is just hot air while many believe that NCL has put it to a customer.  Give yourself the peace of mind and easiest with a phone call. 

[slpm1]

57 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

Thanks for that info.

I had a bunch of excursions in my favorites but I removed them today just in case anything weird happened with that. Such a shame to have to stress about your cruise being canceled if you do anything online yourself.

Yes to this. I've been stressing all day. I am weeks out from final payment but luckily I called about changing my room and asked about adding the soda package because I can't get any kind of payment to work on the NCL website only to find out I had added six soda packages none of which showed in the cart or on my invoice or credit card. All I would get when I tried to add it was a "your credit card has been declined and the item removed from your cart." message. I am stressed to think some rogue soda package I can't even see  and the rep forgot to remove is going to get my whole cruise cancelled.

[tonit964]

4 minutes ago, slpm1 said:

Yes to this. I've been stressing all day. I am weeks out from final payment but luckily I called about changing my room and asked about adding the soda package because I can't get any kind of payment to work on the NCL website only to find out I had added six soda packages none of which showed in the cart or on my invoice or credit card. All I would get when I tried to add it was a "your credit card has been declined and the item removed from your cart." message. I am stressed to think some rogue soda package I can't even see  and the rep forgot to remove is going to get my whole cruise cancelled.

Oh wow! That’s annoying.

I would just call and add the things you want, even if you’re on hold for a while. I think the best times to call if at all possible would be right when they open. I would also be checking my reservation every day. Cruise planning should be fun AND easy, this is neither.

Good luck to you! 

[hawkeyetlse]

If it was so easy to get your reservation cancelled for trying to add excursions, dining/beverages, internet/spa/diapers, pre-paid gratuities, etc. after final payment, then it would be happening right and left, to thousands of passengers, and that is simply not the case. I believe the basic story of what happened to this customer, and that it had something to do with unpaid ground transfers, but people add ground transfers after final payment all the time, and some percentage of them must screw up the payment the first time or just fail to finalize the purchase, and I don't think their bookings get cancelled immediately. Because again I think we would be hearing about it.

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

If it was so easy to get your reservation cancelled for trying to add excursions, dining/beverages, internet/spa/diapers, pre-paid gratuities, etc. after final payment, then it would be happening right and left, to thousands of passengers, and that is simply not the case. I believe the basic story of what happened to this customer, and that it had something to do with unpaid ground transfers, but people add ground transfers after final payment all the time, and some percentage of them must screw up the payment the first time or just fail to finalize the purchase, and I don't think their bookings get cancelled immediately. Because again I think we would be hearing about it.

 

I'm tempted/inclined to agree with you.  That said, I have a cruise in a few weeks and would like more data points before adding anything on line.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm not normally a nervous type, but this report has me a bit concerned.  I have a cruise coming up in a couple of weeks and have not yet paid the DSC (I'll save $4 pp per day to pay in advance).  Should I call NCL to make the payment instead of paying it online?

I've never had an issue paying the DSC ahead of time or adding excursions at the last minute.  But I use my computer, not the app on my phone.

Note, this apparently happened during check-in on a phone, which is  a  different process than paying for DSC or excursions - which are not accessed during check in.  

[UKstages]

40 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

If it was so easy to get your reservation cancelled for trying to add excursions, dining/beverages, internet/spa/diapers, pre-paid gratuities, etc. after final payment, then it would be happening right and left, to thousands of passengers, and that is simply not the case.

 

well, we don't know how many people it's happening to... we simply don't know if that is the case. 

 

we do know that it apparently was happening often enough to one TA's customers, that the TA felt compelled to warn people about the practice in their confirmation notes.

 

i doubt it's happening to thousands of people because i personally don't believe a large number of people are using the app to order things pre-cruise. and that's because the app provides a poor user experience, both onboard and offshore, but especially offshore before your cruise. it lacks essential functionality. also, there are only 2K - 4K passengers on every cruise, so it would really be something if this was happening to thousands of passengers fleet wide. dozens might be more like it.

 

assuming it is app related, it may be related to a recent app update. if so, the first reports of a problem have to start trickling in from somewhere. the average cruise ship passenger does not participate in online forums. this one went the consumer advocacy route.

 

the number of affected customers is largely irrelevant and can actually be used to explain why NCL has been so slow to act... to fix this, if indeed it's a verifiable reproducible error/glitch. from their IT infrastructure perspective, it's not a big deal because it is only affecting a handful of customers.

 

up to now.

 

40 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

Because again I think we would be hearing about it.

 

we are hearing about it!

 

this entire five page thread is devoted to discussing it!

Edited March 24, 2023 by UKstages

[Panhandle Couple]

5 hours ago, davencl said:

Beyond the issue of NCL not providing a refund or FCC.

My perspective is: Proof that using Uplift to pay for a vacation is a very bad idea.  A couple of reasons stand out.  1) If paying with a credit card you can always dispute the transaction.  May not have a good outcome still but at least there's an avenue to appeal.   2) Uplift does a minimal cursory credit check.  It's possible if Uplift is the only way to get credit perhaps I can't afford the vacation in the first place.

 

My thoughts exactly.

Not to be down on the traveler here, but there are still some things very unsettled in the whole story.

 

It appears the original reservation was made well after the 120 day point, probably at the 40 to 30 days out period.  At that point, everything needs to be paid for when ordering.

 

And at that the point, the traveler is CHECKED IN.  (or should be.)  That means e-docs are available for download.  In fact NCL encourages you to download e-docs. (yes it seems many still don't, causing longer times in the cruise terminal).  NCL can't be responsible for a traveler NOT getting their e-docs.  So while the story makes it sound like NCL is being mean by keeping cruise verification from the traveler, it is the travelers responsibility to actually get it.

 

The traveler obviously used the main NCL web site for purchasing the cruise.  Why would they use the app for the extras?  I pointed out (page 2) that transfers is not in the same section as on board extras, like shore excursions.  The amount of info needed is far greater.  The traveler claiming they "were just checking it out" for transfers should have realized, that less than 21 days out, they were actually purchasing them.  And how did the traveler think they were getting from Orlando to Canaveral, a 60 minute drive when they originally made the reservation? 

 

(As a reference, 5 cruises post COVID.  Not once has NCL asked me to buy a port transfer.  We have never used NCL Air, so maybe travelers are asked that if using that approach.  Can anyone verify yes-no on that?)

 

And that leads to the next question:  If traveler did fill out the required info for a transfer, why was payment denied?  Honest input mistake?  Bad credit? Make your own choice.

 

 

 

 

 

[cruiserbear55]

3 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

And at that the point, the traveler is CHECKED IN.  (or should be.)

 

    You can't check in until 21 days before cruise.

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

47 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm tempted/inclined to agree with you.  That said, I have a cruise in a few weeks and would like more data points before adding anything on line.

I added transfers and dining reservations using my computer post final payment and as luck would have it, the system crashed and wouldn't let me continue...come back later it said. When I came back on I found that the reservations processed but I was now no longer was paid in full. I immediately redid the payment and went back to paid status. So, I could see this happening inadvertently if you weren't paying enough attention which was part of the original issue...no documentation.

 

I should add that putting transfers in requires flight info etc so it's a lot more than just a single selection.When I re-entered the payment info there was no ability to edit any of the transfer info,so it was locked in.

Edited March 24, 2023 by InfrequentPNWCruiser
Additional text

[Panhandle Couple]

3 minutes ago, cruiserbear55 said:

 

    You can't check in until 21 days before cruise.

And the transfer non-purchase was made within the 21 day window.

So e-docs were available.

[UKstages]

29 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

The traveler obviously used the main NCL web site for purchasing the cruise.  Why would they use the app for the extras? 

 

lots of reasons. people like to use apps. they are accessible and easy to use, if they are designed right. if a company offers an app, it's up to the company to make sure that the app works properly. and there are countless stories on this board and in this thread of experienced NCL cruisers having to take aggressive action to make up for something the app couldn't do.

 

the fact she used an app is neither here nor there, except if we're trying to isolate the "glitch" to an app error. companies have to appeal to customers in their moment of need when they are ready to purchase. if this customer wanted to use an app to purchase or contemplate purchasing transfers, and NCL has an app, she should be able to use that app without involving NCL's legal and customer resolution teams.

 

29 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

The traveler claiming they "were just checking it out" for transfers should have realized, that less than 21 days out, they were actually purchasing them. 

 

the company offering to sell transfers within its app should have made it explicitly clear that the customer's 5K fully paid reservation was subject to cancellation and forfeiture through her casual browsing of goods and services in the app. 

 

i can't understand the repeated focus on a mythical hapless customer and her terrible, horrible, no good, very bad irresponsible behavior. it appears as if the customer was just trying to buy something from a company that was selling something, but made it ridiculously difficult to actually complete the purchase.

 

do you really think NCL execs sit around a conference room table and say...

 

"listen, we gotta pull the rug on all these looky-loos who won't buy our transfers!"

 

"i know what we can do... when somebody has a fully paid cruise and they think about buying our transfers... if they don't complete the purchase, let's cancel the whole cruise and not refund their money. that'll show them! word will get out and people won't be abandoning their carts any more!"

 

"great idea FDR! this is even better than that crazy new deal you came up with years ago!"

Edited March 24, 2023 by UKstages

[Panhandle Couple]

Were some of the posts here deleted?

Seems like I saw some from the article writer, responding to a few of us, and now they are not here?

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

50 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Seems like I saw some from the article writer, responding to a few of us, and now they are not here?

Affirmative, been reading & following posts over the past 36 hours on this matter without commenting - it is not a mind trick, a number of posts are gone, for whatever reasons.