NCL assigned Lisbon Marriott hotel …

[UCLAman]

Just wondering if anyone has stayed here before. There were a few Issues upon check in and the room is subpar IMO. I did call NCL twice - once prior to actual check in (after arriving at the hotel) and a second time while standing at the check in desk to make NCL aware of the type of hotel they are contracting with. And this was before walking into the hotel room!
 

Long story short, are 2 adults with our 18 y/o daughter. The hotel said that NCL ordered a king bedroom for us. The Marriott wanted to charge us for a roll away bed! 🤦‍♂️ Not happening. After some back snd forth, they said they would provide a roll away at no charge. 🤷‍♂️

 

Room itself is old. Willing to bet that the room aboard the Getaway ship we are about to board in 6 hours is better than the room the Marriott assigned to us!  
 

Before you ask - hair drier doesn’t work, mold in the shower grout, AC doesn’t work properly, outlets in hotel room are ONLY European style outlets, no clock in the room. Its the small things in my view that make the biggest impressions. 🤷‍♂️ Rant over. 

[Asawi]

6 hours ago, UCLAman said:

outlets in hotel room are ONLY European style outlets, 

Most of your complaints are (for lack of abetter word) legitimate (the whole experience sounds awful!). This one, not so much. When in Europe, expect European outlets! The same as when I go to USA I expect US outlets (although I know that in high-end/modern hotels the might be the hybrid ones even though I have yet to stay in such a place in my many US trips even though I have friends who have seen them). 

(And there's actually at least three different outlet types in Europe when you include UK so you really can't expect to cater for all)

[shof515]

7 hours ago, UCLAman said:

outlets in hotel room are ONLY European style outlets,

that is normal whenever you are traveling out of the country and that is why you need to travel with some kind of adapter thing.  US outlets is very rare unless that country also uses US outlets

[ExArkie]

I have stayed at the Lisbon Marriott several times, most recently last year - never booked through a cruise line, though, and I have Lifetime Titanium status (highest level) in the Marriott Loyalty program. Your description does not match my experience (not saying I don't believe you, one's experience at a hotel can vary widely from another's), but the hotel has been renovating rooms and public spaces over the past few years. In my visits after remodeling started, we were in the re-done rooms, which are quite nice. Sounds as though you were not.

 

It is quite possible, even probable, that the hotel sold several rooms through NCL at a steeply discounted rate, and so decided to put those passengers in the worst available rooms. This does not make their actions legitimate.

 

The hotel Web site shows a king bedroom as having one bed and a chair or small love seat. If NCL specified only that as the category, then it would not have automatically included a roll away. Marriott would have been reluctant to provide one under the discounted rate, but it sounds as if they eventually did.

 

Only European outlets, as noted before, is standard in Europe, as is the lack of a clock in the room. The other items you noted are unacceptable in any hotel, regardless of the price paid, and certainly so in one that bills itself as "4-Star Accommodation" (refer to their Web site).

 

You should write to the hotel directly with your complaints. Generally, Marriott responds to complaints with several thousand points in the loyalty program, which is unlikely to be of any use to you. However, they should be made aware that you found the conditions appalling.

[cruiseny4life]

13 hours ago, UCLAman said:

outlets in hotel room are ONLY European style outlets, no clock in the room. Its the small things in my view that make the biggest impressions

I'm sorry, but it's hard to take anything you say at face value if this is truly one of your complaints. IT'S EUROPE!!!!! Do American hotels have European outlets? Go get yourself an adapter, settle down, and enjoy yourself. 

 

Just be glad Marriott isn't charging you to use the A/C. Have you not traveled internationally? A/C in Europe is very different than A/C in Europe, if you find it. Methinks you should stay stateside for your next vacation. Source: https://thepointsguy.com/news/europe-hotels-air-conditioning/

 

 

The hotel was built in 1975 and renovated in 2015. I suppose eight years is super old....said an eight year old child. 

 

Source: https://www.travelagewest.com/Hotels/Lisbon/Marriott-Lisbon-Hotel-p6347800

[UCLAman]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm sorry, but it's hard to take anything you say at face value if this is truly one of your complaints. 

 

The hotel was renovated in 2015.

While I agree with the electrical outlet being an oversight on my end, perhaps you didn’t read my other issues. 
 

I wish I had taken pictures of our room to see if you believed this particular room had been renovated in 2015. The tile in the shower was pink and old! 
 

While the lobby was very nice, our room just looked like it was not part of the Marriott hotel remodel. In fact I was right about the bathroom and shower in our stateroom on the Getaway. It completely blows away the bathroom in the Marriott!! 

[genealogyfan]

Sorry to hear the hotel didn't meet your expectations. As others said, hotels in Europe aren't expected to have US outlets. Why would they?  Same concept if someone from another country comes to the US and complains the hotels don't have power outlets for every other country that exists.

 

Good you reported the issues to NCL. I've learned when you go through a 3rd party to book a hotel, the hotel sometimes give you the worse one, or not the best location. I would suggest in the future don't go through NCL to book a hotel, normally you can get the same hotel cheaper or a  better one cheaper. I remember once pricing out a hotel that NCL was going to use and it was significantly cheaper to book directly (even with the additional cost of transportation to the port)

[chillyw]

On 6/14/2023 at 10:25 PM, UCLAman said:

Long story short, are 2 adults with our 18 y/o daughter. The hotel said that NCL ordered a king bedroom for us. The Marriott wanted to charge us for a roll away bed! 🤦‍♂️ Not happening. After some back snd forth, they said they would provide a roll away at no charge. 🤷‍♂️

 

It sounds like the Marriott was really accommodating to you honestly.  The way the hotel industry works, technically NCL is their customer when you book 3rd party (or even Expedia or Booking if NCL books that way, which is likely, so another partner in the mix).

 

In most of Europe, there are extra charges if you go above a two-person occupancy rate. 

 

I'm looking at the Lisbon Marriott site right now.  They do have two different King room types, one that's been renovated (Superior King), and one that's cheaper and hasn't (Deluxe King).  Difference is about 23 Euros.

 

When you change to 3 people, it only lets you book Superior King or better when you book direct.  They also warn you that the rate you're booking is for single or double occupancy, and more people will result in extra charges.

 

Either way, my feeling is this is all pretty normal for Europe, and one of the reasons I'll never book a hotel through a cruise line.  You've got to be careful which room you book and the differences between room levels (a normal King room can vary wildly in quality between regular, superior, etc in Europe). 

 

NCL booking 3rd party grabbed you the base level, non-remodeled room.  Given the Marriott direct only lets parties of 3 adults or more stay in the Superior room, that one is on NCL.  And with the way the hotel industry works, NCL probably got it through Expedia or Booking at a discounted rate, and the hotel only gets a virtual card authorized for the exact amount and date of your say for what they picked, so it's not like they can just upgrade you and charge the difference or change or reservation.  Both the reservation and payment are controlled by a 3rd party, and it's probably at a rate of about ~75%.

 

NCL also didn't let you know there would be a charge for a 3rd person.  That's pretty common for Europe, but it's also their responsibility to do it, not the hotel's, since you're NCL's customer and NCL is the hotel's customer when booking through a 3rd party. 

 

While booking 3rd party can show good deals, it also causes a lot of problems, between system integrations, 3rd parties never fully having the correct Hotel description / policies, Room types and descriptions being wrong at times, etc.  Expedia Group and Booking Group both have these problems all the time, and they'll overbook hotels, and other such non-sense.  A lot of times, Expedia and Booking completely control the listing info (not the hotel), so it's them writing up the inaccurate info.  If I ever book 3rd party (and I do some), I always trust the hotel's website for info (never the 3rd party), understand the risks, and then book if I think the reward outweighs the risk.

 

If you're booked 3rd party and they oversell, you're the one getting walked.

 

Of course, if you have two separate cabins and reservations, and the one you bought a hotel room on only has two adults instead of three, then this might be on you and not NCL.  I'm assuming not based on your message, but also wanted to throw that out there.

Edited June 16, 2023 by chillyw