NCL guest services was truly terrible to me

[grouchomarx]

9 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I am sorry this happened to you. Must have been very frustrating.

 

I had an error on a charge on my Joy cruise in June and the person in Guest Services was worthless also (you would think they would have their best people be guest facing...the guy I had barely understood English). Like @YVRteacher mentioned, I did not leave the desk until my issue was understood and I felt it was going to be resolved to my satisfaction. It was corrected the next day with an apology (several, in fact). Won't help you now but I would have asked to see the GM, or at minimum, his assistant. 

 

I truly believe this happened by adding a person to the reservation within 48 hours of sailing, though that is not an excuse, and I really didn't think that was even possible. I hope the rest of your cruise was enjoyable.

Thank you, fortunately the person I was traveling with was able to turn my raging frown upside down by making me realize my choice is to either go on and enjoy my cruise to the max given the circumstances (still had drinks!) or just be mad all week.  I took his advice and let it go, figuring I’d rectify it after the fact.  I actually was able to relax and forget about those GS people and not sweat about anything else.  Sometimes another persons words help so much to get you out of your mindset.  I had a very seriously fun time.

[felicity]

3 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

Cabana is a very nice luxury.

Thank you so much for the great information!  Glad you got to enjoy your cabana.

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, grouchomarx said:

Thank you, fortunately the person I was traveling with was able to turn my raging frown upside down by making me realize my choice is to either go on and enjoy my cruise to the max given the circumstances (still had drinks!) or just be mad all week.  I took his advice and let it go, figuring I’d rectify it after the fact.  I actually was able to relax and forget about those GS people and not sweat about anything else.  Sometimes another persons words help so much to get you out of your mindset.  I had a very seriously fun time.

Our TA once told me that if anything comes up that you cannot get resolved, don't let it ruin your cruise. Instead get in touch with him afterwards and let him handle the problem with the cruise line.

[BirdTravels]

A travel agent will talk big but has no influence with a cruise in progress. It needs to be resolved and escalated to the General Manager, as needed. The answer may be "it is not on your reservation, sorry", but at least you have done everything possible. 

 

ProTip: About a week before the cruise, call the NCL general reservations call center and have them email you your Guest Confirmation, Amenities Confirmation (this is where you would see if all of the FAS+ benefits are property loaded), Dining Confirmation, Shore Ex Confirmation, and Entertainment Confirmation. You have a day or two to resolve discrepancies. 2-3 days prior to departure, all of the shore records are transferred to the ship and resolution of discrepancies becomes problematic. 

[graphicguy]

19 hours ago, Asawi said:

I suspect what happened had to do with the addition the other person.That person should have had (and of course paid for) FAS+ as well, or neither of you would. You say it was last minute, but not HOW last minute. Your original keycard may have had the original extras because it had already been printed and the addition of guest 2 somehow messed things up.

I don't think the first CS person removed anything. I think things were messed up from the start.

Just speculation of course.

First thing I thought, too.  

 

Any time you change things at the last minute, the chances of "stuff" going sideways increases.

 

As Bird says, the Amenities Confirmation would show all of what you agreed to....giving you time to rectify any discrepancies before boarding.  Part of my "routine" is to contact the reservations desk pre-cruise to get that sheet to have a physical copy to show Guest Services.

Edited September 3 by graphicguy

[schmoopie17]

13 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

 

As Bird says, the Amenities Confirmation would show all of what you agreed to....giving you time to rectify any discrepancies before boarding.  Part of my "routine" is to contact the reservations desk pre-cruise to get that sheet to have a physical copy to show Guest Services.

I'm confused (you're shocked, I know 😁)

All of these things are listed very plainly on our e-Docs. Shouldn't bringing the printed copy be sufficient without having to call?

[graphicguy]

10 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I'm confused (you're shocked, I know 😁)

All of these things are listed very plainly on our e-Docs. Shouldn't bringing the printed copy be sufficient without having to call?

Yeah.  Should be on the eDocs.  I'm a big believer in redundancy.  I bring a sheet with all the amenities on it, too.  That shows things like FAS, VIBE, etc.  I have the amenities sheet with me when I check in at the port.  Until I get everything all sorted at check in, I probably wouldn't leave until all that is rectified.

 

No way I'd board with a blank key card.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

13 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I'm confused (you're shocked, I know 😁)

All of these things are listed very plainly on our e-Docs. Shouldn't bringing the printed copy be sufficient without having to call?

This makes sense to me also.

 

Are you guys calling to get a copy of something different than you can just print without calling? Seems overcomplicated??

[nimbex1970]

Thank you for sharing this, AND making the best of your cruise!  We are going to deal with some last minute changes with swapping grandchildren, names and plus or minus and the thread has been very helpful as to what to expect and how to handle it. 

[graphicguy]

15 minutes ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

This makes sense to me also.

 

Are you guys calling to get a copy of something different than you can just print without calling? Seems overcomplicated??

May or may not need the Amenities Sheet.  Actually, you can print it from your reservation page.  It should show everyone on the same reservation, their perks, their purchase options (like VIBE or FAS+).  If there are deviations from that sheet, you have a copy of everything due to you.  And, you can correct them with that proof of what you're owed.

 

Generally speaking, it's much more preferable to do it before boarding.  If, as in this case, you added someone to the reservation, or changed something since booking, you have proof of those changes.

 

This is all speculation, but my guess is having FAS+ and VIBE access for a solo, would not transfer over to having it changed for 2.  After the changes were made, a new reservation sheet should have been emailed showing the changes.  Those changes would also be reflected in the Amenities Sheet.

 

A, "I took care of it", by a PCC should never be accepted as proof.  The career for a PCC is usually short lived.  Turnover is high (as in most commission sales positions).  The PCC who said "I'll take care of it" might not even be there as a PCC before he/she can actually take care of anything.  As most things, having it in writing will preclude any confusion.

[graphicguy]

As a perfect example, on my last cruise, I bought transport to and from the airport to the ship for a Bermuda cruise out of NYC.  When I got to the meeting place at the airport for transport, I was not listed on their manifest. I did not argue with the boarding agent.  I just showed them the Amenities Sheet showing where I had purchased transport.  End of discussion.

[julig22]

54 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

I'm confused (you're shocked, I know 😁)

All of these things are listed very plainly on our e-Docs. Shouldn't bringing the printed copy be sufficient without having to call?

Probably not. They added the person 48 hours prior to the cruise. I think e-doc download cut off says 3 days. But there should have been a confirmation sent as soon as the changes were made.

Having a printed copy is a good idea, but it would never be taken as absolutely accurate onboard, since changes are always possible.

But on the other hand, someone from NCL should have been able to email a current copy of the confirmation which would have shown what changes were actually made.

[Cruising Lynne]

Regardless of how the errors with the booking occurred, the guest services team did not handle this well. They obviously figured out that OP had paid for amenities they did not receive, since they ultimately gave them a refund. To leave the OP hanging all week is rude. 

[Asawi]

28 minutes ago, julig22 said:

They added the person 48 hours prior to the cruise. I think e-doc download cut off says 3 days. But there should have been a confirmation sent as soon as the changes were made.

I think this is the key. Unfortunately OP assumed things without actually checking them enough (They say they assumed a booking with basic FAS which actually would not have been possible according to the rules). And then thought the extras showing up on a keycard that would have been printed days ago was some sort of proof. I absolutely do not want to put any blame on OP though. I think they should have been informed of the changes even if they were visible on the new confirmation. And, as I said before, I find it so odd that GS couldn't backtrack the booking to see what had happened. 

[bonvoyagie]

On our last cruise (June '23) we won our upgrade bid a few days prior to the cruise. Upon check in our key cards were blank even though we had the FAS. I paid for our first round and then went to GS the first agent simply said we lost the FAS in the upgrade,I didn't buy that. When I went back to get my paperwork I discovered that I had not printed the amenities document from the upgrade. I called my TA and he got NCL to send my a new one directly so I could show them. My next trip to GS I got a different agent who was taking room numbers of people with the same issue. Saying that Miami was closed and they would have resolution tomorrow, he looked at my Email and said they would have to verify it. The next morning I got a call from GS that our new cards were ready. They also wiped the bar tab from the previous day off. 

[sanger727]

I would be extremely upset about this too.  Regardless of where the mistake was, they should have had a manager who could explain what happened.  I really don't think NCL would have ultimately credited the OP's on-board account back unless they were wrong.  Based on other posts, NCL seems perfectly happy to tell you to take it up with corporate after the cruise.

[julig22]

45 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

I would be extremely upset about this too.  Regardless of where the mistake was, they should have had a manager who could explain what happened.  I really don't think NCL would have ultimately credited the OP's on-board account back unless they were wrong.  Based on other posts, NCL seems perfectly happy to tell you to take it up with corporate after the cruise.

Unfortunately, it often takes time to resolve issues. And information that guest services may not have. So yes, it eventually got straightened out while onboard which does make it easier, although it's also entirely possible that they simply reversed charges as a courtesy, not because they were wrong (none of us are privy to what was actually paid for after that 2nd guest was added). Yes, if they don't have access to information, they will direct you to corporate. Not much different than any other entity where front-line people are not authorized to just take the customer's word. Based on other posts, plenty of people also make claims that they then later realize were their mistake.

[grouchomarx]

15 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Unfortunately, it often takes time to resolve issues. And information that guest services may not have. So yes, it eventually got straightened out while onboard which does make it easier, although it's also entirely possible that they simply reversed charges as a courtesy, not because they were wrong (none of us are privy to what was actually paid for after that 2nd guest was added). Yes, if they don't have access to information, they will direct you to corporate. Not much different than any other entity where front-line people are not authorized to just take the customer's word. Based on other posts, plenty of people also make claims that they then later realize were their mistake.

Well, update to the saga, nothing has been resolved.  I read the final statement wrong.  What is really said was that I was charged for all the onboard purchases but not credited for all the things they removed. So I just spent a few hours going through my Amex statements and my docs from NCL to compile a detailed list of what is owed, which is close to $500, not $745. A couple things were recently refunded.  Most were not.  Now I have all the proof, Amex assured my if NCL doesn't fix this they will take care of me. What a waste of my time.   

[ontheweb]

46 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

Well, update to the saga, nothing has been resolved.  I read the final statement wrong.  What is really said was that I was charged for all the onboard purchases but not credited for all the things they removed. So I just spent a few hours going through my Amex statements and my docs from NCL to compile a detailed list of what is owed, which is close to $500, not $745. A couple things were recently refunded.  Most were not.  Now I have all the proof, Amex assured my if NCL doesn't fix this they will take care of me. What a waste of my time.   

A shoutout to Amex. They do set a standard for customer service.

[grouchomarx]

4 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

A shoutout to Amex. They do set a standard for customer service.

I never had to use the customer service before. The lady on the phone was nice today but she said I have to wait a while and see if NCL will fix it before they do anything, and wants all kinds of details so I tried to put that together today but it's so complicated.  I feel like I need to give a Ted talk about this screw up lol