NCL Switched our Cabin assignment for June!

[KeystoneCruiser]

After years of loyalty to NCL, they may have finally done something that could drive me away. I have not brought up this story until today because I didn't really think it was a big deal.

 

Our family and friends booked 5 cabins on the Dawn for this June way back in late August. We booked three AF cabins (two being connecting), an interior across the hall from our AF cabins and a BA. (all through our TA). We also purchased NCL's air service to and from NYC.

 

We got our initial bill for our deposit in late September with our cabin numbers.

 

In January, NCL called and told my sister in law (in connecting cabins with us), that she would have to move because they had a 1 year old and a 6 year old and the cabin wouldn't hold 4 people. They planned to move them all the way down to an oceanview room on Deck 5. After looking at the Deckplans, I noticed that the rooms we are all in are marked for four people. When our TA pointed this out to NCL, they apologized and said a mistake had been made. They called back a week later and said that the crib for the one year old would not allow the third bed to open for the 6 year old and again told my sister in law that she would have to change cabins. We talked to our TA and decided that the 6 year old could be reassigned into our cabin since there were only 3 of us and my 8 year old loves having sleepovers with her cousin. Since we had connecting rooms, it would not be a problem since last year we had the connecting door open almost the whole trip. The TA made the switch and everything seemed fine.

 

We got our final bill and I paid it in mid March. I didn't look at the information except the payment info. (my mistake!)

 

Then came the surprise. About two weeks ago, I sat down to pre-register us for the cruise. For some reason it wouldn't take the info. Finally, I pulled out the final bill and noticed that our cabin had been moved down the hall!! I called my sister in law and they too had been moved down the hall! I then pulled the September bill back out and compared it...sure enough we had been changed! We were still side by side BUT we were no longer in connecting rooms and we were no longer across from my sister in law's sister who was still in the interior cabin across from our former cabins!

 

My parents, in our other AF cabin had not been switched and were still beside us, we had just jumped over them.

 

Our TA called NCL and they ignored her for several days. When she finally talked to someone at NCL they denied the switch. When she told them of our proof, she said they really didn't have an answer. Both her and the President of the Travel Agency requested that NCL switch us back since we had been in those connecting cabins originally. NCL's final answer has come and they say there is nothing they can do because there are no more available connecting cabins. (Our TA did check their inventory for the cruise and found that the only connecting cabins left are AB to AF's -- not that I would mind a free upgrade but it would seperate us from the other three rooms)

 

We made sure to get the connecting cabins so that our children could play together and we could help take care of the 1 year old because my wife is not a night owl person like the rest of us. Now we don't have that!

This is my sister-in-law's sister's first cruise and she is already not happy about it after we raved about NCL last year on our Alaskan cruise.

 

It appears that someone really wanted one or both of our connecting cabins and when NCL couldn't force us to move by coming up with stories to move my sister in law, they just switched us without our knowledge or consent. Yes, I am partially to blame for not more closely checking out our bill and catching the room switch earlier.

 

It is too late to get out of the cruise without losing part of our money so we are stuck. The President of our TA is extremely upset to the point where they are no longer going to be reccommending or advertizing NCL cruises through their agency. He said that our situation is the straw that made the final decision to do that. He said that although they have had trouble with NCL in the past, he has never seen such a blatant ingorance of customers than this incident. We are all dumbfounded over who could be so important that the cruiseline would just move you and not tell you.

 

It will be interesting when we get on board the ship to meet these people who are in the cabins we signed up for! Since they are now right across the hall from members of our party, I'm sure we will bump into them often and I WILL make sure they know what I think of them.

 

This report is not an attempt to get compensation out of NCL over this incident. They have made it clear that they are not going to move us back. This report is just to make sure that others know of this and hopefully to make people aware to continue to check their room assignments!!

[Host CMLA]

It will be interesting when we get on board the ship to meet these people who are in the cabins we signed up for! Since they are now right across the hall from members of our party, I'm sure we will bump into them often and I WILL make sure they know what I think of them.

I'm so so so sorry this happened to you. I'd be beside myself. That just sucks. :( I only have one comment and that's about the people that are now in your old rooms. They may have no idea about any of this. So I wouldn't be mean to them before knowing how much they're aware of the situation. Just my opinion. But again...man, that's awful! I don't know what I'd do but I'd do something!!!

[jennylane]

i was just about to type the same thing....that the people in your old rooms certainly may be completely unaware of the events that transpired. so i hope that you dont take the horrible situation out on them. if someone came up to me and told me your story, and if i was in the cabin that was originally theirs, i would beel terrible and it would put a damper on my vacation. i guess theres a chance that those people are bigwigs of some sort and ncl moved you to accomodate them...but that seems really far fetched to me. in any case, i hope that you're able to make the best of the situation and still enjoy your trip, and deal with ncl somehow separately. dont let it ruin your cruise completely! i have no idea what i'd do. i read about the people who travel in groups and i've never done it....and in a way i'm glad i havent. so much planning and organizing, and if something happens, it affects so many people. it sounds like you've got a good travel agent which is good. personally i booked my cruise online, and i'm positive they would NOT be such a good advocate for my needs. i hope you'll post again once you get this all resolved, i'll be interested to know what ultimately happens.

[Hflors]

WOW - Now I'm really nervious. I booked the last aft balcony cabin on my Janaury 7 cruise. I now wonder if someone else had the cabin and they were "moved". I told NCL I wanted a note put on my file saying I was not to be moved unless I was contacted and agreed. They told me that NCL does not move people with out their prior knowledge and agreement! I guess I will keep an eye on my cabin, if I'm moved I will either get moved back or Move to another cruise line.

 

I'm very sorry to hear this happened to you. I hope you and your family will have a great cruise in spite of the way it began. My one question is it's hard for me to believe your TA didn't pick up on the move before you did. Were the cabins you were moved to in the same catagory?

 

When you return let us know how your cruise went.

[ocngypz]

When the final invoice was generated with the cabin switch, it was generated by your agency. SO .... someone at the agency knew beforehand of the cabin changes.

 

The question would be, why didn't they notify you?

[sjbdtz]

After years of loyalty to NCL, they may have finally done something that could drive me away. I have not brought up this story until today because I didn't really think it was a big deal.

 

I'm confused...was it not a big deal, or was it something that can finally drive you away after years of loyalty?

 

We got our initial bill for our deposit in late September with our cabin numbers.

 

Did you book GTY cabins, or did you book specific cabin numbers when you put down your initial deposit?

 

 

In January, NCL called and told my sister in law (in connecting cabins with us), that she would have to move because they had a 1 year old and a 6 year old and the cabin wouldn't hold 4 people. They planned to move them all the way down to an oceanview room on Deck 5.

 

So NCL was going to take a customer who paid for an AF and move them to a lower deck Oceanview (like 5 categories lower)? That seems quite odd, especially 6 months before cruise date, when many could still cancel and inventory could open-up.

 

 

The TA made the switch and everything seemed fine.

 

Are you sure the TA made the switch correctly? It seems to me that all the blame is falling on NCL, but the TA could be partially at fault. You're taking their word that they're fighting for you...but don't forget...they're also fighting for your future business...and I'd guess that anyone buying 3 AF's, a BA and an inside cabin represents probably $20k of revenue through the TA.

 

I didn't look at the information except the payment info. (my mistake!)

 

Agreed. That's akin to signing a contract without reading it. Until you actually made the final payment, you could have walked away from the whole thing...or at least used that as bargaining leverage.

 

I'll be interested to see whether anyone is offered upsells on your cruise!

 

We were still side by side BUT we were no longer in connecting rooms and we were no longer across from my sister in law's sister who was still in the interior cabin across from our former cabins!

 

My parents, in our other AF cabin had not been switched and were still beside us, we had just jumped over them.

 

It looks to me as though someone thought they were giving you "the next best thing" which to be all together in the same hallway. If your parents were at one end of your 3-aside cabins, and they're now at the OTHER end of your 3-aside cabins, then your sister-in-law's sister can't be THAT far down the hallway (about 3 cabin-widths away?)

 

It sounds as though the only missing thing ultimately is an interconnecting door...and I believe that they can provide you with extra keys, so you could freely move in and out of each other's cabins.

 

 

Our TA called NCL and they ignored her for several days.

 

Wow...they must have awesome call display, to immediately know it's your TA, and refuse to answer the phone.... :rolleyes: . Again this sounds like the TA may be trying to cover certain unmentionable body parts.

 

It appears that someone really wanted one or both of our connecting cabins and when NCL couldn't force us to move by coming up with stories to move my sister in law, they just switched us without our knowledge or consent.

 

Let me get this straight...there is an available AB to AF connecting suite, but you think NCL is putting their "bigwig" customers into the AF to AF connecting suite instead? :eek:

 

It is too late to get out of the cruise without losing part of our money so we are stuck.

 

Signing contracts...not reading them....

 

The President of our TA is extremely upset to the point where they are no longer going to be reccommending or advertizing NCL cruises through their agency. He said that our situation is the straw that made the final decision to do that. He said that although they have had trouble with NCL in the past, he has never seen such a blatant ingorance of customers than this incident.

 

Hmm...and did your TA try to talk you out of booking NCL beforehand too, or were they just happy to take your money, and only tell you the anecdotes of trouble AFTER they were unable to fix what may well have been their own errors?

 

 

We are all dumbfounded over who could be so important that the cruiseline would just move you and not tell you.

 

AB to AF vs AF to AF....hmmm....I wonder who is so important that we have to move existing passengers, 5 cabins worth...rather than putting the VIPs in the empty, available suites?

 

It will be interesting when we get on board the ship to meet these people who are in the cabins we signed up for! Since they are now right across the hall from members of our party, I'm sure we will bump into them often and I WILL make sure they know what I think of them.

 

THAT's a great way to start your vacation...and theirs.

 

 

You have 3 adjoining cabins, along with a sister-in-law's sister across the hall and a few cabins away.

 

Where's the BA? Is it nearby too? Or was that part of your party not as important to you as your sister-in-law's sister...in terms of proximity?

 

:rolleyes:

[immargaret]

 

In January, NCL called and told my sister in law (in connecting cabins with us), that she would have to move because they had a 1 year old and a 6 year old and the cabin wouldn't hold 4 people. They planned to move them all the way down to an oceanview room on Deck 5. After looking at the Deckplans, I noticed that the rooms we are all in are marked for four people. When our TA pointed this out to NCL, they apologized and said a mistake had been made. They called back a week later and said that the crib for the one year old would not allow the third bed to open for the 6 year old and again told my sister in law that she would have to change cabins. We talked to our TA and decided that the 6 year old could be reassigned into our cabin since there were only 3 of us and my 8 year old loves having sleepovers with her cousin. Since we had connecting rooms, it would not be a problem since last year we had the connecting door open almost the whole trip. The TA made the switch and everything seemed fine.

 

 

Why did NCL call when the TA owns the booking...... Normally NCL will only talk to the person/or TA who makes the booking. If this happened before anyone registered on-line how did they get the contact information?

 

Good luck with your cruise, I agree this isn't the best way to start it off.

 

:)

[Stevie17]

I have to agree with the other posters...those individuals who are presently booked in your old staterooms may be completely unaware of what transpired. I would be very hesitant to go on the attack without knowledge of the full story....from everyone.

[Zeno]

You absolutely have my sympathy on this. You did make a mistake (not checking the room numbers) BUT you were switched around without your consent and knowledge. However I have one thing to suggest - INSIST that your TA REALLY push NCL to rectify this. When I had a problem (getting a credit I was entitled to) before my last cruise, my TA refused to get off the line until she spoke to a manager. The relatively passive approach by your TA (allowing themselves to be ignored) does make me a little suspicious that they may have been involved in the screwup in some way. I know my TA pushed my issue herself, had her boss push it AND had their wholesaler threaten to contact a senior NCL person if necessary.

[CruisinMatt]

KeystoneCruiser, thanks for posting this. It sounds like you are putting out some serious $$$, I am surprised that NCL did this. I agree with others, please don't berate the people in the cabins you wanted and push your TA to rectify this in one form or another.

[kabookie]

Keystone - I'm on your side with telling the people who bumped you what you think - I would also be telling the ship's hotel director. And then let it go and enjoy the rest of the trip.

 

I'm one of those people that honk at other drivers that cut me off - sorry, but there is nothing wrong with expressing yourself and refusing to let others walk all over you.

[CruisinMatt]

Kabookie,

 

The reason we are suggesting that Keystone not attack the people in her preferred cabins, is that they may have no idea that this whole incident with NCL switching the cabins occurred.

 

If someone came up to me and started getting in my face that I took their cabins and I knew nothing about it, I'd be pretty ticked off. :rolleyes:

[miami]

Something similar happened to someone booked on the Sun last year. Hope the link works. I think it has something to do with moving the Sun. But maybe this happens more often than we think.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=236382

[The Moyers]

Keystone cruiser.....Where in PA?

[scdreamer]

Keystone - I'm on your side with telling the people who bumped you what you think - I would also be telling the ship's hotel director. And then let it go and enjoy the rest of the trip.

 

I'm one of those people that honk at other drivers that cut me off - sorry, but there is nothing wrong with expressing yourself and refusing to let others walk all over you.

 

Yikes. What a way to start a vacation ... by getting into it with people you will be having to see every day. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

 

Yes, this is a foul-up, and yes, it isn't your fault. The blame lies either with NCL or with your TA. Highly unlikely the other passengers have any idea that this happened. In fact, have you considered that when you booked, it's possible you unknowingly took a cabin that had initially been assigned to someone else? That's not outside the realm of possibility ...

 

If I were you, I would do my best to get your TA to straighten it out, and then no matter how it ends up, try to let it go and have the best vacation ever.

 

If you continue to ruminate over it, you will be the one who loses the most. It's like letting someone live rent-free in your head ...

[VegasGreen]

If indeed it is NOT the TA who is far more to blame here than we realize, then I would bet the 1-year old is a much bigger factor that you might expect. There are a select few cabins on NCL ships that can accommodate cribs, even among the triples and quads... and you must consider first that EVERY child under age two must be in a cabin that can accommodate a crib, whether the child sleeps there or not.

 

Now, that being said, there's a MAJOR fly in the ointment at NCL reservations that allows infants to be booked into cabins that do NOT hold cribs. There are many, many TAs who make their reservations over an automated reservations system -- Sabre, Amadeus, etc. -- it's quick, no hold times, easier to compare & quote from, and many agencies even get an additional commission override (usually 1 or 2%) for doing so -- NCL even has their own automated booking engine. Now, if your TA CALLS Miami, they won't be able to book you into room that doesn't take a crib with an infant - their system just won't allow it, and the res agent will see that. HOWEVER, the automated system has no such safeguard, and if it sees three passengers, it allows you to book any triple - regardless of if it holds a crib.

 

At this point, NCL has NO CHOICE but to move someone - that infant has to have a crib - and a domino effect often ensues. I have been told by my contact at NCL that they run a report every week or so with a LONG list of cabins booked incorrectly - where a crib is required and not possible in the cabin booked - and it is required to be fixed. This has been the case with their system for years now, and I have absolutely no concept why it hasn't been fixed.

 

Now, that being said, NCL can't move you without telling your TA. They just can't, they won't, period. Doesn't happen. The t/a knew this was taking place. If it WAS for a necessary reason, i.e. the crib situation, etc, the TA would have at least been told, sent confirmations, and possible been offered compensation. That part of the story troubles me.

 

I can assure you the people in your old cabin are not bigwigs, they weren't aware of any of this, and there is no need for a confrontation... Just try your best to have a great time - I think all of us agree that NCL shipboard is so light years ahead of NCL shoreside it's not even funny...

[electricron]

Doesn't the Dawn have interconnecting doors/gates on the balconies?

 

That should solve your interconnecting cabin situtation. Just tell them to connect the balconies by opening the gate.

 

Cribs do cause problems with interconnecting cabins. The most likely place to put the crib is near the interconnecting door, opposite side of the cabin with the queen size bed and couch, or in the area just in front of the couch. If you are also using the couch for a bed at night, there isn't much room left for the crib and still have the interconnecting door open.

 

Even with this bad luck, put it behind you, and enjoy your cruise.

 

Here's an overhead view of a Dawn mini-suite.

 

[pioneers]

I agree about the TA. This time I used a TA and when I called NCL they would give me information but any changes would have to be made by the TA that originated the reservation. As a matter of fact, my TA told me that the cruise documents would go to her and she would look over them prior to calling me. She said she does this to make sure everything is okay.

 

I would expect a TA to do everything possible to make you happy. If this means calling NCL everyday and everybody there they would. If you are happy you will send others their way:D.

[shoreguy]

Interesting situation. I am not sure who is to blame for the mess. One thing I know it can be fixed. You many need to move passengers around on paper and then suffer the problems of where they sleep once onboard.

 

As posted above there is no way the cabins were changed without notifying your TA. Your TA throwing up their hands and say no more NCL would be completely unacceptable to me.

 

It is like a car dealer that sold you a car, the car is defective, and they tell you they will not fix it since they no longer like that model.

 

Your TA owns fixing this problem even if they were not directly responsible. Giving up should not be an option. If they moved you others can be moved to restore your reservation. May be a bit more difficult if NCL had (which would be the case 99.9% of the time) documented the change with the TA and they accepted it but still not imposable

 

I would not focus my energy on those in your cabins once onboard. I would focus on my TA to fix the booking they were paid to manage for you.

 

Just my $.02 - I hope you get this resolved. You have 2 months. Plenty of time for your TA to escalate this to the right level at NCL that can fix the situation if in fact it was NCL's fault.

[KeystoneCruiser]

I'm sorry to disagree with you Shoreguy, (because I think you are the best and most knowledgeable source of information on here as well as the most positive.), but I lay this blame firmly in the hands of NCL and not the travel agent.

 

My parents have used this particular agent and this Travel Agency for many, many years and we have booked all but one of our NCL cruises through them. She has done miraculous things in the past to make our trips even better and gone round and round with NCL in the past over issues.

 

This company is the ONLY company that advertizes NCL cruises in our major paper. Plenty of RCCL, Carnival, Princess and even Holland America ads on the travel pages every Sunday, but only a couple of ads for NCL, all from this TA company. The fact that they are going to stop selling NCL unless a customer specifically asks for NCL to me tells me that this is not the only issue between this company and NCL.

 

The President of the company personally called us and apologized and told us that NCL personally told him that they would make it up to us but could not move us back to connecting rooms because all of our catagory was full. (of course my comment to him was: "probably more of those worthless coupon books.")

 

We haven't yet informed our children about not having the connecting rooms as they were looking forward to being able to go back and forth and help take care of baby Zachary.

 

I also appreciate not being flamed for this post. I am not looking for huge compensation for this problem and I really don't want to give up this trip because of all the great stories of the Dawn on here. The one thing that would make me the happiest would be to have our connecting rooms restored, but it appears NCL is not willing to do that or come up with any connecting rooms!

 

THose of you who read my posts know that I am mainily interested in the excahnge of information, good or bad, on these boards and so I thought I would share my story just as I shared my positive stories on the POA and Star.

 

Although I doubt NCL will do anything about this, I will keep you posted if they do.

[shoreguy]

KeystoneCruiser

 

I have no idea nor do I care who's fault it is. The fact is it happened. My main point is don't give up on solving the problem. Since you had the cabins first and can prove it there is someone that can make the decision to move others and restore your booking.

 

I had a similar problem when my booking on the Jewel fell out of the system not only was my cabin already rebooked but all the balcony cabins were gone. A few phone calls and an email or two to the right places and 72 hours later I had my original cabin back.

 

The longer this goes without a positive resolution the tougher it will be to get someone to make that decision. I certainly hope you can get what you want and what was booked but in any case enjoy the cruise.

[Dorothy]

When I called for an upsell, they couldn't get ahold of my TA, so they went ahead and made the change and charged my credit card. So, it apparently isn't mandatory that they confirm with the TA before making the change.

 

In regards to the people in the old cabin assignments. I say leave them alone. They probably have no idea of how things transpired. We all pay a lot of money to take a nice vacation and it isn't right to spoil their vacation by getting in their face. Take the high road, be pleasant to them and enjoy your vacation the best you can.

 

BTW, there are a lot of worse things in life than getting reassigned a new cabin number. Life is too short to worry about the little things.

[Nectarologist]

It will be interesting when we get on board the ship to meet these people who are in the cabins we signed up for! Since they are now right across the hall from members of our party, I'm sure we will bump into them often and I WILL make sure they know what I think of them.

???...From road rage to sea rage.

 

Kabookie. Do you ever take a moment to think that the other driver wasn't trying to walk all over you? That maybe it was just a mistake?

[Studebaker59]

I'm wondering if your TA had NCL cross-reference the five cabins. Then NCL would have realized you're all traveling together, and want to be in cabins near each other.

 

It seems to me a "red flag" should come up in the booking if any cross-referenced cabin number is changed. Either NCL or the TA should have caught this. Shouldn't the TA have reconfirmed cabin numbers and other sailing details BEFORE giving final payment?

 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my TA!!!!

[CarlNcl]

The NCL brochures promote their "Family Friendly Accomodations" (e.g. connecting rooms) and you booked it precisely as they intended. It's a nice thing and your children would have enjoyed it.

 

I think you have a fair beef with them to provide you what you ordered. I'd keep calling and working my way up the chain of command. I've found it's easy for a company to say "No" and hope the people give up. Good luck.

 

You could offer to pay for an AB and see what kind of price they come up with. Even if it did not connect the living room would provide a lot of play space.

 

 

For extras to make up for the hassel one would be Latitudes Platinum treatment for all. Gets you some VIP treatment and I can't see any direct cost to them.