BACK FROM POA - July 11 (Detailed Review)

[ptngr]

jcolley, thanks for all the information you've provided. I sure appreciate it. It will really help us plan.

[Traveler39]

Thanks Jcolley.... you have shared a lot of good information and we all appreciate the time you have taken to answer our questions... Thanks Again....

[gouda]

[quote name='lbryant']Thank you for your review....With all that's going on, it seems forwarned will be for-armed to those of us due to sail in the near future. All this information helps greatly in getting our expectations in line with the experience we might have. .
Laura[/QUOTE]
You've got the right idea....It sounds like you're going to have a great time!:D

[Jeconk]

I have to agree, what future POA travelers should be looking for in these reviews are things that they can learn from those of us who have already been there. See what happened to us (good or bad) and then adjust your plans appropriately. That is why future POA cruisers should feel inclined to ask questions. I will answer you honestly, good or bad and tell you what I think and maybe offer a suggestion to help!

[Jeconk]

The Starboard side balconies get to see the lava flows and the port side balconies get to see the Napali Coast in Kauai. We had the starboard side and got a great view of the lava. It is actually better to have the lava flows....they are at night and you can view in your jammies and go to bed right after!! Since the Napali Coast is during the afternoon, it doesn't matter...lol

[cnmiranda]

Jeconk,
Oh no! I've read elsewhere it was the Port side. I'm currently on Port, should I try to switch to Starboard?

[Jeconk]

Let's make sure we are on the same page to start with:
Port is the left side of the ship as you face foward. Starboard is the right. (the way to remember that is "port" has four letters and "left" has four letters.)

Now, we were on the starboard side near the front (0204) and the lava flow was on our side. The Captain did turn the ship when we got close, but we could see it as we approached.

I just checked your itinerary and found that you have the same as we did: Hilo to Kona. The lava flows are on the south side of the big island and so, think about it: the right side of the ship will face the shore as you travel around the island.

[cnmiranda]

We're sailing a slightly different itinerary on 12/12, Oahu, Kauai to Kona then Hilo to Maui. So I think the port side will have the volcanoes. Duh, I never thought to look at the cruise map/itinerary on NCL's website:eek: We'll be in room #0033.

[Jeconk]

cnmiranda: that would do it! You are going to coming from the west to the east and that will put the lava flows on the port side! Do you know why NCL is switching the order of ports?

[cnmiranda]

I have absolutely no idea :confused: ;) I just happened to notice that when I punched in our date on NCL's itinerary web page. There are 3 dates that do this in 2004 and a few in the first months in 2005. I'll have to ask my TA if she knows why. But I sure am happy about it!

[ACCagent]

I believe it is due to the docking of other ships on certain days. Could be wrong but I think that is the reason.

[Traveler39]

Changes of the days in port could cause some problems for anyone booking car rentals, side trips, etc.... Would it not be nice for ncl to contact all of its passengers that are on cruises that have the days in port changed?

[foxyh]

[quote name='Host Cecilia']This is one of the things I don't like about internet message boards. People offer up opinion and other people take it as fact. Most things posted here are opinion. Why not think of free drinks as an added bonus NCL has added and not something negative? If free drinks are for eating passengers, why get upset if you just want a free drink and you can't get it? Every day I see offers for products that have other things you have to do in order to get the free offer. Buy 2; get 1 free. I have to buy two things in order to get one free. 0% financing. I must qualify for the free financing. It's not given to everyone. In Vegas, progressive payouts can only be won if you bet the max. There are qualifiers for some special deals. How is this different?[/QUOTE]

I am scheduled to go on the POA on 22 August and have been reading all of the reviews with fervor. Needless to say, by now I am totally confused as I felt for sure I would be reading "something positive" by now. I have traveled on 4 other NCL ships and have been extremely pleased with all the experiences. Perhaps being more open minded about certain situations would benefit all. Nothing is perfect and no one is perfect. If you had one thing you would really like to see changed what would it be?????

[Jeconk]

Foxyh: That is easy: For NCL to become honest and tell the truth and not just what they think the customer wants to hear in order to sell cruises or get rid of someone. I also would like NCL to stop being more interested in how much money they can make and start being more concerned about what they can do to provide better customer service to their customers.

....and put that stupid, deceptive service charge in the overall charge of the cruise and not added on.

Foxyh: Here is a link to some of my suggestions for dining on the POA that I posted a few weeks back after I got off the ship: [url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=53791[/url]

Here also is the link to my long 5 page review of the POA that I posted around July 10: [url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=53792[/url]

[Traveler39]

Foxyh..... The only thing that needs to be changed now for immediate improvement is to pull NCL from the Hawaiian Island US Flagged Program and award the flagged program to Princess Cruise Lines.....

[alohacrewmom]

Not sure I can see Bob Dickenson putting up all the start up money necessary to start something like this.

I also know lots of people love Princess but that is the only "bad" cruise we ever had. Well, the cruise was great in many ways and our room was good but the food was less than mediocre and we could not get in for a show unless we were at least 30 minutes early. We did Personal Choice dining and had to wait quite a while several times. Dinner was always a minimum of 2-3 hours (including the wait) unless we went to a surcharge restaurant. I have to assume it was just a bad week and believe that things got better.

[gardencat]

My 'wants' are similar to Jeconk's. I would like NCL to change its attitude to reflect the belief that the customer is important and that pleasing their customers is the only way to insure their success as a company.

If they do this, many other improvements will follow in its wake. If you value and respect your customer you will not tell them lies all the time because you know that pretty soon they will find out you are lying and will not want to deal with you anymore. If you value your customer you will realize that the success of their vacation is important to them and it will be important to you too. If you respect your customers you will realize that you are expected to provide service at an acceptable level. When you do not do this you will make it right or at least compensate them somehow. You will not expect that they will just get used to it.

[gardencat]

Just in case anyone here hasn't noticed, there are a couple of new reviews on the Review page.

[foxyh]

Oh my gosh.....thanks to all of you who responded to my question. I realize this is a consumer oriented society and I can assure you that when NCL began their re-registering from the america to the Aloha, I was one of the more vociferous people, but I do believe in giving everyone a chance. I am taking my daughter and my grand-daughter on this cruise and I truly want this to be a good experience for them........should we, perhaps, eat before boarding the ship or wait it out.....I have never had to deal with this problem before....Should I make dinner reservations each day........I really do not like this free style crusing.......Aloha :cool:

[jcolley]

[quote name='gardencat']My 'wants' are similar to Jeconk's. I would like NCL to change its attitude to reflect the belief that the customer is important and that pleasing their customers is the only way to insure their success as a company.

If they do this, many other improvements will follow in its wake. If you value and respect your customer you will not tell them lies all the time because you know that pretty soon they will find out you are lying and will not want to deal with you anymore. If you value your customer you will realize that the success of their vacation is important to them and it will be important to you too. If you respect your customers you will realize that you are expected to provide service at an acceptable level. When you do not do this you will make it right or at least compensate them somehow. You will not expect that they will just get used to it.[/QUOTE]
Very well put gardencat!

[foxyh]

When we have experienced some very distasteful to us on one of NCL ship's, I have made it a point to write directly to Colin Veitch and express my dissatisfaction. People on the ship will just nod in agreement and then do nothing about it; just wait for the next group of cruisers.

If everyone who has a compaint would write directly to Colin, you would see more improvements because it starts at the top. They need to know how you feel because the customer is their bread and butter. Their corporate address is on the web. I will do the same thing if I am unhappy with my upcoming cruise. :p

[gardencat]

Maybe I'm being unrealistic to think like this but, in my case it was NCL that cancelled my cruise. I called them, at their request I had my TA call them ,we made arrangements with them on which they then renaged. I don't think at this point it should be my responsibility to keep chasing them. They have been made aware of the problem. If they wish to keep me as a customer shouldn't it be their responsibility to come up with some way to compensate me?
I relly don't think I should have to work for hours chasing down certain people in the company in order to get them to fix their mistake.

[Jeconk]

Foxyh: It has been debated on this forum before, Colin Veitch is not going to respond to your letter and probably won't read it. It will be given to an underling. It took me 4 letters (all addressed to Colin) before I got a response from a "customer service manager."

The gist of the previous discussion:
In a company the size of NCL, it is unrealistic that the President is going to be able to read most of the mail about complaints. And from what I have heard about Colin V., I can't see him reading any of it! I agree that change has to start from the top, but with Colin V in charge, there is where part of the problem lies. A quote from Colin in the paper about cell phones on board ships: "they (the passengers) will just have to get used to it." That pretty much sums up his attitude toward everything customer related.

But I do agree that when people have complaints, they should write to the company, and if they don't get any type of response, write again. At least NCL can do is have the courtesy to respond.