NCL Air/Sea Christmas week

[wmp2304]

Veteran crusiers & TAs/professional : I would like some feedback please. DW & I cruised POH this year during Christmas week - 12/25 8pm departure with NCL Air/Sea on United. Long story short...we finally caught up with the boat on 12/26 around 12:30 pm in Hilo. Here's a timeline:

 

Travel docs arrive months prior to cruise - I call NCL and express concern re: only 1 hour window between sched arrival of flight and sail time - (thinking Christmas, Denver, United...this is not good.) I'm told "no problem, we monitor incoming flights and know if our Air/Sea customers experience delays. But, if you want to pay $50 for Premium Air we will change your flights however you will pay the difference and this close to holidays all seat will be full fare." I check Kayak, Priceline & Expedia while we talk and quickly realize our air will cost 5x as much = $50. We're stuck.

 

Here's the trip:

 

DFW-> Denver - no worries. Weather caused no issues.

Denver->SanFran - 4.5 hours late due to "mechanical-bird strike" during which United kept us in the dark for 4 hours about whether our flight would depart, now plane/same plane, no reticketing - all flights sold out.

SanFran-> Hon - connection left without us (about 100 passengers, +/- 40 headed to POH). Put on standby next flight 2 hours later. 10 people from POH group got on 1st time, rest waited.

Hon - arrived 11pm, met by United with arranged air on Aloha to Hilo for next AM on 1st flight. No NCL rep in sight. Spent Christmas night in Best Western @ HNL airport instead on on our dream cruise - slept 4 hours. Next morning catch up on hotel limo with group from earlier flight who missed boat by 15 minutes.

Hon->Hilo - United reserved tickets but issued no boarding passes - Aloha states all flights sold out, these are stand by passes - cross your fingers. DW & I get 2nd flight on only 2 open seats. No NCL rep at Hilo - luggage and transfers are on us.

 

Having read my documents, I realize that Air/Sea is a "convenience, and NCL accepts no liability, yada yada yada." When we DO arrive in Hilo at the ship we have to use our invoice to get past security, talk our way on board, then the front desk gives us attitude. I ask "how quickly may we expect our bags" after having to schlep all our luggage and get our own cab. Desk rep asks "...so now you want help with your luggage, TOO???" That's where I went postal. :eek:

 

Phonecalls to concierge, Hotel MGR, & NCL cust service & HQ from on board basically parrot that: "our policy is to offer no compensation for passengers in your situation - please contact your travel insurance company."

 

Here's the kicker - we have a wonderful cruise and are headed home when what should we behold in the NHL airport??? A group of +/- 30 NCL POH passegers being met by an NCL agent explaining that they will be staying at the Best Western tonight, catching the 1st flight out to Hilo, and meeting the ship for the rest of their cruise. Hmmm...deja Vu!

 

So....I decided to go tell my story....to all of them...in front of the NCL rep. So here's my question -

 

Am I being cynical? or does this boil down to NCL washing their hands of United's notoriously unreliable service, knowing that until we're on the boat we are United's problem? And, is NCL Air/Sea booking whatever flights they can get without eating $ and then letting NCL operations deal with the fallout at the port & on board?

 

This set of circumstances affected (easily) =/- 100 passengers from 12/25 - 01/08. Is this SOP? Feedback please.

[Host CMLA]

Am I being cynical? or does this boil down to NCL washing their hands of United's notoriously unreliable service, knowing that until we're on the boat we are United's problem? And, is NCL Air/Sea booking whatever flights they can get without eating $ and then letting NCL operations deal with the fallout at the port & on board?

I think you were the victim of a situation involving United Airlines and NCL had no control over it. Could NCL have had a rep available to answer questions once you got to HNL and then Hilo...of course, they should have. But what you decribed sounds like United made you late and NCL can't control that. Sorry Christmas wasn't what you expected. :(

[Kylie]

We had a problem this year too. Planned to fly out of Sioux Falls, SD on Dec. 24 to Denver and on to Honolulu to catch our POA cruise later that day.

Our problem wasn't really NCL's fault though - United CANCELLED our flight out of SF. Weather in SF couldn't have been better and the weather problems in Denver were resolved but United didn't have any pilots to fly the plane that day. They didn't tell us until we were at the airport with boarding passes in hand. We also had to fly to Hilo to catch the ship but that meant 2 days and 3 nights late for us. We lost our transfers and had to taxi to the ship ourselves but at least we go there but not in time for the excursion we had planned. We blame United........the best compensation they would give us is $100. Still disappointed we missed Kauai completely. Guess we'll have to go back again!

[refman]

several cruises ago we learned that traveling to the port of departure a day ahead of time works best as well as a lot less stress, also be your own travel agent and book everything yourself. the level of satisfaction you`ll get when everything goes right feels so good and if anything is wrong you can only blame yourself. you`ll be surprised how easy it is to plan a trip and the amount of options available when you start not to mention the time saved going back and forth with a t/a.

[KeystoneCruiser]

Sounds like typical NCL Customer Service in action.

 

If you were the only one affected by these problems, I could see NCL not having a rep in either place. But, based on your report, there were 30-40 people inolved in this screw up, then they should have had reps in place in Honolulu and Hilo. (yes, it may have been United's fault, but with this many paying customers involved, a smart company would have had reps in place.) If they truly monitored the airlines, then why didn't they know this many people were affected?? I'm not saying hold the ship, but at least provide a rep for help.

 

I have always thought of NCL air/transportation as a service and not a conveinence. A service that you paid extra for. But here, NCL's own people call it a conveinence????

 

I certainly hope you reported the employees on board ship who treated you so shabily. They should have been more understanding of your situation and more professional in their work, but typical for NCL Customer Service.

[refman]

Sounds like typical NCL Customer Service in action.

 

If you were the only one affected by these problems, I could see NCL not having a rep in either place. But, based on your report, there were 30-40 people inolved in this screw up, then they should have had reps in place in Honolulu and Hilo. (yes, it may have been United's fault, but with this many paying customers involved, a smart company would have had reps in place.) If they truly monitored the airlines, then why didn't they know this many people were affected?? I'm not saying hold the ship, but at least provide a rep for help.

 

I have always thought of NCL air/transportation as a service and not a conveinence. A service that you paid extra for. But here, NCL's own people call it a conveinence????

 

I certainly hope you reported the employees on board ship who treated you so shabily. They should have been more understanding of your situation and more professional in their work, but typical for NCL Customer Service.

i think you may have misread the post but that`s ok because after last nites game you`re probably still seeing double. i would of put anything on a ohio win but i guess thats why they play the games.

[Don Haynes]

I highly recommend arriving a day earlier and using NCL's pre cruise plan spending a night in a Honolulu hotel especially during the winter months. Its a very long flight to Hawaii, and many of the flights are from California. Airlines have weather and mechanical difficulties too, even during the summer months. NCL's flights are of the least priority, either spend more for a higher priority, or otherwise be happy with standby.

 

And always buy travel insurance! When flight connections go wrong, insurance will bail you out financially. Winter or summer. Did you use a travel agent? They would have provided much advice and steered you in a better direction.

 

It appears you made three mistakes, not using a travel agent, not doing the pre cruise stay and not buying insurance. All of us should learn from our mistakes.

[newmexicoNita]

As others have said and it has been repeated over and over: always plan to arrive a day prior to sailing especailly during the winter or holiday season. Yes, you may have to pay a deviation charge or book on your own, but it is about the only way to assure arrival to the ship on time. NMnita

[Joanne G.]

I think you were the victim of a situation involving United Airlines and NCL had no control over it.

 

The way I look at it, NCL had full control over the air arrangements. A flight with 2 layovers on the date of sailing? That's crazy - very high odds of something going wrong. I bet there are direct flights from DFW to HNL, but NCL put these people on a flight with 2 layovers.

 

And for this the OP probably paid a premium compared to booking independently. The cruise lines sell these "let us take care of everything" air/sea packages, yet I read story after story on these boards about how people are left with frustrating hassles when something goes wrong.

 

I think NCL treated these people badly, and hiding behind United Airlines is a cop-out. They made bad arrangements and then didn't stick around to help.

 

I've had 7 great cruises on NCL, but I have never had reason to be impressed with their service related to air and hotel packages.

[Don Haynes]

On the other hand I have flown with NCL air sea packages twice without any trouble whatsoever from DFW to Seattle and Boston on non stop flights. Both times were during the summer months. In the winter I would have used NCL pre cruise packages, and would have arrived a day earlier.

 

Frankly, he was lucky to get out of Denver. Our modest and nice moderator couldn't.

[wmp2304]

...especially the ones that actually address my question! :rolleyes:

 

I agree there are things we will do differently next time & appreciate all of the additional constructive comments about how I could have prevented this from happeneing in the first place.

 

Unfortunately, it has already occurred so I must concentrate my efforts on how I can best spend my vacation dollars.

 

Therefore, again ... what I am asking is : "Is this S.O.P?" - i.e.

• Is NCL typically this indifferent as long as their not responsible?,
  
• Is this typical Sea/Air flight windows during holidays?,
  
• Is there a history of gaps between what NCL says on the phone and what NCL does face to face on the boat - i.e. do they effectively communicate between sales & operations.

Again, there are things I will do differently next time. Whether next time will be with NCL in the future is a decision I will base, in part, upon whether they are historically this cavalier about resolving issues on behalf of their guests.

 

It could be that the level of "let us take care of it for you"- service that I expect will require moving to Crystal, Orient, or Seaborn...etc. Am I expecting Neiman-Marcus service from a J.C. Penney's? That's how your feedback can best answer my concern. Thanks!

[refman]

I highly recommend arriving a day earlier and using NCL's pre cruise plan spending a night in a Honolulu hotel especially during the winter months. Its a very long flight to Hawaii, and many of the flights are from California. Airlines have weather and mechanical difficulties too, even during the summer months. NCL's flights are of the least priority, either spend more for a higher priority, or otherwise be happy with standby.

 

And always buy travel insurance! When flight connections go wrong, insurance will bail you out financially. Winter or summer. Did you use a travel agent? They would have provided much advice and steered you in a better direction.

 

It appears you made three mistakes, not using a travel agent, not doing the pre cruise stay and not buying insurance. All of us should learn from our mistakes.

don,

i agree with everything you said except the travel agent thing, the least their involved the better the trip but please understand that is from a previously extremely poor experience where a well known t/a screwed up a trip for a thirteen year old girl cruising with my family after surviving cancer and given the all clear a month earlier and without boring all with details, HAL,SOUTHWEST AIR AND HOTEL DEL went above and beyond all expectations and none of them knew the girls health condition whereas the t/a did for the obvious reasons but when we called about the numerous difficulties they more or less told us their hands were tied but later we found that to be so untrue.sorry for the long reply but did`nt want you to think i was out to bash tonite.thanks for listening

george

[Don Haynes]

What would you expect for a turnaround at any airport? An hour, two hours, or three hours?

 

We have had many complaints of extended turnaround stays in airports. No one wants to spend hours in an airport lobby. If the airlines were running on time, an hour should be sufficient, although I would prefer an hour and a half to two hours. But when its beyond two hours, people complain.

 

Your problem was with United Airlines. It appears they dropped the ball twice, in Denver and San Francisco. You agreed to the turnaround time when you agreed to these bookings. Now its not your fault when the airline dropped the ball.

 

Next time use a travel agent, buy insurance, and arrive a day earlier with a cruise line pre cruise package.

[electricron]

There are delayed and canceled flights every day in the USA. Just go to a major hub airport and watch the ETA boards (monitors). Airlines do not necessarily arrive on schedule any better than Amtrak. I'm sorry you had to learn this the hard way.

Not every airport in the USA has a direct flight to Honolulu. Having intermediate stops is normal today.

[Host CMLA]

The way I look at it, NCL had full control over the air arrangements. A flight with 2 layovers on the date of sailing? That's crazy - very high odds of something going wrong. I bet there are direct flights from DFW to HNL, but NCL put these people on a flight with 2 layovers.

NCL had no control over a "mechanical bird strike" so the delay is not NCL's fault. Yes, they could have flown them in a day early but NCL doesn't offer that and the OP could have booked on his own if he wanted that. I'm not defending NCL's subsequent actions when the OP got to Hawaii. But NCL doesn't have responsibility for a United mechanical problem.

And for this the OP probably paid a premium compared to booking independently. The cruise lines sell these "let us take care of everything" air/sea packages, yet I read story after story on these boards about how people are left with frustrating hassles when something goes wrong.

Based on what the OP said there's no way to know if he paid more for the NCL service versus booking on his own. But again, as so many have said, book independently and go early. We have no idea why the OP didn't do that. Maybe the cost for the NCL flights was the best deal he could get but with cruise air comes being at the mercy of NCL for the flights. You're, of course, entitled to your opinion. But I disagree with where you're placing blame (except for the treatment of passengers once arriving into HNL). A mechanical problem with United isn't NCL's fault in any way. NCL gets the flights based on the flight going and United says the flight will go too. Mechanical issues can't be planned ahead. Anyway...what a terrible way to start a Christmas vacation.

 

To the OP...NCL is like any other company. They're responsible for what they say they'll do in their contract. Unfortunately for you, you got the short end of the stick this time.

[ken98230]

I think the main point of all this is that NCL permitted you to arrive at an airport with a 1 hour window to make your sailing time.

 

That is crazy. I believe their own rules require all guests to be aboard an hour or two before scheduled sailing time. But since it is in their best interests to bend the rules...why not.

 

On the other hand NCL is not at fault regarding a bird strike, delay etc when it is a problem with the airline. However, they should do everything possible to get you to the ship and give you some assistance in doing so. On this point I really think they dropped the ball.

 

One would think that NCL would really step up on their Air Sea program. The attributed some of their financial gains for the third quarter in 2006 to a greater percentage of their passengers purchasing air from them.

 

Sorry to hear that you had such a poor start to your trip.

[Dolphins]

Another reason why I appreciate sailing year round out of New York.